Creative Strategies OUAD504 Granville Lythe
Light Night Research I took these photos on my first visit to the Leeds City Museum to get a general
overview of the place. Having lived in Leeds all of my life I am ashamed to say that this was my first visit viewing of the site. Once inside, I was amazed by what I saw, the quality and diversity of the exhibits were wonderful. I was intrigued by the exhibition display cases in the area. I hope my work will blend well with the existing exhibits. Entrance to The Leeds exhibition.
Shortly after looking around the first two floors I found myself drawn to one of the museums major exhibits,“Nesyamun”, The Egyptian Mummy, on the third floor. I immediately began taking photographs of him with my phone camera only to be stopped by museum staff and told that this wasn’t permitted and asked to delete the few shots I had taken. I was informed that photos could be taken of the surrounding exhibits but not the mummy. I was not happy……….
Area proposed for my installation. Nesyamun
Light Night Project Proposal My project idea is to create a 3D installation that subtly and sympathetically connects in someway with the artefacts already in the museum while at the same time has a relevance to the theme “Dead of Night”. Materials Some of the materials I intend to use may be subject to Health and Safety restrictions set out by the museum but as an initial response I shall suggest the following… Glass or Perspex Cabinet, rough dimensions 650mm x 330mm x 330mm x 330mm. 1. Wood Plinth, painted white, rough dimensions 900mm x 330mm x 330mm 2. Plaster, life size head, bust to be placed inside the glass cabinet. 3. DVD playing a sound loop in close proximity to the piece. 4. Headphones linked to this so that visitors can listen to the
recording.
Where to be installed The installation would require access to a 240v mains power outlet; and for aesthetic value may be better placed near a spot light so that a certain amount of illumination could be directed at it.
How to be installed The glass (or Perspex) display cabinet would be placed on top of a white wood plinth with headphones hanging at the side. The installation would need to be floor mounted with the back as close as possible to a flat wall space. Fixings to secure the piece may or may not be relevant dependant on the museum requirements when installation takes place. The sound recorder/ DVD player could be placed at the side of the piece or hidden inside the wood plinth. Health and safety considerations 1. Does the electrical equipment I am using require a museum PAT testing certificate? 2. Are there any restrictions on the materials being used to make the finished work? 3. Will the work need to be invidulated at all times throughout light night? 4. What packaging is required for the work to prevent accidental damage in transit to both the work and the curators?
5. How will the wiring to the mains be secured to prevent accidental trips and electric shock?
Light Night Development I thought of reusing an unfinished glass cabinet from my last project but after having spent some time working out the logistics of dissembling, resembling and transporting the piece to and from the site I decided not to use it on the grounds of health and safety. This has now left me with the unenviable task of making a tailor-made display piece in Perspex, a much safer material within a very short space of time. I aim to draw some illustrator files ready for a session on the laser cutter tomorrow evening. I have also decided to record an additional sound track to go with the work.
Light Night Development I decided to use the plaster head I made earlier last year to exhibit on light night. My intention; to subvert it using the Edgar Allen Poe quote “ Sleep those little slices of death oh how I loathe them” as narrative fitted the theme the dead of night in a rather tongue in cheek way. Having discussed my ideas with Paula she suggested it wasn’t necessary for me to make my own display cabinet as long as I could source a ready made one from the college. Luckily after speaking to Terry Jones he found the perfect solution for me a 4′ x 1′ x 1′ x1′ white base with a 1′ x 1 ′x 1 x1 Perspex display cube on top
Plaster Head Arranging the head composition
Light Night Exhibition Evening Ideally I would have liked my work placed up on the third Floor in The Special Exhibitions Gallery next to the mummy Nesyamun. There it would have gained an extra dimension; by parodying the mummy Nesyamun it may provoke visitors to enquire into the authenticity and censorship involved in museum curatorship. However, our exhibition took place on the second floor in The Leeds Story Gallery. The location for my installation was by the side of the entrance doors. The spotlights focused attention on the cabinet and attracted people to listen to the accompanying sound track I had made for the piece. Two site installation views.
Light Night Exhibition Evening . Please click on the link below to hear the Sound Track. http://soundcloud.com/dj-sly-9/snoring-31
Museum visitor listening to the sound track.
Light Night Evaluation I was pleased with the “Light Night” experience. I felt it stretched my imagination and forced me to think really quickly. The short time we had to come up with a topical idea didn’t allow me to procrastinate or go off on a tangent. I enjoyed interacting with the public at the event and received compliments about my work from several of the visitors. However, I now feel the need to move on from the head cast and develop other themes of life death and mortality. Without doubt this project has kept me focused more than any other so far and has been one of the most enjoyable.
Craft as Process/ Design as Process
9.10.2012
The Finely Crafted Object A Five-‐Day progression with a variety of different directions in Making and Process. Craft as process We were given the task of trying out as many different processes as we could over a five-day period to establish a theme or direction for the rest of the brief. Creative Workshop Day 1 As part of the creative workshop we were given a random object, and the task of subverting it with new materials or crafting it in a traditional way to give it a new narrative or meaning. The short time span we were given to carry out this task added to the immediacy of the process. I find this helps me be more creative and spontaneous and I enjoy the challenge. I chose a Moneybox Rabbit from the table to work with; I wanted the finished piece to have a sinister edge. I began the exercise by purchasing some parcel paper and string from the library, the choice of materials was a reflection on the craft of good parcel making. I wanted to create a surreal feel in the work; I found covering the rabbit in brown paper didn’t disguise what was inside at all. This raised the question, was a real rabbit inside the parcel or was it just a toy? The added element of addressing the finished parcel to the local RSPCA branch added to the uncanny tension in the piece.
Rabbit Money Box
Creative workshop
Rabbit Parcel
Craft as Process/ Design as Process The Finely Crafted Object A Five-‐Day progression with a variety of different directions in Making and Process. Craft as process Day 2 Day two of the workshop saw me experimenting with different craft processes. Here are a few of my sample process’s and thoughts. Foil Blocking
I took this photograph of my plaster head casting, made a desiderated copy of it in Photoshop and used silver foil in the foil blocker to create the image. I felt the foil distortion of the image evoked a wonderful sense of atmosphere.
Foil Blocking I enjoy the work of The Romantic Artists and Poets very much and I based this foil design on the poem “The Sick Rose” by William Blake.
Foil Blocking Note I discovered an ordinary A4 paper laminator would carry out the foil blocking process just as well as the blocking press. This discovery helped me speed up the amount of samples I could make without waiting for others to use the same piece of equipment. The following series of foil samples were all made in this way. “The Sick Rose” by William Blake
Foil Blocking Using newsprint to mask out certain areas of the image enabled me to place different coloured foils on the same design. I also used a romanticist novel as theme for this work.
Craft as process Day 3 Day Three of the workshop saw me experimenting with more collage processes and techniques. Sample processes and thoughts using collage. Magazine cut outs helped me subvert a ready-made plaster cast in a surreal way. The cast began to take on an uncanny persona when I added some colouful features to it. The contrast between the white, death-like skin tone, and the life-like features do something strange to the unconscious.
Craft as process Day 3 Sample processes and thoughts using Collage.
Sixties actress/ socialite Edie Sedgwick had an abusive childhood and died at a very young age from drug abuse. This collage represents death as an escape from her torment and inner demons.
Craft as process Day 4 Type Manual type and print block experimentation
Craft as process Day 5 Animation Leonardo Da Vinci Drawing and my first steps in Animation.
I separated the two different positions so I could flick between them to create a very basic animation. I made two separate silhouetted images out of the original drawing and placed them onto two new pieces of black paper. I then used a pin to prick holes around the edges of each image. The two separate images were placed over a light box and I photographed separately taking care that each images registered with the last. Please click on the link to view the resulting animation. https://vimeo.com/53426690
Film and Video Please click on the link to see my stop motion films and more information notes on the brief. http://artyworks.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/film-video/
Direction Sculpture Frames
Floating / Trapped. Over the past week I have experimented with materials in various combinations. I made a series of wood frames that intersect with each other evoking new dialogues and narratives in the process. This collage of flat intersecting planes has added sparkle to my making process. The tension that can occur between materials in compositions (like the one above) has begun to direct my practice toward sculptural ideas.
Frames
Directions Sculpture Boxes Alongside building sculptural frames I have also been thinking about the finely crafted object with reference to the mythical legend of Pandora’s box. This notion has inspired me to create a collection of boxes that loosely tie in with the story but also has a crossover into Japanese cultural aesthetics and the romantic sublime. Research I have been researching the legend of the Australian Outlaw Ned Kelly and the work of the artist Sidney Nolan who painted a series of pictures about the life of Kelly. The romantic notion of the oppressed Irish by the ruling colonial powers of the English in Australia has fired up my imagination. Here are some samples of what I have been doing using old cigar boxes.
I marked out the slots for some glass filter screens to fit into I painted the cigar box and made a new front panel in glass to fit into the slots on top.
Boxes The cigar boxes beginning to take shape.
I have now removed the back panels so I can replace them using Perspex that will help illuminate the inside.
To be continued…………….