A-Z PROJECT EMILY DERRICK DER10291313
1
CONTENT Introduction 3 Research 4 Collage 4 Pattern 6 Zoetrope 8 Hybrid 10 Analysis so far 12 Initial Experiments 14 Research conclusion 18 Development 20 Genetic modification in the news 20 Existing organisations 24 Initial Design brief 26 Existing Artists 27 How? 29 What? 34 Visual experiments 38 Survey 40 Analysis 41 Developed design brief 42 Making 52 Final Analysis 56
INTRODUCTION
Faced with the very long list of words I began to circle words that appealed to me. I chose words I knew little about and many which I had never heard of before this gave me lots of scope to begin my research with. Finally after whittling down the list of words I was left with zoetrope, pattern, collage and hybrid. On the next few pages I have summarised my findings.
2
3
“Collage is all about the recycling, reinterpretation and reprocessing oF our collective past present and future.. And it is the perfect medium for our time.”
COLLAGE “Collage is the systematic exploITation of the coincidental or artifically induced encounter of two of more unrealated realities on an apprently inappropriate plane,”
James Gallagher
max ernst
Collage. An artistic composition made of various materials (as paper, cloth, or wood) glued on a surface. What excites me about collage is the spontaneity of the process. I admire the idea of deconstructing
4
materials and objects that are in my surroundings and reconstructing them to express alternative ideas and concepts. continue
Different areas of Collage I explored include: • Contemporary Collage • Decoupage • 3d Collage • Photomontage • Digital Collage
Collage gained popularity in the early twentieth century serving aesthetical purposes yet also as a vehicle for propaganda. Dadaist’s such as Hannah Hoch used collage to express their rebel from traditional art and as a tool to protest against the harsh
times faced shortly after WW1. Surrealist Max Ernst experimented with many different collage techniques yet unlike the Dada’s he kept the content of the image yet manipulated in a very subtle way to create magically compelling pieces of art.
The advance in technology has had a huge impact on the creation of collage, with more access to images than ever before plus the option to create collages digitally it has definitely grown in popularity as a medium.
5
zoetrope A zoetrope is a device that produces the illusion of motion from a rapid succession of pictures. Zoetrope from the Greek, zoe meaning ‘alive’ and tropē meaning “turn”, with “zoetrope” taken to mean “active turn” or wheel of life.
6
The invention of the zoetrope by William George Horner (1833) revealed that static images when in sequence provide the illusion of movement; a huge conributing factor to the advances in Film technology that followed.
In Science the Zoetrope also played a big part, Eadweard Muybridge and Etienne Jules-Marey used the Zoetrope as an instrument to test their theories regarding the dynamics of motion. The Zoetrope pictured above was created by Marey using wax
to form minature sculptures of the seagulls. This allowed Marey to reproduce the mechanics of the birds’ flight at various speeds and detail allowing a much closer look than the eye alone. Pictured above is an image of Bill Brand’s ‘Masstransiscope’
created in 1980. Brand used the principle of the Zoetrope to showcase his artwork on the subway. I admire the way Brand has produced a modern spin on such a classic invention.
7
PATTERN ‘The neurobiological study of coincidence rests upon the brain’s need for order and predictability. Coincidences alert the brain to possible causal relationships between events.’ Bernard D. Beitman
A regular and intelligible form or sequence discernible in the way in which something happens or is done.
‘We are a pattern seeking species. Through our ability to differentiate similar from dissimilar, we are able to produce complex environments.’
When considering the word pattern my first thought was patterns in nature and geometric patterns. What I really wanted to know was why do we as humans search for these patterns and seek comfort in identifying sequence. ‘The neurobiological study of coincidence rests upon the brain’s need for order and predictability. Coincidences alert the brain to possible causal relationships between events’ Bernard D. Beitman The research lead me to discover ‘Apophenia.’The perception of patterns or connections where none exist. Most psychologists agree that this condition exists in everyone to some degree; it is a bias of the human mind.
8
Michael Shermer coined the word ‘patternicity’, defining it as “the tendency to find meaningful patterns in meaningless noise”.
9
HYBRID 1. A thing made by combining two different elements 2. Biology the offspring of two plants or animals of different species or varieties 3. A car with a petrol engine and an electric motor, each of which can propel 4. A word formed from elements taken from different languages 5. Hybrid computer a computer combining analog and digital features 6. Hybrid power, the combination of a power producer and the means to store that power in an energy storage medium. 7. Hybrid bicycle, a bicycle with features of road and mountain bikes 8. Hybrid (mythology), a creature combining body parts of two or more species 9. Hybrid gemstone, a stone combining natural material with artificial
10
Hybrid is a very common term in today’s society. Designers everywhere seem to be combining existing techniques and elements together to form new and supposedly improved products. My initial reaction to the word Hybrid was to instantly imagine mythological creatures, cyclops, centaurs, medosa. I then started to think about literally
combining objects around me to see what new inventions I could come up with. I found it hard to create any new ideas, a suprising amount of hybrid objects already clutter my desk. I then searched news articles and once I sifted through the sea of Hybrid car advances I discovered an article that disgusted me.
Scientists have created more than 150 humananimal hybrid embryos in British laboratories. The hybrids have been produced secretively over the past three years by researchers looking into possible cures for a wide range of diseases. 22/07/2011
11
ANALYSIS SO FAR Having researched the 4 chosen words I then quickly brainstormed ideas and considered how I can explore these notions further.
12
I then chose 4 of these ideas and produced visual outcomes to get a feel for the direction I would like to take my project.
13
INITIAL EXPERIMENTS I began to combine elements of my research to create a range of images exploring the different words. The videos were made when exploring the word ‘pattern.’ Using three pieces of mirror and an iphone application.
14
15
I stumbled across both of these images in a National Geographics magazine. When put together I loved the contrast of natural vs artifical and the way the lines flowed horizontally. 16
17
The research that has fascinated me most so far, was the news headlines stating 150 human nimal hybrid embryos had been secretly grown in uk labs. I decided to investigate this story further and to much surprise found endless amount of new stories regarding the subject..
WHAT NEXT?
PATTERN
COLLAGE
ZOETROPE
HYBRID
I couldn’t help but notice connections between the four words. I created the above diagram to illustrate highlight potential crossovers. The main word that was drawing my attention was Hybrid.
18
19
gLOWING MONKEYS
ENVIROPIGS
sUPER MICE
PIGS WITH HUMAN ORGANS
COW BREAST MILK
spider goats
The designer marmosets carry a gene (a jellyfish gene that codes for a fluorescent) that causes their skin, hair roots and blood to glow green under ultraviolet light. What makes this a world first is that scientists were able to show that the monkeys can pass on the gene to other generations.
The Canadian government is on the verge of approving the introduction of extremely bizarre genetically modified pigs into the Canadian food supply. Soon millions of Canadians will be eating meat from mouse/pig hybrid creatures and most of them will not even realize it.
Engineered to run 20 meters a minute without stopping for 5 hours while the "control" mouse gave up after 10 minutes. Energy comes from utilizing fatty acids, they live longer and produce more - popvery aggressive and hungry.
LORD Winston, the fertility expert and Labour peer, is to begin breeding genetically modified pigs in the hope of providing organs for transplant to humans, it was reported yesterday. Scientists in London and California have begun experiments to find a solution to record waits for organ transplants.
Chinese Sientists have successfully introduced human genes into 300 dairy cows to produce milk with the same properties as human breast milk. The scientists behind the research believe milk from herds of genetically modified cows could provide an alternative to human breast milk and formula milk for babies.
Prof Randy Lewishas genetically modified 30 goats at a farm in Utah State University, US. The goats produce large quantities of a spider silk that is among the strongest substances known to man.The transplanted gene means the goat produces milk containing an extra protein, which is extracted and spun into spider silk thread. . 21
20
BIOTECHNOLOGY The articles on the previous page presented me with a huge shock. I am amazed I haven’t seen such stories on the front pages of newspapers. Advances in transgenic biotechnology are huge and I feel as if they have been hidden from the public eye. Genetic manipulation raises complex ethical debate such as the issues explored on this page.
• •
• •
• •
22
Are we blurring the lines between species by creating transgenic combinations? (unnatural, immoral) What are the known health risks associated with transgenics? Could it create new diseases? (AIDS was believed to have started from cross breeding) What ethical, social, and legal controls or reviews should be placed on such research? Who will have access to these technologies, and how will scarce resources be allocated? - Will the rich have the advantage? Are we inflicting pain and suffering on sentient creatures when we create certain types of chimeras? What are the long-term effects on the environment when transgenicies are released in the field?
•
•
• • • •
Will transgenic interventions in humans create physical or behavioral traits that may or may not be readily distinguished from what is usually perceived to be “human”? If the blending of nonhuman animal and human DNA results, intentionally or not, in chimeric entities possessing degrees of intelligence or sentience never before seen in nonhuman animals, should these entities be given rights and special protections? What unintended personal, social, and cultural consequences could result? Will these interventions redefine what it means to be “normal”? Could the technology be used to create a slave race? What rights would a clone have?
In ‘Our Post Human Future’ Francis Fukuyama explores the potential effects of the biotechnology revolution, ultimately describing it as a negative one. The book raises phenomenal amounts of interesting debates yet is presented in a dull and tedious manner solely dependent on text with no visuals. The book would interest a scientist or person studying genetic manipulation but would be monotenous for anyone else.
23
EXISTING ORGANISATIONS Research into current organisations such as GEAN and NW RAGE (both opposing genetic modification) revealed a very dull and tedious approach to the topic. The websites were old fashioned and poorly designed; nothing was captivating
me to read on further. The campaigns relied completely on pre interest or existing knowledge on the subject. For such an interesting and topical subject I was surprised at how it had been tackled so unimaginatively within the campaigns.
“Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow; Nought may endure but mutability!” Frankenstein, Mary W. Shelley
‘Nicola Triscott is the founder of The Arts Catalyst. In her writings of the CAE, she states that their participatory theatre ‘aims to involve the public in the processes of biotechnology in order to contribute to the development of an informed and critical public discourse on contemporary bioscience’.
CAE The Critical Arts Ensemble (CAE) is a collective of five tactical media practitioners who encourage the use of any media that will engage particular sociopolitical context to raise awareness of social issues. Free Range Grain was a live performative action with the intent to raise awareness about genetically modificed foods to the public. CAE constructed a portable science lab and invited the public to visit and bring foods to test for any genetic modifications over a 72 hour period. The tests would reveal whether the European food chain is safe from GM
24
contaminants. Instead of using high tech machinery the CAE used school style lab equipment, lowering the level of scientific difficulty allowing for the public to understand and interact more easily. I really admire this interactive easy to understand style adopted in Free Range Grain, its a fresh contrast to the typical monotenous articles, campaigns and books which are unappealing to the public and only really picked up by scientists.
25
DESIGN PROBLEM So far my research has identified several news stories concerning advances in transgenic biotechnology. It is apparent that many of these shocking stories are occurring under the radar, many people have no idea that such advances are being made in biotechnology. The topic is fascinating and present a highly topical debate which current campaigns fail to make compelling for a non scientific audience.
INTIAL DESIGN BRIEF I am going to raises awareness about the current advances in genetic modification to a ‘non scientific audience.’
WHAT NEXT? Identify which issues to focus on Experiment with different forms Research more current projects addressing the issue of genetic manipulation Further research into audience. (Identify age range) Interviews and surveys
26
PATRICIA PICCININI Patricia Piccinini, an Australian artist and hyperrealist sculptor explores the repercussions of biotechnology on society, the complex flexibility of bioethics and the ever-changing relationship between the natural and the artificial in her pieces.
Like most myths they are often cautionary tales, but they are also often celebrations of these extraordinary beasts.”
Piccinini’s work is shocking and thought provoking; it tackles the subject of genetic modification in an intriguing yet slightly “However - and this will sound very strange disturbing way. It is hard to imagine anyone walking past one of her sculptures and not - it is not really science itself that I am begin to wonder about the future of genetic interested in, as much as how it impacts on people. I think my creatures are actually modification. Piccinini communicates her more mythological than scientific. They are views of society without forcing opinions upon the audience. I want to adopt similar chimeras that I construct in order to tell values in my piece; I want to intrigue, shock stories that explain the world that I live in and cause debate amongst the viewer. but cannot totally understand or control.
27
ALEXIS ROCKMAN Alexis Rockman is an American contemporary artist known for his paintings that depict futuristic visions of genetically engineering animals. It was interesting to stumble across Rockman’s work as his art covered the range of issues I had been researching. In this painting ‘The Farm’ he depicts life as we know it now then as your eye moves across the piece to the right he has visualised what the future could look like. I love the contrast between the now and the future, the natural and the artificial.
28
“it is not biotechnology that is the problem but corporate America or globalism or colonialism. The implications of using this technology are far more devastating because of the unknowable effects. This is something that is very disturbing and visually compelling to me.”*
29
HOW? In order to appeal to an audience with no scientific background I need to carefully consider how I present my piece. The mind map below helped me to identify key requirements that will help attract my target audience.
Look For Longer (pictured above) is an interactive advertising scheme currently in action on the London Underground. It requires viewers to identify 75 hidden tube stations discguised as images. (Eg. Barbie and Ken = Barbican) This campaign had me hooked straight away. The Tippexperience (pictured below) is a very clever interactive advert for tip ex. The first video ‘A hunter shoots a bear’ created in 2009 required the audience to
Genetic Modification is full of scientific jargon in order to attract a non-scientific audience I need to show them just how interesting the subject really is. Interaction is a key component to captivate my audience. If they are required to take part in the piece I believe it will have more of an impact on them.
30
decide wether or not to shoot the bear, if it was decided not to shoot the bear the characer would grab the tip-ex from outside the screen and erase the word ‘shoot’ in the title, then prompting the viewer to insert an alternative option. This kept me occupied for hours and made for a very exciting talking point. The level of audience participation in these videos is definately something I wish to include in my design.
It is important the piece is not full of specialist language it must be attractive to view in order to attract and captivate their attention. The age of the target audience for my video are young adults. In order to attract young adults I will have to make it relatable and humourous.
31
HOW?
COLLAGE
Creating an interactive video for Youtube is the direction I have decided to take. This method will allow me encorporate all the elements I feel my target audience would enjoy. Now I need to decide what style of video is appropriate after much consideration of different formats such as computer animation, documentary style, acting, adverts, campgains I decided to focus on using mixed media to create a stop motion animation.
I have chosen to use collage to create my stop motion animation. The main reason being its instant connection to Hybrid. The cut and paste method I use to construct the video is fundamentally the same principle that scientists use when generating the hybrid creations. The gene is cut out of one page (animal) and pasted onto another. The medium represents the animal.
The innocent smoothie advert used stop motion animation which produced a very light hearted easy to watch advert. Noriko Okaku uses digital stop motion animation to narrate more serious subjects such as this still taken from her piece The Resolution of the Congress 1962. The way the seriousness fo the audio contrasts with the luminous imagery is very effective.
32
Using collage will also emphasize the hybrid focus. One definition I found during the earlier stages of this project was hybrid computer - the combination of digital and analogue. Using a stop motion collage technique would involve cutting and making the collage by hand and then using a computer to collect the images together to produce a video. Collage is also a very contemporary style producing a piece thats modern and fresh will help attract the youthful audience I want to view my film.
33
CONTENT
SUPER MICE
In order to generate content I experimented with how I would visually illustrate the genetic modification experiments.
I explored the idea of using Olympic medal winners to represent the mice. The idea behind this was to suggest if the scientists are creating these super mice what is to stop the knowledge being used to enhance humans performance. Sports would be based on genetic advantage rather than perspiration. I used a variation of techniques to perform the experiments using photoshop to digitally generate visuals and also by hand using scissors and glue then scanning in. I also experimneted with other materials aside cut outs, such as the red fabric used for the super mouse cape.
SPIDER GOAT I created the Spider Goat using photoshop however found it very difficult to merge the two animals together. The other problem is the small size of the legs would make it almost impossible to move around without accidentally knocking them and having to start over.
34
35
LOOPCAM ANIMATIONS
COW EXPERIMENTS When I first read the article stating scientists had produced a herd of genetically modified cows capable of making milk that could substitute for human breast milk I couldn’t help but imagine Cows with human breasts. Visually it created quite a humorous
36
image, definitely suitable for my video. I then added human jeans to a cow, a play on the word genes. Further to this I began to think about celebrities associated with being a coward. This was in order to make the character of the cow more relatable for the audience.
To test how my experiments would animate I created a make shift stop motion studio at home. Using an application called LoopCam I recorded some quick animations, displayed on the next page. (click to activate)
37
LOOPCAM ANIMATIONS
38
39
SURVEY AND ANALYSIS
The LoopCam animations allowed me to quickly test different ideas and experiment with different methods, movements and styles. I showed the animations and prototypes to my target audience and got them to vote for their favourite idea. The unanimous decision was for the Cow producing human breast milk story. “The
images are playful and comical. I think the jeans used for genes is a clever play on words and also has humourus qualities.” I also created a short survey using SurveyMonkey questioning the audiences present knowledge on the experiments and aiming to discover which topics they would like to learn more about. The survey
revealed pig being engineered to grow human organs as a fairly well heard of news story where as nobody had heard about the cow-human hybrid. The most intriguing stories included the glowing monkeys and the spider goat. Personally the human breast milk from cow was also the most captivating and bizzare story which I felt visually had
many different options which would be fun to experiment with. It also seems like the most relevant and topical of the issues with human breast milk from cows aiming to be on supermarket shelves within 10 years, the more I read the more I was filled with fascination and passion to communicate the story to those that had no idea.
Researchers say they are able to create cows that produce milk containing a human protein called lysozyme (Photo: PA) "It’s a delayed April Fool". Like many others, that was my first thought when I heard about the dairy cows in China that have had human DNA added to their genome so that they can produce milk containing human proteins. Sadly, it seems that the story is true. Transgenic cows, effectively human-cow hybrids, have been produced. It’s another step along a road filled with ethical dilemmas. I know that I’ll be accused of being a Luddite, but I’m filled with misgivings. Yet again, science has tunnel vision: proponents see only the positive aspects of what they’re doing, forgetting the law of unintended and unpredicted consequences. By Pete Wedderburn 4/04/2011
40
41
DESIGN BRIEF 2 I am going to design and make a stop motion animation to raise awareness about the genetic modification of cows to produce human breast milk. The animation will be made using mixed media collage and is designed for display on YouTube with interactive features. The animation is aimed at Young people and those with little scientific interest or knowledge. I want shock the audience by highlighting the bizareness of the story using a comical style.
WHAT NEXT? Begin to gather imagery Mindmap story ideas Experiment with the collage Indentify existing, overdone cliche ideas and steer clear. Ideas must be orignal and fresh. Generate 3 stories ready for selection by the auidence Develope 2 stories into storyboards Continue to research existing YouTube videos both interactive videos Research techniques for audio Locate equipment and test ideas
42
43
DEVELOPMENT At this stage I was still aiming to explore a huge range of ideas to generate different story ideas. Watching more videos on YouTube allowed me to suss out clichĂŠ ideas such as singing and dancing cows - which seemed to make an appearance on almost every cow video out there. Feeling confident I had developed an array of ideas I now needed to begin to visualise these ideas and make prototypes.
44
45
DEVELOPMENT I was struggling to find appropriate imagery in magazines and found it easier to produce digital experiments using Photoshop. Considering the target market I needed to make the images recognisable and relatable yet also humourous. One of the ideas on the previous page involved cows taking over the world and as a result humans disguising
46
themselves as cows; getting tail and nipple implants in order to blend in. The other story involved cows turning in to humans, which involves growing breasts and hair. I considered the hairstyles carefully as I wanted the viewer to be able to recognise whose hair and breasts they were looking at.
47
On the left are two rough storyboards considering two different stories cows turning into humans or cows taking over the world. Unable to decide between the two ideas I began to merge them together.
48
49
I began to consider the details of the piece such as the audio and backgrounds. The supermarket that the milk would be sold; I decided Sainsbury’s was appropriate due to it’s ‘try something new today logo’. I branded the milk and experimented with different ways of representing it finally deciding on a milk bottle sweet to add another dimension to the piece. I struggled to decide on an ending for a while; trying
50
many different techniques such as using a balloon to represent the world but short mock-ups proved this didn’t work. I then thought realistically about it, considering what the implications of a ‘cow boom’ would be. Further research revealed the amount of methane cows already release into the atmosphere and how it could severely damage the ozone layer.
51
THE MAKING Before I started the final making I ran a test with the equipment. I was using iStopMotion 3 which I was told could be tempramental at times. This was confirmed when I went to export the animation and the computer decided to freeze and lose all of the work. The test also emphasized the intricate nature of what I was doing. I needed to be more prepared. Each piece
52
would need sticking down with blue tac and backgroudn attached with tape. I would need to bring spares of each image and allow a few more days to make it than I initially thought. Having learnt so much from the test the actual making went alot smoothly be it still tediously time consuming!
53
INTERACTIVE ENDING Once I had recorded the audio, sound effects and edited the animation I was ready to begin making it interactive. This involved making a petition on change. com and uploading it to YouTube using the annotations feature to create interactive links to the alternative endings.
54
GENETICALLY MODIFIED COWS JUST SAY nooo
55
FINAL ANALYSIS Overall I am pleased with my work during this project. Thorough research into a range of topics lead me to discover a subject which was new and intriguing, aiding my enthusiasm for the project. When it came to generating the final outcome I wish I had started earlier as this was when the ideas really started flowing. It was fun to get hands on with the stop motion animation despite the slow repetitive nature of the work. I was quite disappointed with the quality of the stop motion, it looked unprofessional and childish, it would have helped to use a high definition camera.I also feel I stuck too rigidly to 2dimensional materials and looking back I should have experimented with 3d objects which would have been easier to handle. It was great to make the video interactive this is a really useful skill which I can’t believe more people aren’t using. LoopCam was a very useful tool - it allowed me to very quickly create prototypes and test out ideas .
56