Presentation Ideas.

Going back to the shop window display we first created which I really liked I feel my work tailed off into more of a dead end. My 3D design isn't something that best represents my own art style therefore I am not going to continue from that. For this reason I am leaning towards creating a more classically painted idea with more modern techniques entwined with it. As I was really happy with my printing I would either like to create something in print to paint over or print over something I painted. This maybe difficult as to link a classical painting to shopping after my past work could be a challenge. Alongside this I could also take the idea of bright neon like colours from our shop window design and kitsch design and maybe juxtapose it with a very classic painting.
One of the only artist's who I could think of that related to a classic painting reinvented in a modern way was Robert Rauschenburg and his Pneumonia Lisa, which is a photo print with other aspects and mark makings printed over the top.

Linking an idea like this to consumerism would be an incredibly strong piece and could also be reprinted several times giving it the effect of mass production. Also the use of repetition has played a significant part in most of my work and nearly all the bits of work I've created have involved some kind of repetition. Although I have not got a set idea yet I think I'm going to experiment more with print and maybe create a series of designs under a single caption.

Car Park drawing session.

Today we did a drawing exercise by drawing the cars in the car park. The structure of the cars was what held importance rather than detail. The idea was to create a picture where the repeated shapes looked as though they had been mass produced and all the same. Although I found it incredibly difficult to give my drawing a a sense of perspective. And despite working into my picture in the afternoon with mono printing it still didn't work out too well and it turns out the only interesting marks I made were out of frustration. Although I found it difficult to get the hang of I still found it an interesting experience and found out areas that I need to work on.

Printing.

We used left over bits of packaging to create prints in carious ways. Firstly inked up both sides of a bottle and while squashing it I took a repeated number of prints. Although the end result was quite interesting and repeating the image in red and blue gave a really strong effect although the mark making produced was restricted and the end result just ended up looking just like a the original object. Even though this work was influenced by consumerism and created by a piece that was made because of a consumerist society I felt there was not enough variety in the marks that were made. To improve this idea I could have printed over this with other packaging and added different colours.
On my second print I put four different colours in different parts of the printing board then covered it with thin strips of cardboard overlapping the different colours, along with bubble wrap and some corrugated cardboard. After the first print I removed the pieces of packaging then put them down in different places creating a really interesting effect. I was really pleased with this print and the effects have really inspired me take a deeper look into printing and maybe involve it when I progress these ideas independently.

Recycling: Bargain Basement.

On the second week of the fine art rotation we were looking at how installations can be made by using recycled materials. We were also meant to try and relate these installations to our shop window displays from the previous week. We started by looking at Joan Miro who concentrated on abstract formal qualities and was known for juxtaposing completely different things to create a single sculpture. I feel His work is incredibly interesting because it can give off different meanings to different people and causes discussion and debates over whether it is art or not. This I feel only strengthens his design and can been seen as the actual definition of fine art.

Another artist who is similar to Joan Miro in the way he puts things together that dint usually belong is Thomas Herschhorn. He is more contemporary than Miro although I feel he relates more to the task we were set as he uses everyday materials such as cardboard to create his sculptures. Throughout his work you can tell he is interested in hardcore daily life and he is very economical. Along with this it is clear that he is interested in the energy within his work rather than the quality.

 

When I was first brainstorming ideas I wanted to create a cube that looked as though it was collapsing in on itself using cardboard. This would've created almost an optical illusion although it didn't work out in the way which I'd hoped. I had not left enough space in between each square of cardboard so there was not enough depth to create the effect I was looking for. So after this I then developed what I had already started into more of an architectural model rather than the decorative fine art design that I had originally intended. I found that this ended up working incredibly well I also based my main idea for it on my project in the 3D design rotation. My only concern was that I didn't want my work to come across as an architectural piece because although I appreciate architectural design it's not my main interest or strength within fine art.

After completing my model I made a variety or geometric stamps using little scraps of cardboard. I used these on my first design although they didn't create a huge impact because I had already created my design based on the colours that were already printed on the cardboard. However I did find a use for the stamps when I created a geometric design on one of my previous attempts at creating my cube. This worked really well as it was incredibly simple but still held quite a powerful effect. 

Consuming Passions: Reflection.

After reading the consuming passions essay I found it really interesting that consumerism was highlighted as not necessarily being a bad thing and that it should be embraced. This is because usually when the topic of consumerism is brought up an almost Marxist view is put on it. For example one of the most common things that is said about consumerism is how we are almost brainwashed into purchasing the things we don't necissarily need and that it is no longer down to us to choose what we buy or what we wear. I personally feel that although clever marketing techniques are in place to try and persuade us to buy the more up market and more expensive brands it would take quite a feeble mind to be completely oblivious to what they were purchasing. This is why I found it refreshing to hear a different take and opinion on consumerism. The exhibition itself was an incredible example of how the shops of today and big brands have influenced art and the key inspiration of artists over the past 50-60 years. This is shown even more in the last 20 years where advertisement has been made a huge part of certain artists work such as Andy Warhol, Andreas Gursky, Haim Stein Bach and Damien Hirst. One artists work which is particularly interesting is Andreas Gursky who's photographs are taken from such a high point it as almost as though he is trying to put forward God's view over the people bewildered by a new form of religious worship.

After reading the essay and seeing other artists work, it is clear to see that not everyone will share the same view about consumerism but it is a huge part of society and will influence all of us in one way or another. So whether we like it or not we're all consumer whores, we just need to embrace it.

Making a Shop Window.

After spending a day looking at examples of shop windows in real life and in paintings we were able to create our own shop windows. One example we looked at was Berenice Abbott's photograph of Heymann's butchery in 1938. What astounded me was the amount of advertisement the shop gave off and I felt almost bombarded by information and just by looking at the photograph. Also the fact this this level of advertisement and layout of signs has been passed through the years and still strongly exists in nearly every high street shop.

First I started by mind mapping ideas of slogans and images based around my mass produced object, although my ideas weren't very strong. This was probably due to the reason my object was a sandwich shaper and the only reason I picked this item was because of how useless and obscure it was. So I joined up into a group and we based our shop window design on some neon coloured test tubes. Creating a display based around nightlife and the bright vibrant colours you can encounter on a night out. We put up shelves at jaunty angles to give the feeling that the display was falling in on itself. Although as the display evolved it became a lot less about nightlife and more about an experimentation of different vibrant colours. This worked incredibly well as we filled the test tubes up with different coloured inks to create some really interesting combination's. Our display was also given another dimension of movement when some of the test tubes toppled over splattering ink all over the display and creating almost a radioactive looking stream running down the angled shelves. I felt this worked really well as I liked that our work had been improved by chance creating an unexpected but effective result. However once we had finished the background to our shop window didn't carry the same visual impact the rest of the display did. Once this was taken into account we filled it with mono prints that were based on our shop display itself. These were printed onto luminous paper to continue the overwhelming colour scheme that was carried through our display. One artist I thought was similar in the way he emphasised the use of colour in his installations was Haim Steinbach. His work is based strongly around the relation between colours. He creates an incredibly strong visual impact and also questions the line between what is an ordinary mass produced object and art. 

Fine Art Pathway.

I was really excited to be starting the fine art pathway, although I enjoyed experiencing all the other areas of the foundation course I was looking forward to being in the area that I was most comfortable in.
\In the first week of the course we were looking at the how shop windows are designed and how they influence to buy mass produced consumables and alongside this look at how other artists respond to this mass consumerism.
One artist who has very bold views on consumerism is Jeff Koons. His work really questions the line between everyday items and art. Which throughout his work it is shown that a vast amount of his work is based around everyday objects.

One artist who shares this view is Marcel Duchamp who said:  
Art lies in the street and it is to be found on the shelves of the department stores.
He said this as early as 1913 which only shows how this mass consumption and mass production of things that we seem to think are a necessity hasn't just suddenly appeared in more modern times.
Alongside this quote in more modern times Andy Warhol stated that:
All department stores will become museums and all museums will become department stores.
This message along with how Warhol thought everyone should have their individual identity and not be stunned by this onslaught of media advertisement and consumerism his work is became some of the most mass reproduced artwork of all time and in some cases this makes his work go against it's original meaning.