GCD // FINE ART
GCD // Lost Letters // Red&Black
R E D W I T H B L A C K
Beat The Whites with the Red Wedge (El Lissitzky)
The historical origin of the powerful combination of red and black is both surprising and ironically obvious when looking into Russian history.
'' With his 1919 poster Beat The Whites With The Red Wedge', the Russian avant-garde artist El Lissitzky capitalised on the stimulating power of red with black, unleashing in the process forces he could not control''.
- Source: ''100 Ideas that changed Graphic Design'', Steven Heller&Véronique Vienne
It is then said that Lissitzky's ''perfectly balanced layout'' has created an ''aggressive duo'', which then became a leading element in graphic design as a ''universal colour code''.
The power of this combination is a recognised feature in design, and working with it during our Illustration project made me realise how something as simple as the choice of colours can be the single most important aspect of an artwork.
GCD // Do Undo Redo // Artist Research
J E N N I F E R P A T T I S O N
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Education
1997-2000 BA (Hons) Photography, LCC, University of The Arts London
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PROJECTS
Rice Pudding Moon & The River of Dreams
Levitation, Ice and the Limits of Reality
Flower Boys
In sight of my skin
Edward
The Insomnia Plague
Her Mother
Pan Reposed -
''Jennifer Pattison’s portraits are arresting and full of unselfconscious expression.''
Jennifer's photographs have a certain atmosphere in them - when you look at them, you emerge into the moment portrayed, and from a professionally selected choices of backgrounds, props and colour palettes, alongside the model's expression and posture, the viewer is forced to feel the photograph, rather than just look at it. This is the effect that can truly be explained as brilliant visual communication - Jennifer's art tells a story, and that's the aspect that makes photography so powerful, and the aspect that I want to have present in my future work.
GCD // Do Undo Redo // Is Fashion Modern
A N T O N E L L I P.
2017 Items: Is Fashion Modern
''...includes designs as iconic as Levi’s 501 jeans, the pearl necklace and Yves Saint Laurent’s Le Smoking, and as ancient and rich as the sari, the Breton shirt, the kippah and the keffiyeh.''
GCD // Do Undo Redo // Artist Research
D A N N Y T R E A C Y
''Them''
''What circus is this?
What strange ghosts are they that loom out of the darkest black, the last place in our dreams?
They are us and they are Them.''
'' 'Them' involves collecting items of clothing, all found, all belonging to many different anonymous individuals. These are then dismantled and reassembled to create a composite, a figure (myself), completely covered by the clothes of strangers, becoming a formless entity...they are a result of my actions whereby I put myself in closest proximity to others, to strangers, without them actually being there... in these states, in these constructed suits where people may have breathed, undressed, fucked or died I am close to them...this closeness without them being there is both stimulating and disappointing, and so the photograph is a trophy of an act and also proof of a failure, a failure to gain possession of something that I'm not sure I really want anyway...although for the most part even if a photograph doesn't occur, masturbation usually does...the results are self-portraits of fictional, yet disturbingly familiar figures...the intimacy gained becomes a subversion, a desire to get close that results in a violation. ''
Danny Treacy, 2002.
Danny Treacy's work has a certain feeling to it - that feeling of emptiness strangely mixed with wholesomeness, which is a logical consequence of seeing costumes (or pieces of clothing) that once belonged to various people, and are now used as an artist's tool to tell a story. What is the story behind each outfit? Danny's work makes the viewer stop and observe each photograph, some parts the viewer would find frightening, other - deeply personal. My goal is to find and use this strangeness in my own project, the kind of strangeness that you find alien at first - but once your eyes get used to it, you fully expose yourself to it.
Sources:
GCD // Spectres of Modernism
Fraser Muggeridge, Spectres of Modernism, 2017
This example of social protest in the form of graphic communication was shown to us during the lecture, it demonstrates people's disapproval of luxury flat development and how art can be used as an outcry from the masses.
''The development will leave the homes and schools with heavily diminished natural light, while there are plans to demolish 1960 civic modernist building Bernard Morgan House. There is no planned for social housing provision in the new building.''
Sources: https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/fraser-muggeridge-luxury-flat-development-111017
I believe that this form of passive aggressive protest can be very powerful, especially since it drew enough attention for it to be published all over the internet. The impact of graphic communication can be important, and even if those artists don't achieve their initial mission of not having the luxury flats built in front of the building, they'll definitely achieve the task of shaming those in power who take away from the innocent, delivering a very important message that would make the society think of how certain actions can impact others in a negative way.
FINE ART // Collections // Artist Research
S O P H I E C A L L E
''Sophie Calle (born 9 October 1953) is a French writer, photographer, installation artist, and conceptual artist. Calle's work is distinguished by its use of arbitrary sets of constraints, and evokes the French literary movement of the 1960s known as Oulipo. Her work frequently depicts human vulnerability, and examines identity and intimacy. She is recognized for her detective-like ability to follow strangers and investigate their private lives. Her photographic work often includes panels of text of her own writing.''
''On Monday, February 16, 1981, I was hired as a temporary chambermaid for three weeks in a Venetian hotel. I was assigned twelve bedrooms on the fourth floor. In the course of my cleaning duties, I examined the personal belongings of the hotel guests and observed through details lives which remained unknown to me. On Friday, March 6, the job came to an end. (Quoted in Calle, pp.140-1.) ''
''Calle’s descriptions of the hotel rooms and their contents combine factual documentation along with her personal response to the people whose lives she glimpsed by examining their belongings. Each text begins with the chambermaid/artist’s first entry into the room and a notation of which bed or beds have been slept in, with a description of the nightwear the guests have left. A list of objects usually follows, as the artist transcribes her activities in the room. ''
Source: www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/sophie-calle-2692
FASHION & TEXTILES // 3DDA
JFFA // Atelier XJC
These pieces by Atelier XJC are a part of the 'X YEARS' collection.
They would not be worn for comfort or for an everyday basis, however, their definite white designs are so luxurious and delicate they can easily be called a form of art.
I feel like I have the notion of Atelier XJC's style in my work, as even though it was made out of paper, it follows similar principles of working with the body and creating engaging forms that work with the body shape.
3DDA // Product Design
I felt curious when I came across this example of product design, and even though it probably wouldn't help sell the product, it is encouraging how this packaging is very honest of the consequences cigarettes may have, and the way cigarettes are used as teeth is very clever in this case.
Source: pinterest.com
3DDA // Build It // Eden Project
T HE E D E N P R O J E C T
The Eden Project (Cornwall, England) was designed by Nicholas Grimshaw and inspired by J.Baldwin's Pillow Dome. This unusual yet stunning ecological construction has an educational purpose - people go there and learn about plants and their relationships with people, with plants collected from all sorts of different environments and climates. This architectural beauty is both incredibly aesthetic and useful, with its biomes creating a peaceful landscape. As a person who is highly interested in ecology and our environment overall, I absolutely love both the idea and the interpretation of this project.
FASHION&TEXTILES // Christian Dior
C H R I S T I A N D I O R
'The New Look', a post-war fashion statement
'Tulip Silhouette', putting the focus on the woman's waist
Christian Dior is believed to be one of the most influential fashion designers of the late 1940's-50's, which alone hints at his huge impact on the fashion world. His looks are full of elegance and uniqueness, but most importantly, from a more global perspective one could see how in such difficult times, Christian Dior was slowly bringing people joy with his fashion ideas - and joy was very scarce during the post-war era.
''The New Look became a post-war cultural symbol for what Dior himself described as ‘Youth, hope and the future.''
Sources: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/christian-dior-iconic-looks-designs-photos-the-new-look-tulip-john-galliano-maria-grazia-chiuri-a8426886.html
FASHION&TEXTILES// Julie Houts
Julie Houts' fashion sketches are simplistic, colourful and very on point, which makes them an ideal source of inspiration. The way she displays form and works with colours is clever and also aesthetic, which are the qualities that I'd love to have in my sketches.
Sources: Pinterest.com
Ideas Factory // Inspiration board
PRIMARY RESEARCH
Text
Tate Modern
'Babel', Cildo Meireles 2001
To me, this sculpture was one of the most memorable collections from Tate Modern, as its idea and implementation method are connected, which emphasises its message that is relevant to our everyday lives. The amount of information we receive is insane, with the internet and social media in power these days it is barely possible to have a moment of silence and desolation. How can we process anything with so much going on? What is also interesting, is how this sculpture is different each second you look at it, and is never ever the same again - the radios have a special system of what plays when, and the music is always different due to the amount of radios and their different channels. This is aggravating but also incredible at the same time, making me feel amazed by this artwork.
Jenny Hozler, 1981
Even though this piece is not so relevant to our 'Collections' Fine Art project, I still feel like putting this artwork in my research as it will definitely be inspirational to my future work. I love how this artist displays the injustice of women having to feel unsafe when they walk in the dark without being overly direct and crude, and instead looks at the position of men feeling safer next to women as opposed to women often feeling unsafe in a similar situation. Such brutal honesty is definitely a quality that I'd want to implement in my work.
Magdalena Abakanowicz's Embryology (1970's) may seem as a confusing collection, but once you find out that it carries a political message connected to the tension between Poland and the Soviet Union, and that as the artist herself states, ‘a cry from behind the Iron Curtain’, a bigger picture would instantly appear in front of the viewer. The artist is also interested in biology and organics, which can be seen in her visual interpretation of such a non-visual concept, and with so much going on in this exhibition, it is easy to lose yourself in admiration of a bunch of stockings & ropes sewed together.
Wellcome Collection
Tate Modern
The Wellcome Collection
This artwork is very unusual in its kind - it is a collection of different pills in the shape of the organs that they're meant for, which I believe is a very clever way to visualise the incredible human achievements in medicine; we've progressed so much we can cure various parts of our bodies with things as little as these pills! I absolutely love how this work is simple in its way of incorporating art and medicine, a mix that may sound bizarre at first, but turns out astonishing in the end.
The Matryoshkas on this artwork are rather disturbing - but so is the idea that they're attempting to convey. This piece is dedicated to clones and duplication of people, the morality & ethics behind it and how questionable the whole practice is. I love it when art explores deep, arguable topics that are hard to explain in words - visualising such things makes it so much clearer, and I don't know about others, but personally, this artwork makes me fear the advanced technology of cloning. Is it really what we need? Would the clones be classified as humans, or someone inferior or even superior to us?
Wellcome Collection
Here you can see is a collection of different pills with each pill shaped like the organ it is meant for. I love how this piece incorporates art and medicine, its simplicity yet cleverness - this work can be seen as a somewhat board of achievements by humans, as we've progressed so much we know how to fix different parts of ourselves with things as little as these pills.
An outside observation
I saw this poster on the street and thought to myself - how powerful is it as a piece of graphic communication design? Even though it is nothing but a hand-written A3 note by an anonymous person, the content of this poster made me feel a bit more special and confident for a very brief moment. It is possible that the fact that it's hand-written and not typed that gives it a human touch and therefore a feeling of connection with the artist, making this simple poster more personal than it looks at first glance. This is a small example of how much power something so simple can have.