north bristol art trail 2009

28th - 29th november

i didn't have much time to spend looking around many venues on the art trail, however luckily i lived quite close to a few venues, so i went and had a quick look around.

first i looked at the work of photographer mart nicholls, and even bought four of the greeting cards he was selling with his work on the front. american architecture, geishas, gas stations...:

in the same venue as mart nicholls was the work of jeweller patricia fagg, who fashions ornate jewelled mirrors and vintage brooches:

i then went to visit nell nile's home and venue for the trail. i had been to see her work during the previous year's art trail. her brightly painted mugs filled a whole dresser, and the walls either side of the staircase (leading to her impressive robot collection) were lined with her decorative crosses, embellished with everything from keys to coins to spoons to needles...:

finally i went to look at the work of terry carter, and was particularly interested in a photographic study he had done on the deconstruction of a building in the city centre:

ch&i session 8 notes - POTENTIAL TOPICS FOR ESSAY

(continuation of session 7)

modernism was not a period, describes a wide range of 'texts' that influence how we think and experience the world. it co-exsisted with other styles and concerns

enlightenment:

- universe is rational and can be understood through use of reason

- man's experience is key to man's understanding of truth

- mankind is progressing

- religion has no place in a rational understanding of the physical and human world

- modernism was concerned with evidencing progression

- nationalism (WWI) was seen as a source of conflict

design was driven by reason

bauhaus: 'form follows function'

postmodernism:

- cultural plurality

- becomes increasingly difficult to locate an artefact in its originaty time and place - borrowing from different times and cultures

- identity as a text to be written: you can construct it yourself, and it can be re-written

___________________________________________

the world has 'shrunk': now takes 19-24 hours to get from one side of the world to the other, when it used to take years. information via the web, etc, can be transferred in a matter of seconds - a condensing of the world has occurred due to electronic mass-media

romanticised notions of exotic places ('otherness'). e.g: 'chinoiserie', exotic, mysterious

* risk of homogeneity

- 'mcdonaldisation'

- mass-production

cultural imperialism = one culture dominating/subsuming others

american cultural imperialism has been written about alot - noam chomsky

postmodernism - there isn't just one way of perceiving something

'the virtual self'

2nd life forum, virtual character, 'be' whoever you want, fantasy

society imposes the impression that as a person you are never good enough

idea of constraining the natural body and effects (gaining weight, ageing, pregnant stomach, feet constraints)

plastic surgery has become regular, botox

airbrushing, weight loss aids

idea of 'perfection'

* orlan, reinvented herself to make point about striving for perfection, obsession with image

did 'performances' whilst having a surgical procedure, changed name

tattooing - body adorment, representing aspects of yourself, and your identity

gang culture - identity, belonging: afrika bambatta (used to be part of a gang, but turned around when he grew older and started to help kids get out of gangs as he did - positive role model)

ch&i session 7 notes - MODERNISM/POSTMODERNISM

modernism: up until 1939 britain had very rigid class structure >> upper classes believing their own morals and culture were superior over working classes' - 'proper' way of being - 'high culture'

discussion: what is class?

- income?

- how you act?

- social circle?

- what you wear?

stereotypes have shifted

1950s:

- increase in individualism

- americanism

- young people challenging old ideas - youth culture

- identity

- affluence, price of goods going down, luxuries could now be necessity

- american influence, rise of cinema

- adverts presenting an idealised view of the world: nice house, perfect housewife, shiny car in the drive

- ford production line: car ownership grew by 250% between '51 and '61

- futurism

* 'the era of the lifestyle'

1915 - design and industries association established (GD)

1935 - bassett-gray group of artists and designers became industrial design partnership (GD)

1944 - council of industrial design est. (GD)

1945 - arts council england est. (GD)

1942 - utility furniture co. set up by board of trade in 1942. committee approved furniture design. 'black market' developed in carved and decorated furnishings

- 'britain can make it' and 'festival of britain' exhibitions, post war

raymond loewy (U.S) "good design is an upward sales curve"

1948 - DRU established the design index - set of criteria for 'good' design, primarily aesthetic, was criticised as the taste of the minority

1961 - reyner banham 'HM fashion house'

description of art/design as 'fashion' became no longer negative

key post-modernistic theorists:

- baudrillard "consumer objects constitute a system of signs that differentiate..."

- foucalt - proposes that there are underlayers of suppressed knowledge in and throughout history

postmodernism:

- dancing building in prague: challenges what we see as architecture 'the norm'

- 1964: warhol's brillo boxes >> 'low culture' worthy of being in a gallery space

- milton glaser: drawing reference for bob dylan piece

- cindy sherman - flexible identity

- vivian westwood - punk era. defied authority. traditions, boundaries

nike iD: you are the designer

division between technicians and designers: do designers just think of an idea and the technicians produce it, with the 'author' still being the designer?

ch&i session 6 notes - SEMIOTICS

semiotics = the way we 'read' things/the language of a piece of work/using a certain font, colour, shape, etc, to convey what your idea is...

shift in meaning can occur according to context, e.g: gary glitter in 80s, vs peoples opinion of him now >> language doesn't stay fixed

* street art different when in a gallery?

footprints, snail trails: our instinct tells us something has been there before because we can see the mark they've made

* hussein chalayan - avant garde. plays with what audience sees as fashion. made garments that could be turned into furniture (skirt into coffee table)

* martin creed - 'lights going on and off' pushing at boundaries of what people consider to be art

structuralism = meaning is contained within the text, and can be understood by deconstructing it

post-structuralism = meaning is not contained within a text, it relies on knowledge of external things to 'make sense' of it

* absout vodka advert series, bottle shape - getting the 'in joke'

* apple logo - adam&eve, nice but dangerous, positive, fun, natural, human

LANGUAGES REFERRED TO IN PINK'S 'STUPID GIRL' MUSIC VIDEO

- group deconstruction -

people being so obsessed with their looks to the point where they look ridiculous, exaggerated, like a caricature

symbolism - angel/devil theme. white/red, cloud/fire. special effects. mythology of humans making moral choices

mimicking - little girl hair flicking. 'stepford wives', 1950s video, black & white, beehive hair, charm school

costume, how she walks as the rich girl: ditzy, clumsy, sunglasses at night, walking into glass - stupid, not caring when she runs people over because she is worrying more about her looks: superficial

camera angles - female president (camera's pointing up towards her, status); on operating table (looks down on her: she is vulnerable)

r&b video w/50 cent - 50 is looking like he doesn't care, vs. girl who is exaggerating her dancing for attention/approval. context: people familiar with modern r&b videos will know how women are often portrayed in them. 50 is wearing fur: rich, glamorous, masculine? (man going out to hunt and killing animals)

tanning salon: obsessed with tan, 'californian' look, but has overdone it and looks stupidly orange

bowling alley: girl with big fake boobs attracting attention from boys causes pink to pull her 'in case of emergency' tab, which inflates her breasts! calling this an 'emergency' is another example of losing sight of what is important

locations: LA, tanning salon, boutiques, gym, flash car, cosmetic surgeon's..

mocking paris hilton 'home video' & jessica simpson's music video, pulling funny faces, falling over in soap suds - viewer has to understand context to fully understand this joke, however is still clear what pink is doing, as it relates to the rest of the song

staying true to yourself: pink looks worried/regretful on the surgeon's table; at the end little girl decides to stick with playing football

ch&i session 5 notes - FINE ART (HISTORY)

values & tastes: how do we form these? more than one answer, debate, opinion..

is 'art' different from graphics or fashion? (its only art for the sake of art?)

what's the criteria for being 'better', 'best' or 'good', if we all have contrasting opinions?

to discover why you like something, or how you've come to like it, you may have to go back further in your memory to other things you experienced/liked

- 3000 - 1000BC: ancient egypt. stylised/idealised view of world. not depicting reality. afterlife - funeral was a ritual

- 1000 - 146BC: ancient greeks. 'ideal man' & 'ideal woman'. sculptures depicting idealised society

- 146BC - 313AD: ancient rome. artist was part of the society they were depicting rather than just an 'outsider' reflecting their own view of society

- renaissance 1400s - 1500s: artists were 'special'. lots more thinking about aesthetics & science. narrative: told stories, religious. artists portraying their own views was unheard of. commissioned art. simply using their skill as a tool. mirrors just being developed - self-portraits

- 1525 - 1700: mannerism (show off technological skill) & baroque (encouraged by roman-catholic church)

- 1700 - 1750: rococo. all very 'nice'. decorative and superficial

- neoclassicalism: moral tones

- romanticism: narrative, overwhelming power of nature in relation to humans

- 1850s: realism. artists wanted to make art that depicted reality, didn't want art that showed a mythical or unrealistic view of the world. this challenged public taste

* 'the salon' in paris was THE place to have your art hung

- modernism/post-modernism: pop artists, 1960s. offensive to public taste, making insignificant things important (e.g: warhol's campbell's soup tin)

* prior to renaissance the self was not considered to be a subject to explore in isolation

- francesco del cossa, 1470. asked to be paid more due to his status and the fact he was making a name for himself (people were usually paid per foot, etc.)

artistic 'personalities':

- civilizer. presenting people with art that teaches people what 'good taste' is.

- representer. artist that represents thoughts, beliefs, ideas.

- border crosser. artist that pushes the boundaries of what people see as 'the norm'.

does art have to contribute to society? what is the role of the creative practitioner?

authorship: is the artist the artist because they thought of the idea?

the birth of the reader needs the death of the author.

ch&i session 4 notes - PHOTOGRAPHY

ethics: would you work on an advertising campaign promoting firearms, ivory/fur, or smoking products?

photoshopping - artificial, 'unachievable' beauty

photography: the art or process of producing images of objects onto photosensitive paper.

photography is used...:

- as evidence, to document something

- to sell (e.g: fashion)

- photojournalism

- to capture a moment, press photography

- as the relationship between image and words

- sports photography

- to depict how we want things to be perceived (staged photographs, wedding photos)

1800s - silhouette machine

1850 - negative, image manipulation

photography was seen as a technology, not as an art form

roger fenton, 1855, crimean war - almost p.r.

1850s - political agendas, want to see which types of people were living in different places - recording people, the idea that how you look on the outside reflects aspects about you as a person

1909, female photographer took photos of children, whereas at this time a male photographer would have prosecuted for doing this

* does being an artist allow you to do things that would be deemed unacceptable in society?

1910 - 1920 realisation of what photography could do that painting couldn't

1930s - government sent out photographers to document the effects the depression had on people (dorothea lange, very famous photo of mother and children)

ch&i session 3 notes - GRAPHICS

i couldn't attend this session but i have taken notes from the powerpoint on blackboard.

sign = "something that stands to somebody for something in some capacity" - charles saunders pierce, 1977. (in 'Semiotics and Significs', Hardwick, C.)

forms of communication are constructed

logos, sign language, tribal markings, braille

the social role of graphic design:

- discussion on graphic design has largely focussed on 'visual style'

- overemphasises the visual structure

- omits problems of appropriateness

- leaves out certain forms of graphic design, such as signage, forms, timetables, maps, and educational materials

graphic design 2009

"the excessive importance given to the avant garde movement in the context of graphic design is based on the failure of theory to recognise graphic design as something other than art" - franscara, 2005: 46 ..."as an art form, graphic design is viewed only from an aesthetic perspective, without enough consideration of communication and social signigficance"

contexts for graphic design:

- advertising

- political or ideological propaganda (e.g: careless talk costs lives)

- to organise (e.g: regulatory signs on roads)

- information design

- instructional design (e.g: ikea instructions with flat pack furniture)

- international and intercultural communication

- teaching aids

- bank notes (designed to make forgery difficult)

questions to consider r.e: graphic design

- is it possible to asses the quality and/or fully understand a piece of graphic design work outside of the specific communication system it is made in relation to? (e.g: social marketing to a specific group)

- is it possible to do this for a piece of work which would be considered to be a work of fine art?

- quality in graphic design is measured by the changes it produces in the audience - discuss.

definitions of GD:

- noun. the art or profession of visual communication that combines images, words, and ideas to convey information to an audience, esp. to produce a specific effect.

- the development & manipulation of signs and creation of meanings.

- semiotics: visual language.

ch&i: advertisement deconstruction

i've chosen to look at the current GHD ad campaign (being a daily ghd user myself!)

0:00 - 0:02: setting the scene, medieval, fairytale setting - chivalry and the concept of the man saving and protecting the woman, as in many common fairytales

0:03 - 0:04: knight smiles as he looks through telescope at princess rapunzel (we recognise her as rapunzel because of her long hair falling from the window of the tall tower) she is typically attractive, as many princesses in fairytales are described as being beautiful - an object of desire for the prince/knight. ghd saying if we buy and use the product, we will have the same effect on men.

0:05 - 0:06: knight gets on motorbike - relating to modern day (i.e: chivalry is not dead? this could happen to you in todays world, not just for romantic fairy stories) motorbike = element of danger and excitement, 'macho'.

0:07 - 0:11: jumps on motorbike, fog in the forest: he is taking risks for her. (also at 0:14 - 0:17, attacked by giant crows)

0:11 - 0:13: princess uses ghd hair straighteners in very feminine, romantic surroundings: candles, ornate mirror, perfumes on dressing table. she is also well made up and wearing a luxurious lacy dress: all this suggests that she leads a comfortable life, and that ghds are an object of luxury and desire, as she is to the knight.

0:19 - 0:21: the knight, realising the princess has gone, looks confused, leaving the princess looking smarter - appeals to women, as suggests they are the superior sex! close up of ghds as part of her handywork.

0:23 - 0:26: the knight looks out of the window and realises how the princess has tricked him: he is now in the tower, and she is on the bike (power, role reversal) - she is clever and can use her beauty and her groomed hair to manipulate men! juxtaposition of her delicate pink dress with the leather jacket and dirty bike - she does what she wants and doesn't feel she needs to stick to what people expect from her: ghd saying you can do that with their straighteners, style to be different, freedom to look how you want because they work so well..

..relating to tagline at 0:29 'you can do anything with your hair' meaning styling, but also use it for anything, to your advantage.

ch&i session 2 notes - FASHION

--DRAFT--

a few of my notes from session 2 on the history and context of fashion.

- FASHION: ' a system of signs, symbols and iconography that non-verbally communicates meanings about individuals or groups.'

- charles frederick worth (1826-1895) considered to be first fashion designer. previously, people had just been tailors. people would show tailors what sort of thing they wanted to wear through drawing - art as communication.

- society was very structured, 'no room for manouvere across social classes'. people thought if you were born a peasant, royal, etc, then that was how God wanted you to live your life, that was your destiny. charles darwin's evolution theory revolutionised the way people saw religion. if everyone was equal, then why couldn't you shift class by hard work? making the change yourself instead of just accepting your 'fate'.

- industrial revolution: trends spread as more people moved into cities.

- 'orientalism': exotic fashion. increase in travelling caused discovery and imigration of new trends, materials, styles.

- 1910: maison redfern designed suits for women - gender in fashion.

- paul poiret (1879 - 1944): one of the first designers who made stylish clothes that people could put on themselves. before, high fashion was complex, and needed a second person like a servant (if you were rich enough to afford high fashion you were rich enough to have someone to help you put it on..)

- **ART DECO

-**1930s ROARING 20s and HOLLYWOOD GLAMOUR

- WWII: europe under threat. paris was fashion capital of the world - all the haute couture fashion houses. nazis wanted to move fashion industry to berlin. many people working in fashion moved to new york. main fashion capitals now also include milan, new york, london. euro-american cross germination of ideas.

- 1950s: teenage clothes came more into their own. before, you would become a adult after childhood and wear clothes like your parents.

- 1960s: optimism. no war, moon landing, freedom, youth culture. hippies - subcultures, beliefs, politics, relaxed.

- ***1970s: teddy boys vs mods. fashion meant becoming part of a 'tribe'.

- (culture, class) thorstein veblen 'the theory of leisure class' (1899) - keeping up with fashion, so rich you can 'throw away' last month's fashion and afford this month's, demonstrating wealth eg: wearing clothes that are impossible to work in gives the impression of being so wealthy you don't need a job. 'conspicuous leisure' - wealthy enough to spend time 'swanning around in fancy clothes, not working, going to cinemas and art galleries'

- fashion, popularity: burberry example - used to be a signal of high fashion but now is copied, 'the norm': everyone has knock off burberry.

- beauty/ugliness dependent on cultural attitudes: what makes someone beautiful in society's eyes? see notes on ethics session: size 0 vs size 14 models.

- largely used to express individual identity.

festive

'ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS' CARDS PROJECT

the project 'all i want for christmas' involved 25 local bristol artists, who were each asked to design a christmas card based on the theme 'all i want for christmas', with proceeds of the card sales going to local charity, 'young bristol'.

from the 'all i want for christmas cards' facebook group:

"The mission statement for this project is for us to help raise awareness and money for a very worthwhile local charity by bringing artists and people of Bristol together to get involved in something really positive this Christmas time."

top image: by tom mullen. he wants someone to catch santa this christmas..?

bottom image: by danny osbourne. at first i thought this was just a striking design, which reminded me of a knitted christmas jumper. but then i looked closer, and saw that the elements that make up the pattern are actually all the major bank logos. maybe he's hinting that all he wants for christmas is some money.