23. ANNOUNCEMENT

Hello!

IF YOU ARE VIEWING MY PORTFOLIO PLEASE ENSURE TO ASSESS THE POSTS IN NUMERICAL ORDER.

Please use the Blog Archive on the right hand side of the page to begin on post 

"1. Brainstorming"

in March, 2018


Please enjoy.

23. Reading List

Reading List

Mike Kelley, "The Uncanny" (1993)

Sigmund Freud, "Freud's Theories of Art" (1919)

Jean Baudrillard, "Baudrillard" (2005)

Robert H. Gollmar, "America's Most Bizarre Murderer, Edward Gein" (1981)

Kim. Toffoletti, "Baudrillard Reframed" (2010)

Teresa De Lauretis, "Freud's Drive" (2008)

Vicky Lebeau, "Psychoanalysis and Cinema The Play of Shadows" (1989)

Christian Metz, "The Imaginary Signifier" (1982)

Sigmund Freud, "The Interpretation of Dreams" (1899)

Sigmund Freud / David McLintock, "The Uncanny" (2003)

Tim Lewis, "Uncanny valley, Recent sculpture by Tim Lewis" (2004)

James Casebere, "The Spatial Uncanny" (2001)

22. Reflection and Statement

Reflection and Statement

Reflection:

Looking back over my project, I find that I have ended in exactly the opposite place I wished to begin. I began with hopes of exploring nature and natural form, and I have ended up on the complete opposite end of the spectrum by using digital media and digital effects. I began using shadows and silhouettes, in an attempt to remove the personality of my subjects... and once again, I have ended the project with a specific interest in faces and identity (and the distortion of it). This is an interesting reflection to make, especially so as I made the conscious effort to create unconsciously. By that, I mean I tried to make art freely, without too much forethought. I wanted my subconscious to guide me, and I wanted to be able to STOP (or start) during creation to explore new themes that I had not yet thought of, instead of pushing myself to stick to a theme. For example, the sudden exploration of photography, then the uncanny, then digital media... These themes were not intended. They fell upon me, and I clung to them. I feel that I have discovered a new way of creating, which is much more free - in turn, my art is more free, my thought processes are much more free, and my creations are more genuine as a result.

Statement:

This semester, I focused heavily on creation before thought. I have lost myself far too many times before by putting thought and careful planning before creation. Previously, this outlook has led my work to become less genuine and more forced, in an attempt to stick to a theme. This time, I gripped onto my inspirations (which are deeply rooted in nature, colour and surrealism) and allowed them to guide me without forethought. I looked to artists for guidance, finding inspiration in artists such as Pipilotti Rist and Kara Walker, but I did not make the effort to stick to their themes like glue. I made the attempt to explore and create my own themes, exploring surrealism, the uncanny and the evocation of feelings from my viewers. I enjoy the idea that placing passion, colour and feeling into my art will evoke the same from my viewers - or perhaps the opposite, as my work slowly deteriorates to the uncomfortable and the uncanny... The use of the 'Uncanny Valley' has been instrumental in my later developments, and I find that it is incredibly successful in evoking responses from viewers (sometimes good, sometimes bad). I have enjoyed presenting work to peers throughout the semester, without any explanation of what my art means, or SHOULD mean. Their interpretations guided me, and opened new doors that I had not previously anticipated. The role of the viewer has been instrumental in the creation of my art, this semester. I feel that these aspects led to a successful method of creation, and the art that has materialised as a result has been genuine and enjoyable to create. I may not have fully resolved my explorations, but I feel that there is no resolution available. If I had the time and ability to, I would continue to explore and experiment until the ends of the Earth - specifically, I may have liked to explore more digital influence, as well as the uncanny. I have discovered that my work becomes more enjoyable for myself, as well as the viewer, when I have the ability to evoke strong emotions from them. Enjoyable may not be the correct word entirely, because the strong emotions I wish to evoke are not always positive. This is something I will continue to explore in later practice.

21. Presentation

Presentation

This is the layout of the imagery I printed off. I constructed series of images. ranging from very large to very small.

I want viewers to step back, AND come close. By placing large images next to small ones, I intend to entice the viewer to come closer to see the advancements of the work.

The series of images invite the viewer to follow the pieces from top to bottom, to see the slow decay of the imagery.

The layout is intentionally disharmonious. I did not intend to lay them out in mathematically correct ways. I like that the edges do not align in places. A peer described this layout as
"an organised mess" which I found very accurate.

The shape of the formation has been referred to as a FISH by at least 2 viewers, so far. I found that interesting. It also affirms that the formation can be seen as a whole, which I enjoy.

I contemplated whether the images were too close together, and whether they take away from one another. I decided NO, and found that this layout reminded me of a digital glitch. Like many pixels grouped together. This thought relates back to the work of Jack Addis who uses many pixelated effects in his work.

Jack Addis

I thought briefly of mosaic art / pixel art, and also art that is created of many small images. Photographic mosaics.

For example, the word of Adam Finkelstein, who creates imagery out of other imagery that is not necessarily related to the overall image.

If I had more time available I may have further explored this concept. I feel that my chosen presentation method relates heavily to this style, due to the masses of imagery grouped together.

20. Plotting Presentation IMPORTANT

Hypothetically Plotting a Grand Scale Exhibition:

My project this semester has been heavily digital, and so I would have liked to have been able to present it digitally too.

I would have liked to have been able to use large scale, high quality projections like Pipilotti Rist, 

or perhaps large scale digital screens like London's digital advertisement boards.

I imagine that presenting my work on a screen like this would add to the digital effect, affirming that it is unreal, futuristic, and intangible. Also, it would be back lit and bright, eyecatching.

Neither my budget nor the space I have allows me to present the work how I would like to, but I have explored some possibilities assuming I did have space and a high budget:

Idea 1.

Find a room with 3 equally sized white walls, and place 3 projectors in the middle.

Project work onto each of the 3 walls, so that wherever you look there is art. Ensure that there are a fair few meters between the projection and the wall, so that viewers are forced to walk in front of the projectors and cast their shadows onto the work - creating an interactive experience.

(Example below, Pipilotti Rist's work often includes the human form and shadows.)

(This could be pushed further by finding a box room with 4 walls and projecting on ALL 4 to create a 360 degree experience.)

Idea 2.

Staying with the theme of projection and shadows, I considered the possibility of projecting a single large scale projection onto a VERY LARGE wall - very tall, and very wide. The projector would be at the back of the room, forcing viewers to walk out infront of it and cast shadows over the art, thus becoming a part of the piece.

I wonder if it would make viewers feel uncomfortable to cast their shadows over the piece, as if they were doing something wrong by hindering the light. But, they would also become an art piece THEMSELVES, because the light that they are blocking will be projected onto their bodies instead. Much like my experiments before, 

although, it would be unintentional in the case of the common viewer, and they would become an art piece without even realising it.

The large scale would be daunting, dominating the viewers.. But they would be able to have their own dominance over the piece by casting shadows big and small. The closer they are to the projector, the larger the shadow.

Idea 3.

In this idea, I pondered the possibility of using large scale digital screens, like advertisement billboards or large scale televisions. 

Perhaps something like this, without the thick black border.

Large scale screens like this would be incredibly futuristic, and it would be ironic in a way, because most of my art involves nature, flowers and organic shapes.

Large scale technology screens is the total opposite of nature.

They would be back lit, so they would be permanently bright and eyecatching.

The reason I cannot do this is because they would be incredibly expensive.

Idea 4.

Idea 4 is very similar to idea 3, using nothing but digital screens - but, Idea 4 involves MANY digital screens, of all different shapes and sizes.

I am interested in the idea of creating a mosaic wall of art pieces - perhaps some in series of related art pieces, or developments from the original photo to the heavily manipulated final piece (this would allow viewers an insight into the process and make them feel involved).

The pieces would not have to be aligned in a specific, "professional" way. I like the idea that the images could free flow across the wall, with no care for specific groups of shapes and sizes.

I like the idea of having VERY LARGE pieces, and very small pieces - this forces the viewer to step back, AND approach to see the smaller pieces. It commands them to move and interact with the piece, creating an intimate experience. The smaller pieces would be more personal to the viewer, because they had to move to see it - whereas the larger pieces would dominate, causing a discord and unease of people moving backwards and forwards.

The room would be DARK to allow the screens to stand out individually.




If I was holding my own exhibition, I would fill a gallery with all of the above ideas in order to create an immersive, varied exhibition that renewed the interest of my viewers room by room. No two rooms would be the same, so they would never become bored of the layout.

19. Models

Models:

My thought process:

It started with an exploration of the uncanny, and dolls.

Then, I began to experiment with my own dolls, which were lifeless, void of personality, but incredibly uncanny.

Next, I began to explore how other contemporary artists incorporate digital art into their work.

I discovered that digital contemporary artists often use 3D models to create surreal work that verges on uncanny, because of the strange realism of the models.

The artists I explored included....

Jack Addis

Emilie Gervais 

Lee Griggs

Unfortunately I do not have access to professional modelling equipment like these artists do, nor do I have any experience in creating 3D models from scratch, so I could not make my own .... so I explored a different route.

I explored game models, and found a game called World of Warcraft with a free model editor.

The models were surreal. The features were unrealistic and stylised, which added to the uncanny valley effect. The game included creatures such as elves, which I found to be surreal and interesting. The fantasy aspect reminds me of Kara Walker's work, from the beginning of my project.

I tried to capture them in different poses. I found it very interesting how many of their eyes were hollow, and I think it was a glitch.  Although, this wasn't a bad thing, because it added to the eerie / surreal effect.

I found these models very interesting to use, because they seemed to have their own personalities. The faces had expressions, and they did not seem entirely lifeless.

I understand that the game designers created these models to evoke personality and individuality for the players of the game, and I think they succeeded.

In my case, their subtle personalities work in my favour, because it brings life to my pieces - making it even more uncanny, because you would not usually expect a 3D model to be easy to relate to. Especially not an elf / hollow eyed human.

She looks shy.

Distorting the colour makes her look less like an elf and more like an alien.

This model is strange, beacuse she has glamorous hair and big breasts like a pin up model / doll. But, her eyes are completely hollow. It's eerie.

The darkness around the edges is very unnerving.

This model almost looks flirty. Her eyelids are heavy, like bedroom eyes.

It's strange to think of a 3D model being seductive. It makes me uncomfortable, even before I have altered the imagery at all.

The abstract patterns distort her in such a way that the hand is no longer visible, only the eyes. The eyes stand out most of all, in the image, but since they do not look like REAL eyes, they are hard to decipher on first glance.

Inverting the colours gives a very strange, alien effect. The eyes are still the focal point.

I dug deeper into the model viewer and discovered some OLD models, with lower quality resolution. They are jagged in places, and the faces are a bit scary.

They are like dolls, perfectly symmetrical and proportionate.

I think the piece above is TERRIFYING because of the way that the layer affects highlight her eyes.

The layer effects together make her skin seem burnt or bloody, and the eyes are still sharp and hollow. Emotionless.

Altering the colours was a quick and effective way to change the mood.

I dug deeper, and found some old BROKEN models. These are glitched models with no hair, no face and no texture.

They are like silhouettes, reminiscent of the very beginning of my project.

I find this piece to be very eerie, but very interesting. On first glance you can't tell that it's a person, let alone a woman, but looking closer you can see the outline of the figure and face. I enjoy how you can see a brief suggestion of a flower, on the left hand side.

Something natural, in a sea of unnatural things.

I found that using models was very successful in creating STRANGE, UNCANNY pieces of work. I find that the older the models are, the more doll-like and unnerving they seem. Lifeless.