'Body Parts' Brief: Day One.

We were set a new brief for the next two weeks, the title is 'Body Parts'. The brief is completely open and in our control, which is both exciting and a little unnerving. We started off just covering the brief and then it was up to us! I did a quick mind map in my sketchbook covering possible areas of interest, and then went to do some artist research. I found two artists yesterday who's work inspired possible ideas for experimenting within this brief.

The first was Nicolai Howalt, the images were from a series he did called 3x1, where he documented a stay with a family.

I thought these images were so simplistic but striking. In terms of 'Body Parts' I hadn't thought about being so obvious with ideas, but looking through his work I thought it may be a good place to start. I love how the hands (both right) are so controlling in the images.

The next artist I looked at was Isidro Ferrer.

I loved his work, I printed off much more that this but these were some of my favourites! His work is clever and witty and something I would like to look into doing more! It was very similar to what we were doing today.

As well as artist research, we worked on creating different images/objects out of separate parts. It was the beginning of the 'Body Parts' brief and gave us an idea of the different ways we can interpret the phrase. I had so many different objects to choose from, and I tried to be quite imaginative with the shapes and what I was doing. 

A drip and a hook, I like the drip but i'm not sure it's obvious what it is. The hook was a little too obvious.

A question mark and a scooter, I'm happy with both of these. I think the simplicity of the question mark works well, and the yellow material with the colourful scooter is appealing.

A telephone and a dragonfly. These were the last two I did and I'd finally got my head round what worked and what didn't. These are probably my favourites from the day.

Playing around with the nails and creating different emotions.

A bare coat hanger, and one with a shirt on it. I don't like the shirt, I should have found a thinner material to do the outline, it just looks a bit off and awkward.

A man, and another face.

A face and an eye, The eye was probably the only one where I layered materials up.

A face and a chest of drawers, the drawers were the first thing I did, and I think you can tell. It's too simplistic and not really clear what it is.

Overall I had a really interesting day, and I have come away with a few ideas on where to start with this brief. I'm excited to get started and experiment with different possibilities.

3D Design: Contextual Studies Brief Part 2.

For the second part of my brief I decided to look at sculptor David Nash. I like that almost all of his works are made from the same material. Working primarily with wood the saws and often burns it to get the result he wants. This for me is a quite unusual way to work! I liked looking through his work and seeing the consistency of the material, but the ideas and processes completely changing.

I was talking about how (in my opinion) Tony Cragg's sculptures often have an organic characteristic/shape, I think David Nash also incorporates this nature in his work, but in a different way. While some of Nash's sculptures have a natural feel, I think it is more his choice of materials than the forms that evoke this sense. Often, his shapes are blunt (cubes and thick blocks). I think it is the tight layering of materials (or the appearance of this), and the towering or piled up sculptures that bring about similarities in their work, however both Nash and Cragg achieve these characteristics in different ways.

3D Design: Contextual Studies Brief.

For my study and response to an artist, I chose to look at Anthony Cragg.

I've never really seen any work like this before, the sculptures have so much movement and look so organic and natural. It was interesting to read that he started out creating sculptures out of found items, because these works seem so far away from that. The tall ones remind me of stalagmites/tites, and the layers on some make me think of animals and tree rings or shells. I really wanted to create a response to these but wasn't sure how, I had a good go! Although it doesn't look much like any of his pieces, I was influenced by his work and tried to recreate some of the techniques -like the layering and looping. 

It all looks messy. I tried to mix up materials by using the plastic, but that wouldn't fold like I wanted it to! I also had problems stapling all the layers together. Despite this I like the way it looks from some angles (bottom left). The loops layering above each other works well. In my head I can see it's inspired by his work (slightly)! If I was to do it again, I'd try and create one of his taller pieces.

3D Design: Artist Research.

As part of the 3D design block we've been given a list of artists, and told to research and blog about one. I chose to look at Kiki Smith. I was already aware of Kiki Smith's work but not of her sculptures, which seems mad as there's so many! I love how Kiki's work is always a bit confronting, challenging and has a dark/unusual feel.

The first piece I really liked is called 'Pee Body'.

I love this piece because it's really bluntly showing something that is considered taboo, and in my opinion doing it in quite a humorous way. I love the mix of materials and the contrast between the beads and main body, the awkward positioning and flailing stream of beads.

The next piece that caught my attention was 'Sirens'.

I'm not sure what to think about these pieces, they're incredibly interesting and slightly dark and eerie, and they're really reminding me of something which is also winding me up! (The bird/human that transports you places in Zelda) I really like the idea though, I'm not quite sure of the concept behind them but they're unsettling. I like the change in sizes too, although the faces don't really change you instantly get that feeling of age differences, interesting that size corresponds to that.

The last piece I'm going to blog about is called 'Daisy Chain'.

I love this piece. I like that when I was looking through different images of the sculpture, it had been arranged in various different ways, constantly changing/evolving the first impression and feel of the work. The contrast between the the loose chains and sculpted limbs actually has a funny impact on you, and makes me feel quite strange. I like how it makes the solid limbs look like they could be limp also, made out of rubber. 

3D Design: 'Enclosure' Brief part 2.

After developing my first two responses, I worked on constructing a further 3. I struggled with the wire when trying to keep it straight, and so started to experiment with different materials as well as different shapes when looking at ways of responding. I found some double sided card (white on one side and grey on the other) and thought the contrast was really interesting. I planned out different techniques in my sketchbook, like hole punching and gold eyelet detailing, and started to construct my first spherical cage.

I used staples to fix the card in place. The finished response was surprisingly strong! I was very happy with the strength and look of this response. I moved on and started experimenting with more materials, paper, canvas, plastic coated wires etc... I wanted to create a very colourful piece to contrast with the previous one. I took pictures as I put it together to show the layering of different materials, like the hidden canvas I tried out on the inside! 

For my third and final structure, I decided to risk using the wire again! I thought it would be easier to bend into a circular shape than keep it straight. Alone it looked boring, so I wove green thread round it. I loved the contrast of colours and also the straight angles created within this circular shape. It looked really interesting! 

...and here is all 3 displayed together! Overall this task has been fairly beneficial, I enjoyed working into and developing my responses, and looking at all the possibilities that come from one word! I'm happy with my structures, however if I had more time I would have tried to suspend them (cubes and spheres) or display them in some other way.