Stop-Start Animation

Having been intrigued by making something tangeable and real to touch, but also wanting to create a video which emphasises that my art may be in the performance, I wanted to maybe create a stop-start animation video. I've been researching on wikiHOW exactly what the process involves and I think I might have a play around with this idea for a while.

I am thinking of encorporating my seemingly 'innocent' female character (left) and putting her in an environment which is strange, eerie and uncanny. Then asking people if they percieve her to be safe or not, in regards to her facial expression etc. I don't know exactly, like I say, I'm playing.

The wikiHOW ideas can be viewed here: http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Stop-Motion-Animation

Art Work I may link it to...
Forest Fears: Vol II 'Babe in the Wood' by Sally Waterman

Due to the idea that "A widely used metaphor for danger and a place of nightmares, Forest explores the 'in-between' or 'other place', the place of refuge and contemplation."

Clear-ish Ideas So Far

My work during the past year has always been about blurring the lines between what is real and what is not. But now, with a new year, I am trying to move my ideas a step forward, but also continuing with the ideas of reality.

My ideas now consist of how people percieve reality. What processes and memories do people have to enable the perception to manifest the way it does, what causes them to percieve the same object in the same way, and how can I change peoples immediate, relatively 'normal' and 'everyday' perceptions.



The image that follows is my attempt to make some sense of what I am thinking right now. You may be able to enlarge it by clicking on it.

New Ideas/New Layout

My previous layout Minima Dark, is my favourite. But my previous Posh Blogging had the same layout. So I decided upon changing my layout to reflect my new ideas.

As with new ideas comes new layouts. So I am testing out Thisaway Rose for a while; I'd prefer to customise one really, I'll have to hunt around for decent templates...
I also have a new profile picture. I like my blog a lot now.

Oh...And These Are The Famous ArtyFartys

Wednesday Outings To Places beginning with 'W'

Today, we lost an arty farty (due to unforeseen job circumstances) so.. The three artyfartys ventured on. We went to both Walsall and Wolverhampton Art Gallery in one day.

Walsall


Walsall was rubbish, given that we had missed the exhibition of any interest. But I saw a few good pieces which gave me ideas about starting to record ways of conveying my perception ideas.

Some photographs were displayed that had been taken by students who attended workshops with Sima Gonsai. The workshops enabled students to explore ideas of travelling, collecting and the personal ideas we attach to objects.
The pictures gave me ideas how I could begin to try and get my head around my ideas.

And I may have just acquired a Polaroid camera...




Wolverhampton

I feel like I achieved more here than I did at Walsall. 'Work on Paper' was an excellent exhibition. It really made me look and explore ideas in my head. The 'works' included photographs, paintings, etchings, prints and sculptures. It made me realise all the uses of one item. Which then obviously got my mind all muddled up with the "real" paper uses and why I "perceive" these everyday uses, of course. The pictures below are some of the pieces that I viewed and were of immediate interest to me.

The Artist: Ruth Claxton

Website: http://www.ruthclaxton.com/

When I first noticed these postcards, I was intrigued as to why a woman had what looked like octopus legs protruding from her eyes. But when I looked closer, I saw that the postcard had been delicately and carefully cut by the artist.

My immediate reaction was how weird the image was.
The way that the woman's eyes were cut which disfigured her face was quite strange. I wondered how I knew this was strange, and not a how a 'normal' postcard should look.

The Artist: Lucinda Chua
Website: http://www.lucindachua.co.uk/

This 'double portrait' inspired me due to the aspects of drama involved. As the exhibition guide states; "Lucinda Chua creates a heightened sense of drama in each carefully constructed environment."

The Artist: The Jackson Twins
Website: http://www.thejacksontwins.com/

As in the previous image, I enjoyed the aspects of drama involved within one single image. As the exhibition guide explains; "The Jackson Twins offer both humour and drama to create visually intriguing and exciting scenes."

This is correct. The image does intrigue and inspire me.

Its all about the reading.

These are all my books..

Reading List

McNiff, S.(1998) Trust the Process. Shambhala. London.

Tharp, T. (2006) The Creative Habit Learn it and use it for life. Simon & Schuster. New York.

Rookes, P. & Willson, J. (2000) Perception Theory, Development and Organisation. Routledge. London.

Bayles, D. & Orland, T. (1993) Art & Fear; Observations On the Perils (and rewards) of Artmaking. Image Continuum. USA.

Mind boggling stuff. I've started my sketchbook too ;)

Patrick Hughes

I saw a Patrick Hughes exhibition in my first year, and have the exhibition guide and brochure, but didn't realise until about five minutes ago, that it may relate to my 'perception' ideas...

"Thus, paintings in perspective provide an allusion to a depth not contained in their flatness-they are seen as both flat and extended in space. What would happen if a painting was produced as if it was flat but the physical surface on which it was painted was not? One of us (Patrick Hughes) has explored this possibility in works that are painted on protruding planes (like truncated pyramids and wedges) so that the parts that are physically close to the observer are pictorially distant. That is, the lines that would converge on a flat picture plane to allude to distant objects are physically closer in these works (see O’Riley 1996; Slyce 1998). They appear as flat paintings until the observer moves whereupon they undergo a plastic motion that is beguiling."

(Thats from here; http://www.patrickhughes.co.uk/papers/wade_hughes_perception28.htm)

It moves into quite difficult ideas about the images the retina sees meaning the brain cannot process flat pictures etc. But I think I have the beginnings of an idea.

As mentioned earlier, I want to encorporate 'The Uncanny' and it quite inspired me.
...I'm thinking of making something that people instantly percieve as relatively 'normal', then when looking closer, they see that the 'something' is actually quite uncanny, and familiar yet unfamiliar. Dreams feature in my idea too. But I'm not entirely sure where I'm going and if it is any good yet...

Witney and Summer School

I've been in Witney this weekend... So haven't been reading or anything.
But Wednesday the "Four Arty Fartys" are going to Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

I do have some more ideas to note about though. When I was squad leader at Summer School at Newman through the summer, I was part of the Creative Writing team. The theme for the summer school was 'The Uncanny' which I had never heard of before. When I attended the sessions, I became more and more intrigued by the idea of 'the uncanny' and what the idea meant, and why people felt these situations were particularly 'uncanny'. I felt the link to my thoughts was direct, as it is our perceptions which initially engage us in the situation and make assumptions whether or not the situation is normal. I feel this could be incorporated in my ideas. Uncanny meets Perception. The uncanny perception we have of things...

Booooooks!

After I went to watch Harry Potter and aquired my cauldron, I started to read my perception book. I've got a few interesting quotes, and think I may be forming the beginnings of an idea in my mind.

Keep you posted!

Making ART.

'How does someone face the empty page, the empty stage and making something where nothing existed before?'

I've just purchased a TON of books. Gotta love Amazon. So I will keep you posted on what my educated mind makes of all those words.

Rhode.

I just wanted to show you how amazing Robin Rhode is. I saw him last october at Southbank - Blown away.

Works here ;)
http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/minisite/robin-rhode

Anthony Gormley

Thanks to Jason, I have found a totally outrageous, interesting and intriguing piece of art. As you may or may not know, the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square has stood empty for years, but has for the past 10 years been home to contemporary art known as "Trafalgar Square Art". But... A sculptor named Anthony Gormley has decided to create a 'human statue' which now stands on the fourth plinth.

Full Story here; http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/07/2618589.htm(please read, its interesting)

I like what Ms Wardell says;

"I was there just trying to sort of represent myself and how I feel I fit into society at the minute.

"It is a glimpse of me at this moment in time."

Perceptions, Perceptions, Perceptions!

Also, I have a Blogs-You-Should-Read section. So go do as it says!

Aisle 16

Aisle 16
The Secret by Ross Sutherland

"The secret is not in knowing how to pick someone’s lock;
the secret is knowing how to get them to open the door for you."

I'm being inspired by performance poetry right now.
And have found a 'definition' of perception;

"Perception is our sensory experience of the world around us and involves both the recognition of environmental stimuli and actions in response to these stimuli. Through the perceptual process, we gain information about properties and elements of the environment that are critical to our survival. Perception not only creates our experience of the world around us; it allows us to act within our environment."
(http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/ss/perceptproc.htm)

But.. What is The Perceptual Process?

"No one will ever be sure that his neighbour sees a particular colour exactly the way himself does." (p.330. 1974)

Arnheim, R. Art and Visual Perception University of California Press. 2nd edition (1974)

I feel as though I'll repeat myself... Lots.

You're my sound board right now. I'm bouncing ideas. Nothing wrong, nothing right.

Perception or Memory?

Example:

Crispy M&M's.

What do they remind you of?

They remind me of Harry Potter, Toys 'R' Us, Thomas the Tank Engine and my bed.

Is what you percieve when you look at something made by the memory that you once had of them. And why?

Word Vomit.

Ages ago, last year in fact, I decided to write the words down that came to mind that brought specific images and memories back. All the words I wrote have different meanings to me than they do to other people.

It brings to my mind, thoughts about how I can convey that these words mean different things to different people. It runs along the lines of my initial 'perception' concept. I think.

The words represent; ideas, feelings, memories. Mine. Yours would be completely different, I bet.

Wet Rainbow.

Patrick HUGHES

Wet Rainbow

See, the way he uses the visual rainbow colours that are screen printed, but they are obviously flat, not like a 'real' (I can't say the word real now without it being totally ridiculous, as to me, even the word real isn't real) rainbow. Rainbows cast light that is not by any means flat. As "What Makes a rainbow?" explains;

"Rainbows are seen when raindrops, falling in the distance, bend and bounce sunlight back towards your eye. Raindrops reflect sunlight, like a mirror. However raindrops also bend, or refract, light, like a lens. The reflection is spread into a cone of light. The collection of raindrops that send the same bright colour towards your eye is curved."

(Emphasis on 'bending', 'curve' and 'cone')
(http://museumvictoria.com.au/scidiscovery/rainbows/whatmakes.asp)

So I from this picture, it alights destructive fires of knowledge about rainbows never being flat. But for someone else, they may see a rainbow that reminds them of a special something...

Maybe the key is to use items that people naturally associate pieces of their life with to ignite a response.

(P.S. Please ignore the 'me' shaped reflection in the picture. Oops.)

Perception.

I've been reading quite a lot. After polishing up on what semiotics and reality meant, I want to progress. I'm thinking specifically about perceptions, and although something could seem 'real' to you, everyone has different impression. I want to look at different kinds of perception. A quick google search threw up lots of types of perception, for instance;

Amodal perception
Color perception
Depth perception
Form perception
Haptic perception
Speech perception
Perception as Interpretation
Numeric Value of Perception
Pitch perception
Harmonic perception
Rhythmic perception

They mean nothing right now, but I want to read up and get a basic idea of all the elements that are used to fuel our perceptions and impressions of items. The eye, I feel, is an excellent place to start.
I have a reading list I'm going to tackle once they arrive from Amazon;

• Trust The Process: An Artist's Guide to Letting Go - Shaun McNiff
• Interaction of Colour - J Albers
• Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye - R Arnheim

As I said, the eye is a great place to start I think...

Banksy

So. I went to see Banksy. As amazing as he is, I feel slightly nervous that he might get found out. I love the fact that he's totally anonymous, and no-one knows who he is and what his motives actually are. I look at his work with unmistakable love, I completely adore what he conveys to me in his work. But my only fear is that someone will post his picture somewhere, and he wont be some God like person, he'll be Mr Mundane who lives next door to you, just with a genius mind. But all that said, I wouldn't mind.. I would still love him. He just wouldn't have that immediate allure that he does now.

But... The exhibition was mind blowingly good. He could have been standing right next to me, or any of the other hundreds of people in that gallery that day. The way he stencils is so precise, and the finish of his work is perfect. I know he probably has 'his people' working for him, but I wish I could work like that.