Regarding materials, my initial thoughts are:
- Using projections: that way, multiple designs could be played throughout the day and it could also play a moving image.
- Using stickers: these could be plain vinyl with cut outs which depict the pattern, or simple shapes cut out of the vinyl. They could also be of varying transparencies which will then overlap to create new colours and shapes. I could also use textured stickers which would create more depth and texture.
- Layers of a harder material, such as acrylic, could be used and overlapped. These could contain engravings to add texture. This piece would be very 3D and it allows the audience to interact with it.
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- Using projections: that way, multiple designs could be played throughout the day and it could also play a moving image.
- Using stickers: these could be plain vinyl with cut outs which depict the pattern, or simple shapes cut out of the vinyl. They could also be of varying transparencies which will then overlap to create new colours and shapes. I could also use textured stickers which would create more depth and texture.
- Layers of a harder material, such as acrylic, could be used and overlapped. These could contain engravings to add texture. This piece would be very 3D and it allows the audience to interact with it.
I enjoy looking at and working with geometrics, which goes hand in hand with looking at the tube.
With the train, I plan to look at the current train used as well as past trains. I also want to look at the whole design of the trains, including the design that has gone into the engines and mechanics of the trains.
I also want to look at the design of the stations, again, both current and past designs. I will also look at the design principals behind the first stations and station maps/plans.
I’ve also considered looking at ‘people on the tube’ and creating a piece to represent the people who walk the corridors, which is something I will still investigate.
The space I have chose to look at for this project is the never ending corridors found in King’s Cross St Pancras underground station. These corridors are walked by thousands of people every single day, yet they are just tiled in plain white.
If artwork was put on these corridors, it not only allows the work to be viewed by thousands of people without causing a disruption to their lives, but it will also brighten up many peoples journeys, both everyday commuters and the many tourists we get visiting London.
Research: B
Analysis: B
Subject Knowledge: B
Experimentation: B
Technical Competence: B
Communication and Presentation: B
Personal and Professional Development: B
Collaborative and/or Independent Professional Working: C
‘Clearly presented work. You have worked intelligently and well at every stage of this project and consequently have produced a large body of work. Very good experimentation and you quickly personalised your response to the project. Confident and lively exploration of colour. Interesting use of the folding and pleating, in fact you have many ideas which you could have developed. You have worked on your toils and used your print in conjunction with other fabrics, so a lot of thought went into that. A lively body of work’
After designing a simple, repeat pattern, I decided that it would be better to have a more spontaneous pattern which included various size spots overlapping each other, as this best represented the kaleidoscope inspired research.
Regarding colour, we narrowed it down to the contrasting colours of blue and orange. The top I designed was going to be heavily orange whilst the woven skirt seas heavily blue with subtle hints or orange.
The fabric I used was a polyester silk-impression that was printed onto, with polyester chiffon sleeves and a polyester satin. Ideally, I would have liked to use actual silks and satins rather than polyester based ones, but due to costing, I had to use polyester.
The top fastens at the back of the neck with hook and eyes and the back of the peplum fastens with a zip.
Unit 3 has started with a project based on spots and dots.
After playing around with the basic principal of spots and dots, in the simplest form, I then developed this forward to look at mould as a specific form of spot: it provides shape, colour and texture. Unfortunately, although this produced some interesting work, ultimately led to a dead end.
Following this, I moved on to look at a kaleidoscope and based my research on images taken through the kaleidoscope lens, which provided some fascinating results.
I’ve enjoyed writing my blog, although I have found it challenging. With the study tasks, I’ve had difficulty writing them, particularly getting started with the introduction. However, I do feel that my more current posts have improved since the earlier ones. I tended to focus my blog posts on my opinions and what I thought of an exhibition, video or text, as I struggled to look at ‘what’s not being said’. Within this, I have also looked at the counter argument to my point, sort of like a debate. I have learnt to question things and not take it for what it is, but when it comes to writing my blog posts, I’ve struggled to incorporate this. I definitely need to work on this more and work on looking at the ‘untold’ story. I would like to learn how to understand academic texts and how I can interpret this into my blog posts because I feel that they would add more substance to my blog and help to reinforce the points that I am making. I feel that I need to attend more of a variety of exhibitions to develop my knowledge and to help me see other things from different point of views. In conclusion, I need to improve my understanding and applying of academic texts and I need to learn to look at the untold story.
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Research: C
Analysis: C
Subject Knowledge: C
Experimentation: B
Technical Competence: C
Communication and Presentation: B
Personal and Professional Development: B
Collaborative and / or Independent Professional Working: C
At the Imperial War Museum, I decided to focus on the First World War gallery.
I found the displays of the weapons particularly shocking. One display was completely filled with a variety of different weapons such as grenades and club like weapons, and information on how they are used. Because so many weapons were displayed together, it made this display really powerful and made you question the impact of these weapons. When it came to the guns, there were six bayonets stood up in a row. What I found most powerful about this display is the size of the guns. You don’t realise how big they are, until they are stood up vertically and you start to think about what i must be like to be stood at the ‘wrong’ side of the gun.
I think the museum wants us to consider why these weapons were invented, the destruction they caused and how they helped us win the war. However, I found that I started to question the ‘men behind the weapons’. How can a soldier use these weapons to harm or even kill another human being? What makes them do this? Obviously, there was a lot of pressure from the government for the soldiers to sign up and the consequences of being branded a coward and subject to punishment if they didn’t sign up. But I then think you can raise the question of, how can the government put somebody in that position and be ok with it? But I guess it shows their loyalty to our country.
At one point, one of the walkways turned into a trench replica, complete with projections of soldiers in the trench and airplane/gun shot noises. When walking through this part, it really made me stop and think about what it must have been like for these men on a day to day basis. When in this position, you can start to understand why they are able to use these weapons: it’s your own life or your opponents. The soldiers are constantly living in fear of death or injury and they don’t want to be the next lifeless body bought back to base. Protecting their own lives and the lives of fellow soldiers and the country is obviously what forces these men to use these weapons. I can imagine that the death of a fellow soldier also drives these men to use weapons as revenge.
I think these displays has made me question new things rather than taking the war ‘for what it was’ and accepting the facts given.
(First World War Galleries. Imperial War Museum, London.)
Research: B
Analysis: B
Subject Knowledge: B
Experimentation: B
Technical Competence: B
Communication and Presentation: B
Personal and Professional Development: B
Well handled CAD designs, showing a variety of techniques, ideas of layout. Good ability to create patterns and creative ideas. Careful and well executed points showing good repeat skills and overlays. Well handled!
I was really looking forward to the stitch workshop because it is the area I thought I’d choose to specialise as it suits the way i’ve always worked in the past: I like to explore techniques, exploit the use of a material and use a variety of ‘unusual’ materials. However, once I started, I found that I wasn’t enjoying it very much. I think this could be because I have done it so much before. I knew how to use a sewing machine, dissolvable fabric, bondaweb, etc. And therefore, I didn’t find it exciting or fascinating. Whereas with the other specialisms, they were new to me, especially weave! Even print, I have done that before but not digital and not the method of screen printing using stencils and making our own dyes, so I still found it fascinating. But that just didn’t happen with stitch: I think i’ve just done it too much before.
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BuzzFeedYellow (2014) If Black People Said the Stuff White People Say Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1zLzWtULig (Accessed: 28 November 2014).
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‘If Black People Said the Stuff White People say’, deals with stereotypes by reversing ‘the norm’. Let’s take the comment ‘Your name is so easy to spell and pronounce. Was it like really easy to get a job?’ Regarding the spelling and pronunciation of names, I feel as though this topic is sort of taboo, like an ‘unspoken thought’. Although it’s wrong to do so, it is something that we may think, but never speak about. However, I wouldn’t necessarily apply it to this topic because this video is dealing with race by taking typical things white people say to black people, but just the other way around. I think it’s wrong to associate this with black people because it applies to many other people as well, for example, Eastern European names and even british names - particularly for people with foreign ancestry and the introduction of all the ‘hipster’ baby names. I would associate names with culture rather than race. For example, we may have trouble pronouncing or spelling African or Polish names because it’s not part of our culture, likewise, they may have trouble pronouncing or spelling our names. It’s to do with culture rather than race and is applicable to everyone.
Looking at the job comment, I feel like this is still an issue in society, but that it is improving. Typically, especially if we look at 20-30 years ago, a black person would have found it much harder to get a job than a white person. Although times have changed, I sometimes still feel that the notions of this still apply to society today. For example, in TV or pictures in leaflets, you often find that the majority of the people will be white, with only one black person featured, so that its ‘not racist’, but I think this shows that there is still racism within society.
With the second video: ‘Who Wants to be a Volunteer?’ it’s portraying how white people are always the ‘saviour’ and Africa depends on us. The part with the selfie in particular, is very stereotypical of white people who volunteer in Africa, they always take a selfie with the children, again showing how white people are here to ‘save Africa’. Regarding the very beginning, where food is given to all the black people, the exaggeration is very clear. I think with this video, I do enjoy the humour, which has been created by exaggerating the volunteering experience and it works more successfully as a humorous video because it is stereotypical to white and black people which sort of cancels the racism out.
The video shows us that what white people would say as a ‘normal, everyday thing’ is still in fact incredibly stereotypical and racist but clearly it’s not something we notice until it’s switched the other way round. Therefore, there are still many issues that need tackling regarding racism.
Video: BuzzFeedYellow (2014) If Black People Said the Stuff White People Say Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1zLzWtULig (Accessed: 28 November 2014).
The print workshop was focused on screen printing and digital printing. Screen printing is something I’ve done so many times, it’s like the back of my hand. Where as with digital, I’ve only ever dabbled, mainly in inductions.
I really enjoyed the digital print. Using marks made in the drawing workshop which were scanned into the computer, I used various techniques on photoshop, such as different blending options and colour changing, to produce a shape which I then repeated. I then used this pattern and place it onto a model.
I didn’t enjoy screen printing as much. I think this was because we used stencils rather than exposing the screens. Because of this, I felt that my work was very hit and miss. However, I very much enjoyed mixing our own colours of dyes, although it was frustrating to try and match the correct colour
‘Fashion in Colours’: Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York, 9th December 2005 - 26th March 2006. This exhibition focuses on the use of colour within fashion in the past 250 years and encourages visitors to think about the ‘emotional, symbolic and cultural associations of colour’ (Nicklas, C. (2007) ‘Exhibition Review: Fashion in Colours’, Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body and Culture, Vol 11 Issue 2/3, pp. 369 - 376. doi: 10.2752/136270407X202871.)
I can see why this should be considered but personally, I think it is only relevant to the older garments, where this was more relevant. For example, colour was very symbolic of wealth and class, which was far more significant in the past. But these days, I think class is less significant and I would say it is defined by brands rather than colour, such as, upper class wearing design brands like Chanel, and lower classes wearing high street brands like New Look. Regarding emotion, let’s take the example of white. White ‘represents’ virginity and purity, which is where we get the white wedding dress from. But again, I think although the white wedding dress is still very clear in the current day, it’s lost it’s original meaning. In the past, not only were people more religious than they are today, but sex was a form of taboo. As they years have gone on and sex has become something that we openly acknowledge and speak about, it has become far more relaxed and you don’t have to be married or in a relationship to have it. Looking at it from the religious side as well, as science has improved and essentially, proved the bible wrong, there are far less people that are strictly religious. And I also think, of those people who are religious, they still have more relaxed issues towards sex as what would of been many years ago. Thus resulting, in more people having sex before marriage and therefore, are not virgins when they do get married.
I think that, although this exhibition is about looking at the colours in fashion, I don’t think we should be specifically looking entirely at the colours, as we are encouraged to do. If we take the colour red and look at it’s associations, theres anger, danger, love: contradicting emotions. Whereas if we also look at the shape of the garment, it gives us a better idea of what the designer is trying to portray. For example, if it was a really pointy, rugged structure, we would associate it more with anger, compared with a nicely rounded structure which we would associate more with love.
Moving onto the specific curation of the show, each colour is put in an individual room, with only one room being multi-coloured. I disagree with this, because if we are exploring colour in fashion, we should also be looking at how colours can work together, particularly looking at contrasting colours. Also, the main rooms are black, white, blue, red and yellow: the primary colours and the absence of colour. What about the secondary colours? You can’t put a green garment in with blue, for example, as it isn’t just blue, it is also made from yellow. Surely, if we are looking at colours, all should be considered.
In conclusion, within fashion, I think it’s wrong to just look at the single colour and associations of the colour as the shape and material of the garment also plays a big part of the designers ‘message’.
Nicklas, C. (2007) 'Exhibition Review: Fashion in Colours’, Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body and Culture, Vol 11 Issue 2/3, pp. 369 - 376. doi: 10.2752/136270407X202871.
Jitterbug Videos (2013) Extreme Collectors - My Little Pony Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKLXmmCgdbM (Accessed: 7 November 2014)
‘Among the various meanings of the French word ‘object’, the Littré dictionary gives this: ‘Anything which is the cause or subject of a passion. Figuratively and most typically: the loved object’ (Baudrillard, J. (1994) ‘The Systems of Collecting’, in Elsner, J and Cardinal, R. (ed.) The Cultures of Collecting. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, pp. 7.)
For Stephanie, My Little Pony is something which she is incredibly passionate about. She first started collecting the ponies when she was a child and unfortunately, was being bullied, using the ponies as an escape, playing with the ponies made her forget all the troubles she was having. Because of this attachment to the ponies, she obviously then went on to collect far more which then turned into this obsession.
Some may say her obsession is un-healthy, which is partly true. She is creating an attachment to these inanimate objects rather then creating healthy relationships with fellow humans. As a child especially, she probably would have spent more time playing with and caring for these ponies than trying to make new friends, which I understand, is due to the bullying. However, as she has grown up, because she has more of an attachment to the ponies to humans, her collection and love for these ponies has continued to grow, causing her to spend thousands of dollars ‘perfecting’ her collection.
Looking on the healthy side, I guess collecting ponies is a much better reaction to bullying than other methods. For example, there is an increase in teenagers self-harming because they are being bullied. So when you look at it from that angle, collecting the ponies has kept her in a good state of mind and as the years have gone on, they have even helped her re-build her confidence as she has made friends through collecting: sellers, buyers and other my little pony enthusiasts, I assume.
‘Once the object stops being defined by its function, it’s meaning is entirely up to the subject.’ (Baudrillard, J. (1994) 'The Systems of Collecting’, in Elsner, J and Cardinal, R. (ed.) The Cultures of Collecting. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, pp. 8.) For Stephanie, the ponies are no longer just a toy, they are: a coping method, confidence and new friendships.
Overall, I understand why she has such a passion for these ponies and in the long-term, I think collecting these ponies have benefitted her greatly, particularly her state of mind and the fact that she now has more confidence and is able to make friends - especially when you compare it to what might of happened. However, I think spending thousands of dollars is a bit over the top!
Youtube Video: Jitterbug Videos (2013) Extreme Collectors - My Little Pony Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKLXmmCgdbM (Accessed: 7 November 2014).
Research: C
Analysis: B
Subject Knowledge: C
Experimentation: C
Technical Competence: C
Communication and Presentation: B
Personal and Professional Development: C
Collaborative and/or Independent Professional Working: C
‘Your sampling has a strong colour identity and some playful research. Your presentation is clean and professional but no need to insert samples i plastic sleeves - surface texture is key. Your sketchbook is very controlled - try and be a little less conscious in future.
I always thought that weave would never be something that I enjoyed. But after enjoying wrappings so much, I went into the workshop with an open mind.
Not going to lie, I didn’t enjoy day 1. Day 1 consisted of threading the looms which was a really boring and tedious task. But I later learnt that it’s actually really important the loom is threaded correctly otherwise the design produced will be very different to the one you had planned.
Day 2 was probably the hardest day: this is when we actually started weaving. Plain weave was simple and easy but when it came to twills and herringbones and diamonds, it became a lot more difficult and challenging. But I found it easiest to understand if I coloured in the squares to achieve the pattern I desired, and then re-writing the squares as numbers. Once I had tried these out, some more successful than others, I became a lot more confident on the loom.
The following days consisted of playing and experimenting with different materials, yarns, loom set-ups and warps. I really enjoyed working with the coloured warps as I think it really added to the design: it changed the way your yarn looked and produced some really interesting patterns, colours and effects, especially when the warp was made with multiple colours. I also enjoyed playing with the thinner and thicker yarns and how they work together to produce interesting patterns and textures.
When I was just experimenting, I hadn’t given proportion much thought, but now it was time to develop this. After my tutorial, I decided to base my proportions on one of my wrappings and essentially, recreate the wrapping as a weave. I think it was by far, my strongest work as the weave looked so much better now that I had considered the proportions. What I thought might be interesting would be to repeat the same (similar) design on different warps and looms. By the end, I had turned the original wrapping into three different weaves, each one looking completely different. For me, comparing the three weaves and the original wrapping was really fascinating because I never expected them to look that completely different. But these were my favourite pieces from the weave block and my most successful.
- Consider proportion: both colour of yarn and thickness of yarn, maybe looking at wrappings for inspiration
- Best research is wrappings, especially the more playful ones
- Collages: make sure to remember the neutrals and the black (only a hint of black so not overwhelming)
- Carry on using coloured warps, try using the wool one where there is a gradient.
Introduction: ’Many of the rights and freedoms we enjoy today were won by disobedience. Activist social movements have changed our world from the grassroots up, popularising new ideas and values. The objects made as part of these movements have played a key role in those cultural and political changes. Disobedient objects is an exhibition of art and design from below. the objects on show were not made by commercial designers, but by people collectively taking design into their own hands to make a change in the world. the makers are often worked under duress with limited resources, driven to out-design authority using imagination and creativity. From the late ‘70s to the present, disobedient making has changed with a new cycle of clonal social structures and new technologies. This exhibition does not offer a total overview, but it throws a spotlight on these important yet overlooked forms of making.’ (Disobedient Objects (2014) [Exhibition]. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 26 July 2014 - 1 February 2015).
When I first walked into the exhibition of ‘Disobedient Objects’, It was not what I expected. I was expecting to see amusing, ‘staged situations’ involving the use of different objects, which partly, it was, the ‘makeshift tear gas mask’ for example. But the ‘disobedient objects’ were in fact political, standing up for or representing something. Once piece in particular, ‘Badges Against Apartheid’, looks to be just a collection of badges at first glance, which, it is, but it also portrays and represents the battle against the apartheid.
I believe this exhibition is presenting historical, political facts, but through story telling and other ‘unconventional’ manners. Each piece in the exhibition represents a political stance or view or movement such as: women’s right to vote, the apartheid and capitalism. Some pieces are quite obvious or straight-forward, such as the banner ‘Capitalism is Crisis’. Where as other pieces are telling stories.
‘Saucepan Lid (Cacerola)’: ‘In 2001 the Argentinian government froze the bank accounts of 18 million citizens. Thousands banged cacerolas in the streets, chanting, ‘All of them must go’. They forced out four presidents in three weeks. the events were later described as the first national revolt against neoliberal capitalism’. (Disobedient Objects (2014) [Exhibition]. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 26 July 2014 - 1 February 2015). This everyday item, a simple saucepan lid, became ‘disobedient’ and argued back against the leaders. It was a symbol of Argentinians standing up for what they believe and fighting back. Now, this saucepan lid tells this story, the story of the Argentinians fighting the masses.
My favourite piece from the exhibition is a collection of items found on the streets which ‘belong to ongoing struggles’. Two of the stickers which stood out to me were ‘Fuck off back to Eton’ and ‘A Hashtag won’t save the world’. (Disobedient Objects (2014) [Exhibition]. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 26 July 2014 - 1 February 2015). ‘Fuck off back to Eton’ is making a stereotypical, judgemental comment about politicians, but I think it has been done in a humorous way. Regarding ‘A Hashtag won’t save the world’ I truly believe in this. Yes, a hashtag will raise awareness about an issue, providing it trends that is, but it won’t actually help a situation. If I was having a heart attack, typing #helpi’mhavingaheartattack won’t do anything to save your life. You need to actively do something to resolve the situation, like ringing 999. I believe this piece is more story telling than factual. This is because the piece contains various politically themed posters and stickers but because it it recent and on-going, rather than historical, and because each piece contains a slogan or statement rather than facts, this results in each piece being open to an individuals interpretation: It’s a story that is yet to be heard.
I think this exhibition creates a narrative of culture as it is telling political stories which are based on culture and opinion but I think it could also be works of art for future generations as it will inform them of past political issues and what people have fought for, therefore, showing them what they shouldn’t give up.
Day 3 explored collage and colour. I enjoyed every minute of this task as I love to work with colour and collage. When I explored colour and gradient, I chose to use the blue elastic bands and the pink ribbon: blue and pink. Then we created a collage based on an ‘exploded’ drawing. When creating this collage, I decided to work quite abstractly and simplified the shapes within my box to create a more geometric pattern. I really enjoyed this whole method of working and ‘drawing’ as it is how I like to work.
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Day 2 was focussed in mark making and texture. Firstly, we drew small marks form our objects into a 2x2cm box. Then, we scaled those marks up to 4x4cm and finally, up to 6x6cm. I enjoyed working in the 2x2cm box, creating small marks with a fine liner but I did not like scaling them up and using other materials. I found it challenging to achieve the quality of the small mark on a larger scale. Following this, we added colour to the marks. I liked using just two colours to create the mark as I very much enjoy working with two complimentary colours and how these two colours work well together and therefore, I did not enjoy working with four colours on one square/pattern.
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I was apprehensive about the wrapping workshop because weave is something that has never really appealed to me. Much to my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed the wrapping workshop and now, I’m even thinking that weave is a possibility for specialising. I prefer to work 3-dimensionally, particularly with slightly raised surfaces and enjoy using a variety of materials which is why I think I particularly enjoyed it. It was interesting using the colours and textures of items within my box to produce, essentially, a line pattern; it is a way of ‘drawing’ that I had never considered, but one which I want to pursue and will definitely use again within my work.
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Day 1 was focused on outlines and silhouettes, whether that being of a singular object or a group of objects. My favourite activity of the day was creating dot-to-dots of one of our objects and then having a partner complete it. I particularly enjoyed this task because it’s a lot easier to create the dots than to complete one. When you’re creating the dot-to-dot, you have the object in front of you so you know how it’s going to look and which order the dots go in, yet when you are presented with the dots, you have absolutely no idea where to start so the results were quite magnificent. I didn’t enjoy drawing with adjectives, for example, ‘what would my object look like if it was hot?’ I found that activity very challenging. Creating the hybrids at the end, however, was very enjoyable. Combining the different techniques used as well as suing different objects from the box each time, created some fabulous patterns, again, another way that I had never considered drawing.
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