Hello! On this page I have included images and articles that have inspired me in some way, things that I have never seen before and that made me stop and look/think...in a good way!
Hope you like :)
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"The Power of Making" - Victoria & Albert Museum 02-12-2011
“Widow”- Susie McMurray
I went to this opening night exhibition a couple of days ago, and it was a truly inspiring and uber cool environment to be in. The POW is an artist run, screen-printing facility and gallery space that produces affordable art and hosts exhibitions. They are a non-profit making organisation. The big winter exhibition is headlined by Berlin based stencillist EVOL.
"Rick Genest AKA Zombie Boy" 28-11-11
I am forever fascinated by "Zombie Boy." Must be because he is so visually stimulating as his tatoos are so intricate, dark in their meaning and one can say totally unique.
"Alice in Wonderland" @ Tate Liverpool - 24/11/11
Today I visited Tate Liverpool to finally see the "Alice in Wonderland" exhibition, currently showing there until 29/01/2012. It is my favourite Disney film afterall!
Lewis Carroll’s novels, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, have fascinated everyone without a doubt, from children through to adults since their publication over 150 years ago!
I loved the whole layout of this exhibition because I found its flow easy to follow, with works of art working harmoniously together, even though different media was used. As well as providing a starting point that highlighted and explained the influences that Lewis Carroll took into consideration when developing this wonderful tale, the exhibition gave the viewer an insight into just how much Alice in Wonderland captured the hearts of millions by including mixed media works of art/instalations/moving images. There was a lot of original materials included, varying from photographs of Alice Pleasance Liddell (a young girl born in a well to do family from whom he based the character of Alice on), original sketches and layout for the first hand written manuscript of the story (written by none other than Lewis Carroll in 1864) and first editions of the books once they had entered the main stream. It was remarkable to see such a high amount of Victorian memorabilia, which included playing cards, tea metal containers with teapots and my personal favourite, wooden painted miniature statues of the characters found in the story. The exhibition then continued to explore how Carroll's stories have influenced generation of artists through to the present day.
There was a focus on the Surrealist artist movement, as a lot of artists were drawn towards the weird and wonderful world of "Wonderland," after all, it was their thang! Famous works include pieces from Salvador Dalí and René Magritte, to Peter Blake and Yayoi Kusama.
The 1960s through the 1970s seemed to have a lot of works being influenced by Carroll's Alice tales (there were quite a lot of pieces used from "The Summer of Love" exhibtion, which showed at Tate Liverpool a few years back). Artists here explored language and its relationship to perception, and the stories inspired further responses in Pop and Psychedelic art.
Alice in Wonderland also showcased a varied and exciting selection of contemporary art, demonstrating the continuing artistic relevance of Carroll's novels.
Some of my favourites are seen below!
DAZED AND CONFUSED EXHIBITION- MAKING IT UP AS WE GO ALONG 08/11/2011
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"The Power of Making" - Victoria & Albert Museum 02-12-2011
I visited the Victoria and Albert museum to see “The Power of Making ” and it was truly inspirational! The V&A presented truly eclectic, original and varied crafted products, which gloriously displayed the curiosness of what some of the most talented “makers” out there feel!
The exhibition showcased works developed using different techniques and skills, and explored how materials can be used in really innovative and imaginative ways for artistic reasons, entertainment, social networking and even medical innovation.
Below is an introduction from the Guest Curator Daniel Charny (taken from http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/power-of-making/power-of-making/ )
“Making is the most powerful way that we solve problems, express ideas and shape our world. What and how we make defines who we are, and communicates who we want to be.
For many people, making is critical for survival. For others, it is a chosen vocation: a way of thinking, inventing and innovating. And for some it is simply a delight to be able to shape a material and say ‘I made that’. The power of making is that it fulfills each of these human needs and desires.
Those whose craft and ingenuity reach the very highest levels can create amazing things. But making is something everyone can do. The knowledge of how to make – both everyday objects and highly-skilled creations – is one of humanity’s most precious resources.”
I really liked the set up of this exhibition as it was structured in group of objects that related with each other either by materials used, techniques or artist’s motives.
I have included some of the pieces that really took my breath away below!
“King Silver Gorilla Sculpture” – David Mach
Made out of metal coat hangers...
Made out of metal coat hangers...
“Widow”- Susie McMurray
McMurray was once a concert musician, and learned persistence through a regimen of daily practice. Her patience for painstaking work is put to good use through this fantastical garment made from hairdresser pins- which portrays a psychological portrait of a widow. The imposing dress is both invitingly sensual and literally standoffish. It is not a wearable garment, but much more a sculpture. It is heavy, as leather is pierced with over 100.000 adamantine dressmaker pins. It took her seven full weeks to pin the piece once the leather shape had been constructed. Repetitive strain injury is definitely a risk in her work!
“Fabrican-Spray On Dress”
Manel Torres first developed a spray on fabric whilst studying at the Royal College of Art. He then moved to Imperial College to work with material artists. Fabrican is a spray on fabric, whose cross linking fibers cling to one another to make a staple fabric. This has potential to support hundreds of different applications, which include upholstery, bandages, wall coverings and even spray on nappies. The dress is made from chemical engineering, particle technology, design and spraying. It is a fibre liquid and plastic structure.
“Blonde Lips” headpiece – Charles Le Mindu
Avant Garde wig-maker and fashion designer Le Mindu creates elaborate head pieces for pop stars such as Lady gaga. Though many working in this craft use synthetic fibers, this example is made using natural human hair provided by specialist company “Hairdreams.”
It is Haute Coiffure Sculpting!
It is Haute Coiffure Sculpting!
“Heart Shirt” – Bronwen Marshall
Marshall developed a dynamic restyling of a classic traditional Albany collar shirt, which has been constructed with a dazzling array of pattern cutting techniques. The exploding heart design has been rendered in gradients of slate grey and red and would have been easier to reproduce as a print, but Marshall wanted to include pattern cutting in an innovative way through a fitted structure of the garment.
POW- Pictures On Walls 01-12-2011I went to this opening night exhibition a couple of days ago, and it was a truly inspiring and uber cool environment to be in. The POW is an artist run, screen-printing facility and gallery space that produces affordable art and hosts exhibitions. They are a non-profit making organisation. The big winter exhibition is headlined by Berlin based stencillist EVOL.
This exhibition is running from 01-12-2011 until 23-12-2011. For more information check out the site on : http://www.picturesonwalls.com/Home.asp
I have included below some of my favourite pieces J
EVOL has developed a unique take on vandalism. Most graffiti artists set out to vandalise or deface buildings, Evol constructs entire new ones using up to fifteen intricate laser cut stencils. He transforms street furniture he randomly finds into beautiful renditions and lifelike replicas of the estate where he grew up in East Berlin.
Bill Barminski
Bill works in Los Angeles and is busy producing making cardboard sculptures, short films and gas masks. I really loved the spray cans and artillery that were displayed. The spray cans are crafted from old cardboard with a glue gun and decorated with stylised vintage labels (fictionalised) and here comes the clever bit…they also contain a high tec plastic widget so that they rattle when shaken!!
Victor Van Gaasbeek
Victor is from Netherlands and is generating a buzz by developing cooky and pixelated animal portraits in what he calls “sliced pixels.” The Fox portrait pictured above is the most complicated that he has created so far, using ten different screens and translucent inks printed in a specific sequence. The effect is fantastical!
"Rick Genest AKA Zombie Boy" 28-11-11
I am forever fascinated by "Zombie Boy." Must be because he is so visually stimulating as his tatoos are so intricate, dark in their meaning and one can say totally unique.
"Alice in Wonderland" @ Tate Liverpool - 24/11/11
Today I visited Tate Liverpool to finally see the "Alice in Wonderland" exhibition, currently showing there until 29/01/2012. It is my favourite Disney film afterall!
Lewis Carroll’s novels, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, have fascinated everyone without a doubt, from children through to adults since their publication over 150 years ago!
I loved the whole layout of this exhibition because I found its flow easy to follow, with works of art working harmoniously together, even though different media was used. As well as providing a starting point that highlighted and explained the influences that Lewis Carroll took into consideration when developing this wonderful tale, the exhibition gave the viewer an insight into just how much Alice in Wonderland captured the hearts of millions by including mixed media works of art/instalations/moving images. There was a lot of original materials included, varying from photographs of Alice Pleasance Liddell (a young girl born in a well to do family from whom he based the character of Alice on), original sketches and layout for the first hand written manuscript of the story (written by none other than Lewis Carroll in 1864) and first editions of the books once they had entered the main stream. It was remarkable to see such a high amount of Victorian memorabilia, which included playing cards, tea metal containers with teapots and my personal favourite, wooden painted miniature statues of the characters found in the story. The exhibition then continued to explore how Carroll's stories have influenced generation of artists through to the present day.
There was a focus on the Surrealist artist movement, as a lot of artists were drawn towards the weird and wonderful world of "Wonderland," after all, it was their thang! Famous works include pieces from Salvador Dalí and René Magritte, to Peter Blake and Yayoi Kusama.
The 1960s through the 1970s seemed to have a lot of works being influenced by Carroll's Alice tales (there were quite a lot of pieces used from "The Summer of Love" exhibtion, which showed at Tate Liverpool a few years back). Artists here explored language and its relationship to perception, and the stories inspired further responses in Pop and Psychedelic art.
Alice in Wonderland also showcased a varied and exciting selection of contemporary art, demonstrating the continuing artistic relevance of Carroll's novels.
Some of my favourites are seen below!
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I loved Rene Bour- Illustration style for one of the editions of Alice in Wonderland  Mel Bochner - "Language is not Transparent" 1969   Adrien Piper 1960's poster paintings "Jabberwocky", 1971, by Jan Švankmajer - Intense, Creepy and Imaginative A 1923 animated film that is part live action by Walt Disney. Alice is played by a young actress named Virginia Davis And also check this video out :) TORSTEN LAUSCHMANN - Digital Clock (Growing zeros) http://vimeo.com/19062650 , 2010- it is mesmerizing! Now I am off to watch Walt Disney's film <3 x |
DAZED AND CONFUSED EXHIBITION- MAKING IT UP AS WE GO ALONG 08/11/2011
I went to see this exhibition at the weekend, and my oh my what a feast for the eyes!
There are 5 rooms exploding with beautiful and interesting visual imagery, which leaves you wanting more and reconfirms Dazed & Confused as one of the most exciting magazines out there.
Dazed & Confused was launched in 1991 by Jefferson Hack and renowned photographer Rankin. It proved to be a go-to visual cultural reference for it's quirky and original shots/publications features, achieved by mixing talented/raw talents together deriving from different arts backgrouns. These included artists, musicians, designers and film makers.
The exhibition was curated by Jefferson Hack and Emma Reeves in collaboration with Somerset House. It captures the magazine’s most infamous visual stories, featuring photoshoots, covers, controversial editorial content. All mixed up using multi media.
Here are some shots :)
FASHION FOOD EXHIBITION - 02/11/2011
Lady Gaga had the meat dress. The Berlin Communication Museum now has a whole food wardrobe until 29th January 2012.
I encountered this really inspiring exhibition this morning, whilst checking Twitter. What I really like about this exhibition, apart from visual aesthetics, is that it explores a deeper problem about Consumerism and Sustainability in a Rich Society. It decided to communicate this problem in the most wonderful, creative way by using one of the biggest product that society wastes a year- FOOD.
The outfits were created by Michelin- starred Austrian chef Roland Trettl and captured by photographer Helge Kirchberger in a flamboyant and high fashion feast-for-your-eyes images.
The photographs do not feel pornographic, but have a high level of eroticism, which invite the viewer in and to start asking questions about consumerism and waste. The museum Director Lieselotte Kugler also states
“This is also a celebration of food. When you think of all the food that is thrown away every year in Germany — including 5,000 tonnes of bread — everyone needs to consider how they approach food and how food is increasingly industrialised in our society.”
Dame Vivienne Westwood contributes to the published book that features many of the photographs from the exhibition, by incorporating food recipes and foreword paragraph.
Some of the food examples used in these photographs include:
“Calf net,” which is the fatty membrane from a calf’s stomach. This is turned into an elegant headscarf, paired with a prominent necklace made of quail eggs, and fashioned a sexy body suit from liquid dark chocolate, set against jewellery made of silver sugar pearls.
I mean-WOW!
And in case you thought that the food used in the photoshoop was simply thrown away after they had finished, think again. The octopus were cooked for 4 hours together with the pasta, and the crew enjoyed a lovely meal after a few hard say's work. Inspirational.
Now, to get to Berlin...
OPTICAL ILLUSION (Sagar Gokhe)
I encountered this image on my Facebook, what a stunning optical illusion! Really made me stop and stare. So much potential of developing, got my creative juices going!
DEGAS
There are 5 rooms exploding with beautiful and interesting visual imagery, which leaves you wanting more and reconfirms Dazed & Confused as one of the most exciting magazines out there.
Dazed & Confused was launched in 1991 by Jefferson Hack and renowned photographer Rankin. It proved to be a go-to visual cultural reference for it's quirky and original shots/publications features, achieved by mixing talented/raw talents together deriving from different arts backgrouns. These included artists, musicians, designers and film makers.
The exhibition was curated by Jefferson Hack and Emma Reeves in collaboration with Somerset House. It captures the magazine’s most infamous visual stories, featuring photoshoots, covers, controversial editorial content. All mixed up using multi media.
Here are some shots :)
FASHION FOOD EXHIBITION - 02/11/2011
Chef and food designer from South Tyrol Roland Trettl places a fish skin mask on a model as he prepares a new creation of his food fashion at the communications museum (Museum fuer Kommunikation) in Berlin on October 28, 2011. - AFP Photo
Lady Gaga had the meat dress. The Berlin Communication Museum now has a whole food wardrobe until 29th January 2012.
I encountered this really inspiring exhibition this morning, whilst checking Twitter. What I really like about this exhibition, apart from visual aesthetics, is that it explores a deeper problem about Consumerism and Sustainability in a Rich Society. It decided to communicate this problem in the most wonderful, creative way by using one of the biggest product that society wastes a year- FOOD.
The outfits were created by Michelin- starred Austrian chef Roland Trettl and captured by photographer Helge Kirchberger in a flamboyant and high fashion feast-for-your-eyes images.
The photographs do not feel pornographic, but have a high level of eroticism, which invite the viewer in and to start asking questions about consumerism and waste. The museum Director Lieselotte Kugler also states
“This is also a celebration of food. When you think of all the food that is thrown away every year in Germany — including 5,000 tonnes of bread — everyone needs to consider how they approach food and how food is increasingly industrialised in our society.”
Dame Vivienne Westwood contributes to the published book that features many of the photographs from the exhibition, by incorporating food recipes and foreword paragraph.
Some of the food examples used in these photographs include:
“Calf net,” which is the fatty membrane from a calf’s stomach. This is turned into an elegant headscarf, paired with a prominent necklace made of quail eggs, and fashioned a sexy body suit from liquid dark chocolate, set against jewellery made of silver sugar pearls.
I mean-WOW!
And in case you thought that the food used in the photoshoop was simply thrown away after they had finished, think again. The octopus were cooked for 4 hours together with the pasta, and the crew enjoyed a lovely meal after a few hard say's work. Inspirational.
Now, to get to Berlin...
OPTICAL ILLUSION (Sagar Gokhe)
I encountered this image on my Facebook, what a stunning optical illusion! Really made me stop and stare. So much potential of developing, got my creative juices going!
DEGAS
I went to see the "Degas and the Ballet: Picturing Movement" exhibition at the weekend at the Royal Academy of Arts.
Degas is usually associated with pretty ballet dancer painters, which although they are portrayed in a beautifully romantic way, has led him to be pigeoned holed as a "chocolate box" artist. The reason why I enjoyed this exhibition so much is because it portrayed Degas in a different context by asking why he was so obsessed by ballet and dancers. The answer is because he was fascinated by the human body, especially whilst in movement.
Previous works can be classified as standard academic painting by the completion of large, historical subjects, which he hoped would be successful in the annual salon. He started painting ballet dancers around the 1870's after completely switching his focus, as he wanted to establish himself as an avante garde artist picturing avant garde movement/life. Being a Parisian, he focused on depicting the modern Paris, and ballet seemed the perfect fit, as this type of dance was found at the very centre of modern Paris lifestyle.
In 1895, saw the establishment of cinema and the moving image by the Lumiere brothers, in the Monmarte district where Degas lived. Degas himself started to experiment with photography, which resulted in very atmospheric and beautiful, intimate images of one dancer.
All images from http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/degas/
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| Stunning use and example of neutral and accented colours in this subject backstage painting. |
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| The primary observation sketches were fascinating to see, as it showed the true spontanious study of ballet movement |
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Edgar Degas, 'Three Dancers (Blue Skirts, Red Bodices)', c. 1903.Pastel on paper mounted on card. 94 x 81 cm. Fondation Beyeler, Riehen / Basel. Image © Peter Schibli, Basel |
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| One of the modern Press passes |
'Portrait of Marie Sanlaville in Costume for Don Juan', c. 1866–70.
Carte de visite, 10.3 x 6.2 cm. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. Bibliothèquemusée de l’Opéra. Image © Bibliothèque nationale de France
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| Degas' own experimental photograph of a dancer |
Edgar Degas, 'Dancer Adjusting her Shoulder Strap', c. 1895-6
Modern print from gelatin dry plate negative. 180 x 130 mm. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. Image © Bibliothèque Nationale de France
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| This was a highlight for me in the exhibition. It is a stunning sculpture completed by Degas in 1922. Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans (Little Dancer of 14 Years) sculture barely a metre tall, made using bronze and textile |
CINDY THE POODLE
Ok, so I recently had a conversation about dog grooming, and quite frankly, I find it a bit creepy but also quite fascinating.
But check out Cindy!
Cindy's owner Sandy is clearly a wonderful eccentric woman, and has channeled that by grooming her pet for pictures and competitions, but insists that she has shaved back her pet to a classic poodle presentation each time their "exhibtions" have been over.
Takes dog grooming to a whole new level.
