I messed around with editing the pictures I took while on holiday to make them look more 'finished'. I decided black and white looked better... the colour was just to bright and.. happy. The black and white seems more sinister and adds more contrast to the image really making the body stand out. I'm unsure if these look like I've just edited and blended away the image... as I don't really want it too look as though I edited. It just has a simplistic format to me which I think works   well. 

I recently came across this artist, Asger Carlsen, whos photo manipulations I LOVE. Some of the images to have to 'double take' as your unsure of what they are when you first look at them. I love that quality.
Also on a few of the images I actually thought they were people with deformations although others its pretty obvious but I still got myself going 'omg what?'
Heres some of his images....

Okay so posting these photos I sound crazy saying I thought they were real,.. but honestly theres some more realistic ones. He has a hole load! Really disappointed his books are out of print :(

These have such a sculpture vibe to me (I dont know if I'm saying that right).. but they seem more than just photographs to me.  He also does manipulation with his models eyes too, which Im already interested in editing and changing eyes. Im unsure why I'm so intrigued by eyes I just am. I'm not gonna fight it. 

sometimes accidents are exciting

So I've been pretty rubbish at keeping up to date throughout summer, with working and what not.
Although I thought I'd share some of the stuff I've been look at (not much tbh).
When on holiday, I was messing around with taking panoramic photos on my camera. As these are a layer of three images - they sometimes have bits which are a bit 'wrong' in them. I'm unsure why but I just really loved some of the images I created basically by accident or luck.. which ever way you look at it. They particularly seem to go wrong when there people involved in the images, as the people move - so they end up with limbs missing or gained. I'm not sure if this is relevant to my art practise at the moment. Although I thought I'd post them up here and bare them in mind anyhow.

They almost come across a collage image, or perhaps something which I've edited and blended or something. I think thats why I love them to much though as they've got that randomness about them... almost lack of controlling the outcome. They aren't the strongest images, although I've been looking into cropping them up a bit so its not so clear as they are panoramic images.

These then appear to be usual photos just with only half of the body on display. 

“The cure of a part should not be attempted without treatment of the whole. No attempt should be made to cure the body without the soul, and if the head and body are to be healthy you must begin by curing the mind, for this is the greatest error of our day in the treatment of the human body, that physicians firsts separate the soul from the body.’’
Plato

ASSESSMENT SET UP

I can't believe the year is basically over now. I feel like I've  done nothing and the first year is over. Its mental! 

Hopefully I've done enough to pass,... I'll find out in 2 weeks! 

Douglas Gordon 

I DECIDED TO ADD A FACE TO THE VIDEO I PREVIOUSLY LOOKED AT. THIS SO IT LINKS WITH THE IDEA OF DISTORTED MIND AND THINKING.

I really loved the piece involving the mats by Efthis Patsourakis. I was interested in creating something with a similar composition. Although the idea of collecting things which show a particular memory - such a s plasters... they are used to protect the wound or stop it bleeding. It has an idea of the inside coming outside (blood/puss). I've been collecting some plasters for a while now, keeping them as memories of what I've done to my body over time. Although I've never really thought of them as art?
Looking at the piece with the mats, made me think I could put them together - stitch? creating a collection of memories of pain/accidents.

Efthis Patsourakis

I really loved the composition of this piece, it layering different floor mats - but they are all slightly different. As though he has collected them from places.. for they belong to particular doors/houses. 

Inviting you to step on them and feel the mats.

SCANS OF HAIR

I've been really interested in looking at subsections of the body and I was randomly cleaning the hair off of my hairbrush and its all tangled up almost as though its been knitted together. 

Tony Orrico

I really love how this artist uses the motion of his body. As the pieces become an almsot gester imprint of what the body can do. 

ORLAN

Orlan has used plastic surgery throughout the years to alter her appearance - mainly to women displayed in famous paintings or sculptures. Exploring the idea of female beauty displayed by male artists. 

I was also looking into the experience of the skin with something with  fibreglass insulation. As it obviously has pieces of glass in it.

dorota sadovska

I came across this artist in a book I was reading recently who looks at the female body, these particular pieces are looking at the pressure of the skin which is similar to pressure i was looking at through using clingfilm. 

This skin looks so flawless though, theres something about it which seems odd as its too perfect though. 

Photography

I was also able to wrap my model up in cling film. I first started to look at this as its suppost to be a weight loss technique. Wrapping yourself up in cling film increases the amount your body sweats causing us to apparently lose weight. I decided to look at pressure of it on my friends chest.  This is almost changing her sexual gender, as she is losing characteristics which are female.

The drawings by Lin, really made me want to revert back to fibreglass and looking at different textures. 

Lucky for me my lovely friend, was willing to wrap herself up in fibreglass for me. I wanted to look back at the idea of contact with the fibreglass - having the reaction to the material and the experience with it. 

I also made a video of her wrapping herself up in it although I think the image has come out better. I am only just getting the gist of videos although I'd really like to dip into it a little more.

Ana Mendieta

Ana Mendieta is a perfect artist to look into when looking at the human body within art. Her work surrounds the interest for the body and artist performance. Her piece above, Blood & Feathers, which is part of the tate collection - where she covers her body in animal blood and rolls around so feathers begin getting stuck to her body. She also holds a pose as though she has wings - like a bird. This video is almost uneasy to view, this feelings is enhanced as there is no meaning displayed throughout the work.