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. 

Recently I've been interested in the sort of things our bodies can actually handle. What we put our bodies through and how it impacts them. Everyday we are dying and everything we do to ourselves adds to that effect.
Although theres things which will apparently prolong our lives, or make us healthier. At the end of the day we are all going to die. There is nothing we can do about it.

Cynthia Lin

I found this artist, who creates these amazing drawings using graphite on a large scale. These are close ups of skin, often some of them become unrecognisable. 

These other pieces are detailed drawings of dust, I think these seem really beautiful as when you look at them you begin to develop idea of what they could actually be. They also seem as though they could be some form of bacteria under a microscope, as the dust is larger in one area and then is almost spreading outwards with the finer pieces. 

PHOTOGRAPHY

I also took some close up images of the inside of my mouth and eye, looking into the texture and appearence of flesh on which is on the inside of my body. This relates back to Mona Hatoum.

Close -up photography

I took some close up photos of my feet today, these become abstract as they are so close up they dont actually look like my feet. 

These seem more organic and focus on the details and colouring of the skin. 

John Coplands

Looking at Dorota Sadovska, lead me to look at the detail of the skin and close up nature of it. This becomes really organic and focuses purely on the texture and shape of the skin. I think this seems so much more beautiful and delicate. 

Louise Bourgeois

'THE RETURN OF THE REPRESSED'

I recently went to see Louise Bourgeois' exhibition at the Freud Museum...

I had never been to the Freud Museum, I was shocked at how many of her pieces were actually in the museum - there was even some of her work out into the garden. Its always great when theres more work then you expect. I haven't really looked into Louise Bourgeois' work very much, although I actually loved the exhibition. I thought I had a great range of her work - also displaying her notes and pages from sketchbooks.

The exhibition focused on her relationship with psychoanalysis - after her father died (in 1951). I could see throughout her work how she was influenced with psychoanalysis, as well as this visually I enjoyed her pieces. It really made me want to look into creating my own little bodys or doll like subjects. Which I could hopefully do in the future.

Check it out - http://www.freud.org.uk/exhibitions/74492/louise-bourgeois-the-return-of-the-repressed-/  

This above, was actually one of my favourite pieces. As the mirrors meant we could actually see the different angles of the faces - focusing on the idea of perspective. Seeing the pieces at different angles.. really making me want to look and move around the piece investigating the different ways I could actually see it. Also the structure of the piece as a whole has a really contained feel about it. Almost as though the faces are being caged off and are solely just for display (like a zoo animal) although we are confronted to investigated it more and see it from all of the angels available. 

GABRIEL KURI @ SADIE COLES

I really loved Gabriel kuri's work although I hadn't heard of him before the exhibition - I loved the idea of creating pressure, shadows and lighting from a material by simply attatching it to the wall. As during more exhibitions you can see how the piece is actually attatched to the wall which is why i found this really interesting. The colour really helped to reflect the light and create shadows and a form.