Telegraph images: student strikes
Click on this link to see images of student strikes. This shows some of the outcomes of the current economic crisis and as such shows that one driver of crisis is definitely the economy.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Week 9
Economic crash headline 26.05.11
Follow this link to the Telegraph to read today's headline about another eeconomic crash
Never before has so much money been printed and put into the economy, but this has not resulted in a pick up. On the contrary it is deepening and getting worse.
As such, this article is integral to my current practise and highlights the importance of people taking notice of what is occurring, and artists bringing this information to the forefront of discussion.
Follow this link to the Telegraph to read today's headline about another eeconomic crash
'Vince Cable: Britain faces another economic crash'
Looking through history at the unfolding of past incidents of economic crisis, such as the Wall street crash we can see mirrors of what is occurring today. The second part of the Wall street crash happened several years after initial events and at this point people realised that things were getting worse and people started to react and the full impact and of the extent of the crisis became clear. Now, as Vince Cable makes today's headlines, we mirror the events of the wall street crash, as understanding and impact starts to become clear three years after initial events take place. Looking at what Vince cable is saying, it would suggest that the British public have not fully understood how deep the current economic crisis is and how big the impact will be. We currently have strikes and riots affecting most of Europe, and in a period of the last 12 months we have witnessed, not banks going bankrupt, but nations going bankrupt. The people being asked to pay are the working people of these separate nations. I think the next stage of the crisis is literally just about to unfold and will be worse than the Wall Street crash of the 1930's; this only effected part of the world, but this time it has a global impact.Never before has so much money been printed and put into the economy, but this has not resulted in a pick up. On the contrary it is deepening and getting worse.
As such, this article is integral to my current practise and highlights the importance of people taking notice of what is occurring, and artists bringing this information to the forefront of discussion.
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Monday, 16 May 2011
Week 7
Proposal plan for this week was:
Design sheets/ samples.
Experiment toward final ideas
Mixed media samples
One-to-one tutorial
Reflective diary and peer assessment
I have pretty much stuck to my plan this week. Starting by producing a painting mixing acrylics with PVA glue and sand to add texture. The colours are very vibrant: blood red sky to suggest waring and danger. The other contrasting colours were used because I felt it was important to bring out a jarring effect. I used a green in the base of the painting, which initially had been a different colour but it didn't give sufficient clarity.
The painting contains a large figure, huddled up and foetal like. I tried to express anxiety by using textural brush marks. Other figures include skeletons for barbarism and a priest, as well as coffins for foreboding..
It is A1 sized and the brush marks and tones are quite good and I am pleased with the composition. Overall it is very symbolic and expressive. It speaks very much of the nature of crisis, which was my aim.
The second work is mixed media using collage and paint. Again it is symbolic, a merry-go-round of soldiers, coffins and medals which all end up in the same place! It has a blood red sky, bright and vibrant, and links to Shakespeare verse IV, 2 form King John which speaks about war and blood red skies. It is only by clearing contradictions that a clear image is revealed. I feel that Shakespeare understood human nature better than most.
As planned I also started working on my final piece. It is an oil painting and I am working on the sky for the background. Although it is time consuming I find it enjoyable and satisfying. You can move the paint round a lot, it is a lovely media and slow drying so you can remove mistakes.
My painting is based on a sample that I produced last week and focuses on independent actions of the people, in terms of the storming of barricades and the desire to find something better on the other side. The underlying message is that we cannot go on the way we are. People can no longer live the way they did, they have to find another way and challenge the system. In my work I am trying to point out that we must recognise that people will not put up with the lack of future prospects. I want to speak about the issues that face society and raise the level of social consciousness.
I might alter the original composition, so that the final piece contains a wall rather than a fence so it can display graffiti with slogans of discontent, revolution and maybe questions. I plan to experiment with this next week so may original plan might change radically.
I have also started to experiment with mixed media mixing pastel, paint and collage and want to experiment with these further particularly looking at the graffiti element of the final piece.
This week I feel that I have been thrown by the day off college and felt a bit lost. Despite this, I have enjoyed experimenting with collage and plan to continue to work in this way whilst also continuing to work on my oil painting next week. I also intend to work on a montage plan that was suggested by my tutor as a way of displaying several of my samples as a finished piece arranged in a tile like fashion for the exhibition. Initially I was skeptical about this plan but after some thought I think it is a very good idea as it shows how different types of conflict interlink through a number of studies in different media combined to produce another final piece. I have developed this idea on my own to select images and display them so that some will be raised from the surface of the page at different heights. I plan to experiment and see how this evolves.
Design sheets/ samples.
Experiment toward final ideas
Mixed media samples
One-to-one tutorial
Reflective diary and peer assessment
I have pretty much stuck to my plan this week. Starting by producing a painting mixing acrylics with PVA glue and sand to add texture. The colours are very vibrant: blood red sky to suggest waring and danger. The other contrasting colours were used because I felt it was important to bring out a jarring effect. I used a green in the base of the painting, which initially had been a different colour but it didn't give sufficient clarity.
The painting contains a large figure, huddled up and foetal like. I tried to express anxiety by using textural brush marks. Other figures include skeletons for barbarism and a priest, as well as coffins for foreboding..
It is A1 sized and the brush marks and tones are quite good and I am pleased with the composition. Overall it is very symbolic and expressive. It speaks very much of the nature of crisis, which was my aim.
The second work is mixed media using collage and paint. Again it is symbolic, a merry-go-round of soldiers, coffins and medals which all end up in the same place! It has a blood red sky, bright and vibrant, and links to Shakespeare verse IV, 2 form King John which speaks about war and blood red skies. It is only by clearing contradictions that a clear image is revealed. I feel that Shakespeare understood human nature better than most.
As planned I also started working on my final piece. It is an oil painting and I am working on the sky for the background. Although it is time consuming I find it enjoyable and satisfying. You can move the paint round a lot, it is a lovely media and slow drying so you can remove mistakes.
My painting is based on a sample that I produced last week and focuses on independent actions of the people, in terms of the storming of barricades and the desire to find something better on the other side. The underlying message is that we cannot go on the way we are. People can no longer live the way they did, they have to find another way and challenge the system. In my work I am trying to point out that we must recognise that people will not put up with the lack of future prospects. I want to speak about the issues that face society and raise the level of social consciousness.
I might alter the original composition, so that the final piece contains a wall rather than a fence so it can display graffiti with slogans of discontent, revolution and maybe questions. I plan to experiment with this next week so may original plan might change radically.
 |
| Sample that my final piece is based on. |
I have also started to experiment with mixed media mixing pastel, paint and collage and want to experiment with these further particularly looking at the graffiti element of the final piece.
This week I feel that I have been thrown by the day off college and felt a bit lost. Despite this, I have enjoyed experimenting with collage and plan to continue to work in this way whilst also continuing to work on my oil painting next week. I also intend to work on a montage plan that was suggested by my tutor as a way of displaying several of my samples as a finished piece arranged in a tile like fashion for the exhibition. Initially I was skeptical about this plan but after some thought I think it is a very good idea as it shows how different types of conflict interlink through a number of studies in different media combined to produce another final piece. I have developed this idea on my own to select images and display them so that some will be raised from the surface of the page at different heights. I plan to experiment and see how this evolves.
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Thursday, 12 May 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/11/greece-doomed-generation
This is an important article and I would urge everyone to read it and recognise that what is happening in Greece is likely to occur in this country in the near future. Please don't shoot the messenger!
I think this strengthens my work because it shows the importance of tackling my subject matter, which a lot of people fail to explore or recognise before it is too late. A lot of people could recognise what is happening and it will become a contemporary narrative recorded for history.
This is an important article and I would urge everyone to read it and recognise that what is happening in Greece is likely to occur in this country in the near future. Please don't shoot the messenger!
I think this strengthens my work because it shows the importance of tackling my subject matter, which a lot of people fail to explore or recognise before it is too late. A lot of people could recognise what is happening and it will become a contemporary narrative recorded for history.
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Week 6
Below are links to videos and newspaper articles that have been significant to my project. The are important because they give meaning to the work I am attempting to produce and gives it some validity.
The work is quite graphic and gritty; rape, decay etc as direct results of conflict and human struggle. I feel that I am making progress in my line drawing and that my technical abilities are improving and this is giving me confidence to explore the work and topics raised within these articles.
I am working to meet my time plan effectively and have been working to develop and experiment with ideas in a variety of media. My line drawings have been particularly success this week, but I am finding it very difficult to mix colours to get the right tonal values. I hope this will improve given time and patience, and feel that this project may help me to acheive this; it has provided a challenege but because I am feeling more confident in other areas, I have more time to look at new areas or issues that are emerging.
The work is quite graphic and gritty; rape, decay etc as direct results of conflict and human struggle. I feel that I am making progress in my line drawing and that my technical abilities are improving and this is giving me confidence to explore the work and topics raised within these articles.
I am working to meet my time plan effectively and have been working to develop and experiment with ideas in a variety of media. My line drawings have been particularly success this week, but I am finding it very difficult to mix colours to get the right tonal values. I hope this will improve given time and patience, and feel that this project may help me to acheive this; it has provided a challenege but because I am feeling more confident in other areas, I have more time to look at new areas or issues that are emerging.
6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw9zbTsKNAA&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1
feel that songs have played a part in many conflicts: for examplr 'The White Cliffs of Dover" which I think ia very patriotic and discusses the longing to come home from war and the desire for peace. Also the blue birds refer to our conutry summers.
"Falling in love again" by Deitrich played a stong part in the second world war addressing moral. Strong songs seem to emererge from conlict, whether pining for home, or stirring and patriotic war marches.
This video on you tube uses the Labi Siffre song which was an anti aparthide song which says 'the higher you build your walls'. Here this song has been successfully attached to the miners struggle. I think it is very effective and powerful. The words and the pictures combined create a very powerful picture. It is very emotive because it captures what we would describe as a recent historical event in which the conforntation between the state and the miners is clearly defined. The life and blood of mining communities were the mines, and when you close down a mine you kill the community. The video and the music shows the struggle of the miners to stop the destruction of the industry and their communities. To understand my work you can't look at one thing in isolation from another, you have to look at the whole thing, as a whole as it communicates and investigates many interlinking and complicated stuggles to show the nature of conflict.
feel that songs have played a part in many conflicts: for examplr 'The White Cliffs of Dover" which I think ia very patriotic and discusses the longing to come home from war and the desire for peace. Also the blue birds refer to our conutry summers.
"Falling in love again" by Deitrich played a stong part in the second world war addressing moral. Strong songs seem to emererge from conlict, whether pining for home, or stirring and patriotic war marches.
This video on you tube uses the Labi Siffre song which was an anti aparthide song which says 'the higher you build your walls'. Here this song has been successfully attached to the miners struggle. I think it is very effective and powerful. The words and the pictures combined create a very powerful picture. It is very emotive because it captures what we would describe as a recent historical event in which the conforntation between the state and the miners is clearly defined. The life and blood of mining communities were the mines, and when you close down a mine you kill the community. The video and the music shows the struggle of the miners to stop the destruction of the industry and their communities. To understand my work you can't look at one thing in isolation from another, you have to look at the whole thing, as a whole as it communicates and investigates many interlinking and complicated stuggles to show the nature of conflict.
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