Mixed Media Jewellery at Manchester Gallery and Salts Mill

Recently on a visit to Manchester I visited the Manchester Art Gallery to look at they're jewellery display. On the whole I was underwhelmed by the display of jewellery as it didn't look like anything new or innovative. However one artists whose jewellery i could appreciate was Angela O'Kelly. She creates bold jewewllery such as bangles using materials such as paper, felt, fabric, and steel. Her use of materials such as paper is something that i have never seen before in jewellery, but the combination of materials is really effective in created texture and line. I also love her use of colour which is bold just like the overall feel of the jewellery. Specifically I loved the colours in one of her sculptural arm pieces where she used pink, green, purple, red and orange. The overall effect was bright and very tropical and it felt quite uplifting. I also visited the Kath Libbert jewellery exhibition 'Fragments' at Salt's Mill which shows the work of young graduates and helps them 'find their place'. I found this exhibition a lot more refreshing withh more boundary pushing ideas. two of the jewellery designers i particulalry loved were Kelly Munro and Emma Gregory. Kelly's work looks at weathering wood and metal with charring, painting and inticate sawed net work producing beautiful structures made up of delicate layers. Emma's work is very different, using only stainless steel wire to produce isometric shapes inspired by the lattice structure of gold. I love the delicateness of her work and how she experiments with new technology such as laser welding machinery to produce her work. After visiting these two exhibitions it's inspired me to use materials that are not nessecarily expected and to push the boundaries when experimenting with them.

Bradford Animation Festival-Simon Filliot

On the 13th November I went to the Bradford Animation Festival and went to see a collection of short animations produced by students. My favourite film was 'The Kiosk' by as i loved how the childlike drawn textures and simplistic shapes used complemented the feel good story. However i think that the most impactful animation had to be The Bungled Child [La Ravaudeuse]by Simon Filliot. The film conists of cloth characters and revolves around the story of twins who are born joint at the shoulder so that they have an arm each. They hate being seperated from each other, much to their mother's dispair, but when a travelling salesman comes along the mother pays him to give the children an extra arm each made from a metal hinge. The children hate their new arms and pull them out whilst the travelling salesman is raping the mother. Later the mother finds that the two children have tried to sew themselves back together but have died in the process. Overall the story is very sinister and the characters have very strong personalities even though they are only made from cloth. The corsness of the cloth and the way it is roughly joined together is a reflection of the hard lives of the family and the daily struggles which wear them down. I also think the way lighting is used is particulalry effective. At the beginning when the mother is giving birth the room is lit by a fire. Usually fire signifies warmth and cosiness in a home, but in this case the fire seemed weak, like the coldness was taking over, much like the hardships in the families life take over their happiness. Below is a link to the video which i found on youtube.

Tino Sehgal-Turner Prize 2013 Nominee

Tino Sehgal is a British German artist who is currently nominated for the 2013 Turner Prize and whose work is currently on display at the Tate Modern. The Turner Prize is an award for British artists under the age of 50 and it celebrates contemporary art. It was set up in 1984 by the Patron's News of Art group and was named after J.M. Turner who was contraversial in his own day. Over recent decades the prize has sparked debate about the validity of contemorary art. After researching into Sehgal, his work is quite illusive in that there is no physical evidence of his work after it has occured. His work relies on performance art and the interaction between people. He does not like his work to be photographed or filmed as his work is to exist purely in the moment. In short videos that people have posted on youtube, i gleened that his work 'This Variation' is held in a darkened room which you are to walk through. As you pass through the room there are performers all around the space who are singing/chanting. The fact that the room is dark hightens your other senses as your sense of sight has taken away. I can imagine that the experience of Sehgal's work is one that is unforgettable, however having not experienced it myself, and only seeing short snippets of badley shot footage it is hard for me to give a full opinion on his work. Adrian Shearly of the Guardian newspaper says of Sehgal's work: 'These associations is one of the best Turbine Hall commissions. There are no objects: we are the subject. It is about communality and intimacy, the self as social being, the group and the individual, belonging and separation. We’re in the middle of things. It is marvellous.'

Brice Marden, Cold Mountain Addendum

Brice Marsden is an American artist and printmaker. His work is simple, yet still intense, with meandering lines forming monochromatic pieces that use interesting markmaking for a dramatic effect. His painting 'Cold Mountain Addendum' uses ink and gouache materials over Archs Satine paper. Marden created the work using a long stick and standing at a distance from the paper to create strong yet thin lines across the whole of the paper. In 2006 New Yorker Magazine said of Marden's work "Sombre color seems at once to engulf you, with a sort of oceanic tenderness," I agree that the colour of the work instantly affects you more than any other aspect. I think that the piece has a calligraphic quality, reminding me of the marks used in traditional chinese calligraphy where often people would attach the caligraphy tools to a long stick to achieve a rhythmic flow to their work which i can see reflected in Marden's piece (see below).

Contemporary Embroidery by Erin Endicott

Erin Endicott is a contemporary Embroiderer from America. What first drew me into her work, particular her 'wound' collection, was her use of surface decoration and texture. Erin takes used/found fabrics then uses walnut ink to stain the fabric to create a beautiful organic look. She then stitches back into the fabric using threads to create very delicate embroidery so that she is drawing with the thread. The symbolism of the marks represents 'the vein/roots, the cellular/seed shapes, the metaphor of the dress as the skin.' Erin's considered use of layering techniques and attention to minute details, including beading embroidery and staining fabrics, creates exuisitely fragile work that captures the eye. Below is an image of a piece of Erin's work from her wound collection. She has taken an old white dress and stained it brown using the walnut yes. She has then stitched into it using red thread to create organic round shapes.

Nature inspired Clay by Tomoko Abi (Ceramics art and perception issue 92)

In Ceramics art and perception journal there was an article about Tomoko Abi's clay art pieces and there influence from nature. It particularly talked about work from a recent exhibition called Weathering Scape which consisted of various wall instilations. One of the pieces that i particularly liked was called Erosion (see below) and made out of porcelain. The porcalein was left in an outside where it was weathered by the environment to give rain marks, cracks from sun exposure etc. It's these marks that create an organic appearance within the piece and you can see how the work was originally a recatangular shape which has been worn down to give a more rugged edge. The marks are non uniform and create varying levels within the piece. Parts have been worn down to create circular lower levels, and then raised textures also appear on the surface of the piece which give it amazing deoth and detail. The colours of the piece are very neautral, with only black, white and grey showing. The formal elements that make up this piece give an overall look of something decaying, but becoming more and more beautiful and interesting as it's further destroyed.

Pop Art Still Life (Art News-October 2012)

In Art Review journal there was a recent article abaout an exhibition show called 'The Still Life Tradition in Pop Art'. In the article was a piece of work by Tom Wesslemann called still life #34,1963 acryllic and collage on panel (see image below). The painting is in the style of a traditional still life, however it uses iconic 1960's consumer items instead. These items include, "a strawberry icecream soda, a bottle of Coca-Cola, a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes, two walnuts, an uncomfortably positioned yellow pear and a blue vase with brigh red colours". The coloursin the painting are highly saturated in a way that makes the painting quite uncomfortable to look at as it appears so artificial. The subject image shows how Americans in the era of pop art (and modern day culture) indulge themselves to the point where they are being told what to buy to make the happy and are controlled through advertising. The painting is almost ridiculing the shallow consumer worship that has ensued from advertising.

mixed media ceramics by pheopbe cummings (Ceramics review (september/october 2013)

In a recent issue of ceramic review journal there was an article about ceramicist Phoebe Cummings, which i found particularly interesting. It showed images of her work that incorporated clay along with other materials such as glass, wire and steel. A piece which I particular liked was 'Formation'. It is composed of clay, bicarbonate of soda, vinegar and glass and is on display at the Camden Arts Centre in London. I love the modern approach to this work and how the artist has made a piece based on how materials react with one another rather than creating something with a utilitarian use. Her work in 'Ceramics Review' journal is enclosed in a glass bubble so outside factors can't effect the work. Over time the materials she has carefully selected will react with each other, changing the state of the work. The colours and shapes in Cumming's work are muted and organic, and i think the artist has chosen to choose organic aspects of formal elemnts to highlight the change in the work more than anything as the theme. I like how Cummings work changes over time and are ephemeral as it is like viewing multiple artworks over a period of time. Below are some examples of Phoebe Cumming's works.

Tim McDonagh's Illustrative Portrait (Digital Arts )

In Digital Arts magazine I came across an article called 'Portraits of Personality' which highlights seven leading UK illustrators work, in particular portraits which they have produced of iconic people. The illustrator that straight away caught my eye was Tim McDonagh and his portrait of footballer Joey Barton (see image below). The illustration depicts Joey Barton dressed as a sailor covered in tattoos with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth with his arms crossed in an intimidating stance. He is placed in the centre of the piece, and behind him is a dock and various pubs and people laid about covered in blood. The colour scheme of the piece uses various tones of blue which is effective as it gives a moonlit effect which works well as the piece is set at night. There is also splashes of red on Joey's tattoos, and then splattered across his shirt and over the people in the background which looks like blood. The contrast of the red over the blue is effective as they are contrasting colours due to the coolness of the blue and the warmth of the red. This makes your eye instantly focus on the red, giving it an importance over the other colours. The piece as a whole doesn't reference Joey Barton as being a footballer which is what he is commonly associated with, but instead depicts him as very rough and perhaps dangerous person that you wouldn't want to confront without expecting trouble. The artist has created this effect on purpose paying close attention to formal elements such as colour and composition with the rough setting and the intimidating stance and the prominant red on blue, trying to make the viewer look at the subject in a way that they perhaps normally wouldn't.

Matteo Calligari, Flash Art Number 291

In Flash Art journal I recently came across an article called 'Questions...about painting'. which featured various artists, including painter Matteo Calligari. In the article there was a photograph of one of his pieces, East 2013, (below left) which I was particularly drawn to. The Piece consists acrylic and transfer onto canvas, which is built up to create various blocks of different sizes stacked upon each other in a pyramidesque shape. The blogs use a variety of pastel colours with some greys and more neutral colours mixed in. The darker colours are situated more on the bottom blocks of the piece, and as the eye moves up the painted canvas display, the colours become lighter and more pastel. The colour used have a relaxing effect, and the way the colours have been blended and blurred into one another appears like a summer sunset sky. These qualities give the piece a sense of calm yet the square, rigid and tall structure also gives a strong, proud feel to the piece. I think that these two qualities combined give the work an unimposing importance which is a refreshing change to a lot of modern art in my opinion.

Underwater Photography by Harry Fayt (Professional Photographer, October 2013)

Photographer Harry Fayt recently did an interview with Professional Photographers magazine where he talked about a series of underwater photos he took. "The model and I will work by normally holding our breaths, so we will go down for 15 seconds or so, I will take some pictures and then will come back up where i can say what I want the model to do next" Harry stated about the method of his work. The images I were particularly drawn to were of everyday situations including a women sat drinking wine in her living room. I think the way the wine is escaping from the glass and how the phone has floated off the stand gives the photograph a dream like appearance and I think how the light hits the water gives an amazing effect as it creates a fluidity that you wouldn't see in a day to day photograph of these situations which is what makes these photos so interesting.

Isabel Marant for H&M (vogue-vol.203, issue 7)

Isabel Marant has recently collaborated with Swedish fashion house H&M on a collection of clothing and accessories. In a vogue interview she is quoted as saying "I create something real, that women want to wear in their day to day lives, with a certain carelessness, which I think is very Parisian". The preview of the collection shows clothing in a neutral colour palette with black and white prints that are loose fitting and slouchy. I think this collection is ideal for people who live a busy lifestyle, which often relates to people that shop at high street stores such as H&M. In the image below, found on the vogue website, Marant models one of her dresses from the collection.

Architectural Fashion by Zaha Hadid (View2 Magazine, issure number 15)

Zaha Hadid is an architect who collaborated with fashion company United Nude to create architectural inspired shoes. Her work was featured in View 2 magazine showing 'the first shoe in history to employ rotational mouldings' I love the futuristic look of the shoe and how the lines and curves create shadows on the reflective surface of the shoe, to add a tonal interest that creates depth in what is otherwise a single coloured material. Although the shoe is made up of curves, it's overall apperance is very sharp and strong which gives it a defiant edge in my opinion. Below is an image of the Nova shoe designed by Hadid and featured in the View2 article.

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