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.'