Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2012

I visited the Summer Exhibition today and I thought it was absolutely fab, there was such a diverse range of art to look at.  I loved the way the pieces were all positioned in a way that they completely covered the walls, and famous artists were positioned next to less well-known artists, creating a sense of equality among different artists.

Huge variety of work on display

It was a huge contrast to the exhibitions I am used to, where there is usually more empty, echoey space than there is art. The cluttered yet organised layout of the artworks gave the exhibition a more informal 'up-close and personal' feel which I liked. It felt almost as if I was walking through the house of a slightly eccentric art collector.

I've been a bit lax with posting frequency recently but now it's the summer holidays, meaning lots of gallery visits and drawings to be posted soon!

Wimbledon Art College Course Day 2

In today's lesson we focused on pushing our ideas onto the next step, as on Friday's lesson we will be doing a performance using the artwork we have created over the four days. At the end of yesterday's lesson, I discovered a really nice method to use with ink, where I placed a blob of drawing ink onto a piece of a paper and used a thin straw to blow it into a shape which began to resemble the branches of a tree. I really liked the idea of blowing ink to create tree-like shapes, and decided to develop this idea by blowing the ink onto corrugated card and then creating mountainous scenery in a box

Mountainous scene in box

Using a hair-dryer to experiment with ink blowing

Tree experiments on corrugated card

Blown trees in box with atmospheric lighting

Experimenting with ink on acetate

I also experimented with blowing the ink onto sheets of acetate by mixing the ink with black acrylic paint so that it stuck to it. This technique worked really well and tomorrow I am going to try using an overhead projector to project this ink tree onto the scene I have made. I'm also going to try and overlap the different sheets of acetate and try different colours of it to see what effects this creates.

Wimbledon Art College Summer School: Day 1

A few of the materials I used

I am currently attending a four day Stage and Screen summer school at Wimbledon Art College.
Today was mainly the introduction to the course and getting a feel for the area in which we will be presenting our 'final piece' on Friday.

Paper straws pierced into the cup

 In today's lesson we were also asked to create drawing mechanisms using various materials such as tape, plastic cups, straws and modelling clay which would use ink or charcoal to make a mark on our A2 sheets of paper. 

Tape to seal up the holes to prevent leakage

One of my favourite mediums is ink, so I decided to create a sort of ink dispenser using a plastic cup, some straws and gaffa tape. 

Using a craft knife I pierced some holes in the bottom of the cup and then inserted the straws into them. I then sealed it up with gaffa tape.

I then poured ink into my 'mechanism' and held it a few inches above the paper whilst moving it around. I really liked the effect it created, and once the ink had start to run out it started to produce little dots which I used around the edge of the main ink pattern.









To push the piece a little bit further I experimented with masking tape by sticking onto the ink dots and then smoothing my finger over it which spread out the ink a little. I liked the way the tape made the ink underneath it appear lighter and I think it added more visual variety to the piece.

 I think that the purpose of this exercise was to explore other ways of making marks other than just using pencil, and to loosen us up and get us used to experimenting. I found it quite liberating to just be able to make a piece of art without having to conform

 to a strict brief like we usually have to do at school.

Lesson 3: Response to Cornelia Parker

In response to Cornelia Parker's Cold Dark Matter, we were asked to find 

some objects in our house and destroy them in some way.

I chose a fork and spoon and then used a pair of pliers to bend them.

As well as physically altering the objects, I also decided to experimented with

 Adobe Photoshop to digitally destroy the objects.

Antony Gormley - Blind Light

Blind Light (2007) is a piece of conceptual art in which the visitors step into a glass box filled with dry ice. It is lit with a bright fluorescent light. When you step inside the piece, you cannot see, which can provoke panic and disorientation. As it is white, it could seem unnatural and imposing, as it is not subtle. there have been mixed opinions of the piece:

"I like the idea of an artist making a work that is not about seeing but about not seeing" -Richard Dormeat, Telegraph

"My immediate response was difficulty in drawing breath, swallowed by violent sneezing, then equally violent coughing" Brian Sewell, Arts critic

I personally think that the concept of this piece is unique and exciting. It's almost as if Gormley has brought a cloud down from the sky and managed to store it on Earth. I also think that it's interesting the way people who visit the piece become apart of it.

Although on first impressions this piece doesn't appear to be as explicitly figurative as his other pieces of work, according to Gormley it is, because it uses living figures. Once you are inside the cube, the people on the exterior can watch you, and so in a way the people on the inside provide a spectacle for the on-lookers,

As the exhibition is no longer at the Hayward Gallery, we replicated the experience by tying a white cloth around our eyes. We also spund round in order to further disorientate ourselves.

When I put the blindfold on I felt quite alone and helpless, and I had to rely on my other senses to guide me around the classroom. I had to take the blindfold off after a few minutes because I felt too disorientated!

Looking forward to my school Private View on Wednesday!