Gillian Wearing and Claude Cahun
I was given the names of these artists and I’ve been fascinated ever since. Claude Cahun was an androgynous figure on the margins of surrealism, who considered herself “third gender” – neither male nor female – and whose small oeuvre consists entirely of carefully dramatised photographic self-portraits. Cahun is now considered one of the key artists of our age – despite the fact that she died in 1954 – a sort of patron saint of the Instagram era, when “everybody” is exploring their identity, gender and body image through uploaded self-portraits.
Here Cahun is paired with Gillian Wearing, for a show that plays with the idea of a self-portraiture as a kind of mask that conceals as much as it reveals. “Under this mask, another mask, I will never finish removing all these faces.” Both of them share a fascination with the self-portrait and use the self-image, through the medium of photography, to explore themes around identity and gender, which is often played out through masquerade and performance.
I have been playing with the theme of genderless portraits before, such as with my shaped paintings, and this couple truly fits in well with what I believe in and what I want my art to display. As well as the playing around with gender binaries, I can’t help but notice how oddly similar they are to the images from the Sex Museum in Amsterdam, where people dressed up and posed with objects and props. I found that this was incredibly interesting and had to have these photographs named for what had inspired me.
The Sex Museum
This museum is certainly something that has heavily inspired me. It had a mixture of the history of sexuality as well as modern symbols, such as Marilyn Monroe who is often remembered as “that sexy, curvaceous woman”, and not her talents. Looking at the vintage photographs caught my imagination, as I was shocked at how sexual and vulgar they were over a hundred years ago when I thought that pornographic material like this was a modern thing, when, actually, this material has been around for many years. This made me realise that it was naive of me to think that heavily sexualised women weren’t a new thing, as women have been sexualised for the male gaze for centuries. I decided to combine these images with the pinhole camera by using my Inside/Outside idea of women being criticised for taking images of themselves on social media, simply because they are doing it to feel empowered and proud. This will be done by taking ‘vintage’ looking pictures of myself and other women, in a heavily sexualised but empowering way to convey the message that women’s bodies aren’t obscene or unnatural and women are allowed to do what they please with them, whether the want to hide or show it.
Linder Sterling
While researching for feminist artists, I came across Sterling who’s been called a radical for confronting gender construction and its ties to capitalism and culture. Sterling found inspiration in sexualisation, desire, morbidity and non-conformity in order to free women from their social constraints. But producing art that challenged the notions of ‘what it means to be a woman’ didn’t come without its controversy. “When I made my first collages in 1976, Rank Xerox refused to photocopy them. There were only two places in Manchester that you could get photocopies made and I’d already been turned down by the other one,” Sterling said in 2012. “I had to send the collages to Jon Savage, in London, where he managed to have copies made. I wouldn’t fancy my chances walking into Prontoprint tomorrow with the new collages and that’s fine – lines have to be drawn somewhere.”This was a huge breakthrough in women in art and how they were portrayed. She used material that was fine to be used for the male gaze, but wasn’t even allowed to be printed as art. From looking at her work, I often scanned and printed my pinhole photographs to create collages in my sketchbook. Linder Sterling is who inspired me to do this with my work, as I’ve been writing an essay for constellation on the punk era and feminism, all of which influences a lot of her work. Linder Sterling is a well-known figure of the Manchester punk and post-punk scene, and is known for her montages, which often combined images taken from pornographic magazines with images from women’s fashion and domestic magazines, particularly those of domestic appliances, making a point about the cultural expectations of women and the treatment of female body as a commodity. Below are a few examples of her work:
For my final piece in Field, I decided to pursue with my new-found love for the pinhole camera. I wanted to combine the pinhole effect with the Sex Museum I saw in Amsterdam as well as my subject module, which is based on feminism/sexism. I decided that the way to do this was by looking back at the photographs I saw in the Sex Museum, such as the one below;
-and use the poses and subtle pornographic material used in the images. I did this because women are often criticised for posing sexually in pictures, even if that just means showing a bit of skin. This is because women have been told to never express their sexuality for themselves all throughout history, and must always be modest unless a man (probably a husband) wanted otherwise. Therefore, taking pictures of myself, in a similar style to these images in a museum that were aimed for men, offered a sense of empowerment and control over my body, symbolising that women are allowed to express themselves in this way. The pinhole played a huge part in this because the images it captures look vintage, as they come out black and white, and had a soft look to them, thus letting me play with the look of the museum images. The images I took were of me, mostly in my underwear, and a few of me covering my breasts, which went with the theme of expression and regulations on women’s bodies, such as on social media (where you can post videos of a beheading but not a female nipple). I also wanted to make it personal by using comments I’ve received, but also using comments that other women have had against them. I used things like “you should cover your ‘boing bongs”, and “I grope women because they give me a look”, which were sent to me in a private message. Below are many of the images I created from the pinhole camera:
During the making of these pinholes, I often scanned and printed them to create collages in my sketchbook. Linder Sterling is who inspired me to do this with my work, as I’ve been writing an essay for constellation on the punk era and feminism, all of which influences a lot of her work. Linder Sterling is a radical feminist and a well-known figure of the Manchester punk and post-punk scene, and is known for her montages, which often combined images taken from pornographic magazines with images from women’s fashion and domestic magazines, particularly those of domestic appliances, making a point about the cultural expectations of women and the treatment of female body as a commodity. Below are a few examples of her work:
I decided to use images of the degrading and nasty comments/messages with the photographs to create a strong link between them, as well as misogynistic words using ink. As well as all of these, some photographs worked well in my favour just from how they turned out, as some came out by blurring out my breasts completely, as if they were censored:
This is how I decided to display my work on the wall, with the images spread in a way that it’s simply a line going down. As well as it being aesthetically pleasing, I wanted it to display how equality isn’t on the rise as many of us believe, but is actually going ‘down hill’, as many of the comments I had collected proved. I also augmented the images while they were on the wall, and the augment displayed different misogynistic and nasty comments/messages I’ve been given or had found, which are all shown below;
In this collaborative project, I worked in cross-discipline teams of four and explored the effect of light, shade and shadow on a three-dimensional form. Each member of a group was tasked with making a distinct contribution to a ‘still life’.
Our group started off by playing around with what shadows different objects created by placing random objects onto a projector and then sketching the shadows down, as well as taking pictures on our phones.
As we were moving the objects around, we found that the shadows resembles faces, especially the expressions of a face by using the hands to cover it. I realised how interesting these shapes were and we decided to take it a step further by looking at the objects from a different outline, which was above, and draw out the outline of the landscape they created, which is below;
We considered making a few things with the landscape idea, such as looking into how a lung’s landscape looked, but we decided to stick to the actual landscapes the objects created. We then began working on our ideas by using cardboard and paper to create an interesting collage. We didn’t stick to a ‘normal looking’ collage, because we wanted to see how our ideas would actually look and if they’d work. We used the outline of the landscape as the main piece but added strips of paper in between to see if they created more interesting shadows;
We then went on to using clay. We decided that the strips down the middle weren’t necessary and wanted the landscape be the main focus as well as what would create the interesting shadows. We cut out the landscape pieces by using the cardboard as a stencil, smoothed them out and then stuck the negative piece (the other side of the clay we used to cut the shape out of) by using leathered clay. This is the end result, which I’m extremely happy with;
I’m happy with these because the shapes, if interpreted like I have, look like bodies and faces, especially when playing around and putting them together or looking at them from different angles, which relates to the shadows right at the beginning. We’ll be looking into developing these pieces by using photoshop to make them appear much larger to see what effect they’d have if people could walk around them and peer through the shapes and gaps.
We were able to do this and also added a figure next to the sculptures to see what the size of them would look like next to people;
In this collaborative project worked in cross discipline teams of four to create a panoramic pinhole camera, capable of taking a 360° image which was then augmented with digital content. Mixing together old and new image making technologies, this week long project enabled me to explore and understand light in a multitude of ways.
I began by actually creating my camera; first by getting a small, curved container that didn’t let any light in (we decided to use film containers), aluminium to use as the pinhole lens and tape to stick them together as well as to block the light when not needed. We cut up small pieces of photographic paper and put them inside and began taking pictures. Each paper needed different light exposure times, depending on how bright the area was so we experimented on what times were best for different locations.
What we came up with were different sets of photographs; some worked, some didn’t. We realised that, because they came out negative, they resembled x-rays. We decided to play with this idea for our final piece by looking into skeletal hands. We experimented and found that using ink behind the photograph and then creating a positive of that photo caused a white drawing effect onto the positive. It even looked skeletal, therefore, we started drawing behind photographs of hands, creating an x-ray look. These are examples of the outcomes;
With these set of photos, I will be using the apps Aurasma and Aguement to further develop them by contrasting the simple photographs with high-tech apps that create 3D moving effects onto a picture you choose to scan. We wanted to stick with the skeletal theme and we experimented by using a few effects the app had to offer, including this;
In this collaborative project I worked in cross discipline teams to create a series of screen print and paper sculptural objects that are animated through the interaction of colour. I was then introduced to screen-printing as a vehicle for colour interaction and how colour can generate spatial illusions, ambiguities and optical movement.
The first thing we did was actually look at colours and which ones contrasted each other,as well as what colours contained other colours and how to bring those colours out of them. For example, bringing the red out of purple by having red behind/next to the purple.
Bearing those colours in mind, we headed to the print studios and started to plan out geometrical-themed prints. Me and my group agreed on using mainly triangular shapes as they are interesting to use by being able to alter their shapes and still being able to fit them together;
After preparing the screens for the prints, we began choosing paper that would compliment/contrast the paint we had made earlier in the day. We first made basic prints to practice with and make adjustments if needed and to test out how the colours looked together. We then proceeded to overprint by slightly moving the paper before printing which left a 3D effect, or by placing the paper in completely different places to see what patterns it created. As well as overprinting, we tried out using different colours at the same time, which created interesting ombré effects, resembling sunsets/sunrises when we used red and yellow, for example.
After getting all of these prints together, I started planning what to do with all of them. I looked at Frank Stella’s work which inspired me to make a sort of 3D collage.
I wanted to use the idea of cutting out abstract shapes and putting them together by choosing what contrasted well, using colours and shapes. I also wanted to make it more interesting by using both sides of the paper to create a 3D collage so that it almost becomes a sculptural piece. This is where I’m currently at with the piece;
I’ve started to experiment with the colours and looking into making the prints come out of the page on one side. I’ve also decided to show some colour from underneath by cutting out shapes on a print that’s stuck on top of it. I think this develops it by adding texture to the flatter areas. I will be looking into adding more layers by cutting out more shapes and then move on to the other side, then perhaps add string to the top to make it kinetic.
This is exactly how I went with it and I’m very pleased with the result. It’s kinetic from the string and bursting with contrasting shapes and colours, creating an all-round “moving” object. The two-sided aspect creates something a lot more interesting in comparison with just a one-sided collage, and also sculptural, which is what I was intending on creating. We then formed as a group once again and wanted to look into layering the prints and see what we could form from this. We then agreed on cutting pieces from the middle to create a geometrical landscape;
We stuck to using many triangles to compliment the triangular shapes on the print but contrasted the colours to have the layers stand out. I’m really pleased with this outcome, as it’s simple but definitely has depth, making it a very eye-catching piece, with the front print almost framing the landscape, creating a ‘finished’ look to it.
Rwyf wedi ymuno â’r elfen Gymraeg o’r cwrs ac ar hyn o bryd yn gweithio ar wahanol brosiectau e.e.. creu, allan o wifren, adeilad sy’n bodoli yng Nghaerdydd, a fydd wedyn yn cael ei gyflwyno ar gyfer cystadleuaeth ac yn cyfrannu at maes.
Hyd yn hyn, rwyf wedi dechrau ar y gwersi a fydd yn ehangu fy nealltwriaeth o sut i gael gwifrau i doddi gan ddefnyddio gwres a ddaw o drydan ac wedi creu darnau fel sydd yn llun isod (sydd ddim yr esiampl gorau, ond roedd yn ymarfer wych!).
Rwyf wedi dechrau gweithio ar fy adeilad gwifren, sef John Lewis, gan fy mod yn meddwl fod yr adeilad yn un diddorol iawn i edrych arno ac wedi ei adeiladu gan ddefnyddio dull haniaethol i edrych bron fel blaen llong. Dyma’r math o luniau y byddaf yn ceisio seilio fy ngwaith arnynt.
Dyma yw fy nghynnydd hyd yn hyn;
Er credaf fod y canlyniad terfynol yn eithaf llwyddiannus, nid wyf yn hollol hapus gyda’r ffordd y gwnaeth y darn o waith droi allan. Roedd yn anodd i blygu’r wifren oherwydd ei fod yn drwchus, ac arweiniodd hyn at ychydig o nodweddion i edrych yn rhyfedd. Roedd hefyd yn anodd i wneud ‘spotweld’ os nad oedd y wiren mewn man penodol. Canlyniad hyn oedd bod ‘spotwelding’ yr adeilad yn arbennig o anodd. Fodd bynnag, mae’r darn yn debyg i fy nghynllun gwreiddiol ac yn sefyll i fyny sydd, ar y cyfan, yn fy ngwneud yn falch o’r canlyniad terfynol.
Ar gyfer fy ail brosiect byr, rydym fel grwp ac yn unigol yn creu cyfres o oleuadau crog. gwneir rhain o boteli gwydr sydd wedi ei thorri yn hanner ac yn cynnwys gwead ar eu harwyneb sydd wedi ei seilio ar gynllun. Prif amcanion y gwaith yma yw datblygu sgiliau cyd-weithio a datrys problemau. Erbyn hyn, rydwi i wedi creu pum fraslyn sydd wedi eu hysbrydoli gan thema ‘Dyfodol Nawr’. Bydda i a fy ngrwp i’n cydweithio i werthuso’r syniad a phenderfynu ar ba tri ddyla ni fireinio’n bellach ar gyfer cynhyrchu. Fy syniadau i yw edrych ar rhagfyniediadau pobl o sut bydd ein dyfodol ni’n edrych mewn 50+ blwyddyn, felly edrychais ar tyrbin gwynt, pobl yn byw yn hyn, adeiladau eithriadol o dal, adeiladau efo gerddi a phlanhigion ar eu toeau ac anifeiliaid gwyllt yr ydym efo nawr mewn amgueddfeydd oherwydd eu bod nhw’n ddiflanedig.
Mae’r themau wedi newid i fudiad celf a phensaernïol sef Lluniadaeth a ddechreuodd yn Rwsia yn 1919. Prif y nod Lluniadaeth oedd ffafrio’r defnydd o Gelf tuag at bwrpasau cymdeithasol â wnaeth barhau tan 1934.
Dyma enghreifftiau dwi am ddefnyddio i ysbrydoli fy nghynlluniau;
A dyma yw’r dyluniadau rydw i wedi gwneud erbyn hyn;
Cychwynnais wneud deg braslun drwy edrych ar y lluniau y gwelais mewn llyfr. Dwi’n ceisio edrych yn fanwl ar y siapiau geometrig, fel trionglau a sgwariau, a llinellau hir efo bylchau er mwyn creu dyfnder/edrychiad 3D yn y lluniau. Dwi hefyd yn trio cadw’r brasluniau mor syml ac sy’n bosibl oherwydd mae’n creu edrychiad modern iawn i’r adeiladau. Byddaf hefyd yn defnyddio sgwariau a thrionglau i greu edrychiad llonydd a cadarn iawn i’r adeiladau gan fod y lluniau o’r llyfr yn dangos llawer iawn o adeiladau o gyflwr solet iawn.
Dwi wedi gwneud pum braslun sydd yn fwy gorffenedig erbyn hyn. Dwi’n teimlo eu bod nhw i gyd yn ddigon syml a modern i alluogi i mi eu torri allan er mwyn eu defnyddio ar fy mhoteli ond efallai dydi’r rhai crwn a’r rhai triongl ddim am ffitio yn dda iawn ar y poteli, felly ni fyddai’n gallu defnyddio’r cynlluniau yna (sydd isod).
Dewisais y tri dyluniad yma i wneud ar fy nhair potel gan eu bod nhw’n ddigon hawdd torri allan a hefyd nhw sydd yn mynd efo’r themâu orau
Efo’r dyluniau yma, torrais allan y siapiau ar ddarn o vinyl er mwyn gallu rhoi ar y boteli er mwyn gallu rhoi nhw i fewn ‘sandblast’;
Treuliodd ni bore, fel grwp, hel syniadau tuag at ein prosiect newydd. Mae ein syniadau i gyd o amgylch y brifysgol a sut ydym yn teimlo yma. Yn bersonol, fe wnes i ddangos sut oni’n teimlo her ac yn poeni dros pethau fel pres yn aml, a dyma be wnaethom ni ddod allan efo;
Dyma’r boteli gorffenedig;
Dwi’n eithaf hapus gyda sut wnaeth y poteli droi allan, er fod y sandblast heb weithio yn grêt i mi. Mae’r golau tu mewn i’r poteli yn dangos y siapiau yn dda ac yn creu edrychiad diddorol iawn i’r poteli drwy creu symudiad a chysgodion llawn siapiau gwahanol o’r thema celf phensaernîol . Mae symud y golau o amgylch y poteli hefyd yn creu edrychiad gwahanol, sydd yn diddorol iawn edrych ar, gan drio dal beth sy’n digwydd efo camera, gan fod y siapiau o’r sandblast yn symud gyda’r cysgodion. Ar y llaw arall, byddai’n sicr o wneud yn siwr fod y sandblast yn gweithio yn iawn cyn ei ddefnyddio tro nesa, gan fod dyna sydd yn gadael y darn i lawr, yn fy marn i. Ond mi wnesi mwynhau y prosiect yn fawr iawn ac yn sicr o ddefnyddio y prosesau eto yn y dyfodol.
saratrouble 