Contextual Studies

Not much really to report, however I have finally managed to complete the final draft of my essay: hand in Thursday 26th April. Throughout the course of writing my essay, the subject matter I researched into proved to be difficult to get my head round, however through a lot of determination I managed to get there.

Now thatI have completed my essay and also all PDP work (folder and essay) my primary focus is now going to be on all practical work: integrated project and multiples. Multiples has taken a back seat at the moment due to lack of understanding with regards to the direction I wish to progress with my theme and concept. However, now that no more written work is required I am now able to give my full attention to both projects.

Integrated Project: Without Walls - Development

Up to now, I have been experimenting with the basic elements of glass where by I have simply been smashing the glass in order to see what sort of compositions i would create. The purpose of this was to get a feel for the glass but to also develop my idea of the breakdown of someone's person space: their mind.

Progressing futher with my development of the material, I began to produce sketches based on the smashe glass. These led me onto consider the use of glass stringers, conveying the tangles in the brain (an aspect which is associated with the disease in the cause of Alzheimers).

 Below are examples of my sketch book demonstrating my development from my previous experimental pieces.

The last 5 images I feel are the strongest of my development work to date. I therefore intend
to develop them further within the project.

 

Through working with the laminated glass my next stage of development is to incorporate printmaking....sketchbook work to follow.

Applied Practice: Multiples (development)

Sketches experimenting with a variety of different media
Developing idea of conveying repetition of movement.

Getting comfortable taking photographs of myself and also drawing myself, something that I haven't been particularly confident at doing.

Development of ideas: from plp to concept development

Initial idea(s) highlighted in PLP where I stated my intention to look at the relationship between people and space. I initially began to research into the relationship that exists or does not exist within society. I then progressed from this to looking at space as a collection of relations between objects by their distance from one another. From this I began to consider what materials would be suitable to convey the concept. This led me on to look at glass. Having never workde with the material before I began to play around to see what sort of results I would get. 

Results: dramatic and powerful.

Progressing further I began to consider what I felt this smashed effect symbolised. Still keeping in mind the concept of space, I progressed to developed my initial ideas in relation to the relationship that exists within a person's mind. Having been experimenting with the glass, the outcomes i got had a direct link as to the direction my project was heading. 


At this stage I have began to research alzheimers and how I can convey my concept through the use of glass. I intend to work to a reasonablly small scale in order to convet the idea that alzheimers can go undetected for years, but it will also represent the fragility of the person mind. I want to illustrate the breakdown of a persons mind whilst going through alzheimers. 



A little notes on Contextual Studies.
Over the past few weeks I have been working on the re-draft of my essay for contextual studies. A very time consuming process, particularly if more extensive research is required to support your argument. At this stage though I am pleased to say that I managed to complete my second draft for submission Wednesday 18th April. Main focus is going to be on studio work from this point forward.

Sketchbook work continued

Smashed and rearranged glass

Ink washes

Sketchbook work

First attempts at smashing glass and repositioning

Research of New Material

Wanting to continue to express my ideas in multiple ways, i thought working with glass would be appropriate. Working with this medium has been something I have wanted to experiment with for a while and now is my chance. Experimenting with both laminated glass and plane glass, I have been able to gain a basic understanding with regards as to how I can manipulate the material. In doing so it has provided me with a different approach to my work and has allowed me to develop my concept further. 

1st Method: In cracking the glass I have began to look into what this could symbolise in term of space. My intention for this project is t o create a fragile yet strong artwork that is not necessarily noticable at first glance.

Research of how to work with glass comes from a book written by glass artist George Papadopoulos: 

 

integrated project: development progression

Not knowing exactly what direction i was going with my project, i began to look more into what the theme was in order to get a greater idea of what my concept was going to be. In doing so, i began to work on 3 different concepts that i felt had potential to be developed further in response to the theme of space adn the relationship we have with it.
CONCEPT 1: An abstract object is an object which does not exist at any particular time or place, but rather exists as a type of thing (an idea or abstraction) This approach was developed from the previous brief of non-place. The direction i took the previous project left room for furhter exploration and development.
CONCEPT 2: Space was a collection of relations between objects given bu their distance and direction from one another. Neither space nor time can be emphatically perceived, they are elements ofa systematic framework that humans use to structure all experiences. What i felt had potential to be developed within this concept was the indea of interaction with the artwork n order to coney the idea of peoples relationship to the space which surrounds them. Taking this into consideration i began to consider what materials would be successfull work with to express my ideas. I led onto to look at glass, particularly the work of Geroge Papadopoulos.