Tuesday 27 November 2012

Tutorial

Aims, intentions and interests I am exploring through my work

  • using appropriated images / footage based on eating disorders and the mental disturbances of it. particularly emphasising on footage found on rhodes farm.
  • using a lot of repetition and editing that reflects the obsessive, intense and psychotic tendencies of the illness.
  • something that impacts on the audience + makes their suffering come across.
Describe 3 issues in your practical work  you need to address and discuss in tutorial.

  • How am I going to show my work
  • How long should the video be and think about if the repetitive aspects mean if its ok for people no to see it in its entirety 
  • if I'm on track any thing else I need to think about

Agreed actions

  • Look into booking a project space to try out using a projector/installation 
  • look at lucy gunning - think about multiple screens 
  • look at hilary lloyd, sadie coles.
  • look at flicker films. old American / english film makers
  • Paul sharritz 
  • lux online - structural film making , peter gidall

Cross year crit

I had a cross year crit the other, it was good to get input from another tutor and students in other years, however the group wasn't that big due to not many people turning up.

Some of the points that were made in the crit when I showed my video :

  • I need to think how the audience is going to view the video, what setting ? monitor, projection etc. 
  • how can I make sure that the piece is mine own work and it still not seem like the video has the authorship of the documentary maker
  • push what i'm doing don't be afraid to make a statement or to push it to its limits
  • explore with the subject 
  • its interesting how I'm using a documentary which tries to be truthful and make something objective and I'm using the footage to make a subjective comment 
  • maybe try using own footage/filming using actors
  • the video is powerful

Monday 19 November 2012

Video Development

So I decided to go with the topic of using eating disorders or mental illnesses for the topic of my videos to start with. Using documentaries of Rhodes farm plus other footage from youtube. I feel like it is a subject I can comment on due to having so much experience with my sister being so ill with it and therefore having some insight with out it being directly about me. Its something that I have a strong connection with and feel strongly about. I was in two minds whether to go with it or not, as it is something really personal and I didn't want it to be some sort of cliche GCSE art project, but then I thought I'm doing my BA now I need to be brave and push myself and its something I could potentially make some good work on.

I saw the documentary 'Dana, the 8 year old anorexic' again on the tv recently, I didn't particularly want to watch it but I just couldn't change the channel, and then I was left in bad mood after it, why did I do that to myself when I knew it would make me upset. I kept thinking about the fact I had watched this, when I made previous works about the West Borough Bapitist church, I initially found the footage shocking then through working with it so much I became slightly desensitised to it whilst still being able to make a provocative video at the end of it. So I'm quite interested in the aspect of making something I become desensitised to but is hard hitting for the audience.

So I have now accumulated and been looking for bits off footage I can use. I gathered stuff from a documentary from Rhodes farm an eating disorder clinic in London, I also got other footage which I thought I could potentially use in with the footage.

Heres my first piece I did, I only used the footage from the documentaries about Rhodes Farm. It has footage of the girls eating at meal times with speaking overlapping and repeating. I like how it starts more subdued then turns more to the angry and upset. I feel though that the video is quite subdued and needs to be more in your face, attacking and intense. I need to work through all the clips I have and see what i want to use and see what I can use to make a new video and see how I can make it better.


Sunday 18 November 2012

Bruce Nauman

Bruce Nauman did a sound piece in a room where the phrase "Get out of my mind, Get out of this room" is intensely repeated in a distressed voice . He uses a lot of repetition in his works and use of voices.


'In addressing repetition in his video work, Nauman similarly noted that he never intended for his tapes to be viewed on their entirety. He preferred, rather, to make works that gave viewers a feeling of being able to come in or leave at any time'

I need to think about when using repetition in my videos whether I want to people to watch them in their entirety or if it still works and doesn't matter if only a fraction of the video if viewed.

'Clown Torture, Clown taking a shit. Must we accept the cacophony of what the clown tells us ('Pete and Repeat we sitting on a fence. Pete fell off who was left? Repeat. Pete and Repeat . . .) and the cacophony of what they don't want to tell us (No!...No!...No!...No!...)? why remain caught in the vice-like grip of a low-ceilinged room amidst a profusion of monitors and wall projections showing us one clown having a jar of water poured over his head, another stamping 'no no no' with his feet, a third taking a shit? Their torture becomes our. Looking and listening become unbearable, just as they were on the chair surrounded by the five droning monitors. Unable to say anything to us, these installations attack us. The neat little jig (Get out of my mind, Get out of this room) has disintegrated into a cacophony, but the effect is only magnified. As soon as you get in you have to get out.'

Hayward Gallery
Bruce Nauman 

I identify with this aspect of his work, that the torture of the subject in his videos become the torture of the audience, that it becomes unbearable and the installations attack us, as this is an aspect that throw my videos I think I want to inflict on the viewers.

"Bruce Nauman. 'My work is basically an outgrowth of anger I feel about the human condition.. The aspects of it that make me angry are our capacity for cruelty and the ability people have to ignore situations they don't like'""

This quote I like also because I want people to not be able to ignore the situation I put them in.



Friday 16 November 2012

Tutorial

I thought I had already posted this but I guess not. I had a tutorial with my tutor and showed her these videos from my foundation course and some text pieces.

Here I was looking at extreme religious cults who proclaim there beliefs and actions are a positive thing but they actually contradict this. I used a lot of repetition to emphasise aspects and due to the relentless repetition of their preachings.



Feed back for things a I need to look at and think about for progressing further.
  • Look into theory of repetition in art and videos and effects it can have on people.
  • Peter Osborne 
  • Get Art in Theory book and read up 

  • Artists to look at - Elizabeth Price - New user disco, John Baldessari, Bruce Nauman - get out of this room , get out of my head and On kawara 

  • Things to think about - what subject do I want to look at - extreme views/groups/situations, which have negative/controversial aspects in it.
  • is the imagery important or could I just have sound ?
  • how I want to show it. 

  • maybe look into something to do with the super natural exhibition. Extreme aspects of it. potentially contrast positive and negative aspects of enhancement. 
  • Need to make it personal in some way to me, a personal interest that I feel like I can comment on. 
  • Potentially could look into eating disorders or mental health issues - anorexia pushing human enhancement to extremes. I feel like I can comment on this due to my sister and mum suffering from it. 
  • could use documentaries from Rhodes farm where eve was in hospital for many months.
  • can carry on use of repetition, as it will reflect the, obsessive, psychotic and intense qualities and the illness and cognitive malfunctions. 


Sunday 11 November 2012

Elizabeth Price


I went to see the Turner Prize at Tate Britain,  Elizabeth Price's work resonated with me due to the use of appropriation , rapid fire images and hypnotic sounds. 

John Baldessari




  • He uses found images and sources which he distorts in some way to make us question what the work is communicating - appropriation
  • generally works involve some form of humour 
  • some works are produced in a collage way 
  • uses a lot a repetition - in his photographic series and video work especially in the video and works 'I must not make anymore boring art' 
  • The video contradicts the phrase he repeatedly writes , as he ends up making something that becomes boring.
  • relates to my work due to repetition  and use of contradictions.