Showing posts with label Materials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Materials. Show all posts
Monday, 25 February 2013
Thursday, 8 December 2011
IPP2 Exploration
Reflective Writing on Exploration: Working with Materials
Sitting in the space, I am aware of two objects on the floor in front of me. One is a small, hand-held torch; the other is a length of soft, multi-coloured material. They offer to me the ideas of:
Practicality... function... texture... shape... structure... movement... light source... covering... exposing... folding... comfort... memory...
I do not know where to begin, so I simply start to move.
I began firstly to move with the soft, fluid cloth as this seemed more accessible to me. A lot of my initial images were focused around the properties of the material; how it folded and rippled when moved through the air, and the shapes it created on the floor when released. I tried to mimic this fluidity and folding in my own body, falling softly in and out of the floor and curling up next to the material in the space. I quickly became absorbed in this process and began to see it as more of an act of play with my object rather than an exploration of the material’s properties. The prevailing theme for me during this workshop was the idea of taking apart and bringing back together;
‘...in working creatively with materials or objects from disparate sources we partially (or wholly) let go of their usual significance and their normal place in the world, in order to discover new connections and meanings arising between them.’
M. Tufnell and C. Crickmay. (2004) A Widening Field. (Page 157).
This concept allowed me to really enjoy coming up with new possibilities and a fresh view on the mini sketches I was creating with my objects. One image that I particularly enjoyed working with was simply gathering up the material into a bundle and releasing it again on the floor, watching it expand out again. I developed this idea so that I gathered the cloth up into a bundle under my stomach when lying on the floor, so that it could not be seen. I then slowly began to pull the fabric out from underneath my body creating what I hoped was a collection of images ranging from an offering to the group of my internal thoughts and feelings, to perhaps the more base anatomical image of internal organs such as the intestines. Working with the torch I found more challenging. Perhaps from an aesthetic view point I was initially less drawn to this object. The idea of working with a light source however was fascinating for me and stimulated many images for movement, greatly inspired by our previous workshop explorations with artist Christian Kipp using light from a projector. Having seen an image of an installation piece by artist Cornelia Parker entitled ‘Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View’ (1991), I am also keen to experiment with the idea of shadow and moments frozen in time. I began very simply with the torch, turning it on and off, rolling it across the floor, highlighting different parts of my body. I then started to explore more deeply with these images. In particular I enjoyed turning on the torch and pressing it to my skin. This created a beautiful amber patch of light around the torch as the light melted through the layers of my skin. Another moment I enjoyed real connection with was when rolling the torch along the floor I began to mimic this movement by rolling alongside it, following the light. This moment felt free, playful and child-like and I loved the symbolic moment as the torch gently came to rest and illuminated a part of my body as I came to rest in front of it. Although I briefly played with the idea of moving with both of my objects at once, I found it very hard to manipulte and move at the same time and the images I was creating with them did not feel as comfortable or personal. However, I did enjoy alternating between the two objects as, for example, the image of covering parts of my body with the material were juxtaposed with the image of using the torch to reveal and draw attention to my body. The opposite dynamics of my two objects informed and inspired my movement and were I to carry on this exploration I would like to develop this idea of switching between hard, rigid, tough objects and soft, malleable objects. I would also have liked to investigated the different components of my light source, taking it apart, seperating it and pulling it together again. I found working with these objects very complimentary to the way I move and think as an artist. Even though I was not working on my own in the space, I found myself becoming more and more involved in my own process and less available to the space and people around me. During previous experiences working with objects I experienced a desire to pre-plan and perhaps over-think what I could do with my object. In this experience however, I was able to lose my pre-conceptions about my object and simply allow it to inform my movement rather than my movement inform what I did with the object. This was an unfamiliar and exciting way of working for me and the movement material I discovered out of this fresh approach felt right and secure in my own body.
Sitting in the space, I am aware of two objects on the floor in front of me. One is a small, hand-held torch; the other is a length of soft, multi-coloured material. They offer to me the ideas of:
Practicality... function... texture... shape... structure... movement... light source... covering... exposing... folding... comfort... memory...
I do not know where to begin, so I simply start to move.
I began firstly to move with the soft, fluid cloth as this seemed more accessible to me. A lot of my initial images were focused around the properties of the material; how it folded and rippled when moved through the air, and the shapes it created on the floor when released. I tried to mimic this fluidity and folding in my own body, falling softly in and out of the floor and curling up next to the material in the space. I quickly became absorbed in this process and began to see it as more of an act of play with my object rather than an exploration of the material’s properties. The prevailing theme for me during this workshop was the idea of taking apart and bringing back together;
‘...in working creatively with materials or objects from disparate sources we partially (or wholly) let go of their usual significance and their normal place in the world, in order to discover new connections and meanings arising between them.’
M. Tufnell and C. Crickmay. (2004) A Widening Field. (Page 157).
This concept allowed me to really enjoy coming up with new possibilities and a fresh view on the mini sketches I was creating with my objects. One image that I particularly enjoyed working with was simply gathering up the material into a bundle and releasing it again on the floor, watching it expand out again. I developed this idea so that I gathered the cloth up into a bundle under my stomach when lying on the floor, so that it could not be seen. I then slowly began to pull the fabric out from underneath my body creating what I hoped was a collection of images ranging from an offering to the group of my internal thoughts and feelings, to perhaps the more base anatomical image of internal organs such as the intestines. Working with the torch I found more challenging. Perhaps from an aesthetic view point I was initially less drawn to this object. The idea of working with a light source however was fascinating for me and stimulated many images for movement, greatly inspired by our previous workshop explorations with artist Christian Kipp using light from a projector. Having seen an image of an installation piece by artist Cornelia Parker entitled ‘Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View’ (1991), I am also keen to experiment with the idea of shadow and moments frozen in time. I began very simply with the torch, turning it on and off, rolling it across the floor, highlighting different parts of my body. I then started to explore more deeply with these images. In particular I enjoyed turning on the torch and pressing it to my skin. This created a beautiful amber patch of light around the torch as the light melted through the layers of my skin. Another moment I enjoyed real connection with was when rolling the torch along the floor I began to mimic this movement by rolling alongside it, following the light. This moment felt free, playful and child-like and I loved the symbolic moment as the torch gently came to rest and illuminated a part of my body as I came to rest in front of it. Although I briefly played with the idea of moving with both of my objects at once, I found it very hard to manipulte and move at the same time and the images I was creating with them did not feel as comfortable or personal. However, I did enjoy alternating between the two objects as, for example, the image of covering parts of my body with the material were juxtaposed with the image of using the torch to reveal and draw attention to my body. The opposite dynamics of my two objects informed and inspired my movement and were I to carry on this exploration I would like to develop this idea of switching between hard, rigid, tough objects and soft, malleable objects. I would also have liked to investigated the different components of my light source, taking it apart, seperating it and pulling it together again. I found working with these objects very complimentary to the way I move and think as an artist. Even though I was not working on my own in the space, I found myself becoming more and more involved in my own process and less available to the space and people around me. During previous experiences working with objects I experienced a desire to pre-plan and perhaps over-think what I could do with my object. In this experience however, I was able to lose my pre-conceptions about my object and simply allow it to inform my movement rather than my movement inform what I did with the object. This was an unfamiliar and exciting way of working for me and the movement material I discovered out of this fresh approach felt right and secure in my own body.
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
IPP2
Over the past few weeks we have been experimenting with materials and different forms of light source.
Workshop with visual artist Christian Kipp;
I had a fantastic experience in this workshop! Working with the concepts of a moving light source and still images moving across the walls and over the body was captivating - I only wish it could have lasted longer! We initially started with the projector slowly moving the projected images over the walls around the space. At first we were very cautious of breaking the image by putting ourselves in front of it - we were enjoying these beautiful images too much! However, as we began to move in response to the images and came into contact with the light it became obvious to us that we could give a new quality to the image as it was projected on our own bodies. We played with the texture, structure, shapes as the image was moved across the wall, becoming distorted around the corners of the space, going in and out of focus as the projector moved close to and away from the wall. I found the stimulus of the textures of the projected image over our skin particularly interesting and inspiring for movement. This is definitely an exploration I would like to continue with in the future!
Workshop with visual artist Christian Kipp;
I had a fantastic experience in this workshop! Working with the concepts of a moving light source and still images moving across the walls and over the body was captivating - I only wish it could have lasted longer! We initially started with the projector slowly moving the projected images over the walls around the space. At first we were very cautious of breaking the image by putting ourselves in front of it - we were enjoying these beautiful images too much! However, as we began to move in response to the images and came into contact with the light it became obvious to us that we could give a new quality to the image as it was projected on our own bodies. We played with the texture, structure, shapes as the image was moved across the wall, becoming distorted around the corners of the space, going in and out of focus as the projector moved close to and away from the wall. I found the stimulus of the textures of the projected image over our skin particularly interesting and inspiring for movement. This is definitely an exploration I would like to continue with in the future!
Saturday, 29 January 2011
'Paper Portraits' 3
This week we explored the idea of the sculpture of the body - in a very literal sense!
We first rolled and bound ourselves up in a large roll of paper. We then explored the movement possibilities in this state, investigating and discovering how the paper restricted or influenced our movement and how it moved around us...
The paper eventually began to tear and fall apart around us... As it did though, it made some fascinating costumes, as parts of the paper fell away while others remained...
Some thoughts while witnessing...
three-dimensional statue
We first rolled and bound ourselves up in a large roll of paper. We then explored the movement possibilities in this state, investigating and discovering how the paper restricted or influenced our movement and how it moved around us...
The paper eventually began to tear and fall apart around us... As it did though, it made some fascinating costumes, as parts of the paper fell away while others remained...
Some thoughts while witnessing...
body parts appearing and disappearing
stillness
dead body
bed, safety, comfort
three-dimensional statue
cocoon, chrysallis
emerging
ripping
escaping
Some thoughts while exploring...
I thought initially that I would feel claustrophobic inside the paper - bound up really tight without being able to see, I was therefore a bit apprehensive!
However, once I started rolling I really enjoyed it and found it comforting the have the paper around me...
The whole experience inside the paper was a lot lighter and more giving than I thought it would be and I really got into exploring the movement possible in this 'sculptural costume'...
I didn't want to finish or leave my paper costume!!
Thursday, 20 January 2011
"Paper Portraits 2"
Developing our work from the previous week, we explored the meaning of a self-portrait in a more literal sense.
We were asked to draw a representation of ourselves on the paper, drawing the body including layers such as bones and organs. However, we were only allowed to draw using our mouth and feet to hold the pen!
This was a fascinating exercise that allowed us to really concentrate on the parts of the body that were important to us as individuals. We could then use these portraits as a movement score to develop a short movement phrase. This was great fun and very interesting as even though the picture was me, it also wasn't me and made me move in a different way to how I would normally...
We were asked to draw a representation of ourselves on the paper, drawing the body including layers such as bones and organs. However, we were only allowed to draw using our mouth and feet to hold the pen!
This was a fascinating exercise that allowed us to really concentrate on the parts of the body that were important to us as individuals. We could then use these portraits as a movement score to develop a short movement phrase. This was great fun and very interesting as even though the picture was me, it also wasn't me and made me move in a different way to how I would normally...
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
'Paper Portraits'
In our Dance and Theatre sessions we have now started a new line of work with 'Paper Portraits'.
Guest artist Florence Peake introduced us to the combining of movement and art using large bare sheets of paper and pens to create our 'portraits' of movement.
We each had a turn at moving across the paper, doing whatever movement came naturally. The others in the group would illustrate the movement on the paper around the mover through lines, swirls, dots, scribbles and so on. This was a facinating and very enjoyable exercise which created amazing and intimate pieces of art work.
We were then able to use these illustrations as scores to create new movement phrases.
Guest artist Florence Peake introduced us to the combining of movement and art using large bare sheets of paper and pens to create our 'portraits' of movement.
We each had a turn at moving across the paper, doing whatever movement came naturally. The others in the group would illustrate the movement on the paper around the mover through lines, swirls, dots, scribbles and so on. This was a facinating and very enjoyable exercise which created amazing and intimate pieces of art work.
We were then able to use these illustrations as scores to create new movement phrases.
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