Shooting

Finally trying to shoot some of my ideas.. but it's not going too well. I only have a couple of ideas for scenes, and the one i've tried to see through properly has gone horribly horrily wrong.
I was trying to make a red food colouring river between hills of sugar. Sounds simple enough. Except the food colouring leaked into the sugar rather than creating a river (i *DID* try to use cling film to stop it, but it didn't want to be nice to me).
I then considered using some old shots i took of food colouring dispersing in water.. but they looked wrong bcause they were at the wrong angle (and can't really be taken from the right angle).
I also tried layering splatters of ink on paper over the image, but that also came out looking off, because either the splatters were too big, or you could see edges.

Some Old In With The New....

Some old ideas I haven't put down anywhere yet, since my ideas were going to quickly at the time-

Object Memories
- Having physical objects with each object having a few photographs printed onto them. Objects that came to mind were a glass, a box, a blouse. I wanted the juxtaposition of the objects to create stories, which the object would have been present for. The idea of the print being left on them related to the idea of the imprint of memories being left in our mind.

Story Book
-Having a photograph on each page, with a piece of text facing that described the image. The pages would create a story inspired by both the images, and research on psychology and emotions.

The Idea so far, and what I've been up to...

I've been thinking about the idea of the mind being a setting for a story, and considering how different sections might interact with eachother. I'm looking through this article on Phrenology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki.Phrenology as researh for this.

I am not certain yet quite how I want to display my piece. I have considered the use of characters- as the personification of mental disorders (e.g. 'schizophrenia' or 'depression'), or alternatively as different functions (e.g. 'memory', 'visual awareness'), and how these characters might interact with eachother.

I have also considered these things as landscapes, rather than as characters. I have taken a couple of trips in the past week to try and photograph different landscapes for this purpose- so I have a selection of city and woodland images to work from.

Other Photography Foundation Blogs

These are the blogs of a couple of the other students in my Photography Foundation course:

http://hevlet.blogspot.com/

http://whingeandwhine.tumblr.com/

Poppy Shakespeare

I've just finished watching Poppy Shakespeare, a programme on 4od about someone who is admitted to a mental institute... dispite appearing perfectly sane. The story tells of what it does to her, and explores the idea of a currupt medical system, where the sane are kept in, and the ill thrown out of the hospital- all to make their success rate look good.

I find the journey we see from sanity to madness interesting. The confusion of having to prove you're insane to prove you're sane reminds me of Muchausen's syndrome (which i looked at briefly on 26th April) - the need to do harm to yourself to prove you're ill... when it's thought you're not.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/poppy-shakespeare/4od#2918423

John Baldessari

I have found the correct spelling of his name! huzzah!

I've been looking through 'Life's balance werk 84-04' by Baldessari.. and unfortunately most of his work in this book is lost on me... although what I do understand of his work, I find humorous. For example, the wallpaper of his Zurich pieces compares the visual appearance of different items- a lightbulb to a potato, a pizza to a clock, an ear to a pretzel...

I find 'No more sin' to be an interesting piece- he gets rid of the sin of lovers by seperating them from eachother using a 'cut and paste' method. It seems a very child-like way of trying to make the world a better place- as if by cutting them from eachother in the image removes their sins.

However, my favourites of his work are found in his purely text pieces. The reason for researching him in the first place was for this piece:

I must not make any more boring art.

The piece is self- contradictory, as it itself may be considered 'boring', as it is merely a repetition of words on a page. However, this joke also makes the piece interesting, and no longer boring- a vicious circle.
In addition, I feel the piece serves as a reminder to artists- to remember not to produce work that is boring. To capture the audience's attention, to make them think, to get them interested. The act of writing lines forces you to remember what you have written- so that the message is so built into us that we can't help but follow the advice.

I'm an Art Student.

I was looking for John Buldazari ( PLEASE correct my spelling if you know the artist i mean- i can't find any info on him!!), as suggested by my photography teacher... remembering the work of Daniel Eatock, but not his name, I thought it was the same person.

I like this http://www.eatock.com/project/i-list/ piece by Eatock.. I think it gives an insight into the author, and their life. Some of the strange items on it, for example 'I have individually dotted every single millimetre square on an A1 sheet of millimetre graph paper using a 0.1 millimetre black Edding pen.' Remind me a lot of the strange things I myself have done as a consequence of being an art student (for example, last Thursday, I filled each square on a 2 sided squared A4 page each with a dot, in order to explore the idea of obssession. I have also done bizarre things like eaten caterpillars, cut up a pigs head, and bought over a kg of breakfast marmalade all in one go.). There comes a time where you realise that no matter how bizaare a thing it is that you're doing, it can be explained with the 4 simple words: 'I'm an art student.'

Psychology in Photography

There's another student in my Photography class looking into Psychology for her Final Major Project- she's currently consentrating on Schizophrenia, and the differences between sanity and insanity. We were discussing today how we'd both had trouble producing any actual *images* for our project as of yet- because Psychology is concerning the mind, rather than reality. It cannot *be* photographed in the same way as other things. This is a limitation of using photogtraphy rather than, say, painting, or drawing, which are much easier ways of expressing something that isn't physically there.
I've come to the conclusion that I will have to photograph... whatever takes my fancy.. even if at the time of photographing I don't feel it is relevant, or else I will get too bogged down on relevance, and never produce any work. After taking the photos, I will attempt to brainstorm from the contacts, in order to push my ideas forwards. This is not how I usually work, and I may find it difficult. To help me, I will continue to research artists and psychology, in order to inform my brainstorming.

Painting The Mind

Just finished watching 'Painting the Mind' on 4od. It tells the stories of several different people who are compulsed to produce art work- all the time. With two people, the art began with problems after a stroke, and is very expressive. The show contrasts these two with artistic savants, who produce much more realistic images.
I find the science behind the need to produce art to be interesting. I also noted the strong links between speech and expressivism vs. realism as interesting.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/painting-the-mind/4od#2930721

Munchausen's syndrome

After trying to produce and image for today's photography lesson, I realised I would need to do a LOT more research, which would mean narrowing down my idea.
Browsing through the internet for different mental health issues, I discovered Munchausen's syndrome, where people cause their own symptoms, and have them checked by different hospitals, waisting their time. They often have an extensive medical knowledge, and so the symptoms need to be checked thoroughly, waisting medical time.
I think depression, eating disorders, and schizophrenia also have potential to make interesting photographs. Synesthesia would also be an interesting area to look into further.

My Kid Could Paint That

Documentry about a 4 year old kid who became famous producing abstract art, and then fell from fame as the belief that her father had either produced the entire painting, or parts of it, spread.
Raises questions about what good abstract art is, what good parenthood is, and the power of the media.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00csk9p/b00csk8k/My_Kid_Could_Paint_That/

Hospital times- What if...?

went to see my dearest Lois in hospital today. She had to get a sist removed, so has been in hospital a few days. Was wowed by a pink bus on my way there (which i *had* to photograph, since I knew Lois would *love* it.), and was very interested by the welcome collection's window display as i passed it. It asked the question 'What if...'. I plan on visiting for a better look soonish.

Imagine...

I was sent this link by a friend just now

http://ephphatha-poetry.blogspot.com/2010/04/imagine-if-tea-party-was-black-tim-wise.html

I had no idea half of this was going on in the USA (I mean.. I knew Obama was getting grief other his ethnicity.. but I hadn't heard any actual stories about it.) I think what's shown here is a really interesting look at things, and hope that the relevant people will take notice of it, and think about their actions.

The Man Who Photographed the 60s

just watched this as well:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00pwsns/The_Man_Who_Shot_the_60s/?from=r&id=06fcc1c4-dbee-4904-8525-bd0af369bbaa.0

it's about fashion photographer Brian Duffy. Dunno what to say about it, other than it's interesting and watch it lol

Goldsmiths: But Is It Art?

Take responsibility for your work
Make sure your work is seen
(rough quote by tutor at Goldsmiths)

I've been watching 'Goldsmiths: But is it Art?' on bbc iplayer today. I found what was said about socialising being fundamental to becoming successful to be interesting- that you have to know the right people, or come across as *very* determined to become successful. It is important to get out there, and to meet people, and to charm them into liking your work.

I particularly liked the aesthetic qualities of the work of painter Ian Gonczarow, and found the idea of trying to portray darker themes using a more innocent front to be interesting.

Thomas Leahy also had some very interesting work. I am unsure as to whether the sign 'private +church property+ tresspassers will be forgiven ' on his door is one of his works, or if it is just something he owns, but i found it to be a wonderful take on both ownership of property and religion. I assume it is one of his pieces because of the other work he produces- coming from a background of making armor, his pieces are made of armor, but seem to be based largely on ideas of peace and innocence. Despite his worries that the art world sees his work as 'too obvious', I particularly like that it can be understood by more than just himself, and more than just those in the art world. If art is about communication, then he is doing a particullarly good job of it.

link to episode 1: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00s01xm/Goldsmiths_But_Is_It_Art_Episode_1/

Obsession

Yet another interesting ad from facebook... which i've tried to upload here, but failed to. Also copying the text for it failed. So you'll have to manage with just the link to the site.

http://www.clouds365.com/

I think repetatively photographing the same thing could have interesting ties with obsession, and I would like to experiment with this idea.

Thru-You

Another awesome thing found on Rory's Blog:

http://thru-you.com/

Milkshakes!

I've been making Sweet Milkshakes. They taste brilliant. The recipe is simple: Milk + Vanilla Ice Cream + Sweet of your choice. (Please note that Jelly Babies actually work really BADLY in this recipe. They don't cut up properly.)

Awesome Free Stuff

Was told about a couple of sites that give away free (or discounted) stuff by a friend:

http://www.anightlessordinary.org.uk

http://www.studentbeans.com

Making Websites

The plus side of desperately requiring a Mac on a Sunday afternoon is that you get to catch up with the most unlikely of people (since hardly anybody owns one). My cd might not have worked in the mac, but I did discover the graphics site Grafinke, run by a couple of my friends, and got some tips on how to make a web page- using photoshop to create the base, the scalpel tool to select areas for making buttons (and saving as web), and then dreamweaver to do all the technical bits and bobs. I'll definitely need to have a more thorough investigation of it at a later time.