Exhibition Planning

I have had an idea after discussing my plan for the exhibition so far with my tutor. The installation I have set up is currently in a studio space with a ceiling for the material to hang from, a table for the material to rest and a chair for the projector to be placed on. To make the whole installation more exciting and authentic to my subject matter I have decided that I am going to build a sculputre to support the set up in the same way it is currently being held. I have measured the relevant distances in order to build around the installation and now aim to begin building with wood, attaching by using a drill and screws. First I shall draw up some designs for how I want this to look, but I don't intend to spend too long on the design aspect as spontaneity of the construction is essential.

Today I made a few adjustments to the installation I created yesterday in the studio. I added some more spaghetti sticks to add more detail to the projected drawing as I feel it improves it. I spent a lot of time today thinknig and planning how I would install this piece in the exhibition.

Exploring my New Idea.

After my talk with one of my tutors yesterday I felt inspired to explore a new idea. I decided to come into college today to get cracking!

It's really handy having a mum who works in a Secondary School with unwanted Overhead Projectors, it saves me constantly having to frantically search around for one to use. I now intended to make the projector become a part of the actual installation, exploring the space around the object to create a shadow drawing against and through a translucent sheet.

I began by experimenting with the sharpness of the projection from materials such as spaghetti, cocktail sticks and straws, varying the distances from the light source.

I also thought about the possibilities of hanging materials from the head of the projector to make the installation more exciting. It also creates an interesting faint effect on the projected drawing.

I decided to use an insullation tube that I found in my garage as I saw potential exciting elements to it. I tube consists of a spiral wire frame wrapped in plastic. I thought it would be interesting to see the projection if I tore away a lot of the plastic to reveal to the structural frame.

I feel the torn plastic gives a real sense of a building that has been destroyed. I now wanted to think about how I could try and suggest this drawing suggests a building in the process of reconstruction as it has been destroyed.

The outline of a crane instantly creates a sense of a construction/reconstruction site as it is machinery we associate with buildings in a process of development.

I am really pleased with my outcome so far for this idea and I think I have decided I am going to display this in the final exhibition for the project. I have based myself up the stairs from the normal allocated studio space into the mezzanine area. I find it really exciting to think that the work will be viewed as people reach the top of the stairs (providing the projector is turned on). I think it is essential that the projection is viewed before the sculpture becuase I want people to feel confused when they come round the side to reveal what is actually creating the projection. Another thing that I find particularly interesting about this idea is that when I was working today the windows in the room where open causing wind to blow the translucent sheet. I therefore intentionally decided to leave some slack on the material to allow the wind to catch it. I found this really interesting as it helps to evoke a sense of reality of being at a tall construction site, where the wind would cause materials at height to flutter and buildings to slightly sway. Tomorrow I am going to think of ways of how I can improve the installation and possibly add materials to the projection. Bring it on...

Research

Unfortunately, I am not able to access the images of structures Martin Fletcher, also known as 'Systems House', has created. I have put a link to his website where you can view a collection of images of sculptures he has made.

http://systemshouse.org/

'Garden City' 2010 and 'Triple Screen Wall Mounted Construction 1' 2007 are particular favourites of mine. I find the repetition of forms very interesting as it gives a great sense of construction and consistent building. When I see these pieces I can instantly visualise environments within them, which is probably what really draws me to his work.

Today I was discussing projection with my tutor and the importance of simplicity in creating projections. Ceal Floyer's projections appear to be very simple, but the concept behind them is extremely clever.

'Overhead Projection' 2006 is my favourite piece by Floyer. Although it is simply a light bulb placed onto a Overhead Projector, the idea of the object being a lightbulb and it being placed onto a source of light makes the piece become very interesting. I am really excited by the idea of drawing with light by placing objects/materials onto the projector bed.

'Let The Projection Create the Sculpture'

This morning I was experimenting with both structures which I have recently built, projecting them against a white wall in the studio space. I found the outcome projection very interesting due to the varying levels of focus. By areas of the structures being further away from the light, the quality of focus is lost. I feel this creates a very mysterious effect, which I really like. This projection in particular gives an essence of destruction when I look at it.

In the afternoon I had a tutorial to assess the performance of my progression within the FMP.

Recently I built a model-like structure, which I did find very interesting and exciting to build, but I have perhaps been going off track with the subject matter in my work. Although I am still projecting the structures I am creating, the projected drawings are becoming somewhat less interesting as they are literally shadows being cast that suggest the outline of the sculptures. However, the key thing that intrigued me with using projection within my work was the power of creating a drawing from shadows that the viewer would not necessarily expect to be achieved from what is infront of the light source. My interest with shadow installations has been largely inspired by Noble and Webster. Talking with my tutor today, I discussed how I was concerned about copying aspects of their work. However, after reminding myself the difference between their work and my ideas of construction I have reassured myself to keep going with the projecting shadows ideas.

I now intend experiment with the idea I had of placing materials upon the projector using the bed as my drawing board. Instead of simply creating a drawing though, I will invisage the piece as a sculpture that has the potential to develop into the surrounding space of the projector. Essentially the OHP will become part of the sculpture, which I feel instantly adds interest to the idea. By exploring the space above the light source I can let the drawing create the sculpture as oppose to the other way round, which I have been doing recently. The work is definately more fascinating when I work from the projected drawing I am creating.

I intend to experiment with mark-making using smaller materials such as spaghetti, cocktail sticks and perhaps wire/string. I don't want the image to create an exact image of a construction site, but I would like it to give an essence of construction in the process without being too abstract. I will now explore the success of materials and see how the idea works out.

Focusing on Creating a Landscape

I've been meaning to play with this idea for a while now. An artist that's work is extremely fascinating to me is Gerry Judah. I researched a lot of his paintings that come off the wall at an earlier stage within this project. I have decided I want to create a sculpture using his work as an inspiration. I have gathered together some materials either from skips or from packaging, including wood, cardboard and polystryrene. With these materials I had an intention to build up a landscape spontaneously with the idea of construction or possibly destruction in mind.

Once I began building up the structure I decided that by adding cocktail sticks, it would give a real sense of modelling and therefore an environment.

I used a glue gun to attach the materials together spontaneously. I intentionally left the glue to dry in areas to increase the intensity of detail of the sculpture.

I find this image particularly interesting. I feel it gives a great impression of the structure becoming a landscape, perhaps suggesting a construction site. My peers have pointed out to me that it reminds them of some sort of jail or even a fortress. This is probably due to the piece being created within a wooden crate. Others have suggested I should consider spray painting the sculputre or even painting it to see what new effect I can create. In this case, considering the colour which I make it would be essential. I could perhaps think about the idea of destruction that is recurrent in Gerry Judah's paintings and paint it white or black. I have also been told I should spray it gold or silver, which sounds quite exciting. However, I'm not sure that would necessarily give justice on the nature of the work.

Projecting Through a Translucent Sheet

Extending on the ephemeral environment I created on Monday, I decided to build another environment. However, this time I joint the pieces of material using a glue gun. I chose to do this as I wanted to be able to move the structure around to explore different ways of creating drawings through projection. I feel this structure portrays a sense of destruction as I have built it up connecting the scraps of materials spontaneously. It gives the impression it is a building that has suffered destruction. I feel that by projecting this structure in different ways will allow me to suggest a process of reconstruction.

The set-up...

I decided to experiment with any loose materials that I could find around the studio space and that I could see becoming potentially interesting. I particularly like the projection caused from adding wire to the structure I had built.

I definately feel I would like to continue working with the idea of projecting a structure through a sheet to create a shadow drawing. I can envisage this idea would be very effective in the final exhibition. I now just have to really think about what I am actually going to include in the final exhibition piece.