annacriticalartsblog

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rationale

What is art? Art is a form of expression; it comes in several different forms. For example, visual art, sound art, written art, performance art and much more. Art is birthed from our creativity. Everyone is creative in their own way, if it be through expressing their feelings in a song or a painting. Furthermore, Art is an expression but in physical form. It is how we express ourselves in detail, giving it a deeper and more of an understandable meaning. I will also be explaining the effects gentrification has had one the progression and decline in local art through ‘Art washing’ and how artists sustain the culture in their local communities. Furthermore, I will be using the influence of artists and musicians to create my final piece of work. 

I have lived in New Cross gate my whole life. Born in Lewisham hospital, every single school I have studies in has been of close proximity to one another. This has allowed me to see the change within my area due to gentrification. South East London has always been an area of arts, especially goldsmiths being a university known for having an amazing facility for arts and design. over the years i have fallen in love with art all over London but since coming to goldsmiths I have seen and experienced the unique ability students here have to express themselves. In this proposal I will be showing the effects in which art (both visual and sound) has had on me as an individual, furthermore gentrification in my area and how it has effected the development in local art. 

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gentrification and its effects on change within communities in relation to art

 Let’s talk about gentrification. Like the ideological project of undermining the welfare state and privatising public services, gentrification exposes a continuously changing and expanding divide between haves and have-nots. This gentrification frontier, according to Smith, separated "areas of disinvestment from areas of reinvestment" (1996, p. 187). Studies of gentrification have added depth to the political and cultural understanding of this process by showing how it can be affected by the political, economic, and cultural displacement of working- class residents. Unfortunately, this understanding is still limited by the lack of a deeper historical analysis of the structural and political structures that shape gentrification.Over the last fifty years, the rise of the middle class has become a serious concern for many cities. In most cases, it displaces low-income residents and promotes exclusivity for affluent new entrants.Although many communities are experiencing significant changes, many long-time residents are often forced to move due to the relocations. In simplicity Urban renewal is a form of gentrification that displaces the poor and working class from their neighbourhoods. It is practiced by city planners and developers as a form of urban renewal.

it can also be put into these 3 steps of process:

1. Historical conditions

2.investments and policy decisions

3. community impacts

So how does this relate to art? well, gentrification is of course the development and change of communal surroundings, these surroundings include art that has a unique connection to each area. Artists have a significant role in shaping the urban landscapes that they create. I will explore the ways in which artists have affected the way we see ourselves and the spaces we live in. (Harris, 2012) focused on the urban pastoral of Hoxton in the early 90′s. Harris explains that The role of artists as agents of gentrification has been widely acknowledged. As well as, exploring the various aesthetic practices and attitudes that these artists have deployed in transforming the urban landscape. It argues that these practices and attitudes have largely disregarded the political and socio-cultural relations associated with the process. Furthermore, Harris gives examples of Hoxton based art work that was put up around the area throughout the 90′s but due to displacement and change within the community and the loss of 65% of employment there was a decline in visual art and galleries.

This then brings me onto ‘Art washing’. Many artists and arts organisations have been involved with the processes of gentrification. They have also discovered new value in the social and intangible worlds of community development and community engagement. Art washing comes in various different descriptions. it is the use of art to cover up; social cleaning and gentrification, serving as a king of “social licence” and a way to appease local communities. Pritchard(2018) explains in his article about ‘Art washing’ that corporations such as BP and Shell have used art washing as a means of public relations in the past, but many brands now do so as well. As activist Mel Evans pointed out, art washing contributes to the establishment of a company's "social licence to operate". For example, LondoNewcastle is a luxury property developer which actually gains a lot from gentrification and social cleansing. They have their own gallery that resides in Whitechapel, furthermore they commission street art which decorates their developments. Their art is used to encourage individuality and luxury to its clients. 

Art washing to me is a very shady way in which artists are practically bribed into working with big organisations so it can make these organisations seem more approachable and friendly. An example of this is when Tate stopped taking money from oil companies, this is because oil companies are art washing their public image because they’re funding cultural organisations. Culture is often the driving force behind city regeneration. It can be initiated locally or globally, and it can happen organically. Artists on low incomes move to areas where rents are affordable. This process usually ends when the artists move on as the area's real estate market goes up.In response to the growing popularity of organic, artist-led processes, developers and councils are now attempting to replicate these by deliberately moving artists into areas of cities that they wish to see developed. This is often referred to as a cleansing process in which developers treat artists as a form of regenerative detergent. In conclusion to this ‘Art Washing’ It's a term that has been used to describe the practice of corporations buying advertising space in art galleries in order to improve their reputation.

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(images showing examples of gentrification and art washing)

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Growth in the South London art scene

Over the years SE London has become the hotspot for young people and arts. From Elephant & Castle to Peckham, down to New Cross and beyond, it was the place to be when it came to temporary project spaces and cool, ephemeral, temporary gigs.Artists too, they moved out of art colleges and universities such as Goldsmiths and UAL into East London to get a taste of success.  Five years ago, if you wanted to get to East London, you had to take a bus, or get a taxi, and hey, good luck getting a ride here. This, combined with its enforced insularity, led to its character being overshadowed by the changes that have happened in the city, forging the character of South London. 

A lot of the cool events were happening so people wanted to get there. Just last year two galleries ( Arcadia Missa and The Sunday Painter) had an exhibition for the first time, drawing attention from people such as the guardian and even vogue, leading to many saying that it felt like the ten years of cultural displayed within New Cross, Camberwell, and Peckham had finally come to light and making it fall into the fringes of the mainstream art world. From 2005-2012, there was a massive gapping hole in areas of south London as many buildings were knocked down giving birth to squatters and young people. Of those being the famous ‘squallyoaks was a space that was home to various artists, including Hanna Hanra, Matthew Stone, and Gareth Pugh. Thus, the SE London art scene was born. As years have gone on, SE London has had an increase in students and artists from around the world. Therefore, the growth in art work has increasingly continued to get more acknowledgment.

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Images of the main venues that house the sounds of Newcross! 

(Venue, Marquis of Granby, Newcross Inn)

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(Squallyoaks,2005)

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Sound art and Sound walk - The influences music has on us.

One of the influences I have had to create my digital art and sound art is from music itself. Sound art can be traced back to futurist Luigi Russolo's early innovations, which included noise machines that mirrored the clatter of the industrial age and the boom of warfare between 1913 and 1930. Artists such as Dada and Surrealism experimented with sound in their work. Marcel Duchamp's Erratum Musical featured three voices singing notes taken from a hat, an almost random act that influenced John Cage's compositions, including 4'33", a musical score of four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence, composed in 1952. Sound art has undergone a major transformation. Since the introduction of technology, artists have been able to create visual works in response to sounds. 

Music allows me to express myself. I whole heartedly can not see my life without the influence of music. When we listen to music, we are using our whole brain. According to Daniel Levintin, a psychology professor at the University of Montreal, music has a beneficial effect on our brain. One of the studies that he mentioned was that listening to music can relax people before going into surgery.Music can also boost our immune system by causing it to release hormones. These chemicals can help us feel better and prevent migraines and seizures.The parts of the brain that control emotion are in the limbic system. The prefrontal cortex is also used to control intense emotion.Music can also boost a person’s mood by making them feel better. When people are sad, playing a cheerful song can help them get over their feelings.Music can affect people’s brain waves and make them feel more relaxed. It can also help them fall asleep. Scientists believe that listening to music 45 minutes before going to sleep will significantly help you have a better rest.There is also sad music, which can cause people to feel sad and it can also affect their mood. For instance, it is very common for us as human beings to listen to music that reflects on our emotion. I myself listen to slower music when I am upset however some may listen to more up beat music so it can lighten their mood.Although everyone has the same song in their head, they all have different experiences with it. For instance, sad music brought up a different experience for different individuals unlike happy music. We have cement memory, which is a type of memory that's made up of billions of neurons. It makes us hard to forget anything. For example, a lot of music I heard as a child are still stuck with me now, when I listen to them in my adulthood it gives me a sense of nostalgia, proving how much of an influence music has on us.

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Here is an example of playlists I listen to based on my emotions, as well as playlists with old artists I listen to when I want to feel a feeling of nostalgia only music can offer

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Lofi-Beats

There are a number of characteristics that distinguish lo-fi music from other genres. These include a lack of commercial music videos, minimal live concerts, and no lyrics.A lo-fi music definition is that of a genre that consists of elements that are typically considered undesirable in professional settings. These elements include but are not limited to: unplayed notes, degraded audio signals, and so on. Despite the common usage of these sounds, none of these elements can be considered lo-fi.

Before we dive into the origin of lo-fi, we must first understand its current status and how it has become popular. It has inspired various articles such as “Why is lo-fi so popular?” and “What makes Lo-fi Hip Hop so special?”.The term lo-fi was first used in the 1950s to describe music that was produced and recorded at home. During this time, young people were inspired to make their own music, and the Beach Boys were the first major act to use home-made equipment during the 1960s. As the 1980s came around, lo-fi became more of a term used to describe music that was produced and recorded by underground bands. Others may refer to William Berger, a radio DJ in New Jersey. He often used the term lo-fi to describe home recordings that he would play live. The answer is simple: the internet. It is the reason why lo-fi music became so unique and influential. Despite the various controversies revolving around lo-fi, it is still incredibly influential. Young artists from all genres contributed to the growth and success of this genre.

Lofi to me has helped me throughout my school years. I remember coming across a playlist on youtube called ‘Lofi HipHop to help you study’, once playing this I was instantly put into a more relaxing mood and since then I have only been able to study with Lofi. The more I went into adulthood the more sensitive I became to only focusing on the instrumental of the song and not the lyrics. Thus, due to Lofi not having any lyrics in its music I became more aware of different instruments and I more understanding of the different roles and effects each one would have on the sound of the beat. Hence, I applied this to my own Lofi beat for this project.

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Lofi vibes but make it Lord of the Rings

instagram: @debbiebalboa

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I made my own beat using the App garage band. I used a selection of synths and piano cords to create my overall song. Lofi contains a lot of white noise (background noise) so I used rain as a form of background noise for my beat. This video shows a small snippet of how I put these together.

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This is when i compiled my retro 90′s drum set and mellow synth together over my white noise, creating the perfect mashup of sounds

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Continuing onto my piece i have decided to make my poster image into a vinyl cover so it can be in-tune with my vision and love with music. Using Butler(2012) as my form of context because he explains how sensory art is the most engaging. Butler explains that The idea that place and space can be understood and experienced in various ways seems to originate from the collective interest in the multi-sensory experiences that sound art has become known for. Despite this, the nature of sound art's multi-disciplinary nature makes it difficult to classify. Thus, using this as guidance to mash my design into a music based project because not only will it give viewers the visual of what I have made, it will also give the sensory sound so you can understand what my piece actually reflects.

 I used photoshop to mashup things that inspired me. I began with using Banksy and blending his street art into my favourite album by frank ocean - channel orange. Frank ocean has been the most inspirational throughout my life as he is solely one of thee most creative individuals I have come across. His album Channel Orange was awarded as one of the most listened to albums from 2012 until today. He created a radio station that broadcasts his music however it also allows you to hear the radio frequency and sounds, allowing each and every song to have a different feeling. For the final product of the vinyl i decided to add grass on one side to express the ‘fresh’ sound of Lofi that would come from vinyl once played. 

Banksy was an artist I focused on. Banksy is a street artist that was heavily inspired by Blek le Rat. This French artist is known for his use of stencils. In the 90′s he began spray painting on walls and trains in Bristol (his hometown), eventually expanding his work around the UK many years later. The unique thing about Banksy is his identity is hidden. Many have tried to figure out who he actually is but have come unsuccessful, resulting in tabloids and famous figures trying to ‘guess’ who he is. Of those guesses The Mail (2017) guessed that Banksy was a DJ that goes by the name ‘Rob’. Banksy has influenced me in ways I can not explain, the fact that this individual is anonymous however has such a huge impact on the art world today is extremely fascinating.

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Banksy, the mysterious street artist known for his worldwide public art exhibits, is working from his bathroom during the COVID-19 pandemic. He published these photos to Instagram on April 15 with the caption, ‘My wife hates when I work from home.’ 

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Imagine a city where graffiti wasn’t illegal, a city where everybody could draw whatever they liked. Where every street was awash with a million colours and little phrases. Where standing at a bus stop was never boring. A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business. Imagine a city like that and stop leaning against the wall - it’s wet.

– Banksy

(Paris)