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With theresa May now in power, the U.K faces a lack of privacy. The investigatory powers bill, better known as the snoopers charter, can lead to us as a nation losing our privacy online.  My artwork is to show that we face becoming what 1984 warned us about, and that we risk losing our identity because of it. Please sign this petition to prevent this future https://www.change.org/p/uk-government-reverse-the-investigatory-powers-bill-snoopers-charter

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My work so far...

As part of my final piece I am creating Theresa May’s face in the style of Big Brother’s from 1984 and putting it on big screens overlooking a crowd of people.. I have used ghostly figures for the crowd surrounding the screens to represent their lack of identity through their lack of privacy. Although this background needs touching up, the premise is strong enough to convey the message. My biggest issue has been capturing the essence of Theresa May in a way that makes her seem oppressing.

 Many journalists describe her as being a strong woman from her face shape, the way she holds herself and the way she talks however this does not account for the oppression that she has bestowed upon the nation. I was also struggling to capture her likeness altogether. 

After getting a feel for how to draw her I decided to be a bit more free with how I used my brushes on photoshop. Bigger and bolder movements with less conviction meant for a stylistic choice that would allow for me to make the face stronger and bolder tan it actually is.

I fell for the mistake of focusing on details again but the marks I made were a lot stronger. I feel another attempt would resolve this issue. It is a very important part of the image and without it my message would be lost. I have even tried posterising my source image of May in order to get a feel of the posistioning and effectiveness however she still did not look the part.

I feel I have experimented throughly with different techniques but am still making the same mistakes with my work that I have been consistently. My focus from now on should be forcing myself to work with the bigger broader strokes, similar to the work of Matt Nava who I looked at previously. 

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Budgeting Activity

Based on one of the most expensive accommodation provided by one of the universities I am applying for I have devised a budget for my spending per month

I feel I may have underestimated the amount I spend on food. I have also not included how much it will cost to clean my clothes. Although I have forgotten this, I am fortunate enough to have a substantial maintenance loan and will be able to live a little more comfortably than some. 

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Artist Research - Michel Koch

Koch is a digital artist and game director for DONTNOD Entertainment. He is well known for his work on Life is Strange and Remember Me. I am researching Koch because of the subject of Remember Me, and how it relates to a darker future. I am also looking at his work on Life is Strange and how the work has a depressing tone despite it being a mundane setting. Tone is going to be key within my pieces, I simply can not express my message without appropriate use of colour and tone. Koch’s tone and colour with is Strange captures the mood perfect, expressing the dread of the normality within the world. If I could recreate this and relate it to my work then I believe my tone would be correct. 

Michel's work for Remember Me was tasked with creating the essence of seedy corruption in the derelict slums of Paris from the near future. The use of colour was key with this whilst also creating movement to show the slums are lived in.

The use of  blues and reds shows the authoritarian control of the police within the world, whilst also making it resemble the filth of the slums. The image is expertly composed, with a clear guidance of your view, following the streets up to the high buildings of the upper class in Paris.  For digital work though, the piece is overly detailed. A lot of the detail has been fully rendered where it could have been implied through brush work instead. In particular, the sky line is very well put together and it distracts from the key part of the image which is the slums. by doing this, the story of the image is lost amongst the detail. I still feel the tone is captured well ,but not as well as it could have been. 

To contrast, the work of Matt Nava is very simply done, using the power of digital platforms to help imply shape yet also contain a narrative. His best work for this is related to the video game Journey; a game solely based on implied story throughout. The colors are simple, the brush work is easily recognised with bold movements throughout the pieces and you the themes of isolation and adventure, as well as the scale of the environments, are perfectly captured.

These pieces are actually different mediums. Koch’s work is digital art whereas Nava’s work is more digital illustration. I feel that I prefer to produce digital illustrations over artwork at this time, but I do want to be able to produce digital art in time.  From this I can comfortably say I will make digital illustrations for the final designs for this unit. 

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1984 - Orwellian Literature

At the time of it’s writing between 1944 and 1949, 1984 was a designed to challenge the world and promote a new way of thinking for the better. The book received controversial views, being praised and also banned all around the world. In recent years the book has been considered one of the most influential books of the 20th century. The book focuses on 3 major themes: nationalism, censorship and surveillance. Although nationalism can influence censorship and surveillance I will only be looking at the later 2 for my project. 

Censorship: This involves rewriting history, altering images, fictitious news stories as well as changing entire sources of information to eradicate a single person from recorded history. At the moment we face the risk of being exposed to fake news as well as having some history rewritten through fictional accounts of events. History is very important to our development in general, to alter it could alter ourselves. Fake news stories are used to change impressionable people’s views and beliefs - similar to the way censorship is used in 1984. Recent studies have shown that the new generation of teenagers struggle to differentiate between real and fake news - this is worrying because it means that they could still be impressionable when they are older - opening the possibility of fake news being used in mainstream media. 

Surveillance: The majority of people in 1984 are under some kind of surveillance from the government, through 2 way screens that record what is seen and heard that are in homes and all around public spaces. Their every movement is monitored to make sure they adhere to the rules of society whilst also making sure that even the most remote of notions indicating rebellion can be destroyed. Undercover agents are also recruited to examine people and test if they are corruptible. The screen surveillance is already in affect for those with webcams. Sound and video can be recorded and is being monitored. There is also the risk of being hacked and having what is recorded being used against you (to find out more, refer to my previous technology research relating to blackmail). All online information has been surveyed  by MI5 since 9/11 or even further back back last year the Police were given similar powers. This is for anti-terrorist reasons, however the ever broadening list of powers that has permission to access this informations means that there is more risk of the power being abused.

Although we are not close to living in the world depicted in the book, 1984 still acts as a warning to society and should continue to deter us from following the footsteps of ‘The Party’. Nevertheless, we still head towards an Orwellian society with these powers and laws being introduced and this needs to be changed. 

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Project Proposal - Invasive Technolgy

 I have chosen to look at invasive technologies for my social action project because I feel society has become far too accepting of the lack of digital privacy and the consequences that can come from it. My work will question our lackadaisical approach to online safety, privacy and the carelessness towards safeguarding the future. I am very passionate about the subject with my interest in Orwell’s novel 1984 and Charlie Brooker’s tv series Black Mirror, both of which focus heavily around invasive technologies. I feel 1984 is the cornerstone for all totalitarian dystopian stories of the modern age as Black Mirror clearly has a lot of influence from 1984 with a more modern twist. I feel that the technologies and stories from these are worryingly becoming more and more realistic unless some preventative measures are introduced. This is what my project will be centered around, educating people on what risks they face by having any sort of presence online and why we should do our best to nullify these risks.

I plan to produce digital work inspired by Orwellian literature, Black Mirror, Simon Stalenhag and other digital artists that can exhibit a relatable future or a representation of our current world with the issues we face. This would be done through landscapes produced on Photoshop and experiments with other software such as 3DS Max and ZBrush in order to expand my skill set and develop techniques. At the time of writing I have began research into Black Mirror and have detailed analysis of 1984. I also have experience with 3DS Max and ZBrush, however I plan to develop my skills to a more competent level. The pieces I produce would be used as a banner for petitions currently active that are dealing with the issues I am focusing on, or to have my work simply be thought provoking and inspire action.

My work will be evaluated as I produce practice pieces and even thumbnail sketches using the applicable formal elements. This allows me to explore the errors within my work whilst tackling them through refining my skills as an artist. This benefits the development of my work whilst also proving I have done evaluation throughout my project. 

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Social Action - Proposal

For this project I am going to focus on technology, more specifically, the way technology is used to breach our privacy (I feel that is a long winded way of saying it, so I will refer to my theme as technology throughout). I want to focus of this because I feel many things are gone unnoticed in our world and our rapidly declining privacy when online or even near a computer device is due to this. I want to change, or raise awareness, about these laws and technology in hope of inspiring people to make a change, even if it is as simple as signing a petition against the new surveillance laws in the UK. I fear if governments are allowed this free reign of obstructing our personal lives we run the risk of living in an Orwellian society and safeguards should be put in place now in order to avoid such at future. In order to show this I will create a digital painting that showcases the skills I am learning for my portfolio work. The painting will exhibit a exaggerated future that resembles Orwellian ideals. To accomplish this I will look at different representatives of this society - through Black Mirror and other digital artists like Simon Stålenhag. I want the piece to be dark, with an overhanging depressive mood. I may create a series of pieces if nee be to communicate different issues. In order to produce appropriate works for this project I will need to experiment extensively and refine what i produce from these experiments - looking at colour and tone as well as story telling.

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Black Mirror

Gaining the name through the reflection of screens, Black Mirror is a twilight zone for the modern era with a “techno-paranoia” feel to it according to the shows creator, Charlie Brooker. 

The program consistently has a naturally dark tone throughout through the use of story telling and cinematography. I wish to take this feel and translate it to more current scenarios through my digital work in order to build a portfolio in the coming weeks.

The show features technology that is not too far out of reach and uses current real world events, mentalities  and technology to develop the anthology of stories. I feel this is a perfect place to look for inspiration. 

Below is a list of themes throughout the anthology and what episodes feature them. This chart will give me a good idea on where to look for inspiration and ideas for work. 

Behavioural conditioning is something I have always been very interested in and I am interested in. I should also focus on episodes that feature stories that could happen today.

I am also comparing Black Mirror with Simon Stålenhag’s work and so I am looking for links between them. A major one I noticed was virtual reality and its correlation with the real world. Black Mirror’s episode Playtest features this technology so that too should be looked in to.

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Social Change- Technology

Technology constantly advances in our modern age and this rapid advancement is something that is never closely monitored. This is for the best as it allows for creative freedom throughout technological advancement however there are people that have speculated and presented their ideas about what could happen if technology goes unmonitored. 

2 prime examples of this are the BBC/Netflix show Black Mirror and George Orwell’s 1984. 1984 is best known for developing the phrase “Orwellian” which describes something to be totalitarian or reminiscent of a dystopian future. The book follows a man who wants to have freedom in a world where everything is monitored and controlled by the government - this is achieved through censorship, fake news, complete invasion of privacy and propaganda. Black Mirror is a tv show that follows one person in a futuristic society as they are effected by the technology and prejudices of the world they live in. I have found examples that show our world slowly resembling this “Orwellian” society and how technology can be used against us. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34713435

This article discusses a new bill by the government that allows the Police and government to have a year long record of everyone’s internet records. Although it can not view exactly what is read or written, the invasion of privacy is the first of its kind and has sparked outcry and petitions. There are a lot of rules in place to protect against abusing this system and this kind of data access has been around for a long while but through the use of MI6. The difference, and the issue with this Investigatory Power bill, is that this bill allows more access to the data, meaning more chance for the power to be abused. The UK government will more than likely deny any changing of the bill which could mean that the bill will advance to more intrusive surveillance. The surveillance of this bill is by no means close to what was in place in the world of 1984 but the fear is that it will develop into something Orwellian. Technology allows for this surveillance to be very simple, but sometimes not just the government has this access. There are those that have developed a way of prying on the vulnerable in order to gain access to their information, spy and use gathered data to blackmail. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38150313 

Although webcam blackmailing is not entirely new, the suicides are something that is. Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror predicted the black mailing to go in extreme directions - showcasing how far people could go to hide their secrets. Suicide makes Brooker’s predictions seem more likely and possible in a not so distant future. 

This news story has shown that Black Mirror would be a good source for references and studies. I should also find artists that create work that suits the theme and tone of Black Mirror. One especial comes to mind : Simon Stålenhag.

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Based on my original research on feminism and egalitarianism, I created a poster that uses a reference to 1984. Using very simple Photoshop techniques I have created an image that shows Anita Sarkisian as a graffiti image that resembles Big Brother and his looming face. I feel this image does not express my message well unless you have an understanding of George Orwell’s novel. However the resemblance of a Banksy piece and the message I have written should be thought provoking if seen - at the very least the image will have bad connotations which is overall what I was looking to achieve. 

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Feedback from relevant university lecturers

I have spoken to 2 different lecturers from similar courses in the past months in my own time to gain a feel for two potential courses I may advance to.  The lecturer from Plymouth College of Art’s Ba Game Arts has said that the course focuses purely on the different art forms within the game industry. this would start with learning how to model with clay and life drawing to learn form. Programming and other skills are not focused on but are encouraged to be learnt within their own study time. The course is split equally with lectures and personal study time. When talking to he lecturer I was told I would be accepted onto the course based on my knowledge of the field as well as my work ethic shown through extra curriculum activities and being a student ambassador. I spoke to a lecturer at Falmouth university for the games development course and they said their course involves working within a team of people that have skills to develop a game within that group. The issue with this is that if someone is better than you are then they will take charge of the field so although the course has time for practice with more personal study time than lecture time there is still the risk that you will not contribute to the group as much as you would like. However, the course allows development of all skills, including development such as programming and level design. I am interested in having an arsenal of skills in order to be useful and apply to any field within the games industry. 

I have a preference towards doing art - including the 3d modelling - but I fear that because I have only recently had this interest (in the past year or so) I will be out-shined quite quickly. This only motivates me to practice more in the following months which will mean I can apply to somewhere with more competition or somewhere even better such as the University of London or De Montfort.  

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Art in Protest and Propaganda

Protest and propaganda art share very similar qualities as they both desire to have the same effect - to inspire the public to act. This leads to bold, limited colours with simple designs and occasionally a striking text to further communicate the desired message. Protest art is often in the form of graffiti and photography though it is known to take the form of posters similar to propaganda art. 

Propaganda often promotes enrolment to military, civil service or the government in general. It is seen less now as it played a key part in the World Wars which have been analysed extensively, making the effect of propaganda obsolete. It is seen more in communist countries and is more associated with them as well however that trend is quickly fading as well. 

Protest in art is very popular, with artists like Banksy who are still very active and influential. Found mainly through wall art, protest art can spark petitions, campaigns and actual protests themselves. For the most part, protest art is used in conjunction with an already existing protest, occasionally becoming the symbol for it. 

Art has often depicted politics, and art has often influenced politics. Much of the work is either documental or protest art. Message is very important for the protest art - so much so that some art is mostly text. 

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Social Action - Feminism

Idea for a poster about feminism would be to create a way of demonstrating the false information that many feminists base their arguments on. through doing this I want to shed light on Equalism - a lesser movement that has the same beliefs and shares a similar manifesto without the stigma, false arguments or history of extremism in the last 16 years. 

I understand that making a very established movement have a successor is highly unlikely to happen from this work but it would be nice to make the movement more known, correct the myths of feminism and start to gain support for the movement as well. 

Equalism is also known as Humanism or egalitarianism. The main arguments against these movements are that inequality generally occurs towards women and so feminism ( an egalitarianist movement)  should be the official term due to the female prefix. The people that state these arguments often have the loudest voice and are exactly why change needs to happen. Inequality occurs across all genders, sexualities, races, and religions - to think women still have the majority shows a lack of research in the last 6-10 years or at least have a distorted view of surveys in order to support their beliefs.

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12 Years a Slave - In Review

12 years a Slave follows the life of established wealthy, family man Solomon Northup who becomes enslaved and sent to work in cotton fields. He spends years finding a way to prove he is a free man, 12 to be exact, and then returns to his old life and becomes an advocate for change - saving many people from lives of slavery. 

Directed by Steve McQueen, who is well known for his numerous short films, the film captures the dreary, tiresome and boring life of slavery perfectly. With washed out tones throughout the film and monotonous sounds the film felt right. The narrative was jumpy, even the parts of the film that were of Northup’s time as a slave were difficult to pin down. The lack of knowing how much time had passed was incredibly appropriate, expertly depicting the loss of time. I feel the film is very easily accessible for all audiences as it does not do anything to advertise itself as anything other than a story. 

I felt the emotions of the film were unusual, at no point was I sorrowful, happy or anticipating the future of any characters - as quickly as the film started it finished. None of the key moments were shown to be important. Even when Solomon Northup was freed I felt like it was not even that major, it felt anticlimactic and rushed. The end was not the only thing that was rushed; at one point the character Patsey was suicidal, and as quickly as that happened she was fine again. this may have happened due to the loss of time but it still felt like a fleeting, meaningless plot point. The film felt hollow because of this. A story about humans and the connections between one another that completely lacked any humanisation. maybe I am missing the intended effect of this, maybe it resembles how people disconnect themselves from the conscious world when faced with great trauma and stress and the toll this can have when the trauma is a life time  long. 

This is not to say I did not feel engaged. The movie was beautifully shot, although jumpy, and kept me engaged for the long run time. I am still impressed with the film, but can not understand the praise it received. 

In conclusion, if you have yet to see this film and have an interest in the themes of the film then I would recommend watching it but if not then you are not missing out. However, if you are interested in the world of slavery in America but want to have a more emotional story, with fleshed out characters, better acting (this is subjective), better music and with a stable presentation of time, I highly recommend Quentin Tarantino's Django: Unchained. 

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Analysing my Survey

I had asked a series of questions to artists who sold their wok in hope to find out about pricing and selling work. I found much of the data to be surprising and against what I had expected.

Do you include the hours to make a product into your final cost? If so, what is your hourly rate? I expected many to include their hourly rate with their products, however 50% do not and the rest have an hourly rate between £10 and £20.

When looking for a place to sell, do you focus on the presentation or the accessibility of your work? I expected presentation to be the majority vote however 100% of those that answered my survey said accessibility was most important. I think this is because work will only be sold to those that want it, and the only way those people are going to find it is if its easily found to begin with.

Artistic talent accounts for your skill through hours, months or even years of practice - do you include this in the final price and if so how much do you charge for this on average?  Another surprising result - I considered the inclusion of artistic talent to be very important but almost 3/4 of the respondents do not include it at all and the rest on average include £10 depending on the overall price of the product.

Do you aim to make your products functional or fashionable? An exact 50/50 split for this question. It is purely based on what the product is and what the artist enjoys making.

What age range do you find your work sells to? The average age range for products sold is 20-40 however 50% say they do not aim for any demographic in particular. A response to this question stated that as long as the artwork is found easily, those interested in buying it will find it and will buy it - all it takes is making the product accessible. This further reinforces my results previously.

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Critically evaluate creative solutions against identified audience

I feel my pieces are decorative which is their intended purpose and I had made sure they were safe to have by sanding down the edges and minimising splinters. I followed the suggested pricing of my fellow students and tutors - as of yet I am yet to sell anything at the shop so I probably priced my products far too high. I could quite easily reduce the price of the prints for they were very inexpensive to make, costing a grand total of 10p to make. I still believe my product was being sold to the right audience and I had many compliment the transfers so I believe I had created an appropriate product. I fear it may have been positioned poorly at the shop and felt hidden - so therefor did not sell as well (or at all) as they should have.

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Evaluation

For design to sell I created digital artwork of landmarks and representatives of the ancient culture of the South-West. These designs were then applied to wood planks and boxes using transfer paper. 

Being asked to focus on the surrounding area of the pop up shop felt narrow and forced, as if my direction was purposely linear unless I diverged completely. Rather than take this diverging path I chose to broaden my area of the narrow choice by encompassing the whole of the South-West  Coming from Cornwall to college everyday whilst living in a home with a Plymouth postcode - whilst living in a home where I can clearly see Plymouth on the horizon - made me realise Plymouth was a very central location with important history of its own that can be traced to almost all the country and even the world with the infamous trade routes and being the home of one very well known explorer. The initial scale of this was vast and overwhelming but was quickly drawn back in again to one simple, well known theme the South-West protects: its history. Two things very close to me, no more than 15 minutes for the closest, capture the history in the simplest way. A mining house and a Celtic monument. I am lucky to have such easy access to these places however some are not. My Mother was the first of these people that came to mind. Being disabled for the last 8 of the 10 years we have lived in Cornwall, my Mother has knowledge and has visited much of what the South-West has to offer but now can not.  What is a 15 minute walk for me is a dedicated day for my Mum and because of this, she has not visited one of her favourite Celtic monuments in almost 5 years. People are constantly busy and can be so close to many great things yet do not have the opportunity to enjoy them, I have decided to change that in a small way by creating part of the country side and putting in a way that can be homely. The rustic style of my products is appropriate for all that would be interested in the areas I have depicted.

I feel Jo March’s way of capturing the rolling hills and quaint houses of the countryside is the closest work i can compare mine to. I feel I tried following in her footsteps and presenting the South-West in a unique way that allows people to enjoy the scenery, even when they are not there. Our range of colour is both limited and diverse within those limitations. The shapes of our images primarily follow the same naturally shaped pattern and texture is shown through the colour and tone rather than physically.  

Creating my pieces eventually became a matter of fiddly processes using transfer paper. Before then it was experimentation. I struggled greatly to produce a transferred image that was successful in being clear to see, with the wide range of tones being used from the digital work. I was held back by the lack of freedom when using printers at the college and thus spent a long while finding a technique that worked and was clear using the more primitive home use inkjet printers  rather than the colleges laser jet. My final products used inkjet on laser transfer paper of digitally created work. I feel my digital work was very strong and showed improvement as I developed further. I introduced different techniques and started experimenting with brushes - by the time I had done the 3rd piece, the difference compared to the first was incredible

I feel these images benefit from the tone I have given the piece as well as texturing with visuals. I have stopped the images appearing flat and lifeless which needed to be avoided especially since some colour will be lost from the printing. The transfers themselves look effective - especially my engine house piece. They remain effective despite the loss of detail from the printing as well as being crumpled from the fiddly process of using transfer paper. I feel the overall quality of the pieces are okay but I have gained too much sheen on the transfer (due to the printing process) which would make the products look weak in sunlight. I should have continued with my PVA glue transfer technique as I have since found a way of keeping the colour without it fading to white for this technique has a more natural look to it. My pen and ink piece is different from the rest in fear that the transfer paper may not be popular due to the sheen. This piece is difficult to evaluate as all I have done is used the texture of the wood and the shapes within it to produce lines - so although i feel the piece has strong line and tone that produced the slightly abstracted view of standing stones, it lacks colour, the texture is minimal, the composition is very off as all parts of the image are made from the natural lines in the wood and shape of the piece is very angular (being square) and does not feel right when presented wit the abstract natural lines.  

In summary, I feel that I should have produced prints rather than tried being unique and having a very weak way of displaying my work. I say this because, as I said, my digital work is the strongest part of the pieces created. I wish to develop my painting skills on canvas next as I fear that my ability to not do so effectively holds me back from producing the work i want. Had I painted these scenes I have created I could have had something rather spectacular but instead I relied on a familiar medium that could not be effectively shown in too many ways or required too many processes to be made into a unique print with the amount of time i had.