#sEMESTER 2

[artbyaine]

Exhibition Wall

On Friday, I printed out all of my favourite pieces, and the work that I felt best represented my project and each of my electives and hung them on the wall in the ceramics studio.

I chose to showcase my Zine as I put a lot of work into its design, and I feel as though it perfectly encompasses each of my chosen electives.

I hung my ice block photography work as I feel that that was the piece where I most connected with my chosen theme of ice. Despite my missteps along the way, I feel that I left that experiment with some strong images.

I also included my character sheet and final scene as I felt that I was really able to capture the visual look and feel of ice whilst also balancing storytelling elements within the scene.

Finally, I added my Pinhole camera images as I felt that they conveyed my theme in a more abstract manner whilst referencing back to the initial images of the shattered mirror portraits that led me down the route of ice.

[books-in-a-storm]

Currently Reading 💛

Semester 2 & The Totally True Tales Of Minerva Krauss

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Semester 2 movement brief: statement

For my movement brief, I followed the theme of movement through combat/ fighting. My electives for this semester were painting, animation and graphic design.

I explored this theme through looking at three areas of combat to focus on; hand to hand combat, weapon based combat, and simulated/video game combat. I explored these areas in my primary research and narrowed down my theme to the specific areas of kickboxing, sword fighting and using a vr headset. I connected my three electives by using these three forms, and turning them into characterizations , and used them throughout my elective work

painting- painting using tools related to my theme such as knives, my own hands/fists and pointillism, also explored movement through how I moved while making the painting.

animation- 2d animation of three characters based within a fighting game, cycling through idle animations on a character select screen.

graphic design- three posters based on my three areas of combat explored, inspired by the workshops I did and the artist I researched.

[bknmia20]

Christmas Break and the Dread of School... Generally

Hey pumpkins~

I hope everyone had a wonderful break!!! Is it too late to say that www Anyways, I finally stopped procrastinating and finished le post. Yay!!! Also alot of you have said you like my Improving in Gyaru series, so if there is a topic you'd like me to write on just let me know! Now on with the post.....

I don’t know if it’s because I’m a medical student but as soon as it’s November 1st, I was officially counting the days until break would start. So when break arrived I was soooo excited (+ I got to go back to Canada). But then, since you’re normally so busy, having no work feels so unusual and by the time you adjust, its already time to go back to school again… (;ᴗ;) This is what I got up to over the break ^.~

For the first few days, I just chilled for a bit and kinda adjusted to the house that my family was staying in within our neighbourhood (note: the basement at my house burnt down last semester, so everything is getting renovated and the things that can be cleaned are in the process of being cleaned >_< ). My family then went on a road trip to a nearby town where my dad works (though we had to wait until my brother arrived, also an international student).

Photos from new years ★

When we finally got there after 7 hours of driving, I honestly couldn’t go out much because my younger brother was finishing his IA’s and my older brother was studying for his last semester. If you have strict parents then YOU KNOW you can’t really go out when the atmosphere is like that σ(￣、￣〃) I did do some work of my own like plan a little for the step 1 (USMLE) and look over the courses I have to take this semester. It was break after all tho, so I watched some movies and tv show I didn’t have the chance to watch when school was on. A few days after new years we drove back and I had a bunch of fun. I went to the theatres and watched Avatar and the new Wakanda movie (they were released in exam season so I couldn’t go watch them), went shopping, did a bunch of other fun stuff, and I got my hair braided to go back to school! 

As always, thanks for reading! And if you enjoy what you're reading, hit the follow button at the top of my blogger. It's anonymous, and helps me feel more loved by you all. Buh bye~

[k00283533]

Semester 2: Movement

On 11 of January, when exploring theme movement I began exploring the environment around me that caused, affected or used movement such as wind, light, rain, people, animals or concepts that could be considered part of movement such as feminism, communism, peace movements, environmental etc...

[taylastudio2022]

ARTIST STUDY - ALICIA FRANKOVICH:

"New Zealand-born artist Alicia Frankovich works predominantly in performance and film, but also has been known to utilise mediums such as drawing, sculpture and photography. Through her work she grapples with the performativity of bodies, exploring the body's presence and identity within space and amongst other bodies” (Ocula.com). 

^ Alicia Frankovich's installation Medea,  or Contemporary Art (ACCA), Melbourne, NEW010 exhibition, 2010.^ 

I love this work, how it is hung and how it appears as though the work is falling, drooping. In terms of form - this work has the most similarities to my own practice. I imagine, because of the materials used as well as how it is installed, that this work would allow for a full body, almost sensory experience. Something that hasn’t been a main focus of mine, but an idea I have in the back of my mind as my work has developed in terms of installation, and use of materials. 

Found objects used in Medea =  plastic carabenas, dirt, coconut fibre, newspaper, water tank, water pump, poly piping, nylon webbing, gaffer, sash, steel, basil, kiwifruit vines, tuscan kale, broccoli, flat leaf parsley, curly leaf parsley, long snake beans, purple kings, greens, tomatoes: black krims, black russians, tigerella, red fig dwarf, peach dreams, chillies: hellfire mix, jalapeno reds, capsicum: mini yellow, mini red, long yellow, mini chocolate, long green, bronze fennel, succulents, eggplants: heirloom mix, long jacks, red oakleaf lettuce.

^ Alicia Frankovich, The Female has Undergone Several Manifestations: Lebenspartnerschaft, Alex Martinis Roe and Alicia Frankovich, 2016 fabric, fan, ribbon, wood ^

“The all-encompassing phenomenon of the body — its insides, outsides, material and immaterial ways— could be considered the underlying fascination of Frankovich’s work” (starwhite.co.nz). 

^ Alicia Frankovich, Outside Before Beyond, 2017 installation view, Kunstverein fur die Reinland und Westfalen, Dusseldorf curated by Eva Birkenstock ^ 

^Alicia Frankovich, Orpheus 2010 aluminium, egg tray, eggs 205 x 85 cm ^.

^Alicia Frankovich, Rapture 2010 installation view, Dunedin Public Art Gallery ^. 

“Frankovich’s practice investigates how the physicality and behaviour of a body operates within social settings and constructs – including plays of dominance and re-negotiating the audience/performer relationship” (starwhite.co.nz). 

^Exhibition view: Alicia Frankovich, Starkwhite (8 February–6 March 2019). Courtesy Starkwhite ^ 

The Female has Undergone Several Manifestations - installation view, 2016. Starkwhite. 

I definitely resonate with  Frankovich’s interest and focus of the body and the bodily - and her exploration of such through sculpture, materiality and  form. Like myself, Frankovich works with some found materials, and has a wide collection of work including natural materials, vegetables, blanket sort of materials, drapery, etc. Medea is my favourite among Frankovich’s work - the installation aspect, as well as the cohesive nature of it. 

In relation to my practice, Frankovich’s practice offers further possibilities into how might display my work - as well as further abstract ways of investigating the body and the bodily, or provoking a bodily engagement/experience with the work. Her wide use of materials also makes me think about my own selection and how this has recently expanded and developed to include things that have a smell (such as her use of food etc)....

Links:

https://ocula.com/artists/alicia-frankovich/

https://www.starkwhite.co.nz/alicia-frankovich-at-acca-installation-views/ 

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Who Framed Roger Rabbit & Eye Lines

As a way to keep the interaction between the actors such as Bob Hoskins, and the ‘toons’ look as realistic as possible, there was a major focus on keeping the characters eyes in line with each other

For example, in the animated sequences of Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews will sometimes just not make eye contact or even be looking at the characters she is meant to be interacting with, which can destroy the illusion.

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Ceramics Research

Yoshitoshi Kanemaki: is a Japanese artist who carves his sculptures out of tree trunks. I find his sculptures very inspiring to my project and theme of reflections as a lot of his work features distorted figures that remind me of reflections.

[timealsospace]

Online architecture.

[artbyaine]

Finished Zine flip through.

Here is a flip through of the zine in its final booklet form.

I didn't realise at first, but I am grateful that I left those Zine projects until last in my Movement project as it both combines and displays all three of my discipline electives in one piece. The perfect way to end my semester 2 project.

[k00259005]

Painting

Today I experimented with making paint from items around the house. The above paints are made using a mix of "pigments", pva glue and water. I also tried out some crushed chalk pastels as a pigment. Overall, the paints aren't exactly "nice" to use because of their grainy texture but I still enjoyed finding out what each would look like. In the future I might try straining them through a cloth.

I used photoshop to take digital swatches of my colours to see them as flat tones.

[multilingual-wannabe]

5/100 days of productivity

teaching for semester 2 begins tomorrow so i took it easy today mostly just prepping and i'm going to get an early night so i'll be well rested. that's a tentative view of how my day will run tomorrow, monday's are my busiest day so i start the week hitting the ground running but i am prepared!

[bknmia20]

The first two weeks & the dreaded… dreaded… exam results ( ¬ _ ¬ ;)

Hey cuties💖

How are all of y’all doing? I’ve been gone I geuss not that long, but I’ve definitely been not posting as much as I had planned to. I haven’t been feeling all too great if I’m being honest. This new semester sucks so far (︶︹︺)

A few things have been getting me down and I just felt mentally and physically exhausted. That and the stress of the new sem with it being so much harder than last sem. Also exam results. Sigh（；_・）I’m getting over it but it’s just been a sucky two weeks essentially.

Anyway I’ll probably do a small mass post for the end of January, but I probably won’t be able to post a lot of pics of my co*des and make for this sem. BECAUSE ILL HAVE TO LIVE LIKE A HERMIT STUDYING FOR 7 CLASSES (╬ ಠ益ಠ) Iykyk, especially if you’re a uni student ᕕ〳 ཀ 益 ཀ 〵ง And I wanted to live my life this sem and get through my bucket list. I’ll probably be doing other gal related content in the mean time since that’s all I can really do anyway PN. Anyway that’s all for this post, so see ya in the next one.

またね〜

[tales-of-the-college-kind]

Be me.

Introvert.

Excited for a design class.

Get into class.

There are seven people in this class.

OhNo.jpg

It’s a discussion class.

panic.jpg

We are required to have our video cams on.

ThisIsTheEnd.jpg

[taylastudio2022]

REVISITING CONCEPTS:

“ANTI-FORM”:

“In 1968, American sculptor Robert Morris coined the term ‘anti-form’ to distinguish a new kind of sculpture that had emerged in reaction to minimalism. Where it stressed composition and organisation, the new art preferred decomposition and disorganisation. In place of strict geometries, Morris, Eva Hesse, Richard Serra, Lynda Benglis, and Barry Le Va draped, poured, and scattered material. Their work emphasised material, mutability, and process.”

‘Anti Form’, 1968 Print, Robert Morris

https://www.artforum.com/print/196804/anti-form-36618

“Anti Form” - Art Forum, Print April 1968

Initial Reading notes:

“The process of “making itself” has hardly been examined. It has only received attention in terms of some kind of mythical, romanticized polarity: the so-called action of the Abstract Expressionists and the so-called conceptualizations of the Minimalists”

“Of the Abstract Expressionists only Pollock was able to recover process and hold on to it as part of the end form of the work.”

“Pollock’s recovery of process involved a profound re-thinking of the role of both material and tools in making.”

“ This involves a reconsideration of the use of tools in relation to material. In some cases these investigations move from the making of things to the making of material itself. Sometimes a direct manipulation of a given material without the use of any tool is made. In these cases considerations of gravity become as important as those of space.” “The focus on matter and gravity as means results in forms which were not projected in advance. Considerations of ordering are necessarily casual and imprecise and unemphasized. Random piling, loose stacking, hanging, give passing form to the material. “ 

“Considerations of ordering are necessarily casual and imprecise and unemphasized. Random piling, loose stacking, hanging, give passing form to the material”

From semester one:

“I really appreciated this consideration of gravity and space, and the autonomy and movement that this allows the sculpture to possess. I myself found/find it hard to plan and expect a certain sculpture or look from this work, as it is often partly dependent on how the sculpture reacts and acts within a space. I cannot invision the exact work until it is done. Anti form really is about the moments within materiality itself. The work will almost never look exactly the same twice.” 

This all remains relevant to my practice. I continue to consider Anti-form an integral aspect of my sculpture works. My work has become more interested in tension and pull, and has expanded to include more materials, and has expanded conceptually, but the chance, materiality, agency, process, are all still focuses of my practice. The added materiality adds more possibilities, and more ways of manipulation, but the nature of the work remains reliant on the materials and how they act after being hung. I think that this connection to agency and movement, and control is still strong within my practice. I am developing elements of my work outside of anti-form, but unintentionally it has stayed relevant, and I continue to apply it and consider the concept in more ways. 

“FEMINISM/FEMININITY”:

“ Feminism is crucially concerned with the ways in which women’s bodies are controlled within a patriarchal system…” Carson, Fiona. Feminism and the Body. Routledge, 2004.

As I have become more interested in ‘feminine energy’, identity etc - I thought it helpful to revisit some of my past research/writing considering the concept of “femininity” and how it could potentially be problematic .

Excerpt from last semesters Research Paper:

“It is important to acknowledge the complexities surrounding what constitutes femininity. When I speak about reclaiming femininity and bringing equal value to the feminine, I understand that it can be a difficult, and contradicting area. Some women see no contradiction between feminism and femininity, insisting that femininity is a form of empowerment, others view the two as irreconcilable (Hurd).

For many women, femininity is both an intrinsic aspect of their sense of self, and simultaneously a position to be sought after (Mills). A patriarchal social structure has been dominant throughout much of recorded human history, and is still in effect in many societies today (Hurd). Therefore, it can be understood that a patriarchal system framed these ideas. Judith Butler explains how it is almost impossible to escape these constructs and conventions of gender (Gleeson). 

Femininity can describe the qualities we have been taught to associate with being female, which have traditionally been considered to be weakness, passivity, and submissiveness (Hurd). While leaning into this traditionally considered feminine craft and using it in my work I am hoping to challenge these notions of femininity. There seems to be continuous contradiction surrounding what a woman should be, and what a feminist should be. My position is that we shouldn’t be determined by these constructs, but that we should be able to liberate ourselves from what we should do, and simply do what we wish to, and that should be respectable enough.”

All in all, I enjoy depicting both what I consider to be feminine, and what has been constructed as feminine (as if they aren’t the same?), feminine energy, sensuality, passivity, beauty, etc.... Unapologetically. 

It was interesting during my formative critique, a few people described my work to have character ‘feminine energy’ ‘sexuality’ - and felt like a ‘bad night/good night out’ or a ‘hang over’. Its so cool (for lack of a better word) that the materiality, choice of materials, achieved this affect. That the lace, stocking, glue, ribbon, knitting, thread, managed to make those associations. It’s definitely something I want to continue to look into moving forward. As well as understanding identity/femininity..perhaps autobiographically, personally...

Gleeson, Jules. “Judith Butler: ‘We Need to Rethink the Category of Woman.’” The Guardian, 7 Sept. 2021. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/sep/07/judith-butler-interview-gender.

“At the same time, none of us are totally determined by cultural norms. Gender then becomes a negotiation, a struggle, a way of dealing with historical constraints and making new realities. When we are “girled”, we are entered into a realm of girldom that has been built up over a long time – a series of conventions, sometimes conflicting, that establish girlness within society. We don’t just choose it. And it is not just imposed on us. But that social reality can, and does, change”

“What 'Femininity' Means in 2022“ article:

Quotes:

“While it's impossible to ever fully, accurately pinpoint "femininity"—part of what makes it so wonderful is its ever-evolving, nuanced, and individualized definitions“ 

“Femininity is a double-edged sword....”

“In countries around the world, I've met incredible women and girls; because of them, I see femininity as strength and courage....” 

“It's time to get rid of all the patriarchal connotations attached to femininity. I'm an activist and a feminist who kicks ass while wearing high heels...” 

https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/femininity-meaning-2022/ 

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Ceramics Research

Fujikasa Satoko: is a Japanese artist whose work deals a lot with movement. She makes her sculptures out of the pliable clay found in Shigaraki, Japan. Adding to the movement of her work, the walls of her pieces are extremely thin; some as thin as three millimetres. I love the fluidity in her work and I find her process very interesting.