Resist Dyeing. I Decided To Try Resist Dyeing Again But This Time With Some Different Ingredients. These

Working on an animation about reconnecting to folklore called ‘The Blooming Heart’. I have used the image of the heart as it has so many connotations to the soul and is often linked to identity and of course life.

The process of making and editing my animation on Adobe Premiere ^^^ In the first half of the animation the music is my sister playing the piano and then for the second half, I used traditional music from different countries in the world. The animation is called ‘The Blooming Heart’, and explores the idea that the earth is more diverse than it seems, despite its small size in comparison to the whole universe and that traditional culture is still important in out interconnected world.

Finished heart embroidery for my animation. A heart surrounded by embroidery folk patterns from around the world

Sculpture and patination, Louise Bourgeois

Louise Bourgeois , ‘J'y suis, J'y reste’ (Here I stand, Here I stay) - Sculpture, 1990

Louise Bourgeois is known for her surrealist and abstract sculptures. Her assemblage piece ‘Here I stand, Here I stay’ (J'y suis, J'y reste) is of a pair of feet resting on a roughly cut block of marble with a glass house placed on top. In 1967–68 Bourgeois travelled to Pietrasanta in Italy, which is where she discovered the same marble quarries from which Michelangelo sourced his material. 

Bourgeoise’s work often explores the themes of feminism, family relationships and the unconscious. Born in 1911, she grew-up in Paris where her family owned a tapestry gallery and tapestry restoration business. When Louise Bourgeois Mother became ill with Spanish flu, the family hired a British au pair to teach Louise and her brother English. However the au pair soon became their Father’s mistress. This caused him to neglect Louise and her brother which was especially hard for Louise as she had to also care for her sick Mother often. Those childhood feelings of abandonment would become prevalent themes and ideas in the future artwork of Bourgeois. She married an American art historian and lived in America for the rest of her life, leaving her childhood in Paris behind.

The patination of the pink marble is irregular and coarse which makes it seem worn and ancient and this juxtaposes with the smooth texture of the feet which are also sculpted from the very same marble. The glass house which sits on top of the feet gives a certain fragility to the assemblage. The heavy marble again contrasts with the delicate house construction. It seems almost too fragile to be a safe shelter. This could possibly reflect Bourgeoise's own childhood which left her feeling exposed and alone in her family home. The fact that there's only one pair of feet could be referencing the abandonment she felt as a child and could reflect the unstable and lonely atmosphere. The house may also represent Bourgeoise's life as an artist. It gives a home to the bare feet which stand on a rugged piece of marble. This suggests that her art had given her a new way to express herself and fathom those feelings that she experienced as a child.

Sources:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/656887http://hdamarly.over-blog.com/2015/06/louise-bourgeois-enfance-et-creation.htmlhttp://www.theeastonfoundation.org/biography

The process of making my book. After illustrating all of my pictures and typewriting the story, I stitched all the components onto card with some colourful thread and I then stuck these into a book which I bound. The book is called ‘Reconnection’. A short illustrated story I wrote, about a city where the sun has stopped shining, a girl goes on an adventure into the forest to bring the sun back. It is about reconnecting to cultural heritage in the modern world :)

How does the use of concrete inform The Memorial For The Murdered Jews of Europe?

‘Denkmal für die Ermordeten Juden Europas’ ( The Memorial For The Murdered Jews Of Europe) Concrete memorial, 2004

The Memorial For The Murdered Jews Of Europe is situated in Berlin and stands as a poignant reminder of The Holocaust in 1941. This memorial was designed by the Burro Hapold group, a group of engineers from all around the world, the US architect Peter Eisenmann’s design was the design that it is based on. The memorial took 17 years to build, it was finished in 2004 and it consists of 2711 concrete steles over 19,000 square metres. The monumental memorial lies in the centre of Berlin near to the Brandenburg gate. It stands as a memorial to remind us of the horrific events of the Holocaust in the same city that the perpetrators had their offices in. 

Concrete is a reliable and durable material and is used in architecture as well as in sculpture and memorials. Throughout history, it has been used to communicate different ideas and messages and is easily accessible to anyone. This memorial is an example of how concrete can be used to convey a certain message. From a distance, it looks like a cold grey sea. The steles are dark grey and in a similar shape to coffins. Their height varies, some are just 20cm tall and some are 4.7m. The steles are meant to create an uneasy and confusing atmosphere which is further created by the ground underneath because it is wavy and creates a ripple effect. 

Although it is in the centre of the capital city, when you enter into the memorial, the din of the traffic fades away and it is almost silent in there. Due to its enormous size it is hard to run into many people, so it gives you a sense of isolation and you can feel the cold of the concrete around you. As you go further into the concrete memorial, the steals get higher, it feels intimidating and you feel very entrapped by this structure. When looking up, only the sky is visible. 

The memorial has many different interpretations. Some say that this sombre grey memorial represents the dehumanisation of the Jewish people during the Holocaust some also say that the different heights of steles represent the gradual escalation of the third Reich’s persecution. It is a possibility that the plain group of steles show the collective guilt of the German people. Another interpretation is that the strength and durability of the concrete reflects the strength of the Jewish people over the ages in the face of persecution. It is without a doubt that its function is to commemorate a tragic event and is set in concrete so that it may never be forgotten. 

~ I have used my own photos

Sources

https://www.visitberlin.de/en/memorial-murdered-jews-europe

https://www.museumsportal-berlin.de/en/museums/denkmal-fur-die-ermordeten-juden-europas-ort-der-information/

How have contemporary values and media impacted upon the 16th century genre of Still Life?

Still life has changed dramatically throughout the ages but it is still popular today even if we might not realise it. Ranking the lowest in importance in the hierarchy of genres, established by the French Royal Academy, the still life was seen to require less skill than portrait paintings and historical paintings. However despite the perception that still life paintings were easier to paint, they explored dark and morbid themes usually to convey the message ‘memento mori’, ‘remember you will die’ and ‘vanitas’ ,originating from the word ‘vanity’, which would remind the viewer of their mortality and of the worthlessness of worldly pleasures . This was done by using skulls in compositions and candles that had just been blown out with the last wisp of smoke visible, symbolising death blatantly. On the other hand, some messages were more hidden in the paintings. Many pieces reflected death and  human nature in a very subtle way. This can be seen in Jan Davidsz. de Heem: Still-Life with Lobster and Nautilus Cup. The tipping cup could show the fragility and instability of humanity. The lobster is seen at the bottom of the composition and was regarded as something exquisite and expensive, only intended as banquet food. The lobster is inedible and ugly when alive and in the ocean but when dead, it possesses its delicious and beautiful qualities and is seen as something expensive and intended for the upper-classes. Maybe Jan Davidsz intended this to also reflect humanity and death.

The golden age of still life painting took place in the 17th century but throughout the 18th century and 19th century it became slightly less popular. In the Victorian era, still life compositions included every-day house-hold objects. However flower paintings gained a lot of popularity in the 1800’s, painters like Manet, in his painting ‘Bouquet of flowers’ (1882) and Van Gough in his ‘Still Life with Irises’ (1890) made their canvases bloom with their lively and vibrant colours with the intentions to make the paintings aesthetic and pleasant to the eye with harmonious colours. In the 19th century, the still life was adopted by Pablo Picasso and painted in his cubist style which was full of colour in contrast with the very first still life paintings which were full of shadows and chiaroscuro.

Nowadays, still lifes are created in a much different way influenced by new media. Instead of using the traditional oil paint and canvas, photography is used to capture aesthetic and ornamental scenes. These photographs are usually shared on social media instead of being sold or exhibited in a gallery. The purpose is solely to look pleasing to the eye or are created to show the life of the photographer of the arrangement. They often exhibit lavish food and drink that looks impressive or books and items related to the photographer. The still lifes are carefully arranged to look as perfect and possible. Although these photos with a pleasant colour palette do not have hidden messages of death and mortality, they reflect society and its quest for perfection in the modern age where you are what you post.

References :

https://www.britannica.com/art/still-life-painting#:~:text=The%20painting%20generally%20considered%20to,Lowlands%20during%20the%2017th%20century.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/b/british-watercolours-still-life-flower-painting/

https://www.romepix.com/blog/the-dutch-golden-age-in-art-pieter-claesz

https://fashionhedge.com/2017/06/19/net-bag-trend/

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/v/vanitas

All of my linocuts from my Final Major Project ‘Reconnection’

Sculpture and Patination, Giovanni Strazza

Giovanni Strazza, ‘La Vergine Velata’ (The Veiled Virgin’)- Carrara marble, 1850′s

Believed to have been carved in the 1850’s while Giovanni Strazza was in Rome, this sculpture depicts The Virgin Mary with a light veil over her face. It is made from Carrara marble which derives from Tuscany. This type of marble is white with smokey grey veins that run through the stone regularly. Other sculptures made from Carrara marble include ‘David’ By Michelangelo and The ‘ ‘Lacoon and his two sons Antiphnates and Thymbraeus’ in Rome. This type of marble has an elegant and timeless appearance which is why it was popular in ancient Rome and is still used today.

Marble is a hard material to work with and in ‘The Veiled Virgin’, Strazza has made it look very soft and delicate even though marble is resistant to chisel and cutting, which shows Strazza’s skill. The veil falls intricately across some braids at the top of the head and gently drops to the bottom to the bust. The face of Mary indicates that she is either deep in prayer or grieving. The way that the veil has been carved highlights Mary’s feminine face shape and at the same time blurs some of her features giving a sense of mystery to the piece. Using veils in sculpture however was nothing new in the 1800’s as it was inspired by the ‘wet drapery’ that was used in Greco-Hellenistic sculpture.

The bust ‘The Veiled Virgin’ is now exhibited in a convent in Canada and can be viewed by appointment. Not much is knows about Giovanni Strazza so therefore it is unknown what the true meaning behind the sculpture is. The 19th century was a time of nationalism on the rise in Italy. The image of a vailed Virgin Mary was often the symbol of Italia which ultimately could mean that the sculpture could have been a symbol of the newly united Italy. This makes the use of Carrara marble vital as it was native to Italy. On the other hand, the piece could be a symbol of Strazza’s religious devotion to the Virgin Mary. This is further supported by the attention and care which was given to the sculpture to perfect every single fold of the fabric and to give such a gentle expression of the face which highlights his admiration for her. Traditionally, marble is a material used to give a sense of nobility to the subject which highlights the importance of the Virgin Mary in Strazza’s eyes and the Catholic Church.

The overall finish on the bust is neither extremely shiny and polished however nor is it so soft that features can be barely made out. The patina on the marble of ‘The Veiled Virgin’ is precise and smooth which gives the bust a more realistic effect and in that sense brings the statue closer to the viewer and creates a certain ethereal beauty.

Sources:

https://www.marmirossi.com/en/news/focus-materials/the-carrara-marble-a-white-marble-with-history

https://mymodernmet.com/the-veiled-virgin-sculpture/

https://www.franceculture.fr/sculpture/a-fascinating-transparency-strazzas-veiled-virgin

My own drawing of a traditional Slovakian woman for my project ‘Then and Now’