ITAP; week 4, Principle 4 - Development of Personal Visual Vocabulary

Principle 4; Development of personal Visual Vocabulary

    Visual language is the significance and understanding of drawing, media, exploration and image making for creating a personal visual language. Each individual practitioner has their own methods of how they wish to create and preserve their visual language, varying the media and materials often to meet the context of their work, making it personal through using a specific stylisation.
   Critical evaluation of drawing and creating a visual language is significant, as this can encourage the idea of improvements that they can include within a piece to create development of future art forms. However, it can also be used as guidance to the audience giving inclinations, and indications to how the artist thinks, and what relevance the particular piece has to them as an artist, or what relevance it can have to the audience, and how it can reach them upon a personal level.
   Media experimentation is also of importance to visual vocabulary, finding the appropriate media which suits you as a practitioner to enable you to communicate your ideas thoroughly to an audience.
 

 

 Here is an example of a practitioners work who collects Polaroid images from various locations to communicate their visual experience using visual vocabulary, they also accompany their imagery with text to depict time frames of when they were taken or why they were taken, creating story boards from them.

 

Another example of a practitioners work where they combine elements of collected pieces to influence their fashion work, using these elements for ideas of texture shapes and form, using evaluative notes to communicate her visual language and the purpose of the work.
 

 

In addition to this another practitioner, once again using completely different methods from the previous two, collecting items from magazines, stamps, note books etc, to cultivate information that they can create into a visual piece by applying these sources together, creating almost a collage. Another difference between this practitioner and the other example is that the practitioner does not write notations down of the purpose of the piece, leaving the imagery upon the page to do that for itself.

 

Personal Reflection From The Lecture:

   To engage myself within the idea of creating in-depth conceptual pieces, I will need a clear understanding of the significance and purpose of my work, using all the key elements of design to develop my own personal visual language, using media experimentation, evaluation of drawing, proactively researching into a variety of practitioners to see how they have created accomplished pieces.

   I also will need to consider as a practitioner myself, what qualities do I respond to? How do I resolve things? What medias do I use? And finally, Are other practitioner’s works relevant to mine?

ITAP; week 4, Principle 3 - The Notion of Inspiration

Principle 3 The Notion of Inspiration

 

 

Inspiration can be found in a variety of different forms, just as recording them can be produced in a variety of different forms, creating a visual/recorded memory of occurrences which have inspired your notion of thought processing for an ideology. Through a constant process of inquiry to observation and experimentation, through researching and observing the final result will have a narrative, and be innovated apposed to imitated as it has been derived from personal experience.

The illustrator Paul Davis, finds that boredom is the enemy of an artist, so as an illustrator to gain fresh inspiration, he carries a small sketch book with him to collect and obtain information, making notations of conversations, atmosphere, culture, and general surroundings enabling him to begin designing some pieces with prosaic indifference and others with flair and imagination.

   He uses his sense of humour to offer an ultimatum on the spectrum of understanding his work, creating this own representation of the world and all that inhabits it. This visual representation is derived from with all the visual influences that have surrounded him, as well as everything he has absorbed from people who surround him, contained within his small sketch book.

 
Inspire work for Magazine Project;

   By engaging myself within methods such as Paul Davis uses, by recording findings, conversations, making visual commentary of my surroundings, either by taking photographs or creating sketches, this could improve the quality of my work, helping me to engage further within this topical theme/area.

   In addition to this, through researching and understanding these problems that I wish to resolve using Visual Communication, from being proactive and conducting the research in a practical manner this will improve the quality of my work, increasing my knowledge upon a subject, and furthermore, enabling me to be more analytical in a coherent form.

ITAP; week 3, Principle 3 - Relationships Developed From Existing Forms Of Culture

Principle 3 Relationships Developed From Existing Forms Of Culture

  

   The original intention of the cultural pieces have been recontextulised ideas and concepts in contemporary culture, reintroducing the ideas of religion and culture into a more modernised mannerism, fitting in with the current climate and society, adapting the context of pieces to be able to reach the audience upon a range of different levels, utilising modern theory as well as historical theory.
   In modern society, many commercial groups such as Vogue use reference to historical imagery to create campaigns to promote, and advertise products through photography, using the original source image as the influence for the photo shoot.

    However, despite the artists intentions of authentication of creating a more pastiche piece based of an original concept and art form, it is believed that this could be classified as cultural vandalism through the recontextulised pieces, making reference to religious and historical works of art, besmirching their relevance and importance of the original art pieces relation to culture, such as the artists the Chapman Brothers.

 

Botticelli - Venus and Mars - 1484

 

The original concept of this imagery is based around the idea that love conquers all, as Mars, the god of war is left unarmed and relaxed with his lover Venus, showing the power of their connection, it also shows the peaceful and tranquil environment through their surroundings encouraging the idea this is what has made Mars so relaxed.The family environment shows the royalties that they have in life, are surrounding them without the need for wealth or power.  

 

David Lachapelle - The Rape of Africa - 2009
 

This is the reconceptualised imagery of Botticelli's original piece, showing the change in culture in modern society, but still using the cultural aspects of the original piece. The undescriptor of this image gives a slight indication to the context of the imagery and what the content of the photograph is designed to emote to the audience.
   The visual elements within the imagery have been intensified within this authentic adaptation of the original image, showing the development over time and the development of culture over time. This reconceptualised adaptation shows the contrast of how the previous cultural visualisation of a simplistic, calm and loving environment, is compared to Lachapelle's cultural visualisation of our current society of destruction, the occurrence of violence, and greed.
   Considering the concept of the differentiation of these two images, they share similar qualities due to Lachapelle using Botticelli's work for cultural reference and as a source for him to reshape the idea of culture through time producing pastiche work based on the original image. Therefore this shows a development of relationship of contemporary art forms, and historical cultural pieces.





ITAP; week 3, Principle 1 - Notions of Originality

Principle 1 Notions of Originality

 

Originality appears to be no longer existent, and the notions of it are more appropriate to be classified as the authenticity of the concept of the imagery, which has been formed through manipulation of some one else’s original idea.
   Works of art are now often worked around developing a new concept, and context of an old art form. Developing and regenerating old ideas, thoroughly regurgitating the old art form to exhaust the key elements of its design, and purpose, therefore creates something that can be seen as "original", and innovative by viewers who are unaware of where the formal idea has been generated, and stolen from.
   Picasso once quoted - "great minds steal", this is an indication that it should not be a concealed fact, it is an obvious truth that should be celebrated, because of how invaluable this authenticity is, considering the known fact that originality that artists aspire for, is non existent.

Referring to the quotation in which Picasso had previously stated, here is a prime example of acknowledgement that "great minds steal".

 

          Las Meninas - 1656 - Diego de Silva Velazquez                  Las Meninas - 1957 - Pablo Picasso

The original image which was created by the artisan Diego de Silva Velazquez, who later come to influence the work of Pablo Picasso. Picasso “stole” this idea to recreate a more abstract form of the original piece, changing the context of the piece to fit the purpose and meaning he wanted to portray to his audience. Picasso had created a more pastiche piece, creating an authentic art form generated from the ideas and influence of the artisan.
   By reshaping and reworking the previous ideas, Picasso has therefore created a more personalised piece which shows clear relation and influence from the original piece to create these new intentions for authenticity, adapting the content by manipulation of the previous piece making it more signature to his stylisation.
   However, despite him reincarnating the piece as such, Picasso has chosen to embody same principles of the image as the previous artist has, by allowing the title for the piece to remain and through the use of similar design features as in the previous piece, such as the people, their gender and how they are situated within the piece.



ITAP; week 2, Principle 1 - Overcoming Mindset

Principle 1 Overcoming Mindset

 

   As a practitioner I continuously revolve around a selective amount of mediums and processes which produce the same result and give no reflection of character of myself, or personify the piece which I want to intensify. I have therefore created a deliberate habitual mode, and strategy of thinking, and need to release my inner critic which I tend to revolve my basis of work around, producing pieces which show a simultaneous pattern of likeness giving predictable results.

These images are a perfect example of my habitual mode of creativity and inner critic which controls the elements of my creative nature, restricting me to using only typical mediums and processes of design using common materials and utensils, due to my over compulsive comfortability with working with these mediums and materials.
   Although I have a tendency to continuously revolve my practices around a certain stylisation of my pieces, I feel that this does reflect me as an individual, through my sketchy notions and exaggerated features, yet not so much so that it does not specifically categorise me. This is something in particular in which I would not wish to change as a practitioner, but merely develop this stylisation and expand on to be more playful with my work, and consider fresh ways of processing giving me more critical awareness through this observation and subconscious awareness of habit.

 

Reflecting upon this idea of my typical mind set, looking back to previous examples of work, I believe there are various ways in which I can create fresh perspectives upon my creativity, breaking the mould of my repetitive strain of creative design on my own behalf.
   These examples of work I was restricting my mark making style because of how uncomfortable I felt at first using this new wet medium apposed to a dry medium, I found that after the first three attempts to be very controlled because of my judgemental opinion upon painting trying to change my stylisation, I found that these images were unsuccessful and were not expressive enough. (First set of 3 images)
   However once realising this I found that the more marks I made and the darker and uncontrolled I made my painting stylisation it reflected my personality more, and defined my characteristics within the final image, which I found to be relatable to me as an individual. (Second set of 3 images)
 

  
Although I find it difficult to attempt to try new, fresh and innovative ways to develop myself as a practitioner, there are particular ways in which I can over come my mind set to free my habitual mode of creative thinking, leaving me with less predictable results, even if the results are unsuccessful this will still allow development to occur to refine this practice.
   My four images of self portraiture shown above, have been developed using different mediums, materials and techniques, expressing my creative nature in various different ways, although I found it difficult to engage with, I found that the results were more successful than first considered.
Ways to overcome my own creative Mindset;

Consider the idea of collaboration, combing elements of Fine Art, Photography, Illustration, Textiles etc.

Expand on my knowledge of practitioners, varying my influence to encourage different styles of working apposed to looking at similar artists to the ones who currently inspire me.

Begin to sample different techniques using a variety of different mediums and materials which you can include within you RVJ, giving RCC upon them to mind map how you could develop these ideas, and how you could incorporate them appropriately within your work.

Consider the use of technology, expanding your knowledge and understanding of computer software and its importance within the advancing of industry, and how it can help improve the quality of my work.

Finally, before beginning a project, reflect on my ideas before starting, consider a numerous amount of approaches before attempting the brief. This will help avoid the predictable results, and help refine my ideas, increasing my creative thinking, avoiding enquiring into my typical choice of mediums and materials.

ITAP; week 2, Principle 5 - Managing a Creative Environment

Principle 5 Managing a Creative Environment

 

A creative environment has its own personal meaning to each individual and how they choose to utilise the space in which they work within. Work spaces can have different effects upon how you work when within these environments, some allow you to explore ideas of culture, and decorative pattern, others allow more conscious awareness to engage in a more structured session of design or thought. Furthermore, a work space/creative environment should be personal to whom ever is working within it; to gain inspiration, allow concentration and the expansion of thought processing, stimulating the mind of the person occupying this space.

 

From this image, it displays the organisation and availability of my mediums and equipment which I am freely able to work with. However, in comparison to practitioners, my supplies are basic and limited, so I would need to engage within other working environments to access more technical equipment, and technology. 

    The make up of my creative environment is simplistic, and contains a variety of cultural aspects, this through my habit of collecting small trinkets when visiting foreign destinations, which relate to religion, or the leisure and culture of the country itself. By having these items it allows me to broaden my mind and be more diverse when experimenting and making reference to culture. I also have many areas within my room which relate to my memories and experiences in life, these are often used as trigger pieces when wanting to make reference to a particular theme. By having this comfortable, organised and minimalist work space which relates to my thoughts and character, it allows me to be relaxed and have intense sessions of thought when being surrounded by materials which I use as reservoirs for my unconscious thoughts. In addition to this because of the size of my working environment it gives me a confide working space to captivate my thought process, and allows me freedom in the solitary environment to find a comfortable place to work within, due to its adaptability fitting my personal requirements, and giving limited distractions.

 

These creative environments were ones in which I used to inhabit during my years spent in high school. These work space allowed a creative flow of energy because of all the display work which was available, making this environment very intense and vibrant with colour, creating a unique atmosphere. When working within them it allowed you to engage with other students work which was presented around the work space, and also artist's work which was also displayed. By seeing this versatile and cosmopolitan amount of work, it encouraged influence and source to make reference to giving progression and enhancement within your pieces. Furthermore, due to the layout of these rooms, the mediums and materials are available in the allocated and appropriate areas of use, making it easily accessible and freely available to use as well as being safe to use.
    However, often within a shared creative environment, there is often distractions and uncomfortable work spaces (as shown within these images), making the engagement with your work somewhat detached because of these occurrences with disjoint your concentration. Therefore workspaces which are allocated to a single person are much more personalised, and allow concentrated reflection, thought process as well as clarity and coherence when decision making because of the lack of distractions.

For personal reflection:
   Taking elements from these creative environment for the development of my own creative working environment, I could display previous pieces of my completed art forms, and include pieces within my environment of practitioners which I find to be very influential upon my stylisation.
   Furthermore, I should also ensure that my work space is kept organised, and that equipment is ready and available, taking as many safety precautions within my own private workspace as I would within a public one, this will prevent risks of personal injury as well as events and hazards such as fires.