STEP ON A CRACK, BREAK YOUR MOTHERS BACK.

STEP ON A LINE, BREAK YOUR MOTHERS SPINE.

I wrote these phrases on the paving stones outside my house, and watched, as people altered their behaviour...

I went on to make 'lucky stickers'

This was an experiment to collect feedback from the public, looking at how people are open to taking opportunities/ how people become more aware of the good things that happen when they have somewhere to source their good fortune, even if it is just through an inanimate object. I posted flyers with these lucky stickers around the city and provided an email adress 'myluckhaschanged@hotmail.com', and got quite a few nice responses from the public, commenting on how what i was doing was 'good karma'

I don't know whether this counts as good luck/fortune but is more serendipity I guess. I think the latter is an accident with a happy outcome?

Anyway I was committed to something today that my heart really wasn't in and that I wished I could get out of, but couldn't. Anyway it was cancelled and not by me! So I pretended to be disappointed but was secretly glad! Does that make me a bad person? Probably!

So one thing that may be ascribed to your "experiment".

I hope you get lot's more positive replies.

I'm going to keep the sticker with me for a bit longer to see what happens.

.............................................................................................................................................................................

         I wouldn't necessarily say this bought me luck but it brought me karma, as i found out that my ex boyfriend has become fat..

          ......................................................................................................................................................................

          What Was This Lucky Sticker All About?

I Didnt Have Time Too Take 1 Sticker, So I Tool The Page, However I Have Re-Posted The Lucky Sticker Poster In Liverpool City Centre Town :)
I Have a Photograph Too! So Nw Many More People Will B Lucky.

This Was a Nice Thing Of u Too Do. Good Karma.

I further investigated the idea of luck. Derren Brown's 'Secret of Luck' programme was very interesting.

In the programme, a simple question was posed 'have you heard about the lucky dog statue?'. Rumour spread, and so did stories of luck achieved by petting the ‘lucky dog’. People put rational thought aside , drawing cause and effect where there isn't one.

BUT it became apparent that if you do something that you believe has granted you luck it will affect your behaviour. The more open you are to opportunities, the more you engage with the world around you, more things will happen to you therefore more good things will happen, and you will be more aware of these good things happening. therefore you become luckier.

I decided to visit an old peoples home. My grandma had numerous superstitions, and i began to wonder if beliefs were directly related to different generations. Here are some rough line drawings i did of the old people while there (they didnt mind)

Here are some of the more obscure superstitions they gave me.....

•Green is unlucky

•Never clip your toenails on a Tuesday

•If you head footsteps behind you, never turn around: it may be the dead walking following you

•Never face the foot of your bed towards the door, for that’s the way the dead used to be carried out.

•Its bad luck to light three cigarettes with the same match

•Ghosts love the smell of lemons

•Your reflection in a mirror is your actual soul,therefore breaking the mirror brings bad luck.

•If the flame of a candle or fire turns blue, it means a spirit is in the room.

Its been a while blogspot. I'm going to try and summarise my year of work. Here goes.

OK. Folklore. Theres tonnes of it. More than i ever knew. I developed an interest in obscure folklore traditions and superstitios behaviour that have stood the test of time. I became intruiged by films such as 'the wicker man'

Unsettling superstitions are evident throughout the film , for example, the local apothecary has foreskins pickled in a jar, Myrtle must swallow a frog to cure her sore throat, tied to a tree over Rowan's grave is her bloodied naval skin.

Although many of the traditions in the film seem laughable today, superstitions are still evident in contemporary society and have stood the test of time. Exploring how even to this day, we still cast rational thought aside when it comes to certain superstitions.

Photographs by Paul Trevor

13 May to 25 September 2011

This exhibition of photographs taken during the 1970's of working class estates in the poorer areas of liverpool, demonstrates how significanty things can change over a relatively short period of time. Despite the impoverished conditions, the families and people living within the area seemed to be having a happy and content life. Families are seen to live together in apparent harmony, with a strong community spirit. The photos are captured honestly, documenting a moment in time that was not staged nor posed. Whether or not this was an accurate depiction of the general mood of the people living within this era is unknown, but the photos ultimately illustrate that happyness is found in relationships, not necessarily in the aquisition of material goods that modern times suggest will make us happy.

 "In 1975 Paul Trevor came to Liverpool to document inner city deprivation for the 'Survival Programmes' project. His remarkable photographs tell a different story however. Their backdrop may be the dereliction of post-war Liverpool. But these images go beyond this bleak cityscape and get close to his real subject: families and children.

Paul's direct and honest street photography shows life as it was lived in a community defiant in the face of poverty, unemployment and the state of their surroundings. He depicts a place where the streets and wastelands became playgrounds, the family was a constant, and where children seem fun-loving and free.

Paul returned to the same Liverpool communities in the summer of 2010. After a lively reunion with local residents, one said:

"Paul, it's like you’ve never been away!" - Walker Art Gallery

VG&M

The Quay Brothers
I was advised to go and see this exhibition by a fellow art student (shout out to Reuben), as he felt the work had the same 'atmosphere' as my final installation. The work consisted of a series of box setups that were dark and surreal. The Quay Brothers create stop-motion animations within these sets using puppets. The films avoke half-remembered dreams and long suppressed childhood memories. I have a massive urge to start making puppets over the summer, but have no knowlegde about film, and wouldnt know where to start with a narrative. I could always cross that brigde when i came to it. I think im a 'maker', i've always enjoyed creating physical objects, and creating film within box with dark puppets would really push me to try new things, and  could be an interesting development of my previous work.

 A few photos of installation.
I found it particularly hard to take photos of my installation due to the low levels of light. As soon as i used a flash it bleached everything, and made the room look corporate and bland again. I edited these abit to enhance them, but decided to film the work aswell. I slowly walked round the space as the viewer would and recorded it simply on my camera.

Boarded up windows

Inrtrospection. D-Day.

 For the first hour on our opening night there was a general sense of tension, we all had our doubts as to whether people would actually show up. I also felt pretty nervous about how people would react to my work, however the turn out was pretty good, and everyone was positive about my piece (at least to my face). I got mixed comments regarding my installation, generally along the lines of 'its really creepy in there'.

A friend kindy gave me some feedback which has been really useful, thanks stuart...

'My first thoughts are of spiders - a good image, they're very lyrical creatures. Probably because there are so many legs. Not only the abundance of tied-up and dangly things (as if in a web), but the dolls' limbs reminded me either of dismembered flies, or the multiple legs of spiders. Again, in my eyes, this is all good, ok?

I liked the arresting nature of the room - the sound of the ventilator outside forced me to concentrate on whether it was a soundtrack, traffic, or ambient noise - i decided on the latter, but it seriously complemented the atmosphere, which i think i've said was very effective.

As for your qualms about the plugs, i found that, with the door to my left and the dangling fishnets, i could line them up so that the socket was obscured, and - as far as my perspective was concerned - the room was entirely analogue, which fit with the overall 'affekt' one of the first half of the Twentieth Century being summed up, not as fifty years or five consecutive decades, but one block of fashion.

Particularly arresting were the newspapers around the room. I don't know if you intended it, but no headlines were left unobscured, and so the identity of the funeral's subject had to be either deduced or simply guessed. Similarly, the pallet of yellowing paper, wood, and blue was really well-balanced. The only tiny tiny tiny tiniest point would be that some more lighting, perhaps more spread out, or more from below, would have really added to the already quite expressive shadows cast from the low-level lamps.'

 

(My space turned into quite a social envionment, with people chosing to come in and sit on the floor, which can be seen in photo above)

The space itself was quite easily modified, although there were many features that were unsuitable, and detracted away from my work, such power sockets in the middle of walls which intruded and took significant effort to disguise as these fought with the overall character of the room i was trying to create. I incorporated some of the existing features, such as the radiator, which acted as a support for one of my pieces. I tried out various arrangements of the work in order use the space effectively in keeping with my vision and my growing understanding of spatial awareness.

T. Before entering the room i had drawn up a selection of possible layouts, but was keen to stay flexible and react to the room. I utilised the available space in the room by creating a central piece surrounded by focal points in three of the four corners of the room, the unused fourth being the corner with the door. I also occupied wall space with individual pieces highlighted by the blank canvas created by the walls .I wanted to remove the natural sources of light in the room in order to generate an atmosphere using specifically selected and positioned lamps. I blacked out the windows using torn up card (for a rustic hand made feel).

 I used newspaper to make a piece for the floor which can be walked over, so the installation has another interactive dimension, which furthers the impression that the viewer is enclosed within a larger construct.  When entering, the light and shadow effects created by the curtained area draw ones eyes and trigger a sense of curiosity as to what lies beyond. I created this area as a partition within the larger room, to act as a box within a box. The pieces within were selected on the basis that they are  generally individually contained structures.

 As your eyes adjust to the dim light, other pieces become clearer.. The piece in the corner to the left is a sculpture contructed using fragments of a broken crate. The traditional form of the crate has been deconstructed and reassembled in a alternate fashion that still allowes items to be contained within the form. It spills onto the floor, invading the space around it in an organic manner.

Adjacent to the deconstructed crate piece is a collection of work which is more abstract free standing and has a darker theme to evoke a change in mood. Causing the viewer to consider darker aspects to their memories and past.

In the corner to the right is a piece made up of hanging wrapped objects. It could be seen that the objects are being partially obscured by the past, part-forgotten memories drifting almost ungrounded to the present. I have lit the floating objects from below and placed a singular drawer on the floor with objects that are less tightly bound, and more distinguishable to give a hint towards what might exist in the others. Again the narratives are left open to the viewer.

 To the left of this is a more enclosed box form, which invites the viewer to peer through the  opening, beyond the threaded interior which obscures the montage of photos/postcards within. I chose to hang it at eye level to encourage viewers to investigate the contents. Once the viewers have reached this part of the piece their eyes will have adjusted to the low level of light.

Alhough the prospect of filling an entire room was initially daunting; i have enjoyed the challenge and feel that the work has come together in a coherent form. Ive created a dark and mysterious atmosphere, in keeping with my previous pieces..  Ive tried to maintain a continuous level of curiosity within the viewer as they explore the room. I spent a good deal of  time inside the room in order to get a firm feel for how my pieces would interact with the space as a whole .Ive tried to consider the room as a larger spatial object encompassing my work, whilst also being a piece of work in its own right.  Ideally upon entering the room the viewer would become immersed in an amalgamation of memories and confused narratives that together challenge the individual to take an introspective look at their own past.

. Peter, one of the tutors popped in, and the first thing he said was 'theres a nice atmosphere to this space' in reference to the lighting/layout I'd employed (hopefully not in  sarcastic reference to the stressy tense atmosphere  I'd created around myself..). On Tuesday i plan to go into the space, check nothing has fallen off the walls, but a couple more bits up, tidy the floor, cut up the edges of the floor piece, neaten the windows, reassess composition, stick up artist statement then have a drink of the alcoholic variety and hope for the best.

Setting up installation tomorrow morning. Spoke to Miguel this morning and he told me to turn up without a fixed idea of what i'm doing, so i can just get a feel for the space and play it by ear.He actually said 'get a cup of coffee, sit in the space and try to enjoy the experience' this sounds nice in theory but no doubt i'll be up the wall tomorrow. This said i've done a few quick drawings so i've got a vague idea of what might work. This drawing is REALLY awful, so don't judge me. It was mainly for myself but i've thrown it on here to show i have actually thought about what i could do.

 

Should have posted this earlier- quick setup of recent work for last assessment. Not and ideal layout to be honest.

Yesterday the Introspection team met to print out and distribute posters and flyer's. They look really good, but now theres advertisements, it's all become very real. We went down to the union space, to find our individual rooms were filled with PC's and tables which all need clearing.  As i stood in the space, I had a mass of ideas of what i could do/ how i should show my stuff, just wish I wasn't so indecisive. Thursday and tuesday morning are the setting up days, i'm hoping that will be sufficient faffing time for me to work out what I'm doing. We also had to clear out our studio spaces which was pretty arduous, Juan kindly let me dump it all in his room for the time being.

Oh, a  facebook event has also been set up
http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=149714751762976
 The main body of text goes as follows...

'Introspective' is an Art exhibition set up by nine students from the 2nd yr LJMU Fine Art course, our practice centres around a main theme of self-awareness and reflection.

There will be a multitude of visual delights including video, sound and installation. Hope to see you there, if not for the art, fingers crossed we can lure you in with the offer of some form of handheld confectionary.

As this is being held in the LSU, of course there is a bar for you to get merry and what not.

Much love.

 

Think that sums it all up pretty well.

Student Union Exhibition meeting tomorrow.

I'm hoping it will make me feel slightly better about everything. I just want to get all my stuff in the space and play around, see what works. Until its up properly i cant relax. That said, I probably won't really relax until its down again. Also, i showed  Miguel the curtain thing I'd been making whilst it lay flat on the floor. He said he likes it on the floor, and i could use it as a rug if i frayed the edges, and it would act as a piece as itself. This has completely thrown my idea up in the air, and I'm not sure what to do anymore. The only way i will know is through trying it i guess. Finally ....

Feedback Comments;   HER UPCOMING INSTALLATION IN THE GROUP SHOW WILL ALLOW HER TO UNDERSTAND THE APPROPIATION OF SPACE IN A MORE CRITICAL MANNER. SHE COULD CONSIDER SEEING HER EXHIBITION AREA AS
ANOTHER  SPATIAL OBJECT, SUCH AS THE BOXES SHE EMPLOYS, IN ORDER TO CAPITALISE ON HER PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE


Note capital letters used to terrify me. I really want to take this advice on board when setting up.

More Berlin.
Holocaust memorial.
Freya's head protruding there ....

When arriving at the Holocaust memorial, we were naively unsure as to whether we were in the right place. Me and a couple of mates began exploring the vast maze of concrete, taking tourist-like shots, pointing in no particular direction, until one person climbed up onto one of the cubes of concrete, and was told by some guard type officer to get down. We were in the right place, and felt instantly embarrassed, and concerned as to whether such antics could cause offence. Looking at the piece through newly learned eyes it had a completely different feel. A vast bleak area of grey and black. The stone was cold, and the edges hard. It was dark and morbid, it cast cold shadows and stood still and strong. It was designed by architect Peter Eisenman and  consists of a 19,000 square metres (4.7 acres) site covered with 2,711 concrete slabs or "stelae" , arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field.  According to Eisenman's project text, the stelae are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason. Some have said the piece memorial is too abstract, and some have pointed out that many thousands of non-jews died during the holocaust but are excluded from mention in the memorial. Im still undecided as to whether I deem it a fitting memorial. Its very bleak, i'll give it that, but it's also face-less. There is no sense of humanity or soul. I suppose due to the massive numbers of lives that were lost in the holocaust, it would be very difficult to create a memorial that encompasses, and illustrates individuals, rather than simply faceless numbers/figures. Aesthetically though, it's striking, and can't be over-looked, which could be all that really matters.

Berlin. Whilst walking round Berlin i found myself saying 'i have masses to blog about' so here's my attempt at doing such. I'm going to start with the most memorable work i saw, which was actually the graffiti around the city. It was everywhere, some of it quite beautiful. I don't know if its legal in Berlin, but it really added something to this city. Few photos below...

 In parts i felt as though i couldve easily been in Manchester, with the tram, the Starbucks/McDonald's/all saints etc, then you'd turn a corner and find grand architecture, or a mass of graffiti clad buildings. Globalisation hey? After finishing that bloody essay i stumbled across tonnes of things that linked to globalisation but hey ho. The exhibition at the Guggenheim was globalisation materialised. It consisted of a mass of colourful toys/pieces that were interactive and tactile. They illustrated many recognisable landmarks, Easter island or the Taj mahal for example, and were made out of foam/fur/plastic/glitter etc. Children happily played around us, touching and moving the work, occasionally being told off by a guard for getting too excited. If I'm honest, i expected more from the Guggenheim. After seeing photos of Bilbao's offerings, and Dubai's plans for a Guggenheim, i was underwhelmed by the pretty average looking exterior.

I also went to an exhibition my Richard Long at the contemporary art museum Hamburger Bahnhof,  which was impressive. Ive always been a fan of Longs' work, and the setting of his work just made his work 'pop' for lack of  a better word. That's an awful word sorry. The building was so grand, and well lit, and the composition of his circular pieces worked beautifully within the space (couple of photos i took below). The circular floor pieces led to a giant wall at the back of the space which had another circle, painted in mud (i think) in which the hand prints of the artists remained. As i approached the piece it seemed remarkably flat. I was expecting to see some level of texture but i couldn't. As subtly as possible i touched the edge to see if it was in fact a print but got shouted at by a guard before i could register whether it was or not. I felt abit bitter about this. In the real world if there was mud on a wall no one would stop you touching it. Its just mud. it doesn't belong to anyone, but it belongs to everyone. the same applied to the circular rock formations on the floor. God forbid anyone to touch of kick a rock. but if you head out side you can kick rocks about to your hearts content. Art has the power to do this. I'm not sure i like this fact. Ive been considering doing my dissertation on ephemeral art next year, and potentially basing a project on it. Chances are this time next year I'll have a piece made from leaves that no one can breathe around, and i will have completely contradicted my last point.

Mementos.
Matt Weir and Philippa Dye.

Probably the best exhibition i've seen so far by fellow fine art students. The free alcohol helped though.

I'm in Pips crit group so have seen her work develop up to the final stages of her exhibition, and her piece really worked. It was based around her grandmother, and consisted of a room set up with chair, blanket, slippers, ticking clock and cross-stitch pieces. It was very well put together and felt well thought through and considered. I saw her piece whilst completely sober, which i think was for the best, as it was a very still and contemplative piece that i think required a level of respect/sober-ness.

By the time i sat down to watch Matt's films the alcohol had been flowing, and i felt as though i was at a house party rather than an exhibition (which isn't a bad thing). His films were also really well put together. The first was of a journey down a road, that sped up with time, and had looping sections. I dont know alot about film pieces but, the fact that it kept my attention shows it did something right. It reminded me of being on long car journeys as a child, and feeling frustrated that i was trapped in the car for the foreseeable future. Also flashbacks of being horrifically travel sick, and to be honest by the end i felt a little bit nauseous, but to be fair i was drinking whiskey which didn't ease the situation. The second film was really beautiful. It was really mellow, and i didn't feel ill at any point! It was an almost surreal mix of colours and sounds that flowed in a dream-like way. It was as if you'd closed your eyes and the changing colours were from light falling on your eyelids. Im aware how cheesy that sounds.

All in all i was very impressed by the exhibition on a whole, although it fuels my anxiety to whether my own exhibition will go down as well. Time will tell.

Binding stuff with lace- Last photo, dolls head (personal favourite, not sure why)

Ive also been trying to get hold of a curtain to hang, in order to create a room within a room. Anyway i couldn't find one that i liked so Ive made my own from old newspapers, bought from Jim in Quiggins. Id like to take this opportunity to thank Jim for all the crap he's sold me recently. He goes on 'digs' and uncovers all kinds of great stuff. I bought some ancient kid shoes that he'd dug up yesterday for 10p. Bargain. I think he sells stuff to Elizabeth Willow too, who's work i really love. The papers are from 1957, and are pretty interesting as objects in themselves. Ive stuck them together (probably should have sewn them but it was too time consuming for a mock-up) and plan to fold the large piece in a concertina fashion. Ive also bought/made a lamp. Ive attempted to make an existing lamp look old fashioned and worn , and bought a tacky old lamp shade to put on top. Hopefully the dim light will suffice, and shine through the newspaper and look inviting. Fingers crossed. I have another assessment tomorrow so I'll have to set up something that could potentially look like the final piece. Keeping it vague.

Contemporary Art and Globalisation Essay- Finished  Thank. God.

Anyway I've been trying to look up artists who wrap/conceal things, to further develop the work I've been doing recently- the string stuff. There are obviously people like Christo, but I'm struggling to find others. Ive began wrapping clusters of objects in black lace and hanging them from the wall. It actually looks quite ominous, I'll take some photos tomorrow and stick them on here. I also went to a charity shop today in search of a tacky old fashioned lamp to potentially use to light my work. No joy there. I'm going to have to track something down before assessment though...

Wolstenholme exhibition. Re:Action

 Last night I went to see 3 fellow fine art students' work in the wolstenhome space. Our group had originally wanted this space but it fell through due to lack of communication. As I entered the space for the first time I was immediately jealous and dissapointed that i wasnt showing my work there. It would have been a perfect space. It was damp and cold, and falling apart a little. The walls were crumbly and the floor boards were worn. Quite a contrast to the union space, office-like and corporate. But, hey ho. Im going to try to make the most of what i have. Seeing this exhibition has made me question how i would light my own work. I think i'd like to keep the lighting dim in an attempt to disguise the business like environment. This could potentially be done using an old fashioned table lamp or maybe candles (though health and safety wouldn't be happy, and i'd probably have to stand in a corner with a fire extinguisher, which may lessen the experience as a whole).

The exhibition was pretty good. All of the students involved did performance art, a realm i've never dabbled in (probably due to lack of confidence) but enjoy none the less. Each were very different, and as i havn't heard any of the students speak about their work in uni, i was forced to come to my own conclusions as to what their work was about. All in all, it felt well put together... and the free food was nice.