Abstract fear-Evaluation

This assignment has allowed me to experience and try different techniques that I would not normally consider. I decided to use mediums that I was inexperienced with as I wanted to challenge my self as a photographer and widen my knowledge of lens based media. This is why I made the decision to create a short film instead of a set of images. The film was created using Adobe Premiere- which I had also never used before. The editing process was challenging but rewarding, and I am now able to work with Adobe Premiere confidently.
Before filming, I researched a wide variety of artists who work with a fear narrative or work in a way that is intended to disturb the audience. They all used different mediums to connote narratives, such as film making and photography. I think the research helped me to develop ideas as I saw what installation artists do in terms of creating an exhibition which is involved in the art.
My installation had a clear plan throughout pre-production. As seen in a previous post, I made a drawn plan of the installation, which is exactly how it looked in the exhibition. It involved three boards surrounding a computer screen which screened my film. The facing board had three small square cut outs, intended for the audience to view the movie. This made the audience feel like they were viewing a secret, created by the 'peep holes'. It also connotes insecurity and claustrophobia. The screen was on the floor, Making the viewer feel higher and more significant then fear. Connoting over-coming fear and becoming a stronger person. I am happy with the way my installation was represented and feel that it gave my message of over coming fear clearly and effectively. 

To edit my video, I used Adobe Premiere. This is an editing software that previously I had no experience with, but have gained experience with trial and error whilst editing my video. Using this software has been challenging but rewarding as I now know how to use it to successfully edited both video and sound clips. I also found that the software was easier too use then iMovie, which I have used previously. I decided to use fast transitions between clips to add confusion to the viewer, also I made the clips very short so they world have a 'blink and they are gone' effect.
The voice clip I used to accompany my video was a recording of someone filing their nails, which was the fear my video focused on. I recorded it using a voice recorder app on my phone, which I then copied onto my computer. The recording was repeated along with my video, which created an overlapping effect which sounded equally as disturbing as the original recording.

The primary colours in the video were red, orange and black. As the video was shot at night with artificial light, the colour tones were quite warm. This was deliberate as I wanted the video to appear dark and dream like. The only clips which were a different colour was a clip of someone filing there nails close-up. This was separate as I wanted this to be the focal point of the video.

             Overall I am happy with how my installation and video turned out. I think the reason why it was successful was because It was heavily planned and discussed to ensure all ideas and concepts could be achieved.

If I could have changed anything about my work, I would had added another medium such as lighting. This was discussed in pre-production but I was unable to use the idea due to lack of resources and exhibition environment. My idea was to have a single light bulk continuously swinging above my video.

Another thing I could have done differently was decorating the boards surrounding my video, this could have added a different meaning to my video and would have added depth and meaning.

Organising and Preparing work for my exhibition.

In preparation for my exhibition, I have started to organise and layout my installation and video work to ensure that it will be successful. Whist at the exhibition location, I started to prepare my work by firstly setting up the installation. As shown in my installation plan and proposal, I wanted to create an enclosed area. This enclosed area will surround a computer screen showing my abstract fear video. It will be created by using three boards, the facing board will have cut out sections were the viewer can view the video. This is intended to make the viewer feel claustrophobic and insecure.
The video has a backing track of somebody filing there nails. This will be played at the highest possible volume to encourage the viewer to come forward and watch the video. The noise is also unclear what it is until watching the video, so it will also add curiosity.
 The video will be displayed on a computer screen that has no keyboard or mouse. This will be placed on the floor. It will be placed on the floor as whist the viewers look through the peep holes they will look down on the video, making them feel superior to it. This will connote getting over fears and over-coming anxiety.
I think I have prepared my exhibition well and it should not have any problems, however is problems do occur they can be replaced with alternative ideas that I have.

Abstract fear- Location photography research.

Location photography
Location photography means shooting in an area appropriate to the photographs subject not involving a photographic studio. For example, Instead of photographing a portrait in a studio setting, you would photograph them in a certain location situation such as somewhere which relates to the person.
  Examples of where location photography is used is in landscape photography, architectural photography, weddings etc. When shooting a location photography shoot equipment such as lights can be used.
I like using location photography in shoots as I think it is a natural way of presenting an image in a professional way. It also enables the viewer to see different aspects of the photograph, for example if presenting a portrait, with the background relating to the subject, the audience can relate the two aspects together.
In my work, I shot my video indoors at night, using artificial house lamps. This location was chosen as I wanted my video to seem real and so the audience can relate it to their home setting.
Lens based media
Lens based media is all mediums and art forms which use a lens to create a piece of art work or as part of an professional medium. Many artists choose to use lens based media to create surrealist or realist pieces of art.
The reason I chose to study a lens based course is because photography can capture different aspects of life with may not be recognised by the naked eye.
For my work, I used a canon EOS 5D to create my video.

Plan for Exhibition layout

Below is a diagram of how my installation will be presented. It shows my video being played behind 3 display boards, blocking the audiences view. The front display board has peep holes, which tell the viewer to watch through the holes. This gives the viewer a sense of claustrophobia and makes them feel lonely and insecure.
I do not have any alternative ideas as this idea has been discussed and is easily recreate able.
 I think this idea could be easily recreated, and should not be a problem to create at the time of the exhibition. I have ensured that I have all the resources I need and have practised the set up outside of the exhibition.

Abstract Fear-Proposal

This is the Proposal Presentation created using Microsoft powerpoint.

This assignment encourages us to create an installation piece exhibiting our personal fears through video, sound and photography. Through researching various installation artists using many different mediums, I have chosen to use Video with a sound relating to my fear and a set of images.

My first thoughts whilst planning this assignment was how I was going to successfully connote my fears through video and photography. I then decided to research artists such as Bill Viola. He uses slow motion video of concepts such as people emerging and descending into water continuously.

Once I had decided what direction I was going with my exhibition in terms of installation medium, to develop my ideas further I took a series of test shots. My first set of test shots were centered around a narrative. I chose to do this as it was a good way to know if my final piece should have a narrative. These images were successful for research purposes but was a project to improve on.  With my second series of test shots I decided to focus more on the digital aspect and improve my  technical ability  with Photoshop, something I had needed to improve on in the past.

Theme

For My exhibition, I have decided to theme my images around the fear of Nail files and Ghosts . I have chosen these fears as they are things I am scared of myself. I thought these would be effective as ghosts is a common fear, and nail files is an uncommon fear. This shows a diversity in fear.

Installation

Video

For the set up for my installation, I have decided to create a dark area to connote fear. I will have a old looking television showing my video  surrounded by boards to block out view. The front board will have a several eye holes, ranging in size and position on the board. The viewer will then have to bend down and find a eye hole to view the video inside. This will give the viewer a sense of un-knowing and asif they were viewing a secret.

The contents of my video will be centered on the fear of ghosts and of the unknown. It will also contain my fear of nail files.  This short film will be on rotation at my exhibition.

The fear of nail files will be exhibited in the sound of the video. It will be someone filing there nail’s and will go as the soundtrack to my video. I think this will be a disturbing sound which will aggravate   the viewer and make them uncomfortable.

The video itself will use fast transactions and shock tactics to engage and disturb the audience. It will contain scenes of a person slowly walking towards the screen then a fast transaction were they are close to the screen. It will then cut to a scene unrelated and so on. I am planning to work on instinct when creating the video, as this is the most effective way I work.

Installation Art Research- Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy studied fine art at Bradford College of Art (1974–1975) and at Preston Polytechnic (1975–1978) receiving his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from the latter. After leaving college, he lived in Yorkshire, Lancashire and cumbria. He decribed his moving further Northward as being 'due to a way of life over which he did not have complete control'. He is most famous for his work in nature, which slowly dissapears over time and so needs to be photographed to be researved. Photography plays a crucial role in his art due to its often ephemeral and transient state. According to Goldsworthy, "Each work grows, stays, decays – integral parts of a cycle which the photograph shows at its heights, marking the moment when the work is most alive. There is an intensity about a work at its peak that I hope is expressed in the image. Process and decay are implicit.
The materials used in his work often include brightly coloured flowers, sticks or pieces of wood, icecles, leaves and mud.He has been quoted as saying, "I think it's incredibly brave to be working with flowers and leaves and petals. But I have to: I can't edit the materials I work with. My remit is to work with nature as a whole." To create his work, it has been said that he often uses his bare hands, teeth and found tools to prepare and arrange the materials.
Review of an individual sculpture;

From 'Rivers and Tides'. This piece is primarily made from leaves and mud, which Goldsworthy has painted to create this 'colour wheel' style sculpture. The main colours used in this piece are shades of red, yellow and black. The sculpture gives the impression that it is dissending into a black hole and if stood directly abvove can give the affect of being sucked into it. As this is a temparey piece, which has now decayed into the ground, I do not know the size of the sculpture, however I think it would have been quite large, due to the amount of leaves. I particularly like this piece as I feel that the colours and shapes of the sculpture connote the sun set, but the inside of a sunset. This may be why the black hole in the middle may look like space or a black hole. If I saw this in an open woodland, I would be initially shocked by it, but also extremely curious due to it being along nature, but associating itself with surrealism. 

My personal opinion of Goldsworthy's work is that I appreciate his original concepts, particularly his concept that his art can decay and become part of nature over time, but can be preserved using photography. I think some of the ways he creates art, such as using his teeth and bare hands to produce shapes and patterns, can be applied to my own work. This may encourage me to steer away from using technical editing and use a much more unique and organic way to distort images.

As an instillation artist, his environment is his art work, I can also learn from this concept to create a area to exhibit my work which is appropriate to the project theme.

Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Goldsworthy

http://www.ucblueash.edu/artcomm/web/w2005_2006/maria_Goldsworthy/TEST/index.html

http://192.168.24.51:15871/cgi-bin/blockpage.cgi?ws-session=3204785580

Installation Art Research- Bruce Nauman

Born in 1941 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Bruce Nauman has been recognised since the early 1970s as one of the most innovative and provocative of America’s contemporary artists. Nauman finds inspiration in the activities, speech, and materials of everyday life.
Nauman once said; 'My work comes out of being frustrated about the human condition. And about how people refuse to understand other people. It’s not that I think I can change that, but it’s just such a frustrating part of human history.'
He uses many aspects of media in his exhibitions, some which include video and neon lights-some of his most famous works.
As an installation artist, nauman uses his surroundings as his art, an example of this is his exhibit from 1987-Clown torture. He used old televisions to show the video which displayed clown's in certain torturous situations. This showed four stacked television screens. One which showed a clown screening 'no', another which displayed a clown telling an annoying children's joke, a clown balancing goldfish bowls and a clown sitting on a public toilet.
Nauman has been described as one of the most influential installation artists, who has influenced many artists due to his aggressive installations, neon's, sound pieces, videos and performances. He has also been described as creating a genre of art which makes people uncomfortable and shocked by a performance piece.  Although as a artist it was never his intention to shock through art, it is what made him memorable.
Through originally he went to art school in the intention to paint, he quickly realised that his strong point was visual media and sculpture.
I will now discuss and closely review this image which is 'one hundred live and die'.



This is one of nauman's most well known installations, and when reviewing, it isn't hard to see why. He once said that he liked using neon lights as ' it has two dimensions, you can see the inside of the light as well as the text in front of you'. The sculpture includes some well known sayings as well as some which has been changed to be made more sinister. An example of which is 'kill and die'. The repetition of certain words which may be described as insulting adds dimension to the piece. The phrases on this are the same as Nauman's 1985 installation, 'good boy, bad boy', which was a video presentation of a man and a women saying the words used in this sculpture quite calmly. In the past installation, certain words such as bad and good were accompanied with a change of vocal tone of expression, while in this installation to relevance of the words emotions are shown via colour. Such as phrases including 'die' are red or dark orange, connoting danger or death, while phrases including 'live or 'laugh' are lighter colours such as green or yellow. This shows the personal connotations the words have with the artist.

        I think that Nauman was, in a similar way to good boy, bad boy, trying to make the viewer feel that the phrases would eventually all blend together to form one piece. While some words may stand out due to colour or position, over all the piece would show that the artist feels all theses words mean the same thing.

Personally, I admire Nauman's work and feel I appreciate his original concepts and like how he develops his ideas, which is something I could learn and develop for my installation piece.

My favourite installation of Naumans's is clown torture. The reason I like this piece is because I found it the most disturbing and was most curious about it. The shock factor that this piece has is defiantly something I will include in my piece and I was try to recreate the repetition it involves.
Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Nauman
http://farticulate.wordpress.com/2010/10/23/bruce-nauman-selected-photographs-excerpts-from-an-interview/
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bruce+nauman&oq=bruce+nauman&gs_l=youtube.3...0.0.0.3266.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0...1ac.

Installation Art Research-Bill Viola

Upon learning about our current brief, Abstract fear, I firstly thought of Bill Viola, who's work I have admired for a while. He uses extreme slow motion video to create illusions to startle the viewer. While viewing his work, the viewer finds them self staring with glazed eyes aimlessly waiting for the suspense and then finally the ending. However, Viola's work does not have a narrative structure, so the viewers wait for something that never really happens, leaving them in suspense until eventually they leave, sometimes dissatisfied.

Bill Viola is internationally recognised as one of todays leading installation artists. He has been a vital form for contempary art and in doing so has has helped to greatly expand the art form in terms of technology, content and historical reach. For 40 years he has created videotapes, architectural video installations, sound environments, electronic music performances, flat panel video pieces, and works for television broadcast. Viola’s video installations—total environments that envelop the viewer in image and sound—employ state-of-the-art technologies and are distinguished by their precision and direct simplicity. They are shown in museums and galleries worldwide and are found in many distinguished collections. His single channel videotapes have been widely broadcast and presented cinematically, while his writings have been extensively published, and translated for international readers. Viola uses video to explore the phenomena of sense perception as an avenue to self-knowledge. His works focus on universal human experiences—birth, death, the unfolding of consciousness—and have roots in both Eastern and Western art as well as spiritual traditions.

Bill Viola once said ' Human beings have always been creative. The guys who were making the pyramids.. and archaeological research has showed us this.. had little figurines made by the workers, to express their devotion to their god.When you make a video of fire and of water, the resonance is incredible.. a flowing stream interpreted by flowing electrons. I was drawn to water intuitively, with a camera in my hand.. drawn to its pulsing waves and undulating surfaces, and of course, optically to the images it reflected.'

I will now talk individually about one of Viola's images.

This image is from 'the veiling' 1995 and is a video still. The title, 'the veiling' has many religious and historical perceptions. In the catholic chucrch for example, woman are supposed to veil themselves before entering church or any time they are in the presence of the blessed sacrament.

The veiling used in Viola's exchibition, were long thin sheets which were see through. The video was then projection through the sheets untill fading out into the atmosphere. The effect of this was the viewer could walk in bewteen the sheets and be a part of the projection. Unfortunatly due to little information about this image, I do not know what the projection was, but I am prosuming it was something involving water and a person very slowly emerging and dissapering. I like this image as it has a sense of mystery, like lots of Viola's work, and also involves the audience. I think the main reason why I feel this piece is unique is that the audience can touch the fabric, which is unusual in the art world as we are told 'not to touch the paintings' so there is a sense of freedom.

I like Viola's work as it allows viewers to experience the work directly, and in there own personal way. This may be using collective thoughts of the viewer or subjective thoughts

Bibliography

http://www.billviola.com/biograph.htm

http://www.haberarts.com/viola2.htm

http://www.artquotes.net/masters/viola/index.htm

http://www.fisheaters.com/theveil.html

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+veiling&oq=the+veiling&gs_l=youtube-reduced.3...36579.40751.0.41236.25.16.0.1.1.2.172.1455.4j8.12.0...0.0...1ac.1.6j3tPn1GMaYhttp://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/viola.html

Research Installation Art- Introduction to Installation.

Installation Art
Installation art is the term given to art which uses a certain environment to involve the art and staging. It is an expression which draws attention to the staging of the exhibition, in contrast to just the art. The art revolves around a concept decided by the artist but it does not have any set rules. All media can be considered Installation art, an example being Gabriel Orozco, who used painting, sculpture and photography, yet was considered 'The leading conceptual and installation artist of his generation', a quote by the Tate modern.
An installation can involve lighting, room space, sound and decor of the room as a piece of the artists work.
Last year, I visited an exhibition by students at park lane college. They were given the brief of installation art, and created projects revolving around the horror genre. The exhibition was in a dark, indoor location, which had the windows blacked out. This initial response to the brief made viewers of the exhibition feel enclosed and on-edge. A fear of the dark is quite a primeval fear, which the artists knew the majority of people were afraid of.
Some students chose to prioritise there pieces on sound or moving image, which personally I found to be the most effective. This is something I will consider when planning my artwork for our exhibition.
Some of the artwork involved walking through a narrow space or looking through a small space, which I also thought worked well. This worked with the phobia claustrophobia and the fear of being trapped.
Something I witnessed in the exhibition that I thought did not work well, was two videos I saw. One video was of a boy saying,' im trapped, I cant get out' repeatedly. Another was a video which used music. The reason I thought these did not work as well is because they did not make me fearfull and I thought the over all execution of the videos did not look profeshinal.
However, I did feel that the exhibition was obviously well planned and produced quality works of art in a setting which used different media to fulfill the brief.

Abstract fear-Location test shots

As shown In a previous post I have produced a small amount of test shots but mentioned that I would be shooting more. For these test shots I decided to go on location near park lane collage and produce shots revolving around houses in that area, which are heavily graffitied and generally look 'unkept' and eery. 
I have edited these shots lightly using photoshop as I wanted to improve my editing skills. In previous projects, I have not edited my images much as I prefer in-camera effects. However, as this is experimental work, I thought it was necessary to involve an editing technique. I have added shadows and generally made the images look darker as could possibly be seen as scarier.
The shots were taken at mid day and all use natural light.
Reviewing this task, I have come to the conclusion that it may be an intelligent chose to photograph in natural light for my final piece. This is because, in my opinion, the shot looks obviously more natural which is my preference.
The images follow a colour theme of red, black and white which shows the images are connected. They are also on the same street which can be used as a narrative of a persons journey down the street and arriving at the final point of the door.

I am happy with these shots as I think they are different to projects I have done previously showing a wide range of imaginative response. If I could change anything about this task I would have shot in different locations and maybe would have shot some at night and shown the contrasts of the light.

Abstract fear- Test shots reserach

As experimentation for the assignment abstract fear, I decided to produce a small amount of images. The images are unedited, and were shot indoors at night using an adjustive light source, which has three light settings and was set to medium. This created a dark reddish effect in accordance to the horror theme. I wanted the images to be slightly out of focus as I wanted the viewer to feel uncomfortable and have an irritability with the images. I also wanted to experiment with this as I have never used it as a way of communicating a theme in a project before.

Before I shot the images, I did not research any artists for inspiration but instead had relied on knowledge I had of my idea of the theme. This was interesting as I could review in my mind certain instances which I have felt fear.

I wanted to create an unidentified narrative background to the images and wanted them to follow a story which could be created by the viewer and produce an imaginative response.

Although these images serve a purpose in terms of an experimental and research project, I am not impressed by the images, and feel this is a starting point which can be improved on massively. I would improve on the narrative by making It more clear and also the lighting and overall appearance as I feel they look very amateur. A way I would Improve them is by using professional lighting.

Abstract fear Research-Exhibition Visit.

Industrial Heritage
Your first feelings (notes)
Industrial revolution themed images, work with the exhibition environment as it is relevant to the time period of the building and its history of being a mill using machinery photographed. Images are unclear what they are due to extreme close up shots, but not macro. Some shots have been made up of lots of individual shots placed together to create a perfect lighting, and also due to the size of the machinery. I like the images as I like the harsh lighting to reflect the atmosphere of the mill and the extreme close ups.
Do the images work well together-say why or why not?
I personally think that the images do work well together as they all follow a recurring theme of historical relevance. They also are recurred in terms of focus point and lighting. The images are mostly all use a shallow depth of field to focus and exhibit a certain part of the image. The images are all shot on location and the majority use natural light.
The way that the photographs were placed in the exhibition also show why they were successful in working together. They were on tall boards, back-to-back in close proximity. I think this reflects the working conditions in the mills of the machinery's originality. The workers would work in often very dangerous conditions very close together. The display boards were placed in parallel lines with a walk way in the middle, showing the machines placement in the mill. The temperature of the mill (however this could not be changed by the artist) was fitting as the images were very cold and made the viewer feel quite disconnected. This was because of the harsh lighting and dark recurring colours. Over all I think the artist concept was portrayed clearly.
Comment on the overall style and visual language of the imagery.
The style of the images is dark and mysterious. I came to this conclusion as, because of the close up shots, the photographer wanted the viewer to figure out what the object photographed was. The colours are simple and recurred. The lines and patterns are harsh and edgy. Overall I feel cold and uneasy by these images, however I am curious to find out more about the historical references they have.
What do you think about the exhibition?
My overall view of the exhibition is the exhibition is very well presented and the location chosen to exhibit them has been well planned and thought out. The location gives the images a historical notability and a back story to relate the images to. The lack of information in the exhibition about the photographs makes the viewer curiously imagine the background and inspiration for the exhibition. This is something I will consider for my future exhibitions.
Selecting an image to individually comment on.

Describe the image you have chosen

I have chosen an image of rounded and tubed metal which belongs to a machine which is unknown to me due to limited knowledge. The machine could have been in motion or still in the image. The colours are brass and dark metal. The machine is clean cut with strong groves and lines. The image used a shallow depth of field.

Why did you select this image?

I selected this image as I thought it looked in place with the others. I also chose it as I liked the harsh lighting and shots of reflective light you can see, which is different from some of the others. I think this reflects that the shiny surface, although the machine is old, still can be used and is 'as good as new.'

Comment on the style and visual language of the image

This image, like many others, is unattached from any particular machinery. I think the artist was trying to portray that when all the images are together, they form a sort of jigsaw puzzle of machinery, meaning that the images all look like they come from the same machine, which is unlikely. The close up shots shows only the grooves and lines of the bolts and coils, unattaching itself from a time period or machine, however I think the industrial revolution was an obvious influence. The lighting used is sharp and uninviting, giving the viewer a feeling of strength and masculinity. The angle of the image is also enjoyable and notable due to its change from dark to light colours, showing metaphorical references to the work environment in the industrial revolution. The images use a shallow depth of field to focus on a certain part of the image. They were all shot on location and the majority used natural light. Some however use a maximum of two studio lights were needed.

While at the exhibition location, which was also an exhibition, I shot some images inspired by the exhibition. I tried to use some techniques used by the artist, such as a shallow depth of field, however I did use flash in some of the images which is different to the artist. If I had a tripod with me, I would have experimented by uses a slow shutter speed to capture light instead of the flash.