Unit 280
1. Negotiated Learning Plan
Art 280 Negotiated Learning Plan
(i) What interests or drives you?
The areas that interest me and the areas I want to continue within this project from the previous project are the idea of deforestation and the idea of trees and the importance to the planet and how harmful it could be without them and the damage that is caused by deforestation. As well as using things that would otherwise go to waste or go to a landfill. I am also hoping to continue the idea of recycling in art to make things such as paint in my final year.
(ii) What materials do you think might best serve your investigations? What media/areas are possible exhibition sites/participatory project opportunities you intend to explore and research?
I am still unsure of the materials but I would like to use some that I have experimented with in the last project which would be painting, sculpture, and drawing as well as the idea of burning. I do however wish to continue with experimenting with materials and use them to get an idea across with still using different mediums. For the exhibition I am still deciding on a definite idea however I like the idea of using media and reaching people that I may not have otherwise been able to get to, I also like the idea of posters as well however the ideas may change as I progress in the project. The idea of using sculpture is another thing I would still love to do for my exhibition.
(iii) How will you measure your success?
I will measure my success with coherence and the ability to understand the project with others as well as hopefully gain more skills and knowledge. Skills in different areas of art and the knowledge of different artists as well as more knowledge on the importance of trees and reusability in art. Another way of measuring success is by hopefully making people think about the impact they have on the planet. And finally being able to put on an exhibition.
2. What is my live Project?
My live project: my live outcome is the main goal for this project and for me I am hoping to put on an exhibition and a poster. the reason I have chosen that I want to do an exhibition is that I think it will work well with my theme about the nature and recycling of stuff to make artwork. My plan for my final outcome and the live project is an exhibition which I will do with a few others from the course making it a bit more collaborative. the idea is that with me focusing on a sculpture I will use plinths to display my work most likely in the middle so people can walk around them. This idea was given to me during my crit when I originally had them against the wall however putting them in the middle allows for the space to be better used and allows for my 3D work to be seen from all sides. Alongside this idea, I will also make an exhibition poster that also displays one of my pieces of work which is in more of a cartoon style which will work better for the poster. This poster will also have information on dates and times as well as the place. My idea for the exhibition is for people to be able to walk in and see the show as well as to invite people to come along. We will display this exhibition in the Shaun project space, which will be a good space, with others in the exhibition taking the walls and me having the space in the middle as suggested in the crit. There will be altogether 4 of us in this show.
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The work I will be displaying will be linked with them recycling and trees which is something I continued from the first term. the idea that all my work is recycled to not using plastics which harm animals and the environment. My idea will to be to continue this into the next year after the exhibition. the idea of making an exhibition is to show that even recycled and reused material can be used in art and can be created into work that can even be put into an exhibition. the reason I have done this because I feel artists find it too easy to buy something new and throw away things we don't seem to have a use for such as extra bits of wood. the wood is one of the big points because of the last unit on deforestation and that the scrap wood can still be used even if we don't have a use for it at that moment or it would be easier to get a new piece. Therefore my aim in this exhibition is to challenge people to respect nature and the planet by using things that they deem rubbish or scraps.
3. Own Work Reflection
1. One of my first pieces of artwork for this is something more simple of a tree-drawing that I plan to use for digital and other drawings. The drawing is done in pen.
One of the main ideas I have going forward with this piece of art is photoshopping it and then using more colours of pen adding leaves and trying to represent the different seasons then after this photocopy again and burn them or in some way ruin them showing the pain and devastation caused when trees are deforested or destroyed and the impact it has on the planet.
some further ideas I have going forward is using this for digital work and experimenting with digital which I don't often do much of, some ideas for the digital work are colour changing and putting it in collages. Representing tones and making them like with colours emotions such as pain
3. The next piece of artwork I did for this project on deforestation and nature is in pen on canvas. this has more of a pop art style which is different from most of my art in this project. the idea behind this is posters and what I may want to use towards my outcomes. The style and outcome are something I enjoyed and like as an overall outcome. This is the first in this style for me and has not done something similar. the drawing is of a tree and planet to represent how the planet depends on nature, trees, and the oxygen they provide. This is the work I have decided will be my poster because of the style and believe the cartoon look works well as a poster for my exhibition poster.
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2. The second piece of artwork I did for this new semester and project based on deforestation is a painting. I also included gold leaf in the shape of a tree in order to symbolize the importance of the tree on the planet and how they help the planet and are worth so much. The painting is the earth from a satellite style and has a tree coming out of it made of gold leaf. The background shows the galaxy. I like the outcome of this image because it of the planet's realistic look and was happy with the outcome of the piece altogether however with that said if I were to do this again I would hopefully be better with the golf leaf because I am not the happiest with how the tree has patches and would want the gold leaf to be a bit neater. However, in the future, I may revisit the painting with a gold pen to fill in and neaten up the tree as well as add more in detail branches.
4. Own Work Reflection
4. My next piece for this project is my wire and clay sculpture of a tree, this is one of my favorites so far in this project, and I am the happiest with the overall outcome. because of this, I may continue to use wire and the sculpture in this project. to create this piece I started with the wire and twisted in time I got a height that I liked and started to separate pieces off and twist those to make branches I continues to twist and separate pieces until I had one or two wires left using them to make the leaves by winding them and the pulling them flat. this will be one of my main pieces or I will create a bigger one if I may the outcome as an exhibition.
5. My next artwork is a bleeding tree sculpture to represent the pain of the tree when it is cut down as well as representing how when there is deforestation it causes pain to the planet. This art piece is made out of wood and acrylic paint. I am not so happy with the outcome of this piece and would change it again if I were to do this again. I would likely make it bigger and paint the outcome a bit more, however, I still may change the piece as I progress in this project.
6. The next piece was a watercolour landscape painting. One of the reasons I am doing this is in order to change it up and add a few more aspects into my project, not just tree pieces. The aspect I was trying to show in this is how these landscapes are getting destroyed because of deforestation and I made more of this point by doing this with scrap wood. The aspect of scrap wood is a big part of my project and shows that you can use the scrape and other things that people would deem scrapes to create and that they can be used in art even when they art scraps. I may continue to add watercolour pieces in my project and putting them on bits of scrap wood makes a good point. I may also do these landscapes in acrylic and oil paint or even with other materials such as pastel and pencils.
4. Own Work Reflection more work
5. Creative talks reflection
The creative talks were a great addition to this unit and liked hearing about the different artists, particularly their styles and experiences the creative talk I will be reflecting on is the last one because he mentioned he also had a blog which is one of the main things I am going to reflect because I wanted to see how other artist did there blogs because a lot of artists either do books or a lot of the artist I see now are doing Instagram. so it was interesting to look at this artist's blog. In the creative talk, Larry Achiampong described himself as having lots of different areas he works in which I found links also really well with me because I don't stick to one style. I like how his work is unique and is something I haven't before looked into or seen. I also like how he uses personal experiences to shape his work offering a more personal feel to his work which some artists don't always offer. This is also why I like how he branches into lots of different things creating this that wouldn't be possible with his lots of different skills such as visual and sound. He also mentioned some of his works and project which I found interesting, particularly his first film called Wayfinder which I am intrigued to look into further. one of the pieces that I have looked into and works that I like is "PAN AFRICAN FLAGS FOR THE RELIC TRAVELLERS' ALLIANCE (WESTMINSTER)". The pieces were commissioned to remodel and make the iconic underground symbol for Westminster station from November 2019 to February 2020. this project is one of a few in this project as a whole, the project as a whole is called Relic Traveller. the commission was about considering alternate histories and formed as part of the Art on the Underground 2019 program which was looking into how artists' roles in forming ideas and togetherness. for his commission, he was to reimagine the logo and he chose to focus on Pan Africa. the colours he chose were about identities, green, black, and red which represent the land the people, and the struggles the continent has endured. I found it aspiring that he has used his work for meaning and to bring light to something important.
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6. Exhibition reflection and Crit Reflection
My Crit was a great help for my final outcome and allowed me to get feedback from others before my exhibition and allowed me to help decide what I wanted in my exhibition and what I didn't. as well as help me with setting up and position on my work. For my Crit, I had lots of different canvas and photography works as well as my 3D work however it was decided that they took away from the overall concept, and the 3D works were my main focus in this project. the criticism from the crit helped shape my project and live outcome for example I experiment more with 3D work and would also add 3-dimensional canvas pieces to the exhibition. it was also discussed that the work in the corner wasn't as good as it could be in the center allowing the space to move around them and see all sides as 3D work is meant to be. Overall the crit helped me a lot especially for my final live outcome and also gave me the experience of presenting my work like this in this setting giving me more confidence when it did come to my outcome
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The Exhibition
The exhibition I decided to visit was an online one because after last year's pandemic I now prefer online versions simply because you can see exhibitions and work that may not have been possible before from exhibitions close to some all over the country or world allowing me to find exhibitions that work better for me and link to what I am doing or what my interests are. the exhibition I chose is on:
this exhibition is about watercolour and is less about what is made and about the material that is used which is something I am interested in because working with watercolour is where this project is heading into next year and making paints. the paint/ink I have made for this continuing project has been a watercolour consistency this is the reason I have gone for this exhibition. the exhibition not only has a virtual walk-through but also a virtual catalogue the exhibition allowing you to look at the works and look the works up along with the artist.
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Some of the pieces that I liked from this exhibition are landscapes which is something I will likely focus on next year along with printmaking. My top favourite from this exhibition is:
Deborah Walker "Wind Whips, Reeds Whisper Words Unheard",
which I find to be an absolutely beautiful piece of artwork and
looks so realistic and serene, I don't know how she was able to get
such detail with watercolour but I am excited to try and get so
much detail with some practice. another thing I love about this
piece is the concise colour pallet making the colours realistic
and uniform.
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These are some of my other favourites from this exhibition
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7. Artists Research and Books
The artist I have chosen is Constantin Brancusi who is a Romain sculptor and a great pioneer of his time. he played a pivotal role in developing the shifting roles of sculpture. He was one of the influence sculptures of the twentieth century and is said to be one of the most popular because his work was imaginative. His work was often heads or birds in flight. For me I love his work, I find it fascinating how simple and beautiful the work is, I like how he is slightly different from other sculptures and used materials such as wood similarly to materials I have used. this also made him stand out in his time because a lot of other sculptures of the time of a model being cast or often using things such as clay, he instead carved straight into materials. one of my favourites of his is King of Kings (Le Roi des Rois), 1938 made out of Oak with the size being 300x 48.3x 46 cm. I like this one because it is the most similar to my style with using wood and allowing inspiration for my sculptures. the book on this artist was my main source of research the book is Constantin Brancusi by Chave as the title suggests this book is about Constantin Brancusi. Overall this is a good research book for looking into this artist because it gives a good description of this artist and lots of his work however I find it a bit lacking in the information such as birth and things like that.
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My second artist and book are Richard Decan. The book by the artist's name helped me to research this artist I partially liked the book's rage of imagery for his works this helped me in my research and when using it as inspiration for my work. The artist Richard Decan is an abstract sculptor born on 15th August 1949 and is a British artist. This artist similarly uses everyday materials to create his work, this links to me using scrap wood. I really like his art overall there very different and unique and don't often stay in one theme which creates such a great range. Richard is also a winner of the Turner prize which in itself shows what a great artist he is. one of my favorite pieces from this artist is Restless which is made from Ash and stainless steel and is part of the Tate collection.
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The next artist is Jimmie Durham with the book having the same name as the others. This book on this artist helped me when researching him. This book has really good material for research and when looking into this artist. I am really happy that this book had most things I need when looking into the artist. Jimmie Bob Durham was his full name he was an American sculptor and poet. not only was he an artist and part of the arts community be he was a big advocator and was very active in the civil rights movements of African Americans and Native Americans. I find his work fascinating as a little creep but that's what makes it so good and unique a lot of his work seem to have figures some animal and some human with a lot seeming to have skulls of animals. his work is such a fascinating mix of themes and materials.
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Find the book: https://catalogue.sunderland.ac.uk/items/193050?query=jimmie+durham&resultsUri=items%3Fquery%3Djimmie%2Bdurham
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My next artist is Roger Ackling with the book being by the same name. The book was not what I was really looking for not really giving much information on the artist and therefore I have done external research other than the book alongside it, the book was more of a catalogue which was good for seeing his works and getting ideas and inspiration. Rojer was born 11th of August 1947 there wasn't really much information on his birth and place. I found his work fascinating yet simple the carvings were sort of illusions. I do like how symmetrical the lines are in his work this links a little to my work because it appears stacked like my work.
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My final artist and book are Tony Cragg who is another sculptor artist. This book was overall very good for researching this artist the book is the Tony Cragg by Germano Celent with a good mix of information on the artist and imagery of his work with names and some having brief descriptions which were really good for research and inspiration because I was able to look into the work more too. Tony Cragg was born 9th of April 1949 in Liverpool making him a British sculptor. I really like his work and I also love how big some of them are, a lot of them link due to their stacking appearance. they are such beautiful pieces and is my favorite out of all the artist I have done and researched simply because of the beauty and size making them such wonders.
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Find the book: https://catalogue.sunderland.ac.uk/items/215019
query=tony+cragg&resultsUri=items%3Fquery%3Dtony%2Bcragg%26target%3Dcatalogue&target=catalogue
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3. Own Work Reflection
7. This piece is a continuation on from my last artwork because I enjoyed the outcome and the little change in the project. I also liked the idea of using the scrap pieces of wood however this time I used scrap bark(I note I didn't take from a tree) and used it as a base for my artwork. I think the texture of the wood created a nice background. However, for the other bit of bark, I may do it on the other side so when it is moved or picked up you see the bark under it because it was a shame to cover the beautiful design in the bark. For this piece, I did a mountainscape in acrylic paint. I will continue to use this method in my work because it allows a little change in the project so far showing more aspects of the trees.
10. The next piece is another of my exhibition pieces which is a 3-dimensional tree work. The piece is a large bark onto a canvas to create a 3-dimensional piece of work. The artwork was made by securing a piece of bark onto the canvas and painting on with acrylic paint. I like this one in particular due to the texture and uniqueness of the outcome.
8. The next piece of work is a clay sculpture which is one of my favourites and is likely to be one of my final outcomes in my exhibition. this clay sculpture is air drying clay shaped into a tree stump. This is to represent the cut-down trees and likes heavy to deforestation and the need to respect nature and the planet. I shaped the clay into the tree shape then used a knife and a paintbrush to get a bark texture scraping and then made a hole in the tree. After the clay dried I used acrylic paint to create the bark and moss colours which overall I like the outcome. In the future, I would really like to make a whole tree as well instead of just the bottom.
9. Another piece of work that I have done for this project and another that I have put in my exhibition is my wooden sculpture. This piece is made out of scrap wood the reason for this is to prove that artwork can be made out of scrap wood and you don't need to use new to make art. often new means taking out of the work such as cutting a new tree down, and if everyone uses new the damage will be bigger than if we use what we have without waste. I really like these piece mainly for its message. Another way of making a message was by not using hot glue or glue which is bad for the environment. Instead opting for nails which can be removed and reused. the way this was made was by cutting circles on the band saw in sizes getting smaller to stack and nailing to make the tree and branch shape. overall I am happy with the outcome however next time I would go bigger than this one.
9. + 10. Live outcome and Assessment Summary Post.
I am very proud of my final outcome and the overall live outcome. I not only enjoyed creating the work but also have the chance to give an exhibition. I really liked getting the exhibition up and setting up but also having the chance to collaborate with Ashley, Chantelle, and Beth on our exhibition it was a lot of fun collaboration. My final outcome was an exhibition in the Shaun project space from Friday the 13th up until the Monday the 17th the exhibition had me and a few others, we shared and discussed the space deciding the best layout and best use of space with the idea of having my 3d works in the middle allowing the audience to walk around it. We all worked alongside each other well and all were happy with the outcome. The collaboration turn out even better than originally planned because the direction of the works by different peers seemed to match one another. For example, my work with trees and recycling worked really well with Beth's which was also lined with trees, whereas Chantelle and Ashley's work complemented each other since the work held a lot of female figures.
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Overall I really enjoyed working with others in this collaboration exhibition because we worked together without any problems and helped overall with stress and planning. At the end of this year, I am really happy with how things have turned out, not only the final exhibition but the overall outcome of this whole year. I have been doing a lot of work on both artwork and research by reading lots of different books, and galleries and then researching themes such as recycling and deforestation. But the work was well worth it and believe it shows in the outcome. Overall this year was great fun and had a lot of chances to experiment and gain new skills this unit, in particular, gave me a lot more confidence in exhibitions and public shows
My poster was one of my pieces of work that I had done on canvas because I believe the cartoon style works as the poster I then added the date, place, and time to the poster using a pen.
