First Tutorial

I found our group tutorial with Jon quite productive compared to the single tutorials we had last year. It was interesting to hear others ideas and processes as they go through out the year, and also to have their imput on my work. Thinking about the food project I am being pulled towards actually making cameras out of food instead of pursueing my initial interest in 'food and mood', this came apparent in the tutorial, and I am going to start with a pepper. I thought this would be an easier option to start with as it would hold it shape and hopefully won't take long to produce.

Some of the others in my group were interested in the aspect of food and habits/phobias. Some phobias brought up were fascinating, one girl could not eat any food on her plate if it was touching another type of food. I wonder what it would be like to feel that strong about something I would just take for granted (food touching food ona plate) How would it impact your everyday life? You wouldn't be able to order anything in a restaurant as generally food comes touching each other on the plate.

Food project

To commence the second year we have been given a project with the theme of 'food'. I have been particulary interested in looking at how foos effects mood and our behaviour. There have been quite a few experiments donw which imply additives and pesticides effect us adn make our behaviour more aggressive. However, there has not been sufficient testing to make these accounts creditable.

It surprised me that surveys had also been done on pets, such as cats and dogs. The results are evident that cheaper pet foods with less nutrients and more additives cause more aggressive behaviour. I had never really thought about this, but pets are just the same as us and we should watch what they eat just as much as we would ourselves.

There were some other interesting points made in our group disscussion, I found it interesting when someone mentioned how they looked at other peoples shopping, trying to gather information on what that person is like just from what they eat. It is fascinating how you can create an image of someone from just what is in there trolley. I hadn't thought of this but, I am sometimes consious opf what i am buying and wonder what people think of me.

Back to interactive arts

After a long summer of working and a bit of travelling it is good to get back to manchester and be back in the dark rooms. I didn't manage to do much pinhole photography over the summer due to the lack of a dark room (which is something I need to look into) but, I am back on with the experimenting now. I have no particular subject I want to focus on, I am just keen to learn and explore as much pinhole photography as I can. To start off with I have a project called 'A Pinhole a Day', where I will make a use a camera everyday. I am keen to experiment with the limitations of pinhole photography and see where it will take me.

Someone's lost lists

I also found these two lists while putting up my exhibition, a 'to do' list and a 'christmas' list.  I am not sure who they belong to as they were just left stuck to the wall.  However, they must have been quite an organised person, I wonder if they made lists on a daily basis?  I was slightly confussed by the person buying "marshmellow fluff" for their friends "Louis" and "Hatbat".  What is marshmellow fluff? I didn't know there was such a thing. 

lost space tag

I found this tag when putting up my exhibition pieces, it says "Lora's wicked cool space... YEP!"  I wonder what her space was like before I turned it into my exhibition space... was it wicked? was it cool? Suppose I won't find out. 

First Year Exhibition - Interactive Arts

I have just finished putting my first exhibition up for my Interactive Arts Degree.  It all went without much stress, which I was pleased about. I decided to display two larger casts of Manchester pavements and a series of 25 photographs from my various sites around Manchester.  I thought these pieces best represented the aim of the project, while also displaying the work which I enjoyed doing the most - this is an important aspect of producing work to me!  I liked how although the pieces juxtaposed each other (due to the varying media used), but also enhanced each others representation of the project.  All together it was a successful week! 

Nicola Dale

While looking at mail art projects I came across this piece, where the artist has painstakingly cut leaves from pages of a book. This has made the leaves stretch out towards a source of natural sunlight, as though the book is living and changing in the way that history does. I like the whole connection to journeys here as I collect old books because of the history of them. I like the way other people have touched the book before me and it has been a part of their journey in life.

Der Lauf Der Dinge

We watched a video with Hazel in our Monday morning meeting, called 'Der Lauf Der Dinge', this is an art film by the Swiss artist duo Peter Fischli and David Weiss. It documents a long casual chain assembled of everyday objects, resembling a Rube Goldberg machine. The machine is in a warhouse and incorporates materials such as tyres, trash bags, ladders, soap, oil drums and gasoline. Fire and pyrotechnics are used as chamical triggers. The film is a great concoction of items which move together in a continuous manner to create a rather beautiful and calming effect.

I have found this video on youtube when trying to find the video again, it again involves the same notion of a chain of items moving in a continuous manner. However, there is a more common use of marbles which role and are moved around the set of items. I loved how magnets were used to move magnetic marbles, and it seemed they were moving on their own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDudog6zF7k

Passport Photo

I have sent my passport photo off as part of another mail art project. David Crawley is working with the notion of the 'passport image' and how the UK Passport Office rejects atleast 20% of all photographs. His project, entitled 'Photobooth', is intended for participants to be filmed whilst being photographed in a passport style.

www.davidtcrawley.co.uk

Cloud formations

In these images you can see some cloud formations, which I think gives quite a magical effect as with my other images the sky has either been blank or black.  To get the cloud formations you have to get the exposure the correct duration.  Trying to capture cloud formations is something I want to continue experimenting, which will lead to trying to capture light in my images rather than detail of the place.  

Pinhole skyline

I have again used the small aperture for this image, however I pointed the camera higher than most of my other exposures.  I wasn't sure what would happen but I love the results I got.  You get a clear definition of the skyline as the sky goes black compared to the white buildings of the skyline.  It has become quite a ghostly image, and has become another thing I can preserve about the sites. 

Pinhole camera with small aperture

For this exposure I have used a small aperture, created using a needle.  This gives more focussed detail, yet the image is still delicate and discrete, this is what I love about the pinhole camera.  The viewer is still only given an essence of the place without seeing everything in detail, it feels like you are rather distant from the place. 

My exposures

I love the pinhole camera! I have got some great images from using them and want to continue with the experimentation to see what other effects I can create.  It did take quite a lot of trial and error at first to actual get any detail in the images, I found that my first diameter was much too large and kept coming out with black circles.  With some perfection and a new way to make a hole in the tin cans it did get some fascinating results.  I found it best to first drill a hole in the tin can (1-2cm) and then get a piece of a coke can, sand the centre so that it was as thin as possible, and then pierce it with a needle.  This allowed me to get some very small apertures, and it is these small apertures which enabled me to get such definition in my images.  In the future I could maybe experiment with lenses to adjust the focus, but this will do for my first set of pinhole cameras.  The image here is one of the first I did where I got some sort of definition, even tho the centre of the image is still black and been exposed too much, I think it creates a nice effect as the viewer is blocked off from some areas, and presented with foggy fragments from the site.

My sites in Manchester

I think I have explained this earlier but I will explain again to clarify; for my current project I have a map of Manchester and thrown darts at it, I will then go to these random sites and preserve them in all different ways.  Anyway here is the map with the sites which have been selected, I threw the dart at the map randomly, but there does seem to be quite a few darts which have landed rather centrally on the map.  I didn't know my dart throwing could be so precise, maybe I should have worn a blind fold?  I had selected ten sites, but for my exhibition I am just going to preserve the five sites selected in the circle at the bottom.  I am going to continue with the project and collate a full archive of the sites in Manchester. 

Medieval 21st

My cousin had her 21st birthday recently and didn't want the usual disco party celebrations and decided that she wanted to have a Medieval party, with a band and dancing with a caller and the lovely dresses!  I wasn't sure what to expect but it was a great night, everyone joined in with the dancing.  This reminded me of maypole dancing at primary school. 

Lost and found Cadburys tin can

I found this Cadburys tin can in my dads garage and thought I would rescue it.  It used to hold Cadburys cocoa powder I think.  I love all the old adverts around the outside, my favorite is the advert with the cyclists. I have given it a safe home and it is now my ribbon box. 

My pinhole camera

I have finished my pinhole camera and have been taking some exposures around the city of Manchester.  The camera is made of tin cans and cardboard (so it is falling apart a little bit, maybe I will try and make a camera from a more substantial material), and it has four apertures all of various diameters.  I placed the tripod over the site which had been picked by the dart on the map and photographed various scenes in the area.  I love the effects of the pinhole camera, the detail is delicate and discrete.  I also like how no one will ever be able to reproduce that same image again, like you could with a negative or a digital camera. 

Lets go fly a kite...

Our interactive arts class went on a trip to Glossop recently to fly kites.  I took a kite I had brought, because I had been making miniature kites to be flown indoors, so it wasn't possible to fly them on the windy hills of Glossop.  Even though my brought kite was un-flyable, quite a few of us tried but it keep crashing to the ground.  However, lots of other students kites were successful, my favourite was one made by an erasmus student; where a line of 5 kites were strung together.  A simple carrier bag kite form Genette was really effective.  Steph and Julia's parachute worked well (with some muscle power from Cen) and they managed to get it too glide down the hill side.  I thought the best thing was Jon's idea of letting a reel of red and white tape go, it caught the wind and floated delicately across the valley.  It was like a drawing across the landscape, it was great how such a simple technique created such a beautiful effect. 

What can you send without an envelope?

This is another mail art project I have become involved with.  For this project you had to send something without using an envelope.  I sent a ballet shoe because in my spare time I dance, and the other day my ballet shoe ripped in my dance class so I therefore can't wear it anymore.  I decided I would try and send it and see if it gets there, hopefully this will happen. 

Pinhole Litter Project

1.
2.

3.

Hazel let me know about a mail art site, where there was a current project on pinhole cameras. This is a collaborative pinhole project to clean up and re-engage with our surroundings, and learn about the art of pinhole photography.  You have to collect a can and photograph in its environment and then send the can off to be turned into a pinhole camera which you will then be sent back to take a photograph of the site using the can.  The aim is to replace litter with a creative vision, and the cans are later recycled.  I found this project extremely interesting as I am currently exploring the pinhole camera, so thought it would be great to get involved.  The images show the sites I found the site.  I am still waiting to receive them back, but hopefully it wont be too long. 

1. found under a bench outside my door at Briarfields accommodation, Manchester

2. found on the floor outside the Salutation, Manchester

3. found on the wall outside the Salutation, Manchester