Exploring Online Tools and Developing Project Ideas

So this week we are exploring online tools to develop our project ideas and I have been investigating further infographic and workflow tools to show my own development.  I created this Art Therapy: Project Development Ideas.  I enjoyed creating this as it helped me to think about what I really wanted to explore and HOW I was actually going to do this - check it out fully by the link above.

There are many online tools this one was visme.com.  But there are many more to explore - you can look up online flowchart maker or infographics software online. 

Object Lesson: Sense of Identity 2

Continuing on my theme of art therapy

I started sketching thoughts and began with these - the idea here is just that I think I feel most pain deep inside my stomach and I always feel this is where all the emotion lives.  I like the distorted body here.

This is liked for the darkness on half the image and the light on the other half as I feel often I live half in the light and half in darkness - so when the darkness comes there is a sense of being in a black hole where there is no hope ....

Obviously, my drawings here are not in any way 'good' but they are expressive of the feeling and the idea - and I will use this idea to expand upon my project ideas - I don't have a gallery room like Tracey Emin but I have this blog so that I can keep sharing this work as I create it.  There will be more - I am looking forward to seeing how this develops. 

Object Lesson: Sense of Identity

The object I chose to explore was Matryoshka dolls.  I have a few in my home and people seem to like these the idea of one person inside another until you reach the tiniest one. So I took a few photos of them. 

I just played about a little with here while I was thinking about them.  As I said in my first post I was interested in art as therapy as a theme for this term and these dolls are all about identity as each one inside the other is an identity of its own but lived as part of the whole.

This idea that we are lots of people is, again, not new, but I think exploring different parts of the self as therapy in different mediums and forms could be an interesting idea to start thinking about as a project.  

Another artist who struggles with her identity and used art as therapy was Frida Kahlo.  As she was in a life-altering accident when the bus she was travelling on hit a streetcar and she was impaled by a steel handrail causing her to have serious damage to her hips and spine when she young, she spent her life having a series of operations to try to correct this and was bedridden often as a result.  Kahlo painted and drew from her bed and also underwent psychological testing that is recorded in the book 'Song for Herself' by Salomon Grimberg.  

Portrait of Irene Bohus (1947) by Frida Kahlo

Kahlo writes; 'A self-portrait made in bed was another [when discussing paintings she had made], and since I did it when I did not want to eat, I painted it with a funnel' (Grimberg S. 2008: 63), Kahlo, due to illness, physical disability and depression found ways and perhaps reasons to live through her work and this reflects the power of creation - when designing, creating, making something that is coming from deep inside this is deep therapy and a way of communicating with the world.  

So considering these initial thoughts.  I would like to use mixed media in the sense of Anselm Kiefer or Tracey Emin to create a project that explores my own self but I am hoping reaches some universal meaning that will communicate to those who care to look. 

References

Biography.com (2020) Frida Kahlo [Online] Available from: https://www.biography.com/artist/frida-kahlo (Accessed 30/03/20)

Grimberg S (2008) Frida Kahlo, Song to Herself, Merell Publishers Ltd, London. 

Welcome to a New REMOTE Term!

Here we are again but this term all work will be remote and online therefore our goal has to be as innovative and creative with our projects as possible. 

So to begin this term as I know that out there you are all living in the age of anxiety I am going to look at Art as Therapy.  This is not a new concept and I think it may appeal as I have always felt by picking up my camera I feel a sense of calm.

Tracey Emin locked herself in a room for 14 days (sound familiar!) as therapy and she created 97 works of art.

Image from: Exorcism of the last painting I ever made (1996) by Tracey Emin

So, Emin did lock herself in a room and just made paintings, installation and anything she could as therapy 'Tracey Emin lived in a locked room in a gallery for fourteen days, with nothing but a lot of empty canvases and art materials, in an attempt to reconcile herself with paintings. Viewed through a series of wide-angle lenses embedded in the walls, Emin could be watched, stark naked, shaking off her painting demons. Starting by making images like the artists she really admired (i.e. Egon Schiele, Edvard Munch, Yves Klein), Emin's two-week art-therapy session resulted in a massive outpouring of autobiographical images, and the discovery of a style all her own. The room was extracted in its entirety, and now exists as an installation work.' (Saatchigallery: Tracey Emin)

There are many artists who have used art specifically as therapy but it is perhaps all artists who do this in some way.  Releasing there innermost demons, thoughts, desires, political motivations, struggles with identity etc. 


So this term art therapy is what we need!


References

Saatchi Gallery (2020) Artists Pages: Tracey Emin [Online] Available from: https://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/artpages/tracey_emin_painting_6.htm (Accessed 30/03/20)

Hochberger C. (26/03/20) Artspace: Why is Art Therapeutic 6 Artists whose practices helped them cope [Online] Available from: https://www.artspace.com/magazine/art_101/in_depth/why-is-art-therapeutic-6-artists-whose-practices-helped-them-cope-56518 (Accessed 30/03/20)

Reflection

This term I started my project and unfortunately for the first time actually did not complete this.  Demands, unfortunately, a little too high.  I have however throughout this project found some great research that I can use in the future for projects and I thoroughly enjoyed investigating diarist and looking again at Joan Fontcuberta. 

I also have all my specialist sessions in hard copy in my photography sketchbook which is actually the best part of this as it has all my process and completed work.  I have started to complete the hard copy portfolio.  The eye above I created in mixed media in photography class and used this to create my portfolio front cover below:

So, although I don't have a complete final outcome.  I have worked on many ideas and photographs throughout the term and I have enjoyed this immensely.  I used the eye on the front cover as this was one of my favourite pieces.  Next term I may work further on the mixed media photography as this could be interesting particularly now we are self-isolating and images will be a little more barren of people.  This should not, however, stop the photographic journey.....

All About Me! A Brief History of Zoe

As an exercise in class, we discussed how filmmakers, artists, photographers, and writers became who they are.  The students then wrote about themselves answering the following questions - so I will do the same here - my early life revealed!!

Why did you choose your subject area?

When I applied to university I was working in a record shop (Andy's Records) in Peterborough.  I had realised that perhaps I might be better off going to university as I had left school at 16 to go to Germany as an Au Pair and when I returned I worked on various office and shop jobs. I had approached my local college and they suggested I take a foundation year - as I was young and also quite confident I said I didn't need to and they asked me instead to write an essay and show them other writing work that I had been doing.  I did this and was accepted onto Media & English at DMU.  I chose English as at the time Media was not considered a serious subject.  I chose Media as basically, I wanted to do Photography and Video. I was taking photographs and writing at the time and I felt I wanted to really learn about this and I absolutely loved taking photos from the moment I was given a camera at a young age.

Why did you choose this university?

I chose DeMontfort University as it was an old Polytechnic and therefore I felt it would give me a more practical application of skills as well as academic work.  Also, my parents both come from Leicestershire and it made sense as it was not too expensive, I would be near my family and I knew Leicester quite well already. 

What do you think you will gain from studying here?

Obviously, I studied some time ago but what I thought I would gain was skills, the beginning of an academic career and a university experience of study.  I actually got much more than I was ever hoping for.  I enjoyed university immensely - I loved and fell in love further with photography.  I discovered my strengths and weaknesses academically and I worked hard coming in every day early and leaving late.  I learned everything I possibly could about photography and art.  I took elective courses in Artist books and German Cinema which I really enjoyed.  I entered festivals and put on exhibitions.  I also worked hard in office jobs to pay my way and over summers I worked as a photographer on magazines and for events - basically anything that I could find.  I gained the foundation for my future life here and I enjoyed every minute of it!

How do you think a degree will help you find employment?

When I studied I was not sure which direction I would go in after leaving university but I thought that it would give me an advantage as at the time only 20% of people went to university.  I found work after teaching Media at a college in Eastbourne and as I had no money I lived in a care home working nights for my rooms.  I ended up becoming the manager of the care home - so life takes funny twists and turns and you don't know where it might lead.

What else will you do while you are here in preparation for finding work at the end of your course?

As I said above I basically did anything that I could find - joining the university newspaper, going to DSU meetings, entering festivals and competitions, working as a photographer over the summer and taking every opportunity that was in offer. 

Who is your inspiration in life and why? 

When I was young I was inspired by David Bowie and writers mostly such as George Orwell, Baudelaire and Mallarme I thought they believed so completely in what they wanted to achieve and they had a philosophy of life that they lived and wrote about with passion.  I wanted to feel that passionate about my own work and life.

How do you see yourself in 10 years' time? 

As I am now much older I am hoping that in 10 years' time I will have completed a PhD and will be living a life that is far more relaxed - maybe writing, taking photographs and enjoying the beautiful sunshine of France!

Project Progress: Anticipated Dreams

As I was working through my project through the diary that I originally proposed, I found that I wanted to concentrate much more on the images and photography again and through work, in my specialist sessions I found my way to 'Anticipated Dreams' which will be my project for this term.

Therefore after creating one piece of work whilst I was working on this idea in my specialist sessions which I shared in my last post and after looking at Joan Fontcuberta.  I have started to explore further ideas to show photographically my anticipated dreams

Ronen Goldman uses surreality in his image to show his dreams and many artists both past and present have used dreams and the surreal. 

Here are two works by Goldman

Ronen Goldman, Master Magician

Ronen Goldman, Asleep in Tel Aviv

These works are almost what I would expect.  Dali takes a sightly more interesting approach and is highly influenced by Freud; 'A well-read student of Sigmund Freud, Salvador Dali – who never used drugs and only drank alcohol (especially champagne) in moderation – turned to a most unusual way to access his subconscious. He knew that the hypnogogic state between wakefulness and sleep was possibly the most creative for a brain.' (Park West gallery 09/02/2010)  It has always been a fascination of artists as to how to put these dream images into work. I prefer Dali's here as this piece was a reoccurring dream image; 'Dali described his paintings as “hand-painted dream photographs.” One of his favorite recurring images, bent and flowing watches, look as if they’re made of wax, melting away on a hot summer day in the desert.' (Spear C. 25/04/2012) This is more how my own dreams work and my anticipated dream will represent some of these ideas.

Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory (1931)

Moving forward I will begin by creating a storyboard to represent the photo shoot/shoots that I will carry out as these will be integral to actualising my vision. 

The final result will, I hope, show what I intended in photographic form.  I will also be researching further artists to look at how they have actualised these visions. 

References 

Park West Gallery (9th February 2010) Freud's Influence on Dali's Surreal Dream Art [Online] Available from: https://www.parkwestgallery.com/freuds-influence-on-dalis-surreal-dream-painting/ (Accessed 09/02/2020)

Spear C. (25/04/2012) The Dream Paintings of Salvador Dali [Online] https://www.overstockart.com/blog/the-dream-paintings-of-salvador-dali/ (Accessed 09/02/2020)