slacker, victoria miro gallery, gagosian, somerset house, ica
on the first day back from christmas break we were asked to display all of our books that we had made. i was quite impressed with how professional everyones books looked. we were given over an hour to look at the individual books and then we were told that we'd have to do get into smaller groups in the after noon and decide which one of the 3 books we would like to improve on. the 'improved' version of the book would then have to be reproduced 3 times, in order to be sold at our pop up book shop the following week. i chose to focus on a "book" under the title "a book of beginnings" which i wrote the beginnings of songs onto sheet music. the problem with it was that people knew the songs, but it didn't necessarily work as a book! it has been suggested that i still stick with using lyrics from songs, but turn them into the story (each line flows onto the next, as if someone is speaking it).
on the first day back from christmas break we were asked to display all of our books that we had made. i was quite impressed with how professional everyones books looked. we were given over an hour to look at the individual books and then we were told that we'd have to do get into smaller groups in the after noon and decide which one of the 3 books we would like to improve on. the 'improved' version of the book would then have to be reproduced 3 times, in order to be sold at our pop up book shop the following week. i chose to focus on a "book" under the title "a book of beginnings" which i wrote the beginnings of songs onto sheet music. the problem with it was that people knew the songs, but it didn't necessarily work as a book! it has been suggested that i still stick with using lyrics from songs, but turn them into the story (each line flows onto the next, as if someone is speaking it).
we have also been given the opportunity of having our wednesday contextual studies sessions at the odeon in leicester square! for the next 7 weeks we will meet their and watch films. the first movie was today and it was richard linklaters "slacker" (1991). he had been working on the script for 7 years whilst working in an oil rig, where he based the script on the people he saw in his home town austin, texas. it embraces living, and the expression of thoughts and dreams. there wasn't much of a plot to it, but it wasn't really necessary. the camera flew around, following 97 individuals, a few of them for a couple of minutes. linklater stated "i wanted to capture the way you walk around for a day and have these brief encounters with people you kind of know". i think he did this flawlessly.
after this i ventured down to the miro gallery in old street. it was so hard to find, but it was definitely worth it! the work that was being exhibited was that of francesca woodman. there were over 100 black and white photographs taken from the artists career that comprised of an archive of around 800 photographs taken between the early 1970's to 1981. a few rare colour prints and unseen photographs were also shown. woodman started taking photographs from the age of 13, and from the beginning used her body as the main subject of her work. her work shows her body playing with her own shadows, spookily hanging from doors and windows, and is often placed in empty and little furnished environments.
the gagosian gallery held a special "pop-up" shop on davies street, where you could buy books, editions, posters, prints and designs for affordable prices. i don't know whether i got their too late (it opened december 2) .. but i was interested in possibly buying the flower cushions (one side showing a smiling flower face, the other a sleeping one) designed by takashi murakami but they only had the larger ones left for 300 pounds each! one of the oddest pieces that was for sale was the series of skateboard decks decorated with images of andy warhol on them...
i also went to somerset house to see the "dior illustrated: rené gruau and the line of beauty" exhibition. it was a brilliant celebration of the artists work who created some of the most iconic fashion images of the 20th century. it not only including original illustrations, but vintage perfume bottles, sketches and magazines, and haute couture dresses. john galliano said of his drawings "his illustrations are timeless, ever youthful, ever faithful to the moment he saw; they capture the energy, the sophistication and daring of dior,.." during the 1960's photography was becoming more and more apparent in advertising, but dior remained loyal to rené gruaus illustrations.
also had a quick visit to the ica to see the bloomberg new contemporaries exhibition. definitely worthwile. it featured 49 emerging artists working in a variety of different medium- film, sculpture, painting, animation, performance and photography. this annual event is offered to art students and recent graduates, and they are selected by a panel. i particularly liked the work of keren dee and rowena hughes.
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