PHYSICAL MANIFESTO

Classical art is being made redundant by technologies as we have the ability to both download these classical paintings and view them whenever we want - as well as alter them ourselves without having to spend hours detailing the paint.
My aim is to show that if something is accessible to us at all times through the internet then why is it's physical form as valuable as it is.

Modern technology is simply easier than painstakingly crafting artwork - and looks exactally the same. It's time for the craft of technology to be recognized as art in it's own right.

Like society's obsession with Kim and Kanye, our obsession with old and boring art needs to stop.

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW

http://www.boredpanda.com/famous-painting-remakes/

Manifesto Draft

Art - An integral part of the all nations culture. Items passed down for generations, hidden, embezzled and highly ought after. - But why? What makes these ancient creations so extraordinary and valuable? What makes something created centuries ago more superior than art of modern times? Sure - the artists are deceased, which adds an air of unattainable novelty to its value but what else is there to make these old pieces of canvas worth the millions of dollars they are sold for?

In medieval times paintings were valuable because of their materials. Lined with gold trimmings and covered in jewels, these paintings were truly lavish. Now, a painting’s worth has little to do with its materials and more to do with the reputation of its creator.  Take Mark Rothko for example. His artwork sold for eight seven million American dollars in 2012 and is merely a large canvas with some orange paint splattered onto it.

If our society is so charmed by the stigma of timeworn artists then how is one to enter the art scene and create a name for them selves in the modern art world?

Out with the old and in with the new I say.  Art should be judged on its character rather than the history of its creator. It should be judged on its aesthetic appeal rather than it’s age. Artist should be encouraged to progress forward with using new technologies to create new techniques rather than be forced to say they were inspired by the work of some ancient artist to pursue their talents.  

Change in idea

So I would still like to have the same concept of hand made and software made but I would like to change it to old vs new. I'm so interested in the idea of nostalgia and why we as a human race value old things so much. Basically, I think it's a bit ridiculous and limits us in moving forward creatively.
I understand that old art gives us history and culture but I'm not convinced people still find a majority of this art appealing. For the physical element I would like to have a portfolio of modern takes on famous old paintings and ask the viewer to choose which they feel more connected to.

Manifesto

Nostalgia is a word that is thrown around often when speaking about the history of design. We are nostalgic of what things used to look like, feel like and sound like and claim that things made with modern technology just aren't the same as they used to be. Our cartoons are different, our toys are different and everything we purchase seems generic and mass produced. In a way this true, but I question if modern technology's influence is necessarily a bad thing, and if people can even tell the difference between something made with modern technology.


I plan on making a contrasting series of items i.e toys, art, animations.
Each item will be made twice, the first lot will be only hand crafted using no technology whatsoever, the second using only technology i.e 3D Modeling and computer software. These items will all be displayed and unlabeled for leaving the audience to decide which crafting technique they prefer, and if they can even tell the difference. The outcomes of the items will be recorded and a telly of the audiences preference will be displayed at the end of crit week.

Proj 3

We are a technology and object obsessed generation. We may not all be rushing out to purchase the new Apple Watch or self-balancing-Segway-like electronic scooter, but most of us do at least own iPhone's and lap tops and have clothes from generic stores that source their products from sweatshops. On average we look at our phone screens every seven minutes yet we never question the ethical side of how our phone came to be. It is in our arsinal to use our devices to look up these facts but instead we chose use them to stalk the Kardashian family. We are never explicitly told the truth behind the ethics of Apple, or any other major brand that uses sweat shop labor to create their products, therefor we never bother to actively seek the truth ourselves.

We aren't told that "Because women make up 85 to 90% of sweatshop workers, some employers force them to take birth control and routine pregnancy tests to avoid supporting maternity leave or providing appropriate health benefits." or "In developing countries, an estimated 168 million children ages 5 to 14 are forced to work."

I will be looking the western worlds lack of remorse when it comes to unsustainable and unethical design and question whether the neglect of accountability for our consumerist actions is a form of sociological behavior. I also plan to focus on how we can use new age design to pull ourselves out of this environmental wasteland as we are the generation that is accountable for the actions of our ancestors past.

One source I have been looking at focuses on the history of industrial pollution and how we begun to think it was okay to pollute the earth the way we do currently. The article states that "Earlier, industries were small factories that produced smoke as the main pollutant. However, since the number of factories were limited and worked only a certain number of hours a day, the levels of pollution did not grow significantly." (Kukreja) Now with our modern motto being "more is more" factories have both multiplied and upscaled significantly whilst continuing to dump their waste in the same manner as when they were smaller. Thus, greatly polluting our planet.


Kukreja, R. Industrial Pollution. conserve-energy-future.com.
Link:
http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-of-industrial-pollution.php
(This website had very little information about the dates and time of the article releases.)

Critical Selfie: The Art of Abandon

THE ART OF ABANDON

 

As I flâneured my way through Wellington I couldn't’t help but be enticed into the various alleyways and crevices of the city’s design. These alleyway’s led to no where and their usability was obsolete yet their rustic appearance was simply captivating.  Many would deem these abandoned spaces collateral damage of the human existence. Other would call these spaces canvas’.  I argue that these “others”, other wise knows as street artists, are creating explicitly for flâneurs as they share a passion for contributing parts of their being to the urban environment for the flâneur’s to discover and create a “narrative” (Lucas, 171)  for.
 

A lot of people have a problem with street art as they want to hold on to the imagery of the past. Yet they don’t understand how fast we forget the old layout of their city and become accustomed to the new form. Many people use the title vandalism for street art, yet these artists are just redefining a space which was once completely abandoned.

My editing choices were just as important as my photography choices. The original colour distortion was to add emphasis on how street art adds vibrancy to the otherwise dull colours of these buildings.  Towards the end the colour distortion was to show that as the earth keeps spinning the streets will forever continue to change and develop. 

Lucas, R (2008) ‘Taking A Line For A Walk”: Walking As An Aesthetic Practice. Ways Of Walking: Ethnography And Practice On Foot. Hampshire: Ashgate.

Interim 2: The Art of Abandon

In the last interim I had the ridiculous idea to photograph wellington from the view of a homeless person. Since then I have realized how terrible that idea actually is and I have decided to revive my original idea of exploring the street art in the seemingly abandoned areas of Wellington. I would like to explore how baron our streets would be without these artists coming in and livening up our city, as if you really look at the Cuba street area it's buildings are extremely old, unkempt and rather industrial. I think that the art livens up these baron walls and transforms the forgotten parts of our city into urban galleries. Alongside the art in many of these alleyways and on these buildings is ivy or moss growing. This literally is bringing life back to these baron areas that the humans of Wellington have passed off as wastelands.

I'm interested in playing with the contrast and colour levels of these images to make the street out pop against the brick buildings they are painted on. I want to highlight the contrast between the state of the abandon the building is in and the level of care the artist has both for their field of work and their passion for making a beautiful area out of a place that everyone else has neglected

I'm thinking of using the intro to a taylor swift remix for my ambient music. It sounds very cliche and horrible but the remix gives a level of deep eeriness to the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82Eu4HRjua4

I only plan on using the first 40 seconds of the song, before the lyrics come in.

Interim: Behind The Sign

BEHIND THE SIGNMy camera and I have been going on walks through the city in order to get inspired and more connected to this project and Wellington itself but the more I observe my surroundings, the more I realize how limited my perception on being a creature of Wellington is. I am a relatively white, relatively middle class and relatively young female. I have never been discriminated on for my race, never gone to bed hungry and never slept outside without the option to move to my bed when the temperature of the night falls. My perspective of urban living is a privileged one, and one that I don’t feel deserves a critical photo essay on.

As I walk around wellington I notice people who are less fortunate than myself. I notice people who’s opportunities in life are far more limited than mine. I would like to eliminate my perspective from this project and photograph the viewpoint from behind the signs of the homeless culture in Wellington.

For this project I would like to capture what it is like to live on the street and watch thousands of people walk past your home everyday. The images wont be of the homeless themselves, but of what they see, as that is a viewpoint many of us have never experienced. I aim to use a wide or fish eye lens to encapsulate as much of my subjects surroundings as possible.

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My concerns are that my idea is will only further isolate this community from what we would classify the common society as it could come off that I am only using this perspective to achieve something for myself. In no way am I looking to belittle someones position in life, I simple want to show the viewpoint of how differently wellington's urban environment can be experienced.

Here are some images I have been taking on my walks. Before I was inspired to change my perspective I was actively looking for parts of Wellington that were abandoned, unkempt and grungy. I was looking for a variety of different textures, both natural and unnatural. It was interesting how easy it was to find what I was looking for.