Yesterday me and the ladies went to the Bodies Revealed Exhibition at the Custard Factory in Birmingham. It was a very informative day and i do not think there was one aspect of the human anatomy that was not explained, disected and on display for all to see.
It gave viewers a chance to be up close and personal with the human body and learn facts that they may have not realised before.
FACTS I LEARNT YESTERDAY... some of my favourites.
BONE is FIVE times stronger than mild steel.
If you REMOVED the MINERALS and kept the CELLS in your BONES, you could tie them in a KNOT.
There are 600 SKETAL muscles in the body.
TENDONS are 500 TIMES stronger than MUSCLE.
If all the body muscles worked together you could LIFT TEN TONNES.
BRAIN ACTIVITY produces enough ELECTRICAL energy to POWER a ten watt light bulb.
There are 100 THOUSAND MILES of blood vessels in the human body.
You take 600 MILLION BREATHS by the time you are 70.
Exit Through the Gift Shop is showing at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah; it premieres on Sunday, January 24.
It is a film about a french shopkeeper who tries to meet Banksy but doesn't quite succeed.
“‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’ is one of those films that comes along once in a great while, a warped hybrid of reality and self -induced fiction while at the same time a totally entertaining experience,” said John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, in a statement.
"I'm very lucky because my interests are actually my work, and in so many ways, any interest I have can become a part of my work...that's the wonderful thing about art...anything you do can then become your work... just keeping your mind open for all these things. It's really fun. Life becomes work." (Kate Bush)
After discussing ideas with Sarah she put me in the direction of Cal Lane, an American artist and welder who incorporates lace into a series of metal designs.
One of her larger pieces...
However it was this design that caught my eye the most. I think there is something exciting and fun about this. Dirt Lace - Cal Lane.
"I have always been interested in embracing the very thing that repels me in order to understand it: I prefer to make sense of things or in order to suspend (or pass) judgment." (Cal Lane)
I have recently encountered a textile artist called Liz Plummer who, of all the many things she has experimented with,one of these was rust. She is most well known for her quilts.
She wraps fabric around rusty objects and waits for the rust to transfer.
It is something i would like to explore further, and perhaps get some rusty objects and experiment with as i think the final effect is quite striking.
Rust is a general term for a series of iron oxides, usually red oxides, formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water or air moisture.
Rusting is the common term for corrosion of iron and its alloys, such as steel.
Given sufficient time, oxygen, and water, any iron mass eventually converts entirely to rust and disintegrates.
Any film or coating on metal caused by oxidation.(dictionary.com) accessed 19/1/2010
The reddish-brown crust that often forms on iron and steel objects comes from changes that take place in the outer surface of the metal itself. This crust, called rust, is caused by the mixture of the metal with oxygen from water in the air.
Ok, so I have assembled, sprayed and left my metal to rust for a night in the garden and here is the progress so far...
I will not be able to see if the desired effect has been achieved until the lace is removed and there is so time to go yet.Then i will experiment with trying to make the desired effect better.
So I have decided to experiment with rust at the moment and see where it takes me. My main focus for last years art was process art and I suppose this ties in nicely.
I went to B&Q and brought some sheets of steel, with the hope of overlaying some lace effect material (thank you New Look tights)over the top and encouraging the metal to go rusty (with the help of some salty water)I want the pattern to formed on the metal but I guess we shall see what happens.
I could also relate this process to school and learning as how much water is sprayed, different locations of the metal, different metals... could be experimented with. There are numerous possibilities.
It is also important that the metal is not moved from position whilst it is rusting as the lace (I would imagine) needs to remain torte in order for a pattern to appear. Therefoe I sewed one side of the lace to the other roughly to keep it rigid.
Another great exhibition/ visit in Prague was to the Dali exhibition at the Saudek gallery in the Old Town square.. It featured a collection of ceramics, sculptures and prints by the artist, as well as photographs by Vaclav Chochola.They are mainly from private collectors.
One of the prints in the exhibition. Persistence of Time - La persistencia de la memoria.
Whilst in Prague we stumbled across the Black Light Theatre whilst we were walking around and decided to go watch it that night. It is something that Prague is apparently known for, although we did not know this at the time. The art of mime, colour, illusion and dance was utterly sensational. It really was a feast for the eyes.
The show we saw was called 'the best of image' and here is a collection of some of the foramtions from the evening.
I stumbled across Pinar Yolacan's Body of flesh portraits whilst doing some artist research and like how i imagine most people to react i was initally alarmed. These women standing with pride without a hint of embarassment wearing meat as if it was an embellishment.But behind the pictures is hidden meaning and pain.
This is greatly evident when you understand the story behind the 'Maria' series where the ladies are not WASPS.
Here are women from the Bahia region in Brazil. Here, the flesh changes its value: it isnt about age any more, but about distinction and pride, but also submission and humiliation, about the color of skin.
Maria is the most common Portuguese name - and in Brazil nearly every woman has Maria as one of her names. A reference to the Virgin Mary, a reference that challenges our thinking about holiness in the images in which it is representing. Beneath the raw, dark flesh is purity.
I quite likes the effect that was created on the children's work using the instant artist feature in the style of Munch. I took one of the children's pictures and spent the day changed it into the style of Munch using the programme.I then attempted to change the picture myself using my own artistic devices. I like the result.
Whilst on school experience, I had the opportunity to work with a programme called Serif photo plus. We photographed the children's work and they each used the instant artist feature to edit their work and create a new artistic feel. There were a variety of results, and there seemed to be a pattern with the children's preferences. They either preferred their work as near to the original as possible or as abstract as they picture could go. It was great as the children's work was changed instantly into artistic styles including, Van Gogh, Munch, and Impressionist to name a few. Here are some examples showing the children's original and final adapted pieces.
It is important to have a broad mind in regards to art. All of the images by the children are in response to the same task. It is an individual experimentation and interpretation of the task.
Point to Ponder Mcniff (1998) "The issue of talent is the most effective defense against expression. It is also a crippling obstacle when used against you. My experience has repeatedly proven that any person can express himself of herself in an authentic and intriguing way with just about any art form"(Mcniff, 1998, p47)
Addison (2003) says "I believe that art and design should be a statutory entitlement for all pupils during their years of compulsory schooling" (Addison, 2003, p23)
To me this is using any media or any programme. I think only the children should be able to judge their work and cast their opinions on it.As the national Curriculum (2000) states;
(Art and design is the freedom of the individual, the freedom of expression and the freedom to fail without retort)National Curriculum (2000)
References Addison, B. Burgess L. (2003) Issues in art and design teaching. Routledge - Falmer. Oxon.
DfEE (2000) The National Curriculum, Handbook for Primary Teachers in England. TSO. London.
Mcniff s (1998) Trust the process. An artist's guide to Letting go. Shambhala Publications Inc. Boston.
For New year myself and a few friends headed to Prague and it was a truly lovely experience. I was charmed by the Gothic architecture which greeted us around every corner. It was even more special as the Christmas celebrations were going on, so the trees, lights and fireworks made the trip even more special.
Here are some pictures from the trip, highlighting some of Prague's finest attractions.
