Birmingham - Snowball Adventures

Yesterday I took my snowball into the heart of Birmingham City Centre.


I took a range of photographs from including my ball in a composition that was already taking place, juxta posing the object next to some of the city's landmarks, as well as asking people to interact with my ball.

In some instances I had people chasing after me to interact with my art. I was overwhelmed by the support I received whilst carrying out this project. People seemed more than willing to participate in my art making and smiles and eyes appeared to be raised wherever the snowball went.

All of the people involved are just members of the public who were around Birmingham on the day. None of them are known previously to me.

I wonder if I had chosen a different destination would the response have been so welcoming? I think the beautiful weather added to the atmosphere of the day also.

This is my favourite action shot of the day. I think it has a certain energy coming from it and i think it is really well constructed. This is totally down to the two individuals involved in the image. They seemed to really take on board the interaction and appear to be putting everything they have into it.

This is a member of the Bullring security team. He approached me after my ball was sitting alone next to the bullring and I was observing peoples reactions to it. I asked him if he wanted to interact with my art, this was stance he decided to adopt.This interests me as this seemed to be a preferred idea for a few of the men

These two Eastern European students were taking a cigarette break in the sunshine after a spot of shopping. I incorporated my snowball into the scenario and experimented with different angles. I favour this one most. I think the iamge works well. I like the way the two girls are carrying on chatting and smoking like the snowball isnt there.It has an element of humour to it.




Placing the ball in a prominant location in the city centre and observing people's responses to it.

I knew I couldn't go into the city without photographing my snowball alongside the famous Bullring bull. I think in this photograph it looks like the bull is laying the ball. I don't particularly like this image, but I think it is quite iconic as you can show people the image of the bull and they will know where the location is, and therefore will be instantly know where my snowball was at this current time.

I saw this vintage looking food stand and thought it would be wonderful to incorporate my ball into a composition with it alongside. I feel however, let down by the overlal outcome as I dont feel the result to be anything remotely riveting.

This picture was taken quite sneakily and required alot of speed and efficiency because so many people were walking by. this photograph was also taken without the balloon having any idea at all, which i thought was quite fun.

Another prominant feature of Birmingham, The Iron Man by Anthony Gormley. This piece always makes me smile because when I was at college my History of Art teacher adored it because it looks like 'it has been dropped out of the sky at an angle' This is what I remember each time I encounter or even think of it. I like the way the sculpture dominates the photograph and the similiarities between the head of the sculpture and the spherical nature of the snowball.

This picture is shocking. But this is as close to getting my snowball in a shop window as I was going to get. The fact you can see the base of the window display and the glass are what let the image down.

I placed my art here, because I like the way sphere shaped jars held sphere shaped sweets and my snowball too is a sphere. I don't feel it looks to much like a snowball in this instance though as the light is too reflective.

This is one of the fountains in Victoria Square. Because there was no water in the fountains I made the most of incorporating these features into my Birmingham images. I feel the image to be average. I am quite impartial to it.

This man really wanted to be part of my art. Gemma and I were walking around the city and he came chasing after us enquirying about what we were doing. He insisted on being part of the art.

This is one of his many frames. I like the way he appears to be really embracing the interaction.

Fun in the Sunshine :)

This is the man from the previous image sitting alongside another man. These two men did not know each other. I enjoy the way that my snowball connects them, if only momentarily.

I love the way this family unit is connected together independently but they are also all tied together through participation in my art. It looks very constructed but it isnt and I really like how happy the people appear to be.

The preferred stance for the men in Birmingham that day.

Having a snooze. This photograph makes me smileas it was different to any of the previous explorations to date.

This is another one of the photographs I particularly like. I think the fountain in the background works as well as the snowball. The two men seems to be unaware of either of the pieces of art as they sip coffee in the sun.They were more than happy to participate in my art journey.

Black and white composition with fountain.

I quite like the way the snowball looks like a head of a snowman. The structure could easily be classed as a figure when compared with the likes of sculptors such as Henry Moore.

Ball on Location.

I placed my art on the steps of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. One of the people that worked there came out. She was not happy. Ooops.

I took a few pictures of this girl who was enjoying the sunshine with her music and a book. I wanted to retain that sense of relaxation so I incorporated my art into a secenario that was already present. Again I like the way the girl appears oblivious to the construction along side her.

It took several attempts to position the snowball here. We received several chuckles and interested looks as we tried immensely to position the ball effectively. I think the trying paid off and I like the final result.If you look closely you can see the edge of Gemma's hand holding the snowball in position. It just wouldn't stay!

Overall i really enjoyed the whole experience and Gemma enjoyed accompanying me too. Definitely an enlightening experience.

Participatory Art

I never thought about my art in a participatory way, until I was with Jaz, photographing it around uni and I began to ask people if they would like to interact with my art.No one said no, which i was really surprised about. I think maybe the reason I never asked people before was I was kind of skeptical about their enthusiasm to participate.

Here are the pictures, Some require explanation, some speak purely on their own...

Mr Macho (2010)
"Excuse me, You look like you are strong, can you hold my ball please"?
"Yeah sure, Shall I pose?"



I have no idea who this member of staff is, I know she had an Aussie accent but she was one of the first people who approached me about my snowball with curiosity. She in fact showed a desire and willingness to interact with it, without me instigating it. Here are her chosen ways of interaction.I have named them.

The touch.(2010)
The Lounge.(2010)
The slouch.(2010)




Jaz, my lovely friend, I was so grateful for him on this day, it went a lot like,
"Jaz can you stand there?"
Jaz can you sit here?"
Jaz can you pose there?"]
So i could experiment with compositions.
Thank you Jaz :)

Perch.(2010)

Pondering(2010)
Hung (2010)



This boy was sitting outside the library working away, so I kindly asked him if i could use him in my art. He obliged.

Untitled (2010)





Some of my fellow art class were passing through, so naturally I asked them to participate. I think they were quite surprised how heavy the ball seemed, as it was thrown at them. Can you see them laughing?






ooooppsss :S
We tried strategically to balance the ball on the chapel steps, It began to roll away, jst as this picture was taken.The body is that of Jaz, running after it.

Action Shot...

I asked John Bayley to be creative with the snowball. He sat on it and was laughing about the fact he would struggle to get off it. The interesting thing for me, was that when asked to interact with the ball, however they wished to, with almost all the people asked, they instantaneously chose to sit on the construction.Therefore would this be considered a creative act?



Here are a selection of thoughts to ponder in regards to creativity;

Cropley (2001)
"Creativity is a medium for beautifying the environment, a form of self expression and communication or a way of understanding, opening up or coping with the previously unknown" (Cropley, 2001, p40)

Fisher and Williams (2004)
" The world, as it is presented to us, is not the only possible world. Through our imagination we can use it as a model for other possible worlds." (Fisher and Williams, 2004, p11)




These selection of photographs were taken as people were passing through.I placed my snowball in a place and waited or I rolled it into a place and waited for it to stop. I then took photographs of people responding or not to the installation.

Unaware (2010)






I thoroughly enjoyed this day. I was overwhelmed by people's interest in my project. I enjoyed venturing around with Jaz and inserting my ball into compositions. I am fully engaged in it now. I actually walk around and think, my ball would look great there, and have to find a day to make it happen. It's a shame it is not portable and I can't carry it with me everywhere. I like the way the snowball is portrayed in a photograph. It looks so white and snowy and i think you cvan definitely tell what it is meant to be.



It has created within me a desire to get my art out there, I think I am going to take it somewhere urban and record how people respond to it. Which leads to the question... if people respond to it in a way I don't like.. eg they vandalise it, steal it. Then what do i do? Is that not there response to my art? Not sure how it would go done assessment wise. hmmmm. Sarah?
Well a dog has already urinated on it, (don't worry, people who have touched it, I sorted it)and i can't say that was my ideal response. Maybe I need to cast off preconceived responses and interactions and just let go. After all that is part of the process. (Mcniff 1999)

References
Cropley, A, J. (2001) Creativity in Education and Learning - A Guide for Teachers and Educators. Kogan Page Limited. London.

Fisher, R. Williams, M. (2004) Unlocking Creativity, Teaching across the curriculum. David Fulton Publishers. Oxon.

Mcniff, S (2001) Trust the process, An artists guide to letting go. Shambhala Publications Inc