Hanne's art blog. @hannesdigitalpracticeblog-blog - Tumblr Blog

Preparing for the Degree show.

So in about two weeks, the third year Fine art and Art & Design students will have put together an amazing art exhibition for the public to come and see. It’s basically something we’ve been working on all year, and as son as we’ve handed in all our written work, we start preparing for the exhibition. The garage studios will need to be stripped, repainted (on the inside) and after that each student will have to set up their own work that will be exhibited.

I’ve been really lucky as I’ve been placed in the project space, which is a small dark room that will be perfect for my space installation.

I booked out all the equipment that I need a couple of weeks ago, and I’m going to buy 20 L of dark grey paint at some point next week. Then I need to pain the room, set up my projector and mount a small tv screen on a wall. I want the outcome to be at least three screens in a room, hopefully 4, but definitively 3.

I’m going to have at least two projections of stars and there will possibly be a video of some planets on the tv screen. I haven’t decided whether to go will only star videos, or to mix it up a bit with some planets.

One video is already put together and ready to be used, so I just need to edit at least two more videos over the last couple of weeks. The projector will be used to project two screens in to a corner, so it’ll all be on two walls, and I’m going to put a special gel on the projector lens to make it dimmer. Hopefully this will result in a room that will feel like outer space, and I’m hoping that my aim to bring the beauty of space in to our everyday world will be successful.

I’m sad that my degree is coming to an end, but hoping that all the hard work will be worth it! Thank you for everything, Worcester University - it’s been a pleasure.

Infinity.

So over the last few months I have been busy planning and writing my Independent Study (Dissertation), and as I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post I decided quite early how I wanted it to be bound.

As my work is all about the Universe, I wanted my dissertation to have the appearance of a science magazine. So I found this company called Pixar Printing, and they had a lot of cool designs for their bindings, there was so many options. But in the end I went for a stapled binding with black and glossy paper. It did cost quite a bit, and it was a lot of hassle trying to sort out the right bleed to nothing would be printed in the wrong colour etc.

It’s also an Italian company, so there was always the risk of them not turning up in time. Therefore I decided to have it ready to be sent off 12 days before the hand in due date. I sent them off on a Sunday, and luckily they arrived 5 days later which was wonderful. I received them earlier this week and I absolutely love the outcome!

They’re being handed in next Thursday (3rd of May), so I’m just hoping that the people who’s going to evaluate them will like them too.

Front cover:

Two of the pages inside:

I’ve really enjoyed writing my dissertation as I love the subject I’ve been working with this year. Every time I read, write or watch something about space I just fall in love with the subject even more! I really hope it comes across as to how much I like the subject, and I’m hoping no one finds it disappointing. Crossing fingers!

Sirius.

The constellation Canis Major contains the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, a blue-white star 8.16 light distant and radiating more than 20 times the energy of our own sun. In actual fact, Sirius A has a companion star, the white dwarf Sirius B, which rotates around their center of common mass once every 50 years, but it is around 10,000 times fainter than Sirius A, which in turn accounts for much of the apparent brightness (-1.46 mag.) we see here back on Earth.

Pictures above: top one is a screenshot from a clip of just Sirius, and bottom picture is from my Solo show where you see Sirius on the right.

Sirius in History:

Set just southeast of the prominent constellation Orion, the brightest star in the night sky is visible from all parts of the Earths’ surface, and naturally held great importance for ancient civilizations. In ancient Egypt, for instance, Osiris, the God of Life, Death, Fertility and Rebirth was connected with Sirius because every year just prior to the heliacal rising (rising with the Sun) of the “Star of Isis” the river Nile flooded its banks, and even though the flood could (and did) often bring death and destruction, it also brought about a revitalization of the Nile Valley by depositing a layer of fertile silt, which was perhaps a fitting celebration of the everlasting cycles of life. Sirius’ heliacal rising also marked the beginning of the Egyptian year.

Like the Egyptians, the ancient Greeks and Romans associated this time of the year with hot sultry weather, known as “The Dog Days of Summer”, that runs from July 3 to August 11, but incorrectly surmised that during the “dog days” the Earth became hotter due to the combined heat and luminosity of Sirius and the Sun. Observers believed these lethargic, hot days blighted by disease were the result of emanations caused by malignant influences, with those afflicted said to be “star-struck” or suffering from astroboletosor. As Homer noted in his classic the Iliad:

“Sirius rises late in the dark, liquid sky On summer nights, star of stars, Orion’s Dog they call it, brightest Of all, but an evil portent, bringing heat And fevers to suffering humanity.”

Around 70 B.C, Greek astronomer Geminus put forward a more scientific explanation of the phenomenon, and as he wrote:

“It is generally believed that Sirius produces the heat of the Dog Days, but this is an error, for the star merely marks a season of the year when the sun’s heat is the greatest.”

Money task (site and context)

Money task:

I don’t have a job here in the U.K, but back home in Norway I have job as a supervisor at the biggest supermarket in my town. The chain that I work for is the Scandinavian version of a Co-operatives food store. So, whenever my travels bring me home I ask for a few shifts there.

If I got a daytime shift there will be someone that’s higher up than me that’s in charge. If that’s the case I normally just serve customers in the postal area we got or sit at the till. There’s also days where merchandise gets delivered where I’ll be restocking products or do general tidying around the shop.

If I got an evening/closing shift it’s basically the same routine as the daytime shifts, but I’ll have forms to fill out to make sure everything is done correctly, and inspect the store before we close. In the postal area you can perform basic bank transactions like paying bills, cash withdrawals and deposits etc. Due to this we have a lot of money in the safe and the cash deposit box that I’m in charge of.

I really like the responsibility of being a supervisor, I also really enjoy working with customers and I’m quite close with all of my colleagues. When I get put on restocking shelves I quite enjoy it too as it keeps me active.

When I try to think of things I don’t like, not a lot comes to mind. My salary is good, good environment, a lot of responsibility. But I tend to get quite stressed when it’s very busy, and I’m not very comfortable with stress. Besides that, I generally hate when you get annoying customers who just doesn’t have any normal social antennas or are too proud. But besides that, it’s normally good.

There’s quite a lot of money in our shop due to the postal area, so because of that we some extra security checks we need to do before we close down. One of them is that we are never allowed to open or close the store alone, as if there are two or several of us it lowers the risk of getting robbed.

There was unfortunately one time where I ended up closing by myself due to my colleague having to take his friend to the hospital. I felt ok closing by myself, but when I went out the back door and had just locked the door, a drunk man came hastily towards me and started yelling at me. He told me to give him the keys, but he was still a bit far away so I ran as fast as I could and hid behind a dumpster. I called the police and they came and picked the man up. That was scary.

Whose job would I prefer?

If I were to choose from everyone else’s job I’d have to say I would like Kate or Sarah’s job. I love the old rectifying house and Hanbao, salary seems ok and the work environment seems to be quite healthy. Also, I’d be quite active as you’re constantly on your feet. Plus, I’d get to serve customers, and as I’ve got experience as a waitress I really like that, that’s always been my favourite part of the job.

Instagram post (site & context)

Comfort:

You wear a mask to hide your true self, and it feels like those lashes has been a part of that mask. They are put on to make an impression, or maybe it’s just to make yourself feel better.

But can it have the same representation as to a woman takes off her bra? To feel comfortable and being able to be your true self, no more things to try and cover something up. It’s just you and you don’t need to hide.

Maybe the pills are also a way of hiding something? And only by taking them you feel an improvement. Perhaps it’s only a headache that needs to be rid of, or maybe it goes deeper than that.

It feels like this image has many representations, and the colouring gives it a sense of disturbance. Like it’s made in an illusion.

Site and context bread task.

We were assigned to bake a loaf of bread in the shape of our worst fear, and this is what I made:

How does your body react when you find out that your best mate has died? It breaks down, it feels like someone is grabbing your intestines and pulling them out of you. You can’t help but fall to the floor crying, being crippled by sadness and feeling like it’s never going to be ok.

However, no matter how sad you feel due to the loss, it’s nowhere near the sadness, loneliness and emptiness your mate felt before he made his decision. That is what true heartache is for me, knowing that someone I hold incredibly dearly is or were lost and in so much pain. My heart aches for people who suffer and feel sad, and it’s my worst fear to have someone else I love being torn down or if something were to happen to them.

I have an urge to help, and it makes me feel lost when there’s nothing I can do.

It’s horrible knowing that I can’t escape this fear either. It’s not like I can just avoid it as if I were afraid of the sea. At some point, someone I know and care about will suffer, so I’m not only scared, but I must wait for it to unfold again.

Your unpredictable path.

I know I’ve written about this artist before; Olafur Eliasson. I just came across one of his newer art pieces, and it’s so fascinating!

It’s called Your unpredictable path, and he set it up in 2016.

The artwork is an organic arrangement of more than a thousand crystal spheres on a black background, Your unpredictable path resembles the nebulae that populate interstellar space.

As you walk along the long wall, you may feel as if you were travelling between the stars. When you approach the work, you see countless inverted reflections of yourself and your surroundings in the mirror-coated rear surfaces of the glass spheres. By continually shifting in response to your movements and those of others, these dynamic reflections emphasise the ephemeral and contingency of the present moment. What a stunning piece of work.

Arcturus.

Picture above is a screenshot of the star Arcturus.

Arcturus is a red giant star in the Northern Hemisphere of Earth's sky that is the brightest star in the constellation Boötes (the Herdsman). Arcturus is also among the brightest stars that can be seen from Earth. Astronomers say Arcturus will end up as a white dwarf at the end of its life.

In Roman culture, Arcturus was the narrator in the prologue of Rudens, a comedy by Plautus talking about the adventures of a girl kidnapped by pirates and seeking to return to her father.

Arab astronomers called it Al Simāk al Rāmiḥ, sometimes translated as "Leg of the Lance-bearer," according to Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning by Richard Hinckley Allen.

In Chinese, Arcturus translates in English characters as something close to "Ta-Kio," or the Great Horn.

Cornelia parker

Cornelia Ann Parker is an English sculptor and installation artist.

Cold Dark Matter: An exploded view.

I want to write a bit about this art piece she did in the 1990′s as I find it to be a very interesting piece of work. The first thing that drew me to it was the title, I saw that it contained something that’s usually referred to by scientist when they talk about what the universe is filled with.

As there are millions of galaxies in our universe, someone’s had to raise the question: What’s in between the galaxies? What keeps the galaxies assembled, and why doesn’t all the stars etc just float around in space like a giant mix? Well, there is the Dark matter theory, where they believe that dark matter is a kind of material that doesn’t give off enough energy, or have a big enough electromagnetic field to be picked up on. This material keeps the galaxies somewhat intact (it’s also believed that black holes are at the centre of some galaxies and that helps keeping them intact.

But with that said, I also found the actual physical piece very interesting as it reminded me of a supernova. With the material sort of flung out from it’s original solid body.

As you read more about the work, it does actually make sense that I thought of a supernova as it’s actually made from the leftovers after an explosion. It used to be a shed that she got hold of, and she filled with many random items, but also some of her personal items (like a book, and a glass). Then she contacted the army in hopes that they would help her blow it up, and luckily for her (and for us I presume), they were very helpful and they helped her blow up the shed.

Then she gathered the many pieces, and put together this sculpture installation.

I love that you can see all the pieces so well due to the light source that’s in the middle. If anything that just reminds me more of a dead star - as after a star has exploded, there’s still a shining core left. So it’s kind of similar in that sense that you can see the light that’s the core of this installation, and you can see all the leftover material from the explosion.

Now that I know where I’ve been placed in our final degree show, I want to make something really good. I’ve been lucky enough to have been offered the project space (which is a small dark room) - and that will be a perfect space to make an entire room in to outer space. Filled with my own recordings of stars (and hopefully some planets), and people can go in and experience a different night sky. Hopefully it’ll all work out well!

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949

Rigel.

One of the stars that I’ve captured is the star Rigel.

Rigel is a blue supergiant that is the brightest star in the constellation Orion (the Hunter). The star is only 10 million years old, compared to the sun's 4.5 billion, and due to its measured size and brightness it is expected to end in a supernova one day. It also has two known companions, Rigel B and Rigel C.

The star is variable and is considered an Alpha Cygni-type star. (Alpha Cygni is the scientific name for Deneb, the prototype star for this kind of variability.) Its luminosity is so bright that it shines and scatters in an adjacent nebula, called the Witch Head Nebula,which is about 40 Earth-sun distances or astronomical units away.

In science fiction, Rigel's name is on a a number of planets in the "Star Trek" universe, is mentioned in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," and also features in a number of novels, computer games and comic books.

Pictured above you’ll see two screenshots from the recordings I’ve got of Rigel. They were recorded through my telescope with a camera that I attach to the lens.

The dog star.

Sirius aka the dog star is the brightest star on the night sky and it has quite a meaningful connection with the ancient human history. For the ancient Greeks, the rising of Sirius meant that the hottest days of summer were to come, whilst for the Polynesians it marked the start of winter. It was also an important star for navigation around the Pacific Ocean. As you can tell it’s a pretty meaningful star.

I’m trying to think whether focusing more on Sirius will make the viewers feel more connected with my installation? Other than being a blue giant star which makes it beautiful, it’s also known as something else; The Dog star.

I’m not sure if it’s well known, but Sirius is actually the brightest star on our night sky. Knowing that it sure makes more sense that it’s been a more noticeable star for our ancestors. You see, for the ancient Greeks, the rising of Sirius meant that the hottest day of the year were to come. For the Polynesians however, it meant that the winter season were ahead of them, along with it also being an important star that was used for navigation around the seas.

It’s one of the most meaningful stars we have and a long history with it, so I think it would be interesting to see if I can bring the connection between the stars and the humans back.

http://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/sirius-the-brightest-star

Currently sitting and making drafts for my Independent study - and I came across this picture and thought it was absolutely brilliant.

Besides that I’ve just been writing about my previous art pieces from this year and looking for book binding ideas. As I’d rather pay a little bit extra for the book binding for it to turn out well, I’ve found this website that seems to do very high quality prints for a reasonable price. (2 copies for £45 ish)

https://www.pixartprinting.co.uk/

I’m pretty sure that I would want the design that’s called stapled binding as I want mine to have that factional magazine feel and look to it. The only reason I have for that is that I love magazines about space and science and have about a million of them, and I feel like it would match the work I’ve been making so far.

The design I’m looking at getting (picture taken from their webpage):

Once I’ve started writing it officially I’m sure I’ll be very excited as I think the outcome will be very cool. Crossing my fingers!

Solo show.

This past week I had my solo show, and I just wanted to make a post about the result of it. I do feel like it went really well!

Just below I’ve attached a video of the installation I put up. The quality isn’t great due to there being little light for the camera to capture, but I’m satisfied with it none the less.

We sat in there for over an hour and I got so much feedback. Most people said what I heard during my group crit during the first semester, for example that it feels like a very scientific documentary. Something that you’d see on Discovery science perhaps? That’s totally understandable due to the grounds of the videos, however, after they had viewed if for a while the theories started coming. They asked if the stars were trying to tell a story, or whether they were actually stars at all. Now that I look at the videos put together, they do kind of look like single celled organisms. Something you’d see under a microscope, but that’s probably because of the quick movement and that they’re not perfect spheres.

The video that you can see to the right is only footage of Sirius. One of the lecturers put to my attention that she felt more connected with that one as thou it was the leader in a sense. To be honest with you I believe that there’s a reason behind that, and it extends far beyond the modern times. You see, for the Polynesians the rising of Sirius was a sign for them that the winter season is on it’s way. I’ll post more about that some other time! So it was also suggested that I would focus more on Sirus, so that’s something I’m going to look in to.

My video channels.

As my art practice is mainly (only) video work, I have some profiles on video channel pages where I can upload my videos to, so I can link them to my blog and refer to them in my dissertation etc.

Here is a link to my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/hanneagnes

My Vimeo channel:

https://vimeo.com/user49586916

All my videos will be on those channels (they’re a bit scattered between the two).

Preparing for Solo show.

I had my solo show last Friday (23.02.2018), so I went in the day before to set everything up so I could decide where I wanted what movie, where the screens should stand etc.

This definitively helped me to see that I can absolutely work on TV screens, and that I think I even prefer having it on the screen. So I’ll be experimenting with old fashioned TV’s in the nearby future.

I’ve atattched some photos that I took on my phone, but as you can see, I did take photographs and recordings with a proper camera too. I’m gonna upload those photos at some point this weekend.

Spending time in the project space just experimenting is really helpful to me, it makes me believe that I can actually do this (which is a nice change from loathing my work when I see it just on my laptop). It makes me concentrate a lot better and I’m just so happy I got the opportunity to have access to such a space.

The pictures above are of my Sky heritage telescope, I’ve had it for about three years and it’s been used for many fun adventures. Before I moved to the UK I would take it in the car and drive up to a large hill in the forest. Here I haven’t been able to take it many places, but I have taken it out to one of the fields just outside Worcester and I’ve used in my back garden (like in the photos). It’s not the best and biggest, but it works and does give me some good shots.

Sirius.

The video below is a few clips of the star Sirius that I’ve recorded with a Nikon DSLR camera (from the Garage). The short video is just to show what I basically do when I’m out recording - it’s basically finding the star on an app on my phone (Google sky map), then directing the camera towards it and zooming in. It’s not that complicated, but I think it adds a very cool effect. I like the non professional look, that it’s a bit shaky and wobbly.

It’s also quite interesting to see the radiation that the stars give off, you can see that it’s not a perfect sphere and it almost looks like it’s surface is so hot that it’s boiling. Which in some sense is true I suppose, as the temperature of stars are incredibly high.

Anyway, this is just to show some of the process that I go through to make my videos.

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