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Assessment 3

NOT WASTED

Annesa Fung, Regina Krawets, Sarah Wan, Stefanie Bednorz

Bibliography:

Anon, Plastic Statistics: Plastic Ain’t so Fantastic, oceancrusaders.com, 2017, http://oceancrusaders.org/plastic-crusades/plastic-statistics/

Anon, The Facts, plasticpollutioncoalition.com, 2016, www.plasticpollutioncalition.org

Anon, Top 10 Ways to Reduce Waste, rethinkrecycling.com, 2017, https://www.rethinkrecycling.com/residents/reduce/top-10-ways-reduce-waste

Anon, Waste Fact Sheet, coolaustralia.org, https://coolaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Wastefactsheet1.pdf

R. Bohl, Pumpkin Pie Energy Bites, paleogrubs.com, 20 October, 2014, http://paleogrubs.com/pumpkin-pie-L.

J. Gold, Top Ten Marine Debris Items, visual.ly, January 24, 2012, https://visual.ly/community/infographic/environment/top-ten-marine-debris-items

K. Good, 10 Ways to Adopt a Zero Waste Lifestyle, onegreenplanet.org, February 7, 2014, http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/10-ways-to-adopt-a-zero-waste-lifestyle/

K. Kellogg, 31 Day Zero Waste Challenge - For Kids!, goingzerowaste.com, September 24, 2017, https://www.goingzerowaste.com/blog/31-day-zero-waste-challenge-for-kids

M. Ritchie, State of Waste 2016 - current and future Australian trends, MRA Consulting, April 20, 2016, https://blog.mraconsulting.com.au/2016/04/20/state-of-waste-2016-current-and-future-australian-trends

www.trashisfortossers.com/p/about.htmlenergy-bites-recipe

L. Singer, Why I live a zero waste life, TedxTeen, TEDtalks, May 27, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF72px2R3Hg

Sustainably Vegan, Ultimate Beginners Guide to Zero Waste P1,YouTube, July 8, 2017, https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=8s&v=Y2cAGWr7tts

Sustainably Vegan, Ultimate Beginners Guide to Zero Waste P2, YouTube, July 18 https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=7s&v=HbvW6nyp-YI

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/61/8e/4a/618e4a98a9251b62ae87239fa5a46b70.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/a8/b6/2d/a8b62da186b6576ba02b2073eae2c3a2--reduce-reuse-recycle-upcycle.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/564x/eb/5d/95/eb5d959d44c2d7b9b6bb47ac6d5e915b.jpg

Image Sources:

https://unsplash.com/photos/KPeGlRjUcJg

https://unsplash.com/photos/eA2z1JSzZFI

https://unsplash.com/photos/DpphPG9ENsI

https://unsplash.com/photos/Rg-YY72AK44

https://unsplash.com/photos/cegg5Xj0AxM

https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1489435518427-e047d52082f5?ixlib=rb-0.3.5&q=85&fm=jpg&crop=entropy&cs=srgb&dl=freestocks-org-221835.jpg&s=a73c1e3dc974194a4b685623e339fcb5

http://www.hofertan.com/practices/functional-practices/

https://www.pexels.com/photo/agriculture-basket-beets-bokeh-533360/

https://www.pexels.com/photo/wood-leaves-timber-wood-planks-139312/

stef-adad1002

Art Gallery of NSW visit, 13/10/17

A 12 picture collection based on the Desire for connection, especially from a place of isolation.

reginakrawetscofa-blog

Week 11, Gallery of NSW visit. Topic: Desire

Assessment 2

Final Work: The Mirror Cracked

Assessment 2

Final Work: The Mirror Cracked

Assessment 2

Concept Statement:

The common definition of a glitch is: “a minor problem that causes a temporary setback” and the rise of glitch art correlates with the ascendancy of technology in our daily lives and provides opportunity for cultural commentary on the question of just who or what is in control. Do we control technology or does it control us? By combining the topics of ‘Glitch Art’ and ‘Affect and Body Politics’, this work will explore how our exposure to stereotypical media images of what constitutes the ‘perfect’ female body has dramatically increased with the advent of the internet age, particularly with the rise of social media use and how this accretion of images is contributing to the perpetuation of the ‘thin is in’ ideal in mainstream Western culture, creating a collective glitch in our perceptions of female beauty which rather than being minor and temporary, is dangerous and permanent.

Although a healthy discourse on self-love and acceptance is being promoted through public conversations on positive body image, only a very narrow cross section of female body types is still being portrayed to the public. Media has not caught up with contemporary views and the pervasive image of ‘thin is beautiful’ still abounds. Every day young and old, male and female, our use of social media exposes us to a bombardment of images that equate beauty with leanness and conflate physical beauty with belonging, success, love and happiness. It is very difficult to escape these images and to maintain a healthy body image. This work attempts to capture how this constant barrage of imagery can create a ‘glitch’ – a permanent, rather than temporary, fault with lifelong consequences - in the way that individuals perceive themselves and their feelings of self-worth. Furthermore, the peculiar attributes of perceived anonymity afforded by social media pages has led to an increase in bullying and public acts of ‘fat shaming’ are becoming all too common. This too has a direct correlation with our glitched perceptions of what constitutes physical beauty, perpetuated by the media and advertising, fashion and beauty industries.

Iteration of the same image in the form of the silhouette of a female body, as well as repetition in the layering process used to create the work, forms an analogy for the accretion of these images in our subconscious and how this contributes to our skewed perceptions of the feminine ideal. Like the dripping of a tap, one after another, the representation of the same models corrals our perceptions into conformity with dominant cultural images. The resemblance of the silhouette to the image of a body fat scan helps draw a correlation with aspects of science and biology and refers to the way that the conversation around body image is shifting insidiously to incorporate weight with undesirable aspects such as ill health and that in many instances this preoccupation with science is less about actual health and more about perpetuating the message that only leanness is socially acceptable.

The inclusion of the mirror under the layers of resin references our preoccupation with appearance and vanity. Additionally, one’s own blurred reflection gazing back out of the image whilst one is caught in the act of gazing upon the body of another is intended to be affective and serve as a reminder of the power of the gaze. It is designed to make us question how we have become accustomed and acquiescent to the passing of judgement based on something as superficial as appearance. The use of transparent resin to sandwich layers of the image of a body in silhouette as though the body is ‘trapped’, signifies how preoccupation with body image can leave an individual feeling caught, like an insect trapped in amber, by the unattainable expectations and standards of beauty placed on them based on societal and cultural ideals. The fact that the resin is transparent demonstrates how this is an unseen consequence of the proliferation of these sorts of images in our daily life and the cracks in the resin represent the fracturing of self worth of those who are made vulnerable to the negative consequences, a glitch in the way we see ourselves, of being subjected to an endless stream of only one type of standard of beauty.

Bibliography:

Beth B. website. http://www.bethbproductions.com/beth_b_art.html (accessed 5/9/17)

Deborah Kelly, Biennale of Sydney website, 2014, www.biennaleofsydney.com.au/19bos/artists/kelly/ (accessed 8/9/17)

Exhibition: Deborah Kelly, No Human Being is Illegal (In All Our Glory) Museums and Galleries of NSW website, 2014, https://mgnsw.org.au/sector exhibitions/now-showing/deborah-kelly-no-human-being-is-illegal-all-our-glory/ (accessed 10/9/17)

Guiducci, M., Marilyn Minter on Her First Major Retrospective, Vogue, 16 April, 2015, https://www.vogue.com/article/marilyn-minter-retrospective-instagram-tom-ford

Margetts, E., Art, Activism and Society: Feminist Activism and Art, Now and Then, www.eleanormargetts-ass.blogspot.com.au

Marilyn Minter website. www.marilynminter.net (accessed 10/9/17)

Merriam Webster Dictionary, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glitch

Orange County Museum of Art, Past Exhibitions, Marilyn Minter: Pretty Dirty, OCMA website. https://www.ocma.net/exhibition/marilyn-minter-pretty-dirty (accessed 11/9/17)

Roy, M., The Periphery, Glitch it Good: Understanding The Glitch Art Movement, December 2014, http://www.theperipherymag.com/on-the-arts-glitch-it-good/

https://www.google.com.au/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x132a51540f899845:0x6c8239e1e48859b2!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4shttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Specola!5sLa+specola,+florence+-+Google+Search&imagekey=!1e1!2shttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/Zoologia_La_Specola_-_wax_anatomical_models.JPG/1200px-Zoologia_La_Specola_-_wax_anatomical_models.JPG&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjQ9Yr8gLDWAhWIiLwKHdAjBrMQoioIhAEwDg

https://goo.gl/images/h2mdTX

Assessment 2

Reflection:

I have faced many challenges realising this piece due to my unfamiliarity with the materials. Upon reflection, I think the concept answers the task of creating a piece inquiring into glitch art and body politics and melds the two topics together into a cohesive whole. Additionally, I think that my unfamiliarity with the materials and processes created a large degree of unpredictability in the results which serendipitously echos glitch art and the notion of ‘unexpected outcomes’.

However, I cannot say that I am enamoured with the final result as I think it looks a little crude and visually cluttered. I think of it more as a foundation. If funds and time were less finite I would recreate this using a purpose built mould, rather than a found/bought object as, whilst the mirror added a lot to the final outcome, the inclusion of a ‘shelf’ in the purchased frame will necessitate the addition of another/other elements to ensure the work looks finished. I would also like to see what it looks like without any backing at all so that it is transparent on either side.

Finally, I think that my fixation on the ‘glitch aesthetic’ and creating a companion piece to the poster, narrowed my opportunities of creating something that I would have found more aesthetically appealing. As, about half way through the process, the question of ‘what would it look like if rather than splattered black paint, the figure was rendered in a softer, translucent colour?’ occurred to me, and I think I would have come to that much sooner had I not been thinking that the work had to include black and multi-coloured metallic.

Assessment 2

Process: Stage 2

I had no idea resin was so EXPENSIVE!!! I feel as though I’ve come so far down this track, with the due date fast approaching, I can no longer turn back so I have to compromise on something. My only option is to use a polyester resin as it is more affordable than any of the other faster drying, easier to use resins on the market. There is no margin for error doing it this way, but I think that any inconsistencies might work in my favour in the sense that they will underscore the ‘glitch’ theme.

Inevitably, things don’t go to plan! With the first pour no less! Which cures with a strange dimpled texture. In hindsight I like this better as a clear reflection might have been too distracting from the focus of the painted image.

For the image I choose black acrylic, to provide continuity with the first assessment and for its consistency with the glitch aesthetic. To this end I also select some coloured, iridescent powders. Rather than painting, I decide to splatter the paint to create the silhouette.

This is followed by several more layers of resin. The resin must be poured in small batches to avoid generating too much heat which could result in cracking of the lower layers.

In between two of the pours, I splatter, glitch style, some of the powders. At this stage I hate the result and wish I could remove the powder. Unfortunately this is not possible. I’ll just have to let go of my perfectionist impulses and go with the glitches as they happen.

Assessment 2

Process: Stage 1

I think that the look I would like to achieve would be a solid block of transparent cast resin with layers of the image of a body in silhouette ‘trapped’ within the layers of resin, like an insect trapped in amber to symbolise the way that one might feel trapped by the unrealistic expectations and standards of beauty in our culture.

My first thought is to use some kind of silicone mould, like a backing tray so I can remove the resin from the ‘formwork’, although I am worried that it might be a little small to be impactful, my preference is for something life size but that is completely impractical.

Whilst searching for silicone backing trays, I’m not sure they actually exist because I never found one, I come across this inexpensive mirror with ready-made frame.

I like the idea of the mirror, because it references vanity and also might be interesting to see oneself looking back out of the image whilst one is gazing upon the body of another. I’m hopping that might create a sense of discomfort and add another layer of meaning to the work. Also, as a bonus, its bigger than a baking tray would have been!

Assessment 2

Research:

Marilyn Minter, Redhead, 2015. Enamel on metal.

Minter’s work focuses attention on Western culture’s complex and often contradictory emotions on feminine beauty. Her work brings into sharp critical focus the power of desire, rendering closeups of often heavily made up faces and mud streaked designer shoes with the voyeuristic sensuousness that comes with unfettered access to a private moment. She is unabashed about her portrayal of glamour and her commercial beauty photography work. The results from these commissions, as well as her own photographic work, form the basis of her paintings combining multiple photographs in Photoshop to compose her paintings. On a computer screen, the paintings are almost indistinguishable from her photographs, only in extreme close up can one see that the work is painted but not truly photo-realism. Above all, her work is beautiful to look at, redolent with rich, almost gaudy colour and glistening texture.

What I like about this work:

In particular, I like the glistening, wet appearance of the painting above.

What I think I might take from this:

Examining this image in the context of my previous post about medical images has given me an idea to try combining the form from my original experiments with resin, sandwiching layers of the painted form between layers of resin, as though they were preserved slices of biological material.

Bibliography:

Guiducci, M., Marilyn Minter on Her First Major Retrospective, Vogue, 16 April, 2015, https://www.vogue.com/article/marilyn-minter-retrospective-instagram-tom-ford

www.marilynminter.net

https://www.ocma.net/exhibition/marilyn-minter-prettydirty

Assessment 2:

Research: Medical Imaging.

Thinking about Beth B’s work and also my idea of using layers of the same image brought to mind medical imagery like MRI and layers of biological slides, for inspiration I looked at images of MRI scans.

Assessment 2

Research:

Beth B, Trophies, 1995

This work is part of an installation of 9 ‘trophies’ that explore the physical manifestations wrought on female bodies by cultural standards of beauty. From cosmetic surgery and breast implants, to the Chinese practice of foot binding, anorexia and Victorian era custom of wearing waist cinching corsets we see how throughout history and across cultures, female bodies have been subjugated to manipulation and mutilation to conform to an ideal. The work above is a life size sculptural reproduction of two female rib-cages, one of an average woman, the other of one who wore a corset for prolonged periods.

What I like about this work:

The minimal use of materials evokes a sensation that this is a more unemotive and scientific evaluation of practices of body modification and rather than feeling sterile and removed, the mutilations become more shocking.

Although this work dates back to 1995 it is still relevant today with the proliferation of cosmetic enhancements and social media apps used to manipulate one’s image to create a model of perfection based on social standards that are impossible to emulate outside the cyber-sphere.

What struck me most was the way the objects are displayed, spot-lit in a curio-cabinet, in a darkened room. Not only does it promote the ‘scientific’ feel, reminiscent of natural history museums but it brings in aspects of the male gaze and colonial-era practice of objectification and dehumanising non white males. It really reminded me of visiting the natural history museum, La Specola in Florence and the room of anatomical sections and reproductions which evoked sensations of horror and curiosity that the specimens invoked.

What I think I might take from this:

I would like to somehow incorporate that ‘scientific’ aspect or impression in my own work so it ties in with the notion of a biological glitch that I established in the first assessment.

It would also be good to reference the notion of ‘the gaze’, not just male but the gaze that objectifies in general, referencing the way that in our media driven culture has become socially acceptable to comment on stranger’s bodies.

Bibliography:

Margetts, E., Art, Activism and Society: Feminist Activism and Art, Now and Then, www.eleanormargetts-ass.blogspot.com.au

http://www.bethbproductions.com/beth_b_art.html

Assessment 2

Experimentation continued:

By placing the transparencies directly over each other, a very faint halo of the larger silhouettes becomes (barely) visible.

Offsetting the layers creates a little bit more visual interest.

Assessment 2

Experimentation:

I decide to use iteration of the same image as an analogy for the effect of the accretion of these images on our perceptions of the feminine ideal, like the dripping of a tap, one after another, the presentation of the same models corals our perceptions to conform with dominant cultural images.

Inspired by Deborah Kelly’s work, I created a series of almost identical silhouettes on tracing paper, the only difference being a change in proportion.

I wanted to layer one on top of the other to from larger to smaller/ thinner proportions to illustrate how these images accumulate in our consciousness by utilising the transparency of the tracing paper.

Because the image is so basic I thought I’d focus on the method of display to create interest. The idea was to display them aligned one over the other but with spaces in between. So I created a mock up of how it might look. It was a total fail, the first image actually depicts the result, you could not see anything other than the very top layer.

Assessment 2

Research: Body Fat Scans.

The frontal and symmetrical positioning of Deborah Kelly’s nude reminded me of images of body fat scans. I think this ties in well with my ‘biological’ theme: on top of all the media and fashion imagery we are confronted with, we are constantly being bombarded with quasi-scientific information that excess body fat is unhealthy which further undermines our body image. I see a correlation between the trend of ‘health’ magazines in publication and programmes such as doctor turned journalist, Michael Moseley’s BBC television health series and books such as “The Eight Week Blood Sugar Diet’ and “The 5/2 Diet’ and the perpetuation of the ‘thin is in’ message. A lot of it seems like fat shaming disguised as science.

Assessment 2

Research:

Deborah Kelly, from the series No Human Being Is Illegal (in All Our Glory), 2014

Created for the 19th Biennale of Sydney the work is a series of large scale nude photographic portraits which were the subject of ‘discussion, exchange and art making between the artist, the subjects and public participants’. The portrait subjects’ personal history, passions and interests were used to inform the collection of imagery from contemporary and historic sources for the process of collage, where the nudes were ‘barnacled’ over time in a succession of artist-led workshops that the public participated in.

What I like about this work:

The image is beautiful and empowering. The gaze of the subject is gentle and accepting, she invites you not to judge but to accept her for who she is.

The nude, the colours and the marine theme of the collage materials brings to mind Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, from a time when the ideal female form was more ‘reubenesque’ and some would say, more realistic.

Her nakedness has been covered, yet it is as though she has been lovingly caressed by the gradual application of the collage, an act performed by strangers. The image exudes love and acceptance, so far removed from the acts of ‘fat shaming’ that are all too common today, particularly on social media, which are directly correlated to our glitched perceptions of what constitutes physical beauty, perpetuated by the media and fashion industries.

The repetition of small images really speaks to my personal aesthetic - the maxim of the “whole being greater than the sum of its parts” and provides a link to my Assessment 1 work through the design principle of repetition, evident in the repetition of the motif of the chromosome.

What I think I might take from this:

I would like to play with the form or placement of the body laid bare as in the portrait above

include repetition of this form in some way

Bibliography:

https://goo.gl/images/h2mdTX

https://mgnsw.org.au/sector exhibitions/now-showing/deborah-kelly-no-human-being-is-illegal-all-our-glory/

www.biennaleofsydney.com.au/19bos/artists/kelly/

Assessment 2

Idea Generation:

Going forward with Assessment 2 I would like to maintain the ‘biological’ theme and the notion that some glitches aren’t temporary that I established in the first assessment. To that end I am thinking of ways to combine glitch with the week 5 topic: Affect and Body Politics, focusing on female body image.

Today a healthy discourse of self love and acceptance is being promoted more and more. Despite this, the media has not caught up with contemporary views and the pervasive image of ‘thin is beautiful’ still abounds. Every day young and old, male and female, we are still being bombarded with images that equate beauty with leanness and conflate physical beauty with belonging, success, love.... it is little wonder that every one of us is not afflicted with some form of insecurity regarding their appearance. Perhaps we all are... I would like to somehow be able to capture how this constant barrage of imagery can create a ‘glitch’ - a temporary fault that can have lifelong consequences - in the way that individuals perceive themselves and their feelings of self-worth.

ASSESSMENT 1: GLITCH

STATEMENT

The rise of glitch art correlates with the ascendancy of technology in our daily lives and provides opportunity for cultural commentary on the question of just who or what is in control. Do we control technology or does it control us? By portraying a biological glitch, something that we as humans have no agency over despite all our progress with the technologies of genetic mapping and manipulation, this work makes a commentary on the dialectics of control and unpredictability.

This work capitalises on the specific aesthetics of glitch art, pixelated or jagged lines evoking static or white noise with highly saturated rainbow colours set against a dark background reminiscent of a computer screen. The intention of the monochromatic black on black embroidery overlaid with metallic rainbow thread not only emulates the aesthetic of glitch art but is intended to force the viewer to step closer to the work, to pause and look closely and contemplate the issues faced by individuals living with chromosomal disorders. Furthermore, the appearance of the chromosomes that are missing sections of genetic material is a representation of a specific subset of glitch art known as ‘datamoshing’ where media is intentionally distorted through the loss of data during file compression and tangentially echoes the process of cell division that is illustrated in the karyotype.

The inclusion of a title and numbering was necessary as it added more graphic design elements characteristic of a poster. The title Some Glitches Aren’t Temporary as a statement is a refutation of the common definition of a glitch as “a minor problem that causes a temporary setback” and refers the depiction in the poster of an array of glitches in the reproduction of information during conception. The reference to temporality also asserts that, as technology has become a fixture in our lives, so has glitch art become a permanent part of our artistic cannon.

Bibliography:

Anonymous, Friendship Circle Blog, 13 chromosomal disorders you may not have heard of, May 22, 2012, http:/www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2012/05/22/13-chromosomal-disorders-youve-never-heard-of/

Emory, S., Creators, A Wild Glitch Appeared! These 8 Artists Are Bringing Glitch Art into the Real World, November 27, 2014, http://creators.vice.com/en_au/article/gvwv7y/8-artists-are-bringing-glitch-art-into-the-real-world

Khemsurov, M., Sight Unseen, Ferruccio Laviani on his Good Vibrations Series, April 28, 2014, htpp://www.sightunseen.com/2014/04/ferruccio-laviani-on-his-good-vibrations-series/

Merriam Webster Dictionary, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glitch

Mufson, B., Creators, These Playing Cards Are Full of Mind-Bending Glitches, Sept 5, 2016 http://creators.vice.com/en_us/article/aengyz/glitch-art-goes-physical-with-reality-bending-playing-cards

Roy, M., The Periphery, Glitch it Good: Understanding The Glitch Art Movement, December 2014, http://www.theperipherymag.com/on-the-arts-glitch-it-good/

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