The First Cut - Manchester Art Gallery
The first cut exhibition was an extraordinary show of work from 31 international artists who all work extremely well with paper whether they are cutting folding or sculpting it. It is amazing what they can create, for example an artist called Chris Jones managed to create an antique looking motorbike just from magazines and book images. Another artist called Beatrice Coron created beautiful story cuts that where so tiny and detailed, they were so precise and had so much meaning to them they could almost tell us a tale through the images that had been cut out of the paper. Claire Brewster is also a very skilled artist when it comes to creating something very beautiful and very detailed from something as simple as maps. Claire’s work was focused on birds which she managed to create such stunning pieces of work of, and the way she created them from maps worked really well adding some colour and patterns to the image which made it look like the odd and random colours and shapes birds normally have on their feathers and body, It also added movement and feeling to the birds.
All of these pieces of work around the room, on the walls or in the middle of the floor like Manabu Hangai’s large leaf trees create a whole atmosphere for the people when they walk into the exhibition, they want it to be a whole new experience and something that you will never forget.
The people’s History Museum is extremely interesting and educational for all ages. It tells us the history from the past 200 years of people’s lives at home and work. It also gives us information on democracy in Great Britain.
They use lots of different techniques to get their information across some of these are printed materials, 3D objects and photographs. However as well as these examples, they also make their museum very stimulating and interactive for the public with different puzzles that need solving, old fashioned clothes to dress up in or just a simple juke box for the public to choose what music is played. This also helps to widen their target audience as it is making it interesting for not only adults but children also.
The museum is a great place to visit to learn about the history of working people in the UK, it is much more entertaining and engaging for the audience, rather than just reading books or looking on the internet. Seeing it all in front of you gives you the feeling that you are there, in the history participating which makes it not only more fun but also a lot more motivating.
Biffy Clyro Mountains Single Cover
I have chosen to review this songs artwork as even though I don’t really listen to Biffy Clyro I do know this song by him and I love the image that has been used. I’m not too sure of the actual meaning of the song but the mood and tone definitely match the blue, cold cover. The song is called mountains yet the image is under water of two lions fighting. However even though it is not taken literally, as it is not an image of a mountain, there is still this feeling that they are present, the way they have captured the shadows under the water very rigid and triangular. Also lions are not known for being under water, they live either in grass lands, forests or sometimes mountains. They successfully make these connections very subtle so you see and think about them without realising.
The main subject of this picture is clearly the two lions as they are in the light, which almost looks as if it is a spotlight coming from above the water which is focused on them with the shadows around them getting darker and darker. Even though the two lions have this unsettling image about them they still attract you and pull you in to the cover.
The cover overall has quite a dark, rebellious feel to it, with the two lions fighting and the darkness around them. I think it works extremely well as it grabs your attention and also sticks in your mind so you don’t forget it, this would have been their main target to accomplish so that more singles are sold.
Florence and the Machine Gig
Florence and the Machine is one of many gigs that I have been too, and even though some of the artists have been extremely different to one another their gigs are always pretty similar. This is because everything an artist does is linked to the atmosphere they want to create for their audience. It is not just about them singing it is about the whole performance and setting in the room.
One of the main parts of getting the atmosphere going is the build-up to the artist coming on the stage, Florence did this extremely well by playing the beat of the drum to her first song, with the stage in complete darkness makings us wait and wait, prolonging the start on her song until we hear her voice and then the lights come on and the whole audience is jumping up of the ground screaming or singing out her lyrics completely caught up in the atmosphere in the room.
Florence has a wide range of songs so she made sure they were all mixed in and that she wasn’t playing a lot of her slower songs one after the other, she wanted the audience always involved and alive with her music. Throughout her performance she managed to cover the whole stage, running back and to putting a lot of energy and excitement into her singing. She would shout and jump and raise her arms to get the adrenaline running through the audience to get us all back up jumping and dancing with her.
It was one of my favourite gigs not only because she is an amazing singer and performer but because she connects with the audience and made sure that we were all having fun with her.
