Review

‘Sherlock Jnr’ 1924 and ‘Man with a movie camera’ 1929
As a modern society where technological advances are developed at a startling rate, it can be argued that groundbreaking technology of the past is simply forgotten. Despite its age ‘Sherlock Jnr’ proves it can still captivate the modern society; realised through personal experience of the reaction of peers whilst viewing this film during the Odeon cinema programme. The era of the silent movie was prevalent during the late 1800’s early 1900’s and was a popular entertainment medium. This format was accessible to all walks of life, and in the case of ‘Sherlock Jnr’ flooded theatres with laughter. This film alongside exaggerated acting was dependent on its experiments with illusion in order to create humour. In similarity ‘Man with a movie camera’ experiments with camera angles and illusions, however this is done to a much greater scale. Both films explore this medium as a way of reaching out to its audience. Delving into the world of the silent movie, it is apparent that the directors and producers wish to challenge the boundaries of film and to a great degree experiment with what experience an audience can get from cinema. In ‘Man with a movie camera’ to an extreme degree the directors create and develop different techniques of filming, which is also prevalent in ‘Sherlock Jnr’; ‘None of Keaton’s films showcased his fascination with cinema technique quite as clearly as ‘Sherlock Jnr’ . The fascination of film narrative is also clearly shown in ‘An Interview with Buster Keaton’ by Christopher Bishop ‘So I was very interested in it- the mechanics of it. I wanted to know how that picture got put together through protagonist’ . Keaton’s passion for film is obvious, an attribute which makes the film ever more appealing. This infatuation with film is also seen in ‘Man with a movie camera’ where it seems the directors would literally risk their lives to get particular shots. These silent films can still appeal to a modern day audience. Natural features to a silent film such as the organ used to play the music during the films duration, is enchanting to us now, whereas in the past it was simply a common element. The old is still relevant and appealing to us now, which was highlighted when visiting the ‘Enchanted Palace’ exhibition at Kensington Palace. This exhibition has used present day technology as well as new modern designs in keeping with the character of the palace in order to reveal great tales of seven princesses and to interact with current viewers (shown in the pictures below). In similarity to the silent films analysed, historical pieces still charm modern audiences, and we can still learn a great deal from them, both in the creative and informative sense. It seems that in the case of the silent films and this particular exhibition the old and the new can fluidly move alongside each other which reveal they have an almost timeless quality. The exhibition has adapted to the era to relate to its audience, including modern technology in order to enhance the experience of viewers to the objects within the palace. However, the films do not need to do this, possibly due to its nature of initially connecting to the masses to begin with (due to the silent genre where the film can reach out to all nations). It is important to keep the past remembered, all that it has developed and the enjoyment it can still give us today and in relation to Susan Hiller’s exhibition piece ‘Monument’ of the names of heroes forgotten, these films will not be forgotten in time.

(Postcards purchased at Kensington Palace; the modern designs interlace with the traditional interior of the palace, a Vivienne Westwood dress and rotating sculptures)

Picture I took of a modern chair piece recently created at the palace which is in keeping with the overall style emulated.

A picture of the organ player who performed at the Odeon cinema programme.



Bibliography

http://www.moah.org/exhibits/archives/movies/technology_development.html - history of film

Blackboard Week 5 Sherlock Jnr notes 2nd Feb 2011

‘An Interview with Buster Keaton’ Christopher Bishop and Buster Keaton
Film Quarterly Vol. 12, No. 1 (Autumn, 1958), pp. 15-22
Published by: University of California Press http://www.jstor.org/stable/3186072

http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=21187&searchid=9596&tabview=image (25th February 2011 21:41)

Postcard

Just finishing up on my postcard project....i think one of the shortest projects we've had!

I decided to base the postcard on Hyde Park, as this is where many memories lay from summers with friends, having picnics and just relaxing in the park. As this location was literal, i decided to alter the imagery. I have a desolate stormy background contrasting with the tree, which i took a photo of at the park. The tree is in full bloom and thus it stands out from the background.

I added a classic wavy border to the piece, as well as having sections cut out in order to create a more 3Dimensional piece.

‘The art of words’

As I have great interest in Literature, I found this project very appealing. I took the opportunity during this project to experiment greatly with the use of materials, and as the word I chose to portray was ‘Ghosts’ I experimented with transparency. I was able to use the skills gained in fashion and textiles during this project, and felt the resulting three pieces were effective in creating a ghostly atmosphere.

‘Lists Lists Lists’

During this project I was able to explore my distaste towards wasps, as well as explore my interest in illustration. Initially I began drawing the lists for a range of lists, and I concluded that ‘10 places to hide’ and ’10 things I don’t want to hear’ had the strongest prospect. After further experimentation, I decided to pursue the idea of ‘10 things I don’t want to hear’. I began with looking at onomatopoeia, which gave me the opportunity to experiment with typography. I created different styles of font, and whilst thinking of ideas I began to take interest in the sound of ‘Buzzzzzz’. I decided to use this word as the foundation of the project, and thus decided to look at different species of wasps and bees, which create this sound. I chose wasps, as I find the sound produced from them more menacing and I wanted to portray this to the observer. I experimented with the use of light, and managed to create a leering effect which conveyed my distaste of the creature. Ironically during this project, I began to see the beauty of the creature as I began to look at different species of wasp. I had two separate outcomes of the final piece; however on retrospect believe one to be more successful than the other.

‘30 things to do’

I found this project challenging due to the amount that we were expected to do, however it was also due to this reason that I found this project exciting. The fact that we were expected to do thirty mini projects at first was daunting, however, I soon came to realise what a great opportunity it would be to push my creativity to its limits and create interesting interpretations of the projects. I believe some were more successful than others, and I decided to push the idea of ‘Write your name in water’ further. This resulted in using ice as a material for my project, something I had not previously experimented with. It was challenging and time consuming, however, despite this I believe the final piece was unexpectedly successful.

Area choice.....

Once I was aware of the subject matter of the rotation areas, my initial thoughts were that I would be best suited to Fine Art as it’s the area I had always practised at school and thus felt it would be logical and appropriate to choose. Despite this after completing the eight week rotations, I have decided that I am in need of a new path, and Fine Art may not be, as I originally thought the right direction to go into. After experiencing different skills and approaches to Art and Design, I have come to realise that I am a person who works well within guidelines/brief. I feel I am better suited to the approach designers take in opposition to Fine Artists and thus a decision had to be made between the design areas.

The first area which I completed was 3D Spatial, upon starting this subject I was unsure of what to expect from the two weeks. I found the process challenging perhaps because it was the first rotation, but also because I had always worked in 2D and on retrospect feel I found it difficult translating into 3D. I felt the three conclusive pieces were successful; however they could have been developed to a greater and more interesting degree.

The following area was Fashion and Textiles; a topic I also had not previously experienced. The two weeks were different to what I was expecting, and the experimentation I produced over the two weeks surprisingly appealed to me. I found the work process enjoyable, and was pleased with the pieces finalised. I also enjoyed learning the thought process in the cosmos of fashion, and my understanding of how work is produced in this area has greatly improved. The making process compelled me closer to the area, which is in contrast to the drawing exercises undertaken. This area allowed me to develop interest in different materials, and also how shaping can be developed from any environment.

Fine Art was the next rotation and I found the first week enjoyable. The pace in the studio was rapid, and I struggled to accustom myself to this as I am a person who likes to spend great amounts of time on particular pieces of work. I was pleased to be creating still life observational drawings, and also found the one day self project appealing. We also created sequential drawings, where acetate was used to develop these pieces. These drawings I felt had a greater quality over my previous work in the particular area. The second week was in complete contrast to the first and deterred me from choosing Fine Art as my specialist area. Little direction was given as we were able to create our own pieces based on what we found interesting. I found it extremely difficult in deciding what to do and thus a lesson was learnt that I need a strong brief to develop ideas and inspiration from. After completion I soon realised the subject is approached via a broader method to what I am used to, and may not be suitable as I had thought.

After Fashion and Textiles I felt I would find Visual Communication an exciting and inspirational path as it also worked strongly with a brief. The importance of ideas was expressed, and I found it challenging producing many ideas under time restraints. However, the next project was based on photo manipulation, which I found a strong interest and enthusiasm for. The project which followed, allowed me to explore the subject matter of illustration, which created great interest towards a topic I never previously considered. Overall felt Visual Communication was an exciting creative field, which I look forward to immersing myself into during the year.

Fine Art

Hey!...just completed my first week of fine art, and i'm really enjoying it :D....At the beginning of the week when we arrived at the studios there were four installations of random objects sitting there, waiting for our inspiration to be derived from them. We drew sections of the installations and that literally was the story of the first day, i was pleased to be doing observational still life drawings.
We got the next two days off....and so they gave us a list of photos and drawings to do. I ended up at Westminster and I started drawing figures. There were two artists sitting still whilst drawing so i decided to capture them in drawing. The Thursday i went back, a girl came up to our table in the cafeteria and asked for a chair and to my surprise it was one of the students i drew at Westminster!!! :D
Back in the studio we started doing animation pieces using acetate which i really enjoyed. We also used our photos we took and printed out with acetate to produce pieces. I felt this was my best work, so next week i feel i will do mixed media pieces, the theme is yet to be decided.

~ Lauren