360 degree King Edward
A new idea… this one developed forth from a previous idea which couldn’t be realised.
Orginally I was very interested in creating a 360 degree (where is the degree symbol on a keyboard?)photographic study of a naked man (no giggling at the back), whereby a series of photographs literally document the still body head to toe but from every angle possible. Don’t know if this has been done before, but it sounds like it possibly has.
Anyway, couldn’t find a willing man so am using a potato instead. I don’t yet really know why I’m interested in this type of documentation, maybe something to do with an interest in anthropological studies perhaps.
I plan to take lots of photos of a K.E in the round, but I don’t want to use a white space, I will include a background environment, say of the housing estate. I could shoot it in a field as well.
I had issues locating a good potato, I found that all the spuds in the supermarkets didn’t look potatoey enough if that’s possible.
re-visiting
In-between projects, having just finished when I looked at the sky it was wool, I’ve yet to embark on something new. What a great place to be… like picking out a new pair of shoes.
The feedback I’ve received has been so welcome, it must be one of the greatest assets of blogging on Artists Talking. I’m no longer working in an airless bubble away from the safety of university and the support of a shared studio. It’s truly fabulous to be in touch.
I’ve been re-visiting my MA work and research in an attempt to get back to roots set down years ago. Three amazing texts;
Contemporary Art and The Home – Painter (ed)
The Practice of Everyday Life – de Certeau
The System of Objects – Baudrillard
Now I only stumbled across Painter in the library, and what a find – (something web 2.0 lacks, the act of random discovery)– it investigates how the domestic environment affects the interpretation of an object. Considering that art is made to belong somewhere, say a home for instance, it’s worth mulling over if/ how contemporary art occupies this type of space. How does it sit in an ‘ordinary’ home?
Lots to chew over, nom nom.
when I looked at the sky it was wool
Finally I’ve finished this project, but I’m not sure how I feel about it! Interesting though that it looks exactly how I envisioned it. Best leave it alone now for a while and come back to it later…
To refresh: I took a photo of the sky every day in the morning for a week, then matched the colour of the sky to wool then knitted a piece to fit a frame. I bought the frames second hand, some of them still had pictures in them (intriguing but more on that later).
I wanted to create a homely display for the frames and used second hand wallpaper. I remember researching a little into modes of display in the home when I was doing an MA, though for the life of me I can’t find these sources. The MA was years ago now but I discovered my essays and research papers today and they make interesting reading. It appears that I am still on the same tracks with similar interest which is handy; my research is still pertinant.
From top left to bottom right, Monday to Sunday. Below: date, wool and code, stitch.
Monday 6th – Denim 1302, Garter stitch.
Tuesday 7th – Aster 1003, Rib 2 by 2.
Wednesday 8th – White 1001, Stocking stitch.
Thursday 9th – Silver 1203, Seed stitch.
Friday 10th – Cloud Blue 1019, Basket Weave.
Saturday 11th – Cloud Blue 1019, Lattice.
Sunday 12th – Silver 1203 Box stitch.
when I looked at the sky it was wool
The knitting is going well, almost finished. It was slightly unrealistic of me to set myself the task of finishing the day’s sky piece on the day but it’s almost there. I didn’t really take into consideration that I would be at work and that I was new to knitting – hence having to start Wednesday’s piece four times as I’ve yet to unpick successfully.
So, by the weekend I will have the project complete; 7 days in 7 frames. I have the photos to prove that the wool matches each day’s sky, as yet I don’t know what to do with them – how do they figure, if at all?
The subject of pinning a piece of work down to a specific time and place is very interesting for me and I think something that I will investigate pretty soon. Although this project has taught me to reconsider logistical issues that might get in the way.
I read somewhere that Cardiff University of Psychology was researching the benefits of knitting for combating the complexities of stress, pain and depression and eliminating negative thoughts… but I haven’t been able to discover their findings. It’s something to do with regulating breathing. I found that I held my breath until I finished each row.
I don’t know if anyone else has this issue, but by the time I get to photograph my work it’s the evening and interior lighting is a nightmare, what with all the shadows! The weekend seems to be the only time that I can get a good picture. Roll on summer.
I’ve been thinking about the impossibility of colour matching and the absurdity of representing the sky with a piece of knitting. Trying to make some sense of the world.
when I looked at the sky it was wool
Turns out that knitting is both tedious and meditative in equal measure. It’s so slow. Somehow I thought that each piece would only take an hour, how wrong I was. Whilst knitting I had a copious amount of time to think, repeating the stitch again and again really I was thinking about my life rather than this project.
I’m not a knitter but as I’ve mentioned before, I couldn’t stick with just a plain knit, I wanted more: – I got hooked on new knits. Thank god for YouTube knitting tutorials.
This has been an intuitive project from the start, plain and simple: – I’ve not attempted to contextualise it just yet, but it’s a good feeling to see a project (however small) through to the end.
Recently someone told me that to be considered for an exhibition an artist should have at least eight serious pieces/ projects. So this is my personal goal right now. I’m aiming to build up a strong portfolio of work that I don’t hate that will feature on my own website.
