Exhibtions at MUDE

MUDE is Lisbon's Museum of Modern Design and it is housed in an old bank. Nothing has been rendered inside so it's all exposed brickwork and interesting ceilings. It is an incredible space to be in and with free entry, it is definitely worth a visit!

On the ground floor there is the permanent exhibition Unique and Multiple: Two Centuries of Design. This is a fantastic display aided by music of the time, and with a better head of knowledge after my year of contextual studies I found this a real joy to walk around. Lots of information and debates upon the boards. One that specifically took my eye was that of the design company Droog. I was already aware of them as a company but found the words written about them very fitting for my current head space: 

Droog debate the idea of luxury...cross-contaminating the borders between art and design. Developing new materials; flexible ceramics, electro-luminescent fabrics, metallic foam, elastic fibres, plastics that conduct electricity and emit light, synthetic polymers, alloys that memorise shapes...

There was also some text about Antwerp and it's links between art and fashion. I'm really keen to visit! The MHKA looks good and with Belgian beer and jazz to while away the evenings - what could be better!?

it's dynamic, young creativity and cohabiting of opposing styles and languages, together with Sao Paulo, Tokyo, Paris and New York...

This opens up a whole new dialogue for me, that of cross cultural appreciation and exploration. This is one that deserves a lengthy post of its own, but for now, a mixing of music, style, food and culture...this is what spins and excites me! To know that there is a whole world out there free to wander and discover! I am in love with adventure and the discoveries that this enables, both of self, the mind and in its ultimate avenue of creativity! Yes yes!

Quite apt then that on the first floor of MUDE there was an exhibition called Tell me what you like...and I'll tell you who you are This was based around fashion designers and their interests and inspirations that have defined their work. Interesting also that this had been inspired by the musings of Proust, whom I had bought a book on only last week! There was a Modern Classics exhibition also on the second floor and on the third, a collection called Treasures of Feira da Ladra – The beauty of anonymous design. This was brilliant! As its title suggests, this was a collection of seemingly anonymous objects that had all been picked up from junk markets - ahhh the most favourite of pastimes! There were then categories relating to man's basic actions: HIT// GRIP// TEST// SHIELD// SPREAD// RUB// MOULD// HOLD// CUT// The objects were assigned to and arranged within these categories and when they were displayed as a collective they sang as a beautifully considered assemblage. A new lease of life had been given to the objects and with the description of each action being written in both Portuguese and English I found this interesting when looking at the collective projects too. The combination of language, use, object and material, it all made for a very interesting space to contemplate.

HIT//

GRIP//

TEST//

SHIELD//

SPREAD//

RUB//

MOULD//

HOLD//

CUT//

I appreciated these words of the Goncourt Journal (1881) on entering the space too: 

The real connoisseurs in art are those who make people accept as beautiful, something everybody used to consider ugly, by revealing and resuscitating the beauty in it. Those are the only true connoisseurs, the rest are the blind slaves of the prevailing fashion

After this you move up to the fourth and final floor, which is a temporary show space. The current exhibition was showcasing the work of graphic designer Manuel Estrada. The exhibition: Where Ideas are Born. Juggler´s Sketchbooks. was beyond brilliant! Continuing with my passion for sketchbook journey and discovery, this was a whole exhibition dedicated to the art of the sketchbook as part of the creative process! Wowowow! I'm going to continue with a separate post for this because it deserves it for overall appreciation. So in closing of this one, GO VISIT MUDE - IT'S BRILLAINT! X

Printmaking

My second project of the term! Yipee!!

The Brief:

Surface is applicable to all areas but in its own right it can provide dynamic opportunities; to explore scale, illusion and media application.

This element will provide an introduction to a whole range of hand printing/drawing onto paper and fabric through a commitment to personal graphic skills and media applications. It is therefore essential to develop and utilise personal original visual research in your sketchbook from a theme of your choice as an inspirational basis for the transition and development of ideas. You will be encouraged to fully explore and record these on a whole range of papers and/or fabrics, utilising inherent qualities of weight and surface to best effect by establishing colour palettes and an understanding of scale, format and composition.

I already had some sketches where I was looking at people and movement. I thought these might be interesting to play around with, especially considering the overlay element with print.

Saturday shopping street scene, Cheltenham

shopping centre, Cheltenham. Sketching from a mezzanine

arboretum, Cheltenham, isolated study sketches

arboretum, Cheltenham, leaves and bikes

isolated study, man throwing ball

Inspired by my older sketches, I took myself over to the castle and spent a day sketching around the grounds...

 christmas lights around the bandstand

bulbous trees and bronze statue

more trees with christmas lights

quick tree root sketch and helmet from inside the decorative arts display

my two favourite Islamic pieces from inside the decorative arts display

another quick tree sketch before I left

Sharpen your pencil...

These animals are dotted along the Dec Art/Fashion corridor on the 3rd floor of Bonnington, I just love them!

 

 

Nottingham Castle Open 2011

Went along to the Nottingham Castle Annual Open today. I felt very inspired by the work on show! There was a real contrast of quality work this year and I have included a selection of the pieces I enjoyed (and have found image and web/blog links to!!) on this page.

Firstly, Anna Collette Hunt (winner of the 2010 Open) and her installation Stirring The Swarm was fantastic! 10,000 beautiful handmade ceramic insects spiraled up and over the walls of the foyer stairs...it got me very excited for my mould-making project tomorrow!

image by Julien Marcetteau

I loved this paper piece Eyjafjallajokull by Mark Robert Beecroft. Hand printed paper, scored and folded to create an interesting surface pattern 

Eyjafjallajokull from rogue artists studio

I found the ceramic pieces Urban Decay by Steve Leaning very interesting, especially after watching Ceramics: A Fragile History on BBC4 the other night.

Urban Decay from arts duck

Kyle Hands gloss paint pieces were really delicate looking but loaded with layers. I liked the use of this somewhat nondescript/everyday material too

Painting No. 39 from Kyle Hands

 Laura McCafferty was exhibiting, who actually came into uni yesterday to give a tutorial! She shared a great quote about drawing, "it is the space between real life and imagination.." and that whenever she gets stuck or is experiencing a sense of drawing-block she reaches for the Pedagogical Sketchbook. I took it out from the library and am planning some sketching with it over the next few weeks!

Maggie Fowler from lauramccafferty.com

Melanie Page had some beautiful drawings on display. Delicate and intricate mark making, just lovely! I particularly liked her use of colour in the piece A Very Scientific Moment.

http://melaniepagedrawing.blogspot.com/

I was very taken by the collage and mixed media pieces of Christine Reynolds scratching, layering and surface manipulation - love it!

A Chance Encounter Etched into Significance from christinereynolds

The pieces by Thomas Darby reminded me that I have seen a lot of this type of collage recently. I quite like it, the cutting away to reveal, the juxtapositioning, the use of redundant old photograph/image given a new depth of interest with what's used underneath

from thomasdarby/cut

George Hardy had some large scale portraits in ball point pen. It was the intricate and painstaking mark making that impressed me most with these 

 http://lincolnschoolofartanddesign.blogspot.com/2011/09/ma-fine-art-graduate-shows-at.html

After yesterday's introduction to Colour I was very much drawn to the painting Not a Stag Party by Jackie Berridge...I really loved the blue!

I also liked the figures and composition in the pieces Watch The Bride and Bunny Island

Watch The Bride

Bunny Island

Donya Coward also had some work on show. I loved her work at the Harley Gallery and it was nice to see some larger work here too

http://www.donyacoward.co.uk/gallery.html

Mould Making

My first project of the term! Yippee!! 

The Brief:

From your introduction to the mould making process. Carefully select a single or collection of everyday objects, that you can fit into one hand. (remember you will be working from this object for the entire brief).
From this object produce a Model for your mould that breathes new life into this everyday items.

Growing, constructing, slicing, abstracting, enlarging, encasing, displaying, emphasising, disguising, wrapping, exploding, containing, framing, encrusting, re-mixing
 

A consideration of Aesthetic, Function and Concept will be key to the success of your work.

I started by having a wander around the arboretum on the way home for inspiration and was attracted to this leaf

I liked the decay, the holes especially, and started to think about what could be done with them... As I had a weekend to ponder over things I decided not to worry too much and just let my mind wander... I was then left thinking about fruit and vegetables, oranges specifically and the surface of pineapples (I love the structure of their tops too!) So I will pick some up and see what I get up to with them in the workshop!

Daniel mentioned something about what we might like to do with our casts, what they could become etc. I started to think about lighting...

Whilst thinking about fruit, vegetables (and lighting), I did a search on google and this came up from designer Sergio Mendoza

http://inhabitat.com/sergio-mendoza-turns-broken-fruit-and-vegetable-crates-into-artful-lamps/

I love the texture and the reclaimed here. 

I found these strawberry inspired lights from Swedish design duo Glimpt (which also introduced me to an amazing design website called Dezeen!) I love the delicacy and the simplicity of the structures/hats on top.

http://www.dezeen.com/design/lighting/page/3/

There was this very interesting idea of using actual vegetable matter by Dutch designers Kathy Ludwig and Florian Kräutli 

http://www.greendiary.com/entry/veggy-art-lampshades-made-from-vegetable-become-food-for-animals/

This casting popped up on my facebook feed. I've been 'liking' a lot of design pages recently and have found it a great way of getting information on things otherwise embedded in the web. I've also been subscribing to a lot of rss feeds which are uploading strait to this blog! (brilliant!)

http://www.ecouterre.com/bones-and-feathers-debuts-animal-spine-jewelry-molded-from-recycled-bullets/

The work of Eva Hesse popped into my head, this piece specifically, when I was thinking about oranges and how they look in their plastic netting.

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/feminist_art_base/gallery/eva_hesse.php

I love the bulbous and weighted nature of the latex in these netting 'socks'. I might have a play with this idea...

Today I was in town and stumbled across this light base in Daphney's Handbag. I started thinking a bit more about what I can do and am really looking forward to tomorrow!