Day 2: Serpintine Gallery Pavilion

Although the gallery was not open we were able to explore the pavilion. The structure looks as though it was photoshopped into the picture as the white contrasts against the green of the grass. The pavilion really makes your eyes go into a trance. The squares all blend making an illusion. The harsh structure contrasts the soft trees and natural environment. 

"It is a really fundamental question how architecture is different from nature, or how architecture could be part of nature, or how they could be merged... what are the boundaries between nature and artificial things' - Sou Fujimoto" This is a quote from 

http://www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitions-events/serpentine-gallery-pavilion-2013-sou-fujimoto and it really made me think about how the artist has perfectly portrayed his vision because I felt exactly this prior to reading the quote. 

He is a Japanese architect, Sou Fujimoto has designed the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion for 2013. Being 41 he is the youngest to be asked to design the Pavilion; it is constructed from 20mm white steel poles in an intricate latticework pattern. Fujimoto describes it as “a transparent terrain”. The Pavilion changes every year and this is something that is very interesting to see as they differ from each time. Fujimoto is the thirteenth person to design the pavilion.

Day 2: Making it up: Photographic Fictions

I loved this exhibition, many say "the camera lies" and they are absolutely correct in this case. The Photos taken in the exhibition are made up, they are staged. This is something that I am really interested in and the many works I saw were very convincing. My favourite had to be the model of a house where the camera has made it appear to be life sized, tricking the eye into believing the object is of a different size. Another part I also was the work of Vik Muniz. He has created action works of people using sugar, chocolate and thread.

     

Day 2: Illustration awards

These awards celebrate the best illustrations published over the last year. There are 5 winners in 2013. The judges are Lady Dyson, Patrick Woodroffe, Lucy Woodroffe, Lisa Smosarski and Moira Gemmill. Judging the student category was Matthew Rochardson and Peter Nencini. The V&A museum illustration awards are supported by the Enid Liner Foundation. 

Pietari Posti

cover for swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome.

I really like the colour scheme. The blues against the orange really contrasts each other and it draws the eyes in. The series of images all link which is something I like too. 

George Butler

Illustrations for 'Syria: the point of no return' by Martin Chulou, in Guardian G2.

I really like the fluid feel of the illustrations even when the colours melt into each other alongside the pen making it feel blurred and in motion. I also like the way there is a lot of white going on in the image. It gives a pure sense to the work where as in Syria you believe it to be colours of beige, yellows etc. 

Anna and Elena Balbusso

Illustrations for Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin. Published by the Folio Society, London 2012.

They are twins that work together. They use both hand drawn and digital work which is something I really enjoy doing myself. I love the way it creates a different effect to a single medium work. I like the way they have added colour in photoshop as well.

Day 2: Memory Palace

Whilst visiting the V&A I went to the Memory Palace. The Gallery displays different ways of remembering memories explored by Hari Kunzru in his narrative. Texts were printed on the walls of 

the gallery with a range of commissioned pieces by 20 international illustrators, graphic designers and typographers. The memory palace shows the way in which we read books are changing and gives a visual idea of the story being told. 

The story I researched on the V&A website tells us "Hari Kunzru's story is set in a future London, hundreds of years after the world’s information infrastructure was wiped out by an immense magnetic storm. Technology and knowledge have been lost, and a dark age prevails. Nature has taken over the ruins of the old city and power has been seized by a group who enforce a life of extreme simplicity on all citizens. Recording, writing, collecting and art are outlawed. The narrator of the story is in prison. He is accused of being a member of a banned sect, who has revived the ancient ‘art of memory’. They try to remember as much of the past as they can in a future where forgetting has been official policy for generations. The narrator uses his prison cell as his ‘memory palace’, the location for the things he has remembered: corrupted fragments and misunderstood details of things we may recognise from our time. He clings to his belief that without memory, civilisation is doomed." 

The story sparked a lot of emotions within the gallery although it was harder to read and actually remember the story whilst viewing the artworks. I feel that my favourite piece is the screens where the many different ways of creating words was explored through the visual of film that repeatedly played. I liked this because it gave a modern approach to the work which is something I enjoy as well as an emotional response from the viewer. As I stood in front of the screens many people came up and said the same thing "what is he doing?" or "why is he doing that?" this is something that artists want to happen because it grabs the audience and keeps them wondering inspiring and moving the viewer through an emotional response. I myself was a part of this and still do not understand the meaning or concept of the piece I was viewing.

At the end of the gallery you were able to leave a memory. A desk with two screens allowed you to draw your own memory and submit it to the gallery; once this was submitted you could see your memory within the screen in front of you. These white drawings were then printed on black paper every couple of weeks, placing them on the walls of the gallery. This is a great way to engage the audience and many were excited with the idea of having their own work within the gallery.

Day 2: V&A

Today I visited the V&A museum which is somewhere I never been before. Although I dislike older pieces of work I was pleasantly surprised with the works that I have seen. The building's architecture is amazing both in and out. I particularly liked the stain glass windows, the way they were presented was in such ways that the light illuminate the works perfectly, bringing out emotion. The curves of the building alongside the range of artworks brought my attention to a new range of works I have learnt about. The museum takes you through the many different continents showing the culture and art within the place and time they were made.

     

Ward Shelley

Shelley works as an artist in Brooklyn, New York; he specialises in large projects with freely mix sculpture and performance. He uses a range mediums and has concentrated on weird functioning architectural pieces where he lives and works during the exhibition monitored with live surveillance video equipment.

He first exhibited in Miami, but later began exhibiting in Europe in 1994. He has exhibited in more than 18 countries. He's most famous work is the Cube. The Mir 2 Project, and the voyage platform. Shelley lived and worked inside the walls of pierogi Gallery for 5 weeks for an exhibition called We have mice. Shelley has also received many awards such as the bessie award. Before and during he's art career he has also worked in advertising, construction, teaching, special events, theatre, rock bands and built a 37 foot sailing sloop. 

The most important for me to look at is his work on timelines. He has a very unique style to his work and this is something that I really enjoy within his timelines. As you can see from the images I the structured timeline is very colourful and all over the place however it does still have a sense of structure to them. This is something I am going to take into consideration when creating my own timeline.