Identity

Airports are really strange places 

Photography

Following the disaster of my film camera not producing any photographs of my trips to Oslo and Berlin - I put the film in wrong. Oops. I decided that although the project interesting, finding English things that have seeped into Polish/German/Norwegian society, it became more about looking and finding, which takes time. Instead I decided to go out into the streets with my camera and snap at anything and everything that caught my eye. Later, I will see how things can link to the title 'Identity'. 

As is probably quite obvious I am still trying to get the hang of film cameras - I am still learning. But often I am finding the 'technical' mistakes I am making make for an interesting photo, perhaps a little over exposed, out of focus, or a little too dark. This sometimes adds something to an image. 

The camera I am using is a Rollei 35, and I am switching between Ilford Pan400, and Kodak Gold200

Nebula Paintings

For a while now I have been making Nebula paintings. It started off linked within my studio practise but as this has developed into new things, I have continued to make these paintings. I was commissioned for three paintings this summer for Beacons Festival, I have a series on display in a Café in Nottingham, and in Leeds, and I have done various commissions for friends.

Although not relevant to my practise, I enjoy making them and people seem to like them, and I have received two more commissions here in Poland.

As it turns out, I am not taking any painting classes this semester, so it's nice to be doing this as a break from the rest of my course.

Photography research

I have come across an online photography magazine called 'Seesaw Magazine'
Here I have found an artist called Jason Evan's whose photographs are beautiful. They are double (sometimes up to 5 times) exposed and in black and white. They are all unedited and he leaves everything up to chance. This results in these beautiful, almost abstract images, creating interesting geometric shapes and lines.

He deals with peoples relationship with place, saying 'Sometimes you visit a place and it looks too much like you expected it to. Like it does in the pictures/on the telly/in the movies. Like a feeling of nostalgia for something you've never known...' http://www.seesawmagazine.com/jasonevanspages/jasonevansintro.html

I like this idea of place; an unknown place, yet a familiar place. This is an idea I touched upon a few years back prior to a trip to New York when I asked people to give me their views on how they see America and the people of New York. Before I travelled there I obviously had some ideas of what to expect, and maybe it was these views that I actually saw when I was there, as apposed to the reality. For example when I saw a coffee shop, in my head I imagined it to be like 'Central Perk' in Friends. It probably wasn't the same.

Today I also visited the World Press Photo exhibition currently in Krakow. It opened yesterday and is on until the 7th December so I definitely recommend anyone going to see it while it's here. A lot of the work relates strongly to the topic of war that I was focussing on last year. 

The State of Decay

'Decasia' by Bill Morrison

This film we watched in our drawing class. (below is a short extract). It's a 2002 film made out of found footage, reminiscent of old, decaying silent films.  Some of the deterioration of the film is naturally how it was found, and other parts of it have been digitally enhanced, creating a more abstract image.  The music in the background is made using out of tune pianos and out of sync orchestras  which adds to the decomposing nature of the film.

Following this we were given a brief for the project for the semester - The Destruction of Art. 

" Every Act of Creation is first an act of destruction " - Pablo Picasso

 Lucio Fontana - 'Concept Spatiale', and 'Cuts and Space'

William Kentridge 'Untitled' and a video of him explaining his process of continuous drawing and removing pencil marks subtly to create animation. I saw Kentridge's exhibition when I was in New York. I think he's probably one of my favourite artists.

Urs Fischer

Anish Kapoor

Bartosz Kokosinski

Gordon Matta Clark

With all this in mind, I now have a task to create 5 pieces of 'Destroyed' art of my own. They can be completely separated from each other, simply an exploration in the process of destruction. Will it be controlled or not controlled? Will the physical act of destruction become more important than the final outcome? Can it be formal and symbolic? At which stage is the most satisfying? When do you stop?
All these questions I must tackle in the next few months.

Jorge Macchi

In AfterAll's online journal, I found an article 'Rhetorical Gestures: The 18th Biennale of Sydney' where I have discovered an artist, Jorge Macchi, whose work has excited me. He is an installation and video artist who makes a lot of work based on mapping, using readymade or ordinary items.

http://www.jorgemacchi.com/en

Guía De La Inmovilidad

2003

This is a street guide of Buenos Aires, still bounded, but with the spaces between the roads removed. 

Amsterdam

2004

Paper

I saw something similar to this a few years ago when my interest in mapping began, with the maps made out of cigarette packets. I love patience in art.

Blue Planet

2003

Paper

Missing Points
2007
Paper.

These are just a selection of my favourite works of his, I had already been aware of his 'Tiempo Real' piece.  I like the intricacy, yet simplicity of the work.  I also like that by using paper as a material the fragility of the work is retained.

Mapping

First attempt of my map has been completed. It's A1 size, and made using coloured pens. The lines show the movement of 95 people around the world, in places where they have lived.  The different coloured lines represent the reason behind why they moved. 


Red = University. 
Dark Blue = Study Abroad. 
Dark Green = Improving Living/Travel. 
Orange = Parents Work. 
Brown = School. 
Grey = Illness/Health Reasons. 
Pale Green = Work. 
Pink = Love. 
Pale Blue = Divorce/Family Reasons. 
Purple = War/Terrorism. 
Dark Pink = Political Reason.

I like the way this has turned out, but it is just a start.  I don't like how space is wasted in the areas outside Europe. Maybe I can look at other ways of showing this, maybe focussing/zooming in on europe? Perhaps representing it all in a different way - not on a map. How can I use this information effectively?

The Cortical Homunculus

The Cortical Homunculus is how your brain sees your body from the inside - a very distorted view of how it really is. The more sensitive an area is, the more important the area is, as seen by the brain. This way of mapping is something I will keep in mind, the more populated areas, the more important I may make them seem, perhaps through experimenting with the scale. I'm not sure. It's an interesting concept. 

Charles Minard's chart made in 1869.  It shows the number of men in Napoleon's 1812 Russian Campaign army, their movements, as well as the temperature they encountered on the return path.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Minard.png

This is another sort of map I will try and consider, can I use the information I have collected to make a different sort of map, taking away the physical properties of the countries shapes, and distorting them with the information provided?

For the second part of this project, and following a meeting with my Tutor, I think I will work more with the people that have been kind enough to donate information.  Involving other peoples ideas and perhaps objects into my work will take away the control that I have over the final outcome of the work. 

Bouchra Khalili

Selection of videos by Bouchra Khalili's 'Mapping Journey' and 'Straight Stories' which portray individual journeys and narratives of immigration routes that are rarely spoken about.  The videos in 'Straight Stories' have a voice of an individual narrative alongside a video of the place or the border that separates that person from their final destination, for example the Straight of Gibraltar separating Africa from Europe.

With 'Mapping Journey', Khalili travelled to many cities, including Marseilles, Rome, Barcelona and Instanbul, cities full of immigration and movement. She walked around the city with lots of permanent markers in her hand and waited for chance encounters with people, and began conversations with people about where they have come from and where they are going. In the videos, the people would describe their journeys, and draw the shape of it with the markers, on a map. Some of these routes being told are factual, and simple, from one place to another. Others are dreams.

"In the hands of another, less rigorous artist, Khalili’s material could easily become patronizing, riddled with bad politics and oblivious privilege. But her attention to form is crucial. The works are spare, precise and capacious, and yet so much remains unseen, relegated to a space of storytelling that touches harsh politics and demands both empathy and imagination in response. As such, the works are a challenge, like a sea of meaning to navigate, or a coast of understanding to reach." http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/focus-bouchra-khalili/

I like the way that Khalili has used personal stories and it is these that have shaped the way the work has ended up, although still keeping control of the idea and final execution of the work. 

Maybe I will ask to collect items, or more stories from the people that have already helped me. I may also try and meet more Polish people here and ask them for their stories, maybe something will inspire me from this. 

Identity - Artist Research

I am looking at the theme of 'Identity' for my photography class, and I am finding it difficult to find inspiration for this living in a city that is not my own. Do I know enough about Poland to focus of the identity of its residents? Or will I end up presenting this with an undertone of ignorance? What do I really know about it? On the other hand it is hard to focus on my own identity out here. There is so little around me that represents the places I have been, and the country I am from. It's all completely new to me.
I have been researching into some Slovak photographers I have been recommended to look at.


Michael Knížová

Ariel/2010

'Fairytales'

This artist began his work primarily as a painter and has since moved towards photography. 

November Rain / Fall/2009

'FairyTales'

Fairy Tales/2009

This series of fairytales was exhibited in an exhibition called 'Self Identity'. The decision to select specific fairytales is very apparent, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.

"Both girls are very young and tragic, with beauty predetermined destiny. It can not be affected and need the help of active hero - Prince." 

- http://michaelaknizova.blogspot.com/search/label/fairy%20tales

I think the colour palette of these images is what strikes me the most. The skin colour remains predominant and pure, and shown alongside the white bath, the white dress, and the whiteness of the sky, enhances this naturality.

There is an essence of helplessness and femininity with this work and I like how the artist has used the well known images of the fairy tales to create something new, and then relating this back to the theme of self identity. 

These fairytales have been with all of us through our childhood, and how do we see them now? How has your perception of these stories and images affected the content of the stories themselves? And how has this changed how you are as a person?

Nik Timková

'Untitled'

I don't know a lot about this artist, nor these images. They appeal to me because the girl is exposed and free. I like how they seem so natural, and at the same time there is an eerie undertone behind the images.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/niktimko/

Tomáš Agat Błonski

'My Sme..'

This photographer is the assistant to my Photography tutor here in Kraków. Last week he gave us a presentation of his work, and these three projects were the ones that stood out for me the most. 'My Sme..' is a lovely take on the traditional portrait in paintings and photographs. It is light hearted and fun and having it in black and white keeps the actions of the bird the most important thing, avoiding the distraction of the bright colours of the feathers etc. 

'..osudy duchom plnÿch..'

This piece is one series in a larger series of works of his that I saw in a Slovak Photography Exhibition last week in Kraków. These three stand out the most for me as I like the process that is apparent within the moving and exploding of the balloon and how it affects the water around it.  It's a simple process and using water as an object opens up doors for metaphors to link it personally to everyones lives.

'Cesty s Agatom - Amerika'

These images appealed to me the most from Blłonski's work. The idea was simple, to use an Agat camera and photograph people that he met in America, often without them knowing. I like this because Blłonski has come from Slovakia, and having never been to America before, he shows us the things that he notice to be different and exciting for him. For me, the images are typically 'American' and I like that I can recognise this, and it would be completely different if he had made this project anywhere else. 
I like this idea as I feel I can relate to it because I am in the same situation as him. I am living in a world completely new to me. Maybe this is a direction I can take my 'Identity' project in, focusing on the people of Kraków, and how, as a whole they create the identity of a city.

http://www.blonski.eu/tomas/index.htm