WHITE SPACE INDEPENDENT PHOTOSHOOT CONTACT SHEET
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Katrien De Blauwer calls herself a "photographer without a camera" as her main focus is on collaging where she recycles magazine and newspaper photos. Katrien leans towards using fractions of body parts that as a result creates anonymous and intimate imagery. The idea of using only certain elements of the body makes her work feel unrecognisable but also very relatable and the use of old pages for collaging pushes the theme of memory to the forefront.
I really like the whole intention behind Katrien De Blauwer's work, it feels very thought out and raises a lot of connotations around several themes. Collaging is one of my favourite techniques and seeing Katrien De Blauwer's work excites me to see how much significance can be added onto the process of collaging. In this photo in particular, I like how it feels like there's a story to the work, why are two photos of body parts glued onto an envelope, where is this going, what was the emotion behind it? In my opinion, her work links to the theme of white space as it is so open-ended, she allows the audience the space to create possibilities when reflecting on her work, just like how she created all these possibilities from recycled images.
"Our Time is an evolution of UVA's 2013 commission for the Barbican, Momentum. With music by electronic musician Mira Calix, this atmospheric installation aims to manipulate our experience of time as kinetic sculptures swing in and out of phase, projecting light and its sound."
The first room I entered in the exhibition was a pitch black room with swinging spotlights dancing in different directions to a glittering electronic track. The light sets a fluid yet eerie atmosphere as the song goes on, the light also felt like a steady guide to the next room. I liked how the room was completely pitch black other than the lights because there was no excess that needed focusing on, my hearing was heightened as, other than the small spills of light, this was the only aspect of the room I was engaged with.
Joost Rekveld is an abstract film-maker who uses sensory experiences to question what we can learn from dialogue with machines. He bridges different figures of being an experimental researcher and filmmaker through using analogue and digital methods in order to explore a variety of mediums. Rekveld continued the tradition of being an absolute filmmaker, something that was very significant in Holland which he took outside of Holland also. Originally, Rekveld had a lot of interest in electronic music which then led on to his interest in abstract films. He realised that one could do a composition of abstract images in the same way one could compose sounds together and so he did this through machinery and projections. #71.1 is a generated audio visual composition that explores how light and electrons can create images that bring us closer to the substance of electronics.
This installation aims to give a voice to the "materiality of technology with which we surround ourselves" and the aim is to develop another view on our " technological visions of the future by researching early electronic technologies of simulation and control."
I have revisited this artist because he inspired me so much before to want to make something related to his work and I think now with the combination of my referencing to sound design from Delia Derbyshire and Daphne Oram, that it is the appropriate time to do so. I'd like to now also do projections of extracted shapes from everyday life and present them in abstract ways to reflect a specific composition I will compose. Due to lack of resources, I will probably be using digital software and equipment as this is the most accessible but in an ideal world I would love to do this via manual machinery and means. For now, I will portray it as if it was done manually in hopes to actually one day authentically do so.
Daphne Oram was another electronic pioneer who wrote Still Point- the world's first composition to manipulate sounds in real time - in 1949. Daphne invented the Oramics machine, a machine that turned graphic designs into music, people could draw music that would then convert into sounds that they would want to hear. Similar to Delia Derbyshire, she worked closely with the BBC and fought persistently for a studio for electronic music and sound effect productions. Oram worked with an avant-garde nature involving tape manipulating where she would speed up, slow down, splice and layer recordings to create new sound effects and compositions.
The Oramics machine was made after Daphne learned about the Cathode Ray Oscillope, a machine that showed visual images of sound waves. So, Daphne thought of the idea of painting the way you wanted the sound to hear onto 35mm film for the scanner to then transform it into layered sounds.
Daphne Oram's story is very similar to Delia Derbyshire's, I like how the Oramics machine takes the conservative view of electronic view, being mechanic and soulless, into something more fluid, human and imperfect - organic even. It brings me back to this whole idea of taking a form of white space and transporting it into a different form of function.
Lars Von Trier is a Danish film-maker and co founder of the Dogme 95 Movement. His films were famous for it's bleakness and controversy.
DOGME 95
A set of 10 rules signed by four Danish directors, including Lars Von Trier, that went against unrealistic plot lines, credited directors, fancy technical cheats and lightings, and overall mainstream cinema.
- Shooting must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found).
- The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. (Music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being shot.)
- The camera must be hand-held. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted.
- The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable. (If there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera.)
- Optical work and filters are forbidden.
- The film must not contain superficial action. (Murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
- Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes place here and now.)
- Genre movies are not acceptable.
- The film format must be Academy 35 mm.
- The director must not be credited.
The movement created conversation in the film scene, bringing something completely brand new in the 90s to cinema since the French New Wave. It remained a buzz in European arthouse cinema, whilst captivating the cultural renaissance of Denmark.
THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS
The Five Obstructions is a documentary film by Lars Von Trier and his mentor Jorgen Leth. Lars Von Trier challenges Leth to recreate the film 'The Perfect Human' five times each with a different obstacle sparking controversy and challenge.
- "Leth must remake the film in Cuba, with no set, and with no shot lasting longer than twelve frames, and he must answer the questions posed in the original film. Leth successfully completes this task.
- Leth must remake the film in the worst place in the world but not show that place onscreen; additionally, Leth must himself play the role of "the man". The meal must be included, but the woman is not to be included. Leth remakes the film in the red light district of Mumbai, only partially hiding it behind a translucent screen.
- Because Leth failed to complete the second task perfectly, von Trier punishes him, telling him to either remake the film in any way he chooses, or else to repeat it again with the second obstruction in Mumbai. Leth chooses the first option and remakes the film in Brussels, using split-screen effects.
- Leth must remake the film as a cartoon. He does so with the aid of Bob Sabiston, a specialist in rotoscoping, who creates animated versions of shots from the previous films. As such the final product is technically an animation but not a cartoon. Nevertheless, von Trier considers the task to be completed successfully.
- The fifth obstruction is that von Trier has already made the fifth version, but it must be credited as Leth's, and Leth must read a voice-over narration, from his own perspective but in fact one written by von Trier."
I think that this is an interesting way to make a form of art because despite having a set of rigid rules to follow, this actually allows and forces the artist to be really creative and outside of the box via navigating their way through each rules.
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Next, I headed into a small room where in front of me was projected illusionary laser beams that felt like I was looking into a tunnelled distance. In the background I could hear an industrial, one tone noise with elements of blips and screeches. My brain felt tricked as realistically I was just looking at a wall with projections, however, I felt like I was in an infinite sized room and so this piece was very clever in making the audience question and confront the environment around us alongside with how light and noise can effect this.
Lazlo Moholy Nagy is an artist and was also known as a professor at the Bauhaus School. His main focus was constructivism, (constructivists believed that art should reflect the modern industrial world), and photography.
In the piece above, 'Jealousy', Laszlo uses the Dadaism style - nonsensical and satirical art, often collage-based portraying anti-warr and radical left viewpoints - to create a reflective piece of work focusing on the theme of Jealousy. The image is very dynamic due to its layer of dimensions and 'less is more' approach, as well as, the combination of geometrics against the human form. Overall, 'Jealousy' is a provoking artwork that stimulates the audience through its open-ended connotations.
I enjoy the simplicity of this work, the way it is so detailed and intricate without feeling overloaded. My recent research on artists has led me to conclude that I am interested in constructivism and Bauhaus- era work as I feel the artwork strongly relates to the theme of white space in engaging yet unconventional ways through the use of simple geometric forms and also potential political meanings. I think it is quite talented to create something political charged without coming across too in your face, even though I don't think I will make anything politics related, I want to keep in mind this idea of incorporating loads of intricate and simple techniques to create a competent piece reflecting white space.
BOOK: 100 ARTIST'S MANIFESTOS: FROM THE FUTURISTS TO THE STUCKISTS- ALEX DANCHEV
Notes/Quotes taken from the book:
Alex Danchev is a British historian.
Origin of manifestos:
"Manifesto was the province of kings and princes" - Masculine connotations, power, for battle and victory, royal, hierarchal, for the wealthy
"In The Seventeenth Century it was hijacked by the Poor Oppressed people of England, the radical dissenters of their day" - 17th Century ruled by King James I (The Stuarts Era), communism, the Poor Oppressed People of England manifesto was written by Gerrard Winstanley, an English Protestant, 'English Diggers' were any group of agrarian communists who flourished in 1649-1650, in April 1649 20 men assembled to St Georges Hill in Surrey and began to cultivate the common land.
"The Communist Manifesto was a political manifesto - a call to arms for the service of revolution" - Karl Marx & Freidrich Engels created this manifesto in 1848, described by Marshall Berman as a "great modernist work of art with "imaginative power" and "luminous and dreadful possibilities that pervade modern life"
"To manifest is to perform" - Futurist perspective, dramatic, founder of this manifesto and movement was Leon Trotsky, Futurists would shower their manifesto leaflets from nearby tall buildings.
"Artist manifestos are full of quirks and foibles"
"To make a manifesto is to imagine or hallucinate the Promised Land", "a glimpse of vision" - A desire, a form of optimism, hope and fight, the line between a dystopian and utopian society.
This book was really helpful to read as not only did I learn about the history of manifestos and where they originated from but also how much power and demand they hold, how they all fought and stood for something with assertiveness. As a result, the tone of the manifestos mentioned in this book including, Futurists and Communists help navigate me when making my own manifesto and the purpose/emotions I want to portray.
Oblique Strategies is a card method of promoting creativity made in the 1970s. Created by musician and visual artist, Brian Eno, the game helps artists make work based on given challenges/constraints to help switch from overthinking to lateral thinking. Famous musicians such as the band Coldplay and David Bowie had used these cards to write and produce award- winning albums.
Some examples from the cards include:
- Use an old idea.
- State the problem in words as clearly as possible.
- Only one element of each kind.
- What would your closest friend do?
- What to increase? What to reduce?
- Are there sections? Consider transitions.
- Try faking it!
- Honour thy error as a hidden intention.
- Ask your body.
- Work at a different speed.
- Gardening not Architecture.
I think that this a really innovative and interactive way tailored perfectly for creative people to be able to keep the 'creative juices' going. As the rules are open-ended and interpretive, you don't feel limited or stuck to what the cards are saying; they act more as helpful prompts. One of the cards in the stack really helped me move forward with a music idea I had that I was worried might come across not original enough. However, after seeing one of the Oblique Strategies cards 'Don't be frightened of clichés', I ended up pushing myself to go through with it. As a result, the outcome was really successful and refined, in comparison to if I did something over complicated just to look 'more artistic. It taught me how you can actually take a risk when following cliches.
This relates to white space physically as the only focal point on the card is black writing against a white card but conceptually, the message eradicates any excess stress or block from the creator's mind and so therefore allowing a whole space of room to develop and innovate.
Anton Reva is a collagist and photography who creates new methods of experimentation when creating visuals through the use of both analogue and digital photography. His whole themes links around the past and future through the way he introduces new technologies to older forms of print and photography, building a bridge between and new.
It is very evident that as mentioned above, Anton Reva, incorporates the past and future through his work as the photo above feels very pre 2000s, even hints of a propaganda like feel to the work yet in other works we see combinations of Photoshop editing, television screens and futuristic qualities. This really appeals to me as I am very keen on past techniques yet we are living in a very interesting era of technology and social climate that I wouldn't want to completely dismiss that. Moreover, photography has so many methods spanning over centuries that open a window of possibilities for the photographer that it is great that Anton Reva is utilising it. Physically in the image above, we see a lot of white space but as a whole I am not sure how the artist himself relates to the concept but, regardless, I feel inspired by what he does and would like to try a similar pathway with how I present my work and the materials, as well as, equipment that I will use.
"Bernie Krause developed the concept of biophony based on the relationship between each living being and the complete biological soundscape of its habitat. With Bernie Krause, the recording of natural has become an incredibly effective instrument for observing changes in the world's remaining habitats. It helped lay the foundations of a new scientific discipline: soundscape ecology. Bernie Krause archives these soundscapes so that they may be passed on to future generations, in case the great animal orchestra should eventually fall silent one day"
The last room I walked into, I laid on a beanbag and watched red wavelengths cross the screen whilst a soundscape of nature and wild animals, such as elephants and Yukon Gulls, noises surrounded the room. It was quite emotional listening to the sounds of the wildlife that is slowly dying on the planet and despite it being very atmospheric and meditative, I couldn't help but feel chilled and contemplative on the current climate of the planet.
Wassily Kadinsky was a Russian artist who was taught with the Bauhaus school in the 1920s. His paintings famous for being purely abstract routed from impressionism and abstract expressionism. At the Bauhaus, after learning theories on colours, lines, points and shapes, Kadinsky used these ideas to make art that reduced layers to their simple forms revealing their most foundational structure.
Dance Curves was a piece by Kadinsky, at the Bauhaus in collaboration with German modern dancer Greta Palucca. The photos of Palucca dancing/moving were photographed by prominent dance photographer, Charlotte Rudolph, and next to the images were Kadinsky's ultra simple drawings. In his essay on 'Dance Curves', Kadinsky wrote how his drawings present the 'simplicity of the whole form' as well as the 'construction of the large form'.
These pieces inspired me deeply as I like how in the images you see so much movement and energy, alongside the white space in-between the movements yet contrastingly in the illustrations you see what the image could be in it's most basic form; it almost feels extremely dormant despite the fact it is of someone dancing. I like the way Kadinsky explores and experiments with the perception of form and as a result presents white space through various unique yet minimalist ways that represent a lot of what the Bauhaus stood for.
Delia Derbyshire was a musician and composer of electronic music. She worked closely with the BBC and is famously known for creating the Doctor Who theme tune. Overall Delia was 'a heroine of British electronic music' as she changed the perspective of what music was and what it could be.
The image above is the inner workings of how Delia made her music. There were tonnes of graphic scores and doodles representing the sounds she wanted to created; the one above feels like a cave landscape with different shapes and bubble-like structures representing different sounds and harmonic progressions. This approach was not only logical but also intuitive and personal making her not only a musician, but also a visual artist.
My focus is on the doodles and graphics of Delia Derbyshire's compositions because I really like the way she has transformed noise, something invisible, into something visual. Noise/sound can be a form of white space as it isn't something you can see, but it is something you can somewhat feel so it is fascinating how she has translated these feelings into imagery.