FMP development process

Since I now know I have some material that I’ve collected to work with and put on my t-shirts, I have to decide what kind of technique I’m gonna use to achieve such thing. I can either go to the “professionals” and just pay them or I can do it myself.

First, I of course decided to do it myself. Google said that transfer inkjet paper should do the job. I went to Raymons and got some paper for light fabrics and dark ones too, because I’m not sure yet what colour my t-shirts age going to be. When I bought it, the packaging already included the instruction I was supposed to follow. But after reading it, I was still scared I was gonna do something wrong, so I went ahead and found a pretty explanatory YouTube tutorial that showed me exactly what I need to do. Now, because I’ve never tried using transfer paper before, I only used heat press when I used to do textiles, I also decided to be clever and not try and use it of the t-shirt straight ahead, I used something else instead. I used fabric used Calico. Calico is really useful and affordable fabric you can trust.

When it was time to begin the procedure, I followed the YouTube tutorial I found. After putting the right amount of pressure on the image and the fabric for about 5 minutes, I let it cool down to a room temperature (because the iron was supposed to be on the maximum temperature). When it was time to peel off the paper I was really scared that I did something wrong, but actually, the paper came of easy and the image transferred beautifully. I wasn’t expecting that to be honest. I was so happy, because it meant that it’s actually really easy to do, it would mean that I put more effort, plus, it’s nearly not as expensive as it would cost for me for getting someone else to do it. Each package of the transfer paper costs like 10 pounds roughly and two packs should be more than enough for me.

Basically I was really satisfies with my outcome and couldn’t way to try using paper on the actual t-shirt that I bought from Primark. I decided to go with plain white ones instead of coloured ones.

CS PRESENTATION Evaluation.

For my 10  minute presentation I had to do for contextual studies, I chose artist Chloe Wise. First, I didn’t know who to research and what my presentation is going to be like and because I was a little bit behind I had to think quick. While thinking, I went on instagram and thought: “maybe, let me see the people I follow, because a lot of them are young aspiring artists and why not research some of them”, because the last thing I wanted to do was do a presentation on something boring like Baroque era (personal preference) and because I wanted to pay tribute to my generation as well, we’re not that much of a failure. The art movement, topic or an individual we would choose to talk about had to link to the subject we’re doing and in my case it is fashion promotion.

So when I was scrolling down my instagram feed, I stumbled across Chloe Wise and I instantly knew if I’d do a presentation on her it would be a joy and an interesting experience. It was a good timing as well, because I actually wanted to get to know this artist better and learn what she’s about myself. All the information that I’ve gathered and included in my presentation was from internet. Mostly articles and interviews. I red a lot, so I can form my personal opinion on her as creative individual and  on her artworks/installations. For my presentation to be fully complete in PowerPoint (my Microsoft Word just wouldn’t work) accompanied with pictures and Harvard referencing, it took me 2-3 days with breaks of course and because I had to prepare my other college work. Before printing it out and reading in front of the class, I timed myself and red it myself to make sure it will take me 10 minutes or at least 7-8, because when I’m nervous I tend to read faster than usual.

Overall, the presentation was okay. I can’t say anything more. I was a bit nervous and all my slides got mixed up and I’m not sure that 70% of the class was even listening. However, it was a very useful experience in the way that I only get to do a whole presentation myself in my life so many times, where I had to find all the information myself and not just copy and paste it but to rephrase it into my own words and even add somethings of my own. It was a useful experience to read it in front of small group of people too, my inner sociopath was weirded out, but I tried to keep it cool as much as I could. Also, I actually don’t regret sitting and spending time on researching that artist, because the more I researched Chloe Wise the more and more I became a fan. I actually adore her work and her character, and individuality as well.

Brand Identity. (shop trip)

Today, as a part of my research and a part of my new project, I went to the shop I chose to visit in Cambridge and research, which is ALL SAINTS. It is located in the Grand Arcade shopping centre and it is a second one after Hollister right when you walk in to the shopping mall from the main entrance.

The entrance of the shop has a big “shining” logo that is made up of big light bulbs. Have to say, that’s quiet original. I do think it draws the eye of the costumer inside the store, at least it makes it a bit more exiting to walk in and see what’s inside. The show-windows are   huge long see-through glass (the door as well), with 5 boring mannequins without heads (sign of lower budget and more commercial brand) standing and facing the halls of the shopping mall with huuuuge “50% SALE” sign in the middle of the glass, which again, personally, draws me away but for many people that’s a win win.

Right when you walk into the store, you’re already facing huge staircase made up of steel or whatever metal it was, accompanied by the sign “men’s” with an arrow pointing upstairs. This is what the ground floor looks like:

One thing that caught my eye personally was this huge, I don’t even know what to call it, for me it seemed like a piece of floor, cut out, flip it upside down with light bulbs on the outline of this rectangle that kinda gave the whole mood to at least the ground floor definitely. Here is a pic from another corner of the store:

Very grimy, very urban and it almost reminds me of an actor’s changing room or one of those “behind the scenes” scenarios. The music in the store was loud. I was confused with the genre of the music they were playing, for me it seemed like pop and a little bit of rock here and there, but not like David Bowie stuff, I wish, heh. The atmosphere in general is dark, wooden floors, dark walls and ceiling with either light bulbs or those huge light projectors. It felt like I was at one of those underground clubs, only the disco ball was missing.The store has two floors which is impressive. The one material I kept seeing was steel. Everywhere. Very rough and dark. Not a lot of colour at all, grey mostly, which by the end of my trip started to get a bit boring and clothing racks started to seem as one blob of colour. The staff was wearing usual “all black”, nothing original about that. What I’ve noticed as well is, some stores use fragrances inside, to kind of “mark the spot” and be a little but more extra. It is not necessary at all, just a small detail, it’s a preference of the owner, however, All Saints don’t use any fragrance inside their stores.

The accessories was laid out on the ground floor, there was a huge rack of bags which I though looked a bit messy and tasteless, but to be honest I’m not a big fan of this brand’s bags, so I’m trying to be as positive as I can here. And there was another “tray”, if I can say that, with small wallets and chains that looked rather cute and clean but a bit empty and boring.

About the clothing. I’ve spend good 20 minutes in the store, walking around, separating different types of merchandise with my eyes because the majority of them was one colour and you couldn’t really understand if that was a t-shirt or a dress. Overall, the clothing looked neat, nothing to say about that, I found few pieced I liked but that was it. I tried to take as many photos as I could, but it was difficult, because the staff was always walking around, moving stuff around and re-folding the clothes for no reason, one of them gave me a weird look and started talking to someone on her walkie-talkie, that’s when I realised it was time for me to go.

Brand Identity

For this project I have to choose a high street store that I can visit in Cambridge. I’ll have to complete a page shop report detailing the store layout, atmosphere, uniform and etc. I will also have to complete a colour swatch page, SWOT analysis, PESTLE report and a positioning map on this company using information collected online and from my own market and primary research.  It is a marketing and promotional task that unites creative skills with business analysis. By the end of this project I’ll have to have a digital layout on issuu.com with printed version, sketchbook, bibliography and this reflective blog. Plus, as as “bonus”, I will design a page of marketing ideas for progression within this company; for example a new line of fragrance, make up, footwear or childrenswear. It should be something that this company do not have have products for, yet.

The brand that I chose to research and store that I’m gonna have to visit in Cambridge is ALL SAINTS.  To be honest, the first reason because I chose this brand was, I thought it was one of the most decent stores in Cambridge style wise, not because I actually like this brand. I didn’t wanna research H&M or TopShop because that would be super boring. But, when I started doing my research and looking into this brand deeper, I slowly started to change my mind about this brand. All I knew is that this brand carried very minimalistic style with very limited colour scheme of greys and beige colours, and what I can’t stand from the brands that are not as successful as Chanel and not as tasteless as Forever 21 is when they put up a high ass prise, like for example 89$, for the plain white T-shirt. Like, who do you think you are?! I thought ALL SAINTS was one of those. I mean, I know the quality might not suck completely, but not everyone is Kardashian, come on. Us, peasants, are never going to pay almost 100 bucks for the most basic ever piece of clothing such as white t-shirt. Or it is just mine unpopular opinion…

A bit about this brand’s “theme”: evoking a mood of decadent decay and distressed glamour with religious iconography and vintage details added to layer upon layer of carefully aged materials, their stores provide a mélange of inspiration, displayed with that ‘thrown together’ look emanating the idea that these are pieces one might find in an old junk shop.

When I went to ALL SAINTS official website and started looking at their look books, that’s when I actually realised I was wrong about thinking bad about this brand, they do have some beautiful and elegant pieces I’d kill for to have in my closet. Obviously I rushed to the All Saint Limited to see all the goods I’ll never have but don’t mind having the pleasure of staring at those aesthetically pleasing, well styled outfits. Those are the ones that stood up to me:

Beautiful, simple floor-length silk slip “Naomi dress” that’s worth £398.00. Expensive? Maybe. Elegant? Hell yes! Classy? Duh… On the first picture it is smartly paired with cropped wool blend jumper, that creates this polished and effortless look that if I beg my dad for long enough, is worth spending his money on. On the second picture paired with the same dress, the model is wearing an oversized sheepskin biker jacket featuring a soft shearling collar and lining, belted cuffs and smooth leather patches on the sleeves. More urban but still chic. I’m also in love with the colour of the jacket, I think it’s very soft and reminds me of the wet asphalt.

Sainsbury Centre For the Visual Arts.

The Sainsbury Centre was first conceived after Sir Robert and Lady Sainsbury generously gave their art collection to the University of East Anglia in 1973.

Designed between 1974 and 1976, the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts was the first major public building designed by now renowned architect Norman Foster. The chosen location was a sloping east-west site by the River Yare, at the very edge of campus.

Over 40 years Robert and Lisa Sainsbury collected works of art which ranged across time and place. They sought work both from major European artists, as well as art and antiquities from different periods and cultures around the world.When the Sainsbury Centre first opened in 1978, it housed the Living Area, displaying the Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection and a temporary exhibition gallery at the east end.

Beyond the Living Area was space for the University’s Art History department, two mezzanines – one for a study area and the other to display collections – plus a restaurant at the west end.

The Sainsburys were equally radical in commissioning the young Norman Foster in 1974 as architect for the new building to house their works. Sir Robert saw Foster’s innovative building as the great jewel of the Sainsbury Collection. After Foster proposed a new partially underground Crescent Wing to the east, by the late 1980s, it was open in 1991, offering new office and temporary exhibition areas, a storage area, technical workshops and a state-of-the-art conservation laboratory.

So, I went on a research trip with my college to the Sainsbury Centre For the Visual Arts and visited two exhibitions, one of them was “FIJI: ART & LIFE IN THE PACIFIC”, the largest and most comprehensive exhibition about Fiji ever assembled, it tells us about the art and cultural history of Fiji since the late 18th century. Over 270 works of art, including European paintings and historic photographs. And the second one was “MASTERS OF JAPANESE PHOTOGRAPHY”. This exhibition explores the work of some of the most prominent Japanese photographers of the second half of the twentieth century, including Nobuyoshi Araki, Eikoh Hosoe and Kikuji Kawada. Unfortunately, they did not allow to take any photographs at this exhibition and I had to pay 2£ pounds for the entry, but it
was worth it, truly beautiful, dramatic and legendary photographs shows a generation that grew up in the aftermath of the Second World War, their work addresses both their personal experiences and the evolution of Japanese society. From Araki’s exuberant flowers to Hosoe’s lyrical portraits, these fascinating images encapsulate the natural beauty and social complexity of Japan.

After looking at all of the exhibits these were the ones I chose to include in my CS blog.

This is Head-dress frontlet, it came from North America, Northwest Coast from Kaigani Haida people (?). Made in 19th century it’s made from wood, abalone shell, sinew and pigment. Acquired in 1974. The reason I chose this exhibit is I really love the colours I see when I look at it, the orange/brick colour wooden body of this mystical creature, creates such interesting contrast between the colours of the abalone shell. The colour of the abalone shell reminds me of chameleon because of the diversity of colours but at the same time I see the glimpses of dark blue, green, maybe a bit of yellow that creates this rich emerald colour that reminds me of the ocean but the part that no human gets to see, very deep in the ocean where it’s dark and cold, only water around and the colour of the shell for me really symbolises the water and I like how these two
materials, “dry” (wood) and “wet” (shell) work together.

The second piece was a painting. “Two Figures in a Room”, 1959 by Francis Bacon (1909-1992), made in England, oil on canvas. I liked this painting again, because of the use and combinations of colours artist used and how modern it is, remembering the fact that it was made in 1959. I also like that I can see obvious and free brushstrokes that really help you understand the way this artist works and his style. Also, this painting is simple in the way that the focal point is in the middle (more to the right) where the artist illustrated two figures on a fairly simple background that consists of 3 colours, burgundy floor, light blue wall separated by the bold, thick green line across it. Great painting, I would love to put it in my living room.

Third piece was a Head-dress ornament in the form of a fox. From Peru, Moche style, c. AD 1-800, made from gilt copper and shell greenstone. My first thought was when I saw this exhibit, without reading the description yet, for some reason it looked very contemporary to me, I would have never thought this piece was that old, I can clearly see the poor conditions this ornament is due to it’s age, but it does look very urban. I also like the small pieces of shell, I believe, that the inside of fox’s ears are decorated with. I find it challenging to imagine this piece being a head-dress ornament, because I’m not really sure how you attach it to your head and how it is supposed to sit and look, but I definitely like the idea of it.

Performance and Installation Art.

Installation art is a relatively new genre of contemporary art – practised by an increasing number of postmodernist artists – which involves the configuration or “installation” of objects in a space, such as a room or warehouse. The resulting arrangement of material and space comprises the “artwork”.

Because an installation usually allows the viewer to enter and move around the configured space and/or interact with some of its elements, it offers the viewer a very different experience from,say, a traditional painting or sculpture which is normally seen from a single reference point. Furthermore, an installation may engage several of the viewer’s senses including touch, sound and smell, as well as vision.

Installation art ranges from the very simple to the very complex. It can be gallery based, computer-based, electronic-based, web-based – the possibilities are limitless and depend entirely upon the artist’s concept and aims. Almost any type of material or media can be used, including natural or man-made objects, painting and sculpture, as well as recent media such as film, animation, various forms of photography, live performance art (including happenings), sound and audio.

Some compositions are strictly indoor, while others are public art, constructed in open-air community spaces, or projected on public buildings. Some are mute, while others are interactive and require audience participation.

For example, In Cut Piece, an early piece of feminist art first staged in 1964, Yoko Ono knelt on the ground and laid down a pair of scissors. The audience were invited to come forward and cut off any piece of her clothing. it started politely but became more and more threatening as her clothes were reduced to rags she kneeled in her underwear. In my opinion, it is a very brave thing to do and it’s kind of ironical as well, the way it ended, so typical of us human start slowly and politely and then because of our stupidity and ego to over do something, destroy it, use it.  We’re like devourers all we do is consume. This is how I see Yoko Ono’s performance but judging more on the audience’s behaviour like bunch of monkeys or testing mice. Yet it’s Art.

James Turrell. Projection Sculpture. Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England 2015

(not finished yet)

POSTMODERNISM.

The idea of postmodernism came from honesty and realization, that we are not living in a perfect society. It’s all about truth. As time goes people get bored of what’s in front of them and they crave for something modern, something new. New technology, new society, new political ideas etc. Not long time ago, people had this image in their head of perfect life or like a perfect world – “utopia”, which is quiet impossible to reach and doesn’t always lead to success and because of that people had to learn how to deal with the idea of the future being not so bright as they imagined – “dystopia”. It’s like yin-yang, where “yin” is people living in past, living this organic “perfect” life, it’s almost like a non-existent society, it’s utopia, it’s a dream, it’s a brainwash. And “yang” is the complete opposite, it’s reality, it’s a modern change that brings dystopia. So to sum up, postmodernism is a way of thinking about culture, architecture, art, philosophy and many other things. Like any other art movements it has it’s mind games.Postmodernism says that there is no real truth. It says that knowledge is always made or invented and not discovered. Because knowledge is made by people, a person cannot know something with certainty – all ideas and facts are ‘believed’ instead of ‘known’. People believe that they know what the truth is, but they will think that the truth is something different later. This is the opposite of ‘objectivity’, which says that the truth is always there and people have to discover it.

A really good example would be Alessandro Mendini’s destruction of Lassu chair, 1974. He used a very basic thing like a chair to show how ideal modernist form is being destroyed (by fire in this case). So he set this chair on fire and took photographs of the whole process. The burning chair symbolizes destruction of the past, it’s no longer just a functional object, it goes beyond the functional and announces a new moment in design: something is being burned but something new may grow from the ashes.

The other example of postmodernism but in movie production industry is Ridley Scott’s 1982 film Blade Runner.

Time was set in Los Angeles 2019 and the idea is that harrison Ford as a detective hunts down wayward “replicants”, androids with superhuman abilities. Some of there artificial humans do not know that they are synthetic – and are horrified to discover that their memories and personalities are implanted. The film uses it as a metaphor for the postmodern condition in general. The suggestion is that we are all “manufactured” by the advertisements we see, the space of the cities we live in, the television shows we watch. Our very identities have become artificial.

Pop Art.

Pop Art is art made from commercial items and cultural icons such as product labels, advertisements, and movie stars. In a way, Pop Art was a reaction to the seriousness of Abstract Expressionist Art. Pop Art is meant to be fun. This movement began in the 1950s, but became very popular in the 1960s. It started in the United Kingdom, but became a true art movement in New York City with artists like Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns.

Pop Art uses images and icons that are popular in the modern world. This includes famous celebrities like movie stars and rock stars, commercial items like soup cans and soft drinks, comic books, and any other items that are popular in the commercial world. There are a number of ways that artists use these items to create art such as repeating the item over and over again, changing the color or texture of the item, and putting different items together to make a picture.

The first art work I’m going to look at is Roy Lichtenstein’s “Hopeless” (1963).  The style this artist works in, he reproduces the images from comic books by hand on canvas, literally. The romance themed images that he paints ask us to question our own priorities, question our overdramatic love lives, our love of movies and fantasy and what is blinding us or distracting us from the real problems in American society. 

Black outlines, size and shape is the three main ingredients in his paintings. Blocks of yellow that represents this woman’s hair compliment her fairly pale skin tone. Single blocks of color represent a background and a foreground. A thought bubble above her head allows the viewer a glimpse into the subject’s mind. This Pop artist, through his use of techniques of mass media and appropriation of widely circulated subject matter, mostly advertisements and cartoons, made a statement about art, culture and a prediction about what would soon become of both.

Next artist I wanted to talk about is Jeff Koons. I particularly enjoy  his art works in general, I’ve heard about him before and I think his works are very modern, very entertaining and eye-catching. His artworks scream “FUN” and “COLOR”. He is a great definition of Pop Art, with his large sculptures as if it was his attitude and bold colors it gives the viewer a great experience of the art world. People loved and still love his work, not to say that he’s commercial but what about Pop Art doesn’t say “look at me” because of the sizes, colors, forms and shapes every Pop Art artist uses.

So this is one of his most famous sculptures “Balloon Dog”. Mirror-polished stainless steel with transparent color coating in this case is gold creates this glossy balloon-like sculpture of a dog and when standing close to it, it will bend your own reflection around its’ smooth pert curves. Using the recognizable form of a balloon twisted into the shape of a dog, Koons has frozen a moment in time, exaggerating both scale and material. Balloon Dog (Gold) is literal and abstract.

Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog (gold)

Minimalism and Abstract Expressionism.

Minimalism emerged in New York in the early 1960s among artists who were self-consciously renouncing recent art they thought had become stale and academic. A wave of new influences and rediscovered styles led younger artists to question conventional boundaries between various media. The new art favored the cool over the “dramatic”: their sculptures were frequently fabricated from industrial materials and emphasized anonymity over the expressive excess of Abstract Expressionism. Painters and sculptors avoided overt symbolism and emotional content, but instead called attention to the materiality of the works. Minimalism kind of says that if you put one mark on a page that one mark gets 100% of the attention. If you add another mark the first mark only gets half the attention, and so on so that as you add more things each of the individual things loses some of its impact. I can sum up Minimalism in the quote “Less is More”.

Frank Stella, Di Fahne Hoch! (1959)

 

I really like the  Minimalist movement, just because of it’s simplicity in some sort, in the visual way, while there might be the deepest and complex meanings behind it. I’ve researched this painting and found out that what appear at first to be white lines are actually bare, narrow spaces of unprimed canvas between the standardized black bands that the artist applied with a housepainter’s brush. There was nothing to this work, the artist declared, beyond the observable—as he put it in a now-famous maxim, “what you see is what you see.” While Stella insisted on the non-referentiality of his paintings, the German title Die Fahne hoch!, which translates as “hoist the flag,” is taken from the “Horst Wessel Song,” the Nazi Party’s marching anthem.  The phrase may also refer to raising the banner of a new aesthetic or some sort.

 

Abstract Expressionism is different from Minimalism in the way that in abstract expressionism the painter is showing his or hers own energy through the brushstroke. The viewer can feel the painters emotions by following the jabs, swirls and marks the artist made. 

I particularly enjoy looking at this painting by Sam Francis, I think it has a great purpose of reflecting the Abstract Expressionism movement . The large size gives the painting more intensity and heaviness to the look. I find it hard to describe, but when I look at this painting it seems like if I look long enough the brushstrokes, the colors are gonna start moving in a circle like a smoke from a cigarette coming up and slowly dissolving in the air. Also, very brave and bold choice of color, I always pay attention to that. The artist is mixing cold, primary, blue color with glimpses/marks of secondary color yellow, showing through and creating some sort of contrast on a white canvas that does contain bunch of different colors that are sloppily placed around. Yet at the end the composition works well together. Reminds me of graffiti too.

Sam Francis “Around the Blues”, 1957-62

 

Dada and Surrealism.

Dada movement was kind of this violent and accidental starting point for people and for the art world to capture in between 1915 and 1922. The war that was going on in France at that time kind of created this desperate movement that would aim to find something in this blowing up chaos that’s going on in reality and try to irritate, amuse and distract people. For example when Marcel Duchamp drew  a moustache and beard on Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” and penciled “L.H.O.O.Q” at the bottom of his altered image which meant “She has a hot ass.” in French, which is a very childish thing to do, but childishness played very important role in the Dada movement.

Another really good example is Man Ray’s “Compass”, 1920, which was the magnet-and-pistol device that he took photo of right when he made it, therefore we can look at it and analyse. This magnet holds a child’s gun, a toy, not a grown up’s gun. He was using objects to create ideas and in this particular piece portraying the contrast between child and adult but at the same time bringing them together by showing that there is an attraction in violence even in children.

There is a lot of cases and mentions of accident in Dada movement. Discovering something by accident and the meaning of accident itself. Also, in my opinion the historical art pieces I saw that relate to Dada movement in summery I can say that they all brought something new into the world, something surreal and weird. I really want to compare Marcel Duchamp to Banksy in the way that both of those people broke the rules at the right place, at the right time. For me Dada movement was always the beginning of something new, the flower of life, the world where people compare sex machine to coffee grinder and exposed to light paper in the dark room to two people kissing and creating the tenderness between each other. The power of imagination.