Presenting artwork in exhibition.

I wanted to show how pieces could be displayed on the boards provided in the exhibition. I decided to create some quick compositional plans using photographs of my final pieces to show how they could be placed on the boards.
I first decided to show how my A2 (42x59.4cm) pieces would be placed on the white board. I placed these next to each other as I felt they would connect easily and the viewer would not need to travel to each piece to view them, but I also feel they are slightly cramped and would need to spaced a bit further to be more effective in a professional exhibition.

I then decided to experiment with how my pieces would look on two boards rather than one, I placed each piece on a board each in the centre of the boards. I feel this is a much better placement as there is much more space around the pieces, this looks more professional and also emphasises the pieces. I feel this is a much better way of displaying the artwork as it is less cramped. 

Finally I decided to experiment with how it would look if I decorated the boards I was provided. I decided to show how the boards would look if I covered them in wallpaper that compliments the artwork, using colours which were similar to the colours I used within the pieces (pink and blue). I like the way this looks but I feel it distracts from the artwork slightly making it less of an impact that when it was on plain white boards.

I feel the best way to display my artwork is to place them on two white boards rather than decorated, these should be situated at eye level so the audience can connect with the pieces and would not need to bend down or look up to see the artwork. I feel that the eyes of the subjects should be inline with the audience's eyes.  This would have a strong impact on the viewer. 

Board Sizes; 

W122cm X H213.5cm.

Room 532 32-38 sides (boards).

Room 537 30-50 sides.

Health And Safety

There are many things to consider when working with different materials to ensure that the equipment is not harmful to myself or others.
Here are two links to health and safety sites which show the precautions that must be taken.
COSHH  http://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/
Health and Safety at work act 1974 http://www.hse.gov.uk/legislation/hswa.htm

Anthony Gormley

Anthony Gormley is a British artist who creates sculptural pieces, of the human form.

He often uses his own body as a model for his work, creating his pieces about of numerous materials such as clay, metal, wood ect. He is most  famous for his piece 'The Angel of the North'.
His pieces are displayed very randomly in the exhibition, filling the space, some are placed on the floor, some are suspended from the ceilings and walls. This allows the audience to walk around each piece viewing it from a 360 degree angle.

His pieces are also life sized, allowing the audience to connect with the viewer. Not only are his pieces displayed in galleries but they are also displayed in numerous public spaces connecting with the public further.
I like the way he uses the emptiness of the space to emphasise the pieces and make them stand out against the blank canvas that is the exhibition space.
The subjects are often facing in different directions and do not appear to be interacting with each other, the do not appear to be reacting to each other, showing that the subjects are not connected in any way whether it be physical or mentally, this shows that every sculpture is different.
He even placed a pane of glass between two of his subjects that did appear to be interacting to separate them and showing there is not emotional connection between the two subjects, serpsrating them both physically and mentally.

Wolfgang Tillmans

Wolfgang Tillmans is a German photographer, who photographs popular culture and documentary

photography. His pieces are tacked to the exhibition walls in different arrangements, these may be random in appearance but are carefully placed to fill the gallery space. His pieces range in different sizes and shapes filling as much of the space as possible, they also force the viewer to travel around the gallery to look at each piece making the experience much more enjoyable for the audience. 

He also uses projections to display his photographs, this uses the darkness of the room, emitting light from the photographs, allowing the audience to connect with the pieces. 

I like the way his pieces have been displayed in the exhibition as they are often displayed on very clean white walls, which emphasise the pieces. I also like the way he places them very randomly as I feel these make the pieces more interesting to look at as it is a less conventional way of displaying photographs in a gallery. I also like the way he uses the emptiness of the space allowing the viewer to step back and look at the pieces from a distance. 

Final Major Project Brief.

For or FMP we were asked to produce a piece which related to our theme that we had chosen, I chose the theme of Identity. We were asked to chose a particular pathway or discipline, for example; graphics, fine art ect. Our pieces were to be displayed in the final show in a public exhibition in Southdowns College (North West 2 Building) on the 8th of June. When planning the exhibition we must ensure that care in taken to make sure the environment is safe for the audience and the artwork is appropriate, as there may be tripping hazards, or inappropriate content which could offend people such as young children visiting the exhibition. The space itself must be considered when creating the final piece, the exhibition will be held in two rooms, both are quite large and have high ceilings and bright lighting, these factors must be considered to ensure the outcome works well in the show and is displayed in the best way possible.

Oil painting 2

I decided to experiment with oil paints and portraiture as this is something I have not experimented with before, I waned to try to mix realistic skin tones and mid tones. As this piece was an experiment I painted this piece on paper. 

I first started by sketching in the basic face shapes using a coloured pencil, I then refined this slightly till I felt. I had the face shape correct. Once I had drawn the basic face I then blocked in the darkest areas using a large paint brush, I also refined these slightly and started adding highlights. Once the main blocks of tone and shadow were added I mixed a series of skin tones in oil and blocked these in roughly till I was happy with the shape of the face and the overall tone of the piece. 

Once I was happy with the overall facial features I then started adding more precise tone to the features to make them appear more realistic.

This gave me a base to add the detail, I used a very fine brush to add detail to the piece around the eye, nose and lip area. I also used a relatively small brush to fill in the hair.

For my second piece (final outcome) I wanted to experiment with more surreal colour schemes, for this I started by creating a base to work on, for this I selected the background colours I wanted from the artists work I was most inspired by; Jen Mann. I took images of her work into a paint store which scanned in the images in order to mix the correct colours. I bought two tester pots to prime my canvases with. The colours I selected were a pale shade of blue and a pastel pink. I first primed my canvas using these colours and then I protected the image I wanted to use onto my canvas and used a mechanical pencil to draw in the image.

I them mixed a series of different colours which complimented these colour schemes; blues on pink, pinks on blue. Using a similar technique to before I used these colours to block in the main bulk using s large brush including the shadows and highlights. I them began to refine this will smaller brushes until I finally added the detail using a fine brush around the face and hair, including the eyes, eyebrows, lips and hair. This draws attention to the face itself, making the face the main point of interest in the piece.

OIL PAINTING HEALTH AND SAFETY. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dangers-using-solvents-oil-painting-deodanda-pretorius

Pablo Picasso and Frida Kahlo.

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican born artist who created paintings that focused on herself and the major events in her life, her pieces almost created an autobiography of her life through the use of

symbolism and surreal imagery. Born on July 6 1907 Mexico City, Frida lived a relatively normal life until she was involved in a bus accident that had a detrimental effect to her health, breaking her spinal column in several places. Frida suffered two main accidents in her life, her pieces started during the recovery period of the bus accident in which she painted the experience. Frida also contracted polio at the age of six, leaving on leg thinner than the other, something which Frida despised, often depicting it in her paintings and covering it up with long skirts. Frida was immobilised for three months during her recovery in which she painted many self portraits. Frida herself stated; 'I paint my self because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best.' 

Frida's accident made it impossible for her to have children resulting in miscarriages during her pregnancies, this changed Frida's perception on life, she painted these experiences, painting herself in a hospital bed with physical wounds on her body symbolising the psychological wounds she had gained during her accidents, miscarriages and other depressive moments in Frida's life.

''I never painted dreams, I painted my reality''.

Fridas work was inspired by Mexican culture and although her pieces in the beginning were very traditional her pieces took on a more dark approach to art which any artists admired. Mexican culture is evident in her work through the use of heavily symbolic imagery, bright colours and an almost primitive way of working. 

Frida has inspired me to act on my own feelings when creating my final piece, using subliminal messages within my work through the use of imagery and colour to show my feelings about my own artwork. 

Pablo picasso also created pieces which were inspired by his own feelings much like the way Frida

created her pieces, although Picasso's pieces were not surreal like Frida's they used heavy symbolism through the use of colour and a primitive style of working. Between 1901 and 1904, Pablo Picasso painted pieces in various shades of blue and green, these pieces were quite somber and used these colours to express Picasso's feelings at the time.These pieces were heavily inspired by Spain and Spanish culture much like Frida's work was inspired by Mexican culture. These pieces were first inspired by Picasso's journey through Spain and the suicide of a very close friend, Carlos Casagemas, these works included any portraits of his friend as well as various other subjects.

Picasso also created numerous works in what was named his 'rose period'.

This lasted from 1904-1906. After the death of his friend Picasso met Fernande Olivier (a French artist and model) in which they became very close, Picasso was happy with his relationship with Fernande and this shows throughout his work, he admitted himself that this ay have been the reason for his change in painting style.During the rose period a harlequin would feature frequently and sometimes throughout the rest of his career, this became a personal symbol for himself depicting the happier and more cheerful times during Picasso's life and was often used throughout his career even after the Rose Period had ended.

Picasso has inspired me to think about my use of colour within my pieces and how colour can effect emotions and portray emotions of both artist and subject, I want to experiment with different shades of blue and pink to show how colours effect emotions. 

Final studio photographs, high key lighting.

Finally I wanted to create more flat images with less shadow as it was difficult to edit the colour schemes with the different lighting setups used. I also asked my model to wear darker clothing as I found it difficult to adjust the colour schemes against a white background in the previous studio photographs.

To create my flat lit photographs, I used two strobe lights at the same height as the model against a white background. These strobes were angled towards the model in order to illuminate shadows on the subject. 

2 strobes, 2 light stands, 2 20" soft boxes. White background, high key lighting. 1/60 Shutterspeed, aperture F8, 100 ISO. 

I wanted to experiment with different poses, some of which were quite unusual mad awkward looking, these could then be used with my surreal colour schemes and layered to provide me with my source material for my paintings. 

I placed a table in the room with the backdrop hanging over so I could have the model pose in more unconventional positions. I felt this fit my theme much more as my theme deals with facades and identity and the awkward, shy and uncomfortable positions show how the subject truly feels. 

I wanted to use more unusual poses as I felt these would work well layered over the top of each other creating interesting compositions to be used as reference, these could then be digitally rendered to change the colours creating more surreal colour schemes. These could also be used in my own digital collages which could work well in my final outcome. 

Here are some of my favourite photographs I have taken which I feel would work best when converted into a painting;

Model- Ami Jacobs.