Bradfords Animation Festival 2013

Once again the National Media Museum in Bradford opened its doors to talented artists for them to showcase their work. Not only was it BAF's 20th birthday, viewers also got a chance to view amateur artists, art students work and meet talented artists through talks and workshops. Luckily I got to attend a masterclass by Dave Mckean.

Mckean is said to be a "great renaissance artist for the contemporary era", but what exactly does that mean? Is it his versatile style? He is known his for varying pieces spanning from drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, photography... he has even written some of his own books and directed an original film called 'Luna'. It seems Mckean is unstoppable. He is highly skilled and to the onlooking eye he seems to have it easy, however he made it clear that it has been a challenge for him over the years as he grew himself as an artist and an individual. There is something about Mckean which should be admired. Not only is he talented in many areas, he is also open to try new ideas and grow in the different areas of art and design whilst other artists stick to what they're comfortable with. I believe he inspired many aspiring artists during his talk, along with inspiring myself. I realised that you don't instantly become a pro - rather you need to learn how to grow in that specialist area and overtime you will be rewarded. As they say, practice makes perfect.

(National Media Museum (2013) Bradford Animation Festival. [Online] Available: http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/bradfordanimationfestival [27/11/13]
National Media Museum (2013) Dave Mckean Masterclass. [Online] Available: http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/Events/BAF/2013/D/DaveMcKeanMasterclass.aspx [26/11/13])

Turner Prize 2013

The Turner Prize this year was opened on the 23rd October and, for the first time in history, is being held in Northern Ireland at Ebrington. This years show includes works from the four talented nominees; Laure Prouvost, Tino Sehgal, David Shrigley and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. 

Prouvost is a London based artist who is known for her unique filmmaking skills which are usually combined with  installation, thus creating unpredictable and atmospheric multimedia pieces. Recently she was awarded the Max Mara art prize for women after her successful exhibition at Whitechapel. Her entry for the Turner Prize this year is an installation piece called Wantee and features a mini set of her grandparents house. It houses numerous pieces which her grandfather made, for example teapots, collages and paintings. Combined with a video, once again, she references her fabricated grandfather and his life - how he one day tried to tunnel to Africa through the floor and never  came back.

'Wantee' installation by Prouvost

Seghal, a British-German artist, differs from all of the other nominees. His work exists only in the viewers memory as he doesn't allow photographs or documentation being done. He focuses on the human form, using movement, language and interaction as his tools. The connection between his subject and the audience also plays a big part in his work, and after past success at the Manchester International Festival, many knew his entry for the Turner Prize was going to be on a similar level. He focuses on exchange in his exhibition, and introduces a 'prize' for each member of the audience who takes part in a conversation. Once again however no documentation is allowed, therefore his piece exists ephemerally only allowing different interpretations and changing opinions of what really happened.

Shrigley's entry for the turner prize sparked a few comments from onlookers. In his exhibition he recreates a life drawing room, along with a illy proportioned model and numerous easels, chalk and  crayons. Like Seghal, Shrigley wants an interaction to occur between his exhibition and the audience as they are allowed to try and draw his sculpture (who is urinating in a bucket) on paper. Many individuals believe it is not his larger than life model which adds life to his entry, rather the audiences responses to his work as they are full of character.

Shrigleys exhibition

Last but not least we come across Yiadom-Boakye, whose paintings are her entry for this years Turner Prize. The subjects in her paintings, although all fictional, all are very similar in one sense. They are all black. However, the different paintings do not link in anyway; one subject or two, bending over or lounging, grinning or not... the only other similarity is that her paintings appear to be androgynous. There is no clear difference between man or woman, thus creating just a figure, allowing interpretations from the audience who view her work. Nevertheless, her characters always seem to be full of life, and the context surrounding them add mystery often intriguing onlookers to find out more.

Although all of the artists are very talented, there can only be one winner. The end date for the Turner Prize is the 5th January 2014.

(Tate (2013) Turner Prize 2013. [Online] Available: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/other-venues/exhibition/turner-prize-2013 [27/11/13]
Tate (2013) Turner Prize 2013 shortlist announced. [Online] Available: http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/articles/turner-prize-2013-shortlist-announced) [26/11/13]
The Guardian (2013). The Turner prize 2013 exhibition: go on, get involved. [Online]. Avialable: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/oct/22/turner-prize-2013-exhibition-review [27/11/13])

Pablo Picasso - 'Blue period'

During my fine art block I experimented with the use of colour through basic colour sampling. What I discovered however was what colour can represent - whether that through the use of the quantity, the placing on a page or the tone. Picasso, a well known Spanish artist, used colour as his main source of expression frequently in his work (e.g to help him portray certain emotions).  He was said to have gone through five major painting styles in his career which included, his earliest, the 'blue period'.

(Woman with a Helmet of Hair 1904)

Looking at his piece above we can clearly see that blue is the colour which dominates the background and subject herself. Although the subject takes up the majority of the pictorial space the attention is some how drained from her and emitted through the blue tones. Although not a contemporary artist, Picasso is still well respected in our society. His sway away from the natural colours during his numerous colour periods helped him to stand out as an individual, along with his many other talented pieces. The representation of the colour blue in the 21st century is still dullness and uncertainty portraying a certain weakness - blue is however a primary colour making it one of the original three most well known dominant colours. Is is so weak after all? Should we as a society interpret the colour blue for something more powerful after all?

(Image: http://www.blesok.com.mk/Images/Gallery/32/p27.jpg [23/11/13]

WikiAnswers (2011) How does Picasso use color in his paintings? [Online] Available: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_does_Picasso_use_color_in_his_paintings#slide2 [25/11/13]

Wikipedia (2013) Pablo Picasso. [Online] Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso [25/11/13])

Paula Scher

During my brainstorming for my graphics block which explored the use of numbers I came across graphic designer Paula Scher. Scher is a American graphic designer, painter and art educator in design. She is also the first female principal at Pentagram which she joined in 1991(Pentagram is a design studio what does work in graphic design, identity, architecture, interiors, products and architectural projects).

The piece of her work which lead me to her is called 'Level 5' and is pictured to the left. Although not a traditional graphic piece, it is an installation piece which features a large monochrome number 5 in a basic typeface. The piece is large scale and it dominates the majority of the pictorial space.  The photo of the space seems quite square with solid lines and corners whilst the curves of the five soften the image and create a fluid environments encouraging clashing elements to the piece.

What struck me about her style is that she is more creative in her graphic work. She explores the use of installation/architecture making her style dominant and interesting. Graphics is constantly growing in versatility due to our changing society and being one of the most well known graphic artist has to keep up with contemporary ideas.

(Able. A (2009) Hot Or Not? Level 5 by Paula Scher. [Online]. Available: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/hot-or-not-level-5-by-paula-sc-73432) [04/11/13]
Image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWgSoRQk9oC4niIpgMliFPQmNYbekWPGdJXWX-h7sG5puU9hWo5lHGnTZnTkm3bvnKBrOMLi2D-hRbzCKmA4gdQnbcu3FSvsqk3AnnjwsSwzDu6HLIJCtyLLwuWhro1FDp1u_Pgq7Y9P4A/s400/5_5.JPG [31/10/13]
Wikipedia (2013) Paula Scher. [Online] Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_Scher [01/11/13])