Lecture Response - Defining the Avant-Garde

I had never been told the exact translation and resulting connotations of 'Avant Garde' despite roughly understanding what it represented. I am not particularly interested in the kind of art that can be described as Avant Garde as I feel that it crosses the line from being original into often, just plain attention seeking and a competition to see who can 'out-shock' each other among the artists in this field. I found the lecture interesting nonetheless in terms of seeing how artists had been innovative in the choice and application of obscure materials. E.g. Marcus Harvey's 'Myra Hindley', which despite being controversial in the way it was constructed, is a powerful image and very well produced. In our Critical Studies Seminar we looked further into the notion of shock tactics in the Avant Garde world; how certain artists question morality and repress society. I was quite disturbed by the efforts that Chinese Avant Garde artists Sun Yuan and Peng Yu went to in their quest to be 'original'. I don't really have time for people who freeze corpses and eat a penis in the name of art.

Lecture Response - What is Postmodernism?

I learnt a lot from this particular lecture and the notes that I made eventually helped me a great deal when I came to writing my Critical Studies essay. I had never really grasped or been inormed of the details describe what modernism and postmodernism stood for and how the transition between the two occurred. It was helpful to be introduced to new terms such as Lyotard's "Incredulity towards metanarratives" which at first didn't make sense, but then aided by images on the screen in the lecture I could see how it related once it had been explained. It was also nice to see the reference to Bob Dylan which was used to help explain the transition to postmodernism with his lyric "The Times They Are a-Changin".

Critical Diary Entry - The Mighty Boosh, Episode 6, Charlie Animation

I’m a big fan of BBC’s comedy series ‘The Mighty Boosh’. It’s got quite a unique style with an off-the-wall script which is delivered brilliantly by the main men, Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt. The episode that sticks out to me is the one where Vince (Noel Fielding) manages to publish his story about a fictional character made out of bubblegum named Charlie. We see a short animation come from nowhere with Vince’s voice over narrating. I love the fact there is no point to it, it is completely random yet the idea of using the animation is very clever because as you watch it along with the voice over, you can imagine that this is what goes on inside the head of the strange character that is Vince Noir!

Critical Diary Entry - David Attenborough's 'Planet Earth'

I found the latest David Attenborough series ‘Planet Earth’ extremely fascinating and I was particularly impressed by the camera and extreme scale and scope of footage that was captured. For the first time on a wildlife series, a high definition camera attached to the bottom of a helicopter was used to access and capture some of the most remote areas on Earth. The scenery was breathtaking, accentuated by the swooping camera that sailed so gracefully through the air; it was like being on a guided tour of the planet’s most secret and secluded hot spots. The birds-eye view also allowed wildlife to be followed with an insight to the scale of their environment and habitat. Also the animals were less likely to be frightened off by the helicopter which could be several kilometres away and yet still zoom in and show such detail from a great distance.

My growing interest in film and video making has lead me to be looking out for techniques and effective scene cuts in whatever it is I am watching. In the first episode of ‘Planet Earth’, my favourite clip was of a Great White shark leaping clear out of the ocean catching a seal in its massive jaws on the way up to the surface. The clip was in extreme slow motion, allowing the audience to take in just how magnificent a predator this animal is. It is so impressive that the camera crew could capture such a fast moving and powerful event with the clarity and detail that they did.

Critical Diary Entry - Film - Old Boy

Having recently seen Chris Sewell’s Its Cool Because… presentation on the Korean film Old Boy, I decided to watch it myself. So I borrowed the DVD from Chris and I have to agree with him, it is cool, possibly one of the best films I have seen in a long time. I had heard about the film briefly through my brother, who was telling me about the ‘kick-ass’ fight scenes, however at the time I didn’t pay too much attention to the name of the film. It wasn’t until Chris’s presentation that I remembered my brother’s brief review.

When I was given the DVD I could tell that it was going to be a good film because as well as the praise that Chris had given it, I was immediately impressed by the design of the DVD cover. Its simplicity is carried by the quality of the photographs and how they are arranged on the cover. This gave me some insight into the qualities of the main characters. The facial expression of the man in the foreground suggested to me that he’d had quite a rough time and the vengeance in his eyes said a lot about what the story could entail. The character in the background to me seemed a lot more sly and untrustworthy. I could tell that there would be an interesting and engaging relationship lying ahead between the two characters.

Despite the fact that the DVD cover had made me eager to go home and watch it, I still had one or two minor doubts about the film. First of all, I was weary that the fight scenes might end up being full of far fetched special effects like those in many recent Kung-fu films (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sprung to mind). I was also aware that Old Boy is acted in Korean, which I don’t happen to speak and that therefore, subtitles would be needed. I think that films such as Crouching Tiger… have slightly put me off subtitled films, hence my apprehension.

Anyhow, it was time to watch the DVD and amazingly, straight away I had almost not noticed the subtitles. I wasn’t distracted from the action in the slightest, which is probably due to the script being so well written and the opening scenes in particular being so visually engaging. As for the fight scenes, I was hoping for some good old, straight down-the-line Kung-fu beat-em ups! I certainly got what I wanted. The fighting didn’t distract from the storyline, which was mesmerising in itself.

This film isn’t just about the fighting and talking Korean. those are just the bonus features. For me, the twists in the storyline are the most impressive features, along with how the originality within the cinematography communicates the storyline.
I don’t want to give the story away too much so I will just include the blurb from the DVD case to give a taster to those who haven’t seen it.

A man is inexplicably kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years and his wife is brutally murdered. On his release, he is given a wallet full of money and a mobile phone. A stranger calls and asks him to try and figure out why he was imprisoned. A girl appears and promises to help him solve the enigma and seek vengeance for his cruel fate.

As the search progresses, the man finally comes face to face with his kidnapper, who proposes a game: if the man discovers the reason for his imprisonment, his kidnapper will kill himself. If not then the girl will be killed. He only has five days to unravel the mystery.

Critical Diary Entry - Channel Four - Funniest Moments

Having only watched this programme from number 12 in the list of Funniest Moments I can only comment on what I saw. Despite finding a lot of the clips/moments very funny I found myself disagreeing with a lot of the choices or the order that they had been voted. I know it isn’t really that important but I found it irritating to see that for example, Peter Kay was at number 1 for his stand up performances! I don’t dislike the man and I do happen to find his act funny, however I certainly don’t think that it deserved number 1 with comedy masterpieces such as Spinal Tap, The Office, Alan Partridge and Brasseye (the list goes on) falling behind it. The format for Peter Kay is so predictable and lacks the subtle genius of those others I have mentioned which tap into the audience’s minds and make them cry with laughter through alternative and original comedy. As my house mate pointed out, everyone can do observational comedy like Kay on a Friday night in the pub “Remember when you were younger and you did this..”, “Isn’t it funny how you wake up but won’t get up until…”. Yes it is funny and I will give Peter Kay credit for the way he performs and communicates but as with previous Channel Four polls, I disagree with the placing of it. Another thing that annoyed me about the programme was the way they would keep interrupting the funny moment they were showing with annoying ‘so called’ critics or ‘comedians’ such as Richard Blackwood! I would rather see the whole clip in its hilarious entirety and then have someone who is actually funny and knows what they’re talking about comment after the clip (such as Paul Merton, Ricky Gervais…Victoria Wood – Just Kidding, don’t get me started on her!)

Critical Diary Entry - i-pod Ad Posters

I think this is a great campaign for the Apple i-pod product. They have successfully managed to create an identity, as soon as you see this kind of image (right) you associate it with the i-pod. The design is so eye catching and versatile. There was recently a huge i-pod poster hung up in front of what will be the new museum opposite Millennium Square in Leeds and it looked amazing, I wished that I had designed it. The contrast between the bright background and dark silhouette along with the trademark white i-pod looked so professional and worked really well on such a large scale. Brilliant…so…

Critical Diary Entry - Fat Pie Cartoons

I first stumbled across the cartoon creations on fat-pie.com during my Art Foundation year. I wouldn’t advise anyone who is easily offended to watch the animations as there is some shocking and dark content, but personally I can’t help but laugh at some of it. There is a strange off-the-wall humour that somehow appeals to me (however the content isn’t a reflection of my character. You will understand why I had to clear that up if you ever watch the cartoons!)

It is the style of animation that I particularly like, roughly drawn and animated in Flash and some drawn on paper before being manipulated in Flash. The flickering lines and odd looking characters that David Firth creates suit the random storylines.

My favourite character or cartoon is the Salad Fingers series. He is a strange creature who comes across as being quite innocent and naïve with his faltering voice, yet there is something creepy and dark about him that adds to the weird humour. The slow moving animation also adds to the unnerving atmosphere.

You can visit the web site on: -
www.fat-pie.com

Critical Diary Entry - Album Cover - Revolver

Cover Design - Klaus Voormann, 1966

Many critics often talk about and label the Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album cover as the one that stands out as being the most innovative and ground breaking of its time. I agree that as a concept, it was well ahead of its time (the idea that The Beatles were as big and important as the significant world figures, political and celebrity that they pose amongst). It has definitely influenced others since then to present day to consider cover design as a meaningful design process and important selling point.

However I believe that the earlier album release "Revolver" in 1966 was the first record cover to really the break the mould. Prior to this album we would only see a plain photograph of band members such as shown below.

The Beatles' Rubber Soul showed signs of change with a more artistic and experimental approach to layout and typography but it was Revolver that broke the boundaries. The cover is composed from both hand drawings of John, Paul, George and Ringo and collaged photographs of the quartet. The way the photographs relate to the larger scale drawings is so interesting; you really have to look closely to capture the humour and originality that Klaus Voormann has created.

Voormann first met The Beatles during their tour of Hamburg back in the early days of 1960 - 1963. It was his girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr who inspired The Beatles to adopt the famous 'mop top' haircut and I think that Voormann's style of drawing on Revolver shows off their style perfectly.

I can definitley see a message or idea coming across through the layout and scale of the drawings and how the smaller collaged images interact with them. If you look closely you can see John peeking out from George's hair and Paul lying on Ringo's head. Perhaps this was their way of saying that they considered themselves to be the giants of the popular music industry and culture. They had strongly established themselves through their brilliant music and even more so by taking advantage of using their album cover to portray their message, which nobody had done before Revolver.

As a massive Beatles fan myself I think that the ambitious and innovative developments that the band made musically with this album goes hand in hand with the cover design and the message it conveys. I couldn't say which Beatles album is my favourite as they are all in my opinion, great for different reasons. As far as the album covers are concerned however, Revolver is top of my list.

Critical Diary Report 1

Derren Brown – The Heist

“The Heist” is Derren Brown’s latest experiment which was aired on Channel 4 on January 4th. I have always been intrigued by Brown’s shows and his methods of persuasion and ‘mind control’ and the style of filming that he adopts so when I saw that he was pulling a new stunt I was eager to find out what “The Heist” was all about. It turned out to be one of the most entertaining shows that I have seen on television in a long time….

The Experiment
His aim is to persuade a group of four businessmen and women to each perform an armed robbery on a bank security van, stealing £100 000. The challenge was worked on over a period of two weeks in which Brown was, as far as the group was concerned, teaching some of his skills/methods in a workshop that would be useful to them in the management world. The group (initially 15 people, gradually broken down to 4) were completely oblivious to the fact that through the power of suggestion and repetition of key words and imagery, Brown was building up a sense of disobedience and a feeling of power among them that would eventually cause the four to act completely out of character and carry out The Heist.

Over the two weeks Brown was subtly brainwashing the groups’ sub-conscience with phrases and images that would trigger the powerful and rebellious state of mind required. For example the colour lime green, the phrase “just do it”, the Jackson Five song “Can You Feel It” and words such as “steal” and “security” that he would throw into his motivational talks were among the factors that would appear relevant at the scene of the robbery.

On the day of the heist each group member was called for a meeting and told to bring a toy gun that had been given to them without explanation on the first day of the course. They were each separately picked up and dropped off at the bottom of a street that they were required to walk down to meet Brown. The scene was set, secret cameras were arranged in the surrounding area and the soon to be robber began walking. On his/her way along the street a car was set up to drive past with the song “Can You Feel It” booming from the stereo. This was the first trigger. Shortly after this the group member walks past a billboard poster showing the phrase “Just Do It, steal yourself” and then turns the corner to see a lime green security van and security guard carrying money to it. It is these final two familiar triggers that make the well respected law abiding citizen to fall into a daring and criminal frame of mind and reach for the fake gun to hold up the security guard in spectacular dramatic fashion and run away with the money!

I was left feeling completely entertained and in awe of how Derren Brown had gone about achieving his goal. For me this show stands out from his previous experiments and other related television programmes because it has been produced and written in a way that keeps you glued to it throughout due to the variety of elements that make up the stunt and the mix up of camera work that reflects what is going on so effectively. On top of this there is the comedy value of seeing a normal, pleasant group of businessmen/women in suits dramatically and violently holding up a security van with a toy gun! This final scene was so surreal; it was like something out of a movie.

I was particularly impressed with the art direction and how the audience is constantly given something new to take in. The use of secret cameras and CCTV footage of the group provided a small relief from standard documentary filming and interview footage and at the same time added to the sense of concealment that surrounded the show. These techniques and effects will be useful to take on board as film making is a growing interest of mine.

For me the most memorable piece of camera work was at the climax of the robbery. Once the group member had grabbed the cases of money and started to run down the street, a camera crew ran out of a building and followed the ‘robber’ down the road towards where Derren Brown was waiting with his team. This hand-held, rough and ready camera work heightened the reality of it all and accentuated the drama. At this moment the surreal feeling of it being like a movie has vanished and Brown’s work is done.

The fact that there was no interviews with the group members looking back in hindsight on the stunt made it all the more real and live and in a strange way makes you feel that you are somehow ‘in on’ the prank with Brown, simply because it appears that you know more than them as it is happening. This is an original quality that I think is the key in hooking in the viewers. You never want to leave your seat, even during the commercial break. As the plot and scheme unfolds over the hour long show you will find yourself itching to see if it works how it works and the after affects of it all.

I will look forward to his next experiment and hope it is as entertaining and stylistic as The Heist.

Web Links to find out more
http://www.derrenbrown.co.uk/news/heist

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4586704.stm

Critical Diary Entry - Baltic Arts, Newcastle

Link - www.balticmill.com

We recently visited the Baltic in Newcastle where the British Art Show is being held. I enjoyed the trip on the whole yet I had mixed feelings about the Baltic. I thought that the building was very impressive, a great location also on the river side. I was very impressed with some of the pieces being exhibited, but I was also disappointed with some which I felt where a little too 'Fine Arty' and pretentious, art for arts sake. As a visual communications student I lean more towards creative processes that have a purpose and an audience to decode what is being communicated. At the Baltic there were definately some great pieces that fit this criteria, I just couldn't be arsed with something as meaningless and talentless as a match sitting on a shelf for example! Despite this, I was entertained by the likes of Marcus Coates's 'Journey to the lower world', which was extremely strange but as a result extremely funny. I was also amazed by Tonico Lemos Auad's sculptures made out of carpet fluff, they were unbelieveable! They looked so delicate and perfectly formed, one sneeze or gust of wind would have been the end of them though!

Reportage Rationale

For the final stage of the Reportage brief we intend to produce a DVD video. We intend to investigate primarily Waterloo Lake, in Roundhay Park.
We originally saw the dam of the lake as being like a stage; actors (visitors to the park) walking across the stage (dam), between the naturally provided wings (trees), everything set against a changing backdrop (the sky). We intend to interview visitors to the lake and include footage / sound recordings / information of them and the area in the work. Combined with this will also be footage and sound recordings taken from various places around the lake. We will design a simple title sentence to precede the main work, so as to put our findings into context but not to distract audience focus.
The intentions behind the video are to report on the experiences and knowledge of users of the lake and its surrounding area. We have both included work about the journey to and around the lake in our projects so far and feel there is potential here to develop our findings.
Filming, editing and production of the disc will take place over two and a half days, therefore we will have to ensure we organise resources and time effectively to achieve our objectives.