Something Good

Charles Avery

Waking up this morning a recieved a text message from dear Polygon reminding me that we had our first guest lecture at 4pm.
Charles Avery is a familiar name and i have seen his work but he's someone i had never researched into. I was dubious upon the start of the lecture as this very middle class man spoke overtly articualately at us all, with a crazy levl of vocubulary being sprung on us so that half of what he was talking about i couldn't understand. Then i sort of let it all wahs over me and as i did began to understand more what his work is about.
Avery has for the last 5years continued one ongoing project known as 'The Island'.
Some may consider this as repetative and tedious however the way in which he approaches his work allows him to take on every single detail of this mind boggling fnatasy world which he has cultivated.
"The Island" Is based upon his own interest with philosophy and ethics and each and every part of this world is symbolic.

With the use of philosophy in my own work, and his questioning of the laws of reality, science and maths, representing a philosophic world through sculpture and drawing. I felt the Avery lecture to be very relevant.


Had i been viewing his work in a gallery, it is likely i would have passed it off as being 'science fiction' art, as many critics have. But listening to him justify his works many elements i found it so dedicated and talented to be able to continue one project for so long. As much as it is about the physical objects themselves, for Avery it seems more to be about the story and world he has made that is the art itself.

Upon leaving i felt i wanted to make use of my own project in the best way possible and push the boundaries of reality.

Definately had a little love for him when i left the Lecture Theatre. Yessum.

Grape Face

Tibor

So my room is now all beautiful and tidy, homely enough for me to work in and even for others to visit me in, hence why today i go on to do further posts. On a less happy note this Mac is being slow and draining me so this post probably won't be too articulate.

If everything was as i wanted it to be i would now be doing a most important post on my encounters with the book 'Fabrica' but i'm silly and i don't have it with me, so instead i will go on to explore my findings within another book, entitled 'Tibor', about the works of Hungarian born Graphic Designer Tibor Kalman.
Whilst in the University Library I came across this book in the Graphic Design section. It may seem again like i'm jumping the shark a little, exploring layouts when i am yet to even create the pieces themselves. However looking at this book was one of the things that pushed me towards the the idea of making a book. I was always told at Sixth form that in art you can never be 'finished', so in order to plan my time wisely i am viewing all the possible options that can come post 'make', what i can do with a sculpture afterwards. It also will allow me to bring together the hybrid between Fine Art and Graphic Design.
It wasn't only a case of making a book because i felt i should do something after. My thesis is a narrative one, so it should be represented so that it can be read. Looking at some of the examples of Tibor's work, i found the layouts themselves interesting.
Sometimes the image itself perhaps isn't enough and it may be manipulated through the use of text alongside, different scales, quantity, position etc to bring out the full potential.

Of the layouts i have chosen, some have relevance to subject matter, and different attributes that i could see being in my own work. Some are just on here because they make me smile or think.

Going beyond my reasons for choosing this for research, i've grown a fondness for Tibor's work. He offered designs that were humorous and lighthearted whilst managing to send bold messages to audiences worldwide. Initially i read the book thinking it was a collective of several designers work, realising it was all one man's doing pleasantly surprises me, it's great to see someone who was so varied in their work but still remained identifiable.

You'll See

Graphistock

Graphistock is a collective of a variety of photographic works by an array of different photographers.

These pieces particularly caught my eye, i suppose partly through what they all bear in common, that being their soft, aged quality.

As the images go on, their subject matter too becomes more relevant. Moving into shapes, both 2D and 3D. Although a long way off yet, this has allowed me to consider photographically how i may look to portray my work, in terms of both performance and for cataloging purposes. My overall favourite being the last image of the wooden geometric blocks. Although the shapes are architectural and tapered, through the use of type, composition, palette some of the severity is lost and the image is forced into a nostalgic and warm aesthetic.

Artists, From Top to Bottom:

G.A Photography

Jan Camp

Roger Camp

Tom Collicott

Nola Lopez