Analysis
During our contextual research lessons we have been helped to start analysing art, and objects, in order to help complete in depth research on our chosen topics further on in our course. Also learning how to analyse things helps you understand more fully what you are looking at, and allows you to think of your own ideas and interpretations behind it. As well as working on our own, we have also been analysing in groups, which has been really useful as everyone has their own unique ideas, so I get to think and talk about ideas that I would never of thought of on my own.
The 20th Century
To gain a better understanding of the 20th century, it was our task to research a particular moment in the 100 year period that particularly interested you. I decided to choose the excavation of Sutton Hoo, as I wanted to look at something different, and I am also really interested in history, and have in fact just recently seen the findings from it in the British Museum. We then as a class collated all our events onto a timeline, which helped make the task of have a brief understanding of this century less daunting and memorable.
Here is a link to the timeline: https://padlet.com/hayley_meaden/qcthnof0yjcz3par
Architecture
For this weeks contextual research lesson we looked at architecture. At first I didn't think I would be able to apply what I was learning to costume, however I learnt that how you manipulate fabric can be a type of architecture. For example a bustle or crinoline has to be mathematically thought out and its structure can be seen as architecture. This made me think of other items that I have come across that use architecture to form them, which made me think of knitting, and crochet, and how complex patters can build stitches up to form 3D shapes and patters.
I was also reintroduced to the idea of the golden ratio, which has been used to build many an important building, such as the Parthenon. The idea of beauty is also connected with the golden ratio, as if your face meets with all the right measurements, then you are seen as beautiful. This made me wonder how it could be used in the creation of a garment, in order to make it aesthetically pleasing, and resulted in me wanting to research it in depth for a future project.
We were also shown a designer who uses architecture and new methods to create his couture garments. Francis Bitoni used a laser cutter to build up many intricate layers of malleable plastic, that can be worn and moved around with. This further enhance my realisation that clothing can be formed using architectural ideas, and made me eager to research this idea further.
Critical Thinking
This lesson really helped me understand how I should go about writing essays on my work and my research. I found it really useful to have a set list of things I need to consider when researching a topic, as this is plain and concise, so easy to understand. Here is what I learnt:
Authority
Has it been quality assured
What do you know about the author?
Point of view
Does the source represent any political organisation?
Does the researcher represent a particular school of thought ?
Is it deliberately biased ?
Who is the material meant for ?
Personal bias
Evidence
Is there a list of sources?
Is there a range of secondary data being used?
How does the author use this secondary research?
Is there any primary material?
Relevance
Is it current?
Does it collerate with other research I have done?
Critical writing
Description
Analysis
Evaluation
Hopefully, knowing this will improve my critical thinking and by default writing.
Art Movements
In this weeks session we had a brief history lesson n the different art movements. I love learning about art and really enjoyed this session.
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood – 1846 – Colour & Details & Reality Impressionism.
A lot of Pre-Raphaelite work was paintings of labourers, with the reality of real work. Something which hadn't really been painted before.
Impressionism - 1860 – 1900 – Depiction of Light
Impressionism really looked into how light falls and effects what is being captured. They were the first to really notice how light changes the colours and shapes of an object.
Arts & Craft Movement- 1887 – 1920 – Medieval, Romantic & Folk Styles
Art Nouveau - 1890 – 1910 – Natural Forms & Asymmetry
Expressionism – 1890 – 1930 – Emotional Experiences
Cubism – 1906 – 1909 – Angles, Forms, New Representations
Fauvism – 1900 – 1910 – Painterly Brush Marks & Strong Colour
Vorticism – 1914 – 1920 – Geometric Styles & Abstraction
Dada – 1916- 1922 – Nonsense, Irrationality & Bourgeois Rejection
De Stijl – 1917 – 1931 – Mathematical Patterning & Primary Colour
Bauhaus – 1919 – 1939 - Artistic Modern Vision combined with Manufacturing
Art Deco – 1920 – 1939 – Geometric Shapes, Symmetry, Movement, Modern Materials & Motifs.
AOften based on health, the female form, sunray shapes, escapism. Tutankhamen's tomb was also discovered during this time period, which heavily effected the art, and shapes used.
Surrealism – 1919 – 1960 – Visualising the Unconscious Expressing Itself.
Modernism - This is a term that groups together many of the art movements. These art movements reject the past and are about moving forward and embracing new technology. They also have an emphasis things being: functional, modern, urban and simple. An example is the original design for the Penguin Books which have plain colours and fonts, and are colour coded depending on genre (functionable), and were affordable to everyone.
How designers use art movements to aid their work
They are very visual so are a good way of getting the flavour, essence, palette, style of a specific group of artists.
The visuals can be divided (historically) into 2D and 3D forms. Print photography, film, architecture etc.
Art movements nearly always have a manifesto. This makes academic certainty of its existence and worth in a greater cultural world.
As they are linked to certain events and time periods, they can be used as a way if understanding society at that time.
Art movements involve reactions. Reactions for critics , art groups, and the public. Sometimes the artist want to create an opposite reaction by forcing the public to confront something they don't want to consider. This can be a political act, which forces the viewer to think differently.
Sustainability
Diverse
Huge range of potential problems and solutions
Often not black and white
Decades of research and a growing movement, plus COP26, has made it come to the fore front of public discussion.
Inclusive approach is key.
Resources and groups to help environmentalism in film and TV etc
The sustainability Guide
Julies Bicycle- London based charity that supports the creative community to act on climate change.
Bafta Albert- resources and certification programme for film and tv. Th research they under took found that 'cake' was mentioned 10 x as often as 'climate change' in UK TV in 2020. 'Scotch egg' was double the amount than 'biodiversity', and 'banana bread' beat both 'wind power' and 'solar power' combined.
CITEA- website that provides eco sewing resources.
SDTD- sustainability design group that find creative ways to make performance design more environmentally sustainable.
The Attic- sustainable solutions to costume waste.
Rebellion, Art and Politics
Rebellion- action against those in authority against the rules, or against normal and accepted ways of behaving.
Albert Camus
'Artistic creation is a demand for unity and a rejection of the world. But it rejects the world on account of what it lacks and in the name of what it sometimes'.
'Rebellion can be observed here in its pure state and in its original complexities. Thus art should give us a final perspective on the content of rebellion'.
Champion of individual rights, in the 1930s he opposed the French colonization, and joined the Algerian Peoples Party.
Declared that rebel says yes and no simultaneously. In rejecting one thing they are affirming their beliefs in another.
Politics- the art or science of government.
Brecht- Epic Theatre
'Art is not a mirror in which to reflect reality, but a hammer in which to shape it'.
Explored the theatre as a forum for political ideas.
Wanted to create an objective view so the audience can make up their own minds.
Theatre of the Oppressed- dialogue and interaction between audience and performer. They use their bodies to create frozen images/ sculptures.
Rebellion in Film and TV
Referred to as rebels if they go against the grain, or what is believed to be correct.
What happens in front of the camera?
What happens behind the camera?
What happens with the audience?
Lumiere Brothers- 1895- first experiments with moving images
George Melies- uses jump cuts
R. Wiene - 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'- This was the first horror film, used surrealism as an influence, used moving cameras
Fritz Lang- Metropolisis 1927. Rebel as he shows the view of the future if we continue as we are. Also the first person to show sweeping cityscapes.
Busby Berkeley- 1895-1976. Introduced top areal shots, this created art out of dancing people.
Rebel Directors
Orson Welles- Citizen K
Hitchcock
Jean Vigo- Surrealist
Douglas Sirk- addresses racism
Jean-Luc Godard- never got permission to film anywhere.
Women Directors
Germain Pulac
Maya Deren
Ida Lupino
Designers
Von Nebt Polgase- Citizen K
William Menzies- Gone with the Wind, sleek design.
Audience
Film can destroy stereotypes and change peoples minds.
Academic Writing
Reason/ response to a paticular question/ statement
Founded on research and theory.
Evidenced using examples from text.
Analytic, evaluative, synthesised (avoid description).
Organised logically
Objective
Formal
Use subject specific terms
Generally written in 3rd person
Refenced.
Moving from descriptive - Critical
States what happened- identifies its significance
States what something is like- evaluates its strengths and weaknesses
Explains how something works- indicates why something will work best.
Explains what a theory says- shows why a theory is relevant/ suitable.
States options- gives reasons for the selection of each option
Lists details- evaluates the relative significance of details
Gives information - draws conclusions.
Finding evidence/ using evidence
Look for evidence that just answers the question not just to back up your own opinion.
Find credible sources- journals, books, rather than just google it.
Try to use direct quotes less, paraphrase more
Synthesis
Link information together to keep work concise- can do this with evidence, and reference all afterwards.
1500 Word Essay
Intro- 10%- 150 words
Main text- 80%- 1200 words
Conclusion-10%- 150 words
Each paragraph
Claim, evidence, analysis, evaluation
Conclusion
Brief overview, evaluation
Show how you have answered the question
Suggest further points for consideration
Modern Times- The Golden Years
The Golden Years- the time period between the two world wars.
Modern- of, or relating to the present and recent time
-Designs are made using the most recent ideas and methods
-Characteristics or styles of art, music etc reject traditionally accepted forms, ands emphasize individual experimentation.
Key Elements of the Golden Years in Europe
The Weimar Republic (1918- 1933)
This was the German state from 1918- 1933
It was stopped and destroyed by the Nazi government
Remarkable for the way it emerged from catastrophe, then vanished into a still greater one.
Weimar represents modernism. As during this time Germany was the centre of intellectual thought ( especially Marxism), with people like Einstein working at this time.
Golden Years of Germany (1924-1929)
Popular music- cabaret, Jazz ( breaking rules, and traditions)
Theatre- Brecht
Film- German expressionism; The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Metropolis.
Art- DADA movement ( changing rules in the theatre and arts etc.)
Architecture- Modernist movement, The Bauhaus, Weimar.
The Bauhaus (1919- 1933)
Art school built in Weimar, Germany
Founded by architect Walter Gropius in Weimar.
Grounded in the idea of creating a Gresamthunstwerk 'total artwork', in which all the arts would be brought together.
Famous as it brought together arts an crafts and fine art.
Had its roots in Art Nouveau.
Famed for its innovative approach of making art for everyone, and attempting to unify the principles of mass production with artistic individuality.
Style- clean geometric forms, balanced, futuristic look for functional products
Artists- Paul Klee ( radically broke away from trad art; the faithful representation of objects), Kadinsky ( augmented his colour theory with new elements of phycology).
Modern
Modern movement, rationalist architecture, functionalism, international style - all mean the same thing.
Modern choreography- Oskar Schlemmer (has actors use their bodies to create architectural forms.
Film- the new modern form or art. Example: Josef Van Stenberg (1895- 1969)- The Blue Angel.
Subcultures
I have done all about subcultures in A Level Sociology, and enjoyed relearning about them and found it interesting how they are portrayed in film and TV.
Pop Culture
Cultural activities and beliefs of the masses.
targets youths
Spread through mass media
necessarily inoffensive content that can be consumed by a general audience.
Criticised for being too money focused.
Critiques
Marxist- distracts the working class from the fact they are being subjugated
Critical theory- chosen and promoted by the elite, not the working class.
Feminist- portrays women as weak, and males in charge ( this has changed somewhat in the 21st century however)
Nationalism- it creates myths.
Subculture
Small groups who share the same beliefs, but are different from the masses
Sometimes they break through and become part of pop culture.
not often in the mass media, and if the are they are presented in a stereotypical way.
Counter culture- if it becomes seen as oppositional to mainstream culture.
Youth Subcultures
Hippies- started in the 1960s, free love, psychedelic art and music.
Hackers- new media subculture, breaking into networks, film and tv include: War Games, and The Net.
New Age- spirituality, emerged into the 70s
Hipster- 1940s, street music trend, Jazz. New 21st century come back with men wearing big glasses and beards.
Steam punk- combines Victorian fashion and sci-fi. Example of tv programme: The Golden Compass.
Queer- increase in political documentary, change in laws, now part of pop culture e.g; Ru Pauls Drag Race.
Semiotics
Semiotics- study of signs, their meanings and how we interpret them.
signs are a short way of saying something.
Anything can be a sign, including: language, activities, gestures, images, sounds, objects.
examples: emojis, thumbs up.
We see messages in images etc subconsciously.
Charles Sanders Pierce
Drew the conclusion that you can split Semiotics into three parts: Sign, Interpretation, Object
Study of signs based on linguistics, focuses on mechanisms of interpretation.
Ferdinand De Saussure
Splits it into two parts...
Signifier- expression/ physical existence (sound, word, image etc)
Signified- mental concept
Example: Signifier- An apple, Signified- fruit, fresh, health, teacher pet.
Example: Signifier- Thumbs up, Signified- I like this, well done, great.
Different countries and cultures can have different meanings for signs. For example: the British okay sign is a vulgar sign in Brazil, and a sign for money in Japan.
Three Types of Sign
Icon- Physically resembles what it stands for. e.g. men's sign
Symbol- convention relation to the signified. e.g. a question mark.
Index- Casually connected with their objects often physically or through contiguity. e.g. traffic lights.
Semiotics in Film, TV, Theatre etc
Looks at how certain visual clues are given in the scenery, clothing etc. E.g. red, luxurious room- suggests passion.
Semiotic in Film
Has three major concepts.
Denotation and Connotation- audience sees and hears (denotive). These sounds and images evoke certain feelings (conative).
-Christian Metz- 'The study of connation brings us closer to film as an art'.
Narrative- use a combination of dialogue, sounds, visual image, gestures and actions to create the narrative. Narrative is in the history of man.
Tropes- Metanymy: the ability of a sign to represent something entirel, whilst only being a part of it. For example: The Eiffel Towere represents Paris.
-used in film also with consecutive shots, to imply something. E.g. a shot of a bird, then a shot of a plane.
Important people to look at:
Umberto Eco- Italian novelist, semiotician.
Pier Paolo Pasolini- Italian director, writer.
Christian Metz- French film theorist.
Roland Barthes- French Literary theorist.
Controversy In Film and Theatre
Sex in Film
Louise Brooks (1920s)
Iconic for dark, sharp, bobbed hairstyle.
Jazz age, flapper icon
Became a sexualised figure
Most famous for her leading role in Pandora's Box, which became heavily censored.
Became friends with press Baron William Randolph Hearst.
Retired from acting early, and sue to economic difficulties became an escort for a while, before writing insightful essays on show business.
Mae West ( 1893-1980)
Actress, playwright, screen wright, sex symbol.
Known for breezy sexual independence and bawdy light-heartedness.
Encountered many problems with censorship
Famous for performing in a play called 'Sex', about a prostitute which was very successful.
Her play she wrote called 'Drag' (a homosexual comedy), was raided and they were all imprisoned for corrupting societies morals.
Hays Code- introduced for film and theatre in order to stop corrupting the mind and morals of youths and wider society.
Power of Film as Protest
Shows the audience a different view/ opinion/ idea.
War Films
Anti- war arguments
Split into different genres: adventure, horror, comedy, propaganda etc.
Change happening via film - Example: USA Civil Rights
A Raisin In the Sun -1961
To Kill a Mocking Bird- 1961
In the Heat of the Night- 1967
Guess who's Coming to Dinner- 1967
The Colour Purple- 1986 (Spielberg)
Modern Examples
Amistad- 1997
The Help- 2011
Twelve Years a Slave
Hidden Figures- 2017
Selma- 2015
Fences- 2016
Anti- War
Paths of Glory- 1957
All Quiet on the Western Front - 1930 (between two world wars)
Judgement at Nuremberg- 1961 ( the court case of the Nazis)
Anti- War with Comedy
Only really happened from the 60s onwards
Dr Strangelove- 1964
M.A.S.H.-1970 (happened when protests was high against the Vietnam war, however commented on the Korean war as you're not allowed to comment about a current war)
Catch 22- 1970
Foreign Film- Anti War
Grave of the Fireflies- 2003
Come and See- 1986
When the Wind Blows- 1986 (Animation, Raymond Briggs story)
Drugs Films
Extensive overlap with crime films.
Man with the Golden Arm
Homosexuality and Film
20th century films often use vile stereotypical depictions. Make homosexuals as a villain or schemer.
Presented as 'Sissy Boys', can be seen in the earliest western films. Also Algie the Miner is an example of a 'Sissy Boy'.
Early 1940s- homosexuals represented as inherently criminal. Early representations were subtle as various codes in the UK and USA forbade depictions, or naming homosexuality.
1950s- Launched so many tropes of blackmail, murder, and suicide, that it started debates in the media etc. Example: Rope (1948 Hitchcock)
1957- Politicians started talking about re-evaluating laws.
1960s- Homosexuality more normalised. Example: Suddenly Last Summer (1959)
1963- Victim- really started the conversation.
1970s- Boys in the Band- about gang of friends celebrating a friends birthday. Positive.
1975- The Naked Civil servant - not just a stereotype.
Censorship- sex pistols
As an example of censorship, we looked at the Sex Pistols.
The sex pistols formed in 1975 and lasted for 2 years.
Due to their inappropriate style, lyrics and behaviour they were banned from playing in some parts of Britain.
They were fired from their record company EMI after swearing repeatedly on ITV show ‘Today’.
Their single ‘God save the Queen’ was heavily censored, and was banned from radio 1 and from being sold in most shops. This resulted in it being heavily followed by the press, resulting in high publicity and sales.
‘Never Mind the Bollocks’ was also banned from being publicised in shop windows, and shops such as Boots and Woolworths refused to sell it.
They helped popularise the punk style and culture. Punk gave to art and design the idea of DIY- safety pins and rips in clothing, biro designs, collage added to florescent paper (like the Sex Pistols designs).
Heritage
Before this lesson I originally through that heritage refers to someone's cultural background.
The Cambridge definition is actually ‘Features belonging to the culture of a particular society, that were created in the past and still have historical importance.’
I also discovered that you can have tangible and intangible heritage.
Tangible- something that can be touched within a culture- buildings, artefacts etc.
Intangible- types culture that can be recorded but not touched- for examples stories, languages and rituals passed down in cultures.
References
Sanchez, A., 2022. 3D- printed dress for Dita Von Teese by Michael Schmidt and Francis Bitoni [Digital Image]. dezeen. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2013/03/07/3d-printed-dress-dita-von-teese-michael-schmidt-francis-bitonti/ [Accessed 21st May 2022].
Far Out Magazine, 2022. The Cover Uncovered: The trials and tribulations of Sex Pistols' 'Nevermind the Bollocks' [digital image]. Available at: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/sex-pistols-nevermind-the-bollocks-album-cover/ [Accessed 21st May 2022].
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