Dada

Dada

The dada movement happened during the first world war, from 1916 to 1922 which was also a influence to later styles such as punk rock, pop art, fluxus and Surrealism. The movement began in Zurich, Switzerland and spread to Berlin shortly after as well as New York, Cologne, Paris and the Netherlands. 

Those involved where rebelling against what was considered to be the modern world. They where anti-war, anti-capitlism and also anti-politics. The main artists involved were: Hugo Ball, Emmy Hennings, Tristen Tzara, Jean Arp, Marcel Janco, Richard Huelsenbeck,  Sophie Tauber, Hans Richter along with others and it could be said that their aim was to question the idea of traditional art. For example the dadaists believed art shouldn't follow the existing state of affairs in the political world as it added to problems which were already occurring. 

Dada mainly included visual arts, literature, poetry, theatre graphic design and art manifestoes. The first manifesto was written by Hugo Ball in July, 1916 and the second manifesto followed in 1918 written by Tristen Tzara. Other manifestoes followed later.  

The four main types of art which the Dadaists created were: collage, photomontage, assemblage and readymades. 

Collage

The artists copied the techniques created during the cubist movement of cutting and pasting different paper. However they extended this by using items from everyday such as transport tickets, wrappers and maps. The idea of this was to abstract in the way which cubists where but try something new.

Collage by Kurt Schwitters

Photomontage
The Berlin Dadaists used scissors, glue and images from the media to express their views of modern life rather than through paint. It was a slight difference from the collage technique as real photographs from media where used.

Photomontage by Hannah Hoch

Assemblage
Assemblages where 3D versions go collages. It was everyday objects used to produce pieces which were relative to war and could be either meaningful or not at all. The objects were screwed, nailed or fastened together and were often seen placed around or hung on walls.

Assemblage by Raul Hausmann

Readymades
Readymades where objects which were already manufactured, signed and then classed as art. This  was formed by Marcel Duchamp and it could be said that artist today have been influenced by his idea of this being art.
A good example of Duchamp's readymade's is his piece "Fountain" which is a urinal which was turned on its back an signed 'R.Mutt 1917'. It was a significant piece of art work as it changed the way which people look at art as Duchamp has proved here that art doesn't have to be the traditional idea of painting and drawing.

Patterns on Illustrator

Patterns

Here I have created a pattern using Illustrator. I have done this by crating a star shape, using the shape tool and then using the roughen tool under 'distort and transform' under 'effects' to make it look how it is now. I then added the five stars and clicked expand appearance to make the shape all one. Then clicking, object, pattern and make I then chose how I wanted my shapes to be arranged on my pattern and also what shape and colour I wanted the background to be.

This could be useful to created backgrounds and also to make any textiles pieces which require a pattern. 

Russian Constructivism

Russian Constructivism

Russian constructivism was a artistic and architectural movement with origins in Russia.
The key artists involved where:

• Naum Gabo
• El Lissitzky
• Vladimir Mayakovsky
• Alexander Rodchenko
•  Varvara Stepanova

The idea was to make art more accessible for everyone by using everyday materials such as metal, glass, wood and cardboard along with the aim to create a Utopian society when the movement began just after World War 1. In addition to this they where inspired to explore the textural and spacial qualities when creating abstract structures.
The art included:

• Architecture 
• Graphic Design
• Sculptures
• Paintings- Although paintings where not as common as this media was seen more superior and therefore against the idea of an equal society. 

Graphic design in the movement varied from the packaging of products, posters, logos, the covers of books and forms of advertisement. The graphic design work by Rodchenko became an inspiration to many. 

This piece is by Rodchenko has certain features which make it a unique piece. For example, its use of only three colours and its font type and style. This makes the pieces simple yet effective as there isn't to much colour to distract or overly decorated text and therefore gets straight to the point. It also does this with the use of geometric shapes as well as being central and having a structured composition.

This is an abstract piece by Lissitzky and he has used both 3D and 2D shapes which he calls prouns. The 2D shapes are coloured which contradict with the toned 3D shapes and make the image look strange as it is difficult to understand where he has chosen to show where light is hitting the shapes and created the darker parts.

This artwork was created by Naum Gabo and was made with sheets of steel giving the object a brown/slightly red colour. I would say it is a figurative piece as it is very human like with human features. Naum has clearly thought how light will interact with the piece, as like a painting he has featured three tones, mid, light and dark. The work has similarities to cubism as it has been created by different shapes being assembled the way cubism does when breaking and reforming up a subject.

Townscape Photography: Research and practical work

Photography research

Townscape
"The appearance of a town or city; an urban scene"

This is a historical photograph which was taken during the life time of Eugene Atget which was from 1857 until 1927. The time which it was taken makes it a historical image but also you can tell as it is in black and white and the buildings look old fashioned. I really like the photo because of its black and white as there is no color which can distract you from looking at the detail, such as the cobbles. In addition to this I like how the path narrows down into the distance and disappears. I would like to try and take an image similar to this for my townscape project.

This photo was taken by Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris, 1932. I would say the date it was taken makes it a historical  photograph as it was taken over 70 years ago.  I like this photo because it is in black and white but in addition to this I really like the shadow which has been created in the puddle.  There is a contrast between the background and foreground as the foreground is much clearer and dominant compared to the misty building in the background.



This is a double exposed image by Harry Callahan. I really like the tow images which he put together as it looks quite strange, a car coming out of a wall. I'm not sure the time the images was created but Callahan's life ended in 1999 so his work is fairly modern. The foreground of the tree stands out to me and makes the car seem slightly set back. I think this is because of the texture of the wall which is on top of it.



This double exposed image by Jay Archibald and is also a panorama. He states his approach to urban photography is less architectural and more an abstract neon behind glass and grate approach. I really liked a lot of his work and the two image below is my favorite out of them all.





I think these images have a lot of energy to it and I really like the bright colours and lights all merging together in them. I would say both of these are contemporary photos as they represents modern day night life.





This a contact sheet of some photographs I have taken of townscape scenes. I haven't had as much class time to take photos due to absence. I like quite a few of the photos which I have taken especially the ones on different angles. 

This is one of my favorite photos which I have taken. I like how the building looks quiet and abandoned. I think the graffiti and boarded up windows gives it a lonely atmosphere.
To improve the image I think it could have been taken at a slightly different angle and I think it would have looked better if the whole of the building, including the top, was showing.

I also liked this image I had taken and I chose to take it from the bottom of the back alley to try and get the same effect as Eugene Atget's photo which I analyzed further up.  However I don't like the green and red in the photo, I think its distracting and would look better in black and white, just like Atget's photo.

Using photoshop I made the photo black and white and adjusted the brightness and contrast. 

I prefer the photo much more now and I am pleased that it resembles Atget's work. 

Layers

Here, using photo shop, I have used two images and placed them on top of each other. Then I played about with the opacity until I had the right balance of each photo. Then I have used lots of different effects and also changed the brightness and contrast on some of the photographs.  I am really pleased with how these look , I also really like this effect which you can create using photo shop and will most probably use it again. These photographs are also in my visual note book. 

This is one of my favorite images and I think the building looks like a flag, with the lamppost holding it up. I especially like how the windows how been replaced with the brick wall showing through into the foreground.

This image is has much more character to it and I think the negative effect gives it a mysterious feel to it. Overall I am pleased with this image and it reminds me of Jay Archibald's work which I have researched above.

This one is one of my least favorite as you cannot see both of the photographs clearly unless you look closely. 

I am not overly pleased with this one either as the gate in the foreground makes the overall images look blurred.

I am pleased with the two images above as agin they also remind me of the images I liked by Jay Archibald.

Panoramas

A panoramic photo is simply any image which has two or more shots stitched together to make it appear as one large photograph.  Here are some examples of panorama's which I have found on the internet. ( http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/40-inspiring-panoramic-photographs--photo-864 )

I chose these three as examples which I really liked because of the sky in all of them. I thought the skies in the first two skies where pleasant to look at as they are clear and flawless. However my favorite is the sky setting the bottom example because of the colours fading together. It looks calm and peaceful. 

These are two panoramas which I have created on photoshop using some photographs I have taken around college. 

I am pleased with how the photos have fitted together in this one, how ever because of the rain I am disappointed with the quality of the image. 

I prefer this one much better as parts of the images are really clear and although some are not I actually really like how the clearness changes though out the image. This wasn't done intentionally. 

Double Exposure

These images where taken with a film camera. They are double exposed, so there are two or more images on each film. They where developed at college by the technician an then scanned onto the macs. I then opened them up in photoshop and after duplicating the layer I went into Image, Adjustments and Invert. I then played around with the colour levels until I was pleased with the image. 

This process was a good chance to try out new skills with the film cameras and also photoshop. However I prefer using a digital camera and taking single images. 

This one was quite difficult to edit as the image in the background wasn't as clear as the foreground and I don't really like it. 

I really like this one because all parts of the image are visible. I like the original one above much more than the blue underneath because of its colour, it reminds me of a sepia edit. 

This edit is my favorite out of the four. I especially like the yellow background as it reminds me of the sun and I think is contrast really well with the dark buildings in the foreground.

I am also quite pleased with this edit. My favorite part is the different shades of blue. The image looks calming and quiet and reminds me of something out of a film. 

Illustrator

Exploring Shapes, Fill and Stroke
Here I have used the selection tool and also the direct selection tool which allows you to move certain parts of a shape you have created. Whereas the ordinary selection tool lets you move the whole shape and also alter its size. I have used the pen tool to make my straight edged and also curved shapes. To make a straight edge shape you simply click around where you want the sides to be and to close the shape you click where you first started. To create the curved shapes you click again use the pen however you click and drag which creates a curved like and you again click where you started to close the shape.
I have also experimented with the Fill and Stroke tool which lets you change the colour of the shape, its outline and also the thickness of the outline.
I found this task fairly easy once I got used to creating a curve with the pen tool.

Using the shape tool
Here I have used the shape tool.

The pink and green shapes on  the first row where created by choosing the shapes I wanted and then holding down the shift key whilst putting the shape onto the page. The shift key makes the shape perfect, for example holding the shift key when using the rectangle tool makes the said the same length so it is a perfect square.
The pink and yellow shapes on the second row where created using the pen tool, the way I did in the screenshot above.
Finally the red and blue shapes on the bottom row where created using the dialogue box. This allows you to change the dimension and also how many sides to the shape you want.

Brush strokes

Here I have experimented with some different artist brush tools and also altered the colours and size of stroke.

Here is a townscape image I have produced on illustrator using one of my photographs and the skills I have learnt on this software. I have done this by using different layers. My original layer was my photograph of a building, I then, using the different tools I built on top of the photograph with the pen tool and added colour. Every time I used a new colour for a different part of the building (e.g. a window) I created a new layer. 

I was pleased with how this image turned out and I fairly enjoyed the process of using Illustrator, although I found it difficult at first.

I saved my finished image and then using my knowledge with the artistic brush strokes, I added them onto my image. I much preferred the building like this as I think it gives it a a more interesting look. 

I have saved both of the images in my documents. 

Cubism

CUBISM

Cubism was the first form of abstract art and happened in the period of the early 20th century. The the key artist involved where Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso and a later participant was Juan Gris. The technique to cubism is the breaking up of a subject matter from all of its angles and then reassembling it in an abstract form. This makes the 3D subject become 2D. Pablo Picasso's painting, " Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" was considered to be the first cubist painting. The three main inspriations behind cubism are African sculptures, the Fauves and the artists Paul Cezanne and Georges Seurat.

The first type of cubism is known as Analytic cubism and was a significant art movement between 1908 and 1911 in France.  The style of this was having the different viewpoints of the subject in a geometrical framework with very little and subdued palette of colours. Here is an example. This is an oil painting by Geores Braque called "Violin and Jug" painted in 1910.

The second style of cubism was called Synthetic cubism and remained popular until 1919. This style was formed when Picasso began to glue printed images from the real world onto his still life work. He did this as cubism began to become predictable. Here is his painting "Still Life with Chair Caning" which opened a new door for himself and other artists for the second phase of cubism.

CUBIST PORTRAITS

This cubist portrait is by Picasso and was painting with oil onto canvas in 1910. It is called "Girl with a Mandolin and my favourite part is the background especially in the top right corner as it looks foggy/blurry. 

This cubist portrait was also by Picasso and was also created in 1910. It is again painted with oil and named "Portrait of Ambroise Vollard. I really like the dark colours and I think the expression of the face looks angry and gives a negative feel to the painting. 

Photograms

Photograms

A photogram is a image created without a camera. It is done by by placing objects directly onto the surface of a light-sensitive material (such as photographic paper) and then exposing it to light. The areas of the paper that have received no light (where the objects have been) appear white and the ones which have been exposed to light appear grey/black once it has been through the developer (1 min), stop bath (1 min), fixer bath (1min), left in water to wash (2 mins) and then left to dry.

Here are my photograms which I made, which are in my sketch book. One of them are bleached which gives it the brown/yellow hint. 
I enjoyed working in the dark room and would like to do it again.