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Personal Statement

To begin this project, I had to choose something far less conceptual than I did in my previous project, since it let me down in almost every aspect of what I was doing. This semester, I chose something I was both interested in and literal, and also aesthetically pleasing. Part of my interest in space is the physics behind it all, of gravity and the formation of stars and planets and the death of all of them. So much movement happens in the universe that I wanted to explore and depict through my own interpretation, while also leaving my mind open to exploration with materials and technique in the workshops. Shape, color and natural influence turned out to be some of the key elements that brought me through this project, guided by workshops and the artists that I encountered this year. My experience with art face-to-face really shaped my inspiration around this project, and while I couldn't use any primary sources of planets, I could use the ideas that those artists' work gave me to create my own interpretation of the movement of space. The sculpture workshop I did at the beginning of the semester also gave me a very good direction for the rest of the project, as that's where I learned to use my materials to carry out my vision instead of forcing my materials to fit into my vague ideas.

#artist statement #movement #k00295837 #movement in the universe

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Artist Research

Stanley Mouse

This graphic design artist, Stanley Mouse, is likely most well-known for having designed the album cover for the band Journey's 1981 'Escape' music album. His work with music artists, such as The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, and the Beatles, feature unique fonts and interesting color schemes. In the image, a strange and interesting font that looks almost alien-like and style features a space ship and planet design in vibrant but grainy colors, making it very appropriate for the era. He's a designer that millions of people, including myself, love the work of because of how he can capture the soul of an artist's music and translate it into an effective image. In the workshop this week, I learned that what makes a good graphic designer is someone who can translate meaning into image for a client.

#stanley mouse #artist research #graphic design #movement #k00295837 #movement in the universe

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Workshop development

In the second part of the workshop, we moved from black cubes onto creating our own sets of shapes with the black paper in order to make more detailed and complex designs. This required some planning and thought, as we also had to include another 2 terms based on our own projects to be able to communicate into shapes.

Above are some illustrations I made to plan out the design to represent each term. Below are some of the results I came up with for Rhythm, Movement, Tension, and Orbit, respectively. Orbit being the term of my own choosing.

#orbit #movement #graphic design #k00295837 #movement in the universe #concept development

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Workshop Graphic Design

In the first part of this workshop we ran few some key design principles in graphic design, and I took some notes about certain artist and techniques in the craft from the presentations given to us.

We were then told to represent 6 different words with black cubes on paper, to try and communicate an idea using shapes.

#graphic design #workshp #movement #k00295837 #movement in the universe

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Artist Inspiration

Antoni Gaudi

Having recently been to Barcelona's Sagrada Familia cathedral, designed by Antoni Gaudi, his view on the world and the way he incorporated his natural influences into his work has been on my mind. In J. Castellar-Gassol's book, 'Gaudi; Life of a Visionary', Castellar-Gassol explains how a young Antoni Gaudi was plagued by childhood articular arthritis. As a result of this, unable to walk and play, "he would amuse himself with pebbles and canes, or catch lizards or study the many kinds of insects" and thus "began to see the world with different eyes". This time in his life is believed to have a direct influence on his designs for the cathedral and all of the elements of nature that pervade the building.

The audio guide that accompanies a tour of the cathedral states that "(Gaudi) designed this interior as if it were a huge forest - Nature is an essential influence in the work of Gaudi, so much so that he came to consider it his true master", and later on the guide states that the building is 172.5 meters at the tallest and that "Gaudi wanted the temple's tallest tower to measure slightly less than the nearby mountain of Montjuic". Among many other design elements of the cathedral, from the stained glass windows to the tips of the many towers, nature heavily influences Gaudi's work.

This is an inspiration that I hope to take to heart. Similarly to Dominique Crowley's work, nature and its beauty can never cease to inspire, and I found that beauty in the nature of space. To me, it is an environment that evolved and is built on the same matter that everything on Earth is, so it is just as much apart of nature as the flowers on our lawns.

#antoni gaudi #sagrada familia #artist research #movement #colours of movement #movement in the universe #k00295837 #research #photography #natural influence

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Gallery Visit

6-02-24, RAH, Part 2

The second artist who's work particularly struck me during this gallery visit was John Kindness. In his book, 'The Odyssey', Patrick T. Murphy says that Kindness has an "insistence on a wide vocabulary of styles and methods to create his art", which is evident in the multitudes of disciplines I saw in Kindness' display. He is an admirable artist for having such range and ability to explore his theme in so many different ways. From mosaic, to gouache, to porcelain and even boat oars, he reaches a multitude of media in that exhibition.

Two things really struck me when I was at the gallery, the first being a subtle but sharp sense of humour in Kindness' work. In the first image that follows is a photo of ceramic potato chip bags that say 'Poseidons, Doomed Sailors', imitating a brand name and food product line. The second and third images are photos of 'Death of the Suitors', the second photo being a blown up image of a section in the middle-right of the painting that reads 'Fuck-ing-Hell' in a meat/bacon-looking substance on skewers. The last image is a photo of 'Telemachus's Old Toy: Dad', from the Greek mythology story that Telemachus and his father, Odysseus, killed the suitors of Telemachus' mother and Odysseus' wife upon returning from war in Troy. Written by Robert McDowell in Kindness' book, John Kindness is 'never without a compelling sense of humorous irony and paradox', which I whole-heartedly agree with.

The sly humour in all of these are fantastic to me. My 'Disrupt' project featured a type of humour that I could only hope was paralleled to the whiplash reaction one experiences when admiring Kindness' artwork about an ancient mythology with such niche and slapstick humour. I was left the exhibit wondering if I could still incorporate this element into the current Movement project.

The second thing that occurred to me in Kindness' artwork is the cultural influences. This exhibition is very obviously centred around the theme of Greek mythology and Kindness' influence from James Joyce's 'Ulysses', it is prevalent in almost every single piece in the room. Upon getting a closer look at the collection, I began to see influences from elsewhere in the world. He uses contemporary practice to discuss traditional themes, which I think is a beautiful combination in his case.

This painting, 'Penelope & Telemachus', instantly struck me as having a resemblance to Egyptian relief wall paintings. The layers of figures in the background, the flat painting technique, the way the animals and people are posed all screamed an ancient Egyptian inspiration to me.

#john kindness #artist research #greek mythology #james joyce ulysses #movement in the universe #movement #k00295837 #gallery visit #royal hibernian academy of arts

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Gallery Visit

6-02-24, Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts

I visited the RAH gallery in Dublin during some time away, and among all of the artists on display, two really spoke out to me; Dominique Crowley and John Kindness.

Crowley's paintings were interesting to me through color and composition. Written on the RAH website referring to his collection there at the moment, "Crowley’s new body of work has been informed by researching Renaissance and Enlightenment descriptions of the natural world". I found this to be inspiring to my project in the sense that we are both being inspired by the natural world, however vague the term 'world' may apply to my work. Part of his inspiration comes from the extensive writings of Ulisse Aldrovandi, an Italian scientist.

#k00295837 #artist research #dominique crowley #gallery visit #research #movement #movement in the universe #art research #royal hibernian academy of arts

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Workshop Development

To try out another pattern, I bought a sponge roller and drew a pattern on it with the intentions to carve it out in that pattern. It consists of circular shapes; spirals, crescents, small circles, etc... When I'm finished carving it out I will be able to roll it in paint and create a pattern.

#k00295837 #movement #pattern printing #movement in the universe #printmaking

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Artist Research

Keith Haring

Famous for his line art, Keith Haring often specialises in patterns. I have been working on a layered lino print turned into a pattern because of how I designed the stencil, whereas Haring approaches his patterns with a more block print-like method.

I wanted to try another printing and pattern-making method, aside from lino. Haring's patterns are simple line art that I would like to emulate, while also maintaining the concept and shapes I've been exploring over the last few weeks.

#keith haring #artist research #lino print #pattern printing #printmaking #movement #movement in the universe #k00295837

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Movement - Workshop development

Progress on my lino pattern print

In the third layer of my lino block i carved out some more patterns and detail into the planets, as well as touching up some details with how the pieces connect as a pattern.

#k00295837 #movement #movement in the universe #reduction lino #linoprint #workshop development

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Movement - Workshop Development

Progress in the workshop

I decided to make a reduction lino pattern, consisting of circles for the stencil with a plan to carve patterns and texture into the block. I plan to have 5-6 layers so as to include as many colours as possible.

Test print middle, final print right.

#relief print #linoprint #movement #movement in the universe #space #planets #k00295837 #concept development #workshop development #reduction lino

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Artist Research

Ann McIntyre

Ann McIntyre's prints inspire me from the sculpture workshop going into printmaking. Her use of contrasting colors and the composition of her pieces that I'm referencing are interesting to me. To me, I can turn that inspiration into an interpretation of how the solar system moves and planets and other universal bodies rotate, shift, expand, and overlap.

#k00295837 #art research #movement #movement in the universe #printmaking #lino print

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Movement - Workshop

Relief printing workshop concept development

I did some visual brainstorming in my sketchbook and used several examples of my previous work to influence my designs for the small lino block.

#k00295837 #movement #movement in the universe #relief printing #brainstorming

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I made a brief video animating the photos together.

#k00295837 #movement #animation #photography #movement in the universe #concept development

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Movement - Set photos

Photoshoot of sculpture combines with primary source set

Using different camera techniques, especially lengthening the shutter speed, to develop different types of images of my set. Combining my sculpture work with my 3D planet puzzles to create a solar system-inspired set. I could spin and adjust the height of each of the spheres and circles to create interesting images.

Using lights in low shutter speed to bring colour and dynamic movement to the pictures.

#movement #k00295837 #concept development #photoshoot #photography #movement in the universe #slow shutter speed #solar system #sculpture

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Artist Research

Donald Pettit

A NASA astronaut and chemical engineer, Donald Pettit is also known for the incredible photos he has taken in space on his explorations. The long exposure photography he does is what makes the movement of the universe evident in his work. It's awe-inspiring and I see my concept for this project in his work. I plan to use this technique in a photoshoot of my sculpture and primary sources in order to capture a type of motion that exists in the universe.

#donald pettit #nasa #photography #nasa photography #k00295837 #research #artist research #movement #movement in the universe #colors of movement

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Movement - Concept Development

Scanning primary sources to create unique images

I put the 3D puzzles and sculpture pieces into a printer scanner and produced these images. The inspiration being the fact that if anything is put in the scanner, the background will be all-black, like the Universe.

I also moved the planets while the scanner was working to create movement.

#k00295837 #movement #concept development #movement in the universe #sculpture #photography