Week 6 - Final video/ test run:

For my final video I edited it more in terms of time lapse. I decided to change the video length to 3 minutes and 21 seconds, which is the length of a song that was playing in some of the found footage I found of my grandmother holding me as a baby. I then used this song as a reference on keeping time with the video and audio. I also decided to use a split screen in order to get more footage into this time length but also used this as a way to track the first walk after she died more, giving the sense that the other video images are scenes from reminiscencing about her life, and about her in general. Which helped make the walking sequence more powerful as a metaphor in some ways. The audio is not neccessarily a narration, but more a bricolage of sounds that remind me of her, i.e. music she listened, television shows she watched etc, as well as the sound of walking to coincide with the walking sequence, and add a pace to the video as well. 

Looking at the final video I feel very proud of the result I have accomplished, I feel the video in itself makes a good bricolage, especially with the audio. I feel the video isn't too long to feel boring, and in some ways makes sense in the way it has been laid out because of the fact that due to er alzheimers we will never be able to fully piece her back together, but with the remnants we have we have a memory of her that sees her in a light we never saw her in before, trying to piece the jigsaw back together in some ways. This walk was powerful in it's own right and to be able to simulate the thought process that was going on during this walk makes it more surreal, but allows the viewer to join in on this, allow their own interpretation onto what she may have been like just from piecing these few parts together.

Below is the final video for my final project:

During the test run of my video installation I had to think about issues such as wiring of the electrical components, i.e. the projector, laptop etc., checking any sound and setting the video to loop on Quicktime player, as well as making sure the projection was lined up with the installation I had set up. After playing the video through the projector it made the installation come to life. It had achieved what I had wanted it to do which was break up the footage with the fabric, making more of a statement on the idea of piecing something this important together, allowing the breakage in the 'lost memories' to be more clear and make more of a stand.

Overall I am proud of my overall result for this personal project module. I feel over the next two years I could improve more on these skills as well as with installation. I feel this piece of work has my 'stamp' on it, and feel a great sense of ownership over this piece of work.

Week 5 - Making of installation:

This week I have been focusing on making plinths for my installation for my final major project. In order to get the idea for my installation part of my video installation, I comprised two sketches of two different ideas I could possibly do that would work with my video:

I decided to go with the first installation idea as I feel it has a more interactive feel and I feel that the idea of projecting through fabric would be a good way of breaking the image into segments, like a jigsaw puzzle, which I feel works with the feel of the video.

I decided to focus on the main pieces of this idea which was the washing line, and the fabric clothes. I first comprised a sketch to help me build my 'washing pole':

After that I then built the 'washing pole' and painted it white to make sure it was plain enough to not distract viewers from looking at the projection of the video of the wall.

After this I then moved the prop upstairs and connected a washing line to the wall, pegging on the fabric clothes I had cut out:

 Overall I feel this set up for an installation is simply yet practical. When I experiment projecting my video through I am sure the density of the fabric will allow the projection to work well with the installation and break the video into fragments like I am intending for.

Obviously if there was more time in order to make my final major project I feel I would be able to improve the installation by maybe sewing into the fabric, as if the memories have been 'washed' away, making reference to my grandmothers alzheimers. And I could of created more of a 'scene' by following the sketch I had made more thoroughly. But I do feel this result for my installation part of my video installation is a good piece that will help shape my video.

Index:

Bricolage: In the practical arts and the fine arts, bricolage (French for "DIY" or "do-it-yourself projects from home") is the construction or creation of a word from a diverse range of things that happen to be available, or a work created by such a process.

Video Art: Video art is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data.

Post modernism: A late 20th - century style and concept in the arts, architecture, and criticism, which represents a departure from modernism and is characterized by the self - conscious use of earlier styles and conventions, a mixing of different artistic styles and media, and a distrust of theories.

Dadaism: A movement in art and literature based on deliberate irrationality and negation of traditional artistic values; also: the art and literature produced by this movement.

Performance Art: An art form that combines visual art with dramatic performance.

Poetry: Work in which the expression of feelings and ideas is given intensity by the use of distinctive style and rhythm; poems collectively or as a genre of literature.

Tender cruelty: A paradoxical relation to the subject, i.e. analytic yet involved, unemotional but still engaged. A descriptive term coined by Lincoln Kirstein when witnessing Walker Evan's work.

Week 7 - Evaluation:

Through out this Personal Project module I feel I have used my skills to the best to my ability considering the time I had. The idea of using video as a form of art is something that is relatable to current artists which I feel has helped shaped this piece of work for this project. My aim for this piece 'The First Walk After She Died', was supposed to try and piece together the loose scraps of memories of my grandmother, trying in some ways to piece bits of her life together, which will unfortunately never be complete due to her suffering from alzheimers, which lost dear memories that pieced together important parts of her life. During the said walk I participated in, these memories came alive, bringing forth thoughts about family, things that had been said, and her relationship with my grandfather. 

Trying to track someone's life is not an original idea in some ways: Laure Prouvost, Sophie Calle, Tacita Dean and many other artists have tried to capture this through various formats. But one thing my work has in common with all of these artists' attempts is the attempt of tracking a person's life, and realising in the end result of the work that it doesn't have to be complete, that is what makes someone's life unique. Not being able to know every detail of someone's life doesn't make it unworthy, it makes us question what they were really like, and focus on what we know more, allowing a clearer memory to form of what we know, that feels more truer to the second. Leaving some mystery in between these allows their life to be remembered as a life, something we can't trace every second of.

The result of this piece I feel is a good overall. Over time I'm sure I will improve more on this as a skill, allowing myself to expand this creativity of creating digital bricolages, experiment with sound, and piece together something, that although does not make sense at first, is exactly what happens when we remember a person: we reminiscence. 

Nothing is in order, it is simply in the order our brain decides to remember them. In some ways this piece could be interpreted as a bricolage inspired by my memory of my grandmother during this walk.

Week 4 - experimenting of textiles and composing narration:

This week I have been experimenting with textiles in terms of embroidery. I thought about using images that relate to my grandmother such as places where she has lived, where she was married, old photographs etc, and I did two experiments with these images. The first experiment I compiled an arrangement of different images and compiled them together through an embroidered piece:

The second experiment I focused on the main image of a photograph I had retrieved of my grandmother and grandfather when they were young:

I feel for an experiment this was successful, expecially when considering that I hand stitched these two experiments rather than hand embroider them in order to capture a different texture to the pieces, creating a more personal touch which I feel is more noticable. I feel I could use this experiment as part of an installation for my video in some ways if I tidied up any loose threads in the back of the fabric and made sure the fabric I was sewing on was clear enough to project a video through.


I also have compiled the 'narration' part of video for my final piece. When looking through the found footage of my grandmother holding me as a baby, there was one of her music tracks playing in the background. I decided after discussion with my tutor to make my narration the length of the said track and compile different sounds, recordings etc within this time limit, including the featured track, which help get my video down to a good time length so that it wasn't running for too long. I feel the sound I have gathered works well with the clips I have used for this bricolage. For future reference I will have to look up more on the issues behind copyright and what I can and cannot use within my sound. But for this hand in I was advised it would be okay to use by my tutor, and would also be okay as long as it was not a large public event or a competition I exhibited this piece at.

Below is the research I have gathered about the issue of copyright with my sound:

If you use samples in your commercially released music, you should get legal permission. The process of getting permission from the owners of the sampled music is referred to as "sample clearance." Failure to get the proper permission could lead to serious consequences: lawsuits or the inability to distribute your music to the public.

When Sample Clearance Is Required

In general, sample clearance is required only if you plan to make copies of your music and distribute the copies to the public.

Sample clearance is generally not required if:

• You are just using the sampled music at home.
• You are using the sample in live shows. This is because, usually, you are not making copies and the owner of the venue pays the blanket license fees to performing rights organizations such as Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) or American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).
• You plan to distribute copies to the public but meet one of the following: (1) an average listener would not notice the similarities between your end product and the sample, or (2) your use of the sample falls under the "fair use" doctrine. For more information on these, see "Defending a Lack of Sample Clearance," below.

Operating Without Sample Clearance

Many artists releasing their own recordings can't obtain clearances -- either because they can't get the music publisher to respond to their phone calls or because they can't afford the fees.

What is the risk? Using a sample without clearance is always risky.  However, as a practical matter, if you only sell recordings at shows and don't make more than one thousand copies, your risk is reduced. The owner of the source recording will be unlikely to learn of your samples. However, if your recording becomes popular at clubs or on the radio, or if a major label wants to pick it up, you'll have to deal with sample clearance.

Reducing the risks. If you use an uncleared sample, you can lower your risks by:

• making it unrecognizable
• not using the sample as the groove or hook
• burying it in the mix, and
• not using the title of the source music in the title of your song.

Defending a Lack of Sample Clearance

If you decide to use samples without clearance, you might be in the clear in certain situations. Under the copyright law, you don't have to obtain sample clearance if:

Your Sample Use is Not Infringing

If you alter a sample so that an average listener cannot hear any substantial similarities between your work and the sample, there's no violation of the law.

Your Use is a Fair Use

What is fair use? Fair use is the right to copy a portion of a copyrighted work without permission because your use is for a limited purpose, such as for educational use in a classroom or to comment upon, criticize, or parody the work being sampled.

Factors in determining fair use. Generally, when reviewing fair use questions, courts look for three things:

• You did not take a substantial amount of the original work.
• You transformed the material in some way.
• You did not cause significant financial harm to the copyright owner.

Don't believe the widespread myth that "less than two seconds is fair use." It's not true. Also, some courts apply this fair use rule only to the musical composition copyright, not the sound recording copyright. For example, one judge ruled that any musical sampling violated the sound recording copyright.

You can use the above arguments in order to defend yourself against a lawsuit for sampling without permission. The problem: You won't know for sure which way the judge will rule. And, most likely you'll have to hire an attorney to represent you in court

When Possible, Seek Permission

You'll be on safer legal ground if you seek permission, especially if you have a record contract that puts the burden of sample clearance on your shoulders. Such contracts usually contain an indemnity clause -- which means that if you and the record company are sued, you must pay the record company's legal costs. Ouch!

Note that when you sample music from a pop recording, you need two clearances:

• one from the copyright owner of the song, who is usually a music publisher, and
• one from the copyright owner of the master tapes, which is usually a record company.

To learn how to get the proper sample clearance, see How to Obtain Sample Clearance.

(http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/permission-sampled-music-sample-clearance-30165.html)

Week 3 - Artist research:

This week I have decided to do some artist research to help find links with my own work as well as give me ideas as to how to present my final body of work.

The first artist I am looking into is Marina Abramovic. She is known as the 'grandmother' of performance art and that is because she has been producing performance art work for three decades. She has created pieces of work that are full of sentimentality and connections such as her piece 'Inponderabilia' (1977), as well as created pieces of work that are to shock the audience, i.e. her piece 'Art must be beautiful', where she physically brushes her hair violently, pulling hair out of head with sharp brushing movements.

I think her work can relate to me in the sense my performance art pieces within my video are to create sentimentality through metaphors like Abramovic does within her work. I may not express such sentimental approaches in the nude but I do use the same sense of motifs and metaphors like she does within her work.

The second artist I am looking into is Bruce Nauman. Bruce Nauman is most known for his phenomenal piece of performance work 'Walking in an Exaggerated Manner around The Perimeter of a Square', which he experimented with in his own studio by mapping out on the floor where he was going to walk and exaggerating that shape through his own movement and his body language. He is now known for his work with lights and colour. But I am mainly focusing on his performance based work as I feel through simple movement he exaggerates the movement within it as well as the shape he is walking which in some ways I am doing within my own work. I have used body language to suggest more into what there is just like Nauman and his square. The simplicity element lies in both of our work when considering my simple performance elements and his simplicity of just walking in a square.

The third artist I have looked at is Sophie Calle. Her work definitely relates to mine when considering two pieces of her work: 'The Shadow' (1981), and 'Room 43'. Her 'shadow' piece of work can relate to the motif I have created in my video of following my mother her dog while they walk around Shipley Park, as in this piece Calle was followed and photographed also. Her piece about 'Room 43' shows her photographing found objects front the people staying in the hotel, which is similar to my approach of recording the object around my mothers house that were from my grandmother, showing a similar approach of investigating. 

The fourth artist I have looked at is Laure Prouvost, Turner Prize winner. My use of video can be seen to be similar to her style. Her use of jump cuts, her videoing herself rummaging through objects, using performance as the director as well as participant in her videos, can be seen in some ways in my video. Her use of installation around her work where she creates a scene is something I would like to achieve in some way to create the feel of being there, of being lifted from where you are into the video itself. I really admire her work, she is certainly an inspiration within my work as well. I especially like her Turner Prize winning piece 'Wantee', which has a lovely use of narration that can again relate to my work as I am hoping to use some kind of narration for my final video as well.

The fifth and final artist I have looked at is Tacita Dean. My use of video can be seen to relate to her piece of work 'Teignmouth Electron' in terms of focusing on one particular shot in order to tell a bigger story. In my case my focus shot is the walking sequence I have created of the first walk around Shipley Park after my grandmother past away. It shows this image in a harsher way in Dean's piece with the wrecked boat, decaying over time, abandoned all together, which can be seen in a lighter manner in my walking sequence, especially through Lincoln Kirstein's theory of tender cruelty. This can be seen in my walking sequence and Dean's piece of work through the soft quality of the image but the decaying meaning behind it.

Week 2 - making of video and animation:

This week I have started composing my first draft of my video for my final piece of work. To make this video and edit it, I used Adobe Premier Pro to thread my video together. In this video I have performance footage, found footage from old video tapes, footage from my visit to Derby and footage of found objects that belonged to my grandmother. The idea behind this video is to track her life journey from fragments I already knew and from what my mother knew as well.

My grandmother was an engineer and loved dancing and music. But the thing that mattered most to her was family. These key themes are shown throughout the video through performance, found footage and objects.

She enjoyed time with family. She met my grandfather while dancing one night when he was on leave from the army. Unfortunately he died during combat later in life and my grandmother was living on her own. Using figurative performance art I tried to capture this moment but looking back on it now I think it was not that successful compared to other parts of the video.

Throughout the video there is a constant motif of a walk through Shipley Park with my mother and her dog. My grandmother use to take this walk with her dog Peppy, and even after Peppy past away she came along with my mum to walk around. This walk I recorded was the first walk without my grandmother. So in some ways it seems very spiritual to me, as if it is a testament about how she is not there anymore, but how we all still carry on. 

I liked the use of this motif as it connects all the footage together when considering movement and time. However the overall first draft draft of my video I feel there is certainly room for improvement. I think I need to show more of how these memories are just pieced together from what my grandmother just knew at the end of life. Some of these memories are fuzzy in some ways as she unfortunately had Alzheimer's and forgot some things but remembered others. I also think the hands I have used for the performance pieces to signify her ageing and her lost of my grandfather need to look older as they look too young. I may also consider blurring pieces of footage and even decaying parts of footage as well. Overall though I am pleased with this first attempt, there are plenty pieces of footage that are creative ideas and others that need tweaking here and then.

Below is the first draft video:

I also decided to experiment with some stop animation of me drawing her from two images from different points in her life, one from when she was younger, and one when she was older.

As an experiment I feel it was successful, and that it is something I can use later on. I know that keeping something in the same place is very important, and how speed is also key depending on the amount of photographs being used for a stop animation. I feel like if I were to improve them I would straighten out the overall shoot of them all and even prepare myself more with equipment by having a button connected to my camera to take photographs more easily.

Below are both animation experiments I have created:

Week 1

This week we had to figure out what we are wanting to do for our personal project that relates to one of the subjects we have talked about in lectures. I have chosen to focus on the body in art, and I propose to focus on this using digital processes such as video, animation, photography etc, and possible installation/sculpture as well. Below is the synopsis of my project:

The importance of a person’s life is something we don’t know great detail in until it is too late to focus on the crucial details of it from the actual person in hand. Through expressive imagery and analytical approaches I hope to focus on my grandmother’s life and show it through the use of digital resources as well as introducing a performative element to my final major outcome. Everyday objects, simple stories, and found footage can create a lively portfolio of a person’s life. I will present these ideas within a video as well as allow for opportunities such as photography, drawing, and other aspects to allow my grandmother to come alive once again. Looking at artists such as Laure Prouvost and Sophie Calle, I can use these influences to show me how to bring to life someone else’s life, and personality through objects and the use of the body in art. Each key factor of object, re enactments, found footage and so forth can slowly, and beautifully bring my dear grandmother back to life, piecing her together like a jigsaw.