Contextual Studies Assessment Task 3: Major Essay

Choose one work by each two different postmodern artists. Describe each work and explain how and why they are postmodern. Discuss the content of the images and how they are made.

This essay is about postmodern artists and how their art changes the environment around them. The two artists I am discussing is Richard Serra, “Band,” 2006 and Guerrilla Girls “Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into The Met Museum,” 1989-2005.. Two different artists that have changed the way you can create art and how it can effect society.
First of all I am going to talk about Richard Serra, who plays with the original views of how a sculpture should be. Before the 1960s sculptures were about beautiful human figures made out of marble, gold or any expensive media to show the status of the person who you were making It for. However, this changed in the 1960s, art became minimalists playing with traditional methods and using art to show emotion through colours and shape. Industrial materials grew Serra took advantage of this and started working with lead and steel. He played with the traditional techniques of using these materials, he did this by throwing melted lead against studio walls which he then casted. This emphasized the physical process of how he creates his pieces Serra likes to represent the raw aggression and physicality of how he sees his work and how it is produced. Showing his emotions trying to change points of view, Serra says this about his work, “ I don’t consider myself a political artist, but anything I can do to make a difference, I will. America is a right-wing country and I’m essentially from the old left.”
Serra creates his sculptures by using various of techniques on huge plates of towering steel he, bends and curves steel, carving private spaces from the large public places. This is represented in “Band,” the curved and bent shape separates large public spaces and turns them into small private rooms. His signature for all this sculptures is the towering curves and oxidised steel.
In contrast to this Serra didn’t just experiment with techniques, he also changed his sculptures into pieces that wouldn’t just be shown in a art gallery. He made them in a massive scale and didn’t build them in clean pretty places, Serra put them where the media suited its surroundings. On the other hand he has also created pieces that are small.
Serra’s work refers to how art is not just something that has to be beautiful, it can be beautiful through the process it was made in or what it may mean emotionally to the artist. His work is all about breaking the boundaries of sculpture which is why he is a postmodern artist. The post modernist era was very much about change and changing peoples views in society, Serra did this by bringing out the sculpture process into the final piece. His pieces are not about natural body forms they are about the raw emotion of how he thought to produces them.
Whereas, Guerrilla girls founded in 1985 by a group of anonymous artists which took names of dead female artists brought to change views within the art society. In public they wore gorilla masks and hided their identities by focusing on the issues happening in society. They also say they wear gorilla mask to "we wear gorilla masks to keep the focus on the issues rather than our personalities,”
In the 1960s culture changed completely and the guerrilla girls took advantage of this. They advertised the rights every human being should have, changing the emotions and views in society. They did this by making posters, billboards, public actions, books and other projects making them feminism funny by putting the signature gorilla mask on every woman. In the piece I have chosen the background is a very bright yellow to catch passers bys attention. There is also a woman in a royal pose you can see this by her laying on purple sheets and face sideways which was a common pose for royalty to be painted in. The stereotype in which women were painted in was naked and having a upper class background with flowers or on a bed. They broke this stereotype by putting the gorilla mask on her, showing that because you cant see her face is she still a woman? Paintings were about being attractive and they took this away to see if the art community still though of it as a piece of art. Guerrilla Girls formed to challenge the sexist practises within institution of high art museums and galleries. In the piece I have chosen they refer to female nudism in art museums and how the female form is more recognised then the art women artists can produce.
Likewise to this they focus on the stereotype of women in the piece there is a duster which focuses on how women are second class citizens and should stay at home and clean.
The technique they use mainly to produce there posters is through print, they mix various types of screen prints because they bring the bright colours and eye catching pictures to draw the viewer in.
In there posters Guerrilla Girls use statistics like “Do women have to…,Met Museum,” showing how they don’t recognise the talent which female artists have. Changing that beautiful women can make beautiful art. This is why they are a postmodernism artists the Guerrilla Girls broke barriers in gender and sexuality, showing everyone is equal and stereotypes mean nothing. Using any type of public communication to broadcast there message.
In conclusion to this postmodern artists were very much about there views and trying to change society around them, excepting who you are and what you’re art means. Serra’s art is about changing the views on what art is, asking the art world what they think makes something wonderful. However, the Guerrilla girls are postmodern artists because using there art to change the views of society and breaks the stereotypes of sexism and sexuality, but broadcasting there message through there pieces advertising the right to be whoever you want to be.


Richard Serra, Band 2006.


Guerrilla Girls, Do Women Have To Be Naked Into The Met Museum, 1989-2005.

Sophie Semmence
Word Count: 995
Bibliogrpahy: www.moma.org/visit/calender/exhibitons/14
www.ppbs.org/art21/artists/serra/#
www.gagosian.com/artists/richard-serra/
http:ggbb.org/
www.guerillagirls.com/interview/index.shtml
www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/248352/guerrilla girls.html
http://affinityproject.org/groups/guerillagirls.html

ASSESMENT TASK 2: CONCEPTUALISING YOUR WORK.

WHO INFLEUNCES ME IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY?

In this essay I am going to discuss how Alice Kirkpatrick sci-fi heroine collection has influenced my fashion designs. In her collection she uses many different materials to communicate this image such as PVC, neon, metallic and patterned fabric which exaggerates the human form.
The angular, geometric shapes in her collection exaggerates the shoulders and hips by making them wider. Chest, by using block colours, and also uses big collars in her collection to make the character more suspicious which makes the audience think she has something to hide. Likewise to this, because a heroin Is an over exaggerated human being Kirkpatrick makes each woman an exaggerated powerful figure. Also, she uses blocks of colour instead of blending colours together and making it flow. This is because using block colours makes the angular shapes look even bigger and stand out even more.
I like the way Kirkpatrick uses the shapes to make every heroin stand out and change the image of that person. It is as if putting her clothes on changes the identity of the woman, making her into a character where you can be whatever you want to be, this can be shown by each heroin wearing masks.
Alice Kirkpatrick’s uses unusual themes, for example recently Kirkpatrick made a dress that looked like a traffic light. However this doesn’t stop with materials, all the materials she uses are eye-catching and shocking which makes the buyer look twice in amazement. The materials she uses are usually shiny, tight, bright or have interesting patterns.
Her designs inspired me into producing designs using collage but in blocks of different media collaged together. By combining different media I produced lots of unusual designs. I experimented producing one of these designs called Blue Diamond which I based on a dictionary page and turned it into an angular dress with over exaggerated hips and wide shoulders, to balance out the dress. I then added a blue diamond to add an eye catching piece of colour like Kirkpatrick’s work. In my designs I like to over exaggerate the shapes like in her work.
In my pieces I like to use a lot of pattern to make it stand out and bright blocked colours. This has really inspired me also in my textile work, I like to produce angular prints using silk screen and layering as many patterns on to make it seem 3 dimensional. This makes my prints stand out.
I also like the way how Kirkpatrick combines block bright colour and black for her pieces the colour draws the buyer in and then they wonder who the person might be under the clothes. Her fashion collection turned into a mystery who’s behind the colour?
Altogether I really think that Kirkpatrick has given a whole new dimension into fashion combining with geometric shapes and giving all women the chance to be a heroin. She shows how fashion can help you be the person you have always wanted and can transform you by using some simple shapes and colours. I think her work will still inspire me in the future and help me develop my own style and how I want my clothes or textiles to be used.

 MY WORK AND DESIGNS

ALICE KIRKPATRICK'S WORK

By: Sophie Semmence,
Tutor: Vicky Cull,
Word Count: 532.

visual studies.

created a magazine in visual studies, then made collages out of my favourite picture. This is the end result.

This last one is my favourite, the shapes and just how i created so many views of one small image makes it look very effective.

essay

The representation through these pieces are both shown using the

media of textiles. The pieces I have chosen are Meret Oppenheim,

Object made in 1936 and Louise Bourgeious, Woven Chid made in

2002.

Both pieces represent the reusable factors of life. Oppenheims object is

a cup covered in fur, Cups are reusable objects that can be used over

and over again. Likewise to this Bourgeious Woven Child is the female

form which can be used as a container for children representing the

womb, as reusable container of life.

Oppenheims fur cup looks delicate and well crafted with Chinese

gazelle fur. Even though it is thick with fur you can still see the shape

and how well it is put together. The cup may look complex in design

but it was made by covering a cup, saucer and spoon in fur.

However, Bourgeois, Woven Child is a less complicated piece, message

is very visual and obvious. The message Is mostly in the title which

represents the connection between mother and child or connection

with family. The transparent material shows the child at full form

very tightly held in the womb, the body image of the child makes the

message stronger with the connection of family and containing a

human being.

On the other hand Woven child is a light coloured pieces fresh and

clean, these colours may refer to the child being her first and how she

was pure before getting pregnant. But, the womb of the woman is a

dark blue transparent fabric which could mean that she is sad about

becoming a mother or how the child isn’t wanted.

Oppenheim cups meaning is about the fur trade and the element of

un-needed killing to symbolise your wealth. For example a cup doesn’t

need to be covered by the fur but the designer feels the need to catch

the eye of the admirer and make it stand out. The colouring of the

Chinese gazelle fur also has a meaning of higher class with a royal

golden yellow, symbolising the character that would buy or wear the

fur in the community. The spoon in this piece is unusually wide this

could mean the many ways it is used in fashion in daily use. Also

showing it in a new form shows the ridiculous ways it is used when

there is no point or advantage to killing an animal to get fur.

Woven Child refers to family life as a natural bond by using “woven,” in

the title with is a way of weaving natural fabrics together and joining

people together in life. However, not every bond is wanted and even

though it may be natural it can be what you don’t want.

Altogether, both pieces share the idea of unwanted or not needed

natural objects. Fur is a natural object but it doesn’t belong with a cup

and saucer, a baby doesn’t necessarily belong when it isn’t wanted.

Also both pieces represent the reuses of life and creating new objects

out of older or more used versions.

fashion photography

A random photography shoot of my twin sister and a random one of me.

london banner

I have recently been on a trip to london with college, and in groups after we had to make a banner using images and ideas that we collected on the trip, here are the end results.

textiles print

Here are some prints i created using screen print on various textiles. Infleunced by african art, france and jugs.