Able to clear Crate space straight away - removed the stand from the TV monitor and lay the monitor on the floor in a prone position. After imagining how it would look I was somewhat disappointed with the outcome. Removed it from the Crate space but again it didn't seem to work, (need to photograph this for documentation).The image has far more impact in a vertical position. Experimented further with the pipe with purely sound and no sand/postcards - fails to carry the impact that the video carries. The video will be the work that will be shown at the Degree Exhibition. Met with DR (main tutor), positive tutorial and great feedback. Main focus now needs to be

• to focus on the presentation of the work
• consider an alternative to the black..use a white frame to test this.
• speak to ST ref exhibition space    Done

Tutorial scheduled for next Tuesday.

Simon Rundle from the Marine Sciences of Plymouth University featured my brief in his write up for Deborah Robinsons Transpositions Exhibition.

Ok, so download of last week's activities...


Monday - started to clear space to allow for more clear thinking. 
A definite day of allowing chance circumstances to navigate. Not much studio work partaken but a great day to chat amongst fellow students and offer mutual support.
Had a chat with ST (tutor). Showed him the video on the laptop and discussed the pipe and the possibility of sound being used within it - a play on irony. He seemed very taken with the whole idea and felt the work was very interesting. This gave me a huge lift. He suggested bringing an actual washing machine into the space as part of the installation...


Tuesday...Brought in a tv monitor to test the video in this format as supposed to projection. Works far better. The clarity of the screen works stunningly with the imaging of the crystal clear sea. Also there is a black screen surround which is definitely enhancing the image. The monitor is standing against the 3 remaining black walls of the crate, so again this is helping. Experimented further with sound using the replaced piezo speaker that I soldered up that morning at home. This sounded so much better in the pipe. AK (tutor) came to have a look around. His feeling was the film was perhaps slowed down too much. He also came up with lots of alternative suggestions...I explained that all his suggestions had been previously tested and this was now where the work stood. He suggested I check out Gabriel Orozco and his lint work. This was great to look at but a little too late in coming! He also suggested bringing an actual washing machine into the space...! I didn't demonstrate the pipe. Felt a little subdued after AK's meeting!

                                          Video on TV monitor in dark space.


Wednesday...went sand crazy! Before going into Uni I 'mocked up' some ironical postcards - using the images of the doors on the beach and text. I felt these would be quite quirky along with the irony, (I'll put the images up on the blog). I also experimented further with sound. Listening to Big Yellow Taxi in the car by Joni Mitchell. Felt the lyrics were appropriate so downloaded and tried this in the pipe, along with Louis Armstrong's, Wonderful World. ST had suggested lift/hotel type music so I played Percy Faith and Theme from a Summer Place. All sounded very cheesy but apt. Then poured sand around and a few inchs inside also to seat the pipe. I then took the postcards and placed them randomly sticking out from the sand...the idea perhaps being that as people approach the pipe they than take a postcard away with to do with as they wish...keeping the work OPEN. 

Irony postcards with sand and pipe with sound.

Then I tested out the washing machine doors in a more sculptural form along with nylon thread and sand.

I was then visited by AL (tutor)... a great week for tutor input! She was very taken with the video footage, but hated the sound (this interfered with her fantasy of the work). She REALLY hated the postcards! We had a good laugh about it and no offence taken! Really good to have her positive feed back on the video work! She suggested videoing from the inside of the working washing machine!!...I said the household insurance wouldn't cover! Suggested alternative method of displaying the monitor...ie not on the plinth. Felt relifted again!

Thursday Worked at home in the morning. Became inspired by a YR2's sound piece (PC) and hence took to getting back to working on a sound piece as I had been before Easter. A build up of washing machines on various stages of their cycle, orchestrated together, that finally build to a 3sec silence then a climatic roar of the sea (downloaded) to end with.  I visualised people entering a restricted space (The Crate?) to experience the sound work. This was then downloaded to CD. It is unlikely to be used but I always like to have a back up. Once I returned to the studio I started looking into creating a new website...my new website is currently being constructed through ISendYouThis. Oh yes, purchased a new waterproof camcorder...as cheap as poss, with a view to videoing the washing in situ! Shall discuss this further with DR.


Friday Home day working on websites and new Twitter site. Travelled up to Plymouth via train to attend Debbie's Preview evening and Yr1 Exhibition, while travelling I was able to consider display of the video, which is likely to be the piece exhibited. Had a coffee in Waterstones which allowed me to consider things further.


Notes written Friday pm...

3 possibilities

• most probable to use video and take this further. Consider use of an already set up Webcam, Seaton Beach has one so I can have the doors on the beach during the run of the show as a related but separate piece of work.
• Consider rebuilding of Crate - the darkness creates a dramatic backdrop to the work - could reduce the work down to the Crate with simply the monitor inside.
• Monitor could be lying on the floor in a prone position (as though washed ashore). A false floor fitted so as to hide the wires away. This needs testing ASAP.

Need to now remove everything from the Crate space so as to test monitor on the floor.

  
                                         Also the book has arrived back from Blurb.com


Sunday Looking forward to returning to the studio to test out ideas. Thinking of projecting onto a puddle of water also. 




A response from the 2 shows seen on Friday - Less is definitely more. Listened to my sound composition again with my husband and my daughter. I am a person who values sight over sound and I question this amongst other when in a mixed medium exhibition. When I visited an exhibition in Berlin earlier this year with a Sound piece (name TBC) I was confronted with a space that had only this one piece of work. I am increasingly aware of the difficulties of Sound work being exhibited among other non-sound works. This is quite a deciding factor to my decision on the sound piece. It will be demonstrated within my assessment but unlikely to be used for the show.

TRANSPOSITIONS

Deborah Robinson, Peninsula Arts, Plymouth University.

Fantastic exhibition!

http://www.freesound.org/people/digifishmusic/sounds/43760/

Really busy week in the studio...excellent. Great opportunities to discuss work with fellow students and tutors....everyone has a different opinion! Art is SO subjective! 


Shall update tomorrow!

Had a bizarre dream last night! I built many interconnecting clear acrylic cubes. From these cubes sand or water were sucked from one cube to another...I want to build it!! It was activated by the insertion of a memory stick...? If only I had a team of technicians with know how!

With this dilemma relating to the work not being as I wish while it stands in the studio space, reflects perfectly on Benjamin's argument of 'the aura' in The Work of Art in the Age of the Mechanical Reproduction. Instead of a large projection it is quite possible that I shall now show the work on a monitor, with headphones, alongside the book and images which I shall produce as postcards. The postcards will be for people to take away and to do with as they wish...allowing the work to be 'open'.

Fantastic debate this evening at Cornwall's Eden Project. Well worth the trip!

Book complete...delivery by 8th May.

Looking forward to seeing George Alagiah tonight at the Eden Project!


http://www.edenproject.com/media/2012/04/live-rainforest-debate-hosted-by-news-presenter-george-alagiah-eden-project-april-20  

Avoiding the studio today! Blah!


However, have been most productive putting the 'book work' from February into a book on Blurb. Showed it to my husband as he hadn't seen it before. I remarked something along the lines of needing to add to it but at the time of writing I was 'in that place' and was concerned that time had moved on now, I knew more about the work and the issues concerned...he responded, '...a passionate piece of writing, written of it's time. It is a book.' So on these words a book it has become...just need to put in references, then off to print it will go. If the results are good I shall have a limited amount printed and open to sale at the Plymouth University Fine Art Degree Show 2012.

Experimenting onto natural stone wall...not as intended when making the video. This needs further consideration. Chatting with a friend today and he asked as to the where abouts of the Crate.....Should the crate be reinstalled? Really fancied the idea of portals created in the Crate walls and washing machine doors would be these portals. Perhaps this is negative to delve on. 

Feel I still need to work on creating another video. As can be seen above I am reflecting back to the washing videos...why? Is it because I am not satissfied?

In the studio now...disaster! The white cube setting is really not working with the work. Projected onto a rear wall with a linoleum floor looks vile. Projected onto a natural stone wall and this looks better. Playing around with the nylon fibres in the sand and on the wall is looking a little more interesting...arghhh...hate hate hate!

Thinking of the links of this work to Bourriaurd's theories on Postproduction - taking the ready made door and an uploaded recording of sound then altering it for my own needs. I guess I could say the same about the usage of the sea, the location.

Still taken from video, title yet to be given. Feeling more confident about the video today - heading up to the studio shortly to test it out. Shall take the doors with me also and play around with the bag of sand up there.

Played it silently on the Mac and then with the downloaded track - wondering now if I should have the sound. Really feel as though it is adding to it now. Good to sleep on it.

Hmm, problem with some of my images I see...???

Good days work done today. Have made first 5min video which will be used as the backdrop to the installation. Tried out many sounds, some of my own, some downloaded off the net but nothing is working at this time. It may be that I use hydrophone speakers and capture the sounds of the sea creatures live during the running of the show. This allows for the work to be quite open to any possibilities (with sound) according to the activity within the portal pools. The video demonstrates a slowing down of time which has been carried though from previous projects during my time on this degree. I am looking forward to some critical feedback on my return to Uni. Working at home can be very isolating.

Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to upload for the sake of the blog so instead I've been editing the footage I have on Final Cut. The sound captured is lousy - the camera, Fujifilm, has excellent pick up and all I have captured is the sound of the camera and my feet grating against the gravel of the shore. The visual however has been quite successful for a first shoot. Shall head out again once the weather picks up...very stormy in Cornwall today!

Just trying to upload some raw footage taken at the weekend.

When returning from Hollywell Bay we drove past these windmills near Truro and I connected them with the machine doors lying on the beach - another representation of our impact or perhaps our NEW nature.

Info sent!

I need to forward catalogue info to TS so am thinking of using the image below.

The images below have been useful in possible decision making for presentation of the degree Show in June. Allowing the sea to take control of the movement of the doors after some challenge to keep them firmly anchored in place has led on to the idea of allowing the doors to contain seawater and sand (so now lying flat as supposed to vertically and laid randomly on the floor). Projected onto a rear wall (or other - need to experiment in studio) will be video footage. Considering positioning some small creatures into the door pools or perhaps they should be called portal pools, such as shrimps, hermit crabs - whatever I can find in the rock pools. (possible influence of Damien Hirst's butterfly room currently running at Tate Modern.) Thought it could be interesting to then webcam on the same wall the creatures in livetime, thus allowing the washing machine doors, sea water, sand and creatures to interconnect

Have emailed for exhibition space request so awaiting response on this.


Today I shall start editing video, upload some images for the blog and look into how to build a webcam set up.

Excellent weekend of videoing and documenting through photography of the doors within the waves at Hollywell Bay....weather conditions couldn't have been better and lots of unpredicted results! SO important to familiarise with the materials. Very excited to see initial filming on site...love the unpredictability of what may be captured through the lens.


Lovely and engaged response from NT car park attendents which really lifted me. Some very curious looks on the beach...which is great! Feeling very excited again about the work. Just listening to some sound I captured on the marrantz, alas too much wind so shall have to record again.


Must get some business cards printed up so I can pass on my details while out on location to those who are interested.

Tony Cragg...research!

Reminding myself of a seminar last year on Rubbish Theory. Initial thoughts..this doesn't relate to the washing machine doors. I would have had brand new doors - if I could have had them for free! However if I am to consider using the found pipe, pulchra natura, then I really should consider the writings of John Scanlan, On Garbage and Michael Thompson, Rubbish Theory. I need to read a lot more into Duchamp and Neo-Dadaism. 


How can I use brand new nylon thread and bought sand along with discarded washing machine doors and an abandoned pipe?

While collecting more video footage today I shall be taking out the doors and photographing them on the beach, this initial juxtaposing of domestic object with location could be interesting...being a Saturday with the sun shining and school hols still running may be a bad idea!...just checked weather and tides...tomorrow will be sunny..later today...rain! Tomorrow morning it is!...also shall be heading to north coast as supposed to Downderry....feeling a need to expand locations...the location is no longer a priority.  




The pipe work is taking on a new direction as a result of Zizek philosophy. The found pipe shall be considered as nature itself, so playing on irony now - I am steering away from the idea of applying sound to it via piezo speakers and it shall be rested simply on the floor - it is a document of nature now. 'Beautiful nature' - in Latin 'Pulchra natura'.

Latest developments
The crate has been semi-removed. Still keeping 3 sides up as a working space within the studio...very limited on room. Need to paint the walls of this...probably white to start.
Will be working with the 7 doors, sand, nylon thread (currently blue but possible expansion to other colours on this) and still possible use of video...not happy with current raw footage so hoping to head out today. Once the kids are back to school and I can get back in to the studio I shall be experimenting further. This Easter break has allowed for much beneficial research reading and contemplation. I have to admit to feeling very nervous with the work now...having started off so confidently. I am pleased with the theoretical findings but feel my work is becoming greatly Minimalist - is less more? I'm nervous to say yes. I shall go in with everything and then deduce or vice versa. Have to keep head 'supra'!

'Appropriation is indeed the first stage of postproduction: the issue is no longer to fabricate an object, but to choose one among those that exist and to use or modify these according to a specific intention.' (2010:25)


'When Duchamp exhibits a manufactured object (a bottle rack, a urinal, a shovel) as a work of the mind, he shifts the problematic of the "creative process," emphasizing the artists gaze brought to bear on an object instead of manual skill. He asserts that the act of choosing is enough to establish the artistic process, just as the act of fabricating, painting, or sculpting does: to give a new idea to an object is already production. Duchamp thereby completes the definition of the term 'creation': to create is to insert an object into a new scenario, to consider it a character in a narrative.' (2010:25)


Nicolas Bourriaud, Postproduction, Lukas and Sternberg, 2010.

'It's simple, people produce works, and we do what we can with them, we use them for ourselves.'


Serge Daney

'We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.' 


'The meaning of an image is changed according to what one sees immediately beside it or what comes immediately after it.'


Berger, J. Ways of Seeing, Penguin Books Ltd., First Published 1972, Reissued 2008.

Oh yes, good response from the Eden Project too...thanks Maxine.

Good news from SR today, he wishes to reference my work! Very exciting! Sent him the following brief:

sub/supra ii

My current practice sourced from the research and findings of Professor Richard Thompson et al and his team in the Marine Biology Dept, Plymouth University, explores the possibility of man made clothing fibres, polymers, entering the sea through the waste water of washing machines in the form of microplastics. I am interested in the relation between the domestic act and its possible effects on the marine environment. While observing a contaminated sand sample under a microscope, I was shot with an image that was dangerously beautiful. Through an artistic exploration I am forced to question the impact of human presence and also to question...what is nature now? 

Success with the doors! Have 6 very grotty washing machine doors!...beggars can't be choosers! Trying to enthuse myself to get out the rubber gloves, scrubbing brush and bleach! Many thanks to ARC in Plymouth!...what a find...it was an amazing graveyard of electrical items. Reckon a return trip will be called for!

sand, washing machine doors and the chemical formulae for various polymers written on the sand....

http://youtu.be/9LxkmO7hnM0

Examined Life: Slavoj Zizec

Controversial but very interesting!

Love editing on Final Cut but am so uninspired with captured footage. Moving further away from using video. It's looking more and more as though an installation with sound will be experimented further with. This project is going on too long for me...I much prefer short, 3 weeks as a deadline. 

Things are looking up! 


Have  managed to source Absolute Recycling in Plymouth, ok...well done husband!...and we are heading there tomorrow morning to strip some doors off their machines...

Advert request put in for Classifieds in Cornish Times


Desperately seeking used/unwanted washing machine doors!

Desperately seeking used washing machine doors!!


Have been to the local tip but they won't allow me to take any...how hard can it be?!


Have now written to the Eden Project so fingers crossed they may be able to come up with a solutiuon.


Really don't wish to have to buy new doors at £20 plus a piece!