Thursday 6 May 2010
MEDI 117 (Critical Evaluation)
MEDI 117: Critical Evaluation.
Spores of Reality.
This project has been tough from the outset. The pressure and challenge has been very stressful yet rewarding; since although I had no idea where to go with this project at first and have had a lot of personal life conflicts that made the work more difficult, I have produced a piece that I am satisfied with.
The main thing I would have done differently is to have become more comfortable with macro work before using it but I do not think I would have gotten shots as good as this and as close if I had not made that leap of faith. I chose to use macro since spores of mould are so small it would capture more detail as I wanted it to look bigger than real life so as to detach and abstract the images slightly to emphasise its alien qualities. This I feel in the long run did pay off even though my lack of prior experience may have hindered me slightly.
I opted to go with the images raw and unchanged. No camera effects and no Photoshop since I feel that would have negatively detracted from the nature of the mould and therefore hinder my argument that mould in its natural state is both beautiful and alien, both mirroring the bigger world around it in its intricacy yet at the same time seeming to be of an otherworldly nature. This is a decision I am glad I stuck to as I feel it’s very important that it’s known that is how the mould genuinely looked.
I have had several problems with the research side of things having such a broad brief can sometimes spoil me for choice and so I feel that even though I did do extensive research that may have not been necessary for the final project it has been an important learning curve and building block for the final piece. I have seemed to have stuck to an alien in a normal world theme throughout.
The actuality of how hard it was to professionally display and exhibit work never actually hit me until I had my images printed and mounted and it came to hanging them. I not only had problems with how mathematical it is to get the distance and height just right but also had to overcome my irrational fear of heights to be able to hang them effectively and correctly. I do believe one of my pictures may be slightly off level and sloping but I’m not sure as to whether it is just an issue within my mind or whether it’s genuine as the spirit level does seem to be saying its fine. I decided to arrange the images in a horizontal line and have them fairly low on the wall so that closer examination of them may take place. I’d like the viewer to be at first puzzled and then be able to deeply puzzle at all the bizarre wonders of the mould.
I picked the three shots displayed because they were the best quality and most interesting in my opinion, they also have cohesion and they flow nicely together tied with the green in all of them. I have picked the pictures around key features within them such as a mould flower in the picture to the right of the arrangement, the strange orange shape in the middle and the dew droplets in the picture on the left. The white and green mould is a common feature throughout and serves to give them a relational point so that they go well as a series. I also picked the pictures for their abstract qualities, even in the one where you can see a part of the mould free potato it still looks alien.
It took me a while to find an order to the pictures I was happy with and I finally settled on the order it is now because my two favourite images are on the outside and tied together with the middle which I think makes them quite a strong set all in all. I was a bit sheepish about being hung in the lobby but am very pleased that I get to be able to set the tone for such a brilliant exhibition.
The feedback I have received about the images so far has all been very positive both from friends and course mates. The images have exactly the desired effect with most people thinking they are very beautiful and not at first quite realising its just mould. One person told me that when he realised they were mould he felt a little sick but he still considered them pretty. I would hope they do illicit confusion in most people and am very pleased with all the feedback. I will be further documenting the reactions and feedback in this blog for the sake of interest as I feel it is useful to better understand the further evolution of my work and in such ties it back to the main theme. It may also be worth note that I intended to further photograph the mould as it evolved more but had to part with my specimen as the health and safety implications meant it needed to be disposed of. I do however intend to work with mould in the future as I do truly find it fascinating.
I chose the name Spores of Reality for my piece because of the mould spores and the fact that I wanted the viewers’ perceptions of reality to be challenged. Also interestingly the images reminded me to some extent of the first level of Spore the game. The images may also bear some relations to other artists that have worked with mould or decomposition such as Polona Tratnik and their work on Microorganisms and the many videos on YouTube of things rotting and moulding. I have once again done more extensive research in other blog posts into these areas of interest.
In short I think maybe I could have produced slightly better images having had more knowledge of macro and more time and knowledge to cultivate mould. But overall I am very happy with the project. The fact they are 12 by 12 and mounted makes them look very professional.
Note: I have decided to update this post with the picture I took of the images displayed on the wall in the actual exibition: -
Spores of Reality.
This project has been tough from the outset. The pressure and challenge has been very stressful yet rewarding; since although I had no idea where to go with this project at first and have had a lot of personal life conflicts that made the work more difficult, I have produced a piece that I am satisfied with.
The main thing I would have done differently is to have become more comfortable with macro work before using it but I do not think I would have gotten shots as good as this and as close if I had not made that leap of faith. I chose to use macro since spores of mould are so small it would capture more detail as I wanted it to look bigger than real life so as to detach and abstract the images slightly to emphasise its alien qualities. This I feel in the long run did pay off even though my lack of prior experience may have hindered me slightly.
I opted to go with the images raw and unchanged. No camera effects and no Photoshop since I feel that would have negatively detracted from the nature of the mould and therefore hinder my argument that mould in its natural state is both beautiful and alien, both mirroring the bigger world around it in its intricacy yet at the same time seeming to be of an otherworldly nature. This is a decision I am glad I stuck to as I feel it’s very important that it’s known that is how the mould genuinely looked.
I have had several problems with the research side of things having such a broad brief can sometimes spoil me for choice and so I feel that even though I did do extensive research that may have not been necessary for the final project it has been an important learning curve and building block for the final piece. I have seemed to have stuck to an alien in a normal world theme throughout.
The actuality of how hard it was to professionally display and exhibit work never actually hit me until I had my images printed and mounted and it came to hanging them. I not only had problems with how mathematical it is to get the distance and height just right but also had to overcome my irrational fear of heights to be able to hang them effectively and correctly. I do believe one of my pictures may be slightly off level and sloping but I’m not sure as to whether it is just an issue within my mind or whether it’s genuine as the spirit level does seem to be saying its fine. I decided to arrange the images in a horizontal line and have them fairly low on the wall so that closer examination of them may take place. I’d like the viewer to be at first puzzled and then be able to deeply puzzle at all the bizarre wonders of the mould.
I picked the three shots displayed because they were the best quality and most interesting in my opinion, they also have cohesion and they flow nicely together tied with the green in all of them. I have picked the pictures around key features within them such as a mould flower in the picture to the right of the arrangement, the strange orange shape in the middle and the dew droplets in the picture on the left. The white and green mould is a common feature throughout and serves to give them a relational point so that they go well as a series. I also picked the pictures for their abstract qualities, even in the one where you can see a part of the mould free potato it still looks alien.
It took me a while to find an order to the pictures I was happy with and I finally settled on the order it is now because my two favourite images are on the outside and tied together with the middle which I think makes them quite a strong set all in all. I was a bit sheepish about being hung in the lobby but am very pleased that I get to be able to set the tone for such a brilliant exhibition.
The feedback I have received about the images so far has all been very positive both from friends and course mates. The images have exactly the desired effect with most people thinking they are very beautiful and not at first quite realising its just mould. One person told me that when he realised they were mould he felt a little sick but he still considered them pretty. I would hope they do illicit confusion in most people and am very pleased with all the feedback. I will be further documenting the reactions and feedback in this blog for the sake of interest as I feel it is useful to better understand the further evolution of my work and in such ties it back to the main theme. It may also be worth note that I intended to further photograph the mould as it evolved more but had to part with my specimen as the health and safety implications meant it needed to be disposed of. I do however intend to work with mould in the future as I do truly find it fascinating.
I chose the name Spores of Reality for my piece because of the mould spores and the fact that I wanted the viewers’ perceptions of reality to be challenged. Also interestingly the images reminded me to some extent of the first level of Spore the game. The images may also bear some relations to other artists that have worked with mould or decomposition such as Polona Tratnik and their work on Microorganisms and the many videos on YouTube of things rotting and moulding. I have once again done more extensive research in other blog posts into these areas of interest.
In short I think maybe I could have produced slightly better images having had more knowledge of macro and more time and knowledge to cultivate mould. But overall I am very happy with the project. The fact they are 12 by 12 and mounted makes them look very professional.
Note: I have decided to update this post with the picture I took of the images displayed on the wall in the actual exibition: -
MEDI 117 (Mouldy Methods)
I came up with the idea of growing
mould. This was a perfect way to show the evolution of death into life.
As someone commented on it, mould is “growing into death.” This was exactly what I set out to capture.
I started with a few rough shots to get a feel for the images themselves and opted to go with macro as its better with things this small and really captured the full detail of the mould. I used a wide range of the cameras on board settings to caputre different light and looks and also played with the flash. I toyed with the idea of photo maipulation to accent or erase certain parts or qualities but in the end I decided to go with the most natural. I then decided that I wanted the images to look far more alien and abstract so I began the processes of cropping them, selecting the best images that would make the best final shots. I then selected, from the wide range of Images, the three I liked best and that were the sharpest and clearest to be the final Images.
As someone commented on it, mould is “growing into death.” This was exactly what I set out to capture.
I started with a few rough shots to get a feel for the images themselves and opted to go with macro as its better with things this small and really captured the full detail of the mould. I used a wide range of the cameras on board settings to caputre different light and looks and also played with the flash. I toyed with the idea of photo maipulation to accent or erase certain parts or qualities but in the end I decided to go with the most natural. I then decided that I wanted the images to look far more alien and abstract so I began the processes of cropping them, selecting the best images that would make the best final shots. I then selected, from the wide range of Images, the three I liked best and that were the sharpest and clearest to be the final Images.
MEDI 117 ( Rotting Reasearch)
I have been doing some reasearch on other artists with relation to my work and found some intresting things.
Mircro Cosmos - Polona Tratnik
Rotting Apple
There a tone of time laps videos of things rotting and moulding but the apple is one of the nice ones. I really like all of these images and videos and feel that they relate to my work.
I also was slightly reminded of the first level of the game Spore when looking at my images.
The way there is so much microscopic detail and the ritch palet of colours I feel make me feel reminicent of the game when I look at the mould.
Perhaps this is just me.
Mircro Cosmos - Polona Tratnik
Rotting Apple
There a tone of time laps videos of things rotting and moulding but the apple is one of the nice ones. I really like all of these images and videos and feel that they relate to my work.
The way there is so much microscopic detail and the ritch palet of colours I feel make me feel reminicent of the game when I look at the mould.
Perhaps this is just me.
Monday 3 May 2010
MEDI 117 (Mould!)
For my project I decided to grow mould. I wanted to show how pretty it is and to explore its alien qualitys.
I have taken a lot of rough draft photos using a wide range of settings to acive the best effect. I decided to opt for macro as I feel that it captures the detail better.
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