Open Window 1905

Personal Development Planning

I Wish I’d done this:
Currently, I’m looking at Open Window (1905) by Henri Matisse. It drew my attention from its breathtaking use and application of colour. In 1905 chemicals were just beginning to develop giving artists a wider variety of choice and a more powerful palette of colours such as red.
I wish I’d done this painting because it is done for the purpose of painting. Heading the Fauvist movement, Matisse was concerned with painting because he liked doing so and not because he felt he had to conform to a particular style, technique colour etc.
The impact of the painting makes me feel peaceful and at rest. He has taken on board a traditional, neo-classic style of working and has manipulated it to his own personal style. I can relate to this is my work. If I am not comfortable with a way of working I am not going to enjoy producing my work, where is the sense in that? Finally, I am starting to develop my own style and structure that I am comfortable and thus happy with. Although my style and method is vastly different to that of Matisse I believe he would have agreed with my logic.
For me, something with colour makes the object much more interesting. Matisse has taken a style such as that of Constable and made it more exciting. He has made it more accessible to a much wider audience and much more interesting along the way. Open Window scenes were a constant occurrence in Matisse’s work, but they all feature this uplifting, warming palette.
Some will find the work messy and uncalculated but I think it is this aspect that appeals to me. Again, in my own practice I am becoming more familiar with things that are not ‘perfect’. Sometimes it is nice to have a torn edge or a smudged background. The word I am looking for is contrast. In all the work around in 1905 Matisse’s stood out from the crowd because it was different, it was a contrast in the masses. It was also a contrast to the grim second phase of the industrial revolution which was gripping the world.
Contrast makes the work stand out. For example a perfectly formed lady bird against a sewn line makes the perfect edge of the lady bird appear even more perfect. The brightness and charm of Matisse’s work against the traditional impressionist work of the time would make it appear even more vibrant and interesting.
To be an artist who stands the test of time and whose work is so prominent would be beyond a dream. I am sure that Matisse could never have imagined the fame and fortune he would gain after his death. To fore front a movement, or even be a part of a collaboration of artists moving art forward would be desirable and fulfilling.
I like my colour and tend to use a very bright palette. In a contemporary world however, the colour is lost. Colour is used in everything in an already over saturated world, how does my work stand out? My love of colour also makes me wish that I had produced this painting. Colour in 1905 meant something, it was different, it was a contrast and it made him famous. My colour is ‘normal’, ‘everyday’ and I am part of an oversaturated market, he was prominent, I am lost in a sea of artists all fighting the same losing battle.
I can learn from this image not to be scared to do something different, that I am allowed to deviate from the ‘norm’, that there are no set rules to follow when making a piece of artwork. The only restrictions I have are put in place by me. Given, I have set my self a recipe to follow to make sure that I incorporate everything in my work that has started to work for me. But, this is only because when producing pieces that do work I was struggling to follow the same routine to produce more work to the same standard. They are not rules are such, just my own personal guidelines.
My practise is starting to show results after a long time searching for my preferred method and after labour intensive sessions of trying different techniques. Hopefully with more practise will come perfection where I can start to see real

Yay! A new laptop today to replace the useless HP. Not quite a Mac as I would have liked but the nearest thing and still looks the dogs danglies!!

Let's just hope that it won't let me down like the last one did ...

Anyway, on to other news, I am away for the weekend as of 11am tomorrow to see my relatives in Torquay and am picking Grandma up on the way. Hopefully I should have a very nice weekend away and into the beginning of next week I have a minor operation on Tuesday at 14:30 so wish me luck for that. As of Thursday 13th I am back at work to earn myself some pennies to fund my jet setting lifestyle I seem to have become accustomed to over the last few weeks.

During all this excitement I may even go and book our summer holiday tomorrow morning before my departure... bon voyage all!

Presentation

The last module had a very slow start. I was unsure of the focus of the brief and didn't understand how it fit into an illustration degree. However, I found my focus (eventually) and I produced and presented my ideas. The target time was 6 minutes and I managed 5 minutes 55 seconds. So in theory it went swimmingly in the end. I was nervous to start with, as I always am and I don't think any amount of preparation or workshops will cure this, it is just the way I am.

Do I think I've managed to pull my marks up on this module? We'll find on on Tuesday 11th when I have my tutorial with Ian, please keep your fingers crossed for me, I need all the luck in the world right now :)

Postmodernism essay

I am really proud of my essay this time around. Compared to my usual routine of writing it at the very last minute, I had the foundations written in early December. I even had time to get some feedback before the deadline. I did, however, feel like I was rambling a little and am not sure if it will meet the essay requirements, but fingers crossed (It may just be my confidence has been knocked after my last attempt) ...

Chloe Jones
BA/Hons Illustration
Year 2

Choose one designer (from your pathway area) post 1960 that you feel has
made a significant contribution to contemporary design. Give reasons for
your choice, examine at least one piece of work in detail and link their workto relevant post-modern ideas and themes

I have chosen to examine some of the illustrations of Tim Burton, as I feel that he is most relevant, for me, to the essay requirements. Tim Burton is both an illustrator and film director, working as an animator for Disney during his early career. His work spans from 1981 with his first film ‘The Fox and the Hound’ until the present day. His designs are characterised by their style and he has a tendency to look back into the past to reference his work, hinting at the post modern framework of this module. He is notorious for his contemporary and controversial films, but I am going to look at the illustrations behind the finished product. His ‘visual influences are … Edward Gorey’ (Newman, Kim, 2005) and references to Gorey’s work constantly recur. Burton gets a lot of media attention, reviews and criticism on all of his works and his films are greatly anticipated by a wide audience, thus making a significant contribution in the modern day industry.

The work I have chosen to examine is an untitled illustration from Corpse Bride and another untitled illustration from Alice in Wonderland. Unfortunately on Burton’s website he does not have the dimensions or media for the illustrations. From primary analysis of the images however, it appears to be a combination of both fine liner pen and watercolours. The majority of his works are done in watercolour most probably to depict their fantasy like and dreamy quality.

This is a portrait of one of the main female characters from the film. There is an emphasis on the character’s lips with the spot use of red making this the focal point of the piece. This shows that the story has some love connotations by focusing on one of the intimate areas. The secondary focal point is on the top half of the characters body with the additional detail which is lacking in the remainder of the image. Additionally, there is more spot colour but in a larger quantity with the addition of blue. The blue will reference that the palette of her skin is different to those who live indicating that she is in fact a corpse. It is these subtle ideas that make his work so interesting. Untraditionally though, Burton does not conform to usual constraints of feminism and keeps the character well covered. Yes, the curvaceous lines are apparent but her dignity remains in tacked. Additionally, the ‘living doll of Nightmare is promoted to active heroine’ (Newman, Kim, 2005). Burton is not afraid to deviate from the norm and chooses the focus to be on a female character instead of their usually more superior male counterparts. Post modernism work breaks all former rules in the art world prior to the late 1960’s and Burton definitely makes his own. He has a niche audience which has only grown with the success of his work and his ever evolving style and use of different tools contributing to the post modern world makes him an ever successful designer.

The background is very dark referencing a night time scene and the crosses in the ground depict the backdrop of a graveyard, highly fitting for the title of the film. Yet, the title of the film is less obvious with the attention being on the character and not the setting which is what references the Corpse aspect. Although she is the Corpse Bride, it is the setting and background which give the notion that she is a corpse, not the character herself. She is not made from bone for example.

The angular elements mixed with the flowing dress of the bride make it disjointed and it is difficult for the eye to flow over the piece. It is very staccato where your eye jumps from one element to the next with no continuity. The heaviness of the black suggests that this is a deep story with serious deep seated concepts. It does not reflect the cartoon style that he actually developed in the film. This looks like one of the final illustrations where more time appears to have been applied. The feel then, should be reflected accurately for the cameramen to be able to reflect this. The heavy and deep issues are not apparent in the film, making Burton’s own representations of the character inaccurate. It is however, typical of his illustrations using the type of setting which is synonymous with his style.

Burton, with his use of dark themes, (and constant use of them) hints at the revivalism of the Gothic art era and is ‘renowned as a master of the macabre’ (Brown, Jenny 2009). Founded in the twelfth century, gothic art was primarily religion orientated with typical media being sculpture, panel painting, stained glass and fresco. Although Burton is manipulating the use of modern technologies connoting a reference to Charles Jencks’ double coding the religion theme is still very much alive in his work. The story is adapted from a traditional ‘Russian Jewish folk tale "The Corpse Bride"’ (Kozachik, Pete, 2005). The double coding is relevant as he has combined modern techniques, opposed to the traditional ones of the Gothic era, with ‘something else (usually traditional building) in order … to communicate with the public’ (Jencks, 1978) For Burton, this double coding his highly important as it is his audience that makes him so successful and he needs to be able to communicate with them in a fashion that is contemporary and ‘something else’ different from everything else available on the market. His other macabre illustrations include Edward Scissor Hands, Sweeney Todd and Beetlejuice. The macabre element comes from his use of satire evidently referencing parody in his work also. ‘As Burton has been saying since Beetle juice (1988), the dead have more fun -- or at least afford more opportunities for inventive sight gags’ (Newman, Kim, 2005). Tim Burton has a knack for ‘mocking tradition rather than merely plundering’ historical styles (Ward, 2003). He focuses throughout his work on the dead, the creative ability to extract new things from old tales and new characters with more satirical elements, for example Edward Scissor Hands. He does this to communicate new and intriguing ideas with an ever more intrigued audience.

Although using more recent technologies that were not available in the twelfth century, he does not use the most current. He prefers to stick to what he knows and prefers which is stop motion animation. ‘The film is unmistakably set in a world that is wholly his rather than, say, partly Bob Kane’s, Roald Dahl’s or Washington Irving’s’ (Newman, Kim, 2005). This is due to his imaginative and creative characters that are set apart from others. His use of stop motion animation gives the texture and movement which computers just cannot grasp but which others directors seem to prefer, this also sets Burton apart from other film directors and puts him at the forefront of the industry, his attention to detail is clearly paramount.

Another illustration is the Mad Hatter from the recent Alice in Wonderland sequel. Compared to the original Mad Hatter, Burton has completely thought outside of the box. It is almost as though he is taking somebody else’s idea and completely dismantling it and putting it back together in a whole new way with a twist to create another creature and another dimension. He takes ideas to a whole new level, to a platform where usually boring or traditional ideas are completely unexpected and become current and relative again. His manipulation of line is well mastered and looks like quite a quick attempt. The colours are lucid almost as though it is a dream and there is no heaviness in its production hinting that the finished product should be light hearted and fun, unlike the first.

It is a very free illustration where his hand has brushed the page to create these lines. Therefore, he is a very confident artist and has a clear idea of what it is that he wants to produce. His choice of palette also reflects a dream with the exception to the vibrancy of the yellow in the lower half of the image. The shock of the yellow reminds the audience that this is not a dream.

It has been established then that Burton’s purpose in his work is to surprise and intrigue his audience and to modernise existing ideas. He wants to evoke that exciting emotion where something is completely different to anything that people have ever seen before. He has taken something that he is really interested in (Gothic art) and made it accessible to everyone on a platform that everyone is excited about too, this is quite a clever tool and has clearly made him very successful as a post modern artist and director.

Visuals for my presetation :)

Quentin Blake Article

15 December 2010 Last updated at 01:53
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Quentin Blake on the art of illustrationBy Tim Masters Entertainment and arts correspondent, BBC News
Quentin Blake was appointed the first children's laureate in 1999
Ahead of an auction of works by some of the world's best-known illustrators, Quentin Blake talks about his work with Roald Dahl, and how he is taking art into hospitals.
"I'm trained as a teacher, that's the only thing I've got a certificate for," admits Quentin Blake. "I haven't got anything for art!"
Blake, who is best known for his famous illustrations of Roald Dahl characters like Matilda and The BFG, has rallied fellow artists to help raise funds for a centre dedicated to the art of illustration.
Continue reading the main story
“I'm trained as a teacher, that's the only thing I've got a certificate for”End Quote Quentin Blake on his artistic qualifications
The likes of Raymond Briggs, Eric Carle, Ronald Searle and Gerald Scarfe have submitted original works for the auction at Sotheby's.
Blake has been a driving force behind the House of Illustration project. The building will be housed in the King's Cross regeneration area of London, and the charity is looking to raise more than £6.5m.
"There is currently no building that says illustration over the door," says the 77-year-old artist on his reasons for supporting the project. He has promised the future museum his archive of original works, spanning some 300 books.
"Our vision of it is of a very active place, not somewhere where you put away drawings and don't look at them. There are huge quantities of the illustrations of the past in the reserves of the great museums, but they don't have the chance to show it."
Blake's own contribution to the auction is a watercolour of Roald Dahl's character, the BFG. His 15-year working partnership with Dahl is one of the best-known in publishing.
Dahl would always refer to Blake as "Quent" and liked to poke fun at his white shoes.
"That came with the territory." Blake slips into an impression of the late author: "Here's old Quent, he's taking her out to dinner and he's wearing his plimsolls."
Blake slips his legs out from under the table and shows off his dazzling footwear. "I don't walk very well, they make me feel more fleet of foot, but they're not plimsolls!"
Punch debut
Quentin Blake worked with Roald Dahl for 15 years
Quentin Blake was born in 1932 and went to grammar school before studying English at Cambridge. His first drawings were published in Punch when he was 16.
After National Service he did a postgraduate teaching diploma at the University of London.
His first children's book was John Yeoman's A Drink of Water in 1960. As well as his famous collaborations he also writes and illustrates his own books, creating such characters as Mrs Armitage and Mister Magnolia.
For many years Blake taught at the Royal College of Art (he was head of illustration from 1978-86). He became the inaugural children's laureate in 1999 and was made a CBE in 2005.
After such a long career, is he taking any time out from illustration?
"I draw every day - unless I'm being interviewed," says Blake. "What is nice is to have different kinds of things to do."
He mentions his recent work in hospitals and mental health units. "It's a different kind of brief, a different kind of audience. A lot of the pictures I do in hospitals are to cheer up gaunt surroundings.
"I'm just doing a maternity hospital in France. So I've got the full range of ages. These pictures are going to appear in the delivery rooms - so for some of these poor children it will be the first thing they see!"
I remark that a great deal of Blake's illustrated characters - like Matilda and Mrs Armitage - seem to have an ever-present smile.
"There are a lot of smiles about, it's true. People have come up and said thank you for your work - and joy is the word they've used, but I've also been reproached for it, for being too cheerful.
"But if you add a a smile, it doesn't make it necessarily joyful."
He refers to the doodles he does while on the telephone.
"They are strange-looking monsters indeed - a lot of them are creatures of the desert: birds and animals hitherto unknown. They've all got problems of their own.
"They haven't all got smiles."
The 28 drawings in the House of Illustration auction are on sale as part of Sotheby's winter sale of English Literature, History, Children's Books and Illustrations on 16 December.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11981975

My Powerpoint presentation is done (for the second time!) My silly laptop decided to go and break itself earlier and as a back up I've had to re-do it all. All in the name of a good mark!

I think I've got it nailed - or at least I hope I have. We have a trial run on Tuesday so I'm sure I'll get some feedback before I go for it.

For my visuals for the presentation I'm going to focus on creating an A3 poster which could be put in community halls and areas where homeless would usually congregate. I have also found my way to engage my audience, but that remains a secret until that day of the presentation. Wish me luck! :)