1. 29 Mar



    Over the year I have learned a lot across a wide range of subjects and enjoyed the program as a whole. Unfortunately I couldn’t attend every lecture but I gained a lot by checking through the powerpoint presentations and researching into the chosen topics myself to discover new artists, subjects and theories such as Cameron Wisch and his drumming performance art show as well as kitsch art.

    I wasn’t looking forward to tackling the essay but once I had chosen my topic I found it much easier to get started and I jumped straight in. I didn’t actually read all of the books in my bibliography as a lot of the points I made were drawn from my own personal opinions and attitudes that are based on knowledge I already knew due to being a fan of punk music and the culture it’s rooted in. It would have been useful to spend much more time searching through the books I listed as well as other sources to back up my points as that’s one of the main factors that let the essay down. I know how I could improve my essay and I will redo it at some point in the future but unfortunately I didn’t have the time to do so in time for the deadline. But overall, I am happy with it and it felt good to be writing again which is something I’m going to continue to do in my spare time.

    I left the Millenium Square brief until last minute but I was satisfied with my idea and the final outcome. I wanted it to relate to social change and my answer to the essay question so the idea of promoting free-thinking and the opportunity of connecting like minded was a successful one.

    Though my time management hasn’t been the best this year the COP program has expanded my knowledge on art and encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and research into other art forms and theories. Over time I hope this practice will bring new influences, inspiration and a better understanding of art and the creative process.

     

  2. 28 Mar


    (crafting begins at 01:30 if you’re not a fan of skateboarding)

    “Craft has never been more important than now, as an antidote to mass production and as a practice in which the very time it takes to produce an object becomes part of its value in a world that often moves too fast.” Caroline Roux, Crafts Magazines

    This quote couldn’t be more on the ball, especially when it comes to this project by American eyewear company Shwood. Their in-house manufacturing process merges precision technology with a classic skilled craftsmanship to create a timeless art form. If I wore glasses, I’d wear the shit out of these.

     

  3. “Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value.” Wikipedia This is extremely relevant in today’s modern culture especially in the fashion industry. There are countless clothing labels popping up via free online store services (that act as  tasteless product enablers) with little creative spark behind their ideas and products that portray an aimless approach to design which is merely an imitation of what’s been done before. But sadly, these tasteless products and ideas continuously attract a tasteless audience resulting in an endless cycle of throwaway trends. The hat on the left is made by Supreme (high art), one of the pioneers and leading brands in the streetwear industry. The hat on the right is by Set clothing (low art), an imitation of the high end product which simply ticks every box from the quote above.  This is one of the various forms of popular culture that draw from and aspire to high art with a primary criteria of appealing to popular taste.

    “Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value.” Wikipedia


    This is extremely relevant in today’s modern culture especially in the fashion industry. There are countless clothing labels popping up via free online store services (that act as  tasteless product enablers) with little creative spark behind their ideas and products that portray an aimless approach to design which is merely an imitation of what’s been done before. But sadly, these tasteless products and ideas continuously attract a tasteless audience resulting in an endless cycle of throwaway trends. The hat on the left is made by Supreme (high art), one of the pioneers and leading brands in the streetwear industry. The hat on the right is by Set clothing (low art), an imitation of the high end product which simply ticks every box from the quote above. 

    This is one of the various forms of popular culture that draw from and aspire to high art with a primary criteria of appealing to popular taste.

     

  4. “Value is determined by the average amount of labour that is socially necessary to produce a given product; it is informed by the countless acts of individual (living) labour performed by individual workers.” Diedrich Diederichsen

    “Value is determined by the average amount of labour that is socially necessary to produce a given product; it is informed by the countless acts of individual (living) labour performed by individual workers.”

    Diedrich Diederichsen

     

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  7. Martha Cooper is mostly known for being one of the first to photographically document the hip hop culture of New York City in it’s infancy during the 1970s and 80s. She’s a highly successful woman artist as she’s worked for the New York Post, the National Geographic and is currently director at City Lore. She captured the concept of pure creativity; everything from the youth gangs and their unique fashion, graffiti styles, breaking (dancing) as well as neighbourhood outdoor jams. She’s published several books and collaborated with numerous artists, companies and brands including Obey clothing.

    Martha Cooper is mostly known for being one of the first to photographically document the hip hop culture of New York City in it’s infancy during the 1970s and 80s. She’s a highly successful woman artist as she’s worked for the New York Post, the National Geographic and is currently director at City Lore.

    She captured the concept of pure creativity; everything from the youth gangs and their unique fashion, graffiti styles, breaking (dancing) as well as neighbourhood outdoor jams. She’s published several books and collaborated with numerous artists, companies and brands including Obey clothing.

     

  8. Hush is a british graphic designer and illustrator turned painter and street artist. His complex technique that combines various street approaches with traditional art practices has taken him across the world and landed him in numerous exhibitions. Hush’s work connects traditional graffiti styled mark making with traditional subjects and aesthetics, rough and rigid yet intricate and precise. Hush studio

    Hush is a british graphic designer and illustrator turned painter and street artist. His complex technique that combines various street approaches with traditional art practices has taken him across the world and landed him in numerous exhibitions. Hush’s work connects traditional graffiti styled mark making with traditional subjects and aesthetics, rough and rigid yet intricate and precise.

    Hush studio

     

  9. Street art is a relatively modern and global art form that is one of the strongest visual tools of free thinking and social change. Following the media’s coverage of Banksy and various other artists and documentaries in the past decade, street art has become a recognised art form. It has been officially accepted into the art world when pieces were exhibited in galleries and sold out shows before being sold off at auctions for thousands. Ripo is a New York street artist whose approach to art is kind of ‘postgraffiti’. His work prominently consists of spray paint techniques (especially in his larger pieces) and resembles those of graffiti styles but a lot more thought goes into his work and the way his typographical visuals communicate themes perfectly. In my eyes, he’s a designer, typographer, street and graffiti artist all in one big creative clusterfuck. From Ripo’s website on the piece above, For years this was a spot to go paint with friends with little stress except the wind blowing our pieces across the wall. Hundreds of artists had painted this kilometer stretch of cement (front and back) that separates the Barcelona port from the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the construction of a luxury hotel next to this wall came the biggest wash of grey paint I have ever seen. The entire wall, front and back, was erased to a boring grey slab. So Much History had been Erased so that those at the hotel can feel like we were never there. Barcelona, Spain.

    Street art is a relatively modern and global art form that is one of the strongest visual tools of free thinking and social change. Following the media’s coverage of Banksy and various other artists and documentaries in the past decade, street art has become a recognised art form. It has been officially accepted into the art world when pieces were exhibited in galleries and sold out shows before being sold off at auctions for thousands.

    Ripo is a New York street artist whose approach to art is kind of ‘postgraffiti’. His work prominently consists of spray paint techniques (especially in his larger pieces) and resembles those of graffiti styles but a lot more thought goes into his work and the way his typographical visuals communicate themes perfectly. In my eyes, he’s a designer, typographer, street and graffiti artist all in one big creative clusterfuck.

    From Ripo’s website on the piece above,

    For years this was a spot to go paint with friends with little stress except the wind blowing our pieces across the wall. Hundreds of artists had painted this kilometer stretch of cement (front and back) that separates the Barcelona port from the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the construction of a luxury hotel next to this wall came the biggest wash of grey paint I have ever seen. The entire wall, front and back, was erased to a boring grey slab. So Much History had been Erased so that those at the hotel can feel like we were never there. Barcelona, Spain.

     

  10. Unfortunately I didn’t attend the lecture on museums as reading through the presentation was interesting. I wouldn’t have thought more people visit museums and galleries than attend football games but apparently it’s true. After spending a good half an hour getting lost in looking at museums across the globe I decided that one day I will visit the Vatican Museum.

    Unfortunately I didn’t attend the lecture on museums as reading through the presentation was interesting. I wouldn’t have thought more people visit museums and galleries than attend football games but apparently it’s true. After spending a good half an hour getting lost in looking at museums across the globe I decided that one day I will visit the Vatican Museum.