The last day before exhibition and it was time to move my swans on to the plinth. With the help of some students and Wendy, the transition was smooth. Georgia hung her pieces around my sculpture and when she was happy with the layout, we covered the floor and side walls with a fresh coat of paint to neaten the edges. Tomorrow, all that is left is to put my name tag and light the candle.
Luckily both me and Georgia returned back to the flat earlier so that we could paint the wall together. I brought some blue wall paints, whilst she brought a spectrum of acrylics. After completing my sculpture I realised that I would prefer it to be raised to the viewer’s eye level rather than on the floor. I found a plinth that would be suitable for the width of my sculpture. We decided to hang Georgia’s creations from the rails above, so that it would encircle my work. Since her work is about the problem with perfectionism, she will have incomplete projects next to our display. Now it was time to get messy! We decided to drip the paint down the wall so that the puddle of colours on the floor will mix spontaneously.
Returning after the Easter break, I felt a sense of tension as to what state my sculpture would be in. I was surprised to find that I actually liked nature’s effect on my art. The strain of the weight had formed cracks in all sorts of places. Finally it was time to add the flowers. I called a couple of florist to see if they were throwing any dying flowers away. However all of them stated that they didn’t have any. Luckily to popped to one of the florist on the way back to reading and they were more than happy to assist me. Along with some roses from my front garden, I began to tie them to the metal wire with green string. This was pretty fiddly to do because if I applied to much pressure, then the petals began to fall. I was glad that I had a variety of types and colours. The plinth is painted in blue in order to represent the water, therefore making the external environment relevant. Since I presenting the front of the sculpture, I tied the stems in a way that would allow them to stand at the back of the sculpture, without being seen. Now all I could do was wait for them to decay. 
The time came to start thinking about how I wanted to present my sculpture. Here are some of the artists we looked at during our lecture:
I spoke to Georgia and she was keen on curating together. The idea was to now have her dragon flies, that project a sense of fake beauty, hover above my work. Together they cement the notion of kitsch. They will be connected through the use of various blues painted on the wall to the floor. This represents the sky and the lake. Other ephemeral and thermal pieces encircle my sculpture in order to help diminish the notion of enduring love. Since my figures are swans, it doesn’t make sense for them to be on a plinth. The blue paint that represents the lake will create a more natural environmental context.
This process was heavily influenced by the works of Nicola Hicks, Rebecca Warren, and Florian Roithmayr (more in artist inspiration).
I spaced construction of the sculpture over several weeks. This, in turn, prevents the clay from contracting because of the lack of moisture, hence the formation of the cracks. By covering my work with a wet towel, I could postpone the inevitable, which in this case is the baking of the clay. However, in the end both our sculptures are overcome by the power of nature. For example, overtime the flowers decay. By mixing PVA glue and clay, the residue of the broken sculpture continues to hold its shape. A thin coat of plaster was later applied in order to help preserve the natural shape, without filling in the cracks. Since the form was perfect, the cracks could now form without hindering the shape. I added curved pieces of steel wire to create a skeleton for the wings. This way I could have a structure to add the flowers to.
The chicken wire comes through the clay after drying, the leaving a hexagon imprint. Despite the texture, the clay is painted as a white swan in order for it to appear aesthetically pleasing. This interlinks with William Shakespeare’s line in Macbeth-
“Look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under ’t.”
Metaphorically, with the serpent skin embedded within the swan, the idea that love is a façade is implied, and as a result a more cynical and realistic reading of love if offered. Finally the sculpture began to look like the figures I wanted. I next dug out a hole in the centre of the sculpture and placed the candle there. I then filed plaster in the gaps in order to cement it. This required speed because the plaster dried fairly quickly.
Painting the swans was definitely challenging because a lot of control and coordination was necessary. I painted the swans with whites and greys, however the grey became too dull and overwhelming. Therefore I applied a fresh coat of white to add a sense of purity. Next step was to add the flowers closer to the exhibition date. 
Here is the revised idea. Removing the rings reduced the strain on the arc, thus allowing me to continue working with the clay. I decided to include more of the stereotypical symbol of love, in order to emphasise the presence of kitsch. Using interlaced flowers for the open wings classically projects themes of romance. However, as the clay corrodes away, simultaneously the flowers will decay too. I have also added a candle in the base. In some way it gives my sculpture a function, as if it’s an ornamental statue (like the Willow Tree Figures) that one can place in their homes. Along with the cracks and rotting flowers, the melting candle emphasises the fact that love doesn’t endure. .
I continued on the structure I already had but manipulated the top bit to make the figures look like swans. I left it to dry, however by the next day severe cracks had formed. The weight of the rings hanging in the middle caused too much strain. It was too early for the cracks to appear as they hinder me from sculpting the right shape. To support the rings I placed a wood block underneath it so that I could continue working on it. I attempted to fill and work on top of these cracks.
Unfortunately the weight of the added clay resulted in even deeper cracks. After trying to salvage it for a week, I realised the design was to improbable to make, because the chosen material was physical to heavy. It was essential that I altered my design.
After gathering all the correct materials, I immediately began to work. An evening in the art department, with Disney music blasting, was great until my sculpture started to collapse because of it’s weight. Having two forms of circles sitting on top of each other, made out of clay, was not going to physically work. It was back to the drawing board for me…
IDEA 2- Basically half of the previous design. Two random heads in a circle does not effectively emit feelings of tender love though.
IDEA 3- What symbolises love more than humans….SWANS! Swans have been used as a symbol of hope, tenderness, companionship, and beauty throughout all types of art e.g. poetry. In fact, they are associated with the Venus of Love. The only draw back to this design is that the swans are facing away from each other.
IDEA 4- Not only are the swans facing this time, the necks intertwining sort of looks like two martial rings. Now that’s a way to emphasise love! 
The next lecture we had explored the various materials we could use, and how certain artists have manipulated them in order to use as a device to expression their ideas.
After attending the optional clay workshop, I was extremely keen on using this material for my sculpture. The creator of Willow Tree Figurines (one of my artist inspirations) carves clay to make his sculptures. The size of the sculpture was going to be large, mainly to exaggerate the elements of kitsch. It was therefore important that I create a metal base and structure for the form. For this I’m employed steel wire (for support and structure) and copper wire (for form and texture).
I then started thinking about how the term ‘impossible’ could be interpreted:
This could then be applied to a physiological object or an philosophical ideology. Here are some of my initial ideas- A massive paintbrush being dipped into a lake, a bridge built with a huge deck of cards, and a metal frame that looks at the ocean, as if it was a painting on an easel.
However I didn’t really like any of these initial idea. I wanted to go more conceptual with this piece. Therefore I needed to describe an impossible feeling, emotion or thought through sculpture. Then Valentines day came and me and some of my flat mates started talking about how people know when they are in love. My friends that have experienced that feeling all simultaneously stated the fact that it’s impossible to describe. And then an epiphany! LOVE! I started brain storming the classic tropes that people associate with love:
This list has been inspired by popular rom coms (discussed in artist influence page). After analysing these films, I realised that the relationships and stories explored in these films imprint certain expectations about how love should be in real life. Researchers claim that the unlikely happy endings, improbable plots, perfect sex and faux philosophy are to blame. Film directors oversimplify the dynamic process of falling in love, wrongly giving the audience the impression that this could be achieved in real life with no problems, effort or time. We tend to only see the exciting period of falling in love, rather than the commitment and trust that are required for this feeling to maintain between two people over years to come. The fact the 50% of marriages end in divorce implies that love very rarely endures.
“Art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way”
My aim was to initially create a sculpture that illustrates the impossible description of love (based on cheesy tropes). However, as an artist I will allow nature to intervene with my work, allowing its effects to depict the reality of love- that it eventually lessens and dies. Thus, the essence of Kitsch is present as the piece appears to be deeply sentimental, whereas the exaggeration and explicitness of the themes suggest a more satirical understanding. Having natural forces break the sculpture emphasis the presence of Kitsch.
It was time to sketch again…
IDEA 1- Two bodies intertwined with one another, in perfect harmony. With them facing each other creates a deep sense of intenseness. The arch sheltering the couple suggests that they are safe in their bubble of love.
In the seminar session I shared my idea with the class, where Enno and Georgia felt quite a liking to the concept. Would the impossible telling of love be better shown as a collaboration I wondered? Enno’s idea involved the ice melting which could relate to ‘love melting away’. Georgia was thinking about making beautiful figurines of butterflies, so beautiful that they were fake. Again this relates to kitsch and how some claim to feel butterflies in their stomach when they are falling in love. However this idea didn’t pan out in then end we left the option to work together when curating. All I needed now was materials to sculpt with.
Straight after completing the film project, we have been given a new task to complete within a different dimension in art. This was to create not just an ordinary sculpture, but an impossible one. During the lecture we went through a range of artists that engaged with the idea of sculpture and the impossible in various ways:
http://prezi.com/zjzzfg_yohv4/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share
Finally it was time to name our creation. A pun about feet was a given. For a while we discussed titles in the group chat but none of us could come up with ones we liked. So I asked my flat chat and these are the ones that came up:
The one the group chose was ‘The Sole of a Student’s Day’.
During the production of her film, music was always on our minds. Our discussions suggested that everyone had a different vision for the film. For example, Georgia suggested something more classical. On the hand, some suggested having sound effects for the footsteps. We could do this by using the website asoftmurmur.com. However because the footage is sped up, it would result in constant noise. Hadis recommended ‘Chopsticks’ because the fast tempo of the piano instrumental would create a comical effect.
We all agreed that the song needed to be slow, relaxed and joyful during her walk around the campus, and then clubbing music for the party scene. However by the end we needed a dark and sombre tune for the scenes after the club. Here are some of the instrumentals that came up:
We felt that the ones above didn’t fit in. Whilst Charlotte was finishing the editing, me and the others discussed other possible themes. Recently I played ‘Life is Strange’ and was in love with the soundtrack. In our film, the parts after the club are played in reverse to give a trippy vibe (because she is drugged). The reminded me of the song ‘To All of You’ by Syd Matters because in the game they play it reversed for the nightmare sequence-
Whilst me and Georgia were finishing the last scenes, Charlotte and Ikrah completed the premier pro tutorial so that editing could be started. During editing we were told to keep the six rules of editing by Walter Murch in our minds. This was (1) Emotion 51%, (2) Story 23%, (3) Rhythm 10%, (4) Eye trace 7%, (5) 2D place of screen 5%, (6) 3D space 4%. The other elements were:
Trim
In/out
Jump in/out (e.g. from inside to outside)
Cross dissolve
Fade in/fade out
Split screen
Long shot
Medium shot
Close up
Extreme close up
One shot/two shot (when having a conversation, the over the shoulder shot)
Tracking
Linear vs non-linear
NTSC/PAL
fps
Widescreen (16:9)/4:3
Mono/stereo
Timecode (00:00:00:00) (hr:min:sec:frame)
Media (never changes – source material)
Hadis and Layal went through all 139 video footages and noted the best ones (steady).
I later joined them and helped number them in order since I knew which videos linked (because of the scenes and the clothing).
We then matched everyone in the group with a pair of shoes for the opening credit scene:
I then gave Charlotte a list of names of the extras from my flat who helped with the production. Here are the credits:
Me and Charlotte then started merging the videos together. From the lecture we learnt that it was important to have the right foot arrangement from one video to the other. Therefore if one video had the left foot lift up, the next video had the foot complete the step. One of the most challenging step was to link the video of Charlotte putting her feet on the bed and Georgia’s feet coming off the bed. We did this by matching the level of the floor and position of the feet. After this, Charlotte complete the final steps of editing e.g. speeding up the footage and adding the visual effects for the drugged scene. The movie could be a maximum of four minutes, and at the moment we were had a total time of 00:17:04:10. This could be done by cutting out unnecessary scenes and fast forwarding the footage. By the end we reached 00:04:47, without over speeding it.
One issue the arouse whist editing was adding the names for the opening credits. Charlotte informed us that she tried having the text roll up to the corresponding shoes, however this resulted in six random names staying on the screen. On the group chat, Layal suggested having the names could come up as them came and went from the shoe, which actually worked. Charlotte conducted the visual effects for the drugged scenes. This consisted of colour change, a corner bender to alter the curvature of the video, wave warp, and turbulent displace. Together this created a sense of disorientation and distortion within the video, for the audience.
Here are six videos on the experiments for the visual effects.
Finally, it was the last day of shooting which was probably the most exhausting one because it took all day. The scenes left were all the barefooted ones and so it was essential that Georgia participated. We first shot the bathroom scenes which was quite funny because my flatmates were so puzzled as to why we were in a bathroom together with a camera! Initially we thought the disabled bathroom would work better because of it massive the surface area available. However, the toilet was in the way, resulting in a very close up footage, We then tried a different shower room. As it was smaller, I had to sit under the sink whist holding a broom – very gross and challenging. The fake blood that Layal brought did not come through in the footage, so we didn’t include it.
Georgia started to feel pretty sick again, but since the camera was on demand, we had to keep shooting. We recorded the stairs and outside scenes, where it was freezing cold. After this Georgia went for a nap, and instead my flatmates were kind enough to help me finish the remainder of scenes. One of them is a professional Irish dancer and allowed me to shoot a performance of her for the film. 
At first she refused to come to park bar to shoot because of how bad she was feeling. My friends tried to take her place by wearing her red heels. Unluckily none of them could fit in them – a Cinderella kind of situation. The only option left was to use the kitchen and call it a house party. This was definitely a collective effort and I could not have done it without the help of my flat. Some of the girls put on heels, other put on trainers and pretended to be guys! Someone courageously volunteered to be the ‘creepy guy’ in the video who tries to assaults the lead. I gathered a couple of lamps and put red and green acetate paper over them. Those were flicked on and off rhythmically to create a lens flare. Georgia woke up and we basically had a mini party in the kitchen.
Probably the most productive day of shooting, even though we couldn’t record the barefooted scenes since Georgia was ill and has a distinctive tattoo. Nevertheless me and Charlotte spent a full day roaming around the campus gathering footage- me filming Charlotte. Firstly we mimicked the scenes by Layal and Hadis, such as ‘jumping in puddles’. We came across Rachel who was more than happy to play a role in the movie.
However the highlight of the day was shooting the date scene. We were in urgent need for a guy to play to role of the boyfriend. That where we called Will and luckily he was glad to help. We went to the Grumpy Mule to get a drink that Charlotte could drop. The scene was pretty awkward to shoot, where I was directing Will to pick and spin Charlotte around and play footsies. They perfectly captured the romantic essence with their feet, and the awkwardness they felt reflected the feelings usually felt when people go on a first date. We then shot the drop of the drink, and at first it didn’t create a splash. We redid this scene and it was even better than expected- It splash all over Charlotte!
On the way back, I was pretty eager we shoot the skateboard scene, however Charlotte has never rode one. Luckily we saw Lilly who owns one and offered to help us out. She was already wearing black jeans, but borrowed Charlotte’s shoes. The last scene we shot that day was the transition between the boots and the heels for the club scene. Since Georgia was still ill, we figured that if we shot Charlotte taking of her socks and shoes and putting her feet up on to the bed, then we could merge this footage of Georgia putting her feet down and putting the heels on.
Hadis and Layal planned to meet up with Georgia, in order to shoot the outside scenes. However, since Georgia was ill, they decided to gather some test shots instead. To their credit, they found a variety of different surfaces that could appear in the film, such as gravel, water, mud, grass etc… Although the scenes shot in this day weren’t used in the actual film, they remain quite valuable in that me and Charlotte echoed some their movements when we came to shooting the final scenes. For example, there is a scene where Layal jumps in the icy puddle, something that aesthetically looked pleasing because of the reflecting sunlight. Also, Hadis’ shadow appeared in some of the footage, so I kept that in mind when I shot the remainder of scene. Furthermore they tested different angles, but we all preferred the horizontal view because it allowed the pace to stay consistent, with less distractions.
It was time to make our vision real. Me, Charlotte, Georgia and Ikrah meet up at Windsor where we conducted some test shots with the strange contraption above. We started of in my room but we soon realised that the vision on the feet was zoomed and restricted because of the lack of space, due to the fixed desk and wardrobe. We wanted to capture the feet and the calf and see Georgia leaving the room, and so we requested another flat mate if we could use her room since the layout of her furniture is different because she is in the disabled room. We soon concluded that this room was perfect to use and so shot the waking up and going to sleep scenes.
Siobhan’s Room
romaisart 