The Twenty-First Century Curiosity Shop: June 2010

Film to watch - '9' by Shane Acker

Set in a post apocalyptic world where machines have taken over from humans all that remains are a group of mechanical puppets bought to life by their former maker. In this ominous landscape, under the evil scrutiny of a machinic dog their survival is rooted in their resourcefulness. Making use of old and disused objects of the human world they adapt these curious forms to create traps, weapons, tools and trinkets to protect them from the world outside.

Whilst watching the clip think about....

- ...the setting – where is it? When is it?

- What objects do you notice?

- What do the objects tell you?

What is a collection?

–noun

1. the act of collecting.

2. something that is collected; a group of objects or an amount of material accumulated
in one location, esp. for some purpose or as a result of some process:
a stamp collection; a collection of unclaimed hats in the checkroom.

3. the works of art constituting the holdings of an art museum: a history of the museum and of the collection.

4. the gathered or exhibited works of a single painter, sculptor, etc.: an excellent Picasso collection.

5. collections, the various holdings of an art museum organized by category,
as painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography, or film: the director of the collections.

6. the clothes or other items produced by a designer, esp. for a seasonal line: the spring collection.

7. a sum of money collected, esp. for charity or church use.

8. Manège. act of bringing
or coming into a collected attitude.

Why do we collect things?
Is it because these things have value?
If so who to?

Collections can be personal and universal, private and public but what warrants
an object's place within a collection?

EXAMPLES OF COLLECTIONS:

Saturday, 26 June 2010

Final Piece Ideas

Ideas

Here are a selection of initial ideas for final pieces. We have a diverse range of objects in focus from quilts, babushka dolls and kitchen utensils to perfume bottles and keys. Some really interesting connotations are appearing through their independent research such as a history of quilts and toys as well as the ancient yet still culturally relevant uses for objects such as cutlery.

Artist Research

Research

For homework students were asked to research an artist who has used symbolism in their work and produce a visual reaction in response.

Here are some fantastic examples of how artist's work can influence our choice of techniques and style. We have Antony Gormley's metalic figurative sculptures whose abstract formations evoke an emotive response. Whilst Kader Attia's use of aluminum foil to wrap her figures portray an image of preservation.

Thursday, 24 June 2010

Work So Far...

Object research

Here we can see the beginning of our object exploration.
This work is the result of a classroom treasure hunt as well as research homework. What we see is a visual brainstorm of the objects and their connotations.