HOMEWORK TASK: For the Tool technique work you will be starting next week you will need a range of photographs of your Tool. Choose your Tool thoughtfully, complex tools with moving parts work best e.g. Secateurs, Corkscrews, Tin Openers. Make your photos as dramatic and interesting as possible, use a clean background that doesn't distract from the Tool. Zoom in, choose unusual angles and consider cropping and viewpoint carefully. You should set up directional lighting (torch or anglepoise lamp) that allows you to create cast shadows and distinctive highlights. Take 15 - 20 shots and print 4 - 6 of the best at A4 or A5 scale. Ensure you have the photos printed and ready to work from on Monday 24th September. Here are a few sample shots to give you the idea:
We are now at the midway point of the Tools project and are about to move onto a series of technique based experiments based upon a single tool. Remember you need your single, complex tool and photos for Monday. You will also need a range of drawing pencils and an eraser. We are going to take in sketchbooks on Monday to give you an interim grade for the Tools project, as it is useful for you all to have an early indicator of how you are doing. We will give you grades for Effort, Process (sketchbook) and Outcome (studio work) and a short feedback comment, more detailed feedback will be given after the completion of the second part of the Tools project. The work you need to submit by 4.15pm on Monday 24th Sept is:
From the still life arrangement, a well finished chalk and charcoal A1 drawing (worked from a mid tone base).
Also from the still life a limited palette A2 mixed media and painted piece. Again make sure this is well finished, use your own time if the class time dedicated to this hasn't been enough to fully resolve your image.
In your sketchbook:
Photographs of both your charcoal and limited palette mixed media piece.
David Hockney Joiner research (see separate blogpost).
At least 2 of your own joiners based on the still life.
Homework tonal pencil drawing based on the still life, revisit these and push them further if you know there is room for improvement.
Gold card plate and prints from it mounted into your book.
Brief annotation of all your work, charcoal, limited palette piece, joiners and prints explaining strengths and weaknesses of your pieces.
You need to find and print out at least 4 examples of David Hockney’s “Photographic Joiners”. Research this aspect of his work and analyse at least 2 of the images you have found in depth. This work should be thoughtfully presented over at least 2 sketchbook pages.
The work will be assessed as part of your project submission, you need to finish it by Wednesday 19th September, as there will be fresh homework tasks next week.
RESEARCH
Title your pages with the Artist’s name, in this case David Hockney, you might consider using fonts available online from sites such as www.dafont.com
Find good examples of Hockney’s photographic joiners – not paintings and not tiny jpegs that print out pixellated.
Give a little background information on the Artist, when he was born, when he started to make his photographic collages and why.
Include quotations from the David Hockney (ideally that relate to his photographic work). Try www.artquotes.net
ANALYSIS
Give a detailed description of the artwork.
Analyse – comment upon use of colour, composition, technique/media, scale etc.
WRITTEN RESPONSE
Give an opinion on the Artworks, but ensure you justify what you say. Avoid simple value judgements (‘I really like/dislike…’) or vague, meaningless statements (’This piece is really effective’). Comment upon how successful or unsuccessful you find the artwork, and give specific reasons why you hold this opinion (I find this joiner particularly interesting because of the way in which the Hockney has explored mixing up different scales and viewpoints).
What is the relationship between this work and your own? Identify and explain connections between this artist’s work and your own.
VISUAL RESPONSE
You will be responding to Hockney’s work by producing our own Joiners based on the still life arrangement, look at how Hockney makes his images to help you create your own.
OVERALL PRESENTATION
Take pride in the overall presentation of your research, it should not be rushed. Consider each element carefully:type, layout, titles, visual responses etc.
FOR AMANDA'S LESSON FRIDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER Don't
forget to bring cameraphones/download/charging cables/sketchbooks Pritt stick (or money for this £1)
in with you,
You will
also need to ensure you have some printing credit (or bring money to put some
on your student card).
A few tips for when you do your photo joiners:
It helps to take your photos all from approximately the same position. Move the camera to capture different sections, rather than wandering around - otherwise you may end up with a set of very disjointed images.
Whilst you are going for a fragmented look if you vary the zoom or viewpoint too much the whole thing quickly becomes incoherent.
You will be surprised at how many photos you need to make an effective joiner, as there is inevitably some that aren't useful - I'd suggest a minimum of 30 shots.
I found when working at A3 scale (for final joiner collages) that selecting the "Wallet Prints" option from the printer wizard was the most effective - this gives you 9 images on an A4 printed page.
To complement the work we are doing in class you should make a
sustained full page pencil tonal drawing working from photos taken of the still
life arrangement. You should aim to spend 4-5 hours on this drawing and
complete it by Wednesday 20th September (it will be assessed as part of your
project). Select a good photographic image that is relatively complex
(probably best to get something from a different viewpoint than your chalk and
charcoal drawing). Set your composition out carefully with a B/HB pencil in
line then add a range of tones using softer pencils (2B - 6B), make sure your
darkest tones use the full depth of tone you can achieve (press hard). This should be a sustained piece that shows off your drawing ability to the
full, you might use a rubber to help you pick out the highlights.
If you have not yet completed the Anna Held Audette work then please do so in the next few days. Please show me or Annie at the latest by Thursday 13th September.
Working from direct observation we will be exploring a variety of media and approaches to image making. Our visual reference material will be a structural still life featuring Tools and other objects. We will start with some large scale sustained observational drawing, as we move through the project our focus will shift towards more expressive techniques. Over the course of the project we will use various drawing media, photography, paint and collage techniques. We will enrich our understanding of how Artists approach observational work through sketchbook based research.
Week 1: Observational Drawing/photomontage:
We will be producing a sustained observational drawing using Chalk and Charcoal on an A1 scale. Alongside this we will be undertaking some photography and creating some David Hockney style photographic "joiner" collages.
Some Pointers for your Observational drawing:
Think carefully about your composition, how much of the still life arrangement should you include to achieve the most visually stimulating image? Don't go for an easy option, challenge yourself
Look hard at what you are drawing, you should visually analyse shapes and tones and carefully observe how they relate to each other.
Start by mapping out your composition in line, then start adding tone. Often it is easiest to start the tonal work by identifying the extremes of light and dark, ensure you establish these tones boldly, then start looking at the subtleties of tone in between.
Use the charcoal and chalk with confidence, you need to approach your piece with energy and enthusiasm, don’t be afraid of making mistakes.
Look around you and learn from the approaches of other people in the group.
Week 2: Expressive Approaches
In the second week of the project we will explore further media and approaches to image making, working quickly to produce a range of pieces. We will aim to use ink, paint and collage to produce these images. Further guidance will be given as we tackle these pieces.
ASSESSMENT:
You will be marked on how effectively you:
Demonstrate confidence and skill in handling media.
Show willingness to experiment and embrace new approaches enthusiastically.
Select and resolve compositions.
Observe and record.
REFERENCES:
For Photography: David Hockney.
For Still Life/Tools: Jim Dine, Chaim Soutine, Euan Uglow, Anna Held Audette.
Hi Everyone, I hope you are all feeling excited about starting the Art BTEC at Alton College on Monday! We are really looking forward to meeting you all again and having a productive start to the term. On our first day we will be starting some practical work, we'll be using charcoal and it could get messy, so don't wear clothes you feel too precious about (good to avoid delicate or light coloured garments).
Useful things to bring on day one are :
A chunky eraser (or 25p to purchase one from us)
£3 for an A3 sketchbook for your first project
An old shirt or apron for working in
'Getting Ahead' work
We will supply Charcoal and paper etc. Teaching staff for the first year BTEC are Charmian, Annie and Amanda, you'll meet us all on the first day. Annie and Charmian will be your Tutors this year. Both first year groups will meet in Room 855 at 10am to start the day and distribute timetables, and give you some important information about studying at college. Later, when we start work we'll also be using studio 815, these two rooms will be the first year base rooms throughout the year I hope you've all had a fantastic Summer and you are now keen to get started. Have a great weekend and we will see you Monday. Charmian 😊
Welcome to the BTEC at Alton and welcome to the Blog - your go to reference for all Course related stuff. We want you to enjoy your Summer, but it would be great if that included some Cultural enrichment, so how about:
Soaking up some Culture and getting enthused by visiting exhibitions and galleries in London. Have a great day out and visit some of these:
Michael Jackson: On the Wall A landmark exhibition that explores the influence of Michael Jackson on some of the leading names in contemporary art. 28 June - 21 October 2018 Tickets with donation from: £17.50 - £22
BP Portrait Award 2018:
The BP Portrait Award is the most prestigious portrait painting competition in the world and represents the very best in contemporary portrait painting. 14 June – 23 September 2018 Admission Free
Are you aged 16–25? Register for Tate Collective and get tickets for only £5
Picasso 1932 - Love, Fame, Tragedy: 1932 was an intensely creative period in the life of the 20th century’s most influential artist. This is the first ever solo Pablo Picasso exhibition at Tate Modern. It will bring you face-to-face with more than 100 paintings, sculptures and drawings, mixed with family photographs and rare glimpses into his personal life.
8 March – 9 September 2018
£22 / FREE for Members
Concession £20 (£22 with donation)
Family child 12–18 years £5
Are you aged 16–25? Register for Tate Collective and get tickets for only £5
All Too Human: Bacon, Freud and a century of painting life. All Too Human celebrates the painters in Britain who strove to represent human figures, their relationships and surroundings in the most intimate of ways. 28 February – 27 August 2018
£19.50 (Advance booking £17.00)
Concession £18.50 (Advance booking £16)
FREE for Members
Family child 12–18 years £5
Are you aged 16–25? Register for Tate Collective and get tickets for only £5
Aftermath: Art in the wake of World War I. Marking the 100 years since the end of World War One, Aftermath looks at how artists responded to the physical and psychological scars left on Europe.
5 June – 23 September 2018
£18 / FREE for Members (Advance booking £16)
Concession £17 (Advance booking £15)
Family child 12–18 years £5
Are you aged 16–25? Register for Tate Collective and get tickets for only £5
Known Unknowns: Selection of work by 17 rising contemporary Fine Artists. 21 MARCH – 12 AUGUST 2018 Admission Free ROYAL ACADEMY OF ART: Piccadilly,London, W1J 0BD https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/
250th Summer Exhibition:This summer, Grayson Perry RA coordinates the biggest, brightest and most colourful Summer Exhibition yet, in our 250th annual celebration of “art made now”. 12 June - 19 August Admission £14/£9 Students and 16-18 year olds with iD FASHION & TEXTILES MUSEUM: 83 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XF http://www.ftmlondon.org/
Orla Kiely, A Life in Pattern:Featuring over 150 patterns and products, as well as collaborations with photographers, film directors and architects, Orla Kiely: A Life in Pattern emphasises the role of ornament and colour in our everyday lives. 25May - 23 September 2018 Admission £9.90/£7 Students with iD V & A MUSEUM: Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL https://www.vam.ac.uk/
Fashioned From Nature: The first UK exhibition to explore the complex relationship between fashion and nature from 1600 to the present day. 21 April 2018 - 27 January 2019 Admission £12/£10 12-17 years or Students with iD
The Future Starts Here: Showcasing 100 Design Projects shaping the world of tomorrow. 12 May - 4 November 2018 Admission £16/£12 12-17 years or Students with iD
Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up: Experience a fresh perspective on Kahlo's compelling life story through her most intimate personal belongings. Until 4 November 2018 Admission £15/£11 12-17 years or Students with iD HAYWARD GALLERY: Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XX https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/hayward-gallery
Lee Bul, Crashing: Brings together more than 100 works from the late 1980s to the present day, including a new sculptural work and a site-specific commission. 1 June - 19 August 2018 Admission £13/£10.50 Students with iD BARBICAN CENTRE: Silk St, London EC2Y 8DS https://www.barbican.org.uk/
Dorothea Lange, Vanessa Winship:A double bill of exhibitions featuring pioneering documentary photographer and visual activist, Dorothea Lange, and award-winning contemporary photographer, Vanessa Winship. — Standard Ticket £13.50 Students with ID and 14-17 year olds: £9.00
Azzadine Alaia, The Couturier: Celebrate ‘couture’s rebellious outsider’ in the first UK solo exhibition of his work. Until 7 October 2018 Admission £14.50/£10.75 Students with iD
Hope to Nope, Graphics and Politics 2008 - 2018: Discover how graphic design has played a pivotal role in dictating and reacting to the major political moments of our times. Until 12 August 2018 Admission £10.90/£8.20 Students with iD Combined Student ticket (Alaia + Hope to Nope) £17.50
Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The London Mastaba. New floating installation by the veteran large scale practitioner. Plus retrospective of works in the gallery. 18 Jun 2018to23 Sep 2018
Admission Free
If you really can’t get up to London…
Then do something else to extend your knowledge of contemporary Art:
Contribute: If you produce a fantastic creative piece of your own over the Summer, then photograph it and use the #iamartataltoncollege to add it to our Instagram page www.instagram.com/iamartataltoncollege
Deadline: Ensure you’ve Read, Visited or Contributed something before term starts on 10th September, even better do all three!
