Tutorial...

In my latest tutorial (Tuesday 8th November) I showed my tutor the actual footage from my camera (which I unfortunately can't upload onto here at the moment, probably need to figure out formatting etc). But the footage I showed to my tutor hadn't been completely edited. I wanted the  footage from outside my living room window to be snipped into clips where the trains go past but with no gaps in between. I did this as I wasn't sure if the gaps in the film would work, especially as I had about 9 hours worth of footage I thought it would be good to focus on what the film was about. However when I showed what I had produced to my tutor so far what drew her into in was the pauses in between, in those moments nothing changes in the scene, everything is still until a train goes past and disturbs it all, catching your attention.

It was watching this that made my tutor question whether cutting down the footage was such a good idea. I collected my footage in 40 minute segments (as that's all that my camera can capture at one time). My tutor suggested to perhaps play all the 40 minute segments at one time on different screens to see the comparisons of the days. Another possibility would be to play it as one continuous 8/9 hour film played in the background of whatever chosen setting. I could also experiment with how the film could be displayed; projection, screen, audio, no audio? Only by trying these options can I find out what works best, which includes continuing editing the footage down to just trains so I can compare it to what else I try.

I have also continued to take photographs of my room and living room day and night. The more I take the more interesting it becomes. As a series the differences between the images become more obvious and so provide the evidence of some one having existed in that space. The more images I collect the more this will become apparent. Like Grazia Toderi's Orbite Rosse (Red Orbits) see the differences make the whole collection come alive. The decision again is how to be displayed, as a series, a film, stopmotion, overlapping? Only time will tell, but for now I will keep on collecting. It is an on going project but it can stop and show a moment in time.

Bedroom.

Living Room.

The final thing I showed to my tutor was a collection of sketches I had produced over the previous days. Each are an image from my own perspective. Drawings of meaningless things that I wouldn't normally notice but are always there, always a part of my day and most importantly, leave a trace of my day.

I unintentionally drew each in a different style, perhaps this reflects my mood or my patience at the time. I like that it adds a question to the simplicity of the context. I initially decided to make these drawings as a way of showing my view on my existence as a change from recording from an outsiders perspective. Now I can only imagine them being shown along side my images of my room and living room, as they are so clearly different angles of the same room. 

Ellie Harrison...

Ellie Harrison Curated an exhibtion called Day To Day Data it 'exhibited newly commissioned work by twenty artists, encompassing a wide breadth of working practice and presenting an extensive survey of imaginative methods of data visualisation, through different media.' 
On the Artdoxa website there is video footage of Ellie Harrison's installation for Day To Day Data:

 

The website described this video/installation as a 'Film showing a photographic mock-up documenting the installation of the Daily Data Display Wall at Angel Row Gallery in Nottingham in 2005. The appearance of the Daily Data Display Wall changed every day of the exhibition according to data collected about my life the previous day and emailed to the gallery each morning. The Daily Data Logger character appeared on the monitor in the centre of the installation to explain to the audience which aspects of the data each of the 20 different objects represented.'

Harrison's dedication to collecting the data is what makes this installation so interesting, the detail of information is so elaborate that you get to learn a lot about it's author, even though it's tedious, meaningless information that could easily be forgotten in some ones day, it is what makes that person. Which is what makes this approach perfect for my project.

Grazia Toderi...

Like George Shaw I had seen Grazia Toderi's work before at the Walsall Art Gallery on 19th October last year in the Metropolis Exhibition. Like Shaw's work it was interesting to see what I thought of the peice before researching further; 'Have to stand back to take in the whole image - real or not real?', 'Overlapping of different images to create a different landscape', 'The ovals and scene remind me of aeroplane windows at night'. 

My tutor told me that the piece was a recording of the festival in Venice 'La Benniale', overlapped and moving slowly so you just see this haze of pinks and purples that make this beautiful picture. When you look closer you see how it is actually an image of a city from a far off distance, as the light moves the place comes alive and hypnotising. I could edit my footage to change the colour or overlap it to create a new image like Toderi.

George Shaw...

After I looked up George Shaw I realised I had seen  his work before at the Frieze Art Fair in 2010. I had even made a point of selecting his work to put into my sketch book due to it's relation to my project then. I had added notes "All the images look deserted and unattractive, cold and lonely. Scenes similar to what you imagine a homeless person living in - Only the houses look like they have been lived in and have been left alone.'  

It was interesting reading what my initial impression of his work was before reading up what the pieces were actually about. Like Edgar Martins exhibition the houses look like they have been abandoned. When reading up on George Shaw I found that he chose these images from the Coventry council estate he grew up in. I like the idea of these derelict places being made somewhere of importance and gaining sentimental value through Shaw's paintings.

All of his paintings are impressively realistic to the point where you have to look twice to check if it is in fact a photograph. This fascination with the process of his painting technique adds to the curiosity with the image itself. What would normally be a scene that you could walk by everyday without a second glance or may even call ugly has been turned into an image that you can't look away from. You look at every  detail and these undesirable locations become beautiful.

It could be interesting to take images from my film and turn them into paintings, drawings or prints like George Shaw. It could be done in his way of photorealism to make the use the exact same image but turn it into something beautiful, or in a style that is more obviously hand made to add an emotion/mood.

Tutorial...

For my Tutorial I showed my tutor the things I had been looking at so far for my practical. The first was my recordings of trains at different times of the day. The camera was set up on my window sill in the same position everyday keeping everything that I can see from my window in the frame. I mentioned how I liked the   audio on the recordings as well, how in the background of the footage you could here my flats daily conversations about mundane topics like shopping or reminiscing. Below are some screen captures of the footage: 

Along with this I showed some photographs of my living room and bedroom that had been taken morning and night. Like the train recordings it is taken from the same angle everyday. I like how when placed together as a series you can see the small differences each day, there are no literal images of the tenants moving things around but there is a presence of people having lived in the room.

Although I have other ideas my tutor said that she couldn't help but think of these series being shown together some how. The view from the window can't be separated from the pictures of the room it was filmed in, especially as you can see the window.So it might be an idea to think of a way of bringing these images together, whether that be immediately in one form or in the presentation of the two on completion.

My tutor also suggested the following artist to look at in relation to my work; George Shaw (for his paintings of unattractive areas that are made beautiful with his attention to them), Grazia Toderi (for his video of La Biennale, the festival in Venice, filmed from an aerial view to create a beautiful scene which slowly and subtly moving) and Ellie Harrison (who meticulously records moments in her life in Day To Day Data)

Project Ideas...

Possible practical ideas related to my project:

Project Explanation (so far)...

So to help clear my head about what my project is about and what I want to focus on/aim to do I have written down in my note book everything I'm looking at in my project at this point to make sense of it all and order it. I can then go on to fully explore these ideas and narrow it down further to make a more thorough investigation. Here is my explanation:

Looking at my life and existence:
STARTING POINTS/IDEAS: Filming the trains passing my flat = the source of travel for me to get from this my university home to my family home.

• It is a constant reminder going passed my living room window (Note: I liked the voices recorded in the background = everyday life/ignoring the obviousness of the trains)
• can be like life as well (trains = metaphor), people come and go, some are late, some are never come back and some never come at all.

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Layers of existence (In my opinion):

Perception = Peoples perception/ Their views/ Habitat/ Environment - construction of the environment                      around me (Biad Building?)

Outer projection = My Perception = Can record what I see form my point of view point/ What I want people to think of me.

Inner self = My inner creativity/ Essence/ True self/ Honesty

• The 'Inner layer'/ Conscience/ Honest/True self is what makes me and is what is reflected to others yet maybe not completely = only parts of my true self that I want others to see.
• The 'Outer layer' is how I choose people to view me
• So people don't 'perceive' me wholly/truthfully = they  see what I want them to. Yet it may be distorted further from their own view.

THERFORE: What I truly am (Inner side) exists now and is the cause of what my existence on earth will be noted as. However it will only be true whilst I am the only one who can fully observe,appreciate and understand it.

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However can I exist longer than my life time?/be better understood than I would be now?

• Diary = Samuel Peeps was famous for writing a dairy and Tony Benn once said, according to the Guardian, that if you write a Diary you can experience life three times; live it, write it, read it. It can even be experienced a possible fourth time if some one else decides to read it. However, to record my life would still only be the outer layer of perceptions/projection. I could reflect my inner self more if I wrote about feelings, thoughts and emotions. BUT am I honest enough to do that?
• Sketch records of daily observations = More personal than a photo and a direct record through my eyes, but this would still be 'Outer projection'.
• Sketch diary of emotions/ideas/thoughts throughout the day = more 'Inner self'. If abstract it is unlikely to be understood/interpreted directly by the people it is about yet the emotions will still hopefully be readable. This would more likely that I would be honest than a written diary.
• Could involve different media for extra expression (keep observation sketch book in pen/pencil for comparison)
• Make it into an obsession like Eva Kotatkova in order to be a from of "intimate expression" in the hope it will reflect a true part of myself.