Reflection on cyborg lecture in postmodern and visual culture

My understanding of cyborgs from the lecture is man and machine working together in harmony. I totally agree with Dona Harroway's statement of humans being considered cyborgs as we are constantly using technology and it plays a major part of our lives. Also technology and machines are now performing certain actions for us on a daily basis. No longer are we physically writing but more often than not typing up our letters or notes, and sending emails. We also text, call or Skype as communication and don't have to move and travel to actually meet someone and talk face to face. We also have washing machines, dishwashers etc.. so we don't have to physically wash things and other such activities.

Technology can make actions quicker and easier but we may possibly lose certain skills as machines do things for us. In relation to artwork it can certainly quicken the making process and in a lot of cases enhance the artwork, but just as humans have limitations, I think technology can have its own limitations. Machines have their own lifespan and can malfunction and breakdown. I think that machines producing items make very 'clean cut' or smooth objects, you don't get that handmade, unique look of each individual  piece as industrial mass produced pieces are the exact same but that could be a good thing if you wanted exact replicas of your piece.

Sculpture to fit on the body project

for this project I looked at ways of creating sculpures that would fit onto the body and would be an extention to the body, for this artist Rebecca Horn was inspiration.

I made an extention of my hand by building up layers of plaster gloves 

 I made casts of my arms then by wrapping them around in selotape. They were to by and an extention of my body by sitting on my waist and being an extra pair of arms but the sellotape wasnt strong enough to attach to my strap to sit on my body

New Measurments Project

In this project we have to create brand new measurments using our body.

My idea was using the area covered by if you clenched your hand, placed it down  and rolled it onto your knucles as a unit of measurment.

 

I made the unit of measurement by rolling my hand and making the imprint into clay and the idea of using this for a unit of weight.

I made the same unit again but marking it out by painting my hand. Printed onto the flat surface, the idea is to use this to measure lenght or height.

 redesigning the human body project

For this i looked at reconnecting bones as a way to redesign the body.
I made bones by carving out bone like shapes into styrofoam and cast them in plaster. I choose these materials as the styrofoam is soft like the bone marrow and the plaster would create a hard enamel like the hard surface of bones.

unfortunatly the layer of plaster i coated the styrofoam in was not thick enough so it cracked in places and also if i was to do this again i would made the bones twice as big as some were to small and thin therefore easily broke.

 Upon my idea of reconnecting bones, i was also looking into how if bones were reconnected that would mean the muscles would be arranged differently in the body an therefore move differently. I had dyed string in beetroot juice ( for natual colours that would be similar to actual muscles) and intended on attaching these to the bones i created to show the new way the body would move but the bones were unfortunatly to fragile for this.

Interesting project even though it wasnt quite as a sucess as I hoped.

Hunt Museum Project

 For this project I choose to look at the porcelain vase as my source of inspiration. On further research of the vase I discovered it was what is called a tulip vase and this really facinated me so my work is based on the idea of the shape of the vase and and tulip as they have a bulbus and petal like shape. I also thought the combination of the blue and white colours of the vase interesting as it is similar to willow pattern.  I also looked into what the opposite of certain characteristics of the vase would be which is why my pieces are separte and not stuck together and are also more soft compared to the stuck together and hard apperance of the actual vase. 

Our latset project; Doll Self.

 

 

The doll had to be have our halfheight and have some aspect of ourselves. My doll is made from tights stuffed with cotton wool and dressed in my clothes. As I myself am small, I choose to emphaise how small the doll is in comparison to its surrounds. Like myself, the dolls legs do not reach the floor, it cannot reach the table as I cant reach things at a certain height, has to climb up, and as seen in the photo is halve my height which is true to life as I generally am half peoples height!



 

sculpture this week is great fun, for it i'm investigating the effect of melting on plastic.

For the print elective our project was on urban so I was looking at the urban enviornment and how the constant building and re-building is destroying the enviornment.  

The photo I was working from.

 

Finally, in my last week I got to go into the pinhole camera demonstration. I learned the whole principal of how the photograph is created and how to actually make a pinhole camera. I learned about exposures and also how to develop the photographs and create photograms. Since my most recent work has been based n photograph I decided to finish of my project with images I took of different shared spaces with the pinhole camera. I love the contrast of the black and white, i gives the image an eerie effect.

Following on from my photos of the lockers and studos it got me thinking enclosed spaces. So I took photos of the doors and the corridor inside my apartment block as they are private spaces but they are shared spaces as more than one person occupy each apartment.

I got a board and then stuck the photos into it and recreated the corridor.

I placed my piece against a white wall and photgraphed it as I thought this would make it look better, it gives it a better sence of depth and space.

 I decided to experiment with different effects on the photoghraph to create more errie images.

A photo of a students work in the ceramic disiple show in aportfolio on the day of the ceramics workshop which I greatly enjoyed. I loved this piece of work as the creature in the centre is extreamily intresting with its unusual and inaginative features. I alo like the pattern of the different marks in the background, their plainness highlights the creativeness of the creature.

 I love these pieces as they have unusual shapes.

 The kiln where the ceramic pieces are "fired" ie dried out.

Having seen the ceramics i was very interested in trying out some 3D work. I decided to cast a coffee cup and my keys as they are items with are permanently within m space and indeed everyone else's space; however my attempt at casting the coffee cup did not go well. on my first attempt, I accidentely got plaster stuck within the space underneath the cup which meant I wouldn't be able to remove it and it was necessary to do so to fill the mold and complete the cast. my second attempt, the layer of clay I made an layer over the first half of the mould did not set right; half was still extreamally wet but half was extreamally dried out as it was to thinly applied in that articular area, This meant I couldnt make the second half of the mould as the plaster would stick to the other half and then I would not be able to fill the inside and create the cast.

My cast of the keys, which I thought turned out pretty cool.