Artists

How I started my artist’s research was by looking at how other artists distort the human body in many different ways other then what I was trying to create. I came across a lot of artists that link to the distorted theme. My favourite artist that I found, that answers my questions of distortion is Julien Palast and his shrink-wrapped bodies. Julien is a photographer and the way in which he snapped each one of these images is very unique. The bodies seem much deformed as well as oddly shaped. However with the material they have used you can still highlight and see what the actual shape is. These images are very fascinating with the selection of materials used. How Julien has captured the out of kilter look of the human body.

Another artist that makes the human body out of line is Anders Krisar. Where he has taken a form of human skin as a material then used it in a textile process to create a misshaped sculpture of the human male torso. This also very disturbing to look at as the skin looks very realistic however it’s made from a type of silicone. Anders Krisar gave me the idea of manipulating fabrics and materials themselves to look obscured.   

With artists using distortions I have found that they use many different techniques and processes, taking everyday objects and materials then changing them. So that the audiences and the viewers can question their ideas as well as the techniques used.

The simplest process of changing a shape is by increasing or decreasing the size which makes the shape more twisted. An artist who uses this idea is Jeff Koons with his massive sculptures. One sculpture that stood out for me was the woman he made out of pink aluminium. The woman was misshaped as some of her body parts had been deformed and increased.    

Piece by piece

With the unpicking of the jacket pieces, I started to place them in various ways to create different shapes on the manikin. I wanted to produce my own version of dissimilar shapes. I enjoyed manipulating these in many different ways. I used the sleeves and the sleeve linings, then the shoulder pads to assemble all types of diverse shapes. I found using this process fascinating because I got to design my own distorted shapes out of jacket pieces. This turned out to be a piece of sculpture taken from an item that we wear and that we use every day. What’s more with this process we don’t even think about how these shapes could craft other unusual shapes. The dissimilar shapes are out of the ordinary because they get the audience to question what they are as well as how they are put together, especially from that particular item of clothing. This is what I would like to investigate further. 

Inside Outside

I wanted to investigate more in to how sleeves and jackets create different forms. Instead of just drawing them on a model or manikin, I wanted something more unusual. Then I started turning the jackets inside out to have a different insight in to the construction of the many pieces. When the jackets were the wrong way round, they looked more distorted, as they created more lines and various shapes. Also with the inside on the outside you could see the lining and seams which gave the jacket more interesting details. The misshaped forms that stood out the most for me were the arm holes and cuffs. These were the most out of shape because we normally see them round or flat like how they should be on a jacket, however finding these shapes appearing not always the same in the jacket made me think of how I could apply these shapes. They are simple shapes just twisted in dissimilar ways rather than their normal shape.

Jacket

Unpicking of the Jacket

The idea of the hall of mirrors came from the fairground. At the fairgrounds there are these obscure mirrors that change your shape when you look at your reflection in them. They make your proportions out of line with your head being big or small as well as your hips appearing massive or tiny. The images look all strange and distorted not like a human being. With this idea of distorted images of the body I unpicked a jacket from all its seams and took the whole garment apart. When I was unpicking the stitches from my jacket, all my pieces were different shades of black. I found this is very unusual to see, and then I thought some designers must be using different shades of colour in the construction of their jackets, allowing the seamstress to see where the various seams matched and how to attach them all together to make one piece. There are so many different pieces in a jacket. Each one is different; there are many layers within one section. What I found the most interesting was when I unpicked the jacket I kept some stitches together .For example, I unpicked the lining from the sleeve, but at the cuff I kept them attached. When I lay the sleeve out it gave the garment a whole different look. It made it seem more stretched out and looked opposite in a way the hall of mirrors would change it.By taking apart the jacket I have learnt that many different 2 D shapes can be assembled into something 3D as a piece of sculpture. Then used as a base for individuals to put their own unique style on these garments. This was a learning curve, for which I will take away the knowledge and use in other areas of my work.  

Blackpool

RESEARCH

Blackpool Pleasure Beach

The ideas of fairgrounds took our class to Blackpool pleasure beach, where we all got to look around the fairground. Learning about the history and the surroundings on which it erected. At fairgrounds there are many different activities going on like rides, games, shows, including fantastic water shows. However there are a variety of things going on behind the shows, like the planning and creating of the costumes. Seeing various aspects of the fairground interested me, then in how I would respond. Mainly to the hall of mirrors. Which I found intriguing when looking at my own and others reflections. I liked the scale of the roller coasters, then the shapes the water made in the air from the fountains. I liked the use of different coloured hair in the costumes. Adding a different prospective to them.
Fairgrounds like the pleasure beach have many different ways of interacting with the body and mind. People use all their senses in fairgrounds because in some cases they become part of the ride themselves. Then in other cases some people are scared of rides and water because they might of had a past experience that scared them off. I found these facts interesting about fairgrounds as people think of rides and shows as places of pleasure. Then on the other hand people are afraid of fairgrounds because of their own personal reasons. 

The idea of the hall of mirrors came from the fairground. At the fairgrounds there are these obscure mirrors that change your shape when you look at your reflection in them. They make your proportions out of line with your head being big or small as well as your hips appearing massive or tiny. The images look all strange and distorted not like a human being.