Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Leilani Kake
Leilani Kake
I was intrigued by Kake's piece Tino Rangatira Tanga, at first it was difficult to watch the pain her father had to go through, however, I felt it was necessary to look past the pain and realise the importance of the process. Firstly, the video shows the reactions of the people surrounding her father, they're mood seemed to be very calm and they're actions revealed were very supportive. To most people, undergoing this much pain is quiet unberrable to watch, but when you watch the film with and the people there to support him, the mood is very calm and becomes a little easier to take in whats going on. Perhaps kake tries to emphasise the importance of family and friends, how they're presence is of great value, they're presence is a source of stregnth and courage. Later on in this piece, she documents her fathers final moments. I found it extremely difficult to watch because I had a similar experience in the past, however, the atmosphere was very different. By saying this I mean the scene depicted in this piece revealed a calm and soothing mood, her father lying on the hospital bed while two young kids play a song for him. Personally I feel the song is like a departing gift for a safe voyage to the next life, or maybe a sign of respect and acknowledgement of his lifetime achivements, whatever it is, the song was very effective due to the fact that it made it easier to watch.
Another piece that I took interest in was Nga Hau E Wha - The Four Winds, Leilani's piece explores the ideas behind female cancer awareness, in our lecture with Kake, she quoted that women (of polynesian descent especially) are constantly falling victim to cancer because they refuse to get a check up. She felt the matter needed to be adressed, so she planned this project for a very long time, making calculated decisions along the way by communicating with women and gathering they're thoughts on the issues. Eventually she decided to create a video installation, the installation consisted of four projected videos of women floating on water. The women in the installation represent the four different stages of a females life which is young adulthood, adulthood, pregnancy and menapause, each of these projected in a small dark room. According to eventfinder, the nudity was very porocative, but the fact still remained that these issues had to be adressed and I felt the nudity was necessary, seeing as women cannot find the courage to undergo these procedures the piece is to inspire confidence. She commented that women need to take pride in their bodies, and not be afraid to nude. People only ever see themselves nude in two situations, one is when you shower, and the other is during sex, but, if women just take the time to look at themselves nude in the mirror, they will acknowledge their beauty.
Leilani Kake is a video installation artist of Maori/Cook Island Descent. Leilani Kake acknowledges her culture and embraces it through her art, not to mention her interest in other cultures as well.
I was intrigued by Kake's piece Tino Rangatira Tanga, at first it was difficult to watch the pain her father had to go through, however, I felt it was necessary to look past the pain and realise the importance of the process. Firstly, the video shows the reactions of the people surrounding her father, they're mood seemed to be very calm and they're actions revealed were very supportive. To most people, undergoing this much pain is quiet unberrable to watch, but when you watch the film with and the people there to support him, the mood is very calm and becomes a little easier to take in whats going on. Perhaps kake tries to emphasise the importance of family and friends, how they're presence is of great value, they're presence is a source of stregnth and courage. Later on in this piece, she documents her fathers final moments. I found it extremely difficult to watch because I had a similar experience in the past, however, the atmosphere was very different. By saying this I mean the scene depicted in this piece revealed a calm and soothing mood, her father lying on the hospital bed while two young kids play a song for him. Personally I feel the song is like a departing gift for a safe voyage to the next life, or maybe a sign of respect and acknowledgement of his lifetime achivements, whatever it is, the song was very effective due to the fact that it made it easier to watch.
Another piece that I took interest in was Nga Hau E Wha - The Four Winds, Leilani's piece explores the ideas behind female cancer awareness, in our lecture with Kake, she quoted that women (of polynesian descent especially) are constantly falling victim to cancer because they refuse to get a check up. She felt the matter needed to be adressed, so she planned this project for a very long time, making calculated decisions along the way by communicating with women and gathering they're thoughts on the issues. Eventually she decided to create a video installation, the installation consisted of four projected videos of women floating on water. The women in the installation represent the four different stages of a females life which is young adulthood, adulthood, pregnancy and menapause, each of these projected in a small dark room. According to eventfinder, the nudity was very porocative, but the fact still remained that these issues had to be adressed and I felt the nudity was necessary, seeing as women cannot find the courage to undergo these procedures the piece is to inspire confidence. She commented that women need to take pride in their bodies, and not be afraid to nude. People only ever see themselves nude in two situations, one is when you shower, and the other is during sex, but, if women just take the time to look at themselves nude in the mirror, they will acknowledge their beauty.Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Francis Hansen (Collections)
Francis Hansen
In my opinion, an artist is a person who collects and utilizes, in Francis Hansen's case she practices this very effectively. Hansen uses found items and assembles them into unique installations, her "Home and contents" project revealed her use of normal household items to create art. One piece I really enjoyed was "Favourable Aspects", Hansen informed the class of her childhood, being raised learning the language of real estate from her parents. The piece consisted of face towels alligned next to each other, each towel had words stitched into them, words that she learned and that relate to real estate. Perhaps the words are not to express her knowledge of real estate, but rather to express her acknowedgement of her parents. Another piece that interested me was "Spare room", this piece was an installation of household items like chairs, tables, benches, cupboards etc. There really isn't any organised installation methods of these items, the composition is very complex, but I realise that this is effective if you see this as a depiction of the human mind. People think constantly and the mind is overloaded with information, Hansen's "Spare room" is so crowded that you can't help but to think heavily about the items stacked on top of each other.
My collection methods
In my art practice, collection is one of the main processes which generates my pieces. My favourite practices are moving image and photography and I feel that collecting information about other artists plays a major role in how my work turns out. If I study an artist like Hype Williams, a music video producer who uses a wide variety of colours in his clips, my work would turn out to be similar to Williams or, my method would be inspired by his techniques. The more information I collect on an artist (or artists), the more solid my method of art making would be. I studied Hype Williams in my moving image piece for "Media and Manipulation" (3rd Studio Rotation). I took note in his tendancy in rapid cuts between scenes and the syncronization of video and audio, I applied those techniques to my moving image piece. I also collected information from dance videos, searching for a simple but rapid dance that would suit Hype Williams method. I found "Finger Tutting", an intricate but rapid dance involving the hands and fingers to create shapes. Combining these two collected techniques, I created a video to express my hyperactive behavior; it consisted of rapid cuts between scenes of finger tutting segments (all segments syncronized with the music).
Rosaline Gascoigne
An artist who is a PRIME example of collection is Rosaline Gascoigne. Gascoigne's method of art making is actually very similar to Francis Hansen's method, however, Gascoigne collects found items and alters them to create her piece. She tends to incorporate text in her work, taking road signs, cutting them up into single letters and then re-arranging them to form words or sentences. This is a very unique way of making art, it shows that she thinks in depth before making work and it reveals her ingenuity.
Overall
Collecting is essential for art making, it determines how your work looks and it shows your thinking process as well. Personally I feel that collecting is ubiquitous, we are contstantly doing it, if we're not collecting items, then we're collecting information instead.
In my opinion, an artist is a person who collects and utilizes, in Francis Hansen's case she practices this very effectively. Hansen uses found items and assembles them into unique installations, her "Home and contents" project revealed her use of normal household items to create art. One piece I really enjoyed was "Favourable Aspects", Hansen informed the class of her childhood, being raised learning the language of real estate from her parents. The piece consisted of face towels alligned next to each other, each towel had words stitched into them, words that she learned and that relate to real estate. Perhaps the words are not to express her knowledge of real estate, but rather to express her acknowedgement of her parents. Another piece that interested me was "Spare room", this piece was an installation of household items like chairs, tables, benches, cupboards etc. There really isn't any organised installation methods of these items, the composition is very complex, but I realise that this is effective if you see this as a depiction of the human mind. People think constantly and the mind is overloaded with information, Hansen's "Spare room" is so crowded that you can't help but to think heavily about the items stacked on top of each other.
My collection methods
In my art practice, collection is one of the main processes which generates my pieces. My favourite practices are moving image and photography and I feel that collecting information about other artists plays a major role in how my work turns out. If I study an artist like Hype Williams, a music video producer who uses a wide variety of colours in his clips, my work would turn out to be similar to Williams or, my method would be inspired by his techniques. The more information I collect on an artist (or artists), the more solid my method of art making would be. I studied Hype Williams in my moving image piece for "Media and Manipulation" (3rd Studio Rotation). I took note in his tendancy in rapid cuts between scenes and the syncronization of video and audio, I applied those techniques to my moving image piece. I also collected information from dance videos, searching for a simple but rapid dance that would suit Hype Williams method. I found "Finger Tutting", an intricate but rapid dance involving the hands and fingers to create shapes. Combining these two collected techniques, I created a video to express my hyperactive behavior; it consisted of rapid cuts between scenes of finger tutting segments (all segments syncronized with the music).
Rosaline Gascoigne
An artist who is a PRIME example of collection is Rosaline Gascoigne. Gascoigne's method of art making is actually very similar to Francis Hansen's method, however, Gascoigne collects found items and alters them to create her piece. She tends to incorporate text in her work, taking road signs, cutting them up into single letters and then re-arranging them to form words or sentences. This is a very unique way of making art, it shows that she thinks in depth before making work and it reveals her ingenuity.
Overall
Collecting is essential for art making, it determines how your work looks and it shows your thinking process as well. Personally I feel that collecting is ubiquitous, we are contstantly doing it, if we're not collecting items, then we're collecting information instead.
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