Monday 9th February 2015 - The Finished Poster

I am pleased with the crocheted background and the text that I have carefully worded, however think that I could have possibly found a better way of presenting my hand-written thoughts as I think this looks quite messy. Although, it is in apt with Tracey Emin's ideas and the way she chooses to display her thoughts. Maybe, I just tried to be too clever? Below, is the finished poster that was submitted today.

Wednesday 4th February 2015 - 'Present a Detailed, Critical Analysis of a Cultural Text'

In this essay, I will be analysing and exploring the boundaries between artistic mediums and craft using Tracey Emin as my cultural text. I will focus on books such as 'Tracey Emin: My Life in a Column', 'Strangeland' by Tracey Emin and 'Tracey Emin' by Neal Brown; by concentrating on books that have been both written by Emin and by other authors, I believe this will help me to gain a better understanding of the different opinions people may hold about art and craft both separately and collectively and whether craft is considered as a real art format.

Primarily focusing my thoughts on the series of blankets Emin has carefully 'crafted', I will discuss the positives and negatives of craft being used in the art world in a constructive way. Emin was part of the Young British Artist movement, where they 'couldn't care less' about what the art critics had to say; they changed people's view of what is deemed as art and since then, many believe that art has become fluid. Considering Emin's background, her use of craft within her work suggests that she was very unconcerned about what she was producing and publishing to the world and this reflects upon the movement she was involved in.

The selection of this topic derives from my approach to art; I have always had an interest in colour, texture and material, but the way my works are normally perceived is not entirely understood as art and is linked more so to craft. This essay will aid me in justifying myself and other artists who feel as though their work is derogatory to other members of the creative industry.

Tuesday 3rd February 2015 - Drafting a Poster in Preparation for the Essay

'Provide a Detailed, Critical Analysis of a Cultural Text'

I am creating a poster for the 'Critical Perspectives' part of my uni module and I have decided that I should think outside of the box when it comes to creating the piece. Instead of presenting what is essentially an essay proposal on paper, I have decided to crochet an A4 sized work, where I can stitch fabric onto it with hand-painted lettering that presents my essay ideas; either this, or attaching hand-cut letters to the poster. I am not entirely sure what I will be linking my essay to at the moment, but I know for sure that I would like to stick to the theme of Tracey Emin and the world of where art and craft can be combined. By creating a piece that is a piece of 'art' itself, I think will totally relate to Emin's blankets that I looked at in my previous blog post. I am also hoping to read 'Tracey Emin: My Life in a Column' book to gain more knowledge and help me with my essay.

Thursday 29th January 2015 - Looking at a Cultural Text in Context - Hotel International by Tracey Emin

BROWN, N. (2006), TE: TRACEY EMIN, 'Hotel International' 1993 and other blankets and fabric works, pp. 36-49, United Kingdom: Tate Gallery London

I chose this image to analyse for my 'cultural text' as it was the first blanket that Tracey Emin ever made as an artist. I am essentially at the beginning of my ideas as an artist, so believed this to be relevant to myself. Although, I don't entirely link my own work to this, there are elements that I believe to be the same such our particular interest in colour, embroidery and stitchwork, as well as the 'revealing of inner thoughts' concept (which is very obvious throughout Emin's work). Emin also deals with the process of art and craft being combined; I deal with this too, however feel the need to justify to myself that what I am creating isn't just a craft, it's an art form. "Large and vibrantly coloured, the blanket has a pretty quality, occasionally contradicted by the unsettling, sometimes desperate meanings of its text." - page 37

My previous studio project I tried to link my ideas to the Jennifer Lawrence scandal by crocheting a bra and displaying it on a chair; I did this to help a viewer perceive the chair as a hacker sat at their desk, viewing what is basically pornography. I decided that a bra is associated with a woman and in the scandal, sadly private nude images were released of her, as well as this, crochet is normally an art form that can be linked more so with a woman than a man. Emin links her thoughts to similar ideas and also uses techniques that have more associations with women. "Traditionally assigned to the world of women, and made from salvaged fabric, patchwork bed coverings command ideas of the bed as a focus of matrimonial, female domesticity." - page 37

"This kind of work has often been undervalued as a hobby or craft (more recently), disparaged for its association with feminist art, which reclaimed the genre in the 1970s and 1980s. These were critical problems that Emin ignored when she made 'Hotel International'." - page 37

"Trade-union banners are part of an historical folk-art tradition of organised labour, whose colourful designs are the proud heraldry of the organisational structures that seek to represent working class interests." - page 40

Thursday 15th January 2015 - The Dermablend Advert

This seminar was divided into two groups, we were allowed to discuss the Dermablend advert that included Rick Genest or talk about an artwork named 'Blood Head' by Marc Quinn. I was sectioned off into the Dermablend group.

'What are cultural texts? Consider who made and produced it. Think about theoretical frameworks. When and where was it produced and made? Consider the site or space in which it is viewed/consumed. Is there an intended audience? Consider the origins. How does the context impact upon ways in which we read/understand the 'cultural text'?'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mIBKifOOQQ - the advert

I was quite happy that I was chosen to discuss this topic; one because I have more than one tattoo, but two because I've always had a birthmark that I have always disliked. It got to the point a few years ago where I went to the doctor about it and I asked for it to be removed; instead she suggested that I thought about my decision a little bit more and she referred me to the British Red Cross, where they were able to give me some cover up cream that matched my skin tone. I used the cream for a while, but it didn't entirely cover up the area I didn't like, so I have had to try and learn to love it. I have also thought about getting a tattoo around it, as it's a circle type shape, so have wondered if my birthmark could be conveyed as a pendant/gemstone inside of the tattoo.

When I watched the advert for the first time, I didn't know whether to think that the tattoos were real or not. However, when the title of the Dermablend tattoo cover-up company appeared at the end of the ad, I begun to understand that this wasn't fake and that Rick was in actual fact tattooed to look as if he were a skeleton, although he does prefer to be called zombie boy. Genest was discovered by Lady Gaga's stylist and eventually went on to marry her; I thought that I recognised him from somewhere and it clicked in my head when this was mentioned - it was Gaga's music video 'Born This Way' that he starred in.

Back in the 70s, 60s, 50s, etc... tattoos weren't really worn by many people. I guess it could have been considered as more of a luxury and also it was probably more associated with males than females. People back then were probably put off as it has associations with a tribal, ritualistic and warrior type 'fashion', however this is deemed quite 'cool' now. Now, in the 2000s, it has become more of a cultural thing and it's quite normal for people to be tattooed, except heavily tattooed like Genest. It's quite a high culture, maybe that's because many celebrities such as Cheryl Cole follow this trend now.

Genest's tattoos represent  death and decay... he's basically zombified himself. He must have been so sure when he had his face completely tattooed. I discovered that when he was younger, he had a brain tumor and spent six months on a waiting list; this kind of gave a 'living dead' feeling to him and it might have sparked his addiction to tattoos and the decaying theme. Rick also used to work in a circus and these can be deemed as freak shows/freak culture - he made himself seem as though he was different and that he had something wrong with him, just because he had made himself look entirely unique from everyone else. It was suggested that he was the 'illustrated man'. This can also have associations with the elephant man.

I don't quite understand what the advert is trying to convey... is the company trying to say that Genest uses the product, because I couldn't imagine that he would do that. It seems as though he wears his tattoos, or one big tattoo with pride. Or maybe, it's just trying to simply point out the obvious, if you want your tattoo covered, then this is the solution. But, surely people who get tattoos, get them because they want them to add to their image? I know that's the reason I have got mine. Although, I do understand that tattoos don't always look professional, but in this day and age where tattoos are more of a common thing, I think that they should be allowed within jobs and it's the same with piercings. On top of this, I have dreadlocks and I haven't yet discovered any places that wouldn't have me; I'm not sure whether this is because I have only had them for a relatively short period of time (a year). But, I understand that from forums and groups that I am part of, that other 'dreadheads' are pushed away; some have even had to brush or cut theirs out to get work. The other idea I thought the advert might be trying to point out is that you will always come back to who you are. Even though his body is covered in the cream and you cannot see his heavily tattooed body, once it's rubbed off, he returns to being himself. Tattoos are part of who you are.

Thursday 8th January 2015 - Women as Objects: Feminist Critique

After reading the text 'Women as Objects - Feminist Critique' from the book 'A Queer Romance' I was asked to identify some key words that stood out, as well as some important quotes. Feminist, objectification, representation, gender, class, appearance, perspective, woman and equality seemed to jump out of the page the most. It is evident from just looking at the key words that in western cultures, women can be viewed much lower than the male figure and it seems as though a man has the dominance. There is also a lot of pressure for women to be judged as someone who is significant in our society, both past and present. "It is within this psychoanalytic framework that one can talk about emotional situations or social contexts which produce instabilities which may disturb many things, including gender performance and gender identifications." - page 20, is another noteworthy quote from the text.

"Women as objects and men as the subjects" page 19, seemed to be the main argument of the text. John Berger, who seems particularly interested in Marxism and feminist ideas identified with Laura Mulvey's effort to address questions about the objectification of women. There is a lot of sexualisation of women nowadays, so called 'lad-mags' are partly to blame as well as page 3 in the Sun newspaper. This doesn't bother me as such, however I do think that page 3's time may be up; maybe it should be moved to somewhere in the newspaper that a child cannot accidentally see it or just be removed completely. Women posing naked, I think is alright, however I think it is a shame that this is normally aimed at a male audience. Why should it be for his needs? Aren't women allowed to see this too? Also, why is it always thought of as sexual for a woman to strip down and be naked, can't she state a point by doing this? Keira Knightley for instance, I applaud her for doing this, posed naked to make a point that every woman is beautiful and that the use of Photoshop is unnecessary.

I felt that I could identify a bit more with this text since my previous studio project was based on femininity and the connotations it may hold. Although, I am not a feminist myself, there are similar beliefs that I have; I've grown up mainly with my mother and Nana shaping my views on things and they're both quite headstrong and very independent people. I know for sure that my Nana has several beliefs about how women can be perceived.

Thursday 27th November 2014 - Social Media: Access Denied

Benjamin, W (1936) Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

I find it quite phenomenal at how media has dramatically changed in really, such a short period of time that the humans have existed. Media is considered as a popular culture, most people follow it in some way or another; but, not always is it associated with 'celebrities', as the news can broadcast media that is important for us to learn about the world. We basically broadcast anything, whether it be bad or good. Early media consisted of oral, stone and clay, papyrus, parchment and codex, but now there are so many ways that media can be produced such as magazines, television, radio, newspapers, books, music, video games, photography, cinema, internet and social media sites, however the list is pretty much endless. Communication is moving much faster and it feels as though we are being dominated by visuals. We are essentially representing and recording the everyday.

It was mentioned later on in the lecture about stereotypes and the particular stereotype of 'council house and violent' (chavs). This category is suggested to involve people who are thought of as 'scum', live off other people's tax and demonise the working class, as well as this, they are thought to have a lot of children to claim more benefits. Sometimes this is true, but I think that it is pretty sad that we have to label them with this title. Admittedly, I have used the word chav before, but I think that people should stop being so judgmental. Just because someone lives a different lifestyle to you, doesn't mean that they're violent and not a nice person, unless you actually know them to be. Katie Price and Kerry Katona have been labelled as famous 'chavs', just because of the way that they live. I have recently been watching Katie Price on the latest series of Celebrity Big Brother and have come to the conclusion that she isn't what everyone makes out to be. She comes across as truthful and outspoken, she doesn't talk behind someone's back and she always seems to be pretty calm about things. In the media her stories have been blown way out of proportion, to the extent that people think she is an argumentative, rude and a self-centered person. She pays for her children to go to private schools and pays her taxes, but has admitted to allowing the government to pay for her son (who has learning difficulties) transport to school. I see no harm her doing this, she's got every right and entitled to the government's money to help her situation, but because she is stereotyped as a 'chav' people get angry about it.