annadoherty

looks about

Post navigation

20 Nov

gender roles in art : female figure

We were looking at gender roles in art this week in our lecture, particularly the female figure and feminism in art. One particular advert sums up the lecture and topic,…

08 Nov

robert doisneau : un regard oblique

This week we have been focussing on gender and sex in art, particularly how the female role is perceived  We looked at many pieces of work but one in particular struck…

30 Oct

david shrigley : how are you feeling ?

David Shrigley (1968-) was born in Macclesfield, England and studied at Leicester Polytechnic and Glasgow School of Art. He practises in drawing, photography, painting, animation, sculpture and music. Last week I went…

14 Oct

buzzocks, orgasm addict : post modern design

buzzocks, orgasm addict : post modern design

Linder Sterling was born in Liverpool in 1954, although moved to Manchester as a teenager. From 1974–1977 she studied art at Manchester Polytechnic, and now lives and works in Lancashire.

Sterling was famed for her montage work produced in the Punk scene. Her work often used images taken from pornographic, women’s fashion and domestic magazines. As a feminist, she was making a point about the role of women in society, how they were treated and body image. One of her most well known works is the cover for 1977 single Orgasm Addict by Buzzcocks (1977) which depicts the naked torso of a woman with an iron for a head and grinning mouths for nipples.

“At this point, men’s magazines were either DIY, cars or porn. Women’s magazines were fashion or domestic stuff. So, guess the common denominator – the female body. I took the female form from both sets of magazines and made these peculiar jigsaws highlighting these various cultural monstrosities that I felt there were at the time. (…)Well, the iron came from an Argos catalogue and the female torso came from a photographic magazine called Photo. I never cleared the copyright but no one noticed, so it was alright.”
Although Sterling produced the image featured, Malcolm Garrett designed the single’s sleeve.

Born in 1956 in Northwich, England, Garrett studied at St Ambrose College and typography at the University of Reading – where he studied typography – from 1974 to 1975.

His involvement in Orgasm Addict is arguably his first big break.

Says Garrett,

“It was definitely a break, although it didn’t seem so big at the time. It felt natural – this was my music; these were my friends. My interests and capabilities coincided with the interests and needs of a group of musicians on a similar mission. There was a sense of collaborative purpose, and above all it was about passion and belief.”
The image was originally full colour but Garrett changed it to a blue monochrome. The bright yellow background against the blue is striking yet simple, maybe a reason why the image has since become iconic in the music industry.

The piece fits into the Post Modern movement as it fits with its perspectives and recurring themes – anti-science, chaos and irrationality.

Listen to Orgasm Addict here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2Mi995ggFU

11 Oct

modernism: odilon redon

We have been looking into Modernism in lectures. Modernism focusses on the actuality, the now, and rejects classical ideas,looking to progress and change. In particular, the work of proto-modernist Odilon…

06 Oct

history of animation : cave paintings

During a history of animation lecture we looked at cave paintings as an arguable first animation. We had looked at cave paintings in the histories of illustration and graphic design…

29 Sep

pierrick sorin: revivals film

pierrick sorin - revivals film

I first saw Pierrock Sorin’s work in an exhibition in Chinon in the Loire Valley of France this year, La Part Des Anges.Later i researched his work, in particular Revivals partly because I really liked it and partly because it was relevant to the project we are doing at the moment – Lifelogging.
Revivals, 1988, Film Super 8 (autofilmage), 5’, 5min13.
The film features the artist – Sorin – as he wakes up every morning and records his dream on film. I can’t speak French so I have noidea what he is saying, but all the same it is so interesting and humorous. I loved the idea. His tiredness, sleepy voice, drooping eyes and bedraggled hair add to the humour and character.
Apparently, he is continually promising to go to bed earlier so he is not so tired.
In the exhibition, what particularly caught my eye was the description below which tickled me, “Particularly humorous due to repetition”.

29 Sep

toulouse-lautrec: printed posters

toulouse-lautrec: printed posters

French Bohemian Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 – 1901) was a successful poster printmaker in Montmartre, Paris in the late 19th century at the time when printmaking and nightlife culture were expanding and becoming popular. His style of bright, block colours, dark outlines and silhouettes and his depictions of people and work and in action are eye-catching, and typical of his style. The posters were edgy at the time, depicting prostitutes and can-can dancers, yet they were so popular and began to appear everywhere – on city walls, on the street, everywhere. I think the reason that Toulouse-Lautrec’s posters were so popular is because they were so avant-garde, bright, bold, and accessible.

26 Sep

book of kells: history of design

book of kells: history of design

In lectures, we learnt about key images in the history of illustration and graphic design. Both argued that the Book of Kells was a influencing factor on the development of their discipline.

The book includes all four Gospels written on vellum (calfskin) in elaborate typography intertwined with illustrations. The manuscript is traced back to early 9th century, and Iona monastery – on an island off the west coast of Scotland. When this monastery was attacked by Vikings in 806, some of the monks managed to escape and take shelter in the monastery at Kells, meaning there is no way to know if the Book was written at Iona, Kells or a bit of both.

The Book of Kells is highly valuable to the history of illustration because of the early Celtic illustrations with complex detail, and graphic design because of the rich calligraphy. The Book is illustrated with intertwining patterns, humans, animals, mythical beasts, intricate knotwork, religious pictures and even some irrelevant little sketches down the margins.

20 Sep

oliver jeffers: summer project

oliver jeffers summer project

My summer project is based on the illustrator Oliver Jeffers. Born in Australia, Jeffers was brought up and trained as an illustrator in Ireland. His first big break came from giant coffee company Lavazza who were captivated by his coffee-ring illustrations – quite literally a picture drawn around and incorporating coffee cup rings. Jeffers has produced many paintings and been involved in several projects and art initiatives, but for me his best work is his children’s books. First published by HarperCollins in 2004, Oliver has produced ten to date. They have delicate, humorous plots, and often it is the picture rather than any words telling the story. Most intriguing are his characters, built up simply with a few brush strokes here and there, yet conveying so much expression.

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.
Cancel