History Now Final Zine

You can find my zine using the following link:

https://issuu.com/jeannsahowarth16/docs/history_now_zine

About:
This zine is a collective of Art movements throughout time, recreated for a more modern audience. I used the photography studio to create each piece, ranging from portraits to still life. 

I chose to layout my zine in a way that would stand out to the audience, giving each image a colourful and linked frame to focus the attention on the images, compared to the simplicity of the text. I chose my best images to display in the zine too, this made it look more professional as its of a better standard. to make the zine more appealing, I also varied the size of my images and how they were spread on the pages to give a more interesting layout

History Now // All Photoshoots // My Edits

Baroque 

Fauvism

Surrealism 

Cubism 

Pop Art 

Memphis Group Photoshoot

PREP

Pinterest Board:

I'm going to focus my shoot on makeup and portraiture, but to make the shoot Memphis, I am going to incorporate Memphis colours, pastels, primary and a few secondary. I will also use Memphis style patterns too. 

Ettore Sottsass, Sottsass' Tahiti Lamp (1981)

Sottsass' Tahiti Lamp 1981

Content:

I would describe this piece as unusual, abstract and intriguing. It is of a lamp which has been created differently than the common lamps at the time. This piece is imagined, as it what a lamp would commonly look like and has imagined features and bold colours. Sottsass has tried to achieve an abstract and uncommon piece of furniture, to break away from the rigid standards of furniture in the 1980's. This piece is abstracted to give an abnormal effect on the viewer and at the time, would have opened people up to different perspectives of how art and sculpture/furniture could be. 

Formal Elements:

Sottsass has used very simple shapes along with light and bright colours to create a simple yet creative and bold statement piece towards the Memphis group. In this lamp, Sottsass' 'Bacterio' pattern is used on the base, which is a confetti-like pattern that he designed in 1978. This piece has been arranged to look similar to a lamp, however, also look very different from a normal lamp and to have more decorative qualities than functional. The lamp is a build up of contrasts as it has contrasting colours and shapes together. All the colours have equal significance, however, the pattern stands out the most as the rest are single, simple blocked colours. The piece has a few textures as it is made from wood with a plastic laminate cover on it, and the pattern used creates a textured look and effect. 

Process:

The lamp was made from wood with plastic laminate over the top. Sottsass would have cut shapes out of the wood and created a composition. This piece would have been made quickly as it is a factory produced piece, created in mass production. In this piece a skill in sculpture and creative thinking is clearly expressed.

Mood/Meaning:

Sottsass' lamp gives a happy feeling due to the brighter colours and unique shapes. 

Ettore Sottsass, The Carlton (1981)

The Carlton, 1981

Content:

I would describe this piece as bold, unique and colourful. The piece is an abstract room divider by Ettore Sottsass. The subject of this piece is imagined, as it is very different to any other furniture from the time and is specifically produced within the Memphis movement. I think that Sottsass has tried to break away from the common idea of 'good taste' and create a more decorative piece of furniture rather than purely functional. Sottsass' room divider is very abstracted and exaggerated, this gives the effect of how times are changing and that furniture doesn't have to be totally functional. 

Formal Elements:

Sottsass has used graphic shapes and bright bold colours in the room divider. The way the piece is designed and arranged takes away functionality from the furniture and makes it more about the appearance and change in fashion. It has a bright colour scheme of primary and secondary colours throughout. The piece is also a build up of contrasts, as the colours and shapes throughout are all contrasting against each other to create a very bold statement piece. The lighting in this picture of the piece is central and from above, this makes sure you can clearly see the composition and colours in the room divider. All the colours have an equal significance in this piece as it is meant to be bold and contain many colours as it's from the 1980s and around this time the colours and disco was around. This meant that this was the right time for a piece like this, the start of change. There are recurring shapes throughout, in the angled shelves, because its a very graphic style and symmetrical. 

Process:

The room divider is made up of wood with coloured plastic laminate covered on it, this makes it all the same texture. Sottsass would have started with the wooden pieces, covered them in coloured plastic laminate and stuck each piece together in a specific graphic pattern. This piece was made quickly as is was produced in a factory and mass produced. Sottsass clearly shows his design skills and skills with sculpture in this piece. 

Mood/Meaning:

This piece evokes a happy mood as the colours are very bright and cheerful, like the time period of the 80s, and hows a clear influence by pop art and 1950's Kitsch. The purpose of Sottsass' piece is to break away from the rigid idea of furniture being made for function only and to be made of basic expensive materials e.g. leather, plain wood. It was imagined and created by himself and the Memphis group. It has a lasting impression as it was the start of something new at the time and is very different from what furniture would've been like before this. Sottsass conveys meaning through his piece, by using wood and plastic laminate to create it, as this shows that furniture can still be made cheaply and more decoratively than for just the function, yet be just as liked and appreciated eventually. 

Influence:

It was a clear break in fashion and worked well with the introduction of disco, punk and fashion alike in the 80s. This piece is very unique and in my opinion, as a viewer, gives room to show how the fashions can change through time. At the time this piece impacted the way people saw furniture, however, because it was so drastically different some people were with it, others against it. 

"You were either for it, or against it. "All the boring old designers hated it. The rest of us loved it," said Bill Moggridge, co-founder of the IDEO industrial design group.

Vico Magistretti said, "This furniture offers no possibility of development whatsoever,"  and "It is only a variant of fashion.“

To create and develop a piece inspired by Sottsass, we could take forward the bold colours and graphic designs and add them to different common items from the time now, this could be furniture, like the original pieces, or modern items such as phone cases or laptops etc. 

Memphis Group Research

Memphis Group Research

Memphis group work is typically pastel and punchy colours in furniture design. The furniture is typically made with wood and plastic laminate, it uses unusual shapes and colours, quite graphic, angular and abstract. All Memphis group pieces have the colours in common and the fact that they are breaking away from the idea of furniture and functionality.It is clearly grouped together because of the similarities between the pieces and that they are by the same group of people and ideas. I would describe Memphis pieces as abstract and bold, to make a statement. The Memphis group originates from Italy and is a Milan-based movement. It was created to break away from the norm and create a decorative look to furniture, rather than to be used for the function only. The pieces consist of graphic shapes, bold pastel like colours and aren’t as functional as common furniture, but this is a key feature in this movement as it tends to be more decorative instead. The artists where mostly inspired by Art Deco, 1950s Kitsch and Pop Art. The main artist in this movement was Ettore Sottsass, one of Italy’s architectural grandees, who formed the group by meeting with the rest of the artists, all younger than him, in their 20s at the time. These were Martine Bedin, Aldo Cibic, Michele De Lucchi, Matteo Thun and Marco Zanini. All these artists are from Italy at the time.

The Memphis groups pieces were made in the 80s, from 1981 – 1987. As these artists are working, around them society is changing and music is become more diverse and different, this opens up opportunities for them to change the way furniture is seen too a more decorative and modern object.  

Roy Lichtenstein - Favourite analysed

In the Car 

Content:

I would describe the piece as bold, intricate and vibrant. This piece is a large scale recreation from a comic in September 1961 in an issue of Girls’ Romances. It contains imagery of a woman and a man in a car. The subject is directly observed from the comic. I think Lichtenstein tried to achieve a clearer view of the original image. Lichtenstein “reorganised the original composition of the contoured image”. I think that this piece is representational and makes the audience wonder what’s going on and would give intrigue towards the original comic.

Formal Elements:

Lichtenstein has used depth of line as the black lines are different width to give emphasis and definition to certain parts of the piece. He has also used Ben Day dots which add a lot of detail to the piece and texture too. The image has been arranged as a recreation of an older comic. The colour scheme used is very bold and vibrant, which hooks the audience and intrigues then to the piece. At the time, the audience wouldn’t have seen something of this size and detail hand painted. It is a piece built up of contrasts as the colours are quite harsh and bold only separated by black line work. The main colours are yellow, blue and red. There are recurring shapes in the Ben Day dots throughout the skin.

Process:

The piece has a variety of textures given with the addition of shapes and line work. Lichtenstein uses Ben Day dots in his pieces, clearly referencing the common printing technique to show pale colouring in skin tones etc... First Lichtenstein would have drawn out the image, referencing comics from the time and then painted in a way that replicated the mass production style of printing. Compared to the comics from the time, this piece would have been evolved over a period of time, because its a single piece painted and very large scale. From this piece, its clearly shown that Lichtenstein is a skilled artist and painter. 

TATE TRIP // Roy Lichtenstein

The Roy Lichtenstein exhibition in the TATE gallery was about the pop art movement and “reacting against the dominant American abstract expressionist style of painting”. There were many of Lichtenstein’s pieces in the exhibition such as, In the Car 1963, Whaam! and Modern Art ll 1996. Over time, Lichtenstein’s works become more and more abstracted and different than his previous pieces as they become his own and not recreations of other peoples’ comics and imagery. From seeing the pieces up close, I noticed that they are a much bigger scale than you would expect, also that on a computer screen you see the colours but not necessarily the detail in which each piece is constructed. However, from seeing then up close, you can clearly see the detail and how large the images are, some even have pencil mark from where it has been originally sketched. 

I selected both the pieces, In the Car and Modern Art ll as my favourites. From ‘In the Car’ I observed how much detail had been added to the large piece, the Ben Day dots can clearly be seen which shows his talent clearly, which isn’t something you can observe through a screen. From ‘Modern Art ll’ I observed how his works evolved over time and how all the elements of his older work were still incorporated, however, it was more specifically his own work inspired by Pablo Picasso’s cubism, still including his style with Ben Day dots and comic styled focuses e.g. features. 

Pop Art Final Shoot

For this shoot, we focused on mental problems people may face and addiction. We did a series of pop art themed images including drugs, alcohol and mental health. For each of the images, we used makeup to create a pop art look and edited in Photoshop using text to make them like comic strips. We have communicated meaning throughout this series by using expression such as tears and including props such as pills and alcohol to clearly show the problems throughout. We also used text, which links to pop art from the time, as it came from comics. This would attract a younger audience, as it is more modern than the original pieces, and revolves around problems from this time, rather than original comics. It also is more real due to the photography rather than drawing or painting, this also brings the images we created more modern. 

Pop Art Planning

In my final shoot i'm going to produce 2 images to show a story of fake-ness over the internet, using snapchat filters to change the models appearance. In one image I will have the model part natural and part doing makeup, this will show how the appearance is changed in person and the second image will show how the appearance is further changed using fake filters for social media. 

Pop Art Movement Research

Pop Art

Characteristics and key influences of the movement:

Pop art is typically designed for a mass audience and aimed towards the younger generation. It usually consists of bright. The common parts of pop art are that the pieces are that they are all of similar subject matter, all include common objects or popular imagery and culture. Pop Art ranges from comics, to sculptures, to paintings, to collages. For example, young artists felt as though the art that was taught and saw in museums didn’t have anything to do with their lives. I would describe Pop Art as witty, sexy and gimmicky.

 In 1957 pop artist Richard Hamilton listed the ‘characteristics of pop art’ in a letter:

Pop Art is: Popular (designed for a mass audience), Transient (short-term solution), Expendable (easily forgotten), Low cost, Mass produced, Young (aimed at youth), Witty, Sexy, Gimmicky, Glamorous, Big business

Pop art originated in Britain in the mid 1950’s and in the late 1950’s in America, it began as a revolt against the dominant approaches to art and culture and traditional views on what art should be. It allowed young artists to express themselves in ways other than how they’re taught and the work includes sources such as Hollywood movies, advertising, product packaging, pop music and comic books as the imagery. By using impersonal, mundane imagery, pop artists also wanted to move away from the emphasis on personal feelings and personal symbolism that characterised abstract expressionism. These artists were inspired by popular imagery and drew from previous movements, such as Abstract Expressionists. The most significant artists were, Andy Warhol – Pennsylvania, United States: Roy Lichtenstein – New York, United States: James Rosenquist – North Dakota, United States and Claes Oldenburg – Stockholm, Sweden.

Cultural contexts of the movement:

Pop Art was made in and around the 1950’s and flourished in the 1960s in America and Britain, drawing inspiration from sources in popular and commercial culture. Britain in the early 1950s was still emerging from the austerity of the post-war years, and its citizens were ambivalent about American popular culture. In the United States, pop style was a return to representational art (art that depicted the visual world in a recognisable way) and the use of hard edges and distinct forms after the painterly looseness of abstract expressionism. In Britain, the movement was more academically approached. While employing irony and parody, it focused more on what American popular imagery represented, and its power in manipulating people’s lifestyles. In and around Britain and America at this time, people were recovering from the war, so the pieces of Pop Art were used to build up morale and bring joy to art that could relate to people.

Cubism Tests

 Cubism Tests

Cubism Moodboard

I plan to use a digital image, photograph, of a portrait and compose it with different sections of various perspective. I also plan to add drawn elements added with collage or scanned in and added digitally. My ideas are inspired by Picasso and Belin. To create this piece I will use, photographs and pencil, maybe fine liner and Photoshop. I will take the photos from different angles to use in my piece to bring out the cubist techniques and qualities. 

Surrealism Photoshoot Evaluation

Surrealism Photoshoot

In my photoshoot I used a plain white background, I did this to emphasize the detail of both my objects. The objects I made are very uncanny: very strange and familiar at the same time and is inspired by Meret Oppenheim's hairy cup and saucer, due to the fact that the glasses are rendered useless with the pins. The camera i used was set up as ISO 400 and altered exposure compensation to get a light background. 

Compared to Oppenhiem's piece, my sunglasses are adapted to a more modern audience, as noone really uses a cup and saucer anymore. I tried to convey a repulsive feeling towards my items.I used surrealist tactics, which include, found objects and the uncanny. It was hard to get the hair in the right position on the brush, however,  I used masking tape to secure it. 

I didn't have to adapt my idea. I think my images relate to my research as it has the same tactics and looks like a surrealist object, quite clearly. I referenced Meret Oppenheim's cup and saucer. 

My most successful was the glasses as I thought it looked the most surrealist and had the better meaning. 

Surrealism Photoshoot Plan

I plan to use sunglasses and stick pins to the inside, rendering them useless. This is very uncanny and would link clearly to surrealism. I also plan to use hair extensions and a brush to create a 'hair brush', however, this is uncanny as it isn't specifically a hair brush it is a paint brush with extra hair, so this feels strange to the viewer as it isn't what it seems. I need to collect pins, sunglasses, hair extensions and a paint brush to complete these pieces. 

Surrealism Artist Research 2

Artist Research

Salvador Dali - 1936

Content:

I would describe this piece as abstract and uncanny. The sculpture is of a ‘Lobster Telephone’. The sculpture is imagined, as it isn’t a common object in everyday life. I think Dali has tried to achieve something unique and abnormal in this sculpture. This piece is very exaggerated, as it isn’t of objects you would put together. This gives the effect that the sculpture comes across as uncanny and abnormal in society.

Formal Elements:

Dali has composed this piece to make it look normal, with the lobster taking the place of the actual phone part of the telephone. This exaggerates the surrealism as it makes it feel familiar however it isn’t.  The piece has been arranged specifically, so that the lobster takes the place of the phone, however it still looks like a telephone with the bottom and cord attached. The colours are very contrasted, creating a build-up of contrasts. The bright orange colour of the lobster tends to dominate, as it is so bright that it draws attention mostly to the lobster. There are different textures in the sculpture, this can be seen in the shiny material of the telephone and the duller lobster, and also the ridges in the lobster’s tail.

Process:

Dali’s sculpture was made using various materials, such as steel, plaster, rubber, resin and paper. To make this piece Dali sculpted a lobster and painted in the textures and colours, he then would have attached it to the telephone cord and placed it onto the telephone. This piece would have been evolved slowly over time, as it would’ve taken a while to build up the lobster and paint with detail and accuracy.

Mood / Meaning:

The sculpture is supposed to have sexual connotations as fresh seafood was photographed by Horst P. Horst and George Platt Lynes on live nude models. A lobster was used by the artist to cover the female sexual organs of his models. Dali also used to often draw close analogy between food and sex.

Surrealism Tests

All the above images I have taken are surrealisim themed. This is clearly shown by the use of the uncanny and found objects. With the glasses for example, having the pins on the inside of the lenses render them useless and without purpose. My favourite image would have to be the glasses with pins covering the lenses, because it is the most uncanny and different. I had problems with sticking on the pins, so to solve this, I covered the lenses in Vaseline and the pins then stuck to it. My worst image would be the second image, as there is clearly a table in the background and the angle isn't sufficient.