Creation of Finals

CREATION OF FINALS

POSTCARDS

These are the scanned images of my final postcards which I created A4 and shrunk to size.

I had a bit of a scare when I created my mock up of the actual size that the stamps had to be printed out. You can notice that from the practice I took out the fine-liner squiggles from the gaps in between the "cobbles". I felt that this wouldn't work without white in the background but I wanted to take that out and just keep constant with the coloured shapes. Letting the string and line drawing do the rest of the talking.

At the stage of creating these images it was a fluid process. I don't feel that I really could plan how I was creating them. I just needed to get in the zone and decided where I wanted stripes and circles and then starting layering the images up, deciding what colour after I had done the last cut out. I couldn't map out where I wanted what colour to prepare the shapes as I had to make those decisions balancing out the colours on the page - especially the yellow! I found that it was very important to have little breaks or put the images on my wall so I could take a step back and see what was missing and I needed to add. I also found it quite difficult deciding on an end point where I was to stop collaging.

When I scanned these images in, I made the deliberate decision to not play around with the levels or enhancing any of the colour balance as I wanted to keep the image as analogue as I possibly could! I had already lost the physical texture and didn't want to lose anything else. However of course because they are printed out they look quite professional.

A2 POSTER

I think that this is my least favourite image. I kept the same proportions of cut out shapes as with the smaller images which makes it seem more complex with more going on but it also has left empty space. Also I think that the yellow is slightly colder than the paper I have at a4 size. 

STAMPS

As the images were hard enough to delicately create at larger sizes I thought it would be impossible to create stamps to the exact size. Therefore I created a larger image and wanted to cut it. I felt that this links well with Delia and the was she worked because separately each piece of her tape didn't create the sound she wanted but they were important elements to create the final piece of music. 

I knew that I wanted this image to be more abstract and a single element. I wanted this to be one element of noise, then the postcards be have 3 different scenes and then the a2 poster a collaboration of all the noises.

I order to create my design I needed to go through my sketchbook and pull out all of my favourite elements of the images and chose the ones that communicated the electronic music and technology through motifs so that I could explore how to collaborate the different shapes into the vehicle. I chose the ambulance as I felt it had to most space and areas to incorporate shape. I also chose the background to be red so that I could keep the aesthetic of warm background colours (red, orange, yellow)

Because the image was that bit smaller I decided that the POSCA navy blue pen I had been using was going to create a too thick line so to keep the scale I used a navy blue 'Flair' navy blue pen instead. This created a different colour when on the coloured paper as it absorbed into the red, becoming darker rather than sitting on top, opaque. However I don't think this is a problem really,

I really feel that the use of the graph paper really adds a level of sophistication to the image, even though it is very subtle. I find that the green is a very unusual colour and i'm sceptical about using it as it doesn't quite fit with the other colours BUT I when I don't use it the image lacks some sort of edginess-a bit like garlic when cooking... This is evident in the original ambulance scene where I didn't feel that the image was finished but only later realised that it was because the green was missing but felt that it was too late to add it in later as it would look artificial and out of place.

Also the use of stripes as the background takes perspective out of the image which is different to the other images, making it more of a design and adding to the abstract aesthetic.

This is the first time I have ever cut up a finished piece of work and i'm not going to lie, it was quite scary...

I like how when you re-arrange the stamps they look like a combination of abstract shapes however when put together they create an image.

I also like how I have managed to keep texture to these stamps. Reflecting back on the whole of this project I feel that maybe I should have tried to incorporate more 3 dimensionality to the images and my favourite part of these collages is running my hands over the string and touching the parts which stick out of the collage. Although this may have made the images too busy.

THOUGHTS

I have really enjoyed getting stuck into this project and I am quite pleased with the outcomes. They are a lot looser than work I have created previously which was an aim I wanted this year and I achieved it without planning it. I feel that they reflect Delia and her tone of voice well because she was a very precise person who studied maths to a high level and was very scientific in her approach to music BUT the images also reflect the quirky, unusual music she created through the bold use of colour and texture created from pattern. ALSO I think it is effective that the line drawing connects the elements of sound and motif (shapes) together like her tape connected the sounds she used. HOWEVER maybe I should have included more 3 dimensional objects like the string as I really like the added texture to the collage.

I feel as a result of this project I have a lot of respect for her and her struggles with the analogue process. It was said in the documentary I watched that she used to prepare her tape cuttings during the day and wait till the last person left the studio and then lay the long line of tape around the corridors and when she got into a project she couldn't sleep for days as there was so much to do and she was so invested. 

I feel that I can relate to some level because when everyone went to bed one night I took over the living room of my house and printed and then lay my work everywhere. Also I have been wrestling with problems and solving them and having ideas all the time through my days. these days have also got longer and longer as to start off with I would become creative and get engulfed in collaging or printing when I should be going to bed BUT also in the last week there has been such a large work load in creating these time consuming images that I have had to power through with a tiny amount of sleep in order to have them done on time.

I think that through out this project I have been very research driven and everything is sparked off her work and the processes she used, I feel I have a real understanding about her legacy. HOWEVER to improve I definitely could have had more time to develop different motifs I could include as shapes in my images. I mainly used: cobbles, sound-waves from oscillator, turning table wheels, the knobs on the desk, the sliders on the mixing desk.

OTHERS INTERPRETATIONS

 Summatively the review of my work concluded that my work was child-like, playful. I guess this is because of the use of coloured paper which is associated with childhood and also the cut out simple shapes. Also the use of continuous line drawings also add youth to the images as they aren't accurate and play around with pattern. However I don't think that this is an insult to the imagery as they are interesting to look at and have taken time and craft to create. People also got music portrayed through the imagery and that they are busy and noisy which is what I wanted to portray.