The Power Of Making - V&A

The Power Of Making

As I walked in I saw a giant gorilla made out of coat hangers, which was made by the scottish artist David Mach. It had such intricate detail up close it was beautifully constructed. The thing that struck me most about was the craftsmanship and the unusual, unique pieces that were shown. Although the exhibition was smaller than I thought there would have been there was lots packed into it. The projections of the makers actually making their pieces was great to see, as it is quite a rare thing to see at an exhibition, it was unreal how much more interesting this made the exhibition for me personally. The exhibition ranged from couture dresses made from leather and pins to tables and chairs to high fashion prostate limbs. 

Marzipan and sugar baby.

The thing that interested me enormously were the cakes that were made to look like babies, they were immaculate. This was made by  Michelle Wibowo out of completely edible materials.

The Coding Dress

The QR code beaded clothing was amazing it was discovered at this years RCA exhibition Thorunn Arnadottir used Swarovski crystals which can be read by smartphones.

 The Spray-On Dress and The Moth Hole Mender.

The spray on dress was created by Manel Torres who created 'Fabrican' whilst studying at RCA, the title is as it says, it is fabric in a can. The moth hole mender 'Woolfiller' was developed by Heleen Klopper, to revive old clothes.

Greyson Perry - The Tomb Of The Unknown Craftsman - The British Museum.

The Tomb Of The Unknown Craftsman.

So I've now visited the British Museum THREE times in a space of 5 days, because I have been trying to get into the Greyson Perry exhibition. I suppose it was completely pompous of me to not be excited or for me to be annoyed and shocked when the tickets were sold out twice on the run but finally (after actually booking the tickets 2 days in advance and turning up and hour and a half early on a rainy miserable afternoon) I got in and the wait was most definitely worth it. There was a sense of humour which smothered the whole exhibition it was refreshing, I think anyone who took it too seriously should have been asked to leave personally. His references to todays popular culture which glided through the exhibition were true and funny and relevant. What annoys me though as with most good exhibitions is that it is no photographs allowed, even though I know its coming it will continue to disappoint me for the rest of my life. I loved the whole exhibition but I'm going to choose a couple of my favourites to talk about (and the ones I can find pictures of on the internet).

Map of Truths and Beliefs.

The tapestry shows the possibility of pilgrimage. The landscape in the back is a graveyard, it has names of places all over as you can see in the second picture, he has also written things like, Stone Henge, Glastonbury and Ground Zero. The woman in black represents the contemporary world, the bear is raw emotion, the boy is innocent logic and the woman in the folk outfit represents tradition.

Rough Guide Theory Task.

China Town and Soho

China Town wasn't originally located near Soho as it is today. It was in London's East End, where Chinese employees of the East India Company first came to England in the 18th Century, although most of the workers homes were based in China by 1914 there were a few hundred of the Chinese workers calling London their home. At the end of the war when the soldiers returned there was a great demand for Chinese food and a few restaurants opened on Gerrard Street on the West End. The new found popularity of Chinese cuisine created China Town as we know it today but it was the late 1960's when China Town was established as the centre for London's Chinese community which now numbers at tens of thousands. The main attraction to China Town is is's high numbers of authentic Chinese restaurants, and Chinese food shops. Lots of Chinese live here or around the area to be close to their business' and when I went around the shops and restaurants I did not count one single person of non-chinese heritage working in the shops.

Since the start of the 20th century Soho has long been known as the entertainment district, it is known for it's nightlife, film and sex shop industry, by the end of the 1980's Soho had become a fashionable area sporting cool restaurants and bars. I decided to ask people around Soho what they thought the main attraction was, I thought this would be an easy task but then I remembered I was in London, not friendly old Liverpool and finding 20 people who didn't think I was a raving lunatic was hard to come by but most of the people that I managed to stop for long enough, said they had come clothes shopping or were on their lunch break, I felt this task was pointless in the end because of the amount of people who thought I was trying to make them donate some sort of money or whatever, so, alas, I gave up. My main attraction to the area is the amount of shops selling vinyl and although I do love the fabric shops but everything is completely out of my price range.

Object Analysis.

Lucky Cat

The lucky cat is a Feng Shui item in Japan and China, they are believed to bring wealth, good luck and good fortune to the owner. Although it looks like the cat is waving (the paws move up and down) it is actually beckoning. The Lucky Cats are generally made out of plastic.

Cute, terrifying, wise, friendly, hopeful, 

I think if this object were to be found in another context such as a museum it would be seen as interesting because we would wonder the story behind it, why is it there? Is it for cultural reference? It would make us wonder the depth of the story behind it and how it came about rather than when we see these so commonly as decoration in chinese restaurants, for sale in chinese supermarkets and chinese shops and see them as decoration in shops when they are not for sale. I think this is how context can be interesting because I think we see these good luck charms so much we look right through them, most people wouldn't know they were a charm for good welfare and fortune. I asked a number of people around china town about them, I asked a few specific people, I asked asian people first and they could all tell me exactly what these were about then I asked people who I presumed were tourists and they didn't know, I doubt it was because they didn't care or that it was ignorance but that they simply saw them so much they didn't actually 'see' them.

Agent Provocateur - Soho's window display 

Agent Provocateur is a high end lingerie shop, opened in 1994 by Joseph Corre and Serena Rees.  This window display was created to tell a story that would lure the possible consumers into the store. I also think that the window is quite inviting and you wouldn't feel intimidated to step into the store.
Alluring, exciting, sex, luxury, upper-class, nostalgia.
If this display were to be seen in a museum or gallery I believe it would evoke lots of different thoughts and opinions, say if it were done by a well known artist, I believe that some people would strive towards it for the wrong reasons, I think that this is related to consumerism in the thought that the artist is the brand and therefore where some people strive towards a particular brand and would admire anything about it, it is the same with a well respected artist with some people. But this would also cause a major uproar in the art world, I believe that critics would go wild as they did with Tracey Emins 'My Bed'. I believe that some may even misunderstand it, they would question what it is, what the meaning is of it? 

Leon Kossoff - Self Portrait.

Leon Kossof was born in London and studied at Central Saint Martins and The Royal Collage of Art. He was heavily influenced by David Bombergs expressionist style of working. This painting is oil on board and the texture of the paint gives the painting a beautiful ugliness.

Texture, dark, eery, solemn,  inner depth, potency, discreet, pain, secrecy. disconnection, searching, the voyer.

The context of this self portrait as it is, is perfectly understandable but if this were to be taken out of its original context and put into the shop window of Agent Provocateur there would be confusion but at the same time I think people would be inclined to take a look inside to find out what it was about, I think that the curiosity that it would evoke would bring more people into the shop and therefore sell more of what was in there. I believe that curiosity is sometimes one if the best ways to make a shop money. Humans are although we sometimes pretend not to be curious creatures, it is in our nature to wonder. 

V&A - The Trade Between East And West 1600-1900

Without Indian textiles the british textile industry would not exist as we know it. The Europeans wanted Indian textiles to trade for spices and coffee in South East Asia, to trade in Africa for Gold and Ivory and wanted cashmere and cotton for Europe where these didn't grow. Indian textiles have been traded since 400AD they were compared to the wisdom of God and the most precious jewels in the bible. Indian textiles where known as amazing even by the Romans. This is all because of their very fine cotton muslin and their washable printed cotton which Europe could not compete with as they didn't have the knowledge until 1820. The indians created and trend forecasted fabrics for specific places across the world, even though they had never been to these places, they could forecast what would be out of fashion in France and what would be in fashion in England - this is trend forecasting like no other!! No research trips nothing!

Timeline from 1500 to 1770

1500 - Sea routes from Europe to China via India to The Americas were officially established.

1526 - Moghul empire was established in India

1557 - The first European trading post in China

1600 - Founded the English and Dutch East India companies.

1700 - Ban on sale of Indian chintz in England

1720 - Ban on use of Indian chintz in England

1720 - 1774 - Ban on printing on cotton in England

1742 - China blue printing method was developed in England

1757 English East India company became the main colonial power in India.

From 1770 to 1800 there was a massive overtake in Britain, the british had finally developed a way to print onto cotton and for it to be washable - which was never possible before, but this caused a massive problem for India as from 1800 England took over from India as the major world exporter of printed cotton cloth. in 1857 the British took direct rule over India and in 1947 they took it back with the partition of Pakistan.

African Collection - The British Museum.

Mans Cloth - El Anatsui - Ghana - 1998-2001

Created from recycled metal foil bottle neck wrappers and copper wire. This is based around traditional Ghanian kente cloth. It is based around the idea of memory loss and the erosion of traditional cultural values. This piece is beautiful, I love that it is a 'modernised' version of an age old tradition. I also like that it is made out of mostly recycled materials. 

The Benin Plaque.

The Portuguese brought brass bracelets to the kingdom of Benin in the late 1400's to exchange for pepper ivory and slaves. The artists of Benin made the brass into these plaques for the oba's palace, when they were brought to europe in the 1890's the europeans were shocked and astounded that the africans had created these pieces of art work. The british got hold of these because the Benin's resisted british control and in the late 1890's Benin people killed the british whom had tried to take control so they 'took' thousands of treasures as 'booty' including over one thousand of these plaques from the palace. The treasures caused appreciation for African art which gave influence to 20th century Western art.

I have mixed feelings about The Benin Plaque as it was basically taken from them by the British without consent, although I understand that this piece should be in a museum where thousands of people can have the chance to see it I also feel that it should be given back as these plaques ownership is not ours nor is it borrowed work.

The Tree Of Life.

The tree of life symbolises the creativity of Africa. This piece is from the Transforming Arms Into Tools project in 1995 which is supported by the charity Christian Aid, which included people giving up their weapons for useful items such as sewing machines, bicycles and tools for growing food. The tree of life is made completely out of old guns and other weapons by the group of artists, Maputo. The Tree of Life is an amazing concept I love that the pieces look at first glance like metal animals and the tree but when you look properly you start to see the great destruction which was caused by the arms which were used to create the piece.

The Path of Roses.

This tells the story of the 13th century mystic Jalal Al-Din Al-Rumi who made a journey across North Africa and the Mediterranean to Turkey. This collection was created by Richard Koraichi who drew them and then they were transferred to cotton laid over silk and embroidered with gold thread by Moroccan artists. Although you can't particularly see in this picture, the great detail in the embroidery truly is outstanding, I think the contrast of the gold on the dark makes it what it is and the story is captured.

The British Museum - Living and Dying Exhibition

Our group was taken around the exhibition by Dr. Clare Rose. The Living and Dying exhibition is based around how different cultures fight to maintain their well being and their health. 

This replica (1902) parka would have been owned by an Igloolic Shaman, who are men and woman who had the ability to communicate with animals, personified forces of disease or the weather. Shamans are important because they hold the power that ensures animals continue to give themselves to the hunters. Without the Shaman communities are open to disease and starvation. 

Gut parkers are usually made out of the intestines of sea mammals such as sea lions and seals, they were used because they were waterproof, warm and light, the Shamans wore them during their rituals because of their powerful connections with the animals. The craftsmanship in the gut parkas is amazing, everything about them is fascinating such as their great usefulness to the opaqueness of the material which is beautiful in its own right.

Cradle to Grave by Pharmacopoeia.

Cradle to Grave was created by the textile designer Susie Freeman, the video artist David Critchley and Dr. Liz Lee, a GP. The concept tells the medical stories of a female and a male. The two lengths of fabric each hold over 14000 drugs which is the average that each person in Britain is prescribed in their life time. Looking at both of the lengths of tablets and reading about what they were both taking them for made me feel really quite emotional looking at someones whole life in such a form. This was my favourite piece from the exhibition because I found the feeling of personal connection and relation to the people, there were even pictures of them as they grew up and old around the outside of the pill incrusted fabric.

Eagle and Camera Coffins.

The Ga people of Ghana are well known for introducing a new tradition of beautifully carved and figurative coffins. The story says that in 1951 two brothers whom were carpenters created a coffin for their grandmother, shaped like an aeroplane because she had always dreamed of flying but had never had the chance to, after the news spread people wanted them for their families and relatives too and therefore their business was done. To me, these coffins give no air of mourning or sadness but instead give a sense that death isn't to be feared or thought of in a negative light.

Silk wall-hanging - Patna, Bihar, northeast India 2002

The wall hanging was made by a group of woman from a village in India, it expresses their social and personal concerns. This piece covers the different way's AIDS is transmitted through blood transfusions, infected needles, unprotected sex and from mother to child, it also shows women distributing condoms as a means of prevention.