Getting our exhibition up.

Yesterday, we decided that the plan for today was to meet in the art school with our 15 panels and 25 small acetates printed out ready. We would then go to the A4 & more store in the art school to get 12 A4 foam mounting boards, mark out where the work would go on the boards, stick them down and take them to our space and put them up. This didn't exactly go to plan. Not everyone had printed their work out for various reasons. This was a bit frustrating as we wasted a lot of time. A few of us had to sit around waiting for people to turn up and print their work out, which was really not what we wanted to do. After getting a bit twitchy we decided to just go and buy the foam board and do as much as we could with who and what we had. We started to explore how many panels we could put on a board to make it look effective. We decided that we would fill the board; panel to panel. At first I wasn't sure, as I thought it looked very cluttered, but then realised that it could look quite powerful when all the boards were next to each other. 

We had to wait a bit for others to print everything out, but finally we got sticking everything down. Working as a team, some of us spray mounting and some used double sided sticky tape (depending on what  paper was used) and before we knew it, we were all done. This was probably the best part of today as we finally got to see all of our work together and...it looked good!

Even though we didn't want to admit it, Eleanor was right; four A1 boards would have looked pathetic! At that moment we realised that, yeah, it was going to look quite good!

So with our boards finished, fueled up and ready to go, we trooped off to Incognito. Last week, Gabi and I were told that the space would be clear and cleaned, however this wasn't the case. Everyone else, who hadn't seen the space were a bit shocked at the state of it, but we knew that we just had to get on. We moved everything out of the way, swept the floors, removed all rubbish and finally started to get everything up. It took a  while to decide where to put each board as we wanted the "good" boards at eye level and also in a straight line. We used strong foam sticky pads to put them up and they worked really well. At one point we had to take a couple of boards off the wall and move them, and it was quite difficult to pull off! Nevertheless, after moving the boards about a bit, they were all up in no time. It was good how well we worked as a team today, although some people needed some encouragement to get a move on and help, we did all put the boards up; it wasn't just a couple of people. 

As some of the group hadn't printed and cut out the small acetates, we couldn't hang them up today so we went back to uni to sort that out. We divided them up, so when we came to sewing them together, we all had a selection of faces. I'm not so bothered anymore about not being able to hang them up today, as we have time tomorrow morning before the tutors come to check on us. All in all, a productive day!

Busy weekend!

This weekend has been VERY busy. It's been made up of producing 15 A4 panels, 25 small acetates and non-stop group updates on Facebook  It's been good that we've been keeping each other updated on Facebook as it's meant that we can share ideas and also keep people positive through a hard weekend. I'm quite pleased with my panels; I've used both mine and   members of the groups images, included motifs and also made every one look slightly different.  I have made sure that each panel has included drawings of my own; whether that was motifs, exaggerated fine liner sketches or cut out typography. I got the idea of typography from a member of my group. Gabi had the idea of including feelings through words; she collected many different feelings, typed them out and used them within her work. When I was talking to her, we decided that the typography could work within my panels as well. I really enjoyed working with this idea; I printed the sheet of words out onto acetate and used them within my motifs and also as separate elements. A couple of members in my group used stitching within their work, therefore I decided to use the typography but cut them and use them as thin strips, to replicate stitching. I think that it's been really good that we've shared and used each others ideas; it truly shows that we have worked collaboratively. 

I used many different materials to create my work: watercolour paints, fine liner,  acetate, felt tip pen etc. I feel that the use of watercolour worked well as it meant that the face could be seen through the design and it also added texture as you can slightly see the brush strokes at times. The sketching using fine liner also added texture as well as a slightly graphical style; adding quirkiness to my work. I like my work to have a depth about it and I believe produced this; from texture  being created through the materials used, placement of acetates overlapping images and also the  mixture of different motifs/images used in one panel, my work is interesting and individualistic.

I'm pleased I've focused on developing motifs within this project as I made sure I linked everything with textiles. I didn't want to move away from print throughout this project, as that's what I've come to uni to do. Even though Unit X is all about collaboration; exploring different areas and seeing what it's like to work within a group, it would be silly to go in the opposite direction of what I want to do. Even though I don't think it's my best work, within our group and what we decided to do, I think it's worked well. I've worked well on my panels; using time consuming techniques and also not restricting my ideas too much. 

Meeting Adriano for the first time and THE tutorial!

Gabi and I went to meet Adriano today in the Northern Quarter...it was a very brief encounter! We met hiim outside Fred Aldous and explained that we had sorted out our exhibition space just over the road. He was fine with this so took us over to introduce us to Joe, the owner...and then he was off! A very short encounter but nevertheless, it meant that we could have a look at the space quicker. I think both Gabi and I, did not expect the space to look like this...

Incognito is a quirky art shop and downstairs is what looks to be storage, staff space and a vault. They allow artists to exhibit down here so I just didn't expect it to be like this. At first we were a bit stunned, however after having a quick chat with Joe and his colleague and having a look closely at the space, we decided it could work. I think once they said that they would clear the space for Monday, we felt a bit better! Our plan is to place our four A1 boards with our panels on, on the main wall and hang the acetates off the pipes above. We think this will look quite a effective, with a bit of work and nice lighting!

Feeling better about our exhibition and a bit of time to get back for the tutorial, we headed back to uni. This is where everything went down hill. A bit flushed and out of breath, we arrived at our tutorial, a bit late but explained why to Eleanor. We told her about where we were exhibiting and our ideas for it. She was fine about our exhibition space, however described our actual idea as 'a bit thin'. She thought that something was missing from it, whether that was work or something else, she wasn't sure. We tried to explain everything a bit better; explaining where we got our concept from and our thoughts behind our ideas, however Eleanor wasn't convinced. I have to say, this was one of the hardest tutorials I've ever had!! So close to our deadline and we were getting told different  things. Last week, when we had spoken to Robin, he liked our idea for our final piece and said we were heading in the right direction, but now...I'm totally lost. I just felt a bit down after Eleanor had said it didn't seem like we had done a lot of work. I think that's because I know for a fact a couple of us have done a lot of research and development to get our ideas. It annoys me that some members of the group, just don't try enough and this can be seen clearly through our final piece so far. Eleanor said that she thinks we need more faces and work to put up; four A1 boards don't seem enough, nevertheless she likes our idea of hanging acetates up; she suggested that we did little faces and hung loads of them up. I like this idea as it will fill the space up to look powerful.

The three of us came out of the tutorial feeling a bit sick! We were shocked by the response and knew that we had to do something about it. It was very annoying that not everyone could come to the tutorial as it meant that we had to pass on the information. Gabi and I decided to get a drink and write everything down that we needed to tell our group on facebook. As we talked about it all, it didn't seem as bad, as we discussed more possibilities and ways to get it all done. This is what we said on our facebook group...

IMPORTANT PLEASE READ

Hi guys, firstly Lizzie and i went to meet Adriano, he didn't say much but we met Jo, lovley guy and we have a space in this sort of basement area, there's no windows but we think it would work well, I'll upload pics and explain ties on another post. We have more important issues to deal with.

Lizzie and I managed to make it back to the tutorial on time, only Anne showed up which was a bit disappointing but oh well. Any way Eleanor had A LOT to say. She was not impressed at all!

Basically she mentioned how we should have related this project to a fashion/textiles concept.
However its too late to deal with that now so she suggested we document this work onto our blog, and relate the work we have been doing into ideas that are related to the course and subject area we want such as fashion or textiles. And how we would use this research in a fashion/textiles project.

Secondly she doesn't think we have enough work compared to other groups and personally both me a Lizzie agree. Eleanor explained that it doesn't seem like we have put the sufficient amount of hours into our unit x work in comparison the the other groups and that we very noticeable in the actual exhibition. She said that our idea is "thin" very flat and looks like there is no collaboration.

We explained our ideas and how we are sharing images and she liked that ans said we should show the use of using eachothers images in more A4 sheets.

Soo.. the plan: WE NEED THIS DONE IN THE WEEKEND, ALL WORK MUST BE BROUGHT TO THE CAFE AT 9:00AM MONDAY 13TH MAY.

Gather everyones images on facebook we all uploaded 2 each, there should be 14). We need to work with each others images in order for it to be a "collaboration" This means by monday we need about 15 - 20 A4 images each (i know its a lot) but we need as many faces as possible for it to look impressive, and have a decent impact on the public.

Apart from this we also need as well as this (i know im sorry its not our idea) mini images preferably the size of 9 images on a page of A4(you know the printer settings when you set it to 9 on a page, that size) on acetate, 45 images which is only 5 sheets of A4 paper its not that much. The images can be repeated, can be photocopies or images of the original A4 sheets but smaller, close ups, sections, typography anything you can think of as long as we have a minimum of 45 each, the aim is to have a total of 175 mini pictures to hang of the pipes in the space, so that it reflects well the the light and looks more effective. Also remember to use as much colour from the pallet to make it all pop! 

I know this is a lot but in order to pull of a good exhibition we need this done, I will post time and dates and exhibition information tonight or tomorrow. have a good hardworking weekend!.

lots of love Gabii and Lizzie xxxx

So you could imagine, Friday night, our group was very stressed. Nevertheless, I knew that I could get the work done and to be honest, I think our exhibition will definitely look more powerful with more work. I just really hope everyone actually does the work! 

Tutorial feedback sheet...

Another hectic day!!

So, I got up this morning, planning to have a more relaxing day than yesterday, however once I checked facebook, that all changed. A couple of the members of the group got these emails...

Hello Ailsa,

You missed the meetings with Adriano to go through your spaces, you have Fred Aldous window you need to confirm this and meet with him otherwise you will lose it.

Regards

Robin

...and...

Hello Perform 5.

It seems that none of you turned up for your meeting with Adriano yesterday. This is unprofessional practice and disappointing.

You must all attend tomorrow; we have arranged for you to meet Adriano at Fred Aldous management tomorrow (Friday) at 3pm.

Please all reply to this message and confirm that you will attend this very important meeting; without this discussion you will not be able to install your work in time for the festival, and this will need to be reflected upon.

Best wishes,

Eleanor

Obviously we were all confused, as two members  of the group went to Fred Aldous yesterday and Adriano wasn't there so they talked to a member of staff instead. There is clearly some bad communication somewhere! Anyway...who is Adriano? We havent been told about him until now! Anyway, we went to see Susan at the tutorial, originally wanting her to look at our work and discuss our final piece however, we were more concerned about the lack of communication. Susan seemed very confused about the emails we had received, however she calmed us down by saying that it would be a good idea to find our own space and forget about Fred Aldous as there clearly isn't any space for us there. She also said that  our work was looking very good and that we were heading in the right direction. Within the tutorial, we decided that it would be a good idea to share our images with each other, so we could all work with a collection of similar faces.  We also discussed the idea of printing onto acetate and hanging the sheets up. I think this is a really good idea as the overlapping of acetate in front of our main panels, will create  even more distortion, looking very effective. Also if we place a spot light in front of the acetates, the colour will shine through into the exhibition space, creating more of an atmosphere.

Later on today, we also found out that we had a compulsory tutorial tomorrow, at the same time as a our meeting with Adriano. Once again, many people within the group had other plans, however we have arranged that Anne will go to the tutorial and Gabi and I will see Adriano. We have talked to the other group with a spare room in their space and they are fine with us using it so we rang the manager of this space (Incognito) to check that it is also okay with him and he is perfectly fine with it.  Therefore when we meet Adirano tomorrow, we can explain everything and tell him that we have a space! Things are looking up! 

What has happened today?!! One big blur!

We hadn't anything planned to do as a group today; just get on with working on our A4 panels and Sophie meeting up with Paul from Fred Aldous. Nevertheless somehow, everything is up in the air. I woke up with missed phone calls and many facebook messages! Basically one of the tutors had approached Gabi this morning asking where we were yesterday for our tutorial. We had a tutorial yesterday...? I check moodle and my emails everyday and I had no information about any tutorial yesterday. In fact I never know when we have a tutorial;  it seems that it's just the fashion students, getting told all this information. So, obviously I was very confused! Also one of the members had got another email saying that we had a meeting today. Once again, I had no information about this therefore I had arranged a job interview! This is what the message said:

Hello Perform Group 5

We have arranged for you to use the windows at Fred Aldous.

Adriano will meet with your group and the Fred Aldous management team to discuss plans and materials for your installation this afternoon at Fred Aldous at 3pm or 4pm.

Please bring pictures and samples to show what, and how you intend to install.

As you will be sharing the space with other unit x groups, you will also need to attend a meeting to discuss curation with Adriano and the other student groups.

Please make sure you check timetable and messages as you cannot afford to miss tutorials at this stage.

You need to make sure work is ready to install b the end of this week.

RegardsEleanor

As most of us had plans for the day, we had to somehow organise at least two people from the group to go to this meeting. After a lot of fuss, we finally got it sorted! But....

After a really weird day, we have decided to have a meeting after our tutorial with Susan tomorrow, to sort our where to exhibit. Ailsa says that another group has a spare room in their space, so it looks like we're going to have to follow that up! 

How are the A4 panels looking...?

Today, our group met up to see how we had been getting on over the weekend. Last week we decided to go away and produce two A4 panels each so we could see what our final piece could possibly look like. It was a bit disappointing, as only a few of us had brought our work along to show each other  The meeting would have been more useful if we could have seen all of our work next to each other, as we would have been able to spot things that were working  and aspects that were not. Nevertheless, with what we had, we discussed how we could continue further with our work.

I had focused on working on top of my images; placing motifs and working into them with colour. I used one colour palette, as I feel it is important for a collection to look similar in a way, and colour is  the key aspect to do this. Looking at our work together, I wasn't sure at first if it could work; the black and white images next to my colour palette looked effective, however the top left  colour, didn't quite go. We therefore decided to stick with my colour palette; some of us may use it more than others, but we made it clear to each other that it was important that, if you decide to use colour, to stick to those. I was quite pleased for the group to choose to use my colour palette, as I had spent a lot of time experimenting with the use of colour. When doing my research I had found an inspirational image; the subject within the image didn't have anything to do with our theme, nevertheless I found the colours very inspiring.

I came across this image on one of my favorite blogs; http://www.patternity.co.uk/. It's an archive of inspirational images and I found the colours engaging somehow. I don't usually use boldly contrasting colours together, however when I saw how well they looked next to each other, I wanted to use them! 

In this meeting we also discussed where to exhibit our work. We decided we would quite like to use one of the windows in Fred Aldous in the Northern Quarter. Seen as we hadn't spoken to any of the members of staff there and it was getting late, we decided to ring them. Sophie spoke to Paul; a manager in Fred Aldous and he said that they had quite a few Unit X groups exhibiting there, however he could possibly move things around. Hoping that this could work out, Sophie thanked him and said she would see him tomorrow to discuss possibilities. It finally feels like we're going to have a place for our work!!!!

Where to exhibit our work...

Today, one of the members of our group, explored the city center to see where we could exhibit our work. In the meeting with Robin yesterday, it was clear that we all really wanted to have a window space, therefore, Anne looked around to see what she could find. 

This space is 'Forever Unique', past the arena and up Cheetham Hill road. It has 6 large window displays, however it really out of the way, right next to a road, therefore not a lot of the public would be walking past it. Anne also found a deli based in the Northern Quarter, that had a really nicely sized window space, nevertheless our theme doesn't really fit with the venue. If our idea was based on food, then this would have been a perfect space, however, I think we need to think more about the relationship between our exhibition and the place we exhibit it.