Art 156: Final Project: IFF and BP Oil Spill

The aspect of the exhibition I chose was the topic of preserving marine life. Margaret Wertheim decided to use the idea of crochet to make organic shapes of colorful marine life such as coral reefs and anemones, so my final will include a similar focus on preserving and rescuing marine animals. The idea of my final includes crocheting sea animals out of recycled plastic bags that sea animals are getting caught in along with fishing nets. A second idea is crocheting ducks and the oil spills they have been in using plastic bags. Both of these ideas bring awareness to animal rescues.

In Margaret Wertheim’s exhibition, she developed space through the organic shapes of her crocheted works. The objects she chose to develop were anemones, corals and kelps with different medias and colors such as plastic, beads and others. She is utilizing her mathematical skills to make these organic shapes through crocheting. Through her exhibition, the different organic shapes of her work are always different and never replicated and her vivid use of colors to bring the corals and anemones to life just like how they are in the ocean, such as her use of neon colors. She also incorporated using beads with her crocheted work to being a different texture. Along with her exhibition, there were certain activities such as using hexagons to make a 3D object similar to her designs on making her crocheted work.

Final Statement: The main theme of the exhibition that I recognized was more political, economical and environmental in terms of the actually objects represented in the exhibition which were rare coral reefs and anemones. My piece of inspiration was the bright orange, neon pink, green crocheted coral reefs and I linked it to the Great Coral Reef in Australia and I kept with the environmental theme and thought of tragic events such as the BP Oil Spill in 2010 at the Gulf of Mexico.

Idea: Crochet plastic bags into an oil spill and include a duck affected by the oil spill. The oil spill occurred at the delta of the Mississippi River so I shaped the black plastic bags and crocheted it into the shape of the state of Mississippi and the duck out of white plastic bags.

Results: I crocheted black plastic bags into the shape of Mississippi which turned out successful, however, the white plastic bags that were crocheted into a duck wasn’t so much.

Art 156 IFF Inspirations

The aspect of the exhibition I chose was the topic of preserving marine life. Margaret Wertheim decided to use the idea of crochet to make organic shapes of colorful marine life such as coral reefs and anemones, so my final will include a similar focus on preserving and rescuing marine animals. The idea of my final includes crocheting sea animals out of recycled plastic bags that sea animals are getting caught in along with fishing nets. A second idea is crocheting ducks and the oil spills they have been in using plastic bags. Both of these ideas bring awareness to animal rescues.

In Margaret Wertheim’s exhibition, she developed space through the organic shapes of her crocheted works. The objects she chose to develop were anemones, corals and kelps with different medias and colors such as plastic, beads and others. She is utilizing her mathematical skills to make these organic shapes through crocheting. Through her exhibition, the different organic shapes of her work are always different and never replicated and her vivid use of colors to bring the corals and anemones to life just like how they are in the ocean, such as her use of neon colors. She also incorporated using beads with her crocheted work to being a different texture. Along with her exhibition, there were certain activities such as using hexagons to make a 3D object similar to her designs on making her crocheted work.

Art 156: Reading #3

Reading 3: The Fashion of Architecture by Bradley Quinn

            Fashion and architecture simultaneously influence one another and most examples are proven through designs of designers whether for fashion or architecture such as Charles Mackintosh who was not only a architect but a designer. As the ever changing relationship in the material culture is on-going, the relationship between fashion and architecture changes as well. Another factor between the relationship of fashion and architecture depends on the artist themselves and their influences.

The fashion industry became important as famous designers dominated the scene. However, “Commercial fashion has entered the same phase of industrial consolidation… It is no longer the individual designer who predominates but the multi-national conglomerates who buy out almost every profitable designer brand, creating a gradual shift in the balance of power as the industry becomes increasingly formulaic. Ultimately, the garment factories need to manufacture more designs to keep their production costs from rising the operation becomes more cost-effective for the conglomerates as they deliver more brands to the same factories and receive substantial discounts based on the sheer volume of work they commission” (The Fashion of Architecture).

As more well known designers stay popular within the fashion industry, newer designers are also stepping foot inside the industry. However, it becomes more difficult to continue their name and brand.

Art 156: Reading #2: Sewing Notions

October 9th, 2012

Reading #2: Sewing Notions

This article by Julie Bryan-Wilson focused on the idea of art not being taken seriously anymore or the actual concept, motivation, or idea of art is dying down due to society’s mass production and fast fashion impact. According to the text, “the disruptive nature of traditional handcraft within contemporary art, but also the relatively easy containment of craft within institutional and market structures.” Trying to become a name or even a piece of the fashion industry has been difficult today due to the efficient idea of mass production and fast fashion being outsourced to make more money. As a result, the creative design element of art or fashion has died down or disappeared, therefore, the main focus has been on quantity rather than quality. As our first discussion from class, we were asked what’s our favorite store or brand and most students, including myself, responded with H&M or Forever 21 due to its attractive affordability and accessibility. These stores or brands has become the main model for fast fashion since their products are outsourced for mass production to maintain their low pieces. However, if you are a true Forever 21 fan like myself, they products do not last long at all. After a few washes, my pair of jeans would rip or fade from the actual product, proving fashion has now shifted from quality to quantity.

Even though there are a few inspirational ideas, such as recycling clothes or using non-traditional materials to make clothes, the fashion industry has shifted its focus.”Despite an increasingly mainstream do-it-yourself movement, craft is often still pigeonholed as outside the purview of art, and has yet to be thoroughly examined at the critical or curatorial level.”

(Sewing Notions, Julie Bryan-Wilson)

Art 156 Proportions: Illustrations, Flats, Croquis