Rebecca Horn

Rebecca Horn's work, for me, tells a story of a woman's life. I think by creating wearable pieces that mark her surrounding space, she is re-living the importance of where she is at that moment.




 

Floating Paper

Recording the movement within the space, through mark making!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Video clip)  Adjusting and drawing 

Beginner in Photoshop!

 

Photoshop Examples

After more discussions with the tutors I decided to become more adventurous with my editing and try layering the video in PHOTOSHOP/Premiere Pro! Little did I know, how big and scary the programme is!Nevertheless, I had to give it a go!

So after many attempts and being completely lost on several occasions, I finally started to learn the steps. Each time I tried it, I learnt new ways of changing the opacity, layering the video and lighting. These are some of the samples from the earlier stage to the final video for presentation.

 

 

 

 

These two videos (right) are the final ones. I found them to be the most effective.

 

 

Merce Cunningham

 

Not just a choreographer!

 

Merce Cunningham is internationally recognised as one of ,the greatest choreographers to have ever lived. He has collaborated with many artists over several decades.

 

There seems to be specific attention to line, angle and shape in his choreography that stood out for me. He pushes all boundaries when it come to dance and body movement. He portrays the fine line between fine art and dance. His choreography has certainly inspired me to become more expressive in my chosen choreography and to focus on the line and angles which I am creating. 

Blending!!

 

 

Layering Images

The photos are the most successful ones and each one of them has a hint of confusion to them. The image above is a more stronger representative of my concept because even though the human form is transparent, it still highlights the awareness of the confined space.  

 





These images, especially the one above, brought my project to a new direction. The photos were said to look almost like cave paintings and there was a new excitment to try experimenting with mark making. I took this advice and wanted to capture a more abstract and experssive way of the movement, through new ways of drawing.

 

 

 

 



Take two!!

(Unedited Final Video)
 

After another four more videos, filmed to my chosen layout and keeping the camera still on a tripod, this is the unedited video clip I have chosen to develope on. This doorway/window is at the perfect height for me, so that I am able to reach the top as I am dancing. The background has a small bit of branch detail yet it is not overpowering the negative space. To add to this, the bottom of the doorway/window is not symmetrical which causes an a

djustment in my movements, therefore making it all the more interesting. The sequence of movements have a smooth transition and vary. There is a small bit of repetition but I think this could work to my advantage. I would, however, have maybe considered adding more expressive movement to this video, which can be seen in the photos ( see below)



Reviewing...editing...decisions, decisions!!

 

Next, I have to decide on layout, size, angle, lighting and sequence of movements that are most effective. I went about the editing from reviewing previous videos and taking snapshots of them. I chose images that caught my eye. Then I placed them on my wall in the studio and took notes next to each image. Not only did I come to some sort of conclusion but I also came up with a number of ideas in terms of effects. It just shows how laying out the possibilities in front of you, so that you can, unconciously, analyse the work.

 

 

(Snapshot 1)

 

I particularly liked the above snapshot (Snapshot 1). I found the contrast in the lighting and the layout most effective in this image. Also the extending of the arm, neck and head backwards (see above), allowing more negative space to be seen, portrays how a dancer can or has to be able to, adjust their body in an unusual way to fit within that space.

Kara Walker

Kara Walker

 

 

 

 

 

The artist is best known for exploring the raw intersection of race, gender, and sexuality through her iconic, silhouetted figures.

 

 

I found this American artist and her work fascinating. The part that probably attracted me to her work the most was how she relies on the geastures and movements of the human body in order to express the emotions and tell the story behind her work. I feel she has done this quite successfully and therefore it proves how important body language is.

The top image and just above, have been given more depth with the addition of projected shadows of a wooded area. I think it helps to set more of a mood.

Location Location???

(Video 1) Located in doorway 1 of the Pigeon House

 





(Video 2) Located in doorway 2 of the Pigeon House

 

 

After reviewing the previous videos (Exploring a space), I decided to keep the videos black and white so that the focus is clearly on the space and my body within it. Now it was a matter of choosing the location that is most effective. The above videos (1&2) are located in an old ruin called the 'Pigeon House' close to where I live. It was filmed from the inside facing outwards at two of the four different doorways. This created my body to become a silhouette against the daylight. I particularly like this because, again, it is conveying a clear contrast between my body(positive) and the space surrounding it (negative).

 

 

(Video 3) Located in doorway 1&3 of the Pigeon House.

 

The video above (Video 3) has been filmed from the outside of the ruin. Therefore the lighting was was not as starking. It almost starts to look like I blend into the surroundings. Also quite interesting and appealing but it is not the direction I want to take my work on.

 

 





(Video 4) Located in the garden of the local pub.

 

In the above video clip (Video 4) I wanted to try filming in another similar framed space where I could mimic the angles and lines of the broken wooden frame with my body as I danced.

Out of the ordinary..but I like it!

'Dances for small spaces' by Ame

 

I must admit, this video really inspired me. The concept, the quality and the techniques in video production really stood out for me. I made key notes for my own work from this video clip.

Time Lapse Images

Shinichi Maruyama

 

Time-lapse Images of Nude Dancers Created with 10,000 Individual Photographs

 

 

 

This work portays the movement of the body in an abstract but almost elegant way. I believe it is an innovative way of capturing the movement, which relates to my concept to some degree, but not entirely.

 

 Of the photos Shin says:

I tried to capture the beauty of both the human body’s figure and its motion. The figure in the image, which is formed into something similar to a sculpture, is created by combining 10,000 individual photographs of a dancer. By putting together uninterrupted individual moments, the resulting image as a whole will appear to be something different from what actually exists. With regard to these two viewpoints, a connection can be made to a human being’s perception of presence in life.

All video, No pencils!

 

Going back to the start with my initial idea on dance and architecture turned out to be the more clever option. After chats with the tutors and more thought, the concept, has much more potential for developemnet than the 'leaving a mark' idea. Therefore I moved on and dove in to something new....video! All video, no pencils! For me, this was a very different approach to art and design.

So I decided to explore further by choosing a location to dance/move in that would cause me re-think my movement according to the space that surrounds me. I wanted the viewer to see how I, as a dancer, appreciate my space and the impact it has on my performance.

 

(Loft Video 2) Manipulating my movements to suit the architecture of my converted loft.

(Snapshot 1) Of a video clip 'Loft video 1'

 

 

(Loft Video 3) Manipulating body movements to the acute angles of the architecture.

 

(Snapshot 2) Of a video clip 'Loft video 2'

 

Overall, the above video clips and snapshots were not as effective as I had hoped. I thought perhaps it may be the result of the chosen location (my loft) which may not be challenging enough for me as the dancer.  Although, there was elements to them such as (Video 1) that I did like. This included the confusion as to where i was located that may be evoked in the viewer and I did like the idea of plain white acute and perpendicular angles in the architecture. This may be something I could come back to and develope further.

Leaving a mark within a space

The leaf image I took while going into town after college one day. It caught my eye because several fallen leaves along the conctrete were framed by their moisture seeping out while they becan to decay. It was interesting because when the leaf possibly blows away or eventually disintergrates, it will leave a mark within the space that it lay. The moisture mark is a memory almost for the area that the leaf  occupied within that space.

Figure 1: Fallen leaf surrounded by its moisture seeping out from it. 

 

These images of the flower and of the dates twig (above and below) are my experiments, inspired from what I saw(top off page, Figure 1) with the leaf and moisture rings. They are done bleach on neutral and coloured paper. I wanted to get that effect of the moisture seeping out but to leave a permanent mark. It creates an organic mark on the page. The viewer could not be sure what lay within that space. Its quite mysterious in that sense. 

Apparition - Klaus Obermaier & Ars Electronica Futurelab

 

Apparition - Klaus Obermaier & Ars Electronica Futurelab
The first three minutes of this video is quite interesting how it captures the movement of the dancers in the space. We see their interaction with the space from the energy of the movments using computer vision, IR-cam and light.

Exploring (litrally) spaces through dance

Video Experiments

 

(Exploration video) A combination of short video clips in several different locations.

 

(Exploartion Video part 6) A short video clip edited upside doen to create a different effect and change the viewer's focus.

 

 

 

(Snapshot of Exploartion vid pt 8) Interesting shapes and lines created through dance, based on the architecture.

 

(Snapshot of Exploration video pt 8) Another unusual curvlinear shape

 

Spacial Awareness



West Side Highway

Dane Shitagi photography ( Ballerina Project)

A dancers interation with a space.

At first, I focused on the idea of movement within a space, particularly by ballet dancers body movement and how it changes the space.

While researching, I had read an interesting article called 'Measuring Space' by Maribruna Fabrizi and Fosco Lucarelli. It was basically about the close relation between dance and architecture. What I found interesting is how we commonly think and look at architecture for it's shape and how it impacts our space but we don't necessarily consider the shapes the human form create within a space, especially a dancer's.  

'Is space static or it it produced by movement?'

I found this question intriguing and therefore, I wanted to investigate it further by producing a video of myself dancing (roughly!) within an open space and challenging the idea of spatial awareness. I did a number of videos, keeping to the same dance routine but changing the space.

I concluded that as a dancer, the space around you
manipulates the way you move. You fold your body forward and down when their is a low ceiling and choregraphy(imagination behind the action) has to be changed to suit the space.

When speaking to the tutors, my work and research was starting to portray more of a focus on movement and not on the space. So from that, I tried to manipulate the way the videos or images of the dancer and space are viewed. It did in some way show more focus on shape within the space.But it is something I am currently still working on....

A video called Ballerina project 'Winter Repose' during a photoshoot by Dane Shitagi. http://vimeo.com/22530604.

Manipulating the viewing of 'West Side Highway'

Dane Shitagi photography ( Ballerina Project)

 

If given plenty of space, how would I make use of it?

Its my second Monday,in the Limerick School Of Art and Design as a First Year! After completing three years of college in Art and Design,Fibre Art and Textile Design, I have began this course with some insight and confidence in my abilities!

After an intense week, with many presentations from the tutors and settling into the college, I feel more comfortable now that we are in our studios and the groups of first year students are smaller.

We were given a breif on our first day called 'To sense my space'.....

Immediately I started to think of spaces I find most exciting or know personally. This is when a stage or theatre came to mind. If I was given a space even if it was not a traditional stage, I would use this space to perform using dance such as ballet to entertain myself and others.

I understand this type of space! I understand what to do within it.

I also find it most interesting to watch dancers use the space their given with their body. It's beautiful. They dance with so much control yet very expressive and free. The stage is such a simple shape that frames the elegant negative spaces created by the dancers.

The connection between the stage floor and the dancers feet could be anywhere, it's about the use of space surrounding their body.
My ballet teacher would constanting tell us as a group of dancers to use our space.

With this personal experience in mind, I want to portray in this project, how a dancer makes use of the space given and how their awareness of their bodies causes them to be aware of their space.


Ballet West II's former dancers