Final Piece

As a final design I took the decision to simplify the piece and lose the crescent moon and paint it. I decided this as I felt it wouldn't have been as effective to have both of them in it together. I did the same technique as my other samples yet with this one I didn't just paint it but I also varnished it. This way it gave the piece a shine and gloss, to create a luminous effect.. just like a moon. I really like the way when placed on the floor it looks like an oil slip. I decided to use a slight bit of colour upon the black which I thought really works well. 

Callisto and Arcas

I decided to go back to the style and shape that I was working on and have created two pieces of different scales. The piece represents Callisto and her son Arcas after Jupiter had turned them into constellations in the night sky. Together they look really great and actually I think the most successful thing about this piece is the fact that it is hung up. This hanging way of representing it really interesting and the piece could almost be like a painting, hung in a gallery. 

Again I have left the piece unpainted because as a pair I think it is interesting enough without the use of paint. I also really like how the bottom one is plain as it doesn't over complicate the piece. Its not stressful to look it, in fact its rather calming. 

The texture was the most successful on these two and as you can see the craters and bumps are really prominent. This is exactly what I was looking for and you can really see the moon influence that I took. 

As you can see I made the sculpture really thin so it wasn't too heavy and was able to be hung like this. Overall the piece was really successful and though I thought about painting it, I'm glad that I didn't. 

Jupiter's moon

After looking deeper into Ovid's metamorphosis I found another moon connection within the story. It seems that Jupiter, king of all Gods turned both Callisto, a nymph of Diana's, Goddess of the moon and her son Arcas, son of Jupiter. It is believed they became moons constellations in the sky. I came to the moon connection because the planet Jupiter in our Solar system also has a moon named Callisto. I found this connection really interesting and so google image searched the current moon. 

This is an image of Callisto, Jupiter's Moon. I really like the colour and form of it. I think it also relates to the experiments I started really well and I plan to take my experiments back into this direction. Focussing on the colours, I'm going to paint some like this and also work with numbers and make two, as to represent both Callisto and her Son. 

Callisto gets turned into a moon?

A section of Ovid's Metamorphoses 

The god Jupiter falls in love with the nymph Callisto

Often, as Jupiter came and went, he would stop short at the sight of Callisto, a girl from Nonacris, feeling the fire take in the very marrow of his bones. She was not one to spin soft wool or play with her hair. A clasp fastened her tunic, and a white ribbon held back her loose tresses. Dressed like this, with a spear or a bow in her hand, she was one of Diana's companions. No nymph who roamed Maenalus was dearer to Trivia, goddess of the crossways, than she, Callisto, was.

But no favour lasts long.

The sun was high, just past the zenith, when she entered a grove that had been untouched through the years. Here she took her quiver from her shoulder, unstrung her curved bow, and lay down on the grass, her head resting on her painted quiver. Jupiter, seeing her there weary and unprotected, said 'Here, surely, my wife will not see my cunning, or if she does find out, it is, oh it is, worth a quarrel!

Quickly he took on the face and dress of Diana, and said 'Oh, girl who follows me, where in my domains have you been hunting?'

The virgin girl got up from the turf replying 'Greetings, goddess greater than Jupiter: I say it even though he himself hears it.'

He did hear, and laughed, happy to be judged greater than himself, and gave her kisses unrestrainedly, and not those that virgins give.

When she started to say which woods she had hunted he embraced and prevented her and not without committing a crime. Face to face with him, as far as a woman could, (I wish you had seen her, Juno: you would have been kinder to her) she fought him, but how could a girl win, and who is more powerful than Jove?

Victorious, Jupiter made for the furthest reaches of the sky: while to Callisto the grove was odious and the wood seemed knowing. As she retraced her steps she almost forgot her quiver and its arrows, and the bow she had left hanging.

Callisto, pregnant by Jupiter, goes back to Diana

Behold how Diana, with her band of huntresses, approaching from the heights of Maenalus, magnificent from the kill, spies her there, and seeing her calls out. At the shout she runs, afraid at first in case it is Jupiter disguised, but when she sees the other nymphs come forward, she realises there is no trickery and joins their number.

Alas! How hard it is not to show one's guilt in one's face! She can scarcely lift her eyes from the ground, not as she used to be, wedded to her goddess's side or first of the whole company, but is silent and by her blushing shows signs of her shame at being attacked. Even if she were not herself virgin, Diana could sense her guilt in a thousand ways. They say all the nymphs could feel it.

Nine crescent moons had since grown full when the goddess faint from the chase in her brother's hot sunlight found a cool grove out of which a murmuring stream ran, winding over fine sand. She loved the place and tested the water with her foot. Pleased with this too she said 'Any witness is far away, let's bathe our bodies naked in the flowing water.'

The Arcadian girl blushed: all of them took off their clothes: one of them tried to delay: hesitantly the tunic was removed and there her shame was revealed with her naked body. Terrified she tried to conceal her swollen belly. Diana cried 'Go, far away from here: do not pollute the sacred fountain!' and the Moon-goddess commanded her to leave her band of followers.

Juno punishes Callisto

Juno, the great Thunderer's wife had known about all this for a long time and had held back her severe punishment until the proper time. Now there was no reason to wait. The girl had given birth to a boy, Arcas, and that in itself enraged Juno.

When she turned her angry eyes and mind to thought of him she cried out 'Nothing more was needed, you adulteress, than your fertility, and your marking the insult to me by giving birth, making public my Jupiter's crime. You'll not carry this off safely. Now, insolent girl, I will take that shape away from you, that pleased you and my husband so much!'

At this she clutched her in front by the hair of her forehead and pulled her face forwards onto the ground. Callisto stretched out her arms for mercy: those arms began to bristle with coarse black hairs: her hands arched over and changed into curved claws to serve as feet: and her face, that Jupiter had once praised, was disfigured by gaping jaws: and so that her prayers and words of entreaty might not attract him, her power of speech was taken from her. An angry, threatening growl, harsh and terrifying, came from her throat.

Still her former feelings remained intact though she was now a bear. She showed her misery in continual groaning, raising such hands as she had left to the starry sky, feeling, though she could not speak it, Jupiter's indifference.
Ah, how often she wandered near the house and fields that had once been her home, not daring to sleep in the lonely woods! Ah, how often she was driven among the rocks by the baying hounds, and the huntress fled in fear from the hunters! Often she hid at the sight of wild beasts forgetting what she was, and though a bear she shuddered at the sight of other bears on the mountains and feared the wolves, though her father Lycaon ran with them.

Arcas meets his mother in the form of a bear

And now Arcas, grandson of Lycaon, had reached his fifteenth year ignorant of his parentage. While he was hunting wild animals, while he was finding suitable glades and penning up the Erymanthian groves with woven nets, he came across his mother, who stood still at sight of Arcas and appeared to know him. He shrank back from those unmoving eyes gazing at him so fixedly, uncertain what made him afraid, and when she quickly came nearer he was about to pierce her chest with his lethal spear.

All-powerful Jupiter restrained him and in the same moment removed them and the possibility of that wrong, and together, caught up through the void on the winds, he set them in the heavens and made them similar constellations, the Great and Little Bear.

Experiments

Taking a different shape and route I decided to experiment in the shape.  I painted it with the dark shades to show the shadow that comes over the moon and the light part to represent the moon glowing and reflecting from the sun.  I really don't like the outcome of these pieces and I think the circular form was much more effective, and somehow the rawness of them was much more appealing. I do like the dark paint on this piece and also photographing it on the floor has brought a new perspective, It almost reminds me of an oil leak upon the floor which is really interesting. 

Creating a crescent

Here I worked on creating the style of a moon (rough close up, seemingly smooth far away) on a singular piece. I created it by using the same technique of sand moulding but doing it on a much larger scale than in trays. I covered a round section of a table with sand and adding the same texture as before. I adding bigger lumps and dints in the sand as this one was much bigger and I wanted the craters to stand out even more. I created the smooth moon part by leaving a section of the table in the middle of the sand clear, simple. I then covered the sand in casting plaster and to strengthen it covered that in scrim so the piece is made up of plaster and scrim. As it is rather thin and strengthened by the scrim I think it would be good to experiment further and try hanging the piece in the air, creating the moon even more obviously. 

From a far it seems rather plain. 

Close up you can see the texture and it is much more defined than my smaller piece that I created. It was also much harder to brush the sand out of these craters and most could not be removed. I do however thing this is a rather interesting addition because the sculpture can be seen as interactive and the sand is rough to touch and so a viewer could have the chance to touch and feel perhaps what the moon would even feel like. 

I like the crescent moon addition that I added, again it feels really great to touch after you have just felt the roughness of the craters as its a complete opposite being smooth and silky.

Texture

I really enjoyed working with materials such as plaster and the traditional way of using it to create sculptures which is why I decided to explore deeper into the techniques of it. After looking at images of the moon as a physical rock I found that the surface and texture was really rather interesting. The surface looks rocky and uneven, really textured and rough close up yet from a far can look almost smooth. Focusing mainly on this texture I used plaster to create my own rock formations. I used casting plaster and sand in order to create a moulded to pour the plaster in. One with a texture and one with a smooth surface, just like the moon. 

This moquette was made by putting sand in the bottom of a tray, adding a simple texture with no particular pattern and then pouring the plaster into the tray. It was actually really effective and the product was that which really resembled the moons surface. I also like the shade of the plaster that has been created from the stain of the sand that was in the tray. I plan to take this technique further seeing how expressive I can get the craters in the plaster. 

 

This was the simplest of my samples and was just simply plaster in a tray, there was no sand involved. It is too plain for the style I'm wishing to create but I do however like the dints left by the tray, its rather interesting. I do also like the way this could almost be used as a tile in order to create something completely different. 

Creating the moon

My first idea was to create a wearable sculpture garment, something rather simple but effective. My idea was to make a moon, crescent in shape that would be carried by a model down a catwalk that lit up. The moon could be carried around different parts of the body in different ways. Carried like a bag, worn like a hat, like a belt and all other sorts of ways. The idea being that there would be no lights what so ever in the room and the moon would be the only light source. Lightening up a particular area of the models garment that would most likely want to be on show. For example if the collection was based upon skirts, a belt lighting moon would be perfect as it'd show off the skirt perfectly. 

Here is my first attempt at creating a crescent moon in order to use as a portable light. it was made simply by using chicken wire that I covered in tissue paper using glue in order to make it stronger. It worked reasonably well and I rather like the way the chicken wire is visible under the chicken wire. I think this texture rather relates to the moon theme I'm working to quite well. I do however think once lit the chicken wire will be very prominent which isn't what i want, thats why I'm planning on moving away from this technique and working deeper into sculpture itself. 

Diana, Goddess of the Moon

Researching deeper into the characters in Ovid's Metamorphosis I found that Diana was not only the Goddess of the hunt but also the Goddess of the moon. Finding more imagery of Diana by artists showed crescent moons placed upon her head almost like a crown. It is by the moon and this sense of wearability that I intend to take my art. Perhaps creating a sculpture that can also be seen as a garment, experimenting with scale and styles within a sculpture perimeter. 

 Jules Joseph LeFebvre (1836-1911) Diana

Paul Jacques Aime Baudry - Diana Reposing

Metamorphosis: Titian 2012

I have reasearched into the Metamorphosis of Titian that the royal ballet contributed to in order to create a modern body of work recently in 2012. Three contemporary artists were specially chosen to create their own unique vision based upon one of the three paintings by Titian. The three paintings are 'Diana and Actaeon,' 'The Death of Actaeon' and 'Diana and Callisto' which all portray a part of the peom 'Metamorphosis' by Ovid based upon the Goddess of the Hunt, Diana.

Diana And Actaeon - Titian - 1556-9

This image shows Actaeon, the hunter stumbling across Diana, Goddess of the Hunt bathing privately with her Nymphs and being extremely startled and trying to cover herself when she sees Actaeon. Her face is focused upon Actaeon with great rage and it is to be believed the deer skull seen in the image could represent the up and coming death of Actaeon. Ironic being Actaeon is represented by the very thing than him himself hunts. This image could however represent Diana drawing Actaeon into her trap and that maybe she caused him to get lost and stumble upon her. Is she really as innocent as it seems or is this just a great hunting technique she has? 

The Death Of Actaeon - Titian - 1559-75

The second image in the collection shows a fleeing Actaeon who is being mauled by his very own hounds and chased by Diana. Actaeon has begun transforming into a stag but it seems he only had to take the form of the stag head in order for his hounds to turn against him. Roles have been reversed and the hunter is now Diana. The painting is believed to be unfinished since Titian died and the painting was discovered in his studio but i think the overall effect really shows the fierce nature of Diana. 

Diana And Callisto - Titian - 1556

The final image in the series doesn't portray Actaeon but focuses upon the relationship between Diana and her favourite most beautiful Nymph Callisto. Diana is forcing her Nymphs to strip Callisto and make her bathe with them since she had not been bathing for 9months. It is discovered that Callisto is pregnant and Diana is furious. Callisto's beauty aroused the attention of Jupiter, King of all Gods. He seduced her by disguising himself as Diana and getting Callisto pregnant, How this happened is unknown. The image shows how brutal Diana can be by casting out her favourite Nymph like she is just another male that has stumbled across Diana's private bathing place. 

Nymph - A mythological spirit of nature imagined as a beautiful maiden inhabiting rivers, woods, or other locations.  

Historical & Cultural

In my essay I will discuss the topic of clothing and how it has become some what of a form of expression yet also a way to boast and show off. I will look at how modern day people use clothing to make themselves feel better, not only in the sense it makes them secure about themselves but also in the sense they buy certain designer clothes simply to be-little and show off to other humans. I will look at how designers influence the general publics choices on what to wear and whats on trend comparing them to the types of trends that were once about, such as when Greeks particularly liked to compete in sports naked to show off their body. I will compare designers such as Vivienne Westwood to the statues of the Hellenistic period. I will discuss how people are no longer comfortable in their own skin like they once was and how 'peacocking' is not a wide spread thing. I will do all of this by researching facts about the areas and adding my own points and opinions into the essay.

Concrete Sculptures: Take 2

After leaving my sculptures over the summer to be weathered and distorted from natural forces I really like the result that's been created. My small yellow sculpture in particular works the best, the weather has made it fade and I think this is successful in creating the natural essence I was aiming for. Though the other two haven't faded as much I still think it works well as they are now no longer all the same and it makes you question why they're like that. 

To take this idea of them being slightly different further I have decided to be really drastic and add to the smallest sculpture. Going back to Miro's automatic way of working and simple choice of colours I decided to pick a contrasting colour to the shades of yellow (in this case blue/red) and add sparingly and again leaving it outside for the weather to change and naturalise my sculptures. I believe this has made an improvement to the scene I have created because now they're a little exciting and intriguing to the eye.

Concrete Sculptures

Here I have used chicken wire to make a frame, and covered the frames in scrim and concrete in order to create durable sculptures that can survive in the outdoors. I have used the automatic way of creating art just like Joan Miro to make the forms natural and as unscripted as possible whilst still retaining the concept. I decided to do a series of sculptures at different sizes in order to create a minimal impact size wise but a large impact in the sense there is a few of them but. I also focused on the colours i used, using mainly block bright colours in order to make them stand out and again reinforce the impact factor.  I created the shapes mainly in the automatic style of Miro, drawing sketches using simple shapes straight out of my mind with no deep thought and then transferring the shapes and images into a 3D format and I ended up with these. 

The smallest of my three sculptures was designed to represent 'Petrified wood' but I think it could also be related to a lump of gold found within the ground too. I decided to do this one the smallest as it is one of the most rare to be found naturally. The sculpture is created mainly with a mixture of spheres and cones and I think the lumped effect it has created transfers well and adds some mystery to the piece, you're not truly sure what it is supposed to be. 

The next sculpture I created was influenced by 'Volcanic' rocks and I wanted the deep reds to stand out and make a strong impression on the viewer. I think this one stands out the most out of my three sculptures and I really like that fact. The texture is very rough and as natural as I could get it, I made sure I didn't smooth the surface perfectly to create this feeling so viewers would want to touch the sculptures and interact with them. Which being made of concrete they surely can, just like some of Joan Miro's work and also very like Franz West's work.

The final and largest of my three sculptures I designed to have the feel of a natural rock found in the sea, river or pond and weathered by water and rain. Creating a green/blue layered surface just like algae gathers on real rocks. Though this is the largest of my three sculptures I wanted to make it the most subtle. Whilst still using bright colours I tried to down the impact and blend and town to create these deep, mysterious tones. 

 I think they work well within the grass due to the fact they are to represent natural found rocks within the ground. I however chose to place my sculptures above the ground on the sort of bricked plinth to make them stand out and seem like they are part of an exhibition. Overall they have been rather successful, I believe.

Sculpture maquettes

Before beginning work on my sculptures in the style of Miro's automatic way of working I created different maquettes to see if they'd be successful or not. I first created automatic drawings that slightly resembled a mess on a piece of paper but it was from this i took elements and shapes in order to create the maquettes seen below. They have been created using chicken wire, scrim and just a simple one coat plaster. I layered the plaster and scrim on and left the surface quite rough on purpose as the idea of automatic drawing is to be very automatic and I didn't want to force the result too much. 

This red one seen above reminds me a lot of bones and fossils that have been laying in the ground over a long period of time. It's very chunky but also very subtle. It creates a strange sort of feeling not being sure what the subject is and the slight red patches could be seen as possible blood stains. So far its down to the audiences thoughts upon the matter. I think the shape and form has overall been really successful and the sculpture can be viewed from any angle and still be interesting. I want this to be a big theme through out my sculpture process.

I created another one, this time larger and taking the idea of bones forward. The large sphere could be seen as a skull and the cones that make a ridge on the side could be seen as the spinal cord. It becomes almost eery in the fact it could be a pile of bones from a human. I decided to use completely different tones and colours as to not make the image too literal in the bone sense. Doing this has let me down another path as my result has been very natural looking and almost like a boulder you'd come across in a landscape and not even notice it. I'd like to keep using the same automatic style but adding these natural colours and formats to my sculptures.