Leeds Arts University Repository (CREST)
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446 research outputs found
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Trumps
No full textThe output is a creative project involving a light projection titled ‘Trumps’. It was a response to the concept and timing of the í Ljósi light festival in Seyðisfjörður, Iceland, when the first sunlight in nine months falls onto the town. Research process: Using synchronised digital projectors inside the building, projecting onto screens set in the windows, balloons floated up to fill a detached domestic building. Synchronised to the soundtrack of Grieg’s Morning Mood from Peer Gynt, the black, purple, red, orange, yellow and finally white balloons eloquently created a spectacular sunrise inside the house with, at the musical climax, the balloons ‘farting’ off to return the building to darkness. To create the film of balloons floating up, Tansley designed a set; a clear Perspex box was set against a black background. The dimensions of the box front were calculated to match the proportions of the windows to be used in the specific building. The final film was edited and turned through 180 degrees to create the effect of the balloons floating up rather than falling down. There was then more intricate editing needed to be synchronised with the soundtrack. Research insights: Designing a piece of pre-programmed projection work to fit a building, without a site visit, is a complex exercise. However, it stimulated dialogue and debate while living and working with international light artists across a range of disciplines and created possible future collaborations. The intention and importance of ‘Trumps’ was to contrast sophisticated visual eloquence (nature) and childish humour (humankind). Dissemination: ‘Trumps’ was exhibited as part of the í Ljósi light festival in Seyðisfjörður, Iceland on 24-25 February 2017. The event attracted national media attention and was visited by over 2,500 people
The sickness of being disallowed: premonition and insight in the ‘‘artist’s sketchbook”
No full textThis article makes an original contribution to the histories of sculpture in Britain, a phenomenon that I argue has no register of identity formation within it. I use my own particular practice, positioned in terms of class and gender, as a case study. It articulates how I know, through experience of sculptural practice, that it is not uncommon for artists to bring seemingly incompatible ideas together in the acts of thinking and making, and therefore how they may not perform a straightforward logic in what they call their process. I reflect upon the way that I use content contained in old, personal sketchbook pages to make sculpture now. I bring together the work of American feminist Patti Lather, with the psychoanalytical ideas of Christopher Bollas to argue for the legitimisation of the contents of these pages in my work now. To do this I use the concept of Artistic Research developed by Hannula, Suoranta and Vadén (2005). Their notion of being positioned ‘inside-in’ practice, as the one who is doing the research, and their principle of ‘methodological abundance’, enables my cradling of what might seem incongruous or conflicting tools of interpretation for an artist. Lather’s work acknowledges power and discourses through which she analyses the bodies of knowledge which define and limit what we can say. In the essay I interface Lather’s transgressive categories for validity in qualitative research, developed from her use of Foucauldian theory, with Bollas’s particular model of human subjectivity, represented his writings. I propose that an artist can be both an intellectual and material bricoleur and Life Writing is the method I use to play out a way in which Foucauldian ideas can coalesce with psychoanalytical ideas, described as happening inside what anthropologist Tim Ingold calls the ‘thinking through practice’ of a maker (2013)
Veins
No full textThe output, Veins, is an exhibition comprising a series of photographs. Research process: The photographs within the series present a view of mega cities within the Far East. Examining the relationships between images of the familiar utopian city skyline to those captured on the ground at close range. The series highlights the infrastructures that ensure a city has services to function. Often hidden from view, these essential city veins of wires and pipes expand as the city evolves and strangely mimic the organic growth of nature. The series shows a city in development that is not a part of an architectural design for urban utopia. It reflects on global connectivity through photographs being made within a number of mega cities within the far east. The edit and scale of images selected is an important aspect, as multiple images are used to highlight connections between cities within a number of countries. Research insights: The series comments on the wider themes of globalisation and homogenisation. A photograph depicting a model of a city is included within the series, but is not instantly recognisable as such within the exhibition. This helps to raise the question of pre-perceived visions and altered realities of the city environment. Exploring approaches to photographic practice is considered and the relationship of travel photography to the personal experience of being in a specific location to photograph is reflected upon. Dissemination: The work was selected for the theme ‘Cities of Exchange’ for the Liverpool Look International Photography Festival and was disseminated at Cities of Exchange: a small view gallery, as part of the festival
A closed loop model for 3D printing fashion
No full textThis paper discusses the 2 Way Closed Loop Model using recycled polyester (PET polyethylene terephthalate) developed by the author (in 2014) and its relativity to the development of sustainable practices in fashion and 3D printing in fashion. Bringing together sustainability and innovative technology, the focus of this practice based study aims to evaluate the early possibilities of such a model through design and exploring manufacturing methods as well as interviewing Fashion and Technical experts from academia and industry for their views on the model, methods, final usability, constraints and opportunities
Walking in Urbana
No full textThe output is an exhibition, a series of 20 intermedial images and written narratives taken during an international research trip to Urbana, Illinois (2016). Tobias-Green used a camera-phone to document an urban walk during an interstitial moment. The series of images is understood as an unfolding visual narrative. Research Process: In a research context, walking is associated with a freedom of thought which assumes the freedom of the walking subject (Paterson, 2016) but walking is not universally available and risk free (Heddon, 2016). Walking comes with choices (one path travelled is another less travelled). Walking becomes research by first making space for the sharing of intimate, active exchanges between the human and the non-human. The walk and photographs challenge what Judith Butler calls ‘the subversion of an authority that grounds itself in what may not be questioned’ (1997). Research Insights: Tobias-Green discovered how the process of walking can be a practice-led research inquiry, rebuilding, reviewing and replenishing lost histories, stories of the ‘then’, the ‘now’ and the ‘possible’. The images show the walk across town, during which Tobias-Green’s humanist sense of self gradually receded into a post humanist awareness of a vitally connected world out there, enhanced by what Jones and Hoskins call 'thingly power' (2016), the agency of the land, feet, the camera, the sun, the vastness of past and present. The narrative gives textual voice to this through the sometimes treacherous landscape of the sentence. Dissemination: These images and their accompanying narratives were exhibited at Leeds Arts University in 2017. The peer-review led to a more focused approach so that the exhibition became a walk itself. The project was exhibited at Walking Women, Somerset House, 2016. Tobias-Green has subsequently used the project to explore lines of enquiry at both postgraduate and undergraduate level demonstrating impact on teaching
Dawn chorus
No full textThe output is a creative project involving a light projection titled “Dawn Chorus” exploring environmental impact and consumerism. The five-minute looped, spectacular narrative and sound track used fantastical found footage to explore human relationships with the natural world using digital film and animation. Research process: Twelve separate films were projected onto the side of twenty screened windows using twelve synchronised projectors to create a single film across a whole building when viewed from the street outside. Intensive experimentation, planning and negotiation was needed not only as the work was within a listed museum, but the commissioned digital projection company, Lumen, had never before attempted such work. Research insights: This opened up new opportunities and ways of thinking about the transformation of urban environments using digital projection. The technique has rarely been attempted before on such a large scale and enabled a re-think around the way one encounters a building. The work proved a means of engaging a family audience in exploring the relationship and contradiction between human and animal life. Dissemination: ‘Dawn Chorus’ was exhibited in The Judges Lodges as part of Light Up Lancaster on 4-5 November 2017. The event attracted national media attention and was visited by over 40,000 people
Stories from the sculpture city
No full textResponses to ‘City Sculpture Projects 1972’ Henry Moore Institute 24th Nov 2016 – 19th Feb 2017 and ‘The King and I’ at The &Model Gallery Leeds 26th Jan – 18th Feb 2017. Stories from the Sculpture City 8th Feb. 2017, was a peer reviewed selected series of performances made in response to the Henry Moore Institute ‘City Sculpture Projects 1972’. The text piece ‘Two sculptures of our time: remembering 1972’ was written specifically for the exhibition, ‘The King and I’ at the &Model Gallery, Leeds. The book ‘Art and Fiction’ was exhibited by the Henry Moore Institute library in conjunction with the exhibition Savage Messiah: The Creation of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, curated by Dr Jon Wood. The exhibition was designed to coincide with the film of the same name and one particular theme was the portrayal of the artist as a mythic figure in fiction. Barker had developed this theme and interest in narrative for the Leeds College of Art ‘Library Interventions’ program and for the ‘City Sculpture Projects 1972’ wrote a text that was performed in the Victoria Hotel on the evening of the 8th Feb 2017. The &Model Gallery put on an exhibition directly in response to the Henry Moore Institute’s exhibiting of Nicholas Munroe’s ‘King Kong’ sculpture. Barker submitted a text work for this and it was used as a central focus for the exhibition as it involved an imaginative reconstruction of the mythic voyage that Munroe’s sculpture had been on since first exhibited in Birmingham. Both these responses further cemented the idea that fictional narratives could be developed out of real experiences, and that in doing this more effective communication could be developed with both specialist and non art audiences
A device suitable for protecting and / or allowing cleaning of a bike and / or vehicle component and method of use thereof.
No full textThe Brake Shield is an innovative new product for cleaning and maintaining the moving parts of a bicycle drive train and is the only one of its kind. It has a simple yet effective design of a polypropylene barrier that sits between the spokes and the cassette to protect your disc brakes and wheel rims whilst cleaning and/or lubricating of the gearing and drive train is undertaken. The nature of the product allows this difficult and unpleasant task to be performed in a quick, tidy and efficient manner. Many people just ignore this part of their bike; they put up with a muddied cassette and chain, either cleaning them periodically, maybe monthly, or just replacing them when they become unworkable which is wasteful and unsustainable. With the Brake Shield 'little and often' cleaning is made simpler and easier. The Brake Shield's innovative tray catches all the cleaning fluid, dirt and oil, allowing this dirty task to be undertaken anywhere without making a mess.
A more formal abstract taken from the Patent Application Publication: A device is provided for protecting, allowing cleaning, servicing and / or lubrication of one or more components of a bike or vehicle in use. The device is formed from at least one blank of material including a first portion arranged to act as a shield element so as to at least partially shield at least one component of the vehicle or bike in use, and at least a second portion. The second portion includes at least one wall joined to the first portion by at least one fold line. The at least one wall and fold line are arranged such that when the second portion is assembled and / or erected in use it defines a tray or container portion joined to the first portion
The hunchback and the swan
No full text‘The Hunchback and the Swan’ is a short animation directed by Dotty Kultys and narrated by UK’s Storytelling Laureate Taffy Thomas, MBE. The film was created using mixed techniques: paper cut-outs, collagraphy, pixilation and 2D digital animation. A core group in the production team was made up of UWE Animation students, and the entire process was mentored by Peter Lord, Co-Founder and Creative Director at Aardman Animations. Adapting folk tales for screen was the underlying exploration theme during the film’s production. The investigation process resulted in an article written for The History Press: ‘The challenges of adapting a folk tale’, and in a talk presented at the 2017 FMX Conference in Germany as part of the ‘Animation: The Quest for Young Talent’ thread. ‘The Hunchback and the Swan’ was screened at 25+ festivals worldwide, including the BAFTA qualifying Brest European Short Film Festival in France and the Academy Award qualifying Anima Mundi Festival in Brazil
Aspirational beauty: painting class …the importance of personal narrative in painting
No full text“Painting is an attempt to come to terms with life. There are as many solutions as there are human beings.” George Tooker (1920-2011), contemporary American painter. Informed by my identity as a female working class painter and educator, the paper will introduce the concept of Aspirational Beauty, to raise awareness of and celebrate the endeavour of working class painting, often excluded from academic writing. I will also advocate for an egalitarian approach to recruiting for and teaching painting in higher education. Art historian John Golding referred to painting as the “most aristocratic of art forms”. Artist Grayson Perry has cautioned that art schools are turning into posh white ghettos. So how can an education in painting practice be accessible to and have contemporary relevance for all interested students? I will argue that one way is through Life Writing. In my research I use Life Writing as a method to explore and articulate my class background and to inform my painting. Combining perspectives from history, sociology and English literature, Life Writing supports interpretation of the consequences of class as felt and lived beyond the personal, bringing the realisation that what we refer to as autobiographical is largely historically and culturally determined. Significantly, the introduction of life writing within the art academy indicates that institutions are listening to and acknowledging the personal voice. I will present insights into my role as Lecturer teaching studio painting practice to argue that a medium specific course is a timely means for enabling the material, imaginative and cognitive processes involved in painting by facilitating subjective discovery and bringing about both personal clarity and material beauty