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Portrait of a queen : the photography of Paul Bennett-Todd
Get PDFThis output is a journal article in a peer reviewed journal. Tobias-Green explores a body of photographic portraits by Paul Bennett-Todd. These thirty images were taken at the ‘Speed Queen’ night at the Warehouse Club in Leeds (1998-2008), and this is an historical enquiry into an ephemeral subculture documented by Bennett-Todd (2002-2003) and re-documented in this more recent article by Tobias-Green (2015). Research process: Tobias-Green interviewed Bennett-Todd about this period of his photographic practice and the embodied experience of that club night. Bennett-Todd has presented this snapshot of the venue at the apex of its vibrancy and popularity; clientele at their self-assured peak.
Not only has queer club culture been historicised, there is also a rich field of enquiry around clubbing in the north. In popular culture, the nightclub has been considered an alluring and escapist setting in which people can temporarily convey who they aspire to be. (Almond, 2011) and Butler (1990) writes about the performative nature of gender, in particular the construction of a social and physical exterior to communicate a physical and sartorial message (Almond, 2010).
Research insights: Documenting an energetic and inclusive event, the article demonstrates that ‘Speed Queen’ was an exemplar in its embodiment and celebration of sexuality, transgender, class, race and age. The club night presents a model of inclusivity. Like Wigan casino and Manchester’s Hacienda, Speed Queen (appearing originally as ‘Vague at the Warehouse’ between 1992 and 1998) occupies an almost mythological place in queer subculture’s own folklore. Dissemination: The journal in which this article is published specifically caters to early career researchers and as such has a wide readership. Tobias-Green has also utilised this research material within her postgraduate teaching to explore ideas around inclusivity and the less-heard voice and less-seen image
12 days infomercials
Get PDFDifferent words predominate in adverts at different times of the year. I surveyed the key words that appear in adverts in a variety of magazines for women and men, selecting adjectives describing the sort of experiences we are supposed to have at Christmas. Because the rhetoric in adverts abruptly changes from luxurious treats to guilt and diet regimes on New Year’s Day I repeated the exercise during the first 12 days of January. The visual content comes from magazines such as GQ, Good Housekeeping, Men’s Health and Hello. Keywords and phrases were grouped together to showcase prevalent consumer messages. In the spirit of festive unwrapping I used quotations from Marxist theorists to unpack some of the meaning of these Christmas / New Year key words. Like all good celebrations, the resulting video clips are humorous, irritating and a little bit trashy. The videos were posted on Facebook from 13th – 24th December 2015 and 1st – 12th January 2016
Wishbook
Get PDFThe title Wishbook derives from nineteenth century commodity catalogues such as The Great Wish Book and American Dream Book, that sold the American way of life, homogenizing other cultures to the American ideal. The title also alludes to Benjamin’s idea that consumers can appropriate commodities as emancipatory wish images. To intervene in a commercial space in which advertising tactics are far more insidious than in traditional advertising media, I disseminated this work on Instagram using hashtags that reveal the commodities signifying message. The reproduce the advertising convention in which an object isolated against a white background. However, in Wishbook the commodities more closely resemble the content of a bin than a glossy mail order catalogue. The images look like poor quality adverts or the content of a bin and the hashtags read like bad poetry. They appear among adverts on social networking sites and behave abnormally
OUTSIDE Collett Dickenson Pearce
Get PDFThe output is a curated project, which displayed the creative advertising work of Colin Millward (1924-2004) and Ron Collins (1939-2011), formerly of the London advertising agency, Collett Dickenson Pearce (CDP - 1960-2000). CDP was the first creatively-led agency in the UK, recognised through the D&AD awards.
Research Process: Works displayed in the project were obtained through archival research at the History of Advertising Trust and the National Art Education Archive (NAEA). The Trust holds the CDP archive which includes a range of ephemera and examples of 48-sheet and billboard adverts. A range of images were reproduced (with permission) from digital files supplied by the Trust. Directories such as the D&AD awards were also used to aid selections and interpretation of the award-winning works (By Ron Collins). Two of Millward’s artworks, one oil painting and one pencil-portrait, were displayed adjacent to advertisements created under Millward’s creative directorship publicly for the first time. The project explored the creative achievements of CDP by looking at the design of Millward’s creative directorship and beyond to the wider context in which the agency existed, including the developments in British art and design education. Research Insights: This retrospective project contextualises how CDP’s art direction and copywriting were clearly grounded in a British culture, characterised by satire and Millward’s uncompromising creative excellence. Parallels were drawn between the management and educational structures that nurture creative talent within and outside industry settings. Dissemination: The findings were disseminated through an exhibition at Leeds Arts University, 29 May – 13 July 2015. The project featured in local (Yorkshire Post, 30 May 2015) and national reviews Mail online (4 June 2015). Findings were shared internationally, in a conference paper, ‘Memorial’ at the International Journal of Art and Design Education (iJADE) Glasgow School of Art, 6th Nov (2015)
Food & identity
Get PDFThe output is a creative project that explores the concept of food identity as an important cultural and social construct through photography. Research Process: The project is inspired by mainstream images of food in cookbooks, lifestyle magazines and on social media, particularly visual depictions of idealised lifestyles which conjures shared social fantasies, perpetuated by mainstream images and our own internalisation of them. This project spanned a number of years, producing an extensive final body of work. Participants in this project were sourced through word-of-mouth, social media, and an online questionnaire. Final photographs were produced though a collaborative process which involved
discussion and negotiation between the subject and photographer. Research Insights: The link between identity and food is cyclical. Food choice is informed by our time/space coordinates – age, nationality, regionality - and our cultural identity, including race, religion, and social class. We use food as an evolving representation of ideological and political identity, constructing ourselves through moral and ethical decisions. Identity can be established through choices such as meat free, dairy free, plant based, low fat, low carb, high protein, high welfare, big brand, small independent, local, international, familiar or exotic. Our relationship with food is complex; passionately held beliefs and values are often expressed through food choice. Food can possess emotional significance and invoke a range of human emotions from gratitude to guilt, from tearful reminiscences to joyful nostalgia. Intimate details and memories from one’s own life are often bound up in perpetuating food practices and rituals. Dissemination: The output was exhibited at Food & Identity, Food Photographer of the Year Finalists Exhibition (2015 & 2017),Mall Galleries, London. May 2015 and April 2017. Food & Identity, Dye House Gallery, Bradford. September 2015. Food & Identity, Bradford Brewery. July 2015. Food & Identity, Hothouse Conference. 21 March 2015
Drawing on experience: mature students and practical wisdom in art and design higher education.
Get PDFoai:lau.collections.crest.ac.uk:9165This paper analyses the narratives constructed by and between Chad, a post-Access to HE student, and myself, the inquirer, that represent some of her experiences during her BA (Hons) Surface Pattern course. Surface pattern designers are concerned with designing for surfaces and embellishments which could include wallpapers, fabrics, flooring, and packaging. This case study was part of a longitudinal study (2011-14) that sought to investigate the experiences of ‘non-traditional students’ in art and design higher education. The participants were studying on a range of creative degree programmes in various institutional contexts. Narrative inquiry was used to show the ways in which students reflected on and took stock of their educational journeys.
The analysis draws upon some of the notions concerned with phronesis (prudence or practical wisdom). Aristotle claimed that only a person of experience can practice practical wisdom, and a young person is unlikely to have extensive life experience, (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book VI, Chapter 8). This discussion recounts some of the critical incidents within Chad’s story where I have noticed evidence of phronesis or at some points the absence of wise judgement. It is suggested that within the context of higher education mature adults sometimes make poor decisions leading them to act in ways that continue their sufferings. This is because they do not exercise their potential to act with prudence, (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book VI, Chapter 5). Chad offers an explanation of why this maybe so at the end of her story where she describes the culture of her course as being very competitive and not conducive to her thinking and acting well for herself and others. Within the educational field of adult education at level three, four, five and six Chad’s account of her learning experiences triangulate with Williams (2013) who argues that some of the managerial processes of Higher Education infantise students
‘Public’ Art on Campus: strategy and reality in UK universities
No full textA report from The Curating the Campus symposium held at Leeds University on 11 June 2015; marking the launch of the University’s Public Art Strategy. The article asks: ‘who is the audience for public art on campus?’ and considers what the potential answers tell us about the imagined role of higher education institutions. Drawing upon a distinction between ‘placemaking’ and ‘place marketing’ made by Sian Vaughan (Birmingham City University) – plus contributions from speakers from Leeds, Newcastle and Loughborough Universities – the article highlights the value of process-based artworks and participatory public projects. These can be used to engage students, staff and wider community users, alongside more permanent public artworks
Catalytic commoning
Get PDFThis exhibition explores relationships between film, architecture and the city. The installations weave together film, scenographics, architectural interventions and issues of public space. Investigating the processes of design and the teaching of design, the exhibition questions what is real and what is 'common' as a new approach to architecture-making. Co-curated by Sarah Mills and Doreen Bernat
Emily Towler: Sculptor [review]
Get PDFTowler is a Leeds-based artist who is working with issues around gender and identity. In 2011 she achieved a Kenneth Armitage Foundation Emerging Sculptor Award and in 2012 was short listed for the Woolgather Art Prize . Her work combines humour, absurdity and playfulness in relation to sculptural and drawn works that raise some serious questions about how we ‘fit into our skins’ whilst living in a complex world
Consumer curated exhibition project
Get PDF'Consumer' examines the influence of capitalism on the visual landscape. During March – May 2015 Woolley purchased advertising space around Cardiff city centre and populated it with artworks that critique capitalism. The artworks employ the methods of enticement that are often found in adverts but invite people to think about the pervasiveness of capitalist consumption rather than impel them to buy something. By creating disruptions within the commercial advertising field the exhibition aims to provoke the audience to reconsider consumerism as a distraction that inhibits positive social development towards social justice and equality.
Alongside Woolley, three artists participated in the project. Ellie Harrison is an artist based in Scotland. She studied Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University, Goldsmiths College and Glasgow School of Art, where she undertook a Leverhulme Scholarship on the Master of Fine Art programme. In 2012 she created The Redistribution of Wealth installation at Tate Britain. Peter Kennard’s artwork aims to instigate debate about art, politics and society. It attempts to bring together different issues to stimulate the development of new forms of art that deal with everyday global themes. He is a Professor in Political Art at the Royal College of Art and his work is
in many major collections, including Tate, the V&A and the Imperial War Museum. Davin Watne is an inter-disciplinary artists based in Kansas City in Missouri, USA. He received his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1994 and his MFA at Maryland Institute College of Art in 2013. He has been awarded the Charlotte Street Foundation Award, ArtsKC Inspiration Grant, Avenue of Arts Municipal Arts Grant, and a Studios Inc. Residency. Watne is a lecturer at University of Missouri Kansas City and is the head curator at UMKC Gallery of Art