Arts University Bournemouth
AUBREI - Arts University Bournemouth Research Excellence and ImpactNot a member yet
342 research outputs found
Sort by
A curator's guide to synthetic garments
Get PDFOutside the scientific community, knowledge and understanding of synthetic textile fibres in museum collections tends to be diffuse and limited. As a result, garments made from these synthetic fibres are liable to be neglected. This guide addresses this knowledge gap. Its aims are to: bring together in one document, key information to support the curation of semi-synthetic and synthetic garments of all types; increase confidence nationally in the curation of semi-synthetic and synthetic garments: their history, interpretation, care and identification; improve the ability of museums to engage the public with these parts of their collections whatever the focus of the museum
Reproductive rights, othered women, and the making of feminist documentary in Latin America
No full textCine Mujer was the name of two feminist film collectives, one founded in Mexico (1975–1986) and the other in Colombia (1978–1999). Sharing the same name but with no ties between each other, these collectives produced films that provided different representations of women, politicized personal experiences and domestic spaces, and promoted processes of consciousness-raising. Broadly, this article looks at the Cine Mujer collectives as part of a larger phenomenon that, although informed by second-wave feminism and the New Latin American Cinema, can be better understood within the singular complexity of Latin American women’s movements. Specifically, it analyses two documentaries, Cosas de mujeres (1978) and Carmen Carrascal (1982), produced by the Cine Mujer collectives in Mexico and Colombia, respectively. Drawing on Laura Marks’ work on hybridity, excess, and haptic visuality, this article explores the relation between modes of production and representation in these films and positions them as emblematic examples of a formative moment in Latin American feminist documentary. By emphasizing the emotional and sensorial appeal of these films, this article also attempts to expand what is understood by political cinema
‘NO GO’: Artists, Trespass and the Aftermath of Occupation
Get PDFThis paper considers the relationship between site, memory and fine art practices, as viewed from the perspectives of a practitioner informed by the discourses of commemoration and the aftermath of conflict. Through an exploration of art works derived from encounters with displaced spaces, peripheries and edgelands, Gough situates his practice – and that of several selected artists – as a conversation between “place”, “space” and the geopolitical. Artists have long employed the notions of ambiguity, transition and the hybrid in their work.
Framed within the discourses of liminality and aftershock, practitioners have explored various strategies to address rites of in-betweenness to evoke a sensation of transition and displacement. To explore these ideas, Gough posits a number of his artworks as ‘provocations’, and draws attention to other contemporary artists and practitioners similarly drawn to the aftermath of constructed places and re-constructed histories. The paper draws upon two suites of Gough’s work each addressing aspects of the aftermath, and each to a degree addressing issues of transgression. The first is a series of site-specific photographs take on the decrepit and abandoned British army bases in former West Germany where Gough’s family was garrisoned during the Cold War.
They speak of an abjectness and blankness tempered by the depth of familial association. The second suite of practice use frottage, rubbings and photographic collage, to assemble a cycle of triptych forms drawn from prolonged site visits to the sites of twentieth century battle in Turkey, France, Belgium and Macedonia: locations richly associated with transgressive military intervention and now comprised of preserved terrain, military cemeteries and rhetorical topography that has long informed Gough’s practice
Contexts of short animated documentary production in the United Kingdom
Get PDFThis research looks at the evolving space of animated documentary production in the UK, with a focus on its community of practice and the related communities of
practice that overlap with and within it. In recent years there has been an increase in scholarly attention paid to the history of animated documentary, as well as to the legitimacy of its documentary status. Less research has addressed its diverse production processes or the distribution of power within its production culture. The originality of this research lies in my focus on these areas, and in the synthesis of social research methods with reflection on my own critical practice as an independent animated documentary filmmaker.
I approach animated documentary as a ‘conjunctional’ practice (Ward, 2003, p.7), taking place at the boundaries of other communities of practice and governed by both the formal systems of the commercial media industries and the informal systems of social interaction and identity. As objects of cultural capital, films carry, through their production
histories, the traces of the exchange of other forms of capital – symbolic and economic. By analysing case studies of animated documentaries, I shed light on some of the ways in which power is distributed in the environments from which
they emerge.
My methodology synthesizes multiple qualitative methods to observe and analyse production culture, including: semi-structured interviews; textual analysis of documents; field observation of production and exhibition spaces; theoretical and historical research; and reflection on my own practice, as well as analysis of trends in animated documentaries recently programmed in key film festivals. It includes biographical and production- focused case studies. I interpret my findings using perspectives drawn from concepts of ‘forms of capital’ (Bourdieu, 1986), ‘legitimate peripheral participation’ (Lave and Wenger, 1991), and ‘boundary objects’ (Star and Griesemer, 1989). Through these research methods I engage with both academic and production
communities, aiming to create new avenues for knowledge sharing between these.
I propose that animated documentary is multivalent and elastic, allowing filmmakers to work across
industrial boundaries, to access new skills, audiences and relationships, and to develop rich,
interdisciplinary identities. However, the boundary-crossing nature of animated documentary means
that it lacks a set of standardised methods and an industrial lexicon. Because of this, animated
documentary production can be hampered by communication and production issues. This can lead to
inefficiency and wasted creative opportunities, and it is in part responsible for the difficulties that filmmakers encounter when trying to find support for larger scale, longer form animated documentary work.
As part of this thesis, I begin to reify processes through the identification of two broad modes of animated documentary production: a ‘linear’ process in which animation is commissioned as an illustration to an existing soundtrack, and a ‘dialogic’ process in which sound, story and image are developed in parallel, each element in dialogue with the others. I contrast these modes,
looking at the risks and advantages of each.
I conclude by proposing ways in which animated documentary production can grow in scale and ambition, through establishing systems of knowledge sharing, and developing an industrial lexicon. I suggest that this endeavour is best taken up by academics working in dialogue with industry, with a flow of knowledge passing between these worlds and approaches to production being reified into
named systems and techniques. As part of the conclusion, I suggest simple guidelines to support practitioners approaching an animated documentary production, and some words and phrases that could form the beginning of a lexicon of animated documentary production
Underline I & II (at Beyond Beck Road)
Get PDFBeyond Beck Road (part of Open House Festival London and European Heritage Days) is a free public art event, where the street becomes a living breathing exhibition space.
The street is a communal stage for artistry, embracing inclusivity, participation and collaboration, through workshops and public exhibition. The event’s participants and artists are all connected to the street and surrounding area and encompass emerging and established creatives if all ages.
Beck Road itself houses resident artists, studios and has significant communal and cultural heritage. The event’s configuration, of individual and collaborative work, reflects its location in the heart of Hackney, as a vibrant and culturally expansive borough.
Beyond Beck Road culminates with Underline, a performative screening event, which takes place in the railway arch that divides the street. For this event it is transformed into a unique cinema space. Its programme combines an open call, short films, expanded cinema and performances in a distinct sensory encounter
Music Visualization and Medium Expansion: Key Themes in Experimental Animation
No full textThis book chapter introduces the reader to the field of experimental animation by surveying various definitions that have been proposed, offering an overview of some of the key figures, explaining the history of visual music, and exploring the theme of medium expansion. It ends by offering three original case studies of contemporary experimental animations
A Commission for the Pentagon
Get PDFTo commemorate this momentous occasion, a scheme was launched under the rubric “The Kangaroo and the Eagle: Allies in War and Peace 1908 – 2018”, which devised and funded several historical and creative projects. One such project involved an invitation to 6 artists in Australia and 6 in the USA, who were tasked with creating an artwork that reflected upon this unique moment in the two country’s history. The twelve selected artists each had experience of working with the military in a range of ways
The Herepath Project - deep mapping and hedgespringing during lockdown
No full textMoving to the Marlborough Downs on the edge of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Avebury in late 2019 (an area I have been exploring since the late `80s), I decided to map my new locality through poetry and art – connecting nodes of significance to create a personal Wiltshire ‘songline’: The Herepath Project. As the 2020 lockdown kicked in, the concept of ‘deep mapping’ (Nan Shepherd) my local universe gained increasing poignancy. In the form of a literary dérive – charting zones of ambience and influence as I range metaphorically across the Downs – this article will consider different forms of creative mapping, including the ‘Counter-Mapping’ of the Zuni Map Art Project; and the ‘song-walking’ of Dr Elizabeth Bennett (Essex University); as well initiatives which ‘hack’ the hegemonic discourses of the countryside, such a Black Girls Hike, the Colonial Countryside project, and Slow Ways, and other acts of creative resistance (Rebecca Solnit; Nick Hayes). Examples from the poetry pamphlet produced will be shared, along with the odd field sketch. A technique of ‘writing the land’ will be fashioned, combining repurposed elements of Debord’s psychogeographical ‘dérive’, Richard Long’s ‘Land Art’, and Buddhist ‘jongrom’. Drawing inspiration from the biodiversity of the Downs a non-anthropocentric perspectival shift will be advocated for deconstructing the conventional human-centred cartographies of property demarcation, ontological discreteness, and hierarchical layering
Art and the Rural Imagination
No full textArt and the Rural Imagination features writing by key academics and artists and explores how contemporary art can help to reimagine the rural as a site of contemporary thought and experience. It reflects on a diversity of issues, from post-pandemic landscapes to farming, tourism, sustainability, productivity, as well as issues of gender, sexuality and decolonisation. At the heart of the book is a concern with both people and place, as well as expanded engagement with animals and ecologies. The scope of the book is international with contributors detailing a wide range of rural experiences and concerns. The book is the outcome of a conference in 2020 titled Art and the Rural Imagination, and also features a selection of commissioned artworks that expand on the core themes of the main essays.
Editor: Colin Perry
Contributors: Adam Chodzko, Katarzyna Depta-Garapich, Catherine Elwes, Laura Eldret, Feral Practice (Fiona MacDonald), Paul Finnegan, Jenny Holt, Anna Sofie Hvid, Victoria Lucas, Deirdre O’Mahony, Harry Meadows, Colin Perry, Rosemary Shirley, Julian Stallabrass, Standart Thinking (Javier Rodriguez), Marina Velez Vago and Zoox
Entangled Dependencies: The Architect, the Model, and the Professional Modelmaker in Britain, 1969–90
Get PDFThrough a case study of the professionally made architectural model in Britain between the late 1960s and the early1990s, this article draws from archaeologist Ian Hodder’s concept of entanglement and argues that the relationship between the architect, the architectural model, and the modelmaker exists as an entangled web of shifting distributions of power governed by asymmetric tensions and mutual dependencies. In tracing the changing relationship dynamics that led to a dramatic broadening of the model’s visual styles to incorporate both realism and creative abstraction during this period, this article describes the professionally made architectural model as the locus of an intricate web of interconnected dependencies in which the model, the modelmaker, and the architect reap both the positive and negative consequences of their increasingly fraught entrapment. Demonstrating how a study of their entanglement reveals the complexities that exist within the human-object interactions that surround them, this article highlights the mutual dependencies that bind the model, the maker, and the architect together