Art Gallery.

On the 7th of October our class went to a art exhibition at The Southampton City Art Gallery. I found many of the pieces endearing. 

There were two exhibitions on show for two artists. One named Jamie Shovlin his exhibition entitled "How most of what you know is reconstruction". His work explores "the relationship between the object and its subsequent life in an increasingly digital world and asks whether experience can be considered authentic?"(www.culturesouthampton.org.uk 09.10.13)  

His recent pieces explore the notions of time,experience and memory as a whole. His work reminded me of a Dulux paint chart. In my opinion everything  looked as though it has been very much thought about, within the use of colors,layout and the shapes used. His work to  me looked very modern and digitalised through a computer

Link(facebook.com/southamptoncityartgallery)
Viewed:09.10.13
       Created:05.08.13.  

Selina Snow.

Another artist's work that was being exhibited was  female artist `Selina Snow`. The ethos of her pieces were influenced by her travelling the world, where she linked and mixed different cultures -Indian,Portuguese, Jewish and Chinese, she used  the influence of exotic spices, and textures and colour . She also used famous childhood graphics. Her art to me  was absolutely charming. It just had a warm, almost homely tone to it. I loved the use of  texture and colour to her work.

link(selinasnow.com)
veiwed:09.10.13

 This image really spoke to me as I felt I knew the Lamb character from somewhere. All day I was trying to think where I recognize it from. Then the little light bulb in my head flashed! It was a graphic sticker that I used to have on my dolls cot. I instantly warmed to this image because it was almost recognizable. 

 My first impression of this picture was "why is there a Hindu God randomly in the image?" The more I thought about it the more I can sort of make sense of it. To me this image could be symbolic. As the lamb looks innocent, young , playful very pure. The Indian God `Vishna` who if I can remember rightly represents happiness and blissfulness. Of which the lamb looks very happy. `Vishna` is sat upon what I think is a lotus flower, a lotus flower to me can represent purity, and beauty; perhaps suggesting the lamb is pure and beautiful.It may also be suggesting purity in a virginal sense as the pose is playful and maybe suggestive. Baby boys are also valued a lot in India this could be a link. The lamb is wearing a blue bow which gives me the impression it is a boy. Most of the lamb is blue the bow,eyes,the wool has shades of blue in it like the Hindu God.  The blue blob that the lamb is sat on reminds me of a lily pad and lotus's flourish in water; maybe suggesting the lamb will flourish ? Its a dream like vision with the lamb floating in mid air. With the possible lotus out of the water. The `God` there perhaps implying the lamb is blessed to be a boy as they are valued a lot in India.

This image inspires me as I love the texture to the painting it looked slightly wet looking which made the image look fresh. The paint looked as if it had been sort of swirled to create the texture of the wool. On the flower the texture added dimension and depth to the lotus as well as colour. Where the lotus is darker, and the outline the paint was more raised rather than flat which made it stand out. The colours were mellow using pastels and` baby like` colours in a sense to me. Mixing cool colours such as the blue with the warmth of the pinks and yellows, yet using different shades, i.e deep pink and pastel pink. Creating dimension. I like the way the objects in the picture have been outlined with black this inspires me to create an image that has a clear silhouetted outline, like a illustrated character, and to play with pastels and textures like an acrylic painting. I could used use a mixture of aqua paints to create the pastel,soft dreamy effect, and use grease paints to give off that fresh look and difference of texture.

Link(selinasnow.com)
Viewed:09.10.13

Whilst having a ponder on `Selinasnow.com` I came across two other exhibitions. One that showcased packaging of food around the world. Again internationally influenced. These images reminded me of `Andy Warhols` work. Yet it was not influenced by him which I found intriguing. But these pieces do not interest me. But could inspire some to create perhaps a look based on packaging of an item. Such as a tin of something, you could use shiny textures mixed with paper adornment, or even to use food as makeup or props.

 I stumbled across another exhibition called `Snow Story`. Which I loved I loved the whole idea of how illustration and how visuals can tell a story. It tells a story of  "he story is about the troubled, bohemian, often violent and alcoholic lifestyle of a family of three, set in a Georgian house in Kennington, South London. It begins with my birth in 1965 and ends in 2008 with the death of my mother, following an unforeseen diagnosis of cancer and of my father eight months later."(Selinasnow.com).

Link(selinasnow.com)
Viewed:09.10.13

The images focus on the food as they are the only items in colour. Showing the food they would eat in each situation, Possibly meaning to me that food relates to mood and the situation i.e with money. Or even suggesting to me that the only ideally `perfect` thing in their life is food as the relationship is not great. This interests me as I love story telling its a way to escape from reality and to experiment with sometimes impossible situations . You can think of possibilities that can effect the outcome.  you get to create everything about a character as you are painting the picture in your audiences head making it an art form.