29th April - Finished Documentary
12th April - Glazing
I glazed the sculpture. It took a lot longer than I initially thought it would. The point was to colour the sculpture better (after it'd been hardened in the kiln). We were to rub the mixture onto the sculpture, in all the "nooks and crannies," and then use water to rub it off to quite an extent, depending on how bright or dark we wanted it to turn out. The nooks and crannies however, would be hard to get the water into, and therefore they would stay darker - the sculpture would have more varying in colour and look more textured.
25th February - Documentary Progress
Documentary Research
After spending a lot of Sunday (14th November), doing research, due to site errors it has all been removed, therefore I am doing it again here. It is written in my own words.
THE HISTORY OF DOCUMENTARY
Early cinema
The birth of moving pictures brought with it the birth of "documentaries," or at the time "actualities" - they consisted purely of single shots of everyday events. The most often quoted is the Lumière brothers' Leaving the Factory (1894), or the shocking The Arrival of a Train. Because of the restrictions of camera footage length, most of these films were a minute or less in length.
At first being fascinating, audiences grew tired of the everyday scenes and wanted more - the narrative became more compelling and convincing, an example being The Kiss in the Tunnel (GA Smith, 1899), turning the simple edit into a film, and introducing possibilities of not only telling a story, but creating an impression. Georges Méliès was one of the first to experiment using cinematic devices, e.g double exposures to create ghost-like effects or fantasy sequences like in A Trip to the Moon(1902).
Growth of styles and theories
With the development of film-making and the growth of cinema attendance, non-fiction films began to offer more than just entertainment, creating windows to other parts of the world; the audience saw and responded to real-life subjects demonstrating real skills and demonstrating real emotions.
Frank Hurley's South (1919) documented the failed Antarctic expedition led by Ernest Shackleton, an important example. Robert Flaherty's Nanook of the North (1922), set in an Inuit community, is commonly proposed as the first feature-length documentary. The film included the use of third-person narration and focus on a person as a hero. However, controversy tells us that some sequences, e.g. hunting scenes, were re-created for the camera. Despite this, the film still set a high standard for other film-makers to follow, right up to the present day.
Kino-pravda (Film Truth), was a series of news reportage films. the forerunners of newsreels and shows and later, cinéma vérité. The use of experimental editing techniques are most prominent in Man with the Movie Camera (1929), his aim to portray "life caught unawares" by using the power of the camera.
Film-makers began to experiment more, incorporating styles that are now actually used commonly. Avant-garde cinema was montage and abstract narratives - impressionistic films, often about mundane subjects presented in a very poetic style. Examples are Manhatta (Paul Strand and Charles Wheeler, 1921), or Emak Bakia (Man Ray, 1926).
Cinéma vérité became more popular during this period, films like Don't Look Back (DA Pennebaker 1967) taking a candid look at the Bob Dylan Britain tour 1965, starting off styles that work a lot still today. Hand-held cameras brought an impersonal and intrusive attitude, so everything could be intimate.
An important part of cinéma vérité is that hours of material can be edited to make a certain impression of a character, Bob Dyan presented enigmatic throughout the whole film.
Compilation films started in 1927 with Esfir Scrub's The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty, a more recent example being The Atomic Cafe (1982) made entirely from US government stock footage.
Of course, with hand-held cameras accessible, in the late 60's emerged more polemical or political films. The age's spirit was shown in films like The Year of the Pig (1968); Millhouse (1971) took a critical look at the Vietnam war; La Hora de los Hornos (1968) and L'aggettivo donna (1971) were radical political documentaries; Es kommt darauf an, sie zu verandern (1973) looked at women's working conditions in West Germany.. etc
1968 - two influential film collectives were formed in the UK, putting out campaign films and demonstrating working practices.
Modern documentaries
More recent documentaries have been The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988), incorporating stylised re-enactments, and Michael Moore's Roger and Me (1989). Commercial success of some documentaries like these has led critics to label some films as "docu-ganda" or "mondo films."
In the 2000's documentary films have become increasingly popular in cinema, leading film-makers to collide opinion with fact - recent examples: Farenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore, 2004), Bowling for Columbine (2002), Super Size Me (Morgan Spurlock, 2004). In Hidden Gomd (2002), directed by Hanna Heilborn, David Aronositsch and Mats Johansson, uses lots of animation to tell a story.
IN THE GENRE (HOW DOCUMENTARIES CHANGED AND HOW TECHNOLOGY IMPACTED)
As well as the changing of documentary film techniques as talked about above, documentaries changed with the development of technology, e.g the Internet has been used as a way of promoting TV, especially documentary work.
The biggest impact on documentaries, besides the changing of camera technology and possibilities, though, is television.
The first programmes to be broadcast on TV were programs like the Coronation of King George VI in 1937 and the Olympic games in 1948, but the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 is thought to be the moment where TV became part of British lives.
News
The BBC Television Newsreel (1948-54) was an early example of a news broadcast, following the pattern of (documentary) cinema newsreel programmes. This was replaced by BBC Television News in 1954, an "illustrated summary of the news." We now have 24 hour news services with news as it happens e.g. the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre towers.
Magazine style
Picture Page (1936-52) was one of the first TV programmes to receive critical acclaim, the format of topical or general interest items and interviews with popular figures working well. Horizon (1964) took the format but applied it so scientific issues. Presented by Alan Whicker, this show presented another version of "a window on the world," used in documentaries like Nanook of the North and South, as talked about above. Michael Palin has also been very successful with this same idea.
Current affairs
Panorama (1953), Tonight 1957-65), and Twenty Four Hours (1952-72) all presented current affairs in a magazine-style/news programme, considered forerunners of today's Newsnight.
Seven Up (1963) featured a group of 7 year old children being interviewed.
World in Action's tradition of bringing untold stories into the public domain was continued by John Pilger e.g Year Zero: the Silent Death of Cambodia (1979).
Director Mike Grigsby wanted to "give voice to the voiceless", featuring the camera lingering on people even after they had finished speaking.
Natural History and Historical
David Attenborough is obviously the most well-known Natural History documentary presenter, making programmes like The World About Us (1967-86), Life on Earth (1979), and Planet Earth (2006).
Modern natural history programmes have used techniques shared with Reality TV shows like the single observational camera, to bring viewers closer to nature, e.g. Springwatch (2005).
There has been a long tradition of historical programmes, like Civilisation (1969), and The Ascent of Man (1973).
The World at War (1973-74) was successful, featuring lots of eye-witness interviews.
Advanced computer graphics has enhanced programmes like Battlefield Britain (2005), enabling presenters to show simulated battles to explain battle strategies.
Also popular today are clip-based programmes like 50 Greatest Comedy Sketches.
Drama Documentary
These blend documentary and drama, showing real events and sometimes using actors to perform scenes. Examples of ground-breaking drama documentaries are Culloden (1964), The War Game (1965) and Cathy Come Home (1966).
Controversy has risen from programmes like Death of a Princess (1980), Hillsborough (1966) and Bloody Sunday (2001).
Fly-on-the-wall
This technique is used a lot in comedy programmes today, like The Office. It has been used in documentary film-making too, with programmes like Airline (1988), and The Family (1974). Sometimes the presenters, like Louis Theroux, will talk to the subjects but also the audience in these situations.
Mocumentary
Ghostwatch, showed in 1992, claimed to be a live broadcast investigating claims of paranormal phenomena. Comedy sketch shows have plundered documentary styles for comic effect, like in spoof programmes like Brass Eye (1997-2001). Similar techniques have been used in comedy films like Borat, genuine interviews have been "conducted within the context of a stage persona".
The Urban Savannah (2004), is a spoof of wildlife documentary styles by using things like voice-overs and interviews, but instead of seeing a pride of lions, we see youth groups in a city centre.
Lifestyle
Programmes by the 1990's widespread into cooking, gardening, DIY, property and holiday programmes etc... 10x10 portrayed unusual life in Britain. Ferment (2000) features clever use of moving montage.
Reality TV
Big Brother, I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! and Love Island, all use documentary techniques.
GROUND-BREAKING DOCUMENTARIES
NANOOK OF THE NORTH (1922)
Nanook of the North is a silent documentary film (and considered the first feature-length documentary) from 1922 directed by Robert J. Flaherty, that shows us the lives of the Inuk, living in the Canadian arctic - focusing on a man called Nanook and his family.
It was shot near Inukjuak, on Hudson Bay in Northern Quebec, Canada. Flaherty was familiar with the area as he had already filmed there before, but the footage was lost in a fire. He began again in August 1920, eventually resulting in this film.
The film accurately contained a lot of the Inuit methods of hunting, fishing and igloo building etc, surprising and very exotic to normal colonizers. As well as this, it also carried with it the true story of a man and his family surviving there in the arctic.
This work was later criticised as Flaherty staged a lot of the scenes: the Inuits could have used guns while hunting but were encouraged to use spears; the wife shown in the film was not actually Nanook's wife; Nanook's real name was in fact Allakariallak and he died of tuberculosis 2 years after the film was made, where Flaherty said he died of starvation to exaggerate the points made in the documentary.
BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE (2002)
Directed, produced, written and narrated by Michael Moore. It explores what he suggests are the causes for the Columbine High School massacre and other similar events with guns.
The "bowling" part of the title comes mainly from the theory that the two students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were in a bowling class before they took part in the shooting. It is also incorporated into other parts of the film.
The film features montages, notably one to "Happiness is a Warm Gun - the Beatles" which features clips of people buying and using guns and then people people getting shot and committing suicide, and one to "What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong" featuring American foreign policy decisions being made, with a transcript.
Moore compares situation with guns in America to that in Canada, weapons of mass destruction and looks at the way children are brought up - violence in television, cinema and video games.
The film was criticised in a few ways. When Moore gets a free gun from the bank he is handed it there, but in other cases they would have been shipped and checks would have been conducted. Garance Franke-Ruta criticised Moore for ignoring the role that municipal governance plays in crime in the US - not a lot of the killers and victims were the type of people Moore talked about. Moore was criticized for his "perceived ambush" of Charlton Heston, asking if he would like to apologise for certain things.
However, it has won numerous awards and helped Moore stand out as a rising filmmaker.
19th February - Documentary Progress
13th February - Documentary Progress
10th January - Documentary Progress
8th December - Finished Sculpture
I stuck the toes that were falling off back on with slip (how I was originally sticking them on), which wasn't the best method of making the toes as I had previously discovered - but I couldn't afford to redo the whole leg and foot as well and I would have had to detach it from the main body which would have been risky and the sculpture could have broken.
3rd December - Sculpture and Documentary Progress
The sculpture was almost finished, but it was drying out quite a lot because I hadn't put it in the airing cupboard wrapped up enough. This caused it to crack, and Miss said it would probably break a lot or explode if I put it in the kiln in this state. Therefore, I had to start it again.
I stayed behind after school for a long time and tried to do as much as I could in one go, as this would not only reduce the time I spent trying to get the sculpture done but reduce the amount of cracking the sculpture would do (so it was less likely to break as it had done before.) I re-did the body, and then as I did I realized that in the other sculpture, the back legs were pointing the wrong way! It was harder to do them the right way as well, because instead of the top part of the leg going outwards and the rest forwards, they bent back on themselves which was harder to sculpt. I still managed to get them done though, after quite a bit of practicing.
The video recording and pictures from Marjan's visit are now on the computer, ready to use. I can start my documentary, documenting what I have done so far and then continue to.
2nd December - Sculpture Progress
I have now successfully made two of the legs and feet (with toes.) For these, I used the same piece of clay to make the leg and foot and then cut out the toes. This was quite difficult at first and I didn't think this method would work either, but I had some practice making the toes and feet together. By making a foot that spread out to how far the toes would go, I could then cut out with a knife the toe shapes. Obviously they were quite a strange rectangular shape each, but I managed to shape them with my hands to look more like toes.
I textured these (the legs, feet and toes) by pressing hessian cloth around them, a different method to the one I had used to texture the body, to add some element of variety. I tested various different cloths on a rolled out piece of clay beforehand and decided that hessian made the best and most lizard-like impression that complemented the texture that I'd already given the body.
29th November - Sculpture Progress
I have been struggling to create the legs and feet of the lizard. I decided to start by doing the foot and the leg separately, scoring them and putting slip on so they would fit onto each other, and the body, easily. This was quite easy and they did not fall apart. However, when I did the toes separately and stuck them onto the foot with slip, they fell off very easily. I need a new method to do the legs again properly - I could use one whole piece of clay and model that into legs and feet (complete with toes that I cut the shapes out of using a craft knife).
26th November - Sculpture Progress
I have made the body of a lizard.
I used the suggested technique of making a lizard shaped blob of newspaper - sticking various pieces around each other until it was the right shape.
After this, I used a rolling pin to roll out pieces of clay so they were thin (which was easier standing up) and then texture them - I textured them by rolling over them lightly and in lots of different directions with a rolling pin that had small lumps on it.
I used my hands to model around the finished shape to make a more noticeable head, and then to make indents for where its eyes and mouth were. The actual mouth was made by slitting lightly into the indent with a knife.
Clay, Sculpture and Artist Research
CLAY
- a very fine grained soil that is plastic when moist but hard when fired
HISTORY OF (CLAY) SCULPTURE
The first form of sculpting was from the prehistoric age, the earliest artists making use of materials like ivory and clay - the Venus of Willendorf is the first known sculpture, from 25,000 years ago.
The Egyptians created amazing sculptures of Sphinxes and Pharaohs, and also decorated tombs with them.
In the Greek classical period, many sculptures were created of people, especially those in power. They used stone mainly but bronze was considered to be of higher stature.
During the Middle Ages and Medieval Periods, European artists used sculpture for religious architecture, cathedrals and churches displayed intricate works of art. There were Gothic and Roman periods within this, and in the latter part of the Medieval period, Renassiance sculptors emerged.
In 16th and 17th century Italy and France, the Baroque art style emerged and became widely accepted.
The 18th century held neoclassicism, returning to simplicity, in direct contrast to the baroque style.
Modern sculpture of the 20th century provided a break from the realism traditional Greek style and artists were influenced by work from many different parts of the world. Pop art uses things like everyday items to create art.
Now, many different cultures and influences are involved in sculpture.
IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON SCULPTURE
Lots of sculpture now is very abstract and the use of technology helps to achieve abstract designs and shapes (in clay and otherwise.) Also, new tools are constantly being developed to aid the creation of sculpture. This includes the use of technology -
Though working in clay still relies a lot on the use of hand-tools (the methods of sculpting animal/human likeness into sculptures are still the same as they have been for years), other sculpting and working with other materials now uses a lot of powertools like drills. There are speed tools, saws, burrs, plasma cutters...
The main change is in the process of CAD/CAM (computer-assisted design and computer-assisted machining) and newer innovations like stereo-lithography (where complex three-dimensional forms with hollow cavities can be created by a computer-directed laser aimed into a liquid plastic bath which catalyzes into a solid form.) Several companies now use services where a person or an object can be laser-scanned and the information digitized so can be manipulated "in cyberspace". By using the CAD/ CAM interface this scanned form can be duplicated in a great variety of materials.
This technology would also be useful in creating maquettes (a plan could be made without actually having to sculpt it).
Another way sculpting has changed with technology is through health & safety. In mass-production industry to just work in schools, working in sculpture is now a lot safer. It used to be difficult to find out how toxic something was; now there is lots of information available in lots of places.
(CLAY) SCULPTING TOOLS
The tools in bold are ones I will have to use.
Divider
Hole cutter
Spatula
Cutting wire - To separate the piece of clay I need from the main block it came as
Scoring tool
Cutting knife - To cut parts of clay up or off if not needed
Trimming tool
Double/single wire end tool
Rolling pin - To roll the clay flat before texturing it, to add to the "newspaper lizard"
Texture rolling pin - To texture the clay and make it look more like a lizard
Hessian/other materials for texturing - To texture other parts of the lizard so they differ from the texture from the rolling pin
File/abrasive
MARJAN WOUDA
Artist based in the Pennines, North of Manchester. She uses mainly clay (cast into bronze) but sometimes steel, willow and recycled materials. Lots of her pieces are displayed publicly like the Black Knight in Ashton-Under-Lyne and two huge mating tortoises on the island of Mystique in the Caribbean.
She tries to use familiar textures like rope, netting, cloth and corrugated card to texture the animals, and adds a humorous feel to a lot of them. She tries to add human qualities to them, putting them in interesting positions. Most of her sculptures are animals - "Animals often give us the most powerful images with which to explore our experiences today." Traditional nursery rhyme, proverb and myth are high inspiration; she uses cats, dogs, lambs, geese...
Extracts from a review on 'The Mare's Tail' states that 'She explores the inherent tensions between the two sets of animals by the dynamic of the composition, and revels in the different qualities of fur and feathers.' It says "The most powerful aspect of her art is its ability to engage each viewer on a personal imaginative and emotional journey through sympathetic identification with the creature depicted. If all this gets too serious, then her maddening dogs, whether playing dead, dancing, or doing a ‘hand stand’ surely liberate the mischievous child in us all.'
Obviously I don't see myself making something that takes viewers on an emotional journey as I have never finished a proper sculpture and my past experience hasn't been too good, but I can definitely take inspiration from the pieces as sculptures themselves.
PEDRO LINARES (1906-1992)
A Mexican paper-mache artist who was the creator of paper models called alebrijes - he says they came to him in a dream whilst he was ill.
He made initially dragon-like beasts out of wire, paper and paint and modern day alebrijes are very OTT - fish on legs, floral decorated skulls, devils, skeleton figures... The process of making them consists of - an armature being made of reed or wire in shape of the body; newspaper being taped on to build up certain areas; homemade paste (flour heated up in water) used to add layers of newspaper to the frame til its firm and the right size.
I could have used this method to make my artefact (before I just decided to make a clay lizard) or could've used a similar design to examples of alebrijes while creating my clay sculpture - some of the alebrijes are similar to regular animals, but with crazy extended features.
Examples of alebrijes -
14th November - Sculpture Progress
I have done more looking into animals.
I started a dormouse, using a slightly different technique - Mrs Kearns was talking about how we should stuff the sculptures with newspaper as much as we can. This helped to move the clay more (but not in cases where the newspaper was really bent in a certain way) and was also to prevent later exploding and cracking when in the kiln.
As I still did not have much success, I decided to investigate another artist other than Marjan Wouda - Pedro Linares. Although his work is focused with making paper animals, I can draw inspiration and influence from the peculiar features his animals have - extended body parts which will be more funky and possibly easier to do.
However, now we have also been advised that reptiles are easier to make than mammals. I can relate to this knowledge as I did have trouble with the legs - mammals all have similar types of shaped legs. I think I will start work on a normal lizard (not a snake because that sounds too easy) instead of a mouse or rabbit, or instead of doing something strange and Pedro Linares-influenced.
PROCESS I WILL TAKE
Basically all I have to do is make the lizard, starting with the body and then whilst keeping it wrapped up so it's still quite moist and doesn't dry out, make the legs and feet and add them. The features in the face will be done whilst I make the body and the tail will also be part of the body.
14th November - Safety
Silica dust exposure and risk
Clay contains crystalline silica, most of which is chemically combined with other materials. The crystalline silica that is not chemically combined is often referred to as ‘free silica’ and in this form it poses a serious health risk.
Fine dust particles containing free silica are the biggest concern because they can:
1. Be invisible to the naked eye under normal lighting conditions
2. Be airborne for long periods of time in your breathing zone
3. Penetrate deep into the lungs when inhaled.
Breathing in silica dust may ultimately lead to a lung disease known as silicosis. This is an irreversible disease that continues to develop after exposure has stopped. The greater the airborne concentration of silica and the more prolonged the exposure, the greater the risk.
-Clay should be kept damp while in use; dry/unusable clay should be binned
-Floors should be kept clean, but no dry sweeping (though should be dried to avoid slipping. All personal belongings should be kept safe from clay dust or out of walking path
-Tables should be washed down at the end of every session
-All drips of slip should be wiped from the mould and not allowed to dry out
-Surfaces with drips on should be wiped and so should all associated equipment
-Dry clay should not be fettled and damp sponging should be used
-An apron should be worn at all times when working with clay and then taken off and washed when away, for the next session.
From following these procedures there will be a much less risk of contracting silicosis.
3rd November - Artist Visit
Obviously the process of creating our artwork would be a lot shorter than hers - she had to contact several people in some cases, finding out who owned certain pieces of land and whether she was able to do certain things.
It never occurred to me that she might have several projects on the go at the same time - at one point she was contacted 6 months later on news of one of her projects.
The thing I found most interesting was when she said that she found sculpting like a conversation between her and the material.
After she finished talking, we then made a start on making our own clay sculptures, based on pictures we found on the internet. I started off trying to make a rabbit and found the ears and legs very difficult. Marjan helped start me off with a second sculpture, showing me better technique. However, I still found it hard to do a good job.
As my past experience using clay hasn't been that good either, Mrs Kearns suggested that later if the using clay really does not work out, I could possibly do something else, like a graphics project that used the rest of the class' clay sculptures in it.
As well as making a sculpture, we are also making a documentary on making it, and so most of the session has been filmed for use in the documentary.
