Within this blog I will explore the meaning of hierarchy – aiming to investigate its meaning in both a cultural and social context. By gathering information and probing into this subject matter, I aim to create a piece of artwork that comments on this naturally occurring, yet sometimes divisive, topic.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘hierarchy’ as “a system in which people or things are arranged according to their importance” (dictionary.cambridge.org, 2019). I find the term hierarchy provokes mixed reactions with different people – particularly between those associated with the different echelons of society, and I cannot help but notice we are ever surrounded by systems of order. It can be found at home, at work, and in every facet of societal life which feeds into how the country is governed. With or without knowing it – we are surrounded by hierarchies.

In the natural world, many species display an example of a hierarchy – there are numerous variances, whether it is male or female led. In any event, social order is very important to the successful running and survival of many creatures.

Continuing to foster my relationship with Rachel Petts, Curatorial Assistant of Zoology at the Manchester Museum, I began to ask her some questions regarding the animal kingdom and sought examples of species with complex social hierarchical systems (which are also known as eusocial). This conversation proved fruitful as she stated some species of interest.

Meerkats were the first I began researching from Petts’ advice. Meerkats live and mate in colonies, these colonies have one female matriarch. They are considered to live by a complex set of social boundaries, and can maintain and live in large communities – ensuring safety and order for the most part. The reason this species is interesting and they are treated as eusocial is because they not only have one female leader or ‘queen’, but the matriarch of the colony also controls the breeding. Within this society, this head female is the principle breeder, and, as such, behavioural changes can be noted in comparison to other hierarchical systems occurring in nature.

https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/clip/156855. This is a clip from a documentary series called Meerkat Manor, briefly highlighting the dominant females control within a family of Meerkats.

The dominant female rarely tolerates other females mating, this is because she wants her pups to have the best chance of survival. If one of her community does get pregnant it is likely the dominant female will kill the new pups.

Meerkats are considered one of the most successful communities in the natural world. Their complex ability to communicate allows them to protect the colony as a whole as well as exercise control on excess breeding. The sophisticated hierarchy of this mammal has allowed for an eusocial system to be put in place effortlessly and instinctively. Although this is not necessarily looked upon as shocking within the realms of ‘the wild’, if this was to be enforced within our (human) realm it would be seen as a step backwards in civilisation, into a surreal plane where freedom does not exist and eugenics is encouraged.

Another animal I was recommended to research into was ants. Ants also have a highly accomplished social hierarchy of power and order. Ants, bees and termites are all similar in their behavioural protocol and structure of reproduction – all of these animals have one queen who produces their young. It is also important to note that each of these species of queen almost always produce solely infertile young. This means they will grow and provide a service in some way to the hive or colony they were born into.

A more human look at hierarchy

As humans, we are genetically close to apes – more specifically: the bonobo chimpanzee. When studied, startling similarities between humans and bonobos could be spotted. One of the lead scientists and writers on this subject is Desmond Morris. Morris started his career as a distinguished zoologist, specifically researching birds and fish at Oxford University. However, in the 1950s, Morris started studying apes and recorded his findings in his book ‘The Naked Ape’. He stated that humans and apes, in part, share similar behaviour. Although not all in his field agree with his views, particularly in regard to social progression and intelligence, because they appear dated and misogynistic. In an article published by the Guardian, Angela Saini states that his ‘problem with women runs through every chapter’ (The Guardian, 2017). However, despite this issue, he did affirm the now accepted fact that human behaviour reflects that of our primate counterparts.

Without steering too far away from my initial question or research area, I found this text insightful in suggesting that humans may have gained hierarchical needs from our simian ancestors, which appear to follow a patriarchal protocol. Although there may be a dominant female within a family of apes, such as chimpanzees, it is often the male that holds significant power and dominance over the group as a whole. Sir David Attenborough, as part of the BBC documentary series ‘Dynasties’, describes this order and dominance as politics. Not only is this an interesting way to describe complex social ordering within the natural world, but a very human term, which one would not instinctively use to describe a group of wild animals.

A deep-rooted need for order is embedded within our genetics. As humans, we see ourselves as complex and sophisticated beings – which we are. Employing a hierarchical system has made our species successful and dominant – this is echoed by the more socially advanced animals within the natural world. While researching hierarchy, I believe it was important to also consider the inherent politics therein. It is a vast and complex system of creating order. I have found it a triggering and, at times, a controversial subject matter, albeit an entertaining one. Over recent years, UK citizens have been in a state of turmoil and uncertainty, and after watching politicians argue and debate – it is easy to compare humans to our wild ape ancestors.

Viewing the country in this state leads me to think about the order we create and how everything in this current cultural climate revolves around the political climate. At the current time it feels like everyone’s individual, social, political and general emotive feelings and opinions are under the microscope. There is no escape from our current position within the greater world and our small island is under attack, however it feels self-inflicted.

It is important to note that although Brexit is a highly talked about topic, currently I will not be discussing my personal political views. However, I do intend to document the comparisons I make between politics, the modern culture and community amongst other issues. As at this time my art works and research are driving me to explore these matters further.

These rudimentary observations I have made so far, by comparing people and societal order to animals, are the basis on which I would like to display my work and an area which I would like to continue to develop an understanding. One of the ways I began to look at making comparisons is by trying to translate the natural rules of some animal species into a human situation. For example, if we lived in a society that reflected the natural rules of meerkat families which only allow for the dominant female to procreate, we would be in a completely different oppressive community that only allows certain individuals of higher social standing or specific characteristics to breed. One where eugenics would be enforced. Viewing social order in such a way I went about looking for theories where natural laws were somehow manifested in human behaviour, or so the author would theorise.

Social Darwinism

After considering our very complex social hierarchy, I started looking at the theory of ‘Social Darwinism’, a term coined by Herbert Spencer – a sociologist in the late 1800s. Spencer believed you could apply Darwin’s theory of natural selection into human social situations and theorised that eventually, through ‘survival of the fittest’, those individuals with illnesses, or considered in any way inferior or weak, would be eradicated.

This theory has many flaws and definitely has negative connotations. The idea of transposing this way of life onto our current socialist democracy where healthcare and social support is available makes this theory appear unsympathetic and cold. However, it is important to remember this theory was developed over 200 years ago. At this point in history the UK was going through great political and social change. There were social reforms which addressed issues of poverty and affected Britain’s systems of education, public health, and law and order (including how they were regulated). When significant change like this happens, there will always be opposition: these changes affected a wide spectrum within society – from the most affluent to the most poor and vulnerable of society. Social classes were forming alongside the initial movements towards the industrial revolution.

This era of change and revolution was a transitional period of Britain moving into a modern age, where groups of people working together, more than ever, needed to be given order to continue functioning effectively. Although this was a great time for wealthy landowners and mill owners, this was a time of great hardship for many. When looking at this theory, it is vital to consider the time, where Darwinism and laws of nature were relatively new, and Spencer (a man of science) believed that the theory of ‘survival of the fittest’ could easily apply to people. However, moving forward in time to the early 1900s when the Nazis were moving through Europe preaching their nationalistic views – stating different ethnic and religious backgrounds were inferior, therefore should not survive nor be protected, the phrase coined by Spencer was used to embed this rationale and gain political supporters. This misuse of his theory was dangerous and abhorrent, it represented an extremist view and was damaging to social order.

In the current times this theory proves outdated, although there may be individuals that still believe Spencer’s theory of Social Darwinism holds some weight, it is incomprehensible to deny individuals which may have been considered inferior through illness or background to be outstanding in a variety of different fields and have cultivated and shaped our modern world.

This theory is, overall, an interesting one to look at: not for its positives but for its divisive nature. It has made me consider our contemporary climate and how dangerous views and opinions can influence and exacerbate an audience who may have pre-existing intolerant views. It also highlights the importance of hierarchical order within the modern world, if we didn’t have it where would we be, what would the world look like?

The research into hierarchies I have done so far has led me to identify key factors that are important to our success: working together ensures we survive and prosper. Jordan Peterson a psychologist from Canada has conducted interviews and lectures around hierarchy and how it is vital to us as complex social creatures. In one interview, he identifies that creating order in the form of hierarchies is not about capitalism or patriarchy and it cannot be solved by theories such as Marxism. He states that, although there can be imbalances within systems of hierarchy, we need them to solve complex problems. Peterson’s theories and talks have come under fire and caused some controversy, however. In an article published by the Guardian, David Neiwert states that “he’s buttressing his narrative with pseudo-facts, many of them created for the explicit purpose of promoting white nationalism” (Neiwert, 2018). However, despite these allegations, Peterson has proved himself a popular public speaker – although his audience mainly consists of Christian conservatives, atheist libertarians, centrist pundits and neo-Nazis ( Lynskey , 2018).

Looking at hierarchy from a psychological view is an interesting concept to me – particularly as, from an artistic perspective, I envisage hierarchy to have a physical presence. However, it is quite the opposite. Hierarchy is an intangible construct built by theory. As people, we have managed to sort and organise even human needs into a hierarchy known as ‘Maslow’s hierarchy of needs’ (Maslow, 1943). In simple terms, this theory states that all individuals have the same needs and these can be given importance by necessity: we all need to fulfil our basic physical needs before we can achieve our psychological/social needs and so on.

Arguably, does this mean hierarchy is built into us on a base level, something that is in our eternal nature like Peterson states?

If it is in-built within us, does this mean the majority of us are not meant to climb up the ladder of hierarchy or power and therefore never reach our full potential? Or are we considered to have achieved our full potential by being able to work together to create something powerful that the majority believe in and that supports us as a society? It appears obvious that we need to form alliances and work together to foster strength and build communities. Alongside this, I submit that hierarchies should also allow for individuals to strive and grow independently, meaning new hierarchies can be formed or our current hierarchies can evolve.

This concept of ‘collaboration’ and ‘community’ really inspired my practical exploration. In researching and trying to establish a sense of what hierarchy was I realised the core of how successful societal systems worked. Envisioning hierarchy as a pyramid, the base of the always needs to be wider otherwise the structure is imbalanced. This means that the inherent strength of any hierarchy comes from the bottom, its very foundation. In my final image I want to create an appearance of community as well as collaboration, of whether that will be a great number of individuals constructing or maintaining something, I am unsure. I do, however, want the figures to be smaller than my previous work – not only for time allowances but for the spectator to view them as small and many, just like ants forming their colony.

I found it interesting to gain some insight of the industrial period of the late 1800s in order to draw comparison with our current socio-political climate, where there are sure to be stark differences. In an 1882 article by Samuel Smiles, he discusses self-help within the context of a hierarchy. From this article, numerous comparisons can be drawn with regards to hierarchies as well as imbalances in the greater communities and work forces of the time. Smiles stated that self-improvement is key to being successful and living a fulfilling life. He also mentioned the impact of the government and expressed his views of the restrictive nature of the system at the time. When delineating these thoughts, he observed that “it is everyday becoming more clearly understood, that the function of the government is negative and restrictive, rather than positive and active” (Smiles, 1882). At the time, this comment would have been controversial, especially as the author would have had to come from a well-to-do background to have an education as well as have work published. Coming from a background of money still meant power.

Although one of the most interesting points of Smiles article is where he states “far more influence is the life-education daily given in our homes, in the streets, behind counters, in workshops, at the loom and the plough” (Smiles,1882). I concur with the author on this point, I believe we are shaped by our environment as well as nature. Our parents, friends, education and job have a huge impact on our view of the world and how we view hierarchy and order. What I may view as important to me is very different to other individuals with differing backgrounds in the aforementioned areas.

When I think of hierarchy I instantly think of political views/parties as well as social constructs. I think of these things not only because of the current climate but my up-bringing and my education. This is, I suppose, the nature versus nurture debate but on a personal level. The word hierarchy and what it means to different individuals will, inevitably, be constructed by our mixed backgrounds. Further to this, I needed to consider what I want my work to depict and how I can show hierarchy in an emotive way.

During this project, I also want to look at the North West of England specifically and how hierarchy may be portrayed within this specific region. Throughout the history of the North, there was great industry during the industrial revolution – in particular, mills making cotton were at their peak of productivity. As the success of this industry continued and where factories were booming, immigration was at a high with employers looking for new workers up until the 1970s.

Although the earliest of these factories left a lot to be desired, with poor working conditions and high levels of child labour. Manchester had made an undeniably great name for itself and the surrounding area – it was seen as a strong and industrious locality. This great industry is still historically valued today and old mills, such as Quarry Bank Mill is intact and open to visitors. Within this system of work, it is clear to see the hierarchy and order created: workers would continue their duties at times through ill-health and exhaustion. At this point in time, there did appear to be defined classes and clear division within this enforced social ranking, which was even inherent in the way the workers were accommodated.

Mill owners such as the ones that ran Quarry Bank were progressive, they believed in self-improvement and education. They also believed in hard work, as they were self-made. They adopted the approach of paternalism, meaning they wanted to help their workers. They built accommodation especially for the children and adult workers close to the mill, meaning no time could be wasted travelling long distances to work. This is an example of a successful hierarchy; however, it is an unbalanced one. All the individuals at the ‘bottom of the pyramid’ were not cared for sufficiently, their basic needs were not met and, as a result of this, the success of the mill’s production lacked longevity.

If comparisons were to be drawn against a later time when mills were more automatised, there were still large communities of people living and working in the same industry close by, this can be seen in the North West specifically. Although there were considerably fewer health and safety regulations as there are now, they did not employ young children and there was an influx of immigrant workers – allowing for communities to grow inside and outside the factory walls.

This has led me to the concept of creating a creature that replicates something that would connect people or its own kind. I also want the creature to look like something existing in nature, if hierarchy is a natural occurrence – I think it should represent or depict an aged and natural form. This should also be mirrored in its construction as much as possible.

The Making….

When designing my creatures, I went through a few options (particularly ants and meerkats, as previously discussed), after deciding that I wanted my creatures to appear ‘natural’ – I settled on creating twig-like figures. They are designed to look fragile and small, drawing inspiration from the ant which is known for its deceptive strength.

I also needed to consider their movement, I decided they ought to be made in such a way where they can be re-positioned after being constructed and painted. By doing this they will be able to stand and be adjusted at any given location. As a result of this, the structure needed to be wire, but I also wanted there to be a variety of sizes and widths. To secure the joints I used a product called ‘milliput’, this product cures hard and can be sculpted into shape beforehand, allowing a solid and secure fit for joints and larger more sculpted areas of the creatures.

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There were four types of wire used for each figure, differing in widths, meaning different sized creatures could be made. They were then given texture to make them look like trees. This was tested before to ensure the desired effect could be achieved. 

The wire frames were painted with a layer of tissue and latex, both of which are derived from natural sources. The tissue was used to create the texture and the latex was used to seal it and give a flexible skin, meaning the creature could move without risk of the sculpture breaking.

Christopher Columbus can be credited with discovering natural latex, he found the natives of Haiti played with balls of it as well as using it to provide a waterproof layer to clothing and footwear. Later in the nineteenth century, the garment containing rubber and fabric was patented as a raincoat. Seedlings were taken from their native country and transplanted here for farming, later these vast farms in countries like Singapore were created to farm these plants. Although liquid latex has had human input to make it into the product we use today, it is an example of a product born of Britain’s industrious nature and the colonialist empire that once was.

The paint I chose to colour the creature with was a mix of pros-aide and acrylic paint. I chose these products to allow flexibility. Pros-aide is an adhesive used to paint latex, because it is an adhesive it bonds well to the latex. When the acrylic is mixed with the glue it has a very pale appearance but as the glue dries clear the colour applied gives a highly pigmented final effect. This works well when trying to re-create a bark-like appearance.

In total, I chose to create 23 figures, which I hoped would give the impression of many creatures – replicating the pyramid system as mentioned above. I also wanted the number to be of significance, which I drew from the fact that it is 23 people that constitute the cabinet, including the Prime Minister, in the UK.

Locations

Bolton School

Selected to show possible growth between educational routes and hierarchy. Bolton school is a private school but has picturesque grounds, some of which are accessible to the public.

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Rivington, Bolton

Selected as it covers a vast area with numerous different views. It has various landscapes from those which are heavily wooded to open, grassy areas. This land was owned by Lord Leverhulme who built a grand house and other impressive structures across his sprawling grounds, his enterprise later became the company currently known as Unilever.  https://www.history.co.uk/biographies/lord-leverhulme

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Astley Park, Chorley

Selected because of the manor house located on this land, which was once owned by the Charnock Family. It is now owned by Chorley council. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000943

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Manchester Bolton Bury canal, Bolton

Selected because it symbolises a historic network linking industry to the land that is often overlooked. Located next to Moses Gate Country Park, it displays a clear connection between different regions of the North West.

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Moses Gate Country Park, Bolton

Selected as it was in an area of Bolton that is less affluent. It is vast in views, there are areas for camping, play grounds, lakes for birds and other wild life and as well as wooded and open grass areas. Similar to Rivington it is also hilly, which is typical for the local area. The main reason this area was selected was because of its local history – previously on this land stood a paper factory, which is what Farnworth was known for during the industrial period. It is also located very close to motorways, A-road links and train lines – a contemporary symbol for connecting people to industry with faster, more efficient travel.  https://www.lancswt.org.uk/our-work/projects/kingfisher-trail/moses-gate-country-park

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As you can see, I mainly focused on wooded and green areas. I chose areas like this because of their heritage. Hierarchy is a phenomenon that occurs in a variety of social animal species as well as within human society and I wanted to choose a location that would represent that. Trees take years to grow strong and develop into the tall solid lifeforms I have taken pictures of. However, I also needed a location that was relevant in showing order and the divide between the contemporary and the historical and aged. This is why Moses Gate Country Park was selected, the specific location I shot in had a view of the motorway sign and the A666 behind it.

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During the progression of this project, I also looked at works of fiction. I wanted to get a creative view of what authors, film makers and artists view as dysfunctional hierarchy. I looked at the novels ‘1984’ (Orwell, 1949) and ‘Animal Farm’ (Orwell, 1945) both written by George Orwell, these satires of dictatorship, the unbalanced, unfair and morally questionable people in leadership make a compelling story. Even within the television and film adaptions you are drawn into the story, emotionally provoked into thought. I also looked at other dystopian films like the ‘Blade Runner’ (Scott, 1982) and ‘Children of Men’ (Cuaron, 2006), both derived from science fiction novels they show a world so vastly different from ours, where there is complete control over human life.

Throughout this project, I have also looked at different artists that have not only inspired me but whose works resemble my own artistic practice. The first artist I looked into was Mark Dion. Dion incorporates taxidermic animals and museum collections to form installations for his art works. He has most recently been working in Australia, looking at a variety of species such as fish, horses, insects and fibres. His ability to work with museums and other archives allows for his work to reach alternative audiences and educate us not only on the pieces within the works but on wider issues. When looking at his work, I believe Dion is asking us to question a variety of different contemporary issues, such as our impact on the environment and how we place value on different items. In this respect, I aspire to create work such as his, using history to inform the questions we ask today. For this project, I am particularly interested in Dion’s work as it relies on collaboration, as I mentioned above. As my investigation has progressed the idea of collaboration and community has been an ever-increasing influence on my practical exploration. Although Dion’s work has been viewed in galleries, it is befitting for other locations as well, which reaffirms the value of art where ever it is seen. However, there is an element missing from Dion’s work that can be seen within another artists called Patricia Piccinini’s work and this is craftsmanship in production. Although it does take a lot of time and research to produce Dion’s installations, there is no fabrication of large props or sculptural work.

Piccinini is a sculptor who mainly creates works that cast a critical eye over relationships, not just between people but between the natural and manufactured, among other things. She creates original works of fantastical and sometimes grotesque appearing creatures. There is not necessarily a scientific or factual basis behind these works, but there is an emotive energy as well as a lot of technical skill and craftsmanship that goes into each creature, making them come to life. The materials that are used are familiar to me as a special effects prop maker and make-up artist and are not easy to master, so the technical capabilities of producing such work is not wasted on my critical eye. Piccinini’s ability to create a whimsically surreal world that is warm with emotion but the presence of darkness looming is impressive and is extremely well suited to a gallery setting. I also believe it introduces a form that has long been around but not celebrated in the contemporary art gallery setting. This form of art can be seen in film and television but it feels like it has been elevated. Although this is positive it is also a critique, Piccinini’s work is made for a gallery setting and although she is clearly influenced by the natural world, this element has not been included in her works.

Piccinini’s work is simultaneously natural yet unnatural and she has been able to introduce this craft to a new audience. I moved away from using products such as silicone and fibreglass for this project as I wanted to utilise natural material as much as possible. I also wanted textures and tones unlike flesh, which means more cost-effective materials can be used.

For this project, I also wanted to create a video which would show the research I had carried out visually. Throughout this project I used documentaries, television and film to initiate my research. I took inspiration from a number of places and artists including Cydnii Harris and Catherine Grant. I also wanted to look at some satirical, more comedic, work to help me decide what I wanted my video to be.

Cydnii Harris did a video essay entitled ‘Cotton – the fabric of Genocide’ that incorporated fictional footage from films mixed with real historical footage. The video is emotive and powerful and the use of footage that may be familiar adds to the final viewing. https://vimeo.com/user26521521

Catherine Grant is a well-renowned video essayist who has produced videos like ‘Dancing on Carnival Square’ and ‘The Haunting of the Headless Woman’. Both of these features use existing footage to critique their subject matter. There is no spoken word in the majority of Grant’s videos, and the use of instrumental music is often used to create audio atmosphere. Unlike Harris who uses spoken commentary from other films to tell a story. https://vimeo.com/361641676

Harris’ work is very striking and the story she is telling is poignant, I think the use of sound is more effective than Grant so I would like to adopt this approach. I do, however, think Grant’s ability to tell a story allows the viewer wider scope to contribute their own opinions, although this may have something to do with the subject matter of Harris’ video.

The video above was created by Grant, this work shows her comedic side. It still makes a meaningful point, however it adds an element of humour, which I find appealing.

I also looked at two other video makers, the features referred to are not video essays, however they are satirical critiques of people in power. The first is a British producer called Cassetteboy, his work can be seen on YouTube. Cassetteboy creates humorous videos on a variety of subjects. The video below uses footage taken from a number of different places and edited together to change the context.

Below are two other artists both from the States. Coldcut and TV Sheriff, like Cassetteboy, use existing footage to make satirical videos about different subjects. However, these edits do have other footage injected in to give it wider context, with what I believe a strong emotive feeling and power.

I would ideally like to amalgamate the video essay structure with the satirical fast editing of the later videos by Coldcut and TV Sheriff. Although I would like music within my video, I think the music would distract from the spoken word.

Creating my research video

For my symposium piece I chose to create a video displaying my research themes so far. I used footage gathered from the documentaries, TV series and films I used for reference, although I could not use them all, I needed to select those which would have the highest impact on the video to create the effect I wanted. Creating a video to display my research seemed fitting to my work and created diversity in the viewing of and engagement with my work at the symposium. Through my work I want to embed craftsmanship, and this was another form of doing so, although I believe there is something inherently contradictory about it as well. I think this is because of the instant nature of recording a video and uploading to whatever sharing platform you want, although the editing process can be time consuming. I used software called ‘Premier Pro’ to cut and edit the video clips I gathered and found YouTube to be the best resource to gather footage from.

I selected nature documentaries to show where my research journey began. Highlighting hierarchy in nature, there was a challenge in selecting only small parts of the footage gathered. Although after considering other videos it was important to select short clips to create a ‘punchy’ effect.

Fiction was also embedded within the video; I chose this particular clip for the audio. It was there to serve the purpose of stating hierarchy is inevitable and part of nature, or the circle of life.

From this point I needed to start comparing similarities  between humans and our closest ancestors.

I chose to create juxtaposition between how successful we can be when we work for and with each other, and our aggressive nature – again highlighting the similarities of these behaviours within humans and our wild counterparts.

From there, I wanted to include some political footage, alongside a humorous clip. The aim of this was to again create contradictions displaying both sides of our natural behaviour. On one hand we are offensive and rude, and on the other we are civilised.

The latter are used to show progression and movement, not only for the local area but the country as a whole. The idea of incorporating these clips was, again, to show what can be achieved when working towards one greater goal, but also what can be lost when we become more insulated. Leadership can have a role to play in our openness to different people, places and genders (to name a few), which I believe is questionable at this current time. For me, this part of the video was important because the physical work I created was not just about hierarchy but also a reflection of what that means, it is a critical view on humans as individuals and whether we form a community for the purpose that we should… for the greater good.

The fact is, hierarchy and order are essential – that is why we are successful as a species. However, it is vital that we look after every individual in the ‘chain’ or ‘pyramid’, without looking after the bottom foundation layer then the system will not be successful. After all we are all human and deserve equal care and opportunity, don’t we?

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Throughout the whole project I felt torn between the old and new. I found there were themes of class, psychology and politics when exploring hierarchy and I still feel there is plenty more I have not yet looked into.

Throughout my developmental journey, I am finding where my work fits. I do not think art should be restricted to a gallery nor should that setting give art its value. Craftsmanship within art should be appreciated no matter the environment, this is one of the main reasons I select natural environments as an artistic setting: I am aiming to challenge the viewer in seeing artistic value and diversity outside of the conventional gallery location.

Reference List

AllAboutScience.org. (2019). What is Social Darwinism. [online] Available at: https://www.allaboutscience.org/what-is-social-darwinism-faq.htm [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].

Bbc.co.uk. (2014). BBC – Nation on Film – Decline of the cotton industry. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nationonfilm/topics/textiles/background_decline.shtml [Accessed 21 Dec. 2019].

Dictionary.cambridge.org. (2019). HIERARCHY | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary. [online] Available at: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/hierarchy [Accessed 18 Oct. 2019].

Dunbar, R., Rutherford, A., Garrod, B. and Saini, A. (2019). The Naked Ape at 50: ‘Its central claim has surely stood the test of time ‘. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/sep/24/the-naked-ape-at-50-desmond-morris-four-experts-assess-impact [Accessed 14 Oct. 2019].

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2019). social Darwinism | Definition & Facts. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-Darwinism [Accessed 18 Oct. 2019].

HISTORY. (2019). Social Darwinism. [online] Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/social-darwinism [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].

World of Evil. (2006). Directed by Coldcuts and TV Sheriff. USA: Ed Jordan.

Boris Johnson’s Leadership Bid. (2019). Directed by Cassetteboy. UK: Self.

Dancing on the Carnival Square. (2019). Directed by C. Grant. Vimeo.

Jordan Peterson and the left, a new conversation. (2019).

Kettle, M. (2013). Seven social classes. Three political parties. It’s the mathematics of failure. The Guardian. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/03/seven-into-three-doesnt-go-maths-of-failure [Accessed 17 Nov. 2019].

The Video Essay Podcast. (2019). Episode 2: Catherine Grant. [podcast] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlZ9u_8Vj1Y [Accessed 28 Dec. 2019].

Kevles, D. (2019). Evolution: Darwin: In the Name of Darwin. [online] Pbs.org. Available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/darwin/nameof/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].

Lynskey, D. (2018). How dangerous is Jordan B Peterson, the rightwing professor who ‘hit a hornets’ nest’?. The Guardian. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/feb/07/how-dangerous-is-jordan-b-peterson-the-rightwing-professor-who-hit-a-hornets-nest [Accessed 15 Nov. 2019].

Orwell, G. (1945). Animal Farm. London: Penguin Books.

Orwell, G. (1949). Nineteen Eighty-Four. London: Penguin Books.

Nationalgeographic (2019). Meerkat. [online] Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/m/meerkat/ [Accessed 20 Oct. 2019].

Mcleod, S. (2019). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs | Simply Psychology. [online] Simplypsychology.org. Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html [Accessed 21 Dec. 2019].

CATHERINE GRANT. (2019). CATHERINE GRANT. [online] Available at: https://catherinegrant.org/news/ [Accessed 28 Dec. 2019].

Sourcebooks.fordham.edu. (2003). Internet History Sourcebooks. [online] Available at: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/25points.asp [Accessed 11 Nov. 2019].

Buck, L. (2018). Mark Dion: Welcome to my Wunderkammer. [online] Theartnewspaper.com. Available at: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/feature/welcome-to-my-wunderkammer [Accessed 21 Dec. 2019].

Clutton-Brock, T., Russell, A., & Sharpe, L. (2004). Behavioural tactics of breeders in cooperative meerkats. Animal Behaviour, 68, 1029-1040.

Ruse, M. (1980). Social Darwinism: The Two Sources. Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies,12(1), 23-36.

Mazrui, A. (1968). From Social Darwinism to Current Theories of Modernization: A Tradition of Analysis. World Politics,21(1), 69-83.

Dion, M. (2017). The Department of Tropical Research: Aquatic and jungle field stations in 2 parts. [Mixed media] New York: Tanya Bonakdar Gallery.

Hodgson, G. (2005). Generalizing Darwinism to Social Evolution: Some Early Attempts. Journal of Economic Issues,39(4), 899-914.

Beck, N. (2012). Social Darwinism. IDEAS Working Paper Series from RePEc, IDEAS Working Paper Series from RePEc, 2012.

Tibayrenc, M., & Ayala, Francisco J., editor. (2017). On human nature : Biology, psychology, ethics, politics, and religion.

KALPAKLI, F. (2011). The Victorian Class-Consciousness As Reflected In Elizabeth Gaskell’s Cranford. Selcuk University Social Sciences Institute Journal, 25, 153–157. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=64368180&site=eds-live

Virdee, S. (2019). Racialized capitalism: An account of its contested origins and consolidation. Sociological Review, 67(1), 3–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038026118820293

Gomes Orlando. (2011). The hierarchy of human needs and their social valuation. International Journal of Social Economics, 38(3), 237–259. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068291111105183

Sweet, R. (2015). How does class develop in the 18th century. [podcast] The development of class in Britain and Ireland. Available at: https://www.history.org.uk/podcasts/categories/433/podcast/406/class-in-18th-century-britain [Accessed 10 Nov. 2019].

Piccinini, P. (2019). No fear of depths. [silicone, fibreglass, human hair, clothing] Copenhagen: En Kaerlig Verden, Arken Museum.

Patriciapiccinini.net. (2019). PATRICIA PICCININI. [online] Available at: https://www.patriciapiccinini.net/465/2 [Accessed 3 Jan. 2020].

Dodgson, J. (2013). Gregory King and the economic structure of early modern England: an input-output table for 1688. Economic History Review, 66(4), 993–1016. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0289.12006

‘Clip from Meerkat Manor: A Family Affair’, Meerkat Manor, A Family Affair, 13:05 02/02/2009, BBC2 England, 25 mins. 00:03:59-00:04:29. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/clip/156855?bcast=31526383 (Accessed 26 Oct 2019)

Dynasties, (2018). [TV programme] one: BBC.

Life on Earth, (2014). [TV programme] 2: BBC.

Peep Show, (2012). [TV programme] 4: Channel 4.

Meerkat Manor, A Family Affair, 13:05 02/02/2009, BBC2 England, 25 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/005397F7?bcast=31526383 (Accessed 26 Oct 2019)

Meerkat Manor, (2009). [TV programme] 2: BBC.

Great Thinkers: In Their Own Words, Human, All Too Human, 21:00 01/08/2011, BBC4, 60 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/01DEC266?bcast=68206331 (Accessed 01 Nov 2019)

Grant, C. (2018). Daylight Raabery, Or, An Idiot’s Brexit. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9T2l2P4Qxs [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].

Kalarris, G. (2016). The Human Sexes. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgfn-eoVU_w [Accessed 5 Dec. 2019].

The Real Mill, (2014). [TV programme] Channel 4: Channel 4.

Sutton, B. (2020). The 10 Best Booths at FIAC. [online] Artsy. Available at: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-10-best-booths-fiac [Accessed 3 Jan. 2020].

Video Clips

untitled. (2019). Directed by L. Reeves. Bolton: Own recording.

Youtube.com. (2014). YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrUDftDkH3E&t=64s [Accessed 9 Nov. 2019].

Youtube.com. (2014). YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA-76QeiuSQ [Accessed 8 Nov. 2019].

Youtube.com. (2014). YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GibiNy4d4gc [Accessed 8 Nov. 2019].

Youtube.com. (2019). YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V400oXh_YTQ [Accessed 8 Nov. 2019].

Youtube.com. (2019). YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WuATtU0mRA [Accessed 15 Nov. 2019].

Youtube.com. (2018). YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN7CLg2LixY [Accessed 15 Nov. 2019].

Youtube.com. (2016). YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANvzW_Uaaxw&t=52s [Accessed 15 Nov. 2019].

Youtube.com. (2018). YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWNnGcUD_a0 [Accessed 15 Nov. 2019].

Youtube.com. (2019). YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xJlPO5jqE8 [Accessed 15 Nov. 2019].

Youtube.com. (2011). YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJQUH-KolKA [Accessed 15 Nov. 2019].

Youtube.com. (2013). YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggb5jBQ24Ew [Accessed 15 Nov. 2019].

Youtube.com. (2015). YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H161gLkvuo [Accessed 30 Nov. 2019].

Bibiolography

Chiou, J., & Pan, L. (2008). The Impact of Social Darwinism Perception, Status Anxiety, Perceived Trust of People, and Cultural Orientation on Consumer Ethical Beliefs. Journal of Business Ethics,78(4), 487-502.

Leyva, R. (2009). No Child Left Behind: A Neoliberal Repackaging of Social Darwinism. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies,7(1), 364-381.

Meerkat Manor, Love Thy Neighbour, 13:05 03/02/2009, BBC2 England, 25 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/005953A8?bcast=31558402 (Accessed 26 Oct 2019)

Grant, C. (2018). Waterloo. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mibs81R2Ov8 [Accessed 18 Nov. 2019].

Shaw, W. (2019). Search | British History Online. [online] British-history.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/search/series/cal-treasury-books-papers [Accessed 30 Nov. 2019].

YouTube. (2015). F for Fake (1973) – How to Structure a Video Essay. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GXv2C7vwX0 [Accessed 24 Nov. 2019].

The National Archives. (2019). Political history in the 18th century – The National Archives. [online] Available at: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/political-history-18th-century/ [Accessed 30 Nov. 2019].

Digby, A. (1982). The Poor Law in nineteenth-century England and Wales. London: The Historical Association.

Excerpt from Stonebridge Park. (1981). Directed by P. Keiller. UK: self.

Anne, D. (2009). The Poor Law in Nineteenth-century England and Wales. [online] The Historical Association. Available at: https://www.history.org.uk/student/resource/2337/the-poor-law-in-nineteenth-century-england-and-wal [Accessed 30 Nov. 2019].

Hugh, G. (2010). Towards Reform in 1809. [online] The Historical Association. Available at: https://www.history.org.uk/student/resource/3044 [Accessed 29 Nov. 2019].

Ashton, N. (2015). Parliament and Party Politics. [podcast] The Emergence of party politics. Available at: https://www.history.org.uk/podcasts/categories/433/podcast/407/parliamentary-politics-in-the-18th-century [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Maria, R. (2019). 15 Influential Political Art Pieces. [online] Widewalls. Available at: https://www.widewalls.ch/political-art/ [Accessed 27 Dec. 2019].

Launching into my practice and transforming it into a profession is going to be very challenging. Within this blog I will identify the obstacles which I need to overcome on this journey and enquire into how artists make their living and broaden their audience.

My previous project posed the question “what is high culture and who defines it?” While also looking at the importance of embedding craft within contemporary art through experimentation. I aim to continue this practical exploration within this project, experimenting with new materials and ideally culminating in a final three dimensional piece , continuing the theme of creatures hidden in plain sight.

The Plan

After deciding on my goals and devising a strategy, I have realised that I want to continue to use culturally significant locations, while potentially expanding out of my local area, both within the UK and overseas (while still looking at institutions within Greater Manchester).

To do this I must consider the context of my work and where it would fit best. I want to continue my sculptural exploration and ultimately build a collection of ‘monsters hidden in plain sight’, giving a specific meaning to each individual piece.

I will also need to understand how to effectively apply for grants and funding, identifying key institutions and how to write a persuasive proposal, as well as additional methods of generating income by examining commercial galleries.

Galleries

There are a number of galleries in Greater Manchester and I have visited several throughout this project to try and identify the most appropriate for my work.

When applying to gallery spaces I need to have a clear idea of their audience and how my work will benefit them as stakeholders (You can find references to my communication with galleries in my physical evidence file ) .

The Manchester Museum

Although I do not aim to create art work as a education tool, I am interested in art embedded within museum settings. After much consideration I chose to explore The Manchester Museum, which has a vested interest in Art embedded within its collections.

To make contact with this establishment I took an initial visit to look at the current collections and see the art work (which proved very fruitful). Although the museum is undergoing some large renovations for its ‘Hello future’ project, there was still a great deal of art embedded throughout the collections (particularly in the living worlds exhibition). In this exhibit there were a vast collection of taxidermy animals displayed to explore the theme of ‘ the relationship between people and nature’. A concept which which I felt was very culturally relevant and interesting.

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Each area of this collection had a message attached linking to the museums ethos of nature and environmental issues, with each display having some form of artistic adornments to express the theme and enhance the viewer’s experience.

During this visited I gained some staff contact details and from my initial email I was able to gain private access to specific items from the living worlds collection (this can be seen in my Evolved Rubbish blog post,https://lexiart.home.blog/2019/08/22/evolved-rubbish/) as well as build a rapport with members of the curation team. My main point of contact was assistant curator of natural environments, Rachel Petts. Rachel allowed me to explore the collections and invited me to an event called ‘sketch together’, which allowed me to meet other members of the team.

I have also interviewed the curator of living cultures Stephen Walsh. Stephen has been at The Manchester Museum for twelve years and often works with contemporary artists. He was very open and helpful, giving me a real insight into the museum’s process.

My first question was ‘ how are artists selected and what is the process?’ He stated there are a few ways in which artists are selected, one is an open call. These open calls can be seen mostly on social media and because of its instant nature twitter is usually the most successful. In other circumstances the project maybe very specific, where specific artists are targeted for the medium they work in, or the place they come from. For example in 2017 The Manchester Museum, The Whitworth Gallery , Manchester Art Gallery, The Museum of Science and Industry and Band on The Wall received funding to help the people of Manchester to see contemporary art from south Asia. Otherwise, artists will build a relationship with the museum, then curators can decide to have an exhibition of their work. Really the rationale is how can an artist respond to the spaces and collections in new, innovative and engaging ways that you possibly haven’t thought about before.

Stephen also stated that artists are only selected if there work is in line with the mission of the museum at that particular time. And although artists do approach the museum directly wanting to exhibit, it is extremely rare that this happens.

When creating an exhibition is it important for the curator and artist to work together and share goals, as Stephen told me “The curator will help the artist get access to the collections, the archives and different spaces, which provide inspiration for them.” The Manchester Museum’s mission is to facilitate understanding between cultures and also build a sustainable planet, which is something that Stephen pointed out as something that is always kept in mind when integrating artwork into any of the collections.

(Walsh, 2019)

Interestingly, the museum was also showcasing an art piece by Mark Dion titled ‘The Bureau of the Centre for the Study of Surrealism and it’s Legacy’. This is a playful integration of early twentieth century curation and colonialism. This work was purchased by the museum and it uses many of the items taken from the Museums collections. The purchased was also supported by funding from the British arts council.

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https://www.artfund.org/supporting-museums/art-weve-helped-buy/artwork/12835/the-bureau-of-the-centre-for-the-study-of-surrealism-and-its-legacy

This fantastic piece is the type of work I aspire to create. Being able to combine real locations and surrealist art pieces is something that really inspires me and hopefully through engaging with places like The Manchester Museum I can one day achieve this.

Commercial galleries

Within this project I also needed to consider how to make a living from the art I produce. As my work incorporates local sights I was recommended to look at commercial galleries in the Greater Manchester area. Most commercial galleries have a ‘style’ or ‘ art form’ they or their customers prefer, this means finding the right gallery for your work and building a rapport with their team is very important.

Therefore, I needed to understand how to build this kind of connection and the workings of selling my art in this type of environment. I then went about contacting local commercial galleries and asking if I could meet with their owners to ask some questions.

Saul Hay Gallery, Castlefield, Manchester.

Vision Statement: Our aim to always celebrate the very best of contemporary art from Manchester and beyond.

The Saul Hay gallery located in Castlefield was the only contact that responded to me, so I set up an interview. The gallery is owned and operated by a husband and wife team, Ian and Catherine who hope to bring art to a wider audience in Manchester. From this interview I was able to establish key information for artists hoping to move into this particular market (local/commercial work) and the gallery’s personal approach to selecting work. I found that the couple got to know their exhibiting artists through other exhibitions and assessed whether they fit their galleries style. I was also able to ask what their clients were typically like. Catherine explained that they tended to be older or retired professionals, with disposable income. She also explained that some larger galleries tend to push the investment aspect to prospective buyers, which is something that needs consideration when developing, pricing and selling a piece of work as there is a very different kind of market, client and value attached to an individual/unique pieces versus work that is easily replicated into different forms of media.

This experience also allowed me to ask simple questions about framing and presentation, which was very enlightening, as well as commission on art sold, as being able to efficiently price up your work to allow for profit is of course vitally important (commission within galleries is usually around 50%).

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While I was visiting the gallery there was also an individual exhibition by Paul Digby titled ‘Transcending the figure’. This was funded by the British arts council and based around a five year project working with the British emergency services. This is not the style usually seen within the gallery, but it was powerfully emotional body of work. https://www.saulhayfineart.co.uk/

Creative Recycling Gallery, Chorlton

Vision Statement: Ethical Substantial Eco Contemporary Designs.

This gallery is run by co-owners and artists Fiona Norton and Glennis Andrews , their mission is to look at art from a recycle and re-use mentality. This is a not for profit organisation but relies on attaining money through sales of art works and through classes held at their gallery. http://www.40beechroad.co.uk/

I applied for my work to be exhibited in gallery as I found an open call for artists to submit work through social media. They advertised for an upcoming event called ‘Woodland’. The galleries mission statement links strongly to my last piece of work, as well as the exhibitions. From this advert I applied by emailing some images of my work and a small written piece about myself. I was fortunate enough to be selected and I was able to set my work up the weekend before the exhibition opened.

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As I have mentioned, the importance of finding the right gallery for your work is vital. When preparing for this exhibition I took what I learnt from my meeting with Saul Hay gallery, looking at my prices, audience/potential buyers and location. When working out the cost of my bird sculpture I looked into things like hours put into its creation, materials and potential profit. Although I knew this was unlikely to sell (because of it’s size) I went about working out a price that I would be happy with, taking into account the gallery’s commission. For this exhibition the gallery was offering a special rate of a third off sale price, which meant I received two thirds of the final sale. The price was then set at £695 +VAT. For the print I took a slightly different approach and went about getting a smaller mounted version for the exhibition as people were more likely to buy a smaller print as it is easier to frame and find a place for it in their home or whenever they want it to be located. But also it kept the cost down, as the patrons of this gallery are not necessarily the same as that of Saul Hay and their budgets and tastes are more then likely quite different as this gallery prides itself on being affordable. Therefore I made my print more fitting to the target market of this gallery, the final A3 mounted print price was is £65+VAT.

Overall, I have found this experience a very positive one, Fiona and Glennis have been extremely supportive in what they know was my first professional exhibition of contemporary art. This experience has made me think a lot more about selling my work and the reality of being flexible in that respect.

Comparing both galleries is a challenging task as the creative recycling gallery has a completely different feel to The Saul Hay gallery. Although both sell contemporary works the approach and aesthetics of each are very different.

Reflecting on galleries like Saul Hay, I wonder whether my art fits their specific style and tastes, I also question whether I want their clientele to be my audience. Although I aim to engage a multitude of people with my work, I also need to be realistic with my expectations and goals.

I ideally want to target a wider audience and would like to reach people who would not usually be able to afford original art works for their home. But to do this I will have to make my work more affordable and consider the option of selling replicas and copies. Although I do not feel I am in the position to fully make decision this yet, it is something that I will have to consider a great deal in the future.

As a developing step from this, I have had some postcards made to see their quality and if this is a feasible sales route to go down in future. I am also awaiting a response from the John Ryland’s library to see whether they would be interested in selling them.

Funding

From the initial stages of this module I did not understand the funding process, which I think hindered my progress as this is an extremely important factor in any artist’s career development.

There are a variety of funding bodies, with funds ranging from small grants to much larger amounts. These can be found in number of different places, however some are allocated for very specific projects (e.g. community engagement) and it is imperative when applying for funding that the requirements are met by your desired art practice.

During this investigation I have been able identify relevant funding bodies that fit with my work and I have selected a few examples below.

British Arts Council

One of the most prominent funding bodies within the UK is the British Art’s council. This body has a number of different branches, which allows for a wide variety of Artists and other practitioners to applying and receive funding. Supported by the National Lottery, project grants provided by the British Arts Council can: support asset purchasing, develop your creative practice and local community engagement. Below is an overview of the ‘Development your creative practice’ funding, at this stage of my career this is the most appropriate grant.

https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/

Heritage Fund

The Heritage fund is supported by the National Lottery and helps artists develops their work within a community. Their vision statement is “Inspiring, leading and resourcing the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future” (Heritagefund.org.uk, 2019).

This is of particular interest to me as I am keen to embed local landmarks and heritage within my work but there are certain criteria/outcomes you have to meet to be eligible (nine in total, one mandatory). These outcomes have been set out to ensure work fits within the set framework.

Residencies

As part of my art practice I also want to include travel and cultural diversity as a continuing theme. For this reason I looked at potential residencies and what they can offer me as an emerging artist. Residencies are often very competitive and being able to successfully apply means you have to ensure that you select appropriately and communicated effectively. A point brought up in my earlier discussion of galleries and exhibiting establishments.

Throughout my studies I will endeavour to apply for residencies that I believe are suitable for my practice and will help develop my skills and experience. To date I have applied for two residencies, both of which were highly sort after cultural experiences.

Castlefield Associates

Castlefield Gallery offers an membership programme which is there to support contemporary artists in many different ways. Although there is a cost with this membership, it is nominal for the returns. You gain access to temporary spaces where you can work, critical sessions and lecturers as well as one to one advisory sessions and as a budding artist these could prove to be very beneficial to my practice.

As part of the Castlefield association I applied for a residency in Denmark, again fitting with my theme of travel and wanting to incorporate locally iconic scenes with my sculptures. I also wanted to look at the cultural diversity and similarities we share as nations, further allowing my work to develop, explore and educate. I was unfortunately unsuccessful at getting this residency, however I did find the experience helpful in understanding the level of quality required for this type of residency.

Ise City, Japan

I also put in a second application for the Ise city residency in Japan found on the British Arts Council website. This was a two week residency based in Ise city Japan, where artists would be asked to explore traditional Japanese culture and heritage sites and were expected to submit a comprehensive statement discussing why they should be selected. This was my first experience applying for anything so competitive and although I understood my chances of being successful were slim I felt the experience was invaluable. I was unsuccessful in this case, however I was able to start defining my arts practice and identifying what I wanted to achieve.

From these experiences I will continue to apply for relevant residencies of varying levels. There are a few organisations I have been looking into with residency opportunities. Places such as ResArtis and On the Move, have been particularly useful. Although it is important to apply carefully as some have to be self funded in part or in full.

Monsters hidden in plain sight….

Throughout this project I have been working on my practical exploration and developing my physical body of work. I have utilised the connections I have made at The Manchester Museum to gain special access to specific items in their collections. This has helped me developed my creatures conceptually and has had a very positive effect of the final outcome of my work. For see more information about this please see my’ Evolved Rubbish’ blog.

Finally…

As a contemporary artist it is important to constantly strike up new relationships and network within the industry. Being able to form connections with galleries and other artists is extremely important. The way artists work as freelancers can often be seen as unstable, which is why having good links with other creatives and a specific audience is extremely important. Although using galleries and selling work in a commercial way can be seen as conflicting to some artists, it is sometimes a necessity to survive and knowing your audience and how to market to them is vitally important.

I have found that discovering my real world context in relation to this module has been a real challenge, as a growing artist I want to not only find my own style and niche but I want to find a place where my art fits best. I have made a good connection with The Manchester Museum and I aim to continue cultivating this relationship, which can be seen further in my ‘Evolved Rubbish’ blog post

( https://lexiart.home.blog/2019/08/22/evolved-rubbish/).

Referencing List

a-n The Artists Information Company. (2019). About a-n – a-n The Artists Information Company. [online] Available at: https://www.a-n.co.uk/about/about-a-n/ [Accessed 9 Aug. 2019].

Artscouncil.org.uk. (2019). Creative People and Places 2019-23 | Arts Council England. [online] Available at: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/creative-people-and-places/creative-people-and-places-2019-23#section-1 [Accessed 19 Jul. 2019].

Castlefieldgallery.co.uk. (2019). Castlefield Gallery Associates | Castlefield Gallery. [online] Available at: https://www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk/associates/ [Accessed 20 Jul. 2019].

Heritagefund.org.uk. (2019). Strategic Funding Framework. [online] Available at: https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/Heritage%20Fund%20-%20Strategic%20Funding%20Framework%202019-2024.pdf [Accessed 19 Jul. 2019].

On-the-move.org. (2019). On the Move | Europe. [online] Available at: http://on-the-move.org/funding/europe/ [Accessed 29 Jul. 2019].

NESTA (2019). Experimental Culture: A Horizon Scan for the Arts and Culture sector. [online] London: NESTA. Available at: https://www.nesta.org.uk/report/experimental-culture-a-horizon-scan-for-the-arts-and-culture-sector/ [Accessed 22 Jul. 2019].

Resartis.org. (2019). About Residencies | ResArtis. [online] Available at: http://www.resartis.org/en/residencies/about_residencies/ [Accessed 22 Jul. 2019].

Saulhayfineart.co.uk. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.saulhayfineart.co.uk/ [Accessed 17 Aug. 2019].

Walsh, S. (2019). Working with Contemporary Artists in Museums.

Bibliography

NESTA. (2019). Homepage. [online] Available at: https://www.nesta.org.uk/ [Accessed 22 Jul. 2019].

Hospitalfield.org.uk. (2019). Residencies – Hospitalfield. [online] Available at: http://hospitalfield.org.uk/residencies/ [Accessed 22 Jul. 2019].

Hopkins, A. (2019). Funded Residencies « Cove Park. [online] Covepark.org. Available at: https://covepark.org/funded-residency-programme/ [Accessed 22 Jul. 2019].

Within this blog I will be discussing my practical exploration and giving additional evidence of my Real World Context module. I aim to summarise my research and artistic influences as well as outline my experimentation, culminating in a final image.

This work will form part of my ‘Monster hidden in plain sight’ collection and will allow me to explore another new sculptural medium. I always try to take inspiration from a number of sources when developing my work and during my research for this piece I stumbled across the following video on social media.

I found this video very shocking to see. However, it inspired me to incorporate plastic bags within my next project, highlighting a very current issue we are experiencing on the global scale.

I needed to investigate further into artists that work within this specific field, so I looked at two types of artists within very different mediums and approaches. The first area I looked into was artists who worked with nature and embedded the natural environment into there work, with the aim to focus on an artist who works in a different way to me.

Mark Ware

Mark Ware has created works titled ‘Wavelength’ focusing on how the environment effects our well being and how the natural world is beneficial to keeping us mentally healthy. Ware approaches his work in a scientific manner, collaborating with neuroscientists and psychologists researching the effects of natural visual and audio stimuli on individuals. His findings show people have a positive response to sights and sounds found in nature, which has the potential to improve peoples general well being and act as stress reducer. From this investigation Ware went onto a project entitled ‘Reflecting Nature’ where he produced a number of reflective and symmetrical prints looking at rural/natural scenes. When exhibited the audience responses were monitored to see whether artistic intervention affected their emotions. These findings displayed a positive effect on the audience. http://markware.co.uk/the-wavelength-project-3/

New Scientist magazine also worked with Ware to develop his findings in a scientific manner, and show how this could be implemented in a wider range of areas. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2096555-missing-the-natural-world-just-add-multimedia/

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This work really highlights the importance of nature and art on the spectator and the impact of image or sound on an individuals well being. Ware’s work has helped me understand the importance of protecting our landscape for the benefit of everyone’s well being. This has also informed my practical exploration in a direction I hadn’t expected nor thought of previously. From this I decided to do further research into locations for my physical sculptures to be placed, as I wanted to create a feeling of well being in my final image with the juxtaposition of plastic pollution.

The next Artist I looked at was Thomas Dambo.

Thomas Dambo, Artist

Thomas Dambo is a Danish Artist based in Copenhagen, his art works are sculptural and made from recycled materials. Dambo’s work is hugely inspirational to me, as it embodies the type of whimsical nature I see in my work, as well as being able to tell the audience a story of environmental importance.

Dambo really draws audiences into his art, it’s engaging and encourages people to explore an environment they may not have had interest in previously. Many of his sculptural pieces are based in woodland areas, where he creates “Wooden Giants”. However, for my current project I am most interested in his 2018 works titled ‘Future Forest’, this piece is completely constructed from recycled plastic, which was collected from Mexican land fill sites. As an environmental activist he saw the large amount of plastic waste we produce globally, along with the changes Mexico City has made to adapt to the growing population and enlisted volunteers to help him create this plastic forest.

Both artists make compelling statements about the natural and the artificial. Making the viewer realise the collision that happens everyday and how how that effects us globally. Although both artists are making different points and have different messages, both are highlighting the contemporary issue of environment and how it is important to maintain. In a modern society of instant everything our consumption of physical and mental assets is overwhelming, causing a sense of anxiety and overcrowding that literally over spills into the landscape around us.

Locations

For this piece I explored a number of outdoor locations. I selected public parks, as I knew contextually my image needed to include nature and greenery. I also wanted to select a location with natural beauty and the appearance of being unspoilt.

I explored locations around the Greater Manchester and Manchester area, such as:

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I decided on Fletcher Moss park in Didsbury Manchester and there was a number of reasons for this. Firstly within it grounds there was a rockery/botanical gardens, which contains a vast amount of plant life both exotic and native, this would provide a strong visual contrast between the plastic sculptures and the environment. The next factor in this decision was the clean nature of this park. In the botanical gardens there are no dogs allowed meaning plants are undamaged an no chance of dog fouling, as well as this it is well maintained, meaning no litter. Finally, I chose this location for it cultural value. I wanted a location people are likely to recognise with a local history. This park received funding to support its restoration after 2011 when the council appeared to have no further use for the parsonage building within the park. The park is now looked after by a dedication group of people called ‘Friends of Fletcher Moss Park’. This emphasis of community spirit really adds to your experience in the park and the care that is involved maintaining it.

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These are a few image I collected of the rockery and botanical gardens.

Research

Throughout this module I felt it was important to look at real animals. I wanted to visually study specific creatures that I felt linked to our local environment as well as some animals related to the plant life I wanted to photograph. From my visit to the botanical gardens I knew I would to include the Brazilian Giant Rhubarb. When looking at animals native to south america there was an overwhelming amount to choose from, so I went back to considering a design and specific traits I wanted my creatures to have.

The work I wanted to create was about a change in landscape, and I needed to think about where my creatures would be positioned and how they would have adapted to live in an environment engulfed in plastic. From this I went and looked at the animals in the Manchester Museum and decided to look closer at bats, moles and capybara. These were selected for their unusual characteristics, for example bats ears are large, as they do not rely on their eyes for guiding them, a mole is the same, however they have large five digit claws to help them travel underground. I also focused on capybara as it is the largest rodent in the world but it is native to South America.

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During this project I was able to build a good rapport with the assistant curator to natural environments Rachel Petts, she allowed me special access to view these animals closely. During this time I sketched small studies of specific parts of each animal, to see what shapes and elements of each would fit into my creature sculpt.

When developing my idea I had to consider how I wanted my creatures to appear and in my mind when imagining a plastic filled world I thought about animal life moving underground. Then, when coming up to the surface they would have to adapt to looking like their surroundings. This would indicate to me that the creatures wouldn’t be particularly large in overall size and like a bat and mole they wouldn’t need use of their eyes, as sight is not their main sense. However, they would require other well-endowed sensory organs, such as ears.

When it came to designing and building the creatures I felt that the mole claws and nose fit well with the bat ears, so I decided to not incorporate the capybara within the creature concoction.

Making

To start construction I went about carrying out small experiments to tests the materials I wanted to use, I had the idea of melting plastic bags to form shapes and wildlife, but I needed to see how the plastic would react to being melted. I started this process by making a very quick test sculpt using polymer clay, as this particular clay bakes solid and therefore will not melt under heat and would keep its shape.

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The plastic shrunk when heated, causing it to form a tight seal and outline the shape underneath, as well as this it went it rigid and lost some of it’s flexibility.

After this I went about testing formless melted plastic pieces, which came out looking like leaves and were light and formed a wrinkled texture in areas. I made a number of these smaller pieces and attached them onto a fishing line. I did this to ensure they did not blow away as I also wanted to test hanging these pieces. When I went on location to look for where I would shoot the final image I found a part of Fletcher Moss park which had sections of trellis and hanging plants. And as I went in the spring, the plant life looked vibrant and overgrown. This is where I test shot these plastic hangings.

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I did find they looked a little lost in this space, although I have not ruled this design choice for a gallery/indoor space later on.

As mentioned previously I found the giant rhubarb really interesting, as it is so unusual to look at and it was familiar but also so alien at the same time. This informed my next creation, the plastic plant life. The idea behind this was to create a setting for the plastic covered creature and I took inspiration from the size of the rhubarb and made some wire frames outlining the shape of these plants, I made these to be approximately midway height to the rhubarb.

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As well as these I made some wire frames for some other plant life in smaller varying sizes to add variation to the final scene.

From this stage I went about melting plastic onto the wire frames. I wanted to use white as the my key tone, allowing the artificial plants to stand out and the layers of melting and wrinkling easier to see.

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I chose to form my creatures in the same way as I had previously tested. I used a flesh coloured clay to create the appearance of raw flesh underneath the layers of plastic.

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I made teeth and claws from milliput, which made them stand out. I sculpted a rough shape for the creatures and did not add to much detail as I knew this would be covered. I kept the ears as a wire frame as I wanted the to have a translucent quality to them once the plastic was melted over.

The Final shoot

In order to do this shoot I had to ask Manchester council for permission, as well as fill out a number of forms. Once this was approved I booked three provisional days which were the 13th, 14th and 15th of August to ensure if the first day was raining I could return on the following days and still shoot. I also booked my photographer in and ensured he was available for all of these dates.

Luckily the weather was suitable for the shoot on the 13th August. I was able to get a variety of images and also performed an extra shoot in a different part of the botanical gardens.

Below are some behind the scenes images on the day of the shoot from both locations within the gardens.

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These were some of the professional images taken on the day, but not selected from my final location.

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Finally, these closer professional images below show the final chosen composition and location.

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In this project I wanted to achieve an overall goal of creating a final image(s) which reflect how plastic waste is changing and affecting our environment. I wanted to embed my craft of sculpting while challenging myself to use and new medium and material, which came from the video ‘Plastic Storm’ that inspired me to look into using plastic bags as a new sculptural medium.

The use of unwanted, discarded plastic bags within my piece does follow on from my last project, which was made from recycled novels (although not deliberately). The use and re-purposing of an everyday or commonly used object is particularly interesting in this case as an man-made artificial object was given the appearance of organic life and this use of this material gives a certain sense of suffocation.

My colour choice for the plastic wildlife was very deliberate, as I wanted to create a initial feeling of innocence and virtue but with a deeper subtext of pollution and disregard.

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Nature is resilient and may evolve within our unnatural waste. Or as Dr. Ian Malcolm once put it “Nature finds a way”. (Jurassic Park, 1993)

Referencing list

Artscouncil.org.uk. (2016). How art that reflects nature can be good for us | Arts Council England. [online] Available at: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/news/can-art-make-us-feel-better-how-art-reflects-nature-can-be-good-our-wellbeing [Accessed 20 Jul. 2019].

Dambo, T. (2018). The Future Forest. [online] Thomasdambo.com. Available at: https://thomasdambo.com/works/the-future-forest/ [Accessed 20 Jul. 2019].

Dambo, T. (2018). THE FUTURE FOREST – 3 Tons of plastic waste turned into a colorful forest.. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTC8ie_HB5c [Accessed 20 Jul. 2019].

Jurassic Park. (1993). [film] Directed by S. Spielberg. Hollywood: Universal Pictures.

Markware.co.uk. (2019). markware.co.uK. [online] Available at: http://markware.co.uk/the-wavelength-project-3/ [Accessed 15 Aug. 2019].

Swati, I. (2019). Plastic storms in Croatia. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3jIjm6cKF4 [Accessed 20 Jul. 2019].

After reviewing and reflecting on my previous practical submission I want to continue my journey of looking into and creating monsters. However, I want this to be far more of a whimsical and sometimes colourful insight than initially intended, delving into a make-believe world of fantasy and imagination and utilising a variety of locations to set each character within and linking to the theme of ‘Monsters hidden in plain sight’.

After visiting the Whitworth gallery and attending a lecture with Jake Chapman, I was able to understand more about his art work and how it is developed. Listening to him discuss his work also led me to consider how I can make my own work more culturally engaging and relevant. He states “you must always pursue truth in a work of art” and use it “to express something important“. His discussion made me think about what may occur without us knowing and how we engage with our audience. To make art truly captivating we must connect with the spectator somehow, possibly on multiple levels, often walking the line between conscious and subconscious awareness.

To begin my journey I wanted to assess my previous knowledge and experience, so as to identify areas in which I could improve. Being from a design background and specialising in Make-up and Special effects, I have found that I often think very differently from most other contemporary artists, with a concern based far more on pragmatism and the practicality of an end product rather then the conceptual journey I have taken to get there. So, to move into a more exploratory mind set, I decided to start experimenting with alternative methods and materials to try and produce a body of work that would be more in keeping with what could be displayed in a gallery setting.

There are of course artists that have made this transition, such as Kazuhiro Tsuji and Ron Mueck, of whom I took a great deal of inspiration from when approaching this project. Kazuhiro is an Oscar winning Special Effects Make-up artist working on productions, such as ‘The Darkest Hour‘(2017). http://kazustudios.com/ 

Ron Mueck began as a Special effects artist working on productions such as Labyrinth (1986) but is now known as a hyper-realist artist, sculpting figures of all shapes and sizes. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/ron-mueck-2672

After taking a step back from these examples, I wanted to look at other artists who came from differing disciplines than myself but whom I could still take inspiration from. One of which was Kirsty Mitchell. Mitchell is a photographer who has created a body of work called Wonderland. This project took 5 years to create and documented her journey after her mother’s passing. The work is truly beautiful, incorporating natural landscapes, models, make-up, costume and a number of other enhancements to create dream like scenes. https://www.kirstymitchellphotography.com/

These works really inspired me to create something whimsical and meaningful and made me think that I should continue creating what I touched upon previously, child like fantastical monsters. Although developing the ideas for these creatures and their related locations did prove rather challenging, I actually found that the embedding of meaningful questions and contemporary commentaries was a far more taxing task. Therefor, after discussing this issue in a tutorial with my lecturer, I was given some helpful suggestions and looked into some more in depth, wider research.

The Instant Culture Vulture

The Research.

Art and Culture are perennially interlinked subjects, with debates of classification and meaning appearing from their very conception to the present day. One of the most interesting and often bitterly fought questions in this ever expanding field of conversation is ‘How do we define what is high and low culture?‘. High culture is often thought of as sophisticated mediums such as opera, renaissance painting and sculpture and classical music. But can the case really be as simple as this? High art can also be seen as an enrichment and cure for the pains of everyday life. An extreme example of this was discussed in the BBC sounds programme ‘High and Low culture‘  ‘Nazi guards in prison camps, after slaughtering people during the day they could go home and listen to Mozart string quartets in the evening‘. (1992) Although this a rather polarised and excessive example, it does demonstrate the power art can have even in the most dire of circumstances. However, there is little context or comment on the cultural values and changing attitudes of the times. It could be equally argued that if these men were listening to contemporary jazz (a musical genre which is now ironically considered to be well within the interest of sophisticated and well cultured connoisseurs but was of course much derided at the time) they could have felt an equal sense of satisfaction and relief from their awful daily situations. However, it is also important to point out that much truly great art, whether it be due to an innate power, beauty and simplicity or the skilful and complex construction and originality, stands the test of time. So could this be what defines an artefact as an example of high culture? And what about the truly great work that is being created today?

After critically questioning this thought process I set about looking into content and information which I believed could enlightened some of the key aspects of this ever raging cultural debate. In 2011 the BBC produced a highly acclaimed documentary series ‘Great thinkers: In their own words’ which I found extremely helpful. The third episode in the series ‘The Culture Wars‘ gave me a really great insight into key areas and figures within the high/low culture debate.

In British history there have been key turning points in art and culture and more importantly points in time where the question ‘What is Art and culture?” has been rethought, redefined and re-evaluated. In the early 1920’s the BBC was founded and managed by a man named John Reith. Reith had the strong belief that everyone should be untitled to experience different levels and variations of culture. He embedded this into the companies founding motto ‘educate, entertain and inform‘. This meant everyone would have access to a diverse range of programming, including those that covered subjects which would normally be considered part of high culture, introducing the British working class to a previously inaccessible world of new information and perspectives. However, not all of his contemporaries agreed with this rationale, many believing such information would be wasted on the the working class, who would be incapable of appreciating such content, having no real art or culture of there own. One of these figures was Frank Levis, a lecturer in literature at the University of Cambridge and self proclaimed cultural elitist. His highly controversial views completely opposed Reith, believing that broadcasts educating the masses would lead to a massive culture decline. In his book ‘The Great Tradition‘ he espouses his theory of literary high culture, discussing a small group of selected works and authors such as Jane Austin and George Eliot and criticising most others as below what he deemed to be his high cultural line.

During this period the broadcasting and sharing ideas became far easier, which allowed and even greater range of cultural worlds to open up to a much broader audience, with the 1950’s being a real boom time in this new cultural exploration. Raymond Williams author of ‘Culture and Society‘ (1958), was from a Welsh working class family and argued that culture should be treated as a whole way of life and that as we have moved on and evolved into the modern era so has the concept of culture. He stated that so called high culture tried to argue that working class culture was inferior, which was reinforced by norms of society, such as schools, colleges and universities. Williams’ discussion on this topic is extremely poignant and his views are shared with many others including many contemporary artists. As well as writing this book Williams also made a documentary series for the BBC called ‘Border Country‘ where he documents the differences that can be seen across changing areas in one city. He used this as a tool to highlight how varying cultures/backgrounds can be so diverse even in a single location.

A core point that Williams made is that art should be appreciated and available to all and therefore the concept of high and low culture is outdated. Leading to the often ignored question of “who decides what is high and low culture?” In conducting my research it appears that it is often a financial and social elite that have previously made this decision, people who are very much in the support of thinkers like Levis. Although as time passes, these barriers and their cultural guardians do appear to be becoming fractured and broken but there are still many obstacles in the way before we can truly say that this question is answered in a democratic and fair process.

With this in mind, I have tried to think about the question, ‘how does high culture fit into popular culture? And can they ever be truly connected?‘ Popular culture is simply the cultural artefacts that are adopted by the masses, which by its very nature is viewed as low culture by many people. For example, in literature some of the best selling novels are within the erotic or romance genres with titles such as; ‘50 Shades of Grey’, selling over 100 million copies (although it could be argued that unlike much other popular fiction this book’s success was heavily dependent on a powerful online gorilla marketing campaign). This novel would certainly be considered by many to be of low cultural stature given its subject matter (sadomasochist sexual fantasy) and something you wouldn’t expect to fit into a high cultural setting. Therefor, I will be using the ‘50 Shades‘ book series as part of my project and art piece as I want to create a juxtaposition, as a satire of the aspects of modern culture and high culture in collision.

Another area I wanted to investigate was craftsmanship within art. Traditionally all art took craft and time, the idea of instantaneous or even found art is a very recent development with the artists of the Dada movement, such as Marcel Duchamp developing these concepts in the early 20th century. I feel very strongly that the craftsmanship within art is not as appreciated as it once was, with the influx of random objects being placed within a gallery and given a title and a loosely connected narrative.

Artist Grayson Perry is a great believer in craft being art. In a documentary series called ‘The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman‘ (BBC, 2011) he explores the British museum and the vast amount of artefacts in its collection, culminating in his own exhibition in which he displays his original works as well the a selection of curated images from the museums collection. Perry’s views and opinions spoke to me a great deal and his appreciation for the craft that had gone into his works as well as the other artefacts was clear to see. He states that art and craft situated outside of a galley is often not appreciated as art, and what often (and wrongly) qualifies an object as art is that it is situated inside a gallery and this is what gives it its significance.

I really feel that there is truth to this statement and it has driven me to create a physical artefact that does take time and skill to make, as well as to situate it outside of a gallery setting.

BBC sounds (1992) High and Low Culture. BBC world service, London

BBC (2011) 60 mins. Grayson Perry and the Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/0216BE40?bcast=73173405 (Accessed 2 April 2019)

BBC4 (2011) 60 mins.
Great Thinkers: In Their Own Words, The Culture Wars, https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/01E52F0C?bcast=68888015 (Accessed 2 April 2019)

F R Levis (1948) The Great Tradition . London: Faber and Faber Ltd

Williams, R. (1958). Culture and society 1780-1950. London: Chatto and Windus.

Williams, R. (2000). Keywords : A vocabulary of culture and society (Rev. and expanded ed.). London: Fontana.

Popular culture may be grubby, but at least it keeps us thinking. (2005). Marketing Week, p. 27.

Who will watch the telly watchers? (2015, February 12). Age [Melbourne, Australia], p. 32. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com.salford.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A401097444/STND?u=salcal2&sid=STND&xid=61b0bd10

Dalrymple, T. (2008). The value of pulp fiction. BMJ : British Medical Journal, 336(7651), 1023. doi:http://dx.doi.org.salford.idm.oclc.org/10.1136/bmj.39560.553229.94

In a world driven by instant satisfaction Schiermer, B. (2014). Late-modern hipsters: New tendencies in popular culture. Acta Sociologica, 57(2), 167–181. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001699313498263

The Locations…

I wanted to use a significant location for my shoot, a place of historical significance, grandeur and prestige, somewhere that ‘High’ culture would be prevalent. I also wanted to create a relationship between location and creature, which I decided to base around literature and reading. I set about investigating Manchester’s historical Libraries and after a discussion with my lecturer I was advised to look at Chetham library on Long Millgate as well as the John Rylands library which is part of the University of Manchester. Ultimately, I felt that either of these locations could create the thematic juxtaposition I was looking for.

Chetham Library

I felt that it was important to learn the history of this building, so I took a tour lead by Jonathan Schofield, author of ‘My guide to Manchester‘. During the tour I learned about the Library’s long and prestigious history and many of its famous patrons such as Carl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The building was also filled with engravings, icons and images of Humphrey Chetham, the library’s founder. He was a highly successful merchant with a strong belief in the power of education, originally developing the building as a blue coat school for the poor boys. I felt that the building was truly beautifully and after finishing the tour I was really excited about potentially doing my shoot in this location. Not only is the location visually interesting but learning of the buildings altruistic and educational origin, I felt it was extremely fitting to the comment I wanted to make about modern society. As I feel that the Chetham library is the antithesis of modern day ‘throw away’ or ‘instant’ culture.

https://library.chethams.com/about/history/humphrey-chetham/https://www.jonathanschofieldtours.com/

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As you can see this location would have been perfect for me, but unfortunately after a disappointing correspondence with Chetham library and the requirement of several hundred pounds to shoot there, I was unable to use this location.

John Rylands Library

The John Rylands library is part of The University of Manchester and an extremely decorative building. This Gothic revival masterpiece took 10 years to build, opening on new years day 1900. This was one of the first buildings in Manchester to use electric lighting and includes a pioneering air filtration system to prevent polluted air entering from the smoggy city outside. It was founded by Enriqueta Rylands for her late husband John, both of whom had a great love of Art, Science and education. Which can be seen in the great Secular Window a stained glass artwork in library’s historic reading room depicting great artists, writers and academics from the ancient world to the 19th Century. During my visit I saw a display of the ‘Bird of Paradise’ an illustrated book by John Gould, which I found very inspirational when designing my creature Gould, J. (1876)

https://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/rylands/about/our-history/building/https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4319403

This would be a fantastic location with all the fine details and ornate architecture, each element crafted by fine artists and engineers to store books and educate people, creating a binary opposition to my low culture creature.

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After visiting the library I set about contacting the facilities team to see if I could book a shoot there. I found the responses extremely helpful and started to plan my shoot.

Making the Monster

When initially developing my creature I had to first think about the range of materials it would be constructed from. I also knew that I wanted to expand on my skills through experimentation with new materials, although there would obviously be some sculptural elements included. Environment was also a major factor in this creatures design, as although it is ultimately a fantastic creation, I still wanted to create a link between location and creature, thinking about things like what it would eat and even considering what kind of waste it would produce.

My main production material was paper. It has a versatile yet fragile quality which fit well with my themes, while expanding my skills in new direction by experimenting with pulping techniques. Also after looking into the concept pulp fiction and its relation to my ideas, I decided that erotic/romance novels would be a fitting genre to use as a paper material. For this I selected, ‘Fifty Shades of Grey‘ by E L James, three Mills and Boon novels and ‘ Rivals‘ by Jilly Cooper. I wanted to use these novels as an example of the kind of books that would never be accepted into a prestigious library but through the medium of my art work they would manage to pass through the doors.

I wanted my creature to appear both fantastical and familiar. Therefore I choose to base it on a bird, not only because of the ‘Birds of Paradise’ book found within the Rylands library but also because birds commonly represents freedom in many cultures, most notably in the USA, where the Bald eagle is the national emblem. They are also seen as powerful, majestic creatures, another reason why the United States holds the bald eagle in such high regard. Birds where also pivotal in the development of the Darwin Wallace theory of evolution by natural selection and so have contributed highly to modern science and culture through their extensive variation and study. I feel this relates strongly to my theme as modern society is constantly having to adapt and evolve to the regularly shifting boundaries of culture.

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To create my creature I first had to experiment with new paper techniques. To learn more, I organised sessions with Sue Debney at the Salford University fibre workshop, which proved extremely helpful (the images above show a sample of paper made in these sessions). To create this paper I had to make a pulp, which was simply done by soaking the pages in water then blending them (I kept these chunky as I wanted to see text), then the water was removed and the pulp pressed. Although I would not be making sheets of paper, I wanted to considered the use of paper being pressed into a mould. I also needed to know how strong it would be, the colour it would dry to and the best method of painting it.

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I then moved on to developing a layering method for my feathers, also looking at colour and incorporating pulp into the design. After visiting both historic libraries I found that most of the book covers were rich warm colours such as oranges and reds and I wanted my creature to match this environment and colour scheme. The feathers being dipped into paper pulp also created an aged look, which made them appear decayed and heavily textured. This made the feathers more rigid with each one layering differently when attached. Although heavily time consuming, this was the approach I decided to take to create my desired look, again ensuring that time and craft were part of creating this overall piece.

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I decided to sculpt the head as I wanted it to be very detailed and textured, keeping the image of a vulture in mind as gradually the piece started to transform into the ‘instant culture vulture’ I had been visualising. Although I used some artistic licence when sculpting, not following one type of vulture but looking and gathering inspiration from a variety. This shape was sculpted in clay and moulded in two parts using a tin-cure silicone before it was cleaned and paper pulp pressed into it. I found this process very time consuming, as the paper inside took a long time to dry, not only because of the paper’s thickness, but also because of the mould itself being tightly sealed, which is a necessity to reduce the likelihood of visible seams on the birds head.

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During my experimentation I collected numerous materials that I thought would create interesting textures and forms when dipped into paper pulp. I used materials such as: wool, paper string, tissue paper, crepe paper, chicken wire, garden wire and metal scouring pads (above are images of some of the dipped items). I found the paper string wrapped around the chicken wire gave an interesting effect, the pulp muted the colours and although it was bendable it still gave some rigidity. These experiments helped me to develop the large tail piece for my creature, with the dipped wire holding its shape solidly and creating the illusion of movement.

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I then went about making claws for my bird, this was simply done by using garden wire bent into a claw shape, then wrapped in wool. I used wool because the texture when dipped in pulp looked scaly and uneven. I then padded the main part of the claw using packing paper, later adding metal scouring pads around the legs, these rusted when dipped in pulp and gave a rich orange colour.

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The body was made from expanding foam and carved into shape, it then had chicken wire laid over to ensure when the feathers were added they would fall in the right direction, matching that of a real bird.

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I arranged to shoot my creature on the 5th April 2019, this date was set with my photographer Carl Pinnington and the library facilities team. However, once we arrived there were problems gaining access, which was apparently due to a couple of concerns including the use of a camera tripod. However, we were allowed to shoot outside the front gates, which meant the intricately designed entrance and railing were included in the final images, revealing the grand stature of the location.

Although there were obstacles in achieving the desired final look, I do believe the image has the impact I wanted after overcoming unforeseen circumstances, which actively highlighted the barrier this piece was aiming to confront. Even after disguising these low brow erotica novels they still couldn’t be seen inside a place of prestige and high cultural.

I feel that having this creature standing outside these gates makes a statement, showing how cultures can often clash but also work as neighbours in the same environment.

Moving forward I want to continue my personal investigation into contemporary discussions and issues. I will also endeavour to practice and refine my craft while exploring new materials and processes, extending my body of work into a real world context.

I feel that a piece of art with meaning needs to be constructed over time. This can allow for a natural evolution and growth of ideas through the crafting process.

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It can be argued that this work is low or base and does not belong in this historic and intellectual meeting place, but it has been transformed into a different kind of art where the content is hidden in plain sight.