11-11-09 Idea Post

I want to first start off by saying my wallpaper sample idea didn't turn out as planned. The samples I was able to find are all smaller in size (8x10) and not big enough to act as a background. I ordered a few simple patterns off of the internet in hopes that I can take multiple samples and fuse them together seamlessly for a background. I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but a much easier choice could be patterned fabric! I spent an hour or two at Joann Fabrics and Hancock Fabrics off of W Broad looking for possible 'wallpaper fabric.' I found several knowing well that some may be pushing the boundaries, but that's something I'm willing to investigate as well. Shooting begins today after the artist lecture at 2pm!

Over Thanksgiving break I plan to drive to Staunton, VA to visit my grandparent's house and their out of date wallpaper.

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I really want to find the movie Taxidermia. I have netflix, but unfortunately the movie is too obscure for consumer driven movie rental companies.



I have generally been looking for movies that use taxidermy in part of their plot. I am interested in taxidermy's function in society today or maybe just how we THINK it should function in our society. The only other movies I can think of off the top of my head are Brotherhood of the Wolf and possibly Silence of the Lambs.



FORTUNATELY Spout.com is a great way to find movies by entering key words of interest. "Taxidermy" shows Anima, Beyond the Darkness, Deranged, Excuse Me Brother, Field Dressing and Trophy Care for the Wilderness Hunter, Lifelike, Taxidermia, The Aura, The Boy Cried Murder, The Devil's Mask, The Embalmer, The Next of the Cuckoo Birds, The Taste of Cherry, Three Cases of Murder, Tideland, Un Animal Des Animaux.

Some words whose definition may inspire further thinking, but also relate to my work:

Mortality

Mortality is the condition of being mortal, or susceptible to death; the opposite of immortality

11-09-09 MICA Grad Application

11-08-09 Artist Post

Doug Aitken

I simply love blog surfing because I find more amazing artists this way than any other. This week's artist post is on Doug Aitken's series Migration:365 Hotel Rooms.

Aitken is known for projecting contemporary video art across multi-screen environments urging the viewer to challenge his/her own perception. This particular 25 minute video loop was projected on the fronts and sides of museums on a large scale- so large that it took two projectors working together with a blender to produce one fluent projection. These projectors are so sophisticated that they are water sealed and have their own heating/air conditioning systems. The film was shot on 35mm film and remastered in HD.

The video features various North American animals interacting within human environments void of people. You see a beaver in a bathtub, a bull flipping furniture, a horse watching television, an owl perched on a bed, and more. He examines American's transient existence through our migratory behavior. More than citizens of any other industrialized nation, Americans 'migrate' more often whether moving into a new home or traveling for business. Aitken is also commenting on the rural/urban divide. Where do the two meet and can they coincide?

I have not seen Aitken's video- I cannot find it online. Some stills follow:

11-04-09 Idea Post

Research: Wallpaper Samples

While continuing to build more bird heads on plaques, I came across a great frame sale in Ben Franklins. Being a photography major, a good frame sale is never something to pass up. I found a heavily decorated gold frame for a good price and immediately thought of how to incorporate it into what I am doing now. I brought it home and pinned it up on the wall and mounted my newest birds inside it. After taking moving the heads around inside and outside the frame, up, down, falling off, in a line, staggered, etc, I began to consider the background. I need to find something more interesting than a plain color, a wood panel, cloth, etc. I began thinking about wall paper.




Wall paper can say so much about a time period, a homeowner's personality, and can even describe what type of room it is hung in. Ex: The wall paper in my grandmother's kitchen is SO 70's kitchen with soup bowls and spoons and the bedrooms are not much better... or are they? I want to find different types of wall paper and begin to explore another branch of my work from there.

I just discovered tonight that Home Depot and Lowe's sell wall paper samples: 8X10 sheets for $.99. The size seems a little small, but that is just the online store. To be explored in person...

I have also ordered several free wallpaper samples from farrow-ball.com.

I am also still continuing to photograph bird heads above fireplaces. More to come!

11-01-09 Artist Post

Andrew Tunnard

Andrew Tunnard is a commercial, fine art, and conceptual photographer as well as an illustrator. He only recently graduated from the University of Cumbria (UK) with a BA in photography. I am particularly interested in his Skins and Skeletons and Taxidermy projects.

Skins and Skeletons is an investigation into the museum taxidermy process.
"Taxidermy is a method museums have used since the Victorian era to display animal specimens to the general public. Since then, wildlife television programs and photographs can display the animals within their natural environment, negating the original necessity for taxidermy. However, it still remains a valuable and intriguing method of education to this day, and no other method of display allows the public to get so close to physical representation of these animals."




Taxidermy explores the more modern use of taxidermy: hunting trophies.
"This project investigates the representation of taxidermy, an interior specimen of an exterior animal. Paired with careful dioramas of their natural habitat and floral wallpaper, these animals occupy a context completely of their own, both real and wholey faked."




Something I have recently been considering is the traditional use, placement, and meaning of taxidermy. Who could have afforded taxidermy? What were the traditional placement of taxidermy within living spaces? Why are head mounts usually placed higher than our traditional sight level? What did the different species of taxidermy represent? Investigation continues this week...

http://www.atunnard.com/

10-30-09 Creative Quarterly Competition Entry

I just entered in the Creative Quarterly competition (Deadline=today). I only entered one image, and I'm hopeful. I'm always hopeful, but it's usually for nothing. Cross your fingers!

10-29-09 Idea Post

Adornment

Adornment is something that traditionally adds attractiveness, ornamentation, or embellishment and is usually associated with jewelry or accessories. It can also be used to describe the act of decorating.

I realize that the meaning of the word 'adornment' depends heavily on the opinions of the viewer. The meaning of 'attractiveness' can change dramatically from one person to the other and sometimes I feel like I have a much different view than a majority of our society- not in my direct circle of acquaintances, but in a much broader range.

I believe death is beautiful. I am not at all disturbed by bones, guts, or blood- and I mean real life guts and blood, not movie or TV blood. I am not afraid to touch and 'get messy.' For me this was a HUGE part of my earlier work. It was mostly about my experience and communion with death. It was hard to translate that into physical art unless I brought a mouse in and dissected it in front of the class. I wanted to encourage people to try what I was doing! A part of me does want to go back to it, but I also feel like I need to discover other areas as well.

BACK TO THE SUBJECT OF ADORNMENT:

There is a Church in Sedlec, Czechoslovakia that I have admired for years and used to joke about getting married in it. It seems like too big of a dream.

In 1278 the Cistercian abbot Henry voyaged to Golgotha in Palestine and brought back 'holy soil' to be mixed with the earth around the Chapel in Sedlec. The cemetery quickly became one of the most popular burial grounds of central Europe as the people believed burial here would guarantee acceptance into heaven. Less than 100 years later there were already 30,000 bodies buried in the ossuary. In 1511 a monk was ordered to gather the bones from abolishes graves and store them in a crypt to make room for 'new customers.' The bones lay in storage until a woodcarver (Frantisek Rindt) was hired to decorate the church in 1870. With more than 40,000 sets of human bones at his disposal, he decorated the church with human remains.

The decoration of this church is in NO WAY sacrilegious or satanic. It is a celebration of life and faith. Being in the presence of so many people whose beliefs designated this single resting place is beyond mind blowing. It is absolutely unfathomable. I WILL visit this church someday and when I do you better believe I will have they best camera and lens money can buy at my side!

Image Update

Still exploring a direction...