Interesting: New Apple Mouse

As I big Apple fan I was excited to hear that, amongst other things, that Apple had released a new mouse and it truly is beautiful.

Apple has done away with the ball or wheel used in other mice(?) and replaced the entire surface with a multi-touch pad, the same technology as their laptop trackpads and the iPhone/iPod Touch. Making the mouse very tempting, especially when my Mighty Mouse’s scroll wheel clogs up and ceases to work!

All that at the cost of £50 (Education Price) I’ll leave that to you to decide if thats a lot for a mouse or not.

The only problem I see looking at the pictures is that it seems a touch to narrow, although I can’t comment on the ergonomics until I have the chance to handle one.

More information Here

First Uni Project!?

We started as any normal group does, keeping a little quiet other than talking about the work, then after a few snapped pencils, a trip to the works and a KFC, we all realised that we where in fact all children, particularly when it involves the use of glitter glue, feathers and a well known Colonel.

Anywho thought I’d show you our great invention, which in the end didn’t win anything, ow well at least we came together as a group and had fun in the process.

Note: The final thing only kinda worked, the lectures gave us all small eggs to test them but on the final go they swapped them with larger eggs, causing it to stop half way!! Also note I am not a sore loser or anything.

Uni/Interesting

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything on here, I’ve been busy with uni stuff, I’ll try to make more of an effort in the future…

The Interesting link for today is by Joaquin Baldwin, I guy  who’s work I have followed for a few months now, I can’t recommend enough that everyone goes over to the link and view every video on there, (in particular Papiroflexia and Sebastian’s Voodoo) I also suggest that that if your computer is up to it, download and watch it in HD, you may have to wait awhile but I promise you that it’s worth it. The quality of the textures in some areas are simply amazing, and shouldn’t be missed!

Joaquin Baldwin’s Website

Frames

I’ve slowly been making frames this holiday, but unfortunately I keep forgetting to document them, it’s one of those things that I feel people wouldn’t be interested in, although looking at the statistics of visitors to this blog it is clear to see people do have an interest.

So here we are a couple of frames that have been produced within the last couple of weeks, the first one is of a Norfolk landscape in all its flatness, the image was only really printed because I would have had wasted space on the A1 Sheet! Not too sure wether or not I like the photograph, it lacks dynamics, and tonally a bit flat. The advantage of being able to cut my own mounts means I could change the picture when I do get bored of the image.

The second of the frames actually came about after I saw the next-door-neighbour struggling to take the chairs apart ready to be deposed of, so I thought I’d give a lending hand, however instead of taking the sensible approach, using a screwdriver etc. we tried all-sorts of equipment to smash these chairs into hundreds of pieces from sledge hammers to the foot stamping and twisting technique,  turns out wicker is tougher than we first envisaged.  Any who, we were left with hardwood seat support (see image below) which appeared to be a nice material particularly for making picture frames.

It seemed to me that when taking all the bands and fabric off of the base, that the person responsible used an entire staple factory to hold the entire seat together, there was almost the same quantity of staples as there was wood.

Rather than just using the current square I decided to, as with all my frames, cut the corners at 45 degrees, in my opinion  it looks tidier, the inside edge was routed to create the space for the glass, picture, mount and backboard.

I still need to buy some glass and some hardboard to finish this one off but you get the gist of it from this photograph, the dowels where left in mainly to create something with a bit more character it also seems to have turned in to a bit of a talking point!

(Just to let you know the middle picture that looks as if the frame is all warped is due to the mount being slightly bent, not the frame actually being warped, I learnt to check from a frame that I didn’t check, before I glued it!)

Lemons, Lemons

This week Eds and I decided to make some Lemon ‘treats’ so after grabbing a few bags of lemons from Tescos, would be nice to grow our own but we’re very tight on the space, particularly after we persuaded Mum to get two grape plants and a gooseberry bush, ready for next year, supposedly! which will hopefully be used to make jams.

Any who, in the end we decided to create the essence of Summer that is Lemon Curd, 3 Jars to be precise.

500 Views!

As of this morning this Blog has had its 500th view (512 views as of writing), not to shabby for 2 months since I opened it up ‘properly’ to the public, the majority  of the views appear to be coming from Search Engines, which is quite surprising, I would expect the only people that would view this Blog would be those that know me.

I haven’t published much recently, as I’ve been to the Lake District, once I find a way to show the pictures in a decent manner, I’ll publish them, along with the other photos I said I would put on. They’re also other projects I’ve been working on which again will be add once I get round to it.

mmm… Jam

Eds and I decided to make Blackcurrant jam again this year, the quantity of last years crop was to say the least, awful, this year however we where much more lucky and managed to make 13 jars, some of them will eventually become gifts, the rest will be spread, so to speak, around the family.

Interesting: Staple City

A very interesting construction by Peter Rooot

“Low-Rise is a precarious assemblage of thousands of free-standing stacks of staples densely tessellated to create a city-like mosaic. Like a city, the staples are subject to the elements, on a micro scale. The slightest breath or vibration and the domino effect kicks in.”

Peter Root

Interesting: Blind Photographers

Go and have a look at this article on Wired’s Website on Blind Photographers

Hardback Sketchbook

Another sketchbook completed this one is A4 with around 60 pages, the cover is a reproduction of a design by the painter and designer Enid Marx, printed onto textured paper. The corners of these one, where the paper folds over, is by far the best I’ve done living proof of the practice makes perfect proverb.

Thirteen Bottles Sitting On The Erm… Work surface?

Adding the Caps

13 Bottles

Oh we had fun adding the Nettle Ale into the bottles, who ever thought that using a tube that defies gravity would actually work? In the end we managed to get 13 bottles worth of Ale, I must add that some was drunk trying to get it into the bottle! It did taste like ale, but a bit too sweet, hopefully after the week is up it will have matured.

It will be an organic beer, with nettles picked from Wootton Park, the sugar may also from down the road, from Wootton Marsh Farms which grow sugar beet for Silver Spoon, the water is straight from the kitchen tap!

I’ve had several ideas for labels and names but they are yet to come into existence, any ideas are welcome.

Photobook

This one is only held together using glue, with no stitching, really only to test the strength and viability, specifically next year at Uni rather than using rubbish plastic folders and sleeves.

The trick is clamp the opposite side to the one you are glueing allowing the pages to be fanned out, glue is applied ensuring it gets into the space between each page, the book block is then turned over and the edge is glued again. Mull is used to strengthen the edge.

The glue method is usually only used for quick binding of books, it appears a lot of people on the internet use this method to make quick paperback copies of pdf files with hundreds of pages.

This technique is worth doing, for large books with hundreds of pages that may only be read once, I doubt however if I’ll use it again to make a book of this size, although the pages are strong enough to hold the weight of the book, I am not convinced by the longevity of the this technique, particularly if I were to hand in finished portfolio to be marked and all the pages fall out!

Interesting: All in One Computer/Desk!?

A very interesting concept, not too keen on the design mind, the screen could be a lot more integrated and I’m not too sure about the ergonomics of the keyboard position, but very clever use of laser cutting to cut and etch the keys from wood

From the designer Marlies Romberg.

via

Eds’ New Blog

As always my brother copies, everything I do, something I assure you I never do with his work!

He has released his own blog which can be found here, so have a look if you interested in what you see add it to your blog roll or RSS feed, whatever you use.

Wood

I took delivery of some Kerto today, basically and incredibly strong plywood, they are off cuts, that were going to be thrown away at Dad’s work and because I can not stand anything being thrown away I told him to bring some of it home, so now we have 21 sheets of the stuff!

Kerto is normally used as a construction material, you’ll notice it a a lot in modern buildings, it has an brilliant quality to the edge once its polished, in fact I’ve used it before to make the coffee table in the Living Room, and to make a picture frame (the Kerto is on the outside edge of the I-joist).At the moment I am considering turning some of it into lamps, (I’ll post some sketches soon) or even a Cider Press, although it’ll have to be cover in metal or get some oak for all the surfaces that will be in contact with the apples.

On a side note I’m looking to get some apples so if anyone owns an apple orchard or knows someone who does please could get them into contact with me?

If anyone also wants any of the Kerto please get in contact, I don’t think I’ll be able to use it all anytime soon! Its about 1000 mm wide by 400mm.

Keto Stack

Sketchbooks

Today I made my first sketchbook, something I’ve been meaning to do a while, and feeling inspired by the book I received from Chris Skinner, a fair trade for some piano keys I think you’ll agree, I thought I would go ahead and make one while I have nothing other to do.

For my first attempt I think it came out pretty succesful some of the corners need to be a bit tighter next time, I wasn’t entirely sure how to do it so I tried various techniques so at least next time I can do it properly.
It also seems a decent paper guilotine would be a worthwhile investment, fortunately I already had the majority of the materials always a good thing when you have no money!

The cover is made from a fabric type paper, the typical artist sketchbook style, and has 46 pages. I have learnt a huge amount from just making this one book, everywhere I go since I made it, I keep noticing various materials/papers that I would work as the covers.

…Second Time Lucky…

Well the Nettle Ale didn’t work too well! Thats probably down to the fact that we were too cheap to buy the proper equipment and a tad lazy not sterilising the container properly, I must note however I told my brother on several occasions that it wouldn’t work if we didn’t do it properly, did he listen?

The first batch, did have an “aley” smell to it but, it was by far the worst thing I had every tried, it tasted like soap with a hint of uncooked yeasty bread! Mind I didn’t want to try too much as the whole bucket was a perfect breeding ground for bacteria that shouldn’t be there, for some reason I didn’t want some horrendous illness.

So attempt two will start tomorrow with a proper a fermentation barrel and we are going to sterilise EVERYTHING.

On another note the Blackcurrants have all been picked ready to made into the best Jam ever, …erm… Blackcurrant Jam. The plan is to make several Jars and along with the ale, design some labels I’ll keep you posted…

Nettle Ale

Today I made some Nettle Ale possibly one of the simplest ales to create, hence why it’ll be the first one I’ll make, its basically sugar water with a hint of yeast, sounds a bit horrid but thats ale!

Mixing Ale in Bucket

...mmm... Boiled Nettles

42 Miles 5 Hours and 2 Bikes

North Wootton to Brancaster

As I sit here in the garden, with every muscle aching, I can tell you that a 2 hour ride to Wells was a bit optimistic, taking two and a half hours to get to Brancaster yesterday, 9 miles from Wells.
What a day to go on though! There is nothing quite like riding through the Norfolk countryside on a gloriously sunny day, with the wind rolling past your head and the view of the shinning sea in the distance. It is only when you realise that the moment you reach the bottom of the ‘hill’, you have to go up again!
Plenty of sun cream was applied yet it appears that my hands didn’t have enough, they now sport a redish glow!
If we do now go to Scratby, we know now that we’ll have to camp or stay in a bed and breakfast half way through the journey.
I least I now have a reason to lazy about at home and do some art.
(Note to self buy some padded bike shorts!)

As soon as I get the photographs developed i’ll put them on up.

I forgot to mention when we were going through Ringstead, the Google car dove past!! So we have been documented struggling up a hill, for the entire world to see! That makes it the second time I’ve been caught by the Google Car, the first being at home.

After working all day and completly covering my hands (and my clothes!) in dirt and oil, I now have two extra working bikes. You would be surprised how much you learn from changing a few parts, I now know how to fix a snapped chain. Very helpful when we cycle to Scratby, just outside Great Yarmouth. As it stands the plan is to cycle there in one day, in ten hours to be percise, if this is possible we don’t know, sometime in the next week we will be going to Wells-Next-The-Sea taking about two hours each way, to judge the possibilities.

Bird House(s?)

You’ll see from The List that I might make a bird house, but after seeing this I am very tempted to make loads! There is something about the aesthetic  properties of a bird house that make it very pleasing to the eye, and adding more has only made it better!

Bird Houses Link

The List.

With five months to ’spare’, I have free time to do anything I’ve wanted to do for a while, mostly putting of the work so that I could concentrate on Final Major Project, something that paid off giving me a Distinction!

The list has been steadily getting larger going onto two sheets a few weeks ago, some are a bit random but have a look:

The List

The List 2

Some have already been done, as it was started in Easter.

I’m most looking forward to making the Nettle Ale and the Cider, apparently both are relatively easy to do, we’ll see…

mmm… bread

I’ve made bread! images below, it was actually so much better than shop brought stuff, all made without the crap added into it.

Would have gone nicely with some homegrown lettuce, if I hadn’t taken so long to plant them, that is!

Great as toast though!

A Pair of Old Bananas…

If you ever have some ‘black’ bananas lying around, very easy in summer weather, I highly recommend making one of these a Banana and Walnut cakes. To make add weigh 3 eggs and whatever they weigh add the same of sugar, self rising flour and margarine (or butter). Beat eggs, and sugar until it forms peaks then add beaten margarine, this isn’t the normal way to do it but I find it makes the cake very moist (almost like a muffin), then fold in flour, beaten bananas and lightly chopped walnuts. Simple.

Cook SLOWLY until skewer comes out clean, cover with tin foil if needed.

Goes very well with a hot cup of tea in the garden.

This Blog…

This blog has now become a place to exhibit work I am currently creating.

The Column Frames

The work complete here, accomplished the ideas I had before I start, in hindsight however I feel that the increasing the complexity of the frame would further enhance the piece, although the use of thinner materials would probably have to be used. Although I did look into creating the frame so that a weaves between the components, but couldn’t see a feasible way before assembly, now the product is complete I have begun to understand ways in which it could work, for example I tried extruding the frames away from the column as seen on the right side.

The stand I feel works well, it may have been more successful however if it did not have to include the 45 degree side ports, but as the column is heavy I did not want the support to collapse, particularly if pushed to one side. As stated earlier I did have to remake bits to increase the strength of the base, original the bottom most section of wood was produce from three different sections, which when joined together would not be as strong as one continuous section that can be seen on the base now.

I feel the work carried out was done in a methodically  manner allowing me to complete the work successfully within the timescale, if I had not it would time could easily pass with little chance of catching up because of the amount of time it takes to manufacture.

Throughout this manufacture however I did learn how to complete each step much more quickly and producing the work with a greater degree of accuracy each time particularly when cutting the 45 degree angles, if they are even slightly out the wood would not be at a 90 degree and and would produce an incorrect frame.

The work displayed here explores the use of picture frames to create importance to an object. The picture frames to the left are early examples from the final major project here the work was aiming towards the creative side of the picture rather than the image itself. Creating a 90 degree corner in frame allows a sense of perspective within the image the image shown is a 360 panoramic photograph THE JOinS in the image show the imperfections in the wold.

The later work, right, is part of a series exploring the construction of a piano.

Evaluation of The Statement of Intent Against The Final Work

The concepts that were originally considered when the Statement of Intent was written has expanded into a conceptual series of work, the main section involving the components of a 1920’s upright piano. Keeping in style of the piano traditional designs/techniques were used, wood was the main construction material, which has been varnished to match the appearance of the outer case of the piano.

To begin with the work began to aim towards a 360 degree photography, but I began to consider the ways in which the work could have been taken, which led me to believe that the work would not have enough scope to take of advantage of the time that was available. I also felt that most of the focus would be the image rather than the construction of the frame, the main intention of this project. (The example of the 360 degree photography can be seen in my exhibition.) This is were I began looking into using 3D objects rather than the photograph, and decided to use the piano as the basis of my work, partly due to my fascination of the intricate details in the mechanics and partly because of the historic ties.

Although some Bauhaus theory was taken on board as part of the design, using simple shapes for example, but one could argue of the function of the “picture” frames, on one hand they are essential for protection of an image while on the other they don’t function they are mearly aesthetic forms to enhance the image. The theory was also used in the more design based frame created from the I-Joist section, a material that is pleasing to the eye when finished properly, yet is usually hidden, very much like the piano components.

Computer imagery was also mentioned in the Statement of Intent, I did create some images on-screen as well as using the same image to create an animation, but felt there was not a meaning to the images, using the photographs created a link between the motionless framed piano keys and the motion of the piano column, a link was also created with the idea of the differences between a photograph and the real object.

Ceramics was also thought about in more detail with the conclusion that the ideas I had of creating frames would not be possible because although the characteristics of clay is aesthetically pleasing it is difficult to judge the final size of the fired clay. Mould could have been made in a similar fashion as that I learnt earlier in the course, to create near exact replicas of the original objects, such as bowling pins or bake bean cans, I felt that this would become very distracting and would detracted away from the imagery, really I wanted something simple.

Time keeping to the most extent was kept on track, although an initial Time Plan was created I soon found it to be very refraining as I began to consider concepts that I had not considered previously, this was were a monthly time plan was printed of and filled in as I completed sections, it was usually completed a few days ahead so that I could keep work going at a pace, while being conscious of the deadline date. This was also aided by the use of photography so that I could monitor amount of work created daily, where possible photographs where taken at each stage, although I had a tendency to get carried away and produce work without little photographic documentation, this should have been noticed and acted upon.

The final body of work I believe accomplishes everything I set out to do, although I still see scope to where the work could be continued and improved; for example I would have liked to have include some animation of the moving parts and to include some more interactive work, pieces that the the user could have ‘played’ with, could I have created the work so that the keys would still operate the mechanisms and hammers of the column, while using the frames as the supporting structure?

Final Exhibition List

The final exhibition consists of the following:

(All Frames were produced by me so that I could get exact dimensions I needed.)

A 90 degree angled frame – Pine

An I-Joist Frame – Plywood (Kerto) Chipboard, OSB

Two frames (pine) with mounted Piano Keys

Two frames containing photographs – Pine, sheet glass and hardboard

A piano column with framing – Pine

Update: Stain/Varnish

Assembly in Progress 1

Assembly in Progress 2

Assembly in Progress 3

Difference Between the stain (rear) and varnish (front)

Imagery

The images below show the photographs that I will be showing in the frames that I have made, also included is the vector illustration that I completed which was used as the basis of the animation, click on the image to see this animation. I did originally consider mounting the photographs but as the works are supposed to mirror the real column it would be better to leave the image without the mount.

Column Side

Column Hammers

Piano Vector/Animation

Joseph Cornell

Joseph Cornell was one of the pioneers of the assemblage art form, a collection of objects, usually ones that are not intended as objects of art placed, usually in a box. Cornell’s boxes contain almost surrealist quality work, scenes appear bizarre and would not feel out of place next to a Salvador Dali Painting. The work that I am creating doesn’t have this element, I feel that it is the complexities of the construction that my work exciting rather than the simple objects.

The idea of creating wooden boxes/frames is to create significance around an object that may otherwise be obsolete, this idea is shown in my work, using the frame to pick out particular areas that I feel are intriguing and exciting. Other artist use purely found objects, this includes the box itself, usually consisting of old drawers or suitcases. To further my construction I could have used other parts from the piano such as the outside case to create the frames, although the downside to using these parts is that they tend to be very thin, not very good for framing material, I did finish the wood with a Rosewood varnish, the same as the piano’s case.

All the objects that Cornell tends to use have a relationship with each other I have tried to do this, however mine extends beyond the ‘box’ of the piano column and onto the framed piano keys, really I am using the frames as a conceptual way of connect separate objects together, this is further used with the framed photographs which are the same size as the frames on the component column.

These images also show very similar construction methods as I have used, for example the 45 degree mitre cut in each of the corners gives a cleaner appearance than that of a butt joint, where the one piece of wood goes up to the outside edge while the other joins to it by the  width

Cockatoo – Joseph Cornell

Joseph Cornell

Joseph Cornell

Construction of Support

The idea behind the stand/support was to create it as if it were a picture frame in itself, the original design had a basic frame shape, the central column, but for structural reason the base section was one length rather than 3, see book for original design sketches. This allowed cuts to be made, using a saw and chisel, the slots then allowed the frame and 45 degree angle section to fit lightly into the base, and once glued created a strong structural support, the process was repeated for both sides.

Clamping the wood in 45 degree clamp, see image, was essential to ensure that the whole support was square, if not the support may be uneven and cause the piano-component-column to lean to one side and possibly fall over, not a good idea when people come to view the work.

The original intention was to create the base with just one section across the top to hold the column, however after construction the support was not strong enough when it was pushed left and right (viewed from side), therefore an extra length of wood was added, this time using a lap joint, the top section does not use this technique as I wanted the top of the base to be level with the top of the base on the column, and would not have been possible if i would have done so.

The image of the varnish stain test, shows different numbers of stain coats, increasing to three from right to left, with the last (far left) having 3 coats of stain and a layer of transparent varnish.

The images below show the construction processes of the stand.

Main Structure

Sawn Cut

Chiseling the Sawn Cut

Fitted Base

Close up of slot

45 Degree Corner

Tools

Varnish/Stain Test

Temporary Assemble

Internal Slot Preparation

Internal Slot Preparation

Internal Slot Preparation

Varnish or Stain?

Rather than using the Rosewood varnish that I had used on the Piano Key Frame a dark oak woodstain was used, using the stain rather than the varnish means that the wood is darkened but doesn’t leave a gloss coat, which I thought would be too harsh against the piano components. The stain maybe varnished at a latter stage using a clear varnish, doing this allows me to control the amount of gloss the final wood has.

UPDATE: After looking at the oak stained wood on the components, I feel that the colour is not dark enough, I may re-stain the wood see if that creates the effect I want if not I will use the varnish or purchase some more varnish/stain, I need to research more and create test swatches…

UPDATE 2: Re-staining the wood did not create the desired result therefore I chose to varnish the wood using the Rosewood varnish I purchased previously, although not to the strength of the stand alone frames.

Yeah, maths!

After some quick maths revisions, using Pythagorus’ theory, I have created the base support on which the piano components will stand upon. The idea here was to create the base as a frame in itself, rather than using a standard solid white plinth. The centre structure is created as a normal frame with a 45 degree angle join, while the base is one continuous bit, original the base was made from 3 separate sections, but because this would involve joining those three sections together it was decided to create one bit.

In the end the support will be screwed to the base of the components to hold it in place and prevent it from toppling over…. hopefully

The images below show the construction of the support.

Assembly of Piano Key Frame

1. Hardboard with Batons

2. Hardboard with Batons/Mountboard

Hardboard with Batons/Mountboard/Keys

Complete Frame

Above are images depicting how the piano key frames are constructed, each layer slots onto of each other to allow easy assembly and to make a cleaner finish.

In hindsight the frame wood should have had a slot cut around the inside edge underneath to hide the hardboard, this principle has been used in the frame I am currently constructing.

A hanging method off the wall still needs to be found, the use of metal trips to screw directly to the wall would be useful.

Glass Sheet…

I decided to go ahead and purchase some 2mm glass sheet, when trying it in front of the components it appeared to severely ’flatten’ the look, not something i was looking for, my aim is to create a 3D piece of work, that is viewed through the frames. As an extension I have decided to this glass to produce ‘proper’ frames which will house photographs of the piano components. The idea being to produce images exactly the same as the real thing, playing on the idea I wrote about previously, that photograph is now being considered as a serious art form.

The images below the slot that has been created for the glass to slide into, after this picture was taken another groove was created along the bottom edge to allow the hardboard backboard to fit in cleanly, a gap was left so that the photograph doesn’t touch the frame.

EDIT: The updated gallery show the slot that is mentioned in the post above, this example also shows two 45 degree angles along both edges, for the final image it was decided that one worked the best, this leaves the frame with and angle that draws the viewer in whilst having a ’sharp’ outside edge, creating a pleasant contrast between the two.

UPDATE: On the final assembly I noticed that the routed slot was not exactly in line on one of the pieces, most likely down to the backboard not be secure enough and moving during the router process, it was solved by having re-router the another section of wood and putting that in place.

Additional Routed Slot, Right

Frame With Clamp

Action of Hammers in Frame

Routed Slot – Glass (Pre-Board Cut)

Routed Slot – Glass (Pre-Board Cut)

Preparations

The wood stock as been moulded ready to produce the frames around the Piano’s internal components. The design of these frames will be based on the drawings that can be found in my sketchbook, to reduce the need to having to draw the components each time I produced a scaled illustration using Adobe Illustrator, the drawings when completed on top of the print outs, where possible to scale.

Presently I have decided how to complete one section of the work, working on this part first will allow me to decide what works best for the areas that are left. My intention is not to entirely cover the components with frames, to play on the idea I’ve spoken about previously, our understanding of where art ‘begins’ and where it finishes.

Still under consideration is the use of glass in this piece, I have managed to source the materials needed and can receive them quickly, therefore it wont ruin my time plans.

Critical Apraisal of Piano Key Frame

After completing the key picture frame peices, I am able to create an evaluation of the work. The first thing that I released after the work was shown to people was that they had the tendacy to attempt to play the keys, in hindsight the keys having the abilty to move would add a depth of interaction that I had not considered. The lack of movement does however create an intressting relationship between the wall piece and the component column, the keys have now become a purely asthetic piece. The viewers perception is completely different to what I see, they will not have the same links that I do, for example do I have to say that the piano is from the 1920’s or will they notice it written on the side of the key? Without this the significance of the date is lost. How significant is the date of the keys anyway?

The quality of framing is good, after re-varnishing the dark one it has produced a much smoother texture, and because of the techniques I have used I feel that the gloss is not too distracting, yet could be a little more matte, to match the darker keys. As I mentioned previously the hardboard should have fitted into a routed slot to completely hide it, as although it is not distracting it is still noticeable and would have been better hidden, although the only way to do it would mean the keys would have to extrude from the frame too much.

Complete Piano Key Frame

The piano key frames have been completed, although I may revarnish/paint the piano keys frames as the varnish is not as smooth as I wish it to be, it will also darken the wood to the colour of the ‘ebony’ keys. I have also decided to create a rebate in both the baton and the frame so that the baton is flush with the outside edge of the frame, this will also increase the height of the keys outside of the frame, which on first reactions increases the dramatic effect of the extruding keys. This rebate also allows a hardboard backboard to be added to the frame.
The fianl piano keys are set in such away that there is a gap, this is due to their shape I believe it shows the beauty of the keys more convincingly, I had to consider what will be used to cover the gaps, I had experimented with the use of mounting the keys using plain mountboard, I felt that doing the work like this was very harsh, detracting from the keys, therefore the final frame is as close to the keys as possible. In the final product the wall behind the frame was covered with hardboard as previously stated.

EDIT:Having fully assembled the work I felt the gap left by the shape of the keys was too large, because of this an extra key has been added on the dark wood version. As previously stated I have completely sanded and re-varnished the dark frame, this time the colour is more subtle and smoother.

Assemblage

Does my work fit into the category of assemblage/anti-art?

Or more appropriately fitting into the ‘genre’ of art that is readymade or found art, although the work that falls into this category, such as Fountain by Marcel Duchamp have very little modification to the objects. With my work I intend to use the piano components as an image being framed rather than a solitary item.

I find that the beauty of the internal components of this 1920’s piano is much greater than the typical shell of an upright piano, it also bears some resemblance to the the Difference Engine designed by Charles Babbage (image below shows the 2nd model built to Babbage’s designs in 1989-1991), a machine that was essentially the first computer, an object designed to solve mathematical equations, yet I firmly believe that it is a brilliant work of art. The complexities of the Difference Engine creates a ‘connection’ with the viewer that could make one stand for hours staring into the near infinite parts, something the majority, if not all artists want people to do with their work. If the Difference Engine were to be classed as art then do we class mathematics as art as well?

Babbage Difference Engine #2 at London Science Museum.

Assemblage artists such as Peter Swann

Peter Swann’s Website

Please go to the website below to see the action of the Piano’s hammers;

http://s642.photobucket.com/albums/uu141/mattshiggins/?action=view&current=51dcefbe.pbr

The video shows  a frame that had been made previously, it depicts what the final frame may look like, although it may be cover the entire height of the components. The idea is to position the frames so that the piano keys extend outside the frame when the ‘key’ is pressed, this is shown in the video. I am currently deciding a way to allow the viewer to access this (designs in sketchbook).

Glass may not be used as it removes some accessibility, restricting the visible properties of the moving components, I have also decided to increase the height of the components from the ground, so that they are eye-level to the viewer.

Progress 7th May

The construction of the ’simple’ piano key frame has gone well. The design of these frames are very minimal, so as to not detract from the quality of the piano keys.

This work was focusing on colour rather than the design of the frame, although they may not be used in the final exhibition, they complement the piano’s internal components. Work on this has been planned to start at the beginning of next week, and hopefully should be completed in 2 weeks. This work shall be designed as I work through the construction, although the basic design ideas are present in my book.

Baton

Frame After First Coat of Varnish

Top View

Front View

Side View

Side view of Piano Keys

Top

Construction

The images below show the frames under construction, you can see the baton fitting into the lap joint of the frame.

The screws hold the Keys in position, these will need to be support at the top and bottom of the to stop the keys tipping inside the frame (they will be attached to the backboard.)

Clamps holding the frame whilst the glue dries, using a clamp such as this ensures the angle is a proper 90 degrees whille supporting the material to ensure a strong bond.

Lap Joint Slot

Gluing, with Clamp

Full View With Baton

Lap Joint – With Baton

Frames Side-by-Side

Frames Side-by-Side Mitre Joint

Frames Side-by-Side

What is Art?

On looking at my statement of intent, is the work moving too far away from the brief? Although the artwork currently uses found objects and has slightly moved away from the design of frame side, I believe this is an effective piece of work, I will however consider producing photographs that depict the components which will then consider what is the art? What is the difference between the actual components and the photographs. The first time that I visited an ‘Art’ gallery a photograph hanging on the wall, other than that of the artist, was a rareity, I found that the majority of the critics did not consider photography as a serious art form, yet now there are an increasingly number of exhibitions dedicated to photographers and their work.

Progress

Exploring the possibilities using the piano components I came up the idea of suspending them within the air using nylon wires, this lead to the idea of creating a transparent case in which the piano would fully function, although I feel that the idea is not fitting to the statement of intent, however the case would effectively be the frame of the image although as stated previously a frame dictates where the viewer looks, in this case viewers could look everywhere, possibly loosing the effect, there is also the possibility that the viewer wouldn’t see the components clear enough.

Therefore the idea was expanded to incorporate the frame construction around the piano components and as noted before the frame may incorporate smaller frames to focus the viewers concentration on given areas. These smaller frames could also be part of the design, as the piano was made in the 1920’s it could incorporate the design styles of that time. Further research needed.
Use of the exterior panels of the piano could also be added as part of the design.

EDIT: On further thought, constructing a frame that follows the lines and construction of the piano components, rather than a simple cuboidal box, would in fact satisfy my original statement of intent, I am still unsure wether or not the frame will contain glass, as my ideas have gone so far, the glass will be absent to allow the piano’s hammers to extrude through to the ‘outside world.’

The Old Piano

There is a  piano in our garage that has been sitting there for a few months, before that it had been in the house doing… nothing. For a long time I have wanted to create a piece of artwork from that a piano that has been ‘in-the-family’ for around 40 years, a piano that was passed onto my parents from my Grandparents, because… you’ve guessed it, it was sitting in their house doing nothing!

The piano is an upright piano from made in the 1920’s, as indicated on the side of the first and last keys, being an object that is nearly 80 years old also creates a lot of questions about how we value older objects, there seems to be a connection that everyone has to objects that have age. Take for example the work of Jake and Dinos Chapman and their Insult to Injury series a collection of work where the Chapmans’ have “rectified” Goya’s etchings, Disasters of War, here the Chapman Brothers changed all the visible victims’ heads to clowns’ heads and puppies’ heads. Initially critics were outraged by virtually destroying a historical piece of art while others can now understand the work. Although it is easily understandable that the Chapman brother mearly created this work as a way to offend gallery-goers and art critics, the subjects of their previous work back this idea up. The article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2003/mar/31/artsfeatures.turnerprize2003.

With my work I have no intention of offending viewers, I hope in the end to produce a body of work that makes an unused object into a beautiful piece of art. In someways the ‘case’ of the upright piano does not do the internal components justice, for me the insides are much more exciting to gaze at particularly when they spring into life, the action of one part creates a chain reaction through the entire construction that is enthralling.

It is the tiny details that increase the fascination that I have with this object, tiny springs and rods all work with one another, then there is the small pencil marks created, I imagine, when the piano was originally constructed (there has been some minor restoration) numbering each mechanism, pencil marks that where created 80 years ago.

How is has the manufacture of upright piano’s changed since the 1920’s, not by a lot I believe, then what is the difference between this piano and one built today?

Self Crit/Progress

Work is currently being completed steadily, the only criticism I have about my work is to do with the design work, because of the very nature of the work that I am producing it involves solving problems as I work practically. If possible I need design the work more thoroughly before hand and research other concepts that may further enhance the final outcome. I am also using processes that I have a clear understanding of, they maybe other process that I have not yet considered in the construction of my products.

To date I have explored the following
• A typical picture frame – one with little integration
• Created an original design – the right angle frame
• Began production of 2 frames that integrate the keys into a frame, extruding to produce a visually exciting piece of work.
• Obtained the innards of a piano further to the work above, this will be worked on using techniques that I have learnt whilst producing the below.

Images below show router moulding profiles;

Router Bits

Router Bit Description

Router Bit Description

The images below show the more functional frame and the 90 degree frame, both were made to a high standard, but I feel don’t portray the ideas I had to begin with. Although they are both aesthetically interesting there is no link between the image and the frame, therefore I need to consider how to make this connection to allow me to progress further.

Creating the smaller 360 degree image has also made me realise that the image would have to be very large or that the frame would have to be very small in order to fit the ratio of the panoramic image. The large length of the image does however create a huge amount of interest for the viewer to focus on.

360 Frame

Chipboard and I-Joist

Additional Frames

4

A frame with a 90 degree bend has been made, although this frame was created as a frame playing on the idea of art being part gallery, it would equally work well a the panoramic image, possibly using 2 contrasting views.

EDIT: The images below show the final product, as previously stated the product had originally intended to be my response of what art actually is whether the gallery itself constitutes as part of the work (see sketchbook), instead I decided to use it as a ‘proper’ frame, the images show the panorama, which was one of my initial ideas, here I was experimenting with creating a 360 degree image by using 2 of these frames. I feel it works particularly well for this purpose, alternatively it could have been used for 2 images side by side but the visual result would be less effective.

Julian Opie

Julian Opie produces mainly digitally drawn work, encompassing many different media techniques, Opie is very much a commercial artist, producing very clean and simple work. Opie is mostly known for producing the images for the Blur album, his other work is very similar to this, but the landscape work interests me the most, ususally using animations to show the image. The animations are very subtly, it makes the viewer look twice at the work, the work generally consists of a still background with a slight animation towards the front of the image plane, in the example below the daises move as if in the wind.

Julian Opie, View of Mount Fuji with daises from route 300.

It would be interesting if I could ‘frame’ a similar animation, using a computer monitor or data projector, Opie’s work is usually shown on television sets, if I were to do this I would have to make sure it would be possible to produce the image so it looked as if it were a ’solid’ image surprising the viewer when it begins to move.

Julian Opie Website

Risk Assessment

A full Risk Assessment has been completed to ensure safe practices in the studio/workshop and whilst the work is in place, this will be changed as more processes are needed to create the final piece of work.

See Book for Print out of the Risk Assessment

Smaller Scale?

Rather than producing a large piece of work that the viewer has to walk around it may be more benificial to create one on a smaller scale that the viewer stands into, as shown in the sketchbook this creates an almost sinister quality to the work yet one the viewer looks inside it is relitivly calm. This also creates a more personal experience although I believe that a few people may avoid such a work. I have also thought about producing two angled works to create a near 360 degree image, to experiment I will produce two smaller versions, materials need to be explored at this moment I intend to use timber particularly if I create a landscape image.

EDIT: This idea was not carried out, after deciding to use the piano components as the ‘picture’ within a frame. Both idea are trying to engage the user/viewer, the components do this more effectively, the thought of a landscape panorama was to create a space for the viewer to feel ‘one’ with the view, creating a small box in which the viewer puts their head in would not do this, having the opposite effect.

2

On further thinking I shall consider where the frame starts and the art begins, do we consider the frame as part of the artwork or is it obselete. Ideas along the lines of this include creating frames that mearly shows the wall of the gallery, perhaps creating a more interesting composition by producing a frame with a 90 degree angle so that it covers both the ceiling and the gallery wall.
Another idea is to create a frame consisting of laptop components to create a digital picture frame, from this I can create animations and display a selection of images. Further to this adding a webcam to this would increase the idea of art/gallery/frame by reflecting the image back, of the gallery/ back of the viewer.

UPDATE: This idea was rejected, although a 90 degree angle frame was produced, I felt the idea behind this was not strong enough, without the aid of written text the viewer would find it particularly hard to understand the concept behind the idea and therefore would not be an effective piece of work. The idea of using a webcam and a laptop would probably still work, the concept would also cover multiple areas; is it about CCTV and surveillance? Looking at one’s self? Artwork in a gallery?

Initial work

So far I have considered multiple initial ideas these include a 360 degree panorama where the viewer is encouraged to walk the image, a frame which contains a painting which continues onto the frame to create an image with perspective. I have also considered using 3D objects that stand away from the frame, similar to that of a pop up book. At present the frames are very simple and are produced from pine, possibly increase the complexities of the moulded edges to alter the physical appearence of the frames.

I have researched the purpose for picture frames, how they came about and the history of the deigns. (see sketchbook for this research)

I have also photographed 2 360 degree photographs, one of London and a Norfolk Landscape, two contrasting images, in terms of environment.

Currently the main ideas focus on the quality of the image rather than that of the frame, this needs to have more thought whille I pursue the previously explained items.

I have also created a frame using other materials, this one uses unconventional woods such as high strength plywood, chipboard and OSB, an image can be seen below, right.

Simple Frame Without Mount

Simple Frame With Mount

Using other Materials

Panoramas

London Panorama

Skiddaw Panorama

Click the images above to view images at full size.

Two Panoramas, the London image was exploring the idea I had previous of creating a life size 360 degree photograph. The image of Skiddaw was taken in the Summer of 2008 after a walk to the summit of Skiddaw in the Lake District.

See the construction drawings in the sketchbook, to find out how the 360 degree photograph would have been held in place, to create a circle around the viewer.

Ceramics??

In the Statement of Intent I suggested that the use of ceramics maybe used in this project, at this point, after looking at ways of taking this work, I have decided not to take this route, as although they may be aesthetically pleasing, I want to create something that is very simple, although this is possible in ceramics the effect would be more successful if i used traditional framing materials such as wood. I may however use it later on as an addition to the works.

London Trip

Visiting London and various galleries has allowed me to look explore the work of others, while not specific to the work that I am looking at, it is important that I have a strong understanding of work completed ‘now’.

The day started off with looking around the East End galleries, where work was is being exhibited by the ‘up-and-coming’ artists, visiting here showed me new ways of exhibiting work, the use of work on the streets was particularly exciting, none typical objects were left outside, for example cakes where placed in various places with the invitation to “take them”. Ideas like these show that art is not confined to the gallery. There is also the fact that the galleries themselves were not clearly marked, they required the art viewer to search for them and knock on various doors until they were found, a very interesting way of engaging the viewers.

The majority of the photographic work shown was attached to the wall using small panel pins, rather than using traditional frames, like art there appears to be ‘movements’ in the way artists display their work, take for example The National Portrait Gallery which was also visited, a place where the majority of the work is pre 20th century, every image is framed, using frames with excruciating detail, occasionally crafted with more care than image itself.

In the Bloomberg Space, the work THe Sierpinski Variable was on display, see images below, the information was also taken from here and can be seen in the sketchbook. The work involved hanging MDF boards positioned into several hexagonal shapes and illuminated with fluorescent tubing, with one side missing from each shape the light was used as the connection between them. The work forced the viewer to look up, into the shapes, almost like staring at a warehouse style shop with all the ‘ugly’ cabling and roof support, which is not noticed because of the facade below.

Jose Davilia – The Sierpinski Variable, 2009

Jose Davilia – The Sierpinski Variable, 2009

At this point I am only really creating ideas that I want to create as the final piece, I plan to do this for another couple of weeks to ensure the final piece(s) are well thought out. As it stands I prefer the idea of creating a large panorama print, almost life-sized if possible, in which the viewer can walk around. This photograph would then be ‘linked’ to the frame so for example if one was created of an Norfolk landscape scene then the support could be made from trees etc. If it was a London panorama the frame could be very architectural.

Bibliography

This section will be updated every-time I read any information involving this Final Major Project:

Droste, M. (2006). The Bauhaus 1919-1933. Taschen.

Whitford, F. ([1984] 2006). Bauhaus. Thames & Hudson World of Art.

Read H. (1985) Modern Sculpture – A Concise History

Visits to Tate Modern, National Portrait Gallery, East End Galleries and King’s Lynn Art Centre.

Julian Opie Exhibition, King’s Lynn Art Centre – January 2007.

Jose Davila – Comma, Bloomberg Space April 2009.

Badger, G (2008). The Genius of Photography. Wall to Wall Media Limited.

Harrison, I. Britain From Above. Pavilion.

Swann, P. Peter Swann Webiste, www.peterswann.co.uk accessed April 2009.

National Portrait Gallery, The Art of the Picture Frame, http://www.npg.org.uk/research/programmes/the-art-of-the-picture-frame.php

Joan Sommers and Ascha Drake, The Joseph Cornell Box, http://www.josephcornellbox.com/menu.htm, accessed April 2009.

Use of Google Search Engine, Flickr, Google Earth, Blogspot.com (various Blogs), Wikipedia Entries – for general information

Information also collected from various entries on the following sites all accessed between March-June 2009

http://www.industrialdesignserved.com/

http://ffffound.com/

http://www.likecool.com/

http://www.yankodesign.com/

http://www.sharesomecandy.com/

http://design-mind.blogspot.com/

http://www.thedieline.com/blog/

http://www.core77.com/

http://www.photographyserved.com/

The images below come from Read H. Modern Sculpture – A Concise History

Max Ernst - Fruit of a Long Experience, 1919

Matt Rugg - Boomerang, 1963

Joseph Cornell - Shadow Box. Interior white with yellow and 'sea-side' atmosphere

Louise Nevelson - Royal Tide V, 1960

Statement of Intent