Looking at transition

Taking the idea of transition i am going to look at how spaces change over time, i am particularly interested in looking at alleyways, doorways, pavements etc. I am going to try and tie this is with the old school/new school task.

 Looking at how places change is very similar to how the school of art has changed over the past 50 years. I am excited to work in conjunction with John from the slide library to research the history of the school. I am currently in the process of awaiting my slides to be emailed to me from john. 

Here is a selection of images i have taken around manchester and also some i found courtesy of the mmu slide collection flickr site.

Lauren Bowker talk

Lauren Bowker, a textile design for fashion student gave one of the most inspiring talks i have been to all year!

Originally a student from Bury college Lauren came to MMU hoping to get a place on the fashion course, unfortunately she was knocked back from the path and instead got a place on the tetxile design course, something she wasn't extremely pleased about. Throughout her time at MMU Lauren had a very broad range of outputs, working solely by herself in the first year, breaking her back and being on bed rest for a year, before returning to uni with a very different outlook on life.

Lauren began collaborating with science students in the second and third year and it was through this collaboration that she made a name for her self. She had a simple idea, clothes that changed colour depending on  the amount of air pollution surrounding you. The concept was great, but not without its difficulties, it took herself and her colleagues nearly a whole year to create a garment that actually fitted the idea, but finally it was created!

It was from this one show stopping piece that Lauren created a name for herself in the fashion industry. After graduating from MMU Lauren head to the Royal college of art in London to per-sue her career. Being approached my Marks and Spencer almost immediately was something that Lauren found herself  struggling with, the brief was simple, create a line of clothing for the 40 plus woman. It wasn't until the night before the deadline that Lauren came up with the whole collection, this was later used nationwide!

From this Lauren went on to work with the Airbus airline team to create a vision for a new slick interior for the 2050 design of aircraft.

She has also created a concept of Electronic wallpaper, the idea, as you can probably guess is to be able to change your wallpaper depending on your mood.

Website - www.PHNX.com

Initial project ideas

For my individual part of the project i want to look into how a space can change depending on its surrounding,  IE Markets, Alleyways, Hidden spaces etc. Here are my initial starting points;

• manchester christmas market
• northern quarter
• pop up spaces
• industrial places (how they hold hidden stories)

I will be using the following techniques to experiment with for the duration of the project. Photography, Digital prints, Lino cuts, Rubbings, Weave etc.

I am interested to look at places out of context and how its actually a surrounding that gives a place a purpose. To do this i plan to use a photomontage technique and switch images from different locations and then ask people what the image makes them feel. Hopefully this in turn will give me more ideas to work from.

Dave Mautry - Cornerhouse director

Here are some brief notes i took during Dave Mautrys talk at the beginning of the project. They may be useful as  a resource to work from to enhance your individual projects.

• Opened 1985
• At the forefront of contempary art
• Home to 3 galleries
• 3 cinema screens
• Cafe/bar area
• leading distributor of armish books

Dave spoke in detail about how the corner house make it there aim to work with new up and coming artists with in the local community, maybe this is something we could think about doing as a group?

It is important for the cornerhouse to help new artists with their careers and they are very hands on in setting up exhibitions with new up and coming designers.

The corner house holds a variety of different events, some of these include;

• festivals 
• exposure film screenings
• specialized films (No Blockbuster)
• films from Hong Kong and China 

As well as being known for its quirky films, the cornerhouse also has a reputation for its collection of books. With over 2,700 titles in its collection the corner house is a great source of primary research.

Slide Library - Josie Cawdry

The visual resource centre houses one of the most extensive slide libaries in the uk. John Davies (j.davies@mmu.ac.uk) gave a breif talk about the history of the collection and gave us the opportunity to look through some slides and find ones that strongly drew our attention.7

The Collection comprisions of 3 seperate parts

• Art/design slide collection
• Design council slide collection
• Lanten slide collection

The slides are individaully labeled, with each slide being given a code number and specific letter.

The team in charge of the collection have began the painstaking task of making each and every slide electronically avaliable. To view a selection of the slides online visitwww.flickr.com/photos/mmuvisualresorces

The average slide size is 24mm x 36mm, they are housed within plastic wallets and then stored in order of codes inside filing cabinets.

The slides were originally ised within the university for lectures and the images were projected for the viewing audience via special large scale projectors.

"the slide library, a one stop shop for images to use in lectures" John Davies

Originally slides were named 'Lantern slides' and were much bigger than other slides, measuring in at 3 inches. The film was sandwiched between 2 sheets of glass. In 1966, these type of slides begn to get phased out and the industry moved onto the more appropriate 35mm film (a thin flex sheet of film), which is still used today.

At present the future of the slide library in unsure, late last summer, the collection was moved from its original home, on the ground floor of cavendish and was scattered around the art building, posing problems for student and access.

With approximately 275,000 slides in the collection the issue arises as to where the collection will be housed when the old school moved to the new school in december 2012.

The collection has been growing since the 1960's and includes everything from art, arcitechure, fashion, teaching and the city of manchester. The collection is built up from proffesional photographer slides aswell as amatuer images donated to the school of art.

Below is a list of where some of the slides were sources from -

• Books
• Commercially produced merchandise
• Postcards
• Original in-house photography
• Original filmstrips

20,000 of the slides document the history of the school of art and date back to 1959.

If you wish to view the gallery, visit John on the ground floor of cavendish. (next to the weave room)

Colours for my project

The colours i plan to use for this project are very much based on the images i have taken around Manchester. 

Looking at alleys - Black, Brown, Navy

Rubbish - Red, Yellow, purple

Rust - Orange, Brown, beige

Arrivals Task, Manchester Christmas Markets

It was a cold, blustery day in the city centre of Manchester. As i bustled my way through the Christmas crowds i knew what awaited me was something spectacular. I, along with my Mum, Sister and Grandma was on my way to the prestigious Manchester Christmas Markets. It was around early december time in 2009, i had lived in the city for my entire life but this was to be the first time i visited the markets.

I was filled with hopes and anticipation. Unsure of what to expect my family and i weaved our way to Albert square. It was dark and gloomy but as we approached the atmosphere seemed to instantly change. What stood before us was a lively square, filled with christmas lights, soft music and the sweet smell home cooked food.

The haze of christmas lights lit up the air and with just once glance an image of christmas joy filled my mind.

The entire square was packed to the seems with wooden huts, stalls and seating areas. Looking on through the crowds i remember thinking to myself how magical everything looked, i had never seen such a scene of warmth and happiness within the city and it filled my whole body with joy. Desperate to see everything we hurriedly made our way into the market and began browsing the huts. The cobbles underfoot and the old fashioned clothes the stall owners wore made me feel as if id just stepped out of a movie. Each wooden stall held within it a different array of goodies, sweets, jewelry, bags, candles. Every way you looked you were greeted with a different image. 

Hundreds of people were packed within the confines of the square, the noise of laughter and chatter was unmissable and it made the whole place light up. Smiles graced the faces of every single person, each taking from the experience their own personal memories. For me, the one thing i cannot forget is the christmas tree hut. As i walked over to the small wooden hut at the very edge of the market my eyes were filled with the sight of hundreds of small, real fur christmas tress. Each under 5ft tall, they looked so delicate with their thin branches filled with delicate needles. The smell was just incredible, its something that cant be described. You know yourself if you have had the pleasure of having a real christmas tree how beautiful and soothing that aroma is. As i wound my way around each tree i felt like a child in a sweet shop, it was just something about them that i loved.

Continuing around the market a group of german men were stood in a huddle, each playing a different instrument. The songs they played were familiar, christmas carols with a slight german twist on them. A captive audience stood around, admiring and taking in the music. Despite the cold temperatures, the men never once looked like quitting, instead they played their music all through the evening and made the experience for the visitors magical.

Right on the door step of the large stately town hall, it seemed only right that centre stage was a huge inflatable Father Christmas, yes some might have called it tacky but to me it was a perfect addition to the winter wonderland the city had so marvelously created. Seated about 30 feet high on at arch that lead right into the town hall, it was a grand and spectacular sight to be seen. With lights, glitter and sparkle on every edge it was without a doubt the main attraction. (as well as the singing reindeer head).

Before i knew it the evening was drawing to a close, i had eaten great food, seen some wonderful sights and spoken to some of the most warm hearted people i had ever met. For me, this visit to the market was not to be a one of thing, after the great arrival i had been shown i knew this was a place i would continue to visit for a long time to come!