UNIT 7 Zoetrope Animation

A zoetrope is a 19th century optical toy consisting of a cylindrical shape that has a series of images on the inner side that when viewed through the slits along the side of the cylindrical shape it creates the illusion of continuous motion.

During my visit to the Animotion exhibition at The Civic there was a work station in which you could create your own zoetrope animation by tracing the series of images onto a strip of paper, once drawn you would place the strip of paper on the inner side of the rotating drum, By looking through the slits whilst the cylinder is spinning you can watch your drawings come to life.

 Below are some images that the 20-21 visual arts centre posted to promote the exhibition, they show some people making their own series of images to view in the zoetrope.

When I visited I decided to create one myself following the instructions at the work bench, as I was limited for time I did trace the cartoons provided however I believe if I were to create another the cartoon would have been fairly simple to 

create a zoetrope strip that would have flowed fluidly without a lot of jerkiness. Overall, the whole process is relatively easy providing that you draw each image in the correct place to recreate the fluidity of continuous motion. 

Here is link to the video of the zoetrope I created at the exhibition:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeGIXxtr4Dg

UNIT 7 Artist research: Bill Viola

Bill Viola graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelors in Fine Art. He then went on to work as a technical director in Italy before travelling across the Solomon Islands, Java, Bali and Japan to study and record traditional performing arts. In 1977 cultural arts director Kira Perov invited Viola to show his videotapes at La Trope University; a year later the pair married and began working and travelling together.

Bill Viola is internationally recognised as one of the leading artist in time based media, his work explores the phenomenon of sense perception and focuses on universal human experiences such as: Birth , Death and aspects of conciousness. Viola uses videotapes and architectural video installations to create a total environment of video and sound that immerses the viewer in image and sound. 

In my opinion, Violas video work seems extremely simple but by seeming simple it allows the viewer to pay more attention to what is happening and to think "Why?", this way it truly allows the viewer to think about the story and the embedded meaning by themselves without his work blatantly stating the reasoning. Its beautifully minimalistic: one person, the four elements and a silent story.

Below is a link to a full video of Bill Viola's 'Ascension' 2000:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C66IBBpWYs

UNIT 7 Animotion exhibition at The Civic

At the start of unit 7 we visited the Animotion exhibition at The Civic to gather primary research of time based Medias for our projects. Even though the exhibition is only a small collection it covers a wide variety of time based Medias ranging from the traditional zoetrope methods to using new technology to create complex exhibits. Personally, I preferred the more modern exhibits to the older ones due to the fact that the way they work is mind boggling to me and its fascinating to see how the combination of different processes create the end result especially the exhibits that have an interactive element such as the ‘SYNCHRONIcITY’ table. Furthermore, the meanings behind some of the exhibits are cleverly thought out and make you look at the art work in a different light, for example: ‘the nature of imagination’ exhibition at first look appeared to be simply just fun however the ideas behind the artwork is such a unique way to look at the way we think about our own actions and how we interpret others actions without really knowing what the other can see. Overall, I enjoyed the exhibit and thought it has taught me a lot about the history of time based Medias and why someone might use a time based media to represent an idea.

Morph
Aardman Animation

This display showcases the set and the character of Morph the animated clay character that featured in popular children's TV shows throughout the seventies and eighties.



Calavera
Spacecadets air design

A Calvera represents a human skull and is usually made of sugar or clay for the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead, this inflatable calvera is animated by the phenakistoscopes projected onto the skulls eyes, these animations would change when you triggered the motion censor. Here is a link to a video of the calavera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83vqgoIJ_58

The Nature of Imagination
David Urwin

Urwin explores the way that we can never truly see the world the way another person does, unless we share their world view. One visitor wears a headset allowing them to see a virtual world in which they react to whereas other visitors only see the skeletons actions.

My favourite piece at the exhibition was the "SYNCHRONIcITY" interactive table created by Michele Panegrossi and AYE AYE Interactive Experiences at the beginning of 2016; the processes used to bring the table to life is stop motion animation and projection mapping. The artwork doesn't change from different angles except the 3D aspects of the table from a horizontal angle however when your hand hovers over the table the appearance of the area below your hand changes. This type of time based media will be hard to preserve since the work uses certain software's however if copies of his work and the software were made and kept safe then the artwork can be projected onto the table once more in the future. If I could talk to the artist I would as him what inspired him to begin the creative process of creating this artwork, by asking him this we may be given an insight into perhaps an alternative interpretation of the work. The reasons why this piece was my favourite was because not only was it interactive but the reactions to our movements are varied making it interesting and the process of how it works is a lot more complex than other exhibits.



Interactive, Intriguing, Modern, Unusual, Magical.

Here is a link to a video of the exhibit when interacted with:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4wpyb_7lgY

UNIT 7 Time Based Media Glossary

Time Based Art: contemporary art works that include video, film, slide, audio or computer-based technologies as well as traditional processes of image making

Kinetic Art: is art that depends on motion for its affects e.g. Alexander Calder 'Antennae with Red and Blue dots' 1960

Stop Frame Animation: is a film created by playing a series of short frames that include little movement between frames to create the illusion of movement

Stop Motion - Onion Skinning: Onion Skinning is term used in animation when you can see several frames at once

Silhouette: This form of animation is where the character is only visible as a black silhouette, this is usually achieved by the use of lights and cut outs.

Zoetrope: is a cylinder that has a series of images on the inner side and several slits that when you look through during the cylinder spinning creates the illusion of continuous movement

Flick Book Animation: is when images on each of the pages of a book have gradual changes so that when the book is flicked through quickly it appears that the image is moving

Time Lapse: a sequence of frames that record changes slowly over a period of time, once the sequence of frames is played at normal speed it appears  that the changes occur more quickly

UNIT 7 Artist Research: David Hockney

David Hockney is a British painter who studied Art School in London before moving to Los Angeles in the sixties where he completed his famous swimming pool paintings. In the seventies Hockney became interested in photography and created collages that he called "Joiners". In 2011 Hockney was voted the most influential British artist of the 20th century and he continues to create and exhibit his work to this day.

Hockney was fascinated with the combination of art and technology and in 2009 began using brushes app on IPhones and IPads to create paintings. These IPad paintings are what I will focus on as he is using a time based media.

Hockneys IPhone paintings are very unusual and a clever way of creating art through a time based media however I don't particularly like his IPhone paintings, most of his pieces are of the items that happen to be in front of him at the time and I find that kind of layout slightly boring especially since they seem to be around his home.

Below is a link to the page showing Hockneys IPhone paintings on his website:
http://www.hockneypictures.com/iphone_pages/iphone_etcetera-01.php

Although I did download the brushes app and make my own IPhone painting to explore the method myself, I found using the app was enjoyable and easy to use making it a quick method perfect for reportage style drawing. Below is my own IPhone painting:

UNIT 7 Artist Research: Helen Green

Helen Green is an illustrator based in the UK, she graduated with a first class BA honours in illustration at Birmingham Institute of Art and Design. Green specialises in portraiture particularly inspired by her taste of music and style producing a distinct style. Greens work generally lends itself to areas such as fashion/lifestyle editorials and merchandise.

Green has worked for clients such as Wired Magazine, The Hollywood reporter magazine, sky arts, ESPN FC, Skype, MTV London and stag clothing. Her work was also recognised by Lady Gaga who has influenced a lot of her work and she now works on many projects with Lady Gaga for her Born this way foundation.

The time based media that Helen Green produces are GIF files, a series of images that appear on a loop, that she creates using a series of her own illustrations. I really enjoy Greens artwork, each individual illustration is beautiful and once transformed into a GIF file is really interesting as you are looking at several images rather than just one like in traditional artwork. Also each of her illustrations flow together perfectly just like telling a story.

Below are some links to some of my favourite works by Helen Green:

Lady Gaga GIF commissioned for Refinery29 showcasing Gaga's most iconic looks
http://helengreenillustration.com/Refinery29-Lady-Gaga-GIF

'Time may change me'
http://helengreenillustration.com/Time-May-Change-Me

UNIT 7 Time Based Media

Unit 7 is an integrated approach to time-based problem solving in art and design therefore to record my work I will be creating a digital sketchbook of my work through my blog. Throughout this project I will be using time based medias to produce: zoetrope animation, GIF files, a Thaumatrope, an IMovie, Reportage drawings, action paintings and a stop motion animation. Time based Media is the term given to an artwork that's dimensions are measured in duration whereas more traditional artwork may be measured in height, width and depth. To begin the project I have analysed the brief through a mind map: