Link to padlet: https://padlet.com/artslondon/monochrome-g2pl9027uv651rd6
Monday
On the first day we were introduced to the monochrome brief and the concept of experimental animation.
Our first task was blind contour drawing with objects. We did a non dominant hand drawing, a drawing where we drew what we felt, and a drawing where we couldn’t look at the page.
I really enjoyed this way of drawing and I think the outcome is really effective. As a class we had a look at everybody’s and some points I thought were interesting is that the drawings looked like someone else drew them. The way that you could see marks in the drawings getting harder as people got more confident with blind drawing is something I found very interesting and an idea to revisit.
Using these rubbings we created our own pattern animation after watching Jonathan Hodgson’s animation, Rug.
Once having a go at pattern animation with created patterns, we then went out onto the campus to find patterns and objects to create more animated tests with.
Wednesday
On Wednesday our first task was to write uninterrupted for 3 minutes. This was a time to write down any ideas and let things flow naturally. I struggled with this at first but as time went on, I found this a very therapeutic task and found it gave me a lot of visual ideas.
We were then given photocopies of articles and images and using a square template we were to cut out sections from these images that we felt resonated with our project.
I found this a difficult task as we were so early on in the project, I didn’t feel my project had much of an identity at this point. So I just started using the images I had chosen to come up with themes and narratives.
We played around with changing the order of the images we chose, to create different narratives. The themes I gathered from my images was the idea of community and solidarity, transitioning from to the other.
What I enjoyed about this workshop and Monday’s session, was working with existing material. I liked seeing how much I could do with an existing drawing or image.
As a collective, we all wrote down as many what if, and how questions about the project. After reviewing everyones questions the ones that stuck out to me the most were:
What if the film only used text?
What if we reversed a sound recording?
How could the feeling of a colour be portrayed with black and white imagery?
On Thursday I wanted to build on the sessions from the week with my own test. I wanted to incorporate pattern animation and working with an existing material/object.
I was also intrigued by the question of ‘What if the film only used text?’ whilst a receipt can have other shapes and symbols it is mostly text, paired with them being monochrome, I thought it was an ideal material to use.
I did some quick shots just using my phone and compiled them together. I zoomed in as much as I could and thought it was interesting to see the grain and texture of the receipt and the text printed onto it.
I played with using the numbers and having them change whilst getting progressively faster. I created my own sound, using the receipt itself to make crinkling noises and used a roll of masking tape to create an interesting sound for the ending.
I found this test really helpful for my project as it pointed me to a direction I was intruigued by and willing to revisit later. I liked the way the imagery built up in pace and sound, creating an overwhelming and uncomfortable sense of urgency for the viewer.
Friday
On Friday we looked into Richard Serra’s verb list. We had to pick two of these and create tests with paper. I found this a nice change in direction from anything we’d done in the past week but I didn’t find the process or end result to be as exciting as our other ways of working.
Lazy, Boring, Ugly
On the first day of the project Chris set us a mini brief – to explore the term monochrome in a lazy, ugly or boring way, thinking about the approaches we have used in the past week.
At first I struggled with this concept and it really challenged my normal way of thinking. I decided after seeing how effective my receipt test was, I wanted to try using another found material.
After researching the artist Yoshinao Satoh and his film Papers I wanted to try using a newspaper for a test.
Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56EG957YinM
I really liked the fast paced nature of the animation and the way that things moved in a way that you would expect but it was still satisfying to watch as newspapers are never something you do see move.
A part that stood out to me especially, were the puzzle areas of the newspapers. I liked this idea as the puzzles in a newspaper start out blank, leaving you to fill them in, which is an idea I wanted to play with.
I did a few different tests using the sudoku puzzle as my canvas. I tried doing a time-lapse however the camera kept going out of focus so instead I tried a stop motion test, taking a phot every time I wrote down a number.
I thought this would fit the ‘boring’ theme as I don’t think watching someone else work out a sudoku puzzle is particularly exciting to watch however after making this test, I got feedback from people saying it was actually quite satisfying to watch. I also see that myself especially alongside the typewriter sounds I added.
I think subconsciously I was making it something satisfying to watch as that’s how it feels to complete one of these puzzles.
This test, whilst not necessarily being ‘boring’, I think was a very successful test in pointing me in the direction I wanted to take for this project. I liked that you can see the lighting change with how long it was taking me to complete the puzzle, you can see the paper moving and creating dents where my hand had been resting, you can see an eraser moving periodically and I think overall it has a very handmade feel to it, which I enjoyed.