Jeff Keen - Video Inspiration

This is 'Flick Flack' by artist Jeff Keen, I was really drawn to the mixed media effect of the video, the use of colour and the way in which lots of different imagery and objects are pulled together by random but work in harmony in a chaotic kind of way, which reminds me of my own work!.  I had intended to create a full blown stop motion narrative as my final piece, but after conversations with my tutors I have realised that my stop motion skills and strong enough and time restrictions would affect the quality of my final piece.

When my tutor showed me Keen's video 'Flick Flack' it really shed some light on how I can bring my own work to life using simple techniques that are really effective, I also really like how Keen's use of the 'uncanny' fir perfectly with the feel and mood of his work and I think it would work well with the colourful, uncertain and randomness of elements within my own work.

Magic Shoes..

I have been looking at Shoe adverts for ideas and inspiration and I am still keeping my options open in terms of age range as originally I wanted to photograph a pair of fashion heels that would be aimed at teenagers/young adults but I feel that my work appears childlike in context and so I may aim my final piece at 6-10 year olds. 

When I thought about how footwear is advertised to children Clarks 'Magic Steps Shoes' came into my mind!.  Being an 80's child myself I had these shoes and took pride in wearing them to school, everyone had them or wanted them as they came in a magical shoe box with a secret ket that you could insert into the heel of the shoe and and a picture would be revealed - They were amazing.

I also looked at the advert for the shoes and all the memories came flooding back to me, the advert is very fantasy based and it shows a girl who is trying to run away from the evil one but struggles - then the Magic Steps Shoes appear on her feet and she manages to escape.  I believed I would be that person as a child seeing as I had the shoes, the narrative in the advert became so real to me.

Below are some images of the shoes and the advert.

Pierre et Gilles

I have been looking at the work of Pierre et Gilles who are french artists.  Their work is mythical, colourful and fantasy-like and they combine various mediums to create a special feel to their work, they use photography and combine it with handmade sets and costumes, they then use acrylic to paint onto the photographs.

They way they combine real life photographs with small 3D sets and characters is really inspiring as it has got me thinking more about how my own work could be used in context.  I am making a Circus themed world and I will be photographing a pair of footwear that will be displayed with my characters/set.

Below are some of my favourite images of their work.

Collage work.

Below are some further images for my MP.  I have recently become fascinated with vintage Zoltar machines that are found in arcades.  Zoltar is a fortune teller who sits inside a glass cabinet and will tell you your future and fortune when you insert a coin into the machine - I have also made a 3D version of the Zoltar machine and will be using it in my stop motion animation.

I am currently reading this...'The secret life of a circus girl'

 

I am currently reading 'JOSSER - Secret life of a circus girl' as it is giving me an insight into life in the circus and it also shows the circus in a totally different light and is supporting my research for my Circus themed MP.

Mini Portfolio Review - Fig Taylor

Fig Taylor came into talks to us about portfolios and kindly sat down with us to look at our portfolios.  When I showed Fig my portfolio, she advised that she thought I have a distinctive style with a surreal feel to it and that she thinks I could apply it to high end women's fashion magazines and that I should look at Astrology, Horoscopes and Spiritual magazines for reference on the styles that feature in those magazines.  Making a mock up different horoscopes for my portfolio would also be a great idea and also improve my portfolio.

Fig also mentioned that separating my 3D work from my collage would be beneficial, she mentioned that I should continue with my 3D work but to bear in mind that it is labour intensive and could be tricky if the turnaround is quick or if I don't have lighting facilities to photograph my work in a high quality way.  It was really inspiring to hear someone say where your work could be used and has really inspired me to think about creating mock up horoscopes for my portfolios.

Talk by Fig Taylor!

The wonderful Fig Taylor came into our college to offer some very useful advice on Illustration as an industry, putting together portfolios and how to 'tailor make' your approach when making industry contacts.

Fig Taylor has worked as an Illustration Agent for many years and has seen many, many portfolios, illustrators and understands the industry inside out.  Fig began by talking about portfolios and how to build a strong portfolio that communicates your style in the best possible way to the client.  In an interview with commissioners that she conducted as part of her research for a book she wrote, 75% of the people she talked to explained that they want Illustrators to have 1 strong recognised style that runs throughout the portfolio, as clients can get confused easily due to the amount of people they see and what their needs are at that time.  She also explained that separating styles if you have more than one is the way forward as you can approach certain clients who use work that is 3D for example or collage based and does not confuse the client.

Fig went on to discuss marketing yourself effectively, for example 70% of the clients explained that they received work from illustrators that had no relation to the subject matter they work with or the style of illustration that they would typically feature in their magazines etc.  Networking, researching your niche such as looking at magazines to engage with they style of work they use and always trying to stand out of the crowd in the way you approach clients will always go in your favour and paint a great impression.

Fig mentioned that it is important to constantly work on your portfolio so that it appears less like a student graduate portfolio and more like a professional portfolio, I hope that in 6-12months time my portfolio will have changed dramatically and be more refined and stronger.  Showing work in your portfolio that you either can't produce due to lack of facilities or work that you are not able to do should not be shown as this can be misleading.

Fig explained how a good portfolio should have a good running order that reflects the needs of the clients you are showing work to, she mentioned that producing a mock up of an article such as gardening if that reflects the subject matter you are interested in as it can show to the client visually how your work would look as an example.  ''Who am I'' and ''How can you use me'' are two key things that I should always be asking myself when building a portfolio.

I really enjoyed this talk and found it extremely useful in terms of thinking about how I can apply my work in the industry.