1990s

I decided to look into the 1990s because I was looking mostly at installation art from that era. The art that I found really interested me because of the way it was put together and some of the materials that were used really interested me.

The 1990s in general.
 
Movements such as grunge, the rave scene and hip hop spread around the world to young people during the decade, aided by then-new technology such as cable television and the Internet.

In the 1980s, the art market was devastated by the stock market crash in 1987 and a severe recession in the early 90s which caused artists to look more outside the art world for their subject matter. They began looking more into subjects such as the AIDS crisis, gun control, homelessness and class/race/gender/sexual orientation. This coincided with an emerging notion of artist as a kind of ethnographer, as well as an exploration of broken or grotesque bodies and identities by people such as Paul McCarthy and Kiki Smith.

The most known movement of the decade, Young British Artists (YBAs), became internationally known due to ambitious art work such as  Rachel Whiteread's House and Damien Hirst's formaldehyde-encased animals.



 





Video art also became more popular in the art world with work such as Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle and large-scale video installations by artists such as Doug Aitken.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0eHHJzk1uo

 

 

 

 

Artists such as  Andreas Gursky and Jeff Wall used tools like photo manipulation in their art to blur the lines between fact and fiction or to make a more perfect reality.

 

 

 







Installation art.

Installation art can be either temporary or permanent. They can be built or displayed in museums, galleries , private or even public areas. A wide range or corporate and natural materials can be used because of their "evocative" qualities as well as using videos, performance and sound. Most installations are made to stay where they are created and are made to incorporate the space around them. Some artistic collectives such as the Exhibition Lab in New York's American Museum of Natural History made environments that looked as real as possible to showcase the natural world.
Installation art first started in the 1970s but can be identified earlier through work by Marcel Duchamp and Kurt Schwitters. The "intention" of the artist is paramount in much later installation art whose roots lie in the conceptual art of the 1960s. This is a departure of the traditional sculptures that focus on form.
Installation/Environmental art tries to make a sensory experience rather than paintings on a neutral wall or an isolated object on a pedestal.

Sense of touch.

Touch is key

For people with hearing and sight impairment, touch can be important.
It helps with communication – many deafblind people use a form of sign language involving touch called hand-on-hand signing, or they may use their fingers to read Braille.
It helps with connecting – feeling the touch of their friends and loved ones becomes significant when you can’t see or hear.
It helps with learning – especially important for babies and children with sight and hearing problems.

FMP work so far

I started with my idea of the boxes with things inside to scare people. I then had to think of what materials I could use with a limited amount of money. So I went home and my dad found some old plastic he didn't need anymore which I could use a heat gun on to shape into my boxes. I did this then using a glue gun I stuck them together. I thought they looked quote tacky at this point. I then told my dad I wanted one to look like it was connected to a plug to scare peoe even more, so he found me some rope and an old plug which I attached to the box then spray painted the inside silver to give it a 'metal look' which I think looks quite good. My dad then said he had a light somewhere in his garage that I could put inside and switch on to look like the electricity is actually going into the box and that it's switched on to make it more believable. I think it looks quote good.

The other boxes, I painted black inside and put so you can't see what's inside them after I've put the fabric over the top. I thought it was quite hard to paint them because you could see brush strokes and marks on the inside but I then thought well people won't be seeing the inside so it doesn't really matter however I still think they look a bit cheap and tacky. I still need to get the stuff to go inside them but I think they will look better with the labels and fabric on. 

One of the boxes labelled 'shit' I decided to put pink glitter on so it confuses people. I quite like it but I ran out of one of the colours of glitter I was using so I had to swap half way through so I tried to hide it by mixing the colours. I think it looks okay though. 

Next I need to finish off the labels and details on the boxes and put the fabric over the top so people can't see inside them.

Final piece.

My final piece is a collection of 5 boxes that you can put your hand in and feel what's inside. I wanted them to create a sensory experience that would make people 'jump' or scream. I have now put them in the dark room so I could create a creepier experience. Here are a few pictures of the boxes:

I wanted them to be made out of wood so they would look a lot better but I couldn't afford any so I had to use what I could find in my dad's garage. I found some Perspex which I could use but I wasn't sure how it would look when finished.

After cutting them into shape I heated th and bent the corners to make the boxes. I found this quite hard to do because the Perspex only stayed soft for a short period of time. I then glued the sides together and after they had dried, I started painting them. 

I glued pieces of material to the top so people could stick their hands in without seeing what's inside. 

Overall I think they look quite tacky and horrible so I'm not happy with the final outcome but I think they will produce the outcome that I wanted because of the things inside.

Illusion.

I started looking into illusions for my new idea for my FMP. Heather showed me this piece of art which really interested me. It involves mirrors and illusion to make the viewer think they are seeing a ghost but really they are just seeing a reflection.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper's_ghost

For Amy.

http://www.lovelyish.com/2012/02/15/classical-painted-ladies-get-the-airbrush-treatment/

Fear survey.

I found a fear survey online and I actually found it quite helpful because of all the different questions that were asked which will help me with my FMP work.

How old are you?


What insect are you most afraid of?


What animal are you most afraid of?


What crime are you most afraid of?


What form of transportation are you afraid of?


What health issue are you most afraid of?


What supernatural being are you afraid of?


What is it about fire that scares you most?

10 of you said the heat.

24 of you fear losing your belongings.

22 of you fear injury to yourself.

99 of you fear injury to family/friends.

24 of you fear injury to pets.

9 of you fear smoke inhalation.

145 of you fear being trapped in the fire.

33 of you fear not having a house if your house catches fire.

44 of you are not scared of fire at all.

What do you fear most about water?

172 of you fear sharks the most.

1 of you fears whales the most.

13 of you fear stingrays the most.

8 of you fear eels the most.

2 of you fear fish the most.

11 of you fear seaweed the most.

1 of you fears crabs the most.

20 of you fear alligators the most.

31 of you fear jellyfish the most.

2 of you fear sea turtles the most.

97 of you fear deep water the most.

53 of you aren't scared of water.

What aspect of your house scares you the most?

39 of you fear your basement the most.

12 of you fear a closet.

5 of you fear the area under your bed (we bet your parents do too!)

124 of you fear strange noises.

10 of you fear the furnace.

18 of you fear the garage.

19 of you fear spooky shadows.

56 of you fear possible ghosts.

130 of you are not scared by your house.

What's your biggest fear about your family?


What do you fear most about school?

18 of you fear reading out loud.

10 of you fear taking tests.

50 of you fear public speaking.

14 of you fear not knowing the answer to a question when the teacher calls on you.

10 of you fear report cards.

9 of you fear bullies.

55 of you fear getting bad grades.

7 of you fear going to a new school.

10 of you fear peer pressure.

20 of you fear gossip.

27 of you fear being made fun of.

17 of you fear not having anyone to sit with at lunch.

24 of you fear not fitting in.

7 of you fear disapproval from your teacher.

9 of you fear gym class.

2 of you fear riding the bus to school.

13 of you fear bomb threats.

56 of you fear school shootings.

51 of you do not fear anything about school.

What do you fear most about going to the doctors?


What is your most common fear?


 

Fear response.

Thalamus - decides where to send incoming sensory data (from eyes, ears, mouth, skin)

Sensory cortex - interprets sensory data

Hippocampus - stores and retrieves conscious memories; processes sets of stimuli to establish context

Amygdala - decodes emotions; determines possible threat; stores fear memories

Hypothalamus - activates "fight or flight" response

Fear/Anxeity.

This is a chemical called 'cortisol' which is a chemical that is continually secreted throughout the day by the adrenal glands. These are triangular-shaped, and they sit on top of the kidneys. Cortisol secretion follows a 24 hour, or circadian rhythm, with peak levels occurring in the morning (from about 6.00am-8.00 am) and the lowest levels are at about midnight. There are many factors that influence cortisol levels including fasting, exercise, and anxiety.

Fear of illness/death. (Damien Hurst)

Most people are afraid of dying and I'm pretty sure everyone is afraid of cancer. However, I was looking at some of Damien Hurst's art and found some really interesting installations about smoking and a piece showing lung cancer which I found really pretty.

http://www.damienhirst.com/second-series-biopsy-m132244

http://www.damienhirst.com/artworks/catalogue?p=2&radiogroup_view=view_as_thumbs&category=18

http://www.damienhirst.com/artworks/catalogue?p=2&radiogroup_view=view_as_thumbs&category=50

http://www.damienhirst.com/the-dead-ones

The ashtrays and the biopsy painting are my favourite but I also really like the cigarette cabinets because it is scary to see how many cigarettes people smoke then the cancer biopsy shows what it can do to you which I find really scary yet beautiful at the same time.

http://www.damienhirst.com/trinity--pharmacology-physio

I have also been looking into anatomy because I find it really interesting and scary to see how the body works and knowing that all that stuff is happening right now inside us without us knowing it's happening.

Ideas for FMP.

http://chemistry.about.com/od/halloweenchemistry/a/Fake-Flesh-Recipe.htm

http://grist.org/list/heres-the-fake-human-flesh-bread-to-complete-your-fake-human-flesh-sandwich/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/07/bread-human-body-parts_n_1577787.html#slide=1067117

http://www.amusingplanet.com/2012/06/kittiwat-unarrom-creates-gruesome-human.html

Glove experiments.

I used different materials in gloves to see if I could recreate the inside of a human hand. I used glue and ink in this one:

I liked this one. People felt it and thought it was really creepy and weird and it kind of felt like human muscle and fat in the hand. It even looked like fat inside I quite liked it.

This one I used glue ink and wax:

I liked this one the most and this one is the one people found to be the most creepy because the wax felt like bone that had been smashed up.

This last one I just used ink and wax:

This one felt like shattered bone but it wasn't as good because it didn't feel like a real hand because there is no 'fleash' feeling.

Maze idea.

This was one of my ideas for my work. I wanted to make a maze for people to get lost in. This is the start of my research into mazes. I started to make a small maze to start off with however it's not yet finished. 

Model armature.

I tried to make a model of what I wanted to put on the wall as an installation piece but it went a bit wrong. 

For Heather.

http://www.damienhirst.com/artworks/catalogue?p=2&radiogroup_view=view_as_thumbs&category=18

http://www.damienhirst.com/artworks/catalogue?p=2&radiogroup_view=view_as_thumbs&category=50

http://www.damienhirst.com/the-dead-ones

http://www.damienhirst.com/the-eternal

http://www.damienhirst.com/cicutoxin

http://www.damienhirst.com/artworks/catalogue?p=2&radiogroup_view=view_as_thumbs&category=20


I thought this might interest you.

1990s Installation Art.

 

 

 

Body cast artist.

For my FMP I looked up Antony Gormley to see how he does his body casts. I want to use this for my final piece where I would cast a body and use it as a installation to create a sense of fear.