Celine Condorelii

Exhibition installation featuring the work or Cenline Condorelii at Dublin City Centre's Project Arts Centre.

The artist uses the space effectively. There is a very natural atmosphere. Going through the piece the sounds are created both naturally from the fan on the foil patrician and the recorded natural sounds that are amplified through a collection of large speakers. There is a very intimate feeling that you get going through the piece. Its representation of a stormy night creates an eary and un-secure feeling. It is very performative in ways, you find yourself immersed in the piece and have a need to stay but an uneasiness is certainly present.

It is very structural. It begins with a high chair that initially looked like an adult version of a babies high chair but in the latter of the experience you realise it could be the plinth of a life guard. You are guided through the effective lighting that symbolises a dusky feeling pass the 'space sheet' moved by a fan and lit from a free standing light.  The bank of speakers are in the peripheral vision.

Performance - Dance, Acting and Separation between the two

After meeting the Artistic Director of Irish Modern Dance Theatre - John Scott last week, I have found myself thinking about a performers involvement within my work. Currently the work features an endorsement of acting and contemporary dance. Scott states that a contemporary dance artist involve their entire self into their performance. It is an expressive art form that immerses all elements of the body and its interaction between the space, music and others. Scott believes that with this type of artistry acting is forbidden. The performance is to be expressive response to the music and concept. It endeavours the pain, suffering, love, friendship or otherwise relative emotive reposes that are to be conceptualised by the artist.

The question is however, is this correct? The use of acting within a performance extends and elaborates the concept. It gives feed to the voyeur, hooking them further into the performance allowing it to become more approachable. Especially when you are trying to create a stark contrast between reality and the subconscious, something that can be so close in interpretation can have the need to be more distinguishable.

Introduction to Screen Dance

‘…the function of film, like that of other art forms, was to create experience…It is an organization of ideas in an anagrammatic complex instead of in the linear logic to which we are accustomed…Whether one reads horizontally, vertically, diagonally or even in reverse, the logic of the whole is not disrupted, but remains intact.’

                                                Maya Deren

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_8u-9oDwKA

What is Screen Dance?

Screen Dance as described by the fundamentalist of the movement, Maya Deren, allows, through the mechanics and manipulation of the lens and abstract observation into the collaboration of fine art practices including yet not limiting that of Music, Dance, Art and Film. In most cases Screen Dance removes the chronological narrative that features in many typical commercial movies. The adaptation of the camera as the language driver allows classical art forms and their derived contemporaries to become stronger as a unified art form allowing endless opportunities for the artist to evolve their concept and a greater individualized interpretation from the voyeur.

Composers, Artists and Choreographers have montaged together to create what cannot be conceived in a live performance or to stretch and condense a multi-media form. It is therefore not a necessity for the artist themselves to have the necessary skills in each area of the necessary disciplines can be employed. For example Deren herself, was not a choreographer, her influences in dance come from her assistance to Katherine Dunham, it was her interest in Dance and it’s technique that triggered her need to use it as a language for her ideas.

“Imagine an eye unruled by manmade laws of perspective, an eye unprejudiced by compositional logic, an eye which does not respond to the name of everything but which know each object encountered in life through an adventure of perception. How many colors are there in a field of grass to the crawling baby unaware of green? How many rainbows can light create for the untutored eyes? How aware of variations in heat waves can that eye be? Imagine a world alive with incomprehensible objects and shimmering with an endless variety of movement and innumerable gradations of color. Imagine a world before the beginning was the world.”

                                                                                                Stan Brakhage 1978

Irish Modern Dance Theatre's - FALL AND RECOVER

Jesper Just

2005 | Jesper Just | True Love

The Triangle

The triangle is a shape that has three equal lines and three points inside the shape and outside the shape. Turned in any direction the triangle remains the same shape. 

Facing upwards the triangle represents the Male, it is Active, it is Mountainous, it is up, it is the father.

Facing downwards the triangle represents the Female, it is Passive, it is symbolic of Caves, it is down, it is the mother. 

The adaptation of Professionalism

Artists have collaborated with others to further enhance their own work consistently. With particular attention in response to my own practise, Screen Dance has too been apart of this collaboration. Screen Dance involves a very multidisciplinary approach to film. It employs music, dance, film and art to allow a deep engagement to the overall art piece. Its foundations lay with Maya Deren, influenced by some of the major cinematographers and directors of her time such as that of Hitchcock, Welles, Chaplin, Bergman etc. However her primary influences do not come from film but rather her experiences with Dance and Literature. As a professional writer and English major Deren brings together all of the primary elements and takes upon approaches like that of Merce Cunningham where the performance becomes more expressive and contributes to this with her own artistic input allowing both the camera and the environment to become entities of the art work. This continued with Hilary Harris in the 50s' and 60s' when he employs professionalism to his work with professional dancers as he and indeed Deren, jointly agreed that the strength a professional performer will bring to piece enhances the visual experience for the voyeur allowing further interpretation and a greater enriching concept.

Maya Deren A Study in Choreography for Camera 1945

Hilary Harris Nine Variations of a Dance Theme 1966

Michael Farrell

Working mainly in the new medium of acrylic, Micheal Farrell's intention was to recapture the formal vibrancy of Irish illuminated manuscripts combining geometric and organic elements with the Celtic. His renderings were in tune with the hard-edged abstraction then current internationally. - See more at: http://www.crawfordartgallery.ie/Exhibition_Micheal_Farrell.html#sthash.oBqKNWIZ.dpuf

Seminar Review November 2013

Seminar group presentations consist of a grouping of fourth year students and two tutors. This presentation required each individual student to present one piece of work that represented the current state of research, the point of which individual students had reached since the beginning of the semester. The brief required each artist to present the work in with the same attention to detail that would be assumed in a gallery structure.

I personally presented my most recent investigation which was made up of a 4 minute film clip of a performance in a dark space. In my continuing research I am aiming to communicate a sense of the alternate personality that is present within the mind of the performing body. Both the current physical state and the ego become present within the piece though.

The convergence is illustrated through technique. In a classical dance practice a very precise and technical technique is exercised of which is featured with the inclination of the embodiment of the present and physical entity. The more expressive and contemporary movement that is carried forward thereafter envisages the alternate.

There is also a strong theme of identity that travels through my current research. Looking at the struggle of ones development and that of their physical and mental state. The face is the primary focus one would acknowledge when communicating, when this is removed you are forced to look elsewhere. With the adaptation of a black body suit, I remove the identity of the performer which triggers the voyeur to search elsewhere.

Response from the seminar group was all-in-all positive and constructive. The employment of a professional dancer became one of the key general consensus. The methodology and structure was positively responsive. It was suggested that I would become the director as opposed to the performer as one with a pure classical background would communicate the conceptual language greater.

Hilary Harris

Kerry Tribe: Critical Mass

Critical Mass is Kerry Tribes interpretation of the Modern Family spoken through the lens featuring three entities, one that represents the father, mother and child. Throughout the piece there is a recurring theme of vocal repetition between the dialogue of the mother and father. Meanwhile in what seems to be the child in the piece, the acknowledgement of whom is minimal if at all throughout its duration. A clear representation of individual consumption and narcissism, lack of priorities or self indulgence.

'Hollis Frampton’s groundbreaking experimental film Critical Mass (1971) captures an argument between a couple and cuts it up into a series of rhythmic, repetitive snippets. In this project a live performance of the classic structural film is staged with actors Nick Huff and Emelie O'Hara as the young couple.'

http://vimeo.com/23603179

Motion Capture

Cunningham furnished dancers with the necessary triggers to begin their performances. They would then improvise through their knowledge of techniques in their dance discipline and the repetition of such that was experienced and performed to the music. It is then transfigured to the voyeur enabling them to enter the performance.

The only solid structure that Cunningham applies is in the duration of the performance. In his final interview, shortly before his death, Nancy Dalva comments on his work stating how no one ever knows where the performance is going; Cunningham believes this is a lot to do with how life is now. I think this reflects on his work at large in which the performers perform time. This is similar to Cage’s music in that he allows the music to submit itself to the present, the live experience.

"(Combination of) music, dance, and image multiplication to create a film that enhances our perception of motion."

Merce Cunningham

The influence of Ballet

Sergai Diaghilev
Bolshoi Ballet
Ballet Russes
Maya Deren
Martha Graham

Revisiting the past

In working with models I am learning to allow development in thinking and allowing the process to naturally unfold conceptually. One of the things I enjoy most is working and manipulating the camera to create a raw and time-filled photograph or film piece. Currently my images are very static. Representative movement is shown though could be greatly enhanced. I aim to look further into the role of the shadow as illustrated in the current imagery. It is interesting how other artists use the shadow in their work and to achieve the language they created  to get their concept across. Tim Noble and Sue Webster from England create seemingly useless art installations that surprisingly come to life when directional lighting is used. The use of scraps, taxidermy creatures and discarded waste, adds to the impressive transformation of the art pieces from pieces of garbage to creative and fancy projected images.

Looking at the use of light within a shadow and its important role, it's direction and angle of which a light is shown upon a figure can immediately cause the mood and interpretation of the piece.

Tim Noble & Sue Webster

Tim Noble & Sue Webster

Eamonn B. Shanahan - 2012

Seminar review

Last Monday we had the first official group seminiar of the semester. Engaging in constructive critical debate proved very positive and helpful to all of us participating. Our evolving concepts were assessed to consider the voyeurs interpretation and response to the individual art works initially without references or otherwise from the artist and thereafter realised from the artist.

Seminar Review

1. Short statement: what is it you want the work to address? Identify the core elements/concerns that reoccur in the work?

Currently my work looks at personality and human behaviour that is both physically identified and the inner persona that is sometimes ignorantly hidden. Using the language of the body, the camera and the relationship between both I explore the development of ones thinking. I am currently working with other individuals in the work. The general aim is to allow the individuals to adapt a pathway to their inner mind and thereafter their expressive emotive responsive interpretation implied using interpretatve movement. Responses to ones alter ego, past discomfort or relationships are discovered and represented ambiguously allowing further interpretation as well as participation in the experience.

2. How were these core elements touched on in the discussion I.e. To what extent did the work convey your intentions?
 
I presented two elements of my work that I think caused confusion without explanation. To the left and right of the central piece featured a documentation of the meditative part of the workshop of which illustrated a grouping of people and the contrast observations were made between theses and individual shots in that they interpreted the interactive behaviour of people within groups and on their own. However the viewers then acknowledged the representation of identity in the work especially in the central work which was clear.

3. Pick out the elements that you feel are working at the moment - be specific.

Conceptually I believe that the psychology of the inner mind and its representation is something that is working for me. I want to continue to evolve this concept. With respect to the family structure I believe that it will more than likely be used as an aspect or building stone in character and will be used as a trigger in the emotional response for an individual.  I really think that the medium of the lens currently speaks the language that I want illustrated however I would like to develop the opportunities available from using the camera in that the manipulation and percieved outcome can be built to create a strong dialogue between the camera, performer and voyeur. I also feel that the use of the shaddow is working, although I again, think it can evolve, I enjoy the sense of identification it portrays or the there lack of!

4. What are the areas that need improvement? Was there an area of the work that the group did not pick up on? If so, what can be done to give the area more focus?
 
I think everyone brimmed the surface of what I was trying to get accross however I hope hone in on the concept to get a more in depth and strenghted image. I want to explore futher the methodologies that the camera can provide endeavouring a more substantial language.  I will continue working with others for now as I want to see how far I can go with another individual and how my triggerative language can open up the expressive movement of the body. In saying that I also want to look at the symbolism of the expressive body and how that can be represented in a fashion that is as raw as possible by the performer. Finallty I will develop the presentation of the work as I believe particular focus has to be put in place from initial observation.

William Ellis

Jazz Photographer

Manchester man. Recognised by the American Jazz Museum and other international organisations. Works for magazines and commercial work. Experience on music and performance photography. Lighting pose expression are all things that fascinate him.

Started shooting Jazz in the late 80s. Miles Davis amongst the most influential jazz musicians of the genre. He 'needed' to get a photograph of him.

Perfomance imagery and their development. The pictures over time were like live portraits of the artist.

Still life imagery.

Patricia Morrissey

Began her photography career as an archiver at the Irish Independent.  Influence of Diana Arbon. First work was a series of twins. The idea of motif,  something continuous in her work. Looked at classical art forms,  Durer's Christlike portrait causing controversy. She thereafter began taking photographs of women with facial hair - quiet a taboo aesthetic.  She put an article requesting models with a humorous approach. A wanted ad turned into a feature on the paper. 40 models and used 12. Using anovijet she printed poster sized print.

After a short career in commercial photography she underwent an MA. She wanted to escape the commercial world although she learned a lot from it. She was interested in the family unit as a construction. Photo therapy for Patricia. Her parents would have bent over backwards for her. She would create a scenario and then she would change it s little to suit.

Doors shutting in and out. Relation to family in some real or realistic form.

Organising photograph's of her family from her grandparents using the knowledge of their dress.

Gertrude Stein. Photographs constructed to the poetry. Semi camouflage. ...hiding identity.

7 year's. Sibling experience.  As a family the parents impose an identity on their children. . Not matter what you do in your adult life you return to the family into those roles. Family album provides a rich version of the families life. Subconscious often leaks onto the photograph. Snaps follow culture. To prevent the usual. Fake family album depicting the sisters as all the roles. Hidden gestures.

Romanticism of young girls dressing up in their mothers clothing..the fantasy of the future.

Film. The boundaries of photography and the lack.  Moving photographs as opposed to film footage. Drab surroundings and the typical animosity.

Body language and the physical and natural state. A moment in time rather than a place.  'FRONT' Idea of motherhood. 

Between four and six years old...a child has a flawed understanding of the particular objects and forms.

www.trishmorrissey.com

Workshop 2 reflection

The aim of the second workshop was to evolve my approach and deepen the level of enquiry, triggering sensitive emotions to discover the inner psyche.

This weeks meditation began as the previous ensuring a vine of continuation. However due to the very expressive emotions in the dialogue, I ensured only one situation was explored. This week I wanted to look at the introduction of a person feared into the dialogue. Allowing an internal conversation with a persona that we hate causes distress and using this distress to illustrate and combine this with that of another alternative yet individually personal persona. This adapted into the interpreted representation enforces or at least helps the raw physical representation on camera.

After the meditation I began to work on illustrating this through perfomance interaction. Paired up, I used a partician between the two models. The model behind the partician was represented soley by shadow. I have a number of reasons for this. This first being the the camouflaging of the figure, removing the identity of the model. A reason for this was to

TO BE CONTINUED

Understanding mentality

ADDICTION, ADDICTION

PAST, BEFORE PRESENT, FUTURE AFTER PAST

CONSTANT INTERSECTION & REPETITION

LIFE CONTINUES

Sigmund Freud 1.1

'A twenty-four-year-old man preserved the following picture from the fifth year of his life: In the garden

of a summer-house he sat on a stool next to his aunt, who was engaged in teaching him the alphabet. He

found difficulty in distinguishing the letter m from n, and he begged his aunt to tell him how to tell one

from the other. His aunt called his attention to the fact that the letter m had one whole portion (a stroke)

more than the letter n. There was no reason to dispute the reliability of this childhood recollection; its

meaning, however, was discovered only later, when it showed itself to be the symbolic representation of

another boyish inquisitiveness. For just as he wanted to know [p. 66] the difference between m and n at that

time so he concerned himself later about the difference between boy and girl, and he would have willing

that just this aunt should be his teacher. He also discovered that the difference similar one; that the boy

again had one portion more than the girl, and at the time of this recognition his memory awoke to the

responding childish inquisitiveness.'

Psychopathology of Everyday Life by Sigmund Freud (1901)

Workshop 1 Report

My first workshop took place yesterday, Monday the 8th of October at Crawford College of Art and Design main campus in the Photography Studio. There was six participants present including four females and two males.

Prior to the beginning of the workshop I had prepared a process method schedule, a short choreographed warm up, meditation dialogue and calm music. The reasoning for this was to ensure the smooth running of the workshop. All lights were set up in a very comfortable way. The room was very quiet and all that could be heard is the piano music playing softly in the background. This was playing before people entered the room. Six chairs were laid out in an equal positioning allowing space for the movement exercise and also allowing each participant to be present in the frame of the camera.

Participants arrived at different intervals between 6.50pm and 7.05pm. In the future, I will wait for everyone to arrive before they can enter the performance space.

I began the workshop with a little introduction whilst keeping the grounds as vague as possible. Each participant signed a release form. I described the schedule of events up to the end of the dialogue meditation.

I then continued with the exercise. The goal of this was to relax the body and its muscles and zone the minds of the models into a comfortable and blank canvas focusing them for the following exercise.

I found that as I was speaking in the same tone from the very beginning, the music was uniform and the lighting didn't change, concentration was kept and the progression was smooth and effective.

During the course of the dialogue there was very little movement and even less sound. Through the distressing parts of the dialogue reaction was minimal however I will inspect this further with the recording.

On awakening the models all gave me the impression that they were totally zoned out. The time went comfortably and reached about 7.35 at this point.

I then gave out a blank sheet with a crayon of their choice to every participant and gave them a few minutes to draw anything that came into their mind. After doing the exercise I asked participants to turn them face down and passed them along to the end.

Thereafter I cleared the room and began the improvisation part of the workshop. Everyone left the room and individually I gave characters to the participants concluding in a family structure. I began with small scenarios to get the building of the characters and it developed greatly with the evolution of time.

Maud Cotter's - ' ..solution in the room'

Upon entering Maud Cotter's 'A Solution in the Room', though it was raining heavily outside, I felt like I was walking into spring. The installations created by Cotter are very delicate looking sculptures that were built to encapsulate the space of the Wandesford Quay Gallery, Cork. The main feature of the 'Sieve' stood in the centre of the space lying on the floor. To the naked eye it looked as though it was an object of that nature in that is gathered material however for me it retained the beauty just like that of an actual sieve; it sieved away the badness. Without looking at the notebooks, the works spoke simply to me with a smile.

Tutorial development 1

IAfter a very positive and constructive tutorial with Jessie Jones last week, I went off to get something cohesive on paper. After disaster with the booking of rooms in college, my scheduling went up in a heap but all I can say is that everything happens for a reason. I now have scripted a concise dialogue for my first meditation workshop. The aim is to develop the dialogue throughout the workshop in acknowledgement to the ongoing motion and body language of the participants. The workshop will be recorded - the camera will remain static at all times with the lens open to allow a full focus of the entire body.

After this workshop I want to experiment with the dialogue and see if it worked well. I want to eventually experiment with the combination of the scenarios in actuality and the silent response brought forward by the participants at the workshop.

Thematically I will be dealing with the concept of family relationships. The language of the script will be very ambiguous. It will be driven by emotional triggers.

Having has a follow through tutorial with Tony McClure, I am now in a good position to go forward with my first experiment and look forward to having something visual by next week!

Understanding the Bodies Natural Emotive Responses

[IN PROGRESS] 

Over the past number of years I have been interested in the form of the body and how, without verbal interference, one can interpret a figures emotion through language of the body and its expression.

When we speak, we sometimes do not know what to say. Especially when we need to express how we feel. We also do not speak honestly of our feelings or so it is a tradition in the mentality of the human to hide and secure our emotions. In everyday life we can hide our emotions though to the people we are closer to, the acknowledgement in the differentiation of our body language and expression can be identified clearly.

(End of draft one)

Historically dance is a creation of bodily expression and performed it can display a narrative as clear as any play. However contemporary dance movements have successfully achieved very translucent experiments without a chronological narrative allowing the voyeur and performer alike an entry point and personal interpretation. 

(End of draft 2)

http://www.historyguide.org/europe/dio_apollo.html

'Modern Families'

I am feeling rather refreshed after my recent visit to the Lewis Glucksman Gallery at UCC this week. The vast exhibition of work accurately curated by Chris Clarke and Matt Packer. Upon landing the steep staircase we are greeted by a family of mirrors levelled by Nevin Aladag to match the height of a five person family. Throughout the exhibition variations of such were presented illustrating simply the many forms of families that exist in the midst of our culture.

Nevin Aladag

Another striking artist for me was Eulalia Validosera and her work 'Family Ties II'. The work presented very large scale photographs individually depicting yet again the variety and complexity of family structures with fastidious choreography. I found her language to be very accessible in that one could interpret easily, the dynamic of the particular families. Her concept spoke clearly on the impact individuals made to the formation of the family unit and how their actions effected the dissection and penultimate, eventual break down. I found the structure and technique that drove her language so clearly would be helpful in my own work and I will certainly experiment with this. 

Eulalia Validosera

[Side thought: Two people brought together to become one together and to form another being, through love or otherwise, begins the life of another being and thus their entire future is dependent on the actions that will transpire within the initial pairing. Throughout the entire lifespan of this new being, their mentality will always come back to their very conception and the time in between.]

Short story festival at the Triskel

Last night at the Triskel, Cork, graphic novelists Carol Swaine and Etgar Carret featured their sketches live, in an experimental presentation.

In a short Q&A with the artists, it was stated that these comics did not fit in tbe mainstream of graphic comics in which appreciatively  was acknowledged by the collective audience. A general consensus between the artists agreed that the writted word was best at a minimal due to the power of the illustration in the telling of the story.

Carols work was presented very structurally which she said had little reasonings on her behalf however personally I think it identified well with the filmic style that she uses. This style is shown clearly by her illustrated perspective. It allowed great interpretation for the reader and growth for the characters.

Etgar's work on the other hand featured great narratives, it was very cleverly written. His culturally light weight themes were well balanced with subtle acknowledgement of reality [clearly featured in the story about the Child and the Piggy bank] making the story very interesting to readers and again, like Carol giving the reader an entry point or role in the story.

The contemporary form brought forward in the styling and storytelling of these comic bring an acknowledgement to the broad spectrum of art forms. The conceptual approach hinted amoung the stories advance the traditional mechanism of comic making.

Notes:
Carol swane:
Fiod boy
Invasion of the mindswapers

Etgar carret
Graphic novel to film
Imaginative
Canne film festival prize winner
Voice if next generation

4th year, how ar' ya'?!

**TYPEWRITER SOUND**  -DAY THREE-

The first week back in college, mixed emotions I must acknowledge. I am very excited about this semester, getting back into the swing of visiting art galleries and exploring new artists - how could one not feel good. Nervousness is also a brewing feeling;  but I'm sure that will filter down!

I had my first thesis meeting of the semester yesterday - I am all hyped up to get started. I am basing it on the term 'Screen Dance'. My studio tutors asked to define it today; yikes it's complicated was my response, however I'll break it down for you:

SCREEN
Contextually, 'screen' refers to the filmmaking aspect. Though cinematography is a rather new process, rules and boundaries skim the perimeter of the process. Fine Art Film breaks these boundaries and pushes the commercial and Hollywood characteristics away breaking into the third wall and using the camera like paintbrush to paint an abstract painting. The camera becomes another entity.

DANCE
Anything that has the adjective 'Classical' in the fore of a discipline generally means there is a technique  and method to be followed, surpassing these creates a new experimental and contemporary form which evolves to becoming a part of the fine art medium as it becomes more interpretative and expressionistic. In music John Cage broke all rules imaginable in his compositions. As did ballet; Vaslav Nijinsky, admired as one of the 20th Centuries greatest male ballet dancers. He evolved ballet to become thematically bolder and too broke the traditions of classical ballet making it a new form.

Together the montage of music, dance and film form the perfect 'Screen Dance'. I'll come back to this again soon. Off to see 'Modern Families' at the Lewis Glucksman Gallery now.

Toodle pips!

The Metamorphosis of Nothing

Our physical being changes all the time. With the evolution of our body we grow subsequently older. However our mentality is never the same, the chronology of this change is incoherent. When at an age, especially in adolescence through to our thirties or forties, our certainty of our identity is challenging and sometimes unknown. Who we are and who we want to become are questions that reappear. We often get stuck and though you may seem you are going in a positive or structured direction, our past, our personality, our addictions and genetics hold us back and keep falling back in. As time elapses we acknowledge change, though when change continues, the metamorphosis of nothing within goes on. 

Blank Emotion

Including the voyeur

**POST IN PROGRESS**