Art & Design Stage 2 - Reflective Review Blog

Innovation is a tough one for me. On one hand everything was an innovation at some point, and equally, once it's been done once then it is no longer an innovation. Every artist has to strive to be innovative in order to keep their audience interested - whether it be the subject, the method of making or the way of displaying the art. However, it is a fine line between being innovative and being on trend. As soon as you come up with something new, either others will follow or will have had a similar idea at the same time due to common influences and you are likely to be swallowed up in the tide of a new trend or fad. I would hate to be considered trendy. My other problem with innovation is what you may think of as being innovative may not be. You may have come up with something that you think is totally original, but then you find someone has already done it - you just didn't know about it. You can't know everything, so it's important to keep up with the latest art news

I researched the work of many artists and art movements whilst working on this project, both historical and contemporary. When thinking of how womens appearance has been judged through history, one of the first terms to come to mind was 'Rubenesque'. It is a modern term referring to the artist Peter Paul Rubens and his paintings of voluptuous nudes, implying that a woman has a fuller figure or is a bit plump (I love the word plump!). Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish painter, born 1577 and died 1640. His works mainly depict classical scenes from historical texts. THE LANDING OF MARIE DE MEDICI AT MARSEILLES 1623-25 In the 17th century, overweight and curvy women were considered attractive as it was a sign of wealth and good health. Being skinny would be a sign of poverty and malnourishment. Here, the Nereids, or Sea Nymphs that accompany Neptune and Triton ensuring the safe passage of Marie de Medici to Marseilles, are depicted as quite fat, whilst the future queen is

At the time of commencing this project, I hadn't decided whether I was going to accept a place on a Fine Art course, or an Artist, Designer, Maker course, so I wanted to create something which would fit into both progression routes. An installation piece seemed to fit the bill. I am not going to lie and make out that I am writing this blog at the start of my Stage 2 Brief, we are actually in week 7 of 9 whilst I am writing this, so it is far easier for me to explain how my piece has changed and developed through experimentation and research than it is for me to pretend my concept is still where it was in week 1! My initial idea was borne of a number of related idea's that originated from my initial brainstorm regarding the brief "24". I came up with over 30 ideas, all of which had potential, but I found that several of them linked into each other, so I decided to join them together into 1 topic. Size 24, 24 inch waist (size 0), 24 calories, 24 lbs, 2 dozen eggs, 2

My planned work will fall into the specialisms of Fine Art, Conceptual Art and Installation Art. The skills required to be a fine artist include having a good standard of drawing and painting, to be creative, imaginative and a lateral thinker. You need to be able to interpret a brief in an innovative way and develop ideas using research skills, knowledge of media, materials, processes and their application and art history & context.  You then need to be able to articulate your ideas so that the audience understands the concept you are trying to put across. Gustav Klimt's Adele Bloch-Bauer - an example of Fine Art Conceptual Art is where the concept behind the art is more important than the actual finished piece. Bruce Nauman's Violins/Violence - an example of Conceptual Art Installation, or Environment Art requires an ability to create an interactive experience for the audience, such as creating an environment in a room or gallery space where the viewer takes