On: 'Silence' & the Fumi-E
I looked at Martin Scorsese's 2016 film 'Silence' for the dichotomy of the coastal Japanese landscapes with the continual persecution of Catholics in the film. Set in 1600s Japan when all forms of Christianity were banned, there is a motif of the fumi-e, a tablet with a likeness of Jesus or Mary on which a suspected Catholic would have to step on to prove they were not part of that banned religion. I became interested in researching this film, because it brings together the two ideas I had been looking at previously. This ceremony of the fumi-e is so bizarre that I feel like I would like to tie it into my samples for the week.
'Silence': Rodrigues Steps on Christ
On: Landscape Photographs
This series of photographs was sent to me by my friend from her holiday to Taiwan and Japan. The landscapes in the rural areas there are so gorgeous because of the lack of habitation and manmade structures. The colors and the misty quality in the mountainous regions I find very inspiring. Of all, I think that the rock formations will inform my work the most. The calcium buildup and limescale on the rocks really got me thinking about ways to replicate this on fabric. I love the texture and how jarring the white is against a colored surface.
On: Ceramics
I went to the 'Factory' exhibit by Clare Twomey at the Tate which focused on the process of making ceramic items. The entire work took the form of an assembly line and you work in different stations in the factory. Both slip casting and bone china making were part of the practice in simplified forms. I participated in both, making a jug and a rose. The way that you use your hands to sculpt the clay and form a very fine product from a raw material was the most interesting part of the exercise for me. Manipulating and sculpting is something that I do with fabric or textiles, but this takes it to a whole different environment by using clay.
On: 1910s Mens Swimwear
Taking 'Death in Venice' as a starting point, I also researched circa 1910 mens swimwear, which is a prominent feature of the costumes in the film. I loved this beautifully tragic story, particularly the Venice beach scenes featuring Tadzio's character. Something about the boldness of the print, the body-defining shape, and the cut of the neckline seems so modern and fresh yet still so different and foreign for contemporary times. I also liked how different this source was to the Catholic imagery I had found; there are homosexual undertones and items of clothing that expose the body rather than cover and shield it.
On: Sample Sets
Below are the three sets of three samples made from the primary color sheets with their coordinating point of inspiration. I used the square samples I created previously with the stitch work as the starting point for the different samples. I looked at the idea of repair in the first, linearity in stripe in the second, and the shape of the curve in the last. Patricia commented that she could see a clear development of the nuances I pulled from the samples, which was exactly was I wanted to display to the viewer.
On: Colored Walls
Our morning assignment was to use the words flat, saturated, textured, collaged, and pale as the starting point to create primary color samples. These would later be used as the material for further sample development. I think that I was lacking in my markmaking methods, because a lot of the A5 sheets I created looked quite similar. My ways of creating texture with media are quite limited. When we mounted our pieces on the wall, you could really see the variety by which different my peers approached making the pages. Some included text, which was the best idea I saw.
On: A4 Samples
After completing observational drawings, we developed samples based off of these. I wanted to draw on a wide variety of nuances in the drawings, choosing details from different research images and different techniques. I picked a mix of both figurative and abstract shapes, but decided to stick with the same greyed out color palette with hints of blue. I decided to sculpt these together, forming a spherical shape that reminded me of the paper garment work we did when sculpting the varied shapes. I think that individually there was some interesting graphic qualities with the techniques I used. I particularly love the curving lines and connectivity of the shape. This is a method I want to further incorporate into my final outcome this week.
On: Catholicism & the Cassock
The main form of traditional dress I researched was the dress of the Catholic priests. For whatever reason, I have always found their dress to be fascinating, from the monochrome colors to the dress-like shape. I narrowed down the item of clothing I was interested in to the cassock, which the traditional wear of clergy members in the Catholic church. The 33 buttons actually symbolize the 33 years of the earthly life of Jesus Christ. The style has actually not changed over many centuries, which is another interesting fact I learned. Many fashions evolve drastically, but the shape and silhouette has remained constant. I found a wealth of vintage imagery online, some actually from Etsy photograph sales.