What to do next...

This is essentially a detailed list for my plans for the next 2 or 3 weeks...

• Research more on Le Corbusier i.e. the man himself and his aims. I know a small general amount about him, but I have not currently got enough in depth research. Today I picked up a library book about him entitled “Le Corbusier: Ideas and Forms” by William J R Curtis. I plan to look through this and pick out the relevant parts to do with his Machine d'habiter idea and also mass production and modernism in general which will include his main views. All of this will be blogged about soon and used as a base from which to explore other ideas.
• I am currently reading “Nature in Design” by Alan Powers (architectural writer) and am finding fantastic similarities with “The Code” (the TV series presented by mathematician Prof. Marcus du Sautoy). Both about nature and the patterns within which we are subconsciously tuned into due to an innate human obsession with pattern and order. This then influences design in every form.
• In “The Code” du Sautoy explores the Grecian notion of platonic shapes. Five equilateral forms that make up the entirety of nature. I will have a go at making them and photograph them as a perspective exercise and to get to grips with natural complexities.
• Another idea is a nature time lapse vs. a machine time lapse. These would be short film sequences that could be played side by side to reflect the difference between nature and machine. How would people react within a natural environment vs. a mechanical one i.e. is nature smoother and machine more jittery? (See “The Code” Episode 3: Predictions)
• Exploration of fractals and mathematical natural occurrences. What is a fractal? How do people react to it? Are they relevant in design? Explore human obsession with pattern – perhaps this means fractals could be relevant?
• Use photography as a means to exploring building structures and form and document them.
• Explore the idea of chaos theory and the butterfly effect... a mathematical phenomenon. I want to include a mathematical element in whatever my final project becomes. Although it will almost certainly be there as an invisible component of the piece, the opportunity to bring it into the spotlight through a piece of art, to me, is a juxtaposition of thinking. We always divide sciences and arts whereas I want to being them together as they are interlinked a lot more than people seem to realise.
• A final thought (for the moment) is the potential for a link between the way Leonardo da Vinci thought (i.e. an underlying code to us all) and Le Corbusier's ideas? There is certainly a link between da Vinci and nature but I want to see if I can link him and Corbusier. This takes me full circle back to the research for Le Corbusier. This is my starting point.
  
  (I will also, wherever possible, endeavour to use my own photos for examples which I will point out in captions)

'Lift'

“Filmmaker Marc Isaacs sets himself up in a London tower block lift. The residents come to trust him and reveal the things that matter to them creating a humorous and moving portrait of a vertical community.”

This is a short film essentially about a community of people who all use a lift in their residential block. It tells of most people's initial distrust of the camera and then their eventual opening up and some even take enjoyment of being filmed. Although this theme is not directly relevant to my project I do believe the film carries other merits as well as being a really uplifting piece to watch.

It tells if an average London community. People leading normal lives, relatively happy going about their ways. Accommodation for the masses interested Le Corbusier. He took issue with the Parisian slums and played a large role in the overhaul of these areas. He was looking for reasonable, practical and comfortable production for the masses i.e. ordinary people in their surroundings.

The way Marc Isaacs films the lift is both analytical and beautiful. The prolonged detailed shots of the lift descending and ascending accompanied by the echoes of people and the sounds of the lift itself are mesmerising. Filmed in winter you really get a sense of the coldness of physical tower block but the people bring some warmth and many of the 'characters' are humourous. The integration of people was a secondary thought because although the focus is to see how people react when having their every day life filmed.

The lift itself becomes the film maker's domain for 10 hours a day over an undisclosed period of time and he manages to turn the space from a place traditionally associated with awkward silences into a somewhere people will happily start to open up about their day and become more conversational. It becomes more of a community. Being physically confined in a small space for such long hours is something not many people are willing to do. This led me to think how Le Corbusier's Machine notion should be taken. Should we be living in literal machines? A house is a machine for living in: most people would not see a machine as their first idea of comfort so what is it that we should take from this idea?

The film is actually quite an uplifting one because it provides an insight into ordinary people going about their business, but also shows how people open up about some really quite personal happenings in their lives.

Ordinary people within an ordinary mechanical contraption. The cinematography of the film really captures the essence of the small spaces and long vertical corridors of the lift which has made me consider both still and moving images as a way of portraying the idea of a house being a machine for living in and therefore something to explore further.

Birmingham 28.10.2011

Last Friday, the Creative Digital Media group headed to Birmingham. Like Cardiff, this is another great, effervescent city with plenty going on. The original plan was to head to the Ikon Gallery, then down to Digbeth to the studio Fluid Design and The Custard Factory. Unfortunately Fluid had received a brief the previous night and the pitch to the client was the following day when we were in town! Understandably they had to decline us at the last minute, but have promised us a visit next term in which they will talk in great depth about their agency and the sorts of creative projects they take on. In the mean time though, I've taken a look at the blogs on their site. The first thing I noticed is the huge range of different creative topics of discussion from architecture to fashion through the environment, documentaries and bikes!

Obviously architecture caught my eye, and they have posted a blog about the Haçienda in Manchester. This music venue was the home of Factory Records which saw New Order [the reincarnation of late '70s band Joy Division following the suicide of frontman Ian Curtis] rise to fame to become one of the most influential electronica bands of the 1980s. Their 1983 single Blue Monday is still the biggest selling 12 inch single of all time. The Haçienda was created by Peter Saville of Factory Records and designer Ben Kelly in 1982 who created the iconic look by taking the FR label designs and putting them into a club. Putting Factory Records' mark on a building, gave it a home which, in turn, made the Haçienda instantly recognisable and the club itself was massively popular throughout the 80s. The link below is to a clip of the film '24 Hour Party People' [Director: Michael Winterbottom, 2002] and is great intro to the building with a bit of added humour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLCwLHqE0A0&feature=related

The Hacienda Nightclub (now city centre apparentments)

The contrasting colours and the whole design evoke fun! In my opinion people sometimes forget design is not all serious, and a club/music venue is where people go to relax, enjoy themselves, forget about their everyday lives. Ben Kelly's stark, raw interior brought the busy Manchester streets inside: “a city within a city”.

See Ben Kelly's writing on the club from his website.  

http://www.benkellydesign.com/home.php?id=2:0:24:0:0

The signs and colours within the Haçienda are reminiscent of natural warning signs. We use these colours/marks because we see them to mean danger, which then provokes a flight or fight response. This is so ingrained in our minds that they subconsciously warn us of potential hazards. Our obsession with patterns and seeing how some colours and shapes work together and others do not impacts on us whether we think about it or not. The factory Records label would probably have used these colours ecause they are eye catching and quickly recognisable. After watching the Code on BBC from a few months ago I have been thinking increasingly about human relationships with nature, the synergy of nature and how architecture is influnced and affected by this [but more to come on that in my next blog...].

As for the rest of the Birmingham trip, it was great to get out of the studio and find inspiration all around, but, if I am completely honest, I am never sure what I think about art galleries. I feel like an incompetant creative individual because I have a tendancy to race through them without thinking too much about what the artist has done! They should be seen as great resources for inspiration or at least ways of portraying ideas. I think perhaps practise is in order, a little like reading a book. The more you read, the more quickly you can take things in. If I visit more art galleries perhaps I will be able enjoy them at the speed I look through them. I found it more intreesting after we had a group chat with a curator abuot the artist and how they chose those particular works as a sort of supplement to the art. Bulgarian, Nedko Solakov, has been a prolifc artist for around 30 years and expermiments with potentially sensitive subjects largely in a humourous and childlike way. He is IKON's main exhibitor at the moment.

From a design point of view I found the IKON very interesting. I enjoyed the curved glass doors and the bare concrete walls softly lit with warm bulbs spelling out “IKON”. Simple and effective.

IKON gallery entrance
(photos by me)

Looking up from the foyer
(photos by me)

To add in a lift and stairs a very structural glass and steel aesthetic which takes you up on the inside of the gallery but on the outside of the original buildings means you can get up close the the exterior of these old buildings which are so much a part of Birmingham's Victorian history.

All in all the we enjoyed a crisp cold but sunny day out of the studio searching for inspiration in what is such a vibrant and fast moving city. Cannot wait to get back and see Fluid Design and hopefully get another chance to look at more of Birmingham.

A Trip to Cardiff

It has been an incredibly busy time over the last couple of weeks. I am massively interested in concert photography and a couple of months ago, took on a challenge down in Cardiff to shoot 2 days of live music at the Sŵn Music Festival. This is an annual event occurring in various locations throughout Cardiff city centre. As I did my first degree there, I have a particular inclination toward the place and thought it would be a great opportunity to revisit the fast moving capital city, as well as take on the challenge of more music photography. I shot 10 bands over 2 days which may not seem like a lot, but it took me about a week to recover [however it was definitely worth it]!

Here is a link to the Sŵn Festival site:

http://www.swnfest.com/

I really enjoy being able to experience new music. Cardiff's music scene is as fast moving as the development within the Capital itself and it was great to see bands come from all over the county to be a part of this intriguing underground music scene festival. I was a part of a team of about 30 photographers all with their schedules for various bands and venues. Here's a link to some of the photos I took over the weekend:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.301669586511534.81531.245879182090575&type=3

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.302662706412222.81731.245879182090575&type=3

I will tell you about a couple of examples while on the topic of music and architecture [hence some relevance towards my project]. Barfly, a typically grungey music venue has seen a recent overhaul and been renamed Bogiez, now a full on rock club and live music venue. From what I have heard it's a great little place to go and rock out, but I did not get the chance to head there myself unfortunately [but it certainly looks a lot better than it did in the old Barfly days at least!]. Sticking with the music theme, another [very different] locale has undergone a huge change over the past 4 or 5 years. The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, a particularly prestigious institute for performing arts has been massively modernised. Formerly a typical college block without much consideration for aesthetics, the new building has brought the college into the 21^st century, not just in the way it looks but also the facilities now available to students. New rehearsal spaces, recording studios, practice rooms, extensive libraries, a café, galleries and performance areas are a selection of what students now have to work with.

The RWCMD new £22.5 million building under construction

 I'm sure it is great to have these spaces/facilities but I found the building itself gave me a strange feeling – it was quite spooky. From the outside it is modern, clean, very neatly put together,quite typical wooden, concrete frontiers, it dominates the space etc. However, the sliver of glass by the entrance makes it seem unwelcoming. Or perhaps it should be seen as enticing one to come and take a closer look, but I could not help but feel it looked odd. I did see it at night once where it looked eerie. You could imagine yourself walking through this giant space, the only thing you can hear is the clip-clop of your shoes along the pristine polished floors. Then again, I could have just got used to the idea that glass is the material of the moment/century. Everyone wants you to look at the innards of their buildings so you can see what they have and what you do not. A way of showing off essentially [as well as a way of getting light into a building without compromising security or atmospheric conditions].

RWCMD 3D realisation of the new building

 I was on a bus when I first saw this and definitely did think it was an impressive sight. I had seen it nearly every day as a building site and so was in that typical situation of having forgotten about it over a year later, then seeing it in it's new glory and being quite stunned by the sheer magnitude of the building. Being on the main North Road into Cardiff and opposite the beautiful Cardiff University and Government buildings it certainly has a lot to compete with and I would say it has done this mostly quite well. It has much presence but without being gaudy. I often wonder what the fathers of modern architectur e(Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius etc) would think of the new 21^st Century take on Modernism – would they think we are doing great and adapting the principles of Modernism to suit our current needs or have we got the wrong end of the stick and gone in a completely different direction?

Cardiff has changed so much over the last few years, architecturally and socially, with the ever increasing number of students choosing to study there and the development of St David's 2, a multimillion pound shopping complex situated near the centre adding to it's already historically impressive Queen Street. At one point I remember being in Cardiff Castle grounds on a well earned day off and counting 13 cranes dotted around the city centre. This highlighted Cardiff's ever changing state: standing in an 800 year old castle seeing new layers being added to the city everyday. I hope it continues to improve, it has been a centre for change for over a hundred years now, in particular since the industrial revolution which saw Cardiff and South Wales as the worldwide hub for coal production and exports. These days may be gone but Cardiff is certainly making an impressive attempt to get itself back on the map as the place to be seen.