TRANSFORMATION IN ART
Travel and Events . (2011). Hypergraphia at the Flatiron Building, NYC . [Online Video]. 10 November. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id1033qb7AA&feature=player_embedded. [Accessed: 15 November 2012].
The above
video shows hundreds of hanging colourful cups at the Flatiron Building in New York City. This
building is located opposite Madison Square Park, at the intersection of
Broadway, Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street. The area where the Flatiron
Building was built used to be full of junkies and drug dealers in the past.
Over 800 colourful paper cups are hung by fishing line and exhibited in the Prow Art Space of the Flatiron Building. This exhibition is entitled "Hypergraphia: The Cup Drawings". Artist Gwyneth Leech is behind this artistic work. The coffee cups that she decorates so nicely with various abstracts (inspired by paintings and nature), or else with cityscapes and even with drawings of people (for example wearing winter clothes and holding umbrellas), were either used by her or by her artist friends who decide to donate their used paper cups to her instead of throwing them away.
Travel and Events. (2012). Gwyneth Leech HYPERGRAPHIA at the SPRINT FLATIRON PROW ARTSPACE. [Online Video]. 17 February. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5EFycv--aI. [Accessed: 15 November 2012].
According to the curator of The
Flatiron Prow Art Space, Cheryl McGinnis, over 500,000 people per week see the
exhibit. “With Hypergraphia,” she says, “you get to see art and the process by
which it is made.”
Gwyneth says on her blog:
“Readily
available and of no value to anyone else but me in their used state, paper cups
allow me to risk everything. Nothing lost, everything gained. In short, they
are a very useful form. I like to say, Bach had inventions, Shakespeare had
sonnets– and I have coffee cups.”
I think that Gwyneth Leech’s artwork and the
Flatiron Building offer various examples of art transformation:
Used coffee cups, which are objects that are not so interesting, are transformed into beautiful and attractive works of art
A degrading area in New York City which used to be frequented by drug addicts and drug dealers was transformed into a beauty that all passers-by can experience;
Workers from all walks of life who stop and look at the hanging cups can say that part of their workday is transformed into a moment of artistic meditation.
TRANSFORMATION IN DESIGN
These Sonic Fabric Neckties are made from recycled
cassette tape.
Nowadays cassette tapes are hardly ever used by modern people,
but conceptual artist Alyce Santoro brought them back to life when she designed
these ties. Santoro came up with the
idea of spinning cassette tapes into fabric – an idea which is very original. Not only most of the fabric that these ties
are made of comes from old cassette tape, but Santoro also made these
particular ties “playable”. If one rubs
a tape head across their surface, they produce a sound. On the tape that was used to manufacture this
batch of ties, Santoro recorded sounds from her cd “Between Stations”.
Santoro’s design was successful and these eco-friendly ties show a very interesting type of transformation. Cassette tapes which are considered by many as old, dull, uninteresting and no longer used, were transformed into something modern, useful and in this case distinguished type of clothing. Santoro calls them “superhero garb"
alyce santoro. (2010). sonic fabric studio. [Online Video]. 30 June. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la8GSebZuog&feature=player_embedded.
[Accessed: 15 November 2012].
TRANSFORMATION IN FILM
Ray (2004): This film is a true story
about the life of the legendary singer Ray Charles.
As I watched the film, I saw a lot of transformation that took place in Ray Charles’ life – not only transformation for the better but also for the worse:
·
Ray Charles could see before the age of 7 and
then he became blind.
·
He came from a poor and humble African American
family but his rising career during the 1950s and 1960s made him very rich and
famous.
·
He lost his mother (a very determined person who
offered him strong support) and his little brother at a young age. They were the only family members that he knew and loved. However later he had his own family.
·
He struggled with various problems in his life,
such as prejudice because of his blindness, racism because of his black skin
colour, his weakness for drugs and women that led him to drug abuse and failed
relationships .... but he managed to overcome the problems.
·
With regards to his ideas to combine soul and
gospel music, Ray Charles encountered a lot of problems because this involved
change. However, his incredible talent
made him revolutionise American popular music - Rhythm & Blues (or "race music"), Jazz, and Country &
Western music. He also played
an important part in the invention of Rock & Roll music.
I think that all this
transformation in the life of Ray Charles is a good example of human success.
rockabillygangs. (2008). Ray(2004)_Trailer. [Online Video]. 13 October. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXe5wAE1zzE&feature=player_embedded.
[Accessed: 15 November 2012].
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