Entry No 8

 

Transformation in Film

 

In my first 5 entries I wrote about the following 5 films that showed transformation in one or more characters:

·         The Godfather (1972);

·         Return to Paradise (1998);

·         Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain (2001);

·         The Four Feathers (2002);

·         Ray (2004).

I have now carried out some more research regarding the directors of the above films with the hope of finding out what or who influenced them in their work.  I managed to find the following information.

 

I found out that Francis Ford Coppola who directed “The Godfather” was influenced by the film "Blow Up" (1966) of Michelangelo Antonioni.  It was the best film of 1966 and it was Antonioni’s first English-language film. The writers of the screenplay were Antonioni and Tonino Guerra, whereas British playwright Edward Bond was responsible for the English dialogue. The producer was Carlo Ponti. This film is about a photographer, played by David Hemmings, who believes that he may have witnessed a murder and unintentionally taken photographs of what happened.  Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, John Castle, Jane Birkin, Tsai Chin and Gillian Hills, as well as the model of the 1960’s Veruschka, also star in this film.

CINEVIEW1. (2010). BLOW UP - Official Trailer (1966) . [Online Video]. 03 December. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrJ9U75OZOw.

[Accessed: 13 December 2012].

Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the director of “Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain” was influenced by the film “Once upon a Time in the West” (1968), directed by Sergio Leone.   Famous stars in this film include Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson and Claudia Cardinale.  The screenplay, written by Leone and Sergio Donati, was taken from an Italian story by Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento.  The story is about a young woman named Mrs McBain, who finds her husband and family killed when she arrives in Utah after moving there from New Orleans.  A prime suspect become friends with her and starts his quest to find the real killer …….  Following is a trailer from the film and also an interesting interview with Jean-Pierre Jeunet about his life as a director of films.

 

 

Danios12345. (2007). Once Upon a Time in The West Trailer. [Online Video]. 17 December. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNGQ1hUyx-k.

[Accessed: 13 December 2012].

 

 Baftaonline. (2010). Jean-Pierre Jeunet - BAFTA A Life in Pictures . [Online Video]. 12 March. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HndWfBhvQrk.

[Accessed: 13 December 2012].

 

I think that for my artwork I might consider taking 5 objects connected to the transformation that took place in the characters involved in each film that I wrote about in my first 5 entries, and include them in a sculpture or else produce an abstract artwork out of the objects. The objects can be: “a feather” which reminds me of The Four Feathers that were given to Harry to make him realize about his cowardice and to do something about it; “a gun”which transformed Michael from a quiet to a violent person in The Godfather; “a heart” in the case of Amélie in Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain, “a noose” which ended the life of Lewis in Return to Paradise, even though he was transformed into a better person; and “a piano” that made Ray Charles famous.

 

Entry No 7

Transformation in Design

 

In my first 5 entries I wrote about:

• two buildings that both involve transformation – one of them being a private residence whereas the other used by the public in a multi-functional way;

• space-saving furniture that can transform one room into two or three rooms;

• a wrist watch that can be transformed into a pocket watch;

• cassette tapes being transformed into fabric and then transformed into neckties; and

• material from London bus and underground seats transformed into shoes.

 

The designers of the neckties and the shoes were also influenced by the concept of reusing and recycling – to produce environment-friendly products.

The designs of the buildings, the furniture and the watch all show that the designers were influenced by the concept of multi-functionality which is quite a modern concept considering that traditional designs were usually produced to serve just one purpose. 

The designers of the furniture were also influenced by the concept of space-saving, which nowadays is essential since the majority of people do not afford to live in spacious buildings.  Space is especially limited in the cities, therefore offices, shops and private residences all benefit from space-saving furniture.

I will be considering multi-functionality when I design my test piece.

Entry No 6

Now that I`ve done a lot of research on TRANSFORMATION IN ART, DESIGN & FILM, I am going to reflect on my research and comment about how the practitioners` work is a reflection of various influences.  Today I’m going to focus on Art, whereas in my next 2 entries I will reflect on Design and Film, after which I will prepare another 2 entries regarding my ideas about the creation of my end visual product concept.  I think my concept will take the form of a test piece.

Transformation in Art

In my first 5 entries of this blog, I wrote about:

• scrap metal being transformed into beautiful works of art;

• two paintings that, although very different from each other, both showed the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly; 

• an image with the statement “We don’t need another hero” on it, which shows that the meaning changes if one had to look at the image only without the words.  The words transformed the interpretation of the image;

• discarded toys transformed into a wonderful dog sculpture; and

• used paper cups decorated with beautiful paintings and transforming not only the cups themselves, but also the place where they were installed.

 

 

The artwork produced from used material – scrap metal, toys, paper cups – shows that the artists involved were all influenced by the concepts of reusing and recycling which are very important in today’s world.  People are now aware that, in the years gone by, waste was not managed well and this caused damage to our environment - climate change, pollution, health problems, etc.  With the research that I carried out I realized that even artists are trying to do something to protect our environment and make our world a better place to live in.  In view of this, I decided that my “transformation” test piece should be eco-friendly and it will be made out of used or recycled material, possibly scrap metal.  In fact, I searched for some more information regarding “green companies” (companies who produce environment-friendly products) which use scrap metal.  I found out about the company that produces “Unique Thai Scrap Metal Art”.  This company considers the environment as their number one priority.  Their goal is to be creative in their metal works, using recycled material and non-toxic products.  They transform the metal that they find in scrap yards into beautiful sculptures, mirrors, robots …. and they also create film/mythical characters.  Maybe, for my test piece I will transform used metal into a cartoon character.

 

I did some more research about Allison J. Bratt, one of the artists who painted the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.  She says that she is mostly influenced by "the fluidity of nature, and the tangled web we’re a part of."  I found out that even this artist cares about our natural environment and when she produces her artwork, she tries to use recycled or used material, just like Robert Bradford who makes use of discarded toys and Gwyneth Leech who works with used paper cups. 

I think that Barbara Kruger is influenced by social issues and she produces her artwork – images with statements added to them – to make others reflect about what is going on in our society.  She makes the photos that she finds eye-catching by putting a red background and she uses text with ideas that she wants the viewers to think about, not just read.  The text that she puts is in a way asking the viewers about certain issues, such as feminism, classicism, consumerism, and the freedom and desires of the individual persons in our society.  Her artwork can be very useful during discussions, for example during debates of social importance.  Apart from “We don’t need another hero” I came across other statements by Barbara Kruger, such as “I shop therefore I am,” and “Your body is a battleground."  Her statements all bring out a message.  Maybe I will add a message to my artwork too.

  

Entry No 5

TRANSFORMATION IN ART

 

 

Robert Bradford . 2008. Recycled Art. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.recycleforthearts.org/recycled-toys-into-dog-art.html.

[Accessed 16 November 12].

 

 

This dog sculpture was created by artist Robert Bradford.  It is made up of recycled toys.  Bradford has been creating these original and wonderful sculptures since 2004 and some of his creative artwork includes up to 3,000 toys.  It all started when he looked at a toy box that was left at his work place by his children.  The toy box inspired him to start doing this type of artwork and it made him very successful.  At first he used his own children’s toys but then he started buying other unwanted toys from garage sales.

 

This is another good example of transformation in art - discarded toys being transformed into unique art sculptures - and again it shows that the concept of recycling is being practised by a lot of artists.

 

TRANSFORMATION IN DESIGN

 

As I was carrying some research regarding recycled textiles, the following caption caught my attention:
 

Don’t Put Your Feet On the Seat, Put a Seat On Your Feet

 

 

Anjie Davison . 2009. Seats on Feet!. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pompomemporium.com/content/seats-feet. [Accessed 16 November 12].

 

I learned that the “Above+Below” London footwear company manufactures shoes from recycled material - discarded tire rubber, fabric taken from the seats of London’s public means of transport (underground and buses), and even unwanted leather checkbook covers.

  

 

FirstGroup's Climate Change Strategy and TRiP (Transport Recycling in Partnership) supported this project.  Seat material was donated to the project to be reused, instead of being thrown away in the landfills or incinerated and causing damage to the environment.  On the other hand, the footwear company donated a tree for every pair of shoes sold.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the most environment-friendly project that I have ever heard about and I never imagined that tire rubber, underground and bus seat materials and leather checkbook covers could be transformed in such cool shoes!

 

TRANSFORMATION IN FILM

 

Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001):

 

This film is about a girl named Amélie Poulain who was born in 1974 in a French location called Enghien, in the northern suburbs of Paris. As a child Amélie was raised at home alone, without any contact with the outside world. This was due to the fact that her father, who was a doctor, mistakenly believed that his daughter suffered from a heart condition. This concern made her mother suffer from stress. Amélie did not even go to school. Her mother used to teach her at home. Obviously Amélie did not have a normal upbringing because she hardly got any real life contact with other people. Amélie was shy and lived in a world of her own, which was a world full of fantasies and dreams of love and beauty. Her life was full of imagination. After some time, her mother died in a weird accident when somebody jumped off the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and landed on her.

When Amélie Poulain became a young woman she was still a daydreamer and quite shy, but she moved to central Paris and started working as a waitress in the café Deux Moulins in Montmartre. In the café she used to wonder about life and daydream about finding the love of her life.

One day Amélie found a long-lost childhood treasure in her apartment after a small bottle cap slipped from her hand, hit one of the walls in her apartment and cracked it. The treasure was hidden behind the wall. It was a small box containing childhood mementos which belonged to a dweller from the 50's who used to occupy her apartment at that time. So Amélie decided to search for the man and return the treasure to him without letting him know who did so. When she succeeded in doing this and witnessed the man’s happiness, she decided to devote her life to the people around her and become the "godmother of the rejected". Amélie helped people she knew anonymously, using her fantasy and her little tricks. She was mischievous but she managed to help many people and enrich their lives, even though not in a normal way. For example her father was obsessed with his garden-gnome, so she used his garden gnome to convince him to travel abroad. She befriended and helped a rejected and lonely neighbour. She played jokes on another neighbour. She collected objects and later returned them to their owners. She also helped her hypochondriac colleague that worked in the tobacco shop and the man that used to stalk his ex girlfriends. When this particular man stalked the other waitress who worked with Amélie in the same café, Amélie acted like cupid. She played pranks to an employer that mistreated his employee with abusive relationship.

However, soon Amélie realized that her life was totally dedicated to others. She was not focusing much on her own life and especially on her long-time dream to find love in her life. So she decided that she needed another change in her life. She was determined to take a hold of her life and capture the beauty of love that she had always dreamed of. One day Amélie discovered an album of photos that belonged to a secretive collector. She looked for this mysterious person and she found out that he used to collect rejected photos in the Photomaton of the Gare de l'Est. This man was a bit of a freak but Amélie fell in love with him and found the love that she was searching for.

I see a lot of transformation in this film. Amélie’s life changed a lot from the time that she was a small girl till she finally found love and the meaning of life in general. The change from a child to an adult brought about other changes in her life. From a person cut out from the rest of the world she became a waitress, a job that makes you meet a lot of people. From a timid person, not so sure of herself, she started to help others, in unusual ways, after interacting with her neighbours and customers, and also with a mysterious Photomaton-image collector and one of his even more mysterious photo subjects. From a person who, for several years, depended totally on her parents, Amélie became independent and realized that the way to happiness required her to take her own initiative and reach out to others.

 

 

 

 

 zhukaiww. (2008). Amelie (2001) HD trailer. [Online Video]. 06 December. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEFrLnS5sQY&feature=player_embedded. [Accessed: 15 November 2012].

 

References:


http://www.wallpapervn.net/2011/09/top-most-amazing-and-creative-arts.html

http://greenupgrader.com/6046/dont-put-your-feet-on-the-seat-put-a-seat-on-your-feet/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0211915/

Entry No 4

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].

 

References:

http://www.jeffreymlevinemd.com/art-in-the-flatiron-building-madison-square-n
http://www.ecouterre.com/sonic-fabric-neckties-made-from-recycled-cassette-tape-make-sweet-music/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0350258/

Entry No 3

TRANSFORMATION IN ART

 

 

Allison J.Bratt, (2011), Caterpillar to Butterfly Transformation Hallway [ONLINE]. Available at: http://allisonjbratt.com/2011/10/creative-minds-learning-center-welcome-mural/butterflyhallwaycaterpillar/ [Accessed 11 November 12].
 

The above image shows a mural that was created by the artist Allison J. Bratt.  It is found at the Creative Minds Learning Center’s Sellwood location in Portland, Oregon.  Allison’s artwork focuses mainly on animals and the natural environment.  This painting shows the stages that take place during the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.  During my research, another painting that also shows how a caterpillar changes into a butterfly caught my attention.  It is a surreal painting, shown here below, by the artist Mihai Criste which I find most fascinating.  This artist revealed the transformation in a very different way from Allison.  I think his artwork inspires thought, whereas Allison’s painting, although eye-catching, is quite straightforward.

 



 

 Mihai Criste, (2012), Transformation | Surreal artworks by Mihai Criste [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.curiositiesbydickens.com/transformation-surreal-artworks-by-mihai-criste/ [Accessed 11 November 12].

 

 

TRANSFORMATION IN DESIGN

 

 

 

 

This is the Oakley Full Metal Jacket watch.  It is a very modern and unusual type of watch manufactured from titanium.  Although it has a single watch face, this particular watch can be transformed from a wrist watch into a pocket watch.  A pocket watch casing comes with the watch.

 

This design is a mixture of the old and the new – the old manual and artistic skills and the modern technology - brought together to create an artistic and useful object. 


The following video shows the transformation that takes place with this watch:

 

 

ttcomer. (2012). Oakley Full MetalJacket Watch. [Online Video]. 16 March. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0TUNjfBT74&feature=player_embedded. [Accessed: 11 November 2012].

TRANSFORMATION IN FILM

 

 



 

Return to Paradise (1998):

 

The three main male characters in this film are Lewis McBride (Joaquin Phoenix), Sheriff (Vince Vaughn) and Tony (David Conrad).  The film begins with them having great fun in a beautiful location in Malaysia. They involve themselves into exciting events and adventures, for example when they are almost run over by a car while riding a bicycle or when they are forced to buy some rhinoceros horn from Malaysian locals. We then see the three men winding up at their beach house thinking whether their future should be in that paradise.

 

Tony and Sheriff decide to return to New York, while Lewis, who loves nature, wishes to travel to Borneo to save endangered orangutans. Back in New York, Sheriff is working as a limo driver and Tony as an architect. A young lawyer named Beth (Anne Heche) informs them that their friend Lewis has served the last two years in Penang prison in Malaysia, because of the hash found at their Malaysian house. She tells them that Lewis will receive the death sentence unless one or both of the men return to share responsibility. Beth assures both of the men that they will not suffer in the prison and neither will they be tortured or harmed in any way. After a very tiring eight days, during which they must make a decision, and a heated love affair between Beth and Sheriff, both men decide to return to Malaysia. Upon their arrival, all seems well until they visit the prison to see Lewis.

 

Although usually prisoners are tortured or starved in the prison where Lewis is serving his sentence, it is reported that this is not the case with Lewis. However he has suffered from mental damage due to the imprisonment. In the meantime, Beth tells them that she is actually Lewis' sister. Her lie makes Tony fearful of the Malaysian justice system and he abandons Lewis and flies back to New York. Sheriff first follows Tony, but just as he was going to board the plane for New York, he decides to face jail to save his friend.  So he returns to the courtroom in which Lewis is being tried. The judge (Patrick Teoh) seems happy by this act of courage and bravery and was going to pardon Lewis, until he discovers a news clipping from an American newspaper blaming the Malaysian justice system and condemning them for their harsh sentencing of Lewis. Because of this, the judge becomes very angry and gives Lewis a death sentence, despite Sheriff's decision to accept his share of the responsibility. He also gives Sheriff an unknown period of jail time. As a noose is tied around Lewis' neck for his execution, Sheriff attempts to comfort him. Lewis is then dropped from the platform and killed.

 

Sheriff later assures Beth that Lewis died at peace. Beth becomes emotional and kisses Sheriff.  She loves him and she will wait for him in Malaysia until he is released from prison.

 

In this film I see transformation in the three main characters. They started as reckless and irresponsible young men, smoking hash, drinking alcohol, wasting their money and just wanting to have fun. However, later they all found a good job to earn a living. The fact that Tony and Sheriff decided to go back to Malaysia to save their friend, even though Tony later returned to New York, shows that they had been transformed into mature adults, especially Sheriff who suffered consequences in prison, after facing up to his responsibilities and taking part of the blame. This brave act shows also the love and respect that he genuinely had for Lewis and his sister.

 

micarone. (2008). Return to paradise (1998) Trailer. [Online Video]. 15 February. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePm4NsspL0Q&feature=player_embedded. [Accessed: 11 November 2012].

 

References:

http://allisonjbratt.com/about/

http://www.curiositiesbydickens.com/transformation-surreal-artworks-by-mihai-criste/
http://www.eefineart.com/artist_detail.php?artist_id=27
http://www.oakley.com/store/watches
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_to_Paradise_(1998_film)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0TUNjfBT74