Studio journal 11

Over time I have been building up the 'Accidental Alphabet' made up of images I have taken around Bristol. After a few difficult letters to find, I have finally completed the Accidental Alphabet.

Studio Journal 9- Sence of place & collage

Following on from my research into Bristol attractions I have decided to create my own image that is made up of the images of Bristol attractions. I have started by taking this image of a ship and then redrawing it so that it is only the silhouette. I have done this with a select few images and then put them all together to create one image that illustrates 'A sense of place' Bristol.

The idea for this design was inspired by the Heads of State travel posters and the idea of taking the main attraction of each state and using it as a flat image to illustrate each state. I have taken a similar approach but instead used several aspects of Bristol to create one poster.

This has lead me on to another idea that can be used for a collage or sense of place. I Have focused on the main attractions of Bristol and used various images to create a photo montage/collage that could be used to illustrate Bristol.

Studio Journal 8- sence of place

There are several aspects of Bristol that it is well known for such as the suspension bridge and the the World's first ocean going passenger ship, SS Great Britain. For 'A sence of place' I am have decided to focus on the things that people associate with Bristol. I have started by looking at the main attractions such as the architecture, events and scenery.

 SS Great Britain was an advanced passenger steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York. While other ships had previously been built of iron or equipped with a screw propeller, Great Britain was the first to combine these features in a large ocean-going ship. She was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic, which she did in 1845, in the time of 14 days. 

The Clifton Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Avon Gorge, and linking Clifton in Bristol to Leigh Woods in North Somerset, England. Also designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, it is a landmark that is used as a symbol of Bristol. It is a grade I listed building. The idea of building a bridge across the Avon Gorge originated in 1753 originally for a stone bridge with later plans for a cast iron structure. An attempt to build Brunel's design in 1831 was stopped by the Bristol Riots, and the revised version of his designs was built after his death, being completed in 1864.

This artistic footbridge opened in 1999 to link the waterfront leisure facilities on either side of St Augustine’s Reach. Irish artist Eilís O’Connell worked on the design with many engineers. The sculpted horns are counterweights which lift the central span clear for river craft. Pero was a black slave brought to Bristol from the Caribbean island of Nevis in 1783 as a servant of wealthy Bristol merchant John Pinney. 

The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is held annually during August in Bristol. Teams from the UK and other parts of the world bring their hot air balloons to the site and participate in mass ascents where as many as 100 balloons may launch at a time.The event was first held in 1979 and is now one of the largest in Europe. It is common to have crowds of over 100,000 on each of the four days of the festival.

The Cathedral Church of the Holy and undivided Trinity is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England, and is commonly known as Bristol Cathedral. Founded in 1140, it became the seat of the bishop and cathedral of the new Diocese of Bristolin 1542. The Cathedral is located on College Green, where its architecture can be seen to an advantage, the cathedral presents a view of tall gothic windows and pinnacled skyline that belies the fact that it was constructed over a period of more than 700 years. The cathedral has much of interest including unique architectural features, unusual memorials and an historic organ.

St. Mary Redcliffe is an Anglican parish church located in the Redcliffe district of the English port city of Bristol, close to the city centre. Constructed from the 12th to the 15th centuries, the church is a Grade 1 listed building, St. Mary Redcliffe is renowned for the beauty of its Gothic architecture, having been described by Queen Elizabeth I as "the fairest, goodliest, and most famous parish church in England." The 292 ft (89 m) spire is the third tallest of England's parish churches after the Roman Catholic Church of St. Walburge, Preston and the Anglican Church of St. James, Louth. It is the tallest building in Bristol.

Studio Journal 7- collage

Here I have created two collages. The collage above is based on Bristol zoo and made up from leaflets I have collected whilst in Bristol. I have created this one as an experiment before I has created my final collage which is the image below. I have been collecting up bits from newspapers, leaflets and information sheets that contain images and places that make up Bristol.

Studio Journal 6 - visual journey

I have developed my visual journey some more using Photoshop. I have taken an existing map of Bristol that is easy to understand and only locates the main areas and roads of central Bristol. I have decided to use this map to recreate my own abstract piece based on this map of Bristol. Using Photoshop I used the clone tool to edit out any lettering on the map such as the road names, area names and the information on the corner of the map. This then left only the imagery and looked like the image below. I created several outcomes by creating four of the original then rotating and flipping the images and then placing them together like a puzzle as shown in the image below on the right. 

Experiment 1

Experiment 2

Experiment 3

Experiment 4

Experiment 5

Typography

Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. Display typography is a strong element in graphic design, as it can not so much be concentrating on the text being readable and more about using type in an artistic manner. I have experimented with dimensional type by involving type into the environment, designers and artists sometimes do this to change or adjust the meaning of something, for example Banksy's graffiti work is a good example of this.

 Typography is created by typesetters, compositors, typographers, graphic designers, art directors, comic book artists, graffiti artists, clerical workers, and anyone else who arranges type. The other day I captured an image of a graffiti artist at work in Bristol.

I am currently experimenting dimensional type where type is involved in the environment to change or adjust the meaning. An interesting way of doing this is by using light graffiti also known as light drawing or light painting. This is a photographic technique in which  exposures are made usually at night or in a darkened room by moving a hand-held light source or by moving the camera. In many cases the light source itself does not have to appear in the image. The term light painting also encompasses images lit from outside the frame with hand-held light sources.

Here is an example of how light graffiti can be used to
insert text into the environment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC17QW_HQZ4&feature=related

Studio Journal 5 - Collages

Zena Assi is a is a Lebanese Painter born in 1974. Assi lives and works in Beirut which is the capital and largest city of Lebanon (Middle East). It is her 'Beirut' series that has influenced me. It is obvious that the artist has a great understanding of the city as she is able to portray this chaotic, crazy, crowded, and multi-layered city for what it is. The ‘Beirut’ collages are all unique, and in each one she portrays Beirut at different times throughout the year. Her collages take a distant view to the city in such great detail.

Cecil Touchon is a  is a contemporary
 American collage artist, painter,
published poet and theorist.

I have been interested in the idea of using a map of Bristol for my Visual Journey which has lead me to experiment with this detailed map I collected from a Bristol information center in town to create a collage. I was inspired by Zena Assi's idea of using a lot of detail to represent the City. However I have used a map of Bristol city instead of images to create the same jumbled up idea. I was also inspired by Cecil Touchon's fushion series as they have been created using the same jumbled element. (A collage series made up of using fragments of lettering from found bill board material)

Original Map

I photocopied the colour version of the map to recreate a black and white image. I ripped up the coloured map and the black and white version and recreated the map using the collage style and this is the final outcome in my sketchbook.

Close up

Studio Journal 4

This piece was painted by David Walker for the opening night of King of paint, a new spray paint shop close to the Bear Pitt.

This is Niels Shoe Meulman's (also known as Shoe) piece for 'See no Evil'. He is an internationally known artist and graphic designer. He was born and raised in Amsterdam, Netherlands where he is also based

This is Nick Walker's monumental piece from 'See no Evil' - An Urban art project that took place August 2011.

This is one of the most viewed Banksy pieces located at the bottom of  Park Street.

Whist walking around Bristol I noticed all the different types of graffiti including some of Banksy's art work which seems to be one of the main attractions of Bristol. In relation to this I have created a graffiti themed title page in my sketch book. I did this by drawing out the letters in black marker pen and then cutting them out of the page. I then stuck down a map of Bristol on the next page so that it was behind the lettering.

Banksy

  Banksy is a graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter. Banksy's work was born out of the Bristol underground scene which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. Banksy started out as a freehand graffiti artist as one of Bristol's DryBreadZ Crew (DBZ). From the start he used stencils as elements of his freehand pieces, too. By 2000 he had turned to the art of stencilling after realizing how much less time it took to complete a piece.

Stencil on the waterline of Thekla, an entertainment boat in central Bristol. The image of Death is based on a 19th century etching illustrating the pestilence of The Great Stink.

Banksy's stencils feature striking and humorous images occasionally combined with slogans. The message is usually anti-war, anti-capitalist or anti-establishment. Subjects often include rats, apes, policemen, soldiers, children, and the elderly. 

Banksy's first film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, billed as "the world's first street art disaster movie," made its debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. The film was released in the UK on 5 March 2010. In January 2011, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary for the film. 

Trailer Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTlm6dU2xHk

Studio Journal 3

 Visual Journey

Map 1

After walking around Bristol Centre some more, I have decided to explore the idea of creating my visual journey using a map of Bristol. I have started by looking at various maps of Bristol.The map on the right (Map 1) visually communicates well as it is not too over whelming with the information it provides.It is a simple map focusing on the main roads and big locations of Bristol making it easy to look at and understand. The use of colour works well to as it helps to understand different locations. Where as the map below (Map 2) has less information. This does not make it any less successful as both maps would be used for a different purpose. Map 1 would possibly be used by a pedestrian to find an exact location such as Broadmead shopping or specific smaller roads, where as the map 2 would be used to locate a certain area in the centre of Bristol or one of the main roads that lead through it. The third map is similar to the first. However the imagery has less detail and uses a select use of colours. I think that this map is the easier one to look at out of the three as it only pin points the larger areas and main roads rather than the first map which shows all the smaller roads as well and the use of the colour theme makes it easier on the eye than a mixture of too many different colours and too much writing over the map like the first one.

Map 2

Map 3

London Underground

Harry Becks design

Harry Becks was the first to design the schematic image map in 1933. It was a new design for an old map but visually much better to understand. Becks worked as an engineering draughtsman at the London Underground signals Office. He proposed his new design in 1931 as the network had become too big to represent geographically. 

Looking at an old map of the Underground railways', he said, 'it occurred to me that it might be possible to tidy it up by straightening the lines, experimenting with diagonals and evening out the distance between stations'.

The solution that Becks came up with was to map the network schematically and based the system on electrical circuit diagrams. The design was initially rejected as it was thought to be too radical. After some changes were made the design was later approved and a trial pocket version was published in 1933.

Original design

An original design

Studio Journal 2

I have been looking out for the accidental alphabet and come across and captured at least half of the alphabet whilst walking around the Bristol area. However the camera I have been using is not very good quality and therefore my image quality is not as good as it could be. The image on the right is an example of the letter V that I have found from a building that looked like the image below. The patten the front of this building creates also allows the letter M and W to be captured.

 Below are some more examples of the accidental alphabet that I managed to capture.

Below is an image of a collage I had been putting together which is based on the Bristol night life. I have collected many different leaflets for a variety of different events at Bristol clubs and bars to create the collage.