To get the creative thoughts flowing, Megan and I went to Tate Modern to spark from inspiration for the up incoming course. Through the visit there were new exhibitions that have been put into place, it was also a new experience going in to the museum during Covid, with constant hand sanitising and wearing a mask at all time. I have never experience the Tate so empty before, but it was a pleasant time because we were able to take our time looking at the exhibit and not be pushed into the crowed. I also really appreciated going with Megan because we were able to have conversations about the work and play with each other's idea on how the pieces we were looking at could potentially inspire our projects within the MA, it was also interest to talk about our different views on some of the work as well and how we perceived them differently from each other and to what the artists intended (from reading the artist statement). This got me thinking about what the intention of the pieces and how although the artist intended one meaning, the audience could potentially view the pieces differently. Do I want the audience to view my work exactly as I intended or is that completely out of my control? Does it matter is they perceive the work differently? The pieces that caught my attentions were ones that used mix media and have high contrasting imagery. Some videos that were shown also had me thinking about what the artist process was to create their pieces as well as the choice in sounds.
A piece that really drew my attention was created by Aldo Tambellini (Figure 1). This projection showed different marks and scratches on a 16mm projection film. He paired the visual with a heartbeat sound which brought a suspenseful feeling to the piece. Hearing the loud heartbeat made me think about horror films and how the emphasis of the heartbeat was suppose to increase the anticipation just before a scare or a high dynamic moment in the film. The films by Aldo Tambellini were made from entirely without the use of a camera, he painted, scratched, couched and perforated the surface of the film strip which resulted in the abstract imagery shown. I have previous played a little with projection in first year in my BA course however I would like to look more into using projection and a medium and how sounds effects the work.
Figure 1 : Black Is, Aldo Tambellini, 1965
Another film that was shown in the Tate that caught my attention was The Eye and the Ear, created by Franciszka Themerson (Figure 2). The film shows the movement of water droplets and ripples which responded to the music. Upon further reading the aim of the artist was the translate sound into image, having four parts based on four songs. Each song had different imagery that response to the music. What was interesting to me was not only how the imagery and sound responded to each other but also the effect of what was being filmed. The high contrast Brough emphasis to the ripples and waves which in turn emphasised that particular moment in the song. The close up of the ripples also drew my attention to increasing and striking notes.
Figure 2 : The Eye and the Ear, Franciszka Themerson, 1944 - 5
Below are some other pieces that I found interesting, either because of the process or materials used to create the piece. From this I would like to look into and explore more film, projection and sound as I never had much of a change to experiment with them. I would like to explore further into how projection can be used to create an experience.
Figure 3 : Collection of Tate Modern Pieces, 2020
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