Tom Hackett

His work is interactive, they are large scale sculptures. Uses random items individually and in bulk. Goes to great lengths to get 'resources'. Hackett has rowed up and down rivers and stood on a small island collecting water as evidence of the rivers existence and the time that it was collected. Sometimes he would make a silicon mould cast of items and subjects and use lots of them to create shapes and sculptures. He loves to talk to people. The shaggy dog series was a project to excercise the bridge that owning a dog creates. He would not talk to people unless spoken to.

I think that Hackett's work is very original since as all of his work is silicon based and very bright and colourful. This contrast himself and the way he seems to dress a lot of the time which is very dark. He seems to want to spark a reaction from people when they see him with it which I think is quite brave because it opens himself up for criticism and abuse. I'm not sure if I could do something similar.

Revolver Revolver Agency

Chris Redshaw is the leader of a small design company of 6. His first employer in a design studio told him that you don't have to be a businessman to start your own business or studio. When that small design company was sold to a big company; Redshaw stated that it felt like everyone was just a number on a chair, everyone was given a brief and they work on it themselves. With help from Derby University where he studied; he was given money and bought some computers and desks and opened his own studio. However it wasn't going that well so he went to NYC with no money, contacts or anything to come back to. This was so that he could gather his thoughts and come back with a brand new perspective. Sometimes Redshaw stops working when he's stuck and goes for a walk, this gives him a break to gather his thoughts.

Revolver revolver is 6 years old. He worked for a few companies and knew what he wanted his own business to be like. At the start a lot of his work was under priced but this gave him a portfolio and some contacts to pass on his name. With over 4 people now employed in revolver, it's placed in the top 20% of design companies. His team collaborates together and with many other types of people who specialise in many things. Redshaw believes that not one person has the answer, the team collectively comes up with the answer. Small teams allow tight knitted friendships to form and they banter, spend days out eg go carting.

Redshaw has found that what you do in the outside world really has an effect on how you work and the type of work you produce. One of their rules is that anyone can speak out if something isn't right, this allows them to collaborate and develop their work. Time is massively recorded in the studio because they charge £520 per day, time could be the factor of whether a company can afford their services or not.

The process that they take during a project is the following order.

Understanding

Visit the client

Inspiration

Break

Initial concept - hand sketch

Digital production

Refine - printed and refined

Selection of the work

Revolver Revolver has designed the F1 winners presentation stage that is shown after every F1 race, a cafe in Matlock employed them to do complete interior design including the chairs, tables, floor, paint colours and accessories that they bought from several sources online.

Chris Redshaw stated that the best advise he could give us is to network as much as we could and get our names out there.

I found this very interesting to find out about because of the possibility that one day I could be working with or in a creative team. This really inspires me to meet people in my industry so that one day I might have a customer base and people that I can talk to in order to get work.

William Eggleston

He photographs the banal - the plain and the boring. The things that you wouldn't expect to be interesting. Born Memphis, 1939, lives and works there today. Eggleston has 50 years of working as a artistic photographer, photographing everything in his hometown. People often ask what he photographs, he answers them with 'life today'. Never titles his work, barely dates or locates where his images are taken. Only one picture is taken for one subject, never two, he gets confused and frustrated trying to decide which frame is the best.

Eggleston started at 18 when he got given his first camera and used black and white film; developing it himself. He didn't know anything and taught himself everything. The first images he took were  of the everyday without journalistic objective. Friends brought him photography books but only found one interesting - a lot of the images in this book featured Henri Cartier-Bresson. Bresson focused on capturing the moment which inspires Eggleston to capture 'today'. "never take any object for granted" is what he teaches to people because these are the things that he photographs. in a lot of his images have weird things happening around the edge of the frame and in the image. Sometimes things that are meant  to be there just aren't and some objects look out of place in the frame but this is what makes it interesting.

He never graduated from any of the universities that he attended and had a lot to do with his grandsons upbringing. Meaning that they were a massive subject of his work. As the world around him changed due to development; he thought everything became ugly, a friend told him to photograph the ugly stuff; so he did. In the 60's he shot his first colour roll of film, this changed Eggleston's career and the roll of professional art photographers because professional art was always black and white. Eggleston barely takes portraits but when he decides too he takes them very quickly and smoothly. Most of the time  people don't even know or realise that he was even there. He appears to be a collector of cameras and guns, never shoots them. However he has a lot of Leica's which he will take apart and experiment with constantly.

This image is very unique because the model in this image is dressed quite smart and the hair is well groomed; compared to the surroundings which isn't very posh which is the surrounding that you would expect the model to be in. The chain as well to the right is very intricate but looks like if you were to even touch it, it would lose its form and just fall down. I think the contrast of the subjects makes this image interesting because it questions all the social boundaries of class.

Other photographers find Memphis boring and dull. They seem to think he has this magic that other photographers cant reproduce.

Eggleston's most famous image of the red room was taken whilst lying in bed talking with his best friend and his wife. He had his Leica camera and a flash on the bed; he takes the image and they carry on talking. A week later his friend was murdered. Head caved in with a hand ax and the building was set on fire. Eggleston think that it might have happened because his friend was a drug user and he may have got into trouble with it.

This image is so vibrant and bright and the subject in the lower corner contrasts with the red making it stand out. However because of its position it seems to hide and doesn't get noticed by many people. The lines created by the wires and corners of the room create structured blocks which forms the image.

He worked with Warhol in New York where he was introduced to movies. He took a camera with him back to Memphis and took it to bars and clubs. Guns, drugs, drinking and smoking were all subjects because this was his lifestyle; as well as the plain and everyday which was specifically his art. They were 'boring' just like his images and he conducted his videos just like his images.

None of his work was exhibited until the 70's. William Egglestons guide - was his first book which was based on his exhibition. It showed his home, his family, his friends; all private subjects that are very personal to him. In May 1976 his first exhibition took place. Eggleston almost slept through the opening ceremony. Critics called the event boring and banal but that was the point, it was contemporary art, he wanted to change the view on colour photography however professional photographers were angered by it because they spent their lives perfecting their techniques with black and white photography. The critics didn't understand it even though they are paid to understand. After learning this they wrote to him apologising and since then others like Martin Parr have been influenced by him.

I have recently purchased this book and I always enjoy looking through it because it stimulates different emotions like awe, humour and sadness. I think that Eggleston may be the most talented and inspiring still life photographer since the 70's because he has the amazing talent of creating strange compositions with colours and structures within the images. Using variating shapes from different angles he can make very normal and everyday items very surreal and out of this world.

Louise West

Lace is collection of threads combined to make patterns and goes back to the age of Egyptians. Until 1851 lace was made by machine. Lots of things can be done with lace to experiment, you can die it and create lots of different colours and use wire to create structures.

West enrolled at Derby University

In her first year she was approached by Nottingham Contemporary for a collaboration. She was asked to create a lace pattern that could be put into concrete for the cladding of the building. Photoshop had to be used to mirror an antique machine made lace because the handmade lace copy that she made would stick to the concrete.

The Nottingham Contemporary opened in 2009 with David Hockney and Francis Stark exhibitions.

MA in contemporary lace

First West created a lot of drawings of plants and rotting leaves because it represented historical antique lace very closely. Using silver clay she used her drawings and designs to create odd lace flowers and balls. Lots of them. Jewellery could be made from these materials and patterns. 

This is an image of the contemporary structures that she makes. I understand and appreciate that this piece would have required a lot of skill, patience and time. However I dislike this piece, to me it is quite boring. I am not interested in this type of art because it doesn't stimulate me visually.

In her second year she bought a studio because the university was inadequate for what she needed to do. She wanted to make a sculpture so she designed and made a pillow for the inside the structure that could be taken out when all the lace was finished.

In her final year; West wanted to use more contemporary designs and usages than historical. However she would stay with the theme of plants. This would start by looking at plant cells and DNA hat has been widely discussed  the biology circles. Lace columns were made with these patterns, West didn't state what it was made out of but from pictures it looked like bronze. This was her final piece.

A director for a documentary approached her and filmed her lace making. Buckingham Palace then approached them both to request for footage that they could use for a lace exhibition, it was put in the virtual guide.

This is an image of some traditional lace she has designed. This reminds me of very old cloths and clothing. 

West now runs her own courses in her studio for up to 8 people.

I personally disliked this presentation and the work that I was shown. I found West to be very monotone and unable to stimulate audiences that aren't particularly textile students. I am really disappointed with everything during this presentation.

I feel that her website and work is primarily aimed at students or people wanting to learn the skill because I don't find lace exciting enough to be anywhere other than on underwear, shirts and table cloths. 

www.louisewestlacedesign.co.uk

Composition Task

Looking at compositional factors I am to take an image that represents each one. The 10 compositional factors are lines, frame within a frame, patterns/textures, balanced, angle, reflections, shadows, distances, colour, focus.

I notice that a lot of these images follow a theme. The theme is mostly urban and most have a grungy look to them. I think that this was caused by the weather. It was very dark and I had to use long exposures. This would allow the contrast to be exadurated and the colour could become quite saturated in camera.

Gemma Germains from Well Made Studios

First she displayed the ups and downs of working in the creative industries with her own story. There were a lot of downs that out ways the good. However by the sounds of things she is well off at the moment and has a relatively happy life.

Client comes to you and ask you make a couple of ideas. "Couple of ideas" is degrading to your own creativeness because to them is nothing and they may have asked more than 10 designers that you don't know about. This means they are demeaning all of these peoples creativeness.

After education. Who benefits from internships...the company. "It's like slave trade but in front of computers". A lot of companies need people with 2 years experience so you do 2 years of unpaid work. She believes that free internships are mentally damaging because you are being told subliminally that your work isn't good enough to be paid for. It's also sleezy because of the amount of money they make and you get none of it. You are entitle to minimum wage with set hours and tasks so it's illegal. 

After every education year there is a new wave of students asking for free internships.

If students refuse to do free work then companies will change because they need young new ideas from students. Good ideas are proven to come from stress free lives so pay is necessary so that they don't have to be concerned about bills and loans. Studios will nurture these talents and won't want them to leave. Instead of working for someone else for free, work for yourself.... This is what she believes.

You need to be good at getting clients and making a name for yourself. People from college and university will be future networks because you know where their talents are.

How to get work

Started on tumblr and was really honest. Any studio that promotes that there are lots of good things that are going on is usually lying. She got a reputation for being honest and humble. A lot of clients come to them from word of mouth. They went to events where they knew their customers would be. To try and get contracts she first sent clients items that they had made previously and became buddy buddy with specific people who are influential in the client company. She wouldn't talk about work or jobs for 6 months so that they trusted each other.

Charging

At the start they were guessing. Time sheets will keep track of your hours. 60% of the time is actual work. The rest is talking to other clients, spread sheets, etc. She charged £35ph at the start, a mentor that was asked for help said £90ph average when he does a job, but she only charges this for massive international companies. You need to really know what you need to support yourself and charge appropriate. Ask client what there budget is; this will determine whether they have enough to work with you however this is flexible depending on who the client is.

I find her work and the way she works very confident and educated. The advertising and magazines shown above are very bright and vibrant which draws the viewer in. I find that the work from Well Made is treated more as a piece of art than just a product. Lines and colours seem to be used heavily which would attract a range of audiences.

Gemma@wellmadestudio.com