Artawearness IIX Again

I found all of the students' work so thought provoking so I am sharing with you some more images of this year's performance.
A big part of my Opus studies is sketchbooks. I am learning to develop my ideas visually and to record the process on paper which acts as steps towards realising them in textiles. This entry in the performance is by a 4th year drawing student, Jennifer Crighton.

Jennifer has literally brought to life drawings from a sketchbook. One of the interesting things about how these 'creatures' came about is they are a result of 'shared drawings' by a group of her fellow students at ACAD.

Students with 'individually diverse' practices are able to communicate through a sketchbook what fills their imaginations. This collaboration illustrates to me how well ACAD students' creativity & talents are developed at the school.
To quote that now famous quote,
"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution." Albert Einstein
This is the message in the movie 'The Diving Bell & the Butterfly' and it adds memories to the mix.

More Artawearness IIX

Kris Hold, a 4th year sculpture student, crocheted "authentic smelling twine & translucent fishing line to build structural pieces that cover human bodies." In this image I love the way the backs of the heads of those in the audience mimic the textures in the structural pieces.

She is exploring "human form & sculpture", a relationship made all the more dynamic by her startling choreography.

Human Anatomy

The Opus BA module I am doing this semester is Visual Studies where the whole focus is on drawing the human form. We are advised to take a figure drawing class which I did for an intensive week at Red Deer Collage during Series. It is also recommended we study a real human skeleton. I have seen skeletons when I go to the chiropractor and physiothrapist but I haven't had the opportunity to study one. Then I found the book 'New Atlas of Human Anatomy The first 3D Anatomy based on the National Library of Medicine's Visual Human Project, general editor: Thomas McCracken. To get the amazing images, 1mm thick cross sections of a frozen cadaver where photographed. A computer processed the info in these images to generate accurate 3D images which are printed in the book. I have been studying the images of bones, tendons & muscles as I practice drawing the human form.

This book reminded me of another student's entry in the ACAD Artawearness IIX performance. Amy Malbeuf made a series of anatomical costumes where each one showed a different system in the human body.

It was a weird sensation to see each system in motion. With the black costume in low lighting one didn't notice the rest of the human form. It was as though Amy had taken the images in the book to the next stage and put them in motion.

Amy said, "It was a comment on our society's emphasis on over-consumption & superficiality." Great work Amy. Can't wait to see what you come up with next year.

Alberta College of Art + Design, Artawearness IIX

This Is Kyle Nylund, a gifted fibre arts graduate from Alberta College of Art + Design here. His costumes, makeup & hair design & choreography all came together to delight the audience.

Kyle told me his entry this year was largely influenced by his experiences at Burning Man in the Nevada desert.

Kyle said, " I have combined masculine & feminine materials as signifiers to create a world that exemplifies confidence, sexual liberation, & the severity of the desert." A wheelchair bound mermaid?

More on the Feminine

This is Taryn Mckay's entry in the ACAD Artawearness IIX perfomance earlier this year. "The nest headpieces I have made represent fertility & the female. They symbolise a major role that women play in society as mothers & caretakers. Each piece speaks about an issue or decision that all women are faced with in their lifetimes."

I commend Taryn for tackling an important issue in such a quietly powerful way. Notice how she has made the audience focus on the individual faces of her models

I like this shot where the 2 women are not looking at the issue that affects them directly while the male in the foreground appears to follow the Western academic tradition of the active male viewer looking at passive female models.

Archetypes of the Feminine

In my Opus BA studies I am exploring the archetypes of the feminine and was reminded of Kimberly Johansen's entry, Telling Stories Through the Body, in this year's Alberta College of Art + Design here Artawearness performance.

She made a costume for each archetype 'from richly embellished, silk-screened & printed paper, exotic fabrics & found objects.' It was a clever way of telling the story and lovely to look at.