Statement of intent

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Statement of intent:

Through the exploration and consideration of sustainable and ethical factors involving over consumption, wastage and animal cruelty within the fashion Industry. This creative research module combined with dissertation research have showcased how these factors are perceived lightly and have become the norm over the course of decades. All factors are hindering the environment and causing unnecessary animal murder. I intend combine and further my research into both wastage and animal cruelty free within the fashion industry. Primarily focusing on how stopping mass consumption of unsustainable and unethical products and promoting vintage, second hand and thrift shops. Through research already conducted a large number of individuals have a lack of knowledge and awareness of what they are purchasing and where it is sourced. Therefore focussing further research on campaigns and how they can better the messages they’re trying to portray.

I have begun my research by looking at large organisations, theories and designers. An example of an theory is the ‘circular economy’ in question with whether the fashion industry can ever have minimal wastage with longer more efficient product life cycles. Also through experimenting with controversial images for producing advertising campaigns has helped spur my thought process. With a strong interest in sustainable fashion I think it is vital for more individuals to get involved to stop animal cruelty in fashion but also reducing waste. As a means of research I will look at how fashion brands, designers and media hide the reality of these wastage and animal cruelty.

Through my final major project I aim to pinpoint how labels are created; for example fur being perceived as luxury and how cheap products are viewed as acceptable to be thrown away after a handful of uses. This will be the starting point of my primary research done through surveying, documenting footfall in high street shops such as Primark, Zara and Jigsaw through conducting interviews with customers whom purchase from these shops with regards to the clothes they purchase.

In this project I have experimented through mimicking animal fur with meat signifying flesh, this informs the viewer that wearing any form of skin or fur is in fact murder of an animal. With supporting slogans and strapless sets the tone of the striking campaign.

As part of this current project I have explored aspects of a 360 degree campaign through social media, advertorial posters, press releases and event organisation. Therefore I intend to produce a full 360 degree campaign with a supporting magazine in order to create awareness. I feel that researching these issues in fashion has broadened my knowledge of the brutal, unethical and unsustainable occurrences that are hidden within fashion today. Therefore it has provided me with a deeper insight in the changes I can help create through a 360 degree campaign with a supporting fashion magazine. This will entail relevant articles, information, image making, typography based on animal cruelty and wastage all linking to the 360 degree campaign as these are both sustainable factors. I am for a striking final outcome which will be informative and set a powerful view of how an animals life is wasted due to fashion.

My initial research has provided me with a better idea of what I want to explore including questions, themes, theories and collaborative work I will use to formalise my final major project. Both of the sketchbook books linked to this project show research, ideas and development of what I could develop further. This will be useful to relate back too as it has logged my ideas and development process. In order to forward my research and experimentation I need to ensure I am on top of my time management to allow for a smooth development process for my final major project. This can be achieved through GANTT charts and plans. But also frequently visiting galleries and exhibitions.

 

 

“Coalition To Abolish The Fur Trade.” Caft.Org.Uk, 2017, http://www.caft.org.uk.
Gwilt, Alison, and Timo Rissanen. Shaping Sustainable Fashion. 1st ed., London, Earthscan, 2011,.
Hendriksz, Vivian. “Anti-Fur Protesters Take London Fashion Week By Storm.” Fashionunited.Uk, 2017, https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/anti-fur-protesters-take-london-fashion-week-by-storm/2017091925941.
Hethorn, Janet, and Connie Ulasewicz. Sustainable Fashion. New York, Fairchild Books, 2008,.
“Indyact | Campagins And Projects | Zero Waste Campaign.” Indyact.Org, 2017, http://www.indyact.org/ContentRecordDetails.aspx?id=75.
“The Barbaric Fur Trade | Animals Are Not Ours To Wear | PETA UK.” PETA UK, https://www.peta.org.uk/issues/animals-not-wear/fur-trade/.

Timeline:

December 5th – Briefing FMP
Write FMP brief
Continue with research within animal cruelty and wastage – how labels are created and how the medias impact.
Begin creating a media pack for the magazine and start looking at one aspect of the 360 degree campaign.
Start looking/ brainstorming at 360 campaigns – networking, co-branding, event organisations, social media, marketing, content creation
Experiment with poster design and magazine layout design.
January 9th – Formative Crits
Start thinking about effective shoots – landfill sites e.t.c
Write feature article on awareness.
Create article imagery
Interviews, surverys and footfalls
Feb 6th informal crits/ presentations
event organisation
social media
Article Layout
Illustrations and advertisements
Flat plan
Feb 27th – March 13th Formative presentations on specialism
Design final editorials
Create event
Final campaign posters
All 360 campaign finished.
March 23rd – April 15th Easter
Assemble final magazine
Print magazine
Print out all work ready for Brighton show and GFW.
April 17th Crits for graduate show
April 24th Forms in for Brighton Graduate show
May 7th Nominees go forwards for GFW and all work finished.

Artivism

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Through looking into activism and the different activists who have had a positive impact on society. I came across Artivism which has been developed through antiwar and anti-globalization protests.

Artivists use various creative techniques to inform there  work in order to express power for social change.

Guerrilla girls

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I have started off by looking further into the Guerrilla Girls, whom are female artists that produce wear Gorilla masks in order to fight for  human rights, discrimination and ethnic bias.

Through wearing the Gorilla masks they are able to hide there identity so primal focus is on the current issues in society today. This is done through outrageous visuals; such as posters, images, stickers, videos. Therefore the the issues are at the forefront of the public eye creating a larger awareness

 

Last year I visited the Guerrilla Girls exhibition at the White Chapel Gallery in London.

I initially heard about the Guerrilla girls and was intrigued but the approach they took and how society reacted upon it. Therefore when visiting the exhibition I kept a footfall of the amount of people who entered the gallery and the amount of woman to men. The ratio was 9 females to 1 males for the hour I was in the gallery. At first this was just for personal interest due to Guerrilla girls being a feminist group; although the Guerrilla girls exhibition at the WhiteChapel  pin pointed that men were more likely to be granted an open gallery space in order to support the work they produce. This was very controversial considering it was done in an open gallery on there own walls.

So I questioned:

Why would men want to visit an exhibition proving how curators can be bias in the artists work they choose to be displayed in galleries?

 

 

 

 

29/09/17 – London Visit

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After this weeks briefing I took it upon myself to take a trip to London today. I visited both V&A and Saatchi gallery to try and engage by focus and inspire my ideas into the new project topic ‘Activism’.

V&A

Reflecting upon attending the Balenciaga exhibition at the V&A, clearly shows how Cristobal Balenciaga is such an influential figure in the Fashion Industry today. A clear dynamic was visible across Balenciagas garments and how these have been interpreted by contemporary fashion designers today in an innovative way.

Saatchi

Iconoclasts – Maurizio Anzeri

 

 

To find out more information go to the Exhibition page of the blog.

AD394 – Creative Research

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After todays first introduction to our new project I felt quite excited about our new research project ‘Activism’. Therefore I went away with an open mind and thought about previous exhibitions/ personal opinions on relevant topics within the topic of activism as well as Activists themselves.

Here is a couple of examples of what I thought about:

Trump

European Space Agency

Brexit

Pussy Riots

Animal Rights

Anti – abortion

Religious Excommunication

Protest Emigration

Producers Boycotss

Guerrilla Girls – Went to the Exhibition Last year

Environmental Activism – Shark Hunting, Windpower Turbines

Nuclear Efforts – North Korea

From these topics I further thought about whom are activists:

Martin Luther King

Margret Fuller

 

 

 

Summer Break – Motivation

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After a long summers break and deciding not to take a placement year I have returned to university with a much more positive and healthier mindset. After a wild first year – experiencing Brighton’s nightlife to the full, making new friends and getting to grips with the independence of living alone. I was quite unsure whether to continue with University as I felt like I wasn’t good enough in order to succeed.

Continuing on I started an emotional second year which really challenged my emotions and mental health due to living in a distressing environment over the cause of the previous year. This led me to come and go from my hometown, various different friends houses in Brighton which led onto a knock on effect with my academic studies. Therefore struggled to settle down and remain focused.

Following on from my previous experiences I took it upon myself over the summer break to think about all the positives and negatives of what I have learnt and developed at university. Focusing more on the positives an how these could be developed further I realised a placement was not for me as it may of had a strong influence in not returning to university all together.

After realising about my return I ensured I was fully prepared for my return and surrounding myself with good, positive people who influence me to crack on with work (My girl group who helped me get through second year.) Also my aim is to keep up with my gym routine as I have always been a fairly active person, going to the gym or for a long run really motivates me and allows me to have a clearer head in order for a more practical and efficient day. Drinking alcohol only at the weekends is also another big aim as I gave a very low tolerance to it therefore my ‘hangovers’ are extremely unpredictable and can leave me feeling in for a few days.

In order to succeed in the year ahead I need to remain focused on what I want to achieve and accomplish before finishing my degree.

 

 

 

Evaluation

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Evaluation
Reflecting upon this semester and doing this module of Arts management for pioneers, I have a found it quite interesting to learn about more fine art approaches to creativity. I have got involved with and visited a variety of artists and galleries whilst learning about audiences and curation. The visit to Towner gallery was one of the highlights as it was an extremely innovative building with local contemporary work from a variety of artists. The attraction of a multitude of audiences is interesting to see how different individuals may view the gallery. Especially with a strong focus on learning programmes.

I feel like I am able to interact with a broader range of individuals with different course backgrounds. But also with artists and curators by asking the right question in order to get my initial questions answered in relation to placement. As a fashion communication student I initially want to link the questions from this module to the communications/ media side of my course. My initial questions were ‘If possible would you consider expanding onto social media platforms as a form of advertising and showcasing previous festival performances?’ and ‘what was the overall image or theme five short blasts wanted to communicate to the audience?’ These questions would of been interesting to ask the coordinators as it would of given me an insight as to why they don’t target a larger audience which social media could provide them with. If this was the case they potentially would of benefitted with selling nearer to 1500 tickets instead of 1100.

However I thought it was necessary to change them when the hiccup with placement time and dates occurred as I really struggled with finding the time to fit in the with the placement at five short blasts. This was a big shame as the placement scheme was the part which attracted me in choosing this particular module. Therefore I was only able to be part of the audience for my placement at five short blasts, which was interesting to see the audiences attitude and response before and after the performance. Especially as us audiences are cast to sea where we were able to experience the pre-recorded sound pieces and voices in a peaceful environment that allows us to really connect with the performance. After speaking to a couple of passengers and attending the performance myself we felt that the atmosphere was extremely reflective and meditative.

By gallery interaction with local artists aids the local community to get involved which if they’re aware the art work is locally source and has direct meaning with there local area. Relating this back to five short blasts, this is a good example of why they wanted the performance to be initially based in shoreham, as this was where the stories were set and the individuals voices came from. Therefore by Shoreham having high tide meant the waters were too choppy for a boat to travel on making it a major healthy and safety issue. This worried the artists as they were very conscious the audience wouldn’t receive the initial experience as they expected.

As Brighton festival is such a large organisation with lots of different performances and events taking place. It was interesting to hear the feedback from the placement participated in due to false information given to them before. Although there were many drawbacks, five short blasts knew that it was vital for them to overcome the hiccups and perform to there audiences in the best way possible.

Comparing this to for the birds, they’re both out door events in urban areas has lead to many un predictable drawbacks. Through these placements I have realised that despite how much planning and preparing you can do, when relying on an outdoor space you have got to be prepared for the worst to happen. And when it does you need to respond quickly because you have the public relying on you.
As my degree is focused on communication it hs been refreshing to realise that the galleries and organisations we have met with are actively trying to integrate with conversations with the industry. Similarly fashion communication is the showcasing of an image with a clear and intentional perception to the viewer.

Presentation Script 23/05/2017

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The script in which Brandie and I have created to explain our placement journey which is supported with our presentation of primary images.

NADIA: Five Short Blasts is a journey in a boat, where you listen to the sound of the environment and the sound of the people in that environment. Audiences are cast of to sea where they can experience these pre-recorded sound pieces and voices in a peaceful environment that allows them to really connect with the performance. Being at sea makes experience instantly calming and quite meditative, you could almost drift of to sleep.

BRANDIE: Similarly, For the Birds is an immersive night time experience that invites the public to navigate a woodland environment in a completely new light, literally. Guided by a string of fairy lights in complete darkness, you make your way through a 2 kilometre trail through the woods. The trail is illuminated by a series of bespoke sound and light installations designed by artists currently working in the UK. If were not so beautiful it would of actually been quite scary.

NADIA: The nature of both of these performances means that they were heavily reliant on outdoor spaces.

BRANDIE: And with our gorgeous English weather, you can imagine not everything went entirely to plan. You’d think an organisation as big as Brighton festival would run fairly smoothly, but going on these placements made us realise that working in the industry can be just as hectic and unexpected as being a student, but even more so because you really have to just deal with whatever is thrown as you.

NADIA: Both our placements experienced a series of obstacles that they had to overcome daily to ensure the performances still went ahead and on schedule. Firstly, Five Short Blast was initially meant to be based in Shoreham port. All the sound recordings and voices were from Shoreham and it’s residents, and it was designed to give you a personal insight to the town whilst you were on its waters. So you can imagine audiences were a little confused when they were relocated to Brighton Marina. Shoreham had high tide, which meant the waters were too choppy for a boat to travel on making it a major healthy and safety issue. This meant that the performance was moved to Brighton Marina where the sea was more steady. This instantly set the artists back because they felt like their sound pieces no longer correlated with their setting, essentially doctoring the whole experience.

BRANDIE: And I’m sure you’ve all heard about For the Bird’s first obstacle, the whole reason why my placement was set back. A number of members of the public raised concerns about the installations potential impact on nesting birds. A petition was signed by over 1500 people urging the Festival to postpone the performance so that it did not take place within nesting season. The petition said: We are not against art or creativity but the timing of this creative performance and its impact has been dangerously overlooked with potentially fatal consequences for our wildlife. Not only this year, but impacting future population and generations of species in the area.”

The festival responded by saying “Neither Brighton Festival nor the artists take this lightly. Indeed the work itself is intended to celebrate the mystery and beauty of the avian world and highlight why it should be protected.” When on the placement i struggled to ask further questions about this because it was already a very hostile and stressed environment. I didn’t need to add more stress by reminding them what they had been through.

NADIA: Yeah, talking about the incidents wasn’t easy as both teams were trying to make the best out a bad situation. To add to the relocation, when the artists arrived at Brighton Marina they found that there were not any boats waiting for them. They then had to frantically search for boats that could be hired to ensure the performance could still go ahead. This was frustrating as it was completely out of the artists hands and down to the festivals lack of organisation. They had been told everything was sorted. You could tell how this had affected the artists’ trust in the festival, and desire to work with them again. Valerie, a performance coordinator, mentioned how she doubted the artists would come back to work with the festival after all that had gone wrong, which is a shame because they love the variety of people from Brighton that come to enjoy the show.

BRANDIE: The second incident was one that Kate, the production manager, was keen to talk about. Travelling with the show meant that she had seen it come to life in several locations, and she said that this was the first where they had experienced theft. The work is usually set up in much more rural environments so the ‘secret location’ actually remains a secret, and lets be honest the crime rate tends to be lower. This years location, although hidden (it took us 40 minutes to find it) was still off of a main road and a frequent location for dog walkers. Eventually they noticed bits of the work going missing or being broken overnight. Leaving parts of the trail up had never been an issue before, but because of the more urban environment and everything that comes with that, this year they were having to put everything up and then take everything down within the same day. This made the preparatory process much more time consuming and labour intensive than it had ever been before. Meaning more people had to be hired and longer hours had to be worked. This all costs time and money and stress that they didn’t anticipate. It was obvious how this had even dampened the spirits of the team who said they were initially excited about setting up in such a lively and exciting city.

NADIA: The final obstacle that both Five Short Blasts and For The Birds experienced was rain, and there was a lot of it. Fortunately my visit was on a good day, and the artists mentioned how I got the perfect weather for the experience. Not only would rain make the experience less peaceful, and more uncomfortable to sit in, it also proved to be quite a heavy health and safety risk that was sometimes enough to cancel the show completely.

BRANDIE: But I worked for 5 hours in the pouring rain and it was definitely not on a good day. Everything on my placement was centred around defeating the rain, which was practically impossible considering it didn’t stop. One of things that was worrying Kate the most was the fear that the audience would have to wait in the rain for their shuttle bus that took them to the location to arrive. She said that if somebody has been waiting in the rain for too long at the start, no matter how much they enjoy the performance that initial wait will taint their experience of the whole show. We tend to remember the bad things, and this is was usually get passed on to their reviews.

The main reason that the rain was such a nuisance however was that it made the paths unsafe for the audience to walk around in in the dark. Me and Gabriel nearly slipped multiple times, and this was an obvious sign that something needed to be done about them before the public arrived. Therefore for the duration of our placement we were instructed to accompany Jake (who was initially hiring as a lighting assistants but happened to draw the short straw with us) to pave the muddy parts of the pathways with wood chips to soak up the moisture. We would fill up the back of a buggy with the wood chips and drive them down to the muddy area and then spread them over the area. By the end of the night I was exhausted from heavy lifting, wet, muddy and to the least bit impressed. But it was all worth it to then walk down our perfectly safe paths and view the show.

NADIA: Through these placements we have realised that despite how much planning and preparing you can do, when relying on an outdoor space you have got to be prepared for the worst to happen. And when it does you need to respond quickly because you have the public relying on you.

BRANDIE: Although neither of our placement experiences were particularly enriching, they have helped us gain an insight into the world of events management, and the types of roles and attitudes needed to put on a successful show.