Fine Art Foundation Degree

 Diana Ali Diana Ali was born in Rusholme, Manchester, but lived in Bangladesh from age 2, to age 6. They then returned to Eccles, Greater Manchester where Diana had to re-learn everything in English. In an article by Sajidah Ahmad, she recalls being asked to paint a house in art, but as she had only just moved back, Diana did not know what she was being asked, nor did she know what an english house looks like. She proceeded to smear black paint on the paper, and was later told off by the teacher. Diana regards this as the first time she used her art as a form of communication, which would later become a recurring theme in her work.  She got into Manchester Metropolitan University to do a foundation art course and later into Nottingham Trent University for a BA (Hons) in Fine Art, where she experimented with different materials to create art. This started because she could not afford ordinary materials, but she developed it because she realised she like the feel of the materials in her

 Raphael Daden Daden is a Nottingham based sculpture specialising in light for over 10 years. He utilises 'raw' lighting such as LEDs, Neon and other light sources and materials.  His first commission was on West Street in Brighton where he made a series of large illuminated 'cones'.  They are made from layers of coloured translated polyester resins, and illuminated by lights inside the cores of the structures. The gradient of colour and light in each cone was done to emulate the effects of the sunset on the Brighton sea front. I believe that the imagery of cones is perfect for this project. The point of it being, to celebrate the development of the city, which utilises thousands of orange cones to warn civilians of construction or dangers in their path. Next, the placement of this piece fits perfectly. They are situated on a central reservation on a very busy road, places notorious for being covered in cones. The sculptures were surrounded smaller versions of themselve

 Critical Studies March 2023 Religion and Art The Photograph The Landscape The Object and Still Life Consumerism Identity The Portrait Today Conflict and Remembrance Site Specificity Identity: Further Thoughts

 Identity: Further Thoughts What is identity? Identity is a person's sense of self and is identified through a person's unique characteristics, affiliations, and social roles. It starts to develop during childhood when our caregivers and environment influence us, and during adolescence, when we start to question who we are and we fit into society.  A lot of artists use art to make sense of their identities, often showing an interest in art during their adolescence. It is therefore no coincidence that adolescents discover their sense of self by experimenting with different roles and behaviours (or artistic styles). This process is incredibly important, however it isn't always straight forward. For example, some caregivers and social circumstances may restrict person's ability to experiment, and as a result, these adolescents may not fully discover a sense of self or a life purpose for a while.  Erikson (1956) calls the stage of self-discovery 'identity vs role confus

 The Photograph When photography was invented in 1839, many painters thought that this would be the end of painting, as the consumer would prefer the quicker and cheaper images produced by the camera. French painter Paul Delaroche said, 'As from today, painting is dead!'. Although we now know this not to be the case, it was aa real fear among artists of this time, another artists saying, 'Photography is so rigorously true to optical reality that it is likely to destroy individual conceptions of beauty.' Impressionists seemed to take this on as a challenge, and started to investigate how images, colours and shapes, are perceived by the brain, and many other art forms joined them after some time.   Edgar Degas: Race Horses This piece was made with pastel on wood, with Degas using the natural wood colourings to show the sky and distant landscape. He also employed the technique of cropping, where the artist selects only part of the subject to be included in the picture, cre

 Site Specificity  The term 'site specificity' refers to a work of art designed specifically for a particular location or one that relates to the site itself. It is produced by both commercial and independent artists, and can include work such as sculpture, stencil graffiti, rock balancing or carving, and other art forms.  Pierre Vivant: Green and Yellow This piece consists of two words cut into a rapeseed field in Oxfordshire. The word 'Green' was made by cutting the heads off the plants to show the green stems, and the word 'Yellow' was made by cutting around the letters, so the word itself stays yellow. After a while, the yellow flowers faded back to green, and the chopped flower heads bloomed again, resulting in the word 'Green' now being yellow, and the word 'Yellow' now being green.  This piece is very site specific as the site itself is being manipulated to produce it. It's not something one can move around, or put in a gallery, with t

Conflict and Remembrance   Throughout history, in all parts of the world, people have struggled with loss and how to cope with it. Do we commemorate them, or try to forget and move on? Many artists have created works to preserve the memory of people they have lost personally, or a large group lost to war or another huge event.  Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Maya Lin This memorial is situated in Washington D.C. and it honours service members of the US armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. It is situated on a two acre site on two black granite walls engraved with the names of service members who died or who remain missing as a result of their service in Vietnam and South East Asia during the war. At the highest point, it is 3.1 metres tall, and tapers off on each side to a height of 20cm.  The names are listed in chronological order, starting at the apex on panel 1E on 8th of July 1959, moving day by day to the end of the eastern wall at panel 70E with ended on 25th of May 1968. They