hecclestravel

Nick Crowe -Commemorative Glass - Operation Telic

2007-05-09T13:22:00.000-07:00

I like the way Nick Crowe uses found imagery and completely changes its meaning by transforming it into hand engraved tracings etched into 2mm glass. Thus representation becomes very different to reality. Set on blackened shelves, with hidden illumination that transforms the soldiers into ghostly green figures that remind you of high tech infrared scanning systems for night warfare. By removing the colour and the texture of the original found images he has transformed them from smiling soldiers into menacing forces, weapons of war. He presents them in a deliberately crude way with gaffer-taped wiring hanging down to heighten the links with terrorism, bombing devices and rough and ready military offensives. They become a strong political statement questioning the invasion and occupation of Iraque code named Operation Telic by the British Forces.

Urban cowboys - etchings.

2007-05-09T08:34:00.000-07:00

Having searched the net for a string of different themes and collections I have finally settled on 'Urban Cowboys'. Many of the best pictures I found were heavily protected by copyright and not easy to cut and paste. I decided to use several of the cowboys as inspiration for a series of etchings. I particularly liked the incongruous relationship between the found images and the unexpected subtlety of the etched ones.The former are cheesy, brash, brightly coloured and very personal - the latter are much more mysterious and circumspect.
(Two of my original etchings are missing in the printstudio because I forgot to label the layer they were stacked in). Experimenting with etching, monoprinting and digital manipulation has meant that I have posted a collection on my blog. They are found below the individual shots of the lovely cowboys. Also couldn't resist posting the latest free image from Gilbert & George - for fun. I also contemplated a series of screen printed panels on "Lord Brown" using my cowboys and tattoo imgaes, as well as found imagery from the "suited & booted scandal". Abandoned idea as I wasn't comfotable re media intrusion.

2007-05-06T03:08:00.000-07:00

Capitol Pride - 06-10-06

2007-05-06T03:06:00.001-07:00

Capitol Pride - 06-10-06
Originally uploaded by worleyx.

More urban cowboys

2007-05-06T01:02:00.000-07:00

Still hunting down gorgeous gay cowboys to collect a set of simmilar images

Capitol Pride - 06-10-06

2007-05-03T11:33:00.001-07:00

Capitol Pride - 06-10-06
Originally uploaded by worleyx.

Capitol Pride - 06-10-06

2007-05-03T11:30:00.003-07:00

Capitol Pride - 06-10-06
Originally uploaded by worleyx.

Capitol Pride - 06-10-06

2007-05-03T11:30:00.001-07:00

Capitol Pride - 06-10-06

2007-05-03T11:29:00.001-07:00

Capitol Pride - 06-10-06
Originally uploaded by worleyx.

Suited and booted and hells angels

2007-05-03T00:38:00.000-07:00

Seem to have far too many images swimming around my head. Was shocked, amused and intrigued by the press coverage of BP's Mr Brown. Lot's of images flooded my mind and dreamt of some wierd tattoos

Towards a print solution

2007-05-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

Wondering if with my found images I can produce an interesting print image in the practical session. Perhaps a mock version of a Gilbert & George styled image using various tatoos and images on tattoo sites of hunky cowboys. WOuld like to play with the photocopier and layering on photoshop to try this out if only I could work out how. The other idea I have is to play around with scale using these found images a la Sigmar Polke to see to what extent their meaning alters when you blow them up several times. Need to spend more time sourcing detailed images of tattoos from sites that show the printed images you can buy online. What I love about this project is the red herring aspect of it how you can get lost on tangents.

Found photography

2007-05-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed this exhibition. Thanks Paula for recommending it and writing it up. The magazines at the back of the Cafe were a fantastic insight into what vernacular art is all about. (www.foundmagazine.com and www.ohiomagazine. I spent some time flicking through them - there really is no end to the possibilities. From prize cows (with four legs) I wandered in my head to other possibilities. Prize little madams a la 'Little Miss sunshine. Still to research that one, attractive hoovers and so on. Have found some wonderful tattoo sites but not sure how to upload families of the pictures in one go.

Joachim Schmid
Various works remined me so strongly of different films : Amelie and Central Station. The haunting pain of other peoples left overs. Whole worlds unfold in one's imagination from these snipits of other peoples' trash and Miscellaneous was very powerful.
“For the last 25 years Joachim Schmid (b. 1955) has challenged the traditional and prevailing idea of ‘art photography‘. Instead, he has championed the importance of photographs that are produced and seen everyday; ranging from passport photos, to high street studio portraits, ID cards and, more recently, the Internet.
In Bilder von der Strasse (Pictures from the Street, ongoing since 1982) Schmid has collected discarded photographs from around the world, revealing the bizarre in the ordinary and overlooked. The exhibition also includes Photogenetic Drafts (1991). Using negatives a studio photographer had cut in half to prevent their further use, Schmid has created ironic and unsettling photo-collages that play on the predictability of the commercial studio portrait. The exhibition will premier two multi-channel digital photo installations, Tausend Himmel (Thousand Skies, 2005) and Menschen und Dinge (People and Things, 2006).
Schmid‘s interest in collecting and archiving photographs reflects a concern with photography as an all-encompassing discourse that runs throughout the public and private spheres of our lives.
The exhibition has been organized in collaboration with the Tang Museum at Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, New York).
Two publications have been produced to coincide with the exhibition and are available from the Gallery Bookshop. Tausend Himmel, published by The Photographers‘ Gallery, is a full colour 64-page artist booklet featuring images from the project of the same title; and a monograph, Joachim Schmid Photoworks 1982—2007, published by Photoworks (UK), Tang Museum (USA) and Steidl (Germany), with support from The Photographers‘ Gallery and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.”

Non sequitur - Scary Halloween

2007-05-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

My daughter wants to see her photo on my blog so here goes.

She has done the enhancements herself which is impressive given the fact that she is ten. No question she'd be much better at this blog stuff than I would.

Finding suitable images for practical work

2007-05-02T10:37:00.001-07:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/04/europe_russian_criminal_tattoos/img/9.jpg

There are literally thousands of sites on every possible theme . The theme I am interested in now is Cowboy tattoos. In wandering about I also came across a bizare news story on BBC site about Russian criminals and their perverse and anti establishment use of tattoos. EG Women of colour
Many female criminals also tattooed themselves, partly as a rebellious reaction to the establishment and partly to distinguish themselves as what are known as vory v zakone (thieves in law). These women were photographed at a corrective labour colony at Kungur, near Perm. BOG
God of crime
The Russian word for God - Bog - is also an acronym used by criminals. It means "I shall rob again".

Finding suitable images for practical work

2007-05-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/04/europe_russian_criminal_tattoos/img/9.jpg

There are literally thousands of sites. The theme I am interested in now is Cowboy tattoos.

Came accross this fabulous idea for tattoo glyphs

2007-04-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

Glyphs

2007-04-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

To make my blog more interesting and to learn more about the whole process of sourcing existing imagery held in the public domain on the net, I propose to research more collections of images, much like happy families that I could work on and develop as themes. The first of these will be on glyphs, because they are visually exciting and it is an area I know nothing about.

g;yphs from web

2007-04-26T04:41:00.000-07:00

more stuff from he

View over Uxmal

2007-04-25T04:54:00.001-07:00

View over Uxmal
Originally uploaded by jayselley.

Arriving at a new site - one climbed a temple to view the rest over the canopy of jungle trees.

Uxmal

2007-04-25T04:50:00.001-07:00

Uxmal
Originally uploaded by jayselley.

Temples at Uxmal - carvings

Travels thus far

2007-04-25T00:50:00.000-07:00

My original idea to visit various ancient sites that I have visited during my lifetime and use some of the symbols to create a history or memory collage came to me in the bath. I wondered could I pull together a collage altar in the style of the day of the dead altars that I had seen in an exhibition many years before in the old Museum of Mankind. In practise my limited skills for updating my blog slowed me down so much I have just concentrated on my memories of Mexico and Guatamala