Fredy Decisive

"CONFESSIONS IS A PUBLIC ART PROJECT THAT INVITES PEOPLE TO ANONYMOUSLY SHARE THEIR CONFESSIONS AND SEE THE CONFESSIONS OF THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM IN THE HEART OF THE LAS VEGAS STRIP."

http://fredydecisive.tumblr.com/post/47784254584/confessions-is-a-public-art-project-that-invites 

First reaction to the installation: This is brilliant!

This is the kind of art which reminds me why I want to study an art degree for the next three years.  It gets people involved in the most personal way possible, by sharing their secrets.  Some of the confessions are humorous such as 'I eat too much cheese', but others are simply heartbreaking, 'I still love her.  2 girlfriends and 5 years later...' - I feel that many people can relate to these.  As people are allowed to post their confessions anonymously on the pegged wall, you may find that they have been a lot more honest than they would have been if they had to sign their name to it - like you would have to on social media.  I think it is interesting that people are will to confess anything as people can still leaf through the wall and read everything that has been posted.

 I like how the confessions are all written onto pieces of wood, that way the confessions cannot be erased or edited as easily as they would be online.  This makes them a physical problem, now part of the real world and not just a thought in our minds.   Something has to be said for the colour though.  Is it stereotypically red to symbol sin? I feel the overall appearance is somewhat church-like, especially with the addition of the confession booths.  A spanish quote is given at the top of the website I pulled these images from;

"Dicen que se la escapa la incoherencia de las manos, que se le caen los sueños cuando pasa. Que espera decidir pronto, entre quien es, y quien pretende ser." - I think the first bit means something along the lines that you can escape the inability (incoherence) of your hands in your dreams. In other words it's easier to draw/paint in ur dreams than in real life.  The second half seems to be criticising and saying that you must decide who you are and who you want to be , and do it quickly.  I think it has some truth in it as people often find it easier to write down their hope, dreams and deepest desire than vocally put them out there for people to judge and scrutinise.  

Charlie Billingham

I have recently become interested in using True Grain.  Charlie Billingham is creating pieces using True Grain as he wants to stay true to his painting technique and not producing anything which has been digitally altered.  I love the effect True Grain produces as it gives feeling to the work, a sort of rough texture which the viewer can appreciate.  You don't use True Grain by mistake as when you paint or print with it, the work achieves a sort of grainy, almost scratched look which would always be intentional.  I think it works particularly well with Charlie's piece as it emphasises the real effort and strain put in behind the dancers he is painting.  You can feel the emotion pouring from the image.

Ingo Maurer Zettel

'German born artist and light objects designer, ingo maurer has been the recipient of many design awards and his work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including the museum of modern art in new york. considered an outsider with rare artistic style, ingo maurer adds provocation and fun to the world of design'

http://www.unicahome.com/p9219/ingo-maurer/zettelz-by-ingo-maurer.html

This breathtaking, independently suspended chandelier was created by Ingo Maurer.  It is a mixture of art and sculpture.  Ingo adds some love letters in different languages in order to inspire the owner to participate.  He uses Japanese paper to for a translucent medium so that there will be different lighting effects created depending what piece of paper the light hits.  49 blank pages are left for the owner to style the light as they desire, making it personal to them.  What would you write on your lamp?  Recipes, love letters, confessions, memories, shopping lists; the possibilities are endless.  

The letters are easily attached using thins wires and clips so as not to take away from the delicate nature of the lighting fixture.  I believe the wires are arranged in such a fashion so as to give the impression of a chandelier.  It is  definitely an alternative version but I think it looks beautiful.  The main aim of this piece is getting the viewer involved in art and poetry, and I think it works. 

Admit One stub box

I came across this image on Pinterest and unfortunately I have been unable to find the name of the designer.  I can see from close observation that the papers inside the box are all tickets from events such as concerts, football matches and cinema viewings.  There may also be a few wristbands in there from nightclubs.  I suppose this box could represent what you have taken part in during the last year or so in terms of socialising events.  It could also act as a kind of memory box, even though you can't see all the places you've been, you know the ticket are in the box somewhere, sort of like how you brain hold memories.  

I can imagine this piece on a wall in public places (shopping centre, restaurant, sidewalk) that way it would become a city memory box.  It could be great for tourism by showing how many events they have to offer, however the same stub could end up in there twice.  I could also see this piece mounted on your bedroom wall.  Instead of a picture wall or a shoebox under your bed, this could be on display to see whenever you want as a physical reminder; it's not an ugly looking box either!  I think I can assume that this piece was created in order to get people more involved in doing things, because when you don't participate you can't fill the box with anything.

Rikke Elverdam

I think this piece is absolutely fantastic.  It's filled with humour, familiarity and fresh deliciousness, as you can almost smell the fresh doughy bread.  The set up of this 3D type is very clever.  The background of an armchair is easily recognisable as an old person chair or living room, minus the standard hideous carpet and wallpaper.  'They call me grandma' - This has been made from baked bread with the grandma part slightly overdone, and I'm not sure if that was accidental or planned; but it works!  I feel like I can relate easily to this piece as when you think of grandparents, the thought of food swiftly follows.  Speaking from experience, every time I visit my grandma she tries to stuff me full of toast, oranges and toffee sweets.  It's just something that Grandparents seem to do as they fear you'll be wasting away otherwise.  Bread also symbolises warmth, comfort and familiarity.  In all, this piece works wonderfully as a 3D typography installation and a real life grandparent is not needed to communicate the brilliance behind the idea. 

Danielle Evans

I absolutely love these pieces create by Danielle Evans.  She create 3D typography using foods which represent the words she is producing.  'This is my Jam' was created out real raspberry jam and sprinkles as part of a project by the name of Food Type.  This piece almost reminds me of something I would do as child, messing around with the jam on a saturday afternoon waiting for my cupcakes to cool so that I can decorate them.  I feel like her project is to evoke memories and good feelings when viewed.  Does it make me feel happy?  Yes, it brings back many fond childhood memories and also makes me slightly hungry.  Her aim is to create as many words as possible using food products.   - http://foodtypography.com 

I especially love this piece as I can only imagine how time consuming it must have been.  It is remarkable how she managed to push each crumble of the cookie in an exact location in order to create a crisp and easily readable quote.  I like how she included the half eaten biscuit at the bottom of the image as if to make it obvious what the words were made from - otherwise it may have been hard to know it was biscuits that she used, thus destroying the point.  It may have created an interesting contrast if she had used different types of biscuits, for example digestives and bourbons as the two contrast greatly in colour.

Lucy Norris - Dreamscape Typography

Lucy Norris is currently studying Graphic Design at University and I recently came across her design blog.  She was set a new project where she had to create a new typeface made completely from wire.

'I had to pick a quotation use my new typeface and present it in a visual way. My typeface is called Dreamscape. I chose to twist the wire to create a fantasy effect.'  

 -http://www.behance.net/gallery/Creative-Typography/1686914

"Imagination is more important than knowledge".  I can see why Lucy chose to wind the wire round several times to create loops as it makes the typography look a lot dreamier and magical.  It reminds me of something that you would see at the start of a fairytale story, almost grand in a way.  The tiny loops also remind me of little flies or bumblebees, maybe connecting the idea back to nature?  Even though that may seem ironic as metal is considered quite industrial; the opposite of natural.  

The typeface is successful in communicating her 'Dreamscape' idea, as it is called, however I do find it slightly difficult to read as she put so many loops in there.  The darkness of the wire also makes it seem quite eerie in a sense, so there could be improvement when considering the colour.  As a 3 dimensional typeface, it works wonderfully as it able to stand alone and you get the lovely shadowy effect when light is shone sideways on it.  In all, the typeface has been beautifully constructed and suits the quote perfectly.  It seems as though she might also be questioning if your imagination is suppressed and bound up as such by the tight wire so of society.  Does society appreciate the wealth of knowledge more than the wealth of imagination?