Oxford Trip

I went on a trip with the college to Oxford. I visited Pitt River museum, Oxford Modern museum and the Ashmolean museum.
I looked at the hieroglyphics, symbols and different languages to get influences and ideas for my Homage project.

Eugene Delacroix-“Liberty Leading the People”

Eugene Delacroix painted “Liberty Leading the People” in 1863 to celebrate the French Revolution as well as to act as a propaganda poster for the revolution. The French nobility oppressed the peasants giving them no say in the government and did not care about their daily needs. At this time France was on the verge of bankruptcy after assisting America in its war for freedom which was one of the Causes of the French Revolution. It is oil on canvas painting. He used vivid colours in painting which brightened areas and darkened the shades. This provides a contrast that emphasizes the main subject, a lady leading the people. Delacroix represented Liberty as a goddess holding the flag of the revolution. The lady is raised by a pedestal of dead and wounded people on the ground, this gives her power and leadership in the painting. In the background figures represent all of the classes from rich to poor. This painting was made in response to the political change that would be resulted in the overthrow of the reigning monarch. This is a complex painting, full of historical reference also full of the of human emotion, from heroism to angry despair. Sharp primary colours blues, yellows and powerful reds are used in the painting. In the foreground lay two dead bodies. The figure on the left is intended to enrage the viewer. The painting is pure propaganda. Delacroix is alluding to the despised practice of the royal troops who spread terror by murdering innocent people in their beds and then dragging the bodies into the streets as a warning. The dead uniformed figure on the right is a royalist soldier. Delacroix shows the enemy as vulnerable. At the buildings at the right there is a battle joined in the distance, the great Gothic cathedral Notre Dame de Paris, a symbol of the King's power.

Homage to words

For the Homage to words project I made my own sketchbooks from paper and envelopes I collected over Christmas, I cut them up and stitched them together using a sewing machine. I used the print press to print the word ‘homage’ onto my sketchbooks.
I decided to look at sign language and Braille for my homage project because it’s something that I want to go into as part of the creative and therapeutic arts. I thought it would be unique and different to do a project based on that.
So far I have looked at the sign language and Braille alphabet, I plan to play around with the alphabet to create an outcome. 

Paul Klee exhibition

The Paul Klee exhibition at the Tate London, making visible is full of his modern, contemporary art, you can see his body of paintings drawings and watercolours from his collections around the world. His influence of abstraction can be seen in most of his work like Miro and Rothko.
Klee’s exhibition is on till March 2014 and it doesn’t cost much to get in only £16.50 for an adult but if your around you should go and see it as I think it would be inspirational and fascinating not only for my work but for yourself. His work is interesting as it is full of colour and shapes that creates images. The start of the exhibition is Klee’s breakthrough work during World War 1, where he first developed his abstract square patchwork of colours.  The exhibition will focus more on the decade Klee spent teaching and working in the Bauhaus.  There is a special final show on Sunday 9^th March until 20.00.  I think is work is bold, bright and it stands out as unique because you have to look closely at the artwork to see what it really is. I like the way he uses different size squares and shapes with different colours in his work it makes it more abstract and different from other artists. I think this exhibition will be worth your time. The exhibition is at the Tate Modern London and is open from 16^th October 2013 – 9^th March 2014.

Tickets for Adult start from £16.50.