Monday 16 July 2012

Andrew Kenny 26.01.12


Jessica Bugg 26.01.12


Charlotte Hodes 26.01.12



Chloé Gayet 11.06.12




Jessica Bugg 01.05.12



Dr Jessica Bugg


Embodied Design and Communication: Drawing with the Body and Cloth

This paper focuses on the development of a new practice led research project that extends my ongoing exploration of design methods for costume and performance at the intersection of fashion, art and performance practices. This work is part of a collaborative project between a small group of researchers at London College of Fashion with the National Gallery in London.  My research and practice within this project focuses on the idea of symbiotic development of clothing design and choreography in response to interpreted narratives in a particular painting ‘A detail from The Tempest’ by Peder Balke, about 1862.

The project focuses on embodied understanding and reading and develops my recent research and writing where I proposed that it ‘is the shared understanding of the body and clothing that can connect designer, wearer and viewer on an experiential level’ (Bugg 2012) The design methodology explores the idea of drawing and sketching physically with the body and cloth in response to both the designer and performers reactions to the painting. This development will then be used to inform the design and production of clothing centered physical performance.

This paper responds to the fact that costume design and specifically costume design for contemporary dance is often applied to a specific choreography as opposed to being central to the development of the performance and communication itself. The project seeks to expose how clothing can be implicit in the conceptualisation, development and communication process. The design process within this project simultaneously develops design and movement in a responsive dialogue within the Gallery and in response to the paintings inherent themes, emotional and visual narratives.  The work addresses the role of narrative in design and performance and seeks to extend a sensory and experiential narrative as opposed to a particular story or linear narrative.

Design and movement are developed through the embodied reading of both designer and dancer from their different disciplines and through a physical drawing process with the body and cloth not on paper but on the body in the space. The work seeks to highlight the potential to develop costume design and performance as a simultaneous and fully integrated practice by focusing on this particular approach as a type of 3D drawing or sketching.  

Chloé Gayet 26.01.12

Friday 13 July 2012


19.03.12

Presentation by Caroline Collinge
'A Peepshow with Views of the Interior of a Dutch House', Samuel van Hoogstraten, (c. 1655-60)
The National Gallery, London, Room 25


                                                                Courtesy of the National Gallery, London.

The reason I chose this particular painting is because it is also an object and I am inspired by its three dimensional quality.
At the moment I am studying a PhD at the London College of Fashion looking at ‘costuming space’ - the crossover between architecture, costume and the body. My main question is how I can apply architecture to the body. So finding this object within the gallery would be a very interesting starting point.
This painting inspires me because the views into the box are now visible, so you can look in and see how the image is constructed. I would like to investigate how the artist created these perspectives and then apply these to the physical body.
In terms of the theme of ‘flight’, the viewer is standing outside of the box yet they are looking through into another space. The perspective pulls you through the space so you have the sensation of travelling through the space while simultaneously you are inside the space.
Another element I find particularly interesting is that the painting is reminiscent of a set design for theatre. There is the enigma of whose room it is and the clues are in the space which creates a character through the objects and the clothing represented in the room.
This piece is very interactive. Walking around the gallery, people are drawn to the box, they can get close to it, touch it and it has that playful quality which appeals to people of all ages - children and adults alike.









Simon Thorogood 26.01.12

Wednesday 11 July 2012


Presentation by Siobhan Glynn
11/06/12
Essay Proposal

The National Gallery Project

I will begin by talking a bit about what I do.  Currently I am studying on the History and Cultural Studies of Fashion MA. 

I will explain what I did before this MA as it might explain the reasoning behind my choice of topic for this project.  Before undertaking this MA I spent nearly two years working for a London Based Fashion Designer.  This is where my interest in the fashion practitioner began.

Agnes Treplin: Can I ask you, did you study fashion design?

Siobhan Glynn: Yes, I did fashion design as an undergraduate.

As a practitioner myself I have also worked in costume production for an artist.

Presently I am working on my dissertation and I plan to share ideas from my MA dissertation and bring them into this project.  My dissertation is called Creating a Process – an investigation into the creative processes of a fashion design team.  This idea was drawn from my experience working in the fashion industry.  Noting the skill of the practitioner I decided to direct more academic focus on their talents. 

The jumping off point for my essay is looking at the theory of creativity.  You cannot really say what creativity is or isn’t but I am going to use this investigation as a discussion.  I plan to outline what creativity is and to look at hard and soft creative skills.  Hard skills would be the practical skills and the soft skills would be the inspiration, intuition, genius.  I have found that there is much written on the fashion designer but not much written about their team. 

For this project, one idea is to look at a painting from the National Gallery, for example Colin Wiggins (Special Projects Curator, National Gallery) talked to us about one of van Dyck paintings ‘Drunken Silenus supported by Satyrs’ – van Dyck is the named artist but there were many different artists contributing to this painting.  For example one person did the grapes, and another, the hair etc.  When we are considering the talent of this painting are we looking at the technical skills of the individuals or on a whole the artist’s idea, or both?

‘Drunken Silenus supported by Satyrs’, Attributed to Anthony van Dyck, (c. 1620)
The National Gallery, London, Room 31
Courtesy of The National Gallery, London

Charlotte Hodes:  Have you touched on how practitioners in this project might serve your purpose?

Siobhan Glynn: As well as using a picture from the National Gallery I plan to look at the work of some of the practitioners of this project as I will be looking at their creative processes.  But my ideas are still in early stages so I am still trying to formulated are more defined plan.  

Natalie Brown 11.06.12


Tuesday 10 July 2012


Presentation by Carolina Rieckhof
01/05/12
'Samson and Delilah', Peter Paul Rubens, (c. 1609-10)
The National Gallery, London, Room 29
The National Gallery Project

Courtesy of the National Gallery, London
.
This is Samson and Delilah, a Ruben’s painting.  I chose this painting because there are a lot of things I am interested in within the light, the proportions, Delilah’s look, what is she thinking of, why there are so many people in the room.

Carolina’s questions?
  • ·         It is such an intimate scene, is Delilah happy with what she has done? 
  • ·         I heard that the old women behind her could be a reflection of Delilah and that the man who is cutting Samson’s hair could be a reflection of Samson. 
  • ·         I noticed today that you could see the lion’s skin on Samson’s body so you could probably assume it could mean he betrayed the lion.  Now he is almost dying in Delilah’s lap. 
  • ·         I want to find out what the hair cutting means.
  • ·         I want to know about the proportions.  
  • ·         And the soldiers there and the only character that is looking at us that guy over there he looks like a soldier, he is very much in the scene. 
  • ·         What’s that fire there behind her and that light?


Carolina Rieckhof 11.06.12


Carolina Rieckhof 26.01.12


Agnes Treplin 26.01.12


Agnes Treplin 26.01.12