Presentation evaluation.

We had to look at different presentation methods to present our own work. We looked at two types of portfolio which included an e-portfolio and a mounted portfolio. To create an e-portfolio you select pieces of your best work, a minimum of 10 and you then photograph these. It is best to do this using the appropriate lighting as this will make the work look more professional. You can then edit these photos using Photoshop to enhance the colours. When you have got the desired look you then upload these to an e-portfolio such as Flickr. You would use an e-portfolio for a university interview if required, further course of study, could be used for evidence for your CV and can be used when applying for jobs. The possible audience that would be viewing this type of portfolio would be a possible employer and the general public because it would be on the internet. Some of the advantages of using a e-portfolio are; it does not cost anything to create, apart from editing photos it can be quicker to create, you don’t have to carry it around. The disadvantages of using an e-portfolio are you cannot see the pieces of work in person and so you cannot see intricate detail and texture.  

Another type of portfolio is a mounted one. To produce a mounted portfolio I first selected a minimum of 8 pieces of my best work. I then placed these pieces of work onto black card and cut them out leaving a black border of roughly 1cm and then placed these onto a bigger piece of mountcard. You have to make sure there is an equal sized border both sides and the bottom border has to be bigger than the top. The order in which you put your work should show a journey and the process in which is what developed. Students would use mounted portfolios for showing their best work for an interviewer, course leader or employer. A professional artist would use a mounted portfolio for showing their finished and best quality work, representing what style of work they produce. People that would view this type of portfolio would be an interviewer and an employer. The advantages of having a mounted portfolio is that the viewer can see the intricate details of the work, the interviewee can discuss their work. The disadvantages of this portfolio are that it is not cost effective as you have to buy a lot of card and the carry case. It takes time to create this as you have to be accurate with the cutting of card and measurements. It can be heavy to carry around as they are very large.

Overall the two types of portfolios have similarities and differences and both serve different purposes. E-portfolios are more practical when it comes to showing your work to a larger group of people in a range places who just want to get a rough idea of what work you produce, whereas mounted ones are more personal to you as you can hand make them. I believe that mounted portfolios are a better way to show your work as you will be there with the work to discuss it and explain your style.  

Andy Goldsworthy.

Andy Goldsworthy is a British land artist who works in the natural environment to create his works. Some of the materials he uses within his pieces are; coloured flowers, icicles, leaves, mud, pinecones, snow, stones, twigs and thorns. Although the materials are all natural within rural areas, the way he arranges them makes them almost look unnatural in the surroundings they are placed in, catching the viewers eye causing them to look again. His work is similar to Banksy's in a way he uses the outdoors to display his work, however instead of placing his piece of work on a manmade surface he uses the natural environment to create the work.

Banksy.

Banksy is an unknown street artist. He is well known for creating pieces of work in areas such as on the side of buildings, in the streets, on bridges and places visible to the public using a distinctive stencilling technique. He is known to use a lot of dark humour within his images which are occasionally accompanied with slogans, some of it can be seen as controversial and shocking to the viewer. Some of the subjects that appear in his work are rats, apes, policemen, soldiers, children and the elderly. Even though the way he presents his work is seen to be a crime I believe that it is a very efficient way to present work because you don't have to pay to view the piece.

Cornelia Parker.

Cornelia parker is an English sculptor and installation artist. She is well known for her large scale installations. An example of one is ‘Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View’. This piece was a garden shed which she got blown up by the British Army and then suspended the fragments which represented the explosion as if it had stopped in time. A light was placed in the center of the piece which then created shadows on the wall. They way she presents her work hanging in the center of a room means that it interacts with the audience. You can walk around the piece of work and view the whole thing unlike with a painting or photograph where you would only view it from the front. It would also cause the viewer to get closer to the piece to see what objects are hanging.

Max Ernst.

Max Ernst was a painter, sculptor and printmaker who was one of the leading Surrealists and was also a pioneer of Dada. He was a soldier in World War 1 and was traumatized by this time. These themes of his vision of the modern world being irrational became the basis of his artwork. The subject of his work also included his personal traumas. This style to paint from the sub conscious was the basis of his Surrealists works and this then influenced the Abstract Expressionists. He was inspired by the paintings of Giorgio de Chirico. He was also interested in the art of the mentally ill.   After constantly experimenting Ernst invented the technique known as frottage. His work links to the theme of exquisite corpse because he looks at juxtaposed imagery.

COSHH and Health and Safety at Work Act.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/
http://www.hse.gov.uk/legislation/hswa.htm

Analysing the brief.

This assignment has asked me to think of my own theme and create a well executed piece of work to show the best of my abilities. The purpose of the brief is to assist me in knowing what to do to achieve the highest standard of work at the best grades. The purpose of my piece of work is to show the style of work I like working with showing my strengths. My piece of work will be displayed in rooms 532-537 in North West 2 building at South Downs College. In the space that is being used to exhibit the pieces it is a white room. There are many qualities in the rooms which are good for exhibiting work such as; natural light, high ceilings and it is airy and spacious. It is only a temporary gallery space. I could possibly use 2 sides of a space, however the piece cant be too large scale because of the limited amount of space. The audience that will be viewing the work are parents and students, general public ranging from young to old, also other schools and new students as well. When presenting my work I need to think about the needs of the audience. The work and exhibition space needs to be clean, well presented and professional. It should be able to show a journey of the artist. There needs to be communication explaining the piece, this is what an artists statement is for. As the work is being exhibited in an educational setting the piece cannot be offensive, obscene and it can't contain graphic text or imagery.