Inspiration. Transformation. (11th post)

Casablanca

Casablanca is a film which shows the time during World War Two, when many people wanted to escape Europe for America. This was not an easy task. People refuges in Casablanca a place in France where they would search for an exit visa for Portugal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=TLU41jUnWM4

Orry George Kelly (1897 - 1964 )

Orry-Kelly is a Hollywood costume designer. Born in Australia and was better known as Jack Kelly. He studied art in Sidney and worked as an apprentice tailor and widow designer.

"Orry Kelly designed the outstanding women's wardrobe for Casablanca, including Ingrid Bergman's costumes. Orry-Kelly left Warner Brothers in 1945 and worked for several different studios. He was one of three costume designers who worked on An American in Paris, along with Walter Plunkett and Irene Sharaff, who together won an Academy Award for Best Costumes. Another significant film he designed for was Auntie Mame, starring Rosalind Russell in 1958." Posted By Christian Esquevin.

Inspiration :

The dress that she wears in the film inspires me with it's simplicity and elegance. Two elements which i want to incorporate in my design. I found that this dress could be easily transformed into one of my designers. I would like to put a simple print on the belt of the dress and the T-Shirt underneath would have a patter which matches. I also was inspired by the style & shape of the shoes.

Bibliography :

Silver Screen Modiste: OH ORRY-KELLY!. 2012. Silver Screen Modiste: OH ORRY-KELLY!. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.silverscreenmodiste.com/2011/08/oh-orry-kelly.html. [Accessed 17 December 2012].

SparkNotes: Casablanca: Plot Summary. 2012. SparkNotes: Casablanca: Plot Summary. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.sparknotes.com/film/casablanca/summary.html. [Accessed 17 December 2012].

Orry-Kelly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2012. Orry-Kelly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orry-Kelly. [Accessed 17 December 2012].

Casablanca (1942) HD trailer - YouTube. 2012. Casablanca (1942) HD trailer - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=TLU41jUnWM4. [Accessed 17 December 2012].

Inspiration. Transformation. (10th post)

Vivienne Westwood.

Vivienne Westwood made use of images from history as inspiration, and she transformed them into elegant garments. To create her collection, she spent many hours studying paintings at the Wallace Collection in London which it showcases the use of  'pastiche', meaning a work of art that resembles the work of past artists. She did not just study paintings/ images but she also researched and studied different styles and shapes from the past. She was the mastermind which brought the corset back in style, from the 18th century.

"The18th century inspired corsets feature photographic prints of paintings by Boucher such as ‘Daphnis and Chloë (Shepherd watching a sleeping shepherdess)’ (1743-5). Westwood came across this painting while in the Wallace Collection, a place she describes as a “jewel box” and credits as being one of her main influences, she says of Boucher’s paintings “they are so typical [of the 18th century], and so pretty… it’s just so light and, I don’t know, cynical” ."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=oeks06DA6ZM

Bibliography :

la dulcie vita: art as fashion - vivienne westwood and the wallace collection. 2012. la dulcie vita: art as fashion - vivienne westwood and the wallace collection. [ONLINE] Available at: http://la-dulcie-vita.blogspot.com/2012/05/art-as-fashion-vivienne-westwood-and.html. [Accessed 17 December 2012].

Pastiche - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2012. Pastiche - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastiche. [Accessed 17 December 2012].

Vivienne Westwood - Wallace Collection - YouTube. 2012. Vivienne Westwood - Wallace Collection - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=oeks06DA6ZM. [Accessed 17 December 2012].

De Stijl Fashion Design, Transformation (9th post)

De Stijl has inspired fashion design in all forms, from dresses to shoes & accessories.
This inspired me to design & create a dress inspired from De Stijl's paintings. Though I will not copy the design exactly , but I will take the main elements of this art movement and apply them to my design.

Examples;

By : Piet Mordrian
"Not being formally educated in art means that learning its history must be a self-taught subject, which I have a love/hate relationship with. My 'most-preferred' method of learning is documentaries (due in part to streaming Netflix), but sometimes I must rely on old fashioned art books or the Internet - aka: Google searches.

My latest subject is Piet Mondrian. His works of "Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow" have been familiar to me for years. Although I never knew who painted them or how/why, those images were easily recognisable as being important pieces in art's history.

Just recently I had this unknown urge to dig into it a bit more. I think it may have been how simplistic and minimal these works were and how they used only the most basic of colours: the primaries (red, blue, yellow) and black and white. Without going into too much detail about him, Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter (1872-1944) known as "the father of geometric abstraction." He was a pivotal figure in the revolution of Modern Art that began with Cubism in the early 20th century. Around 1920, following the World War, he evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neo-Plasticism (De Stijl). This consisted of the familiar white ground, upon which was painted a grid of vertical and horizontal black lines and the three primary colours.
Without doubt, Mondrian continues to still have an influence in art/design. His Composition works has inspired fashion, graphic art, architecture, and more. There have been numerous clothing brands that have produced products directly inspired by his work, even including Nike and Vans.  " - Piet Mordrian


At first I had the idea to create a simple T-Shirt with a De Stijl design , but as I sketched it and taught long about it I scrapped the idea because I saw that it was too simple and wanted to create something unique, fashionable and elegant in the same time. That was my aim for the design.
I wanted to have the dress in white & then i will stain myself the fabric with the rectangles & squares of De Stijl's paintings. The shape of the dress is to look similar to the top right hand corner photo, i want the dress to have a silhouette look to it. The colours used are to be very bright and carefully balanced.
Nowadays vivid coloured dresses are very much in fashion and this will help me in my design.

Bibliography ;
T.WAY talks: Piet Mondrian. 2012. T.WAY talks: Piet Mondrian. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.twaytalks.com/2011/07/piet-mondrian-tway.html. [Accessed 14 December 2012].

De Stijl, Transformation, (8th post)

In the 1917 a Dutch art movement initiated. It was called De Stijl also known as neoplasticism (the new plastic art). This particular art movement was brought up mainly by seven artists;  Teo van Doesburg (1883-1931, not a significant role in the group) , Piet Mondrian (1872–1944), Vilmos Huszár (1884–1960), and Bart van der Leck (1876–1958), and the architects Gerrit Rietveld (1888–1964), Robert van 't Hoff (1887–1979), and J.J.P. Oud (1890–1963).
The name De Stijl is supposedly derived from Gottfried Semper's Der Stil; stijl: “a post, jamb or support”; it's seen in works of art, by the construction of crossing joints.

The aim of this art movement;

• To abstract objects, reduce them to basic forms & colour in architecture and painting. 
• To use vertical & horizontal lines.
• Colours used where Primary Colours which are, Red, Blue & Yellow. + Black & White
• A very good use of squares & rectangles.

De Stijl art is very geometric. One can also say that Cubist painting is a main source of influence in De Stijl's works. In turn this art movement also influenced the Bauhaus,  the international style and also music. 

Examples of De Stijl works ;

 Painting : Piet Mondrian, Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow, 1937-42, oil on canvas, 23 3/4 x 21 7/8 inches (60.3 x 55.4 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.

Furniture Design : Red & Blue Chair , designed by Gerrit Reitveld in 1917

 Architecture : The Reitveld Dchroder House - the only building realised completely according to the principles of De Stijl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=veM6UigScH4 The White Stripes - I'm Bound to pack it up.

These 3 designs all make use of the main elements and principles of Des Stijl art. Simple rectangles & squares, a good use of horizontals & verticals and the use of the primary colours. Which in my opinion it's used to balance the dull monochrome palette of De Stijl art.

Transformation can be seen in De Stijl art, from a flat 2 D design such as the first image of Piet Mondrian, Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow, into a 3D design such as the Red & Blue Chair and The Reitveld Dchronder House.
( One of my main sources of inspiration).


Bibliography :

De Stijl - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2012. De Stijl - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Stijl. [Accessed 11 December 2012]. 

ArtLex on De Stijl. 2012. ArtLex on De Stijl. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/d/destijl.html. [Accessed 11 December 2012].

De Stijl. 2012. De Stijl. [ONLINE] Available at:http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/destijl/decstijl.htm. [Accessed 11 December 2012].


The White Stripes - I'm Bound To Pack It Up - YouTube. 2012. The White Stripes - I'm Bound To Pack It Up - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veM6UigScH4. [Accessed 11 December 2012].

Transformation , Inspiration. (7th post)

Designers sometimes use past art movements to inspire them in their work.
Famous paintings are given a new form and dimension, changing them into modern day views.
Posters are a good example.
Art inspires various aspects of our culture, such as fashion and music.
 

Commercial, Flora by Gucci
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ykXkmVURI-w 

 
 The designers of these two posters and the commercial of the perfume, have surely been inspired from other sources.

• Flora - Flora is the goddess of flowers and Spring
• Dress - It looks that it's inspired by 2 famous paintings ; Primavera by Sandro Botticelli & Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli.  ...In both paintings Flora is dressed up in a flowy dress with a flower patter. Very much like the one in the commercial and the posters.
• Wind is also portrayed in the commercial and posters, this can be influenced by the paintings as well because of the presence of the god of wind. The strong use of wind in commercial can suggest that the perfume has a long lasting strong smell whilst being a very feminine sent.

. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.annalundberg.se/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Flora-by-Gucci-Fragance-Ad-Campaign.jpg. [Accessed 07 December 2012].

. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.luxuo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/flora-by-gucci-fragrance.jpg. [Accessed 07 December 2012].


chris cunningham gucci - YouTube. 2012. chris cunningham gucci - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ykXkmVURI-w. [Accessed 07 December 2012].

. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Botticelli-primavera.jpg/345px-Botticelli-primavera.jpg. [Accessed 07 December 2012].

. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at:http://mmmnoodles.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/botticelli-birth-venus.jpg. [Accessed 07 December 2012].

Transformatioin, Inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci. (6th post)

Leonardo's Sketchbook

. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.wishfulthinking.co.uk/blog/wp-content/leonardo.jpg. [Accessed 19 November 2012].


. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.johnstockmyer.com/mwcc/artlecture/davincisketch.jpg. [Accessed 19 November 2012]. 

 >> 
. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.unmuseum.org/leohelo.jpg. [Accessed 19 November 2012].  
Leonardo's Sketchbook | Flickr - Photo Sharing!. 2012. Leonardo's Sketchbook | Flickr - Photo Sharing!. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/mount_gallery/4187853645/. [Accessed 19 November 2012].

These are some of Leonardo's famous sketches/drawings & designs.
Leonardo did a lot of planning before he did a painting or invented an object. 
He was a painter & an engineer. 
He transformed his observations and ideas into sketches and those sketches into test pieces then he would do his final painting or object. 
In Leonardo's designs transformation are also present in the positioning of the figure in a painting, it's facial expression, how the object he is inventing will open, move , how it is to be assembled etc...

Transformation in Pop art /design (5th post)

Pop design in the late 50's in the US.
The aim of pop art refers not as much to the art itself as to the attitudes that led to it.
"Pop art employs aspects of mass culture, such as advertising, comic books and mundane cultural objects. It is widely interpreted as a reaction to the then-dominant ideas of abstract expressionism, as well as an expansion upon them. And due to its utilisation of found objects and images it is similar to Dada."
Transformation in Pop design , from the rigidity of the Bauhaus.
Function & good design.
In this art movement there is the use of artificial materials (man-made) such as; polypropylene, which gave designer the possibility to experiment with innovative designs and colours.
Pop art - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2012. Pop art - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_art. [Accessed 16 November 2012]. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-IxcJsXyWtQ 

Introduction to Pop Art - YouTube. 2012. Introduction to Pop Art - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-IxcJsXyWtQ. [Accessed 16 November 2012].

Transformation in Media, (4th post)

In film trasfrormation is constant. The story/ plot changes. Characters change, good or bad...
In my opinion transformation in a film keeps the story interesting.
Eg; Battleship ( 2012 ) Produced by ; Peter Berg
      Film & Animation
      Link ; Battleship Final Trailer 2012 [HD] - Official Movie Trailer - YouTube. 2012.Battleship Final Trailer 2012 [HD] - Official Movie Trailer - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpoabtbEJOI. [Accessed 11 November 2012].

Transformation can be seen in the begging of the film when the main character who starts off as one who doesn't have a life and lives with his brother , changes into a successful Navy soldier, "One of the best". He  transformed himself from being a pathetic person to a hero in the end of the film. His transformation also made him win over the girl of his dreams.Transformation can also be seen in the animated aliens, and their space craft. Their space craft transformed itself when it fell from the sky and rose from the sea. Transformation of their weapons...At the end of the film, they managed to transform a retired battleship , back to it's glory and with it win the fight with the aliens. 

3rd post Design

Bauhaus

In 1919to 1933 a school opened in Germany called Bauhaus.

This school combined crafts and fine arts together in their designs.

Founded by Walter Gropius

The Bauhaus influenced art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design and typography.

Motto of the Bauhaus, " Form follows function."

Bauhaus transformed objects from being very decorative with little or no function, in more simplified stylish styles whilst keeping in mind the function of the object.

One of the most famous works , was the Tubular chair.
Bauhaus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2012. Bauhaus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus. [Accessed 04 November 2012].



>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=F8zuGsX_z_Y

Modernism: Bauhaus - YouTube. 2012. Modernism: Bauhaus - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=F8zuGsX_z_Y. [Accessed 04 November 2012].

2nd Blog Transformation

1st  >>2nd
This are two beautifull Oil Paintings by Caravaggio. (1571-1610)
Completed for the Contarelli Chapel in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome.
It was destroyed in 1945 and is now known only from black-and-white photographs and enhanced color reproductions.Basically when Caravaggio did the painting he portrayed the image in a different manner, unlike other artists at the time whom following typical iconographic images of the Saint. When it was finished the first piece the commissioner did not approve because of the way there patron was portrayed in the image, like a typical human who is almost portrayed illiterate with the way he is holding the pen and the book, and how the angel is helping him (bare foot) and Caravaggio had to do another painting because of it's criticism. He managed to transforming it into a more praised work of art by the commissioner and at the eyes of the people. Saint Matthew and the Angel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2012. Saint Matthew and the Angel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Matthew_and_the_Angel. [Accessed 02 November 2012].

Conflict in Design (1)

conflict design gift shop maastricht product guide - Random Light, small black. 2012. conflict design gift shop maastricht product guide - Random Light, small black. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.conflict.to/products_conflict/pages/image29.html. [Accessed 10 October 2012]. 

This design shows conflict in my opinion. Light seems to be trapped in because of the woven design of the lamp. Light is suppose to illuminate a space but this lamp design seems to limit that light intensity. Also i see a conflict of shapes. The large circular shape of the lamp in contrast with the random shapes that are created by the woven yarn.