Adeline de Monseignat- Hairy Eye Ball

When researching The Uncanny theory linked with art I came across an exhibition set up by curator James Putnam. I came across a piece created by Adeline De Monseignat who works on sculptural and installation exhibitions. The piece is named Hairy Eye Ball and was created in 2012. After reading up a bit more on the artist I found out she had  read Sigmund Freud's essay The Uncanny 1919, this interested and inspired the artist to create work based around the theory.
I find the piece extremely interesting. It has been made with only two objects, vintage fur and glass. The piece looks as though something is alive and living with the way the fur is positioned in the glass as though it is an animal sleeping, I think the curve of the glass also adds to the alive like feel. 

This piece has inspired me to look at using other textures in my work, myself and the group have been looking at some taxidermy rabbits Susannah has collected. I'd like to use them to create the same alive but dead like feel which I get when I see Adeline de Monseignat's piece.

Building the set

With all our props, wallpaper and paint bought and collected we started to build our sets. Firstly we started to strip all the excess wallpaper from our boards which had been left on from previous sets we then started to construct our boards using screws and drills to create a standing set of four walls, this part proved to be rather difficult and involved heavy team work, myself, Bryony, Pheobe and Ellen had to work well together in order to get the boards up safely. Once the boards were up we then began pasting our wall paper on bit by bit, once the first wall was up we started to paint our bloody roses on, half way through constructing the walls of the set we realised we wouldn't have enough paper to fill the last wall, we went back to Wilkinsons only to find that roll had been discontinued, we were all rather disheartened but decided to go back and buy another four rolls of wallpaper and to keep on going. Once we had finished putting up our new wall paper we realised this option of paper looked much better aesthetically and were all pleased with the end result. We then started to drip red paint from the roses to create a bloody effect.

Set design, props and group meeting.

Today myself and the group met up to discuss our ideas for the design of our set. We went through the kind of set design and props we wanted for Pink Nightmares. We made a list of this:

• Floral wallpaper
• Pastel paints in baby pink, dark pink and light green
• Feature wall paper
• Red paint
• Imitation red roses
• Dolls, teddies and other various toys

We then went and bought all on our list. We shall be building our set next Wednesday. 

Production meeting and main idea.

Today we met up as a group to pick and discuss our idea for the uncanny project. We decided to go with Phoebe's idea as it was one we all felt would make an interesting project based around the uncanny theme.
Our project shall be called Pink Nightmares and will have an Alice In Wonderland kind of theme. The film shall take place in a playroom styled set. The walls shall be covered in floral wallpaper which we shall then paint pastel flowers on to create a childlike atmosphere, this wallpaper shall cover each side of the set. The middle of the set shall have a feature wall of black outlined roses which we shall be painting red, we will have the red paint dripping off the roses as though they are bleeding linking with the Alice In Wonderland theme. (painting the roses red) There will be various props such as a fireplace against the feature wall with dolls lined up on top of it and dolls and toys strewn across the floor creating a play room like feel to the set. The film will feature a young female aged around 7 years old and elderly female. The film shall tell the tale of a young girl playing in her playroom with her grandmother knitting beside her with her back turned towards the camera. The grandmothers knitting speed shall increase and the room will appear darker, the red roses will then start to bleed and the dolls on the fireplace will start to move turning towards the little girl, moss will then start to grow on the walls as though the room is coming into a life of its own. The little girl will walk over to her grandmother who will be knitting extremely fast, her back will still be turned away from the camera as we see her arms moving as she knits. The little girl will then call her grandmothers name to which her grandmother doesn't reply. The little girl then reaches out to put her hand on her grandmothers shoulder. The grandmother then turns around and we see that she has been knitting her own face, a mixture of black goo and blood will seep from her face as she widely smiles into the camera. For the knitting of the face we shall be using latex. 
We shall use a green screen to create the movement of the dolls coming alive.

Another piece I find really interesting is Pauline Bunny by Sarah Lucas which was created in 1997. Every time I look at this piece I am as equally disturbed as the last glance. The figure seems to have a human like form upon first glance but once I stared at the image for longer the less human the figure seemed. The way the figure is draped across the chair with (what appears to be) their legs slumped out seems like a very human like position. Looking at the two flesh coloured pieces of the figure at the top confuses me and creates a feeling of great discomfort. They look as though they could be human arms or bunny ears. I appreciate the piece greatly, I find it a very interesting mangled representation of the human body.

Art and The Uncanny.

A few of the pieces I shall be looking at are part of the Uncanny exhibition curated by Mike Kelley before his death which was then revived and updated by The Tate Liverpool.

I find this piece by Marc Quinn really interesting. It was made in 1996 using rubber. The piece is named No Visible Means Of Escape. It shows two bodies suspended on what looks like a piece of string as though hanging. Either way the figures look as though they are dead or nearing death. All though the body image is quite distorted I still get a sense of disgust and discomfort when looking at the image as the sculpture does posses human like qualities.

Descriptive outline of idea based around 'The Uncanny'

Throughout the past week I've been racking my brain for ideas to do with 'The Uncanny' , at first I was thinking about my previous experiences with the feeling of the uncanny but these experiences didn't have the criteria need for the project brief such as a suitable way to incorporate a green screen.
I then began to think of things I am familiar with, books I've read and things that inspire as I feel I always find my most creative ideas through these things. I then began to think about art. I'm interested in all kinds of art, paintings, audio visuals, sculptures and so forth.
I then began to think about the set design, what we would need to make a realistic set, the measurements, how long it would take to build and the budget. Bearing all of this in mind with my initial thought of having an idea to do with art I began to get a grasp of what I wanted to do; An artists creative block.

The Set:
My set shall be in the design of an artist studio, the walls shall be bright filled with scraps of paper filled with drawings and paintings clinging off parts of the walls. There shall be an easel in the center of the room which shall feature the green screen . To the left of the set there shall be a pop up wooden table covered in paint with paint brushes in jars and paints arrayed over the table which has a wooden stool under neath. To the right of the set there shall be a sculpture.

The Uncanny:
To get a sense of The Uncanny I have decided to bring a painting to life. The artist shall be suffering from a creative block in which he/she paints a strange looking creature out of frustration. After painting the creature the artist shall throw down the brushes and sit on the stool, they shall stare at the painting clearly looking frustrated. Using a green screen covering a canvas which shall be situated on the easel I shall bring the painting to life to which the artist is left feeling stunned, scared and uncomfortable. The painting shall then turn back to a still image leaving the artist confused, the artist shall walk over to the painting and touch it to find the image is in fact still but he will never forget what he saw.