Jonathan Baldock Artist Talk

What I found most interesting was the fact that even his large scale installation pieces he stitches by hand and never uses machine stitching. He also talked about the familiarity of fabric, and how the audience can immediately relate to it because we wear clothes all the time and fabric surround us constantly. 

SECOND UNIT BAB3 - Wall to Wall Research - Camouflage

Camouflage Origins

Camouflage was first understood by hunters who recognised that their prey had a form of protection that was not just their teeth or claws; that their skin and fur was coloured to blend in with the surrounding landscapes. Hunters then adopted this, wearing fur, skins and feathers to get close to their prey. Hunters still use this technique only it has evolved into complex clothing like Ghillie Suits - invented by Scottish gamekeepers - which consist of hundred of pieces of hessian attached to netting. Different cultures and environments have different forms of camouflage depending on the surroundings - in the tropics contrasting camouflage is most effective in the bright vibrant colours as it competes with the visual landscape. Whereas in the desert more muddy colours are worn. Camouflage of this nature is also known as 'disruptive pattern'.  Wearing the furs of an animal was not only a way to trick the animal into getting close to the hunter, but also links with the shamanistic idea of being able to connect with the spirit of the animal you are hunting.

Camouflage has since been adopted by the military as a primary form of concealing vehicles and weaponry, but disruptive pattern camouflage didn't become militarised until WWI. The first camouflage replaced a single colour similar to that of the landscape with similar overlapping shades that confused the eye and make soldiers difficult to spot. Militarised camouflage intially was designed by artists, and the different styles of camoflage drew upon the artistic ideas of the time as well as the ideas of naturalist Abbot H. Thayer, but it was Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scévola who believed that 'in order to deform totally the aspect of the object, I had to employ the means that cubists use to represent it' - which mean to split up the aspects of the colour into different shapes and colour.
During WWI dazzle ships were created. Dazzle ships had disorientating black and white geometric shapes painted shapes all over them, which confused enemy ships as it made it difficult to estimate speed, direction and range. This dazzle camouflage was employed by the British marine and over 2000 ships were painted during WWI and into WW2. Each design was different, and alot of the designed were designed by women from the Royal Acedemy of Arts.

sabina keric and yvonne bayer
desiree palmen
annie collinge
https://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/articles/art-culture-and-camouflage

Professional Practice - Festival Forms

To gain some insight into how I could potentially show my work within the festival context I have been looking at different application forms for different festivals. Some of them are more in depth for the more established festivals, but others are simply contact details. Maybe not this year, but definitely the year after when I am more established and confident in my work I can apply. To be a walkabout performer I would need Public Liability Insurance, as I would have contact with members of the public. Although not required by law, it would protect me as my own business owner and the public from injury or property damage and it would cover all the costs and legal expenses. Most insurance companies require full business details, but I am aware that there is specific public liability insurance for artists that is offered by some companies, however this will need more research. 

BOOMTOWN FAIR

Your application for a walkabout performance MUST fit in with the storyline, otherwise you will not be accepted. 

MAUI WAUI FESTIVAL

This is the form for stewarding, as to be a walkabout performer you do not need to apply specifically - you can just be there on the day.

 SHAMBALA FESTIVAL

RESEARCH INTO THE SPECTACLE

Thoughts and research about the spectacle - to be added to throughout the year 

Spectacle

Carnivals are about spectacle and have a strong visual presence

Within the spectacle there is no distinction between actors and spectators because the audience live within it, and 'while carnival lasts, there is no other life outside of it.'(Bakhtin, 1984, p.7)

'Music performance would transform itself, by developing spectacle, amplifying personalities and heightening the semblance of spontaneity. (Thornton, 1999, p.77)

'The spectacle presents itself simultaneously as all of society, as part of society, and as instrument of unification.' (Debord, 2013, p.4)   

Laughter 

'Laughter has a deep philosophical meaning, it is one of the essential forms of the truth concerning the world as a whole, concerning history and man; it is a peculiar point of view relative to the world; the world is seen anew, no less (and perhaps more) profoundly than when seen from a serious standpoint' (Bakhtin, 1984, p.66)

Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys was a prominent German performance artist, social activist and environmentalist throughout his life. He believed that art has healing powers and could invoke a spiritual response from the audience, comparing his role as an artist to that of a shaman. He called his performances 'actions', encouraging the audience to incorporate his political and social messages into their everyday life. These actions were often ritualistic, incorporating ideas of birth, death and transformation. Calling them actions and not performances, makes the piece for accessible to the audience, as everyone is familiar with actions but not everyone can relate to performances. Calling them actions also suggests to the audience that they are not planned, that the artist is just reacting to what is happening in his immediate environment, even if that environment is premeditated. 

Throughout his work Beuys used similar materials such as fat, felt, earth, honey and blood. As well as ritualised movement he also incorporated repeated sound during his actions. Felt for me is a rigid material that I can easily acquire in a variety of different colours, so it is useful for trying out ideas. For Beuys, it was important because of its ability to absorb whatever it came into contact with. It could also muffle sound, and during his career he wrapped a piano, a tv, and a loudspeaker, rendering them useless. Felt is also an insulator and a symbol of warmth. Beuys often worn clothing made out of felt, culminating in his series of 'felt suits'; a hundred identical two piece felt suits instructed by the artist to be displayed in any way - ‘I don’t give a damn. You can nail the suit to the wall. You can also hang it on a hanger, ad libitum! But you can also wear it or throw it into a chest’ (Beuys in Schnellman and Klüsser 1980). I think I need to think more about the meaning behind the materials that I am using, and the significance of them, and how the meaning of my work could possibly change depending of which material I pick. This is also the same for colours, as different colours have different associations. 



In arguably his most famous 'action', 'I like America American likes me' (1974), Beuys locks himself in a gallery with a coyote for 3 days. When he arrived in New York, he went through customs with his hands over his eyes, and before even getting out of the airport he was wrapped up in felt and transported in an ambulance to the gallery, where the coyote was waiting for him. In his words ‘I wanted to isolate myself, insulate myself, see nothing of America other than the coyote.’ During the action, Beuys gloves, walking stick and piece of felt became props, and he would wear them hunched over like a shepherd while he performed routine actions with the coyote. Throughout the 3 days the coyote's behaviour changed from detached to aggressive to sometimes friendly and companionable. 



Looking at the documentation of Beuys work has made me think about the documentation of my own work and the importance of it. I have never been very good at keeping up to date with the documentation of my work, as I have always thought that my work is about the live performance or interaction. However, having videos and photographs makes the work more accessible to everyone, as they can be shown in many different situations very easily, without the need for a planned performance or anything like that. The other barrier that I have found with planning a performance or even just doing something live is that I am not sure I want it to be me that is performing, as I would rather document, so I can dictate movement and such. I would also like to witness peoples reactions to my work, and I can do that if I am in one of my pieces. This means that if I want to create more planned performance based works in any context (both gallery and festival) then I am going to put more effort into finding other people to wear my pieces for me. 

Wilder mann - Charles Freger

Charles Freger is a French photographer who has dedicated his practice to portraiture and the study of uniformed or costumed collectives. In his book, Wilder mann: Images of the Savage, he documents his travels to over 18 different countries in search of different cultures tales of the Wild Man.  The transition of man to beast is apparent in many different pagan rituals that have been passed down through the generations to celebrate the changing of the seasons, fertility,  life or death. Freger travelled to Austria, Italy, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Germany, Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Switzerland, Finland and Romania, documenting the wild men in colour in their natural habitat; some have more distinct features and can be recognised as bears or stags, but others are more fictional and otherworldly. In it, he discovers that the more north you go the more 'wild' the men become - such as the  Dondolasi and Zvoncari (bell ringers) of Croatia who have giant horns and animals masks with big tongues that stick out. The need to rediscover these almost lost myths and legends seems all to apparent in this digital age where less and less people are going outside into nature, and I think I am drawn to these images because they are like creatures from a children's book; they spark a part of my childlike imagination that I haven't thought about in a while. This project is an ongoing project from 2010 till now.

The costumes I am most drawn to in this series are the ones which are the most extreme in size or height, the ones with vivid and bright colour, the ones which oscure the face completely and the ones which made my laugh instantly due to a comical mask or pose. This could be because these are the ones that resonate most with my own work. 

Skoromati - Slovienia

These giant headpieces can weigh up to 15kg

Schab - Austria
The use of the multiple creates a bigger impact than if there was just one. 

Kurenti - Slovenia

Kurenti, Slovenia
The majority of these photographs are in daylight, in natural setting, yet nearly all of them were meant to be a part of a certain carnival or ritual, so it would be interesting to see them photographed whilst they are being performed in. Seeing this particular costume at nighttime would be quite scary and would change the meaning of it completely, as in the daylight it looks almost cuddly and welcoming. 

Nevesta Djolomari - Switzerland
These two images (above and below) are probably the most recognisable as humans in the series, as little has been done to change the body shape in anyway. They are both still comical though - the man dressed as a woman and the vegetables positioned phallically. 

Babugeri - Bulgaria
I love these because they are quite clearly where artist Nick Cave got his inspiration from for some of his 'soundsuits'. Cave recreates this form with brightly coloured material in the same texture and gets dancers to perform ritualistic dance routines in them. The idea of taking a form or a costume that is very traditional and using modern fabrics and processes to make it colourful and exciting is interesting to me, especially then if you then put it back in its original context (the outdoors for example). 

Surovichkare - Bulgaria
Heads on top of heads.. like a totum pole??

Survakari - Bulgaria 

Macinulla - Poland
This could be a good way to get rid of all the scrap material I have lying around the house, as it would create an interesting texture and be colourful. 

Chriapa - Russia

Cert - Croatia

Fighting could be an interesting idea for a performance?

Juantramposos - Basque Country - Spain

Trapajones - Spain

Schnappyviecher - Italy 

Cerbul in Corlata - Romania
This is a very simple way to cover the head and the body in its entirety, and exaggerate the length of the body. 

tschäggättä - Switzerland

Burryman - Scotland

Preview of the book