Hi Jen - I really enjoyed your travelogue as a piece of creative writing in its own right; a bit bonkers, but engaging and wonderfully imaginative. I sort of get a sense of Teletubbies meets Grayson Perry or Coraline meets Boy George from your description. The one thing missing - at least from your thumbnails - is what is transgressive and sexually provocative about your collaborator - there's a sense of the monstrous too. There is horror here - and the grotesque - and sense of someone seeking to shock and upset and push boundaries. Your thumbnails have a Dr Seuss madness to them, but there's a failure to get into the darkness of it all. Not sure where the mushroom is coming from, which seems to trap some of your ideas in a kind of watered-down Tim Burton place. You also seem to be struggling to deal with what is also urban and 'nightlife' about your collaborator. In terms of your Metropolis, maybe you need to think more 'Soho' than Teletubbies?
If you look at what Bowery does - he exaggerates certain elements of his own physique and likewise closes out the gaps: when I look at these images of Bowery...
In thinking about 'structures' and 'buildings', maybe you have to deal with the human body in this same sense as a means of getting away from all the green lawns and mushrooms? I'm not anti the kitschy patterns or polka-dots, I just think you need to deal with 'The Body', as it's such a big part of what preoccupies your collaborator. There's a horror and eroticism to Bowery's clownish make-up and performance art, and I think you need to roll up your sleeves, hold your nose, and get stuck in. Remember, the challenge of this unit is to get into the mind-set of your collaborator; to ask yourself how would Bowery approach the design of a city and its buildings, not 'how can I dress up a city in the things we associate with him'. They're obviously related, but not the same thing. What would be the important part of a city if you were Bowery? Would it be 'outside' spaces, or would it be inside spaces, nighttime spaces, secretive spaces?
Short version, I think you need to deal with Bowery's actual physicality and fascination with manipulating 'conventional structures' (i.e. the human body) into extraordinary, distorted and disturbing structures (i.e. Bowery's performance art) - if you were to apply that idea of the design of a building, for example, Bowery would probably look at something like this...
Hi Phil, thank you so much for putting it in such visual language as it really helps me to understand. If i'm honest I know what you mean but its a place I wouldnt naturally gravitate to and therefore I find it difficult. Your comments have really helped though and I will follow your advice!
yes - that's the big challenge - thinking and doing and imagining in a way that is 'not you' - we're getting you ready for the commercial world - when you might have to work on something you don't like very much, but you still have to commit to it 100% and do an amazing job :)
OGR 05/11/2016
ReplyDeleteHi Jen - I really enjoyed your travelogue as a piece of creative writing in its own right; a bit bonkers, but engaging and wonderfully imaginative. I sort of get a sense of Teletubbies meets Grayson Perry or Coraline meets Boy George from your description. The one thing missing - at least from your thumbnails - is what is transgressive and sexually provocative about your collaborator - there's a sense of the monstrous too. There is horror here - and the grotesque - and sense of someone seeking to shock and upset and push boundaries. Your thumbnails have a Dr Seuss madness to them, but there's a failure to get into the darkness of it all. Not sure where the mushroom is coming from, which seems to trap some of your ideas in a kind of watered-down Tim Burton place. You also seem to be struggling to deal with what is also urban and 'nightlife' about your collaborator. In terms of your Metropolis, maybe you need to think more 'Soho' than Teletubbies?
If you look at what Bowery does - he exaggerates certain elements of his own physique and likewise closes out the gaps: when I look at these images of Bowery...
https://agnautacouture.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/leigh-bowery-14.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/55/ee/db/55eedbb490ad9c0efe8c89ecfd0353eb.jpg
https://meathookcinemadotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/leigh-bowery-02.jpg?w=700&h=508
... I'm reminded of this animation:
http://ucarochester-cgartsandanimation.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/fao-caa-yr-1-invisible-cities-1-walking.html
In thinking about 'structures' and 'buildings', maybe you have to deal with the human body in this same sense as a means of getting away from all the green lawns and mushrooms? I'm not anti the kitschy patterns or polka-dots, I just think you need to deal with 'The Body', as it's such a big part of what preoccupies your collaborator. There's a horror and eroticism to Bowery's clownish make-up and performance art, and I think you need to roll up your sleeves, hold your nose, and get stuck in. Remember, the challenge of this unit is to get into the mind-set of your collaborator; to ask yourself how would Bowery approach the design of a city and its buildings, not 'how can I dress up a city in the things we associate with him'. They're obviously related, but not the same thing. What would be the important part of a city if you were Bowery? Would it be 'outside' spaces, or would it be inside spaces, nighttime spaces, secretive spaces?
Short version, I think you need to deal with Bowery's actual physicality and fascination with manipulating 'conventional structures' (i.e. the human body) into extraordinary, distorted and disturbing structures (i.e. Bowery's performance art) - if you were to apply that idea of the design of a building, for example, Bowery would probably look at something like this...
https://a2ua.com/building/building-008.jpg
and want this instead:
http://d2jv9003bew7ag.cloudfront.net/uploads/Lou-Ruvo-Center-for-Brain-Health2-865x577.jpg
I also recommend that you do some additional research into the idea of 'kitsch' as a visual language - especially as it aligns with architecture.
Hi Phil, thank you so much for putting it in such visual language as it really helps me to understand. If i'm honest I know what you mean but its a place I wouldnt naturally gravitate to and therefore I find it difficult. Your comments have really helped though and I will follow your advice!
Deleteyes - that's the big challenge - thinking and doing and imagining in a way that is 'not you' - we're getting you ready for the commercial world - when you might have to work on something you don't like very much, but you still have to commit to it 100% and do an amazing job :)
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