16/04/2015
Blog Entry 26:
MA / MDes Visual
Communication
PROJECT PROPOSAL FORM
Name: Helen – Marie Kelly
Stage: MA
Date & Draft Version:
17/04/2015 Final Draft
1. Working Title: Enwrap:
Hands in Tandem with the Body
The Embodiment
of the Human Hand’s Potential to Comment on the Complexity of Body Confidence
and Modesty
2. Rationale for the project
proposed: Provide a
concise, logical rationale for the project, 200 words.
My project title Enwrap: Hands in Tandem with the Body
is indicative of my exploration into the human hand’s potential to comment of
complex aspects of the human condition, especially when placed in particular
positions on the human body. “Hands are capable of many actions but they are
especially good at griping, when they wrap around objects and in a sense take
on the shape of the object they enwrap.” (Raynes,2007). This quotation is taken
from the context of using the hand in life drawing as a tool used to suggest
the form of other areas of the body. Enwrap in the physical sense means to
envelop or cover an object so closely that the material or item covering the
object takes on a sense of that objects shape; in the non-physical sense to be
enwrapped suggests that a person is completely absorbed by an action or object,
for example enwrapped in conversation would be suggestive of a very high level
of attention and interest in the subject or possibly the person the
conversation is happening with. With these two aspects of the word enwrap in
mind, my project is designed to encompass the full meaning of this word by the
physical way in which my embroidered illustrations of human hand on garments
can wrap around and to some extent take on the shape of aspects of the human
body, and the non-physical way in which the illustrated hands in particular
positions can provoke an emotive response. The imagery in tandem with the human
body is designed to provoke the audience to question to whom the hands belong,
as how this is viewed can drastically change an individual’s interpretation of
the message.
3. Audience: Describe the audience that the
project is aimed at. Ask yourself, who will benefit from the process or outcome
of the project proposed, whose needs will you meet, who are you communicating
with, who are you seeking to persuade or inform?
The target audience for this project is predominantly
adult due to the complexity of the subject matter. I believe that to fully
appreciate the way in which the imagery can create two opposite commentaries on
modesty by understanding that the hand could belong to either the person
wearing the garment or someone else, would involve analytical thinking.
The adults at the center of my target for
communication are predominantly females between the ages of 20 and 50. Much of the
pre-existing work on subjects such as body confidence is aimed at a younger
audience, often teenage girls, my project is aimed at those who might be
unmoved by such imagery due to the use of visual communication which often
includes images of girls at the age for which the work is aimed. Through my
research I have ascertained that as women get older many still feel and
understand social pressures on how women are perceived currently in western
society especially.
Due to the increased age of my target audience from
the usual teenage community work is often created to speak to I am able to
include aspects of the subject of body confidence, which are otherwise avoided
such as seduction.
I have specifically chosen models for outcomes 1,2,3
and 7 of different sizes and ages within my target audience to make the
garments to measure in order to strengthen the connection to whom the work is
specifically speaking. I have also done this, as I personally believe that as I
am not a fashion student, but rather an illustrator I do not have to follow the
confinements of designing garments to fit a specific size.
4. Theoretical Framework: Summarise the theoretical framework
of your practice enquiry.
This project exists to enquire what it means to be
human through the communicative power that images of the human hand can create
when commenting on the complexity of the issues involved with body confidence
and modesty. The project particularly focuses on how the human hand when placed
in tandem with the human body can strengthen or alter what the imagery
communicates.
My dissertation was designed to aid research
undertaken in the concept module, through questioning the meaning of human hand
in art. Chapter two focuses specifically on how the hand in imagery has the potential
to comment on gender and explores more deeply into how the human hand conveys
this through positioning and movement. I have used this section of my
dissertation in particular to form a basis of research of my Realisation
project.
Abstract from my dissertation:
…concepts of masculine and feminine, which are
empowered or projected through aspects such as clothing, but the human hand in
this area is anything but unimportant. The movement of the hand or positioning
within a composition, as outlined in Chapter One images of the human hand can
signal to an audience certain aspects about a character’s personality or
background, along with acting as political signifiers. Gender is a concept in
art, which often relies on synecdochal imagery, one or few as representative of
the whole: This contrasts greatly with what gender often means to the viewer.
Being individual is a human concept, which is not shared with other species,
and is strongly linked with gender. The human race defines gender and gender roles
in a range of ways, which vary vastly. If gender is key to defining humanity,
how does imagery use hand movement portray or extenuate this?
When commenting on the seduction of Marcel Duchamp as Rrose S’elavy (Fig. 7 & Fig. 7.1) Jones states
Rrose s’elavy acts out the seduction of the art object on several
levels. She is an image of ‘woman’ constructed through highly sexualized period
codes of desirable femininity drawn from a commercial vocabulary of gender
signifiers: her clothing, the coy pose and feminine hand gestures…
(Jones, 1993: 21)
Jones describes the hand gestures as feminine
which suggests that hand gesture goes deeper than merely overt communication
used as a substitute for speech. Much of Jones’ comments on how the seduction
is achieved is apparently through “commodifiable” (Jones, 1993: 27) means such
as clothing and jewelry, however the movement of the hand as a simple and
unstained area of the human body plays its part to convey a certain idea/
feeling just as admirably as the use of man made embellishment.
It is the gesture of the hand that Jones states
is suggestive of femininity, not necessarily an action. Gestural qualities here
can be considered closer to communication through body language rather than
that of the gestures in Bruno Munari’s Front cover Speak Italian: The Fine Art of Gesture, for
instance. The ‘gesture’ of the hand has more to do with intertexual attachment
to a pose or movement than the movement itself: What does the viewer already
think of when he/ she sees a particular hand gesture. The femininity of the
subject in the photographs is possibly perceived through gesture due to the
delicacy of the movement; the subject does not grasp anything tightly, nor do
the fingers fully curl round the areas of the clothing touched, creating an
ethereal feeling, of being able to manipulate the environment around oneself
through the use of weightless or defenseless action. The precise and delicate
motions of the subject’s hands can be likened to that of the Chinese tradition
of folding the hands in a delicate manner, a way in which Chinese women show
respect.
This particular part of my dissertation explains how
the positioning of the hand can be a key element in describing gender. The
human hand through simple movement or position can be a very effective signifier
to complex human traits. With this in mind I have strived to ensure that the
positioning of the hands, especially when in tandem with the body create
specific commentaries on the subject of body confidence and modesty.
5. Methodology: Set out the visual methodology you
will employ in researching the question you have set yourself. Construct a
time-based structure for your visual research and practice.
My methodology is designed to address design problems
in an ordered fashion to gradually move the idea generation and image making
process forward. The two main design questions I have explored are as follows:
How can images of the human hand be placed in tandem with the body whilst
retaining focus? And how does the hand when placed in such a way affect its
power to comment on the complex subject of body confidence and modesty?
In my main sketchbook(s) have researched how the human
hand can be created visually to make successful commentary on body confidence
and self-awareness, whilst creating visual samples in my chosen medium of
stitch and paint through experimentation, which are desired to answer more
specific design problems. For example I have produced a set of samples, which
are desired to ascertain the best way in which to keep the painted element in
my imagery when applying the imagery to a garment form.
Throughout this project I have focused on how imagery
on the human hand when placed in tandem with the body can retain visual focus,
this was particularly difficult as when the whole body is represented through
imagery the gaze is immediately divided between the hands and the rest of the
body. Originally I attempted to address this problem by making the hands the more
prominent factor through shading or using transparent fabric to push the rest
of the imagery back, this did not work as intended as the visual of the rest of
the body was still too dominant, and the hands became part of the whole.
Eventually I was able to describe the body visually whilst still retaining
focus on the images of the hands in two ways: I created embroidered/painted
garments designed to be worn in order to visually represent the human body
whilst the embroidered/ painted hands took president as the point of focus,
whilst still being specifically placed in tandem with the body of the wearer.
Later in the project I also decided to create flat images using the word enwrap
as inspiration to create imager of the hands alone in positions to suggest what
they might be wrapping themselves around.
Whilst considering how best to visually convey the
hand I have also focused on how the positioning of the hand on the body can be
used to described two or more messages per image linked to the subject of body
confidence and body image. When I realised that making physical garments was
the best way to solve my first design problem, I found that I was able to use
the fact that when the garment is worn the hands could be perceived as either
belonging to the model or belonging to someone else. If the hands on the
outcome 1 garment for example belong to the model this could mean that the
model is covering the body suggesting modesty or protection from being viewed
as naked, combined with connotations that a garment can be viewed as an
extension of covering positions the hand can create, this could also be viewed
as a way in which the model is drawing attention to certain parts of her body
in a seductive manner. If the hands belong to someone other than the wearer,
this could suggest that the model is being touched inappropriately by another
person or is being protected by this person. I have decided to cerate my
imagery with these dual meanings in order to reflect the complexity of the
subject.
My blog is designed to research current contemporary
practitioners along with other influences, issues and fashions to aid my
practice theme along with other such elements of interest relating to my chosen
mediums. The blog will also include considerations for how I intend to take my
practice further with a view to leaving university and considerations for the
future of my career.
6. Deliverables: Please list the outcomes that you
envisage resulting from the project.
A set of 5 garments and three flat outcomes designed
to be exhibited along with a 64-page photo book and portfolio of refined
photographs of the garments on models in the Brigdens Photographic Studio and
in location and a disc of all photographs taken.
7. Identify any exceptional
practical requirements that the project will
necessitate: Please list anything beyond the
usual provisions of the programme.
8. Bibliography: Reference all resources including
images following the Harvard system.
Adler. K. and
Pointon, M. (eds.) (1993) The Body Imaged: The human form and visual culture
since the Renaissance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Berlin
Painter (480 B.C.) Herakles and Iphikles attacked by snakes. Pottery,
Paris: Louvre
Berman, P.g.
(1993) Body and body polotic in Edvard Munch’s Bathing Men. In Adler, K
and Pointon, M. (eds.) The Body Imaged: The human form and visual culture
since the Renaissance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Clarke. K.
(1956) The Nude. In Nead. L. (ed.) The Female Nude: Art, Obscenity
and Sexuality (1992) Routledge.
Deepdane
Painter (Attributed to) (470-460 B.C), Perseus and Danae. Terracotta
Red-figure Pottery
Eakins. T.
(1898) Salutat. Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Massachusetts.
Oil paint, 126.4 x 101.0 cm
Fabbri.
P.(2011) Beyond Gombrich: the recrudescence of visual semiotics.
Princeton: Princeton University Press
Gill, M.
(1989) Image of the Body. New York: Doubleday Dell Publishing Inc.
Gombrich, E.
H. (1993) Gombrich on the Renaissance, Volume 2: Symbolic images. 2nd
Ed. London: Phaidon Press Ltd.
Harter, J.
(1985) Hands A Pictorial Archive from Nineteenth Century Sources. Ontario:
Dover Publications.
Hatt, M.
(1993) Muscles, Morals, Mind: the male body in Thomas Eatkins’ Salutat. In
Adler, K and Pointon, M. (eds.) The Body Imaged: The human form and visual
culture since the Renaissance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Havelock.
C.M. (1995) The Aphrodite of Kindos and her Successors: A Historical Review
of the Female Nude in Greek Art. 1st Ed. Michigan: University of
Michigan.
Hawkins.
B.W. (1863) Frontispiece to Evidence as to Mans Place in Nature. In
Huxley. T.H. Evidence as to a Mans Place in Nature. (1863). In The
Zoological Relations of Man with the Lower Animals. (1861) 1st Ed.
(p67 – 84.) London: The Natural History Museum.
Adler. K.
and Pointon, M. (eds.) (1993) The Body Imaged: The human form and visual
culture since the Renaissance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Berlin
Painter (480 B.C.) Herakles and Iphikles attacked by snakes. Pottery,
Paris: Louvre
Berman, P.g.
(1993) Body and body polotic in Edvard Munch’s Bathing Men. In Adler, K
and Pointon, M. (eds.) The Body Imaged: The human form and visual culture
since the Renaissance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Clarke. K.
(1956) The Nude. In Nead. L. (ed.) The Female Nude: Art, Obscenity
and Sexuality (1992) Routledge.
Deepdane
Painter (Attributed to) (470-460 B.C), Perseus and Danae. Terracotta
Red-figure Pottery
Eakins. T.
(1898) Salutat. Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Massachusetts.
Oil paint, 126.4 x 101.0 cm
Fabbri.
P.(2011) Beyond Gombrich: the recrudescence of visual semiotics.
Princeton: Princeton University Press
Gill, M.
(1989) Image of the Body. New York: Doubleday Dell Publishing Inc.
Gombrich, E.
H. (1993) Gombrich on the Renaissance, Volume 2: Symbolic images. 2nd
Ed. London: Phaidon Press Ltd.
Harter, J.
(1985) Hands A Pictorial Archive from Nineteenth Century Sources. Ontario:
Dover Publications.
Hatt, M.
(1993) Muscles, Morals, Mind: the male body in Thomas Eatkins’ Salutat. In
Adler, K and Pointon, M. (eds.) The Body Imaged: The human form and visual
culture since the Renaissance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Havelock.
C.M. (1995) The Aphrodite of Kindos and her Successors: A Historical Review
of the Female Nude in Greek Art. 1st Ed. Michigan: University of
Michigan.
Hawkins. B.W.
(1863) Frontispiece to Evidence as to Mans Place in Nature. In Huxley.
T.H. Evidence as to a Mans Place in Nature. (1863). In The Zoological
Relations of Man with the Lower Animals. (1861) 1st Ed. (p67 – 84.)
London: The Natural History Museum.
Raynes. J.
(2007) Figure Drawing & Anatomy for the Artist. 2nd Ed.
London: Bounty Books.
Sagan.
L.S. Sagan.C. and Drake. F. (2006) Illustration on the Pioneer Plaque.
original artwork created 1972 and 1973, NASA.
Sappho
Painter (Attributed to) (500-490 B.C.) Mourners around the bier. Attic
black- figure plaque, Louver Museum, Paris
Stillfried.
G and van der Smagt. P. (2010) Movement Model of a Human Hand Based on
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Venice: ICABB.
Young. R.W.
(2003) Evolution of the Human Hand: The Role of Throwing and Clubbing. Journal
of Anatomy. January 2003, 165 – 174.