Research

I research my projects extensively, and this one was no exception, however I have increasingly realised that the work itself inspires more research, and have always seen it as a reflexive activity, where the research can generate ideas, which translate into work, but then the work generates questions leading to more research.  Two texts which were of great interest to me in this project were, `The Language of Magazines` by Linda McLoughlin, and `Media Semiotics - An Introduction` 2nd ed. by Jonathon Bignell.  My CHC essay which looked at the association between crafts and activism also underpinned the research, with `craftivism` a word coined by the writer Betsy Greer in 2003, inspiring my work.  I also researched traditional embroidery techniques which would allow me to work in a creatively expressive way, to communicate new ideas and concepts.

Why I use embroidery in my work?

Work for level 5 module `Two Ladies` in cross stitch embroidery (Above) Level 4 work - `Nude Female` -  Printed textile overlaid with free motion machine embroidery

By using traditional embroidery techniques, I can creatively express new ideas and concepts without kowtowing to cultural stereotypes.  The recent resurgence of craft-making activity, particularly domestic crafts such as knitting and sewing, seems to be a disengagement from our increasing reliance on digital technology and burgeoning consumer culture. In post 9/11 America there was a huge upsurge of craft making activities, which represented the need for communities to draw closer together, in my research for my final degree essay, in which I explored the relationship between craft and activism, I discovered that this has had some notable historical precursors.  The Womens Suffrage Movement, whose members were talented artists, used their skills to produce beautiful embroidered banners, realising that in an all seeing age, their protests and marches would have greater visual impact.  Their artistic endeavours were inspired by the arts and crafts movement, which in itself was a reaction to industrialisation  In my exploration of magazines, I quickly realised that those magazines which inspire craft-making and leisure activities also subscribe to a culture of mass consumption of ready-made products through their blatant use of advertising.  The visual images of these magazines have an immediacy and will change in response to the needs of its consumers, whereas my intervention, which is rooted in tradition and history, creates a sense of making something from start to finish by manual labour and attempts to disrupt that process.

Decisions

Lauren Diciccio - `Sewn News` series

My intention for this project was to make interventions using traditional embroidery techniques, to disrupt the glossy cover images of magazines designed to capture their intended demographic by preying on needs and most desirable interests.  I wanted my intervention to subvert the underlying image by means of deconstruction and re-interpretation, utilising my own design elements in thread.

Lauren Diciccio - `Sewn News` series  (above)
The work of Lauren Diciccio was hugely influential.  In her `Sewn News` series, entire issues of The New York Times are encased in hand-embroidered cotton muslin, the images selected are strongly suggestive of power, leadership and communication.  The image is embroidered onto the fabric applying colours in a painterly way and layering line and thread, with portions of the image remaining as an outline, with threads tangling and unravelling from the fabric

Altered Art - Early Influences

Christopher Coppers `Vogue Magazine`

The decision to alter magazines, was a direct progression from an altered book project in a previous negotiated degree module, where I used books, normally regarded as non-art objects, and transformed them by applying a combination of standard and non-standard artistic techniques to produce a result which served both a functional purpose and created a self-expressive visual aesthetic.

Nate Page

Artists who influenced me in the early days of this project were Christopher Coppers and Nate Page.

Christopher Coppers - Fig.1 `Vogue Magazine`
A Belgian artist based in Brussels whose work consists of interventions within or on magazines through deconstruction and construction using many different magazines.  He combines his love for printed matter with the urge for creative distortion and destruction, re-interpreting the original cover by intricately carving into them and transforming them into sculptures.

Nate Page - Fig.2 `Carved Faces`
A Wisconsin born artist living in New York who investigates the confrontations between materiality and images, occupied space and presence, potentiality and reality.  Using methods of drawing and assemblage, he alters found objects, and transforms the image to become more physical, and the object to become more image like.  Personal memories and consumer culture informs the content of his work.

`Altered Magazines` - Chris Jones

Die Cast Models Magazine

PC Upgrade

Digital Camera

Practical Fishkeeping

Contemporary Crafts

Welcome to my blog - `Altered Magazines`

Cookery Magazine

My name is Christine Jones, I am a level 6 student in my final year of a Ba (Hons) Art and Design degree course based at Birmingham City University. This is my very first blog, where, as a committed technophobe, I have been dragged kicking and screaming into the blogasphere to record the progress of my exploration of the visual language of magazines using traditional embroidery techniques, specifically magazine covers, and their ability to seduce the viewer through their glossy images. I hope you will find it interesting.  Magazines are representative of our cultural landscape, providing reference material for how we conduct our lives, the objects we think we desire, how we chose to spend our leisure time, our hobbies and preoccupations. Essentially they represent a culture of mass consumption of ready-made products.