Politics and Fashion

Today I continued developing the project and trying to conclude the research so I can start initial designs. I also had a group tutorial which I found very helpful as it gave me new ideas to explore and helped me figure out where to go next which I was struggling with. Some feedback I got was to add artist research as well as research into existing campaigns. From this I have started to look into campaigns such as the Lush campaign outside their Regents Street store where they recreated animal tests on a human as well as existing campaign posters and what messages they put through. I have found it harder to find artists to look at because it isn't a typical subject for art but I have found artists such as Damien Hurst (where he put half of animals in large glass boxes) and Marco Evarisitti (explored right and wrong of animal cruelty using goldfish and blenders) will link into my project. Sarah also suggested I look at Jenny Saville because of her use of colour and how she applies paint to paper which shows quite a lot of emotion and drama similar to that created in the Lush performance. Having these new ideas is giving me more directions to explore and will mean I can start designing tomorrow as will have much more imagery to work with. 

It was also interesting to be able to see other peoples projects in the tutorial. In my group there were a range of issues including gender stereotypes, east vs west, 911 and Islamic beliefs and ideas. It was useful in the tutorial as we were all asked what our angle on our subjects was which is an important factor in this project as it means we are creating a clear message and argument with our work. It is also important that we aren't shy with the project which some people were feeling especially with controversial issues such as Islam which is very relevant today because of the recent Paris attacks, however I think my project isn't doing this at the moment as I felt it did shock some people in my group as people aren't aware of animal testing and what happens because it is largely hidden to the public. I do need to make sure that I continue this and that whatever my final outcome is still has a strong and even shocking message to it even if it is in a subtle way.