BLOG ASSIGNMENT2(Allan Sekula)

The Lottery of the Sea

Directed by Allan Sekula
US 2006, video, color, 180 min.

For the past thirty years, California native Allan Sekula has established a prolific career as a photographer with his unique focus on political and economic systems. Following the accomplishment of Tsukiji (2001) and Gala (2005), his self-described “city symphonies of a sort,” The Lottery of the Sea takes its title from an essay by economist/philosopher Adam Smith, who compared nautical life to gambling. Shot over a period of five years and spanning locations such as the Netherlands, Spain, Greece, and Japan, the video offers a remarkable contemplation on globalization in maritime nations infused with elements of Greek myths, old Hollywood and, of course, the lore of the sea.

BLOG ASSIGNMENT2(Julie Mehretu)

Julie Mehretu
Untitled
2000
Ink, colored pencil and cut paper on Mylar
18 x 24 in.
at the Museum of Modern Art

Julie Mehretu makes large-scale, gestural paintings that are built up through layers of acrylic paint on canvas overlaid with mark-making using pencil, pen, ink and thick streams of paint. Mehretu’s work conveys a layering and compression of time, space and place and a collapse of art historical references. I think that her works have similarities with my themes.

 

BLOG ASSIGNMENT2(Tracey Moffatt)

Tracey Moffatt
Invocations # 11 2000
photo silkscreen printed with ultra violet inks on somerset textured soft white 300 gsm paper,
109-2 x 96.5 cm
Collection of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney

Tracey Moffatt‘s moody and dreamlike series Invocations returns us to the world of fairytales and storytelling. Using rondel and elliptical shaped magical scenes, Moffatt shows a black girl wandering through a fantastical forest of trees and witches invoking the supernatural. Here Walt Disney meets The Wizard of Oz in the Australian outback. Indigenous artist Moffatt invokes a haunting, contemporary fable filled with fear and melodrama.

BLOG ASSIGNMENT2(Deborah Stafford)

Circle Dance
Deborah Stafford
Newport, WA, USA

Deborah is a Regional Coordinator for the Global Art Project in Washington and has organized the participation of many groups and individuals in her area. This artwork was chosen for the front of the 2008 Global Art Project for Peace brochure.

BLOG ASSIGNMENT2(Jennifer & Jean Chapin)

Sharing Dreams of Peace
Around the Communal Fire
Jennifer & Jean Chapin
Peru, NY, USA

This artwork was made as a pillow to send to their match in Priest River. It was also a quilt block in “The Plattsburgh Peace Quilt Project” supported by The Red Hummingbird Foundation.

 

4. Internet Research

i researched on internet about the plants but espcially about the products that people made by plants. As i found some plants products at the museum, i found some informations about things made by plants from the maori cultures.

Maori Flax Weaving History

 

The Maori people have not always used harakeke, they brought with them to New Zealand the mulberry plant, but due to New Zealand’s climate the mulberry plant did not flourish, so an alternative had to be found, this is when they found the native flax. The Maori people were able to create so many items from the flax that it became an integral part of their culture. With the leaves of the harakeke they were able to make such things as: String Lines Cordage Baskets Mats Fishing nets And even clothing  The Maori people realized the great importance of the harakeke so they propagated their own flax nurseries and plantations throughout the land. CUTTING Leaves were cut near the base of the plant using a sharp mussel shell or specially shaped rocks, the green fleshy part of the leaf was stripped off right through to the fibre, then with several processes of washing, bleaching, fixing, softening, dyeing and drying the flax it was ready for crafting. FLAX FIBRES, CLEANING & STRENGTH Fibres of various strengths were used to fashion eel traps (hinaki), surprisingly large fishing nets (kupenga) and lines, bird snares, cordage for ropes, baskets (kete), bags, mats, clothing, sandals (parara), buckets, food baskets (rourou), and cooking utensils etc. The flax fibre called muka which was laboriously washed, bleached and hand worked until it became extremely soft is the base for the beautiful feather cloak, the kahu huruhuru, a traditional garment that is highly prized by Māori. It is adorned with colourful feathers from the native huia, kiwi, tui, kererū (woodpigeon) and kākā (parrot). The handmade flax cording and ropes had such great tensile strength that they were used to successfully bind together sections of hollowed out logs to create huge ocean-going canoes (waka). It was also used to make rigging, sails and lengthy anchor warps, and roofs for housing. Frayed ends of flax leaves were fashioned into torches and lights for use at night. The dried flower stalks, which are extremely light, were bound together with flax twine to make river rafts called mokihi. LEGEND I believe most weavers of today will have learnt the quality skills and knowledge from their tupuna (ancestors). Harakeke kete and harakeke weavers are mentioned in a number of Maori legend - Maui slowed the sun by using the harakeke as his rope. - The three kete’s of knowledge, the wharepora (house of weaving) where young woman would be inducted to retain there skills. There are over 60 different varieties of harakeke - they do have there own names, these could be found in a number of weaving books. How to weave a basket / kete         Learn how to weave a traditional flax Maori Kete or basket using a takitahi technique (one over, one under). The subscription fee for each instruction is $40.00 New Zealand dollars for 30 days. Video’s come in three parts: 1.  Preparing the flax 2.  Weaving the basket 3.  Finishing the basket How do I get started?  1.  Please click here, register and become a member it’s Free! 2.  Once registered login to our website and go to the lesson you would like to learn 3.  Subscribe to the lesson and follow the payment instructions. Transactions are secure via www.paypal.co.nz 4.  You will return from Paypal and have instant access to your chosen subscription What Will You Need? 1.  Weaving tools 2.  At least 72 strips of flax used here to make this kete. larger and more strips of flax  will make a larger kete and even number of strips is required

 Also i found interesting plants called straw that can make alot of things in my country’s culture.

Straw plants culture

 

Straw and plant are the oldest and most widely used materials by mankind since ancient times, even though history does not record a ‘straw and plant age’ like the stone or the iron ages. Straw and plant were used in many aspects of daily life during the pre-historic ages in including building houses, making clothes and farm appliances and carrying goods just by using innovative straw and plant applications. Straw is the stem part of cultivated rice minus the head that can be eaten. Plant, on the other hand, grows widely in the mountains and the fields without cultivation. In general, we think about straw as only rice straw, but grain stems like wheat, barley, and Indian millet can all be straw once the head of grain has been removed. Actually most traditional daily tools were made of rice straw like straw roof, the entrance of a village, straw shoes and a basket for carrying a variety of things like dirt and farm produce etc. Straw is also versatile as building materials that has keeping warm and also for sealing roves from the weather. However, plant had a wider variety of uses than rice straw. For example, a mat is made of sedge or a cogon; Korean paper is made of the peeling of a paper mulberry tree and a straw raincoat is made of a cattail. They are properly used for their specific properties. Up to this point, it is difficult to tell which one is most important and used the most between plant grass and straw. Undoubtedly, in the past straw and plant was the best gift from nature, which made most our ancestor’s life more abundant up until now. Other example of straw plant use was in the making of straw shoes. Straw shoes were traditional shoes that could be used only up to 10 days. In winter, ten pairs of shoes were generally made in advance so they could be changed straight away whenever they wore out. Ladies especially wore ‘flower shoes’ made of either hemp, ginseng, a cattail or rushes dyed in colorful water. Shoes were also made for various occasions and seasons and also for different positions people held in society. For example, the upper level wore delicate ‘hemp cord sandals’. In winter there were ‘winter shoes’ for snowy days, ‘mourning shoes’ for the chief mourner ‘st raw shoes’ made of special hair for a benefactor etc… There were many kinds of shoes like sneakers, slippers etc.

Traditional Korean straw thatched houses have historically used the largest amount of straw in the past. The upper class had roves made of tiles, but the lower class had roves made of straw rice straw. However, in the event people found it difficult to get rice straw to make their roves, they would have no alternative but to use plant (cogon or eulalia grass). In the construction of a straw house, firstly, the walls would be erected using straw thatches and then the roof would be placed on top also made of straw. On these occasions it became somewhat of a community festival with everyone getting involved. Often neighbors would help in the re-thatching every 1 to 2 years because it was too difficult to do be done by one person.

In traditional societies, almost everything was maintained with straw grass materials. Houses for animals, nest, rain cape for rainy day, straw mats, entrance of villages, baskets, winnows, scrubbers and straw cushions. Thus, It was almost impossible to live on without straw and plant.

This also included both religion and recreational occasions. For example, the golden, twisted straw rope on the front gate or village entrance was used in religious ceremonies when a child was born as well as during other religious ceremonies. Masks were also made of straw plant and include the basket mask; the winnow mask and the zodiacal sign mask and they were used in ceremonies and during festival events in the community. Other ways where straw rope was used when warning people to stay away. For example, by putting a charcoal, Korean paper and pine branches at the village entrance meant ‘do not enter’ and was called ‘left twisted straw rope’ because of the direction it was facing. For recreation, a tug of war game was played using straw plant like rice straw or the vines or arrowroots. Once the vine was set in place in a straight line, two teams played a tug of war; man against woman and uptown against downtown on the lunar day. It was believed that the winner would have believed to be even better. Because of this, the women were often secretly helped to win.

Clearly, straw grass has played a significant part in many aspects of Korean culture. Not only was straw plant used for practical, everyday purpose, but it was also used in arts and crafts that expressed the way Korean people felt at that time. For a period in Korean history, straw plant almost died out when new materials like iron and wood started being used. However, in later centuries, straw plant began resurgence and in more modern times, contemporary artist have elaborated on this art form increasing its artistic appeal by using dyes. Straw plant has played a significant part in Koreas heritage and is deeply ingrained in many aspects of the culture. Although a basic medium, straw plant culture is one that is going to be conserved as part of Korean heritage for the generations to come.

3. Research From Museum

I took a lot of pictures from museum that include in my theme i took it in many different places and materials.

2. Research by My Camera

This is my research from taken photos of plants at Unitec. I just tried to get more pictures of different types of plants

1.Brain Storm

My theme is Plants so it was quite good to take pictures because we can see the plants everywhere however i realized that the main idea is huge.  I tried to make it simple and i decieded to  brainstorming plants like “how do we use it”.

                                                                  

Photocopy

MY WORK

I filled the lion by different types of texture and picture to make new thing.

ArtWork from internet

I think this art work show is similer with my work because it also filled by differnet kinds of texture and picture and as u can still see lion you can see the dog in this picture.