Tate Modern, Transformed Visions Review

Tate Modern, Transformed Visions, Room 14

On display in Room 14 of Tate Modern is a piece entitled "Waiting for Tear Gas" (1999-2000) by photographer, theorist and critic, Allan Sekula. The work itself  incorporates themes of politics, society and violence among others. Curated by Stuart Comer and Valentina Ravaglia, "Waiting for Tear Gas" is an 81-slide photojournal, documenting the World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference protests which began in Seattle on November 30th 1999. Sekula's documentation lasted from dawn until 3AM.

As described on the tate.org website and indeed on a large white placard outside the exhibition, "This series is presented as a 16 minute times slide-sequence and challenges the standard procedures of photojournalism" (Comer, 2013, www.tate.org.uk)

This exhibition provokes an immediate feeling of tension and uncertainty, the images range from those portraying heavy-handed police brutality to those which display the "waiting" which took place during the protests (hence the name, "Waiting for Tear Gas").

I particularly enjoyed this piece, despite its hard-hitting themes because for me the way in which the photographs are presented, in a slide-show, make the documentation of events seem more engaging because the viewer anticipates how the next slide could differ from the last and adds to the tension created.

"The Future is Here"

 

To begin my research, and to gain inspiration into the future of the design industry, we were first urged to attend an exhibition called "The Future is Here", hosted at the Design Museum.

 

 

On display were a broad range of manufacturing techniques, from Robotics to 3D Printing, all of which emphasized the increasingly blurred boundaries between designer, manufacturer and consumer.

 

 

However, manufacturing techniques did not seem to be the sole focus of the exhibition, instead a rather key element explored was the idea of "Mass Customisation", whereby the consumer becomes the designer.

 

Personalised trainers on a global scale, consumer designed 3D printed dolls and the ever popular "WikiHouse" concept (which I have to say is one of my favourite ideas posed during this exhibiton) were all on display.

 

 

This exhibition was definitely worth seeing in order to gain an insight into the constantly changing manufacturing industry, in which design and technology seem to go hand in hand, and the roles of designer, consumer and manufacturer appear to merge.

Research Project

1. Wall plaque 

 

In order to reflect both past and present memories, I chose an object which I had bought whilst on holiday with my family.

The object was a wall plaque with a 3D design of a castle and port, in order to represent this item, I decided to use fine line pens to create a line drawing which would emphasize some of the intricate details of the plaque. 

 

 

 

2. Dog

 

 For my second representation I used a photo of my old chocolate lab

rador.

However, as a way of recording this object and "researching" it I took photographs of the original photograph. 

 

 

 

3. Photocopy of "Memories"

 

 

After much discussion into "what is research?" it was eventually defined as anything which represents the object.

Therefore, for this research task, I took to using a photocopying machine to photocopy the various items I had brought in which in turn provided a montage-type print.

The photocopying idea worked well for showing detail within my objects whilst also colating some of my "memories" into one image.

 

 

 

4. School Tie 

 

 

I chose to bring my secondary school tie as a representation of my past and present because of the wide range of memories I have from my 5 years as a student at Campion School.

In order to represent my tie, I produced an A4 watercolour painting which emphasises the colours within the tie, which to many people is recognisable to the school.

 

 

 

5. Primary School 

 

 

  This cloth which was made when I was at the beginning of primary school is another one of the object I selected as my past and present memories.

I took a photograph to record this as I believe the seemingly endless childish drawings which were drawn by the pupils of my primary school and then printed onto the cloth.

 

 

 6. "Memory" montage

 

 

As with my previous photocopy print, I again arranged some of my object on the scanner and then took a photocopy to record the items.

Again, the detail is captured extremely well by the photocopier which adds depth to the items.

 

 

 

7. West Ham United 

 

 

Being such an avid West Ham United fan I thought it would only be right to use one of the oldest items left in my bedroom.

I believe the photograph highlights the structure and detail of the money box with great effect.

 

 

 

8. Festivals 

 

 

Festivals are yet another one of my favourite things, alongside West Ham, therefore I selected this lanyard from Lovebox Festival 2012 to represent my memories from the festivals I have attended.

Being an object with various parts and back-to-back cards on the clasp, I thought the only way to do this object justice was to just photograph it and let the object itself do the talking.

 

 

 

9. Ireland 

 

 

Although this painting doesn't look like much, it is in fact a painting I created to represent a photograph I have from a trip my family took to Ireland to visit my grandparents.

I chose to paint this image in the style I did with almost no detail because I was only young at the time of the photograph being taken and therefore tried to portray this idea of having only a vague memory of the trip to Ireland.