Peer Reviews, Week 4

So this week we did peer reviews, which is basically when you do a semi-crit of other students. Even though it was confusing at times, I decided it was definately beneficial. Not only did it mean getting to know other students, it also meant getting a more diverse view of what other students had been doing - both in terms of inspiration and experience (for example, Vas shared some details about using illustrator for laser cutting which should be really useful).

SAM'S CRIT
The first crit I did was of Sam Wong. Sam had some really nice work with him! He drawn inspiration from the windows of the buildings around the site, thinking of them as portals, in a way, to another place. His model reflected this well, I thought, because his arrangement was four different boxes (no top or bottom though, just four sides) into which were cut different sets of windows. He mentioned that these were actual windows he had seen around the site and documented, then arranged with the many other sets. He was going for a lighting effect, and i really admired the way he had combined photography and lighting to create this space which altered negetive with positive, then captured in photo. Unfortunately, i didn't have my camera with me that day, but I was impressed! He had a wonderful photo with him, which would've been nice to have a copy of... His idea was really unique and i thought he did a great job!

VAS' CRIT


I then critted Vas Rakovic, whose model immediately impressed me. His model was beautifully presented - I really felt that how he had presented it gave it a real presence. He had taken many inspirations, but drew a lot of ideas from the old train station on site. He described observing the building and how, even though it appears majestic from the front, it isn't really maintained, and as you move around it, the walls become derelict with a sense of abandonment. The patterns were inspired by patterning he had seen on the building, with the pipe a throw back to the more sinister side of the station. The pipe could also be used as a meatphorical link between each pattern, as if breaking them down into different periods of time. I viewed it as a representation of bygone times, running through to the present. The scorched wood gave it an authentic appearance which added to this.


This is just a picture i grabbed off of Vas' blog, because it captured that forgotten, derelict vibe i got from his work. This is part of the site he took his inspiration from, and he wrote about how unpleasant it must be for people to wake up to this view. He hoped to create a place of waking up that had the lovely Beaux Art style, without the negative elements, such as this, that he'd experienced during his exploration.




TESSA'S CRIT
Later, i critted Tessa  Forde, who had created this interesting piece that played with light, and created a pattern when the sun passed through. For the best effect, she directed me to her blog, where i found some images she had taken that captured perfectly what she had described.
 
The first picture is how I viewed Tessa's project, which i still thought looked really effective and still portrayed her idea about the light passing through the leaves of the trees and creating the pitch-patched effect on the ground below. But her blog pictures definately showed her idea in a new, impressive light - and were more effective when used with the correct lighting (she couldn't have got the effect in the studio).
Here are a few more where she'd used different coloured lights to give a different perspective and emotion to her piece.
 

I thought the photos were pretty amazing, and added a new feel to what was already a nice idea!