16 - 24.04.11

A longer trip than initially expected but it was amazing to be able to spend time with my fantastic family! We had a week skiing planned in Obergurgl in the Tirol of Austria. It is one of the highest resorts in Europe and was sure to have snow even this late in the season. I had taken the train from Wien to Innsbruck and met my family at Innsbruck airport where we took a connecting bus to the mountains.
The hotel was lovely, great food and stunning views. Unfortunately on the first day Mama fell quite ill while on the slopes, she was very brave and went through a very hard time over the holiday. I am so glad that I was able to spend the time with you and I hope that you return to full health as soon as possible.
Overall the surroundings, the town, the slopes and the people were fantastic; I would definitely recommend Obergurgl. The family returned home safely and even managed to get back to London quicker than it did for me to return to Wien, but I am happy that we all got back after a great time away together; and most importantly wishing Mama a quick recovery!

15.04.11

Today was our second session with Will Alsop. We were presenting our assigned task to create an Illusion.
I had prepared my work in the form of an A3 document which I was going to present on my laptop.
Once we had all settled down Will Alsop greeted us and due to the session starting late we were going to begin immediately. He looked at me and told me I would be the first to present. I did not have time to set up the laptop so instead I used the printed document as my aid in the presentation.
Overall I believe that the presentation went well and I felt I put my points across and was very impressed that Will Alsop managed to read the first hidden message in my Wall Art composition.
The rest of the group delivered a number of different forms of illusions in a variety of media and materials. Ellen created a subliminal film that was meant to generate subconscious thoughts of hunger. Leanne created an illusion of materials that were posing as one form but made from another. There were interesting experiments with models made with reflective materials, a few fantastic concepts based on using mirrors in enclosed spaces and a few interesting videos made.
It was a intriguing to see different angles and perceptions of other students in the group. Quite a few people had really excelled in the task and showed that sometimes the most simple ideas are the most successful as everybody can understand these. The combination of different techniques and ideas was an interesting experience for me and one that I had not experienced at my previous university. Overall it was an exciting day but we have also now got to start preparing for the next task; we are to translate our illusions into an installation in the university courtyard. This more artistic approach to architecture is probing many questions as to where the course may lead us but, it has also been a refreshing approach to working and seeing architecture being taught from a very different angle.

Look Closer You Can See Unread Messages

05.04.11

Today I was free from lectures and was able to enjoy the 23° C sunshine on the Danube. I had stocked up on paint and returned to where I had painted before but decided not to use the same spot (which had been painted over) but to work alongside a two storey high piece who's concept was cleverly designed around the Wiener Ubahn map. I knew by working next to such a large piece mine would be dwarfed by its size but I wanted to work with some of the patterns and colours which the artist had used and bring these into mine as we both have a similar style. I also wanted to see that if by working next to a clearly respected piece, would my work last longer than a few days before being painted over?

Working alongisde and with the 7m high Wiener Ubahn piece

The painting went really well and I even managed to make some friends! I met a few artists who were genuinely fantastic guys. They were very pleasant and were great for some inside knowledge of the area and painters. I found out from them why were I had painted previously had not lasted; they told me it was due to the fact that it was the only part of the legal wall that could be seen from the Ubahn as it pulled into Schottenring station. They also told me about the artist who had painted the Wiener Ubahn map that I had chosen to paint next to, as well as having a number of other interesting stories to tell.

My Illusion piece - Unread Messages (Focus on the Orange)

Unread Messages Revealed

My piece was once again focusing on generating an illusion; within this hiding a message. It was a long day but once again the time flew past and my piece developed on. In the end I felt the colour scheme and style that I had chosen worked well, and by using some basic lines and colours from the neighbouring piece it tied in well with the spot. I used a few different techniques this time to break up the image and I fell that each time I paint in this new style I learn a little more. Overall it was a very successful day!

Unread Messages Illsuion, working into the neighbouring piece

01.04.11 - 05.04.11

More time has flown by without even realising! I am starting to really worry how quickly it is all happening!

Friday Morning I went into university to find my theory lecture had been cancelled, so I waited for the next lecture which was at mid day, in the coffee house with my sketch book. We then had our lecture on the Danube strategy and at the end explained our proposals for which aspect of the study we would be looking at.

Saturday was a mixed day for me. I returned to the Danube canal by Schottenring to continue painting my piece and photograph my work properly, only to find a group with their rollers and paint buckets priming the wall. I felt the money I had spent on paint and hours I had put into the piece disappear. It was very frustrating as they had no regard to maybe working with some of the colours or patterns I had put painted. I believe there is the difference between Wall Art and Graffiti.

Wall Artists work with the unique character of the existing urban fabric, colours, patterns and textures. They strive to unite and nit together individual aspects and works to constantly try and improve the aesthetics of walls.

A Graffiti Artists wants only to make a statement by blanking out the rich existing canvas and place his work in a format that demands attention even if detached from its context.

I did not stay around to watch as I had the faint hope that maybe they were going to produce something beautiful and improve on what was there before. Instead I met up with Alexa and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon in the sun on the canal. I retuned at the end of the day to where I had originally painted only to find the group were clearly not experienced graffiti writers, as to be honest their work was dreadful.

It took a while but I knew from the start that painting on walls has a very short life expectancy and that as it is legal anybody can paint there. In the UK the unwritten rule ‘you do not paint over unless you can improve’ clearly does not count here. A lesson was learnt and by the evening it had only fuelled me with more enthusiasm to return and further improve the legal walls, my work and continue working with pieces that were successful along the stretch of the canal.

On Monday I attended Technics and Civilisation and continued my discussions on my possible essay hypothesis. I found the session interesting but rather than narrowing my thoughts down, in fact opened up a number of other possible directions. After this session I decided that I must focus more clearly now and begin writing my essay.

Tuesday morning I attended my Image processing class and we were introduced to our next assignment. Every week I feel I am learning more useful tools and am able to apply these to my other work which has proved very helpful.