Buddhism

Through my research into Buddhism I have discovered many new and different ideas about faith which I have tried to convey through my mood board.  Unlike many religions, Buddhists do not worship Gods or Deities. Buddhists strive for a deep insight into the true nature of life and focus on personal and spiritual development with the aim of reaching Nirvana.

The image of Buddha is synonymous with the Buddhist religion. Buddhists construct shrines and, sculptures and images of Buddha much like other religions do for their Gods but Buddha is not a God. Buddha was a sage whose teachings are the foundation of the Buddhist religion. The name Buddha means 'the enlightened or awakened one' and Buddhists celebrate Buddha as the first awakened human being on earth who shared his insights to end the suffering of others.

The main themes of Buddhism which I wish to convey through this piece are based on the four noble truths which are the basis of the teachings of Buddha. These teachings concern ending the stress caused to a human being through their life such as birth illness, and death and the fear of these processes. Buddha teaches that to end this suffering we must relinquish the idea of 'self.' We must understand that all life is interconnected and we are part of a life cycle. We must also let go of the pursuit of desire and denial of negative experience in order to reach Nirvana. Nirvana is the ultimate state of mind in which you become free of suffering.

I have used photographs which I have taken myself on a trip around Asia a few years ago. While travelling through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Hong Kong I saw many different sculptures and shrines dedicated to Buddha. I like the fact that the image of Buddha is slightly different in each country but always instantly recognisable.

I have used photoshop to arrange my own photographs to create the idea of the Buddha being all-encompassing and important to the Buddhist religion . Buddha is at the top of the mood board and is easy to discern and I have used a posterize effect to make all the different images seem part of one. This is to convey the idea that of all life is connected and part of a like cycle. I have used bright neon colors which tie all the different images together to create the idea of oneness.

I am fairly happy with my mood board but I think that I should have used a wider range of techniques and sources to represent more about the religion.

El Mac

El Mac

El Mac can be considered a street artist as he chooses to create most of his work in public spaces such as on walls and buildings. Born in Los Angeles in 1980 , Mac was inspired at a young age by classic European painters such as Caravaggio, and Vermeer and Art Nouveau symbolists such as Klimt and Mucha.  This was mixed with the more contemporary influences of graffiti and photorealism, as well as as the Chicano & Mexican culture he grew up around. Mac says of himself that he creates art to uplift and inspire people through his renderings of the sublime and the humble. Much of Mac's art has reference to religion or uses styles and symbolism based on religious art.

In June 2013 El Mac painted a mural of entitled 'Our lady of Aalborg' in Aalborg, Denmark The painting is a depiction of the virgin Mary in a photo-realistic style.. The mural is painted in spray paint and acrylic and is rendered in Mac's unique style using repeated contour lines to give a vibrating effect.The painting is three storeys high and painted on the side of a building, opposite a maternity hospital. El Mac says that he was inspired to paint the iconic symbol of motherly love by the location of the piece. I like the fact that the piece uses a traditional religious image and transforms it by using modern techniques such as photo realism and spray painting. I think that this, along with the public location opens up the meaning to a wider audience who may not otherwise be interested in viewing religious art. The size of the piece is also makes it striking and unusual.

 

 While in Aalborg, Mac also painted a triptych entitled 'purity of the heart.' The title of this triptych comes from the popular book by Søren Kierkegaard, Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing.





"A Providence watches over each man’s wandering through life. It provides him with two guides. The one calls him forward. The other calls him back. They are, however, not in opposition to each other, these two guides, nor do they leave the wanderer standing there in doubt, confused by the double call. Rather the two are in eternal understanding with each other. For the one beckons forward to the Good, the other calls man back from evil. Nor are they blind guides. Just for that reason there are two of them. For in order to make the journey secure, they must look both forward and backward."

The spiritual aspect of the painting is suggested through the position of the figures who look to be praying with their heads looking up to heaven and their hands crossed over their breast. The highlight of red across the heart is also reminiscent of the sacred heart. The portraits that Mac paints are taken from portraits of real people. Mac says that he likes the idea of normal people, who aren't famous being immortalized in his giants murals.

 

 

In 2009 El Mac teamed up with fellow street artist Retna to create a 44ft high mural of the virgin Mary in salt lake city, Utah. Mac painted the portrait which is a very recognisable image of Our Lady complete with the sacred heart but done again in a photo realistic way using spray paint and acrylic. The script and halo behind is painted by Retna and is written in Latin but in the style more associated with street art and tagging. The text is the start of the prayer, 'Ave Maria'. I think the mix of traditional religious imagery, including the Latin text with their modern style creates a truly interesting an original result.

Much like the other artists I have researched such as KTZ and Damien Hirst, El Mac gains inspiration from traditional religious imagery and transforms and modernises it by using new techniques and materials. I think that this along with the location and size of his pieces make his work appealing to a wide range of people from young to old. Much like Damien Hirst, I think that Mac uses clear and recognisable imagery that would be understood and appeal to a wide range of people. Unlike Damien Hirst, Mac's work is not intended to create controversy but just to uplift and inspire people. 

I like this idea of modernising religious images and making them appealing to a new, wider range of people and plan to use this idea to influence my own work.

Customer Profile

Customer profile
My primary target consumer for my statement tee's are young men and women aged 18-26.They are young, fun and outgoing. They are single and don't have children. They are most likely to be a student or work in the customer service industry. They work for minimum wage so they are on a tight budget but like to spend more on something special for holidays and big nights out. Their annual income is around £14,000. They live with friends close to the city centre. The target customer goes on two holidays a year; one to a festival like Benicassim and another city break with their friends to places like Berlin or Prague. They have taken a few months out to travel around Asia or India and have an appreciation of different cultures and religions.

They shop in affordable but fashionable places like Topshop, urban outfitters and ASOS. They often shop online but like to browse the shops for an outfit for a big occasion. They will shop in the sales but generally impulse buy whatever appeals to them as they have a strong sense of their own style and what suits them. They like to keep up with fashion but are not slaves to trends or certain brands, they prefer to be original and quirky. Price-wise, they would not spend more than £60 for a t-shirt, and feel more comfortable paying £20-30.
Their favourite designer is Ktz as they like the edge of street wear with traditional influences. Their biggest dislike in fashion is the 'wag-look' with loads or fakery.  They are most likely to be found reading the metro, the independent the skinny or bido lito. when they have a bit of money they may spring for the NME or Love. They love to have a laugh and watch The office, rude tube and an idiot abroad. Music-wise, their tastes are varied form hip-hop to indie and pop music.

Range Plan

Range Plan

The theme of my range plan is 'Modern religion.' My target audience are young, fun men and women and who like to be original so I wanted to make a religiously inspired t shirt that would appeal to this audience. I have used traditional, recognisable images from religion and transformed them with colour and layering to create a modern, graffiti style effect. .

 I have used bright primary colours which stand out and contrast with each other to create a bold image. I picked the colours to tie in with the theme of Graffiti. I used my own primary drawings for the bottom three tshirts. For the top three I used backgrounds from the internet and my own drawings. I think that using my own artwork makes my range more original and quirky.

 I looked at a range of different cultures including Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism. From Islam I was inspired by the geometric patterns of the Islamic decorative cannon. I used geometric patterns in my design and also used them as a base to create an image which incorporates symbols from the other three religions that I researched. The idea I wish to convey is the idea that in the future maybe there could be a new religion which incorporates all religions.. My research into Damian Hirst and conceptual art inspired me to use easily recognisable and understandable symbolism to convey my meaning to a wide audience.

I was also inspired El Mac and the street art movement to mix my own drawings of christian churches and religious artifacts with a graffiti style and colour to add an edge to my t shirts and appeal to a  wider and  younger audience. I used my own drawings and then adapted them using Photoshop to change the colours and the layout.I think that this mix of old and new tecniqus works well to produce my 'modern religion' effect.

Overall I think my range plan is successful and would appeal to my target audience because it is original, bright and fun. I think that the colours work well together and each piece fits into the theme of the range plan. The only issue I have is that I think the t shirts would appeal to more men than women. If the shape of the tshirt were to be changed to a tank top or crop top I think it would work very well for women.My favorite t shirts  the one using the islamic print in different sizes, I think it works well could have been developed further and maybe used it as an aspect in all of the t shirts.

Print Experimentations

Experimentations

 I was inspired by the Islamic decorative canon to create geometric patterns. I drew the pattern in pencil and scanned it into Photoshop. I made the pattern into a brush and used varying sizes and colours to create a layered effect. My target audience are young and outgoing. I decided to use bright vibrant colours to appeal to this audience. I am happy with the effect.

 I used the structure of the geometric pattern to draw a figure incorporating different symbols from the religions that I have researched. I named this drawing 'multi-faith robot of the future.' Using this idea, I decided to use a background from the internet of stars to suggest the futuristic element. I scanned my drawing into Photoshop and defined it as a brush which I used in various sizes against the starry background along with the Islamic print. I used lighter colours to stand out against the dark background. I think it would appeal to my target audience as it is quite original and different .

 More experimentations of using the pattern in different colours and layers of different colours to create a shadow effect. I think these create a bold and colourful image which would appeal to my target audience.

I drew this continuous line drawing of the baby Jesus from a statue using pencil and ink. I scanned it in Photoshop, defined it as a brush and used different sizes and colours to create different effects. I like that it is quite a traditional image brought up to date by using colour and layering. I think is has a graffiti style to it which would appeal to my young audience.

 In this image, I used the whole picture and filled in the spaces with bright colours, I don't think it works a well as when it is used as a brush.

 This is a drawing that I did in pencil of the lady chapel in the Anglican cathedral. I then sewed into it to create a stained glass effect. I scanned it into Photoshop and filled in the spaces in the glass with colours to add to the stained glass effect. I quite like it but its a little predictable

 I used a filter on this experimentation against a purple background to highlight the shape of the structure. I think that this gives a striking effect and would be good used as a background

 I layered the Jesus brush over the first image of the chapel over and over in bright colours to create a graffiti effect. I think that this a bold, cool image which would appeal to my target audience.

 This is another variation using the second image of the chapel and the Jesus brush in a bigger size. I like this as it shows more clearly the image of Jesus but still looks modern and original.

 This is a micrographic drawing in pen of Hasidic Jews dancing. I scanned it into Photoshop, defined it as a brush and used it to layer it different colours. I like the image as its quite fun light-hearted but it is not very clear.

 I used a picture of a disco setting from the internet as the background and used the brush over the top. I used the Jews in the disco idea in a light hearted way to appeal to my young playful target audience. I like the idea and the bight colours but the image of the dancers is not clear enough and looks a bit messy.

 

 

Judaism

I have been researching the Jewish faith and have attempted to convey some of the ideas and information that I have discovered through this mood board.  The main themes that I want to get across are the idea of sorrow juxtaposed with joy and the importance of community in the Jewish faith.  Judaism places great importance on interactions within a community, for example many prayers require the presence of ten adults, a minyan. The idea of true joy always being mixed with sorrow is also an important teaching. In the wedding feast, the breaking of the glass originally symbolises the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.

I have used imagery from the holocaust as the basis of this piece. The background picture is a photograph of piles of spectacles taken from the Jews in Auschwitz along with a photograph of the stolen suitcases. Across the top is a photograph of the infamous slogan of Auschwitz; ‘Arbeit macht Frei.’ I have overlaid this with a painting of a prayer in Hebrew which is decorated with flowers.  I have layered the flowers over the top to blur the Holocaust imagery somewhat, giving the impression of the sorrow being in the past. The flowers bring to mind rebirth and the growth of something new.

I want to convey the idea of joy and strong community in the foreground. I feel that the photo and the painting of the men dancing together are strong and joyful images. In Judaism, dancing is a tool for expressing joy, purifying the soul and unifying the community. On the left is a Jewish wedding contract (a Ketubah) with a picture of an orthodox Jewish couple incorporated on to it. This is to highlight the importance of marriage in Judaism. The Ketubah is also a traditionally highly decorated object and is a way to show traditional Jewish artistic style.

To the bottom left is a painting of the western wall in Jerusalem by the artist David Yohanan. The picture layered over the top is a photograph of Jewish men praying at the wall. I have included this reference to convey the importance of Jerusalem in the Jewish faith and also the centrality of prayers and religious observance.

I have I incorporated other recognisable symbols of Judaism including the Star of David, the hand of Fatima. The fashion photograph on the left is a from a KTZ collection which used the Jewish faith as inspiration for their style.

The majority of colour in the piece is dictated by the colour of the clothing which is black and white. The other colour comes from the decorated wedding contract and prayer which are bright and natural colours such as blues and greens and yellows. Gold is also used in moderation. In the Jewish faith, the decoration of ritual objects is seen to be a way of glorifying God and as such, religious objects are often beautifully and intricately decorated.

The painting of the western wall uses micrography to form the bricks of the wall. Micrography is a traditional art form in Judaism as many Jews believe that the second commandment forbids them from creating images. The second commandment declares; ‘You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above or in the earth below. Conveying these images using words is a way of getting around this rule.

All the information that I have gathered is taken from the internet. I have used four paintings from the Israeli artist David Yohanon who specialises in the decorating of religious objects and calligraphy. I have used one ink drawing by the artist Michael Levin who takes inspiration from the Hassidic Jewish community. The painting of the dancing men is by the artist Zalman Kleinman. The remaining images are photographs taken from the internet.

I am generally very happy with the outcome of the mood board as I feel that it expresses the ideas that I wish to convey. If I were to change anything it would be to use a wider variety of sources, media and artists. I think that I have used too many images from the same artist and all of my sources are secondary sources; more variety would be better.  In my opinion, the most effective part of the piece is the background which conveys meaning as well as creating an attractive image in itself.

Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst 

Damien Hirst is a conceptual artist who has become a cultural icon of our time. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the young British artists who are known for controversy, using shock tactics and unconventional materials. He has spent his career exploring the relationship between art, life and death. He puts it best himself when he says, “Art’s about life and it can’t really be about anything else … there isn’t anything else’’ Since the late 1980’s Hirst has been using sculpture, installation, painting and drawing to explore and challenge contemporary ideas of life’s big issues such as religion, belief and faith. Hirst’s mother is an Irish catholic which may have been part of inspiring Hirst to ask questions about and challenge the idea of religion in his art work.

In his work ‘pharmacy,1992’ he created an installation with glass cabinets filed with packaged  pills and medicines and office furniture to resemble a pharmacy. The space had three coloured apothecary bottles on the desk to represent earth, wind and fire to bring to mind traditional methods of healing used in ancient times. Hirst commented that ‘in a hundred years’ time this will look like an old apothecary.’ In the centre of the room were pots of honey comb and a fly killer. Hirst wanted to infer that people are drawn to medicine with its promises of relief only to die anyway and possibly a more brutal death than before. Hirst  had created a ‘Temple’ to medicine, putting medicine and science in the same category as other belief and faith systems offering hope, salvation and redemption to its followers.

 In 2005 Hirst exhibited his first major print exhibition; ‘New religion.’ This show used silk screen printing, sculpture, installation and painting to explore his belief that “Science is the new religion.” Hirst again created a ‘Temple’ to medicine; installing his exhibition in All Hallows Church in London in 2007.

The show used medical objects and imagery juxtaposed with religious imagery.  Works shown included a cedarwood crucifix inlayed with pewter pill. This raises idea that people now put more faith in pills, medication and science than the healing properties of a higher power. In the past people may have put their faith in God to cure them of illness whereas now many people put their faith in a doctor. Hirst questions how much we know about medication. We all put our faith in it to cure us but how do we really know it works? Isn’t it just another form of faith?

Hirst also displayed a wooden crucifix displaying photographs of real medical wounds to represent the stigmata of the crucified Christ who ‘died for our sins’. This brings to mind the people who have died and been used as guinea pigs for medical testing to make medicine more effectual for the rest of us.

Hirsts work ‘The soul on Jacob’s ladder’ Uses silk-screen printing to create a butterfly on black background. This suggests to me the idea of the soul as a fleeting occurrence in the scheme of life. Just as the butterfly lives only a very short life only to be replaced by the next, human life is the same; a fragile, fleeting, beautiful but ultimately doomed moment in time.

I am inspired by Hirt’s use of media and materials in an innovative and thought-provoking way to convey his ideas. His work uses metaphor to explain the subject but I feel that the work has a stong an easily understood narrative which appeals to a wide audience. I agree with Hirst’s idea that science is a kind of faith that people believe in which is not fully understood. I do not believe that science is on the level with religion as yet as it offers no promise of after-life or an eternal life as yet….

KTZ

KTZ

KTZ are a fashion house consisting of creative designer Marjan Pejoski, operational manager Sasko Bezovski and head of design Koji Maruyama. Following the success of Pejoski’s own brand, KTZ arose mutually by himself and Sasko Bezovski.  Pejoski studied fashion design at Central St Martin’s University. Bezovsi was an internationally renowned DJ in the 1980’s. It was shortly after the launch of KTZ that Maruyama was made head of design. The first store ‘Kokon to Zai’ was opened in 1996, followed by a chain of umbrella stores in London and Paris. KTZ are known for their outlandish and original street wear which uses wide-ranging influences from music, fashion and different cultures.

The 2014 collection used inspiration from a trip to Morocco and the Muslim culture there. The designers are very interested in national geography and discovering different cultures, religions and peoples.  They were inspired by the Berber people who are an ethnic group indigenous to North Africa. Today the Berbers are located mainly in Morocco and Algeria and the majority are Sunni Muslims . The designers explain that they wanted to ‘highlight and elevate’ this culture in their show.

They embraced the culture while bringing it up to date using natural fabrics, linen and cotton mixed with newer fabric such as plastics, metals and patent leather.  

 Using the story of their journey from Israel to Morocco through the desert as their theme, the designers used lots of Islamic imagery and patterns in their clothing. From the tessellated Geometric prints that look to be inspired by the Islamic decorative canon to the Studded metal applique of the hand of Fatima on the clothing. The women’s wear included head dresses and burquas which are traditional in Islamic culture as many Muslims believe that the religion demands that women’s faces should be covered. The designers fused this idea with modern street wear that uses the traditional idea but with a very different outcome. This can be seen as controversial as the Islamic way of dress can be seen as a badge of honour and solidarity among the people and in this way it is open to all. It can also be seen as sexualising the traditional dress by using fabrics such as sheer fabrics which expose the body which is the antithesis of the Muslim ideal.

As well as their clothing, styling and fashion shows, KTZ carry through the mood and style of their brand in other media such as video and photography. This video form the SS13 collection conveys the dark, satanic influences of the collection as well as the sports element.

 http://vimeo.com/59181970

You can really see how their aesthetic has evolved from the beginning of their collaboration to now; to create a strong identity as a brand. The use of inspiration from a wide variety of sources is evident in their work and creates an exciting and original perspective. Each show uses different inspiration and to create a strong theme and mood which follows through each piece in the show.   The sources used are not always representational in each piece but taken as a whole it is clear to see the story the designers wish to tell.

I am inspired by the designers obvious curiosity and interest in life which keeps them constantly researching and learning more about the world them. This really shows in the diversity and innovation of their work. This shows to me the importance of varied research on a wide variety of topics and genres. The use of Islamic decorative patterns is something I which to explore in my own work.