Month: March 2020

Clearing the Decks and Timetabling

Alexis

 

There are only about four months left before the final show. I have a great deal to do and therefore need to organise myself so that I can fully concentrate on making and preparations. Now that the blog site is sorted after its difficulties, I am clearing the decks to complete the work.

Yesterday and today I began reorganising the studio and clearing surfaces for working. It is a long and painstaking process as many months of work has to be stored elsewhere with great care.

Piece 1. Piece 2 can be worked on simultaneously on another table and I can begin piece 3 concurrently.

Below is a list of things to do. It is by no means exhaustive but it gives me a framework around which to plan activities. As for a timetable, I feel that the best timetable is to work as hard and do as much as possible well in advance. I hope to have pieces 1 and 2 completed by mid-April. Piece three completed by mid-May and any collateral works at the same time. I am aware not to disperse my focus on too many things.

I have titles for 1 and 2 but not three as yet

 

  • Prep studio for continuing work
  • Electrician to connect kiln not possible due to COVID=19
  • vent window
  • complete piece 1
  • complete piece two
  • first firings
  • post first firing work
  • second firings
  • finishing
  • displays
  • vitrine
  • speaker housings
  • acoustic content
  • sound recording
  • sound production
  • arduino setups
  • sensor coding
  • testing
  • piece 3
  • video
  • display for piece 3
  • writing
  • symposium 2
  • critical evaluation
  • blog curation and Unit 2 assessment
  • packing
  • publication
  • marketing
  • installation

Workflow Timetable: Deadlines (approximate)

  • Prep studio – March 10
  • kiln – March 31
  • speakers – March 31
  • pieces 1 and 2: first firings – April 15
  • Symposium – April 20 for 26
  • arduinos – April 30
  • marketing – April 30 onwards
  • sound – April 30 – May 15
  • pieces 1 and 2: second firing and finish – May 1
  • displays – May 31
  • Publication ready to proof – May 31
  • piece 3 – May 31
  • critical evaluation – May 31 for July
  • packing – June 15
  • installation – June 23 – July 1
  • blog curation – ongoing until July 1
  • Show – July 9 – 15
  • Take down – July 16 – 17

Website Disaster Averted

Alexis

 

During the Residency at Camberwell, the very morning of the group tutorial on the second day, my blog disappeared. It did not disappear entirely, it just looked as though I had never done anything on it: No posts, pages, images, nothing. It was as though I had never done anything other than choose the theme and put my name on it, in short installed WordPress and nothing more.

I did not panic because I had the latest export file with all the content and the images and other uploads in various files on the computer with backups. So I winged the tutorial by talking and describing alone, which seemed to work quite well. I had been momentarily transformed into a storyteller of sorts.

The residency is a busy time and I did not want to waste time trying to sort out the site, it would have to wait. I did manage to see that the site files were all in place. The assumption I made was that something had happened to the database. When I returned home, I contacted the host company and went through a series of checks and requests. The news was not good. In order to restore the database I had needed an SQL file of it. This I did not have and subsequently I have researched backing the database using MySQL software. I have only just started to look at this. It seems that in order to use it I need two more pieces of software. This will have to wait.

It seems what had happened was a vulnerable piece of code on a plugin called Theme Grill Demo Uploader. This plugin is associated with the theme I use but it really does nothing useful. What it does do is renders sites with it on vulnerable to attack from who knows where, two hundred thousand of them. The issue has since been resolved but too late for me.

I the meantime, I reinstalled WordPress on my host’s server. I experimented with some themes for a new look and purpose. I had previously spent a great deal of time researching and trying out different layouts and designs and had come to what I thought suited me best. No matter what I did, I kept on returning to the original theme, Radiate by Theme Grill.

I took a look at the export file which was apparently of no use to restore the site and decided to see how I could work with the coded content. I knew it contained all the posts, links, tags, categories, etc. I could input the information anew and restore all the work I have put into it. Here things started to look up. Not only were they coded and displayed in such a way that all I had to do was copy and paste into the code editor of WP, I have also started to refresh and learn about HTML. I am beginning to be able to read the code in HTML and know what each part does.

Finally, in a short time, I have regained all of my Unit 2 Assessment posts and pages with their metadata and begun Unit 1. It is actually very easy and I can tweak the design to improve the visuals. The theme is very similar to how it was but I have made some small changes, such as the background, which give me a sense of new beginnings and greater readability.

Now, I feel ready to recommence my delivery of the project proposal and all that entails including, as a priority, reorganising the studio so I have space enough to function in it.

 

Display: Stands and Supports

Alexis



Recently I have been thinking about how the works can be displayed. I set myself a number of criteria which have informed my searches for solutions. These are as follows:

  • Transportability
  • easy of installation
  • efficient storage
  • conceptual compatibility with work
  • aesthetic compatibility with work
  • cost
  • ease of manufacture
  • Robustness and stability
  • Flexibility

The logistics of moving a whole show down to London, preferably in one trip has led me to some creative solutions. The nature of the work is such, that I have to plan the transport and installation in great detail and still allow for contingencies. This is why I have had the above criteria in mind all along. The feet are even adjustable to account for the uneven flooring in exhibition spaces.

The above image is a trial assemblage for a single piece. The articulated angles give me a sense of dynamism and transparency. The sculpture is able to ‘float’ and still be anchored against mishaps. The tubes can carry wires invisibly and the whole dismantles into a small bundle. I must, however, label and mark each point of attachment because the assembling process was a consuming battle with getting the whole perfectly verticle.

The galvanised finish is light although I could try treating the surface to darken it and give it a patina. I shall try some things out, but the scale of the works, and the spaces, I think that the grey metal is possibly the way to go: less obtrusive.

I have also been thinking of another solution. This is somewhat more laborious but it is perhaps more aesthetic, at least in a gallery setting. That is, to weld square section iron rods, perhaps even with angles joints made of square iron tubing.

The idea is particularly suitable in that the structures I build are strong, flexible in use, recyclable and, if used together, form a coherent aesthetic contrast with the sculptures. They can be combined with other materials such as wood, plastics, textiles and metal. The process is one of playful construction which leads me to think of other things: I have just made a table structure for the computer desk, so much better than trestles.