Gucci- Baby or Bag?

This is a photograph taken from the Guccis winter fall collection. The advert detonates a woman dressed in a white coat, smiling whilst holding a naked baby in her left arm against a plain grey background.

The decision to use a model and baby with the same ethnicity infers a mother and child relationship, also the matching smiles conotates a sense of unity between the two. With the assumption that this is a mother and child, the advert arises a lot of issues. Firstly, the way the model holds the baby implies a sort of detached, impersonal relationship showing no affection or concern towards the child she loosely holds in her left arm. The way the baby is held also conotates a handbag, inferring that the baby is an accessory to the models outfit. It is unclear what this advert is actually selling, is it a coat, a pair of gloves, or in fact a baby? The way the model looks straight into the camera heightens the accessory connotations of baby as it suggests a lack of relationship between the two. The oblivion of the way the model looks straight, un-acknowledging into the camera, further enforces a baby shaped handbag on her arm.

Adding to this, the model is dressed in a winter coat whilst the baby is naked which further conotates the baby as an accessory, as the lack of clothes emphasises how the advert is not selling a lifestyle or even a situation, it is selling the coat, with emphasis at the model, and the baby falls secondary to this, thus taking on an accessory status. Furthermore, the fact the coat is white emphasises the way the advert is not concerned with selling mother lifestyle as it is an unrealistic, impractical coat for a mother who has a baby to wear as white gets dirty quickly. 

Self Evaluation Form

Self-Evaluation Form
Course title: BA (Hons) TEXTILE DESIGN
Student name: Amy Bairstow Date: 25/01/13	Unit title: UNIT 1  Introduction to Study in Higher Education
Your work will be assessed against the marking criteria specified below.  The process of self-evaluation enables you to reflect upon how well you have met the marking criteria. In the spaces below, identify and evaluate your learning and development with reference to the marking criteria:

Research: Systematic identification and investigation of appropriate sources – How thorough was your visual and textual research for your Rough Guide project and the study tasks on your blog? During the Rough Guide project I feel I used visual research predominantly to collect information, through taking photographs to document both specific details and overall atmospheres of my area I gathered a range of visual research to support the project. Textually, I wrote myself notes in my sketch book to gather information quickly or to portray the sound of an area. With more time, I could defiantly improve my reaseach both visally and textually, by focusing more specifically in one area of Brich Lane, rather then attempting to cover the entire breadth of it. On the study tasks on my blog, I have supported tasks with both textual and visual research, by using my own images, my own work and images to support my text. I have used both books from the library and the internet to source my textual research, however it has predominantly been internet research, and so could improve research by going to the library to source more information from books and academic texts. Analysis: Examination and interpretation of resources – How well have you selected and made decisions in choosing visual material for your Rough guide and also the analysis in your rough guide study task and other study tasks for the blog. For the Rough Guide, I had a few options that I could have used as visual material, as discussions with my peers lead to a variety of possible choices to use for the page manipulation. However, I feel I made the decision with the brief of manipulating 100 pages in mind, and so chose a plain page that I could then develop. Once I had selected my page, I stuck with my decision and therefore found it easier to develop each page in a slightly different way. On my study tasks I have continuously selected and made decisions in attempt to make my posts more concise and interesting. The balance between my visual material and my textual research has been considered by interjecting images in amongst the text to make it easier and more desirable to read. Having said this, in reflection, some of my study tasks contain too much visual material, and so the point I am trying to make in that post, is overdone and can become repetitive in some areas. However overall I feel I have made decisions about visual material well by maintaining a balance throughout the Rough Guide adn the Blog study tasks.   Subject knowledge: Understanding and application of subject knowledge and underlying principles – How well have you gathered new knowledge and applied it to the Rough guide and research for this and your study tasks? By collecting information through my own personal experiences in the form of drawings and notations, I feel I gathered a much greater knowledge of the area of study. For instance, the Rough Guide enabled me to build upon two sketch books full of new knowledge I had acquired just through looking and observing the area. My study tasks have really encouraged me to find new knowledge and I have ensured to research around the task at hand in order to write the task. I found it essential to gather both primary and secondary research throughout the study tasks, by visiting the area of study and taking pictures, writing personal notes, and then supporting and furthering my knowledge my researching around that subject. I could improve my subject knowledge my reading more academic texts to develop my understanding and keeping up to date with blogs to help me with less formative texts. Communication and presentation: Clarity of purpose; skills in the selected media; awareness and adoption of appropriate conventions; sensitivity to the needs of the audience – how well have you carried this out in relation to your projects? I have found it quite difficult to adopt the appropriate conventions of blog writing, as I  have struggled to find an appropriate balance between being analytical and colloquial. In the study tasks, where we are encouraged to embed quotations, I have struggled with being analytical in these sections, as other posts follow a more laid back approach and so am aware of a jagged structure to my blog. However I have ensured a sensitive approach to the target audience in places by being aware of a more informal tone, with options of adding humour in places and bringing personality to my writing. I have also used images and taken care with layouts of my blog in following the conventions of other blogs. In certain posts on the other hand, I am aware I have taken on a more formal tone and so could have been more sensitive to the needs of the audience, however I have used these different tones of writing in response to the task set. Personal and professional development: Management of learning through reflection, planning, self-direction, subject engagement and commitment. how well have you managed your time in this unit and reflected in your blog? Have you understood and read all the Health and Safety advice and attended the induction on this? I have used my blog as a place to reflect on technical blocks, drawing days, lectures and my own work development and feel it has helped me keep track of my progress. Using the blog has also helped me manage my time, as reflecting after a day’s work has sometimes inspired me to try a new approach of working the next day. I also used my blog as a way of documenting my work through taking photographs of it at different stages of development. This really encouraged me to constantly document and reflect whilst enabling me to see all my work on one post, this way I could eliminate the sections I felt wasn't working or that I needed to work harder at. During the drawing workshops I could have managed my time better, as some drawing days I didn't produce as much quality work that I wanted to. Managing my time better could have ensured better quality drawings as I felt at a constant rush to produce as many drawings as I could instead of taking the time to consider the lines I was creating. The blog has defiantly made me take a much more professional approach to my work as posting it online made me value it more, taking care in the presentation and documentation. I have attended the Health and Safety induction and am aware of the precautions needed to be taken when setting up an exhibition space, how to ensure safety in the studios and who to go to in the case of an emergency.

Reflective Statement

The idea of writing my own blog a few months ago terrified me, as it is something completely new to me and the way I work. However it has actually been really helpful in the progression of my development as it has forced me, against the natural way I work, to be organised and keep on top of the tasks and my own work. I have also been able to reflect on other people’s blogs, both I my class and professional, to understand how to reflect and constantly analyse your work in a colloquial format, a format which fits much more comfortably with me anyway. I have enjoyed seeing and reflecting on my own work as I do it, by photographing and analysing it frequently. I think I could improve my being ore analytical in the theory tasks set, and writing more constructively in these parts, as it is something I struggle with and know I need to improve. I could also have used my blog as a more reflective diary, by uploading more personal posts that aren’t necessarily relevant to the tasks, but are things I find interesting. My strengths are keeping updated with what I’m doing throughout the unit and using it as a reflective personal journey of the unit. 

Alyssa Pheobys Mumtaz

After my drawing workshop with Charlotte Man on Thursday I've been thinking a lot about large scale drawings and precision. I found it much harder than I thought to scale up a drawing, keeping things accurate and in relative space. Its essential to understand proportions, space and scale to be a great designer. I need to practice drawing accurately so I can improve my sense of design. 

I came across Alyssa Pheobys Mumtaz's drawings, that explore the medium of mediation. Done on a large scale on textile I think they reflect a great scene of space and understanding. They use an extremely accurate, graphic language in the lines and shapes created through her patient precision. 

Scale Drawing tasks

Today was about loosening up and drawing big. In groups of eight we made a sculptor using chairs we brought in by tieing them together with string, tape and other things that added a new interesting layer.

In stages we drew the sculptor as a group with continuous line drawing. I really enjoyed drawing in such a loose and expressive way, the sculptor of the chairs lent itself to that sort of free style drawing. 

We continued to embellish and add to the sculptor which made more interesting drawings.

And we just kept adding and adding, building more layers, looking at new angles of the sculptor. 

Today we drew the Queen

 For the scale project, artist John Bentley came in to do a drawing workshop with us considering scale and using it in a differnt way. The project took scale to the extreame where we were all given a small segment of an anonymous picture to blow up to A1 size.

Segment of photograph and my drawing blown up.

My drawing, blown up to A1

The tiny segment of the photograph.

Step 1, tape it together.

Step 2, role it up. carefully! 

Step 3, get it to the balcony.

Step 4, turn it around! 

Step 4. Drop carefully, and there is the Queen in all her glory. 

You can see my section, it makes sense now.

Drawing up to such a big scale was so so much fun today as we all worked as a team to create something great. I think the image works so well because people were drawing without any knowledge of what they were drawing, and so lost the subconscious attempt to create perfection and just drew what they saw. That's what I did anyway, I had no idea I was drawing pearls but if i had i wonder if it would have looked quite the same. 

Stitch final samples

Overall, I have really enjoyed the experimentation side of stitch, when I could play about a range of materials and create small tests of ideas. I found I naturally took on a more 2D way of working, and was more interested in shapes and colour rather than fabric manipulation  Stitch has taught me I'm more of a printer. After I had created my tests and experiments I found it difficult to create a full sample in that technique as things that worked on a small scale didn't necessarily when scaled up. The end of the second week I found myself struggling to create four samples that didn't look like experiments and so decided to keep them really simple and stick with one idea for each sample rather than trying to combine four different techniques. I don't think the samples are particularly strong as individual pieces, yet I like them as a collection and the simplicity of them look graphic, playful and colourful which reflects my drawings absolutely.