'Conspiracy of Silence'

Shoot One:

Photographer: Scott Morrison

Stylist: Jessica Satterthwaite

Location: Forest of Dean

Make Up: Ami Streets

Models: Ben Bolton

'Conspiracy of Silence'

Shoot Two:

Photographer: Katy Wilkie

Stylist: Jessica Satterthwaite

Location: Parkfields House

Make Up: Ami Streets

Models: Ross Keir Simmons

'Self Destructive Wishes'

Shoot One:

Photographer: Katy Wilkie

Stylist: Jessica Satterthwaite

Location: Old Science Museum

Make Up: Ami Streets

Models: Ross Keir Simmons

Byron De Lauchaumette

Summative Pieces

Thought I would never get here but it hope it all makes sense. Still agree with my original thought that we should all be trying to... 'MAKE ART, NOT WAR'

Location

'Conspiracy of Silence'

Reflects open, un-contained, empty natural space. Has some structure which opens into the nothingness of sky. Links into the emotion/experience of being 'lost' when individuals navigate in accordance with an understanding which is destroyed by a force like war and leaves them drifting.

Shoot One: Forest of Dean

Shoot two: Parkfields House

'Self Destructive Wishes'

Building/form which had original shape but is now run down and worn out. Symbolic portrayal of potential effects of war on an individual.

Shoot one: Old Science Museum

Models

'Conspiracy of Silence'

Two contrasting models used. One model with naturally striking features, which reflects natural male beauty. Second model being very slim build, long hair which was utilsed to portray the effects and signs and symptoms, which can be linked to the apparent untouched individual by war.

'Self Destructive Wishes'

Two models chosen for contrasting looks/features. One model with slim physique, long hair. Qualities which can be utilised to create a crazed look (use of make up and hair). Other model having natural sultry, dark features. More prominent build. A good bases to create the required conceptual look and even used to portray soldier in starting stage of mental breakdown.

Make up

'Conspiracy of Silence'

Natural tones - white, brown, grey. Very light applications, almost bare skinned to give ethereal look.

'Self Destructive Wishes'

Bold, statement strong make up. Use of dark colours. Density of make up, disjointed textures against natural features.

Poses

'Conspiracy of Silence'

Open and relaxed poses and in facial expression and eyes lack of intensity.

'Self Destructive Wishes'

Strong body forms, rigid lines, not relaxed (reflects inner tension).

Stylists

Nicola Formichetti

Love the use of layering, which is extremley creative. He contextualises his subjects through great use of nature/the elements to enhance his styling. I want to recreate these aspects in my own shoots and film. Fits in well with 'Conspiracy of Silence'.

Gary Card

His creative use of constructed accessories give his portrayals an innovative/daring look. I find this visually stimulating and intriguing to engage with. This epitomises what I want to convey in "Self Destructive Wishes'.

Photographers

Wendy Bevan

Her style fits in with my chosen idea of nostalgia. Love her use of tones and movement within her use of beautiful imagery. Perfect for 'Conspiracy of Silence' title.

Steven Klein

Steven Klein love the use of masculinity within his shoots through striking, bold imagery. He is not afraid to push boundaries which is exactly what I feel 'madness' does. Perfect for 'Self Destructive Wishes'.

Titles - Hope this makes sense to everyone and it's not getting to me!!

Looking back into research, I've summed up everything I think and feel about war and how I am going to apply it to my final outcomes into theses two slogans. Each one reflects my two contrasting topics:

LOST: 'Conspiracy of Silence'.

"Conspiracy, secrecy is very much a strategy in war. Conveys a feeling of something ominous - a urgent threat. Silence portrays tension of the 'inner' reality.

MADNESS: 'Self Destructive Wishes'

"Portrays violence, negativity around the individual. Links to physical signs of depression and madness. An external portrayal of war."

Crunch Time

Pressure on.. Need to make a few decisions. Research behind me now. Spent a long time making sense of it all. I have fully explored all aspects of war need to concentrate on the 'beauty of art side' and how I am going to bring this out in my final outcomes - photographs and films.

How freaky

Development cycle:

Appear to have tied up all the loose ends now on my initial starting point/image of "Make Art, Not War'. How ironic/freaky was the surreal experience when I visited 'Tate Liverpool' out general art research and found a display of this slogan but update wit a modern pop touch. This must be a good sign!!

Mission Impossible????

Unsure how to artistically instill/apply my chosen themes of 'lost' and 'madness'. More research required...!!!

Decided to look at Kandinsky, Picasso and Banksy. All artists either have background with mental disorders (Picasso) or are re knowed for their portrayal of mad/abstract art (Kandinsky and Banksy). Banksy although including this also looks into war themes specifically.

Madness imagery

Lost imagery

Found a connection

Continuing to look at war images found a great book 'Army Life in the '90s' by Philip Warner.

Despite its title there are loads of very old photos from the turn of the century through to modern times. This has visually reflected the bridge I felt emotionally when I went to the museum (National Army). It is clear that this feeling of nostalgia is what I want to use as an approach to my final pieces. It has reinforced what Moorcroft stated; 'New Wars, Old Conflicts' i.e. humanity will never change and wars are inevitable.

More books

Found an amazing book 'Images of War' by Rainer Fabian and Hans Christian Adam. This book contains pictures of front-line warfare through the ages. It has visually reinforced my notions of war about lost souls (lost theme) and madness of life (mad theme). Think this has to be a focus.

Brain scans

Never thought I would be looking at brain scans but this ties in with PTSD. The 'lost' and 'mad' concepts could be demonstrated through colours, shapes, distortion, repetition.

Eurika!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't ask me how but I think I have found a pathway which makes some sense out of what 'Make Art, Not War'. (My start point/image on war).

It has suddenly occurred to me that war is about people in horrific circumstances but often people like me can only see their physical reality when they come home. Reading about PTSD has made me realise that causalities of war do not only show physical scars of war but can carry these internally ie: be mentally wounded. There seems to be two realities that soldiers need to deal with - survival of the body and of the mind. They can look okay on the outside but be lost or turned mad on the inside. (Maybe even topics?)

Dare I say.. Need to look into depression

Showing some symptoms myself now of this. Hope this is worth it!!

Found a really interesting book on 'Post Traumatic Distress' - 'Post Traumatic Stress Disorder the Invisible Injury' by David Kinchan. Fascinating to read that this disorder not only can devastate the person involved but invariably affects their family. Not all doom and gloom though, some people can recover it seems!!

Our boys

Can't help avoiding the topic of war. It is splashed all over the papers..

Decided to look at what internet feeds were saying..

USA Today (posted 28th Feb 2005)..

"Trauma of Iraq war haunting thousands returning home".

Never really thought about the damage to soldiers minds before. Only ever thought about them getting killed or maimed.

Been thinking!!!

I don't understand this weird mixed association that I am finding around the nightmare of war versus some of the beauty that I am seeing in language and the interest around the objects. Just wondering now about the impact of war on these poets. Have lots of people been driven mad by war?

Beauty of language

Wilfred Owen "Dulce et Decorum Est"

"Gas! GAS! Quick boys! -- An ecstasy of fumbling,

Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling

And floundering like a man in fire or life...

Dim, through the misty panes and think green light,

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning."

Reading this and more poems by Siegfried Sassoon show me that the descriptions of the horrific manner of which real people died in war can be in some perverse way expressed artistically. It strikes me as being really ironic that the above description is beautifully expressed but the subject if horiffic even years after this event must have happened. Thanks mum for another dose of horror. Hardly surprises me to find that these two specific poets actually went 'mad'....which is where I think I am headed!!

Mum got me thinking

Mum mentioned looking into war poets to get me thinking about the beauty of language surrounding war..

Back to the library.

On my marching orders

Went to visit 'The National Army Museum' in Chelsea London.

This reinforced my general understanding of war. It gave me an opportunity to look at the artifacts of war which were real objects in their time but now many years on, objects of historical interest.

Starting to think about the links between when wars happen and how generations later, people like me try to understand what was going on then ie; thinking about 'old vs new' as a aspect in my project. Still can't see anything artists in all of this. Everything still looks horrific and alien.

Not longer so naive..

My original naive view on war has gone!! Those rose tinted glasses are no more, I never thought about war as an actual reality.

Researching into all aspects of this topic makes me wonder about the world we live in today. I definitely have a new sense of appreciation for living in a country that is not in "direct" conflict. Although it has made me think a little more deeply about the realities of what our soldiers are facing in Iraq and Afghanistan now.

Killer Instint

"The characteristics act of man at war is not dying, it is killing. For politicians military strategists, and many historians, war maybe about the conquest of territory or the struggle to recover a sense of national honour but for the man on active service warfare is concerned with the lawful killing of other people."

That statement I found really summed up the experience and reality of war. This book is a understanding of the personal traumas and brutality that soldiers suffer during warfare. In all honesty I would recommend reading this book, although not for bedtime. It goes into depth on the twisted mentality of a killer.

Will people ever learn?

New book. 'Axis of Evil' by Paul Moorcroft. This is really a debate highlighting political and military perspectives on current, international and future conflicts. - "New wars, old conflicts?"

Moorcroft seems to state that the circumstances and rationales for war never change because people within any age are fundamentally all the same and cannot live in harmony, they always want more.

Will this ever get better. It is sad but people never learn..

'On War' Carl Von Clausewitz's

Have come across this book Carl Von Clausewitz's 'On War' written by Hew Strachan. Apparently this is one book to read before you die!! Nice.

Although this is not the original doctrine, it is a book written on the understanding from the translation of the original. 'On War' is a doctrine on the first understanding, developments, strategy, political views and personal statements about the phenomenon of war. Great overview although I must say pretty hard to get your head around.

Clausewitz: "No one starts a war - or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so - without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by that war, and how he intends to conduct it".

Sounds obvious but so true!!

Haven't been here for a while.. where is this place?!?

Didn't appreciate how big a section in the Library 'War' took up!!!!!!!!!!! Long nights ahead, heavy reading

Definition

war n open armed conflict between two or more countries or groups

Found this relevant in regards to a starting point. Defines topic of war. Need to develop my understanding, so guess I'm off to the library...

Pure Genius

Image found:

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/images/israel_gas_masks_1991_1.jpg

Image found:

http://burnlab.net/blog/uploaded_images/gasmasks1-752596.jpg

'Old' versus 'New'.. Modern twist demonstrated by Steven Klein. Pure genius!!

Inspiration

My inspiration was found in collecting images of war but partially images that portrayed war artistically. My moodboard is overloaded with images from various fashion magazines, to name a few 'POP', "Areana Homme', 'Another', 'Dazed and Confused'... All of the images hold their own and have quite a powerful effect. Past and present photographs have all tried to capture the emotional and artistic side of current cultural events.

First Post: Here We Go

Image taken from http://saniday.deviantart.com/art/Make-Art-Not-War-127634698

OMG.. love this!! Not sure where it will lead me but have to have it.. How intriguing 'Make Art Not War!' , just love the concept.