Melyssa’s Work

Artist Multiples

Janice Kerbel

Janice Kerbel | Turner Prize Nominee 2015 | TateShots - YouTube
Janice Kerbel

Janice Kerbel is a British Artist born in 1969. She works with a range of material that including print, type, audio recording as well as the recent playing of light . Her work includes existing languages from a wide range of disciplines and re-imaging them. Her practice tries to imagine and develop new forms, which can be seen through many of her art pieces that including on her silkscreen prints on paper.

Janice Kerbel, Score, ‘Fall’

Janice Kerbel, Score, ‘Fall’, 2015, 10 silkscreen prints on paper, composition: 108 x 66 in. (273 x 167 cm), each sheet: 22 x 33 in. (56 x 84 cm)  
Janice Kerbel, Score, ‘Fall’, 2015, 10 silkscreen prints on paper, 108 x 66 in. (273 x 167 cm)

Janice Kerbel, Score, ‘Crash’ 

Janice Kerbel, Score, ‘Crash’, 2015, 3 silkscreen prints on paper, composition: 22 x 131 in. (56 x 334 cm), each sheet: 22 x 33 in. (56 x 84 cm)  
Janice Kerbel, Score, ‘Crash’ (detail), 2015, 3 silkscreen prints on paper, composition: 22 x 131 in

Why I choose these pieces …

I choose both silkscreen pieces that having Janice’s practice in developing new forms. The first piece I choose was “Score, ‘Fall’, 2015, 10 silkscreen prints on paper” where she split up her work into different pieces, but still continuing onto the next pages forming a motion or even showing a wave of words giving the piece movement implying a “fall” like its very name. The piece moves heavily from the top being more condensed then moves more openly when at the bottom where the words are more scattered. Having such words like “HEAD”, “PLUNGE”, MET”, “SHARP”, “snaps”, “BIRD” and other suffixes like “ing” almost adding to some words creating new ones like a scrabble game, such as “BIRD” and “ing” being close to one another making a new word, “Bing”. In a conceptual way, as the concept is more important than the execution, where Kerbel uses words and motion to convey this image of new form of a fall. The second piece I choose also shared the same concept of movement and also included letters, similar to the other piece I’ve chosen. Having the name “Crash” where her letters are formed into a visual image. The letters build up then crash by the end. This act of a crash shows her theme of “new forms” and the act of movement.

I choose these 2 pieces because It looks like inking or just printmaking that I thought was cool and the chaos of letters in an organized manner just jumped out to me as everything is so clean and well put together and that each individual letter can be a all put together as a multiple. These objects work in the world because we, as humans, are more advanced and now type more rather than hand write our work, so her piece just fits into today’s society era of technology. The artist use of language is different because she doesn’t form any sentences, rather she just makes it into a movement through words and letters like suffixes. The uses of font is vast by the different sized fonts in both pieces as well as the uses of caps where she makes some words in all caps. This usage of font activates the texts by creating a use of space in her piece that eventually lead to her meaning on movement and “new” form.

How the Art is made

janice kerbel’s works

https://catrionajeffries.com/artists/janice-kerbel/works

https://www.gold.ac.uk/art/staff/kerbel-janice/

Project 1: Multiple Assignment

For my love of penguins and a sassy mood…

I’m incredibly interested in line art and inking, it can be a fast medium and can also be something done with care. I’m more interested in telling almost a story, through a mood and words. I wanted to show an animal I like, but with personality shown. My proposal is to make an angry post card that contradicts a normal welcoming card to have a little bit of ‘play’ into the act of welcoming. The words come through as the penguins thoughts, to show his angry mood that opposes the welcoming notation. I was also considering a poster multiple, or even changing up the words to have more script wise sentences. As for most of these outcomes, my favorite one is the one with blue fonted sentences as its not Grammarly correct and more angry but also cute.

Sentences

“Cringe cringe cringe…”

“Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh…”

“Stupid hoomanz such stupid man no wings means stupid hoomanz”

“Wow thats so wildd wow thats so crazy wow thats so cool wow thats gnarly”

Penguin Thumbnails

I’ve also been thinking about making more penguins to create a vast of the postcards, and to convey different moods, but still having multiples of this same ‘angry tension’. I lean more towards the comedic affect, where I bring a portrait-viewed figure to life.

Changing up the penguin

I decided to change up my idea, into a more minimal art work with Diane’s help. I went back to the bases where my ideas were a bit sad and changed it into more of a comedic poster. With emojis I added a twist of letters and words that are almost mean and turned them into something more sassy rather than sad. Then, I started playing around with different ways to look at the letters on a poster.

Thought Process

I leaned towards emojis and the play emojis have to make things more light hearted. Below, I just started playing around with the text and words to see how it would look. I enjoy the sass there is found through words that creates humour and I moved away from penguins and illustrations towards just words. I didn’t like the curse words a lot, because without the cartoon figure it comes off as offensive and angry. I just want to keep this sassy humour while still giving an un-welcoming feel.

The sassy “K” was the most simplistic version of all my designs that didn’t include any characters. I started adding little details to try and make the piece a bit more pleasant to look at with the grey boarders, but I just discarded that design and changed it into a simpler, format with a pink background. I still don’t know if the pink background is necessary, but it leaves this nice sassy undertone.

Playing with words

I was thinking about creating posters, I’m not sure about the consistency seen throughout the pieces. So instead, I wanted to create 4 posters with various letters so that I have unique and different multiples. I might try to find more ways to incorporate letters, but so far, I came up with these few letters below.

Final print Ideas

I changed the final postcards into simplified letters and words, and added one different font colour, which was a toned, darkened red to add a bit of urgency to the cards or a bit of a pop to have a mild uniqueness kind of like a business card. To keep the cards from having this boring consistency, I printed in some slangs and kept the consistent colour of black and sometimes mixed in the darkened, toned red to add variety. Over all, I mostly printed the letter “K.” with addition to “.” which added the intensity to the cards attitude.

The process of mailing is simple, although when it comes to the letter “k.” you would have to wait for someone to email you or send you a response before replying with “k.” Other post cards can be sent just openly because of its vagueness such as “mid.” I also messed up quite a few…

The cutting process…

Mailing process…

This is to my sister, I just purchased the post cards then added the name, address, postal code and city then province. These cards are really meant to be just a reply to someone rather than gifted to them, but could also be sent spontaneously for joking reasons or even urgent reasons where your mad at someone.

Parents Assessment video

Parent assignment: video art involved with your parents/ renters

Idea 1: Closeness 

  • Being far, makes things different
  • The sense of things doesn’t smell like home. The comfort of my own house smell makes me miss my house.
  • Smell. 
  • Stuffed animals, shows thoe closeness through objects.
  • Does Not have to include parents, use objects.
  • Cheese, febreeze. Cheese in the bedroom. Taking the cheese with you to take the smell. A candle. Could be a candle. 
  • How to run with it: Closeness, clinging together. And bringing the object around with me in the places I go. 

Idea 2: Phone texts

  • How to keep in contact. 
  • I call them when my stomach hurts. I called my sister when bad things happened as well. 
  • Connections/How I show I’m okay
  • With my sister I keep in contact with her through memes.

My family is generally close, we share a lot of things and I’d say I’m very sheltered. The idea of being at home, having the comfort of animals and regular noises seen throughout varies family members helps clutter the quiet out. Usually with many animals in the house I’d hear hear pitter-patters of their nails and feet walking across the wooden tiles. When I moved to the rent, all the noise stopped, there wasn’t any animal noises, or a lot of smoothing noises around me anymore, so I wanted to make a video on my surroundings as well as the smells seen throughout my house as it usually fades away after a few day’s and nights at my rent. People would except renting to be some sort of freedom from your parents but they didn’t say how quiet it was and how scents disappear. It’s astonishing to think that little things like noise, sound and smell could affect someone and the way they live, maybe it is a part of growing up to loose something for at least the littlest while.

For the video, I wanted to video tape parts of my house or things that create what I see, smell and hear as a comfort. Usually the smells are just strong fragrances of simple house cleaners and lotions. My house also has this distinct smell of animals so that’s why we cover it up with other odors and cleaners. My room is the biggest factor of comfort, but also, I used varies objects to help form this sense of a visual play on what certain objects can make us feel. That being my house reminding me of my parents, a physical home and a smell of them makes me think of them and miss them.

Amazon.com: Wooden Sign/No House Is Complete Without the Pitter Patter of Kitty  Feet/Sage Green Wood Sign : Home & Kitchen

Process work

In the process I incorporated video of fragrances that most remind me of my house’s smell, that also being, the smell of animals. I tried to delicately snip and repeat a few videos and images that have a meaning for home, that including the origami being a gift to me from my mom’s friend when I was in grade 6. I kept it for so long because people don’t ever hand make me gifts, especially when I was younger and this gift reminds me of a sense of care, but also has this contrast of emptiness because of the apparat amount of negative space with addition to a string holding it up like a toy for a baby’s cradle. I tried my best to find images around my house that centers around prominent things that I don’t have when I’m not home, that also including my religion, I don’t pray as much as I used too but I still use god in a way to comfort myself if I’m ever overwhelmed or paranoid. Leaving my house to my rent, made me feel like god left me, for a bit, which sounds bad, but actually wasn’t, I genuinely believe I can be overdramatic when it comes to emotions, therefore god hasn’t left, it was just this sense of walking in my own body for the first time alone making it harder, but not in a dramatic way.

If I were to be at home, my cat would be sitting on me as I’m doing my homework and he’d watch the screen with me. He’s a very self-aware cat, and like most “pet-lovers” my cat is a sense of comfort and holds together the word “home” and plays a part into my parents as my pets are also their children.

Final Video: Sniff the Comfort

Video assignment: JSchlatt

Here we see into a world of Jschlatt and the possibilities there is in being a Youtuber! Considering Schlatt as a digital creator, he creates many videos of him basically having fun and succeeding with viral content. When describing JSchlatt’s videos he has this very captivating, but chill-back personality with addition to lots of loud noises that grabs the attention of the audience, especially in this generation today, just like “Ryan Trecartin’s videos” having this chaotic nature. He is also included and part of a podcast called “Chuckle sandwich” which is less chaotic. As I do enjoy the style of choas in videos and the concept of not caring, I also do enjoy animation and the idea of putting a cartoon into reality. I might further base my idea in animation or at least have a technological aspect that involves a sense of cartoons.

Video Assignment Brainstorming 

For this assignment, I worked in partners with Hallie, at first, and we both decided to make a video based off Ryan Reynolds and his friend, kind of like a comedy skit of both me and Hallie giving each other little videos or ads that we created. We also looked more into other video concepts that included comedy or generic YouTube videos, but made in a different manner to have a uniqueness or stand out from other youtube videos. After, we worked with Sam and our video ideas expanded into cosplay and the Realm of cartoons, which I personally love, I love animation. We began spiraling off ideas, and a story board that was fixated off a childhood cartoon called “Powerpuffgirls”, where we started our plan!

Video inspirations

Truce: Ryan Reynolds and his Friend
How its made: comedy skit

In the Studio Production …

Screenshots !

Tattoo Assignment

I started out thinking about tattoos and how no matter where I get a tattoo, my acne would still be visible, from arms to back, luckily for me, it almost comes off as an excessive amount of freckles. I began looking for image inspiration from other people who suffer from acne, specifically for me its all the way from back to shoulders to chest, so I never wear tank tops, maybe one day I will. I also, generally, have a lot of random dots on my face, which are really flat moles, as well as all over my body. This time was probably the worst it was at because my acne bases off stress levels, but its just part of me so I see it as freckles and sometimes I forget about it until I start to change my clothes. Its oddly a very forgettable thing to have even though it looks bad.

The vulgar aspects that people don’t like seeing, I think I am going to avoid any bad or nasty parts, its just skin so its okay, and there are beautiful aspects to flaws. I later on changed my idea of covering flaws to a more comforting way of solving things that include movies or tv shows. Watching or creating things you like or love absolutely take away or make you forget your own existence or being, kinda like being not self aware of yourself anymore. And in that I present an animation of two people I adore from the movie and book “Little Women”.

imagine inspiration

Digital designs: Changing up the concept…

I’ve been into animation for a while now, just haven’t considered further education in it, and there’s something in my soul telling me to make it a career, even if there’s already thousands of animators out there. My idea is based off two loves, the movement of a picture in motion and the movement of two people in love. In this specific animation, I took a scene from the movie of the two spinning on ice.

2 thoughts on “Melyssa’s Work

  1. Hi Melyssa,
    I really like the idea for this video – to capture, visually the smells of the house – and I think the way you are trying to do this by interspersing images of food and smelly things with images of your dog’s nose/face, and even the cat sniffing – to show smells and smelling – is a great idea. I like the rhythm of it too – little gestures and shots and quick non-verbal sounds. It’s a bit distracting however in its inconsistencies – the repetition sometimes (of the lotion for example), the showing of non-smelly things like the paper crane, etc, and the period of overexposure to the footage – these confuse the main idea. All together though this is a great response to the assignment – and should be used in an installation somehow – perhaps to add dimension (hallucinated smells, the smell of culture and family) to a larger work or situation in what we usually find is a pristine, sanitized gallery… Thanks for your great efforts in the course, and how hard you push yourself in each new task!

  2. Hi Melyssa,
    I really appreciated your tremendous effort this term, exploring materials and new ways of working that are new to you. I appreciated your internet video presentation and learned a lot – thank you for your honesty and teaching me about this wide, huge culture around gamers like JSchlatt. I watched your final Internet Video made together with Halle and Samantha – and while it’s pretty chaotic, modest performances in clumsy costumes in front of awkward artificial scenery – it kind of works as a chaotic/fan culture/amateur document, that showcases contemporary video tricks and tools. I do like the end with the “making of” scenes, showing the green screen etc and going behind the illusions – this material could be a work in its own right! I know you made this under challenging circumstances for all – thank you for working so hard and taking something to culmination. Your tattoo piece worked too – along with the animated documentation – because of your determination. Best to you and all your future work! Diane

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