Creating work for the public realm

Creating work for the public realm Benji Norcott

Content -Brief introduction to my practise -Research -The concept -Location -Funding -Health & safety -Question time

My Fine art practise My work has become about narrativeobserving the people and things we don’t notice, but have got caught up in some of our most treasured memories. The research I have undertaken is to see how much you can learn about individuals just from a photo. Remarkably the use of many ancient, religious and factual processes, has enabled me to gain a vast confident knowledge of people that I have never met. Consequently my work become about the creation of stories and artwork that comes completely from informed creativity. Fundamentally Cubism is noticeably the biggest influence within my practice, I’ve developed a refined panache involving geometric shapes, suggestive imagery and layering, working between 2 dimensions painting and 3 dimension installations.

Fig. 1,2,3,4

Research The concept I’m working on for my independent project can be easily adapted to relate to the public realm. I wanted to single out temporarily the importance of an individual identity but at the same time show that there part of a much larger collective, which in this case is Cardiff. Also taking into consideration the notion of lighting up forgotten areas with in the city. Just like the idea behind New Yorks pulse park, lighting up an area with the heart beat of a participant you are creating an energy drawing people towards the piece. I looked at old architecture, walk ways all over the city and unnoticed murals to work my piece around in hope to find an area that would seamlessly link in with my concept. In my previous field I looked at the interconnectedness of the conscious mind so for this I chose the population of Cardiff as my audience, due to the fact my work is about the collective made up of many important individuals, So it fed it well.

Fig. 5,6,7,8

Why the old library? Fig. 12

The Concept My concept consisted of fragmented mirrors positions in an inverted semi circle. Each mirror will have its own unique pattern place on it, just simple lines, dots and shapes. During the majority of the day these mirrors will reflect over a vast area. But as the sun hits a certain point in the sky, for a short period of time all the separate piece of mirror will combine, reflect an image on a wall of an individual that is part of the collective. The picture will be changed each day for a period of time representing some of the most underappreciated individuals but of significant importance to the city. It highlights the City in a positive light, shows a sense of community and demonstrates big appreciation for individuals with in the city. Fig. 9,10,11

Observations • After watching the area for an hour a few things came to my attention: • Great seated viewing area in front of the old library, positioned under what feels an enchanted canopy of trees. • The trees obstruct the building face if you aren’t in a central position as it blocks out light making it visual unattractive. • Even at the quietest part of the day there were at least 30 people in the visible area. • In an hour I don’t think I saw anyone look at the building from this angle and if they did it was extremely brief. • The population seems quite multicultural so ethics does come into things but I feel if you include people from all races with in Cardiff this would become an issue.

Area After Installation Fig. 13

Funding- Materials This Installation only really consists of 3 main materials. I wanted to keep every aspect of this installation with in the City, from materials to labor. Mirrors After doing some research I found two Cardiff companies that can cut to size heavy duty mirrors for outside purpose. Church Glass Wright Glass Cardiff LTD Mirrors if bought would be estimated at £80 per squared meters for external hard warring use. Wire Rope Screw fit is the most reasonable. Wire if bought would be estimated at £18.89 on average per 8mm x 10m including VAT Placed material I found from a supplier called DESCO who store large static paper sheets that will make it easier to change and replace the shape each day. Prices are only available

Funding- Equipment & Income sources Income Sources This project will be funded by a combination of the Arts council of wales and Cardiff Council, the two biggest funders of public art with in Cardiff. Other private companies in Cardiff that fund are projects are: Private companies or sponsors http://www.publicartfund.org Equipment I have found two companies based in Cardiff that work in distribution of lifting equipment and workers. http://www.certex.co.uk/about http://www.bishoplifting.co.uk Using all local services eliminates travel cost making it cheaper. Media Using a location with in the busy city center eliminates the need to advertise cutting costs on the media side of things.

Health & Safety • High risk of injury due to the properties of the materials, however I do believe all these possible problems can be over come: • large sheets of heavy mirrored material being moved • Light reflecting into the eyes of passers by • Rigidity of mirrors means a possibility of smashing • Risk of falling material or workers. • Transporting of the materials

Any Questions?

Creating work for the public realm