Evaluation
My initial idea was based around bringing awareness to the benefits of using solar power as our main resource of power as i wanted to highlight the issues of having a world powered by unsustainable energy sources. As I began researching I found the I was inspired by fossil fuels and the disadvantages of using them as our main energy source. [1]The fossil fuels are coal, oil and natural gas. They are fuels because they release heat energy when they are burned. They are fossil fuels because they were formed from the remains of living organisms millions of years ago. The disadvantage of using fossil fuels as our main energy source is that fossil fuels are nonrenewable energy resources. Their supply is limited and they will eventually run out. Fossil fuels do not renew themselves, while fuels such as wood can be renewed endlessly. Fossil fuels release carbon dioxide when they burn, which adds to the greenhouse effect and increases global warming.
[2] Of the three fossil fuels, for a given amount of energy released, coal produces the most carbon dioxide and natural gas produces the least. Coal and oil release sulfur dioxide gas when they burn, which causes breathing problems for living creatures and contributes to acid rain. About three-quarters of the electricity generated in the UK comes from power stations fuelled by fossil fuels. This means that we are living in a world that is running on a source that isn’t recyclable, once it’s gone then it’s gone forever and while we are still using fossil fuels our world isn’t sustainable so the way we live our lives needs to change.
To help me understand how other artists have highlighted these problems I have chosen to research Brian Borrello. [3] Brian Borrello is a visual artist, designer, educator and public artist. His experience with a broad array of sculptural and graphic techniques, and a versatile range of conceptual approaches is evident in his paintings, sculptures and public art pieces. As a visual artist, Brian is particularly interested in creating awareness of human life in balance with other life forms and with our shared environment. In his art for the public realm, he seizes opportunities to make 'places' by activating urban spaces through image, form and symbol, in response to history, community and context. [4] Brian Borrello's Silicon Forest (2003) is an abstract sculpture made of stainless steel and light-emitting diode (LED) lights, installed at the Interstate/Rose Quarter MAX Station in Portland's Lloyd District. It depicts a series of trees with thin trunks and cone-shaped foliage.The piece has been called a "three-part metaphor for displacement and change".The solar artwork's steel trees illuminate using electricity powered by solar panels.
The rich green graduating colour visually communicates the ecological benefits of the sculpture and its animated, ethereal design with proportions gives it a cartoon-like feel to it. The sculptures grandeur gives the feeling of being a creature or insect walking through fields as if you’re in a sort of wonderland making it feel other worldly. In my opinion it’s a very organic and elegant piece of art that shows solar power at its best.
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From exploring Brian Borrello I decided to try and use as many sustainable products in the work and research as much as possible as a starting point as my primary exploration of my final piece. I chose this because using materials that can be recycled and that are renewable is an important part of keeping our world sustainable; I have explored this idea by using processes and materials such as, charcoal, recycled wood and the anthotype method of printing. While doing this I was inspired by how solar energy and other sustainable materials can be used to print and image through using the anthotype technique. An anthotype is an image created using photosensitive material from plants and when placed with an emulsion it creates an image. This is a cheaper, more sustainable alternative to printing flowers or plant matter on a computer, also it looks a lot more interesting. For my weaving I used recycled wood from a broken tree for my frame, as well as that the materials I used for weaving were all recycled materials, so instead of a plastic bag sitting on a landfill site for years of even worse it going into the sea it is now part of my weave. I aimed to work with a lot of recycled materials for this project to get a feel as to how life will hopefully change in the future as we become a more cautious society in regards to how we power our lives.
My successes of this project have been being able to experiment with new materials, I was able to use recycled and environmentally friendly products which i'd never though of using before and i would definitely use them again. Another success has been my book, a lot of the time I struggle with making a book that is concise and has the same common theme running through it and this time I feel as though I've managed to do that. My final success was probably the life drawing, I feel as though I learnt a lot this time and I think that that shows in my pictures as the development from when I last did life drawing is fairly substantial and i'm proud of those drawings. Having looked at all my successes I also realize that there are targets I need to set myself in order to enable development, time management is a big problem for me and I believe that if i can find a way to structure my time better than I would be able to produce a more fluid project. Also I find it difficult to complete all of the tasks to my best ability so sometimes my work doesn't come out the way that I hope. If I am able to resolve these issues then I think my work would be of a higher standard.
Megan Chilcott
[5] (image) http://cleantechnica.com/2013/05/08/11-must-see-art-installations-inspired-by-solar-panels/
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