My Brief

My initial brief for my project is to create branding with a piece of graphic art that promotes Newcastle Quayside, using architecture as the focus point. Maybe creating a company or organisation that specialises in advertising places to attract tourists to the area.

Antony Gormley

ar·chi·tec·ture

   [ahr-ki-tek-cher]

noun 

 1. the profession of designing buildings, open areas, communities, and other artificial constructions and environments, usually with some regard to aesthetic effect.

Architecture doesn't just have to be buildings, as stated above it can be to design artificial constructions. One artist that i looked at is Antony Gormley who designed the angel of the north. When i looked at his other work, i found that most of it is figures made up of wood or metal, he makes these statues look like pieces of abstract art. Every piece of the figure is carefully placed so that it is supported and still stands but looks like he wanted it to look.

My quick responses to Antony Gormley:

 

Timeline

For my essay on this project, I will produce a timeline for architecture. Examples of architectural milestones is the era of the church; this has medieval and Gothic styles, the industrial revolution which saw such artistic movements as futurism, vorticism and cubism which influenced architects a lot, and also modern times; of which we see the likes of the sage (Gateshead), the shard, 30 St Mary Axe (formally known as the Gherkin), etc. which is heavily influenced on earlier futurism, I also think that some buildings are influenced by sci fi films, books and images. For my project, I will be focusing on Newcastle and its skyline.
What I have noticed while researching architecture is that how fast and to what extent architecture is changing - becoming more and more like artists visions of a city. Architecture could also be seen as artistic movement. 

From earliest to now:
Gothic
Tudor
Classical
Renaissance
Elizabethan
Jacobean
Gothic Revival
Georgian
Old English
Queen Anne
Arts and Crafts
Art Deco
Modernism
High Tech
Minimalism

Brian Dettmer

This is another artist I find appealing. He is an American contemporary artist that alters existing media. He normally uses old books to create layers. On his website he states that the book's intended function is lost, by altering the books to new forms, new unexpected roles emerge. Brian says that he only cuts away pieces and never adds anything, he only uses whats there. 

For my theme I could take inspiration from the him, but use buildings and city landscapes.

Matthew Picton

One artist that i find interesting is an English artist called Matthew Picton. He makes sculptures of cities using different materials which can include newspapers, sheet music, enamel paint and pins. All of his work looks down on the city like a birds eye view. He creates many layers for the city sculptures including layers for communication, transportation, and the river. Looking aqt his sculptures, I realise how complicated the infrastructure of a city is, making me view the city as a sort of organism.
On his website (http://matthewpicton.com/statements/urban-sculptures/) he has the quote: “Cities bring together culture and ideas, convert human power in to form, energy in to civilization, they are like brains directing and developing civilized life” With this quote he is basically stating that the city is viewed as a living thing. 
Some of his work has important messages attached to them. An example of this is his paper sculptures, part of his new work:

London 1940: Waterloo

When describing his work, he said that cities have a tradition of being personified, he uses this and he destructs the cleanliness of the city plan and he filled the city with a feeling of unique history and culture. With the art above, I think he is referencing the world war 2, with the damaged and destroyed buildings and the bleakness of the entire city. 

Other examples of his work are: