Displaying the installation

Finishing touches and fiddling with the layout

 

 

 

 

First attempt at putting up the brackets!! ...i eventually aligned them evenly and arranged them high enough to ensure the fabric hung just above the floor.

I was happy with the way the screens hung, it worked out just as id intended- the shadows also stayed in place and werent flush to the fabric, purposefully to give movement to the images.

 

 I arranged the lighting behind the screens, on the shelf half way up the fabric and focused them on different aspects of the design, so as to light up certain areas and dim others. My choice of lighting could have been better as the bulbs are clearly scene behind. However spot lights, i found were quite harsh, a lightbox would have been more effective to create softer light but would have only provided one source of light. Considering the lightness of the room and difficulty displaying the piece well enough due to the location of plugs etc i think it worked well and am satisfied it worked as i invisaged.

My first arrangement, but wasnt satisfied with the zoetrope being displayed on the floor and the shade wouldnt reach to the plug so had to shuffle things around to ensure the birds were still reflected clearly on the wall..the second arrangement didnt do this-

 

Also looked much too close together and cluttered- wanted the screen to stand alone and have more dominance over the space, the birds were too far from the wall..

 

So then moved the podium with shade and zoetrope to the other end of the wall in order to access the plug and space out the pieces to benefit them both and enable them to thrive in more space.

 

 

 

I also messed around with the lighting positions a few times to create the appearance i was satisfied with.

 

The finished installation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kate Bush music video

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQz-dJSGECs

Came across this music video, which uses a shadow puppet animation...it doesn't really relate to what I want to create but works well... Kate Bush- Lake Tahoe. Using music alongside the animation is effective and purposeful, it would help my static installation create more of an atmosphere but haven't been able to think of an appropriate track, so would seem unnecessary and take the focus from the installation. The silence is equally effective and creates a more mysterious feel to the shadows formed.

Puppet Evaluation

Im happy with my finished Shadow puppet installation and all its linking elements. It took me quite a while to get on track with this project as i struggled to finalise an idea- with so many popping up in my head. However i feel its worked well and is as i invisaged this particular piece to look, the surroundings its set in could be better but the feel i wanted to create is evedent.

There are several things i would alter though...stepping back and looking at the shadows hung up allowed me to see things i could have added. If hung highter the lights on the shelf beneath could have been higher and focusing directly behind the main shadow scene. But the subtleness also is something i wanted to create, the lights would be more effective if softer.


I tacked the card loosely to the fabric in order for the imnage to move with the light beneath and draft of the room creating movement in the fabric. The images then appear mysterious and warped, which looks mcuh more affective than solid shadows, as they arent in a performance. The letters arer intended to hang like string puppets but perhaps should have included string to emphasise this and maybe a stick coming in for the Shadows of the City sign to link with the method of moving shadow puppets in performance.

Instructions for Assessment.

1. All lights plugged in and turned on at switches- for both the 'bird cut out' lamp shade and fabric screen pieces.
2. The zoetrope is intended to be held at eye-level and spun anti-clockwise to reveal the moving image viewed through the slits made.
3. The lamp shade, when switched on- shines light through the cut out shapes, creating negatives of the images which are then reflected onto the wall behind. This also can be gently turned to reveal each flight stage.
4. Once viewed all lights must be turned off and unplugged- as they get quite hot!


Thankyou!

Tree scene

 

Using positive and negative space to create different effects when light is shone beneath.

Shadow screens- making

 

Spread out the fabric to begin arranging the shadows and tacking into position.

 

 

I experimented quite a lot with the layout before i was happy with it..

 

 

 ...like the letters set out in a jumbled fashion, to link with string puppets

The finished Cathedral.

Arranging layout and moving the whole piece up and down the fabric, id decided on the centre scenes positions but also needed to judge where the lighting would be in relation to the shelf etc

 

 I was satisfied with the above layout, so then slid them under the fabric and began tacking the card shilhouettes to the fabric- this proved quite fiddly and difficult due to the voile like fabric warping and not keeping its shape, the process was very time consuming but couldnt see another method that didnt involve sticky dots, that were visbale when light was shone.

Displaying the Installation

Today i created the brackets for displaying my fabric screens- as yesterday i realised the screens werent able to be suspended from the ceiling, due to the height of the room. So instead brackets of some sort would have to be made, protruding from the wall in order to hang the fabric from.

I found the perfect spot with a plug nearby for lighting, shelf to pop the lamps on and a podium arranged beside the screens to display the zoetrope and pigeon flight lamp.

 

The finished light shade- intended to reflect shadows of the pigeon in flight.

 

I also spread out the fabric screen to finalise and arrange the layout of the shadows..the scenes work well but im yet to add some more elements.

 

 

 

 

Brackets

 

Making of the brackets...

 

 

 

 

 

Tacks to rest the pole on and keep it in position

 

Painted white to disappear into the background with the white display walls

lighting

Today i sorted the lighting in order to create my shadow scenes, i also fixed the spinning pole to my zoetrope after its second coat of paint and managed to find a lamp stand that fit in with look i wanted to create.

Arrangement of shadows

Today i sorted the scenes and decided on the final arrnagement of the shadow pieces, but i need to experiment with methods of suspending the card behind the fabric screens- its not possible to hang them from the ceiling but could create wooden slats (in the style of string puppet supports) and attatch the wire to those. Then display the moving image piece either in front of the installation or around.

Making...

The dowling poles for the fabric screens, cut 15mm dowling to size and worked out the functioning of the screens and how they would hang etc

 

 

Drilled holes into the top dowling intended for wire to hang the screens from the ceiling.

 

 

Fixing the dowling to the fabric to weigh down the screens once hung...sewed into the loops created into the fabric.

Fabric screens

Today ive prepared the screens for my shadow puppet installation by creating loops at each end of the fabric.. first i turned up the fabric, tacked it into position and then sewed the edges. I've created these loops so that dowling can be slid into the top, for wire to then be attatched in order to suspend the screens from above. More dowling is then sewn into the bottom to add weight to the floaty material and stretch the fabric to create a more structured screen.

I used the singer sewing machine to create a simple stitch to neatly secure the edges and prevent fraying of the material.