Art Nouveau (c.1880 to 1910)

Art nouveau could be said to be the first 20th century modern style. It was the first style to stop looking backwards in history for ideas, taking inspiration instead from what it saw around it, in particular the natural world.

(At:http://www.bbc.co.uk/homes/design/period_artnouveau.shtml)

Although our stylistic brief for our sets is constructivism and expressionism, we also decided to look at art nouveau style pieces of furniture. This was so that we could each individually research and design our chosen pieces of furniture or other aspects of the room which are similar to each other. We found that art nouveau was quite popular in the time our story is set, and is a less broad topic so all the aspects should look similar when put together, yet leave an impression of constructivism and expressionism.

This resembles the creative ideas the group spoke of when imagining what the sets will look like, including pale colouring, such as pinks and greens, curved detailed furniture, floral patterned fabric and walls, and soft furnishings.

Expressionism

Expressionism as a general term refers to art in which the image of reality is more or less heavily distorted in form and colour in order to make it expressive of the artists inner feelings or ideas about it. In expressionist art colour in particular can be highly intense and non-naturalistic, brushwork is typically free and paint application tends to be generous and highly textured. Expressionist art tends to be emotional and sometimes mystical. It can be seen as an extension of Romanticism. It then went on to create abstract expressionism.
Tate Galleries (date unknown) Tate http://www.tate.org.uk/collections/glossary/definition.jsp?entryId=48 (31/03/11)

Fig. 1. Schmidt-Rottluff, Karl (1912) Two Women [Oil on Canvas] At: http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=13179 (Acessed on 31/03/11)

Fig. 2. Kokoschka, Oskar (1910-12) Dr. Fannina W. Halle [Drawing on Paper] At:
http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=7815 (Acessed on 31/03/11)

Fig. 3. Kandinsky, Wassily (1910-11) Cossacks [Oil on canvas] At: http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=8185 (Acessed on 31/03/11)

Constructivism

Constructivism is a particularly austere branch of abstract art founded by Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko in Russia around 1915. The constructivists believed art should directly reflect the modern industrial world. Tatlin was crucially influenced by Picasso's Cubist constructions (Construction 1914) which he saw in Picasso's studio in Paris in 1913. These were three-dimensional still-lifes made of scrap materials. Tatlin began to make his own but they were completely abstract and made of industrial materials. By 1921 Russian artists who followed Tatlin's ideas were calling themselves Constructivists and in 1923 a manifesto was published in their magazine Lef: 'The material formation of the object is to be substituted for its aesthetic combination. The object is to be treated as a whole and thus will be of no discernible 'style' but simply a product of an industrial order like a car, an aeroplane and such like. Constructivism is a purely technical mastery and organisation of materials.' Constructivism was suppressed in Russia in the 1920s but was brought to the West by Naum Gabo and his brother Antoine Pevsner and has been a major influence on modern sculpture.

Tate Galleries (Date unknown) Tate http://www.tate.org.uk/collections/glossary/definition.jsp?entryId=75 (Acessed 8/04/11)

Fig. 1. Pevsner, Antione (c. 1923-24) Head [Plastic] At: http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=11530 (Acessed on 31/03/11)

Fig. 2. Gabo, Naum (c. 1920) Column [Cellulose nitrate] At:

http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=4836 (Acessed on 31/03/11)

Fig. 3. Gabo, Naum (c. 1917) Constructed Torso [Cardboard] At:

http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=21293 (Acessed on 31/03/11)

Foam board Model

Today with the help of Henry Jones, we created a model scale of our set. We used white foam board and created miniature versions of our chosen furniture to see how the room would look. This gave us a chance to see how the furniture would fit in both rooms and where we could position them., without obstructing doors or windows. This also got us started thinking about where our light sources would be to create the greatest effect in each of the rooms.
After building the model, we were told we could enlarge our sets if we wanted. After a group discussion, we decided to increase the size of the living room to 12'x14', and the bedroom to 12'x10' with the end wall 8'. This will give us more room for the furniture to fit in as well as space for us to work in when constructing the sets.

Dining Chairs

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.salvo.co.uk/images/userimgs/33450/Reclaimed-pine-dining-chairs

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.antiquediningchair.co.uk/images/rococo%2520dining%2520chair%25202.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.antiquediningchair.co.uk/rococo_

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.parlourroominteriors.com/Antique_Victorian_Art_Nouveau_Dining_Chairs_files/victorian%2520green%2520chairs%25202.jpg

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nigelnortheast.co.uk/images/oak_dining_chairs.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nigelnortheast.co.uk/portfolio-dining.htm

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.riversidefurniture.co.uk/shoppingcart/product_images/z/french_chair__41088.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.riversidefurniture.co.uk/shoppingcart/products/French-Style-Painted-Rattan-Dining-Chairs.html

Designing

As a group we decided to each have an aspect of the set to individually research and design. Half of the group would be looking at Gregor's room whilst myself and the other half of the group will be looking at the design of the living room. I will be researching into dining chairs to fit the scene of the room, in the period of 1915 and art neuveau. This also means working together with Eleanor who is looking at the designs for the dining table so they have a similar resembelance. Once we research into our chosen area, we will create our own designs and draw up our work to scale on Autocad.

Plans of set

We began planing how our rooms would look and which pieces of furniture would be included. We decided to set the rooms half way through the text, when Gregor has been a bug for some time and the family begin removing the furniture out of his room. This would also be useful when creating the sets as we have less furniture to create and also more room to move around in the set. The rooms will be joined by the double doors mentioned in the text. The living room will be made 12ft x 10ft, yet the bedroom will be 10ft wide and 12ft long but will narrow towards the end of the room making the end wall 7ft long. The furniture we decided to include consist of a four poster bed, writing desk, leather sofa and the chair near the window in Gregor's bedroom. For the living room we will have a dining table and chairs, a fireplace, and an armchair each for Mr and Mrs Samsa. This will also include the military photo of Gregor and the picture of the woman on the wall in Gregor's room. Both rooms will have carpeted floors and wallpaper which will be worn and show evidence of dampness and layers worn away to show the many layers underneath.

Own Images of Architecture

As our setting is the Czech Republic, I began researching the housing and architecture there. I found them to be similar to the architecture in southern Poland. The images above are my own images taken last summer whilst I was touring Poland.

Ideas for both sets

Bedroom

• Four poster bed
• Writing desk
• Wardrobe
• Drawers
• Chair by the window
• Leather couch - Scratched, covered by bed sheet
• Picture of woman on the wall
• Scraps of food on newspaper on floor
• Flowered wallpaper
• Traces of sticky stuff on walls and ceiling
• smashed bottle of spirit on floor
• Desk and drawers removed
• Dark colours
• Traces of bug - Dung, skin, shell, goo
• Double doors leading to living room
• Door leading elsewhere
• Evidence of normality - train tickets, food, newspaper
• Been living there for five years

Living Room

• Family room
• Run down / tear and wear
• Damp carpet
• Peeling wallpaper / layers of paint beneath
• Middle / working class
• Distressed
• Cluttered / Claustrophobic
• Double doors - White, winged, blood stain marks
• Large central dining table
• Dining chairs
• Portrait of Gregor in Military uniform
• Coffee stain on carpet
• Plates and cutlery on table
• Carved furniture - Sharp points and spikes
• Father's armchair
• Mother's chair in front of window
• Fruit bowl on sideboard - Red apples
• Doors to kitchen and landing

Initial Ideas

When we first met together as a group, it seemed quite clear that we all had similar thoughts on how we wanted the rooms to look. The living room would be fairly modern for that day yet strong evidence of wear and tear on the walls, floors and furniture. The bedroom would start to resemble the natural habitat for bugs, with dirt and grime over the walls and suggest what creature had belonged there.
From the text we knew that the Samsa family lived in an grey urban city somewhere in Europe. Ideas of where it could be set were Germany, Russia and Czech Republic. Though after discussion and research we decided that the story would be set in Prague, Czech Republic, around 1915 when the text was written.

Metamorphosis

While reading the text, I found it quite difficult to relate to the story. It begins with Gregor already turned into a bug yet doesn't give a reason how or why. I also found that the reactions of the characters when being introduced to the bug-form Gregor were very mild including Gregor himself, and seemed to almost accept the change as the norm. However, I found it interesting to read the different reactions of the different characters towards the giant dung-beetle living in the apartment. The text is very descriptive of the setting which is very useful as it will help us to create a realistic and relevant set of the story.
The text seems to be built around the binary opposite of the bug, Gregor, in his degrading and grotesque bedroom, to the family in the living room living as normal. This contrast will hopefully be shown between the two sets we are creating. I really like the idea of the living room being entirely focused on the family, with the daughter playing her violin, her mother, Mrs Samsa, sewing, and Mr Samsa, the father, asleep in his chair.
The bedroom, I imagine will have started to evolve into the dark, cave-like area, the habitat of any ginormous beetle yet still have the essence of the human who had previously lived there, such as his beloved writing desk and photograph of the woman on the wall being untouched.
I am looking forward to designing and creating the sets as they will be based entirely on the text with our own take on the design and our own ideas of expressionism and exaggeration.

Set Build Lecture

Set Building

Why are sets used?

• To support the story
• To put the story in an appropriate arena
• To create an believable environment for the audience
  

Why choose a studio?

• Controllable environment, meaning not having to worry about weather.
• Location work is impractical, not suitable for film crews etc.
• The real location does not exist.

Location

• Locations may not provide everything that is needed
• If you find something historically correct, a studio is going to be difficult to make the same.
• Set construction may be needed to hide modern details, like post-boxes and burglar alarms etc.
• Difficulties with access

Creating the illusion

Many roles are needed when set buildings, including:

• Carpenters
• Riggers
• Plasterers
• Painters
• Dressers
  
  

Part of the whole

• The Production department will supply drawings for consultation.
• These drawings are passed onto relevant depts. for costing.
• Once approved construction can begin.
  
  

Scale models

• Scale models are created before construction to show how the set will look to scale
• Models have also been used at sets themselves by using green- screen to add features.
  
  

Time is money

• Studios can be expensive to hire
• The crew is expensive to hire
• The equipment is expensive to hire
• Budgets are large so each department can avoid mistakes or shoddy workmanship, and make sets as real as possible
  

Deadlines

• It is very important to know the deadline and to try to complete the project before the deadline so there is time to fix anything that may need fixing
• Set building may involve work in a controlled environment or an uncontrolled environment, which can affect filming.

Moodboard

Using google images, I collected together various images used to represent Kafka's Metamorphosis. These include covers of books and images from various artists with their own take of the story.

New Worlds - The Creation of Metaphoric Space

The project which I am studying is the Creation of Metaphoric Space, with the theme of 'psychological terror'. Based on the text 'Metamorphosis' (1915) by Franz Kafka, we are to plan and create a set of which the text is based, creating two conjoined rooms; the living room and the bedroom belonging to Gregor. For this set we have been told the stylistic brief is constructivism and expressionism, which we will research when designing our rooms. I will be working in a group of sixteen, in 'Group 1-Metamorphosis'. Our set will explore ideas of space, objects and light as complex signs and the use to generate meaning and narrative.

Franz kafka 'Metamorphosis' (1915)
http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/stories/kafka-e.htm