Health and Safety policy

- A risk assessment would need to be carried out to ensure the location was safe enough for the audience, e.g. stability of ground, any loose-hanging rocks etc.

- A walk-way for the audience to follow will have to be regularly maintained by Marshalls to ensure it is safe to walk on.

- The audience will need to wear some sort of protective gear, e.g. hard-helmets.

- The artwork will need to be protected from the elements using a thin film of protective plastic over the surface.

- The cave itself will need to be somewhat protected from the elements to make it a safe environment for the audience, e.g. sheltered in evenings etc.

- The four spotlights in the corner must be checked hourly to ensure they don't overheat and to make sure no damage is sustained to the wiring.

- Marshalls will be required within the exhibition to monitor the artwork so no damage is sustained and so that the audience is under no threat of element exposure or general accident due to the exhibition being outside - at least five Marshalls at one time.

-  Torches will be handed out individually, there will be a large collection of torches in case of breakage stored and kept with the Marshalls at the entrance.

- Warnings will have to issued such as not recommending people with visual impairment partake in the exhibition due to the light quality and arrangement of lighting.

- Ensure location does not harm wildlife or is a habitat of any species for the protection of the creatures as well as the audience.

Final exhibition photography

Here are some photographs I took of my virtual cave in the dark when the spotlights were turned on.

Creating the entrance to the Cave

I decided on creating a proper entrance to my virtual cave so that the work would be more enclosed and appear more realistic in structure. I first collaged the front tabs of the box on the inside so that the collage followed on from the images used for the walls inside the cave.

Once I had collaged the inside I taped up the front and cut out an entrance to the box - I wanted the entrance to be large enough so that the inside of the box could be viewed through the gap. I then collaged over the front of the box and used the left over section I had cut out as a ramp at the front of the box. With this design the inside of the virtual cave can be viewed through the small entrance at the front as well as through the top with the open-up lid.

Press Release

Press Release

Title: Cave Works

Basic Information:

Clear-water Caves

Showing through April 25^th until August 25^th, viewing times 9am – 6pm

Curator: Rose Hale

Press Release: 22/04/12

Summary:  Cave Works explores how the artwork of today can interact with the art of the natural work; delving into the beauty of nature by displaying the modern works in a setting deemed untameable within the natural environment as well as looking at the primitive side of art and artists that create work to express nature, patterns and emotions.

Artists involved: Michael Porter, Anselm Kiefer, Cedric Van Eenoo, Paul Klee and Mark Tobey

 Michael Porter has a range of naturally themed paintings, the almost chaotic pieces that portray a sense of undergrowth and untameable nature. The pieces also have a delicate element about them; the illustrative parts of the work such as the leaf patterns are so finely painted which contrasts really interestingly with the array of colours in the background.

Anselm Kiefer’s work is unique because of the sheer size and the majestic qualities about them such as the amount and variety of natural materials, the depth of emotion in his work and the perspective of the work. The work optimises the theme natural world due to the array of natural materials and the arrangements of the pieces; it also seems to create a nostalgic atmosphere portraying a complex beauty in relation to the natural world.

Cedric Van Eeno’s work has an illustrative quality with the use of patterning and the earthly colours create a natural element in the work. The work has interesting mark-making that are simplistic yet bold due to lines and division of colour. The texture and structure of the pieces give the impression of natural surfaces such as rock or bark.

Mark Tobey works express complex patterns and illustration similar to the structure spontaneous formation of plants and express a chaotic foundation that seems to have meaning like the cave paintings do with the patterns. The works also seem to have a primitive sense of story-telling in the swirls and lines of the patterns.

Paul Klee’s artwork reflects interesting illustrations and vibrant colours that express something very primitive and simplistic with a basic sense of structure similar to the cave paintings of pre-historic man. The illustrative content of the work is rather basic and the colours painted in various tones which create an interesting structure to the work but it is the vivid colours of the paintings that bring the emotions and depth of the work alive.

Poster

I began making my poster by using one of my photographs as a background - I used the picture of the roof of my cave as it was natural looking like the rock of a cave and eye-catching.

I also took a look at my previous collaborative work with my tutor group to see what the poster was like in that project to get some inspiration. The layout was simple and clear and it included several pieces of interesting imagery and colour. I would need my poster to be simplistic and to-the-point so that the audience could get an impression of my exhibition immediately. I decided, as the exhibtion was virtual, I would have to invent a location in which the show would take place.

Here is my first attempt; it is simplistic but I think it works well with expressing what the exhibition is about as well as catching the attention of an audience.

Art Arrangement

I messed around with the arrangement of work in the exhibition before final positioning them in a way that I felt reflected the art best - and also a composition which linked all the art pieces together in a successful way. I positioned the artwork around the five walls, arranging them in ways that I thought would attract the audience's attention and intrigued them all the way around the exhibition.
In my 3D model, I printed off small images of the art, mounted them on cardboard and then positioned them with drawing pins while I decided on the places I wanted them.

Final lighting positions

When deciding on the best lighting positions I considered having lots of small lights situated around the exhibition but I thought it would work better if I had a few larger more powerful lights to light up the show. I used some self-standing lights in my 3D model and arranged them in the corners within the perimetre of the walk-way - when switched on the four lights lit up the exhibition space very well and would be out of the way of the audience and not distracting to the artwork. In fact the light shining on the artwork added a glow to the art and made the work seem even more mysterious and intriging.

Cave Walk-way

I created the walk-way around the exhibition in my 3D model using cardboard and superglue to attach it to the cave floor.

Lid/Roof

I decided to make the lid of the box/roof of my cave more interesting and realistic by creating a rocky surface using fibre paste and paint. I wanted to keep in the theme of the setting and I also used this technique because I think it looked the most appealing. I used a considerable amount of fibre paste which I spread around the cardboard lid, that I had cut off the box at the beginning, and then applied larger splats of the substance and manipulated the paste using a plastic spoon, a paint brush and my fingers. I want to create spikes and ridges like you would find in a real cave roof . Once I was happy with the shapes and marks I had made I left it to dry for a day then went back to it and painted over the top of the dried paste in a mixture of brown, black and white acrylic to give the impression of rock. I am very pleased with the result as it produced precisely the effect I wanted - to add interest to my 3D piece and to give my work that extra something that referred to the setting of the exhibition.

Within a Cave

Here are some photographs I got from google images. I wanted to get a view of what real caves looked like from the inside so I could design some dimensions for the organisation of the artwork and sketch some images for development. I like the idea of creating a cave with a lot of wide open space, such as the first image, fourth image and the final image, also with lots of interesting rock formations where the artwork can be inserted and arranged around - the cave itself is an accessory to the artwork, the setting works with the art displayed.  The final image is the most appropriate in the design at the moment because it seems to be a in-land cave rather than one closer to the sea so the issue of damp will be less, also the plant-life growing within is an interesting feature as it could add to the overall interest and visual beauty of the setting. The light of this cave is very useful to view the artwork as well the light in the first image as it pours through the roof and would light up the space - but then the torches I want to use would be a useless feature. I am interested in using torches in my work so the design of my cave will have to be more enclosed to ensure a darker atmosphere that can be lit up - this will create a more mysterious experience for the audience.

http://www.jessstryker.com/national-parks/mammoth-cave/index.htm I found this online, the Historic Entrance to Mammoth Cave, it shows a walkway leading into the cave and going through it which is a feature I will need to consider to ensure the safety of the audience and also to aid the viewing of the art as it will useful having clear pathway going through the cave to see all the pieces. Of course my setting will need a pathway on a smaller scale, "With over 350 miles of surveyed passages, Mammoth Cave is longer than any other known cave," but it is still a feature I would like to use in my exhibition. I want to use a barrister walk-way mainly as a health and safety issue as it would be unsafe for the audience to walk on bare rock so by having a walk-way their safety is ensured and they can get a better view of the artwork as it goes around edge of the cave.

At the Mammoth Cave National Park they also have wired sufficient lighting for the tourists to see within, these wires are buried under the cave and it is a feature I want use in my work - as I want to have lighting wired around the cave it will be necessary to have the wires buried under the floor of the cave as well as imbedded into the walls of the cave. If it is needed a heating system could possibly be installed in the same way.

Exhibition Title ideas

I am trying to come up with a title for exhibition - something simple but that summarise what the exhibition is about. I want something that will express the primitive elements that I want to portray but also refer to the naturalistic theme of the location.

Crystal Cave - was one of my ideas although it sounded rather cliche. The reason I am considering it is because in rock formations and caves crystals naturally develop and I would view the artwork, appearing around the space, as crystals because of their beauty, interest and value.
The artist Danny Divini was quoted, http://daviniart.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/original-abstract-modern-paintings.html, talking about his series of painting and this got me thinking about the crystal concept, “Striving for Raw & Organic natural designs, my “Art Gem” series has given me some of my most satisfying results. Each one is unique, with patterns that reflect beautiful natural flowing elements.
The best way to describe my paintings is to compare them to gemstones." Below are some of his abstract paintings, I am partically considering including his work in the exhibition depending on how well the other art fits into the show and how well they would work with Davini's art.

I am intriged by this work because of the flow of colour, the transparency of the paint and the mysterical quality of the pieces, like the artist said, appear naturally formed.

Other title ideas/brainstorm:
Primal Cave
Plato's Cave...refering to the old myth that I was introduced to in the lecture by James Hellings, http://moodle.bcu.ac.uk/biad/file.php/219/Plato_s_Cave.pdf
“The story goes that a group of prisoners were chained-up facing a wall in a cave. The prisoners had, from birth, always been kept in the dark, in the cave. Behind the prisoners was a fire, which when lit projected shadows onto the wall of the cave. Not knowing any better the prisoners thought that these shadows were real, they thought the illusions and semblances were real - they gave these moving forms symbolic meaning. The inhabitants of the cave mistook appearance for reality…”
This relates to the idea that the artwork in the exhibition is like a fascinating illusion partically as it will be lit up and the audience will be able to use torches to shine on different parts of the art.  Although I would not want to use the name entirely as it is already a name of a story as well as used as the title of the lecture, I would like to use it as inspiration to create something inspired by that idea.

Word play:
- Off the Wall
- Modern History
- Natural Beauty
- Beauty Within/ Beauty Inside
- Preserved...

Art cave...? I thought this would be an interesting title for the exhibition as it is an intriging name yet simplistic name that would reflect would the show is about and create inticing interest. I think it would work very well on the advertisement posters as well.

Eventually I decided on the title "Cave Works" as it is simple and direct and gives a clear indication to what the exhibition is about.

Earth images

http://news.uk.msn.com/new-pictures-of-the-earth-seen-from-space/#image=3 For some reason I found these images very interesting, the photography of the earth from space was very inticing and it seemed to inspire me when thinking of advertisements and a title for the exhibition. As my project is about the natural world and the primal element of nature I was drawn to this as the images showed the earth in it's entirity, in a way that would never be viewed by the naked eye. This is an impression I want to create with my exhibition, something wonderous, mysterical and an entirely new experience for the audience. I want to create an atmosphere that is different from any ordinary setting and that can seem to transport the audience to a different realm. Although the photography from the link above depicts images that can only be achieved through technology advancement it still portrays a magical aspect and shows the majestic beauty of something made entirely by nature.

Publications

I need to work on the poster for the exhibition to advertise the show - I plan to create a poster using collage again as it worked very well for the other pieces. I think I will use the same imagery I used for the 3D model, scan this onto my computer and create some writing over the top of it.

Dimensions and Designs

At smallest point the cave is 30ft high and 30ft wide.
Here are some designs I created when choosing where to put the art by the different artists. I did some designs of each wall of the cave and the direction which the audience would go around the exhibition.

Inspired by the Mammoth Cave bridge-style walkway, I designed a wooden panel path that would direct the audience around the cave to look at the different pieces of art in a specific order - the reason for this is for safety reasons as it could be hazardous for the audience to walk on bare rock and also I wanted to unfold each artist's work one at time as though the exhibition was a discovery.

Along with the main lighting the individuals with by supplied with a torch which they can use to shine on the artwork to get a closer look at the pieces - there will be a large collection of torches in case of breakage stored and kept with a group of Marshalls at the entrance of the cave.