FINAL MAJOR PROJECT PROPOSAL

10thFebruary2014

Click Here To View My Final Major Project Proposal 

In Unit 7 of the foundation course [Final Major Project Stage] we are expected to bring together all our skills, knowledge and understanding that has been learnt on the course. We are required to manage our own personal learning and development that will support our creative, technical skills by extending our knowledge, experience and understanding of our chosen specialist subject area [in my case - fashion promotion]. This exploration is to be demonstrated through researching and recording insights into aspects of contemporary and historical practice. We are required to identify a series of personal aims and objectives and manage our time and recourses to achieve a final concluded outcome.  

The idea for my FMP was derived from a previous sportswear project, which I would like to explore further. As a starting point, I plan to investigate boxing family connections, boxing films and ads, real events, historical and current, and sportswear trends. Throughout the seven weeks I want to achieve a variety of outcomes that all eventually link into a final film piece, these might include a sporty Look Book, a magazine cover, and an ad campaign. I would like to experiment with Photoshop filters and Image Ready to animate sequences as well as any other software that might be available.

I have already started to contact gyms to arrange visits to capture real-life situations to create strong imagery. I will visit Nike Town in Oxford St and family research should reveal some interesting stories, and I have 

news-paper clippings and boxing memorabilia to collect. Real fights on You-Tube show boxers in the ring and as they make their “grand” entrances. I am also fascinated by the weight factors in boxing and that the lightest is “feather weight” which is only six stone. I believe that small, strong men could generate some strong fashion imagery, especially when I add my creative input. I hope that my creativity and thought processes flow continually but I do anticipate some of my models not turning up, or if I am lucky enough to be invited into a gym, my activity maybe restricted by health and safety regulations. I am resourceful however and will deal with these problems in a pragmatic way. I will set up ‘staged’ photo shoots too. 

Thinking about starting a project from scotch, and creating it entirely myself seems really daunting. I am excited to see what my outcome will be in 7 weeks, Im not entirely sure how I want my final piece to come across and what feeing I want it to evoke, but I do know that It should be conceptual and I aim to challenge peoples pre conceptions of boxing. I think I've started off well with my initial proposal, watching films related to my topic really encouraged me to think outside the "fashion box" and focus more on the subject area [Boxing] rather than the fashion idea of things. I do think the approach I have chose to take with this project can be a difficult way of working, but I like to challenge myself, and exceed expectations. 

David Bailey - Stardust Exhibition

(Bailey, David, Photographs of [Left] Michael Caine, [Right] Kate Moss)

David Bailey’s Stardust exhibition is not one to miss, showcased is over 250 pieces ranging from his classic 60’s pin ups to a beautiful collection from the likes of Sudan and Naga Hills. The exhibit takes over almost the entirety of the ground floor, displaying photographs in varying arrangements; from huge fully coloured images of Vivienne Westwood and Abbey Lee Kershaw for ID magazine to small intimate images of his wife, Catherine Bailey.

(Bailey, David Abbey Lee Kershaw for ID magazine)

The exhibition was curated thematically and not chronologically starting with the entrance which is dedicated to the Rolling Stones that Bailey first met when Mick Jagger was in a relationship with the sister of Jean Shrimpton. Bailey would go on tour with them and photograph them. As well as the selection of iconic images of Mick Jagger, Jean Shrimpton and Francis Bacon, there are images included from his trip to Africa. These images of those devastated by the famine in east Africa were taken in support of the Band Aid charity in 1985.

Bailey burst into photographic history with his ‘Box of Pin-Ups’ portraits in 1965. Complete with his signature style, they started a trend which has spanned his career – blank white, sharp lighting and no set dressing.  These photos are the epitome of pop culture and a motive behind a lifelong relationship with fashion and celebrity. Bailey has produced more than 350 covers for VOGUE but for this exhibition, he chose distinctive personalities – the subjects that were most exciting to capture. Bailey exposes the celebrity to the viewer, giving his famed subject nothing to hide behind, making each portrait achingly cool and painfully unique. All in all a truly amazing experience, there are photographs I have never seen before, and ones that are still not available to see on the internet, I felt it was an honour to have the opportunity to see these exclusive images.