14th of September- 300 word exercise

We were suppose to write 300 words on an art piece of ours, using the method of:

100 words: what? 100 words: how? 100 words: why?

Then we met in groups of 2-3 and criticised each others texts, but staying silent while our text was being criticised. Then we were suppose to go back to edit the original text making it better.

Unedited version:

The Skull

The Skull is a moving graffiti mural by video artist Sigrun Lydsdottir and graffiti artist Tom Goulden. The installation is a large sugar skull inspired by the Mexican festival Day of the Dead. Which is painted on a wall using graffiti techniques with colorful projections mapped into it. It was made for 700is Reindeerland in 2009, which is a video art festival in Egilsstaðir in the east of Iceland. The festival is housed in an exhibition space that is an old slaughterhouse. The Skull was set up in the old freezer cell, which was a heavy large dark space.

The workflow was a bit back and forth between Sigrun and Tom. After doing research and coming up with the idea of using the sugar skull, Tom outlined the drawings. Sigrun put the drawing into After Effects to work on the animation, patterns and colors to fill in the skull. We then collaborated with different elements and jointly did the finishing touches. To set up the work we projected the animation onto the wall as a guidance for the graffiti art, we would still be working on the animation to make it look the best for the space.

The inspiration for doing this piece came from travelling around the world together. They met a lot of graffiti artists and video artists from around the world. In Brazil they saw some people combining the two art forms together, which inspired them to do the same. When moving back to Iceland after the travels 700is Reindeerland commissioned them to do a piece for their festival. The inspiration of the skull came from the venue of the Slaughterhouse, and playing a around with the theme of death and celebration.

edited version:

The Skull

The Skull is a animated graffiti mural by video artist Sigrun Lydsdottir and graffiti artist Tom Goulden. It was commissioned for the video art festival 700is Reindeerland in 2009, in Egilsstaðir in the east of Iceland. The festival is housed in old slaughterhouse repurposed as an exhibition space. The Skull was set up in the old freezer cell, which was a heavy large dark space. The installation is a large mural of a sugar skull inspired by the Mexican festival Day of the Dead. The Skull is painted on a wall using graffiti techniques with colorful projections mapped on to it transforming the space.

Sigrun and Tom had a collaborative workflow, working between Iceland and the UK. Initially Tom outlined the drawings. Sigrun then progressed with the idea, putting the drawing into After Effects to work on the animation, patterns and colors to further develop the skull. To set up the installation they projected the animation onto the wall as a guidance for Tom to graffiti the final piece. Sigrun would still be working on the animation till the end to make it work the best for the space. They used neon lights to highlight colors and to delete the frame caused by the projection. Viewers playfully interacted with the installation, not completely understanding where the movement came from.

The inspiration for doing this piece came from travelling around the world together. They met graffiti and video artists from around the world, and in Brazil they witnessed artists combining the two art forms together, which inspired them to do the same. On moving back to Iceland after the travels 700is Reindeerland commissioned them to do a piece for their upcoming festival. The sugar skull was inspired by the venue, the Slaughterhouse, and playing a around with the interpretation of death and celebration.