Post-dubbing

“One of the consequences of the female orgasm not being visible is the exaggeration of sound in porn films. The majority of porn films are post-dubbed (in at least the cheaper of productions), creating the clichéd, stereotypical sounds of the porn movie. In a world where realism is key, it seems to be a contradiction to have non-synced, disembodied voices floating about, but these noises become aural fetish’s in themselves for the invisible female pleasures.”

Sounds that don’t necessarily relate to what’s happening on screen.
I’ve recorded the audio from loads of ‘call me’ ads. They are simply ridiculous; I can’t believe that they can seriously work.

Idea #106 Pornotopia (PG)

To make a porn film that beholds the ‘look’ of a porn film but contains no obscenities. Why? Highlighting how silly and unrealistic life portrayed in porn films is. The result is a confusion of visual and auditory messages; the characters have no purpose and are therefore defunct.

-keep on thinking something is going to happen – but it never does
-going back to Bretons idea.
-make it slightly surreal
-pocess’s the ‘look’ of hardcore but with no action
-actors are strangely confused
-Like the tasters on websites
-Everyday life as a porn film

Conventions
-unconvincing acting
-shots that stay longer than they should
-wobbly close-ups showing strange, irrelevant details (obscure shots of objects, peoples feet)
-post dubbed
-actors accidentally looking at the camera or at camera men.
-strange silences
-at times surreal storylines

Larry Clark

Change of Direction

OK, 

even though I was really excited about the light idea (and I think I could have achieved it), I couldn't actually answer the question: Where would something like this be displayed? Not quite back to the drawing board because I can see that I've got a really good idea (which I'm also inspired by), I just need to realise the outcome. After discussions with some friends, I decided that one of my strengths is moving image. I think I've been shying away from producing a moving image piece because it wouldn't have much of a presence in the show (which I then thought was important) but after the crit the other day I realise that as long as I produce something of high quality, what really matters is my portfolio.

B&Q Fun

After a trip to B&Q and a chat with Leslie the light department man, I have all the bits and bobs to practise with projecting from a light bulb. After a chat with my mum however, we decided that it's probably best to let someone who knows what they’re doing wire it up considering my tendency of accidentally electrocuting myself.

While I was there I took a look at the more simple chandelier designs for the purposes of using as a frame.

Mona Hatoum

Things That I Like

Chandeliers Galore

Twas really helpful visiting the lighting store – not just for seeing how they are made but also for ideas on how to obscure the light source.

I think most of the frames I saw were made with glass which was surprising (I think these are the modern design styles) although there were a few polished chrome designs (which are the prevalent style on the website).

ALL bulbs are like this:

Cut glass ‘jewels’ joined on with simple little hooks that look like earrings:

After Talking to 'The Metal Men'...

The good news is that the metal men thought this was possible in the time I’ve got. These are the key points that we discussed:

- Either buy simple frame and then work with that (this will save me from the electric bits and a lot of time and also) or make it from scratch (it will be exactly how I want it to be).

- Materials: maybe steel. Could use copper tubing – able to fit wire inside and easy to bend. Need to decide what look I’m going for.

- Maybe think about having only one light source – still have the chandelier shape. Might be easier.

- Maybe go have a look at Flints in Camberwell, a theatre suppliers who are an Aladdin’s cave for little useful things.

- Also suggested taking a trip to ‘The Lighting Store’ on Finchley road. They specialize in luxury lighting that may provide examples of things that are a bit different.

The Idea

I know what I’m doing! Joy! I intend to design and make a bespoke chandelier that casts shadows of risqué images and text when switched on but in ordinary light, will be a beautiful artefact in its own right.

This is a REALLY rough sketch of what I mean:

An existing example demostrating what I mean:

Although this is a mammoth task (as I haven’t actually made a chandelier before) I feel it’s the perfect solution to communicate my message. It encompasses all of the ideas I’ve been working with – disguise, censoring, making porn beautiful, the matter of “I know it when I see it”. Going back to my original proposal – ‘I’m interested in disguising pornographic content in a way that appears beautiful and of a higher cultural form than the original media.’ My main desire at the start of this project was to create something that people would immediately find beautiful but then have to take a second look because they’re not exactly sure what they’ve been looking at and admiring.

Obviously I have a considerable amount of experimenting to do – with materials, distortion of the images, how it will need to be displayed etc.

These are some photos I took of the shadows cast by the laser cut to give an idea of what the shadows can look like.