Ideas

Glass Crescent Plan

Kat (3D Design) has sent a plan of the panels of glass. I think this will create an interesting outcome especially as it will make the projection fragmented. I also really like the idea of the glass representing the new and the bricks the old. This is a good metaphor for the redevelopment of Hulme and portrays the new being built over the old.

Ideas

19/03/13 Group Walk Round Hulme
On this day we walked around Hulme as a group to try and find inspiration for what we wanted to photograph/film. As I was interested in the 70s/80s in Hulme, I was looking out for things that reminded me of this time. For example, the graffiti art still found around Hulme is very reminiscent of this gone era. I also developed the idea of photographing the people of Hulme. Some of the subcultures that were found in 70s/80s Hulme have remained there and I saw a couple of interesting people that reminded me of this time. I am keen on street photography and photographing the various people in the streets of Hulme could be a good way of combining this with the 70s/80s idea.

Ideas

18/03/13 Group Discussion About Ideas
After talking to each other and discussing ideas we decided that an installation would be best. This way we could encompass each of the different skills that everyone has and bring them together to create one final piece. We decided on creating a glass sculpture and projecting a range of films and photography on to it. This means that all areas (3D Design, Film Making, Photography) are included. We had the idea of creating a crescent shape made from panels of glass which I think is a good way to contextualise the work. Kat (3D Design) is going to make the glass installation while the rest of us film and photograph the content that is going to be projected.

This idea allows us to be able to work quite individually while still being able to bring it all together collaboratively at the end. I am going to focus on what I want to photograph for the piece over the next couple of weeks.

Ideas/Research

Crescent Idea Research
At the moment I am very interested in the crescents and this is the direction I want to take my project. Below are some of my favourite images from the exhulme site which I think capture the vibe of the 70s and 80s in Hulme well.

http://www.exhulme.co.uk

Research

14/03/13 Community Talk
This talk opened my eyes to the community spirit in Hulme. We were told about the various projects in Hulme such as the knitting project, friendship festival, community garden centre, Manchester day parade and library sessions. There is a wide range of people in Hulme, from many different cultures, and this makes it such a diverse and interesting place. The community culture at the time of the crescents was also mentioned. We were told it was a very artistic time and artists/musicians/students came from all over to become inspired.

Research

14/03/13 Hulme Walking Tour
In this tour, we were guided round Hulme with a member from the Manchester Modernist Society. He explained to us about all the different buildings and what has worked and not worked in Hulme. I feel like I have got a much more in depth knowledge from this tour. I am most interested in the crescents at the moment and the atmosphere in Hulme in the 70s and 80s. The tour guide told us of parties he had been to in the crescents and his own memories of that time.

Research

12/03/13 The Redevelopment of Hulme
On this day I attended a talk by Michael Coates which discussed the redevelopment of Hulme.

Terraced houses 19th Century - 1960s: It was explained to us how the area was originally crowded with small terraced houses which were built in the 1800s. Although there was a strong sense of community the houses were in poor condition; there was no heating, a shared outdoor toilet, limited plumbing etc and so in the 1960s the residents were relocated and a redevelopment plan was enforced. 

Crescents 1960s - 1990s: In the 60s most of Hulme was demolished and replaced with four enormous crescent shaped blocks of flats. These didn't work for various reasons. Design flaws meant that the flats were too expensive to heat and they became cold, damp and riddled with cockroaches and other vermin. The long, high walkways were unsafe for children and tiring for people to climb. Eventually the people who could afford to move did, leaving the people with less money behind. This is when anti social behaviour soared. Subcultures were attracted by the 'untraditional living' and the crescents became notorious for their parties, drug taking and crime. At one point, the City Council lost control of the properties in the the crescents and were reduced to handing out keys to anyone who would take them. This resulted in a "black market" of flats between squatters. The residents would knock down walls in to the neighbouring flat to expand their own without any consequences. Eventually it was decided that Hulme should be redeveloped again and in 1993 the crescents were demolished.


Homes for Change 1990s - Present: Once the crescents were gone, a mixture of houses, apartments and bungalows were built. The variety of buildings meant that the different needs of the people in Hulme were catered for. Families were once again moving back in to Hulme and crime rate dropped. 'Homes for Change Ltd' created a block of flats that was designed around peoples needs. The new residents were involved with the design and so they respected their new home a lot more. They each had their own flat (a size which was specific to them), their own out door space (balcony) and a courtyard in the middle which created a natural surveillance.

Ideas

Initial Ideas
The thing that interested me the most during the initial lecture was the 'Mass Observation' in Bolton 1937 which Alan discussed in his presentation, so I decided to look in to it more. Tom Harrisson, Charles Madge and Humphrey Jennings joined together to study the everyday lives of ordinary British people and create an "anthropology of ourselves". They and a team of observers studied the lives of people in Bolton focussing on their attitudes and beliefs so that popular opinion could be properly understood. They engaged in a variety of public situations: meetings, religious occasions, sporting/leisure activities, in the street and at work and recorded people's behaviour and conversation in as much detail. The people of Bolton were mostly recorded without their knowledge but questionnaires and surveys were also used aswell as interviews. The observers were interested in a vast range of subjects including "housing, sport, fascism, communism, work, social conditions, religion, cinema, holidays, the onset of war, evacuation, rationing, the Blitz, public morale, post-war hopes, the welfare state, household budgeting, entertainment, shopping, education, the police, public health, trade unions, politics, strikes, transport, royalty, jazz, family planning, industry and drinking habits." As well as attitudes and beliefs the observers also recorded physical normalities in Bolton for example hats, clothing and hand gestures. They observed all kinds of minute details including the proportion of black to brown shoes worn on the high street and that the average portion of chips in a six-penny portion was 25 and a sixth!

I thought our group could also doing something like this in Hulme but obviously on a smaller scale. I particularly liked the idea of more physical details being recorded. One thing that sprung to mind was photographing every one of a certain object in Hulme and presenting them in a way similar to Bernd and Hilla Becher. (See images below.) The Becher's are well known for their grids of photographs showing different buildings which all share the same purpose, eg. a range of water towers. By arranging them side by side, the viewer is invited to compare their forms and designs. We could do this in Hulme, photographing every bus stop, shop, street sign or something similar and arranging them in a grid. Could even do a short film piece of each place and edit them together.

Research

11/03/13 Introduction to Hulme Project

During this lecture we were given the brief that we are working on for the next couple of months. 

Brief: Together in your collaborative teams, you will assume the role of 'urban archaeologists', and practise based researchers in order to interrogate Hulme. Searching for information about the area you will investigate life in Hulme, past (it's history, it's buildings, it's stories...), present (it's communities, it's places, it's events...) and future (What's next in Hulme's story? What might happen in the future?) A series of talks, walks, visits, activities and film screenings will introduce you to many aspects of the area that you may be unaware of. You may use these (or your own discoveries) as starting points for further investigation, deciding as a group what research you wish to creatively, respond to and how you will go about it.

At first I was a little disappointed by the brief and couldn't understand how I was supposed to find inspiration from Hulme, as at the time I thought it was a very uninteresting place. Since then I have begun to discover things about Hulme that I was unaware of and I am excited to start the project!

After informing us of the brief, each of the tutors from the three areas (Photography/Film Making/3D design) showed us various practitioners to inspire us and give us an initial starting point. I made note of the artists who I was most interested in, pictured below. 

After the introduction to the Hulme project, we were put in our groups. I am really happy with my group, I think we will work well together and learn a lot from each other. The group consists of me and Natalie (Photography), Maddy and Jack (Film Making) and Kat (3D Design). I am confident that we will create an interesting final piece and an overall thorough project.

Research

11/03/13 Introductory Lecture

In this lecture we were introduced to the collaborative aspect of the upcoming project. We were told that for the next 10 weeks we would be in a group with others from Photography, Film Making and 3D Design. At first I was apprehensive about working in a group as I have never done this before but we were shown the pros of collaborating with others and I think it will be a rewarding experience. I am excited to learn new things from the others in my group and share my own skills.

We were also told that we would have to produce a blog to document our work as we go along. I have used a blog in this way before so I feel quite prepared for it and shouldn't come across any problems. I am going to document my work under four different headings so it is easier to read. The headings will be research, ideas, shoots and final piece/exhibition.