I'm thinking of writing a novel...

Consider this for a title...
Accidentally Making Raisins
by Chloe Blackman

It will be about being lazy.

A quick note...

to say that instead of blogging, I'm doing some work on Ampersands.
In an attempt to make use of my unhealthy fascination and adoration of the ampersand, I have decided to do part of my final year work on it.

This is one example of a small series based on people's individual interpretation of the symbol.
In other news, googling(is that a word yet?) "ligature" produced some unsavory results. Do not attempt to google this unless you want to be adequately disturbed. I have however, learnt a new meaning for the word ligature. Don't really get the similarities.
I've written this whole thing without using an ampersand. Shame.
&
It's ok.

Part Installments

This actually isn't about partially dressed women.
I'm concerned that I may be giving out the wrong signals over here.

Big booty, big booty, big booty giiiirrls

This is a visual teaser of some t-shirts I am in the process of making...
Maybe I'll upload a new visual clue daily till they're done. I'm certain the anticipation is almost too much to comprehend to my many thousands of blog viewers.
HI LORA! HI ROISIN!!!

While we're at it I suppose..

I love psychoanalysis! It's true about me. I'm a nerd. I love Freud.
For some reason last night, after finding out an acquaintance of mine was in fact a doctor of philosophy, I decided to have a long drunken conversation with him about, amongst other things, peoples fear of accepting Freudian ideas because it will say too much about their own relationships. We also had a Nietzsche slating session which is for another imaginary internet/blog conversation. Anyway, a while back, I started researching Hermann Rorschach's
ink blot test. What a legend. He was a Freudian psychoanalyst who developed the famous ink blots as a way to expose the subconscious. That's him on the left. Actually quite fetching for a dead guy I reckon. Not that I'm into that.
I had these home made post-it note examples of the ink blots on my bedroom wall/studio for an age before I could think of any way to incorporate them into a project. My main concern however was that all I could see them resembling were vaginas. What do you do?



I began thinking of them as collections and about how ideas and thought processes are the same thing. I wanted to display this collection of psychodisfunctions in a way which carries with it a certain amount of pride. At being human, at being analysed and to a certain extent, being a Freudian subject.















The accompanying quote reads

'What persuit is more elegant than that of collecting the ignominies of our nature?'
-Logan Pearsall Smith

At last some work...

I felt it was about time I 1] posted something new and 2] posted some actual work.
This is an animation response to a film project set by Alex Reuben just before Christmas. The Brief was titled 'What do you want if you don't want money?'
We approached this brief being analytical of the statement itself. It's something we hear often within the Graphic design industry and in many areas outside of design where the is an opportunity to make a large amount of cash. "I'm not in it for the money." When did being talented/successful/highly paid become something one should be embarrassed about? We wanted to create an animation to show it is what you do with money that gives it worth and value.
Project with Samantha Knight and Amy Mawji.

Happy Valentines Day

One of Those "Must Have" Pieces

...like a Fendi Handbag.

Portraits in a Photographic Manner

So, I went to the National Portrait Gallery yesterday to see the Photographic Portrait Prize(check out all these lovely links I'm making work! How sweet) It was a nice little trip to Trafalgar with Jason so I can't complain really. Got us both out the house. And I got a bus pass this week and was in danger of going a day without thoroughly abusing it.
As far as the actual exhibition went, I was maybe slightly disappointed. I felt about this years showing the exact opposite as I did the last years one. Last year I loved most of the non-prize winning pieces...
Untitled
by Harry Borden






Sophia
by Billy & Hells






and didn't particularly agree with the prizes. Except for...


Slavica feeds her baby son Nikola while her husband Nebojsa sleeps by Ivor Pricket









Which was deserving of far more than the Godfrey Argent Award I thought. Still however an award to be very proud of.

This year, I loved the five prize winning portraits and left the gallery barely remembering any of the others.
Besides a couple of exceptions...
Louise Bourgeois


















Yes, so other than that, I wasn't particularly overwhelmed. And I usually hold this prize in high regard(what what don't you know), despite what I've heard from 'photographers' who say it's just amateur photographers or whatever. But what does that mean anyway? And I like it. That's what bothers me. Not that I really know anything about photography. Bloody fine artists.

In more fantastic news, we went to Paul's for a Cappuccino. And I kid you not(whoever you may be) Paul's make good ruddy Caps. People are always going on about the Italians and their coffee but if a French outlet can produce quality goods such as those Caps... well, it just blows the competition wide open. AND! There was a brilliant Come Dine With Me on yesterday. All in all, quite a success.

The Begining Has Just Bugun

So, this is it. I finally have a blog. I've become "that person". One that has a blog. A blogger. I've avoided it so long because I can't stand the word blog. I'm sure I don't need to list off the many similarities to unattractive words in the English dictionary so I'll leave it at that. I don't like it. As well as that, despite being involved in various sectors of internet communities, things like this, I don't like. Posting information about myself, photos of my life. On-line chat, on-line video. Not because I think it's strange for other people to know it. People who I may never have met, but because I can't think why anybody would want to know it, to see it, to read it. Not in a self-deprecating "why would anyone care about me" way. That's far from the truth of who I am.

Anyway, I've done it now. In part to force myself to be more active with my college research. If I'm presenting all my findings on-line for all to see. Well, I could easily end up looking like a total spud monkey if I stop doing it. That's the last thing I want.

So it turns out there's no such thing as a spud monkey. Already this blog business is making me look like a fool. Here is the next best thing. A monkey(of no particular description) with a potato or "spud", a colloquial term for potato.



On another note, coming up with a blog address was a pain in the arse. chloeblackman.blogspot had gone. So had chloechloechloe.blogspot. For a minute I thought I might have to be chloeblackman1. Which is as good as bending over.
The hyphen saved me. Just.

Just to clarify the purpose of this blog. It's likely to be a list of ramblings, intertwined with some research or interesting things I might happen to be looking at at that particular moment and possibly some of my own work.
For now! I'm going to get some lunch and head off to the National Portrait Gallery to see the Photography Prize.
This blog guilt is working a treat already.

Oh no. I just remembered that Keane exsist.