Studio*Mrmann

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image © PPFCP

A big thank you to everyone who has watched the Cross-fire animation, granted it will not be breaking any Avatar figures however I'm very proud so thank you.

Also look out for the series @ DCA in June and several International venues in during the summer months.

London, Dublin and more...

A big thank you to everyone involved in organising the Inter-changes symposium in Dublin that I have just returned from. Perhaps not as fun was the return journey but I suppose we can't blame Mother Nature to much for that one.

Also I would like to thank Louise Allen of CCOI and Lesley Millar for making the two days of judging the Future Makers award and grants very enjoyable.

Before Dublin, I managed to visit the Estorick Collection and see my piece Flight take-off alongside masters such as Muybridge and Marey which was a true honour.

So what is next? I'm currently working on limited editions of Cross-fire as the demand has been rather over-whelming from all walks of creativity. Also in the up-coming Crafts Magazine there will be a small feature on the series. It's actually interesting at how work that was created via a crafts commission, PPFCP, has gained a lot of interest from Design and Architecture circles and has been rather ignored by Craft sector...

On another note, I'm not going to comment to much about this but please support: Killing Craft Through Educational Vandalism

Sunday Herald article...

Abit late but coverage all the same, shame about the poor photoshop cropping skills SH. Also before anyone asks that's not me in the dress...

I am currently looking into how to fabricate the Cross-fire series for a limited edition run, possibly edition of 5 plus 1 AB. More to follow...

Easy link to Cross-fire...

As of yet I've not created an obvious link to Cross-Fire on my homepage so simply click the image or here.

edit: Cross-fire series launched...

This is the official link to the new Cross-fire series that was launched last Thursday at the PV of the Future Craft exposition in Dundee.

Thank you for all the emails regarding this series and I will reply to them asap...

Here is a link to todays Scottish Herald that I was interviewed for regarding my perception of craft.

Herald Scotland: Twee arts and crafts fairs

edit: Big thank you to Dezeen for featuring my work on their website on the 1st April, indeed this was no April fools. The reaction for Cross-fire has been tremendous and highly unexpected.

Now the interesting thing will be if the Craft sector will take to the project as positively as Design has?

Upcoming Events...

So I've been somewhat absent lately so let me get everyone up to date with my upcoming events.

Exhibitions

Future Craft: research exposition

Matthew Gallery

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design

Action! Design over Time

MoMA New York

Architecture and Design Galleries, Third Floor

This Just In: New Acquisitions

MAD New York

On The Move: Visualising Action

The Estorick Collection, London

Panel Discussion:

Inter-Changes: Craft and Context

NCAD

12th - 13th April

"A Digital Craft Aesthetic" with Dr Vanessa Cutler

I have also been invited to be one of the International judges for Ireland's Future Makers Award and Grants 2010.

The new Cross-fire series is now finished and will be shown at the Future Craft exposition in March, to coinside with this I will be launching my new studio website. I do know some people have been asking to see the final Cross-fire animation however this will go public next Thursday 25th March. I would like to thank everyone that has been involved in this project, I am sure you will agree it has been worth the long haul.

Crossfire gaining momentum...

The deadline for Cross-fire is looming however the project has certainly gained considerable momentum in the last fortnight.

With only one more piece of the jigsaw to finish the 7 sound artefacts that make-up Cross-fire will be completed. Now it's time for a re-think of the website and those PR emails collated and sent to see how the Art, Design and Craft worlds receive the work.

Cross-fire series

Cross-fire cutlery detail from Studio Mrmann on Vimeo.

Cross-fire

Natural Occurrence series

Mix media

2010

The focus of the Past, Present & Future Craft Practice commission was to examine the intangible characteristic of the spoken word and investigate the unseen affect of sound upon its inhabited environment.

The project centralizes around the context of a domestic argument. In this case the event sample an audio excerpt from the 1999 Sam Mendes film American Beauty. The slow building dialogue between the three central characters family dinner climaxes with a sound clash of emotions. The cross-fire of the argument traverses the dinning table but where previously the inanimate everyday objects such as plates, cutlery, teapot etc were unable to express their character; the intensity of the conversation deforms their once static existence into objects of unseen familiarity.

The presented sound artifacts each encapsulate a momentary emotion of the argument.

WIP...

image courtesy of Jochen Holz

This is one of the first images I've seen of the wineglass from the Cross-Fire animation. The piece has come alive since interpreted in glass compared to the static nature of the resin prototype. I'm also currently writing the synopsis for the Cross-Fire series to be exhibited in March.

The focus of this project has never been the technology utilized instead the narrative and vision of the project. More recently the saturation of new digital technology within the applied art sector has created a 'smoke and mirrors' affect on the actual artifact. The 'grey' area as many describe this current in-between state of Art, Craft & Design perhaps needs to be solely grounded on the 'Why' rather the 'How'. I recently give a short interview regarding the current state of British glass and commented on how perhaps the strive to create optical perfection has taken experimentation as it's victim. Perhaps this is a controversial statement however one I feel needs to be seen as a challenge for the upcoming British Glass Biennale in August this year.

Cross-fire trailer 2

Cross-fire trailer 2 from Studio Mrmann on Vimeo.

Cross-fire trailer 1

Cross-fire trailer 1 from Studio Mrmann on Vimeo.

On The Move Exhibition edit

With the Christmas festivities coming to a close it's time to look towards 2010. In January I am honoured to be exhibiting alongside Muybridge, Marey and Jonathan Shaw to name but a few at The Estorick Collection in London. The exhibition titled On the Move will be showcasing the collections' Italian Futurist masterpieces. On show will be Flight takeoff in resin and porcelain.

Here is a link to a short discussion with the curator of the exhibition on Radio 4. (around 7 mins)

Below is a sneak preview of the final animation of Crossfire (no sound as I still want to an element of surprise)

I would just like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and and a very prosperous 2010...

The Danish Design School - Thankyou

Just back from Copenhagen and straight back into the studio. I just want to thank Flemming tvede Hensen for his invitation & hospitality over the last 3 days. Also it was great to randomly bumping into Di Mainstone again, she was holding a 2 week worshop in the CIID department within the design school.

So what's next? I'm in full production of the new Crossfire series with a virus Y ouTube sneak previews hopefully going live over the festive period.

Also I am currently weighing the possibilities of residences next year to allow for reflection of this new work and also possible new beginnings.

Also I am getting a number of emails asking where the Blown series can be purchased, unfortunately they are in limited numbers however if any companies are interested please contact me through enquiries@mrmann.co.uk

The Danish Design School OPEN LECTURE 9th Dec 9.30am

This week I will be splitting my time between Aberdeen and Copenhagen. I will giving an Open Lecture to the students of the Danish Design School in Copenhagen on Wednesday the 9th Dec. I will focusing the lecture towards the new Crossfire series and examining possible deformers in the natural environment.

The image is of the wine glass from the aforementioned series. This was produced at Rapidform RCA and is made from SLA resin. The plan is to polish one section highlighting the deformation.

The HD version of the Crossfire animation is about 85% finished so hopefully I will be able to show highlights of this before the Christmas shutdown.

New contact address...

So due to an unmanageable amount of spam mail I have changed my contact details.

enquiries@mrmann.co.uk

I will still be contactable on my previous email address but will be slowly migrating to just one address.

I would just like to thank De Monfort University for their great hospitality during their Digital Design (&) Art symposium on Monday.

Also the podcast of my 'In Conversation' event with Frances Priest at the Dovecot studios is now online. link

edit: The weirdness begins... + video

So I received the prototypes from DMC last night and have been frantically sanding and mending (thanks UPS) the pieces for presentation tomorrow. As this is the first time I have seen the pieces outwith a virtual environment it has taken me a few hours to create a relationship with them.

As these pieces are classed as 'sound artifacts' rather than an installation of the accompanying animation, I am keen to push for the full installation. The work will be transferred to their parent material which I think might will be harder than previous intagible to tangible pieces in the past.

Crossfire installation

This is just a snap shot of the new HD animation titled 'Conflict' that I've finally finished. The work centers around a marital argument across a dinner table. As the discussion intensifies, the tableware begins to deform according to the sound-waves.

On Monday 16th November @ De Monfort University, Leicester I will be giving a lecture as part of the Digita Design & Art conference. I will be alongside Assa Ashuach, Annie Cattrell, Lionel T Dean to name but a few. For Further details please contact s.edwards@dmu.ac.uk or Digital Design & Art conference.

Further cross-fire tests...

commissioned by PPFCP

This project is coming to it's final stages of development. The work has now raised new unexpected questions regarding the emotional power of the speech and how this effects the innocent tableware caught in the crossfire. The objects have all reacted in their own individual manner.

edit: Financial Times - How to Spend it article

Firstly I do apologise for the terrible scan of the article. This is a feature titled 'Look No hands' in the current Oct 17th edition of the Financial Times supplement How to Spend It, article link. Apart from the rather posed image of myself the article written my Emma Crichton-Miller has really caught the essence of my practice. For once the work has been viewed for the conceptual narrative rather than the digital explorations.

As there are no detail shots of the work in the article, the works displayed are as follows:

image © Douglas Walker

More press info regarding Attracted to Light, that piece always comes back even in its retirement, will be featured in the upcoming Design Week magazine. I believe Mike Eden is on the cover and is also featured in the FT article. It's a small world...

More scream...

image © Chris Labrooy

Just another couple of highlights from the upcoming crossfire tableware series. The scream sound is only for testing purposes but thank you for the emails enquiring about the availability of these prototypes.

MAD New York permanent collection

image © Stuart Johnstone

I am pleased to annouce MAD New York have included Blown cup & saucer as part of their permanent museum collection. I would like to thank David McFadden and will look forward to possible future collaborations with MAD.

Museum of Arts & Design
2 Columbus Cirlce
New York, NY
10019

Studioworks - Scream Plate

This is just a sample of the series of sound works I am currently working on. The aim is to create a snap-shot of the morning freud between a married couple.

The objects will not be functional in the traditional sense but will carry the aesthetic of well known tableware archetypes.

No Definition...

With the JCM prize finally finished and de-installed, I feel I can move on to a next stage of my practice. I had always approached this opportunity as a period of reflection for the work that had never been realized to it's potential. I also feel that the way the work was exhibited was a major success primarily due to the simplicity of each solution. The mounts simply disappeared into the plinths themselves allowing the work to standalone. The next question that keeps on arising is 'How do I define my-self?' I believe this will never be answered. After watching a short interview with Maarten Bass I was interested to hear how he does not describe his work in any specific area he simply, and very elegantly, just makes objects/designs of interest and discourse. Currently I feel this is how I am working. I never consider the avenue in which the work will be perceived so why should this a question that always arises? I'll simply leave this unanswered...

Also you can now listen again to the exhibition talk that happened at the Jerwood Space. I believe the Dovecot Studios 'In Conversation' will also be online within the next couple of weeks.

The sound pieces are coming on slowly with mixed feelings. Where I feel the concept is sound, bad pun, the end results are not refined enough. After discussing the concept of 'Studio works' (pieces that never see the light of day but just live in the studio) with a colleague I'm now interested in seeing if there is a potential for a very alternative exhibition, any takers?

Sound sketches...

A big thank you to everyone who attended Saturdays 'In Conversation' event at the Dovecot Studios. A podcast of the dialogue will be available soon.

I've posted two new animations of 'Cross-fire'. I'm really liking the the unexpected interventions the sounds are creating. I was asked during Saturdays event why I never exhibit the films as artworks, well perhaps it's time for a change with how craft objects are perceived within an exhibition environment. Are white walls the only option?

I've been receiving inquiries about the blown spoon I have previously featured on the website, well it is currently being cast so I will post images soon.

Edit: 'In Conversation' & Alfred thankyou...

On 19th September, I will be 'In Conversation' at the Dovecot Studios talking to Frances Priest discussing my practice and the work currently exhibited as part of the Jerwood Contemporary Makers, find more details here. The event is free however through are limited places.

I would like to take this oppertunity to thank everyone at Alfred University for their co-operation and hospitality during my visit last week. I will be posting more info regarding the workshop I held and a blog will be set-up asap to document the project I have set.
Next up is the finishing touches on the Past, Present, Future Craft Practice project and planning for the upcoming 'Solid Air' Installation. More to follow...