Sunday 17 April 2011

Roll with it

This is the competition entitled Roll With It inspired by this picture by Joel Meyerowitz and a toilet roll. These are the entries (you need to watch the slideshow as there is a flickr glitch in the search).  What a wonderfully diverse collection of entries. The brief: simply to make a creation or image with some reference to a toilet roll.

My entry is below. I have added no description to my entry as it was not requested, however, I have included here my thinking behind this image.


I have taken my inspiration from the 'art nouveau' movement.  The style is distinctive and easily recognisable. It was such a vibrant and lustrous period I felt compelled to try it avec toilet roll!  

My interpretation includes the 'rococo' style chair (well imitation sadly), the pre-Raphaelite pose with the direct and subdued gaze, the hair curls and the flowing, bohemian clothing (fashioned from toilet paper). The toilet roll lacks the vivid colour the art nouveau style adopted, but the curves, flow and its symbolism sort of make up for this. 

Obviously, there is some of 'me' in there too, an infant rather than woman has altered the symbolism, high contrast lighting rather than a floral or elaborate backdrop and so on...

On a simple level, I like the shapes and colours of 'art nouveau' architecture and paintings.  The genre flourishes with beautiful, elegant shapes and flow.  The colours are vivid and flamboyant. The genre also seems to exude femininity and perhaps that is the appeal also...it elevates you out of the ordinary and takes you to somewhere ethereal arousing the 'hedonist' in each of us...hmmm, could be worse!!

This all sounds a little too earnest, it was light-hearted and fun to make with a very eager model...oh and the title for the image was la'al d'art nouveau...couldn't resist a bit of Cumbrian dialect in there!

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