Roger Hiorns 'Seizure'

When we first arrived outside the building of the exhibition it seemed like a very unlikely place for a great piece of artwork to be held. Before entering we were asked to take off our bags and shoes and put on a pair of wellies. This made for part of the whole experience and filled us with anticipation for what were about to see. As soon as I entered the room of Roger Hiorns 'Seizure', the contrast between the outside of the building to its appearance inside was incredible. The walls were completely covered in bright blue crystals which glittered in the dim light. As I touched the surface of the walls the crystals felt surprisingly damp and sharp. The idea behind this piece of work is quite simple but to carry out must have been a lot harder and no-one would have anticipated that the overall effect of this room covered in crystals would be quite so beautiful.
To appreciate this work I dont think the viewer necessarily needs any prior knowledge of the artist or ideas behind this piece because I think it is the type of work where everyone takes something different away from it with them and they will also read their own meanings into the artwork because of the different experiences they have had. For me personally, without having read about the artwork previously, I felt that 'seizures' tells us that we can find beauty in the most unexpected places. It also suggests to me that we should not judge people or things from first appearances. Once inside the room it felt quite claustrophobic as the crystals point in at you from all directions and cave in around you, so it also suggested to me a feeling of being trapped in something, whether it be poverty, addiction, or anything where the feeling of something taking over as if it caves in in you is felt.

Shoes For Transport

In the London Transport Museum I wanted to find something that would relate to my boots theme and show walking as a for of transport. These Marathon; shoes, by unknown artist , circa 1980 were the closest I could find. These shoes, painted in Gouache are a contrast to the last two pair of boots as the purpose for the boots I looked at were mainly for fashion purposes. The shoes, however, were built to be comfortable and to run in, not just to be part of a certain trend. Words that come to mind when looking at these shoes include exercise, soft fabric, comfort, sports and walking.

If this picture was take out of its museum space and put into a normal shop I think it would be looked at in a completely different way. In the museum you give the work far more value because it has been displayed on a blank wall and you also look at it in the context of transport and its relevance to transport across London because of their colour and logo. However, if it was put in a high street shop it would be looked at in an entirely different way. It would be easy to miss depending on the display and could even be seen as just part of the decoration. it would be much more undervalued and probably seen as having been done by more of an up and coming artist trying to promote his or her work in small shops rather than a well known artist whose paintings would sell for thousands.

New Boots

Along with the vintage boots I found in places like 'Beyond Retro', I also saw a lot of new replicas of these old style boots. these however looked shiny and new in comparison, and i felt they also looked a bit cheap and badly made. I didn't find them half as interesting as the vintage boots as none of these boots had any history to them. There was also no longer the challenge of finding a pair of boots that you liked and actually fitted you! Words that I would associate with these boots include cheap, clean, unworn, overpriced, modern, boring and they recycling of fashion.


If these boots were shown in a gallery space I don't think they would be as interesting as a pair of vintage would be. This is because they, as of yet, have no history to them because they are brand new, unworn and unowned! I think showing these boots in a gallery space would merely be a statement of the current fashion at this point in time, and perhaps in a few months or years they would show how fast fashion is changing in this modern consumer culture.

Vintage Boots

As boots were my main object of interest for this project I chose my first oject to look at to be a pair of vintage boots fom 'Beyond Retro'. There were many of these 'cowboy' style boots in the vintage and second-hand shops around Covent garden and Soho. All of them were made of thick leather in a range of colours from black to tan and they had all worn in differnt places over time. Most of them had a small, har heal and sturdy soles slightly coming away from the leather of the shoe strapped to them. Each, however, had its own unique quilted pattern running up along the sides of the boots in circular and more jagged shapes. When looking at these boots they made me think of cowboys riding on horseback with steel toe boots, and also about warmth and comfort boots bring when wearing them. If these boots were placed in another context such as being plaved in a museum they ould probably be considered to be more valuable. People may also be more inclned to think about their history and be interested in who they may have originally belonged to.