Greg Pidgeon

Cinema has been around since the mid 1880’s when a Frenchman called Louis Le Prince patented his process for “the successive production of objects in motion by means of a projector.

Not long after a French Magician called Georges Méliès (December 8, 1861-January 21, 1938, full name: Maries-Georges-Jean Méliès)

image from http://www.sea.fi/foto/melies_georges.jpg

progressed from his magic onto filmmaking. He originally worked as an illusionist in Robert Houdin’s Theatre later investing and becoming the owner. It was in 1895, he became interested in film after attending the first screening of the Lumiere Cinematographe on December 18,1895 in the Grand Café of Paris.
Info on Lumiere Brothers 1
Info on Lumiere Brothers 2
Then by May the following year Méliès had purchased a camera and was already making his own films.

Méliès was a pioneer in early cinema, developing many techniques particularly in the area of special effects. One of Méliès more recognised techniques is the ‘Stop trick’
Info On 'Stop Trick
and one he stumbled upon accidentally when his camera had a malfunction and dropped a few frames, whilst filming average 19th Century Parisian life outside the Paris Opera House(see below).



image from http://img.groundspeak.com/cache/log/218460_600.jpg

Quite to his surprise when he watched the film he noticed that during the few seconds where the camera was not recording, the moving object that he had been filming had disappeared. It was in fact a Hurst he was filming and although the rest of the scene must have moved, therefore not providing a smooth transition, the Hurst disappeared and Méliès took advantage of this accident. He went on to use this technique to do crude special effects and magic tricks in many of his films.

Another technique that Méliès was thought to have created is a film language based on separate scenes edited together. This was important at the time because most other filmmakers of the era were content with single shot films. In Cinderella (1899) Méliès used this technique to create a mini-epic comprised of 20 separate scenes over seven minutes to portray the popular fairytale.

Méliès most renowned film has got to be ‘A Trip To The Moon (1902)

Info On A Trip To The Moon

Taken from the Jules Verne story and Méliès version for the big screen was the first science fiction film produced and shown to the general public. Méliès wrote the script, designed the set and costumes, directed, produced and even starred in the flick. It was composed of 30 scenes and basically depicts a group of French explorers who on the orders of the President jump abroad a rocket to the moon before embarking on various adventures.

Méliès went on to create around 800 films, although other sources place the figure anything between 500 – 1500 I think 800 is a realistic figure but can never be proved as a lot of the footage has inevitably been lost over the years. Unfortunately despite the volume of work Méliès produced he never seemed to progress any further than these techniques and eventually the novelty of his work began to lose its value. Other filmmakers such as Edwin S. Porter and D.W. Griffith continued to build upon the work of Méliès. Also Méliès received very little income from his films due to an inability to effectively distribute them. Therefore he was heavily plagiarised and his cinematic marvel not really recognised until the late 1920’s.

Méliès was however a revolutionary film maker and extremely talented magician has thankfully began a time in which audiences are dazzled by the cinematic wonders of the big screen.


Sources
http://www.nwlink.com/~erick/silentera/Melies/melies-f.html
www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/9657/GMelies.html
www.holonet.khm.de/visual_alchemy/voyage.html
www.labellepoque.de/cinema/cineidxe.htm
www.brainyencyclopedia.com/encyclopedia/s/st/stop_trick.html
www.nwlink.com/~erick/silentera/Melies/melies.html

Standard Colour Wheel




Colour Theory

Basic Introduction to Colour Theory

Notes

Sir Isaac Newton developed the first circular diagram of colours in 1666. In reality, any color circle or color wheel which presents a logically arranged sequence of pure hues has merit.

Colour Harmony - A visual experience that is pleasing to the eye creating an inner sense of order engaging the veiwer. Harmony is a dynamic equalibrium. (definitions & such all taken from the above link)

Colour Psychology

Color psychology and color healing

Chromotherapy & Colour Therapy

Chromotherapy:
the treatment of disease & improvement of health & well being through the explotation of colours vibrational energies.

Colour Therapy. This link shows each colour & describes the emotions it envokes

Synesthesia

Synesthesia is an involuntary joining in which the real information of one sense is accompanied by a perception in another sense.

Basic description & useful link relating to synesthesia

Graffiti – Art or Vandalism

One dictionary defines art as “the conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colours, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium.”
Graffiti art originated in the late 1960’s and has been developing ever since. Originally used by street gangs to mark territory and political activists to make statements. Then was used to breathe life into dilapidated, run down areas such as on American subways, which during the 1970’s were dull, grey, unsanitary and desolate places. It has been subject of much debate over whether it is art or vandalism.

Graffiti is unique in many ways some which suggest that it is an art form and some which quite clearly suggest that it is merely nothing more than pretty vandalism. Firstly and most importantly I think it should be considered as art is because of its medium. Graffiti predominately is produced in public areas for all to see whether they want to or not. It can be scrawled across the inside of a train or presented thoughtfully across a wall. Either way it is a medium that has certainly failed to be reproduced in any gallery to hold the same impact as in the public arena, giving it strength as an art form in its natural state. Here are some examples that in my opinion could never have been produced without their urban canvases. They are created by Banksy, a street artist from London;
Example 1
Although individuals and institutions have tried, Graffiti still remains completely uncensored which upholds freedom of expression giving any artist the opportunity to portray their opinions visually without constraint. This in my opinion is an essential part of any art therefore also suggests that Graffiti cannot be classed as little more than criminal behaviour.

However Graffiti does have its pitfalls as an art form. It can often involve grotesque defacement on public property, where an unorganised mess of writing blankets a public space created by people who want little more than to have there name protruding into your world. This is known as ‘tagging’ and is popular with many street gangs to mark territory and gain respect. I good example I think is another piece to which Banksy has contributed to;
Example 2
This shows a statue that has in my opinion been ruined by people lacking in any artistic scope.

So basically I think there really isn’t an answer to the question is graffiti art or vandalism. I think it has to depend on context, motive, artist intention and most of all the opinion of the audience. The Handbook of American Popular Culture explains that graffiti has the 'high art' characteristics of a 'strong and identifiable aesthetics theory' and a similarity to such recognised art movements as abstract expressionism, pop art, conceptual art, and new realism, and personally I believe it does fall for the most part under the definition of art. But I will say each piece certainly needs to be given its own consideration.

References

Handbook of American Popular Culture
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth EditionCopyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Graffiti Art: An Essay Concerning The Recognition Of Some Forms Of Graffiti As Art By George C. Stowers