Watching TED talks with my dad!

If you have the time, watch this video about this guy who is trying to change the way we design things!
His car that doubles up as a streetlamp! He's a little creepy but very VERY inspirational!

How to look like a Ganguro!

Okay, so I haven't posted in a while....

Been super busy with the course and LOVING every moment of it now. Had a little bit of a crisis earlier in the week and suffering a little bit now but I thought to create a cheery atmosphere I would enlighten you all with another fashion style from the land of the rising sun!

This style is called Gyaru. Now like Lolita, there are LOTS of different types (also just so you know, Gyaru is just how the Japanese pronounce the word 'Gal').

Hime Gyaru

These types are most common among the communities and that, I guess, is mostly because of the accessibility to the fashion (being able to buy Hime Gyaru items in mainstream high-street shops). Also this is the least 'strange' version of the fashion and is great for those just starting out.

School Girl Gyaru

Not that I'm saying it's a type but these types of Gyaru are more like the popular or rebellious school girl types. In Japan, traditionally, girls weren't allowed to wear make-up or dye there hair for school. This style was the result of rebellion. I happen to think it's the cutest but the more interesting is yet to come!

Ganguro

These Gyaru are almost the most extreme type of gyaru and the more tanned you are, the higher your rank (or so I've heard!). These girls have used the more extreme nose contouring with a white cream make-up of liner pencil and, like most gyaru,have long blonde hair FILLED with extensions!

Manba and Banba

This is the ABSOLUTE extreme of the style and when I was in Shibuya, Tokyo I saw a lot of manba and banba floatig around! The tan here is almost black ad the nose contouring and eye make-up is taken to the limit! Also these girls use only white to highlight their lips cheeks and eyes instead of concealer.Also the eyes are larger and they tend to use a lot more colour and also stick on face decals.

All of these styles also partake in crazy nail art and extensions. Which the more extreme looks, the faker you look, the better! With the more sweet styles like Hime Gyaru, the more princess bling and glitter, the better!!!

Session 2 Notes

Firstly we discussed the ethical issues faced in our fields.

Fashion-

• Sweat shop/ forced labour
• In different countries the cut could be offensive
• Size zero culture
• Use of fur and leather

Photography-

• Photos edited in post production
• Models wearing lash inserts, hair extensions, wax coating on their hair etc
• Paparazzi culture
• Nude imagery

Graphics

• Offensive imagery

What is photography?

There is a shifting definition of what photography is or means to people. We were shown all types of images of all the types of photography.
There are so many ways you can utilise photography.

The first photograph was taken in 1838 by Daguerre. Back then it was nothing more than a scientific experiment and a way to catalogue things.
Until recently in photography, questions of ethics and truth weren't asked. Photography was used in the j

Controversies

So I was asked to read two things in my last session of Creative Histories and Industries; 'A Legal and Ethical History of Photography Press Release' and an Interview with Sally Mann.

A Legal And Ethical History of Photography

I have to admit, I'm not really a photography buff of any kind but I don't mind reading stuff that is interesting. This press release opened my eyes to all the thought that has to go into taking a photograph so that it won't get you sent to court! I am also glad that some people still are risk takers and don't take the law into consideration when they produce a body of work that is controversial.

I won't lie, this document was VERY difficult to read because, and not to sound stupid, there were a LOT of 'long words' in this press release and also it was in quite a constant chunk. I debated with myself whether to re-write this for myself so that I could understand it better because I did struggle reading this.

However, I managed to get the gist of it soon enough but it took me a couple of days of reading through it.

Needless to say, it is hard to say what I think of this piece because I don't know anything about photography passed point and click, however it was an interesting read about how something as simple as a picture can be read into so much that it causes such a scandal!

Sally Mann Interview

I did like the interview a lot more although I struggle a bit with the topic of death myself. The layout was a lot easier to cope with. It wasn't too long, the words made sense to me and it was laid out, like most interviews, like a conversation which made it flow a lot better.

It is always interesting to pick an artists brain about their inspiration but also about their experiences and about their work. I like how her images are very simple really but evoke extreme emotion and outrage. She seems to like nudity a lot too which I guess a lot of artists do because it's a good way to see someone just as they are, without them hiding behind clothes that change them.

So you've probably never heard of this....

... but I thought I would post about it anyway. So this is the part of the blog where I start to introduce you to things that interest me in my chosen field, which happens to be fashion. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for haute couture but today I was feeling in a particularly Japanese mood!

GAH spit it out!!! I am a fan of all fashion but particular favourite fashion at the moment is Lolita fashion. This originated around the 80s and is a modern take on the extravagant fashions of the Rococo period. To really explain what this is, I will have to show you some pics.

 Believe it or not, but that

  is ME on the left with the blonde hair :D And the girly next to me is my friend Ziggi! There are hundreds upon thousands of lolitas in Britain and about half of them are in the South West (JOKE, nah but there are TONNES of us). This was taken at a meet-up at Bristol Zoo.

This last picture is of the two designers from a lolita brand called Angelic Pretty (Maki on the left and Asuka on the right). 

I have hundreds more pictures to show you but for now I will settle with these three. All of them show pictures of 'Sweet' lolitas. There are many different types of lolita but to write them all down would be exhausting so here is a link to a site that explains all!

http://www.lolitafashion.org/

Feel free to browse around the site if you want to know more :D