Culture – Karyn Easton

Oct 27

MACBA Metamorphosis

Barcelona’s Hidden Artists – While visiting Barcelona, I became fascinated with the vast swathes of graffiti covered walls. It felt as if collectively everyone had given up on cleaning the walls. Indeed, it felt as if the walls themselves had become works of art. In stark contrast I also noted the pristine internal walls of the MACBA (One of Barcelona’s contemporary art museums). I was so ‘taken with’ the beautiful light inside of the MACBA that I decided to photograph it. I also photographed many graffiti laden walls across Barcelona. There really was a such a stark contrast between the pristine and the messy that I began to wonder what the MACBA would look like if it was plastered in graffiti? The internal walls of the MACBA were so beautifully clean that I felt an irresistible urge to ‘plaster’ them. The vibrant colours and designs found externally on the Streets of Barcelona seemed a logical choice. Unfortunately, my dream of taking spray paints to the MACBA walls was pretty much out of the question. However, I did have access to Photoshop, Ai and augmented reality. As a direct result of my thinking I managed to self publish 3 small art […]

Jun 29

Barcelona Graffiti #2

Hidden Away – During my recent trip to Barcelona, I was was mesmerised by the colour and variety of the street art both in and around the city. I briefly touched on this in part one of this post called ‘Barcelona Graffiti’. I still don’t know exactly why I was so drawn to the graffiti (street art), except to say that the colours were amazing! It seemed to relentlessly permeate throughout the whole fabric of the city, weaving a disjointed tapestry of colours. Indeed it could even be described in some places as a riot of colour on an otherwise typical traditional cityscape and its walls. All of this was in stark contrast to the walls of one of Barcelona’s most famous contemporary art museums, namely the MACBA. Here there was no graffiti. Everything inside was pristine with beautiful gleaming white walls. A Short Recap Below is short video recap from Barcelona Graffit part one. It helps to illustrate the scale of graffiti and street art that can be found in and around the city. In stark contrast to the brightly coloured graffiti in the video above, the following image gallery illustrates the crisp, clean, neutral […]

Jun 13

by Karyn in Artists, Culture, Experimentation, Food for Thought, My Work, Photography, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos 0 comments tags: Artists, Culture, Experimentation, Food for Thought, my work, Photography, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos

Barcelona Graffiti

Barcelona – Graffiti Capital of Europe? Is Barcelona the graffiti capital of Europe? Within only a short walking distance, the 1.15 minute clip below exposes the shear volume of street art around the city. In many cases residents have turned what is obviously a problem into something much more creative. They appear to have given up on trying to clear the graffiti. Instead, there is a sense that it is not just part of local society, it is in fact now embraced by it. Below is a video short highlighting the sheer scale of the street art. Calling it graffiti feels almost unkind because many of the colour schemes and designs seem carefully crafted as opposed to simply scrawled. Interestingly, the famous street artist Banksy has his museum in Barcelona. I wonder how much the colourful street art/graffiti clad surroundings influenced his decision? Barcelona – Graffiti Capital of Europe? One thing that particularly struck me while photographing all of the graffiti were the times that people seemed to have matching graffiti with clothes or other items. Below are some examples where people’s outfits or items matched the graffiti surrounding them. Maybe the graffiti was affecting their fashion choices […]

Jun 06

by Karyn in Culture, Little Wins, Mentions, My Work, Photography, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos 0 comments tags: Culture, Little Wins, Mentions, my work, Photography, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos

Torbay Airshow 2023

Cockpit Shots – The beginning of June in Torbay has now become synonymous with the fantastic Torbay Airshow! As usual this year did not disappoint! Roughly 3 years ago I treated myself to a Sigma 150mm-600mm telephoto lens. I had partly purchased it so that I could shoot wildlife, but I was also excited to try it out at the Airshow. Last year I was really lucky, I managed to get a number of really photographically sharp ‘cockpit’ shots. One of them even made the Fotospeed top 4 for the week, which I was really pleased about. The fist image (Jet Pitts Sabio image) listed directly below is the one that made the Fotospeed top 4 for the week. Images from 2023 Below is a gallery of some of my favourite images from this year. I’ve also added a ‘jazzy’ video which proved useful for social media. Short Snappy Video for Social Media Below is a short video that I compiled for social media.

May 19

by Karyn in 3d, Abstract Art, Artists, Culture, Galleries, Photography, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos 0 comments tags: 3d, Abstract Art, Artists, Culture, Galleries, Photography, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos

MNAC

Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya – While I was visiting the Banksy Gallery one of the guides told me that I really needed to visit ‘Museu National d’Art de Catalunya.’ He explained that this was an amazing gallery and a ‘must see’. He was not wrong! The museum is set high above Barcelona and the views are breathtaking! Luckily I had my DSLR with me on this trip, so I decided to take lots of photos. My memory card was pretty full so I had to be a little careful about wasting frames but I managed to shoot everything I wanted. The building is very imposing! In fact everything about it was imposing, including the security and guards. After a relaxed and friendly visit to both the Banksy (they actually made me a coffee), and the MOCA and MACBA museums, I was left in no doubt that one false move and I’d be in serious trouble. One guard shouted at me for just holding a bottle of water – maybe he had heard about the ‘Just Stop Oil’ protests in the UK and thought I was about to throw it over a painting or something? I duly complied and the […]

May 15

by Karyn in 3d, Abstract Art, Artists, Culture, Food for Thought, Galleries, Ideas, Photography, Timelapse, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos 0 comments tags: 3d, Abstract Art, Artists, Culture, Food for Thought, Galleries, Ideas, Photography, Timelapse, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos

Barcelona Trip

Time to Unwind and Return To Blogging – The last 3 weeks have been incredibly busy. At work this is the time when we are preparing students for their art exams. However, for me the biggest task and time consuming activity is the production of the end of year film. There are more details about this in the blog post ‘A Temporary Distraction’. I always enjoy seeing the wide variety of work produced by our students but assembling it all into a coherent narrative can often be quite challenging. After nearly completing the film, luckily I was able to take a break in Barcelona. My students were now on a reading week, so it was the perfect opportunity to get away. This blog is a record from the start of the trip in England, to the return journey and most importantly everything in between. Sunday 14th May – Morning Sunrise The weather started off well enough and as we drove off to Bristol Airport we were greeted by a lovely sunrise. Unfortunately my camera was packed away, but I did manage to capture this iPhone shot. Apologies for the poor resolution. What Greeted us at Bristol Airport Although […]

Apr 13

by Karyn in Culture, Opportunities, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos 0 comments tags: Culture, opportunities, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos

The Outernet London

To Showcase Here Would be Amazing! – While on my Low Residency I went for a walk into town as the events for the day were cancelled due to strikes. It was on our way back that I discovered ‘The Outernet London’ which is part of Outernet Global. This is an amazing space bringing together 21st century tech with some of the most digitally acclaimed artists of the day. It is certainly is an experience! While watching the screens, I thought that this would be a great place to showcase some of my work. My feeling is that if you are going to dream then at least dream big! 😊 – I can’t imagine ever making it there, but at least it’s something to aim for? Maybe? Below is a video short that I made during my time there. I have so much more footage of this exhibition space, but the editing would be such an enormous task I decided to keep it short. However, one thing that certainly did ‘jump out’ at me was the complete contrast in the three spaces that I recently visited namely: Salisbury Cathedral, The Old Saxon Church at Escombe and now the Outernet. I wondered […]

Apr 13

by Karyn in Culture, Photography, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos 0 comments tags: Culture, Photography, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos

The Saxon Church

A Beautiful Simple and Bright Meditative Space – During the Easter Break I had the privilege to visit, not only Salisbury Cathedral, but also one of Britain’s oldest Saxon Churches situated in the North East of England. The Church is situated in a little rural village on the outskirts of Bishop Auckland near my hometown of Shildon. While visiting relatives I decided to visit the church. The locals have beautifully maintained the church over the years and it is still a place of worship. Having just visited Salisbury Cathedral the old Saxon Church at Escombe was a stark contrast. The ornate and ostentatious beauty of Salisbury Cathedral was not evident here. Instead the interior was a bright, simple yet beautiful meditative space that had a very calming atmosphere. The atmosphere was also calming in Salisbury Cathedral, but there was something quite special about old Saxon Church. I took the opportunity to shoot some video of both the interior and the exterior of the church. Following is a video compilation of both stills and moving images. I have also compiled a gallery of images that include information signs explaining more about the church and its origins. The Old Saxon […]

Apr 04

by Karyn in Culture, My Work, Photography, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos 0 comments tags: Culture, my work, Photography, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos

Visit to Salisbury

Clocks, Magna Carta and Old Sarum – This year I had the opportunity to visit Salisbury shortly after returning from the Low Residency in London. Apparently there is a pretty amazing clock (😳), but I was much more interested in both the Cathedral and one of the copies of the Magna Carta housed inside. I also wanted to take the opportunity to visit Old Sarum, a ruin of an old Medieval site. Salisbury Cathedral Below is a short video compilation taken both inside and outside of the Salisbury Cathedral. Not only was I interested in the Cathedral, the Magna Carta and all of the history surrounding them both, I also wanted to gather both historical and interesting imagery as part of a wider project that I have planned. Shortly after my visit to the Cathedral I visited one of Britain’s oldest Saxon Churches (Circa 675 AD). I found the contrast in these two places of worship very interesting. Salisbury Cathedral is a very ornate and beautiful space, but there is also something very special about the simplicity and peacefulness of the Old Saxon Church in Escombe. Video Compilation of Images from Salisbury Cathedral Replicas […]

Jan 10

Vilde Rolfsen – Inspired Work

Beautiful Destruction – For a few weeks now I have been wrestling with ideas for my research statement. Ideally I would like to integrate some form of current affairs or pressing agenda into my work but I wasn’t quite sure how to approach this. I then remembered a shoot I’d done a little while ago. I stumbled across an artist called Vilde Rolfsen. I found her plastic bag landscapes absolutely fascinating. Not only was her idea clever it was also visually very appealing. Her images are certainly creative. There’s just something special about taking such a mundane object like a plastic bag and transforming it into an amazing landscape. Below is a small gallery of her images. Vilde Rolfeson – Plastic Bag Landscape Responses to Vilde Rolfeson I felt that Vilde Rolfeson had produced something truly unique. However, inspired by her idea I wanted to use her imagery as a base to experiment further. I was also keen to incorporate elements of animation and time into my experimentation as this ties in heavily with my theme. Most of Vilde Rolefson’s plastic bag imagery is light and bright, therefore I decided to take a slightly darker approach. I wanted […]