Ursula Rae - Unit X - Old School/New School.

A brand new project - getting out of the studio, and into the cultural world of Manchester. Exploring all that this city has to offer in the hope of creating some exciting and innovative work upon the way.

"Living it" - bringing to life the concrete space that is the NEW Manchester School of Art.

I am finding the real-life aspect of this project very inspiring. No longer stuck in the university student bubble. But working outside of the studio walls...interacting with people, businesses, places, events...the whole city. Exciting stuff.

Our group...Ursula Rae, Emily Woods, Hannah Laughland, Rozalyn Mcintyre, Sophie Bugler!

 

Ursula Rae - On the Margins of Manchester...

Oh how important small scale activity is to Manchester. This I realised after this talk.

After Dave Haslam’s 45 minute or so talk, all I wanted to do was go out and explore the un-known places, the hideaways, the small secretive art spaces, hidden music venues, the cultural activity on the margins of Manchester.

Some of these places and things to explore:

~ Kraak Gallery - Drunk at Vogue (club night)

~ Vogue fanzine, OWT fanzine, CITYFUN fanzine..... interesting little low budget reads.

"Small world away from the mainstream, instigates new ideas...." 

"Small cells of people"

Key points to think about further - 

~Making use of the unused spaces, empty, seeminly forlorn, possibly even unusuable for any other     purposes

~Small scale doesn't necessarily mean unsuccessful

 

Ursula Rae - Slides. Lots and lots of slides.

Incredible introduction to all the slides that Manchester School of Art holds. Most tucked away in a dark, cold cupboard in the back of an empty room. Seems a shame.

Think that they could be extremely useful, not sure if now, or later in the project, or even in a different project. For everyone else, maybe now...

A little link to some of of the images housed in the collection...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mmuvisualresources/

 

Ursula Rae - Zion Arts Centre. A History of Manchester.

Zion Arts Centre. A small room. A few sofa’s. And an interesting talk from Terry Wyke.

The key points of interest that I took from this talk, ( with a focus on industrialising Manchester), research them further maybe-

Life was about suriving. Struggle. And survival.

The vast majority of infants died before taking one step; before they could make a mark upon the city they were born in.

Work from homes transfers into factories. Hand process onto machine.

Explore the back streets of the Northern Quarter, looking for the footprint of the 18th century. Still visible today. Marks from previous eras still visible in the city today.

Cotton in Manchester. Crucial. Developing a small market town in to a world industrial city.

 

Ursula Rae - Hotspur House!

A 19th century Cotton Mill, turned Print factory, turned exciting space for Artists!

A  little bit of history...the building used to be called Medlock Mill; the river Medlock circles the building. Print business forced to close due to debt crisis. Owner wanted the building to be used for creative purposes...

Unit X at Hotspur -

1. Get through alive
2. Foster collaboration
3. Forge relationships

https://twitter.com/#!/UHCstudio

https://twitter.com/#!/DanDidThis

https://twitter.com/#!/M_M_D_C

...For info on Unit X Hotspur House events via Twitter. #UnitX #HotspurHouse

Ursula Rae - Gone Forever...

A little link to an interesting website. Maybe useful to Emily? Town Hall? Looking at buildings and areas of Manchester now gone...interesting for me also, to look at remenants, marks left behind.

http://manchesterhistory.net/manchester/goneforever.html

Ursula Rae - Marks.

Found myself reflecting back on the past project whilst taking work down from the studio...

Marks. I am always drawn to marks that are created by others, by chance, by occurences in the world. So often those that happen without intention.

I feel incredibly drawn to this...why not bring this into Unit X? It's something I am excited by and always on the look out for.

Considering this, and the fact that I've been thinking about the changes that occur to a space upon entering. I began to consider the way that wherever we go, a mark is made. On arriving anywhere, a small part of us having been there is left behind.

So, I've been thinking, about how an imprint may be left upon surfaces touched, places stood.

Marks left by our arrival into a place.

 

 

Hannah Laughland - Arriving in Manchester..

When arriving in Manchester after being home at home in Middlesbrough the first thing i saw were all the lights and tall buildings surrounding the bus, relfecting off the windows. I love the feel i get when in Manchester as its so different to home. I love the business and liveliness of the city, i think this needs to be brought to the new buliding.

 

Hannah Laughland - Infra Manc.

We all visited Infra Manc exhibition at The cube in Manchester, a delivery of key infastructural projects of the post-war era, including The Manicunian Way, the never realised picc-vic tunnel, the guardian exchange and dreams of a city centre heliport. I found myself interested in the large scale map drawings of Manchester showing its bus routes, population and built-up areas. This made me wonder how different the maps would look if I were to do a similar thing based on Middlesbrough. 

See the full gallery on Posterous

MOSI.......rozalyn mcintyre

I went to the museum of science and industry to gain some inspiration for the beginning of the unit x project. I found much of the industrial machines exciting and inspiring and a great insite in to the history of manchesters manufacturing industry. 
From Looking at the old water pump machines and the fans, that cool the engines of the machines, i began i take an interest in the shapes and patterns entwined within the materials used and enjoyed the way movement created different views and angels.
Although the materials used are for industrial purposes and not from a textile angel, i feel these images can be benifical wen exploring texture, shape, pattern and movement.
Hmmmmmm Idea i think.........

After viewing the above, I then ventured to the 'Textile/design' area and was astounded by the complexcity and overwhelming amount of machinery that is held inside. Bearing this in mind, the amount of manual work that would of had to of been used to be able to use the machines is unbelievable and comparing to 21st century machinery, its far from what we are used too....
Once again, i really liked the way the machines were formed and the patterns the looms in which the cotton was threaded, made.

Below are some textiles designs and materials that were made/used and are displayed throughout the manchinery.

UNIT X Arrives.........rozalyn mcintyre

During the introductory lecture, i gained knowledge that unit x would involve Manchester as a key factor into the design and manufacture of the work i was about to embark upon. This excited me as i felt i could start an adventure into exploring the city and what it means to me. Being originally brought up in a city myself, Bristol, city life is not a unusal experience to me and i relish in the thought of exploring new areas and culture within the city.
An overwhelming feeling of pride fills the streets of Manchester with 'I love MCR' being the city slogan and can be seen throughout the city centre on billboards, posters, jumpers ect. A feeling of community and 'togetherness' brings together both mancunians and people from other cities, in particular, students. Coming to a new city can be daunting for anyone, so having this feeling of welcomeness and acceptance, makes the city an even more special place to live.  

The Whitworth- Cotton Global Trends - rozalyn mcintyre

After being intrigued and excited as to where to start when exploring Manchester, i decided to go to the Whitworth Art Gallery as i knew there was a cotton exhibition being held there and after visiting MOSI and seeing the old cotton mills and designs, i wanted to see how environmental and agricultural factors benefit and enhance textile design. I was looking for inspiration into what, how and where i was going to begin using this information, but most of all enjoyed looking at the magnificent pieces in real life.

                                  Nike Okundaye and Ebertoia
                                          'Adire' Quilt 1987
                      Hand painted, startch resist, indigo dyed and quilted cotton.

                                                Liz Rideal
                                    Ghost Sari 1 & 2 2011
                  Montotypes printed on japanesse paper from a cotton sari

                                                      Anne Wilson 
                              Log of Sources: Woven Stipes & Bands 2010
                                        Three channel dvd video installation

More from Anne Wilson...

                                Wind Up: Walking the Warp- Chicago 2088
                                         Video Projection Performance

As you can see the above work is all relatively current and can relate to the ways of life in which we as society live. In comparrison, the exhibition shows textile pieces from as early as the  7th century AD which, even though a drastic time frame has passed, the general weave techniques are still performed today.
                                         Dress and Furnishing
                     Textile Fragments from Egypt 600-900 CE

Here are some more historical pieces......