Project Evaluation

Overall, I really enjoyed the Goodbye to Berlin project.  I enjoyed the book and the film Cabaret, and I felt that it interesting to study a book and a script to gain my perspectives on the characters that I ended up choosing instead of the film.  However since doing this I understand why it is a better way of doing so.

The research behind this project was really interesting, and I enjoyed learning about Weimar Germany in the 1920s and 30s.  That period of the 20th century is so well known for the rise of the Nazi party and Adolf Hitler, so it was intriguing to learn more about what life was like for the people actually living there at the time of his reign.  I also enjoyed the research for the second half of the project, club culture.  I found the outfits that the club kids wore so fascinating, yet they looked so painful.  Leigh Bowery was brilliant to research into because he was one of the first club kids and he was so extraordinarily out there, he gave me a lot of inspiration for when it came to my contemporary cabaret character.

During this project I feel that I have gained a few skills and enhanced on old ones that I learnt last year.  For example, when we swapped our historical designs with our partners, I felt that my communication was a lot stronger and clearly than it was last year for the Elizabethan assessments.  I have also gained some more confidence in my skills and myself, however I still need to gain more as I can doubt myself a lot and I am my own worst critic.

If I were to change anything about the project, I would suggest that we had more practical lessons that taught us specific techniques for the project.  I also would suggest some more hair practicals, as I felt that one was not enough for the whole term.  In myself and the way that I have conducted my project, I would improve on my organisation, as I can be quite a last minute person and I am working to change that.

Overall I have been quite pleased with the project, and I have enjoyed designing and creating my characters.

New Berliners

The final task for the Goodbye to Berlin project was to go around Southampton and photograph things in black and white that we thought represented a Modern Weimar Berlin.  It was a fun task and insightful to photograph everything and everything we saw.  Are we the New Berliners?  Are we living in a modern Weimar Berlin?

Contemporary Character: Kit Kat Girl

My contemporary Cabaret is one of the Kit Kat Girls.  I am pleased with how my shoot went to capture the look, and I like how the hair and make-up has shown up on the camera.  I think that the outcome of the hairstyle was a lot more successful for me than the make-up.  I am really happy with the way that the finger waves turned out, as they were really defined around the face and leading into straight hair at the ends. 

I think that the make-up went well too.  I am really happy with the shape on the eye that I created and I like the silver and black ombre lips.  However, the blusher does not show up as well as strongly as I would have liked, so this is something that could be improved for next time.  Also, I would have liked for the silver dots under the eyes to be more prominent.  To do this, I would make them slightly bigger or maybe even change the colour of them.

Contemporary Kit Kat Girl: Make-up and Hair Practices

Having chosen my final designs for my contemporary Kit Kat Girl Cabaret character, I have tested the ideas out to ensure that they look how I imagine them to, and I feel that they both are.

The make-up is fairly easy to create, however it takes quite a while to get the eye shape exactly right and equal on both sides.  When actually creating my final image for this character,  I need to make sure that I can get it as equal as I did here.  I will also need to concentrate on the lip colour, because of the ombre style that I have chosen.

For the hair, I am happy with the style of straight hair at the back and finger waves at the front.  I think that this is a design that is simple, yet effective, and will look good along with the make-up.  When creating the hairstyle for the final image, I need to make sure that I get enough definition in the finger waves at the front of the hair.

Contemporary Kit Kat Girl: Make-up and Hair Design

Above is my make-up design for my contemporary Kit Kat Girl character.  I have chosen to use mainly black and silver colours for my design, as my character is a showgirl and I can picture her to have quite glittery and dark eyes.

To create the look, I would start by applying foundation in the correct shade to match my model's skin tone.  I would then contour her face quite heavily in order to get good definition of her face shape.  Then I would apply Illamasqua's Laid cream blusher in a liney motion along each cheekbone.  After that I would powder the whole face and then concentrate on the eye area.  I would begin this area by creating the angular shape on each eyelid.  Once the shape is equal, I would then fill it in with black eyeshadow, and blend the top line slightly.  Then I would create a line using black eyeshadow on the under side of the eyebrows, and then I would comb some silver cream shadow through the top half of the eyebrow.  Then I would apply mascara to both top and bottom lash lines, and finish the eyes by adding silver dots underneath the eyes, from the middle to the outer corner.

To finish the look off I would then apply a black lip colour to the whole lip, and then add a silver product to the middle of the inner lips.

Above is my hair design for my contemporary Kit Kat Girl Cabaret character.  For this hairstyle, I have opted to create a deep set side parting with big defined finger waves at the front on the side with more hair.  The front hair on the other side would be pinned behind the ear, and then the rest of the hair straightened and made sleek and smooth.

Contemporary Kit Kat Girl: Moodboard and Inspiration

Above is a moodboard that I created with inspiration for my contemporary cabaret character.  I have used images from the 1920s as well as contemporary fashion images and some shots taken from the film Party Monster.

From looking at inspiration for my character design, I have had some initial ideas.  These ideas include bright colours in the make-up, similar to the middle bottom photo.  Some other ideas that I have had for the make-up involve dark eyes and lips and some glitter in places, and another idea involves making it more 1920s with a contemporary spin.  For example, similar to the photo in the bottom right corner.

For the hair, I want to include finger waves at the front of the hair, flowing into a more contemporary style at the back.  For example, I might incorporate plaits in the hairstyle or just keep it all down.  I know that I definitely want to keep the hair long and sleek though, as I think that this is more contemporary.

Party Monster

Party Monster is a film that is set in the 1980s and 90s New York Club scene.  Based on the true story and novel Disco Bloodbath by James St James, the film sees the life of club promoter and party organiser Michael Alig spiral out of control when he announces that he has killed his friend and roommate, Angel Melendez.

The film was really interesting to watch, and it was insightful to see the similarities and differences between that and Cabaret.  I feel that Michael Alig and Sally Bowles are quite similar characters.  This is because they both seem to live for the lifestyle of the night.  For Sally Bowles, she lives to perform at the Kit Kat Club in the evenings, whereas for Michael Alig, he lives to dress up and go out to get 'wasted' and dance the night away at the underground clubs in New York.

James St James and Michael Alig in the film Party Monster
Available: http://herlifewithbooks.com/2013/02/21/all-roads-lead-to-ya-lit-sex-drugs-edition/

References:

- Varma, S. (n.d.). Party Monster. Available: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0320244/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl. Last accessed 12th Nov 2014.

Research: Leigh Bowery; the Original Club Kid

Leigh Bowery
Pawlock, W.  Available: http://www.pawlok.com/
pictures/werner-pawlok-photographer-leigh-bowery-1863
-1449.html

Leigh Bowery was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, actor, model and fashion stylist, who was based in London.  He was a very influential figure in the 1980s and 90s, especially within fashion and art circles.  Bowery inspired a whole generation of artists and designers, including Alexander McQueen, Boy George, the Scissor Sisters, John Galliano, and Lucien Freud.

Leigh Bowery was born on the 16th March 1961.  He felt alienated from his conservative surroundings from a young age, his method of escape being to read British fashion magazines, through which he learned about London.  In 1980, Bowery then moved to London where he became a regular at local clubs and was recognised for his eccentric outfits of which he had designed himself.
He was best known as a club promoter and nightlife fixture.  In 1985 Leigh Bowery opened a nightclub with his friend Tony Gordan, which they named 'Taboo'.  Taboo originated as an underground party, but it soon became the making of what clubs should be about.  It was known for it's defiance of sexual convention and for being about excess.  Taboo nights were all about dressing outrageously and having a great time.  The more extremely a person dressed to go to Taboo would have meant that they were more likely to be given free entry and a free drink by Bowery.

These nights were all about dressing to impress, but a new romanticism came about through just getting ready to go out.  People would spend hours getting ready to go out, and then wouldn't even make it to the club because they had spent so long dressing themselves up.  It became a weirdly wonderful type of art form, through which it allowed anyone to become an artist.
As well as being a key character of the nightclub scene, Bowery also participated in performance arts as he was well connected with the theatre and arts circles.  Whenever he performed, he would do so in either face paints or masks as he was always aiming to shock people wherever he could.  Bowery also served as a model sometimes, posing nude for Lucien Freud a few times.

Leigh Bowery was the first person to have made a living being outrageously himself in a costume.  However as soon as he took his clothes of for Freud's portraits of him, he suddenly became this new, private person, and this became a new kind of performance for him.  Fashion was everything for Bowery, always dressing up in his own creations (which he saw as a performance in itself).  He dressed up for an audiences reaction.  Bowery's fashion looks continued into the daytime, with him still dressed so over the top that he looked threatening and confusing to passers by.  Bowery took fashion in a completely new direction, being described as "his own best creation".  His costumes and clothing that he made could have sold really well and it's been argued that he could have been a very successful fashion designer, had he not been unwilling to share his style.

Although Leigh Bowery had been identified as gay for many years, he married his friend Nicola Bateman in May 1994.  Their wedding served more as an art performance between the 2 of them rather than a proposal of love.  However after 7 short months of being married, Leigh Bowery died on New Years Eve of that year due to an AIDS related illness.

Leigh Bowery's various outfits
Available: http://galleryhip.com/leigh-bowery.html
http://monuque.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/most-important-designers-in-history-of.html
http://artblart.com/2013/01/27/exhibition-xtravaganza-staging-leigh-bowery-at-kunsthalle-wien-vienna/

References:

- Anon. (n.d.). The Legend of Leigh Bowery. Available: http://agnautacouture.com/2014/11/09/the-legend-of-leigh-bowery-part-one/. Last accessed 10th Nov 2014.

- The Legend of Leigh Bowery, 2002 [online video]. Directed by Charles Atlas. [viewed 10th November 2014]. Available from: http://agnautacouture.com/2014/11/09/the-legend-of-leigh-bowery-part-one/

Club Culture: An Introduction

The next part of this project is based on club culture and the club kids of today.  For this part of the project, I will look at the film Party Monster and compare it to Cabaret.  I will be looking at the characters in both films/books and I will create a contemporary version of one of the characters from Goodbye to Berlin.

I am looking forward to starting this part, as I am really intrigued to research more about club kids and one of the key club kids of all times; Leigh Bowery.  Having read briefly about him I am excited to learn more about his life and what he did for the club culture in London.  Moreover, I am excited to contemporise one of the characters from Goodbye to Berlin, because I feel that this task will allow me to be a lot more creative.

1980s Club Kids
Available: http://marcosbatuecas.tumblr.com/post/5199813830/introducing-the-club-kids

Assessment Two: My Partner Creating My Design

My partner was very professional in the assessment when she created my historical Fraulein Kost design on me.  She set up her station well, was hygienic in the way she applied the make-up, and seemed fairly confident with what she was doing.

My partner applied a good coverage of foundation and created a good eyebrow shape.  I like the way that she applied the eyeshadow and the lip shape was good, although could have been more even on both sides.

The hairstyle was also very good, however I would have liked for a more defined finger wave at the front and coming onto the face a bit more.  However I am very pleased with the overall outcome and think that my partner did a great job in creating my design.

Assessment One: Me Creating My Partner's Design

My partner provided me with clear and concise instructions in order to create her historical character from Goodbye to Berlin.  Her chosen character was Fraulein Kost.  I liked the designs she had chosen for her make-up and hair and I think that I executed them well in the way she would have wanted, however there are some things that I could have done better.  For example, I think that the hair could have been done better at the back, with a thicker layer of curls over the backcombed hair.  I also think that the lip colour could have been a bit darker, but I struggled to build it up to the exact shade that my partner wanted.

I like the headpiece that my partner chose to accompany her hair design, however I found it a struggle to get it in the correct place, weaved in and out of the hairstyle.  She wanted the hair to cover the elasticated parts of the accessory, and I think that I managed this well, even though I did struggle to get it in the right place.

My Partner's Historical Character: Make-up and Hair Designs and Practices

Above are the designs that my partner has created for her historical character that I will be creating in our assessment.  For the hair she wants me to create a version of the 1930's waved bob that we learnt in class the other week, but with the curls being looser and the front to be in a defined finger wave arrangement.

For the make-up, she wants rosy cheeks with the blusher being applied in a way that makes the face look rounder.  She then wants thin and elongated eyebrows, with a dark two tone eyeshadow and with mascara on both lash sets, but with more definition with the lower lashes.  Then for the lips, my partner wants the shape to be a bow with the colour being a deep purple.

Here are my practice creations of my partner's make-up and hair design on her.  The hairstyle is a simple one to do, however I need to practice defining the finger waves that she wants at the front of her hair.  The make-up is fairly easy to replicate as well.  In the assessment I just need to make sure that I build up enough colour on the eyes and lips in order to achieve the correct shade that my partner wants.  I also need to be careful with the lip shape, as I do find it quite tricky to change the shape of lips.

Anita Berber: Continuity Week Two

 

I am very pleased with the outcome of my second continuity images for my Anita Berber design.  I think that I managed to successfully recreate the look that I created last week, even though I had a few hiccups in the process.

Overall the process was not the best, as I forgot to pack the original eyeliner that I used for last week's shoot and I was running behind on my timings.  However I had luckily packed a different eyeliner, so I used that one, meaning that I just had to build it up a bit more so that it came out the same darkness and the previous week.

Though despite the difficulties that I faced, I still feel that I created a good version of my design and one very similar to the one that I created last week.  Overall I am happy with the outcome.

Anita Berber: Continuity Week One

 

Overall, I was happy with the outcome of my first Anita Berber creation as I feel that I executed my design well, and I like the combination of the dark eyes with the red lips.  I think that I applied the make-up well to my model's face, however I do feel that I could have applied it a bit thicker.

The hair design went best out of the two for me, as I feel I am generally better and more confident when it comes to designing and creating hair.  I also really like the hair design that I used because  I find it easy to create, especially in the short space of time that I had today.

All round I had just 45 minutes to create my hair and make-up designs on my model, and I am happy that I managed to stick to these timings, although I was panicking previously about getting it complete in time.

Fraulein Kost: Make-up and Hair Design

For the make-up design for my historical Fraulein Kost Cabaret character, I have opted for dark eyes and lips.  This is because the character is a prostitute, so I imagine her to have very heavy and dark make-up and I imagine that she would apply more on top of what was there from the day before, rather than cleaning her skin daily to reapply fresh in the morning.

To create this look, my partner will begin by applying Kryolan Alabaster foundation all over my face and neck.  She will then powder over the foundation and apply Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Ambition in a circular motion on my cheeks to make them appear fuller and rounder.  She will then apply a dark brown eyeshadow through the bottom bit of my eyebrow and elongate it, bringing it down to my temple and in line with the outer corner of my eye.  Then she will apply Sleek Storm emerald green eyeshadow all over my eyelids and in the crease she will apply black eyeshadow, also from the Sleek Storm range and blend it out a bit.  After that she will apply mascara to the top and bottom lashes, and she will complete the look by applying the LC008 lip colour from the Kryolan lip palette to my lips in the 'rose bud' lip shape that was typical of the 1920s.

The hairstyle that I have opted for for my Fraulein Kost character is fairly simple, involving finger waves at the front and then tight, short curls at the back.
To achieve the hairstyle my model will begin by creating a deep set parting on the right side.  She will then part a front section and create barrel curls sitting longways and going down my head.  With the rest of my hair she will curl it all, pinning it to set until it cools.  Then once the curls have cooled she will take them out and pull them apart a bit with her fingers.  With the front section, she will then manipulate the hair into waves, hold in place with sectioning clips, spray with some firm hold hairspray and wait for them to set.  Once they have set she will take the sectioning clips out and spray the whole hairstyle with some hairspray.

Anita Berber: Make-up and Hair Design

For when thinking about our Anita Berber designs, we were told to design it in the way that we would picture her to have looked when she went to sit for the painting that Otto Dix did of her.  In my mind, I believe that she would have just come from the club or place that she would have been performing at the night before, with last night's hair, make-up and outfit on.  From the research that I have previously done and from finding out about her lifestyle, I believe that Anita Berber would not look after herself very well, and that she would have thick layers of make-up on.  When creating my designs I will take these ideas into consideration and apply the make-up quite thickly and heavily.  Although I have used the painting by Otto Dix (above left) as inspiration for this design, I have not looked at it in too much detail because I want my design to be from my own thoughts and I do not want to just copy what I think that I can see in a painting.

 Above is my make-up design for the Anita Berber continuity character that I will be creating in class over the next 2 weeks.  I have chosen a dark eye for this design with a slightly smudgy effect, as I believe that she would have just come from a show the night before to sit for the painting that Otto Dix created of her the next morning.  For the lips I have opted for a red colour, as I feel that this colour would have represented her flirtatious ways.

For the hair design, I have opted for the 1920s/30s waved bob that we learnt in class the other day.  However, when creating it I plan to pull it out more to give it a looser effect and make it a bit messier.

Studio: The 1930s Waved Bob

Equipment needed:

- Curling tongs

- Pintail comb

- Paddle brush

- Vita point

- Hair grips

- Hair band

How to:

- Plug in the tongs using a heat number that is appropriate for the model's hair type

- Create a deep side parting in the hair, following the point of the eyebrow straight up to the hairline

- Part a front section of hair on either side, from the top of the head to just behind the ear

NOTE: The front of the hair wants more lift than the back so think about hair directions

- Start with the top section of hair at the front of the head and curl the hair with the tongs all the way down to the root

- Remove the tong and secure with a sectioning clip to set in a barrel curl

NOTE: The curls want to be curled down onto the head and if the model has very long hair then do not pay too much attention to the ends of the hair as they will be tucked away

- On the thinner front section of hair, create two barrel curls directing them backwards onto the head

- Take the top layer of hair from the back section and create more curls, securing them in random directions

- Backcomb the remaining of the back hair, working in sections from the bottom, up

- Tie the ends of the backcombed hair and roll it around your fingers to the nape of the neck and secure it with pins and grips

- Move the hair into place with a pintail comb

- Remove the back layer of curls and break them apart with a pintail comb

- Gently backcomb the ends of the curls with your fingers

- Bring the curls around and under the backcombed hair, pinning at the nape of the neck

- Remove the curls from the bigger front section and brush out the curls

- Use a small amount vita point to smooth the hair

- Use your comb to manipulate the hair into a finger wave shape and secure with grips by weaving them through the hair

- Leave the ends to blend with the bob, unless they are much longer, then tuck them round the sides and pin

- Remove the curls from the other side, brush out and smooth with vita point

- Sweep the hair back and pin behind the ear, leaving the ends to blend with the bob

- Finish by fixing with hairspray

Evaluation:

I found this a very useful technique to learn as I knew didn't know a lot about 1930s hair before this lesson.  I found the techniques simple, yet effective.  When I first tried this hairstyle I think that I had too thin a layer of curls at the back, meaning that they did not cover the backcombed hair as well as I would have liked them to.