Mike Libby- insect lab

Mike Libby- insect lab

http://insectlabstudio.com/

‘Born of science fiction, fact and fable, since 1999, Insect Lab customizes preserved insect specimens with mechanical components, antique watch parts, sewing machines, gadgets and various nuts and bolts.  From small beetles to large grasshoppers to fleeting dragonflies, each handmade work by me aims to be a spirited and luxurious celebration of biology and engineering’

though not his primary style the insect lab was first created in 1999 when the artist found a beetle, completely intact, in which he hollowed out and placed within in the critter, from that point Mike Libby has been expanding using a wider variety of bugs and arachnids to create these niche sculptures, taking inspiration from science fiction in which he also used to develop his work, talking to novelists and other artists bringing him to where he is today. all the insects that are used in this work have either been found dead by the artist or purchased from licensed providers of common species.

The art itself is delicate however, the metal components give the original organism a far studier appearance, in addition to this the artist uses materials that are harmonious and complementary to the insects, such as brasses and golds for an insect that is brown in colour, or more golds for something like a black beetle. in addition to this Mike’s art does fit into the steampunk genre utilising natural forms and making them appear mechanical.

when I discovered this artist’s work there was absolutely no doubt that he would be one of my chosen artists as both the engineering elements, bugs and science fiction are all some of my favorite themes within art and media. catching insects was a large part of my spring and summer pastime as a child, equipped with a net and magnifying glass, entranced by the iridescent chitin and bright colours, while engineering and biology became later interests stemming from this, opting to take engineering over business and biology into A level discovering the mechanics of the constructions of man and nature.

 

Coventry motor museum

Coventry motor museum

The Coventry motor museum focuses on the development of automotive through the years and the future technology that may be implemented to provide many befits to travel such as fuel conservation and other forms of greener travel in addition to creating entirely different means of transportation entirely. 
The entire museum is organised in chronological order displaying many means of transportation, also the make of the vehicle is also displayed with other like vehicles, in addition to the date and make of the vehicles notice events such as world war 1 in which uses a verity of stimuli such as low lighting and sounds in a reconstruction of a ww1 environment of both the battlefield and back in England.

Exhibitions
The start of the exhibition begins with many bicycles that line shelves also in chronological order. All kinds of bicycle made to accommodate the needs of various people of bygone times such as large Victorian dresses. Most of the cycles have little to no paintwork due to age, however the more recent of the exhibits do tent to be in better condition. the rest of the galley also consist of exhibitions organised in this way, ranging from motor bikes to cars of the future, even horse drawn carts were included. some of the rooms also features a theme such as war and the future.

World war 1 and 2

the largest exhibition within the Coventry motor museum features a series of vehicles used for the war effort, such as convoys and even tanks. however, it was just the vehicles alone that made this exhibition notable would be the scenery put into this giving it a sense of being thrown into a war-torn city complete with sounds lighting and interactive environments making this exhibition far more impressive.

future designs

toward the end of the gallery trail was another large section dedicated to the construction of revolutionary and pioneering designs for transport and breaking records. this exhibition features a display case showing a small variety of these designs such as cars designed for road transport, others for on difficult terrain and others to achieve extreme speed.  

summary

being close to home I have visited this museum many time and seen exhibitions come and go as well as seen layouts change, however the war exhibition has remained steadfast throughout the many years in which it has existed. the primary function of this museum is to offer an educational experience rather than that offered by an art gallery which makes it perfect for my theme of mechanics.

Elizabeth Berrien

Elizabeth Berrien

utilising over 40 years of experience the wire sculptor Elizabeth Berrien creates all manner of wildlife and constructs that appear frozen and fragmented as though life itself was paused and stripped down to but a few intertwining strands that twist and layer into her art. this document will be focusing on the analysis of the art of Elizabeth Berrien as well as my personal preferences and reasonings.

most often within the art world wire is used as a base that is hidden behind other materials such as plaster, however Berrien chooses to show the detail of the bare wire emphasising on how it layers and twists into both two dimensional and three dimensional compositions that seemingly merge perfectly into a space without making itself the centre but still drawing the gaze, this for an artist is a great achievement to be subtle and bold simultaneously. furthermore, it is not just the medium and subject that make her art desirable, it is also the style in which she sculpts following the contour and muscular structure of the wildlife and harsh lines of machinery like a design sculpted on a modelling software.

the path that lead Elizabeth Berrien to creating sculpture stemmed from both a love of wildlife and the well-known hardships of being a left-handed artist, as well as the encouragement of others that guided her to her preferred style. in her younger years, she expressed having difficulty in portraying her creative ideals using pencil, however the use of crochet and other weaving based activities proved to be far more satisfactory, however she later applied this to wire and thus began to develop her art from there.  

Personally, I am drawn to the three-dimensional Pegasus and dragon, however this is mostly due to my bias as mythology and legend is one of my favourite artistic themes, the skill and time put into each of these is also another factor, using the wire to form the creatures to appear in movement.