Blog 4
Reading through the blog post website, it was interesting to see other people’s responses to the Better Lives unit and the creative outcomes that people have produced. Reading everyone’s views and responses gave me a new perspective on the unit and it was refreshing to see new approaches to the ideas and work we were presented with, as well as the knowledge that people have gained from this unit.
I have chosen to peer review Molly Zapletal’s third blog post where she reflected on her Make Up Breakdown Project. I really enjoyed reading her blog post, as I have an interest in makeup myself. Molly discussed the disruption that the lockdown caused to her project, being at home meant that there was no access to the professional makeup that was used in class, therefore people turned to unconventional methods to develop their ideas. She also wrote about the further limitation of only being able to do the makeup on herself due to the lockdown being imposed. She linked this perfectly to the theme of sustainability and how people can innovate by using new and unexpected methods and materials to overcome obstacles in unprecedented times.
I enjoyed reading about how she used lace from an old project instead of conventional makeup to develop her ideas, again linking to the theme of sustainability by recycling materials. It was refreshing to read about the environmental consciousness in her decision and how she put the Better Lives themes into practice within her work. Recycling materials was not something that I considered using within my own project, and reading about this gave me inspiration for what I could do differently within my own work in the future.
Molly also wrote her final design being influenced by the New Romantics era, and being inspired by the key theme of diversity within the lectures at the start of the unit. Although limited in the final outcome due to the lockdown, it shows that she again considered the Better Lives themes within her work. She then spoke about wanting to create her makeup look on a man which links in with themes of diversity. Finally, she wrote about her intentions to explore the Better Lives themes in greater detail within her discipline of Costume for Performance.
It is refreshing to read about how Molly overcame the obstacles she faced caused by the pandemic, approaching them in a thoughtful, environmentally conscious and innovative way. I think that she has reflected fully on themes of diversity and sustainability within her writing. There could have been a mention of social responsibility, however it is difficult to include all themes into one project, and there will be future opportunities for this. Maybe she could have considered social responsibility in terms of where she acquired the materials from. Overall, It is clear that she has taken the ideas and themes behind the Better Lives unit on board and will continue to utilise this knowledge within her future work.
Link to Molly’s original blog post: https://1920betterlivessmc.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2020/05/10/blog-post-3-31/