Anna Backlund

The only other person I have been able to find who uses tufting as a process is Anna Backlund for House of Rym and she has only ever done this once so far.. this in itself is a good comparison though as it shows the rarity of this technique. Her work is also quite different as it is much more commercial and literal - it is aimed at an audience and hopefully one that will be willing to purchase.

Caroline Achaintre & Idols

To emphasise the importance of masks in the tribal cultures Achaintre has stated inspire her, I am going to compare how the masks represented gods or ancestors and where highly important to the cultures I will discuss whether it is therfore coincidence that her piece 'Fever' wears glasses similar to those championed by John Lennon - a modern day icon -  in the 70s.

Damien Poulain

When I first saw Caroline Achaintres work I was struck by the tribal totem pole similarities and later my research showed she is inspired by 'Primitivism'.
I wanted to find an artist who is also inspired by similar themes as Achaintre but with different results and I have come across Damien Poulain. He is also inspired by totem.poles but his work is much more commercial and pop, verybright and colourful. Made from wood they are complete opposites to Achaintres work..

Article Layout Research

I've been researching different article layouts and found these in UCLans library:

The two above caught my eye for an interesting use in text layout..the first cuts out the implied shape of a cd and the second has an angular slice cut through.

The above caught my eye because of the use of bright neon colours.. I don't think this colour scheme will particularly suit my topic as Achaintre's work is much more earthy in tone. However, I think these articles highlight the importance of colour. I also like different aspects of these designs. In the top one I like the grid of boxes that combines images and words; this could maybe be used to highlight certain quotes and for smaller less important imagery that links to the main article.

In the second layout I like the use of post it notes giving it a more interesting and informal look. In the third layout I like how the text 'Zuntobel Group' overlaps the areicle text but doesn' distract with good use of colour contrast.

I found the use of text in the above two really interesting though they are completely different. The top one is very graphic, large bold letters in strong colours it is very eyecatching and I like the way emphasis is put on certain words with the use of size. The lower article has ingeniously used wool to write the title of an article about sheep's wool. In a way that is relevant, intresting and textural. Maybe I could do something similar as Caroline Achaintre uses wool to create her tufted artworks?!

This is a really simple layout but it allows for the beautiful photos with rich colours and details to really shine.

I also quite accidentally came across an article about Caroline Achaintre! This will be useful in writing my article but also the layout here is very simple. No colours or extra adornments; only the images of the artists work are allowed to illustrate the text.

German Expressionism

Caroline Achaintre has been inspired by the German Expressionists and this can be seen in the style of her work. I have done some research into this movement and the more I see the more I can see the link between the two.

 I have in particular picked up on the similarities in the mark making made by Achaintre's tufting and the German Expressionist's woodcuts so this is something I want to explore in my essay. I will now have to research a specific artist and their work to exemplify this link in my essay.

Caroline Achaintre Research

I have done a lot of research online about Caroline Achaintre and her work trying to get an overall view of her process and hiw her work has been received by the art world.
Below are some of the websites I have used, next stop the library!

(TATE, Saatchi Gallery & Frieze)

Caroline Achaintre

I have decided to base my essay on Caroline Achanitre. I have never come across her work before but have learnt to tuft this year as part of my course so I am interested to learn what her work is all about. I was also instantly drawn to the large scale size of her pieces. I have started by collecting some information on the artist herself and her tufted pieces: