You really don't want to know the "yaadee yaadee" parts of this project but I thought you might be interested in what I've been doing with violins recently.

First, I made a violin out of a carrot and stuck it on a plinth...


Then I found a violin chrysalis shedding it's skin in the kitchen...


Actually it's all part of my Masters in Contemporary Art.. "Deconstructing the Icon" in a sort of existentially subverted way.. blah blah blah (insert lots of theoretical philosophy here)! Next week I'll be photographing my violin up a tree!

.. all in the name of ART

Best place for it, I'd say...

That's seriously cool, Lottie!

What are you using as a background in the photographs and what camera / flash set up are you using.

Can I have a turnip one please, Lottie?

I think the carrot one is great.

The carrot's great! What about an orchestra of vegetables, sitting on a bed of gravy and conducted by a metallic little conductor, constructed somehow from bits of Swiss army knives? (He being the sculptor that shapes the music? )

That's very profound!

Mole

How about a bed of mashed potato? You could sculpt that to look like a stage and could also give the conductor a little platform.

Oh help, I was afraid somebody might notice my amateurish photography

I was using a digital SLR with the flash turned off, a black paper background and a daylight bulb lamp to the right to try to create shadow. This is as sharp as I could get the photograph because my tripod, with shutter-release cable, was almost as bad as my hand-held camera shake!!! Any suggestions to improve it would be welcome because the carrot/violin is in a bowl of water in the fridge and should last another few days




Intriguing

My next plan is to make a violin out of cheese, position it in a perspex box, and take still photographs as it rots.

post them!
the carrot is certainly interesting.

Have you thought about setting up a video camera, leaving it on constantly, then after say a week, speed it up, and watching it go through the process? that would be interesting.

Artists. You're a weird lot. My brother-in-law wanted to do an art project that involved putting a rubber nun doll in my rats cage and taking regular photos as they chewed it up (as they do with anything that goes in their cage). It didn't happen in the end, but I'd probably have said no on the grounds of how much rubber my ratlets would have ended up eating...

I had thought about this but it involved suspending an instrument in a tank of water and filming it come apart and hopefully seeing the strings rust. It may take too long tho but would make an interesting loop

Very much the opposite Lottie, I thought it very good.

I use a Canon 400D myself and tend to do landscapes.

I have a Canon 400D too

I also have a Panasonic Lumix fs-20 which I carry all the time in a pocket - it's automatic only and it's surprisingly good for landscapes

Actually, the strings will not rust if completely immersed in water. It is necessary to have air as well as water to make iron rust. Try putting a nail a) completely, b) partially immersed in a jar of water. The first will not rust, the second will, near the air/water interface.

Now, just to get a little sensible here.... I needed to photograph a violin up a tree. Well okay it's a viola really Hiking through the woods with six dogs (understandable) and a viola-case (questionable) was good fun though - lucky I have these woods to myself

Anyway to continue my contextual deconstruction of the 'Violin as Icon' (Existentialism 101).. here are some I made earlier...

This is called 'Mother and Child Reunited'...


And this is called 'Limbs'


These photos will be sharpened and highlighted before being printed as posters.

(and don't worry about Agapanthus, there's not a scratch on him )

The 'Mother and Child' concept is interesting. Nice idea!

Yes but I put the wrong photo on - changing it for a better one now... done

Have you done any more pictures?

Not yet, but I 'presented' my carrot violin at a Uni tutorial (dressed up in philosophy) so we all had a good laugh!

I am thinking of something involving a ploughed field and a violin....

You will need to explain the meaning of all that! Simple Engineer here.

Those would be good background pics for a recital poster!

I once sawed a violin in half for an A level art project and painted it to look vaguely Cubist. I was quite proud of it at the time (and just hope the instrument's value was not too high beforehand). Might see if I have any photos...