ROCK BOTTOM COUTURE

I sketched this idea on my iPad, it is an ironic and humorous take on the famous Juicy Couture joggers that have Juicy written on the backside. They have been copied by so many brands.

What if I was to glue rhinestones on to a pair of trousers with Rock Bottom written over the bottom.

It is both literal, but ironic. The diamonds and baby pink would usually be associated with a sexiness, highlighting the wearer's booty. But instead it says Rock Bottom. It is funny, ironic, and quite ridiculous. They would play into the Sad Clown Paradox that I have researched. Is the wearer trying to make people laugh, but actually double bluffing because they feel depressed? Is it a fashionable cry for help? Could we go so far as to wear our emotions like branding on clothes?

I did actually purchase diamantes and glue but ran out of time to make this! Perhaps an opportunity in my next project.

LIGHTING - EL WIRE

I purchased some EL Wire from Amazon. This is a flexible coloured tube with a LED wire inside and a battery pack attached. I decided to use a texture canvas I had experimented with earlier in the project. I very loosely sketched the words Rock Bottom on the canvas and tried to follow the text with the wire. I had to make a small hole in the canvas to hide the battery pack. The wire itself is not very flexible so I quickly learnt this was going to be an experiment rather than a final piece. I secured each twist and turn with some masking tape, knowing that this would not be seen in the dark. This was very difficult! It kept popping off the canvas and wasn't easily manipulated. When I turned the battery pack on I noticed that the light was extremely dim. However once I finished I took the finished canvas to a dark room and tried to capture the effect. As you can see from the video it did definitely emulate the Neon/LED signs that I've been looking at, however it was just too loose and abstract for my own style.

I left it in my space overnight and when I returned it had popped off through the tape (SEE PIC 6)

I unintentionally made a piece of ephemeral art!

I can re-use the wire so I will experiment with it on my finished sign.

THE SAD CLOWN PARADOX

The Sad Clown Paradox is a philosophy, stemming back to the 1800's. The idea that comedians and those with humour, are often the people affected most by depression. The outward need to please and make people laugh, can coincide with crippling mental health behind close doors.

For example, Robin Williams, an extremely famous and revered actor and comedian, ended his own life to the shock of the world. How can someone so funny be so depressed?

A joke dating from at least the 19th century exemplifies the sad clown paradox. The joke involves a doctor recommending his depressed patient to visit a great clown in town (typically named "Pagliacci"), but it turns out that the patient is actually the clown out of costume.

This phenomena has been discussed and displayed in art work, poetry, novels, music, film and real life for centuries.

Stańczyk, Jan Matejko, 1862

This piece dated 1862 shows a sad clown, which in itself is a contradiction. This early art work breaks down the 'mask' and shows a melancholy clown in a dark room, breaking the expectation of happiness and joy from the person that makes everyone laugh and entertains for a living.

There has been extensive research into the Sad Clown Paradox, as it is so common. Humour is often used in times of turmoil, to break the sadness or tension in the air, once again masking true feelings to appear outwardly happy.

The Tears of a Clown, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, 1978

This song from 1978 is upbeat in a major key. However the lyrics depict a man 'camoflaguing' his sadness and pretending to be happy to 'fool the public'. For the time, it is very profound, particularly for a man to be talking about being depressed and pretending to be fine. In the 70s, mental health really wasn't spoken about.