Contemporary Club Culture Character Final Outcomes: Kit Kat Girl

Today I completed my final photoshoot of this project, my contemporary Club Culture Character, a Kit Kat Girl from Weimar Berlin.  I am happy with the outcomes, I feel the photos capture the mysterious and sultry ways of the Kit Kat Girls.  Unfortunately in the first two images, the bobby pins left in the hair aren't particularly visible, even though I did use a different  colour pin to the hair, hoping they would stand out.  However, I have added a close up photo so that you can see this element of the design a little better.  If I was to improve on my look, I would of pushed my design further to make it even more abstract and contemporary.  This is something I shall bear in mind for the future when creating contemporary designs. 

My Chosen Face and Hair Charts

German Expressionist Painters: Pablo Picasso

Image Credit: Pablo Picasso - paintings,biography,quotes of Pablo Picasso. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pablopicasso.org. [Accessed 19 November 2014].

Before the age of 50, Pablo Picasso, the Spanish born artist had become the most well known name in modern art, with the most distinct style and eye for artistic creation.  Although his art career spanned over a 7 decade period, Pablo Picasso is most known for his introduction of cubism, and modern approach to painting, which set the movements to follow in to the twentieth century. 

Image Credit 1: Picasso | Guayasamin y Picasso | Pinterest. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/496873771363038640/. [Accessed 19 November 2014].

Image Credit 2: Abstract portrait 5 . [ONLINE] Available at: http://paintings.name/artists/marten-jansen/nouveau-totem.php. [Accessed 19 November 2014].

Picasso first emerged as a Symbolist influenced by the likes of Edvard Munch and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. This tendency shaped his so-called Blue Period, in which he depicted beggars, prostitutes, and various urban misfits.  In 1907, Pablo Picasso produced a painting unlike anything he or anyone else had ever painted before, "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," a chilling depiction of five nude prostitutes, abstracted and distorted with sharp geometric features and stark blotches of blues, greens and greys.

Image Credit:  Pablo Picasso – Les Demoiselles d’Avignon | My Blog . [ONLINE] Available at: http://l0wrih4f.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/pablo-picasso-les-demoiselles-davignon/. [Accessed 19 November 2014].

In Cubist paintings, objects are broken apart and reassembled in an abstracted form, highlighting their composite geometric shapes and depicting them from multiple, simultaneous viewpoints in order to create physics-defying, collage-like effects.  It’s an abstract, cubist painting, just like many others of Picasso’s work and the colours of this painting reflects African colours. Rather than using curves to draw the women he used triangles, which makes them out to be sharp, strong and quite aggressive, instead of elegant and beautiful.  This is the kind of persona I would like to try and create for my Kit Kat Girl, she is still beautiful but certain aspects of her have to be strong and quite brutal to survive in the industry she has decided to pursue. 

Having done some abstract painting style make up in class already at the beginning of the semester and really enjoying it, I thought this would be a fun and creative way to put a contemporary twist on a 1920's/ 1930's style look.  Using lines to create shape to the face is different to anything I have created before, and to me really incorporates the kind of modern feel we are looking for within this project. 

Stanislavski's Acting Technique- Contemporary Post 10 & 11

Actioning

For this post, I have taken a look at my scene and chosen an active verb for my character. My next step is to begin to think about how I will translate that in make-up and hair?

'TO TELL'

The verb I have chosen from Act One, Scene Four of the Cabaret Script is 'to tell'.  To tell is to: 

1. give an account or narrative of; narrate; relate (a story, tale, etc.):

2. to make known by speech or writing (a fact, news, information, etc.); communicate.

3. to announce or proclaim.

4. to utter (the truth, a lie, etc.).

5. to express in words (thoughts, feelings, etc.).

6. to reveal or divulge (something secret or private).

7.to say plainly or positively:

Within the scene, the Kit Kat Girls are both telling the world about their problems, but also asking for their parents not to be told about their life in the Kit Kat Club.  They are constantly telling the audience "don't tell mama, whatever you do".  

To dance is definitely the key word I picked out in this scene. Dancing is quite possibly what the Kit Kat Girls life revolves around, it is their passion and what they primarily want to pursue a career in.  It is said in the scene that the girls are wearing very seductive, lacy outfits.  To match the hair and make up to this, I would probably create a dark brown smokey eye to add to the sultry effect of the look.  As the look is supposed to be contemporary, I would maybe use some abstract style painting techniques on the face.  I think a good and bold colour to use, would be red.  Red is a colour known to symbolise love and passion, and the love these girls have for their job is huge.  Red is also a deep and mysterious colour that would again add to the seductive side of their personality. 

Stanislavski's Acting Technique- Contemporary Post 8 & 9

Why does my Kit Kat Girl want it NOW and what will happen if she doesn't get it?

My Kit Kat Girl wants to live her life to the fullest and experience new things because thats a life she has never had before.  She has come from a very guarded family that never allowed her to go out, to express her creativity or wear any kind of revealing clothes.  If she didn't get what she wanted, she would keep trying to pursue her dream of being on a stage bigger than the stage in the Kit Kat Club.  She will keep dressing herself up and carry on working at the Kit Kat Club until someone notices that she is special. 

Stanislavski's Acting Technique- Contemporary Posts 5, 6 & 7

Where has my Kit Kat Girl just come from? 

• As my character is on stage in my chosen scene, I think they would have just come from the dressing room.  They would have been topping up their extravagant, bold make up to make sure that it is visible under the bright lights on stage.  In the dressing room, the Kit Kat Girls would have been smoking, the air would be musty.  Although it may smell of smoke, there is an overpowering smell of perfume.

What does she want and why?

• My Kit Kat Girl wants to be young and free.  Her parents believe that she is with a lady chaperone in Antwerp, however she isn't and has gained a new found freedom being a Kit Kat Girl.  Before moving to Berlin, she came from a very religious and guarded family and being in Berlin has allowed her to express her creativity, to be herself.  Through extravagant dancing, eccentric outfits and crazy hair and  make up, she has gained many new life experiences. 

Contemporary Moodboard

Initial Contemporary Design Inspiration

Stanislavski's Acting Techniques- Contemporary Post 4

When is the scene? What is the season? Time of day?

Having chosen my scene from the script, I already know that the scene is set on the evening of New Years Eve, 1929.  The evening would obviously be cold due to the time of year and the Kit Kat Girls would arrive to the club in their long coats, although they'd be wearing very minimal clothes underneath this.  The streets would be much busier than usual, with people out celebrating the start of a new year.  A lot of people would be in the Kit Kat Klub watching the girls perform, however as the clock strikes twelve many people would gather on the streets where fireworks would be lit.  The atmosphere would be different than usual, a lot happier, with less worry about Wiemar Berlin's economic and political position.  The citizens of Wiemar Berlin would come together, even if it was only for one night, with people standing with their arms around each other.  

Image Credit: Brassai on Pinterest | 541 Pins. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pinterest.com/martinkc/brassai/. [Accessed 17 November 2014].

Stanislavskis Acting Techniques- Contemporary Posts 1, 2 & 3

Who is my character and what scene were they in? 

Kit Kat Klub Girl 

I decided to choose a Kit Kat Girl as my contemporary Club Culture character, as I feel like they show a completely different type of character to what I portrayed through my previous character of Sally Bowles.  When I created my historical version of Sally Bowles, she was very naive and childlike due to her insecurities about the lifestyle she was living.  However, to me, the Kit Kat Girls are ported to be living life to the very fullest, with no worries about other peoples opinions.  With this in mind, I feel I can create a unique contemporary design using lots of colour, shape and texture to emphasise their fun, cheeky attitude. 

Image Credit:  Cabaret kitkat girls on Pinterest. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pinterest.com/janecj55/cabaret-kitkat-girls/. [Accessed 17 November 2014].

• My chosen scene would be at a time when you can see what the Kit Kat Girls life really revolves around.  You would see them in their glamorous yet sleezy outfits, dancing on stage. Act One, Scene Four of the Cabaret Script is my chosen scene for this.  The scene is set on New Years Eve of 1929, the club is packed with people celebrating and the Kit Kat Girls are putting on a spectacular show. 

• During the scene, the club would be dark with various spotlights pointed on each of the Kit Kat Girls, they would be dressed in revealing and sassy outfits, even more over the top than usual as New Years Eve would have been a big event.  The music would be blaring,  the girls would look like they were having the time of their lives, even if they were extremely tired from working previous nights at the Kit Kat Klub.

• There is a certain quote that really grabbed my attention whilst I was reading this scene that I felt really expressed the Kit Kat Girls fun and outgoing personality.  One of the Kit Kat Girls says ” Mama thinks I’m on a tour of Europe, with a couple of my school chums and a lady chaperone.  Mama doesn’t have an inkling, I left them all in Antwerp and I’m touring on my own.  So please, Sir, if you run into my mama, don’t reveal my indescretion.”.  To me, this shows that although the job may be hard, these girls are living life to the fullest.

Andrew Logan & The British Guide to Showing Off

Image Credit: The British Guide to Showing Off. [ONLINE] Available at: http://andrewlogan.com/587/the-british-guide-to-showing-off. [Accessed 17 November 2014].

During today's seminar with Sharon, we watched 'The British Guide to Showing Off'.  British artist and living legend Andrew Logan, loved the world over by celebrities and misfits alike.  He takes us under his glittering wing and inside his outrageous, anarchic and spectacular costume pageant: the Alternative Miss World Show. 

Andrew Logan is an English sculptor, performance artist, jewellery-maker, portraitist and painter.  He was born at Witney, Oxfordshire, in England. He was educated as an architect at the Oxford School of Architecture, graduating in 1970. As the founder of the Alternative Miss World in 1972 (which he continues to run) he became a key figure in London's cultural and fashion life.  Andrew Logan co-hosts the event each time with a well known name from the British cultural scene. In the past, contestants have included bankers, builders, celebrities, drag queens, an elderly lady, and even a robot.

Image Credit: Andrew Logan - JungleKey.co.uk Image. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.junglekey.co.uk/search.php?query=Andrew+Logan&type=image&lang=en®ion=gb&img=1&adv=1. [Accessed 17 November 2014].

To me, Andrew Logan is a fine example of a great British eccentric, a gloriously artist and producer whose work keys into extravagant styles and amorphous sexuality.  This kind of style greatly links to the style of the Kit Kat Girls and Sally Bowles in Cabaret.  Eccentric, wild styles were a key feature in Wiemar Berlin, and this is extremely important to Andrew Logan and the contestants of the Alternative Miss World show, it allows contestants to express their individuality and portray a kind of uniqueness.  These contestants closely resemble those in Cabaret, they dress up to portray a different persona and perform on stage.  Both those in Cabaret and The British Guide to Showing Off push boundaries. 

Image Credit: Andrew Logan's Alternative Miss World | Indiegogo. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/andrew-logan-s-alternative-miss-world. [Accessed 17 November 2014].

Contemporary Kit Kat Girl Face Charts

1. My first face charts incorporates elements of both beauty make up and abstract painting style make-up.  I have decided that as the Kit Kat Girls are quite glamorous, I still want to keep that element to the look.  For this look, I will create a strong brown smokey eye, the brows will be arched and fairly thin.  To bring a contemporary feel to this look, I aim to contour and highlight the face using sharp lines.  My contour colour will be red and the highlight colour will be gold.  I feel these colours work well, as they are extravagant...just like the Kit Kat Girls.

2. My second face chart is very abstract, sticking colour to using red and gold supra colour to create the whole look.  This really brings in the element of painting style make-up.  This look is a lot messier than the previous one, so maybe wouldn't capture the glamorous side of the Kit Kat Girls so well.

3. Again, my third and final look has elements of both beauty and abstract make up.  I want to keep that dark smokey eye, at first created with shadows but then I will add lines with supra colour to add a different style to this design.  I would also use a mixture of purple shadow and supra colour around the eye to create a kind of halo.  To keep the colour theme going, I thought about contouring with purple and red supra colour, again using lines to give a painting style to the look. 

Leigh Bowery

Image Credit: [ONLINE] Available at: http://pymca.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/pymca_00015594.jpg. [Accessed 15 November 2014].

Leigh Bowery was born in 1961 in Sunshine, Victoria, Australia. Bowery moved to London at a young age, establishing himself as a fashion designer and flamboyant nightlife fixture. In 1985, Bowery opened the disco and fetish nightclub Taboo. Bowery remained active in art and theater circles until his death from AIDS-related illness in 1994.

His influence reached through the fashion, club and art worlds to impact, amongst others, Meadham Kirchhoff, Alexander McQueen, Lucian Freud, Vivienne Westwood, Boy George, Antony and the Johnsons, Lady Gaga, John Galliano, the Scissor Sisters, David LaChapelle, Lady Bunny plus numerous Nu-Rave bands and nightclubs in London and New York City which arguably perpetuated his avant garde ideas.

Image Credit: Violette Editions - Leigh Bowery Postcards. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.violetteeditions.com/books/previously_published/Leigh_Bowery_Postcards.html. [Accessed 15 November 2014].

In addition to his club activities, Bowery participated in performance art, and was well-connected within the art and theater circles of London. He often performed in face paint, lurex clothing and masks, relishing the opportunity to shock and flout convention whenever possible. Bowery also served as a model, posing nude for some of Lucien Freud's later portraits.

Image Credit: Hidden Treasures - Lucian Freud. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.hiddentreasuresthemovie.com/aboutArt/03-freud.html. [Accessed 15 November 2014 ]

References: Harvard Style

Leigh Bowery. [Internet]. 2014. The Biography.com website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/leigh-bowery-20943343 [Accessed 15 Nov 2014].

Party Monster vs Cabaret- Contemporary Club Culture

Image Credit: Party Monster - Rotten Tomatoes. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/party_monster/. [Accessed 14 November 2014].

During today's lesson with Sharon, we were introduced to the idea of Contemporary Club Culture through watching the film Party Monster, which was made in 2003.   'Party Monster'' tells the story of a young man from the provinces who finds glamour and fame in the big city, allow he finds fame he soon ruins his chances of stardom through excessive use of drugs. 

Whilst watching the film we see what New York nightlife was like in the 1980's and early 90's.  Ruled by chaotic, colourful kids, their passion for drugs, celebrities and disco led to the birth of the 'Club Kids' - a colourful gang of hedonists riding the cusp of ecstasy culture in 90s New York before addiction and murder blew their high.

Image Credit:  Holeh Pocket: [inspired by] Party Monster. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.holehpocket.com/2014/06/inspired-by-party-monster.html. [Accessed 14 November 2014].

Alig (played by Macaulay Culkin) used his life as his art and his body as his canvas,  showing the personification of Andy Warhol's inescapable adage about everyone being famous for 15 minutes.  Party Monster definitely captures the numbing excess of hedonism without any boundaries. 

To me, Party Monster and Cabaret are linked when it comes to the extreme party lifestyle, many of the characters lives in Party Monster and Cabaret are full of drugs and extremely sexual.  In Berlin  in the past, it was common to see people having sex on the dance floors. In the venues’ “dark rooms”, specifically set up for anonymous sex with strangers, there were mass orgies involving hundreds of people. The blatant sex was fuelled by brazen drug-taking just like that of the Club Kids of the 80's and 90's.

Image Credit: Review: The Rep’s “Cabaret,” a blockbuster with guts - Urban Milwaukee Dial. [ONLINE] Available at: http://urbanmilwaukeedial.com/2010/09/18/review-the-reps-cabaret-a-blockbuster-with-guts/. [Accessed 14 November 2014].

Even now, you’re only allowed into the KitKat in Berlin if you’re wearing fetish clothing or nothing at all. In the KitKat, the walls are lined with huge pornographic paintings, caters to as many as 1,500 people each weekend. Kate Moss has said it’s her favourite club in Berlin, a city she rightly calls “dark and erotic”.  This was the same in Weimar Berlin and Party Monster is eerily reminiscent of the decadence of Weimar Berlin in the 1920s and early 1930s. 

Being the Make Up Artist- Timed Assessment Outcomes

Designer: Elly 

Make Up Artist/ Hair Stylist: Myself (Hayley)

Today I completed my Timed Assessment with Elly, this week I was the Make Up Artist and Hair Stylist and Elly was the designer.  I'm very happy with how the assessment went,  I feel we used the time effectively and ended up with some lovely outcomes. 

Before the assessment, Elly and I practised both her hair and make up design so I knew exactly what Elly wanted her design to look like in person.  As we did this, I was fully prepared, I feel this really helped us, as I had a good idea of time management and how long I would need to complete each part of her design and because of this I think the timed assessment went really smoothly. 

I'm also very happy with the final photographs, I think the skin looks really smooth and polished but while still slightly showing the ageing lines and the ombre lip effect worked well.  As I have said in a previous post, I feel one part of the look that could have been applied slightly better was the brows.  I do feel I executed them better than when we practised, I just feel like they could have been a little more prominent to really emphasise that 1920's/1930's pencil thin, arched look.

Practising Elly's Final Design Idea

In preparation for my timed assessment, I practised Elly's make up design at home, to gain an insight into how exactly she wanted her design to look like, as well as organising my time management for the day.  I am happy with how our practise run went, Elly talked me through her design and how she wanted the make up to be applied, and I feel confident in all the techniques I need to use on the day to create this look.  For Friday, I feel one thing I do need to work on is the brow shape.  I slightly concealed Elly's brows, and drew above them to create the rounded, arched shape however I feel they look slightly uneven.  I will practise this for Friday in order to create a more polished brow look.

Timed Assessment Images & Peer Review of Elly

Timed Assessment 1

Designer: Hayley

Make Up Artist/ Hair Stylist: Elly

I feel like Elly was consistent through out her timed assessment; she was always very professional, organised and made sure her work station was clean and set out correctly.  Elly was communicating well with me throughout the assessment, as well as looking at the face charts and information I provided her  constantly to ensure she was using the right products.

Before the assessment, I had practised the look several times, and provided Elly with face and hair charts, as well as step by step images so that she could get an idea of what the design looked like applied on the face.  Elly also practised the look on me before the assessment.

The make-up application went really well, she definitely has a good understanding of technical skills, the base was applied seamlessly, and the blending of the eyeshadow was also done very well.  As I had experimented with a different lip shape for this look, getting the lip shape symmetrical was tricky under time pressure, but she kept calm and achieved a good outcome.  I'd say the main part of the make-up that I wasn't completely happy with was the eyebrows,  my natural brows aren't thin so changing the shape to a thinner line in a limited amount of time can be tricky.  I feel like my natural brow hair should have been concealed better to create a more polished look.  However, maybe we should have practised this a lot more before hand to be able to get this done under time pressure, that is definitely something that we should bear in mind for the future. 

The hairstyle was created well, Elly was a little bit short of time at the end, but managed to finish the style in time.  She set my hair nicely, and created the desired shape, I just would of liked a little bit more volume to the style which could of possibly been added if there was a bit more time to spare.

Overall, I think Elly is a skillful Make-Up Artist and Hair Designer, she is organised, clean and has a really good understanding and broad range of technical skills.  If I was to advise her to do anything, it would to be a little bit more conscious of the time, but this is something that can be improved easily.  She created my design well and I hope I'm able to create her design as well as she executed mine.

Final Make Up and Hair Charts

Colour Meanings- Sally Nails

From reading and watching various different re-creations of Goodbye to Berlin/Cabaret, it is very notable that Sally had green, chipped nail varnish.  In Christopher Isherwood's 'Goodbye to Berlin' he describes her nails by saying:   

"I noticed that her finger-nails were painted emerald green, a colour unfortunately chosen, for it called attention to her hands, which were much stained by cigarette smoking and as dirty as a little girl's."

In these re-creations, Sally believed that having her nails painted this colour represented 'divine decadence', it portrayed her wealthy lifestyle and glamorous persona.  However, my version of Sally isn't so glamorous, she's emotional, a broken women.  To compliment this version of Sally's persona, I thought it would be a unique idea to change the colour of her chipped nails, to something that was a little more fitting of her personality.  I have done some research on colour symbolism below. 

Red: Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger.

Pink: Love and romance, caring, tenderness, acceptance and calm. .

Yellow signifies joy, happiness, betrayal, optimism.

Blue: Peace, tranquillity, cold, calm, stability, harmony, unity.

Green: Nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, spring, generosity.

Black: Power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness.

The colour I have chosen to paint Sally's nails is black,  although black portrays power and sophistication in some cases,  it also connotes fear and unhappiness which are elements of Sally's new child-like persona.

References:

Colour Symbolism:  Symbolism of Color: Using Color for Meaning. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.incredibleart.org/lessons/middle/color2.htm. [Accessed 04 November 2014].

Sallys Bowles Nails Quote: Sally Bowles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Bowles. [Accessed 04 November 2014].

Chipped Nails Image: Renée’s Aesthetic | freshfood. [ONLINE] Available at: http://freshairboutique.wordpress.com/2013/09/05/renees-aesthetic-38/. [Accessed 04 November 2014].

Historical Hair Inspiration

After discussing my ideas for Sally with Sharon and the rest of the class, we established that I needed some more historical hair inspiration and images to support my design.  As my version of Sally is quite naive, I have decided to incorporate Marcel waves and soft curls into my hair design,  I believe this kind of styling reflects innocence well.  I aim to keep quite a soft side parting, nothing too harsh as I want the look to be quite messy and like Sally hasn't really taken that much pride in her appearance.

In Class Presentation: Feedback

• Good original idea for Sally.
• Well thought out- good visuals.
• Nice Artist inspiration- maybe include hints of ice blue in one of my Face Charts to relate to this.
• Include more black and white images.
• Great images of the setting and environment.
• More historical hair references.
• Lovely face charts but could experiment more with Eyebrow Shapes.

Character Development: Practising 1920/30s Hairstyles

After finding inspiration from sources such as Pinterest and Fashion Magazines, I thought it would be valuable to practice my chosen kind of hairstyle for my Sally Bowles character.  After practising my design, I have come to the conclusion that the style is too polished and refined for my idea of Sally, so the changes I would make would be to make the style a little messier by pulling strands of hair out of the style and allowing single pieces of hair to fall out of the style also.