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 Project 2 | Step 6. Visual Research, Toy Museum

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 Project 2 | Step 6. Visual Research, Toy Museum

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While making observations of the surrounding community, I made some collages and doodles to quickly record and organize ideas

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Documentation of street scenes, buildings,etc...

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Visit museums and galleries to gather inspiration

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Natural elements

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Figure 1. Sabine Weiss. Breton and his collection. [Online]. Available at: 愛書家日誌 在 Twitter: "シュルレアリストの巨魁、アンドレ・ブルトンの書斎です。コレクションで壁面が埋めつくされています。 #あの人の書斎 https://t.co/f2yJS7cNcW" / Twitter

Figure 2. Cover of Connoisseur Magazine. [Online]. Available at: connoisseur an illustrated magazine - 搜索 图片 (bing.com)

Figure 5. Anna Boulanger. (2009) The Hungry Raccoon. [Online]. Available at: https://www.xiaohongshu.com/explore/63902321000000001c036571?app_platform=ios&app_version=7.56.1&share_from_user_hidden=true&type=normal&xhsshare=WeixinSession&appuid=5b77f428c8f9b4000165273e&apptime=1674395738

Figure 6. Tianjia Gu. (2021) Raccoon's Story. [Online]. Available at: https://www.xiaohongshu.com/explore/613adc12000000000102f7ec?app_platform=ios&app_version=7.56.1&share_from_user_hidden=true&type=normal&xhsshare=WeixinSession&appuid=5b77f428c8f9b4000165273e&apptime=1674396227

Figure 7. Xinyi Li. (2021) Big and Little.[Online]. Available at: https://www.xiaohongshu.com/discovery/item/60f7a1850000000001028c6d?app_platform=ios&app_version=7.56.1&share_from_user_hidden=true&type=normal&xhsshare=WeixinSession&appuid=5b77f428c8f9b4000165273e&apptime=1674396026

Figure 8. (1915)Theda Bara on the back of a herald advertising the 1915 movie Sin. [Online]. Available at: THEDA BARA: The Centenary of an American Vampire An interview with Bara biographer Joan Craig - CVLT Nation

Figure 9. Lucy Schwob(1894) Aveux non avenus frontispiece (in collaboration with Marcel Moore). [Online]. Available at: TOMBOLARE — Claude Cahun Self-portrait (full length masked... (tumblr.com)

Figure 10-11. Alexandre Isidore Leroy de Barde. Cabinet of Curiosities.[Online]. Available at: https://www.xiaohongshu.com/explore/632593ae0000000008018240?app_platform=ios&app_version=7.56.1&share_from_user_hidden=true&type=normal&xhsshare=WeixinSession&appuid=5b77f428c8f9b4000165273e&apptime=1674397692

Figure 12. Antique doll. [Online]. Available at: assemblage - 搜索 (bing.com)

Figure 13. Jennieshox(2011) Antique Doll.[Online], Available at: jennieshox - Etsy UK

Figure 14-21. Guo,Z. (2022) Photography at Pollock's Toy Museum. [photography]. London

Figure 22-27. Little Thing Magazine. (2013).[publications]. Available at: https://www.xiaohongshu.com/explore/5fc6084b0000000001003a1b?app_platform=ios&app_version=7.56.1&share_from_user_hidden=true&type=normal&xhsshare=WeixinSession&appuid=5b77f428c8f9b4000165273e&apptime=1674399212

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I started to think about what visual elements would present the theme better. That's when the use of a questionnaire gave me a new idea. I took the questionnaires, which were filled out anonymously by people around me. From these, the more interesting elements such as "cups, toys, postcards" were extracted.

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1. Aarons, N & Beech, M. (2013), Excessive and Compulsive Collectors, video, available at: BBC - Home
2. Belk, R.W. (1998), The Double Nature of Collecting: Materialism and Anti-Materialism, pp.7-20
3. Graser III, W, Gehrt, S, Hungerford, L & Anchor, C. (2012), Variation in Demographic Patterns and Population Structure of Raccoons Across an Urban Landscape, Vol.76, pp. 976-986
4. Mahoney, K. (2012) Nationalism, Cosmopolitanism, and the Politics of Collecting in”The Connoisseur: An Ilustrated Magazine for Collectors”, 1901-1914, pp.175-199
5. Olalquiaga, C. (2007), Object Lesson/Lost Object, Issue 26, available at: https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/26/olalquiaga.php

6. Sierschynski, J, Louie, B & Pughe, B. (2015), Complexity in Picture Books, Vol.68, pp.287-295

7. Tan Soo Yean. (1996) A Sociology of Collecting in Singapore, pp.49-69

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Mr. Raccoon has many cups,
These cups were collected from various places by him.

Wherever he talks with someone in a bar,
he always takes their cups on the way out.

He named each cups,
and he feels that the cup always reflects the character of the user.

For him, each cups held his memory of each person.

So, whenever he missed breaking a cup.
His memory of this person was lost.

Just as if careless maintenance,
contact then disappears.

But his hands are too small and not very nimble,
always breaks cups.

So, his memories of these persons are mixed in this pile of fragments.

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f5. The Hungry Raccoon by Anna Boulanger

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1. raccoons have a habit of hoarding and stealing and are also known as 'panda thief'. This nickname brings an element of humour and playfulness to my story.

2. Raccoons, as dominant carnivores in open urban locations (Graser III, W & etc., 2012, pp.976), have a tradition of living in the city, which not only fits in with the rest of my story, but also resonates with the reader.

3. Raccoons as a As a character that appears frequently in illustrated works, it already has a rich and three-dimensional image, and the reference material is easy to obtain, which helps me to create this character even more.

(p4, p5 and p6, Some picture book research on raccoons)

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After settling on the idea of making a picture book, I began to think about what kind of character would fit the theme of the project.The images in As picture book should focus on the connection between the reader/task (Sierschynski, J, Louie, B & Pughe, B, 2015, pp.287). And in my opinion, creating an anthropomorphic character allows the reader to vicariously represent themselves while creating a sense of boundary with the fictional world. In literature, animal figures are most often used to create anthropomorphic characters. So I set about sifting through animals that 'collect, hoard and steal'. I eventually found that raccoons fit the bill for three specific reasons.

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But Connoisseur certainly broke down the prejudice against 'collectors' and prompted collectors of the time to seek a sense of identity in society. Its monthly issues were at one time of great interest in the world of journalism, as they offered nearly 60-75 pages of beautiful covers and illustrations per issue. In the process of searching for information about the magazine, the idea of making a picture book about collecting and identity became clear to me. As Tan Soo Yean says, "these magazines not as mere sources of information but as actual data since they were written by collectors themselves " (Tan soo Yean, 1996, pp.50).

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f3. Cover of Connoisseur

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The presentation of the project was also the next step to be considered. In the course of my research, I came across a 1901 illustrated magazine called Connoisseur, a theoretical magazine for collectors (p3.). According to Mahoney's article, I learned that the magazine's editor-in-chief, J. T. Herbert, mentioned in introduction' that 'no one had ever thought of writing a magazine for collectors before', and that Collectors have never received special attention from the press (pp. 176).

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During the exhibition, a photograph of Andre Breton with his collection taken by Sabine Weiss caught my eye (p2.). Looking at Breton's seemingly disorganised and unconnected collection I realised that I, too, seemed to be inadvertently engaging in a 'collector's' mode of behaviour, collecting things I see in my daily life. I then further refined the keyword 'record and collect' to mean someone who 'collects for pleasure'.

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f2. Breton and his collection

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Project 2 | Step 1. In-depth Development

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Project 2 | Step 1. In-depth Development

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The next step was to find a specific object or event to observe for the 'record and collection'. And the Museum of Design's exhibition 'Object of Desire: Surrealism and Design 1924-Today' gave me a new idea.

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f1.

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During project 1, my visual outcome was a 'visual diary'. As I was not sure what I was interested in, my main task during project 1 was to collect inspiration and find a breakthrough. At the same time, the sketching workshops at the V&A and Greenwich made me realise the importance of recording inspiration in time, so I tried to present this stage of my outcome by drawing a sketch every day to record my life and collect inspiration, which was like a diary, thus responding to the theme "visual diary " (p1.). During this period, I did not fix on a certain type of object or scene, hoping that I could record different scenes to bring more possibilities for the development of my next project, and from this process I extracted "recording and collecting" as the key word for my project 2.