Sunday, January 26, 2020

Andy Warhols Rorschach Paintings

Andy Warhols Rorschach Paintings One of the most important and controversial Pop art icons in America and a major influence to artists around the world, known as The Prince of Pop, Andy Warhol brings an entirely new perspective to the art world. An initiator and leading exponent of the Pop art movement of the 1960s, Warhol achieved success as a commercial artist during the 1950s and steadily grew from their producing works from famous portraits to popular culture, shoes and advertising images (Artquotes.net). Born Andrew Warhola in 1928, Warhol lived and grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during very hard times. Andy had contracted a rare disease at the age of 8 called chorea or St. Vitus dance, an illness of the nervous system that could have possibly proven fatal. He would later recover from the illness, but would gain a skin illness that would stay with him for the rest of his life. Son of a Slovakian immigrant, Warhols father was a construction worker who died in accident when Andy was only 13 years old (Artint hepicture.com). During the years following his fathers death his siblings and classmates started to notice an early talent in drawing and painting. After high school Warhol decided he would study commercial art at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh and in 1949 graduated with a major in Pictorial Design (Artinthepicture.com). After graduating he decided to move to New York where he found temporary jobs as an illustrator for magazines and for commercial advertising. From then on his career as an artist excelled and he became one of New Yorks most sought after and successful artists. He held his first one-man show exhibition in 1952 at the Hugo Gallery in New York and soon after became a famous figure in the New York art scene. Starting in 1978, following his sixteen year reign as the Prince of Pop, Warhol made an unexpected decision and decided to try his hand at abstract painting. Abstract Expressionism would be defined as artists who applied paint rapidly with force onto their huge canvases in an effort to show feelings and emotions, the works would release the creativity of the unconscious mind (Artlex.com). The style of the late 1940s and early 1950s was predominantly American and was characterized by its rendering of expressive content by abstract or non-objective means (Sayre 516). Andy Warhols Rorschach,1984 paintings are one of the most intriguing and captivating works of the early 1980s, they display his abstract work in the best Warholian style and cause the viewer to create an image out of their own imagination ( Richard 88-90). The immense Rorschach paintings are massive in scale and required a crew to produce them, a staggering 2010 and were achieved by pouring paint onto one side of the canvas, then folding the canvas down the middle and pressing the two sides together. In all their emptiness and derangement the Rorschach paintings are psychologically and emotionally charged. Warhol had created the series specifically so that the paintings could be analyzed. The ink blot appearance was first produced by Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss Freudian psychiatrist who developed them as a test, which in fact would elicit disclosure of a persons innermost feelings (Newworldencyclopedia.org). It was mainly used on people suffering psychological instability or disorder and even diagnosed mental patients. Always on the prowl for inspiration Warhol used these ink blots in his own works creating the Rorschach series. Warhol was especially interested in mass production, his claim to fame was caused by the use of his rare crea tivity in the visual arts that would be used in mass produced commercial items. Often considered a cousin of avant-garde art, Andys commercial art such as the soapbox covers, soup cans, plastic packing would create and turn the industry into a respectable bona fide art form. The Rorschach series would be an outcome of his earlier work and would also be mass produced. The works are seemingly complex, replete with irony and ornament, history and psychology, intuition and a lot of misunderstanding. Although Warhol showed deliberate ignorance toward the standardized blots of the official Rorschach test, he was obviously intrigued by their serial repetitiveness and formulaic impersonality. With an estimated 38 paintings total in the Rorschach series the immense canvases where not at all produced only with the dark black paint that many remember it for. Warhol experimented with a variety of colors, thus he came to be known for using color field abstraction. Color field paintings, a type o f abstract expressionism, were used by artists who were interested in the lyrical or unique atmospheric effects of vast expanses of color, causing the viewer to be immersed in a color environment (Artlex.com). Many of the famous paintings were bright red, gold and pink; he even created a beautiful mixture of the colors, mixing purple, red and violet, and in another blue, purple and pink in an amazing array to create something extraordinary and abstract. Lusciously colorful or dull black, the works were appealing to a wide range of audiences and would catch the viewers eye immediately upon entering any gallery. Warhol used one major technique in creating his infamous works, an unpopular and rarely used pour and fold technique to conjure up the fleshy physicality of kidneys or lungs (Artnet.com).A particularly unique feature of the prints was that it contained no human touch, the paint was merely allowed to space and settle where ever on the canvas it pleased without any human interference or brushwork, this also would explain the variety of unique prints in the Rorschach series. The symmetrical networks of mainly thick Liquitex Acrylic paint distributed on silk screens created syrupy veins of paint that were easily identifiable and caused a unique distorted image each time. One arguable aspect of his work would also be that he never signed his work; out of all 38 paintings not one would contain his signature. One could say that Warhol was particularly fond of genital imagery, but others would argue that the Rorschach paintings not only represent Warhols demented mind, but contained images o f the devil and even death itself. Horrific atrocities from the gates of hell to a giant taunting mask, not all feedback was negative though, many saw completely opposite and positive imagery in the works, from royalty to giant vases, but no matter what the viewers imagination brought about, each canvas created a feeling that the work would engulf the spectator at any time (McShine 382-383). Warhol was said to have included iconography in his famous works such as the Rorschach series, some images might have been developed to represent something to him personally and to others something entirely different. Iconography would be defined as a pictorial representation of a subject, or the collection of images, or icons illustrating a subject (Artlex.com). He would mainly use it in his earlier works, self portraits of himself with skulls on his head as to depict his own death or murder. Warhols style of work in the Rorschach series was distinctly different from other great players of Pop Art during the era. Working on the subjects he loved and having a strict routine he would turn items of daily use into simplified yet intricate pieces of art. Warhol had worked on this series for a year, which gave him time and a chance to determine the end results. Most of his collection was never shown until after his death. Soon after the completion and major success of the Rorschach paintings, Warhol steadily moved on from his prized series and went on his final adventure in abstraction in 1986 (Glasstire.com). Warhol would play around with camouflage and stretch out the work on canvases as large as thirty feet. He was so fascinated with the endless possibilities and variations of camouflage iconography that he would eventually add it as an incongruous overlay to some of his other series. He then left his so fond abstraction series to continue on with his career with his already popular self portraits and later on The Last Supper series (Glasstire.com). From the day he left the calm environment of his normal work place and entered the very chaotic place of The Factory in 1962, he would mass produce silk screen prints and challenge the difference between high and low art to show the world that art can be found in everyday objects. Warhol would keep pushing the limits of art towards new boundaries that would drastically change the art we see around us today. Andy Warhol had made a permanent mark in the art world and had become a world renowned Pop Art icon. In 1987, the Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts was established in his honor and in May 1994, the Andy Warhol Museum opened in his home town Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Artinthepicture.com). Being a controversial homosexual man that he was with a bizarre personality, he was obsessed by the ambition of getting rich and famous and he knew exactly how he would achieve this from the very first day he stepped into the art world.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Ikea Supplier Selection

Building a sustainable supply chain An IKEA case study Page 1: Introduction [pic] It is easy to think about the present without considering the future. Consumers want more goods and services to improve their standard of living. The problem is they make choices about goods and services that have long-term consequences for the environment. In our modern world, organisations need to show responsibility. This means that they use resources efficiently, do not harm the environment and consider how what they do affects the ability of future generations to meet their needs. [pic] IKEA aims to be a responsible organisation.It sells low-price home furnishing products around the world. These include furniture and accessories for kitchens, bedrooms, living rooms, bathrooms and children†s rooms. IKEA now has stores in 36 countries around the world. It has come a long way in its 60 years of business. IKEA vision The direction for the organisation is provided by its vision. This acts as a gui de for everybody within and outside the organisation about what IKEA wants to achieve. IKEA's vision is ‘To create a better everyday life for the many people. ‘ To meet its vision IKEA provides many well-designed, functional products for the home.It prices its products low so that as many people as possible can afford to buy them. [pic] However, in creating low prices IKEA is not willing to sacrifice its principles. ‘Low price but not at any price' is what IKEA says. This means it wants its business to be sustainable. IKEA supplies goods and services to individuals in a way that has an overall beneficial effect on people and the environment. Customers all over the world have responded positively to IKEA's approach. This is evident in its increasing sales. In 2006 IKEA had a group turnover of nearly 18 billion euros.Page 2: Sectors of industry and sustainable supply chains When consumers go to a retailer like IKEA, they will be looking at the different ranges of pro ducts and how they are presented. They may also look for quality customer service. However, consumers may not be aware that before products reach them, they must move from being raw materials through a variety of stages to become finished products suitable for sale. This is known as the supply chain. [pic]The supply chain involves a flow of production and processes through each of the three industrial sectors: [pic]IKEA takes its responsibilities seriously and organises its operations in order to have a positive effect upon the environment: [pic] †¢ It aims that all the products and materials it takes from the primary sector do not harm the environment. †¢ Its products are manufactured in a responsible way. The case study looks in detail how IKEA has achieved its aim to be a responsible business in each of the three sectors of the supply chain. Page 3: The primary sector [pic] IKEA is not a primary sector organisation but it needs raw materials to develop its products.It t herefore works closely with primary sector suppliers to ensure a sustainable impact on the people and the environment in which it operates. The primary sector involves the development of the raw materials. IKEA designs its own products. At the design stage, IKEA checks that products meet strict requirements for function, efficient distribution, quality and impact on the environment. Low price is one of the main factors that IKEA considers in producing well designed, functional home furnishings available to everyone. IKEA buys products from more than 1,300 suppliers in 50 countries.It uses a number of trading service offices across the world. They negotiate prices with suppliers, check the quality of materials and analyse the environmental impacts that occur through the supply chain. They also keep an eye on social and working conditions at suppliers. Environmental impact [pic] IKEA uses a tool – the ‘e-Wheel' – to evaluate the environmental impact of its products . The e-Wheel helps IKEA to analyse the four stages within the life of a product. This also helps suppliers improve their understanding of the environmental impact of the products they are supplying.Approximately 50% of IKEA's 9,500 products are made from wood or wood fibres. This is a good resource as long as it comes from sustainable sources. It can be recycled and is a renewable resource. [pic] IKEA creates many design solutions to minimise the use of materials. For example: †¢ some tables are made out of recycled plastic †¢ some rugs are made of material clippings that would otherwise be wasted †¢ products such as water cans are designed to be stacked. This means that more can be transported in each load, reducing the number of lorry journeys and therefore lowering fuel costs.Each of these ideas helps IKEA's products to be more sustainable and reduce the impact on the environment. Supplier codes of conduct A key part of IKEA's success is due to its communications with materials' suppliers and manufacturers. During manufacturing IKEA specifies to its producers that waste should be avoided. Where waste does occur IKEA encourages suppliers to try to use it in the manufacture of other products. IKEA has a code of conduct called the IKEA Way of Purchasing Home Furnishing Products (IWAY). This contains minimum rules and guidelines that help manufacturers to reduce the impact of their activities on the environment.The IWAY code complies with international legislation. A product in use should not have a harmful effect upon consumers or their environment. For example, it should not cause allergies. If it uses energy, it should do so efficiently. When a product comes to the end of its useful life, it should be possible to reclaim or recycle the materials that make up the product. Such materials can then be re-used for making other products. Page 4: The secondary sector Manufacturers within the secondary sector create IKEA products from raw materials.A s products move through the supply chain, the process of value-added takes place. [pic] [pic] IKEA designs many of its products so that the smallest amount of resources can make the best products. For example, IKEA saves on resources by using hollow legs in furniture (e. g. the OGLA dining chair). Another example is by using a honeycomb-paper filling material instead of solid wood for the inside of table tops (e. g. the LACK series). As manufacturers or suppliers add value to products, the IWAY code of practice identifies IKEA's minimum requirements.The IWAY code of practice expects suppliers to: †¢ follow national and international laws †¢ not use child labour †¢ not use woods and glues from non-sustainable forests †¢ reduce their waste and emissions †¢ contribute to recycling †¢ follow health and safety requirements †¢ care for the environment †¢ take care of their employees The application of the code raises standards. Each of the requireme nts within the code of conduct helps to develop sustainable business activities. They have a positive impact on the business environment in which the suppliers operate.They also improve the experience of people working for those businesses. To monitor suppliers, IKEA regularly carries out an IWAY audit. This involves talking to employees and inspecting documents and records. IKEA visits suppliers on-site on a number of occasions to ensure that they are following the code of conduct. The code of conduct for suppliers and the work with other organisations underlines IKEA's commitment to ‘low price but not at any price'. Although IKEA wants its customers to enjoy low prices, this should not happen at the expense of its business principles. [pic]Sustainable partnerships In 2000 IKEA formed a partnership with UNICEF to work on a community programme in Northern India. The aim of the work was to prevent child labour by raising awareness and addressing the root causes. IKEA has also f ormed a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). IKEA and WWF have committed themselves to promoting the sustainable use of natural resources. This helps to ensure that forests can be used both now and in the future. To support sustainable partnerships with suppliers, IKEA works with other organisations. For example, IKEA and WWF actions have led to: a series of training courses for people in Russia, Bulgaria, Romania and China on responsible forest management †¢ the development of forestry plans in China †¢ demonstrations to managers in Latvia on the benefits of responsible forestry All these projects show IKEA's commitment to supporting sustainable practices. Page 5: The tertiary sector [pic] Businesses in the tertiary sector provide a service, such as banking, transportation or retailing. They do not extract the raw materials or make products themselves. 11% of businesses within the UK are retailers.In the tertiary sector, IKEA's retail stores add value to manufa ctured goods by providing a form of shopping different to the usual high-street experience. IKEA has more than 260 stores in over 36 countries. These meet the needs of consumers in a number of different ways: Retailing turnover in the UK was more than ? 250 billion in 2006. †¢ Each IKEA store is large and holds more than 9,500 products giving lots of choice. †¢ Within each store, there are a number of realistic room settings that enable customers to see what the products would look like in their own homes. The IKEA store is built on a concept of ‘you do half, we do half; together we save money'. This refers to, for example, the customer assembling furniture at home. †¢ Customers handpick products themselves using trolleys. †¢ IKEA provides catalogues and home delivery to save customers† time. †¢ IKEA stores have restaurants that provide Swedish dishes alongside local food choices. To make its activities more sustainable, IKEA has set up many loca l UK initiatives: [pic] †¢ In 2006 IKEA UK recycled more than 70% of its waste products. Its goal is to recycle 90% of materials. To reduce environmental impact, in 2006 IKEA UK started to charge for carrier bags. This reduced the use of carrier bags by 95%. In June 2007 IKEA UK removed carrier bags from its stores completely. †¢ In December 2006 IKEA UK gave a brand-new folding bike to each of its 9,000 employees. It also gave subsidised travel tickets to encourage them to travel to and from work on public transport. †¢ IKEA UK has provided low-energy light bulbs to its entire UK workforce and switched its fleet of company cars to low-emission hybrid models. Page 6: Conclusion [pic] IKEA's long-term ambition is to become the leading home furnishing company.However, for IKEA, getting there is not simply about developing profitability and market share. As a global organisation IKEA has chosen to undertake a leadership role in creating a sustainable way of working. It h as educated suppliers to understand how and why sustainable production is vital. This has helped IKEA differentiate itself from its competitors. Consumers are made aware of IKEA's commitment to sustainability through its involvement with many other organisations such as the WWF and UNICEF. IKEA is now considered by both suppliers and consumers to be a responsible company that they can trust.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

China Population Growth of the Worlds Largest Country

With a population estimated at 1.4 billion people as of 2017, China  clearly ranks as the worlds most populous country. With the worlds population approximately 7.6 billion, China represents 20% of the people on Earth. Policies the government has implemented over the years may well result in China losing that top ranking in the near future.   Effect of the New Two-Child Policy Over the last few decades, Chinas population growth had been  slowed by its  one-child policy, in effect since 1979. The government introduced the policy as part of a wider program of economic reform. But because of the imbalance between the aging population and number  of young people, China changed its policy  effective for 2016 to allow two children to be born per family. The change had an immediate effect, and the number of babies born that year was up 7.9%, or an increase of 1.31 million babies. The total number of infants born was 17.86 million, which was a little lower than projections when the two-child policy was enacted but still represented an increase. In fact, it  was the highest number since 2000. About 45% were born to families who already had one child, though not all one-child families will have a second child, some because of economic reasons, as reported by the Guardian from the governments family planning commission report. The family planning commission expects between 17 to 20 million babies to be born each year for the following five years. Long-Term Effects of the One-Child Policy As recently as 1950, Chinas population was a mere 563 million. The population grew dramatically through the following decades to 1  billion in the early 1980s. From 1960 to 1965, the number of children per woman was about six, and then it crashed after the one-child policy was enacted. The aftereffects mean that the population overall is aging rapidly, causing issues for its dependency ratio, or the number of workers projected to be supporting the amount of elderly in the population, which was 14% in 2015 but is expected to grow to 44% in 2050. This will put a strain on social services in the country and may mean that it invests less, including in its own economy. Projections Based on Fertility Rate Chinas 2017  fertility rate is estimated to be 1.6, which means that, on average, each woman gives birth to 1.6 children throughout her life. The necessary total fertility rate for a stable population is 2.1; nonetheless, Chinas population is expected to remain stable until 2030, even though there will be 5 million fewer women of childbearing age.  After 2030, Chinas population is expected to decline slowly. India Will Become the Most Populous By 2024, Chinas population is expected to reach 1.44 billion, as is Indias. After that, India is expected to surpass China as the worlds most populous country, as India is growing more quickly than China. As of 2017, India has an estimated total fertility rate of 2.43, which is above replacement value.