Tagged: feminism

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

My tutorial with Martha Harris yesterday encouraged me to think more about the desired aesthetics and design of my zine. As I am interested in exploring printing methods and book arts outside of my university studies we discussed print technique experimentations for example risograph and screen printing (or even creating that ‘look’ within the zine to resemble Xerox photocopied punk zines). Above is a call for submissions I posted across social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) , which we also discussed printing as a flyer or poster and distributing in shops and venues that target the same artistic or DIY scene that I am trying to attract.

I want to progress now by starting to look at layout and design inspiration, as well as possible paper stocks and colour as this will definitely influence the design of my magazine, and the way content appears or is presented.

zine and trend research

I researched and analysed the content and tone of existing alternative and independent publications I already admire, for example Mushpit which comments on contemporary society an attitudes in art, fashion and culture and focuses on satirical features and adverts, as well as more focused feminist zines such as Sister and Polyester which are full of contributors’ submissions around specific themes, aimed at creating a safe space for readers to express themselves away from the world of mass-produced, mainstream publications and media. I wanted to fill a gap in the market by finding a middle-ground – was it possible to create an independent publication that allowed readers to input their views, words and visuals while commenting on the attitudes, politics and lifestyles brands so often buy into and try to sell back to us?

I started to think about lifestyles and attitudes that are popular at the moment and that I had observed both online and in the world around me. I decided to focus my research on the surging trend in “self-care”, which many brands have very recently been using to invent and promote products which claim to help us look after ourselves, or become a better “you” – when really “self-care” is not something that can be bought with an expensive yoga mat, diet guide or silky pyjamas. An article published on online platform Girlboss brought these issues to light; titled “Selling Self-Care: The Awkward Perils Of Going Mainstream”, it commented on the capitalist issues surrounding this trend and how important behaviours for our physical and mental health can lose their meaning or importance when marketed as a fashion statement, or something that only the privileged can access.

brand identity and development with Teresa Havvas

T U T O R I A L :  T E R E S A  H A V V A S

My tutorial with brand consultant Teresa Havvas was particularly motivating and inspiring in thinking about what my project could become and where I want FILLER to go.

We discussed the existence of ‘feminist’ publications and decided to avoid categorising it as feminist/anti-fashion, and instead let it organically develop with things that inspire or interest me.

Feminist connotations I originally gave the word ‘filler’ can now also mean ‘filling’ the space in our heads/time. The publication could include powerful thinkpieces, not necessarily related to the ‘angry’ feminist discourse. We discussed the possibility of perhaps not putting out a call for submissions and instead focusing on the unknown, letting people be surprised by the content. Each issue could be a surprise in terms of theme, format, content and release date.

To progress with these ideas and allow my project to be a lot freer and organic in its development, I aim to take in everything around me that inspires me – visiting London to see more exhibitions as well as book stores to think about design, formatting and brand identity. I have a trip to Berlin coming up which will also be a great opportunity to collect inspiration (fashion, visual or otherwise) and allow me to collect research and ideas from different contexts and surroundings.

final major project: initial primary research

U S I N G  A R T  A S  A C T I V I S M : C H E E R  U P  L U V

To start off my investigation, research and idea generation for my FMP I wanted to experience first-hand what creatives are doing to provoke thought and change with their work, focusing on the feminist debates I researched for my statement of intent. Cheer Up Luv is a photojournalism project I’ve followed for a while, by Brighton graduate Eliza Hatch. Hatch interviews women all over the country on their experiences of sexual harassment and pairs their story with 35mm-shot portrait, to create a collection of profiles of victims of public harassment. The collected stories are posted on @cheerupluv on Instagram as well as on the project’s website, cheerupluv.com.

I love the goal of this project to raise awareness and create a community of support and solidarity for victims. Cheer Up Luv is a great example of using art as activism. I am particularly interested in the use of photography, film and journalism to spread messages and provoke change through a creative output.

I feel people are more likely to pay attention and engage with a form of activism if it is inclusive and easily accessible, and presented in a visually pleasing/intriguing way. Using the internet and social media to spread the word and gain support and awareness is an increasingly successful and effective way that projects can gain popularity.

Cheer Up Luv on Instagram @cheerupluv

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STATEMENT OF INTENT

For my final major project I intend to research into one of my main areas of interest in contemporary feminist issues, to interrogate the lack or insincerity of powerful feminist messages and content in fashion imagery and communication, as I feel it is an issue that is particularly prevalent, and more individuals and collectives are trying to find new ways to use their voices. I can build upon and broaden my research into these concerns from previous projects to create work that summarises my interests in fashion and contemporary society. I want to direct this project towards art direction and graphic design, working on new or novel ideas in image-making and design, culminating in a new fashion or art publication.

I have begun my research by looking into ‘feminist’ mainstream fashion campaigns and imagery, for example H&M’s new Like a Lady advertorial film, and the backlash that often comes with this, to question whether the fashion industry can ever really be feminist, unless it disregards trends or becomes a parody of itself, for example the fashion house Vetements, known for its satirical use of logos and simplistic design. I also explored the Riot Grrrl movement to collect visual examples of self-published zines as well as contemporary zines from the current DIY movement, a form of underground communication to rebel against societal norms. I think the concept of this could easily be translated into an anti-fashion publication. I also began to think about graphic and editorial design, format and printing methods, to carry my research forward by looking into alternative graphic design that ‘breaks the rules’, to explore how this can be translated into fashion communication. I’ve looked into mainstream current feminist publications such as Bitch and Lenny Letter, as well as Bay Garnett’s Cheap Date magazine of the 1990s, to examine the topics and debates they discuss, to begin thinking of the possible audience and content of my outcome.

My contextual and visual research so far has informed my early experimentation as I begin to process and test ideas. I began experimenting with collage, using imagery and text from vintage publications as well as contemporary fashion images to display, and make a mockery of, how issues of sex and gender have been presented in fashion and advertising. Using the language of Riot Grrrl zines as well as contemporary media as a starting point, I have thought about ‘trigger words’ that have connotations that could link to feminist concerns, to begin thinking about the title and tone of my work. This thought process allowed me to also experiment with typography ideas, which I hope will progress further into my final major project as I work on the visual identity of my work.

I feel that through investigating these issues and existing work relating to this I can deepen my knowledge and create work to provoke change and conversation, while using creative fashion imagery. A publication such as a new magazine will be a successful outcome as I can showcase and improve on my existing knowledge and experience with typography, design and layout, critical writing and image-making. This will also allow me to produce outcomes alongside the publication if the direction of my project takes me there, for example promotional material like a film or online graphics. At this point I am particularly interested in creating satirical or light-hearted, playful work in response to my chosen theme, to encourage me to experiment and push boundaries to communicate my topic in an innovative and perhaps shocking way.

With this project I hope to gain a deeper understanding of new and innovative fashion imagery and promotion, especially when tackling contemporary societal issues. I hope to improve my graphic design and image-making skills to a professional standard while also gaining greater understanding of the production and marketing of art publications. To achieve my desired outcome I will need to carry forward my initial research and experimentation to repeatedly test and polish my ideas to a professional standard, as well as managing my time well through a work plan or Gantt chart, and keeping motivated and inspired through constantly revisiting my research.

I feel my initial research into my interests and the questions I want to answer have given me a strong idea of the themes, visuals and work I will need to produce over the course of my final major project. Alongside this statement I have designed and produced an initial media pack for my magazine, which highlights and displays the research and experimentation I have produced so far. This will be helpful to refer back to, alter and add to throughout my project as my ideas develop and change. I now have a more solid idea of how I want to progress with further research in regards to design and image-making, as well as intended experimentation in printing methods, layout and book arts.

FMP RESEARCH: WEEK 3

This week I began experimenting with initial image-making fed by my research into feminist matters in fashion and fashion publications. Using images and text from vintage publications as well as contemporary magazines I created simple collages that provoked thought around debates of sex, gender and equality. This sparked ideas around the concept of creating fake advertisements in my proposed magazine, as a playful but thoughtful way of interrogating issues in the fashion media industry.
This made me start thinking about the identity of my publication. I started thinking about ‘trigger words’ that appear in advertisements or women’s/fashion magazine that could have connotations that fit with a feminist theme. Taking inspiration from Riot Grrrl zines and the way they reclaim aggressive or misogynistic words in their publications, I wanted to put a contemporary twist on this. I brainstormed words that popped up in adverts or articles that suggested concerns around women’s bodies, beauty or sexuality, as well as researching into other offensive terms for women to find a catchy, meaningful title.

BROAD – old-fashioned, offensive term for a woman. also think about stature or build. sounds aggressive and stern (could also mean something to do with print? ‘broadsheet’)

SILICONE – cosmetic surgery, implants, artificiality but also smoothness and perfection

FILLER – surgery and beauty standards, but also could sound sexual? also a term for a sound or word to fill a pause. (type meanings – filler text.) could also have food connotations?


After this experimentation I was motivated to look further into contemporary design of small-press or artistic publications, to get ideas for visual identity and alternative printing methods – to take a contemporary approach to the older, photocopied zine. I looked briefly into Bay Garnett’s Cheap Date magazine (which I want to look into further during my FMP – content ideas, design and written tone) which was mainly black and white but with creative, childlike graphic design. This made me start looking at graphic designers that create work that isn’t traditionally clean or professional, such as Lennarts and de Bruijn, whose work features bright colours, wild combinations of typography and shapes. I also looked at People of Print’s poster zines, which look risograph or screen printed, a method I am very interested in exploring further as I have used risograph printing in my personal work and love the vibrant colours and overlapping of layers. The fold-out design of these zines also helped me start thinking about the formatting of my publication, as I want to explore more creative ways of working with ‘the book’ as an art piece, rather than creating a conventional magazine.

FMP RESEARCH: W E E K 1/2

I began my research for Part 2 of this brief by thinking about issues or activism I am interested in. My dissertation topic is querying the revival of 1950s lingerie/corsetry and how this relates to the eroticism of this time period as well as the present day. Through my research and writing for my dissertation I became interested in the matter of lingerie, erotic imagery and fetishism as a feminist issue and the debates around it, so I particularly want to investigate feminist issues or imagery for my FMP.

I began my research for this brief by looking initially at feminism in fashion – for example the rising trend of feminist slogan t-shirts and campaigns, and the issues that arise with this in a capitalist society – asking the question, can fashion ever really be feminist? I think this is an interesting area to research and interrogate as there is a huge rise of feminist discourse particularly online and in art collectives, but there is a feeling that feminist acts in the fashion industry are quite superficial or meaningless, due to design, production and marketing methods.

I progressed my research into feminist discussion through image-making, by looking into Riot Grrrl zines and the aesthetics, characteristics and topics they adopted. I am particularly interested in self-published zines as a form of rebellion, and the fact that they can defy all norms or expected qualities of  because of this. I began to question whether it is possible to create a subversive fashion publication, going against the expectations of how one should be designed, the content inside it and how it generally talks about fashion and style, and addresses the reader.

I want to continue my research into alternative graphic design, image-making and aesthetics for publications, to begin thinking of ideas for my own publication, and the identity, tone and discussion it will provide.

diversity now: female bodies

After initial visual research into other artists’ work and possible directions, I decided to focus my response to the Diversity Now brief towards women and the variations in bodies, style and appearance. I want to specifically challenge the attitude the fashion industry has towards flaws, imperfections, different body types and body choices, e.g. the (lack of) acceptance of body hair, tattoos, piercings and even skin/body differences that cannot be helped.