Category: Uncategorized
WEEK 3 – ANALYSIS – TASK 2 – JULIUS RAYMUND BODY TYPEFACE
JULIUS RAYMUND
After previously rediscovering Dezeen.com for graphic design news and finding the article relating to the graphic design Pantone’s new Period Red color, I decided it would be appropriate to search the website for more interesting graphic design news to broaden my research in terms of process but refine it when it comes to themes; as the controversial, provocative news seemed to interest me the most.
This led me immediately to finding this article on a designer called Julius Raymund who has created his own typeface using his body, by cleverly arranging and positioning parts of his limbs, fingers, hairs etc. to form a typeface. I found this to be intriguing as I personally hadn’t seen anyone do something like this before and it seemed to make font and typefaces into some sort of provocative art piece which I fell in love with. The fact that he photographed these pieces of his body using water makes everything look messier and more uncomfortable to look at, therefore making it even more engrossing. Considering he has made a typeface from his body, which obviously doesn’t look like different letters, it make the imagery more obscure and abstract, where at closer inspection you start to see the letters possible form, adding to the curiosity of the typeface. There wasn’t any mention of the typeface being used commercially or artistically, which makes me want to try it myself and attempt to form a sentence or word using it.
Raymund created this font for a design challenge; 36 Days of Type, where he encountered all of these digitally illustrated or hand drawn typefaces and wanted to create something more obscure. This reminded me of an effective task I had to participate in on my art foundation, where we were instructed to search around the university for different letter, photograph them, then form our own typeface using a collection of contrasting letters which led us to a more interesting outcome than if we were to create simple lines and shapes. Tasks like these remind me that I need to be more experimental with my work, especially as this research project is all about trials and pushing ourselves creatively.
WEEK 3 – ANALYSIS – TASK 2 – PANTONE PERIOD RED COLOUR
PANTONE – PERIOD RED COLOUR
As I was still feeling lost (or overwhelmed) with where to go with my research, I decided to focus back on the area of graphics, which is where my heart lies. In order to do this, I thought it would be appropriate to browse reputable graphic design websites for news in the industry to see how contemporary graphic design is evolving which led me to Dezeen.com
What struck me to the article was the image of the Pantone colour ‘Period Red’ with the illustration on the colour sheet. This struck me because most of the other articles were about different types of craft or branding but I loved the idea of a worldwide company discussing something like periods which are usually fairly ‘taboo’ but becoming more and more discussed lately. As I’ve discussed in previous blog posts, I was interested in artists like Linder or the HATE zine which create an open discussion on topics such as sexuality, periods, bleeding etc. which, as a natural part of life, I do find fascinating when it’s explored creatively. However, I found it particularly interesting coming from a company like Pantone which is usually incredible neutral on topics like that, considering they’re well known for their colour matching which doesn’t necessarily allow them to voice their opinions as it would seem unnatural, however by doing this they’re reaching out to potentially a different audience than the people who are interested in artists like Linder or who read the HATE zine as they’re usually seeking out art like that.
The illustrations to accompany the colour compliment the style beautiful as they’re simple line illustrations depicting a womb as a repetitive pattern and therefore makes the whole collaboration playful and friendly to their audience. It allows the topic to be spoken about in a safe and comfortable way rather than showing graphic images, although I wouldn’t be opposed to this as it’s natural, coming from a stylist approach, I feel like they succeeded in breaking the stigma and opening up a discussion in the way that people hide and get embarrassed or awkward about these sort of topics and pushes the normalization of it in a wider design context.
“Enough is enough, it’s 2020. Isn’t it time periods stop being considered as a private affair or a negative experience? Isn’t it time we call out people that try to perpetuate the stigma surrounding periods?”
I’ve discussed this previously in my blogs but the above quote feels inspiring to me as I should ask myself more questions when approaching a topic instead of simple researching things with no aim as it allows me to explore different solutions and answers in a more creative manner to expand my own thoughts and understand all the different possibilities out there. Topics like feminism etc are of course very important to me and I should incorporate this into my work more.
WEEK 3 – ANALYSIS – TASK 2 – VICE – MEANS OF PRODUCTION ISSUE
VICE – MEANS OF PRODUCTION ISSUE
Another field of research recommended to me from my tutors based on my research was to explore the idea of the change in process due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This worldwide pandemic has changed every aspect of our lives forever, however even if I were to focus on just the creative impacts (and restrictions) that the coronavirus has had, I could discuss it forcer in so much depth. Therefore, I thought it would be wise to investigate at least a few different elements on how life has changed; there’s no point ignoring this pandemic within my university work, I’ve had to adapt and overcome in every other area of my life so I still need to understand the creative impacts this would have. Everything from the limited research that I can’t get from exhibitions and galleries closing, to the lack of resources around, the new ways of presentation; online exhibitions and the future of curation as well as the emotional affects, the increased deaths, the dystopian world, face masks covering our identity– it’s unfortunately so inspiring to research into in an overwhelming way.
Magazines had been affected greatly by this pandemic in every aspect of the production, if I am going to create a magazine, which is a possibility, I would need to do some extensive research on how magazines have changed and adapted in line with what is going on in the world. Therefore, this led me to another magazine which I love gaining inspiration and reading from which is Vice. And what was particularly interesting was that this issue was conceived before the pandemic but constructed during it and therefore different to the other issues as this was the peak of having to adapt extremely quickly to what was happening.
“Editorially, every piece that was in the works required reconsidering—would we kill it? Re-report it? Expand it? Cut it down?”
This quote from the Editor’s Letter of Vice’s Means of Production issue explains the emotion and panic within the creative industries in terms of bringing out a new issue of Vice; I am sure my teachers felt the same sort of emotions when sorting out our modules with this pandemic being put in place too. It brings me back to the feeling of March where everything was scary and uncertain, the lack of motivation and mental affects relating to creativity and feeling defeated comes back.
“We used archival images instead of sending photographers into the field and added annotations to stories. We designed the issue to emphasize the building blocks that make up any typical magazine you might read, but this time made them visible, not hidden. We have also made the whole issue available for you to read as a PDF,”
This quote explains the adaptation that VICE as a team have had to go through in order to get their issue out to their customers in time, while still being accessible during a global pandemic. They have had to change the way they gain their imagery and content as well as the means of presentation. Me and my tutors had a discussion to show that online exhibitions, PDF’s being made more frequently as well as other adaptations for accessibility during this pandemic allow more people of minorities to reach the content. This is because online exhibitions, PDFs of magazines and online content including apps are less in price compared to print versions, use up less paper and energy of the planet and also allow people who are disabled to access art more effectively. It is interesting that it has taken a pandemic for disabled people to have better access to the arts industry but hopefully more people are aware of these sort of issues and in the future there could be more consideration from the larger companies.
WEEK 3 – ANALYSIS – TASK 2 _ HATE ZINE
HATE ZINE ISSUE 2 – Featuring work by Maisie Cousins, Stephanie Wilson, and a cover shot by Martin Parr, Le Voguer Couyet and Carlos Clark
“Art, music, fashion – anything which is now classed as a ‘creative industry’ – has been completely taken over by those who can afford to participate. And by participate, I mean study, work within and control what is produced”– Luisa Le Voguer Couyet
This quote is what had made me intrigued by this article found on Dazed Digital. I was scrolling through suggested articles after researching Tom Wood’s photography and found these images which struck me.
All of these stuck out to me as they’re somewhat conventional and unconventional. They use everyday objects, natural fruits and people’s bodies while also showing dramatic poses, sexual or phallic symbolism as well as imagery which could be deemed as uncomfortable. This inspires me as I love work which looks uncomfortable, unconventional or weird as I find it more interesting than something extremely beautiful. Especially when the body is within these images as I find the body particularly intriguing. In addition to this it also makes me want to incorporate more objects or natural things in my own artwork as I usually have something with less elements than these photographs. Researching into the themes that I am going to explore and seeing what objects and symbols I could include would push my work further and improve it greatly.
Hate zine showcases bodies in baked beans, fruit splattered over someone’s breasts which immediately looks like blood to me, condoms filled with egg yolks and greasy oily skin with leaves stuck to it. All of these show different textures and feelings which would usually feel uncomfortable, while tackling issues such as underrepresentation of how sex can be shown within the publishing/print industry. It’s 2020 and sex can still be whitewashed, ableist and heteronormative whereas we need to be more aware of how the lack of representation of these different minorities can make these people not only undereducated but could cause dangerous situations as they would have less of an education on something that they should have been taught in school.
I’m glad there is more platforms which allow more of a voice to show different bodies as part of their ethos. I had seen a lot of images previously which were trying to be provocative while showing fruit with fingers inside or something attempting to be controversial, but the image had been overdone in my opinion and wasn’t adding anything to the representation of sex that they were trying to produce.
“Personally, I’m bored of the satin-sheet, clean-shaven, lacy underwear, Hollywood porn depiction of sex. We all expel fluid from various orifices, we shit and piss and bleed and grow hair. It shouldn’t be something that is gross, and we should not be ashamed to talk candidly about sex.” I’m obsessed with this quote by Louise Le Voguer Couyet who explains, rightfully so, that the perspective of sex that we see, especially in magazines and TV is far too clean, everyone is perfectly airbrushed and clean, nothing “embarrassing”, uncomfortable or unconventional happens when in real life there’s much more to it which is what this magazine does right.
WEEK 3 – ANALYSIS – TASK 2 – TOM WOOD
Tom Wood Photography – Merseyside’s 80s club scene
Dazed Digital is one of my favourite online (or print) sources to gain research from as I feel like the content on there explores such a diverse range of art, photography, fashion and art which suits my style. Their content is catered for someone like me as their audience and therefore everything they put on their I usually find interesting. This led me to finding Tom Wood’s photography of the Merseyside’s 80s club scene. Authentic club photography has always interested me, especially when looking into the club kids of the 1980s from a previous project as it shows genuine snapshots of people enjoying their time during a night where they are completely free, focusing on the music, the environment and the energy rather than posing and constructing something spurious. In particular, the 80s has so much character and energy, it was the start of defying gender norms more prominently than before (I know this had been done previously) also the clothes and colours are extravagant.
“Drunken activity of a young, working-class community getting pissed, dancing, and letting their hair down against a backdrop of huge unemployment and economic hardship.”
Wood’s images feel like he got his camera quickly in people’s faces with flash and captured a moment that he had been looking at for a while. They seem quick and authentic, telling stories and allowing natural movements and situations to be captured. This makes me want to go to my own friendship group during a time when we’re all drinking to capture the scenes and see what I find when you look closer. Wood said that one of his images gained a lot of exposure he noticed there was a prominent part showing a man’s bulge. These details add humor and personality to the work which is something I would love to bring into my own work. Tom Wood would redistribute his photographs to the people who he took the pictures of in the clubs as his way of giving back to this community by leaving all of his prints by his door for people to look through and if they see their face, they were more than welcome to take the picture back home to keep.
“This is a labour of love. I consciously knew all my life that I didn’t want to be a professional or, if I did, I couldn’t make the pictures.” Another thing I respect Tom Wood for was that he clearly took pictures as a way to express his love for photography. He created a sense of community through his photography by capturing friendship groups and creating a nice environment for the club regulars as they could gain memories from their nights out. I would love to create a community using my own work. Either by capturing my friends like I mentioned before or by creating some sort of platform to engage people somehow. I was discussing this with my tutorials as part of my TASK 1 for this module and might investigate different types of artistic platforms further in order to gain some inspiration for my work.
WEEK 3 – ANALYSIS – TASK 2 1024 ARCHITECTURE
1024 ARCHITECTURE
I chose to look at 1024 architecture as I wanted a different type of research to investigate compared to what I had explored previously. I had recently discovered the ‘Electronic Music’ exhibition at the Design Musuem and although I had not been in person, I explored various aspects of it within my sketchbook including early pioneer of experimental electronic, music Daphne Oram as well as the general exhibition but I was intrigued by the artist 1024 architecture who created a sound reactive visual installation for the exhibition. Among further inspection of their website and work on YouTube, they have really caught my attention with their style as they are so unique and captivating through their use of colours and shapes through an installation. I would love to experiment with lights and installations within my work which might be quite different in terms of gathering equipment with this global pandemic however I could always give it a go or create something using an online program.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91aSqBk22zc
“By adding energy to the matter it interacts with, questioning public space, stage and performative arts, 1024 creates an immersive world made of abstract geometry, lights and movement.”
This quote explains why I was captivated by their work in the first place, my tutors encouraged me to explore the link and connection between lighting and electronic music and how the two work together to influence each other. For example, when in a club, I much prefer if there’s different types of lights especially in distinct colours as I always feel like this enhances the experience better and creates a more interesting and sensory escapade than if there were not any lights. This logic can also be applied to installations and exhibitions with music, especially electronic music. Also, as this is my third-year project and I love electronic music, I thought even if I do not include it within my work, it is such a part of my identity I should professionally research more into it.
SPHERE: Compute Shader Test
I watched this video of 1024 doing a compute shader test for one of their projects called ‘Sphere’. I was unaware to what any of this meant but was intrigued by the look of the video and was not disappointed. A computer shader is used commonly within 35 computer graphics to shade three dimensional scenes and this video shows a trial using it. It was as if I was watching something form and collide in space due to the fact that it was an orange, orb like object with light coming from it, and looked exactly like a meteor or atom in space. A lot of energy is shown within the video as it seemed like it was sped up as it is going so fast; the sphere changes shape and changes as if it is affected by a light. It also looked as if there was a bright orange light reflected in a body of water moving around to the natural waves. I found this interesting as something computer generated reminded me of two completely different types of nature. I would love to create some shapes and textures like this through video using a colored light and some water to experiment and see what I could create.
WEEK 3 – ANALYSIS – TASK 2 – VITAL FRAGMENTS: NIGEL HENDERSON AND THE ART OF COLLAGE – TATE
VITAL FRAGMENTS: NIGEL HENDERSON AND THE ART OF COLLAGE – TATE
Although I did not go to see this exhibition, it looked vital for my research into different types of collage as this was recommended to me by my tutors once again. I have discovered this series on Tate called “Animating the Archives” which has proven to be such a useful source as we had a talk on archives previously. Archives are such a reputable source of information which I feel like I have not used enough of within my time at university and now as I am in my third year, I want to push myself to use more sophisticated sources of information as previously I could go to Google for information whereas since it is on a video, I am able to look at it more in depth as someone explains the background etc.
Nigel Henderson’s work has a lot of character to it in terms of people’s facial expressions, contrast used and the subject matter which is what attracted me to his work in the first place. Henderson wrote a lot when he was younger which is shown in the archives. It can be inferred from these writings that Henderson was unconfident and insecure within himself as a young boy. Henderson fell into photography from his mother as well as when he acquired a Leicia camera from a friend as a loan. He also worked closely with Eduardo Paolozzi who helped him within photography. I noticed how different their styles are in terms of colour and process, but they have similar execution when it comes to space on the page and how busy their work can be.
“A Photograph of a Photograph” and “A Photograph of a Photogram” are two of Henderson’s pieces that I am extremely inspired by. I was attracted to the two of them because of how effective they are while in black and white, both extremely dynamic with a lot of character to them while being distorted and surreal which is my favorite type of work. It has made me question the meanings behind them as well as the processes, I would love to create something similar potentially in the darkroom or using my scanner and Adobe Photoshop to create a more modern approach and compare the two processes. Henderson uses an enlarger in the latter, instead of putting a negative for a photography, he places an object or materials he found in the East End and places them on there to create a new image. Something new has come from found material as if he has transformed rubbish into art. This inspires me to go around and start using found material within my sketchbook ort in my artwork as I am interested in the themes of sustainability and repurposing which could tie in appropriately with my studio practice too. In the former, he uses a technique that I have used previously in my own work which I feel like worked effectively before as I enjoy making distorted work. He plays around with images and distorts them by hand by bending them or folding to create new shapes and forms. Once again, this inspires me to take some of my own imagery, print them out, use my scanner or cut them up and transform them, this module is all about experimenting within your specialism and this would be a perfect way to push my work further and make something more unique and dynamic like Henderson’s.
WEEK 3 – ANALYSIS – JOHN STEZAKER
John Stezaker – John Stezaker, Pair IV, 2007, Private Collection. © The Artist
I will be exploring one piece of work by John Stezaker in depth with general context to his work from an interview as previously, I had spoken about an entire exhibition as well as a whole magazine and therefore wanted to investigate something in slightly more depth to expand on my critical analysis skills. This was another collage artist recommended to me by one of the tutors based on the direction that my work was going in so far. I’ve gained my research from this using the Mousse Magazine website, an interview with him by Laurent Dalaye Gallery as well as looking at his exhibition at The Whitechapel Gallery online.
John Stezaker states in an interview that in the 70s, he personally felt as if the idea of conceptualism within art had been overdone, looking at concept over image had been “exhausted” which led him to focusing on showcasing the images that he wanted to portray. His images are simplified for this reason compared to collage artists like Linder who create something purposefully unconventional and distorted whereas Stezaker creates imagery, which is still surreal, but simplified and focused on the images rather than the concept, like Linder does.
This image shown by John Stezaker is called Pair VI as he makes a few of these and places them in a series. Even the name of the piece highlights that the people in the image are secondary, as they aren’t given faces, names or a context behind it considering their most prominent features are hidden and therefore it could be anyone. Interestingly, Stezaker usually using famous film stills, vintage postcards and book illustrations as the feature for his work. The process is incredibly simple by placing an image on top of another to distort it and give it a new meaning, however finding the perfect image to place over the original would take time to find. Shape is an important factor within Stezaker’s work due to the fact that the image on top, of a lake and mountains, allows the rest of the shape of the people’s faces to be taken up by the mountains. This brings the image together as a whole and connects the two pictures together otherwise it would seem like a randomly placed image over the top. The shape pf the mountains directly line up with the tops of their heads and the man’s neck as well as the girl’s hair which is cleverly placed.
Although Stezaker states that he places image over concept, erasing the people’s faces made me wonder what other meanings this piece could have. I felt as if it could potentially tell a story of how two lovers could have become strangers, they are facing each other technically however their faces are removed and could have had any facial expression underneath, yet we are made to think they looked really close and happy. He pushes the boundaries of representing a connection between two people as another meaning could be that these two people have a strong relation to each other as images of water are shown which has a constant flow within a water cycle, and therefore could be a metaphor for their love. Similarly, he could have just placed the image as it fit on top and he wanted to relate the connection between humans and nature in terms of shape and form.
WEEK 3 – ANALYSIS – TASK 2 – SPARE RIB MAGAZINE
SPARE RIB MAGAZINE
I discovered Spare Rib Magazine when looking closer in Linder’s work, and she cited this as one of her inspirations for her feminist-based work and it looked like a key piece of research to include within my exploration of different themes in this project. Surprisingly, I had not heard about this magazine before even though it had been a key indicator within the Women’s Liberation Movement in the 20th century considering I am familiar with the works of the Guerrilla Girls and other pioneers within 20th century feminism. I have gained all my research for this on the British Library’s website which has a good section covering all areas related to the Spare Rib magazine which is obviously a reputable source. Spare Rib’s beginning was in the 60s-70s around the time where the punk movement was at its peak, underground print culture was building along with women’s liberation. The combination of these led to Spare Rib magazine, questioning the inequality of women, the unnecessary oversexualization of their bodies from men as well as the fact that the media industry was particularly male dominated, and this called for a change in their eyes. The contrast between Spare Rib and other magazines who were also catered to women of the same age where that the other magazines were more focused on health, beauty, makeup, and fashion which was arguably more shallow while Spare Rib focused more on critical issues facing women’s rights, women of diverse backgrounds for a more educational purpose as well as being a lifestyle magazine. I think a magazine which has something slightly more educational to it is essential for modern print media as people are always looking to learn something new otherwise they could go on the shelves and pick up any other magazine which does not add much value to their lives.
“What is a liberated woman?” Was the question surrounding the first issue of Spare Rib magazine and was answered through letters within the first few pages. I found that this was such an interesting question to ask even now, but especially within the 70s as people would have such an extensive range of extraordinarily strong opinions to share. I feel like I need to ask myself more questions like this in order to stimulate a creative response through the form of collage in order to answer more questions within my artwork as well as solving issues or pushing myself to research into different themes. As a woman feminism is particularly important to me especially crediting the key pioneers, artwork, and movements up until now as well as understanding and appreciating the origins of the movement that allow women to speak up and have more of a voice than they have before.
Another thing I appreciate about the magazine was that the people involved understood areas for improvement, listened to their audience, which is key as they are the ones who are reading this and will be affected by it, and criticized aspects of the magazines that needed work. This led to improvements taking place to align more with them. Things such as allowing everyday women to share their stories more rather than only having widely known authors creating articles as well as featuring people from more diverse backgrounds. As one of the things I noticed was that a lot of the women on the front page were mainly of a white racial background, however, as the years progressed there were woman from other races featured which is important within feminism; to be intersectional and multicultural. However, I know I must look at this magazine in context of it coming out in the 70s, while feminism within the print media industry has progressed massively since then, but this magazine which such an important piece of media within this movement.
WEEK 3 – ANALYSIS – TASK 2 – Linderism Exhibition (Linderism at Home) – Kettle’s Yard
WEEK 3 – ANALYSIS – TASK 2
Linderism Exhibition (Linderism at Home) – Kettle’s Yard
Linder as an artist was recommended to me by my tutors, as my style of work resembles Linder’s in terms of techniques and process; I enjoy creating different types of collages and once I discovered Linder’s work, I wanted to explore further into the exhibition ‘Linderism’ at Kettle’s Yard. Due to the Covid-19 virus, this exhibition has been placed online with many resources covering the video elements of the exhibitions as well as a curation tour on YouTube which allows me to gain information on all dimensions of the exhibition effectively. This is something I know I need to keep in mind when presenting may work, as presentation and curation is a huge part of representing the work I have created especially during a time where we need to adapt and highlight our work in more creative ways during this pandemic.
Through exploring the exhibition curation tour guide on YouTube, it is highlighted that the three key themes that run through Linder’s work are Feminism, which is inspired by her reading the magazine ‘Spare Rib’ in Manchester in the 70s, which was a key element within the Women’s Liberation Movement in the late 20th century as well as Dada, which Linder read in Dawn Ades’ book ‘Photomontage’. Dadaism is essentially political print culture which directly feeds within the themes of her controversial and provocative work but adapted to her own unique style. The last theme that runs through her work clearly is punk, she has the energy of the punk movement shown through her imagery of a sexual nature, the performance elements as well as the political side which links back to Dadaism.
“The Light with Nothing to Rest Upon”
These are a series of images Linder took in the Dicken’s club in Manchester during a drag competition in 1976-1977, the same time she made her first set of widely known collage prints. The name of these images really stood out to me, I later found out it was from a Charles Dicken’s book which links to the fact that these were taken at the Dickens club in Manchester. Personally, the energy in these pictures really excited me, they reminded me of the club kid scene in the 80s, where the youths were unapologetically themselves, enjoying the energy and spirit of being free in the night club as I could feel the emotions of the people through the pictures. All of these images are black and white which take away from the fashion and extravagant outfits that these people were wearing but highlight the emotions, the connection between the people in the images and their personality that you can clearly see through the pictures. Although Linder is not known for her photography as well as her collage, I feel like these show a key theme that she projects throughout all her work and shows how authentic she is when it comes to representing people’s identity and style.
When looking at her work from a more modern perspective, it is nice to see a woman creating work showing the naked body of a women and owning the sexuality of it herself, instead of creating something using a woman’s body and having it sexualized by the male gaze or men in the industry, it shows she is owning her own sexuality before other people can overly sexualize it themselves.
