Project Report
Studio Practice
Thursday, 17 May 2018
Summative Post 4
As I’ve frequently highlighted in this blog, I have felt time and again this year that, despite the successes I’ve made with my practice this year, more could be done to develop my visual communication.
As I’ve frequently highlighted in this blog, I have felt time and again this year that, despite the successes I’ve made with my practice this year, more could be done to develop my visual communication.
Therefore I wanted my final major brief to have a lot of
conceptual depth and allow communicate themes, ideas and concepts in a concise
and effective manner.
Dune
My proposed Dune project naturally seems like the perfect
opportunity for me to achieve this things as well further steer my practice
into the area of the creative industry I’m interested in; this time in regards
to adult publishing and editorial.
Although in my statement of intent I’ve highlighted that I
want this to loosely be a Folio Society style brief, this is more in regards to
the context of creating a cover image and 4 inner images from than creating a
series of full bleed images cinematic images. This is because I want to use
this project as an opportunity explore and communicate the key themes of Dune
rather simply illustrate what happens within it.
Conceptual Development
Despite this I still wanted there to be a sense of narrative
within my work and found the work of contemporary illustrators Blex Bolex and
Icnonri highly informative. This is because both of their practices have a very
strong sense of narrative that is achieved through more abstract compositional
methods that aren’t often associated with narrative image making. In my opinion
this results in a much more immersive series of images that are actually much
stronger in evoking a sense of narrative. This is something which I have tried
to achieve with my Dune brief.
Alex Bolex
Iconori
Conceptually I was mainly interested in exploring the two
rival families within Dune; the protagonist Attreides family as well as the
antagonistic Harkonens. This is because I feel both families have very strong
recurring themes and motifs attached to them through out the book which would
allow me to create the more abstract narrative image which I desired.
In the case of the Attreides family, this project has been
about trying to visually show Paul’s prescience, particularly its ominous and
often violent predictions that he is constantly trying to avoid but feels
powerless to stop. In contrast to this the Harkonens are all about blind
conquest and stopping at nothing to eliminate their adversaries. Therefore I
felt these two conflicting concepts would help create a dynamic, tense yet
unified set of final images.
Aesthetically I wanted to try and avoid sci-fi clichés and
therefore was drawn to the work of Daniel Mroz. Although operating in the realm
of science fiction, much of his work was produced between 1950 and 1970 before a lot of the
genre current tropes had established themselves. In particular I like how the
work is highly influenced by highly traditional illustration often associated
with earlier time periods such as the 1800s.
Daniel Mroz
Final Images/ Publication
I think that the final images that I produced effectively incorporate
the developments I have made through this year and are an example of the visual
language I am currently implementing. Furthermore I feel that they have effectively
achieved the conceptually and communicative depth that I feel my earlier briefs
were lacking.
I think I have also very carefully considered context here
given that I decided some of my images would form a fold out publication where
as others would form editioned art prints.
This was so as to best capitalise on what I had learnt
through my editions brief as well as finally, and I think quite effectively,
combine the skills I have leant through my freelance commercial design work
with my illustration practice.
Summative Post 3
Given that this is now over half way through the year, I
think that I really need to start thinking about where I want my practice to
sit within the creative industry and within what context I want it to exist.
Therefore I think my subsequent briefs really need to focus in on the areas of
the industry, music and adult publishing, that I highlighted within my
statement of intent.
Although I have touched upon these in previous briefs, ie
Don’t Look Now and Mono No Aware, I think I could do more to better position my
work within these fields.
Mutant Beat Dance
Initially I was going to undertake the Secret Sevens brief
given that it would allow to respond to music in a very direct manner which
would require the careful consideration of context ie a 7” record sleeve.
Unfortunately I wasn’t particularly excited by the songs
that were chosen this year and wasn’t feeling particularly inspired by them. Furthermore,
my tutor highlighted the fact that, even though I want gear my work towards the
music industry, I need to much more carefully consider context. Ie, if I’m
mainly interested in the independent electronic music scene, how much am I
actually going to gain from a much more generalised brief like Secret Sevens?
With all this taken into consideration I decided to undertake
my own, alternative brief. This would be the same concept as Secret Sevens but
responding to the music produced by the recording duo: Mutant Beat Dance. This
would allow me to better explore image making in response to the specific area
of the music industry that I was interested in.
Specifically I wanted this project to explore how lo-fi
aesthetics can be explored in a way that feels considered and refined. This is
due to the fact that I feel this is a juxtaposition that often exist within
independent electronic music and therefore something I feel my work should
reflect.
The work of artists working for small, D.I.Y labels formed
the main basis of the contextual research for this project. I’m particularly
drawn to Will Bankhead’s work for The Trilogy Tapes label due to how he
combines illustrative elements, photography, typography and found imagery in a
way that, on the surface looks very sophisticated but is in reality using a lot
of simple and lo-fi processes.
Will Bankhead
However aesthetically I was also informed by the work of Ben
Zeouller and Kazumasa Nagai. In particular I was interested in their reductive,
playful and often unrepresentative depictions of forms and figures and how they
feel very playful and energetic yet also very considered and solid.
Kazumasa Nagai
Ben Zeouller
Conceptually my main ideas focused on the simple but I feel,
effective, motifs of both a mutant dancer and a mutated beat by which I fused
the visualisation of sound I had explored within Cop 3 with scientific imagery
of microscopic cells.
Final Thoughts
I think this project was highly effective in communicating
the music in question and I was particularly happy with the variation of final
images I mad. Furthermore I think this was my most successful attempt yet in
merging analogue and digital as well as drawn and collaged elements within my compositions.
Although contextually I think this has really helped me to
evaluate my practice particularly in regards to wear I want it to fit and what
I want to respond to, as mentioned earlier in the blog I feel like I need to do
more to develop more specific and refined communicative skills. This is
something which I feel would be achieved by undertaking a project, such as the
Dune one outlined in my proposal, that has more conceptual depth.
Summative Post 2
However, given how open ended and conceptually
loose this project was, I feel like going into the rest of the year I will need
to focus on briefs that have more of an emphasis on the communication of
specific content.
Thought experiment
With the problems I was initially reflecting on the state of
my practice, my thought experiment can be seen as a reactionary piece in
response to the work I had previously been producing.
I wanted to create something much more direct in its
communication of content and in a way that better merges analogue and digital
image making techniques. The latter point is something that I have been trying
to achieve since first year and that at the moment I feel it still needs a lot
of work to be effectively achieved.
The main concept of the image was the fear that over
thinking things is often my biggest weakness, both within my practice and life
in general. Therefore I used the simple metaphor a broken light bulb/head to
simply and effectively communicate this.
I was really happy with my combinations of analogue
textures, mainly graphite, print and paint that I’ve applied digitally to
create a considered final image that still has the warmth and immediacy of the
analogue processes I’ve explored despite being digital.
COP3
My work in Cop 3 took these musings even further and I feel
has been a key turning point in the development of my practice. This is due to how,
much like my thought experiment, it was produced mainly as a reaction to my own
dissatisfaction with the current state of my practice and a desire to work in a
more experimental manner that was more informed by my subject matter than
simply trying to fit my previous aesthetic around a concept.
Editions
I felt like the Editions brief would be a good opportunity
to further push and explore the developments I changes to my practice that I
had undergone in Cop 3. I wanted to keep the concept quite loose so that I
could better focus on process and developing a unique and personal visual
language rather than getting too bogged down in content.
Therefore I chose explore recurring motifs and imagery of
early cultures, religion and mythology, taking particular interest in those
images and motifs that reappear across different time periods and cultures.
Given that much of Cop 3 work was collage based, I wanted to
use this brief to explore how I merge my own drawings with found imagery and
scanned textures to create unified final pieces in which it is hard to tell
what is drawn and what is collaged.
I also used it as an opportunity to further explore print
given that my images would ultimately be forming part of my solo exhibition,
Iconoclasm, in Liverpool. Therefore I really questioned what imagery is best
enhanced by the process of screen printing and how this would translate into an
exhibition. Therefore much of the imagery was very bold and carefully composed
using negative space and the subtle edition of colour to optimise how it would
be viewed; large scale within a gallery setting.
Final Thoughts
Overall I was really happy with these images, particularly
how they came together to form a cohesive and powerful exhibition. Here I think
my careful consideration of the context has really helped optimise my process
and ultimately the effectiveness of my final images.
Summative Post 1
The main issue with the imagery that I have created in the
first part of the year is that it feels far too safe and that I have settled
into a process and aesthetic based on what was working in second year rather
than continuing to evaluate and question this. This is primarily a traditional
approach to creating imagery in a cinematic manner, using fore, mid and
background elements coupled with other compositional methods such as lighting
and negative space to create bold final images.
This was largely informed by my past work, particularly the
About the Author brief, and my research into other image makers who work in
this traditional manner such as Bill Bragg, Owen Davey and Jon McNaught.
Jon McNaught
Owen Davey
Bill Brag
Mono No Aware
Despite these issues there have been some successes, particularly
within my Mono No Aware brief. My idea behind this project was to produce a
series of folio society style images, ie full bleed, cinematic, narrative
images, in response to the Japanese concept of Mono No Aware which loosely translates
into a transient, gentle sadness in relation to the impermanence of things.
Problems
The initial two images I created I feel were mainly
unsuccessful mainly due to colour and textural choices. I chose colours that
were too punchy and vibrant that through of the subdued, wistful feeling I feel
is evoked by the concept. Furthermore the images feel too clean and digital.
This is partly due to a unconvincing use of texture masks and well as poor
choice of drawing materials; the line feel too clean and therefore I could
benefit from creating more visceral line work to reinforce the intended tone of
the imagery.
Successes
The final three images greatly benefited from these initial
reflections and I feel were a lot more successful. This is particularly due to
a minimal and reductive colour palate that creates a more evocative set of
final images. The choice of orange in particular helps communicate the idea of
impermanence through suggesting dusk/sun set and its association with the
passing of time. Furthermore, I decided to create my images using graphite
stick which I feel has given the images a more visceral, analogue feel which I
think better suites the concept as well as context of imagery for publishing.
Don’t Look Now
However, despite these successes with my Mono No Aware
project, I think that this period has mainly resulted in unsuccessful imagery
and personal dissatisfaction with my project. This is due to the fact that I
have settled to readily for an aesthetic and at times feel restricted by it.
For example with the Don’t Look Now posters I think I was
too concerned with making balanced compositions that fitted alongside my
narrative work without considering what worked best in response to the context
of night club posters. This is particularly true of the Volte-Face poster where
I feel the Anime esque character and bold colour choice doesn’t accurately
mirror the darkness and subtlety of the music in question.
Final Thoughts
I feel like the imagery feels overly static and bland and
that I could have been far more experimental with it. This is going to be my
manifesto for creating imagery for the rest of the year as currently I feel
like I need to really evaluate and push my practice from where it is currently
at.
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