Wednesday, 16 March 2011

Deconstruction in Graphic Design


This is a front cover from the ray gun magazine which david carson was the art director of. Ray Gun was known for its cutting edge graphics and numerous typo's. The magazines layout has no clear order and no grids, its in complete disorder.


This is a piece done by david carson as well where he basically states dont mistake legibility for communication. The entire image is made out of just type laid over each other. It goes against any clear grids or legibility.


This is a piece done by Marinetti he has used his poetry in a deconstructive way where the words actually represent an expression or a dialogue. The abstract composition forces you to read the poem in a specific way.


This is a Wolfgang Weingart poster, the poster is loaded with so much information and its up to the reader how they interpret it and how they read the poster. You can interpret this poster in the conventional way by reading it left to right you have to read the bits you are drawn to first may that be because the point size is bigger and it grabs your attention first.


This is a poster done by Spriegfried Odermatt for a jazz festival, all the rules for type has been thrown out of the window for this poster, theres no clear structure, text is overlaid over other text and theres no clear area to start reading. 


Sunday, 6 February 2011

Avant Gard in Graphic design

One definition of Avant-Garde is the ability for art to exercise a positive influence on society, i decided to focus on graphic design in advertisement as this would be seen by most people. The Term Avant-Garde comes from the French who define it as being at the forefront of innovation which introduces and explores new forms. Most ads try and sell you something, this could either be good or bad. The ad's i have chosen to talk about are ads which attack some of the major companies who sell us products under false pretenses. 





The absolute end advert for vodka, shows the dangers of excessive drinking can cause death in a lot of extreme cases. The ad influences society to realise that drinking isn't as sexy and glamorous as its made out to be. This ads goal is to show people the dangers of drinking.


The second ad i have chosen is a spoof ad for nike, the text on the ad says "You're running because you want that raise to be all you can be. But its not easy when you work 60 hours a week making sneakers in an indonesian factory and your friends disappear when they ask for a raise". This shows the reality of the nike brand and how its made, using cheap labor from indonesia to make us more affordable shoes, but at cost of someone else's life.

Both these ad's are attacking big brand names and trying to provoke social change and one of the goals of Avant Garde is to exercise a positive influence on society.

Monday, 13 December 2010

Introduction to Post Modernism

Characterised

  • Exhaustion
  • pluralism
  • pessimism
  • disillustionment with idea of absolute knowledge
Modernism
  • Expression of modern life/technology
Post Modernism
  • a reaction to these
Origins
  • 1917- German writer Rudolph Pannwitz, spoke of  nihilistic, amoral men
  • 1964- Leslie Fielder a culture which rejected the elitist values of modern culture

  • 1960 - begins
  • 1970- established as a term
  • 1980- recognisable style
  • 1990s- dominant theoretical discourse
  • today- tired and simmering
  • Modernism dies according to Charles Jencks - 15th of july 1972
  • demolition of the Pruit - Igoe development, st. Louis
  • typical modernist design
Post Modernism
  • has an attitude of qeustioning conversations
  • Post modern aestheric = multiplicing of styles and approaches
  • space for new voice
  • only rule is that there are no rules
  • celebrates what might otherwise be termed kitsch
Park Hill Flats
  • post war housing
  • modernist style
  • build a community


New media and Visual Culture

Characteristics of new digital media

  • "late age of print" were in atm
  • age of print started 1450
  • allows people to become literate
  • Lage age of print we now have to be computer literate
Electronic Books
  • reader takes on the role of author
  • democrasation 
  • challenges the role of author
Computer Media
  • hypertext
  • overwhelming amount of information
  • all the information you need
  • new technologies change the world
Definitions of Mass Media
  • Modern systems of communication
  • negative criticism of mass media
  • superficial, uncritical, encourages status Quo, audience is dispersed, disempowered, figures measure success. 
  • encourages apathy
  • power held by few motivated by profit/social control
  • bland, escapist and standardised
Positive
  • not all low quality
  • creativity can be a feature of mass media
  • democratic potential
Artist use of Mass Media
  • John Walker - Art in the age of Mass media, what happens to art in this late age
  • Oliviero Toscani - Benneton Campaign
  • Leeds 13 - uses mass media to get known and get work
Key Qeustions
  • Can art be autonomous
  • Should art be autonomous
  • Jackson pollard paid by CIA to do his work to show the work of free mind
  • art for political reasons.

Advertising

  • a harmfull social force
  • Relationship between propaganda & advertisement
  • Adverts effect us subcontiously
  • commercial consumer advertising - adverts which promise something
  • Kalr marc 1818-1883
  • we live in a consumer/commodity culture
  • They way people think of themselves or others
  • construct their identities by products
  • "The commodity self" - steward ewens
  • We measure ourselves with what we own or what we can buy
Big TV - signifies money, how well off you are
  • Buying things to reinforce the person we want to be
  • we judge people on superficial categories
  • you are glamorous when envied
  • measuring ourselves against unobtainable ideals
Symbolic Associations
  • Sociability
  • popularity
  • youth
  • coolness
  • sophistication
  • multiracial 
Adverts like these produce a false need for meaningless things

How does it perpetuate false needs
  • aesthetic innovation
  • planned obsolescence 
  • novelty
  • builds false desires
Commodity Fetishisms
  • The context in which a product is produced is kept hidden
  • gets personified with people and things
  • people become dehumidified 
  • sexy
  • romantic
  • sophisticated
  • cool
Frankfurt School (1923)
  • Commodity culture manipulates us and makes us think in one dimension
  • advertisers say it creates wealth for our world
  • encourages - Freedom, Choice
  • how free are you well you keep being called inadequate
Stereotyping
  • manipulates people
  • seeks to make people unhappy
  • can become addictive
  • encourages us to buy something potentially unhealthy

Tuesday, 30 November 2010

Semiotics


The front cover is a mythical construction of what the working class male is interested in; Cricket, Football and X factor. The front cover is also a mythical construction of women being babes, singers and sexy santa's. The photo of katie shows innocence although the text used is bold and gossipy, the language used within the article is common and aimed at the working class male it uses slang like "Babe" which connotes working class slang for a sexy lady, which is another mythical construction of women.

Monday, 29 November 2010

Photography lecture

A document of the world at a moment

  • Document with the aim to change the world
  • use camera to change the world
  • Document to relay to others
  • a photo is not necessarily neutral
  • offer a humanitarian perspective
  • portray social and political situations
  • people tend to form the subject matter
James Natchway - Conflict photographer
  • idea of showing people how the other side of the world live
The photographer and the subject always have to compromise the photo as both have their own idea of what they want in the photo.

FSA Photographers
  • Paid by the american government to document the depression
  • they were instructed what to take
  • not neutral photos
John Lampray
  • used staged photography to show inferiority of blacks
  • photography used as power
Robert Capa (conflict photographer)
  • shocking and horrifying images
Magnum (international Group)
  • documents social problems