End of module Evaluation

End of module evaluation.

At the beginning of this project I was very sceptical about my ideas, my essays theme was on propaganda in art and design, how the image can influence the world of politics. After a discussion on the appropriateness of my writing, my essays content had a significant improvements and the essay seemed to be more succinct. The theme I explored as more the obligation arts and designer feel to respond to a politically or socially driven issue. With these changes in mind I was much more confident in my essay writing and research. On top of this I found an area of design that really fascinated me, this made research and development of ideas much more enjoyable.

After identifying these alterations and completing all the study tasks required I began to do some much more in-depth research into some more academic writing on the Russian constructivist works of Rodchenko and El Lissitzky, these research revealed their knowledge at the time of there work somewhat rewriting the rules of design in Russia. These points seemed to work interestingly in conjunction for my essay. It took a lot of further research to find the sources appropriate to my work. As well as this I looked in detail into the work of American political artist Shepard Fairey, his work for the Obama presidential campaign brought up some very engaging points that played on this idea of a social obligation to act for change. The book Art of Obama included interviews with the artist detailing his involvement in the project and why it was he create the iconic HOPE poster. From these sources I found examples of research not only in physical paintings, and posters but how online means of communication can be used as a tool for promoting and communicating change.

This research for my essay went on to inform my further research that would go on to inform my practical work. The political artist Ai Weiwei's film NEVER SORRY was one of the first in-depth pieces I had seen on his work and not only the form his work to up but the way he spoke about art as a almost political revolution. The film gives an insight into the artists life and practice but also the ongoing oppression and censorship the Chinese government puts the Chinese people under. This was an issue I had very little knowledge on and they way Ai Weiwei spoke about this issue really opened my eye to this theme. Video and film content is a theme I didn't really explore but is possibly the most direct way of communicating a theme in politics due to the clarity of information and that there is no limitations to how much visual stimulus can be communicated. Ai Weiwei's approach to issues around the world I found really inspiring and wanted to know so much more. I looked a a number of books on his work to try and understand how he goes about his work and how I could translate some of his throughs processes and idea into my own designs. He speaks a lot in his work about the popularity of his blog and he had no idea of the power of the internet to reach out to as many people as possible, he describes the web as the greatest art form of the twenty first century and that this is the best for of direct communication to a wide spread audience. He often takes to social media like Instagram and Twitter to promote issues he feels strongly about, recently posting hundreds of photos of the Syrian refugees to try and raise awareness of this issue. Another piece of work that Ai Weiwei had a part in that really stood out was the three art books he printed in China informing the Chinese people on the censored work of modern and contemporary art. The work had to be distributed through word of mouth in a more secretive and underground way this for me was fascinating as well as this different platform for communication of politically driven themes through art and design was very interesting.

 Considering this I began to plan my practice work in response to this. I felt creating an online publication to celebrate all aspects of art and design under this theme seemed an appropriate response. In my research for the content I looked at more classical mural pieces, poster designs, instillation works and more current online means of communication. As well as this I visited the Tate modern and saw first hand the work of the Guerrilla Girls and an piece of Latin American photo books, this work showed me how just simple uses of type and imagery can be combined to make really engaging and throughout provoking designs. Typography I knew would be key in this project as this would be the main part of my designs and layout of the different works doing some additional research into the use of type was something I knew I needed to work on. The magazine Baseline had an article on use of type in somewhat controversial political parties and dictatorships, the article spoke of type being a really tool of expression and using type can denote so many theme that can have a major influence on the communication. Another magazine I looked closely at in my research was the work of Adbusters, this became a major influence into my magazine designs. The kind of communication I was looking at reflected in their work and this abrupt and impacting design was also what I looked to replicate. Taking all my research and transferring it into content gave me a few features that would make up the magazine. Creating the writing for the magazine is something I really struggled with I feel if I was more confident in my own writing ability my work would have been much more engaging. This in a way is true in my essay the writing is something I do not feel totally confident with and getting across my point is a long time consuming process.

 Overall I feel my practical (see Issuu Publication THE ART OF POLITICS on COP Blog) work has stemmed from some interesting themes I looked at in my essay and I feel my knowledge of the subject and why it is useful to look for more academic writing has really improved. I would however have improved my idea generation for this project I feel as if I may have just gone with my first idea and not pushed this enough, as well as this I feel I could have looked to include my works seen in my essay in the online publication. There is clear links in my practical work and my essay both exploring the theme of a obligation to act on issues the artist or design feels strongly on. Context of Practice for me has been one of the most challenging modules to date, initially I found it really hard to start my work but I found leaning to enjoy what I was doing helped me in this. The more detailed writings on graphic design is something I find very interesting and learning more on where the ideas have come from and this further analysis of why it has been done will help me as a design put more reasoning behind my work. There has been a lot of things in COP I found challenging and out of my comfort zones but I am confident now I can push on to really improve on my work in the second and third year.

Practical work evaluation

After completing my practical work for this project I can now reflect on successful I feel it has gone. My ambitions were to create an publication in the form of an online to inform the reader on examples of art and design in politics and what this can do to help change the world.

 As highlighted in my essay I feel both artists and designs when confronted with an issue they feel in touch an passionate about they feel a social obligation to act in some way. Exploring examples of this theme a range of formats shows how varied each example of can be and still have a lasting impact. Within my essay I spoke of the image being a powerful tool of promote change, this is explored in a range of examples in the magazine, through painting, sculpture, installation art, photography, graphic design, mural design and using social media I planned to give an overview of the power of the image and feel I have done so with success. 

For the format of the magazine in my research the artist Ai Weiwei spoke of the internet being the greatest art form of the 21st century and the best and most accessible platform to voice your opinion, due to this I wanted to make my designs work in an online format and using the website 'issuu' meant I could display and share my designs with ease. As shown in the issuu link bellow. 

In terms of design and content I looked closely at the work of Adbusters, Baseline magazine and The Black Cover Book', 'The Grey Cover Book' and 'The White Cover Book' works by Ai Weiwei, all with an emphasis on highlighting political and social issues around the world. There design in essence was direct and impacting, the use of large bold typography and black backgrounds was a design feature seen throughout the various design this was then something I knew I had to translate into my own designs, and I feel I have done this to good effect. The choice of dynamic images was something that really adds to this, using either black and white images or image with a strong use of colour, overall I feel with the photos I have picked they are appropriate to the content and are engaging in the context. Some elements of the design I feel could have been improved upon the use of consistent typography, for me this is something that can be changed throughout a publication but some my think it needs to be totally consistent throughout. Another issue I feel I could have improved could be thinking about a range of ideas, I feel I may have just gone with my initial idea and a range of ideas would bring up theme I didn't initial think of. Lastly the other thing I feel I could definitely have improved upon is the creation of my own additional content, my idea is to celebrate politically driven art and design but inclusion of my own design work in response could have proved engaging.

Overall in my practical work for Context of Practice I feel my design fully relate to the themes in my essay and the designs I have created are to a high standard with a lot of research and development backing up my design decisions. I feel my knowledge of politically driven art and graphics has greatly improved but I would like to look to keep improving on my essay writing and application of design principles and ideas highlighted in more complex texts. Context of Practice is the project I feel I struggled with most on my time in the first year, I found it difficult to get motivated for the projects but after I reworked my essay after my feed back and may my work relate more in line with my interests in graphics I found I really enjoyed a further level of analysis in the theme of graphics. Feedback is a large part of making insuring my designs are appropriate and competent but is another aspect I feel I could have pushed and improved upon. I am pleased all in all with my final outcomes for this brief and would like to look to continue to explore the them of politically driven art and design.

The Art of Politics

Final Magazine designs.

This image above is the cover I have selected for my magazine, after comparing a few different possibilities this image best reflects the content of the magazine and remains eye catching and engaging. The use of type really brings out this, the graphic nature of TIMMONS NY that I have identified being used in the AdBusters magazine.

This page is my into page and contents page, using black and white backgrounds with white and black type makes the content really stand out. I wanted to keep the consistency from the cover and the black background emphasis this. Using a different typeface for each of the pieces of content on show in the magazine mean each are distinctive and different, this puts emphasis on the fact each section of the magazine explores political art and design in very different mediums. These pages show an introduction into the magazine and have been designed without images for this reason.

This next spread is on the recent burning of Donald Trump effigies in Mexico, I wanted the layout of images to reflect the different stages of it being carried to being set on fire and then being burnt. The two images on the far right hand side are the most engaging so they have been made very large. The type then sits alongside this, as this is more of a playful feature of the magazine this had to be reflected in the designs as shown above.

This spread is for the feature on Ai Weiwei's recent work at the Konzerthaus building in Berlin, as the image is very striking displaying it full bleed on the right hand page then all the type on the right puts the emphasis on the bright orange of the 14,000 refugees life jackets. The type on the left as Ai Weiwei has been so influential not only in modern political art but in my project, I wanted to display his name in an as impacting and way as possible, the use of the large AI adds to this alongside the black background and white type. The type dominates the space and reflects nicely the columns of the building and artwork.

This page continues on the feature on Ai Weiwei, using a quote on the left that really related to my theme in this project I have edited the slug of the text to insure maximum readability. Alongside again implementing the back background to keep the designs consistent using images from Ai Weiwei's instagram. This highlights another format that can be used to raise issues on problems around the world. Displaying these images in a three by three grid means I can show a range but the images shown remain clear.

This spread looking at Political Murals it was vital in the designs to make sure all the images are as large as possible and show the different scales of each mural. As red and black stands out in these images I wanted to use the image with the most red at the bottom of the page and the least or no red at the top, this creates a appropriate hierarchy to the designs and intuitively feels right. This compositions allows for an appropriate amount of space for the fairly large amount of text.

This feature on James Bridle's Drone Shadow project, I have kept the design consistent from the initial designs but made space for text on the right hand side. 

In conjunction with the first double page on James Bridle this page features a small essay written by James Bridle. I wanted to make the design engaging so creating a outline in the type of a drone assisted me with this. Using arranged left type made the designs much more clear I changed the number of columns on the double page from six to four this again emphasises clarity. I made sure each line was as consistently place and the overall slug of the type was easy to read. 

This page for JR I have kept similar from the initial designs. I looked as using alternative characters in the typeface to make sure the information is communicated in as clear way as possible. The more rigid letter R shown above felt much more consistent and appropriate.

This page continues on from the page above on the artist JR I have once again not changed much from the initial designs, I wanted to let the images be the focus and show best the large scale of the designs.

This final double spread features the Latin American photo books. As seen in the Tate modern the book covers have been displayed in a layout that looks to emphasis the varying styles on show in the book designs. The layout additionally needed to have a large amount of space for the type.

This image is the back page of the magazine, keeping the designs as minimal as possible just featuring my name and link to website. Overall the designs of this magazine I feel reflect my research into Adbusters and Baseline magazine. Being impacting and engaging were the two design elements I knew I wanted to include in this design and I feel this is echoed throughout the publications design.

Cover ideas

For my political art magazine I knew I needed to chose a cover that was very impacting and eye catching, experimenting with a range of images allowed me to pick the most appropriate cover for the context and the content of the magazine.

Using images from the magazine I used the Fraternal kiss image from the Berlin wall, the large painting Guernica by Picasso, the 'Together we can beat AIDs mural by Keith Haring and the image of Trump burning and JR's Face to Face project. The Keith Haring piece of work was interesting but related to a more social issue rather than political. The Guernica image by Picasso in its nature is very eye catching, but reflected to much a very fine art theme and wouldn't work with the rest of the magazine. This image has also been used many times on the cover of art book on politics. After speaking with my tutors and class mates on which cover they felt was most impacting and reflected best the content the general census was that the Fraternal Kiss image by Dmitri Vrubel was the most eye catching and would really invite the reader to find out more. 

Comparing the different compositions of the cover the forth image shown in this series was highlighted as the most appropriate. The image works with the size of type and both work in conjunction and aren't over bearing. The use of Timmons NY typeface again is very direct and makes the magazine stand out. 

Experimenting with as large range of covers for me was very important as the cover needed to stand out and feel very direct and different. 

As I am pleased now with the cover image I can move on to refining the inside pages of the magazine.

Initial layout designs for 'THE ART OF POLITICS' magazine

These design are my initial design ideas for a online magazine on art and politics, I began by using the TIMMONS NY typeface seen in the Adbusters magazine for the cover, I wanted the designs to be iconic and eye catching, using white text white black boarders helped display this, the initial designs are only a ruff idea and need to be reworked and changed as my research and practice work moves forward. I would like to look at using some photographs for my cover image of the publication, this needs to be as eye catching as possible to get as many readers as possible. I want to experiment with a few different cover ideas to see which might be most effective.

The first spread will include a small introduction into the content and then this black page with white text on on the different artists featured on the right. I have experimented with using a number of typefaces to try and convoy the various different styles and mediums seen in the publication.

This next spread I am yet to really think about, including the Calder Mercury Fountain as it is in response to the mercury mining that provided the money during the Franco era in Spain, Calder has put beauty into the material and tried to express how Spain can be against the Franco dictatorship.

 This spread is on murals made in response to political and social issue, the design I feel should reflect the scale of these works, I am yet to include any information but the layout so far I am pleased with. As each of these pieces is so different the designs are very interesting alongside one another.






These images depict the Donald Trump effigies burnt over Easter, trying to celebrate them as pieces of political sculpture as well as mocking Drump at the same time. This design needs to show the evolution of making to burning of the effigies I feel I have done this here, and the larger images bleeding off the page means the images really stand out.

 This page on the artist Ai Wei Wei I feel really needs some improvements, depicting his involvement in online ways of highlighting social and political issues. The quote to the left relates well with my essay and is something I feel I must include in the publication. Including a coloured background for one of these pages will break out the publication a bit and put more emphasis on the content on show.

James Bridle's Drone Shadow designs is a totally unique piece of art and should definitely be included in the publication, getting the photos composed however is proving more challenging. I wanted to show all the images of the drones going one direction but this proved difficult I then instead made all the drones point into the middle creating a focal point in the designs.

 Alongside the Drone images I am thinking of including this essay written about the drone shadows by James Bridle. How to make this page more engaging is something I could look to highlight. I may try and create a drone image out of the negative space of the text. this is something that would bring the designs to life a bit more and be much more engaging.

 This spread looks at the French Graffiti artist JR. As the images were already so iconic and graphic the design then just had to reflect this, using the TIMMONS NY type again and putting in large letters in the darker part of the image the letters JR along with some text. This spread doesn't take away from the quality of the photographs and in a way emphasis's them.

 This spread is a continuation from the JR spread onto he previous page. Again using large images to emphasis the scale of the work will make the designs much more spectacular. Overall I am pleased with these initial designs but definitely think they could be improved on.

ADBUSTERS MAGAZINE

 ADBUSTERS 

On the AdBusters Website they describe themselves as 'Adbusters is a not-for-profit magazine fighting back against the hostile takeover of our psychological, physical and cultural environments by commercial forces.'dealing with issues on political problems, social conventions and how to act against this AdBusters seems a interesting form of research for my practical project. The way in which this magazine is designed and communication is expressed is of a similar style to which I want my publication to look, the dynamic typography and bold imagery showcases the best of politically and socially driven work.

The use of black and white is a frequent theme used in these designs to insure they are eye catching and engaging, the type size is reasonably large for a magazine of this size and again adds to this directness of communication.


Graphic imagery is another theme used throughout this magazines design. These two pages both use a striking image to the right in black and white and the use of large typography alongside this. This imagery means the designs are iconic and impacting. I love the use of the large hand painted type writing the words 'EVIL' large.

 

 The use of very simplistic pages put all the emphasis on the information, this is something I could look to do in my own work if the images or text need to be explicitly highlighted.


This technique is seen throughout the designs, additionally the rotation of body copy is a design feature that breaks up the publication, and adds a more laid back theme in the designs. For issues that are fairly controversial this is a design feature that maybe effective.



This use of large dynamic type is used here again, the typeface TIMMONS NY designed by Matt Willey is used he, this type really expresses the information directly and reflects American culture.

This article on the presidential election has alighted Donald Trump with an image of a swastika, but has been designed in a way that makes it a little more light hearted and not as serious as it could have been displayed. This use of connecting imagery is technique that can be used to suggest things that are some what controversial is another design feature I could look to use in my work.



This image shows best the almost printed digital style that has been used in the design , using pixels images and type gives the designs a connection with an online format. As the website is the main part of Adbusters work this connects the magazine with the online designs.

In terms of engaging design responding to social and political issues Adbusters offers a excellent examples of what can be done to best express this theme.

Baseline Magazine - Type as Agent of Power

 In the typography magazine Baseline there is an article titled Type as Agent of Power exploring the use of typography seen in propaganda posters and publications connected with dictatorships and some what controversial political movements. The layout of the article uses this consistent black back ground with white type on top, this not only makes the type stand out but the images also. This could be a design feature to implement on my own work. As my magazine designs will be mainly examples of other artists and designers work thinking about how this is presented is through typography and the layout of images is key to my designs.

Written by Steven Heller initially describes communication through type, 'when formed into certain typeface styles and families, are agents of power and tools of the powerful. Some are used to gnaw away at freedom of thought and deed, expressing authoritarian dictates.' speaking of the typefaces being the incisor of language and how communication is expressed. In terms of my own publication possibly looking at how type is formed and composed using these techniques will show further understanding of what they are communicating and how.


The article then goes on to speak of typefaces denoting certain ideas and themes, the Germain Blackletter (Fraktur) is described as 'the Nazi's ideal German typeface' is forever tainted as a reminded of Hitlers crimes against humanity. This notion of a typeface being able to express such hate, pain and evil is a though provoking theme that I could touch on in my magazine.

The article goes on to speak of Obey the giant by Shepard Fairey and how this use of words and type can denote a direct and abrupt form of communication. Then goes on to talk about the use of a serif type may not have the same impact 'Can types designed for power even have serifs? Heavy slab serifs not withstanding, do dine line serifs slow down reading and provide the receiver with a millisecond of of contemplation time, which could mean the difference between acquiescence or disobedience? Power you might say, is in the lack of details.' an interesting statement weather a san serif typeface is more powerful I'm not sure but the immediacy of expression and readability is certain. How type can express information is for me a engaging idea and one that it may be interesting to look into in my own publication.

The final page speaks of the German artist Kathe Kollwitz, who's son was killed in World War I created the 1924 poster 'Nie weider Krieg' (War Never Again!) and how the hand scrawled lettering of the masthead evoked the power of the masses. This in contrast to the 'Hitler' election poster the writer describes 'the stark geometric typeface posses an architectonic authority that suggests, ironically a forceful yeah modern persona.' this idea that both designs speak to the masses but one shows much more authority and the other urges the country to unity against this authority. This article has given me some understanding of type as a tool for promoting power and how typefaces alone can be provocative in expressing this power.

Synthesis

As my question is “Discuss the role that Graphic Design can play during periods of political and/or social upheaval." within my essay I speak overall of the obligation artists and designers feel to respond to issues they feel connected or strongly moved by this in turn should then be reflected somewhat in my practical response. As I am creating a online magazine celebrating examples of political and socially driven art every example should be underpinned by the artist or design having strong issues in connection with this. In my research I have found examples of works by Ai Wei Wei, James Bridle, Keith Haring e.g that are all very different and showcases the many many formats and approaches that can be undertaken in expressing this need for change. My designs should then reflect as appropriately as possible these different examples to best display their qualities and differences. I am yet to know if this response will be as engaging and interesting as I would like it to be but I am sure at least that it connects to my essay question and the issues I have raised and highlighted.

Ai Wei Wei Instagram

The political activist Ai Wei Wei often takes to the social media platform Instagram to promote issues from around the world he is strongly unfenced by, posting photos of Syrian refugees for example shows people all around the world how though over looked these problems are still ever present. This platform for communication is something very different from what I have looked at previously and including examples of political art on social media platforms would be a provocative theme to include in my magazine. Each image here shows very different things in connection with social and poetical issues that Ai Wei Wei feels strongly about. How I display these images will be a challenge but could create some interesting results.

Protest: Latin American Photobooks at Tate Modern

 Also on display at the Tate modern were these Poltical protest photobooks from Argentina, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Chile, taken form the collection fo the photographer Marin Parr these books showcase amazing use of imagry and typography displaying these social and poltical issues. The choice of colour and strong images throughout the designs make the books really iconic and stand out. This idea of displaying the images in a way that highlights the beauty of the design is extremely intriging and may be something I look to do in my own magazine.

 These images show this bold and direct use of typography that make these design so iconic, the use of red, black and blue is seen throughout these designs adds to this eye catching theme. The design seem to really bring out the issues and show the importance of these books.

 The information talks about these books being easy to print and essemble then in turn becoming the most soficiant way of communicating the issues in hand. This is reminicent of the Black white and Grey books of Ai Wei Wei in my previous research. 

These images again show this direct communication and use of intense imagery. Mainly seen in black and white the photos depict revolution and aprestion.

 As these books are all photographic journals this is a medium of protest art and design I have not touched on and inclution in my magazine would be a engaging change. I love the stong uses of red and black to highlight as best as possible the issues of revolution in Latin America. Overall these designs have shown me alot in how to make my own magazine eye catching using just images and type.