Contextual Portfolio - Barbara Kruger

I've been interested in the work of Barbara Kruger for many years now as I think that the messages in her work are so powerful and inspiring; she isn't afraid to speak out about important issues. The way she uses colour, type and images together is a strong visual in my opinion and each element compliments each other to create a powerful piece. Below I have analysed a couple of my favourite pieces by Kruger, both are of personal interest to me and my interpretations are as I view them which could be wrong but I believe art is made for the audience to interpret in their own way so that it relates to themselves. 

Your Body Is A Battleground

Barbara Kruger1989

This piece is untitled which suggests that the artist wants the piece to mysterious to the audience as they don’t know what the piece will be about due to the title giving them no insight. The work is made up of two halves of image which is positive and negative and there is also text across the face of the woman.

There are simple colours involved in this work; there are three colours that have been used, black, white (tonal) and red. This makes a big statement to the audience as there is already a big contrast between the two halves due to the black and white; but then there is a big contrast between the black and white and the red. The left side of the image looks like a normal black and white image whereas the right side looks like an x-ray; this relates to the text as the x-ray will show up any injuries from the ‘battleground’. The red makes the text look like it is a warning sign as red can connote danger to the audience; also the red surrounds the text which suggests that the red is causing potential danger to the body which is in white which connotes purity.  The black and white tone makes the image look serious and then the red supports this as it suggests that danger could be ahead if we don’t stop.

The image of the woman is a close up which instantly creates a connection with the audience; the woman looks immaculate in the sense that there isn’t a hair out which suggests that she is trying to impress someone or feels that she needs to look immaculate. The x-ray distorts the way you look at the woman as the x-ray makes you look for a fault as x-rays are usually done to see if there is anything broken or if any damage has occurred; this relates to my theme with the connection of magazines also questioning the looks of women. Therefore the x-ray could be questioning her beauty and is in fact actually.

I like this piece of art as the text is just as powerful as the image which I think is well suited to my theme as the media use text as well as images to create impact on to the public who show interest in to the topic. Sometimes the public are in fact engaged initially through the choice of words they may use. This piece will influence my work due to the fact that the work by Barbara Kruger is part of the feminist culture; my work aims to highlight what the media think about body image and show how the public reflects on what they show/say which then leads them to have distorted views on how you should look.

You are not yourself

Barbara Kruger1984

The piece of art is untitled to the viewer which could suggest that the artist doesn’t want to give too much away about the piece; this could encourage people to want to view it in order to gain a better understanding and knowledge of the artwork. The piece is made up of a broken image with text to support the image.

The colours are basic in this piece as only black and white tones have been used throughout; this could show simplicity to the viewer and doesn’t distract the viewer from the message behind the image. The black and white creates a contrast within the piece; this helps to highlight the text in the piece. The white could connote how the soul of the woman is pure and it contrasts with the black, which connotes power and mystery. This could suggest that the black/darkness is affecting the purity of woman as the glass/mirror has shattered. This suggests that the woman is broken and can’t hold her life together. Another suggestion could be that she has looked in the mirror and doesn’t like her reflection as she sees herself as a fat distorted image of herself.

The image of the woman is quite close up which suggests that the woman is emotional and it also allows for the audience to create a connection with the viewer. The image has been distorted and it has lines in it from the shattered mirror effect; the lines could represent the hurt she has and how she is distorting her own image in order to become more like people/women that you may see in the media. She looks to be crying which shows to the audience that this is an emotional time for the woman and that she is breaking down her walls to show her inner self. The quote ‘you are not yourself’ is quite a powerful quote; it could mean that as she is trying to change herself to look a certain way, which suggest that by her changing herself she is becoming a different person altogether. The piece is interesting due to the powerful image and text that supported it.

Process and Production - Adobe Creative Suite - Indesign

This was an introduction session to Adobe Indesign; during this session I learned how to use the program, from the set up of the document and the features you can use whilst in the program. I was introduced to the use of columns and rulers which are used to guide the layout of your document. 

Then I moved on to how you can use the master page and what a master page is; everything you put on the master page is then reciprocated on to every page in the document. This can be helpful if you want elements of your design to be in the same position on every page.  You can add page numbers on to the master page and set it up so that the correct page number will appear instead of having to the page numbers manually.

After we moved on to looking at type and paragraph settings; this involved learning how to indent the start of paragraphs, adjust the leading and how to add a drop cap. I learnt how to do text flow so that each text box was linked to allow the text to flow through them.

Other features I learnt was how to add lines, place an image, remove the background of an image and wrap the text around the image. The skills I have learnt will be beneficial for the future when producing my research documents, any final outcomes that require the use of Indesign and when I work industry.

Below are screenshots to show the progress I have made throughout the session;

Process and Production - After Effects - Task 1 (continued)

This is my trailer for a journey; moving on from the first session I have used a filter and effect to set a mood to the trailer. Also in my opinion depth has been added to the trailer as a sense of detail has been applied.




After Effects Trailer - Journey 720p from Jade Irving on Vimeo.

Process and Production - Physical Studio - Layouts - Part 2

I picked my three favourite layouts from the nine thumbnails; I enlarged them to see if the design would still work on a larger scale and with actual text. I printed the article text out multiple times in different fonts, sizes and styles. By doing this I could determine what typeface would work well with the article and the images; a typeface can set a theme/mood to the text depending on the style of text. From doing this it will help me as a designer in the future as it has taught me to plan layouts/typefaces and experiment with text and layout before producing the final outcome. 

Layout Option 1

Layout Option 2

Layout Option 3

Process and Production - Physical Studio - Layouts

For the two page spread article I had to produce thumbnail layouts which then could be transferred in to Adobe Indesign. I experimented with different layouts and arrangements. I drew out nine different layouts which would then be developed further in to the final outcome. By producing thumbnails it allowed me to visualise the outcome; this process was valuable as I was able to plan the final outcome, I can use this skill in other projects in order to develop my work further.

Process and Production - Adobe Creative Suite - Expanding on Adobe Illustrator

After completing the Adobe Illustrator workshop I decided to have another try with an image of my own; this image was more complex in comparison. However, the skills I was taught came in hand when producing this piece. 

The drawing hasn't been fully completed but you can see how I have used the pen tool in this just like I have used it to produce the Marilyn Monroe.

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Process and Production - Adobe Creative Suite - Illustrator (Marilyn Monroe)

Adobe Illustrator Workshop

For this Adobe Creative Suite session I was taught how to create a caricature of Marilyn Monroe. The image of Marilyn Monroe was given to me and I have to reduce the opacity of the image so that the lines/curves I was about to draw would be seen visible. I used the the pen tool to trace around the outline of face, nose, mouth, eyes and hair. Using the same tool I added detail to the hair, eyes and mouth to form teeth. 

Then I added colour to fill the shapes that had been created; this allowed the drawing to look more realistic as it can be. Although I already knew how to use the pen tool it was useful to put my skills into practice and expand on them. Below is my result:

Contextual Portfolio - Workshop Week - ManvsMachine

Man Vs Machine Lecture

This lecture was presented by someone from  Man Vs Machine who was Matt Whitewood; he is a graduate from the University who has a degree in Digital Media. He went through work that led to working with Man Vs Machine, work he has done with Man Vs Machine and how we can improve our approach to the industry.

One of the projects he worked on was the Nike KD7 project for the new trainers; this was one of my favourite pieces that he showed during his lecture.  The advert showed of some of his amazing effects and animation; the animation includes close ups, clever transitions and changes the shoe in to animalistic characters.

Here is the advert below;

Another project from the ManvsMachine studio was the work done for Film4; although Matt didn't work on this project himself, he knew what went in to the project and went through it with us in the lecture. The aim of the project was to create a film channel rather than a tv channel; this covered all on-air aspects of the brand from indents to OSP and more. 

The outcome was a contemporary take on a classic film strip using a custom motion technique; the idea was to expand beyond the logo and give the brand an overall visual signature. I liked looking at this project as it showed how you can completely rebrand a company to give the audience a different perspective on the brand. 

Here is what they have to say about the project;

'Needing to cater to ultimate film buffs and occasional action movie fans alike, this filtered down into details such as a film poster inspired typographic system that intelligently resizes titles to occupy a designated screen space, giving all films an equal billing whether it be 'ET' or 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'.'

'The idents see the technique applied to cinematic live action compositions, presenting the Film4 logo in various locations. Each location/scene carefully crafted to elicit a variety of different moods. Idents begin ambiguously before seamlessly branching off into one of three possible endings, making minimal adjustments to shift the mood dramatically. Each of the idents is constructed from a vast array of film references and homages; from the iconic to the obscure.'

'The technique itself became a celebration of film craft, allowing us to mix live action with stop motion (the logo), and a healthy dose of post production, applied by the talented team at Analog. Not forgetting the beautifully cinematic score by Resonate.'

Here are the outcomes; 

Contextual Portfolio - Workshop Week - Screen printing

This week is workshop week, as part of this week today I took part in a screen printing workshop which was situated in a studio in Halifax. This was a great opportunity to use the studio's facilities which aren't always available to me. Below is the information I was given in order to produce my own screen print. 

What is screen printing? 

Screen printing is a process of pushing ink through a fabric mesh that has an image attached to it. It is a way of printing multiples of one image. You can screen print on to materials such as paper/card/fabric or wood. It is a straight forward process that creates some brilliant affects, each image being unique as it is printed by hand. 

Materials required;

• pencil/pen
• cutting mat/ durable surface
• craft knife
• quality paper
• paint (system 3 acrylic paint & medium solution)
• screen
• squeegee
• palette knife

Screen printing step by step;

Step 1

Design your print. (keep the design simple at first, geometrical shapes are ideal).

Step 2

Using a craft knife, carefully and precisely cut out your design. Keeping the surrounding outer area intact.

Step 3

Use masking tape to tack-down the stencil on to your material. (tip - make sure the mesh of the screen and the stencil are in contact. If there are any gaps use masking tape around the edges of the stencil to stop the ink leaking through underneath).

Step 4

Position the screen carefully on to your material.

Step 5

Using a palette-knife throughly mix the colour & medium solution together (ratio 50/50) (tip - left over ink can be kept and stored for about a month or even longer when placed in a sealed air-tight container).

Step 6

Pour out, or spoon out sufficient ink on to the top of the screen in a line (make sure there is enough ink to cover the stencil evenly). Try avoid getting any ink onto any part of the stencil at this stage. 

Step 7 

Choose a squeegee that fits the width of the screen & stencil. Find the middle of the squeegee and hold it with both hands (placing hands either side). Hold the squeegee at an angle of 45 degrees and draw the ink down the screen in a continuous movement and with firm pressure. Do not remove the screen just yet. Instead evaluate and repeat the process again if necessary (i.e if any areas of the stencil have been missed). (tip - it is important to use the squeegee skilfully when drawing the ink down in one continuous movement whilst keeping the pressure constant. Stopping the squeegee will cause imperfection in the final print.

Step 8 

Carefully remove the screen by lifting it off the material (if you drag the screen the print will smear).

Step 9

Very carefully remove the stencil by lifting it from the screen & remove any waste masking tape. The print should be left for the ink to dry throughly. It is advisable to clean the screen and squeegee immediately using water to gently clean off the residue ink. It is good practice to wash the screens and squeegees often to prolong future use. Dry ink will ruin the mesh surface possibly causing visible imperfection in any future prints.

Here is the result;

Contextual Portfolio - Workshop Week 10/11/14

This week my normal timetable has been paused in order for workshop week to take place; I'm excited for this week as it gives me a chance to develop my skills in a range of areas.

 During this week I will take part in an after effects workshop, book workshop , screen printing workshop and a typography workshop. As well as these workshop I will also be attending some lectures presented by successful talent in the field and past students that have gone on to have a successful career; I feel it's important for me to attend these lectures as it will give me an idea of what I could achieve when I graduate in a few years time

Foundation Studio - City In Flux - Research

I have done research in to different areas in relation to the city in flux brief, however I do feel drawn towards the typography aspect of design from looking at Pinterest ( view my board on typography on my Pinterest account). 

The idea of typography also relates well with the concept of being overloaded with information within a city and how you lose a sense of control. In terms of inspiration I looked work from various places; such as the work of designer David Carson.

I'm interested in the way he overlaps his typography and in some cases he distorts the text and obscures the text by using texture and overlays. His work has been a major influence in my practice before I started this project as I've had a genuine interest in his work.

Foundation Studio - City In Flux - Se7en Production

I came across the opening titles for the film Se7en; they are quite interesting due to all the detail that has been put in to the scenes and then if you rewind to the making stage you can see that a lot of time and effort has gone in to the titles to make to it fit so perfectly with the brief. 

Below is a section of the finished opening titles:


Se7en title sequence from emanuele lumini on Vimeo.

This opening title sequence reminds me of work associated with the postmodernist movement due to the style of typeface that has been used. The scribble hand written type has a strong resemblance to the work of David Carson; I'm familiar with his work already through a strong interest in his work. 

These opening titles will influence my work greatly as I love the typography that has been used within this piece and how they a changing and moving. Also in sections there is lots of typography which could relate to information overload. As well as looking at the typography in this piece, I'm also intrigued by the textures that have been created and how they have been used to influence the audience to a way of thinking about the film and what it will be like and about. 

Process and Production - After Effects - Task 1 - Trailer

In the first session I was asked to come back to the next session with 10 - 20 images and with a copyright free audio file in order to start making a 10 second trailer. I decided I was going to base my trailer around being on a train journey and show what you see throughout. 

In preparation for the trailer I took a vast amount of images on my own train journey which provided me with more than the recommended amount; this allowed me to have choice when creating my trailer. I got the audio file from http://freemusicarchive.org.

Before going into Adobe After Effects I needed to edit my images in Adobe Photoshop so that they were suitable for use in my trailer. 

Contextual Portfolio - Modernism?

How do we think about Modernism? 

During this lecture we started to understand modernism and how the movement started and evolved. It was driven by technological change in the 18th and 19th century; it was part of the technological industrial revolution. Whereas film was in the 19th and 20th century (the new language) and internet was in the 21st century. 

As part of this movement and style, as an artist/designer it would appear that the old style of designing based around natural form and materials had been rejected in order to make way for new design. The movement celebrated the use of technology over hand made items. Designers preferred geometrical forms in comparison to the decorative motifs and surface 'art'. There modernist principles spread through Europe to groups such as the Bauhaus, De Stijl, Constructivism and Futurism. Modernism was the era of the 'ism' movements such as surrealism, dadaism, cubism, expressionism, impressionism and more. Their work made use of a grid system to organise the layout of a page and keep its simplicity throughout; although they stayed away from being decorative, they used diagonal lines in pieces. 

A motto that has stuck with me is from Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe who said 'less is more'; I think this phrase is a good summary of the modernism movement. This motto also relates to their belief that function should always be the made focus over form. They believed that design doesn't have personality, the main focus was the purpose of the design. 

Looking at modernist pieces you can see that they only use a few colours in one piece; using a simple colour palette so that the colours didn't overpower the information being put across. They tended to mainly use sans-serif as it is a clean type that is legible. Another element of their practice was space awareness; space was a main element to their design. 

Modernists: Armin Hofmann, Joost Schmidt, Josef Muller Brockmann, Jan Tschichold

My Opinion

The modernism era is a personal favourite of my as I love how clean the designs look due to the consideration of space within their work. Also I think that the idea of using a grid system is useful in designing a book, magazine or a series of work etc as it allows you to have a consistent layout. As I have said earlier, 'less is more' is something that I think design should be like; if the design doesn't fulfil its purpose/function, it has failed in my opinion. Although I think that practice works well within design, I also feel that design should be expressive as well, as long as it doesn't distract from the message that is trying to come through. Overall I think that the modernism era was needed in order to push design and push the boundaries; from this period of time design has developed and progressed which wouldn't have happened if modernism hadn't have been formed. 

Process and Production - Physical Studio - Task 2 -Mood boards

Process and Production - Physical Studio - Task 2 -Mood boards

For our next task we were asked collect images in relation to different aspects of the article in order to build up a profile of the article. Using images from the internet I started to produce mood boards; on these mood boards I wanted one about Mr Bolinger, one about his job and then one in relation to the model aspect of the article. 


Below are my first mood board images that I had collected before having my second Physical Studio session; from Speaking to John I quickly realise that it would be in my best interest to collect images that go in more detail about the article so that the images actually could tell the story without the need for words. 

 

Contextual Portfolio - Universal Visual Language

Universal/ unified visual language
This is were visual language can be interpreted by anyone from anywhere in the world and the message behind the visual concept will be the same as the word universal means global and widespread. 

In terms of the Bauhaus and Black mountain college with their practice they created a universal visual language. Walter Gropius from the Bauhaus wanted to break down the barrier between classes and therefore create a product that would be accessible to everyone and therefore be universal in design. 

From my experience of Art & design in education, I have always been influenced to produce design ideas/concepts that can reach a large audience and therefore be aware of elements of design meaning different things when shown to different audiences globally. 

I think that the idea of universal comes from the fact that a design should be able to reach large widespread audiences and to reach a large audience you need to consider the design universally. I think that there is a need to think of visuality in terms of visual language as like I have mentioned above colours etc can represent different things entirely in different countries and cultures. 

Process and Production - Adobe Creative Suite - Photoshop Introduction

For the first session of the Adobe Creative Suite I was introduced to the use of Adobe Photoshop; the next session will be on Adobe Illustrator. 

One of the aspects of this session was learning about how to set up a document for both the web and print; for web it should be 72 res (not always) whereas for print it is 300 res. After looking at the different document setups we moved on to producing something using the software.

There are many steps to create the end result which I will go through:

Step 1: First you have to line up the light bulb and the screw; whilst creating a mask layer of the screw layer so that you can use the brush tool to rub out the unwanted lines from the picture of the screw inside the bulb. You will then need a clean up layer which is where you use the eraser to remove the black in the background. Another layer is created to remove the metal rods using the patch tool.

Step 2: Add a mask layer to the stick and erase the background of the stick. Then move the tree into place and create a mask layer for this to remove any unwanted branches so that you are just left with the tree leaves. Reposition the tree top so that it looks attached to the stick. Using command U; you can change the hue, saturation and lightness to the desired effect that you want.

Step 3 - :  Make two copies of the tree top by duplicating the layer; then move one above the existing tree top and warp it to fit to the light bulb. With the second copy place that below the existing tree top and reflect the image; then do the same as before. If there is any excess around the light bulb, create a mask layer for each duplicate and erase areas. On both duplicate layers change the opacity down so that they look more like shadows.

Below is the tree that i produced in Adobe Photoshop; to create it I made use of layers, mask layers, the brush tool, patch tool and filters and effects etc.  

After producing this I want to progress my skills further as this was the first time that I had properly used Adobe Photoshop and therefore my skills are quite basic and need development.

Process and Production - After Effects - Task 1

After being introduced to vimeo I started searching/ browsing through the content on the website to find inspiration and pieces of work that were of interest to me and my practice. There are all types of videos on the website which makes it interesting to look through. When I start creating short clips in my After Effects workshops I will begin to put mine on there as well for the public to view. 

I began by search the city due to currently doing working on a brief in relation to the city in flux; I thought this may help me progress forward with my project. I found a video which shows a city evolving as the car travels through the virtual city. This is an interesting concept as it shows the way a city can change and develop during a short time scale. Also as it is a 'paper city' it could suggest that the city can knock and built back up again easily to develop the city when change is needed. 


Here is the video of the Paper City; 

Paper City from Maciek Janicki on Vimeo.

Process And Production - Physical Studio Task 1 - Article Write-up (Man Meats Model)

Is America going too far with everything and everyone becoming super sized? The portion sizes are considerably bigger in comparison to the portion sizes of the UK for example; I mean the difference in size must be more than double.  In fact if you take Dale Bolinger, 43, from Florida, he’s taken the concept to the extreme by actually becoming a cannibal.

Bolinger, by day is a supermarket worker whose role is to process a customers shopping basket through the tills in order to pay the bills. Although, it will become apparent that he is now taking elements of the job home with him in order to support his super size meal lifestyle. In his normal Suburban home he has set up a catwalk style runway in which he’ll get models to parade up and down; he will then choose between the models and decide which one he wants to eat. The element of his job is brought through the form of having the models dress up in food he has collected from the store he works at.

The supermarket worker has grown up with good values, with the sense of right and wrong; yet he doesn't see that eating people is a wrong and immoral thing to do. I decided to delve deeper in to the world of Bolinger in order to gain a fuller understanding of his thoughts and reasons behind the way he lives his current life in comparison to the normal childhood he once lived. At first it would seem that he had a regular upbringing by his parents Gill and Robert Bolinger both aged 72 who also both now retired from their careers. His mother was a nurse whereas his father was an teacher in a local school near to where the family lived. It was only when he grew up that his life change in to the life he is currently living.

So I decided to call Mr Bolinger for an interview and he happily agreed to meet up with me at his place of work, Walmart. I waited in the staffroom for him to finish; when he came through the door he was full of smiles and happy to meet me; he looked like any other person who works at Walmart. Then I began to ask him questions about his life….

So Mr Bolinger what do feel about your upbringing, do you feel you had a normal childhood?

It was just the same as any of my friends the same age as me, in fact I feel I had a better childhood than what some children go through at a very small age. For example I have never experienced any violence or domestic abuse, and it’s quite sad to say that I’ve known friends be subject to this.

Would you call yourself a cannibal?

Well in a technical sense I would have to call myself a cannibal as I have in fact eaten the flesh of another human being which is what a cannibal is described as. However, I see what I do as a way of living and it’s just another meal, nothing more, nothing less; I don’t see the topic as something special or shocking.

Why wouldn't the topic be shocking! you are eating the flesh of a human!

Well it’s become natural to me and therefore it just seems a normal thing to do, whereas I can understand to outsiders that the act of eating human flesh would be quite unusual and quite frankly strange. But to me is it as normal as having a slice of toast in the morning or having a coffee which are seen as normal daily actions.

When did you start to become a cannibal?

I first started to become a cannibal about 5 years ago, so when I was around 38 I guess. 

What was the reason for you becoming a cannibal?

I was thinking about my life in general as I was gradually getting closer to the big 4-0 and I thought to myself about what I have achieved in my life and all the missed out opportunities. Then I began to think about the future and it came to my attention that what would we do if our resources were to run out? What would we eat? How would we survive? We rely too heavily on animals to provide meat for us for our consumption, this is when I began looking for alternatives which is when I stumbled across the idea of becoming a cannibal. 

 We all know that resources are running low as the consumption per person is rising, however don't you feel that we should tackle this issue before we all turn into cannibals? 

This problem if solved could also be seen as wrong in a sense, as for you to lower the consumption impact that humans have, the government would have to limit people on how many children they are allowed in order to lower the population and therefore lower consumption. China have been criticised for doing this exact thing, so imagine what up roar there would be if this was a worldwide situation. Also being a cannibal is an alternative to eating poor defenceless animals.

Why don't you become a vegetarian if you feel so strong about killing animals?

As much as I value animals and I don't necessarily want to eat human flesh but I feel it is important to have protein in your diet. I know you can live without having it in your diet but I feel you are healthier when you do get protein in your system. 

Do you think you could ever stop?

It is possible but I’m used to this lifestyle now and I think it would be hard for me to change how I live; although if it was found that there was a better alternative I would be open to try it just like I have tried this lifestyle.

Thank you for meeting up with me Mr Bolinger and giving your time up, I hope you do find this alternative way of life for yourself.

Your welcome, I was happy to clear up any issues that have come to light through the media. 

So the question to us all, what will the future hold for us in terms of what we will eat; will we become cannibals or will we seek another alternative? It has been interesting investigating the life of Mr Bolinger as it’s so far from normality and the general publics lifestyle. I wonder if this will become our way of living in the distant future but for now it is just the minority and in my opinion it should be kept this way.