'Silence.'

Today we got the first of our third year briefs:

You are investigating 'Silence' a key semiotic conduit and vehicle for the communication of emotion, atmosphere and metaphor and allegory - the silent pause, the empty space, the open space for the audience to 'reflect' and project into - You are analysing the psychology of pursuasion.

Initially I thought 'Silence' was challenging as we are being asked to answer some profound questions in a very lateral manner, but I think it will turn out to be an interesting project.  Each tutor spoke about their own interpretation of 'Silence' - some were ideas and visuals that I had thought about last night when I had seen the brief posted, others inspired and opened my mind to the potential of the project and a broader contextual horizon.  This lecture directly explained what is expected of us and gave us inspiration from the word go.  Hopefully this has saved much time umming and ahhing... and procrastinating!  It helped to kick start the project, providing me with ideas of what I am expected to collect and collate for the first tutorial next week.  I really like that the format is totally open, so I finally have chance to experiment on finding a visual style that suits me.  

Edward Hopper

Hopper's work narrates habitats and inner and outer space.  The images have a stillness that keeps the viewer waiting, as if it should be a still from a film that will continue after the captured image has been absorbed.

Rachel Whiteread

A cast house sculpture from unoccupied and empty or lost space -

Created as the terraces were knocked down.

Turner Prize Winner 1993.

Peter Saville

Unknown Pleasures - Joy Division

This image was created from the pulses of a dying star.  I really like the simplicity in the aesthetic.  The black space around the fine image uses space to emphasise a silence.  Interestingly, the back sleeve of the album featured no track listings and 'Side One' and 'Side Two' of the record were refered to as 'Outside' and 'Inside.'

Saville and Whiteread were two of Mack's examples that made me think of silence as a space rather than in the obvious terms of sound, whilst Hopper's work (above) and images shown by Clinton and Liz also made me think of it in terms of a frozen moment or an object removed of its purpose.

"Go find something that makes you silent"

I loved that Sue put the idea out there for us to think about how society can sometimes feel "nervous" about silence.  This made me think about situations where you shouldn't be alone, and about finding something that does indeed make us silent.  Her images of shadows were interesting too.  These will probably be things that influence my starting points, and I also want to look further into Hitch's text and zen like interpretations.

Touchstones Gallery, Rochdale.

Today we ventured out to Rochdale for a little exhibition called "Shop."  (See Sat.19th post).  This was a nostalgic look at the commercial success of the Rochdale borough between 1900 and 1950, with reproductions of displays to reflect the social history.  It featured the local Post Office, Grocers and Cobblers as well as the Clothes, Sweets and Toy shops,  all packed with visual history.  

The most interesting part of the exhibition for me was the old packaging styles and I would like this to be something that influences my design style, moving away from the digital aspects and more towards hand drawn illustrations/collages.  It has been a while since I have done anything like that so it might be a challenge but this exhibition made me realise I want to give it a go.  I adore ephemera and the museum part of this centre also displayed a variety of old packages and posters, and objects such as televisions and cameras throughout the ages.

Notably it was interactive - but Kirsty and I learnt never to 'lift and sniff' - esp. when it comes to the old style toilets.  Let that be a warning to you. 

We plan to go back to another exhibition there that starts in January, featuring the work of Julie Arkell.  Her paper 'Creatures' look so cute!

And when we go -

 Gemma - I insist you buy that gorgeous 'I ♥ Rochdale' bag.

You know you want it.

Nazario Graziano.

I can't for the life of me remember how I came across the work of Nazario Grazino, but I really love his illustrative style.  His portfolio also consists of art direction, graphic design and editorial pieces.  The colour tones, layers, text and hand drawn elements work together to create these unique pieces, I think they are gorgeous and really interesting!

http://nazariograziano.com/

Rollerball (1975)

Ahead of the lecture with Johnny Hardstaff, I've been looking into the film Rollerball (1975).  When I did the Kino4 project, I only designed the logo and therefor feel I haven't become too familiar with any given film, if any of them at all.  So I thought I would have a go at designing the poster to this film as an extension of the Kino4 brief.  It also might be a chance to become familiar with the film before the lecture as it will most probably go straight over this head of mine.

I actually quite like the existing posters for this film, esp. the copy on them and the way that the third one uses it to present the title.  I've been looking at these, and a plot summary... there isn't much time so lets just see how far I get with it!

I also had a look at Johnny's website and showreel... I really like the LG 'Power' ad on this page...

http://www.rsafilms.com/d/rsa/companies/rsa-uk/85

"Shop"

This caught my eye in the paper today... i'mma onto it!

Car Booty.

Up bright and early last sunday morning... it is fair to say that there are rarely ever two seven o' clocks in my day!  I ventured out into Hope with the grandparents for a car boot.  I was hoping to find some lovely old books but despite the lack of these, I found some old dress patterns and some stamps.  Hopefully they will come in use for something, if not, I'm a champ hoarder and they can happily collect dust with all the other  pieces of 'junk' in my room.  Lovely.

Luxury?

Might have to make one of these! :)

Paris ♥

A few snaps I took from my recent visit to Paris... from the Louvre, and also Mont Martre - which is a really beautiful place.  We had a wander around the poster shops there, and watched the artists painting.  The view from up by the Sacre Coeur is stunning, overlooking the whole of Paris.  I'd love to go back!

Kino 4: Projecting Compelling Imagination.

So.... I've been experimenting and the stamp idea has possibly got lost somewhere along the way, although it has definately influenced the aesthetic I have worked with and set me on the right path.  I decided to keep it more as a film poster and less as a cheesy advert for a film club.  I follwed my idea to pin Kino4 as something that projects film in the most compelling and  imaginative way.  This has led to a very visual logo that works as a poster by itself, but also as a small logo across film posters etc. when required.  I am a bit unsatisfied with the identity development, I think I could have produced more aesthetically pleasing posters and so I might experiment more if I get chance to.  I've really put a lot of time and effort into this because I am determined to further my ideas/art direction/design skills/style of working... yes, pretty much the whole shebang!  During the Ian Anderson workshop we discussed how sometimes there are flaws in my thinking, and have also had feedback from Liz that my visual elements aren't always quite there.  I 100% agree with these comments and have taken it constructively.  Looking back to my foundation year - I religiously used photography, screen printing and the manipulation of images to make digital collages and I think this way of working suits me.  With a little inspiration from the stamp collection, a flick through some of my old sketchbooks and continuous development of the film project I found my motivation and here are some of the results...

When I get the posters finalised, printed and photographed for my portfolio I will upload and share with y'all.  

Kino 4: A Universal Distribution Of Film.

Kino 4: A Universal Distribution Of Film.

I've been stuck on this project a while now, I just couldn't get out of the cliche film visuals that first come to hand.  I wanted an idea that would define Kino and show appreciation for bringing films to those who wouldn't usually have been made aware/had access to.  I began to think about preservation, imagination, distribution etc... what takes things to an international level? Along these lines I thought about stamps - their duty to carry to all corners of the globe, and also for their collective value.  I love ephemera and these beautiful stamps I've found inspire me more than any of the film posters I have been browsing.  I've inc. some of my favourites... the first three just for aesthetic/colourful reasons, and the owl stamp because I like the split format.  I really like the graphic style and I think this will influence my approach to the project.  I also want to play around and see if I can project how compelling and imaginative Arthouse/Kino films are.  Hopefully this style will create a solid and unique identity.  So here's to experimenting...!

Books.

Amazon just delivered some lovely new additions to my library :)

Recommended to me whilst I was at MECH on a placement...

• Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite
• It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be
• The Advertising Concept Book: Think Now, Design Later