Design
So far with my art, I’ve been focusing on what I would like to show with my work. However, I was rewatching an episode of Abstract (Netflix) and in the first episode, Olafur Eliasson talks about how art is also about the observer and what they perceive. Its really interesting to think about this as a concept (and yes, I know that I’m waking up to this late). This was always fascinating to me and I’ve had some interesting experiences that motivated me to explore this space. I pushed myself to try a few new ideas. The first was designing a flier for my discussion group, the second is an abstract art project inspired by a painting and the third was to try and make a magazine.
Fliers
There is a lot of art in the design of fliers and brochures. Of course this is not a new concept and I’m aware of the existence of the advertising industry. The point I’m trying to make is that this is a new type of challenge. Its about presenting information in a way that’s attractive enough for an observer to stay interested, long enough to understand the message. Its not easy to communicate things in this way and its also why its an exciting challenge. While it may seem like this is completely different from conventional art (like making a painting), that’s really not the case! The concepts of composing, blocking, color and space are vital components in both designing fliers as well as making a painting.
To promote the discussion group that I was part of, we decided to print some fliers to distribute to students at the start of the new semester. While there was an option to hire someone to do this, I requested the team to allow me to take a shot at it. I looked through lots and lots of fliers for inspiration. I was already in the habit of collecting interesting fliers every time I saw them. I like to lay them out on the floor and see what catches my eye. Naturally, I also looked online. Pinterest was really useful, though it does have the issue of showing too many similar looking things.
I broke down the main points of the message and the details that had to go on the flier. Next, I came up with six designs (see above) to present the same message. This gave me a broad perspective of different ways of presenting the same idea. Naturally this barely scratches the surface of the number of other things you can try. I was really drawn to using a collage, which I hoped would illustrate the diversity in the topics we liked to discuss. Surprisingly though, my favorite from the ones that I made was one without any images at all. I worked extra hard on this one. I really liked the amount of white space in it. You can see the different variations below. I loved the idea of VOX Delft (name of the discussion group) written in a bold serif font splitting the flier in two vertically. Next, I liked the idea of a having a floating box with the main question. I thought that having the box cover a portion of the group title would give it the impression of jumping off the page. Of the many versions, my favorite is the one in the bottom left corner (see below). I think it looks really clean and the color fits the font.
Scribbles
For me, there’s always the nagging fear that if I don’t work on something in a disciplined manner, then I’m not doing it right. I enjoy the idea of working on something over a prolonged period of time. I like to see growth in myself, improvement in skill or a new perspective on something that I’m used to. In 2019, I happened to be in Vienna with my family and we visited a museum. I cannot remember the name of the museum or the artist, but it involved something with sketches of colored ribbons twisted into different patterns. It was surprising for me to see that this artist had an entire gallery of just these ribbons. While I cant quite place why this intrigues me, I felt impressed and inspired looking at it.
I was toying with the idea of doing something like that. Something different but still along the same lines. I was not quite sure what I was expecting to learn from this or what a good outcome is. But it interested me enough to come up with a challenge to work on. The project I came up with was to make some scribbles on a sheet of paper without lifting the pen. The process also has to be relaxed and free. I aimed to draw from the shoulder and have confident strokes, while at the same time being unfocused and drawing without intention. This always reminds of something Pollock would do (jeah, I know I borrow a lot of ideas). The next step was to color in patches in the pattern and see what emerges. I’ve been doing this for a while and well…. nothing has emerged yet. But despite this, I still enjoy doing this. Its puzzling to me. I keep having the feeling that I’m on the cusp of discovering something remarkable, if I can just stick with it a little bit longer. I carry a small A6 notebook which I plan to finish.
Magazines
I like collecting magazines. I usually buy them when I have to take a long train journey. Usually I’m looking for something not only for its content but also for its visually appeasing design. I find it amazing to just flip through the pages and see how everything is arranged. There’s something amazing about holding a fresh glossy thick magazine. (Well, I can understand why unbox therapy is a thing). I find it impressive to see the amount of work that went into something like a magazine. It involves so many people collectively working together to produce this work (of art?). Needless to say, I felt compelled to try to make my own magazine. I made my first one about the music albums that I listened to in 2018. You can find it here.
I’m currently working on making an art magazine featuring my own work. I haven’t quite figured out how to put together something like that. Its quite a challenge to think about so many things at the same time. The first step for me is to break it up into smaller chunks. I scanned all my artwork and sorted them by categories. I then fixed the blemishes from the scanning and the contrast digitally. I’m hoping that these blog posts will characterize the different steps, my thought process and exhibit what I’ve learnt in a wholesome manner. I’m almost through now and I only have a couple more posts to finish. Once I’m done I can sit down and think about putting it all together. Hopefully, I will also be less busy with other things in my life and I’m looking forward to setting aside a chunk of time to do this.