Week 10 - Indigenous Design Lecture
This week, Troy-Anthony Baylis, took the lecture on Indigenous design. Unfortunately, the lecture was a bit of a let down in terms of the design I was expecting to see. I was hoping to see works that have stronger elements of design however the lecture seemed more focused on the design of their tools and products, with a touch of architecture and application of art. Having said that, a few works stood out in the lecture.
Firstly, was a jumping castle by Brook Andrews in 2010 that was placed at a war memorial.
"Brook Andrew’s Jumping Castle War Memorial presents a puzzle: as a full-size inflatable ‘bouncy’ castle it offers fun and laughs and an immersive experience, but as a self-titled war memorial it suggests solemnity and reflection."
The above statement was written on the museum's website that hosted the jumping castle. This is a very captivating thought. A place that should be one of reflection is turned into a playful area. However, the black and white pattern all over the castle, black man standing in the middle and skulls on the towers does elude to this more sinister feeling. The pattern is based upon Wiradjuri design.
The above image is a picture of the T2 building in Taylor square in Sydney. It was created by Reko Rennie and is titled 'Always was, always will be" Reko was commissioned as part of the City of Sydney’s Streetware program for 2012. Below, Reko describes his piece.
"In this work, I used the geometric diamonds, referencing my associations to north-western NSW and the traditional markings of the Kamilaroi people. Across the front of the building façade, neon text (‘Always was, always will be’) is incorporated across the geometric diamonds. As a temporary work in this urban context the meaning is clear – this always was Gadigal country and always will be Gadigal."
To most, it just looks like a bright and vibrant geometric piece on a central building but this explanation puts it in perspective. Instantly, I am drawn to the bright and bold colours of the piece and being at such a large scale, it draws your attention. It would be great to see an installation like this in person. Looking through his website and pieces of work, Reko uses neon colours through many pieces and modern typefaces. There is a real design aesthetic to his work that is something very different to many other artists. He frequently incorporates diamond shapes within his work. Below are pieces from Homebrand (Tandanya, Adelaide) and Remember Me - The original people (installation in Washington, DC)
He finished the lecture with this quote:
"There is a visual language created by indigenous artists that is distinctive and is recognised by people and ingidgenous. I like the work language becasue it speaks of place and person. There has been a rich history of inidgenous theatre that connects with ceremony, painting, music and dance in the thousands of years previously and this has helped to shape what indigenous theatre is today. In a sense, this connection with indigenous history and culture has inadvertently shaped the image you see on stage, creating a kind of design langugae."
- Jacob Nash, 'Design Language: place, people heart' in Realtime 111 Oct/Nov 2012
I agree with this, even though it speaks of theatre, it can be applied to graphic design in an indigenous and non-inddigenous sense. Your culture influences your creations as it affects how you think and as a result becomes part of your design language.
References:
http://www.artmuseum.uq.edu.au/brook-andrew-war-memorial-121571
http://rekorennie.com/index.php?/art/always-was-always-will-be---sydney/