Riya Parmar COFA 1001

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FINAL

@annaengesser @parmarriya

@sshaysstrachan

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What am I grateful for?

This group gave us a postcard and asked us to write down what I am grateful for. Personally, I am grateful for my family because, without them, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I am also thankful for shelter and food!

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Planning for Assessment #3

After visiting the museum, my group and I discussed on which weekly topic we should pick. We decided to go with the idea of ‘desire’ since we had just seen artworks related to this theme. At first, we thought of creating an interactive piece where the audience could not interact. We thought of this idea by thinking about the big fluffy piece in the museum. We decided to abandon this idea because we would only have a week to construct a big sculpture. Instead, I suggested the idea of smell. After visiting the museum, I really liked the work with all the spices. 

Image of the work: 

This artwork is created by Ernesto Neto and he wants “people to see [his] sculpture through their pores, as well as their eyes, to feel it with all their senses”.

The paragraph explaining his work:

Based on that, I realized that we could make our own ‘desirable’ perfume. We could create this as a group and it would smell desirable. The event, in this case, would be a farmers market. 

At first, this seemed like it was an easy topic. However, we tackled many problems. We did some research to find out what some desirable scents were. We found that the common scents described in all of the sources were Vanilla, Lavender, and lemongrass. Although these are desirable scents, you can already purchase them from outside. We wanted to do something that was a little different. 

We then moved onto the idea of using essential oils. As a group, we visited a store and smelt different essential oils. 

It wasn’t hard finding cheap essential oil, but it had a very artificial smell. We wanted to create something that was more natural. 

We then came back as a group to discuss what we could change or do next. We figured that we could pervade a scent into a classroom using natural materials. Since this is a 9 AM class, we decided that we could have a breakfast event in the class. We would blend fresh oranges to make juice. We were keen on this idea on multiple levels, because orange and citrus is also a desirable scent. We would present this idea by laying out our breakfast on a table. We would bring in many oranges and cups to suggest that it is for everyone. However, only we will be able to consume the juice. This will add onto their desire because although it smells good, they will not be able to consume it. Another idea we are playing with is the senses. When multiple senses are involved, things become more desirable. 

Although we seemed to be settled on this idea, we thought of something even better (two days before the assessment). Although the ideas are similar, we expanded on our first idea. Instead of blending orange juice, we will set up a table beautifully with plates and cutlery. In the center of the table, we will place breakfast food with a sign that says “do not touch”. We will then place air-fresheners in front of fans to make the scent of breakfast pervade the room. Therefore, we will be able to smell ‘breakfast’, but we won’t actually be able to eat it. This creates a desire for breakfast because human beings have the tendency to desire what they can’t have. We also decided to buy our air fresheners from Woolies because they have bakery and citrus scents. This is perfect because bakery products and orange juice are commonly consumed during breakfast. 

Therefore, the event, in this case, is people coming into a restaurant/cafe to eat breakfast. The event is revolved around the idea of breakfast because this is a 9 AM class. We will bring plates and cutlery for 6 people only. The rest of the class will be the audience observing what is going on. Once the 6 people sit in their seats, we will present them with menus that we made. 

Here is an image of the menu we are going to hand them:

As you can see, there is no price for the dishes listed. We purposely made them free because things are more desirable when you can have them for free (this only applies to things that are essential for survival). 

After some time, one person in the group will take the people’s orders. However, as soon as all the orders are taken, we will start to clear the table, indicating that it is time for them to leave. Therefore, although they will be able to see and smell ‘breakfast’, they won’t be able to consume it. This will then make it more desirable because they can’t get what they want. 

To add another element, we will add the sound of sizzling food as the background. Therefore, we will be playing with 3 senses in total. As said, adding multiple sources will make the event more desirable. 

After meeting with the group, we also decided that it would be best to place the air freshener under the table. This way, the participants and audience won’t be able to see it. We will set this up before class so when people enter, it is like a restaurant (when you walk into a restaurant, you can smell food).

Since we have a lot of setting up to do, we will meet in class at 8:30 instead of 9:00. This way, we have plenty of time to set up.

Overall, we had to change our ideas several times. It seems like an easy concept, but it was actually reallky hard to plan and lay out. It was also hard to stage it into the event. Although it is a complicated task, hopefully everything works out fine!

Bibliography:

Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, B, "Playing to the senses: food as a performance medium. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett.". in Nyu.edu, , 2018, <http://www.nyu.edu/classes/bkg/issues/food-pr6.htm?fbclid=IwAR19KlUhWZfSExScuauHWpMzfGh2YJnqfhB7LlynlKGHPSNampcuSBNs460> [accessed 25 October 2018].

Schumacker, L, "7 Scents That Make You More Attractive, According To Science.". in Romper, , 2018, <https://www.romper.com/p/7-scents-that-make-you-more-attractive-according-to-science-7921541> [accessed 18 October 2018].

"The 10 essential oils everyone should stock up on". in, 2018, <https://www.wellandgood.com/good-looks/10-best-essential-oils/> [accessed 18 October 2018].

"The Smell Report - Sexual Attraction.". in, 2018, <http://www.sirc.org/publik/smell_attract.html> [accessed 18 October 2018].

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Excursion

Today, we visited the art gallery of NSW and the art space. We visited different exhibitions in each gallery and here are some photos! 

ArtSpace:

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Visit Original Link

glitch sounds 

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Exercise #2

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Glitch: an irritating image on the whiteboard that we cant fully erase

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Exercise #1

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Bibliography - Assessment 2

“About Banksy Biography | Street Artist”. in, 2018, <http://www.streetartbio.com/banksy> [accessed 4 September 2018].

Bengtsen, P, "Beyond the Public Art Machine: A Critical Examination of Street Art as Public Art.". in Journal of Art History, 2018, <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00233609.2012.762804?src=recsys> [accessed 10 September 2018].

“BUGA-UP”. in, 2018, <http://www.bugaup.org/faq.htm> [accessed 4 September 2018].

“CND Soldiers by Banksy | Paddle8”. in, 2018, <https://paddle8.com/work/banksy/28405-cnd-soldiers> [accessed 10 September 2018].

“The Most Infamous Street Artist of All Time  - Strategy Lab Marketing Regina”. in, 2018, <https://strategylab.ca/the-most-infamous-street-artist-of-all-time/> [accessed 4 September 2018].

All of these sources can also be found in the previous posts (exactly where I used them).

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700 Word Statement - Assessment 2

Branching from assessment one, I began by considering the micro-politics involved with graffiti walls. The first thing I thought of was the idea of inhaling injurious chemicals. However, this wasn’t enough, and I needed to conduct research to think of other ideas. Eventually, I was drawn into the works of BUGA-UP and Banksy because they focused on the micro-politics of ads. BUGA-UP targets unhealthy billboard advertisements and they use spray paint to underscore how different products are being falsely advertised. At first, they targeted all products that were misrepresented. However, they eventually narrowed down their focus to just alcohol and tobacco because these are two major issues relevant to society. Likewise, Banksy carries a similar approach. He focuses on issues present in society and creates an artwork with spray paint. When he creates these graffiti’s, he often uses stencils. I experimented with this method by creating a simple design. However, it was very hard to create all the details and the stencil had several loose parts because it was impossible to keep it as one piece of paper. If I had to use the same method, it would be extremely hard to create something that is neat with intricate designs because the stencil would have too many loose pieces. The use of stencils created with paper was also not the best method because you have no control over the paint. It is very easy for paint to smear into different places. Due to the complicatedness and messiness of this method, I leaned towards the BUGA-UP project. I began this project by walking around Bondi in search of different advertisements. Although BUGA-UP focused on ads related to tobacco and alcohol, I wanted to find ads with other products that were being misrepresented. I wanted to be unique by addressing other issues of society. The photos I collected at Bondi were not ideal because they were either placed behind a glass wall or were placed at a height. At first, I was against the idea of the advertisements being placed behind a glass wall because you could see the reflections from behind. However, when I went to take photos for the second time, I found that the reflections were not as bad as they had been before. Therefore, I decided to use the Dior advertisement I found. The other advertisement I found was on betting and this one had no reflections visible. I picked these two advertisements because they are both issues present in current society. To elaborate, makeup is used daily by women and advertisements always ignore the fact that makeup damages the skin. Ads claim makeup makes you look young, but it is ironic because it is actually helping you to age faster. Furthermore, I picked the ad on betting because many people are addicted to betting on sports and events. At casinos, people will bet all night, not realizing that in the long run, you are bound to lose money (law of large sums). Once I finalized the two ads I was using, I corrected words and phrases to underscore the false advertisement associated with each product. For example, I changed the word “youth” to “aging”. To represent the idea that I was correcting these advertisements with spray paint, I used the brush tool to write and draw out different symbols. I focused on the colors red and blue because these were often the colors used by BUGA-UP. I also chose red because red connotes danger and the idea of being wrong. For example, when a test is returned, the wrong answers are usually circled in the color red. Red and blue are also two colors that are often used in graffiti walls and it is very eye-catching. One extra thing I did with the Dior ad was that I added wrinkles to the face. I think this made my piece stronger because it added a visual component to the advertisement. Along with the words “aging”, the viewer can actually see a visual representation of the model aging. Additionally, although my piece is made digitally, it can be printed onto a large piece of paper. I also decided not to crop the background from my final piece, because this manifested the idea of me going outside and correcting ads on the street. Therefore, these photographs reinforce the idea of advertisements being captured after they have been corrected in public spaces. It also links to assessment one because the idea of clean/dirty is still present! This can be seen through the use of spray paint. Overall, although a lot of experimentation was involved, I got to learn a lot during the process!

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Assessment 2 - Process of Actual Piece

Now that I have decided on the advertisements I am going to use, here is my process:

Before starting each piece, I changed the DPI of each image so that it could be printed onto a large piece of paper. I changed the DPI to 300!

This, in my opinion, is false advertising because makeup isn’t good for your skin. It is said that the best way to wash your face is using water only. There are chemicals in everything. When I saw this, I thought it was ironic, because Dior is promoting their product by saying: if you use this, you will look younger. However, by applying chemicals onto your face, you are actually aging. If you look closely, it also states that the creme has antioxidants in it. To underscore my idea, I changed the antioxidants to oxidants and youth to aging. To finish the touches, I added wrinkles onto the face. This at first was a little complicated and I had to experiment for 20 minutes. I wasn’t too sure on how to add the wrinkles, but I finally made it!

To elaborate on my struggles with the wrinkles, here is what it looked like at first. 

As you can tell, I was very confused as to how to combine the layers together. 

Eventually, I realized that duplicating the background layer would help. However, my ordering was wrong and I couldn’t figure this out until some time had passed. In order to fix this, I had to bring the middle layer to the bottom. This way, the wrinkles would be cetered in between. I also had to change the opacity of the top layer. This is why I needed another copy of the background as the bottom layer!

After making these changes, my piece looked fine!

Outcome:

Details:

For the second advertisement, it was ironic because betting is not a good habit. Betting with your heart would mean people should bet generously. According to the law of large sums, the more you gamble, the closer to get to the true probability. For example, if you play once, you may win. However, in the long run, you are most likely to lose all your money. Therefore, this is also an example of false advertisement. 

To make changes, I made the soccer heart into a broken heart. I crossed out the word bet to lose and changed the question mark to an exclamation mark. I changed the punctuation mark because it is almost guaranteed to lose in the long run. I then thought of what TAB could be an acronym for. After thinking of a list, I decided that I could write “take all bills”. Another option was “thinking about bills”. However, I liked the first option more and I think it made more sense. To fill in some of the space up top, I added two signs that indicated the individual being left with no money!

The photo above is the outcome of my second trial. During my first trial, I misspelt the “lose”. I accidentally added one more loose and for some reason, I couldn’t go back. the “s” was also a regular s and not a dollar sign.

As you can tell from the screenshots below, it took me a while to catch my mistake. However, you can see my process! This is embarrassing but better late than never! 

I also focused on using the colors red and blue because these are often colors used in Graffitis. Not only that, red connotes danger which motivates people to be more cautious. Another way to think about it is through test papers. When the teacher corrects your paper, she circles all the wrong answers in red. It indicates that whatever you put down is wrong. I also chose these two colors because I saw BUGA-UP often used red and blue to correct advertisements. Although they used real spray paint, I incorporated this idea by writing digitally. This was someone hard because I didn’t have a mouse. I used my laptop's touchpad to write! Overall, I think I did a pretty good job of pushing my message forward. I am also glad I chose to do a digital piece because I got to learn a few things. For example, I got to learn how to add wrinkles to a face!

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Assessment 2- Experimentation/Problem Solving

In my planning post, I explain how I am leaning towards a piece related to BUGA-UP. Although I explained why I am more keen on doing a BUGA-UP piece, I am going to try both options out. I think it is worth trying both styles because you never know what you like more until you try it. 

While doing research, I found out that Bansky used stencils to create his artwork. To replicate this idea, I am going to use a piece of paper to create a stencil for my piece. I will then use paint to see what happens to it. 

In order to try the process out, I looked at different works by Banksy. In one of his graffiti’s, he used the peace sign. I decided to try making a peace sign stencil because it was something that was quite simple. Although it seemed to be quite simple in my head, it did not turn out the way I expected. As I was cutting, it was very hard to add the details. Another thing that happened was that the stencil had loose pieces. You can see them in the images I attached below. To fix this, I had to tape them onto the other piece of paper that I was painting. I had to make sure that the loose pieces would align with the cutout. Although the fix wasn’t too complicated, I didn’t like how it was too hard to add the details onto the stencil.

After trying this process, I decided that it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to follow Banksy’s style. This would be extremely hard because I would be using paper. Cutting all the tiny details would be very hard. Also, the peace sign is a very simple design. If I tried doing a complicated design (which I obviously would if I were to use Banksy’s style), I would also end up with a lot of loose pieces. This would complicate everything. This was another reason as to why I didn’t think using Banksy’s idea would be a good idea. 

For reference, here is Banksy’s real piece. As you can see, the details are missing in mine because it is way too hard to cut the details on the piece of paper. It would be very easy to rip. 

Citation:

"CND Soldiers by Banksy | Paddle8". in, 2018, <https://paddle8.com/work/banksy/28405-cnd-soldiers> [accessed 10 September 2018].

Adding Paint: 

I added paint on top, and even though it looks quite messy, here were the results:

The peace sign turned out alright. It isn’t very neat but has the slight dripping effect. Although it isn’t neat, some of the paint goes outside the lines. This would be a very big problem for intricate designs. One way of potentially fixing this problem would be to make the stencil out of cardboard (or a harder material where the paint doesn’t seep through). 

Though this method somewhat worked, I am not too keen on using it. It is a complicated process and having loose pieces for an intricate design would make the project a lot harder. It would be easier to have a metal stencil, but making one of those would be extremely pricey.

Therefore, experimenting with this method was fun. However, I am going to use the BUGA-UP method, because I think it will make my piece look a lot better (and more interesting). I am a neat freak and definitely wouldn’t want paint seeping all over the place!

BUGA-UP:

In order to replicate BUGA-UP’s idea, I decided to walk around the streets of Sydney to find random advertisements. I wanted to find advertisements that were not related to alcohol or tobacco because I didn’t want to copy them completely. When I walked around, I found a couple of advertisements. 

For example:

When I first saw this advertisement, I thought I could talk about the dangers of surfing. An idea I thought of was to add “to death” after the search. This would clearly depict the idea of how surfing is a dangerous sport and can easily lead to serious injuries causing death.

Problem:

Although this was a potential idea, I cannot really use this advertisement. If you look carefully, you can see the reflection behind me. This is because the advertisement is placed behind a glass wall. Though many people wouldn’t notice this, I think it reduces the quality of the image. I used a professional camera to take this photo, but if I were to print this on a large piece of paper, it wouldn’t look good because of the reflection. 

To fix this, I have to find an advertisement that isn’t behind a glass wall. 

This is another advertisement I found. I would use this advertisement to talk about the oppression of women in society. In order to portray my message, I could draw pants and a T-Shirt over the girl. This works because the girl in the image is half naked. It also makes sense because the word “flirting” is used in the advertisement. 

Although this is another advertisement I found, I cannot use this advertisement either. There are two problems with this advertisement. Similar to the first one, this advertisement is also behind a glass wall. Though the reflection cannot be seen, I am not sure if it would be ideal to use it. Another issue is that the advertisement is placed too high. It is weird to use this angle. I would rather use a photo that is taken at eye level. I think if I worked on an advertisement that was taken from a low angle, it would look slightly weird when I printed it out. 

Takeaways:

I need to find an advertisement that is placed at eye level and is not behind a glass wall!

Take #2:

This time as I was walking around, I paid closer attention to the advertisements around me. Similar to last time, I tried to find advertisements that were relevant to society. I ended up taking photographs of two advertisements. One is related to makeup and the other is related to betting/gambling. Both of these issues are currently present in society and it is applicable to both the younger and older generation. This is why I decided to work with these two advertisements. Although the makeup one is placed behind glass, I decided to embrace this idea. BUGA-UP would correct advertisements in public areas. I decided that it would be okay if minor reflections were visible. This would capture the sense of correcting advertisements in public areas. As mentioned earlier, I avoided advertisements on Tabacco and Alcohol because this is what the group primarily focused on. Although the makeup advertisement is leaned towards women, it can be applicable to men as well because many men these days wear makeup. The world is modernizing and therefore it technically is applicable to both genders. On the other side, gambling is also related to both genders. Due to these reasons, I decided to work with these two advertisements. 

Photos:

These photographs were also taken by a professional camera. Therefore, I can print it on a large-scale piece of paper as well. 

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Assessment 2 - Planning/Research

In class, we brainstormed in groups what we could do with our new piece. We talked about the micropolitics behind each of our projects.

Here is an image of our mind mapping:

After coming back home, I did a bit more research and planning on my own. When I thought about the different micro-politics involved with graffiti walls, I realized that it is harmful to the artist. When you are creating a graffiti wall, the spray paint lets out a gas that is extremely bad to breathe in. Therefore, although the artist is trying to make art, he/she is being affected by it in a negative way.

After doing some research, I found a group called BUGA-UP (Billboard Utilising Graffitists against unhealthy promotions). BUGA-Up would target unhealthy billboard advertisements and use spray paint to underscore the fact that these products they are advertising are actually unhealthy. They eventually turned their focus on Tabacco and Alcohol promotions. The BUGA-Up started in 1979, but it grew from three people working in Sydney to working across Australia, and then across the world. The group was formed by Bill Snow, Ric Bolzan, and Geoff Coleman. They strongly objected to the hypocrisy of the government. This not only connects to the rebellion prompt but also relates to the idea of dirty/clean. To elaborate, the advertisements are considered dirty because the products advertised are hazardous to our health. However, since they are using spray paint to reveal the fact that the products are unhealthy, it represents the idea of clean because they are trying to clean up the advertisement.

There are also other artists who do graffiti walls. One artist is called BANKSY. Although his identity remains a secret, his artworks are very famous and controversial. He started because he liked the work of Blek Le Rat. He eventually partnered with Inkie, who is another graffiti street artist. One of Banksy’s common form of art is using Stencils. His artworks were often satirical and combines dark humor with graffiti and also spreads messages across art, philosophy, and politics.

Sources:

"About Banksy Biography | Street Artist". in , , 2018, <http://www.streetartbio.com/banksy> [accessed 4 September 2018].

"BUGA-UP". in , , 2018, <http://www.bugaup.org/faq.htm> [accessed 4 September 2018].

Banksy’s Works:

After looking through his work, this one is one of my favorites. It is something all teenagers (and maybe even adults) can relate to in modern day society. Social media is taking over the world and instead of real-life interactions, people care more about likes and comments on social media. 

This is another one of his art that stood out. It is ironic because in the artwork, he spray paints Einstein but then writes “just google it” on top. This tells us a lot about society today.  Whenever people have problems, they just google it. They rely on the internet and expect Google to give them all the answers to their questions. Since Einstein tried to solve bigger problems in the world, this also suggests that people refuse to solve bigger problems that are present in the society. 

Source: 

"The Most Infamous Street Artist of All Time  - Strategy Lab Marketing Regina". in , , 2018, <https://strategylab.ca/the-most-infamous-street-artist-of-all-time/> [accessed 4 September 2018].

With the amount of research I have conducted above, it seems like I could do another drawing of a graffiti wall with a message relating to issues in the world. If not a drawing, I could do something advertisement related. Since I created my poster using color pencils, I think it would be better to do something related to photography. I could explore the streets of Sydney to find an advertisement that is promoting something that is unhealthy. I obviously would not choose alcohol and tobacco because I want to do something that is a little different. I would then use this digital image to add text. Although this is something I have in mind, I can always experiment with both ideas. 

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Week 6 - Recording Now

When we were asked to record something that was happening now, we were a little confused. It is almost impossible to record the moment, because the minute it happens, it is already the past. After brainstorming, I came up with the idea that we could record the busy streets. Although I have never lived in India, I have noticed that the streets of Mumbai are always busy. It can be 3 AM and you will still be seeing people and cars on the street. Inspired by busy streets around the world, we decided to go outside to record our environment. Cars and pedestrians are always passing, which represents the idea of “now”.

https://soundcloud.com/radine-brito-593488312/adad1002-recording-now

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Week 5 - Activity

During this class period, we were asked to interact with our environment. We searched for places on campus but then were inspired by the classroom. Growing up in Taiwan, I went to a very competitive school. In Asian culture, education is heavily emphasized where for some kids, their life revolves around the idea of studying. Therefore, the paper in the image represents the pillow and the cardboard represents the blanket. 

After sharing our ideas with another teacher, she told us that we should push ourselves to interact with the environment to a greater extent. We then took our idea and moved to the student center area. We observed a few people, and most of them would mostly just laugh. When a women came in for an inquiry, she was confused and got a little uncomfortable. She kept moving back as we tried to take a photo. 

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Feedback

Last class, we shared our posters and ideas with the class. For each person, we also wrote feedback down on a piece of paper. When I received my feedback, I found that I got a lot of positive responses. I am glad because I devoted a lot of time into making my poster. It seemed as if people understood my idea. I found that people particularly liked my choice of using the word grey area. They also really liked the contrast of colors because it draws their attention to the main idea. 

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Assessment 1 - 300 Word Statement

Binaries are popular in art, but the same pairs are repeated frequently. Being an individual that loves challenges, I picked a pair with limited information (dirty/clean). After brainstorming, I realized that I could use the idea of graffitis because they are considered both dirty and clean. When teenagers make graffitis, people often see it as an act of vandalism. However, there are organizations like Shock Art that encourage teenagers to paint/spray paint electrical boxes around the city. This organization is based in America and they aim to beautify the city. This represents the idea of clean because it is government based. I chose the phrase grey area for my graffiti because it is defined as an ill-defined situation or area of activity not readily conforming to a set of rules. This makes sense because a graffiti can be interpreted in many ways. It can be seen as an act of vandalism or it can be a form of art. Either way, making graffitis is against the set of rules created by society. In my graffiti, I wanted the words and clouds to be colorful. The colors in my poster connote livelihood and beauty while the black background represents the idea of dirty. The background is also black because I wanted to create contrast which would then make the graffiti pop. Another reason as to why I kept the background plain is because I was inspired by Abramov. In his poster, the background was kept simple so that the focus would be on the main idea. I wanted to do the same with my poster. Another similarity with our posters is the idea of balance. In his poster, he balances branches while I balance clouds so that one component doesn’t look out of place. Through my piece, I want people to realize that everything has multiple interpretations. It only depends on how you look at your subject and this provides insight as to why people think in different ways.

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Assessment 1 - Process

Although I knew I wanted to make a graffiti, I wasn’t too sure what to include on it. I began with brainstorming all the phrases or words I could use that would be associated with both dirty and clean. I picked this binary pair in particular because I wanted to challenge myself. As you can see from my Research post, all the binary pairs were related to gender or life and death. It was extremely hard to find artworks on other pairs such as hard/soft, dirty/clean, etc. 

I thought of two words that would fit into the concept of dirty/clean. At first, I thought that my word in the center of the graffiti could be “illegal”. In order to make this happen, I would make the “Il” a different font and the “legal” another font. The il would represent dirty and the legal would represent clean. Although this was an option, I wasn’t too keen on using it. I wanted to use a word that was more interesting. Instead, I thought of the phrase “grey area”. Grey Area is defined as an ill-defined situation or area of activity not readily conforming to a category or set of rules. This was perfect because a graffiti can be interpreted in many ways and the art of creating one is not conforming to the set of rules created by society. Therefore, I sketched this phrase out on a piece of A4 paper. I drew it in a font that was associated with a graffiti. Once I was happy with it, I drew it on the bigger piece of paper. Once I was done with that, I played around with all the other things I could do on my poster. I realized that Graffitis usually have wacky designs in the background. However, when I tried to do this on my A4 piece of paper, I realized that such designs acted as a distraction. Therefore, I decided that my background should be a solid color (black). I chose black because this creates a nice contrast with the graffiti itself, allowing it to stand out. 

In case you are wondering how or why I picked the idea of a graffiti, look at my research post!

Here are photos of my process:

Final Work:

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Assessment 1- Research

Although at first, I wanted to create a poster on collaboration, research changed my mind. Instead, I decided to explore the idea of Binaries. 

Examples of Posters:

The Poster above is an example of the binary: boy/girl. This is a comic where you are supposed to stick it on a beautiful woman that is juxtaposed with a masculine-oriented product. Although it is not the strongest example, I believe that it still works. Stronger examples are pictured below!

Knabb, K, ""Hello, Men!".". in Bopsecrets.org, , 2018, <http://www.bopsecrets.org/PH/hello.htm> [accessed 9 August 2018].

The poster above is also a binary because the bottom half is a tree while the top half is pollution from a factory. I really like this style because the background is kept simple. I also like how the pollution’s color is green because it creates a nice balance with the bottom half of the poster. This piece depicts the fact that there is nature but it is being destroyed. This poster also represents life/death. 

This poster demonstrates a similar concept and I like it because it is kept simple. Since the background is simple, I know exactly what the focus is on. I also like how the branches are balanced on both sides. On one side, the branch is healthy while the other side is dying. This represents life/death because the two branches make up an individual’s lungs. This poster reinforces that if we don’t save the trees, we won’t save our lungs (therefore causing death).

Citation for both posters:

Abramov, M, & C Alborano, Opposites. in , , 2018, <https://laughingsquid.com/opposites-posters/> [accessed 9 August 2018].

After looking at such examples, I wanted to challenge myself by doing a binary topic that I hadn’t noticed online. One set of binary pairs I could not find posters on was dirty/clean. I started thinking about everything that could be both dirty and clean. Finally, I decided that I could do a poster on graffiti walls. 

Typically, when teenagers make graffiti walls, people say that they are vandalizing the environment. This represents dirty. 

As I was doing research, I found that there are organizations that call teenage artists to paint/spray paint electrical boxes in the cities. By painting these boxes, the government wants to promote art around the city. This also makes the city look more visually appealing as individuals walk through these boxes. This represents the idea of clean. 

An example of one of these organizations is called Shock Art. It is based in the United States and has been running for seven years. Although the organization aims to promote artistic talent and wants to beautify the city, I wonder if anyone dislikes the organization and thinks that it is a form of vandalization. 

Honestly, I believe that graffiti walls can be interpreted in many ways. In other ways, it can be seen as both clean and dirty. It is just a matter of interpretation. Due to this fact, I thought of doing a graffiti wall for my poster would be the best idea. 

Source: 

"Shock Art 2018 call to artists | City of Longmont, Colorado". in , , 2018, <https://www.longmontcolorado.gov/departments/departments-a-d/community-services-department/art-in-public-places/shock-art/shock-art-2016-call-to-artists> [accessed 9 August 2018].

Artists using binary pairs in their works:

Jermaine Rogers: “His work is viewed as influential in the modern resurgence of the ‘gigposter’ art form, continuously crafting images that push boundaries, whether social, cultural, or aesthetic.” 

Photo of his work: The Transition

This piece is about life and death and how everything in the world is changing. When a day goes by, you change and eventually you become a skeleton. I think this piece is done very well because I really like the use of colors. In his work, the colors connote different things. For example, the blue represents cold/death while the red represents life. 

Since death and life are binary pairs, this demonstrates the fact that Jermaine Rogers uses opposites in his works. 

Source: 

Rogers, J, "The Transition - Jermaine Rogers.com.". in Jermaine Rogers.com, , 2018, <http://www.jermainerogers.com/the-transition-silk-screened-art-print/> [accessed 10 August 2018].

Another Artist is Emek: Global Warming Sucks

“In Emek's posters, psychedelic '60s imagery collides with '90s post-industrial iconography. To this collision of the organic vs. the mechanical worlds he adds humor, social commentary and fantasy. Even in the smallest details there are messages. All of Emek's artwork is originally hand-drawn and then hand- silkscreened for each actual concert or event, usually in limited editions of around 300.”

In the work presented below, this is also an example of life and death. Although there are newborn babies every day, global warming is killing the earth. I find it interesting as to how the baby is on the skeleton because it reminds me of the cycle of life. Everyone has to die at one point in their life. It is also interesting because the skeleton and the baby are staring at each other. This is a nice awareness poster because it reminds us to take care of the earth. If we don't, then we all die. 

Image of his work:

Source:

"EMEKx POLITICAL: Global Warming Sucks". in , , 2018, <https://www.emek.net/political/global_warming.html> [accessed 10 August 2018].

Take Aways and Experiments: 

Through research, I have found that simplistic backgrounds are nice in the sense that they bring focus to the main idea. I also realized that the balance of objects can make ur poster look very interesting. 

In terms of dirty and clean, I believe that the idea of a graffiti wall would be a nice fit. My piece would be about different interpretations and how this brings insight into different ways of thinking.

Experiments that have been conducted:

When people were asked what the saw the center figure as they would either say B or 13 depending on what they were thinking. This is a classic example where people can think in different ways. Although you are using the same example, one person might say they see a B while the other might say that they see a 13. It is just a matter of interpretation and the way you think. 

Although this is an illusion and many people have conducted experiments with it, I decided to ask my own friends what they saw the middle figure as. When I asked my friends what they saw, the results were almost 50-50. I asked 20 participants and 11 said B while 9 said 13. Therefore, this demonstrates people having different interpretations. There is no right or wrong answer.

This experiment applies to my own poster about the graffiti because people have different interpretations. When looking at graffitis, some people might think that is is an act of vandalization while others may think it is a form of art. This gives us insight as to why people think in different ways. 

Source:

"ABC or 12, 13, 14? - Optical Illusion #13". in , , 2018, <https://www.mindfake.com/illusion_13.html> [accessed 16 August 2018].