SIGNS & SYMBOLS PROJECT
"AFTER THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD OF THE 'FIFTIES AND 'SIXTIES, SOCIETY REGROUPED ITSELF, AS ALWAYS, INTO HIGH, MIDDLE AND LOW"- 1984 BY GEORGE ORWELL
FOR THIS PROJECT I CREATED A GROUP OF SIX HAND DRAWN DRAWINGS, AND ONE DIGITAL IMAGE USING ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR, BASED ON THE ABOVE PHRASE, USING ONLY THE COLOURS BLACK AND WHITE.
MY FINAL PIECE COMPRISED OF SIX HAND DRAWN IMAGES WITHIN A SCI-FI, PACO RABANNE INSPIRED LASERCUT PERSPEX FRAME.
I BEGAN BY SKETCHING AND RESEARCHING INTO THEMES OF GEORGE ORWELL'S 1984- SUCH AS CAMERA LENSES, CCTV, AND 'BIG BROTHER'
MY IDEAS FOR REPRESENTING THE WORD 'REVOLUTIONARY' CAME FROM IMAGES OF PROTEST AND LIBERATION FROM THE 1950'S AND 60'S: ROSA PARKS' BUS TICKET, THE MINI SKIRT, PLACARDS FROM RALLIES. MY FINAL HAND DRAWN IMAGE USES NEGATIVE SPACE TO COMBINE THESE IDEAS.
FOR ME THE 1950'S ARE ALL ABOUT THE GLAMOUR OF MARILYN MONROE: HER LIPS, BEAUTY MARK AND "DIAMONDS ARE A GIRLS' BEST FRIEND". I SKETCHED DIFFERENT WAYS OF SIMPLIFYING THESE MOTIFS, AND LOOKING AT MORE ABSTRACT REPRESENTATIONS USING MARK MAKING AND GEOMETRIC SHAPES.
A SPACE AGE 1960'S RESEARCH COLLAGE, ALONGSIDE THE FINAL DRAWINGS
I CREATED TO REPRESENT THE 50'S & 60'S.
HAND DRAWN DEVELOPMENT OF VISUAL REFERENCES TO THE DECADE OF THE 60'S: MOD FLOWERS, TWIGGY'S EYELASHES, AND PSYCHEDELIC PATTERNS.
FROM INITIAL RESEARCH TO DEVELOPING A FINAL DESIGN, TO ME "SOCIETY" IS REPRESENTED AS
PEOPLE BEING LINKED TOGETHER.
MY FINAL DRAWINGS REPRESENTING "SOCIETY" AND "REGROUPED".
LOOKING INTO VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS FOR "REGROUPING" LED ME TO LOOK AT PUZZLE PIECE OUTLINES, ARROWS AND HEADS AND SHOULDERS OF SIMPLIFIED PEOPLE.
MY FINAL IMAGE, DEPICTING "HIGH, MIDDLE AND LOW" FOCUSSED ON THE PYRAMID DIAGRAMS OF THE SOCIETAL STRUCTURE OF ORWELL'S NOVEL 1984. I ALSO INCORPORATED LADDERS INTO THIS DESIGN, TO SHOW THE LOWER TIERS' DESIRE TO CLIMB TO THE ELITE TIER.
TO CREATE A COMPOSITE DIGITAL IMAGE, I BEGAN COMBINING SECTIONS OF MY HAND DRAWN DRAWINGS AND GEOMETRIC SHAPES (SUCH AS THE PYRAMID AND MOD FLOWER) ON ILLUSTRATOR.
I DECIDED TO FOCUS ON A ROUNDED FLOWER MADE FROM ROY LICHTENSTEIN INSPIRED DOTS, INCORPORATING ELEMENTS SUCH AS THE PUZZLE PIECES, LADDERS AND DIAMOND SPARKLE AT THE CENTRE. I DEVELOPED VARIATIONS TO SEE HOW BOLD I WANTED THE CENTRE OF THE MOTIF TO BE.
