Beyond Face Value

Graphic design has been a key part of my life for many years now, however I have mainly approached it from a very technical perspective. For me, it was always about making designs for a product, whether it was a brochure, an advertisement, or a website. Over the course of my five years at the University of Waterloo, my eyes have been opened to a new way of using graphic design - for art.  I have never thought about using my design skills for a greater purpose than branding a person or selling a product. It wasn't until studying art history that my eyes were opened to many amazing artists who do this, however one really resonated with me: Barbara Kruger.

My Body is a Battleground - 1989

Kruger uses the very graphical style of advertising to catch the attention of the viewer.  However, you can see that she is not advertising a product or a person, but bringing to the public realm a very heated topic at the time (and still is in some senses) - women's rights. This piece in particular has really resonated with me since taking an Art and Gender class in my 3rd year here at Waterloo. I was immediately captivated by how she uses very simple but very bold imagery and text to engage the viewer and make them think about how women are portrayed in society. Women have had to fight for their rights not only in the public realm, but over their bodies as well. In so much of the media then, and today, women are objectified to become a spectacle for the viewer. We can all think to the commercials of flawless women and immediately understand that society values the body over inner beauty. She also comments on consumerism by using images that would be found in the very magazines of the time.

Her work has really motivated me to push the boundaries of my design skills in a conceptual way. I am looking to do something similar to her work, but in a topic that is very prominent in my life - questioning ourselves. It sounds like a broad concept, but I know that every single person can think to a time when they felt lost, confused, scared of the direction they were going in and if they were making the right decision. This has been a prominent theme for me as I am enrolled in the co-op program, and I have been bouncing between school and the working world for five years now. Each term I had to make an adjustment, and that transitioning period is always one of distress and uncertainty. Now the only question is how it will take shape...

"Art is Explosion!" - Fandoms, Remixed

As a English and Fine Arts student, it's sometimes hard to find a middle ground between the two aspects of my majors. As much as one is rooted in textual content, and the other, visual, it's not hard to see where they intersect and product a new form of communication. The early illuminated scripts of the Medieval period are as much about the illustrations as the meaning.

My area of interest is in the rise of fandom in the digital age. In texts like Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, the aspects of the rise of the prevalence of certain types of subcultures, accepted or not, have given birth to distinct identities. In a way, that subculture incorporates a different of values that encourages the sharing of content, remixing of original sources, or the way that amateurs can become creators as well.

There are obviously problematic or aesthetic matters that are tied to different fandoms: some might say that the "brony" (a rather inaccurate title for the fans of My Little Pony) label only serves to push female fans out of the space where they are supposedly safe. Otaku, as described in Little Boy by Takashi Murakami and Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World, shows the far reaching power of "soft" culture exports that can influence generations of people, even so far as how we identify ourselves outside markers of gender, sex or ethnic background.

But enough of that...I'm really an illustrator at heart, and I am influenced by people like Ai Wei Wei, Yayoi Kusami, and Sandy Skoglund. I guess I might sound a bit stand-offish and stuffy, but this is the best way I can think of. My art gives off the feeling of childishness, and deals with cutouts that are larger than life. In a way it reflects how we perceive 2D versus 3D.

Visit my blog for more drawings, and hope to see you at the fourth-year show!

Bite, Photoshop. 2013

Further Readings:
Fandoms Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World - English and translated essays
Little Boy

Visit me!

Sketch Blog

Twitter

Portfolio