Ken Garland wrote the ‘First things First.’ Manifesto in 1964, the pledge was backed by over 400 designers. The Manifesto reacted against 1960’s consumerism and favoured a re- radicalised approach to design that has more meaning and context, ‘we have flogged their skills and imagination’, ‘he through down a challenge to communicators that refused to go away.’ (Poynor 1999), therefore Garland believed it was time for designers to take ownership of their work and not undersell ourselves for the sake of commerce.
The manifesto was inclusive to the art world, ‘we the undersigned are graphic designers, photographer and students,’ Garland suggest that designers were selling out their talent in order to be successful, ‘… those who have flogged their skills and imagination’ (Garland 1964). Soar writes that, ‘it is in the mature of manifestos to attempt to speak true to power, therefore the proposal invites designers to stand up to the advertising world and it proposed a, ‘reversal of priorities,’ (Garland 1964), in favour of more effective, valuable design.
Garland’s manifesto was rewritten in 2000 and was launched by Adbusters. It suggests that designers are being misconstrued and that the public perceive designers as commerce, ‘many of us have become increasingly uncomfortably with this view of design’, (First things First Manifesto 2000).
Matt Soar writes the manifesto may, ‘speak above the heads of,’ the revised manifesto’s language is less straight forward than the original,’ helping draft a reductive and immeasurably harmful code of public discourse,’ (First things First Manifesto 2000).
Therefore the revised document attempted to bring the manifesto up to date, however in doing so it has receive criticism for being too inclusive with a middle class notoriety.
Garland, K. (1964) First Things First, Originally self-published. Looking Closer 3, Pg 154.
First Things First Manifesto 2000, (1999) AIGA Journal of Graphic Design Vol. 17, no.2
Poyner, R. (1999) First Things First, A Brief History, Originally published in Adbusters no.27
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Friday, 19 March 2010
Friday, 12 March 2010
The modern rules of advertising?
Men are tired of their portrayal in advertising, according to a new book by Michael Buerk. But images of men behaving stupidly is not the only cliche which irritates writer John Camm.
Below is the link to an article I read by John Camm about how modern day advertisements seem to consistently follow the same cliches.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/4204412.stm
physchoanalysis
Freud's Theory
Dynamic
The "dynamic" level of Freud's (1964) theory deals with instinctual forces (Rapaport & Gill, 1959). He traces all instincts, and in a certain sense therefore all actions, back to two instincts; they are the Eros ("sexual instinct" or "libido") and the "destructive (aggressive) instinct." They work together and against each other and have a hand in everything we do. The primary example of this is sex itself, where of course the libido is present, and varying degrees of aggression (or lack thereof) can lead someone to either be bashful and impotent or a sex murderer, and anything in-between.
Economic
Freud's (1964) theory of the instincts is further realized in the "economic" level of his theory (Rapaport & Gill, 1959). This attempts, in some fashion, to abstractly quantify the power of instincts through the concept of "psychic energy." This is described through a system in which this energy in invested towards instinctual goals through cathexes, toward maximizing the pleasure for the individual. This, however, is balanced by the concept of anti-cathexes, in which the energy is invested as a force against the instinct, via defense in the ego (this concept will be further elaborated in the section on the structural model).
Developmental
The third part of Freud's (1964) theory is the "developmental" (Rapaport & Gill, 1959). Freud noted three major ideas in his theory that contradicted common beliefs. First, sexual life begins at birth. Second, a distinction between 'sexual' and 'genital' has to be made, because the former is a broader term encompassing many things totally disconnected from the genitals, for example oral and anal pleasure (Freud, 1964). Third, physical pleasure may be brought into the service of reproduction, but the two often fail to coincide completely. His model of development is four stages long, and only lasts through early life (other more complex models that give detailed representations of adulthood have been proposed by others; Erickson's will be addressed later in the section of this paper devoted to developments within the Freudian framework).
The oral phase begins at birth, when the mouth is the only erotogenic zone. It is, of course, for the purpose of nourishment that the baby persistently sucks at its mother's breast, but the baby nevertheless derives pleasure from this. The (Sadistic-)Anal Phase is characterized by satisfaction being sought in aggression and in the excretory function. In the Phallic Phase the male genitals take center stage. The male then enters the "Oedipal Stage" and begins touching his penis and fantasizing about doing something with it to his mother, until the threat of castration and realization of the lack of a penis in females throws him into the period of latency. In Freud's view, girls, recognizing their lack of a penis and inferior clitoris, suffer developmentally and often begin turning away from sex altogether. The next phase, puberty, is the one in which the individuals become increasingly aware of their adult sexual roles.
Structural
The fourth point of Freud's (1964) theory, the all-important "structural" divisions, come under two main categories: the structural and the topographical models (Rapaport & Gill, 1959). The structural model consists of three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is the agency of the "psychical apparatus" which contains much of what is inherited (there are also inherited ego characteristics), including the instincts. Psychic energy gets displaced and transformed, and then eventually discharged through action. Psychic determinism is that the instincts and their vicissitudes determine human behavior, modified by the ego.
The ego is the agency that acts as an intermediary between the id and the external world. It takes on the tasks of voluntary movement (using muscles in response to stimuli) and self preservation. It is charged with gaining control over the demands of the instincts, and choosing which ones to satisfy and when. The ego seeks pleasure and avoids unpleasure. When increases in unpleasure are expected, they are met by anxiety. The ego not only has to balance the id with reality, but also with the superego. The superego is the agency formed over time by the parents and society of the individual. It observes, orders, judges, and threatens the ego with punishment just like the parents whose place it has taken. We are generally aware of it as our conscience. Freud (1964) attributed the severity of the superego to the strength of defense used against the temptation of the Oedipus complex (and used this to claim that men have more fully developed superegos--but that is a more complex matter that is more fully dealt with in the sections of this paper on criticisms).
The second structural model is the topographical one. It, again, consists of three main parts: the unconscious, the preconscious, and the conscious. The unconscious is the part of the mind that is inaccessible to conscious thought. It is governed by the pleasure principle, which is simply that drives seek discharge as readily as possible. The barriers between it and the conscious are repression and other defenses. Freud (1953b) saw dreams (and dream analysis) as the central window to the unconscious (see the section on treatment). The preconscious is the part of the mind which is accessible to conscious thought, but is not currently being thought about. An example of preconscious thoughts might be accessible but distant memories. The line of demarcation between the unconscious and the preconscious is the important distinction to draw; the line between the preconscious and the conscious is less important, and is blurry at best.
The conscious is the accessible, "conscious" part of the mind, which contains thought processes including (very importantly) speech (although the preconscious is also considered somewhat verbal). In contrast to the unconscious, the conscious is governed to a large extent by the reality principle, which is that one must generally act according to the reality in which one lives, and therefore gratification must often be delayed.
Adaptive
The last element of Freudian theory is the "adaptive," which has been given much greater emphasis by more modern analysis (Rapaport & Gill, 1959). Freud addressed it, but only in a fairly scattered way. This final major element is how the psyche, the first four elements, relate to the outside world. The ego acts to balance the psyche with reality, as in the example of temporary restraint in order to gain or retain long-term happiness. One important thing to note here is how much emphasis analysts put on person-to-person relationships, most importantly that of the mother and child.
http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/plaut.html
Dynamic
The "dynamic" level of Freud's (1964) theory deals with instinctual forces (Rapaport & Gill, 1959). He traces all instincts, and in a certain sense therefore all actions, back to two instincts; they are the Eros ("sexual instinct" or "libido") and the "destructive (aggressive) instinct." They work together and against each other and have a hand in everything we do. The primary example of this is sex itself, where of course the libido is present, and varying degrees of aggression (or lack thereof) can lead someone to either be bashful and impotent or a sex murderer, and anything in-between.
Economic
Freud's (1964) theory of the instincts is further realized in the "economic" level of his theory (Rapaport & Gill, 1959). This attempts, in some fashion, to abstractly quantify the power of instincts through the concept of "psychic energy." This is described through a system in which this energy in invested towards instinctual goals through cathexes, toward maximizing the pleasure for the individual. This, however, is balanced by the concept of anti-cathexes, in which the energy is invested as a force against the instinct, via defense in the ego (this concept will be further elaborated in the section on the structural model).
Developmental
The third part of Freud's (1964) theory is the "developmental" (Rapaport & Gill, 1959). Freud noted three major ideas in his theory that contradicted common beliefs. First, sexual life begins at birth. Second, a distinction between 'sexual' and 'genital' has to be made, because the former is a broader term encompassing many things totally disconnected from the genitals, for example oral and anal pleasure (Freud, 1964). Third, physical pleasure may be brought into the service of reproduction, but the two often fail to coincide completely. His model of development is four stages long, and only lasts through early life (other more complex models that give detailed representations of adulthood have been proposed by others; Erickson's will be addressed later in the section of this paper devoted to developments within the Freudian framework).
The oral phase begins at birth, when the mouth is the only erotogenic zone. It is, of course, for the purpose of nourishment that the baby persistently sucks at its mother's breast, but the baby nevertheless derives pleasure from this. The (Sadistic-)Anal Phase is characterized by satisfaction being sought in aggression and in the excretory function. In the Phallic Phase the male genitals take center stage. The male then enters the "Oedipal Stage" and begins touching his penis and fantasizing about doing something with it to his mother, until the threat of castration and realization of the lack of a penis in females throws him into the period of latency. In Freud's view, girls, recognizing their lack of a penis and inferior clitoris, suffer developmentally and often begin turning away from sex altogether. The next phase, puberty, is the one in which the individuals become increasingly aware of their adult sexual roles.
Structural
The fourth point of Freud's (1964) theory, the all-important "structural" divisions, come under two main categories: the structural and the topographical models (Rapaport & Gill, 1959). The structural model consists of three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is the agency of the "psychical apparatus" which contains much of what is inherited (there are also inherited ego characteristics), including the instincts. Psychic energy gets displaced and transformed, and then eventually discharged through action. Psychic determinism is that the instincts and their vicissitudes determine human behavior, modified by the ego.
The ego is the agency that acts as an intermediary between the id and the external world. It takes on the tasks of voluntary movement (using muscles in response to stimuli) and self preservation. It is charged with gaining control over the demands of the instincts, and choosing which ones to satisfy and when. The ego seeks pleasure and avoids unpleasure. When increases in unpleasure are expected, they are met by anxiety. The ego not only has to balance the id with reality, but also with the superego. The superego is the agency formed over time by the parents and society of the individual. It observes, orders, judges, and threatens the ego with punishment just like the parents whose place it has taken. We are generally aware of it as our conscience. Freud (1964) attributed the severity of the superego to the strength of defense used against the temptation of the Oedipus complex (and used this to claim that men have more fully developed superegos--but that is a more complex matter that is more fully dealt with in the sections of this paper on criticisms).
The second structural model is the topographical one. It, again, consists of three main parts: the unconscious, the preconscious, and the conscious. The unconscious is the part of the mind that is inaccessible to conscious thought. It is governed by the pleasure principle, which is simply that drives seek discharge as readily as possible. The barriers between it and the conscious are repression and other defenses. Freud (1953b) saw dreams (and dream analysis) as the central window to the unconscious (see the section on treatment). The preconscious is the part of the mind which is accessible to conscious thought, but is not currently being thought about. An example of preconscious thoughts might be accessible but distant memories. The line of demarcation between the unconscious and the preconscious is the important distinction to draw; the line between the preconscious and the conscious is less important, and is blurry at best.
The conscious is the accessible, "conscious" part of the mind, which contains thought processes including (very importantly) speech (although the preconscious is also considered somewhat verbal). In contrast to the unconscious, the conscious is governed to a large extent by the reality principle, which is that one must generally act according to the reality in which one lives, and therefore gratification must often be delayed.
Adaptive
The last element of Freudian theory is the "adaptive," which has been given much greater emphasis by more modern analysis (Rapaport & Gill, 1959). Freud addressed it, but only in a fairly scattered way. This final major element is how the psyche, the first four elements, relate to the outside world. The ego acts to balance the psyche with reality, as in the example of temporary restraint in order to gain or retain long-term happiness. One important thing to note here is how much emphasis analysts put on person-to-person relationships, most importantly that of the mother and child.
http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/plaut.html
Thursday, 11 March 2010
art vs design
I read another really interesting article about art vs design.
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/art-vs-design
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
The ever-blurring line between art and advertising
I really enjoyed this article posted on creative review about the line between what is concieved as art and its relation to advertising.
http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2007/november/the-ever-blurring-line-between-art-and-advertising
One of Lowe's poster ads for the John Lewis Christmas campaign, shot by Nadav Kander
Monday, 8 March 2010
A History of Oil Painting
The history of the development and use of oil painting is a fascinating and complicated one. As no two authorities agree about its inception, use or manufacture, we have to accept that it came into prominence about the middle of the fifteenth century and that it was a development from tempera painting.
At first it was used in combination with tempera, possibly beginning the picture with tempera and completing it with oil. Later it was used by itself without any tempera underpainting. Various suggestions have been put forward as to why it came to be used. One suggestion is that it was due to the effect of the climate; that in Venice and Flanders, where oil painting flourished, the atmosphere was more suitable to oil. Another is that the flexibility and tonal range of oil allowed for more truthful expression of natural vision.
Whatever the reasons for the discovery of oil as a binder for pigments, the fact remains that it gives greater scope for working than tempera.
It is more flexible, more expressive and, finally, richer in color. Oil paint is certainly more exact in rendering the subtle tones of nature, but whether that was the initial reason for its use remains still to be proved. However, in the beginning, the paint was used thinly in glazes over a tempera underpainting.
Later, it was used throughout the picture, but the tempera origins still remained. The brush strokes were flattened out, so that the final effect, though richer than tempera, was smooth and glossy.
Flemish paintings by such people as Van Eyck, Memlinc, and Roger van der Weyden, all have more or less a tempera-oil look about them. And in Holland the subject painters of interiors and flowers: Vermeer, Terboch, de Hooch, etc., though using the paint more opaquely and without any apparent tempera beginnings, all tended to keep the paint smooth and unobtrusive.
It wasn't until Rembrandt and Hals that the quality of impasto and brush strokes revealed itself more, and from then on oil painting came fully into its own.
In the past, the paint had to be ground by hand and kept in bladders. Even then it did not keep very long and had to be freshly made each time. With the invention of metal tubes to keep the paint fresh for a longer period of time (and freeing the artist from making his own paint) painting began to concern itself more and more with ideas. The new freedom of the artist gave him more time to find out what he was looking at. Consequently the vision of the artist changed and so did the handling of the paint.
The methods employed by the old masters resembled the working of a factory. The apprentices were occupied in grinding colors and preparing grounds, or working on the paintings that were to be finished by the master. They paid the master for his instruction and helped to keep his studio running smoothly by doing nearly everything but sell the finished paintings. They worked in his style until ready to start out on their own. They accepted everything the master told them. They learnt their craft thoroughly and it sometimes took many years to complete a training this way.
From all accounts it was a tough and exacting life, holding craftsmanship high and individuality low, and anybody overstepping the bounds was liable to be severely reprimanded or put out of business entirely. Rembrandt and Hals, in pursuing a slightly different course from that accepted, suffered in no small way by getting fewer and fewer commissions to do. The story of Rembrandt's painting 'The Night Watch' is a famous example of what happened when you took your inspiration into your own hands and flaunted the conventions of the time. He was made bankrupt and put out of business.
But the seeds of destruction were already sown and by the seventeenth century the factory studio had all but died out. With the introduction, in the nineteenth century, of ready-made paints and brushes, oil painting took a new turn. For better or for worse the look of oil paintings took on a more personal note and the medium was exploited to the full, until today there is no right or wrong way to use it. Only the best way, the way that suits each individual to express himself or his ideas to his own satisfaction, counts.
Manufactured colors and brushes give great advantages to the artist. It is very noble to make your own paints and it is quite possible that material made this way will last many centuries longer than the bought material, but it is a conceit to wish that your paintings will be preserved by posterity. It should not concern the painter what the future will think of his work. His job is to get on and do it. It shouldn't matter very much what happens to them after he is dead. To worry about them will only give him ulcers, and painting should be a pleasure not a complaint.
Making your own material for economy, or because you like to experiment, or because home-made equipment suits your needs better, are the best reasons for not buying the ready-made stuff. Nevertheless there is at the artists' colour-man such a vast variety of material it is better to find out what they have to offer before making your own.
http://artdesignweb.com/learn_art/oils/oils_history.htm
At first it was used in combination with tempera, possibly beginning the picture with tempera and completing it with oil. Later it was used by itself without any tempera underpainting. Various suggestions have been put forward as to why it came to be used. One suggestion is that it was due to the effect of the climate; that in Venice and Flanders, where oil painting flourished, the atmosphere was more suitable to oil. Another is that the flexibility and tonal range of oil allowed for more truthful expression of natural vision.
Whatever the reasons for the discovery of oil as a binder for pigments, the fact remains that it gives greater scope for working than tempera.
It is more flexible, more expressive and, finally, richer in color. Oil paint is certainly more exact in rendering the subtle tones of nature, but whether that was the initial reason for its use remains still to be proved. However, in the beginning, the paint was used thinly in glazes over a tempera underpainting.
Later, it was used throughout the picture, but the tempera origins still remained. The brush strokes were flattened out, so that the final effect, though richer than tempera, was smooth and glossy.
Flemish paintings by such people as Van Eyck, Memlinc, and Roger van der Weyden, all have more or less a tempera-oil look about them. And in Holland the subject painters of interiors and flowers: Vermeer, Terboch, de Hooch, etc., though using the paint more opaquely and without any apparent tempera beginnings, all tended to keep the paint smooth and unobtrusive.
It wasn't until Rembrandt and Hals that the quality of impasto and brush strokes revealed itself more, and from then on oil painting came fully into its own.
In the past, the paint had to be ground by hand and kept in bladders. Even then it did not keep very long and had to be freshly made each time. With the invention of metal tubes to keep the paint fresh for a longer period of time (and freeing the artist from making his own paint) painting began to concern itself more and more with ideas. The new freedom of the artist gave him more time to find out what he was looking at. Consequently the vision of the artist changed and so did the handling of the paint.
The methods employed by the old masters resembled the working of a factory. The apprentices were occupied in grinding colors and preparing grounds, or working on the paintings that were to be finished by the master. They paid the master for his instruction and helped to keep his studio running smoothly by doing nearly everything but sell the finished paintings. They worked in his style until ready to start out on their own. They accepted everything the master told them. They learnt their craft thoroughly and it sometimes took many years to complete a training this way.
From all accounts it was a tough and exacting life, holding craftsmanship high and individuality low, and anybody overstepping the bounds was liable to be severely reprimanded or put out of business entirely. Rembrandt and Hals, in pursuing a slightly different course from that accepted, suffered in no small way by getting fewer and fewer commissions to do. The story of Rembrandt's painting 'The Night Watch' is a famous example of what happened when you took your inspiration into your own hands and flaunted the conventions of the time. He was made bankrupt and put out of business.
But the seeds of destruction were already sown and by the seventeenth century the factory studio had all but died out. With the introduction, in the nineteenth century, of ready-made paints and brushes, oil painting took a new turn. For better or for worse the look of oil paintings took on a more personal note and the medium was exploited to the full, until today there is no right or wrong way to use it. Only the best way, the way that suits each individual to express himself or his ideas to his own satisfaction, counts.
Manufactured colors and brushes give great advantages to the artist. It is very noble to make your own paints and it is quite possible that material made this way will last many centuries longer than the bought material, but it is a conceit to wish that your paintings will be preserved by posterity. It should not concern the painter what the future will think of his work. His job is to get on and do it. It shouldn't matter very much what happens to them after he is dead. To worry about them will only give him ulcers, and painting should be a pleasure not a complaint.
Making your own material for economy, or because you like to experiment, or because home-made equipment suits your needs better, are the best reasons for not buying the ready-made stuff. Nevertheless there is at the artists' colour-man such a vast variety of material it is better to find out what they have to offer before making your own.
http://artdesignweb.com/learn_art/oils/oils_history.htm
Sunday, 7 March 2010
revised essay proposal
Provisional Essay Title
In John Berger’s 7th essay in his book, “Ways of seeing” (Berger 1972), he examines the similarity of the language between oil paintings and advertisements. To what extend is this true and is it still as relevant today?
What material will you look at?
I will look at psychoanalysis, marxism and the gaze
Which specific therorist/writers will you refer to?
Althusser
John Berger
Freud
Judith Williamson
Books/Articles/Resources
Berger J (1972) 'Ways of Seeing'
Betterton R (ed) (1987) 'Looking on:Images of Femininity in the Visual Arts and Media' London Pandora Press
Robinson, H 'Feminism- Art- Theory:an Anthology' 1968-2000. Oxford Blackwell
Williamson J (1978) 'Decoding Advertisements' London Marion Boyars
In John Berger’s 7th essay in his book, “Ways of seeing” (Berger 1972), he examines the similarity of the language between oil paintings and advertisements. To what extend is this true and is it still as relevant today?
What material will you look at?
I will look at psychoanalysis, marxism and the gaze
Which specific therorist/writers will you refer to?
Althusser
John Berger
Freud
Judith Williamson
Books/Articles/Resources
Berger J (1972) 'Ways of Seeing'
Betterton R (ed) (1987) 'Looking on:Images of Femininity in the Visual Arts and Media' London Pandora Press
Robinson, H 'Feminism- Art- Theory:an Anthology' 1968-2000. Oxford Blackwell
Williamson J (1978) 'Decoding Advertisements' London Marion Boyars
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Annotation: Adorno: How to look at television
Annotation of Adornos,'how to look at television.' Taken from, The Quartlely of Film Radio and Television, Vol 8, No 3 (Spring, 1954), 215 Published by: University of California Press
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