The Martian: Behind the Prints

THE MARTIAN

BEHIND THE PRINTS

Visual Narrative | Spring 2016 Alisha Saiyed

Portion of the Carina Nebula, hubblesite.org

THE MARTIAN PRINTS A STATEMENT

THE MARTIAN PRINTS, CHAPTERS 1 AND 2.

“In the event a crewman dies on Mars, he stays on Mars…

No point in giving that up for sentimentality.” I found this poignant phrase captured the duality of Mark Watney’s struggle for survival. Watney relies heavily on his logical expertise and intellect to survive, yet the glimpses of his emotions we see are also an important part of his story. The visceral prose allows us, as readers, to empathise better with the main character as a human rather than a subject or character between the pages of a book. I chose to focus on the emotions in the writing for my work and picked quotes that expressed “sentimentality” rather than logic.

I worked with a combination of photography, typography, and vectors to create a layered print. Through two juxtaposing prints, I have attempted to show the fluctuation of emotion through both chapters. In the first chapter, the emotions are brief, yet powerful.

In the second chapter, there are longer and more overwhelming expressions of emotion. I have attempted to translate this visually into each print.

For the first print, I took inspiration from minimalist photographers Hiroshi Sugimoto and Peter Downsbrough’s black and white work, especially pieces which dealt with high contrast light and shadow. I used a low light photograph of my own for the print to reflect the minimal emotion expressed in the first chapter.

For the second print, I looked at abstractionism and typographic posters from the International Style (or Swiss Style). I used Herbert Bayer’s typographic poster (Ausstellung Europaisches Kunstgewerbe, 1927) and grid as a precedent for the typography. I have used a combination of geometric shapes and organic textures in the background to represent the contrast between logic and emotion and add depth to the print.

I wanted to capture both the dark and hopeless as well as the panic-stricken state of someone abandoned on Mars, forced to subdue his emotions in order to survive.

Pillars of Creation, spacetelescope.org

KEY QUOTES

CH 1 Maybe there’ll be a day of national mourning for me, and my Wikipedia page will say Mark Watney is the only human being to have died on Mars.”

Let’s see… where do I begin?

The Ares 1 crew did their thing and came back heroes. They got the parades and fame and love the world. Ares 2 did the same thing, in a different location on Mars. They got a firm handshake and a hot cup of coffee when they got home.

Ares 3. Well, that was my mission. Okay, not mine per se.

I would only be “in command” of the mission to fire the only remaining person. What do you know? I’m in command.

Guys, if you’re reading this: It wasn’t your fault. You did what you had to do. In your position I would have done the same thing. I don’t blame you, and I’m glad you survived.

It was a ridiculous sequence of events that led me to almost dying, and an even more ridiculous sequence that led me to surviving.

Everyone made it but me.

The last thing I remember was seeing Johansson hopelessly reaching out toward me.

In the event a crewman dies on Mars, he stays on Mars…

No point in giving that up for sentimentality.

So that’s the situation. I’m stranded on Mars.

I have no way to communicate with Hermes or Earth. Everyone thinks I’m dead.

CH 2 Outside, things aren’t so rosy.

Just one person breathing instead of six.

The medical area has morphine for emergencies. And there’s enough there for a lethal dose. I’m not going to slowly starve to death, I’ll tell you that. If I get to that point I’ll take an easier way out.

I think it’s time to give up.

Everyone in the mission had two specialities. I’m a botanist and a mechanical engineer; basically the mission’s fix-it man who played with plants.

I’ve been thinking about how to survive this. It’s not completely hopeless. There’ll be humans back on Mars in about four years when Ares 4 arrives (assuming they didn’t cancel the program the wake of my “death”).

Of course, I don’t have any plan for surviving for years on one year of food. But one thing at a time here. For now, I’m well fed and have a purpose: Fix the damn radio.

I may as well yell toward Earth for all the good that damned thing will do me.

Communicating from Mars to earth is a pretty big deal and requires extremely specialized equipment. I won’t be able to whip something up with tin foil and gum.

In other news, I’m starting to come up with an idea for food. My botany background may come in useful after all.

But I’m a botanist, damn it. I should be able to find a way to make this happen. If I don’t, I’ll be a really hungry botanist in about a year.

I’ve always been in it for the science, not for any New World order bullshit.

Hell yeah I’m a botanist! Fear my botany powers!

In other news, today is Thanksgiving. My family will be gathering in Chicago for the usual feast at my parents’ house. My guess is it’s not going to be much fun, what with me having died 10 days ago.

Hell, they probably just got done with my funeral.

I wonder if they’ll ever find out what really happened.

I’ve been so busy staying alive I never thought of what this must be like for my parents. Right now, they’re suffering the worst pain anyone can endure. I’d give anything just to let them know I’m still alive.

I’ll just have to survive to make up for it.

Doing the math, this won’t keep me from starving.

So now start starving to death on Sol 490 instead of Sol 400. It’s progress but any hope of survival rests on me surviving until sol 1412 when Ares 4 will land.

There’s about a thousand days of food I don’t have.

And I don’t have a plan for how to get it. Shit.

“In the event a crewman dies on Mars, he stays on Mars… No point in giving that up for s e n t i m e n t a l i t y . ”

PRECEDENTS

PRECEDENT I started by doing some general visual research. I did not have a direction in mind when I started, except the key pages and quotes from the chapters that had resonated with me. I looked at a lot of space related visuals and also data visualisation. I thought perhaps I may use these graphs, that also share colours and visual language with space, to portray something scientific and mathematical, such as the log entries and measurements of time Mark Watney uses (eg. Sol 6).

After reading the chapters a bit more, I saw there was a balance of calculated planning and humorous, albeit desolate, emotion in the book. I was drawn to both, but the latter more so than the former.

Aside from the specific data maps, I also looked at other work that I found interesting visually or conceptually. I tried to look at different styles of design I was interested in, such as double exposure photography and vector graphics.

Hiroshi Sugimoto had originally expected to photograph the architecture of the Pulitzer building, made by fellow countryman Tadao Ando. Sugimoto refoucesed his subject matter upon seeing Richard Serra’s Joe in the courtyard of the building.

PRECEDENTS

HIROSHI SUGIMOTO HIROSHI SUGIMOTO Hiroshi Sugimoto’s black and white minimalist photography of Richard Serra’s Joe, taken in 2003 on a visit to the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts in St. Louis.

The minimalistic photographs with their strong focus on light and form attracted me. The high contrast between the black and white arrangement of forms makes a powerful image.

“Using a photographic technique involving areas of extremely soft light and blurred darkness, [Sugimoto] sculpted views that seem like aspects of visual memory: the arts of photography and sculpture overlap and memories of the two-and the three-dimensional mix.” (sugimotohiroshi.com) I particularly liked the description of the image making: “sculpted views that seem like aspects of visual memory”. This tied in with my interpretation of my chapters and the link of emotion within them.

PRECEDENTS

PETER DOWNSBROUGH PETER DOWNSBROUGH “Peter Downsbrough has developed a strongly reduced visual vocabulary, which he uses to investigate the given space in a very personal and precise way.” (galeriezander.com) Downsborough’s work, especially the abstract photography, has strong contrasts of black and white forms, much like Hiroshi Sugimoto’s.

The photographs convey the mood through abstract forms, light and composition rather than discernible contents of the image.

PRECEDENTS

THE SWISS/INTERNATIONAL STYLE Through a very sophisticated process of scrolling through Google, I came across this typographic poster

by Amanda Lin, who goes by the username theramunefizz on Deviant Art. I saved the photograph but did not go back to it until much later in my process, when I felt I needed a new direction. The use of grid and typography reminded me of the Swiss or International style.

I liked the objective, logical and straightforward style of the posters. I specifically looked at Herbert Bayer’s typographic poster (Ausstellung Europaisches Kunstgewerbe, 1927) and grid as a precedent for the typography I created for my own print.

Herbert Beyer

Amanda Lin

Helvetica Specimen

PROCESS

PROCESS My approach to these prints was largely intuitive and experimental. I usually prefer working with clean and simple visuals (a layer of vector or photography and one of type). But for this project I decided to venture outside my comfort zone and try to push my process and outcomes in a different direction. Because I had a longer time to work on the prints, it gave me room to experiment, and if it failed, I would still have time to fix it or come up with something new.

I worked on both prints simultaneously. I started with a range of approaches, including photography, painted textures, vector illustrations, typography, lines and geometric shapes. I made complex layers of these organic textures with vector illustrations and typography. As a result, the prints look like they are related without looking too similar.

I chose a primarily greyscale colour palette. I felt that this was fitting, not only because it seemed reminiscent of space, but also because the sentiments I wanted to portray the sombre, dark emotions of Mark Watney’s struggle and situation through my prints. I enjoyed the way mood and emotion was portrayed in the minimalist, black and white photography of both Hiroshi Sugimoto and Peter Downsbrough and aimed to mirror this effect in my own prints.

PRINTS

PRINT 1 The first print responds to chapter one of The Martian.

We are introduced here to some emotion, after the initial explanation of how Mark Watney came to be stranded on Mars. I picked out the quotes that expressed the most important emotions for this minimal print.

At this point in his journey, things are only just beginning and his focus is on surviving. What I enjoyed the most about this chapter was the introduction of a botanist and engineer, the least important guy on the mission, not the archetypal alpha male that one would expect in a narrative. Mark Watney’s struggle for survival is not about his physical or even intellectual prowess, his ordeal is a test of his mettle. Things are dark, they are sombre yet there is hope in the fact alone that he chooses to keep fighting.

I have tried to capture these reaction in a dramatically lit, black and white print.

PRINTS

PRINT 2 This print contains many layers, unlike the previous, more minimal print. This print went through various methods and iterations over a period of weeks, building on layers to create the final print. I used the organic, textured background layered with vector drawings as the background for a layer of typography. I tried to connect type treatment to the importance or impact of each quote. (Sol and survive are the two biggest and most visible words on the print, because they are the two most important parts of the story. I wanted to use these organic textures and layers to create a sense of panic, but also to portray the battle between his emotions and his intellect, alongside his battle for survival.

Galaxy History, hubblesite.org