Visual analysis: Do we value craft and the analogue in the digital age? When considering craft and the analogue in the digital age it’s important to consider a wide range of artists, designers, crafts people and illustrators. This essay is going to explore visuals from as early as the 1800s by William Morris to an illustration piece created in 2015. In the paper ‘analogue versus digital in the creative process’ (Taylor, 2010), it states that students can sit ‘in front of an old, poorly operating typewriter’ to achieve an ‘unpredictable outcome’ and this links to my first image - figure 1, ‘Brick Lane/ Sclater Street’ (2015) a typic by Keira Rathbone. It visually seems like an ordinary piece of artwork but it is in fact made up of marks from a manual typewriter. Her typing/drawing process becomes a performance and these performance elements of Rathbones methodology links directly to the paper ‘analogue versus digital in the creative process’ (Taylor 2010) as it becomes more ‘alluring’ as people begin to engage with ‘the alchemy of the analogue’ (Taylor 2010) and the outcome. There is a heavy ‘presence of the hand’ a term referred to by Taylor (2010), in Rathbones work (figure 1) with the sense of touch and physicality to it which really shows the hand of the maker. Figure 1 was completed on Brick Lane/ Sclater Street so location becomes paramount to the piece - she captures the hectic vibes through working fast. Movement is captured in the piece through the obscure figures contrasting with the bold permanent historical buildings. It has an interesting composition due to the clear understanding of perspective with a line of view. The artist has also incorporated text to give the second audience viewing the artwork in the Brick Lane gallery exhibition more context. The text won’t be for the primary audience, those passing by seeing the piece performed, as it will be apparent due to being on location. Similarly, in figure 2, ‘Trellis’, a William Morris wallpaper, location is key to the contents. ‘Trellis’ was designed just after moving to the Red House and was inspired by the gardens which were arranged in a Medieval style. The Design reform movement also had a big impact on the design - it was a ‘compromise between the boldly coloured pectoral patterns which were then popular with the general public, and the formalised flat patterns in muted tones which were promoted by this movement.’ (V&A museum website, accessed 2017) Morris (along with Ruskin) was a key component in the arts and crafts movement which was made up of English designers and writers who wanted a return to ‘well-made, hand crafted goods instead of mass-produced, poor quality, machine made items’ (BBC website,
accessed 2017) and this is clearly evident in his work. In figure 2 the design has been chiselled in to wood. It is a wood block that has been printed - hand cut and prepared by a chosen specialist firm. Again this ‘presence of the hand’ (Crow 2008) is important and in this image what makes the work so remarkable and beautiful. The level of craftsmanship and labour gone in to this piece really puts what Taylor (2010) wrote in to practice ‘the magic of the digital does not matter - the alchemy of the analogue is more unpredictable and therefore more alluring’ . There are no digital aspects to his work unlike in my third chosen image… Figure 3 is a risoprint by illustrator Louise Lockhart. The production of her work leads the aesthetic as she hand cuts the shapes and scans them in to work with them on the computer. The importance of ‘the presence of the hand’ that Crow (2008) discusses in his essay comes to light as the presence of Lockhart’s hand is very evident through her use of crude shape. Her work has a charming naivety to it and looks completely analogue almost like a screen printed piece. The limited use of colour adds to this analogue aesthetic as colour is something limited when using analogue processes but it works to aid the piece in being appropriate for both genders and I find that those areas with more colours layered up are striking and of more interest. The textures in the piece are lovely and part of the charm which may be intentional to convey connotations of ‘cheap’ and low budget life as a student. Figure 3 is a risograph, a ‘highspeed, photo-copier meets mimeograph printing system’, ‘produced for high volume copying and printing back in the mid 80s’ and a ‘more affordable option’ (Anna Chayasatit, 2015). This is key to the subject in question of the analogue and digital as it is a clear example of the two fusing together. As Perry (2016) states ‘to get great results the user has to be just as sympathetic to the material effects of a particular digital technique’ and this sums up Lockhart’s practice and process so well. Taylor’s 2010 paper states ‘craft today is fuelled by young creatives’ and both Rathbone and Lockhart’s processes here are a clear example of that as they have taken old technology (a typewriter) and a craft (paper cutting) and updated and adapted the way they have carried them out to communicate and convey something new. It is particularly interesting how Rathbone changes the manual typewriters function to create a unique drawing technique and produce the work she wants. Perhaps Morris, figure 2, would appreciate Rathbones work (figure 1) and its hand crafted nature which is heavily part of the arts and crafts movement. Although the three of my chosen images are very different there are similarities linked to the artists chosen processes and means of production. Through history and now in the current day there is a constant uncertainty to the appeal of the digital and having followed through with this visual analysis I believe it will continue for many years allowing artists to conform and oppose.
Figure 1 - Keira Rathbone image Figure 2 - Trellis William Morris Figure 3 - Louise Lockhart