THESIS PROJECT 2017 CHANCHANABAD
A set of short comics STUDENT:
NANDITA RATAN
PROJECT:
Art in Transit
SPONSOR:
Herman Miller
PROGRAM:
Undergraduate Professional Programme
AWARD:
Information Arts and Information Design Practice
GUIDES:
Amitabh Kumar, Sai Mulpuru, Sujatha Ramesh, Sandeep Aswath
Copyrights 2016-2017 Student Document Publication (for private circulation only) All Rights Reserved Final Thesis Project (Undergraduate Professional Programme) Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology Bangalore - 560064 Karnataka No part of this document will be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, scanning, photography and video recording without written permission from the publishers namely Nandita Ratan and Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore. Written, edited and designed by Nandita Ratan Printed at Vinayaka Printers, Bangalore
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND PLAGIARISM STATEMENT I,NANDITA RATAN, hereby declare that the content of this student documentation and final design/artwork submission is my own original work and has not been plagiarised in full or part from previously published/designed/manufactured material or does not even contain substantial propositions of content which have been accepted for an award of any other degree or diploma of any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in this thesis project. I also declare that the intellectual content of this Thesis Project is my own original work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style and presentation is acknowledged and that this thesis project (or part of it) will not be submitted as assessed work in any other academic course.
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT I, NANDITA RATAN, hereby grant Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology the right to archive and to make available my Thesis Project in whole or in part in the institute’s databank and website, and for non-commercial use in all forms of media, now and hereafter known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act.
Name: Signature: Date:
INTRODUCTION Through this project I aimed at exploring the area of Shivaji Nagar and creating stories around a fictional space based on my understanding of market spaces similar to Shivaji nagar. The locality I have created goes by the name of “Chanchanabad�. Chanchanabad is small locality on a fictional map, it is not a replica of any real markets. To create this space, a lot of time was spent in the Shivaji nagar market exploring shops, patterns and buildings. I also gave particular emphasis to my memories of similar spaces and how such spaces make me feel.
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ABOUT ME
My name is Nandita Ratan. I am a student of illustration. I enjoy working with comics and illustrated booklets. I have worked briey with textile and space design. I have also been a part of public art projects. I chose to work with this project because of the opportunities it offered.
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IMMERSION WEEK
The following exercises were a part of our immersion week. The exercises were short, fast paced and helped me gain a better sense of what we would be attempting to accomplish. The key to these exercises was to create work as uninhibitedly as possible. The process helped me see spaces differently.
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Creating a visceral piece I used this exercise as a place to start. As I tried to create a narrative that would stand on its own I subconsciously created a narrative reflecting this search.
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Charting a path and creating a soundscape This was our first day on site. We met at Cubbon park and picked different directions to walk in. Once we established our path, we exchanged routes with another person. We then used their route to create soundscapes. These soundscapes were shuffled and the one we picked was our next topic to work with. The aim of this exchange was to create a visualization of space based on sound. I realized that the fictional narrative I created was based on images of spaces that I had seen at some point. Even sounds that I was unfamiliar with brought back memories of spaces that I assumed I knew off.
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Reimagine the Coolant on Minsk square The coolant is the first landmark I notice every time I pass by Cubbon park metro station crossing. It appears to be in the shape of a warped circle with an attempt at filigree work on the top of it which looks oddly chunky. I never quite liked it, but I did not dislike it either. However, recently, the coolant was painted; it now has a geometric pattern running around the length of it. I now dislike the coolant. The aim of this exercise was to change some part of the coolant to make it a structure that we could appreciate personally. We were to accomplish this by erasing and adding to it. On reevaluating how I felt about this strange structure, I came to the conclusion that it wasted a lot of good space.
Although the coolant is a broken circular structure, it is situated in the center of a large triangle by the side of a traffic signal. This large triangle isn’t covered entirely by the coolant. A section of it, large enough to fit at least 20 people comfortably has been paved in tiles and left alone. This large coolant area was once shaded by trees just like Cubbon park. I chose to rework the space so that it has 3 watch towers to give a good view of the area, a cafeteria and a small makeshift library. It would serve as a space for people to gather. This would be useful as individuals who come out of the metro often wait outside the metro for someone to pick them up.
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Juggalbandhi On being introduced to this exercise, I was quite afraid of its results. Working with a partner has never been my forte. However, it was a pleasant surprise when it worked out quite well. The aim was to pick a word and create individual pieces that reflected the essence of the word/phrase. After a lengthy back and forth discussion with my partner we settled on the phrase “siren call”. According to Greek mythology, the sirens were dangerous creatures that lived on an island.
They disguised themselves as beautiful women and used their enchanting song to cause sailors to shipwreck on their shores. I translated this to the feeling that one has towards objects they use daily and are comfortable with. The familiarity that an individual has for their own possessions makes it difficult to let them go, just like the comfort that the siren’s call would give these sailors.
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THE CONCEPT OF PLAY From the initial week of immersion exercises, we collectively came the conclusion that we would guide our individual processes through the idea of play. Using making and experimentation as a part of a continuous process would help us reach conclusions faster and make better progress with the project.
THE FESTIVAL OF STORIES This project, apart from being a college graduation project would also involve three main dates. The dates are that of the festval of stories, a two day event to be held at the Cubbon Park metro station. These three dates are spaced about a month away from each other and would allow us the chance to showcase our work and receive feedback from the general public and our intended viewers.
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AVENUES The completion of the initial weeks of immersion exercises left us faced with the question of where we wanted to work. The Neralu tree festival was drawing near, it was to take place in Cubbon park. The next option was to work within the metro station and the last option was to dislocate completely and select an area of our choice somewhere within the city.
THE NERALU TREE FESTIVAL The Neralu tree festival is an initiative taken by tree lovers in Bengaluru to celebrate nature. The Kannada word “neralu” translates to shade. The event is a completely crowd funded and citizen driven, it takes place annually. Bengaluru’s changing landscape, a result of uncontrolled urban development brought together tree lover to start this much needed event.
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In order to know more about the event and Cubbon park itself, I spent a few days exploring the park and what it had to offer. As a group we explored several possibilities that we could take forward for the Neralu treefestival. Although I had several fleeting ideas that I could take forward, none of them felt good enough. Eventually, I remembered the work of Andy Goldsworthy and started to explore the works of several Land artists.
Cubbon park has an abundant supply of natural material, sunlight and wind that I could use as a part of my work. However, the more I explored the subject of Land art, the more inexperienced and unprepared I felt. I did not have the skills or the experience required to pull off a project of this caliber, so I chose a completely different direction.
Work by Andy Goldsworthy.
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SHIVAJI NAGAR My choice of working with Shivaji nagar was a sudden one, An unplanned stroll through the area made me realize just how much I loved market places and the amount of potential for work they had. Shivaji Nagar, like most large market spaces is a huge maze of shops. Often streets feel like they have been categorized based on the products being sold there. There are streets with shops selling only clothes, or only slippers, others selling old items such as televisions and radios.
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After spending a few hours of walking through Shivaji nagar in the mid afternoon heat, I realized that there was too much for me to take in. I decided to revisit the market early in the morning and see if it would help me gain a new perspective. Early in the morning, at 5.30 am to be precise, the locality shows no signs of life except for the brightly lit, fully functional bus depot. The main market area is a completely different place at this hour.
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There is no noise, no smells, nothing. Shivaji nagar at this hour is a normal residential area. I could hear M.S. Subbulakshmi’s version of the suprabatham from a nearby temple, men returning from a mosque, crows and cats going through the previous day’s garbage and by 6 am, the BBMP sweepers arrive to clean the area. It was as if I was watching the area unbox.
THE POURAKARMIKAS
Employees of the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) also referred to as pourakarmikas are sweepers who arrive early in the morning. While I sat there watching the locality wake up, I realized just how important the pourakarmikas were to the area. I wanted to create stories about them by collaborating with them. I visited the market every morning for two weeks where I became acquainted with Naagamma who told me where she was from and why she worked as a pourakarmika. We bonded over a shared hometown and several cups of chai that we bought for each other in turns.
After several days of interacting with Naagamma I saw that my daily visits were interrupting her work schedule, I suddenly didn’t want to work with the pourakarmikas anymore. She had a tight schedule and she was making time for me, she also had a day job after her work for the BBMP. Working with her or any of the other pourakarmikas would have the same consequences on their schedule.
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MEANWHILE
THE CROWS
While I spent time with Naagamma and her daughter, my early morning visits to Shivaji nagar helped me brainstorm and come up with more possibilities. The Neralu tree festival was to take place on the 18th of February and I decided to create comics based on my observations of Shivaji nagar. The Neralu tree festival would ensure a steady flow of commuters into the Cubbon park metro station.
This comic focuses on the area of Shivaji nagar before it turns into a bustling market space. It almost seems like crows, cats and mice are its only living residents who claim the space as their own.
The cover page of the comic, the images that follow are that of the comic.
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CONFLICTING SPACES This comic was an observation based on the contrast of different kinds of spaces that one sees in Shivaji nagar.
The cover page of the comic, the images that follow are that of the comic.
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THE CLOUD
The pourakarmikas are an indispensable part of Shivaji nagar, this comic is based on them and how often visitors into the space do not notice their presence.
The cover page of the comic, the images that follow are that of the comic.
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PROJECT PROPOSAL Context This project aims at creating a fictional narrative based on Shivaji nagar. The focus of the narrative is to explore shivaji nagar as a world of its own by creating a parallel universe around it. My position The markets of Shivaji Nagar are a confusing maze of roads with back alleys that seem to lead back to one another. The sheer number of shops selling various products makes it hard to tell one road from the next. Readymade dress sellers, fabric sellers, meat shops, chai-wallas, antique furniture shops, shops selling accessories; the list could go on. I realized, on my first visit to this locality that it was very difficult to tell where I was going without GPS. I found it hard to keep track of the number of shops that I wanted to visit. I found it even harder because the more I looked, the more I ended up noticing. Shops seemed to occupy even the smallest of spaces. The dynamic between planned spaces and spaces that have emerged as a result of unplanned growth within the market has given the locality layers that required for me to stay within the area in order to properly “see� it. Since the area was such a maze during the day, I decided to revisit it early in the morning before the shops opened up. What I saw was completely different from the chaos that ensues during the day. It was silent; I could hear the crows perched on the electrical wires above me, the sweepers at work, an M.S. Subbulakshmi recording of the suprabhatam from the temple, the adhan from the mosques. The locality has a completely different atmosphere before the market wakes up. It was plainly a simple residential area between the hours of 11pm and 9am every day. As an illustrator, I want to focus on creating visual narratives that bring out these observations within a locality. At face level, most localities can be put into little boxes and labeled. Cubbon park is calm and laid back, Shivaji nagar is bustling and chaotic, the Cubbon park metro station is clinical and curated. However, on spending time with the communities that reside within these spaces, and the spaces themselves, one starts to see more to the space than the label. Several localities within the center of the city can be glossed over as merely transit spaces to a visitor who does not reside within the locality. By focusing on these smaller details of a transit space, I would like to create comics that humanize the space and bring out observations that make the space more relatable and less clinical. Research Questions I would like to approach this project through the following questions: 1. What are the factors that characterize a space, and how do I focus on translating these characteristics into narratives? 1. How can the transitional nature of spaces effect narratives? 2. How do communities and their practices affect the evolution of spaces? How can I approach this through fiction? 3. How do I build on the act of creating stories through comics and print media? How can I add more layers to my work?
Artwork, specific piece Through the span of the last two weeks I have spent my time exploring Shivaji Nagar, this led me to make several observations about the space that have helped me create three simple comics based on it. Exploring the space through making (by drawing in the space and then making comics based on my observations) has helped me not only observe the space better but has also helped me talk to people within shivaji nagar. The comics that I have created have led me to realize the genre of stories I would like to focus on. I want to focus on creating fictional stories based on visual metaphors I create around the space and the events that occur within it. Through the span of this project, I aim at creating a parallel world, based on the locality of Shivaji nagar. The story is to revolve around a character that acts as a lens and takes the reader through space. The comics will reflect the atmosphere of the space and the functioning of it. I would like to approach the space as a traveler and search for subjects that I can work with. I aim hope to successfully integrate my process of expressing narratives through comics with a material oriented practice. For example, installations, paste-ups, stencils or an interactive piece. Learning Outcomes This project will ensure that I use the tools that I have spent my time honing. There are several aspects that I wish to focus on and get better at by the end of this course. 1. I hope to make this project about fast paced work. I aim at creating several narratives that are planned out in terms of story, character and layout and proceed to with an intensive process of making. 2. The concept of distribution is still a hurdle that I haven’t confronted. Distribution of work depends of the kind of material produced and the factors that influence the functioning of the area in which the material is located. I hope to understand how to ensure that my work reaches audiences within different areas. 3. The act of creating a narrative has been a whimsical unplanned process for me so far. I have never planned a story with its images prior to the act of drawing it. Through this project I would like to focus on building a better process. I would like to explore characters, spaces and emotions such that the process isn’t impulsive, baseless and directionless. Approach The project that I am proposing will require a certain amount of exploration in order to cement my process of work. When I visited the markets of Shivaji nagar, I approached the market as a traveler with little prior knowledge of the locality. However, I want to approach spaces with different intentions before I chose to solidify my process of exploration. Approaching a space with knowledge of its history may change my outlook on the space. The questions I ask within the space and the subjects I focus on will change and thus, drastically influence my narrative. I aim at creating this comic in pieces and stitching them together to create a larger story. The story will focus on a single fictional character’s interaction with the locality of Shivaji nagar. The character acts as a window into the lives of people living within the Shivaji nagar community. The story line will delve into the history of shivaji nagar, the character’s inception, its past and it’s relation to present day shivaji nagar.
SEMINAR ONE After the first seminar I came to the conclusion that I wanted to explore the space more. I wanted to create a set of comics based loosely off of Shivaji nagar. I was informed that I needed to read more comics that related to my topic of choice. Until then, I had read a lot of manga. However, my knowledge of Western comics was quite limited. To combat this issue I set out on a long reading list that included Persepolis, Asterios Polyp, Epliptic B, Ghost World and many more.
I found that going back and reading Herge’s Tintin was the most helpful for my practice. Herge created Tintin not by travelling to every location in his “Adventures of Tintin” but by thoroughly researching the places he was using in his stories. This is something that helped me as well later in my process.
The castafiore emerald by Herge Ghost world by Daniel Clowes
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THE BEGINNING Starting out was the hardest part of the process. I had decided on a location. However, I did not know how to start creating a story within the area. So, I started to write it out.
The script however failed to make any substantial progress. I found that ideating though writing left me confused. My script had too many gaps that I did not know how to fill.
Script One
-Follow the story of a single character (creature) and how it’s life plays out Somewhere in the chaos of shivaji nagar, a shipment of odd antiques are being transported to their new home. Three men get out of a truck to shift its contents into a dusty godown. Furniture, cabinets, an odd assortment of masks, lamps, coins. Some new, some, not so new. One man gets jostled by a person from the crowded streets and a figurine falls out of his crate. He bends down to inspect the damage. It’s cracked through the middle and a hand is missing. From the corner of his eye he sees a shadow flicker behind him. It vanishes. Sufficiently creeped out, he takes the day off. The protagonist of this story is a creature who resided within the now cracked figurine. On being released he realized he was in a new place, in a new time. Nothing was as he remembered. He instinctually vanished, blended into the grey wall behind him. Our creature spends the next few months attempting to stay invisible. Word on the streets had it that something strange was in the area. However, residents brush it aside calling it an old wives tale that a crazy old lady brought back, much to our protagonist’s relief. However, he knew this life of hide and seek wouldn’t last long. He discovers that he is in the year 2017, in an area called shivaji nagar and he is a long way from home.
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A year passes, our protagonist is almost seen by a particularly perceptive child after a troublesome day. A crazy old lady (the one who first started the rumor) offers him refuge. She recognizes him, knows where he is from. It takes a while, but they soon get used to each other’s company and living together becomes fun. The creature is a great help around the house, he keeps it clean, buys groceries, takes care of the old leady. She in turn keeps his secret and cherishes his company. A few years pass. The old lady passes away. He knew this would happen eventually. He was back on the streets now, with no place to go. He now has no company, no security and in his frustration choses to create chaos wherever he roams. His presence in the area hadn’t become obviously known, but he didn’t care anymore. He was bored and lonely. He spends his time resetting clocks, deflating tires, scaring adults, knocking things over. His skill of vanishing or rather blending prevented anyone from seeing him unless he wanted them to. He had a particular dislike for the cats as they could see him; they were the only ones who didn’t get agitated when he showed up. However, they didn’t want to keep him company either. Most days, he didn’t bother planning his mischief. Some particularly uninteresting days he made careful plans that left the residents of the area utterly baffled. He loved how people were so easy to confuse. They would run about in a tizzy blaming each other for their incompetence and he could sit back and watch them bicker in broad day light. This was as good as it was going to get.
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THE MAP
Once I figured that I couldn’t create my story by writing it out I revisited Shivaji Nagar and decided to create a large map based on the area. I wanted to focus on the kind of spaces I saw there. Some are intensely cramped and others absurdly open. The map focused on exaggerating these spaces. Certain parts of Shivaji Nagar’s markets have a completely different air about them when compared to other parts.
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The spaces featured on the left hand side are very different in contrast to the images on the present page.
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Process images for the map, done horizontally on an A1sheet in layers.
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A process image of the map.
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ITERATIONS Later, I restarted by drawing out my panels for the comic. I learnt that the term used for this was called Pagination. Through this initial process I learnt just how little I knew about comics and storytelling. Through repeatedly redrawing and planning the same story over again, I started to understand how page layouts and panels worked.
I stared to understand how to break down time and balance images across panels and pages. After several attempts I was ready to start my final set of drawings. I deliberately chose to keep them black and white and silent.
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THE PLAN
A single 20 page comic took me two weeks to finish. The comics were black and white and done in pencil. I used standard white printing paper for the images. There is no text and the whole comic is silent. The cover pages of the comic have the map drawn onto them. I planned to create 4 such stories by the end of May.
Each story will be silent and will focus on creating an atmosphere. Each story will follow a character from within the map. The map will grow or diminish based on the stories. It has been based off of two main markets, Shivaji Nagar market in Bengaluru and Ameerpet market in Hyderabad.
Exerpts from the first story.
Exerpts from the first story.
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Exerpts from the first story.
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STORY 1 The protagonist of this story is a young girl who is accompanying her mother on a short shopping trip. The comic focuses on what she sees and how it makes her feel. The atmosphere created by the comic is that of fear and claustrophobia.
Exerpts from the first story. 59
SEMINAR TWO For the second seminar, I presented the first story and all the process work behind it. The comic served its purpose; the members of my panel told me it was overwhelming and claustrophobic. I also received some very helpful feedback. The illustrations that I had created for the first story had attempted to recreate a space that was near impossible to recreate. I needed to focus on certain aspects of the space in order to properly represent the atmosphere instead of attempting to fit everything in.
Creating a space to accurately represent an Indian market place involves details such as Electric poles, the kind of waste on the road, the attire of individuals in the locality and fine details such as these. I needed to learn how to pick and choose amongst these details so as to represent them better.
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STORY 2 The protagonist of this story is a middle aged man who runs an antique shop. He sells clocks, ceramics, masks, furniture and an assortment of old items. The story focuses on a few hours of his day. Unlike the first story this one has a mellow, laid back air. The old man is familiar with the market area, unlike the young girl; this is a space he is at ease with.
Process images from Story 2. 61
Process images from Story 2.
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Process images from Story 2.
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DIRECTION Once the work for the second comic is over, I will be left with the month of May to work out the remaining two comics. The comics so far have been made in black and white, however, I am keen on exploring the usage of colour for the second, third and fourth comics. The story in the second comic takes place at a much slower pace than that of the first comic. I intend to explore the usage of colour to express sensory feelings. The third and fourth comic will impact the image of the map created at the beginning of my process. The map grows and diminishes according to the story line. I aim at exploring exaggerated structures within the map such as high rise buildings that contain streets and market spaces within them. The purpose of these exaggerated structures is to adequately depict spaces such as Russel market. Or markets such as the old market that seem to be completely different spaces when compared to the newer, more main market roads within Shivaji nagar.
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REFLECTIVE STATEMENT This project has been a huge learning experience for me. At the start of this project I was unsure about my own process and what I would focus on. I was allowed for the first time to spend a full three months on a process that was my own. I had assumed that three months would be ample time for this project; I now understand the amount of research and effort it takes for a project of this scale. The project allowed me to take my own decisions as an artist. I now feel more confident about my own work. Apart from giving me a sense of confidence in my own skills it has helped me understand what kind of work I would like to pursue. I have come to understand that creating comics can be a lonely time consuming process. I was quite sure that I would regret the amount of time I have spent on my own over the last month of the project, however, I do not. The amount of time I have spent alone working on this project has helped me make more independent decisions and grow as an individual.
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THESIS PROJECT 2017 CHANCHANABAD An illustrated childrens book STUDENT:
NANDITA RATAN
PROJECT:
Art in Transit
SPONSOR:
Herman Miller
PROGRAM:
Undergraduate Professional Programme
AWARD:
Information Arts and Information Design Practice
Final Examination Panel COMMENTS:
Examiner 1 (name and signature): Examiner 2 (name and signature): Examiner 3 (name and signature): Date:
Academic Dean:
NANDITA RATAN Final Thesis Project 2017 (Undergraduate Professional Programme) Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology Bangalore - 560064 Karnataka