Final Master's Project Portfolio

MAJOR PRACTICE RESEARCH PROJECT PORTFOLIO Egle Vesk Communiaction Design MA Kingston University 2010_2011

CONTENT Design Concept Design Decisions Inspirational Sources Working On The Concept

Taking Notes Influential Communication

Via Photography Capturing Portraits

Individuals, Groups And Relations Influential Construction

Collage

Photomontage

Experimental Collecting Matter Creating Meaning Influential Visual Language

Book Design Recreating Meaning

Chosen Texts Arranging Order

Making Grid Product

The Book

DESIGN CONCEPT

DESIGN DECISIONS

I intend to create portraits of power structures to communicate different point of views about imbalances of power and to show connection between social consciousness and social inequality. With help of a dialog, binary opposition, texts and images I decide to create visual essay about the subject. My Major Practice Research Project should appeal to every viewer as a visual doubt which questions social situation and political choice and most importantly role of social consciousness. The project is an experiment of construction and deconstruction of meanings.

I decide to develop visual language that displays devotion and determination to built strong platform for interpretation. I believe that mix of visual imagery has best capacity for interpretations. I agree that photography conveys very well everyday situations and brilliantly documents life now for that reason I construct big part of my design with photograhpic montages. I deploy text to clearify context of visuals and at the same time I leave intentionally questions about the context reliability. Textual part starts with riddle that ends with question, who I am? The riddle’s cause is to keep in mind do solve self-mapping.

Troughout my design I use descriptive mood as an attempt to express my objectiveness but other hand I edit visuals and structure the work in a way that it might suggest different oppinions.

My aim is to draw attention to our contribution into social structures, our preception of it and our relationship with it. I accept that individuals are manipulated by fear and motivated by desire to keep those who are at power in control. I feel that these matters needs to be discussed as I do witness lack of awareness of social responsibility and consumers choice. Often I meet passive attitude toward direct action when it’s most needed and participation there where it’s not. The Major Practice Research Project’s creative challenge is to rise questions and initiate conversation about conceptions of social problems to all members of society.

Through this project I do wish my audience to recognize philosophical, social and educational connections within visual culture. Purpose of my project is to make the audience to recognize the problem (manipulation through fear and desire) and start to revalue mediums that spread it. I would like public to realize the importance of decision making and start dialoge about who’s representing needs of society. I want to inspire members of society to take more pride and interest in issues that are concerned with living environment and social awareness.

I concentrate on the construction and deconstruction of the meaning. This project does not deliver ready made solutions instead I apply ideas in opposition to rise questions and open discussions about the matter.

I like my chosen imagery spell lines and the text to draw pictures. I’m objective with the subject but other hand I bring in my own personal point of views in order to keep my work multi layered and rich.

I concentrate on the construction and deconstruction of a meaning and that is why I feel that ready-made images are more suitable for the concept then my own creation. These ready-made images act as media captures we see every day. I use this normality to compose something absurd or nihilistic. Photography is fundamental to my practice, at the same time I’m continuously exploring other methods of communicating. I’m passionate about recycling and mixing art, photography and quotes that is why in my design I use mostly already existing materials to make collage art and create layers of meanings. I believe that photography and mixed media has best suitable quality within my design concept. Most images I use in my design are from world wide web. I collect big amount of photos that capture poverty, hierarchy, reality, illusion, fear, desire, influential people, political and non-political events. I experiment composing with only two photos at the time to reflect a concept of binary opposition and construct exchange of meanings. To do so I often cover one image with another to bring new meaning into existance.

I narrow down my wide concept with additional literature to help viewers to find clearer context of work. Literature I choose are mostly social philosophical or has similar ground. I marry chosen pages and visuals to design a book. The book incudes best of my collages and some of my own made photos about London life but mostly selection of images from world wide web.

Combination of imagery and quotes creates sharper meaning and controls and adds into understanding of the message. Order of the book builds a storyline revealing links between being in control or under control. I explain thought, financial and political control via will to meaning, will to pleasure, will to power. I make my book visually easily to follow that is why I use minimalistic design, simple format and original pages from literature book. Format of the project is sincere and frank to encourage audience to try to address the rising problem of disparities and social consciousness.

I do want to ensure that I don’t rap people on the knuckles, I’m not negative, and yet, in a modest way I manage to create some awareness.

PRODUCT Production of the design work starts with my experiments on collage and photomontage. I purposely use images on world wide web. I give my own photographical contribution adding couple of snaps made in London. To clarify the concept and context of the practice research project I employ texts by literature classics to do the job. I make few decisions on book structure/storyline and I carefully select collages and photos needed to carry subjects, narrative and mood. I show that I can create something very personal out of impersonal materials and edit it visuals in a way they become personal for many of us.

I select images that capture poverty, power, reality, illusion, fear, desire, influential people, political and nonpolitical events and so on. I experiment different ways of collage making but I decide to use only two photos at the time to keep a concept of binary opposition and construct exchange of meanings. Images that already have very strong argument in them I challenge it with text, bringing that way in extra viewpoint(s). However need of a link between visual and textual language to understand or value the subject is up to viewer to make.

I chose texts mostly from books about social philosophy as it fits well to comment my selected subjects.

I pick textual parts that interest me and where I can see similar interpretation happening about powerstructures and social consciousness I want to compose with my visual design. I use writings by Karl Marx, Guy Debord, Michel Foucault, Martin Heidegger, Brian Barry, Richard Sennett, Hermann Hesse, Albert Camus and Jean Baudrillard.

I found out while experimenting with range of mediums of communication that a book could conveys my design concept very well. I structure the visual and textual part together spread by spread. It’s possble to view every spread as separate piece but I would like audience to recognize the narrative troughout as I make an effort to link spreads together for a story. There is possibility to notice more then one narrative in the book as the piece is left wide open for interpretations. Ferdinand de Saussure demonstrated that a sign’s meaning is derived from its context (syntagmatic dimension) and the group (paradigm) to which it belongs. Although visual language carries controversial spirit I believe it only makes the book more valuable. Example in structuralism, a binary opposition is seen as a fundamental organizer of human philosophy, culture, and language .

INSPIRATIONAL SOURCES

WORKING ON THE CONCEPT

Research notes Sketchbook 2010_2011

TAKING NOTES

Research notes Sketchbook 2010_2011

INFLUENTIAL COMMUNICATION

The Yalta Conference Prime Minister Winston Churchill President Franklin D. Roosevelt and General Secretary Joseph Stalin US government photographer 1945

VIA PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographer Jeff Wall

Jeff Wall

Jeff Wall

Images from World Wide Web

CAPTURING PORTRAITS

Photographer Egle Vesk

INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS AND RELATIONS

Photographer Egle Vesk

INFLUENTIAL CONSTRUCTIONS

Photographer Egle Vesk

COLLAGE

Solomon Telingater

Vasilii Elkin < Nikolai Sidelnikov

COLLAGE

John Stezaker

John Stezaker John Stezaker

PHOTOMONTAGE

Peter Kennard

Peter Kennard

Peter Kennard

PHOTOMONTAGE

Hannah Hรถch

Hannah Hรถch

Hannah Hรถch

EXPERIMENTAL

COLLECTING MATTER

Photographer Egle Vesk

CREATING MEANING

Composed by Egle Vesk

RECREATING MEANING

Photographer Egle Vesk

CHOSEN TEXTS

Richard Sennett

Karl Marx

CHOSEN TEXTS

Guy Debord

Michel Foucault

CHOSEN TEXTS

Michel Foucault

Hermann Hesse

INFLUENTIAL VISUAL LANGUAGE

Jan van Toorn

BOOK DESIGN

Metahaven

Bruce Mau

Jan van Toorn

ARRANGING ORDER

Photographer Egle Vesk

MAKING GRID

PRODUCT

Photographer Egle Vesk

THE BOOK

THE BOOK

THE BOOK