FRANCESSCA LANG
CITY IN FLUX
SHEFFIELD. MUSIC
HERITAGE
ARCTIC MONKEYS, BRING ME THE HORIZON, REVREND AND THE MAKERS, WHILE SHE SLEEPS, PULP, DEF LEPORD, O2 ACADEMY, PLUG, CORP, MOTORPOINT ARENA, BROADWALK, DRUM, BASS, GUITAR, AMPS, STORBES, LIGHTS, NOISE, SHOUTING, SINGING TRAMLINES FESTIVAL.
INDUSTRIAL, STEEL WORKS, MANUFACTURING, WAR, SHEFFIELD BLITZ, CASTLE SQUARE, WORKING CLASS, THEATRE, LYCEUM.
LEISURE
TRANSPORT
SHOPPING, CASTLE MARKET, MEADOWHALL, FOOD MARKETS, WORLD MARKETS, CLOTHES, FASHION, GYM, PONDS FORGE, OLYMPICS, RESTAURANTS, COFFEE SHOPS, PUBS, CLUBS, MUSEUMS, CAFÉS, PARKS, DEVONSHIRE GREEN.
TRAINS, BUSES, TRAMS, BIKES, BICYCLE, WALK, RUN, JOG, RAILWAY.
LANDMARKS WESTERN PARK MUSEUM, KELHAM ISLAND MUSEUM, SHEFFIELD CITY HALL, MILLENNIUM GALLERY, SHEFFIELD MANOR, EYAM HALL, SHEFFIELD CATHEDRAL,
ARTIST RESEARCH.
KURT SWITCHERS. Kurt Switchers was a German painter, sculptor and typographer. His work was heavily influenced from cubism and expressionism, but while these were his influences, he was creating his work throughout the Dada movement and was one of the more famous artists at the time. His career took place throughout both of the World Wars which indicates that subconsciously his work was influenced by it. He used a range of media, and created collages, his work is quite abstract but he has experimented with so many different pieces of media on his flat collages, they have been built up to create fascinating pieces. When I look at Switcher’s work, I feel he captured the state of the world at the time in his work, by using scraps and tickets and anything he could find, he worked in colour and type to create his own unique take on it all.
I decided to look at Switcher’s work because the idea of layering work and having a collage feeling whilst working on this project will really benefit my inspirations while deigning my own final outcome, especially creating work based around Sheffield which was the heart of the industrial revolution and was part of the war with the Sheffield Brits.
Schwitters, Kurt. Opened By Customs. Digital Schwitters, Kurk. Measure. Digital image. N.p., image. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.tate.org.uk/art/ n.d. Web. <http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/ artworks/schwitters-opened-by-customs-t00214>. schwitters-measure-t12392>.
By having Switcher’s work as an influence into my own work I know that I have the chance to experiment and not to be afraid to do so throughout my designing and creating my final piece. I want to be able to use different media but have a modern twist on it at the same time. I want to look into the Dada movement in a bit more detail, as I feel it will give me a wider take.
Schwitters, Kurk. Picture of Spatial Growths - Picture with Two Small Dogs. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. <http:// www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/schwitters-picture-of-spatialgrowths-picture-with-two-small-dogs-t03863>
Schwitters, Kurk. Magic. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/schwitters-magic-t12396>.
DADA MOVEMENT.
Dada or Dadaism was an art movement that ran through Europe in the early 20th century. The movement was believed to have started in Berlin, and Switzerland, before becoming a world wide movement in America. The movement was seen as a reaction to the first world war, through art, film, music poetry and literature. Other influences crossed the Dada movement such as Cubism and futurism which created a fresh but deep pieces of work. It was the first time creative used their media as a propaganda tool, to express their feelings in such a way. Artists like Marcel Duchamp and Raoul Hausmann where just two artists that used this period to its full extent, creating their most famous pieces.
A lot more colour influences in and then went onto fitting into the psychedelic movement in the 60â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the world. By looking at the Dada movement I really feel like this is the kind of movement that will really benefit me in my final piece, by having the lack of colour looking at Sheffield (Steel City) and having the history that Sheffield has, industry based, I will be able to use this as an influence and have a really good range of media for to look at through the design process.
Looking at the Dada movement and looking at the history of it, I get a feeling of the loss of colour, but as the movement developed, the Dada movement adapted to the Neo Dada movement, which had Hausmann, Raoul. The Art Critic. Digital image. Http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/hausmann-theart-critic-t01918. N.p., n.d. Web
t/artworks/schwitters-opened-by-customs-t00214. N.p., n.d. Web
Duchamp, Marcel. Fountain. Digital image. Http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/ duchamp-fountain-t07573. N.p., n.d. Web
Hamilton, Richard. The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even. Digital image. Http://www.tate.org. uk/art/artworks/duchamp-the-bride-stripped-bare-byher-bachelors-even-the-large-glass-t02011. N.p., n.d. Web.
ROBERT RAUCHENBERG. Robert Rauchenberg, born in Port Author, Texas is a sculptor, printer maker, photographer and performance artist. Rauchenberg was one of the most influential artists throughout the Abstract expressionism and Pop art, and he crossed over both of them in most pieces of work, ‘Pledge’ was one of the pieces that caught my eye the most with Rauchenberg, I love the way he has used his photography and created a sketch book feel with it, hes used minimal colours and spacial awareness which works great against the movements.
Rauschenberg, Robert. Almanac. Digital image. Http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/rauschenberg-almanac-t01135. N.p., n.d. Web.
Rauschenberg, Robert. Street Sounds. Digital image. Http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/rauschenberg-street-sounds-l01844. N.p., n.d. Web
Rauschenberg, Robert. Bazaar. Digital image. Http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/rauschenberg-bazaar-p77127. N.p., n.d. Web.
Rauschenberg, Robert. Pledge. Digital image. Http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/rauschenberg-pledge-p77108. N.p., n.d. Web.
I wanted to look at Raunchenberg’s work because of this reason, because he has a different style considering in the movement we was working in. I want to use this as an influence in my work, like Swchitters, he really fits into my idea of looking at the industrial side of Sheffield, I want to stick to a maximum of three colours, and work with different types of media, like both have done.
I also feel more confident in using photography in my work after seeing how successful it has worked in Rauchenberg’s work, I was worried it wouldn’t fit He was an influence on the next generation of together which I can take with me into the design artists but liked to be very individual in his work to process. anything else that was being created at the time. I look at Rauchenberg’s work and get a feeling of the individuality he wanted to keep for himself, when I think of Pop Art, I think of Andy Warhol, which had quite a fun take on his work, bright colours, and many others like Leichensten, had the same idea for Pop Art, where Rauchenberg keeps his to the drab colours we saw in Dada movement.
POP ART MOVEMENT.
Hamilton, Lewis. Homepage à Chrysler Corp. Digital image. Http://www. tate.org.uk/art/artworks/hamilton-hommage-a-chrysler-corp-t06950. N.p., n.d. Web.
The Pop Are movement started in the 1950’s and peaked in the 1960’s throughout America and Britain, through this period we saw artists such as Andy Warhol and Peter Blake rise as popular artists portraying the world and connecting the commercial and art together for the first time. We saw a lot more colour and more of a cartoon feel to the art, Litchenstein especially created pieces of work that were the climax of a story in a comic book.
The reason I have decided to look at Pop Art is because of how much it varies. From really fun pieces such as ‘Whaam!’ To ‘Almanac’ which has a much more darker feeling towards it, the use of photography that has been manipulated into collages, screen prints, type set on top of images and so on shows just how much this movement is the first movement that shows that anything can be done to portray, that there are no limits, which gives a lot of freedom.
At the time people were shocked and almost felt like society was being mocked by the way celebrities and society was portrayed in this light, as now I feel its very mild compared to what we have now. I love this movement, I have always liked how these artists choose their colours to contrast well and to have a straight on impact to the audience, you know what the piece is trying to say, some are for fun, and some have a deeper meaning.
Although the Dada and Pop Art movement are two different movements and contrast with each other, the concept of them both have the same feel with them, the way the artists express themselves through the movement and the way society was at the time.
Lichtenstein, Roy. Whaam! Digital image. Http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/lichtenstein-whaam-t00897. N.p., n.d. Web
Blake, Peter. Tuesday. Digital image. Http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/blake-tuesday-t01934. N.p., n.d. Web.
DKNG
All Four Images Credit : http://www.dkngstudios.com/work/featured-work
I have decided to look at DKNGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work because they are my favourite designers out there at the moment, their main type of outcome are band posters and branding. They have a very unique style which makes them stand out from the rest, all their work is created by hand at first and then layered with simple shapes and colours on Illustrator create some breathtaking posters. I am completely in love with their posters they have created in the past and love the fact that they are able to mould any project to their own style, but still have completely different outcomes.
I love the textures that DKNG incorporate into all their pieces, and by screen printing all their work, it gives such a personal and textured feel, making a 2D poster come off the page. The colours they use throughout all their work are quite bland colours, but all work together and compliment each other, which I would love to create that effect in my own final outcome, with DKNG as a inspiration and the idea of the Dada movement, I feel like I can move onto designing with a strong background of research.
CONTEXTUAL RESEARCH.
TEXTURE.
COLOUR.
SOUND.
TYPOGRAPHY.
IDEAS AND DEVELOPMENT.
IDEA ONE. This idea is based round the idea of being 3D as the final outcome would be 3D. I like the idea but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not sure its actually what I want my outcome to be, I want to focus more on typography and with this idea, even though I could focus on colours and shapes, I feel like I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be able to show off any typography from the city. I like the idea of using lighting for a more visual impact on it, I could think about using this in a different idea.
IDEA TWO.
Initially I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really interested in this idea, but the more I looked at it, the more I felt like I would he able to work on it and develop it, I like the idea of being able create work based on the typography in different levels, so different parts stand out the viewer. Although I would be using a type that I had decided to work with, having the images show through the lettering will really work to my advantage of this feeling of the Dada movement using shadows and layers.
IDEA THREE. This idea would be produced into a poster, showing all the different aspects of Sheffield focusing typography, but using road signs, leaflets, billboards, and different textures photographed or re created that I find in town. I think this would work by creating the poster by hand at first and then taking it into an editing program to create the final outcome. I really like this idea but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m scared that it will look a bit too messy on the page, and too much to look at, I think I need to develop this idea a little bit further to see how I can organise it a little better.
IDEA FOUR. This idea takes more of an illustration route by creating a set of postcards showing now and then. The postcards would be split into two and by using contrasting colours and symbolic images. It wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the focus of typography but the inspiration of DKNG would play a big part in developing this idea, I am really interested to work on this further and even combine it with another idea.
EXPERIMENT ONE.
I decided to have a look at my second idea, as I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t normally create anything thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 3D. I made a mock up out of card of what it would look like, the front part would have the letters cut out of it, and then connect with two other pieces of wood, the back would have photography of the city, in which I would edit to different colour schemes. The piece would be free standing as it would be all equal in sizes but when coming to create this piece I might make the connecting pieces slightly thinner so that the photos could be seen through the lettering better.
I like the idea of this because it has so much to see at every part but the main concern with this idea is that I would have to upscale it and make it a lot bigger to be able to appreciate the photography that would be on the back panel. Also I am not sure if it fits with my idea of Dada very well, as the colours that I would be using would be what I take in the photos rather than editing them. I think this idea would work better with a more simple idea, not to portray an entire city.
SHEFFIELD. Sheffield as a city, is incredibly rich in its aesthetics. Creating a city scape of old rustic buildings into brand new pieces of architecture. Through the city its an ideal location for all persona, having two universities, it draws thousands of students into the city, which I think is the reason the city is constantly changing. With this being said, Sheffield is also the greenest city in the UK at the moment, which indicates that things are moving forward and it is constantly looking towards the future.
ARCHITECTURE
â&#x20AC;&#x153;STEEL CITYâ&#x20AC;?
THE MUSIC SCENE
As mentioned before, Sheffield has a range of stunning pieces of architecture, some for business and some built purely to be looked at. With this in mind I feel like this is a great starting point for my project.
Sheffield is most famous for its contribution of production of steel for the UK and around the rest of the world and because of this I would like to add this into my final piece.
Over the years Sheffield has been the birth place and starting place for many successful bands that are known around the world, one being Arctic Monkeys, which have changed the indie music scene in Sheffield. So I would like to incorporate them into my final piece.
TYPE FACES. Lemon Milk
SHEFFIELD
New Athletic M54
SHEFFIELD
Cooper Stnd Tranquila
Vintage Find Distressed
AlKisch
SHEFFIELD
SHEFFIELD Balimore TypewriteBold Beveled Before Collapse
SHEFFIELD SHEFFIELD Hominis Aroly
COLOUR SCHEMES. # FBF5CD
# F9C9A0
# 915500
# E9C898
# 6B88B9
# BC8DEB
# A0DEB2
# 831F00
# B3CCC8
# F1AABD
# 7A9E47
# 8FEFD5
# 41186B
# A95D96
# F0E138
# 80BBBB
# 0065DF
# 04DCCB
# D8FF00
# F29A32 I have decided to stick to 4 main colours for my posters, so that I can have a simple but contrast from the background which is going to be a dark texture. From looking at these 6 colour schemes, I feel like the first one will be the best, as they are all pastel colours which will work really nicely with the images and the texture, they arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t too bright so it wont be the most important feature on the posters and I will be able to play with the opacity of each if needed and they wont loose the colour.
# 55D905
# F5D9F0
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# FD9A9A
QUOTES.
STEEL CITY MADE IN SHEFFIELD
NAR THEN MARDY BUM IN WITH THE OLD OUT WITH THE NEW
FINAL STYLE SHEET.
# FBF5CD
# F9C9A0
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890
# B3CCC8
# F1AABD
DEVELOPMENT. For one of my posters, I wanted to add part of the music scene into it as Sheffield has a lot to offer and a lot t be remembered by, so I decided to go with Arctic Monkeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alex Turner, as he is very well known for his music and very easy to recognise.
I already have a really good idea what I want my posters to look like, I know that I want to create 4 different ones with 4 different quotes on which I have already decided on. I had the idea of having the contrast of a really dull background colour with blocks of colour running through in strips, then with the images running through the colour. I had drawn up some thumbnails with layout ideas to help me when I start making my final posters.
CREATING FINAL PIECES.
FINAL PIECE.
I started by editing my photo/ drawings with filters so that I could see what they would look like. I then erased part of the object so that I knew what size I wanted the coloured lines were going to be, to give me an idea of the layout on screen.
I then added the background, with two different textures, with this I played around with the opacity until I was happy.
FINAL PIECE.
I then went onto adding my lines through my image, I started off with the colours that I decided with earlier on, but then started to change them slightly so that they would contrast with the image well, which I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know until I got to creating my final posters what the colours were going to look with background and image.
Finally I added my text to my poster and resized it and positioned it where I felt it would look right, on each poster this changed because of the change of layout on each poster.
FINAL THOUGHTS.
At the beginning of this brief I felt like it was a really open brief and struggled to get into it, but once I had started to make decisions and narrow down the routes that I could go down, I started to get more confident with the long run of this project. By using Sheffield was a massive help because I already knew that it was really rich in art culture and architecture so I found that it was a weight off my shoulders and could concentrate on other parts of my project. I am really happy with my final outcomes, and even though I have only got four digital posters, I plan to print them out and get some really nice photos when I am back in Sheffield. I think that if I had decided to go down any other of my ideas, it would have made my project too wide to be able to connect it into the briefs name and I felt I would be able to create 4 really bold posters.