My aims and imbition for my practical work intial were to create some kind of publication, animation or poster to promote poltically driven art and design. The artist Ai Weiwei talks a lot in his work about the power of the internet as an art form and that it can have one of the largest influences on the decisions and opinions of the general people. On top of this Ai Weiwei speaks of the internet being the most direct form of communication that can be seen by anyone around the world. Due to this direct and open format o creating something that lends itself to this online platform I believe is an appropriate format to create my practical response in. I would like to look into online communication of political art, with the large amounts of art and design now for websites like instagram and facebook there is an opportunity to document this in a online publication this would work along side some more classical examples of politically influenced art and design, this range of mediums will give a much broader overview of the power of art in politics and why these artists and designers have chosen to create work in responce to these issues. Thinking about my practical work within this project analysing firstly, how my practical work can be read, what can I do to insure it makes an impact, is there anything I can do to make it more accessible to everyone and what is the best way to communicate the power of political art? Considering these questions will inform my design decisions and in turn create a more engaging and appropriate practical piece in response to my essay question.
After discussing previously about putting my designs on to some kind of online space creating a online magazine or publication will give me the oppitunity to promtote a range of examples in the different pages and features of the magazine. This will then make my designs more accessible to everyone and communicate the power of political art to a younger audience as this is were they see the most part of information. To insure the designs make an impact and best represent the theme of iconic political art in response to social and political upheaval I want to use very graphic, large type alongside some strong images, this will make the design hopefully stand out and be eye catching, the cover image within this is very important as this is what needs to draw the reader in most. On top of this creating an online magazine is an area of graphics I have always wanted to experiment with and could be the best solution to this project. Within my essay I highlight the idea that both artist and designers feel a social obligation to respond to issues within politics they feel strongly about, displaying these themes in my practical work is important to demonstrate what I have learnt when writing my essay and in my research into this project.
Initial looking at more contempary examples of poltically driven art starting with the film 'Never Sorry' by Ai Weiwei looking at freedom of expression and the strict censorship in China, shown through a variety of art pieces made by Ai Weiwei and his ongoing battle with the Chinese government. The film is offers an amazing insight into not only the artists work by also the kind of beliefs and ideas he echoes in his practice, For me it really opened my eyes to a issue I had no knowledge on, this really shows the power of the documentary to captivate and inspire. Guotes from Ai Weiwei relating to art and politics he states ‘I think there is a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression.’ this concept relates to not only my essay question but also to the kind of things I have been trying to explore in my own work. He speaks of this responsibility of the artist to communicate to its audience on issues they feel passionately about. On top of this Ai Weiwei speaks of the internet being a tool for communicating ‘Blogs and the Internet are great inventions for our time, because they give regular people an opportunity to change public opinion.’ With my practical work I think communicated through the internet is one of the best ways of getting my work out there and as Ai Weiwei states inform and help promote change through art and design.