flux by Tiffany Lin

flux

tlinart.com | lin.tiffa@gmail.com | @tafni

flux

an idea book

by Tiffany Lin Fall 2015 - Spring 2016 MFA Illustration Practice Mayland Institute College of Art

table of

contents

INTRODUCTION ........................................................... 7 FALL Image Harvest Bookbinding Paper Engineering Letterpress Laser Cutting Fabric Reaction Publishing Art Market The Sketchbook Project

10 14 20 26 28 30 32 36 38

SPRING Words on Wheels Stop Motion

46 52

Handlettering Pattern Design Self-Directed Project

56 60 64

MOVING FORWARD .................................................... 72

introduction Hey, I’m Tiffany! You can also call me Tafni. I hail from sunny California where I lived throughout the Bay Area. I attended UC Berkeley and graduated with a dual degree in Gender & Women’s Studies and Psychology. After working as a reproductive health counselor, I switched over to the visual arts with hopes of enacting cultural change through image making. I am obsessed with noodles, pearl milk tea, biking and not getting run over. My journey into the visual arts has been unconventional but necessary for my personal growth (though I’m sure a lot of people say that). As hackneyed as it may sound, I do believe everything happens for a reason. Call it serendipity, kismet, or chance — all roads lead to the present. Every failure, achievement, squandered or seized opportunity, and sleepless night informs this funny process called art making. It is in that spirit I reflect on my evolution as a visual artist, illustrator, and story teller over the course of a year. This idea book is an overview of projects conceived, developed, and fabricated during my first year as a graduate student in MICA’s Illustration Practice program. Projects were created as reactions to technique building workshops and various prompts, culminating in a self-directed project featuring a topic of our own choosing. I dedicate this book to my partner Shaun Chang. Mr. Girl, we’ve had quite the year! You are the best boylefriend a mean Ms. Man like me could ever hope for. Thank you for your unwavering patience, love, and support through this whole process. Many thanks to Kim and Whitney for their tireless instruction and feedback! Big love, kisses, and appreciation to the entire Illustration Practice family. I couldn’t have asked for a better cohort! xoxo tafni

fall semester

image harvest I came into Image Harvest in a very particular headspace. Prior to graduate school, I had been living in New York City, trying to cobble together some over-romanticized, bohemian existence as an artist. Needless to say, it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite pan out that way, but it was still a learning experience! While I still have deep affection for the city that never sleeps, working in the food service industry and paying out of my asshole to live in a Bushwick dump lost its luster after a while. However, the city taught me a lot about the perceived meaning of hard work, inequity, and the movement of (cultural) capital. It was at this time I became enamored with the process of printmaking, particularly lithography, as it embodied many of my personal values on labor, democracy, and elbow grease. For the Image Harvest project, we were asked to cull ideas from our previous work, mining old pieces for concepts that could be reimagined into different formats. I drew from my previous interests in work and its relationship to identity and self-perception.

I looked to the pictorial history and etymology of the Chinese character , where the notion of self is explicitly defined by work. The character, in its most archaic form, depicts a humanoid figure holding a farming implement. As the character evolved into its modern configuration, the form became abstracted but its origins in labor still persist. I extracted this idea to suggest that the notion of self cannot exist without work; a person cannot define or create meaning without labor. Informed by Marxist theory, this concept is significant in contemporary industrial and post-industrial societies in which people often feel disconnected from and by their work. If work defines the self, does it follow that repetitive and alienating labor reflects an increasingly alienated personhood? I initially went into this project with grandiose ideas about producing this image using lithographic methods and utilizing the multiples to build a larger installation. Of course, as Murphyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Law (or the Lithography Gods) would have it, I made a large error in processing my plates and things went pretty far south after that. (Lacquer fumesâ&#x20AC;Ś sorry brain cells.) Given the tight turnaround time, I had to be adaptable. After our first critique, I realized that printmaking did not give me the flexibility I needed to keep my ideas fresh and constantly evolving. I was encouraged by both faculty and peers to loosen up, both in style and medium. I ended up returning back to basics, armed with no more than a crayon, to illustrate my final piece. While I was not satisfied with the final piece, the whole process set a precedent for rethinking my entire artistic practice. Image Harvest was critical in teaching me lessons in humility, prioritizing concept over a medium, rolling with the punches, and following my intuition.

Drawing on aluminum plate pre-processing Final piece (right)

bookbinding The bookbinding workshop was led by the impeccable Val Lucas of Bowerbox Press. Val showed us the foundations of book arts by demonstrating various forms of binding and sharing samples of her artwork. Because I had some light experience in traditional book crafts, I wanted to take this opportunity to push the idea of what constituted a book and all its associated components (pages, cover, binding, etc.) My reverie brought me back to one of my favorite childhood toys — the Jacob’s Ladder. The toy used to elude me as a seemingly impossible and magical object that seemed to grow longer yet remained exactly the same, flipping on itself endlessly. I sought to draw connections between the object’s physical structure and narrative content in a meaningful way. Due to the Jacob’s Ladder’s endless nature, I chose to depict the neverending torment of Sisyphus and Tantalus of Greek mythology. This was a great exercise in creating mockup structures to understand the engineering and construction of the toy. My original object was a little rough around the edges since I affixed normal printer paper to pre-cut wooden squares and used transparent tape to create the flipping mechanism. I later revised my Jacob’s Ladder to feature a handle and a subdued monochromatic appearance to give a stronger sense of antiquity and timelessness. The final product is sleeker in appearance because I learned how to use the laser cutter to generate custom shapes and used thinner, translucent paper for my images.

paper engineering Craft engineer extraordinaire Colette Fu led a fun, informative workshop on paper craft and how to construct basic pop-up mechanisms for storybooks. As a Fulbright scholar, Fu crafted beautiful and elaborate pop-up experiences depicting the cultural customs and history of ethnic minorities in China. Her fantastic craftsmanship and alluring projects inspired me to create something equally surprising, unexpected, and interactive. I wanted to make an object that was modular and repetitive to again relate to the idea of eternity that I referenced in the bookbinding reaction piece. I began my process with researching various origami structures, ultimately settling on a double star flexicube structure (originally created by David Brill). I featured symbols and imagery I associated with notions of endlessness, universality, and cycles. Crafting the flexicube was a challenge unto itself but pushed me to think more spatially and problem-solve in the third dimension.

letterpress

We had the privilege of learning the basics of letterpress at Baltimore Print Studios, run by fantastic duo Kyle Van Horn and Kim Bentley. We ordered polymer plates in advance using Boxcar Press and arrived at their studio ready to print. I decided to make simple business cards for self-promotion featuring rats, which I had long been sketching during my stint in New York. I spotted them during my daily commutes and always took them as a sign of good luck (even if I was a little creeped out). I was also lucky to be enrolled in a letterpress elective with Mary Mashburn during the fall so I was able to further expand on this experience and experiment more with wood and lead type.

laser cut This workshop was challenging for me. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t naturally work digitally, partly because I abandoned my computer literacy in 2005 on a geocities website and subsequently adopted a semi-Luddite lifestyle in Berkeley. Therefore, learning Rhino was, to put it lightly, EXTREMELY difficult. After watching a documentary on bees, I wanted to construct a hive-like box that housed bee-shaped pieces that echoed the hierarchical structure of the hive. Because of the steep learning curve with Rhino and my unfamiliarity with vectoring shapes, I approached the project cautiously and tried to create something fairly straightforward. I ended up constructing a simple box decorated with a honeycomb lattice texture that housed abstracted bee shapes inside. This project ended up being a good exercise but was poorly executed and did not possess much visual impact. During the revision process, I abandoned the hive and went forward with something more fun and personally relevant to my interest in printmaking by making magnets in the shape of lithography tools. The magnets were well received, especially by printmakers who recognized the tools of the trade. Because I had practice with the beehive project, I was able to render the shapes with more ease. After laser cutting the shapes, I handpainted each one to give them a personalized feel.

fabric

I’ve always found the idea of vermin amusing. Not to say that I enjoy the presence of pestilence, but there’s something funny about living with (potentially) hundreds or thousands of other roommates and never knowing about the parallel lives they lead in tandem with your own. For the fabric reaction piece I crafted a pigeon plushie, a cute and cuddly representation of my fellow city dweller. The goal was to create a toy that was both gross and cute, engaging our anxieties about pests while humanizing them as living creatures merely trying to survive in the world, just as we do. The end product — King Kookoo Kachoo — is made from sewn felt stuffed with polyester fiber fill and beans. As someone who failed sewing in middle school, I can confidently say I redeemed myself by constructing a three dimensional character using my own patterns and problem solving how to make the plushie stand alone using proper weight distribution of the stuffing.

publishing The publishing workshop was introduced to us by Anna Raff, illustrator of smart, pun-filled childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s books. We were asked to design a set of characters based on a specific set of adjectives. The only parameter was that the characters had to belong and exist in the same world and environment. I began with a set of characters based on reality TV personalities (mostly of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Housewivesâ&#x20AC;? variety) which later evolved into the general cult of celebrity. I chose Kanye West as my cause celebre as his eccentricities and public displays of ego encapsulated the absurdity of fame as a new religion. I made three zines featuring the world of Kanye, placing his legacy in a fictional (or futuristic) realm in which the apocalypse has passed and the dinosaurs have returned, traipsing through the remains of human existence. I borrowed heavily from the church and biblical language, creating a stark juxtaposition between the Jesus of yesteryear and the Yeezus of today.

art market Every year, MICA hosts Art Market, an arts and crafts fair featuring handmade work by by students, faculty, and local purveyors right before the holiday season. Our goal was to create a marketable object that could be produced in an edition of 25. I originally intended to expand upon my pigeon plushie by creating other verminous companions but had to consider the time and cost constraints of this project. In that sense, the Art Market project was a good exercise in working through cost effective practices and the logistics of designing a product for mass consumption. With that in mind, I chose to fabricate a practical and conservative object — an all purpose zipper pouch featuring a relief print of an impossible pursuit. The pouch, named “Pipe Dreams,” features a cat, a rat, and a wedge of cheese situated on illusory planes to suggest an endless chase. I learned a lot about production, planning in advance, and the application of illustration as surface design. As a side note, I carried out this project during the entire madness of my sister’s wedding, guerilla printing by night to make sure I made the deadline. Unfortunately, the pouches did not sell well at all (though it left me with plenty of gifts for friends and family back home for Christmas). This fact forced me to think in a more business oriented manner and moving forward I will have to consider more factors when creating a product to sell. I have to conduct more research to better understand my audience and acknowledge that my personal vision will not always appeal to a wide consumer base. Therefore, I will have to specifically tailor my products according to the market I choose to participate in, all the while considering cost, branding, and practicality.

sketchbook project The Sketchbook Project is a crowd sourced sketchbook museum based out of New York City. We were asked to participate as an entire cohort, swapping sketchbooks weekly and adding to each volume according to the established theme. For me, this was one of the most fun and relaxing parts of the semester. Generally, I use my own personal sketchbook as a place for notes, doodles, and drawing experiments. The Sketchbook Project allowed me to do that but within the parameters of a theme which I found pretty exciting. It was a loose, low-pressure way to work with some semblance of structure from a preset theme. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been told time and time again that my sketchbook work surpasses my finished work in an expressive capacity. At the moment, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m still working out how to integrate this looser way of working into my final pieces.

spring

semester

words on wheels After Winter Break, we dove right back in with the Words on Wheels project. Words on Wheels is a longstanding collaborative effort between the Maryland Department of Transportation, Baltimore City Public Schools, and MICA to engage the community through the arts. Poems are gathered from local schools and given to artists at MICA to illustrate and interpret. The resulting images are installed on local transit, offering a small creative respite for passengers during their commute. The poems I received were both written by 8th graders and were most notable for their heavy content about love, dreams of success, and grappling with systemic inequity â&#x20AC;&#x201D; all complex issues I am glad to see young people reflecting on. I wanted to interpret the poems in a respectful manner by depicting the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; vision in a manner that would not distract from their writing.

Broken Love

by Daisa Rollins, Grade 8

Broken crayons still color, just like broken hearts can st People tend to use the ones that haven’t been used be instead of using the ones that have been through a lot. Someone comes along, uses it, and breaks it, Then they become frustrated because it’s not doing wh Broken hearts can still love, like broken crayons can sti Why leave them there alone because someone else has Be the tape that heals and fixes what’s broken, Don’t get frustrated when it doesn’t work properly. It’s all a part of life, someone uses it then it breaks. But you can be the one to come along and fix someone

The Teacher: G

hat they want it to do. ill color. s hurt them?

e else’s mistake.

ILLUSTRATION & DESIGN: TIFFANY LIN / MICA MFA IN ILLUSTRATION PRACTICE ’17

till love. efore,

A Joint Project of: Public Charter School Baltimore Montessori

Baltimore School of the Arts Baltimore Montessori Public Charter School Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle

KIPP: Uiima Village Academy

Fallstaff Elementary/Middle Holabird Academy Maryland Institute College of Art John Rodgers Elementary/Middle Midtown Academy KIPP Ujima Village Academy Maryland Institute College of Art The Mount Washington School Roland Park Elementary/Middle School

Holabird Academy

The Midtown Academy The Stadium School

Stadium School George Roycroft

Bound For . . . by Matthew Barwick, Grade 8

I’m bound for many things that most will never earn I’m bound to get judgment before my voice is heard Most say “he can’t do it” or “he won’t win” I hope you know I will try again I’m bound to see bloodshed because of skin But most will not let the path to peace begin Most can scream “equality for all” But when we need each other, we kick, scratch, and But I remain hoping and kneeling on the ground floo Trying to remember the great things I’m bound for . .

I’m bound to change the world, maybe even spark a I will be a success when I fulfill my true desire . . .

a fire

ILLUSTRATION & DESIGN: TIFFANY LIN / MICA MFA IN ILLUSTRATION PRACTICE ’17

d maul or ..

A Joint Project of: Public Charter School Baltimore Montessori

Baltimore School of the Arts Baltimore Montessori Public Charter School Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle Fallstaff Elementary/Middle

KIPP: Uiima Village Academy Holabird Academy Holabird Academy

Maryland Institute College of Art John Rodgers Elementary/Middle Midtown Academy KIPP Ujima Village Academy

Maryland Institute College of Art The Mount Washington School

Roland Park Elementary/Middle School

The Midtown Academy The Stadium School

KIPP Ujima Village Academy Teacher: Jason Farber

stop motion We had the privilege of enjoying a fast-paced two day workshop on the basics of stop-motion animation with Sarah McNeil. It was super exciting to work in the Animation department and utilize such high quality equipment and facilities. For this project, we were paired up and worked collaboratively. I was paired with Yiran Guo and it was a great experience bouncing ideas off of each other and keeping things fun and open ended. Yiran tends to work with a diverse array of materials (versus my conservative inclinations toward pen and paper) and it was refreshing to utilize more collage based imagery. We kept our narrative and storyboard relatively open ended: a singular character travels through space and the viewer observes the changes in his environment.

handlettering I struggled a lot with the handlettering project because I have trouble dissecting the art of type. While I intrinsically understand the love and care that goes into making an effective letter, it is hard for me to analyze the efficacy of handlettering because I tend to evaluate it based purely on legibility versus the principles of design. I chose to handletter a poem by e. e. cummings because of his ability to play with words in a smart yet concise manner. I first approached this piece thinking that handlettering had to dominate the image space but found that it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite convey the tone of his poetry and didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow the eye to travel in a logical way across the piece. After several revisions, I realized less is more and chose to let a simpler handlettering style communicate his message.

pattern Amy Voloshin and Leanne Biank from Printfresh Studios led a great workshop on designing patterns and surface textiles. As leading professionals and entrepreneurs in the industry, it was great to hear their insights and feedback on illustration as design and how it operates on merchandise in very functional ways. Inspired by flowing yet sturdy linework, I based my set of patterns on geological formations and textures. I wanted my patterns to contain imagery that was not immediately identifiable so that the abstract forms could be applied on a variety of products, from home products to apparel.

self-directed project Prior to graduate school, I started experimenting with several projects that sought to investigate the mythology of the American Dream. My particular interest in the American Dream stems from an odd sense of inheritance, which might sound strange coming from the mouth of an Asian American. As the child of immigrants, I understand the privileges and opportunities I have are the direct result of my parents migration, sacrifice, and hardwork, but I cannot and will not buy into the dream wholesale. One does not have to look far to see the way hardwork does not always translate into financial success. Things are much more complicated than that. The odds are frequently stacked against people with limited means, and it is difficult if not impossible to escape cycles of poverty, especially when exacerbated by racist and sexist institutions. I began at the casino as the primary site of research. The casino represents my conflicting emotions about America â&#x20AC;&#x201D; it is place of my familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s origins in the United States where they first found work and a place where wealth and success is predicated on luck and chance. It is one of the few places where you can literally watch people dream. Beyond the superficial guise of recreation, gambling operates as an act of escape; it is a wish for something more, something better, a hope for a better future achieved through financial gain. In this ethos, I wanted to create a piece that invited viewers to Play America through a type of visual essay. I crafted a book structure featuring a non-linear narrative that paints a picture of America in broad strokes. What are the realities of America? What are the possibilities? I littered images of gambling along with mundane yet iconic scenes of American life, from football games to used car lots to owning a single family home. My hope is that viewers will similarly interrogate the American Dream and reflect on their own personal sense of place, belonging, circumstance, and inheritance.

moving forward I came into graduate school seeking clarity. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) I feel none the wiser but do have a new set of skills under my belt. I gained a stronger ability to conceive ideas and execute them. I learned to sit with failure and experimentation better rather than giving up on the first try. I am humbled and blessed to have this experience â&#x20AC;&#x201D; surrounded by great faculty, peers, friends, and family that try to steer me right into communicating my vision. As thesis year fast approaches, the only thing I know is to not second guess my intuition and not be afraid to dream big â&#x20AC;&#x201D; deal with the logistics and restrictions later, have fun and enjoy.