T-Shirts vs. Graffiti

One significant difference between the two sites was the scale. The graffiti was painted on a 15.3 by 4 metre wall, whereas the t-shirt images were 30 by 40 centimetres. The graffiti is bold and big, and you have to stand back and take some time to look at it. This makes you wonder what it’s trying to say. T-shirts don’t have space to show large images, and because of this they hold less power over the viewer than the graffiti does.

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Another difference was the choice we have over what we want to view. People choose what they want to show on their shirt and it’s a way of expressing their individuality. The graffiti is shoved in our faces, and we don’t have a choice over what images it shows or messages it conveys. Nicholas Mirzoeff makes a similar comment about how the internet is a global medium, whereas “people still have access to television, but hardly anyone has influence over what is shown on television…” (Mirzoeff, 17).

Works cited:
Mirzoeff, Nicholas. “Introduction”. How to See the World. London: Pelican, 2015. Print.

Graffiti

For this group task we were required to visit two sites in Wellington and consider the way in which the sites present themselves through visual texts, and how the two sites contrast each other.

Site two: Graffiti wall in Left Bank off Cuba Street.

People used this site to pass from Victoria Street to Cuba Mall and vice versa. It’s also where the Wellington Friday night market is located because it is away from the main, busiest streets.

The graffiti was a commission from Sarah Meikle, the Festival Director of Wellington Culinary Events Trust. It was to promote the Visa Wellington On a Plate festival, and had to  “represent the strong connection between Wellington and it’s hospitality community” (Meikle, 1). The site was chosen for the graffiti because it’s close to Wellington’s hospitality community. The graffiti communicates Wellington’s food culture through its food-related designs. It is modern and bold, and targets a young, artsy audience.

The graffiti was made with Resene paint. Resene was chosen because it’s a local brand, so the paint didn’t come with a big carbon footprint. The company is very conscious about its sustainability and ethical choices.

The sound of footsteps echo throughout the site and there is traffic noise from the road outside.

Works cited:
Meikle, Sarah. “Artist’s Brief / Call for Proposal”. Web. 14 March 2016.

T-Shirts

For this group task we were required to visit two sites in Wellington and consider the way in which the sites present themselves through visual texts, and how the two sites contrast each other.

Site one: Images on the T-shirts or jumpers of people passing outside Slow Boat Records (a CD and record shop).

We stopped passersby and asked them a few questions to help us answer the deeper questions that we had been given. Click on the images for more detail.

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Why are you here? Going to the bus. When did you get your shirt? 2 years ago. Who made it? Cotton On. Why do you like it? Low neck goes well with the jacket. Why did you get it? 3 for 1 deal.

Why are you here? Going to the bus. When did you get your shirt? About a month ago. Who made it? Zara Man (bought from Paper Bag Princess). Why do you like it? Cool and colourful. Why did you get it? Cheap and aesthetically pleasing.

Why are you here? Going to school. Who made your shirt? Cosmic (Christchurch). Why do you like it? It’s colourful.

Why are you here? Meeting a friend. When did you get your shirt? 7 months ago in Japan. Who made it? Not sure. Why do you like it? The shape.

Why are you here? Research trip to visit homeless people. When did you get your shirt? 2 years ago from my cousin. Who made it? Element. Why do you like it? The maroon colour.

Why are you here? Going CD shopping. When did you get your shirt? A few weeks ago from Valhalla. Who made it? Guild, but it’s a tour shirt for the band Between the Buried and Me. Why do you like it? It’s my favourite band. Why did you buy it? I was at their gig.

Why are you here? Looking for a bottle store. When did you get your shirt? Last year. Who made it? Hustle. Why do you like it? I like the colour blue.

Why are you here? Fastest way to Good as Gold (clothing store). Where did you get your shirt? From a friend Who made it? Supreme. Why do you like it? Colourful. Why did you get it? Colours make me ‘pop’.

Why are you here? Going to work. When did you get your shirt? In the past year. Who made it? Max. Why do you like it? Works with many outfits and is interesting.

People came to this site for a variety of reasons, but the majority of the time they were using it as a thoroughfare between one side of town and the other. Many of the people in this area were young students from the nearby universities and high schools.

Their shirts were all from different times, brands and places and all had different meanings to the individual. They were a way of expressing one’s individuality. The target audiences were different for each shirt – the different images and patterns on the shirts were a means of communication between different groups of people. I think the variety of different designs show New Zealand’s diversity, and the colourful, playful, trendy nature of the shirts highlight the young age of our country.

When viewing the shirts we forget about the stories behind the manufacturers. Cotton On was the only manufacturer whose website contained information on their ethical and sustainable practices. Cotton On is “focused on building an ethical, sustainable and profitable business and ensuring we have a positive impact on our people, the community, the planet and all those we connect with.” (Cotton On Group).

The site was full of traffic noise and chatter.

Works cited:
Cotton On Group. “Our Manifesto”. Web. 14 March 2016.

More on Critical Thinking

After reading about this term in chapter four of the book Beginning University: Thinking, Researching and Writing for Success, I have a clearer understanding of what critical thinking is. It’s being able to think for yourself, determine your own conclusions based on your past experiences, work out better explanations and find new solutions to problems.

Our decisions are influenced by pre-existing ideas, our social and cultural backgrounds, and we follow the lead of others in our decision making. The idea of not taking pre-existing ideas for granted is very important. We must not have tunnel vision when making our own choices.

The text is written in the second person, using pronouns ‘you’ and ‘we’. This technique gives an almost chatty feel to the writing, and makes the reader feel like they are being directly addressed by the authors. This helps the reader connect with the writing, and put themselves inside the text. “In academic contexts we need to be more aware of reasoning processes than most people are.” (Wallace, Schirato and Bright, 49). By using this personal tone, the reader is on the same level as the authors.

My response to this personal approach is to become more involved in the writing. It’s easy to read, not just because of the language used, but also because we feel included in the text. The authors relate their arguments to real-world examples, which gives backbone to their arguments and makes me believe them more.

I enjoyed reading this text because it made a new subject easy to comprehend.

Works cited:
Wallace, Andrew, Tony Schirato, and Philippa Bright. “Critical Thinking.” Beginning University: Thinking, Researching and Writing for Success. St Laniards, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, 1999. 45-50. Print.

Glossary

This is a glossary of key terms that I’ve come across during my study.

• “By echoing the daily practice of the selfie, the camera and the picture make space real and imaginable to us…” (Mirzoeff, 8). – new, wondrous places and opportunities are becoming accessible to us through the use of familiar, recognisable visual platforms, such as the selfie.
• Naming – a technique used not only to separate individual objects, but also to categorise and make things more relatable.
• Describing – giving a detailed explanation, which will inevitably involve social or cultural associations.
• Contextualising – identifying the time, place, and social and cultural aspects of a given work or idea. This promotes deeper understanding of a subject and helps us understand the point of the text and the reason it was made (Ruszkiewicz, Anderson, and Friend, 32).
• Analysing – examining something in detail. The outcome will never be conclusive because the analysis is subjective, and will be influenced by feelings and emotions.
• Visual text – a combination of visual and verbal features (such as lighting, focus, layout, text, dialogue) used to convey a message to an audience.
• Sustainability – the ability for something to live in harmony with the Earth, with out having negative effects on the environment.
• Planned obsolescence – when a product is designed to become out-of-date quickly after its release, allowing companies to continually make better versions of the product and therefore gain more money as users buy the newer versions.
• Anthropocene – the era that began when human influences started to have significant effects on the environment through pollution, climate change, extinctions etc. There are debates about the beginning date of the Anthropocene; some say it started around 1760 (Industrial Revolution) while others think 12,500 years ago (Neolithic Revolution).
• Ideology – a set of political or social ideas that exist within a culture. These beliefs change how the group or culture operates, and over time these sets of ideas can become the norm.

Works cited:
Clarke, Michael. “Language and Meaning”. Verbalising the Visual: Translating Art and Design into Words. Lausanne, Switzerland: AVA Publishing, 2007. Print.

Mirzoeff, Nicholas. “Introduction”. How to See the World. London: Pelican, 2015. Print.

Ruszkiewicz, John J., Daniel Anderson, and Christy Friend. ‘Reading Texts’. Beyond Words: Cultural Texts for Reading and Writing. 3rd ed. Boston: Pearson, 2011. 9–39. Print.

How to See the World

‘How to See the World’ by Nicholas Mirzoeff is a book about how visual material and culture is shaping and changing our lives.

In 2011 3.5 trillion photos existed. As if that wasn’t shocking enough, Mirzoeff states “One trillion photographs were taken in 2014… the global photography archive increase by some 25 percent… in 2014” (6). This visual revolution we’re undergoing is changing how we communicate with each other, how we view the world around us, how we function in our daily lives.

Talking about the change in how we perceive the world, Mirzoeff says “We assemble a world from pieces, assuming that what we see is both coherent and equivalent to reality. Until we discover it is not” (10). We build this superficial image of the world from the hundreds, thousands of photos and videos we see every day, rather than our own physical experiences of the world around us.

Works cited:
Mirzoeff, Nicholas. “Introduction”. How to See the World. London: Pelican, 2015.3-11. Print.

 

What is ‘Critical Thinking’?

Critical thinking is about being able to consider peoples’ ideas in a wider context. It is understanding their argument, viewing it from many different perspectives (not just our own), and considering how it ties in with the wider world.

We can use the information gained from analysing someone’s ideas to influence our own ideas and perspectives. In this way we grow as an artist or designer, and are able to incorporate more feeling or emotion into our work.

Part of being a ‘good’ designer or artist is being able to critically analyse and evaluate. We must ask ourselves; Is this person’s argument the same as my own? If not, why not? Is their argument even valid? And how does their argument tie in with what I already know about the world?

Inspirations

Nugent, S. (2013). Drill. [Prismacolor Pencil and Copic Markers on Marker Paper]. Retrieved from http://www.sketch-a-day.com/posts/sketch-a-day-421-cordless-drill-concep/

Lye, L. (1961). Grass. Retrieved from http://www.ccp.org.au/flash/2009/10/len-lye/

Danko, P. (1980). Bodyform Side Chair. [Molded plywood with epoxy finish]. Retrieved from http://www.moma.org/collection/works/2963?locale=en

Gehry, F. (2003). Walt Disney Music Hall. Retrieved from http://memory.loc.gov/phpdata/pageturner.php?type=contactminor&cmIMG1=/pnp/pplot/13700/13725/01300t.gif&agg=pplot&item=13725&caption=3

Warhol, A. (1983). Endangered Spieces; Grevy’s Zebra. [Screenprint on Lenox Museum Board]. Retrieved from http://warholprints.com/andy-warhol-endangered-spieces-grevys-zebra-2/

I was at high school when I realised I wanted to be a designer. I was inspired by the architects, designers and artists who I ‘met’ during my research. These five have stuck with me since. Gehry’s deconstructivist style confused and amazed me. His buildings are works of art in their own right. Peter Danko’s sustainable furniture hit home with my own desire to be environmentally friendly. Warhol’s vibrant prints are very eye-catching. Visiting the Len Lye exhibition in New Plymouth renewed my love for kinetic sculpture, and Spencer Nugent is my sketching idol.

This is me.

My name is Christopher James Warren. I like to be known as Chris. I am a fresh, enthusiastic and excited first year student at Massey College of Creative Arts (CoCA) in Wellington, where I’m completing a Bachelor of Design majoring in Industrial Design.

I’ll start at the beginning. My parents were born in the UK. They both went to Cambridge University, and I’m sure their time at university was quite different to mine, 40 years later, at CoCA. My brother was born in Cambridge in 1989, making me the only ‘real’ Kiwi in the family. My parents moved to New Zealand 21 years ago, had me three years later and the rest is history. I’ve been to the UK four times, once when I was a few months old to show off to my relatives, again when I was six and we lived there for 8 months, and twice in the last few years. Going back there more recently has been a good experience for me. Even though the culture is not dissimilar to ours, my eyes have been opened to new ways of living, new ways of being, and especially new ways of speaking.

I was born and bred in Wellington. I went to Onslow College, and through studying Graphics (DVC) and Design Technology I came to the realisation that designing and working with my hands were my passions. Last year my Granddad gave me his old canon DSLR camera and I discovered a passion for photography. The wide array of mediums that we as artists and designers use to express ourselves is what I love about art and design. There seems to be a never-ending supply of different mediums, techniques and processes to try out.

So I thought; what better way to further develop my passions than with a degree in design?

Apart from design, I’m also passionate about music. In fact, it was a tough choice between studying design at CoCA or jazz performance at New Zealand School of Music. Throughout high school I played in the jazz bands, sung in the choirs and played a few paid gigs with my jazz trio. I’ve been playing the piano since I was six and the saxophone since I was 12. I believe music and design go hand in hand for they are, after all, both forms of art. Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay from the French electronic band ‘Justice’ both started their careers off as graphic designers. When asked about how music came to be in their life, they said:

“We didn’t have time to wonder if it was bizarre or not, we just noticed one day that we were not graphic designers anymore—we were making music… It’s almost the same job. As long as you have clear, simple ideas you can do whatever you want. It’s all about making the right decisions at the right moment.”

de Rosnay, Xavier. Interview. By Nilina Mason-Campbell. Pitchfork, 2008. Web.