Christien Meindertsma

Nice this work by Christien Meindertsma, especially because I have farm roots! Brilliant use on the pigs tag on the book. 

Because Studio

Nice work from Because Studio. 'Hard times' self initiated A6 sized screen prints. 

Analogue Books

Lovely innovative art and design books here, Analogue Books

Shaw & Shaw photography

Inspirational work by Shaw & Shaw photography. There are also some nice books, like this image from the book 'I wish it could be Christmas everyday.' 

Reconstruct, Revive, Recall

I'm working towards the creating three books which present the idea of layers which show presence within the house, working on the words, 'Reconstruct, Revive and Recall'. These words have developed from palimpsest research. 

The above images show ideas for presenting the Reconstruct book. Working form the quotation, 'Every home is first a geometric object of planes and right angles. Inhabited space transcends the geometrical space.' I will work on presenting the architectural drawing to present the house as a geometric object, then present the mark which makes the space an inhabited one. 

Someone was there...

Examples of experimenting with sculpture to express the idea of a trace of the presence of the absence. Taking the form of the cushion and emphasising the indents to portray someone was there. There is an eery aesthetic felt from the cushions, especially from the cushion that shows the indents of someone that was hugging the cushion. The white appearance also adds to the eery effect presenting the realm of presence from the absence.  

A brilliant and effective book by Olafur Eilasson, containing the negative space of his nineteenth-century family house. A laser cut book which presents a precise image of the house, Eilasson wanted the book to look like a book and not an object or a sculpture.  

The weight of the paper was chosen to correspond to the measurements of the 'house', i.e each sheet corresponds to the scale of the real house also represents a 2cm cross section of his house.  

The aesthetics of the book appear beautiful, it would be brilliant to actually see and touch the book. 

Honey & Bloom

Lovely graphic prints and patterns from design company Honey & Bloom. Based in California. 

Nina Chakrabati

Lovely illustration work by Nina Chakrabati. The work entitled 'wallpaper' relates to my theme of traces and marks in the home which portray a presence of the absence. After moving from a flat that she had become attached to she wanted capture her favourite room, therefore she created wallpaper with drawn and photographed images of the space. It was then printed on four strips of lining paper which slot together to form one large piece. 

Around noon

Simple but beautiful work by Darren Almond that presents the effect of a sunlit atmosphere. A subtle idea that makes the viewer consider the aesthetics of a sunlit room.

The title of the work is also thought provoking, 'around noon,' is another subtle hint for the viewer, putting a time to the mark that appears from the sun light coming through the window.

The seed

A fun short film about nature's life cycle, 'The seed' commisioned by Adobe to promote their Creative Suite 4, created by Johnny Kelly. It uses a mixture of stop motion paper craft and drawn animation. 

The making of 'The seed' 

marks made over time

Am experimentation following research from the philospher Jacques Derrida, the founder of deconstruction, meaning the being and time. Derrida explores the metaphysics of presence, the fundamental nature of reality and being. Linking his work with the idea that traces and marks are built up over time I set up a clock to write over time. As the minute hand went round the pen left a mark, bleeding into the paper. This created an abstract mark, that built up over time. The aesthetic qualities of the mark present how marks and traces become deeper and more prominent over time, as the pen bled through the paper and scraped away at the surface. 

Typesetter wanted

Interesting find of an old newspaper when searching for examples of palimpsest and the presence of the absence in my family home. Undisturbed underneath the living room carpet lay a newspaper from 1990. Loved it when I found an advert for a typesetter  job!

Love your mum

My selection of mum's day card designs for a fundraiser for our end of year show. 

Brock Davis

Nice work by graphic designer and illustrator Brock Davis, with his project 'make something cool everyday 2009.' 

Hamish Muir

This week I went to a talk at the AIB given by the designer Hamish Muir, discussing his typographic practice. It was interesting to hear about his practice in the days before the mac, witnessing about the lengthy process' involved in designing. It was brilliant that he included the first piece of work done on the mac into his presentation, it was clearly evident that it was a new tool/toy they were working with! I admired how he described type as an extension of writing and gave the advice of the best ideas are the simple ones that adhere to a set of conditions. 

Palimpsest and social interaction

Interesting work based on the idea of palimpsest. A project which aims to superimpose layers of recorded social interaction, presenting them as a single image. If a passer-by lingers in the space they will see a delayed copy of themselves entering the space from several seconds ago, and even more layers if they remain there longer. Clever work which captures the thought of someone being there. 

New office furniture from the old

Advertising agency gummo have created their new office space working with the three well known words, 'reduce, reuse, recycle'. All the office furniture was sourced locally, from such places as the dutch ebay, marktplaats, charity shops and what ever was left around their old office. Everything was then spraypainted dark grey.

There is a reference to my emp work which is working towards the lived in effect and showing a presence of something that was there. They have taken old furniture and recreated something new by spraying the furniture, however there is evidence of something that was there through keeping the old form of the furniture. 

Life is suite...

Life is suite is a project created by Raw Nerve, who inspired to put life back into an old abandoned sofa. They wanted to express what the sofa may of witnessed, the conversations, the secrets it had heard, who has sat on the sofa. The sofa was re-upholstered so that it could be printed on again. the surface of the sofa is essential to the telling of the stories, it presents a memory. The sofa is an example of how something has been written over, but reveals what it once was.

In and out of BH9 2RD

A visual experimentation to create marks and trace the movement going in and out of the house. Created by laying carbon paper on top of plain paper at the front door. The textures created from the shoes present us with abstract marks, tracing movement within a house. 

Droog design

The above chair design is created by Droog, who are an enterprise who delve in working from a mentality that is close to human, creating products that tell a story regarding themes of memories, nostalgia, re-use, craftsmanship and nature. The layers that build the chair are taken from 15 bags of rags, it is a treasure chest of memories and presents us with something that was used before as something different. I admire how the design of the chair relates to my previous posts related to the object of the chair. For example my visual observation of the clothes and coats that pile up on a chair. 

Building up

Above is an observation experiment of a common feature within many homes, whereby the chair quickly gets piled up with coats, clothes and bags, tracing that there is a presence. It is an intriguing fat that the chair does not get used for it's actual purpose making me question what design features could develop from this?  

The beauty inherent in used objects

These images are from photographer Michael Wolf's project entitled, 'bastard chairs' where he documented the topic of sitting in China. They portray the beauty of the ugly, the stretching of time, and the art of improvisation. I feel the relate to the idea of palimpsest as the objects are being reused to form a new character, also the idea of the stretching of time relates nicely to the the idea of being able to view something that once was. Wolf explains how he is interested in the 'beauty inherent in used objects.' I admire how the images document the object of the chair, this can relate to my exploration of marks and traces that make a home, as the chair is a significant one with the home, for example, each family member having their own chair around the dinner table, or in the loving room.  

Where would you like to wake up?

                                   

Where would you like to wake up? 50 people, the same question, simply filmed and executed with a warming soundtrack.  I can relate this simple and effective film to my extended major project, as many of the answers refer to simply being happy to wake up at home. This relates to my project as my direction for the work and research I am currently undergoing, explores what marks and traces make a home.

'I'm kinda alright with where I am right now, my house' the film seems to portray the comfortable state of many people, simply wishing to wake up where best it suits them...in their own home, making the viewer remember the aesthetics of the home which make us want to remain there.

love in a card...

As a fundraiser for our final show at the end of the academic year I worked on a collaboration project of creating valentine's day cards to sell. The cards went down really well and it was nice to know that people were receiving the cards on February 14th in all parts of the country! 

A bit of history

I found and love this Pelican poetry book! Printed in 1944, the book presents us with the classic design of the Pelican Books, along with adverts for cigarettes, Mars bars and Horlicks, brilliant!  'CHOCOLATE...to sustain, GLUCOSE...to energise, MILK...to nourish'

A shadow of palimpsest...

To visually express the meaning behind 'Palimpsest' I have experimented with creating type with dust. Dust lines that appear when something has been moved present the idea that something was there, this is an example of 'a shadow of palimpsest'. Quite disgustingly and regrettably I sourced the above dust from my house, it surrounds and forms the white type creating the image of something being moved an leaving the dust lines, a trace and mark has been made within the home, showing that someone is present.

Above are two images taken from a series that suggest the idea of a trace of something that was within a family household. Having to take down photographs, certificates, pictures from a living room wall at home due to building work creates the title, 30 years of life taken down, the time in which life began for my parents together. A strange presence and emotion is felt when we view the remaining picture hooks. They also works with the statement, 'a shadow of palimpsest', not only because of the picture hooks, but also the traces of sun damage and stains on the wall. I am intrigued to continue and explore the idea of traces and marks that suggest family existence, the subtle hints that present movement and the habits of family life that create these marks and traces.

An image of what once was

These images portray an example of what has inspired me to develop for an EMP subject. The peeling paint reveals something that was there before. Traces and marks tell us the history of the subject, an idea of heritage and layers providing evidence.

This relates to an article I have recently read in Visual Language, regarding, 'Palimpsest. The future of the past'. I feel the word, palimpsest, helps me to define the subject area I wish to explore, it carries the meaning of 'scraped again,' a manuscript written on parchment that has another text written over it, leaving two (or more) layers of visible writing. Palimpsest can also be applied to the subject of architecture, it is interpreted as a ghost, an image that once was. This certainly works well with my initial inspiration images seen above. 

A mark

A visual experiment exploring a form of leaving a mark. By collecting a waste paper bin situated next to a photocopier in a library I was intrigued by the evide

nt page marks that had sunk to the bottom of the bin bag. I admire how the scale and torn effect of the page marks state that they were once used as an indication of position.

Above I have captured the effect and essence of the page marks being intended for marking a page to photocopy by photocopying the whole book with the collected page marks. I think this is an effective image created through the aesthetic quality of the grainy black and white photocopy.  

Collaboration...

Above is one of six principles created by Lee Shulman, president of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of teaching, identifying 'authentic and enduring learning'. I found the principles to be quite inspirational regarding their relationship with design. The above principle especially works well with current collaboration work that I am involved in, whereby we have been set the week long brief to identify and represent the characteristics associated with established forms of design practice and to contrast those with practice that is new and innovative. Our group has the task of visually representing ‘messages’ as a topic.

At the end of the brief all groups will meet, we will locate all of the different representations, such as audience, materials, and touchpoints, describing our discipline as a whole and to locate how everything links.