D&AD DEVELOPMENT

I have been experimenting with basic idea of the human hand print and finger prints foe negotiated practice as the hand print represents our identity of who we are. However the hand can also be a sign for STOP. 

I thought this ties in nicely with the idea of resistance, and the representations of a the hand that are stopping, pushing against something, holding some thing back - RESISTING.

Here are a few basic experiments that I have produced:

ANTONIUS BLOCKK

Here are some quotes from Blockk theories on the idea of the Perfect Human and what makes and ideal human being.

"Since the dawn of civilisation man has strived to perfect himself"

 "Humans will always want to strive for perfection because we are imperfect - it is a human instinct to become perfect"

"Humans are created imperfect, therefore a perfect human being is impossible. A perfect being cannot be described as human"

"We must be aware that are perception is limited and everything isn't always as it seems"

A genetic revolution is one step closer, the next step to creating the perfecting human, to perfecting man kind. 

PERFECT?

My research so far has lead me to looking at the idea of perfection in the human race, and how we are constantly trying to strive it, as science is evolving we are finding new and better ways to perfect ourselves. I have been looking at what people perceive as perfection and the traits that underline the idea of being perfect.

Our own personal idea of perfection is always going to be different to someone else's, what one might see as perfection might be completely the opposite to what others might perceive as perfection. As a society today I think we all think of perfection as healthy and happy and someone who carries good positive traits such as caring and friendly etc. 

I would like to look at the idea of perfection further and have this incorporated into my work. 

GROUP PRESENTATION

Overall, I got some good feedback on my experimental illustrations, people seemed to understand the concepts behind my work, and liked my style of illustration. From the feedback I received I want to express the idea that all the different traits, looks, features etc are seen as FRAGMENTS of your desired child/human more so than I already have. I think this can be done by focusing on the shapes and patterns of DNA, chromosomes and embryo's, which I can then use to reflect different traits, both personality wise and appearance wise. It will show the different stages of creating your desired child.

1.Embryo and DNA imagery reflects the basic building blocks of human life, they are what will be altered in the first instance. 

2.Children and babies are the creation.

3.I then want to portray what sort of human the child that has just been created will grow into.

Although my initial outcome for this brief was a poster campaign, I also want to focus on SELF PROMOTION. I need my work to be seen/known and it can't unless it is promoted. 

One way that this could be done is interacting with society, which is also a possible outcome for this brief to support a poster campaign. 

KELLY THOMPSON

Kelly Thompson is a artist who I came across when researching for my investigative study, looking at the change of the fashion image where photographic and illustrative boundaries are being blurred.

Her use of photography of the female form and intricate drawings placed over the top are the new image of fashion illustration where the two medias are being brought together to create a new powerful style of imagery. One that I want to develop in my own work.

CHILDHOOD

These are a selection of old and new photographs of childhood's from my family. I will be using them as key imagery in my illustrations. Some if the photographs are over 15 years old and there is some thing really appealing about the matte texture of them and oldness. 

BEST OF NATURE

Focusing on the idea of improving on nature and selecting the best of nature before you nurture, I wanted to collect some imagery representing the idea of nature that would apply to each and every one of us. I began by thinking of aspects of nature that are all around us, which gave my the thought of the sky. The sky can be seen by every single human being on this planet, which makes this universal ‘object’ applicable to not only me target market, but to everyone.

Waiting till we had a bright, sunny day these are the photo’s I took. I would like to use them in my illustrations to reflect the idea of nature, before it is improved and altered. 

BASIC EXPERIMENTS

I have been experimenting with old photographs and the line drawings I have done of embryo's, cells, and DNA structures, to see how I can best achieve creating images reflecting the idea of being able to select features, traits, characteristics of how you want your child to look. 

Focusing on happiness and healthiness, I have then began using the shapes and patterns of embryo's and DNA to build up a collage of imagery. 

THEORY PROGRESSION - LINKING PRACTICE AND THEORY

After feeling that I have being going round in circles the last couple of weeks with my essay, I have finally made some progress this week. 

I have decided that I am going to write a critical evaluation about how the fashion is portrayed through both Photography and Illustration, and how it has recently being progressed by being shown through a mix of these two modes of communication - which has lead to a new future for the fashion image. 

I have chosen to research this new era of fashion being portrayed through both a combination of photography and illustration due to my own style of working. I have defined myself as an illustrator who's works uses a combinations of both hand rendered and photographic imagery, so I feel this links in directly with my practice, allowing me to explore the work of other designers who have introduced and elaborated this way of working into the fashion and illustrative world. 

I will looking at the work of Nick Knight one of the most famous fashion photographers, who's work over the last ten years has changed noticeably as he moves into this new dimension of the fashion image. I will also be analysising the work of Julie Verhoeven as she is one of fashions most recognized hand rendered artists who's work has been used on Louis Vitton and Mulberry products. I will be able to show through her work how the fashion image is has been traditionally portrayed through either photography or in her case illustration. 

FRAGMENTS

These are a few basic experimentations from my sketch book, illustrating the idea of fragments, fragments of our body. Reflecting the idea of being able to select many different fragments of ourselves to make a desired person.

I have been using the same photographs one of a child and one of an adult showing the growth of the baby into the full functional desired human being. I have being using shape to determine the idea of pieces. 

PATTERNS OF WHAT WE ARE MADE OF

I have been looking at images of genes, chromosomes, DNA and other building blocks of the basic structures that make us who we are, and therefore are the things which are able to be modified and changed under the process named genetic engineering, to use as imagery in my illustrations. 

By focusing on producing work that is illustrating the beginning of a genetic revolution where parents will have the choice to select the features, appearance, mentality of their child this scientific imagery of the beginning of life is key in being illustrated. 

Below are a few basic ink drawings of embryo's, DNA structures and chromosomes:

                    

                    

                  

D&AD MY IDEA OF RESISTANCE

Looking at resistance there is many ways it which it can be put in context or portrayed. In the brief they are asking that the idea of ' going against the grain, turning left when everyone is turning right, the idea of resistance being radical in the short term and revolutionary in the long term' is made apparent in our working. 

This will tie in directly with my negotiated practice brief as the idea of promoting a world which to the present human life is will be seen as unchartered waters and inevitably there will be resistance to deflect it. The idea of using resistance against a genetic revolution, is going to be the basis of this brief. 

The idea that population today will resist greatly against a new era being enforced, an era of better health and life style leading ultimately to perfection. This will meet the demands of the brief as it will cover politics, global countries, sexes and religions.

FINAL SYNOPSIS OF STUDY

This is my final synopsis of study for the brief detailing my initial ideas, planned progression throughout  the brief and the outcomes I will achieve and produce:

I will produce a campaign promoting that parents now have the right to design their own baby using Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, more commonly know as the ‘Designer Baby’. Science already allows us to screen embryos for disease and remove those ‘infected genes’ produing a baby without an incurable disease. We can even deteremine the sex, although in most countris this is not legally allowed. This is just the beginning to what science will allow us to do in the forseeble future. I will be illustrating the possibilities of being able to design your own baby from hair and eye colour, right down to personality and traits. This will also be portraying future life where genetic enhancement is the normality, where a race of super humans will be built, a race of beauty and brains, in a Genetic Revolution. I will produce a ‘Its coming’ campaign consistiing of 6 illustrative posters which would be dispatched and displayed in towns and cities all over the world.

I have chosen this project because it will enable me to develop my style using a combination of photography and hand generated imagery. This approach to illustration is one that has seems to becoming an ever more larger trend, and one I want to determine myself a part of in my own unique way. By completing the D&AD brief based on ‘Resistance’ and the Lloyds TSB brief ‘The Art Of Nurture’ alongside the authorial brief I will linking my practice through a range oppourtunities. My direct target audience will be couple’s that are planning to concieve, however this is expanded to the rest of the public and the future generatons that the genetic revoluion: the creation of the perfect human will effect.

A NATURAL BEAUTY

Looking through an old box of photographs about a year ago I came across this old photograph of my mother by chance. I was instantly transfixed by the naturalness, and effortless beauty of the image, and its being pinned to my cork board ever since. Looking at it now this is the kind of imagery that portrays the idea of perfection and beauty that I want to show in my work. The image of beauty can be seen as many different things as we all have different ideas of what beauty is. However this image I think reflects the traits of what society sees beauty as today.

                               

GATTACA

I watched this film after the recommendation to do so in my last tutorial. As well as having this as a key reference point for my research I thought it was a brilliant film. Watching it was like experiencing the reality of my project as Gattaca is about a world of a Genetically modified human race, where they are wiping out natural conception 'god child's' as they carry to many imperfections. Gattaca is focusing on genetic engineering gone very wrong by portraying it through the life of a genetically imperfect 'god child' who born into a world where his life would be immediately limited before he tries because he is not a genetically engineered baby.

However my project is going to be focusing on the positive side of being able to genetically engineer your children, by focusing on the new race of the genetically engineered rather than what would be the remainder of a race of naturaly conceived children.

RETRO BOUTIQUE EXISTING POSTER

This is the poster design for this month's Retro Boutique. As Alex said in her email it is extremely open and open to interpretation, so I can advance on it in pretty much anyway I feel appropriate.

RETRO BOUTIQUE

After receiving the email about this brief I emailed Alex as I thought it would be a good project that I could apply my style to and create a nice portfolio piece.

Hi Lauren,

Thank you for replying so quickly to the email. i have spoken to Laura Starkey and Kathleen Moore about the poster design as well, so it might be quite interesting if you all worked together to produce something extra special. But that is up to you guys. If not we can use all three alternatively. The Retro Boutique is a monthly event where the Red Cross provides vintage clothes to be sold at the university to raise money for the charity.
The brief for the design is extremely open, all that is required is a vintage/retro theme with the words 'Retro Boutique' and 'The Red Cross' being the main focus of the poster, keeping in mind that that it will be printed to a a4 and a a3 scale. It would also be useful to have a blank space within the design where the dates can be changed easily on photoshop so we can use the same design every month.

Thanks again

Alex Spooner

-----Original Message-----
From: 3121971 LAUREN COX
Sent: Mon 10/19/2009 12:17 PM
To: 3164133 ALEXANDRA SPOONER
Subject: FW: Poster Designs for Retro Boutique

Hi Alex,
I am interested in doing some designs for the Retro Boutique poster?
Could you give me some information about the event and what you have in mind for the poster?
Thanks
Lauren

-----Original Message-----
From: Lisa Richardson
Sent: Thu 10/15/2009 4:23 PM
To: BA Illustration Yr1; BA Illustration Yr2; BA Illustration Yr3
Subject: Poster Designs for Retro Boutique

Hello All

IF anyone is interested in designing a poster to advertise the ORetro
Boutique¹ monthly event working with the Red Cross contact Alex Spooner
via her email account 3164133@aucb.ac.uk

Cheers
Lisa

LEARNING AGREEMENT TUTORIAL

With the learning agreement draft deadline today we had a group tutorial with Joel. I got some good feedback as well as some constructive suggestions where I need to do a bit re-wording or defining in my idea. 

Joel gave me some key examples of research to look at:

The 1997 film Gattaca by Andrew Niccol.

Publication: A brave new world By Aldous Huxley 

Look into ideas surrounding Utopia/Distopia. 

I mentioned that I am going to do the D&AD Don't Panic competition, which is to design a poster based on 'Resistance'. I need to develop a link that I can relate and integrate this into my main body of work on promoting the genetic revolution.

D&AD: DON'T PANIC

CREATE AN IMAGE FOR DON’T PANIC THAT CAPTURES THE THEME OF RESISTANCE

Creative Challenge:

Resistance is about going against the grain. Going left when everyone is going right. Resistance is radical for the short term, and revolutionary in the long.

We’d like you to capture on paper resistance to the politics (with a small ‘p’) of existence. From a personal level (interacting with you peers, neighbours and work colleagues) – to globally, countries, sexes & religions.

Consider sub-aspects of resistance – protection and armour (both physical and mental) aspects of survival, hardiness & determination. Try and think the opposite of your standard practice, work with new methods - push out of your comfort zone.

Target audience:

Socially active, creative young people

Mandatory Requirements:

Produce one or more images suitable for A2 reproduction

POSSIBLE OUTCOMES

I have been thinking of what outcomes I could produce for promoting a new world, a revolution of genetic enhancement, where a race of super human beings is created.

In a era where you are able to select traits, features, looks, personality's these would need to be readily available for those creating their own desired child. The next step of my research will involve looking into human traits, looks and features and determine which ones would be most desired and ones which would be less desired. By means of presenting this I could design a publication which would be more like a catalogue of body parts, personality's, appearances, where you would be able to select which ones you wanted. By adding prices to these it would create a real situation where the more desired traits would be more expensive than say less desired ones. As well as prices with every product there are promotions and I could create vouchers that you would receive if you spend over a certain amount of money. These could be endless for example, buy one trait get another one half price.

The following are all examples of where we already get to 'select' such desires which will be key reference points in my research. It is the same idea of having the choice to determine your appearance, personality and features.

Build 'A' Bear workshops - in my case it would be Build 'A' Baby.

Computer/Playstation games - In so many you get to select what features you want your car or character to have. Whereas it is this same idea that you can now pick what you want your baby to have. Instead of creating a game character your creating your child. 

Sims

Buying a car

Building a house

Normal choices now extended to human creation.....

A poster campaign advertising and promoting the genetic revolution, of conditioning your loved ones, producing perfection as we know it. 

"Its coming...."

"A genetic revolution of beauty and brains" 

"A revolution of super humans"