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After meeting for the final time and having made good progress, my team and I began discussing the best manner in which to present the document and its overall presentation. And so in fitting with our advertorial/ magazine-esque style, we agreed that a cover and back cover page were necessary additions to our document. And so I was delegated with the task of handling the back page, after discussing options with my group we decided it should be a final conclusion/ wrap up to our concept of “ THE NOW OF TOMORROW” and so I began work on the layout and sketching. 

Initial Sketch: 

Following digital work:

After consulting with my group we then deligated tasks and topics that we had refined and drafted during class time, and so my second piece would consist of covering futuristic education. and so in the interest of ‘over predicting’ a 2017 education experience from a 50′s perspective I decided to over wxagerate the utility of a modern technology, Virtual reality.

INITIAL SKETCH:

After digital work:

This week our group allocated and picked categories we would like to pursue and do initial work on in our ‘magezine-esque’ collaboration. I decided to undertake initial work on the ‘food’ category of or futuristic prediction-based piece. And here is the process:

INITIAL SKETCHING:

FINALISED SKETCHING:

CURRENT STATE:

So, in looking to follow this 1950s art style and present a ‘Now’ of Tomorrow   Collective publication with my group, I undertook a small experiment to gauge how this might look (A mix of hand drawn and digital).

I am somewhat satisfied with the results, but I know that the final product(s) my group and I will produce will look much better and less rough.

After meeting in class, our group all pitched ideas based off the proposition of creating a  12- page, A4 PDF publication as a travel brochure, after conversation and drafting we came across the idea of doing a futuristic themed travel brochure that is designed to look from a past era (the 50′s) detailing what the brochure believes our ‘NOW’ might look like. 

The idea is fun and allows our team to truly collaborate and share skills and use our strengths. The idea was mutually agreed upon and we then discussed what aesthetic style to use and what the publications structure might be. 

We looked at old 50s advertorials and though that this art style would be extremely interesting to pursue. 

E.g.

After collaborating with my group, we decided to use the term NOW creatively rather than its immediate and obvious definition. 

think about this present moment – however you might define it – and the issues, problems, questions, and opportunities that make up our shared ‘now’.

Group Members:

-Sabrinna

-Brooke

-Claire

‘Society Untethered ’ 2017

Can creative acts be rebellious when rebellion has become glorified in art, design and media histories? What would a contemporary creative rebellion look like?

My final piece “Society- Untethered” is a direct reflection of my desire to more fully understand and more deeply engage with my topic question. Following assessment one’s submission “Conform (recommended)”, I began assessment two unsatisfied with my level of engagement and level of physical involvement in expressing whether or not rebellion can still be achieved in a modern context and what this might look like. I took to this assessment with an entirely different outlook and approach, instead of simply stating that ‘no, meaningful rebellion is not really possible’ I decided to engage with the definition, parameters and various examples of rebellion and ultimately deduced that there is a fine line between conformity and rebellion, and whether any creative act falls in either of these categories is ultimately determined by the values of the society in which the piece exists. And therefore, creative acts can always have the ability to be considered rebellious for as long as they contradict or fail to align with values. In identifying and imagining what this rebellious and creative act might look like, my pieces serve to highlight this on a large societal scale, whereas my last assessment submission served to illustrate this on a very minor scale.

Through sustained experimentation, and the natural flow of scrapping and building upon ideas, I was able to identify that which is common among all past and undoubtedly future rebellious acts, a direct and purposeful divergence from the values of the society it addresses, and so, in answering the posed question ‘what might a creative rebellion look like’ I have created drawn pieces that give insight into an imagined society whose values directly contradict and oppose that in which we are familiar, a society that rejects and denounces the commodities that tether our society to conformity and keep us from rebelling, a completely rebellious society by our standards.

Through research and engagement, I found several artists extremely inspirational and worth engaging with, artists such as Ai Weiwei served to highlight that meaningful rebellion was not only still entirely possible in a modern age, but extremely important in conveying meaning and commenting on one’s own society. “Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.” I found this quote particularly poignant and relevant and it undoubtedly influenced my decision to have my work be a representation of a society dissimilar to our own. I also took great visual inspiration from artists such as Roy Lichtenstein and his ability to depict immersive scenarios whilst maintaining a commercial distance, traits I aimed to incorporate within my piece.

The ‘pop-art’/ comic style of the work serves to visually communicate ideas associated with the 60’s art movement such as advertorials, commercialisation and consumerism ultimately implemented as a visual contradiction to the messages communicated through the figures, serving to arouse desire to further engage with the meaning behind the piece, and to aid the contrast of the imagined society to that which we are accustomed. The textual elements within the pieces are designed to have some shock-value as they are statements and ideas that we may never have thought to express, further illustrating that we are intrinsically tethered to the values of the society we belong to and its various commodities of conformity. “I think I look great”, “sure I got the promotion, but I want emotional fulfilment” and “MONEY!?” are statements that highlight this imagined society’s inability to be persuaded to conform or to be corrupted by the expectations that restrict our society from rebelling, and leads the viewer to ultimately question whether this society and these figures are truly rebellious, or simply conforming to the values of the society they belong in, ultimately proving that what is considered rebellious is undoubtedly decided by societal values, and for as long as society holds values, and values commodities, creative acts can be rebellious, and this imagined society is an example of what a creative rebellion might look like.

• ‘Ai Weiwei Artist Overview and Analysis’ 2017, Ruth Epstein, The Art Story, Accessed: 7 September 2017, http://www.theartstory.org/artist-ai-weiwei.html.

• Ritzer, G 2008,  ‘Harold Garfinkle- the theory’, The Blackwell Companion to Major Contemporary Social Theorists, Blackwell Publishing, UK, pp. 124-133.

• ‘Roy Lichtenstein Biography’ April 2, 2014, Biography.com Editors, The Biography.com, Accessed: 11 September 2017, https://www.biography.com/people/roy-lichtenstein-9381678.

YES creative acts can still be rebellious, but what is considered rebellion or conformity is entirely dependent on societal values. And in this vein, a contemporary creative rebellion could look like a re-imagining of a society who’s values contrast those with which we aren’t familiar.

In an attempt to represent rebellion on a social scale through an art style traditionally associated with consumerism and conformity I have begun experimenting with sketching and colouring with copic markers after paying $25.00 for a bleed proof  paper pad (wtf?!) They are time consuming but I’m really liking the results! With incorporation of textual elements I think they could be really nice.

In answering the questions: 

Can creative acts be rebellious when rebellion has become glorified in art, design and media histories? What would a contemporary creative rebellion look like?                                        

I aim to show that, YES creative acts can still be rebellious, but what is considered rebellion or conformity is entirely dependent on societal values. And in this vein, a contemporary creative rebellion could look like a re-imagining of a society who’s values contrast those with which we aren’t familiar.

To realise this concept, I aim to present a society that does not have values like our own, and are not tethered to the same commodities of conformity that we are.

I think an interesting way of expressing this would be in a pop art- cartoon style, a fun contrast to the ideas im exploring being a symbol of commercial America and advertising (conformity), as well as the fact, that I really do enjoy the art-style and unlike my previous poster, I’d like to get my hands dirty and create them by hand. And who better to study than:

Roy Lichtenstein:

Artist: Roy Lichtenstein (enamel paint) Location: Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art 1 of 2 copies Created: 1963 Period: Pop art Dimensions: 172 cm × 203.5 cm (67.75 in × 80.125 in)

In deciding to present a modern imagining of a large scale rebellion, I have decided to express my understanding that conformity is only achieved through values in society, so to understand what direction I’ll head in, I must first pose the question- What is it that tethers us to conformity, and keeps us from rebellion?

I believe the answer lies in the values that are instilled in us from birth that ultimately aligns our interests with commodities of conformity, such as; Money, comfort and shared ideas of success. 

Through conducted research and critical analysis of my previous response in assessment one to my topic question: 

Can creative acts be rebellious when rebellion has become glorified in art, design and media histories? What would a contemporary creative rebellion look like?          

I have decided to diverge from my response in assessment one, which put forward the idea that we are restricted in rebellion in a modern age, I now believe this to be untrue as;

Through research on contemporary creatives such as Ai Weiwei, I wanted to explore creating a modern and contextually relevant political experiment using Weiwei’s work for inspiration, and undoubtedly highlighting rebellion.

Not very good work, but just as an experiment it was helpful in understanding whether or not I wished to take a political stand or not, and ultimately I believe that perhaps focusing the idea of rebellion on a relate able and individual scale would be better. 

I believe I will return to the idea of exploring societal values and the tethers that keep us from creative rebellion.