Don't judge me based on my title for this entry. You love it.
To be honest, the title does identify my challenge for the coming week: To try to make Bach interesting. To create CD packaging and a booklet redefining his visual identity in hopes to share his brilliance with a younger generation.
So why is Bach important?
Although his contemporaries considered him to be out fashion, Bach is widely known as one of the most famous composers of the western tradition. His style, classified as part of the Baroque period was outdated for his time, but out of the context of his contemporaries, his compositions stand resilient for their unmatched mastery of counterpoint, strong melodic lines, and use of the organ. A proponent of the German Fugue tradition, Bach's work weaves together distinct melodies effortlessly.
Taking this idea of weaving, my end solution will hopefully be a three-dimensional sculpture that graphs his melodic lines over time, using some nontraditional yet related sculptural material: like thread, yarn, rope, hoses, pipes, etc that each represent a melodic phrase. These materials will then be staggered in space so that the viewer can see the intersection of the phrases.
Inspired by the simplicity of Josef Mueller Brockmann's Musica Viva Poster series, hopefully my typography and layout will remain restrained, with an emphasis on the geometric shapes created.
That's the idea. I'll post progress as it happens.
Besides the Bach project, we were briefed on a project that could end up with an internship at Topman, on Oxford Street in London. I can't discuss the details of the project, but Im really excited for the opportunity.
My assessment went well, it was really more of an informal conversation, with the tutors suggesting places for me to visit during my time here that will make my experience more culturally stimulating. I guess that's the point of this trip. For me though, it's really about figuring out the designer I want to be. To be honest, Im not sure that KCAI's curriculum is right for me. It has its strengths, and Im glad to have learnt as much as I have, but it doesn't give me the creative freedom to make the work that I need to make. While I'm here I hope to come to a decision on whether or not to return to graphic design when I return, or if a department like interdisciplinary suits me better. Hopefully the work that I make here and the people I meet will help to make the decision a bit easier, to help me find out some things about myself, and who I am as a designer.
My goal while here is to make work that is a bit more sculptural, more fine arts based, more hand generated. I realize that the computer has become first nature to me. I know that I've been taught to use the computer as a "tool", but it has become my starting point. Im considering a technology strike: Only using this machine for setting type, or other things that would completely ridiculous / time consuming to do by hand. I'd just like to see the impact it has on my work.
One thing I've noticed is that as I've had much more time to think about what I'm doing before I do it, there is less of a chance for mistakes. I don't think good design can happen without mistakes, because oftentimes executing the idea as simply as you've envisioned it yields a slightly boring, obviously thought out piece. It's about the accidents, really, that make work interesting. So, Im also working on getting started on the work faster, and to think about it less. <----- really the opposite of what I've been taught. Come on though... when there isn't a script, life is considerably more interesting. I prefer improv to screenwriters.
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