Anna Pavlova
MUSIC IS BY BRIAN ENO & CLUSTER
Still from Eraserhead - directed by David Lynch
S I L E N C E New Project Brief October 2009
Here are Some questions …
CAN SILENCE BE VISUAL ?
IN THE REALMS OF VISUAL LANGUAGE, WHAT IS SILENCE ?
WHAT CAN SILENCE EVOKE and CONVEY or rather ALLOW ?
SEE YOUR BRIEF BELOW AND VISUALLY DISCUSS AND INVESTIGATE
P A R T O N E
Research the possible concepts and visual potential of ‘Silence’ and with lateral visual experimentation attempt to conceptually interpret silence in any media or form.
These visual ideas and experiments will be utilized for the realization of the project in PART TWO of the brief – which will be introduced later.
Collect and collate historic contextual imagery to reference in your staff and peer tutorials.
Format ? What is required ?
1. Any format, media or size - experiment and reflect on what Silence could mean and begin a A BODY OF Visual experiments that visualise your ideas and visual studies , this can be Digital Photography – found imagery, drawing, scanning and software experiments – an amalgam of these or just one approach – it is open to your interpretation.
2.
Collect and show 5 examples of ‘Silence’ at your first tutorial seminar – found or made images – any format, but the meaning or effect of the image is key to your dialogue
Please note Attendance at your seminar tutorials is vital - to form and enhance your ideas
Why am I doing this ? You are investigating ‘SILENCE’ a key semiotic conduit and vehicle for the communication of emotion, atmosphere and metaphor –the silent pause, the empty space , the open space for the audience to ‘reflect’ and project into – You are analysing the psychology of persuasion.
Further information Full unit descriptions are in the 3rd year student handbook here...
http://www.designandartdirection.mmu.ac.uk/intranet/folder/1137/
REFERENCES /Research and Links
Consider the Sao Paulo hoardings ban
Political silence – censorship - abstension
Art
Research Malevich's historic ‘black square’ painting 1915
Edward Hoppers reflective Paintings of captured ZEN like moments - and the essay by Alain de Botton on Hoppers work in his book ‘The Art of travel’
Hans Richters film 1921 ( the link is above top right in the links list - just click on it )
Richter 1920s !
info also at http://interartive.org/index.php/2009/07/unknown_pleasures/
Joy Divisions Unknown pleasures Album Sleeve - P.Saville / Manchester 1978/9
''A white radio waveform, pulsar CP 1919. The cover was black, the luxurious black of deep space. '' Jon Wozencroft source @ http://www.tate.org.uk/tateetc/issue10/outoftheblue.htm
pulsar1919 are the dying pulses of a dying star - however the back of the sleeve, where the track listings were traditionally placed, was left SILENT. Instead of labeling the record as ‘Side One’ and ‘Side Two’ Saville chose the terms ‘Outside’ and ‘Inside.
The sculptural edification of empty space – see Rachel Whitread’s cast house sculpture and other pieces in that series- Unoccupied and empty or ‘lost’ space
Rachel Whiteread's casts. House, 1993. top: Ghost, 1990.
Whiteread’s casts House, 1993, and Ghost, 1990, both capture architectural space, doing away with the material frame and solidifying the air within negative space. Playing between the cast and its mould, Ghost disturbs the categories of presence and absence, almost mocking materiality by substance-ing silent space. Uros Cvoro reads this work in relation to Derrida’s notion of the Trace. He writes, “The force of the trace emerges not only from placing presence under erasure, but also from destabilising absence as a category of meaning in the play between absence and presence…As traces of trapped space and destroyed spatiality, casts embody the compression and congealing of ‘life’, meaning and the spatial intervals necessary to sustain them.”[10]
Source; Uros Cvoro, The Present Body, the Absent Body, and the Formless, Art Journal, Vol. 61, No. 4. (Winter, 2002), pp.54-63, Pg 56-57
Consider the spaces and silences in dance, theatre and Film - the pauses – the absence of music, the commas and pauses in language – at times silence can evoke more than the language itself. Non verbal communication
View Silent documentary footage and the resonance of silent social documentation – juxtaposed with an alternative audio context.
Consider how silence is used as a metaphor by directors and employed to huge dramatic effect – David Lynch is a prime example of this.
‘In Lynch's penultimate film The Straight Story (1999), silence is employed regularly to convey isolation, but also to create sonic discomfort in order to reflect the fact that the main character, Alvin Straight, has not spoken to his brother for many years. The theorist and sound designer Philip Brophy comments on this when he writes, "There are many moments in the film where one hears absolutely nothing. The abject silence of The Straight Story echoes that loss of proximity engineered by old age: literally, we are removed from the film; not merely from a certain narrational moment, but from the realm of narration. We are left sitting in the cinema in total isolation." (Brophy in www.media-arts...StraightStory) Through this isolation the viewer is able to empathise with the isolation felt by Alvin in the film; the silence is symbolic of his solo journey to meet his brother and also his lifelong journey, which is nearing its end, death being the ultimate silence.
Article source here http://www.britishfilm.org.uk/lynch/Schap1.html
Musician and Artist Brian Eno's Video paintings
Film here
on http://www.ubu.com and now finally available on DVD at amazon uk , these video installations were produced by Brian Eno to be shown at various galleries around the world. Subsequently released on vhs and laserdisc, this is the first time for these pieces on beautifully crisp DVD. Perfect viewing material for any follower of Eno, the two works are to the video format what his audio pieces were to music; ambient musings on the nature of the medium. They are non linear and have no obvious plotline or direction : 'video paintings' as the title suggests, drifting in and out of focus. ; the first piece on the disc is accompanied by Eno's seminal Thursday Afternoon, a beautiful single hour-long piano track, and the second piece entitled 'Mistaken Memories of Mediaevil Manhattan' is set to tracks from Music for Airports and On Land. 'Thursday Afternoon' is probably the most accessible, with Eno using film footage taken of his close friend Christine Alicino and cutting it together intimately. It ends up playing a little like a nostalgic diary, a musing on the life or a person now departed. The second piece is less figurative, and features painterly shots of the New York skyline, clouds moving overhead and the colours drifting like a melting palette. This brings to mind the recent William Basinski DVD, which probably took influence from this piece in some way as the two tackle very similar subject matter, albeit in totally different time slots. Altogether this is a captivating disc and an indispensable part of any discerning Eno fan's collection.
and Laurie Anderson
http://www.ubu.com
Remember the great iconic strap line from Ridley Scott ‘s film ALIEN
In space no one can hear you scream ' !
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
French Art Director of ELLE rendered MUTE by stroke - the amazing true story of Jean Dominique Bauby
Great Poster for a great French Film ( planned for Kino4 in December ) 'The diving bell and the butterfly' the film of the book - the extraordinary memoir of Jean-Dominique Bauby
Kino Freier Film Aarau
Poster for an alternative cinema in Aarau, Switzerland.
Your MMU Summer brief KINO4
Third year 2009 Summer brief
KINO4 Live Brief
KINO4 is to be the new weekly screen club of classic ‘Arthouse’ films, animations and cultural documentaries, run internally for the course.
A logo identity is required for Kino4’ and a poster for the first few films
Produce either or both
1. A body of experiments in any media and final Poster designs for one or more of Octobers featured films
2. An identity for Kino4
The planned October films are;
‘Good night and Good Luck’ Directed by G.Clooney
‘The Corporation’ Directed by Jennifer Abbott and Mark Achbar
‘IF’ Directed by Lindsay Anderson and .. The Andrei Tarkovsky season’ including the classic films
‘Stalker’
‘Mirror’
‘Solaris’
Scenes from IF ; these enlarge but dont play - click on top far right of blog page to play - see LINKS above
IF by Lindsay Anderson
The Heart – From ‘Stalker’ by Andrei Tarkovsky
French Art Director of ELLE rendered MUTE by stroke - the amazing true story of Jean Dominique Bauby
Great Poster for a great French Film ( planned for Kino4 in December ) 'The diving bell and the butterfly' the film of the book - the extraordinary memoir of Jean-Dominique Bauby
Kino Freier Film Aarau
Poster for an alternative cinema in Aarau, Switzerland.
Your MMU Summer brief KINO4
Third year 2009 Summer brief
KINO4 Live Brief
KINO4 is to be the new weekly screen club of classic ‘Arthouse’ films, animations and cultural documentaries, run internally for the course.
A logo identity is required for Kino4’ and a poster for the first few films
Produce either or both
1. A body of experiments in any media and final Poster designs for one or more of Octobers featured films
2. An identity for Kino4
The planned October films are;
‘Good night and Good Luck’ Directed by G.Clooney
‘The Corporation’ Directed by Jennifer Abbott and Mark Achbar
‘IF’ Directed by Lindsay Anderson and .. The Andrei Tarkovsky season’ including the classic films
‘Stalker’
‘Mirror’
‘Solaris’
Scenes from IF ; these enlarge but dont play - click on top far right of blog page to play - see LINKS above
IF by Lindsay Anderson
The Heart – From ‘Stalker’ by Andrei Tarkovsky
The huge visual influence of Andrej T A R K O V S K Y
Solaris & The Mirror
The Corporation
and finally - visit the criterion website http://www.criterion.com/
for beautiful dvd cover designs and filmic images like this one
Sao Paulo images and debate here ......... http://pingmag.jp/2007/08/27/sao-paulo-no-logo/
I'd say, and I hope you as students agree, that the Sao Paulo mayors choice should be perceived as a very dramatic but brave first step to make a difference and silence some of the Visual Pollution. A huge sprawling polluted and chaotic City is now more inhabitable - more open and and more sustainable for its dwellers. Shops that are required are still doing a good trade
Quotes
I live in sao paulo. And I completely aprove this new law, the city was dirty with all the visual polution (like someone said, if ALL the adds were a nice piece of art, it wouldn’t be a problem) The law doesn’t include removing company names, but they have to readapt the logos and company name to 1/4 of the building front width. In the begining we thought about the related jobs, but there are OTHER medias to be explored. Sao Paulo is a much better place now.
Read ' Ten Things I Have Learned' by Milton Glaser essential reading - and buy his book 'Citizen Designer' 2001Part of AIGA Talk in London click this link http://www.miltonglaser.com/pages/milton/essays/es3.html
And of course ADAM CURTIS' history of marketing and persuasion methods are here in his documentary ;
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7640401519667425927#
If you didnt follow my last link to sneak preview by The BBC of Curtis Manchester festival film Installation by Punchdrunk' then silly you - as it is now 'down' and you have missed it - but it will be back as a live interactive event hopefully in the different urban context of London soon - visit the Curtis blog for info and still images / concept and narrative behind the film http://www.mif.co.uk/events/it-felt-like-a-kiss/
'It Felt Like a Kiss' tells the story of America’s rise to power in the golden age of pop, and the unforeseen consequences it had on the world and in our minds. Beginning in 1959, the show spotlights the dreams and desires that America inspired during the ’60s, when the world began to embrace the country and its culture as never before. But as this daring production unfolds across five floors, blending music with documentary and the disorientating whirl of a fairground ghost train, the audience is forced to face the dark forces that were veiled by the American dream – a dream that ultimately returns to haunt us all.
Adams Curtis' own Blog here http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/rss.xml
'Silence' Staff Lecture Image; Enola Gay
Enola Gay named after pilot Colonel Paul Tibbets's Mother read more herehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1165768/The-man-survived-TWO-nuclear-bombs-Lucky-Yamaguchi-tells-lived-Hiroshima--fled-home-Nagasaki.htmlLeonard Cheshire's Book is rewarding reading
The 'internal' distortion and turmoil visualised by Francis Bacons 'own' work is extraordinary - he is hailed by the majority of critics as one of the greatest 20th century Painters. In his work the still silent canvas cannot convey actual sound waves but the resonance of these images potrays a 'visual noise'
See this FILM for some very interesting uses of surreal silence, distortion and metamorphosis It is not for everyone - and is at times quite extreme - but if you study the use of sound in the film and the stillness in the acting performances - and if you like your atmospheric 'Film Noir' dark and weird then LOST HIGHWAYS is for you.
Consider how silence is used as a metaphor by directors and employed to huge dramatic effect David Lynch's work is a prime example of this. SEE 'LOST HIGHWAY' left
A visual figurative link to the Late Great Painter Francis Bacon who i used to see pacing and waiting on Kensington High St tube station quite a lot, in 89 when i was at College.
'Brontosaurus' by Sam Taylor Wood
Here is the dancing Man - some of you couldn't locate on the links above that I loaded up last week - Read the text but he is cleverly juxtaposed with Barbers Adagio ( many Masculine filmic associations (Platoon ) - this is a highly acclaimed classic work by one of our leading contemporary artists
''She presents characters in situations of isolation and self-absorption, their familiar, even mundane, surroundings and poses belying more or less hidden states of emotional crisis'' but avert your eyes if easliy shocked
The Birth of Marketing - Advertising - The Art of Persuasion its ethics and roots
There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads: He Must Be Destroyed.
There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads: He Must Be Destroyed.
The Century of the Self is written and produced by Adam Curtis, the inspired and curious documentary essayist, whose previous work includes Pandora's Box , the wonderful series about the science of the Cold War' Tim Adams The Observer.
Watch the above episode on line at google and research Curtis at Wikipedia - if it asks questions for you then order the entire series from ebay for your own reference - 'Century of the self' a historical look at marketing and the Psychology of persuasion. We will be discussing and researching the issues raised here in some of our peer seminars - linked to essays and studio - reacting to it with some possible workshop briefs - but basically at third year its all here to soak up and engage with or not ? depending on your goals and working themes.
MILTON GLASER
Also purchase these books if you are interested in this area
Citizen Designer (Paperback) by Heller
Design Issues: How Graphic Design Informs Society (Paperback)
by D.K. Holland (Author)
An unorthodox mix of 20 contributors ranging from hard-core designers to advertising strategists look at contemporary design in a critical, educational, ethical, historical, social and often humorous context.
DK Holland is design issues editor of Communication Arts, and business editor of the AIGA Journal of Graphic Design.
CHOMSKY
Peer review
''Sometimes you buy a book and think, "If this book were 50 pages instead of 500 it would be quite good". Well this one is 50 pages, doesn't take long to read, but is utterly brilliant.
If you have any doubts at all about the way the media is being used to manipulate and control the population, then you really should read this book!
You will never look at a newspaper or television the same way ever again. ''
A brilliant book!
Buy all these book here http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/reader/1592533078/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link
I thought it was good timing to load up some more vital influences and names you need to put in the Bachelor of Arts bank and 'first things first' This is an important historical design document, the original is from 1964 - a manifesto originated by Ken Garland - please read it and research its intentions and its signatories - see the original 1963 version (it will enlarge )
and then the 2000 later newly signed one here http://www.emigre.com/EMag.php?issue=52 at Emigre magazine where there was a lot of 'reader' debate at the time.
Academic Sheila Levrant de Bretteville is Professor of Graphics at YALE University in America. She teaches intelligent and socially aware' design and has a healthy non compliance to purely Corporate or Commercial requirements - a design outlook that is in her words 'more egalitarian and participatory' she signed the updated 2000 manifesto document as did many others such as Simon Esterson Vince Frost Milton Glaser Jessica Helfland Rick Poyner Jonathan Barnbrook and Teal Triggs a highly respected UK academic and designer - look at these writers and designers - their ethos and design backgrounds - there is some info on De Bretteville here and Ken Garland here
Steven Heller's brilliant book on Propaganda Graphics is available to order and view his website here http://www.hellerbooks.com/
Design Writer Jessica Helfland ( buy her books )Here is her film on some excellent Journals http://www.moleskine.com/events/jessica_helfand.php
Jessica Helfland
