My Two Loves

If you know me, you’ll know that two activities I love are biking and drawing. Who ever thought the two could come together? Joseph Griffiths, a Paris based artist seeks to transcribe the living relationship between man and machine through his art. When I first came across his media installation, Drawing Machine #1 (To Your Hearts Content), I immediately fell in love. Growing up playing with spirographs for hours and biking in the park, how could I not?

When a piece of art engages the audience in an exciting and unique manner, it makes the connection between the two that much stronger. There’s something beautiful in not only the visual form this installation creates, but also in the idea as a whole. And hey, what better way to get the creative juices AND the heart flowing at the same time?

Mother Russia

As I look more and more into the deeper symbolism of tattoos, I become more fascinated with the work done behind closed bars.

An exhibit in London documenting tattoos done on Russian criminals has come to my attention, found over at http://www.fuel-design.com/index.php?menu=5&tattoo=1%22 It features the drawings of Danzig Baldaev and photographer Sergei Vasilliev, giving an in depth look at not only the tattoos designed but also the individuals that got them. To no surprise, the images are extremely violent, explicit, and intriguing at the same time. Once I get my hands on the encyclopedias designed by Fuel Design, I’m sure it will be vital to my research.

I know that game!

I can relate to this video on so many levels. BUT I promise you I am going to be as productive as humanly possible this year!

Human Branding

If you’ve met me, it’s no surprise that I am a fan of tattoos. Though society’s perception of tattoo is still hazy, it’s definitely becoming more and more accepted. To me, I see it as another art form, where beautiful (for the most part) images are created on the most complex surface, the human body. It’s amazing what an artist with the right talent and vision can create to forever mark a person.

As much as I love and appreciate the tattoo culture, it is still a newly acceptable business and with that comes flaws and imperfections. And when I think about tattoos, the word perfect definitely comes to mind. As a personal commitment to the body, it should be a mutual understanding between the artist and the consumer that the highest level of perfection should be achieved, not only through execution but through process as well. What do I mean when I say process? Through my experience with my exposure to the world of tattoos, I believe a strong connection should be made with the artist, the one getting tattooed and the art at hand.

This leads me to my Thesis. Though it is still quite early in it’s development, I know for a fact that I want to explore the current stance of the tattoo culture and the interaction the marks we inscribe onto our body create. With this, I will also be connecting a project I am doing for my Visual Communications III class, in which we choose/create a design problem within society and create an organization meant to address said problem.

This next year will be all about tattoos, ranging from studying all the history in all sorts of culture to interviewing strangers on the streets about the tattoos they have chose to become a part of their identity. I just hope it’s not as painful!

Graduate School

Fall is almost here  and the weather is finally starting to cool down. I am making some major transitions in my life, including beginning my 2nd (and final) year of graduate school. The biggest difference between my education compared to undergrad to now? The amount of thinking I am forced to do, specifically design thinking. Back in undergraduate school, most of my thinking was purely conceptual and towards the end, expressed in an abstract fashion. It was a great exploration creatively and I definitely produced a certain artistic style that I am proud of.

However, graphic design came out of left field and I grew an immediate passion for it and a better appreciation of just how powerful it could be. Initially, I thought it was like what I’ve done in the past; making things look pretty. And while aesthetics are important, I learned sure enough there was so much more. Design is about communicating a message to a specific audience. How you go about that communication is the exciting part of design, what really intrigued me to go back to school for. Just like what I discovered as an artist at University of Maryland, my time at Pratt Institute thus far has taught me to discover a whole new voice as a designer. Though I am still at a very young phase of my life as a designer, I am so much more sure of who I am than a year and a half ago.

So comes the purpose of this blog. It will become a hub where I may freely express thoughts I have on design, share inspiration I find on a daily basis, and most importantly, as a base for my Thesis research, which will go more in depth as the year progresses. Through this, I hope it will allow me to freely express my thoughts and ideas, giving you a better insight of myself as a designer.

Julien Vallee

Recently in class, Jean showed us a stop motion done by Julien Vallee that was rather beautiful to watch. A few days later, by chance, I came across this small video interview of the designer and it just comes to show what your hands and a little creativity (or a lot) can do for a project.

http://www.gestalten.com/motion/clipHiRes?id=79#