adding drawings/ marks to digital work
Reading the syllabus I was sparked by the discussion brought up about incorporating the technique of hand drawn elements in digital imaging. I find myself drawn to the “hand-crafted” or “humanistic” appeal that this method conveys in works of art. It is true that the books we are reading are heavily biased toward the photographic, which I enjoy as I have a lot to learn in this area, but they do not ever mention or encourage adding marks, drawing, paintings or such. And neither did the several Graphic Design courses that I took, which encouraged clean lines, use of space and not any such clutter, for that matter that much individual expression. However, as a designer that has grown up drawing and painting, I love to incorporate hand drawn or analog elements into my work, without regards to weather this disregards my work as Photography or Graphic Design… it may not be as marketable to design firms, their clients or mass consumerism, but I believe it is more appreciated by the artist and those who value individuality and self expression.
I’m not quite sure weather my work is considered Graphic Design, mixed media, Digital imaging, photography or what but its not really about that, as you could argue any side depending on your training and who you are speaking to. But what I do know is that it is capable of being framed and hung in a house, or used as a means of advertisement, design or print… it just depends on the client. I want to design graphics on snowboards so you tell me what area that would fall into? Digital photography? I think its most likely digital imaging. Reading the Reborn article I came across a quote that acknowledged what I like to do with a passion for multiple mediums, creating mixed media designs digitally,
“What is so radically transforming about digital photography, however, is not the technology itself, but the ideas that ultimately are expressed by it”, the next paragraph goes on, “perhaps the best way to characterize digital photography, or any digital technology for that matter, is that it dissolves boundaries that once separated mediums.”
Very fitting, and very inspiring, the article goes on about the attitude of self-expression through this new technology. It’s not necessarily the new technology that created this attitude but rather the attitude that has long been around that drove this new technology.
“Digital photography is at once a new attitude and a new technology. It is even possible that the attitude came first: the look and content of digital photographs today- in both the arts and sciences- was prefigured by analog work of the 1960s.”
I am inspired by several artists whose work is self-expressive and comprised of hand drawn elements, the latest including the ambiguous nature of Geoff McFetridge’s graphic design. His unique and highly personal visual language which is built around “logofying ideas,” reduce the typical graphical narratives to the point where the meaning is largely a result of the viewer’s own imagination. His partner, Fella’s work, “while stylistically different, evolved out of a similar need for self-expression. While Fella’s career reflects how graphic design has historically struggled to define itself in relationship to art, McFetridge follows a path where by the integration of art and design is taken for granted.”
Misprinted type is another great example of a body of work, print, photography, fonts and portfolio “digital image” pieces that demonstrate wonderful character in their humanistic qualities acknowledging everyday life. An artist I found through their website is Stephanie Brooke who works as a graphic artist who specializes in mixed media collage. She has been a great artist to learn from, appropriate from and be inspired by. Perhaps that is the title all of us should take that have a hard time defining by the debatable titles what we are, photographer, graphic designer or whatever. We should just say we are a “graphic artist who specializes in blank”, and I would fill in the blank with snowboard graphics via mixed media collage.
Bottom line, Graphic Design has evolved into an acceptable (if often debated) form of individual artistic expression. Period. And I express myself like many others by mixing medias, dissolving boundaries, and creating new innovating designs. Hand drawn elements add another depth to both photography and graphic design; it adds a personal touch that is capable of reaching viewers on yet another level.
Posted by: Mary Reeds