OUGD601: Evaluation

The practical investigation as part of my context of practice module outlines the appreciation of street art of a positive nature. The survey I took in Leeds city centre gathered data from the people in the streets of Leeds, which encompasses my target audience by not being rooted to a specific age bracket. The feedback I gained from this led me to believe that people generally notice street art, as opposed to graffiti, as a positive part of the city's visual space.

One downfall of the project is that the spirit of illegally creating art is lost with the time taken to create each piece, however bringing back the element of painting on the street is a factor that engages the public in curiosity and interest in something unusual. When creating one of the pieces "Joy" I was approached by a man who had taken an interest in what I was doing, noticing the similarities to sign writing and the graphic design influence. This is a positive response to the work I created on the street - if one person noticed and spoke to me about it, I imagine there were many others that observed the 'live art' on the street. Leaving the pieces in the place after I'd finished would allow more people to see it as a stand alone piece, artist not involved. This would have a greater sense of visual ephemera seen unrelated with the production and process. 

Another problem is the lack of relevant site specificity in my practical pieces. Although the idea is that people can rearrange or take the designs, it would have been better if I'd written messages that could be placed in a suitable context, for example, writing something about the art of conversation next to a phone box. The text reads quite broadly targeted messages, so maybe placing them where I did would be the same as anywhere else, as long as it's accessible to the audience in a place that will be seen regularly. It was a problem that the boards needed to be placed on a ledge or stood up against something - an issue which painting directly on to the wall surpasses.

Out of the main woodblock and board pieces I did, when I returned to the site days later they were no longer there, which in my opinion is a positive response to the artwork. Not knowing where they will have ended up is an added bonus - they may have been disposed of or taken to be thrown away, but either way someone will have had to physically engage with the work and what I would hope, read and been inspired by the messages on it.

Over the past few months this practical investigation and the research I undertook for the written piece has given me a much wider knowledge of the reasoning behind street art and graphic design for the public eye - when not used as a commercial tool. Experimenting with different styles has developed my practice of hand drawn typography and lettering, and given me a lot more scope for what I could produce in terms of abstract typographic design as well as composition and visual aesthetic of letterforms.

I intend to continue with this project by regularly leaving small pieces of hand drawn or painted artwork in areas of Leeds, and wherever else I visit. The blocks of wood worked best for me, although small in scale, the idea of someone being able to physically take it reinforces the sense of "free art" and this has positive connotations itself.

OUGD601: A Review of my essay progression...

OUGD601: The art of writing / Calligraphy and Graffiti

Calligraphic art takes graffiti and wall writing back to the roots of traditional penmanship.
Using a traditional style within a fairly recently established medium; the street, draws attention to the beauty side, engages people in different way than typical graffiti styles.

Chinese calligraphers practice the art form in local parks and pavements to improve and maintain their techniques. The act is almost a performance, using long brushes and moving their whole body to create the art. It is seen as a form of meditation, almost, in their culture.

http://chinese-resources.s3.amazonaws.com/02.Chinese%20Writing%20System/Chinese%20Writing%20and%20Calligraphy.pdf

Calligraphy // the art of writing beautifully
- a beautiful act in itself
- bringing beauty to create feelings of satisfaction and positivity
- art/design can bring positive feelings
- though a lot of street art is subversive and challenges social or cultural fields, the street can also be a place to create images that express beauty through abstracted typography and calligraphy

See development of calligraphic designs in my practical investigation

I've shown some examples of calligraphy mixed with graffiti in previous blog posts, though knowing the art of calligraphy as a masters subject brings the raw beautiful quality of handwriting to light.

OUGD601: Ephemeral Street Art - Research

stencils
leaf art
ice
snow
chalks
water resistant art
water writing - chinese calligraphy / neils meulman
sand art

http://www.creativebloq.com/street-art/sand-art-commemorates-fallen-soldiers-peace-day-9134643

OUGD601: Social Network to spread Street Art

What is being created on the street across the globe? An up to date and consistent stream of innovative street art ideas and communication.

Capital One has introduced a video showing someone hand painting a design on a large space of wall.
This reinforces the fact corporations are using hand created artwork on the street to benefit their business, dipping into a street art subculture that many people, especially young people, relate to.

OUGD601: COP Practical Crit

During today's crit I received some positive feedback about my idea for the practical element of the context of practice module.

My idea to produce ephemeral live art pieces as a temporary 'free art' installation seems to synthesise with my essay, though emphasis was made to ensure each process is well documented to provide primary research and results.

Documenting people's expressions, reactions and comments is essential to gather information about whether typographic 'street art' - or my version of it - can influence positive social change. I also want to document the space in which I created the art for days / weeks afterwards, so that I can see if any changes have been made to the piece, anyone has drawn over it, anyone has taken it, or even if the piece has been affected by weather situations - this last one is something I should consider when creating; what materials will I use to make sure that it won't get ruined instantly.

I should also consider the placement of each piece, so that it adds to the surrounding area, reappropriates the existing space, is visible to an audience, and fits within the context of a site-specific space.

OUGD601: Practical Investigation - ideas

My initial ideas for the practical element of my submission was to create large scale typographic pieces on derelict walls in unused areas around Leeds. Due to possible illegal hold backs however, I've decided to produce work on removable board. Ideally I will be able to go to busy areas in the city centre, Woodhouse Moor and Hyde Park/Headingley and produce artwork in public spaces.

There may be weather problems due to the time of year which would hold me back slightly, unless I was undercover while working or using materials that were not affected by the rain or board strong enough to hold up against strong winds.

I would need to document the process of each piece as well as the reactions of the public or general awareness of the 'act' itself in creating art on the streets. Although not actually creating artwork on the walls of the city is a defect in the synthesis of the project, I aim to pick up on other elements spoken about in my written work which will help to practically investigate the effects of producing design for positivity in public spaces.

I have thought about using mindfulness research as the main content for the positive artwork. Since I want the focus to be on typography and lettering within the design, it is important that I develop a series of words or phrases that represent positivity.

Directing the phrases at the audience by use of the word "you" and making it appear as though they are in control; which they are as they can choose whether to pay attention to or ignore the visual information that is around them.

Colour and size are other factors I need to consider. Both small and large ephemera can have an affect on the audience, as found by my research taken in Leeds city centre. As well as the main designs on large board, I intend on producing smaller pieces with positive messages such as stickers and smaller cards, similar to flyers and posters which are less permanent but still class as street art in purpose.

Several articles I've read about positive thoughts and mindset often transfer the control into the hands of the individual, implying that the way to achieve happiness or a positive outlook in life is to accept control in what you do and realise that this is the only way you can control how you feel about events and circumstances. 

One article online talks about people's innate urge to seek happiness as if it is a goal at the end of a journey. Linking to consumerism, many people think this is how they will become happy, by purchasing more and more until they acquire the things that make them happy, however this only leads to the want for more once the temporary happiness fades. Happiness is a state of mind - a way of being. While many people believe that happiness is achieved by having things, doing things, then being happy, it is in fact the opposite way round. Be, do, have.

http://richhabits.net/the-be-do-have-formula-for-happiness-and-riches/

I'd like to continue down this path of using words and phrases that encompass this idea to affect the positivity in people's lives. This is something I need to develop further in order to produce a typographic design for the audience, city inhabitants, particularly Leeds as this will be where I execute the final ideas.

Drawing on found wood seemed the most suitable way to get away with creating art on the street without breaking any laws. I could develop this from smaller moveable blocks to larger wooden panels that are more difficult to move, although transporting them to an area myself would be quite hard. As part of the project I’ve accepted there will be issues with doing anything illegally, and I am yet to get any commissioned work on the street.

Smaller ephemeral pieces can be stuck down or left in an area, propped up in a place that contextualises the piece.

Chalk would be a great form of temporary art which is definitively impermanent. Only lasting for a short amount of time limits the amount of people who will see it, though this is part of the quality. Also, the act of writing in a public space may attract attention.

Ideas for chalk writing - on the floor - could consist of messages such as ‘look up’ or relative to the overuse of phones so heads are in a permanent face down position.

I also had the idea of using perspex, as it would incorporate the surroundings even more so, being see through, and paint markers would work better on this surface. It also allows people to rub out, write over or engage with the canvas itself.

It is mainly about the act of designing in a public space and sparking conversation and dialogue within people in the city.

See COP Practical Investiagtion blog for practical devleopment.