I like the Painting, but I’ll take the t-shirt.Utilizing art as a tool for expanding methods in design

I like the Painting, but I’ll take the t-shirt.Utilizing art as a tool for expanding methods in design

By Derek Ercolano

PROPOSAL

Subject and Motivation

The borderlines of design and art:

Many essays have been written to give

clarity to their definitions, to separate

them, to unite them and to discredit

them. One of my favorite of such

arguments so far comes from furniture

maker and author Norman Potter, whose

essay “Is a designer an artist?” was a

well articulated and executed argument

on the subject. Potter claimed “

A designer works through and for the

people” and that “An artist’s first

responsibility was to the truth of his own

vision”. As great a service as these

arguments do in defining these

disciplines in their purest form, It is

my belief that the role of the designer

evolves in each cultural context and

it governed by the beliefs of the time.

Rick Poyner summed it up very well in

his article “Arts Little Brother” when

he wrote “There are more passionate,

less detached designers just as there

are highly cerebral artists. Simply put,

these definitions are most times too

straightforward to describe fields whose

diversity is so vast.

I was personally attracted to design early

on because I felt it lacked some of the

pretentious ideals and liberated me from

the weight of art history which alienated

me during the begining of my studies at

art school. It’s functionality and

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omnipresence meant that It would get more use then a painting on a wall. However,

later on in my career I have found myself frustrated with limiting the horizons of my

thinking to the confines of a project. For the last two years before starting my masters

I spent my day’s working as an art director, addressing my clients problems in a

pragmatic process oriented manner. By night I worked on my personal endeavors,

which consisted of drawing’s that had no practical functionality but strived to tell

stories in an abstract way, and to influence peoples feelings and imaginations. During

my time working hard and shifting between these two disciplines I began to notice

that an organic dialogue had been starting to form between these two different bodies

of work. I took methods and processes that I learned in these separate practices and

exchanged them between the two disciplines. This act lead me to questions such

as: Why should I keep them (art and design) separate? I believe that a critical look at

this dialogue can reveal more about my intentions, broaden my vocabulary as a visual

thinker and help me to identify my own unique way of solving problems. The work I

want to explore is greatly informed by the design process but strives to include the

intentions and wider scope of my personal artistic vision.

Over the next two years I want to explore the differences in how art and design are

concepted and contextualized. Is it possible for me to use art as a tool in the design

process and visca versa? Specifically,I want to use storytelling as a way to set up

a discourse between design and art. I believe that all differences aside, the most

successful examples of these two fields manage to communicate a story in some way

shape or form. For me this can be a good brand story, sequential narrative or a well

thought out statement behind an artists show.I believe the act of storytelling will

allow me to flexibly permeate these two disciplines with ease. Contemporaries such

as Donald Judd, Andy Warhol, and Jorge Pardo have approached this conversation by

making work as artists that crosses over in design. I wish to approach the argument

on the other side; making design that crosses over and makes dialogue with art. I find

it interesting and practical to approach the project from this point of view because it

is in design where my expertise and experience lie. It is also my point of view that art

only remains as such during the the conceptual and ideation process. Once an artist

has decided on a goal he or she wants to pursue thier process ends up looking quite

similar to that of the design’s.

My motivation for this project is strongly rooted in me wanting to explore blurring the

lines between my art and design practices in order to try to develop a method of

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working that challenges my intentions for working between myself and problem

solving for others. I believe that all kinds of opportunities will open up if I can only

enlarge my notion of what design practice might be if it was to embrace hybrid

methods of thinking, researching and executing.With this in mind I am referencing

careers of artists such as Geoff Mcfetrige, Jean Julien, Gary Panter and KAWS who

have all collaborated with commercial clients and produced bodies of work that are

in dialogue with each other. These artists listed also have a distinct visual language

which is consistently apparent in their work, an aspect that I would very much like to

develop in my own work over the next two years.

Limitations

One of the things I would not like to suggest with this project is that I am redefining

the boundaries of the discipline for all designers. I think the scope of the profession

allows for many types of “careers” based on personal interest. To clarify this a little

more, i think it is completely possible to hold true to the purest motives of the design

profession if that is your where your passion lies, to work from 9-5, to only adhere to

brand standards, to be better at selling ideas then actually designing them.

The inherent beauty and bane of this profession is that it can cater to many types of

people who want to be different types of designers. In this thesis I only wish to explore

how far I can push the envelope and have it be an example to other designers who

have the passion to do so.

Presentation and Form

In terms of presentation and form of this project I have gathered some preliminary

thoughts on how to proceed. I have split my presentation into two categories: Visual

Experimentation and Written Analysis. I believe that these categories make sense for

me personally because I love to work as much visually as I do with crafting my words.

My written analysis can be broken in up into two types: Critical text analysis and First

hand Research. Critical text analysis will include research that aims to challenge the

genre by analyzing the arguments and breakthroughs achieved by the discussions of

it’s greatest figureheads. I have already discovered an unending collection of essays

written throughout the last 30 or 40 years, it will be my job to analyze these

arguments and shed some insight on the possibilities of working between these two

visual worlds. Secondly, first hand research will allow me to step away from the books

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and reach out to “designerartists” who are working between these two fields in order

to gain insight into the methods and processes utilized by these creatives.

The visual experimentation category will also be broken up into two types: weekly

visual experiments and semester mini projects. Weekly visual experiments will I

ensure that I am able to work visually as much as possible as this is very important

to me. Therefore I will work on a weekly basis generating small thoughts, concepts

and ideas into smaller scale pieces that will explore my identity and relationship

through the lens of these two fields. These experiments though small may be able

to “tip me off” or be a catalyst for discoveries that can push my project forward.

Secondly, For each semester I would like to undertake one longer form project that

explores different ways art can be a tool in my design process and visca versa. I want

to attempt to bring my own voice through a number of creative endeavors in order to

identify and develop my own methods for working in between these two fields. One

way of accomplish this might be to use these mini projects to explore how these two

fields converge in terms of the themes of communication, provocation, commentary

and collaboration. An example of one of these projects could be a collaboration with a

someone in the art field, working with them to create work together as two specialists

in our respective fields. This work could shed light on methods that I could incorporate

into my process and give me a clearly informed idea of the differences and similarities

between the way I work and the way an artist works.

Resources and Conclusion

The resources I will be need will really be determined at the beginnings of my

research but to scratch the surface I think that I will need to make contact with the

professionals I am going to interview for my first hand research. As these contacts

are integral to really getting the most up to date insights on how people are working

between these worlds. I also think it would be a great source of information as well

as experience to actually work as an assistant to one of these people during the my

summer break next year. Spending time assisting could give me key insights on the

sorts of methods these people have as well as how the put themselves out there in a

digestible form in order appeal to both commercial endeavors and to galleries.

Following these plans with my key question as a guide at the end of these two years I

will in theory have some drawn out visual pieces and first hand experience to reflect

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on as well as some good critical analysis through texts and interviews. From there I

could go on to reveal my findings not as boundaries written in stone but rather general

statements that are suggestive of how one might work between these two worlds to

expand the scope of their practice in a meaningful manner.

References

Rick Poyner. ‘Art’s Little Brother’,Icon, no. 23 (London, May 2005)

Kees Dorst. ‘But, Is it Art?’, Understanding Design: 150 reflections on Being a designer (

Amsterdam BIS Publishing,2003)

Norman Potter, What is a Designer? (London: Studio Vista/New York: Van Nostrand

Reinhold, 1969); revised, extended edition ( London: Hyphen Press, 1989/2003) 15-20

Joe Scanlan (with Neal Jackson), ‘Please, Eat the Daisies’, Art Issues ( Los Angeles,

January/Februrary 2001) 26-9.

Discussion with M/M convened by David Blamey for students at the Royal College of

Art, in the Department of Communication, Art and Design, 17 Februrary 2006; guest

participant: Alex Coles. Abridged version edited by David Blamey, November 2006.

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TIMELINE

TIMELINE

Rough Timeline

Semester 2 | Jan-May 2013

* Foundation Research (jan-mar)

* First Hand Research (feb-may

* Weekly Visual Experiments (jan-may)

* Semester Mini Project (jan-may)

* Written Analysis/ Thesis Structuring (jan-may)

* First Draft of thesis (mar-may)

Summer | Jun- Aug 2013

* Writing and Structuring of Argument and thesis

* Second Draft of Thesisv (prefably finished here)

* Design and layout of thesis book

* Weekly Visual Experiments

Semester 3 | Aug-Dec 2013

* Refining of Research and Conclusion of Writing

* Weekly Visual Experiments (aug-dec)

* Semester Mini Project (aug-dec)

* Development of Manifesto for Designer/Artist based on written and visual research.

Semester 4 | Jan-May 2014

* Begin Planning and sketching for exhibition (jan-may)

* Weekly Visual Experiments (jan-may)

* Semester Mini Project (Jan-march)

* Analysis and Structuring of visual work for final presentation (march)

* Finalize all materials for exhibition (april-may)

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