15/17 september

for Tuesday 17 September,
read (and have some thoughts about, or prompted by)
Vilém Flusser his essay “About the Word Design” (from his The Shape of Things: A Philosophy of Design, 1999)
and
Jarrett Fuller, his review essay “Against Design?” at Design Observer (July 17, 2019)

want to see work or materials (particularly by those who haven’t shown yet); updated proposals where there’ve been changes; and tweet-length abstracts/summaries.

—

thanks Leslie for pointing to
First Things First Manifesto (2020)
scroll down to end, for this —
“This manifesto is a living document. Help us rewrite the manifesto by adding your voice. We believe the First Things First Manifesto should reflect collective thoughts on what the world needs and where design plays a role within that world.”

—

Starting points for Migrations...

Dummy book

 

(Cover)

(2)

(3-4)

(5-6)

(7-8)

some thoughts on chickens

 

Did a bunch of drawing today. I think I'm going to turn these into a little hand-drawn book and see where that takes me

8 September, p.s.

This post repeats what was in e-mail sent out, minutes ago.

first off, keys alas won't be in your mailboxes until tomorrow. there's a form to sign, get it to me when you can.

still waiting for titles and tweet-length summaries of your thesis proposals (140 characters, up to 280).

for Thursday, read and consider :

1. First Things First
   Ken Garland (1963)
2. First Things First Manifesto
   Emigre 51, 1999
   (these relate in particular to Leslie's work)
   be aware of the Emigre collection at Letterform Archive
   and
   
3. Heinrich von Kleist, "On the gradual completion of thoughts during speech"
   in the Bosch series type specimen book that you have received via e-mail and in hard copy
   the text is only six pages long, internal (not pdf) page 11-17.
   it concerns thinking as stammering things out, and connects with last week's comparison of the mind to the Magic 8-Ball.
   and
   primarily for Leslie, but for others if interested,
4. Generation Anthropocene: How humans have altered the planet for ever
   Robert Macfarlane. The Guardian (1 April 2016)
   a kind of overview of the environmental moment (pre pandemic, pre Black Lives Matter, pre economic recession etc)

Behold, a man

 

Some preliminary sketches and final product for breaking a chicken down to its most basic elements. I'd like to know if these illustrations are acceptable, and if anyone has an idea for how I should format these.

September 8/10

scheduled google meet for tomorrow 8:15 — class starts at 8:20.

three students in room (Adam, May, Nate), three remote (Leslie, Paige, Rowan).
those who are coming into H-309, please bring laptop if you have.
and please be on time.

---

I will continue to move updated thesis proposals from regular posts, to the respective “designers, proposals” pages.

As I read and think about these, the gap between an “artist statement,” and a “thesis proposal,” comes to mind. The first is after-the-fact, retrospective. The second — tentative, ambitious, even stammering — is before-the-fact, actionable. The first helps provide an avenue/perspective into work that exists; the second a provisional, prospective approach to work that has yet to come into being. I suppose these two roles are not mutually exclusive; but they’re worth thinking about.

---

From CND to Hollywood: the ruthlessly brilliant designs of Ken Garland
The graphic designer who decried consumerism with a call-to-arms manifesto has won a lifetime achievement award. He talks about his career highs – and why so much modern design is ‘utterly mindless’
Oliver Wainright. The Guardian. 7 September 2020
here

The First Things First Manifesto