Tags
final, graphic design, MA, post, reflective, Sat 2, statement
Since the beginning of my Research and Enquiry Module, I found myself searching for bibliography that was very distant from what I’m used to reading. At first, it was difficult to find books and journals related to my keyword because I was not aware of the authors I had to search for. My chosen keyword is interactive and, during this research process, I have discovered a two-path research that combines 60s groundbreaking theories and current journals and authors devoted to untangle the way in which we experience art, music, and design nowadays.
From the 60s, I discovered some canonical essays –such as Barthes’ The Death of Author– to find myself at the starting point of a very exhaustive research that lead into contemporary authors, such as Lev Manovich and his interpretation of the so-called “Remix Culture.” This research was a real challenge for me not only because of the unknown subject but for the short amount of time I had to discover this new world of interactivity. I usually trust major authors –such as Barthes– but I feel a bit less confident when it comes to present authors whose terminology and concepts I am not used to.
During this discovery, I found another groundbreaking theory that helped me place very good examples in the fields of Art and Design. This was Eco’s masterpiece Opera Aperta. Although I had read this book for other purposes, I found myself enjoying some new interpretations and links to all of the examples he cites in a subject that I had never analyzed before.
The art explosion of the 60s described by Eco opened the path for me to find present works of art that appeared to have followed the aims and experimentations of these artists. I have experienced some major exhibitions this year (The Venetian Biennale), have read uncountable journals, interviews and book chapters to nourish my poor knowledge of the subject, and have observed and accumulated thousands of images to break down and analyze. All of these searches have improved my blog post variety showing how my keyword could be experienced in various fields. I mostly enjoyed my posts on collective interactions and common feelings. I like how present art expressions have become more conscious of how we live in society.
However, my search had to relate at some point not only with my keyword but also to my main subject and the reason why I started the MA in the first place: translating Fashion Design into Graphic language for an educational purpose. This is my biggest defiance and the Research and Enquiry module has helped me set down the rules of what my graphic piece should look like.
Despite the fact that I found it easy to draw connections between subjects, I still feel that I have to work harder on trying not to narrow my searches. The contemporary authors I have read so far opened my curiosity but I still find it difficult to open myself to new authors.
I am confident that in the next steps I will be able to embrace in a practical form all the theory learnt in this module. My aim is to shape each main idea in my final practice piece.