Digital Art Design: articles, books, 2d/3d software observations, tutorials & 3d art fantasy gallery features.
 Postmodern World
"Graphic design is a folk art whose best practitioners are often anonymous and whose best examples may be deceptively rough or naive." - Art Chantry: "folk artist for a merchant/technical culture" When I first read Art Chantry's strange take on graphic design as a modern "folk art" I was perplexed - as much as I loved his work it didn't register with me at all. Over the years I have come to better understand what I think he was trying to say and in fact today I believe that I agree with Mr. Chantry. However, I think that the analogy should be twisted a bit and taken back to an even more primitive source.
The role of a graphic designer in today's marketplace often exceeds that of merely communicating a message effectively. The originators of tribal artifacts (often this was the witchdoctor, in some cases the smithy or other tribe members) created work which was intended to influence the members of the tribe and today graphic designers create work similarly aimed at a modern public. The point was not then nor is it now just to create a useful object - a bowl, a stool, a headrest or a logo, a brochure, a website. The role of tribal craftsman went far beyond creating items that would be useful or even that told a story. The items that they created were objects of power - not only to bringing power into the life of the layperson but also to evoke a guiding spiritual power upon their life. In the fall 0f 1997 - I was able to take a class taught by Dewey Crumpler. Most who know Dewey know him due to his reputation as a painter. What they may not know is that he is an absolute expert on African art and culture. The class was in fact titled "African Art". But Dewey made it very clear the first day of class that the concept of African "art" was completely foreign to the people who had created that art. To them these artifacts were 2 objects that were intended for use. Not just utilitarian, however, they were objects that held a kind of power. While included amongst these objects may be effigies and fetishes, also included are items such as bowls, spoons, knives, stools and just about every thing that they use as they go about everyday life. Each is intended to invite a higher power into that activity and evoke remembrance of that power in the mind and life of the person using the item. The end result is to bring a sort of spirituality to everyday life and all of its activities.
As descendants of tribal or clan based societies we have somehow reached down within ourselves, drawn out that ancient societal model and begun to apply it to our current world. Echoing the creation of tribal artifacts, we as designers create the objects of power that influence peoples lives in today's world. We craft the tribal objects that are intended to bring a sort of corporate spirituality into peoples everyday lives. From childhood we begin to use products that are emblazoned with logos, colors, typography and other "brand standards" to evoke a feel specific to a given corporation. We begin to form alliances with certain brands from an early age. Nearly everything that we use today has a corporate logo stuck to it. Modern day objects of power - a logo, website, advertisement, package, etc. are all created by graphic designers. |
Possible keyword strings: Fantasy Art 3D Wallpapers software: free fairy art digital image 3d artist wallpaper. 3d animated, wallpaper digital arts pictures fine art gallery contemporary. 3d graphics, digital art images photoshop digital arts fantasy gallery. 3d free digital fantasy arts pics, famous art pictures 3d graphic wallpaper. |
When I was in fourth grade I purchased a birthday gift for my friend Tim. It was a model kit of a Chevrolet pick-up truck and I thought that it was very cool. But, when my friend opened it he came unglued. He wanted nothing to do with a Chevy product of any kind - he was a "Ford guy". At the time I pretty much tried to just blow it off. But, it has stuck with me through the years and in fact has been echoed repeatedly throughout other events in my life. In the early eighties I was introduced to the phenomenon of punk rock. Part of what drew me to punk at that time was the overall tribal feeling. Not just the rhythm of the music but a feeling of belonging to a group. Sure there were sub-groups, some of which were appalling rather than appealing. But most of the people showing up at events were made to feel part of a greater whole - part of the tribe. It was made very clear that if you did not live every day as a punk in both appearance and practice - you would be labeled a "poser". There is nothing worse than being a poser. There is no honesty or sincerity in being a poser.
Just as Ford evoked its brand loyalty on my friend Tim, just as those punk bands were the designers of an emerging sub-culture and just as the tribal artisans craft objects of power - so do we as graphic designers create a "look and feel" intended to do more than just communicate a simple message. In today's age of hyper-branding, design attempts not only to merely influence the audience to purchase a product or service - modern day branding presents a lifestyle and offers membership. Clothing is a prime example of this. Take a look at billboards, advertisements, packaging and product literature for the likes of The Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein - it's as much or more about what the model is doing than the clothes they are wearing. Think about it - designers are creating 2d, 3d and 4d objects intended to shape the lives of the people who use or encounter them - that's powerful. Wasn't that exactly the core role of the tribal craftsman?
The similarities between tribal artifact and graphic design runs even deeper. Like tribal art, graphic design is also a form of storytelling - or more accurately an informal means of teaching. I have heard design compared to story telling. Truthfully, I personally have difficulty supporting any connection between storytelling and graphic design. However, design certainly is a medium of instruction. In many cases even the underlying brand standards of a design are there to send a message of some kind and usually that message is intended to raise awareness or educate the viewer about the company and their product or service.
If we as designers took our craft as seriously as tribal artisans I am sure that we would see a revolution in the design world. Part of the problem lies in the fact that there are an increasing number of designers (often self-proclaimed) who practice bad design. Many potential clients have come to expect to pay only a few dollars for the development of a logo. But, what serious designer can afford to bow to that standard. The cost is high - in time and in money but more importantly in quality of work. Ours is a portfolio driven industry where quality is the foundation on which all future work is earned. Design has the power to seriously influence society - why do we allow the opposite to happen when it is at the expense of our credibility? In popular culture the tribal craftsman of old has become a caricature - the witchdoctor in Scooby-Doo. I find it embarrassing that the same fate seems to be in store for us if we will not take a deeper pride in what it is we are really doing as designers. |
|
