Study Task 4: Practical Proposal

Here is my proposal for the practical aspect of my project:

Essay: Decisions

After giving it some thought I've decided to write my essay about how cartoons have influenced politics throughout the years. I've decided to do this as I feel it will be easier to produce illustrations to go along side the topic. That doesn't mean I will stop posting articles and videos of current events as I feel this research will potentially still help inform my essay and my practical work as they evolve together.

Part of my reasoning for this is that I found this illustration of William Pitt the Younger and Napoleon di Buonaparte by James Gill which amused me. I feel that there is quite a strong area to be discussed about political commentary throughout the ages.

Immediately after seeing this I researched the two leaders to see what they were about (Napoleon I have a basic understanding of already).

William Pitt the Younger

Napoleon di Buonaparte

Research: Taking on Fat Cat Lobbyists

I read an interesting article today by George Monbiot in which he discusses how big businesses have taken over politics and what we can do to stop them. (Here).

It's a scary thought that Big Business has such a large role within politics. After all with such large donors, the Tory party could have an unfair advantage in the next general election. I dread to think where this country will go with five more years of Conservative rule.

Research: How does 'Big Money' Dictate Politics?

Here's some important research imagery found and gathered thus far;



Most of my research thus far has been about the banking crisis etc but I think that may change soon. I have noticed of late that I'm more and more eager each day to read The Guardian for the cartoons of Steve Bell and Martin Rawson. Their work is fantastic at picking apart current world politics using humour. I'm a big fan.

Research: Repotage

Over the past few weeks I've spent some time outside of the studio looking at different places that could potentially tie into my essay. As I don't know exactly what my essay is going to be about yet I decided to draw places that I believe will mostly likely tie into my theoretical work.

I first visited Barclays Bank; with the banking crisis so intricately tied into politics over the past few years I thought this would be a great place to examine illustratively. I began by sketching outlines over several pages just in case the weather took a turn for the worse (which it did) so I used the captured image as a reference for the rest of the work. A few days later I visited the Barclays by my house and managed to grab a photo in the rain to again use as reference.



On Wednesday, whilst walking down the road by my house I noticed that the local MP Stuart Andrew has an office there. This was a perfect opportunity for me to draw however the staff inside began to act oddly when they saw me standing there so again I took a photo and left promptly.


I have seen the benefit of drawing from reference, however it is a shame that I couldn't actually stand and repeatedly draw the point of interests I had visited for too long.

Study Task 4: Peer Feedback

Recently I received feedback for the research I have produced so far. Using this research I produced a renewed proposal form for the research towards my essay. I've been informed that I should consider my essay to concern political cartoons throughout history.

My renewed proposal form:

Research: Jason Alexander: "Paid for By..."

I saw an interesting video today starring Jason Alexander of Seinfeld fame. He basically explains a summary of what lobbying is, often heard in the States as "Paid for by...". Lobbying is an interesting thing and can lead to a government being manipulated by those that have invested hard cash into it, this in turn leads to a corrupted state. Its probably just as common in the United Kingdom, but is more widely known to happen in America.

Study Task 3: Benjamin and Mechanical Reproduction

Benjamin Notes:

Class has less importance in the art world than the method of production.

Such processed brush away outmoded concepts such as creativity, eternal value and mystery.

Art produced in such a way is useless to fascists.

Aura withers in an age of such mechanical processes.

Work reproduced in such a way detaches it from its rational heritage.

Futile thought had been earlier wasted on whether photography is an art.

The question of whether the invention of photography had changed art wasn't raised.

Mechanical reproduction changes the masses view towards art.

War is beautiful.

'American Hustle' by Matt Taylor is an example of art in modern times being used by means of mechanical reproduction. This work created entirely digitally using Adobe Photoshop allows for wider production and distribution however Benjamin (1936) argues that art created this way brushes "aside a number of outmoded concepts, such as creativity and genius, eternal value and mystery". He believes that work produced in such a way is easy and forgettable but most importantly it loses it's mystery as one can assume how it was produced when they view it. Art such as this would be "completely useless for the purpose of fascism" as everyone can get a copy - it isn't original or rare. Then in lies the problem - with art so easy to produce a certain aura is lost. Benjamin states that the aura of such work "withers in the age of mechanical reproduction". With it so easy to produce and replicate, where is its value? He goes on to say that work in such a way "substitutes a plurality of copies for a unique existence. It's value comes from there being only one of it, this is why the fascists would look down on art such as this - it's an easy commodity. They could own a copy, but so might their neighbours, family or friends. But is mass produced digital work actually art? Benjamin states that, "Much futile thought had been devoted to the question of whether photography is an art. The primary question - whether the very invention of photography had not transformed the entire nature of art - was not raised". Why the question of whether digital work is art still remains, surely a more apt question, especially in connection with Taylor's "American Hustle" is how has it changed art.

Research: The Trews Cameron's Speech

Russell Brand's 'Trews' breaks down a speech by David Cameron concerning immigration and the EU. At first glance this doesn't tie into big money in politics, however, Brand goes on to suggest that the media is biased against the EU because it is a 'powerful enough body to oppose corporate power'.

He also points out how Cameron minces his words to get his version of the truth to exist within the world which I think is both brilliant, yet terrifying.

Research: BBC Free Speech

I caught this video today from BBC 3's Free Speech which discussed tax avoidance, benefits and social classes, but most importantly it touched upon money in politics. The topic suggested that certain big businesses help create tax laws and then manipulate these laws to avoid paying taxes.

Post by BBC Free Speech.

There are many interesting things here that I could potentially discuss or use to help develop my essay.

Essay: Thoughts

It's still quite early into the year but I'm thinking that my essay will revolve around politics in some form or another. There are many possible routes I could go down, such as:

Big money in politics, can it be removed?
Who really runs Britain? The government or those that finance it. Throughout this I would look at big businesses involving the Murdoch empire, banking and the financial crash of 2008. What is lobbying? How do business men worm their way into politics?

How have political cartoons commented on politics throughout the years?
How have political cartoons affected the world throughout the years? Dr Suess is synonymous with WW2 political cartoons. Who else has there been? Who is there now?

Is a green planet possible in a world where politicians refuse to accept it?
A study into how politics is currently preventing a green world as the economy is dependant on fossil fuels etc. How to be green? Does our government actually want to be green or is money all that matters? What is TTIP and what role does it play in all of this?

Study Task 2: Library Research: Society and Politics

The image ‘Stop the Arrogance’ by Michael Mabry for the political magazine NOZONE IX could be considered a strong example of creating an illustration that forgoes the obvious purpose of commercial use. It presents a large blue figure with red a white striped trousers (an allusion to the United States of America flag) standing atop a polluted world with its hands above two holstered guns prepared to be drawn. The piece appears to actively argue against the political/capitalist attitudes of the U.S and it's polluting ways thus falling in line with The First Things First Manifesto (1964) which hoped “that our society will tire… and that the prior call on our skills will be worthwhile purposes”.

However this piece appears to perhaps harm the revised First Things First Manifesto (2000) that suggests a revolution of sorts within the artistic community. It proposes “a reversal of priorities” (2000) away from commercial ends. At first it may seem that ‘Stop the Arrogance’ is doing just that, which could be considered good. Yet when you take into account Michael Beirut’s belief that such a reversal of priorities would replace “mass manipulation for commercial ends with mass manipulation for cultural and political ends” (2004) the idea is somewhat sullied. By making a political comment, the piece has become political in itself.

So while the piece may be effectual in making a comment against capitalism and certain governing it develops a new purpose, one of politics - thus becoming a slave to a different purpose.

Study Task 1: Society and Politics

After reading the First Things First (1964 & 2000) and Bruce Mau incomplete Manifestos I personally felt drawn towards the FTF (1964) and Mau. I have an unusual dislike towards Graphic Design due to its commercial nature, yet I failed to appreciate the FTF (2000) despite its suggestions to rethink the purpose of Graphic Design. At the time I couldn't understand why.

It was only with the introduction of the Michael Beirut footnotes that I understood why I didn't like it. Beirut suggests that the FTF (2000) manifesto is by and large unachievable by design. The ideas behind it suggest a radical movement to change commercial design into something more beneficial to humankind, yet Beirut believes this to be a simple 'shock tactic' to augment readership/response. He instead proposes that that commercial design can instead be somewhat altered from within by encouraging artists to put some of their own meaning behind their work instead of the commission being a job for money'.

Study Task 1: Society and Politics: Quotes and Illustrations

My two quotes from the manifestos are:

"We hope that our society will tire of gimmick merchants, status salesmen and hidden persuaders, and that the prior call on our skills will be worthwhile purposes." -

"Avoid software. The problem with software is everyone has it." -

The two pictures I have chosen are:

"Stop the Arrogance" New Poster Art (p136)

Cees, W., de Jong, L. (2008) New Poster Art, London: Thames and Hudson

I feel that this illustration ties in well with the First Things First quote as it is a piece that is actively trying to change something rather than being openly for a commercial use. This is exactly the kind of purpose the Manifesto urges the reader to work towards.

??? The Art of Looking Sideways (p251)
Fletcher, A. (2001) The Art of Looking Sides: Phiadon

This illustration ties in to Bruce Mau's incomplete manifesto in my opinion as it is of someone drawing in an analogue method which in turn has created using an analogue method. Software is too often relied upon in todays illustrative society, with there being a trend of late to move back towards hand crafted methods of creation.

Essay: The Degradation of Women in the Comic Book Industry

issuu.com/t-roberts1316/docs/the_degradation_of_women_in_the_com?e=0/7774481

Context of Practise - End of Module Self Evaluation

Context of Practise was initially a difficult module for me; I found it hard to get my head around denotation and connotation among other semiotic theories. However once I did I began to really enjoy the module.

For the most part my daily commute from Leeds to York has been somewhat of a pain, however it greatly benefited me when it came time to prepare for my essay. My journey roughly takes about half an hour so each day I withdrew several books and spent the travel time formulating ideas and reading extracts that may have been important to my essay writing. This early research was integral as my laptop unfortunately died. I had failed to back up my work and my completed essay was lost. I had to hurriedly rewrite the entire thing and without my early planning and note taking I would not have completed my essay before the hand in date.

After my essay I did not look forward to continuing to study the area of female degradation as it made me feel horrible as a man. However as my research evolved I came to understand that men were being victimised just as much as women. I am glad that I pushed further with my visual research in my development sketchbook as this realisation would not have occurred if I hadn’t.

I feel that while my development work is strong it fails in the final steps somewhat. The characters within my book were not as refined as I’d have liked. This was down to a lack of investigation into body shape, which is quite an integral part of my final piece.  Given more time I would have gone back and reworked these characters, refining them and perhaps making there later body shapes more exaggerated. I was against doing this but feel that ultimately doing so would have added an extra element of humour towards what is actually a very sad subject. In the final stages however I feel that my experimentation with colour really benefitted my work. By developing a greater understanding of colour I was able to take my work to a high professional level. Unfortunately technology again failed me when I came to printing the work out; from InDesign I some how printed the pages in the wrong order. In the future I’ll have to take extra care to make sure I understand the printing process so my work is presented in the best possible way.

Going forward I’m going to have be more prepared for unforeseen events such as these. Technology hampered me in several instances throughout this module. By thoroughly researching and making backups of my work I’ll hopefully be able to prevent instances like this happening to me again in later modules. I also hope to take my research and development further going into Level 5 by thinking about the context my study has within society. 

Perception: Final Outcome

Perception: Printing

Today I sat in the digital print room for 2 and a half hours to get my zine printed. It was only upon returning to the studio that it had printed out completely wrong!

This has happened because I thought I had to print the pages in the order they would lie on the pages rather than correct number order. This is a massive failure on my part. I've wasted £6 on printing! However, I do have a back up plan - Issuu! I planned on uploading a copy of my zine onto Issuu for my blog anyway but it will now serve a greater purpose.

This has really annoyed me and in the future I'm going to have to make certain my work will print correctly before doing so...

Perception: InDesign Refresher

Today I went about putting Perception together. Although I took part in the inDesign tutorials, I couldn't quite remember the process of layout in inDesign so went on youtube to find a how to.



I also used youtube to remind me how to import images into inDesign.

Perception: Digital Process

Over the last few days I've been drawing the final copies of zine and uploading them into Photoshop for colouring. I decided that the male character would have a blue colour theme for his pages as this is commonly associated with a masculine colour.

However I did encounter a problem. As my story progresses my male and female characters encounter each other. This requires them to be within the same panel as the character with a different colour theme. Should I change the males colour theme to pink while he's in the females pages (and vies versa) or should they both keep their respective colour when they are in the other characters frame?

After a bit of thought I decided it would work better if they kept their own colour as this would create a sense that they were invading the others personal space.

Perception: Development

Today I worked on my Zine. By using Photoshop I coloured my latest development sheet to give me an idea of how my work will look. I chose to use a soft pink colour theme for the female, playing on the trope of pink being a feminine colour etc.

I then decided that the black ink I had chosen was perhaps a bit to strong so I decided to change it to a dark pink in keeping with the rest of my colour theme. To do this I created a new layer on top of the others, selected the 'lighten' option in the layers tap and filled the layer with the dark pink colour. (I first tested the lines with the brush tool to get an idea of the outcome).

Finally I created a border for my image as it looked somewhat incomplete. I am quite a fan of this and may use it to frame all of the images within my zine.

Perception: Layout scamps

After a bit of thought I've decided to make a zine about two people who become obsessed with their appearance after seeing advertisements about the opposite sex being attracted to a certain type of person. I've spent the day designing the two characters within the story and the scamps for the layout of the zine.

Pecha Kucha Presentation and Feedback

I presented my Pecha Kucha today. It went... okay. I became quite uncomfortable when I began and felt the pressure of the time constraint. Normally I don't think I would have a problem giving a presentation but the time limit crippled my confidence. I didn't look at my audience too often and rushed my presentation. I agree entirely with my feedback sheet.

I am happy with the feedback I received from my peers however. I had the idea of creating a zine for my final outcome which seems to have gone down well with the others. However I did receive different responses to what the story of my zine should be about. Whatever it is, I want to be careful; appearance is a delicate thing and I don't want to make a piece that will offend anyone.

Barbie and Ken Dolls

Heres an article in which Valeria Lukyanova (barbie woman) meets the real life Ken doll. They don't hit it off but he does detail how from a young age people are raised to believe that there is a body that should be adhered to.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2506990/Rift-real-life-Ken-Barbie-Justin-Jedlica-Valeria-Lukyanova-grows-deeper.html

It raises an interesting point. Men and women are indoctrinated from an early age that there is an A-type  appearance that should be adhered to. If you don't meet these qualities then you are lesser being.

Further Sketchbook Work

I've continued to look at how women (and men) are affected by advertisements and such that we see all around us. By cutting out advertisements from Shortlist and Stylist magazines I've altered/examined the images to better understand/mock them.

Sketchbook Continued...

Today I've been looking at what makes a woman 'attractive'. What extents do women go to to further their desirability? And what is the publics fascination with Kylie Minogue?

Pecha Kucha Preperation

I've been giving some thought to my Pecha Kucha lately. I originally planned to discuss how women are still being subjectified in todays society via the extreme attitudes towards physical appearance. But I'm beginning to notice that men too are falling victim to these same attitudes, albeit to a lesser extent.

What does this mean then? Is it a case of degradation any more? I believe that the answer is still yes to a certain degree however I do feel that men are falling victim to objectification more frequently these days. Men are desired to look like their comic book counterparts just as much as women are, unfortunately. 

Vice Magazine: Rise of the Douchbag

This morning whilst putting the final touches on my Pecha Kucha I learnt of these articles from Vice Magazine which discuss the current trend of men who work (out) hard and party hard. They raise a few interesting points about the direction of men these days. This is potentially a theme that I can use for my practical illustration, but how can I transfer my thoughts about these issues onto page?

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/anatomy-of-a-new-modern-douchebag
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/this-american-bro-an-eth…

The Degradation of Women... Map of Understanding

Over the past few days I've been putting together a map of understanding. From this I hope to extend the area of research around the degradation of women from just comic books. I plan to investigate further how women are still manipulated and degraded in todays society albeit in different manners.

Sketchbook Work

Today I was working in my sketchbook. I've been looking at specific alterations to the body that women go through from lip injections to facelifts. I find it fascinating when you see older women trying desperately to reclaim their youth and attractiveness by altering their body in such a way.

But why does this happen? Does society dictate that only the young can be beautiful? Why is body image so important?

Objectification, Sexualisation and Photoshop

Following on from my essay in which I critically examined the degradation of women within the comic book industry I began looking at the effects of body surgery and how women manipulate their bodies to resemble what is deemed 'the idol woman' I began to think about why women think they should look a certain way. Its very clear how this happens; there is a bombardment of physically altered, highly sexualised women being thrown at men and women continually every day.

Over the past week I've continued my research by finding imagery from magazines of women heavily made up and edited by Photoshop. With this kind of imagery all around us is it surprising that most women continually question their appearance to an extreme degree?

What would the women in these images look like without makeup or Photoshop? I've attempted to answer this by drawing several celebrities without their makeup/physical alterations.