Portfolio Task 6- Theory Into Practice

Look at the CTS blog that Garry Barker has been writing to complement the lecture programme this year. Write a short response to one of the posts on the blog. Use the ideas that Garry is discussing to mount a short critical evaluation of one piece of Graphic design that you have produced on Level 5.

A recent project i did for Ted Baker, we chose the theme of a British Fish and Chip shop, the idea was to keep it irreverently British and humerous therefore we chose this traditional tea time theme. The font we selected for our design was chosen due to its visual similarities to Fish and Chip shop signs that arose in our research.

The two fonts we thought symbolised the chalkboard menu used in 'Fish and Chip shops' were Lobster and Reklame script due to there hand rendered script qualities which are based on the lettering created by  chalk pens or sticks used on Black boards. Originally these style of fonts were hand rendered for menu purposes but now we can digitally re-master them for use on our own designs to symbolise their original idea. It makes our idea appear more real and traditional and increases the meaning and understanding.

Task 5: Sustainability and Capitalism

Write a 500 word critical summary of the text which explicitly addresses the following questions

1. How is sustainability defined in the text?
   Sustainability is defined in the text as our response to the environmental crisis in both inter- and intra-generational spheres of society.The concept of sustainability needs everyone to buy into it yet this idea is flawed as and is can only be taken on by certain populations and through technology alone, isolating those that cannot afford to buy into the idea of sustainability and causing harm to communities through the intersection of sustainability and capitalism as the technologies brought in to help us to be sustainable are making the poor worse.
   
2. What are the main characteristics or tendencies of Capitalism
   Capitalism thrives on creating, then subsuming the other through a first for profit, businesses are aware of social and economical change growing and gaining capital by continuously making new technologies to replace the old so we are constantly buying into the new.
3. Define a 'crisis of Capitalism'. Offer an example.
   The crisis of capitalism is 'the turning point in every systematic accumulation' (Hardt, M & Negri, A. Empire. Cambridge) at the peak of each crisis, varying in size and materilialization, a reinvention is made through technologies, policies and ideas to continue the cycle of capitalism. It appears to save us and our world but is only there to break past its limitations, we continue to buy into these 'green' ideas thinking we are doing good for our planet when we are actually making more capital for businesses.
   
4. What solutions have been offered to the sustainability question?
   Are these successful or realistic? - If not why are they flawed?
   One solution to the question of sustainability is the production of BioFuel which is of high quality, acessible and affordable Bio-diesel for environmentally concerned consumers. A mass produced BioFuel Plant called BIOX in Canada which was placed in a very high low income population with a high rate of jobless, homeless people live. The idea is highly flawed as the plant was to be placed on a community green space across from residents houses and obviously had a huge negative impact on the community then furthered to increase negativity by causing damage to homes through tremors. Also the storing of huge quantities of highly flammable chemicals so close to residents violates health and safety regulations and is a constant source of noise, light and air polution.
   
5. Is the concept of sustainability compatible with Capitalism?
   The compatibility between sustainability and Captilism is flawed due to the fact that sustainability is a communal concept, as Capitalism only targets those indivuals who can afford to buy into sustainability through its continuous innovations in technology that only benefit the pockets of business and internal growth.

Task 4: Communication Theory

Use Shannon & Weaver's model of the communication process to write a 300-400 word analysis of a work of Graphic Design. Comment on the ways in which the piece of Graphic Design attempts to communicate to a specific audience, using techniques of redundancy, entropy or noise.

Using the Shannon-Weaver Mathematical model () showing the process of communication I will explain the process of communication within a piece of advertising from American Apparel. In the ad the information source is the American Apparel designer who came up with the idea for this piece of advertising, the message is that American Apparel is "for the people" and the staff also buy into the product too, it expresses high end fashion through personal shots 'Meet Melissa' employees engaging with the consumer. I think their are semantic problems from Level B as the message is not clear.

The transmitter is the photography and design for the advert and the channel is where it is seen, magazines, the internet and billboards. The channel will be entropic and chosen carefully to target the right consumer and therefore increase sales through an understanding of the message. Especially due to its risky nature it is important the right channel is chosen, in this case high end fashion magazines and retail windows to target the consumers aware and used to high end ads like these.

As the viewer our sight is the decoder and our brain is the destination. Our reading of this advert is effected by Noise culture and currently with American Apparral there is a lot of noise in the press that could manipulate our perception. 'according to "Living on the Edge at American Apparel" from Business Week's Web site, since American Apparel's conception in 1997, Charney (Director of AA)  has been charged several times by employees with sexual harassment complaints, including allegations that he has exposed himself to workers and propositioned sex within the workplace. This can effect how we interpret these images. What once was read as a quirky, way of grabbing the attention of young, trendy consumers and bringing the company out of increasing debt could now be read as a risky piece of advertising that is sexually exploiting its staff through use of pornographic images.

Task 2 continued ...women wanting to be beautiful

When looking at popular music videos for the popular culture task 2 i came across this video by Pink and it linked so well with the seminar on 'the gaze' taunting girls that strived to be beautiful like the women we see in magazines. Pink tries to be a good role model for young girls and has taken this issue on within her song, although the song is quite light-hearted it is there to target these young girls effected by the gaze in society and teach them that they should not strive for beauty, that they should make the most of their personality and intelligence and it will make them a stronger individual.

Portfolio Task 2- On Popular Music

In Theodor W Adorno's article 'On Popular Music' he demonstrates his strong Marxist view of popular music, dividing music into two spheres popular and serious music. Adorno's theory is that Classical music follows no set rules therefor we have to fully engage with it where as Popular music follows a rigid set of rules, this in turn means that the music is pre-digested for us and is easy to listen to, it takes no understanding or engagement, it is there to entertain. Adorno says 'the whole structure of popular music is standardized, even where the attempt is made to circumvent standardization' this term refers to the technical structure of the song as well as its subject matter and he explains that even when music tries to avoid these rules it will still 'lead back to the same familiar experience'.

Adorno claims that popular music produces passitivity through rythmic and emotional adjustments, these are two types of mass behaviour that are created in response to popular music. In ballads we emotionally connect with the music, 'they consume music in order to be allowed to weep' we feel a connection as it lulls us into a false state of conciousness an ideological tool to control the way we think. Where as in dance music we obediently respond to the music as it controls the way we move our body, moving to the beat of the music it effects us all in the same way.

In todays society although we have a lot of mass produced music and world known popstars covering the news and magazines i think we also have a lot of music that cannot be standardised and tries to break away from the rules, it is only when other bands create similar music that this is again standardised. This happens a lot when labels sign similar bands, bands that they know you will like and listen to as they follow the same rules therefore becoming easily listened to.

I have chosen two different artists of the modern age to represent popular music and serious music..



I have chosen a song by the 'Battles' to try to show a band that isn't Standardized and doesn't conform to any rules, also it doesn't appear to control our behaviour in a certain way. We have to actively engage with the music, it makes us think and we react in different ways.



A Battles collaboration with celebrated light artists UVA (United Visual Artists), produced by Warp Films (This Is England, Rubber Johnny, Dead Mans Shoes etc.).




Key quotes:


'The whole structure of popular music is standardized, even where the attempt is made to circumvent standardization. Standardization extends from the most general features to the most specific ones. Best known is the rule that the chorus consists of thirty two bars and that the range is limited to one octave and one note.'


'The general types of hits are also standardized: not only the dance types, the rigidity of whose pattern is understood, but also the "characters" such as mother songs, home songs, nonsense or "novelty" songs, pseudo-nursery rhymes, laments for a lost girl.'


'This inexorable device guarantees that regardless of what aberrations occur, the hit will lead back to the same familiar experience, and nothing fundamentally novel will be introduced.'

Portfolio Task 1. Panopticism

Choose an example of one aspect of contemporary culture that is, in your opinion, panoptic. Write an explanation of this, in approximately 200-300 words, employing key Foucauldian language, such as 'Docile Bodies' or 'self-regulation, and using not less than 5 quotes from the text 'Panopticism' in Thomas, J. (2000) 'Reading Images', NY, Palgrave McMillan.

‘who take pleasure in spying and punishing’ (Foucault, 1977)

"collection of separated individualities" (Foucault, 1977 p65)

"a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power" (Foucault, 1977 p65)

"never know weather he is being looked at at any one moment, but he must be sure that he may always be so" (Foucault, 1977 p65)

"judge at a glance, without anything being concelaed" (Foucault, 1977 p67) 

"power situation of which they are themselves the bearer" (Foucault, 1977 p65).

“The plague that gave rise to disciplinary projects” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 62)

“Two ways of exercising power over men, of controlling their relations, of separating out their dangerous mixtures” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 62)

“He is seen, but he does not see; he is the object of information, never a subject in communication” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 65)

“This surveillance is based upon a system of permanent registration” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 61)

"It does not matter what motive animates him” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 66)         

French philosopher Michel Foucault developed the social theory Panoptiscm which is a disciplinary technique used in society which demonstrates the relationship between power, knowledge and the body. Panoptiscm is used within everyday society as a way to control us, it is all around us from security surveillance cameras to television, gyms and lecture theaters.

The social network site 'Facebook' is a key example of panoptiscm in our modern society

We allow ourselves to be watched by all through using this networking site, it is a "power situation of which they are themselves the bearer" (Foucault, 1977 p65) we are constantly reminded how visible we are on Facebook yet few choose to apply privacy methods to our profile we have to question how private can this be on the world wide web? The fact that all photographs uploaded to 'Facebook' become their property and are copyrighted by Facebook, our personal pictures now belong to a huge corporation. Even if the account is deactivated, Facebook store all your information so you can restore your account. 


Our profile exists of information which we choose to show, although we are asked for an amount of information before we set up an account and we are suggested certain information categories to be shown publicly such as location, job, email and phone number aswell as our relationship status and interests. This is ‘strict spatial positioning’ (Foucault, 1977) as everyone has the same template profile and space on the internet. This access to our information turns us into docile bodies where we obiede to Facebook and they develop our digital character,  we are infact releasing information that can be intercepted by anyone and is used by Facebook for money making advertising purposes. Facebook direct ads to us depending on our interests, age, location etc so we can be controlled into the exposure of certain products which in turn has power over our bodies.

Everytime we log into our Facebook account it is recorded, we are monitoring ourselves and each other, we share information about what we are doing right now and there is a new function that can allows you to show people constantly where we are at any given moment “This surveillance is based upon a system of permanent registration” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 61) The technology is increasing as Facebook has now become an app which can be used via smart phones, this has increased the surveillance so now we are visible everywhere. It stops being something we engage in at home for a source of communication and now has the ability of being a surveyor of our every move.

As Foucalt says ‘who take pleasure in spying and punishing’ (Foucault, 1977). What are these docile bodies that we have become that spend hours searching for people and spying into their lives, comparing our friend list and events which facebook encourages us to do, constantly updating and sharing information, it becomes the norm and we stop questioning our actions. Those embarassing photographs from a night out that you would choose not to share have been exposed to millions of people, not only friends but potential colleagues and could get in the hands of the wrong people and can have negative effects on society, after all we cannot trust that everyone using Facebook has good intentions.