Task 4 | Professional Profiles

Profile 1: It's Nice That / Printed Pages Magazine

It's Nice That's bi-annual magazine, Printed Pages. Described in SS17 as
• '...240 pages of inspiring work and engaging articles featuring creatives from around the world.'
• 'Providing an essential overview of the creative world today...'
• '...an optimistic record of the power of creativity in all its forms.'

It's Nice That began as a website that featured work of practicing creatives, before launching their magazine (which became Printed Pages in 2013), and an extensive events programme comprised of lectures, talks, workshops and symposiums. Their aim is to showcase and celebrate work from across a range of creative disciplines, presenting that of established names as well as newcomers.

What interests me most is how they cover a lot of ground, existing in many different contexts - from digital, to print, to events organisation. How could a person (or a small group) could facilitate these types of things. I would like to see my own practice existing in many broad contexts and having many functions and purposes to operate within.

Also, this aligns with my interest in publishing and having works that take on a printed format. I could ask who is involved in this process, and if publishing is as difficult as it seems, what resources are available, who would support these ambitions, what basics are needed to set up a publication, etc..

Profile 2: Hato Press

London-based Risograph printer and publishing house that also functions as a specialist shop, selling artists prints and other printed goods, as well as running workshops, events, and exhibitions. In some ways, Hato is split into two sides - working as a printer that produces printed work on commission on behalf of clients and collaborators, and then also working as an arts space and events organiser to a non-commercial audience, representing themselves.

In terms of relevance to my future practice, if I'm not printing work myself, I would like to know how an organisation like Hato could support me in working collaboratively with them. They also offer Printernships, where they will encourage recent graduates to extend their practice whilst using Hato's space and facilities.

Profile 3: Nobrow Press

Publishers that produce illustration books, children's books (Flying Eye), Nobrow magazine - which features illustrated works that adhere to a certain theme, as well as a number of smaller edition books that operate under the label of Nobrow small press.

Nobrow's publishing catalogue spans across different genres, narratives, themes, and they have worked with a huge number of international artists. They refer to what they do as Visual Publishing, which is a great term as it encompasses so many different types of books and printed publications.

Not only is the narrative and visual content of what they produce important to them, but also the ways in which the publications are put together - in terms of their design and their production processes that are used. The breadth of what they bring to a wider audience is so vast, and leaves a lot of room for innovative ideas to come in the future.

Hanbury | Invites

As part of the preparation for Hanbury Hall in January, I've been helping a small group from the class with the designs of some of the materials.

Isaac, Kieran, and myself worked on putting together a design for the invites we will send to the guests. I contributed some of the drawings that were eventually arranged into the final pattern design.

We decided to take this to screenprint as opposed to digital printing, as it made the finished artefact more special. Below are the first layers of colour, and then the final line layer. The plan is to cut out areas of the pattern to form the smaller invite, meaning each one will be a different cropped area of the design.

Task 3 | Creative Identity

How peers describe my work

"Fun tone of voice, recognised immediately. Humour with a dark side"

"Utterly lovely nonsense"

"Doesn't take itself too seriously but always has a message. Fun and free, uninhibited. Loose inky times."

"Silly but intellectual. Playful but strategic and logical. Fun but thoughtful. Informed nonsense. Contained mess. A good egg"

"Pleasing to the eye, unsettling to the mind. Serious but playful"

How I describe my work

Slide from Who Am I? pitch
describing my work

Communicational Icon

Part of this task was to create a communicational icon that conveys our creative identity. I've stayed clear of creating a logo to represent myself and my practice, as I feel this is more business-oriented than I'd prefer for my practice.

So the closest thing to this is the icon I use as my profile image across social media. It's a small character I've developed myself, made using ink and photocopied paper.

Zines and Independent Publications

This is very much an area of illustration/design that I'm interested in. I enjoy making zines and small publications, and find that they can sometimes say or do more than a single print can. Often, I've used them as a way of accompanying a single image or acting as an accumulation of drawings, prints, or other types of physical work.

Here are some examples and research into people that facilitate and represent this kind of work, and the artists that create it.

NIEVES BOOKS, ZURICH

An independent publishing house in Zurich that focuses on promoting and distributing zines and artists books from a number of international collaborators. Zines are a popular format for independent publishers, as a large quantity can often be produced quickly and cheaply.

Nieves acts as a platform to promote new and existing artists. Mainly creating content that surrounds drawing and illustration, but branches out into other disciplines too.

 I Wait Here For You Forever as Long as it Takes - Stefan Marx

OTTO PRESS, LONDON

An independent publisher of art books and comics, based in London. 

Falling Down the Stairs - Jack Sachs / Walls - EKTA

GOOD PRESS, GLASGOW

Formed 2011 in Glasgow, Good Press is a volunteer run organisation that produces publications, puts on exhibitions, artist residencies, talks, and events. It acts as a space to support the creation and promotion of independent publications.

The world available from their website spans from books, to zines, to journals, and is multidisciplinary in its approach - including examples from photographers, illustrators, writers, etc.

I like that they treat the zine as a legitimate artefact, placing it alongside more established forms of products / publications.

 Selected Drawings - Tomtyve / Diogenes - SHOBOSHOBO / Fist - Craig Atkinson

KIOSK, LONDON

Based in London, Kiosk are an independent publisher who act as a platform for young creatives to promote and collaborate on self-published zines and artist books.

 Dog House - Ken Kagami / No Ball Games - Maria Midttun /

The Wind that Remembers - Jack Sachs

Phantasm Exhibition

I got the chance to get involved with Phantasm, an exhibition held at Colours May Vary that is themed around magic.

The subject matter of the show is interesting and could be interpreted in so many ways, and was fitting to the tone of voice within my work too.

This is a great opportunity, which presented a set of new challenges for me to get to grips with. For example: pricing work, packaging, promotional aspects, as well as creating work for a public-facing exhibition.

WHAT I CREATED
• A series of screenprints, from two designs

• A series of hand-stitched zines

• Business cards

PRICING

This was part was especially challenging. I've never priced work before, and there's no simple formula to get the right price. It was very easy for me to undercharge due to the lack of exposure I've had, and the lack of commercial work I've undertaken (and the big question of "would people actually buy it if it cost £_____?")

In the end, I took the following into consideration:
• Cost of materials (paper stock, printing charges, thread, print medium, packaging materials e.g. greyboard, cellophane...)
• Time taken to produce the outcomes (hand-pulled two colour screen prints, hand-stitched zines all cropped by myself, prep time, etc..)

• Longevity of the prints. Ben mentioned that screenprints should cost significantly more than, for example, riso or digital prints, because of their archival properties. Due to the quality of the inks and paper they can last forever.

PROMOTIONAL

I finally set up a professional email address, and created business cards which point people in the direction of this as well as my instagram.

The image I chose for the front of the cards ties in with all of the other products I've created for the exhibition so it's clear who created the work.

What's my name?

Thinking about online presence and identity leads me to think about what name I want to go by in association with my work. I think it's important that I figure this out before I start making a website.

I'm not sure how I feel about using my full name, or any combination of my name along with 'illustration' or 'draws'. I don't think it fits the tone of voice that I have, and that I want to convey. I may ask people what they think is most suitable / appropriate for a name choice.

I also want to look into options of website platforms. Something simple, with the option of being able to customise it in some ways.

Possible options:

Cargo
Format
Wix
Wordpress

Task 2 | Website Research

HENRIK DRESCHER [link]

Website layout is rather simple, not too flashy or over-complicated. The work is what takes centre stage. I really enjoy the mix of developmental work, sketches, notebook jottings, alongside professional projects and commissioned work.

I do think that all of this 'messy' / 'behind the scenes' work is just as intrinsic to someone's creative output as much as the shiny, finished outcomes are. You get a real sense of how they work and the type of work they make, which isn't overshadowed by showy website widgets and design muscle-flexing, which doesn't always add something more.

NICK WHITE [link]

Another example of a practitioner whose website really showcases the breadth of what they do in an interesting way. It's more of an archive or a catalog of their work, thinking, and projects they've undertook.

A real range of artefacts and finished pieces that are valuable in their own way; zines, published books, collage experiments, drawings on scrap paper. It all feeds into each other. The commissioned 'official' work doesn't undermine the thoughtful, self-initiated projects, they balance each other.

PAUL WAAK [link]

Simple, straightforward website design that is easy to navigate. Chronicles projects, exhibitions, and commissioned examples of work which he has created or had a part in. Bio and contact page outline their creative background and provide a contact form and a concise list of other links.

Specific project pages give a small description of the work and its context in the lower left corner.

JOOST STOKHOF / THETHINGSWEARE [link]

Although this example is still minimal in appearance, it contains a few other features that bring a little bit more to the table. Such as an animated page opener, and colour transitions when the cursor hovers over images.

However what I appreciate is that these little additions don't eclipse the work completely, they just give a bit more pizazz. I think if a person wants to achieve that then that's fine, but it's not totally necessary. The work is laid out in a sort of scrapbook fashion, but it doesn't feel overwhelming to look at.

PALEFROI [link]

What I like about this example is that it encompasses everything they do, in one place. The front page is a sort of blog/journal, providing updates on recent events and what's going on.

There is also sections which catalog all of their print and publication projects respectively, as well as click-throughs of some of their pages. Their shop can also be accessed from the main site too. I think the way the site functions fits their multidisciplinary practice very well.

Task 1 | Creative Manifesto

One of the aims within my practice is to communicate to an audience (however big or small), hoping to engage with them through atmosphere, tone of voice, and the visual impact of what I create. I would describe the things I make as 'insular but inviting' - they often don't make sense at a first glance, but I would hope that this provokes viewers to read, decode, and interpret the images for themselves. Whether this ends in complete understanding or total confusion, it doesn't really matter.

My work features humour, surreal imagery, ambiguity, words and phrases, and references ranging from historical to personal. I think that this eclectic mix of stuff creates a characteristic that is hard to identify, but is in no way limited.

It is important for me to continue finding pieces of information that expand on this vault of influences and reference points, as well as processes and approaches so that my work doesn't become too formulaic.

Final Presentation

Creative Report

Life's A Pitch

OUIL502 End of Module Evaluation

Presentation | Slide Explanation

Here is the explanation of each slide and the relevance of it's content, this will form the basis of my script for when it comes to presenting however it will be edited down.

Presentation | Alt vs. Accessibility

I'm slowly gathering a lot of bits and pieces to talk about in my presentation. However when I was drawing the mind map I realised another potential area to talk about.

Throughout the year two subjects have continuously cropped up alongside each other, and it has been an ongoing dialogue with myself. I don't think I can fully pick apart this idea yet, but maybe I can just touch upon it within the slides I put together:

The 'Alt' and the 'Accessible'

I enjoy things that are non-exclusive, made for everyone regardless of who they are, however a lot of the references I've made on my blog and my areas of interest encompass 'alternative' aspects of visual culture or ideas of illustration.

It's hard for me to articulate, but this is how I tried to do it:

ACCESSIBLE - for everyone, all ages, genders, classes, ethnicities, etc.

ALT - 'relating to activities that depart from or challenge traditional norms' (unorthodox, unconventional, unusual, irregular, offbeat...)

- a smaller following, but often much more diverse content. tends to be bolder, takes more risks, non-homogenised (e.g. with alt-comics; auto-biographical, surreal, fiction, factual, different narratives, subjects, view points - life, mental health, dreams, etc etc)

....in some ways, I would like to marry these two concepts together in my work. Like "this is for anyone" but it's not pandering to a mass audiences, or trends.

My work isn't on-trend or trendy, but that doesn't mean it can't be commercial.

Presentation | Mind map

I started to make a mind map, hoping that it would help me to generate some content for my presentation. Also, the diagram is a good way of showing links between subjects and thoughts, so it could also help with the structure of the presentation.

Ideally I would like my presentation to be a mixture of personal and academic subjects, because I think these two things are very closely linked. The most important thing is that it flows and makes sense to others.

Here are some notes on the main bits of the diagram:

RESEARCH

• 504: William Burroughs - a heavily researched module

• Polish poster art - has informed my practice in some ways

PROCESS

• Monotype - immediate, lo-fi

• Cut-ups and collage (links to Burroughs)

• Sketchbook - thinking, writing, rough sketches, notes

PROFESSIONALISM

• Do I fit into this? I don't feel comfortable with it

• Don't see myself being a successful commercial illustrator. Can I redefine professionalism for myself?

• Instead of shoe-horning my work into industry niches, can I find places that fit my work naturally?

• TIME - I don't think the aim is to leave uni as a pre-packaged, fully-fledged practicing illustrator. That's not the point. -> Take time to develop, it's an ever-changing thing

EXHIBITIONS

• The idea of curating work or a theme. Could I do this?

• Stedelijk Museum visit - really inspirational from 2016. Found it to be an accessible place with a lot on offer.

        -> Willem Sandberg: Director & Designer - posters as framed pieces of art, museum             branding, simplicity, process-led

        -> Jean Tinguely: Machine Spectacle - explored drawing as a process, drawing                  machines, involved the audiences, fun, open to everyone, multi-disciplinary (books,              drawings, machines, audio-visual, recordings...)

• Experimental Jetset - innovative, organising events and exhibitions, involved in the ideas as well as the art direction.

• Mark Beyer: With/Without Text - all of these different artefacts and pieces of art under one roof, looking at one person's career.

• How do exhibitions begin? Who what where how why? Is it achievable?

PUBLICATIONS

• Zines, 504 publication, Batsford Prize, I enjoy collating works into a finished publication. Something I'd like to expand on in future and possibly work towards.

• Alt-comics - Mark Beyer, AX Manga, Seth, Chester Brown, Breakdown Press. All very inspiring to me this year. Some great narratives as well as how they can be visually portrayed.

Mark Beyer

I ordered this book to the library a while ago. Finding out about Mark Beyer's comics and artwork has made a big impact on me. Everything he makes seems to be entirely his own, and comes from a place that has a feeling of true originality.

Beyer's work appeals to me in terms of its aesthetics, and the bizarre tone of voice, but I'm also drawn to the work because it is shrouded in a fair bit of mystery and is boiled down to a few commissioned projects he has pursued over the years. I enjoy the work because it doesn't seem to be about commercial success, but more about authenticity. 

He also did a few animated shorts for Liquid Television, which was aired on MTV in the 90's. The short was called 'Thomas and Nardo'.

The odd exhibition or project carried out by Beyer was most likely done not only because he was willing to create artwork for that purpose, but the client must have been interested in what he does.

'Mark Beyer: With/Without Text' (2013) was the first Mark Beyer retrospective, which exhibited Tom Wagner's personal collection of his artwork. The show featured early self-published books, objects including trading cards, dolls, as well as silkscreen prints, plexiglass paintings, posters, and magazine covers.

Beyer was also a common contributor to Art Spiegelman's comics anthology RAW magazine, his work being featured in nearly all of the issues.

---

Escape Magazine Interview [link]

With/Without Text - Mark Beyer Exhibition notes [link]

Outsider Art Now - Mark Beyer [link]