The digital designs are about my
worst job ever and titled “Human Mannequin”. They were September 17, 2013 and
finished October 15, 2013.
The designs are currently digital
pieces with the possibility of being used as printed 11x17 in posters. The
subject of the posters is my position as a Chicago runway model. One includes a
photo of me that is left behind at castings while the others use only
illustrations. The subject is the main unifying element between all of the
posters. Shades of pink are also used in all of the pieces, though most
noticeable in the two illustrated designs.
The geometric piece is so due to
the direction of the text and angle of the leg. I tried to follow what would be
the outer arc of a nautilus shell should one zoom in on the shape.
The deconstructive piece is so due
to the layering and effort required to read some of the content. The design is
made up of five distinct, competing layers that break up the eyes usual
pattern.
The integrative piece is so due to
its straightforwardness and simplicity. The comparison between the two
shoe-wearing states is very clear, as is the entire design.
These designs are an interpretation
of my feelings about modeling. They reflect my distaste for the way models are
viewed and the discomfort the job causes. Each of the posters includes text
about feeling hungry, unhappy, pained, and belittled while working as a model
and the illustrations of the obnoxiously long, noodle-like legs are meant to
caricaturize the physical aspect of the job.
My designs differ from some of my
classmates work on the spectrum of how abstract each piece is. In the class it
seemed that there was a wide variety in how literal or symbolic each piece was-
how much had to be figured out by the viewer.
Though what I made broke away from
reality in the way it was illustrated, the illustrations were still close to
their real-life counterparts. Others’ work was closer to real-life by focusing
on more literal, photographic representations and some were much more abstract
by using metaphoric or symbolic imagery.
I think that, with some effort, my
job could be determined by a viewer who knew nothing about me and saw only the
posters. Others’ don’t give the slightest hint as to what the job was. For
example, the integrative poster depicting the spine and the cactus said more
about the feeling than the actual job. There was no way to tell that she worked
in a pizza parlor. It was a much different approach to the project, a lot less
literal than I took it.
In approaching the project I used
the brainstorming techniques we read about in our textbook. Most everything
that I came to focused on the shoes and the discomfort of the job. My obsession
with Adobe Illustrator drew me toward illustrating most of the project. The
illustrations that made the most sense focused on a model’s lifeline, her legs,
and her handiest tool, her heels.
My purpose in creating these
posters was to convey the negative side of modeling. That it isn’t all fun and glamour,
there is a lot of pain, physical and emotional, involved. I intend for this
project to draw the audience in with the pleasant, almost cartoon-like visuals
and then share with them the darker reality of the job. I don’t intend to make
them sand or angry or to start an anti-modeling revolution, just to stop
glamorizing the stick-thin girls who scowl more than smile.
I feel that my integrative and
deconstructive solution were most successful. I feel that those two are
complete and stable and reflect each of the design paradigms. I wish that I
could have found a better solution for my geometric design. Something about the
end of the line of text is unsettling to me. I tried to add weight and
stability by thickening the last phrase, but I feel that I could find a better
solution.
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