Week 7: October 18
Week 7: October 18
For scholarly research this week, I wanted to learn more about soft power. I read an article by Joseph Nye, the one who coined the term.
Citation: Nye, Joseph. “Soft Power: The Origins and Political Progress of a Concept.” Palgrave Communications 3, no. 1 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/palcomms.2017.8.
Link to article: https://www.nature.com/articles/palcomms20178
I learned more about the exact definition of soft power, straight from the source. He defines power as the following: “Power is the ability to affect others to get the outcomes one prefers, and that can be accomplished by coercion, payment, or attraction and persuasion. Soft power is the ability to obtain preferred outcomes by attraction rather than coercion or payment." I think it's interesting that he coined it because of an apparent decline in US imperialism, as I feel the same discussions are still being held today. He discussed how the meaning of the word has changed in relation to more recent events, and the varying responses to his invention of the word. I actually think still that soft power is underrated, because of its subtlety and its lack of discussion in politics. The same goes with juxtaposition, where I think that the power it has is subtle and underestimated.
I also wanted to highlight my own version of the recipe cards from that I saw at Poster House the previous week.
This is just a sample, but I was thinking maybe the cards could contain information about any objects I make, or maybe any significant quotes that I found in my research.
I was running out of blue ink, but I made the cards in photoshop and glued them to cardboard to make the cards.
It’s a little sloppy, but I enjoyed making them. I feel like they are less the main focus of my project, and maybe something that I would make to go along with it and hand out if I had time. I would need to figure out a way to mass make them though. The cards could probably be printed somewhere like CVS or staples, but I’m not sure if there’s a way to reproduce the carrying case cheaply (I’m sure getting a custom folder like that would be expensive) or easily (making that many by hand would take too much time. I will think further about this.
Overall this week, I was glad I got to learn more about the origins of soft power. The only reason I had heard that term before was in relation to Kpop, and how the tourism and hype that it brought has brought South Korea much more money and influence. I thought of the US as more of a hard power because of this country’s emphasis on the military, but I suppose our cultural influence would give use soft power as well. I would like to try to find another source that discusses this more in an art or media context though. I will also look more into the process of making the cards, or deciding exactly what information I would put on them. I may put it off for now though and decide to focus more on the main project, and make this more of an extra or side project.
More Posts from Rachelcapstone and Others
Week 6: October 11
This week for creative research and inspiration I went with Jack to Poster House on 23rd street.
We saw an exhibit called “Masked Vigilantes On Silent Motorbikes”
Title wall
AVW202 (Money Makers) on the left and MSSBUTTONS (Mighty Man of Valor) on the left by Nicholas Fraser
I really liked how this piece played with light and shadow, and how the cutouts from the banners were left attached. It made the banner itself a bit harder to read (especially with the imagery already on it), and you had to read the shadow for clarity.
These pieces (Dissonance #14 and Allusion) were collaged to make human faces (or parts of it), but with two different methods. The piece on the left was a more traditional collage, with different papers pieced together to make the human face. What is particularly interesting about the one on the right though, is that the shape of the eye actually is one piece of white paper that is overlaid over an image of a woman drawn comic style. What creates the image of the eye is small holes in the white paper that let more or less of the image underneath to show through and create shading. Our brain is able to connect the small dots together to piece them into the image of the eye. Just like how our brains create connections between things in juxtaposition, it can fill in the image of the eye from an arrangement of small holes in a piece of paper.
There was also an exhibit on the caricature or Air-India’s Maharaja, a cartoon caricature created for advertisements for Air-India.
I saw these posters which don’t exactly relate to my project, but I love the intricacy and the delicate patterns that are present.
And also the color palettes for these posters
I was also super inspired by this recipe card booklet full of recipes each from a different park of instead. I think the color palette and attention to detail (ex. the shape of the pocket) are really beautiful. The cards kind of remind me of Kpop photo cards I collect. They’re about the same size and I also keep them in a little binder. But I’ve been thinking go making some sort of pamphlet or booklet to hand out with mu art piece, and I think that this is a more unique option.
I really enjoyed my experience going to Poster House, and got some really good inspiration for color and type. All of the work was very beautiful. Dissonance #14 and Allusion were surprisingly complex, and made me think more about how we can piece together a bunch of little holes to create an image, which is gestalt. The recipe cards are also something I plan to maybe make in the future.
Finally, for scholarly research, I found this article about juxtaposition as a soft power.
Citation: Richard, Erica. “The Power of Juxtaposition.” Art21, April 21, 2020. https://art21.org/read/the-power-of-juxtaposition/.
Link: https://art21.org/read/the-power-of-juxtaposition/
The article is aimed at educators to show how contemporary artists combine their art-making with their roles as engaged citizens. It brings up the term soft power, and explains that "Soft power is a fitting term to describe the subtle and nuanced ways in which artists influence the social and political sphere.” Juxtaposition can be a way that artists can empower themselves to have influence in the social and political sphere by persuading viewers to see a juxtaposition and come to a particular conclusion. It also explains that "Juxtaposition is one tool used by contemporary artists to persuade viewers or elaborate on an idea; it demands that artists become conscious organizers of content.” I know that soft power is already a political term, so it’s interesting to see an overlap between politics and juxtaposition. I also feel like this is a good way of explaining its importance, which I was having trouble putting into words previously.
I was definitely inspired by the posters that I saw this week, even if I’m not sure if it’s really the final form that my project is going to take. I really like the way that the Nicholas Fraser banners played with light, and you sort of had to look at it at a certain angle to be read. I was also inspired by the colors and type in the Maharaja exhibit, particularly the recipe book. I just find it so delightful, and could be a good way to incorporate the making of a physical object to hand out for my project. I am also super intrigued by the concept of a soft power now, and plan to look maybe more into the history of the term, as I only know what it means on a surface level. It’s definitely an important aspect of juxtaposition though that I plan to incorporate into my final paper.
In 1926, Wassily Kandinsky published two essays on his theory of form, the essays were accompanied by photographs and abstract drawings. Gret Palucca, a pioneer of the new expressive dance, was the model for the abstract drawings.
The Palucca-inspired sketches are originally based on photographs by Charlotte Rudolph
Complete documents of every scholarly research article I’ve found (WIP)
➤ GUŌ PÉI | 郭培 Spring Summer 2018 Couture Collection — ELYSIUM
Final Crit Notes
Week 4: September 27
Last week, I talked to Nancy about how juxtaposition was a difficult topic to research, as it can be sort of a generic word that can be about the comparison of any two things, from scientific topics to art. This means that when researching it, it can be difficult to find articles that relate to it in the art/design context that I am looking for.
Links from Nancy on juxtaposition:
https://arttalks.com/exhibition/juxtaposition/
https://kayleyhutchinson.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/juxtaposition-composition-and-deconstruction/
I was thinking about how Nancy said that movement can be a medium, which also reminds me of the images I reposted on here from Wassily Kandinsky, who published two essays on his theory of form. The essays were accompanied by photographs and abstract drawings. Gret Palucca, a pioneer of the new expressive dance, was the model for the abstract drawings. The Palucca-inspired sketches are originally based on photographs by Charlotte Rudolph
This reminded me of another article that I found about dance notation, and how dance is recorded and notated in a 2D form:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1567163
They’re not really standardized, but I just love how beautiful and intricate the pieces in this article are, and it reminded me a bit of when I was looking into data visualization. I also shared this article with Arianna, as I thought it related to her topic as well.
For creative research, this week I was thinking about what Toni said when I talked to her about making something people could walk through. I was thinking about a garden arches, or tunnels, or doors. I actually made a door that people couldn’t walk through for 3D class as a freshman.
Detail shots
I was really into iridescent paper
Cutting through the door after
So I’ve been thinking about maybe making some sort of collage or juxtaposition related tunnel that people could walk through.
I first started thinking of those wire or metal garden gates that people have.
I though about what if there was a collage or multimedia piece that people could walk through, and see a variety of colors/materials, or maybe collage themes or topics that people could walk through. I like the idea of light being able to pass through it as well. I made a mockup in photoshop here using the garden gate shown above
I was also thinking about quilts and how they can sort of be a collage, and maybe I could make something quilt like and drape it over a structure that people could walk through. It would be cool if some of it could be transparent too….
Overall this week, I feel like I’ve been thinking a little differently than previously, and about movement and medium. I think the problem with the mockup that I made above is that it is beautiful, but I’m not sure how well it conveys the message of my topic. I also still feel like I need an exact topic for my juxtaposition though, but hopefully I am getting closer. I’ve reposted some other images this week that also interest me. This week I will also focus more on refining exactly what I want to make, and will go to the studio to make my inspiration board on the cardboard given in class. Next week I may try to make a small model of the mockup I made today.
