Studio Brief 3 - Persons of Note

Brief

• Produce a series of illustrations in response to a given person of note.
• Must exist across a range of different formats.
• 4 stamps (50mm x 35mm).
• 3 postcards (105mm x 140mm).
• 1 poster (594mm x 420mm).
• Any medium.
• Focus on storytelling, ideas and concept.

Research

Zaha Hadid (31st October 1950 - 31st March 2016)

• Iraq born British architect.
• First woman to receive the Pritzker Prize in 2004.
• Received the UK's most prestigious architectural award, the Stirling prize in 2010 and 2011.
• She was made a dame by the Queen for her services to architecture.
• First woman to be awarded the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects  in 2015.
• Described as 'Queen of the curve".
• Her major works include the aquatic centre for the 2012 London Olympics, Michigan State University's Broad Art Museum and Guangzhou Opera House in China.
• Many of her buildings are still under construction.
• She studied at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in 1972.
• Her former professor called her "the inventor of 89 degrees".
• She didn't care for small details such as staircases.
• "The way she drew a staircase you would smash your head against the ceiling".
• She opened her own architectural firm in 1980.
• In her early career she often created colourful paintings of her proposed buildings.
• She also took up some high profile interior work creating fluid furniture pieces.
• In 2009 she worked with Lacoste to make an advanced boot.

Gil Heron Scott (1st April 1949 - 27th May 2011)

• An American soul and jazz poet, musician and author best known as a spoken word performer in the 70s and 80s.
• He collaborated with musician Brian Jackson creating a musical fusion of jazz, blues and soul which contained lyrical content concerning the political and social issues at the time.
• He gave himself the term 'bluesologist'.
• His music, especially from 'Pieces of a Man' and 'Winter in America' helped to influence African-American music genres such as hiphop.
• He is sometimes considered to be the first rapper/MC ever.
• He remained active until his death and in 2010 released his first album in 16 years called 'I'm New Here'.
• He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 for one of his best known compositions 'The Revolution will not be Televised'.
• He was born in Chicago.
• Being one of the five black students at The Fieldston School, he faced a lot of alienation.
• Whilst he was there he was asked by an administrator "How would you feel if you saw one of your classmates go by in a limousine while you're walking up the hill from the subway?". He responded with "Same way as you. Y'all can't afford no limousine. How do you feel?"
• His boldness is how he got far in his career.
• He was heavily influenced by the Black Arts Movement.
• Whilst at Lincoln University he met Brian Jackson who he formed the band Black and Blues with.
• He began his recording career in 1970 with the LP Small Talk at 125th and Lenox.
• The 14 songs dealt with themes such as consumerism and the superficiality of television.
• 'Pieces of Man' recorded in 1971 had a more conventional song structure compared to the spoken word in 'Small Talk'.
• He was a frequent critic of current president Ronald Reagan and his conservative policies.
• He is known in many circles as 'The Godfather of rap'.
• He can also be seen as the founder of political rap.
• His work has influenced writers, academics and musicians.

Fela Kuti (15th October 1938 - 2nd August 1997)

• A Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer, pioneer of the Afrobeat music genre, human rights activist and political maverick. 
• He was sent to London to study medicine but decided to study music at Trinity College of Music with the trumpet being his preferred instrument.
• He formed the band Koola Lobitos, playing a fusion of jazz and highlife. He then moved back to Nigeria and reformed the band. 
• In 1967 he went to Ghana which is where he first called his music Afrobeat.
• He then took his band to the US where he discovered the Black Power Movement through a partisan of the Black Panther Party. 
• This then heavily inspired his music and political views.
• He and the band returned to Nigeria where Kuti opened up a nightclub named Afro-spot which then changed to Afrika Shrine.
• He changed his middle name to Anikulapo meaning 'he who carries death in his pouch'.
• His music was popular across the Nigerian public and Africans in general. 
• Although, it was very unpopular with the ruling government.
• In 1977 Fela and the Afrika released the album 'Zombie' which was an attack on Nigerian soldiers which made the government more upset.
• Causing a massive attack on the Kalakuta Republic involving 1,000 soldiers where Kuti was beaten and his mother thrown out of a window.
• He created his own political party named 'Movement of the People'.
• Kuti criticised the corruption of the Nigerian government officials and the mistreatment of citizens.
• His protest songs spoke negatively of the corruption making the people aware.
• In the 1970's he began to run outspoken political columns in newspapers.

Research Summary

I have chosen to look further into Zaha Hadid as an artist I am interested in her work which can be seen across the world. The comment about how she drew staircases gave me a visual idea where I can begin my work. As well as the idea of 'the inventor of 89 degrees which could also be another strong visual representation of her legacy. She is also the first woman to win many architectural awards as well as being made a dame by the queen. 

Roughs

I need to get the hang of drawing her face before I even begin to think about the final designs.

This drawing is a bit too complex for me. Although, I don't know what medium I'm going to choose yet so it could be possible that I want more detail.

Print is definitely my comfort zone. Do I want to go out of it for such a big project?

I have tried to simplify her face down more when thinking about screen printing.

Should I make a digital design or use china-marker to give it a more rough, drawn approach?

I want the final designs to have strong relation to Zaha Hadid's style of work so I will probably stick to a digital method.

To get the neat curves of her architecture I could also consider using Adobe Illustrator. This will stress me out a lot bit the final designs could be worth it.

I am currently trying to intertwine Hadid's face into her most well known designs.

This is proving difficult as the drawings look childish. 

I don't think I'm being ambitious enough with my ideas. Although, they may get better as I continue repetitive drawing.

Maybe the curves of the buildings could be her hair?

Tutorial 

My tutorial has helped me to guide me into further developing my ideas. I have been reminded that this is not a portrait brief and Zaha Hadid's face doesn't need to be involved. The roughs that I have currently created are weak which I was aware of before the tutorial but now speaking to Matt has given me more ideas to push the brief further. So far I am most interested in how she didn't take too much time in drawing staircases. But will this idea be lead me anywhere? I need to consider how I develop and the tone of voice in my work which tends to be anarchic and wonky. How can I do this when Hadid's architecture is so neat and well made?

After the tutorial I am considering on changing to a different person of note, Fela Kuti. I feel like I can relate to him a lot more because of his attitude towards the Nigerian Government which he expressed through his music involving him being beaten by soldiers. He stands up for what he believes in which I am also passionate about. 

I plan on researching more into him (ignoring the fact he married 27 women) and listening to the music he created focusing on the lyrics as well as the sound as a whole. Is it as anarchic as him? How will I express this visually?

Before moving onto Fela I thought I'd give Zaha another chance with the ideas I got from my tutorial.

I much prefer these designs to the ones before. Zooming on the curves and different details of her buildings is much more interesting than shoving her face on the front of one.

These ideas could be developed further by using different mediums and approaches.

 I'm trying to capture different elements of her buildings by looking closely at the different shapes and marks but so far I've been bored.

It's way too repetitive and representational.

I want something more exhilarating with someone that stood for something and made a change.

The idea could be expanded further using different techniques but I don't think Zaha Hadid is the right person for me.

Some of the pieces are a lot stronger than others such as the ones where the space is used up completely and covers all the edges but the majority are compositionally weak.

Fela Kuti Research

• Pioneered Afrobeat music.
• Repeatedly arrested (200 times) and beaten by the Nigerian Government.
• His mother was also a political activist.
• Most of his songs ranged from 15 minutes to an hour long.
• Afrobeat became associated with making political statements about greed and corruption (especially in the 1970/80s).
• The song 'Zombie' questions Nigerian Soldiers obedience to orders.
• Beasts of No Nation album cover features politicians such as Margaret Thatcher as vampires.
• Kuti took his beatings and arrests as more inspiration for more song lyrics.
• He produced approximately 50 albums during his musical career.
• His 3 offspring were all in a band named the Positive Force (founded in the 80s).
• Roughly 1 million people attended his funeral.

Book: Black President, The Art and Legacy of Fela Kuti

• He identified the corruption of the Nigerian Government as well as other governments around the world which he boldly expressed in his music.
• His compound was named the Kalakuta Republic which was protected by barbed wire and people could speak freely of their radical ideas.
• He refused to play at FESTAC because it was a corrupted government sponsored festival.
• Fela's life was excessive; he smoked copious amounts of weed and was married to 28 women at one time as well as having millions of followers.
• "What Fela was talking about was togetherness" - Daughter Femi.
• The mass marriage proved to be a mirage. He married 27 women shortly after his mother was thrown out of a window and died to show that not any amount of love can compare to that of his mother's.
• C.S.A.S. (Condom Scallywag and Scatter) an unrecorded composition.
• His messages began to evolve more and more until 5 days before his death "he saw almost everyone around him as evil". 
• Feel plays jazzy saxophone and keen, stabbing organ.

Roughs

I began looking into Fela Kuti by researching and creating sound maps of his music.

I found it difficult to begin with as I saw it as pointless squiggles on a page but I began to get more into his music and focused on the different elements to each song.

I have focused on small parts of each song as they are quite long and began to look overcrowded on the page.

 I started adding colours to try and further capture but as I continue listening to the music I become more confused as more sounds are layered over one another.

How could I resolve this problem?

Could I separate the elements or will it become too crowded?

I have been making the sound maps with my eyes open so far meaning they're a bit too neat and not representational as I'm too focused on what I'm drawing rather than the sounds.

It looks a lot better with more coloured layers where I have focused on different instruments and sounds throughout different parts of the song.

The colours are representational of the sounds as well as Fela Kuti's culture. I have tried to fit the connotations of colour with the sounds I'm hearing and the vibe I'm getting from them.

It's proving difficult to show the darker meanings behind the lyrics of the songs because the sounds are so upbeat and funky.

Could I use a more gestural approach for the lyrics with darker colours? Ink maybe?

 I tried this with a bright repetitive background and bold colour over the top to represent the sounds of the lyrics which didn't seem to work still.

I'm going to continue making sound maps and focus on the different elements of the song and possibly interpret the patterns into later work.

I finally closed my eyes and began to create the sound maps which I discovered works a lot better than having my eyes open and focusing on the page.

The colours I used in this piece are of particular interest to me. It is clear where different sounds appear throughout the period of the song.

 I began focusing more on when different sounds came into the song and added the colours further down the page with slight overlapping.

This design is much stronger than the others as well as focusing on the shapes and line qualities of the sounds.

How could I develop this further?

I started listening to larger chunks of music and visualised it through sound maps but it quickly became too crowded.

I'm going to listen to the songs and find the most interesting points and draw those. Preferably the parts where his lyrics are most passionate and political.

I tried representing the shapes I have been creating with sound maps through using cut paper.

This piece is my strongest because of the different texture and strong contrast in between colours.

But does it represent what Fela Kuti stands for?

I want my work to have more kick to it and show more of his political attitude but I'm struggling to find a way of visualising this.

Crit Session

This helped a lot. Walking around the room and getting feedback off the majority of the course always seems to be hit and miss but I think it worked pretty well for me this time as I made my own questions. 

The responses have helped me think of new possible ideas. I am going to research further into the Nigerian Government and any significant political moments during that era.

I want my work to relate more to the attitude that Fela had towards the leaders.

Someone suggested to make a sculpture or a flag which I'm going to try to develop my ideas.

 I have been suggested artists/protest posters. Some of which I have looked into before so I am going to look further into Emory Douglas in particular (Black Panther Movement artist) who created the posters for the Black Panthers.

I am going to look further into his album cover designs although I don't want to base my work too much on the art on the album covers.

Getting feedback from another peer and evaluating each others work has also helped me gain more knowledge as she had the same person as me meaning we understood each other's work well.

We then joined another pair and presented each other's work which also helped gain more feedback and ideas as well as discussing how we are going to finalise our work into the given formats. As a group we began to discuss illustration as a whole as well as the brief with some set questions.

What is successful?

Illustration is most successful when the image visually communicates the idea of the artist making it easy for the viewer to understand. 

What is great? 

Illustration is best when it is clear that experimentation has taken place using different methods of approach and trying new ways to make the image. The greatest work involves the artist pushing the boat out and willing to take risks. 

What makes this brief exceptional? 

This project in particular is exceptional as it has made me think of how I can visualise someone's whole legacy without literally making the image of the person themselves.

Roughs Continued 

I'm not sure on these drawings. I'm trying to practise drawing the house/commune in which Fela Kuti discussed his political views as well many others.

My current drawings of the building are pretty boring and standard. I want my work to stand out and focus more towards the attitude of Fela.

How can I do this?

I'm going to try more mediums and possibly try make font to further develop my idea.

Using black ink gives the work slight more anarchy but still not enough.

Should I paint it on a larger scale with a thicker brush?

I'm going to begin looking into font and how I can add some power to my current work.

When looking at this I can see my work progressing and expressing more of what Fela Kuti stood for. But still not enough.

The quick, thick ink marks are the strongest when focusing on the tone of voice I want to create.

More punch and more power.

I'm going to create cut paper designs and experiment with the photocopier to create overlapping and colour variations.

Emory Douglas 

Emory Douglas created work for the Black Panther Party in the 1960s until the party ended. He is an inspiration for my current work as Fela Kuti became involved in the Black Power Movement when he first visited the U.S.

The way in which the work is created fascinates me because of how the images had to be produced at a fast pace to be printed for the Black Panther newspaper.

The thick lines to create the shadows and creases of the people add to the darkness and strong message that Emory Douglas wants to show.

Although the images want to show a powerful message about black people's rights. The backgrounds can be completely juxtaposing. This makes the dark thick lines stand out even further but still represents African culture.

His posters also contain slogans and quotes from the Black Panther members to further emphasise the power behind the visual idea.

I will take his work into consideration when continuing to develop my own work and think about how I can get Fela Kuti's message across to my audience.

More Roughs

 Looking at Emory Douglas' work has influenced me to do further research into Fela Kuti.

Emory uses powerful slogans in his posters which inspired me to look at some of Fela's most inspiring quotes that I could visualise to make my message stronger.

I would like to somehow interpret these into my work both with and without using text.

I am going to experiment and consider how I could possibly visualise these particular quotes.

I began with "Music is the weapon. Music is the weapon of the future."

Fela Kuti first played and favourite instrument was the saxophone.

I want to make the shapes of the instrument to look sharp to be representative of a weapon. I'm have been drawing the object repetitively to practise make the object look more aggressive.

I am going to continue drawing the saxophone and alter parts of it to make it more weapon like.

I have experimented with the different elements of the instrument to make it look more violent and weapon like in different ways such as altering the length and angles of the object.

I want to make a coat of arms look to this work by possibly crossing the instruments over one another or add a new instrument.

I want the saxophones to look like a coat of arms but I've been thinking of adding something else instead of another instrument to show the conflict between the government and Fela.

I am going to try adding text to the design and consider the dimensions that I have been set in the brief to develop my work further.

A Surge of Ideas

• Flag using fabrics (think about what a flag represents) What do I want my message to say?
• 4 different patch designs (almost like cult/party badges)
• Consider symbols and motifs that could represent a certain song.
• Possibly look further into the Kalakuta Republic. What happened there? How could I visualise it?
• Continue with the quotes and try to visualise what he's saying but not in a representational way. Don't draw his leather pouch.
• Listen to Zombie and read further into the lyrics. 
• Research further into the origin of the word zombie (came from central Africa, not living dead but people with mindless acts and no consideration). Relevant to the song Zombie.

Mono-printing 

I tried mono-print to quickly make ideas that could help me when creating my fabric piece.

I managed to make the action of the hammer hitting the saxophone with a few simple lines.

Would this design be suitable to make a coat of arms?

 I experimented with different ways that I could alter the final print by using different coloured inks overlapping each other as well as reusing the stencils.

This design is visually communicating the conflict between Fela Kuti and the Nigerian Government as they are constantly attacking which encourages him to make more music which is represented by the saxophone.

Some more roughs

 My ideas have massively improved after talking to Matt and Jamie about making my work pack more of a punch and seem more like a protest.

I have began by drawing elements that could create a coat of  arms along with the saxophone for the poster design.

I want to make the piece using fabric so I'm trying to make my drawings almost look like symbols that can represent Fela Kuti.

 I'm trying to make the drawings as simple as possible by starting with more representational drawings and taking away aspects to see what it needs to look like the object without over doing it.

What weapon would slot together with the saxophone.

I want to avoid making the coat of arms look too crowded and messy so I am going to add the weapons into the drawings to test which one looks best.

 The hammer clashes with the instrument too much because the head of the hammer is too long and overlaps too much.

Could I make more of an action with the weapon instead of a coat of arms?

How could I make it into an action?

I have developed my ideas by not crossing the weapon and instrument cross over because it confused the focal point of the image.

These current ideas are a lot stronger as I have also been focusing on how to make the clash of saxophone and weapon look like an action by simply adding lines.

The axe looks a lot stronger alongside the saxophone as the shape of both objects are similar but flipped making them slot together.

I have made a rough design of the A2 flag as I'm still unsure if it's needed or not.

When I begin sewing I want to make the objects to visually communicate the conflict between Fela Kuti and the Nigerian Government.

What type of fabric should I use?

The postcards and stamp designs have been more challenging because of the dimensions.

I've been looking at the black power fist although I don't want it to look like the original design. I want it to relate to the tone of voice I want to create with the quote "I hold death in my pouch. I cannot die."

Repeating the drawings and altering different elements of the design has allowed me to make the design more my own.

Although it still doesn't seem to be a strong visual representation of the quote.

I am going to continue drawing the design and focus on what the quote means.

Writing the quote down in my sketchbook has made it a lot easier to focus on the different important words in it.

I tried drawing the pouch with the representational image of death popping out of it.

Is the pouch needed?

I still want to focus more on the design of the black power fist as it is more recognisable.

The idea of the hand being a skeleton has so much more punch to it. Almost like Fela's hand is coming out from under the dirt.

He cannot die.

It's clear I don't draw skeletons often but as I keep repeating the same design I can see a noticeable improvement.

This design is kind of scaring me when it comes to sewing because I'm no pro.

I have researched more into the meaning of the word 'zombie' and how it originally began in central Africa but rather meaning the living dead it stands for people who do things without thinking and seeming mindless.

This relates to the song by Fela Kuti named 'Zombie' which speaks of the Nigerian soldiers not considering their actions and just listening to what they are told to do no matter how much it may affect everyone else.

I have tried to visually represent this by making the soldier almost seem robot like.

Is the soldiers face needed to visually represent the song?

Finals

To create the final pieces I decided to use a cotton like material for the background as it has the right amount of flexibility. I chose felt to for the designs because of the bold colours it is available in as well as it being easy to cut without fraying.

I am so happy with the A2 poster/flag design. It shows the conflict between Fela and the Nigerian soldiers. 

The simple lines and zigzags represent the action between the two objects which emphasises the battle between the two.

This is a real kick in the teeth for the Nigerian Government. It represents what Fela Kuti stood for and how he never gave up on his people. The more they attacked him and his people the more music he made. 

I managed to make the skeleton hand look perfect somehow. I am shocked I did it. My sewing has improved a lot over the duration of this brief.

I wanted to make the hand simplistic as well as representational which I achieved with using just one piece of fabric and sewing the small details on rather than cutting several pieces of fabric into pieces.

If I were to make this again I would make the bones more rounded and simplified.

 I am proud with how my sewing skills have massively improved which has enabled me to make a brain pattern.

Although, this piece could have been improved by altering the the helmet to look more like a soldiers helmet as it my not be too clear to some viewers.

 I found it difficult to create this piece because of the space between the text.

Is the word clear enough?

I planned on making the text run straight across the centre of the piece although the text didn't fit in a row as well as there being too much negative space around the text.

 Using fabric made it difficult to create the stamp designs as the dimensions are smaller than I originally thought.

I need to focus on smaller elements of my design.

They are the weakest pieces because it is difficult to work with such a small space when using fabric.

Final Crit

Some of the feedback I received from people makes more sense than others. I'm glad that the tone of voice I tried to create in my designs have been recognised.