Sunday 30 October 2011

Site-Specific (posted on 30/10/11)

Camberwell College of Arts, Peckam site, UAL, London. Photo: Nikos Georgopoulos



















The term Site-Specific Art refers to an artwork that is conceived and created to exist in a certain place; which means that the artist takes the location into account -in terms of its physical manifestation as well as its contemporary and historical context- while planning and creating the artwork. The location is linked to the idea as well as to the artwork itself.

Established in 1898, Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts, London, and is widely regarded as one of the world's most prestigious and foremost art and design institutions. It is located in Camberwell, South London, England, with two sites situated at Peckham Road and Wilson Road. Originally, the College offered classes in practices such as, Architecture; Stencil cutting as well as others, and by 1920 a Fine Art Department had been created. Today, the College is quite famous for disciplines related to visual culture; ranging from Fine Art and Sculpture to Graphic Design and Illustration. In addition to this, it is very well known for its arty; sort of 'rough' and slightly underground; socially engaged; intellectual approach towards its disciplines.

As far as concerns the area within which the College is located, South London is a very interesting and vibrant area that reminds me slightly the set as well as the photography and the aesthetics of Massive Attacks' video-clip of their song 'Unfinished Sympathy' (Blue Lines, 1991, Virgin Records); which simply consists of one continuous shot of Nelson walking along a sidewalk. In particular, there are many design studios and artists concentrated in this part of London and as David Cross, artist himself and Course Director of the MA Graphics on Camberwell, points out; 'many artists and designers -particularly those who have been through Camberwell- have helped define the character of this area' and vice versa. What is more, the accommodation in this area is cheaper than other parts of London. Long story short, South London is 'arty', sort of 'rough' and 'underground' in terms of aesthetics as well as socially engaged -partly because of the people who live and operate there.

Massive Attack, Unfinished Sympathy. Music video, Virgin Records, 1991. Directed by Baillie Walsh. Screen shot.


















Camberwell College of Arts, Peckam site, UAL, London. Photo: Nikos Georgopoulos



















In my view, the way in which Camberwell College of Arts' approach on art and design education is linked with its -architectural, sociological and cultural- environment, consists an overall experience that is site-specific; therefore, unique. And the same applies to every University; College or School -anywhere around the world really, that seems to update their ideas and approach on education with what's happening in the world right now. So, in that sense, the 'location' is linked to the idea as well as to the 'artwork' itself.


Nikos Georgopoulos,
26th of October, 2011
Islington,
London

Tuesday 25 October 2011

'' We don’t need new fonts… '' (posted on 25/10/11)

Typotheque's office, The Hague, NL. Photo taken by http://www.typotheque.com

















Typotheque is a type foundry and design studio formed by Peter and Johanna Bil'ak who believe that ' design should happen at a more fundamental level than just playing with layout. '

I am re-posting a Peter Bil'ak's article -published on the editorial of 8 FACES magazine, Issue 3, 2011, that challenge designers to think about ' why we design type, not just how we design it. '



We don't need new fonts...
(by Peter Bil'ak)

Is there any reason to make new fonts when there are so many already available for downloading? It's time to reflect on motivation to draw new type. While there is no reason to make uninspired new fonts, still, there are typefaces which haven’t been made yet and which we do need.

It seems to be a golden age of type design—not only are there more type foundries now than ever before, not only is distribution easier and more direct, not only is type a hot topic for numerous specialised blogs and magazines, but even the general interest media are in on the conversation, (if only occasionally). New type design courses are opening regularly, churning out legions of type designers. And there are now over 150,000 fonts available for direct download.

In spite of all the attention to type and the unprecedented conditions for type designers, the vast majority of new fonts desperately lack originality. Just as in the music industry, where cover versions and remixes are often more popular than new music, font designers seemingly prefer to exploit successful models from the past rather than strive for new solutions. Scant decades ago, new typefaces underwent a rigorous review procedure to ensure that they met the publisher’s artistic and technical criteria. Today, self-publishing has eliminated such processes, and there is little critical review, little effort to add something new to the evolution of the profession. Mediocrity abounds as quality control dwindles. Dozens of blogs (as well as the print media) simply republish press releases without distinguishing between marketing and independent reviews, praising uninspired fonts and institutionalising the average. Many design awards do the same, perpetuating a false idea of what constitutes superior quality. We don’t need new fonts like this.

In my decade of experience teaching at Type & Media I have seen many students enter the course with no previous experience in type design. Over the eight months of the course they learn the structure of letterforms and the principles of construction that allow them to create well-designed typefaces, (not always terribly original, but convincing executions without obvious mistakes). Having mastered the formal execution of type, they can then move on to think about how to apply their skills. Obviously, creating type that is too closely related to existing models doesn’t justify the effort involved. Or as my Type & Media colleague Erik van Blokland says: “If an existing typeface does the job, there is no reason to make a new one.”

Many people drawing type today have solid drawing skills, but no desire to advance the field (let alone rebel against it) by creating original solutions. Can we call them type designers? I think not, at least not any more than we can call every fast, accurate typist a writer. Content is at least as important as form, the ideas we express as important as how we express them.

Still, there are typefaces which haven’t been made yet and which we need. Type that reacts to our present reality rather than being constrained by past conventions; type for non-Latin scripts that gives its users more choices; type that brings readers from previous media to new ones. It is time to think about why we design type, not just how we design it.

http://www.typotheque.com
http://www.typotheque.com/articles/we_dont_need_new_fonts