Scientific Terminology

TERMINOLOGY 

• Dopamine:

Is an organic chemical of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families that plays several important roles in the brain and body.Most types of rewards increase the level of dopamine in the brain, and many addictive drugs increase dopamine neuronal activity

Cocaine , met amphetamine , ecstasy and other psychostimulant exert their effects primarily or partly by increasing dopamine levels in the brain.Nicotine, cocaine and methamphetamine promote increased levels of dopamine which appear to be the primary factor in causing addiction

• Oxytocin: 
  is a human peptide hormone and neuropeptide.It plays a role in social bonding, sexual reproduction in both sexes, and during and after childbirth.[7] Oxytocin is released into the bloodstream as a hormone.  sometimes referred to as “the cuddle chemical” because it’s released when you kiss or hug.

• Endorphins :
  
  
  The principal function of endorphins is to inhibit the transmission of pain signals; they may also produce a feeling of euphoria very similar to that produced by other opioids. They are produced by thecentral nervous system and the pituitary gland. intended to mean "a morphine-like substance originating from within the body"
  
• Libido: 
  
  Colloquially known as sex drive, is a person's overall sexual drive or desire for sexual activity. Sex drive is influenced by biological, psychological and social factors. Biologically, the sex hormones and associated neurotransmitters that act upon the nucleus accumbens (primarily testosterone and dopamine, respectively) regulate libido in humans. Social factors, such as work and family, and internal psychological factors, like personality and stress, can affect libido. Sex drive can also be affected by medical conditions, medications, lifestyle and relationship issues, and age (e.g., puberty). A person who has extremely frequent or a suddenly increased sex drive may be experiencing hypersexuality, while the opposite condition ishyposexuality.
  
• Psychopathology:
  
  
  is the scientific study of mental disorders, including efforts to understand their genetic, biological, psychological, and social causes; effective classification schemes (nosology); course across all stages of development; manifestations; and treatment. The term may also refer to the manifestation of behaviors that indicate the presence of a mental disorder.
• Sublimation :
  
  
  In psychology, sublimation is a mature type of defense mechanism where socially unacceptable impulses or idealizations are unconsciously transformed into socially acceptable actions or behavior, possibly resulting in a long-term conversion of the initial impulse.
  Sigmund Freud believed that sublimation was a sign of maturity and civilization, allowing people to function normally in culturally acceptable ways. He defined sublimation as the process of deflecting sexual instincts into acts of higher social valuation, being "an especially conspicuous feature of cultural development; it is what makes it possible for higher psychical activities, scientific, artistic or ideological, to play such an important part in civilised life". Wade and Tavris present a similar view, stating that sublimation is when displacement "serves a higher cultural or socially useful purpose, as in the creation of art or inventions".
• Consciousness :
  
   Is the state or quality of awareness, or, of being aware of an external object or something within oneself. It has been defined variously in terms ofsentience, awareness, subjectivity, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood or soul, the fact that there is something "that it is like" to "have" or "be" it, and the executive control system of the mind, or the state or quality of awareness, or, of being aware of an external object or something within oneself. In contemporary philosophy its definition is often hinted at via the logical possibility of its absence, the philosophical zombie, which is defined as a being whose behavior and function are identical to one's own yet there is "no-one in there" experiencing it.
  
• Unconsciousness :
  
  
  is a state which occurs when the ability to maintain anawareness of self and environment is lost. It involves a complete or near-complete lack of responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli.^[2]
  Loss of consciousness should not be confused with the notion of the psychoanalytic unconscious or cognitive processes (e.g., implicit cognition) that take place outside awareness, and with altered states of consciousness, such as delirium (when the person is confused and only partially responsive to the environment), normal sleep, hypnosis, and other altered states in which the person responds to stimuli.

"The Dark Side of Social Media" Relevant texts

1 - RELEVANT INFORMATION :

In these times of globalisation, speeds have gone up and distances

have become smaller. Technical progress and individualization

have made man more independent and more aloof. […]

Modern man does not seem to be greatly interested in his fellow

humans. Today people are mainly concerned about themselves.

We tend to look away from the other and shut our eyes and ears

to the environment. Sometimes even neighbours are strangers

nowadays. People speak to one another without having a conversation,

look at other people without actually seeing them.

They communicate through fast short messages. Our society is

becoming more and more individualistic. Personal freedom has

become unrelated to solidarity with the community. But without

a certain sense of “togetherness” our existence is becoming

empty. That emptiness cannot be filled by virtual get-togethers;

on the contrary, distances are increasing. The ideal of the liberated

individual has reached its end point. We must try to find a

way back to what unites us. BY Queen Beatrix

2 - FACEBOOK DEPRESSION 

Medical practitioners now observe depression in teenagers

that is not brought on by typical teen angst, but by Facebook.

Researchers coin this symptom “Facebook Depression,” and

teens who experience it are at risk of isolation and depression

and may turn to inappropriate online resources that promote

substance abuse, unsafe sexual practices, or aggressive

or destructive behaviors. Unless parents monitor their child’s

Facebook usage and ensuing behavior, they won’t know their

child is depressed.

Source: Diagnosis: Social Media Syndrome (2011)

3 -ADDICTION IN THE ATTENTION DEFICIT ECONOMY

 Our feelings with regard to social media are best characterized

by ambivalence. This is only natural, for we intensify

our own behavior by means of social media. We may aim to

create as much co-operation as we like, but in many cases

the behavioral intensification ends in a caricature rather

than anything else. As we know, much social media behavior

is not particularly intentional. Most of its manifestations

are outpourings: status updates, feel-goods or feel-bads.

For the most part, social media behavior is letting oneself

be carried along by a gulf stream of new incentives: “social

interaction on top of social communication”, as the English

Wikipedia aptly puts it. This may all too easily evoke a feeling

of inspirational serendipity, and that subjective experience

is a major reason why social media behavior is turning

into social media addiction. In a positive case, that behavior

or addiction intensifies the intended focus and flow, in a

negative case the opposite is true — when it distracts us

from what we should really be occupied with.

4- SOCIAL MEDIA IMAGE 

Because we register everything and do not need to remove it, we

are approaching a turning point where viewing our photos and

reading all the opinions we leave behind on the Internet consume

more time than the life that remains to us. […] We keep

things not because they are memorable moments but because

we do not dare to lose a moment. We are increasingly afraid to

lose our importance if we are not constantly experiencing special

moments and are showing that to others. […] While we are

attempting to find ever-more moments and to store them, we

are changing into spectators of our own lives. We are watching

rather than actually experiencing. […]

The memory becomes more important than the actual experience

of the moment, while we build digital walls around us. The

new human being is no longer the leading actor but a voyeur

in his or her own life. […] Exactly because we are converting

everything into something memorable, each moment becomes

less valuable than the next one. We consistently seek the confirmation

of a moment that is even more beautiful and significant

than the previous one. But if everything becomes equally important,

everything gradually becomes equal to nothing.

We all have multiple identities. And that is not something that

is abnormal. It is just a part of being human. Identity is prismatic.

There are many lenses through which people view you.

We are all multifaceted people. Google and Facebook would

have you believe that you are a mirror. There is one reflection

that you have. […] But in fact we are more like diamonds. You

can look at people from any angle and you can see something

totally different and yet they are still the same.

According to Poole, we have arrived at a crossroads, where

we have to choose how we wish to deal with our online

identity. Should we opt for the path that Facebook and

Google have paved for us, or will we choose 4chan, the

path of anonymity, the path on which nothing is fixed, the

path where chaos rules?

What’s really at stake now is the ability to be creative and

expressive on the Internet. And I especially worry about young

people. Part of growing up is finding out who you are, what you

are passionate about, what you are interested in, being an idiot.

Making mistakes.

Poole is talking about identity and anonymity and about

creativity and expressiveness on the Internet. About being

human. In Poole’s view, if there is no longer anonymity on

the Internet, this will entail the death of creativity.

KEY WORDS

In order to work on my essay , I first consider a good idea to make a list with keyword to help me guide through my essay . According to the articles and information I've collected so far by now,  I started to recognise potential keywords related to my projects. Some of these keyword that I collected has been appearing in multiple text while researching on my essay ,and some of them leaded me to new points of interest that undoublty supported my project.

KEY WORDS

• SOCIAL INTERACTIONS
• MODERN SOCIETY
• SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
• ETHIC
• MORALS
• VALUES 
• ENDORPHINS
• SOCIAL MEDIA
• NARCISSISM
• LIBIDO
• CHEMICAL REACTION
• VIRTUAL IDENTITY

"Alone Together" Quotes

SHERRY TURKLE

• " We have moved from multitasking to multi- lifing."
  
• " Even a simple cell phone brings us into the world of continual partial attention ".
  
• " Mobile technology has made each of us "pauseable."
  
• " Their stories offer a clear view of how technology reshapes identity because identity is at the center of adolescent life ".
  
• " Now, we have synptoms born of fears of isolation and abandonment."
  
• " Facebook is a world in which fans are "friends." But of course, they are not friends. They have been "friended."
  
• " Alone with your thoughts, yet in contact with an almost tangible fantasy of the other, you feel free to play ".

"Alone Together" Relevant texts

ROMANCING DE MACHINE : TWO STORIES

"Part Two, "Networked," turns to the online life as it reshapes the self I acknowledge the many 

positive things that the network has to offer — enhancing friendship, family connections, education, 

commerce, and recreation. The triunphalist narrative of the Web is the reassuring story that people 

want to hear and that technologists want to tell. But the heroic story is not the whole story. In virtual 

words and conputer games, people are flattened into personae. On social networks, people are 

reduced to their profiles. On our mobile devices, we often talk to each other on the move and with 

little disposable time — so little, in fact, that we communicate in a new language of abbreviation in 

which letters stand for words and emoticons for feelings. We don't ask the open ended "How are 

you?" Instead, we ask the more limited "Where are you?" and "What's up?" These are good questions 

for getting someone's location and making a sinple plan. They are not so good for opening a dialogue 

about conplexity of feeling. We are increasingly connected to each other but oddly more alone: in 

intimacy, new solitudes. "

DEGREES OF SEPARATION 

"Sociologist David Riesman, writing in the mid-1950s, remarked on the American turn from an inner- to an other- directed sense of self.- Without a firm inner sense of purpose, people looked to their neighbors for validation. Today, cell phone in hand, other-directedness is raised to a higher 

power. At the moment of beginning to have a thought or feeling, we can have it validated, almost 

prevalidated.

Technology does not cause but encourages a sensibility in which the validation of a 

feeling becomes part of establishing it, even part of the feeling itself

I have said that in the psychoanalytic tradition, one speaks about narcissism not to indicate people 

who love themselves, but a personality so fragile that it needs constant support.- It cannot tolerate the 

complex demands of other people but tries to relate to them by distorting who they are and splitting 

off what it needs, what it can use. So, the narcissistic self gets on with others by dealing only with 

their made-to-measure representations. These representations (some analytic traditions refer to them 

as "part objects," others as "selfobjects") are all that the fragile self can handle. We can easily 

imagine the utility of inanimate companions to such a self because a robot or a computational agent 

can be sculpted to meet one's needs. But a fragile person can also be supported by selected and 

limited contact with people (say, the people on a cell phone "favorites" list). In a life of texting and 

messaging, those on that contact list can be made to appear almost on demand. You can take what you 

need and move on. And, if not gratified, you can try someone else. 

Again, technology, on its own, does not cause this new way of relating to our emotions and other 

people. But it does make it easy. Over time, a new style of being with each other becomes socially 

sanctioned. In every era, certain ways of relating come to feel natural. In our time, if we can be 

continually in touch, needing to be continually in touch does not seem a problem or a pathology but an 

accommodation to what technology affords. It becomes the norm. "

THE AVATAR OF ME 

This kind of identity work can take place wherever you create an avatar. And it can take place on 

social-networking sites as well, where one's profile becomes an avatar of sorts, a statement not only 

about who you are but who you want to be. Teenagers make it clear that games, worlds, and social 

networking (on the surface, rather different) have much in common. They all ask you to conpose and 

project an identity. Audrey, sixteen, a junior at Roosevelt, a suburban public high school near New 

York City, is explicit about the connection between avatars and profiles. She calls her Facebook 

profile "my Internet twin" and "the avatar of me." 

Initial Ideas - Study Task 5

LINE:
1- A long, narrow mark or band.
2- A length of cord, rope, wire, or other material serving a particular purpose.

After considering all the elements to execute  through my practice, ( it was a hard decision ,  as I like more than 1 to practice) However, I decided to mainly respond to the brief on my visual journal through Line . Is a good opportunity for to to improve these aspect of my practical work and by the end of the module i hope to accomplish a increase of the use of line in all of my work ( Im always whining about the quality of my line, this is a chance to self reflection ).

My initial ideas on my visual journal are based from my essay ,although asa a starting point from the beginning. The more further you go on the journal , the theme start to slightly take another directions, always under the same main theme or topic but exploring different approaches and sub ideas, just to make my practice more flexible and not too boring . I focused on social/ technological approach . Using lines and  narrative to explore and suggest some strong ideas and critic  our modern society . There will be some satirical influence on my outcomes ,as a result of my essay success from last year. These 10 pages narrates the beginning of humanity using line , for a future constructive critique through satire .

"Alone Together" by Sherry Turkle

During my research process, I started to look into Identity as part of my project. It all started after read Sigmund Freuds human psyche, which it lead me to the formation of the personality on humans. Personality is who we are ,and as consecuence , our personalities creates our personal Identity.
From this point , I started to look into Identities on Modern Society , and how technology (Social Media) has affected directly and indirectly  into human Identity. I've seen a great opportunity to keep pushing my idea into this directions, which surprisely is all well connected.

One of the most relevant sources I have found so far would be "Alone Together " by Sherry Turkle ,professon of the Social Studies of Science and Technology in Massachusetts institute of Technology. It has been a great discovery not just for my essay, but to a modern knowledge level too. The book is a compilation of loads of interviews with different people  through her whole life, which later on she will use for write the book. In "Alone Together"  the spectrum of topics is big ,although always under the same theme Technology/Society.  Identity for instance, is one of the approaches that took my attention as it is related to Sigmund Freud's. Im really interested ,from a social point of view, how she compares their study subjects with the technology aspect that humanity rely on everyday.

I think this book will help me with the triangulation on my essay

Essay - How to structure

I'm still struggling to build a proper and easy to read structure for my essay. I have the sources to analyse some of the theories I would like to explore, but it is also important how you distribute them to meet the academic standards they asked us . Doing a structure planning way before compiling all the information is really important in order to have a good outcome . Here is how I'm willing to structure it.

• INTRODUCTION (500 words aprox)
  Explain questions that I'm going to answer through the essay, main focus. 
• MAIN THEORY (2000 words aprox)
  I will explore and analyse Sigmund Freud's Human Psyche theory ( Id,Ego and SuperEgo)
• SECOND BODY
  Once I explained and analyse the human psyche,  I will analyse IDENTITY with Sherry Turkle.
• THIRD BODY
  Afterwards, I will introduce the readers to SOCIAL MEDIA 
• VISUAL EXAMPLES (500 words aprox)
  After understanding all the theory and context, I will use images of BLACK MIRROR to analyse, contrast and compare the relation between them ( Triangulation) 
• CONCLUSION  (500 words aprox)
  I should repeat the keypoints that I already use from each subject. State my opinion and answer once again the main question. 

Study Task 4 - Image and Theory

• Choose a term 
• Research the term. What does it means? 
• Find examples on images
• What is it doing ? How is it doing ? 
• How could you use it to interpret your theme ? 

TERMS 

1. Reproduction :  The action or process of copying something.
   The production of offspring by sexual or asexual process.

1. Signification: The representation or conveying of meaning.
   An exact meaning or sense .

VISUAL EXAMPLES ( IMAGES)
Reproduction :

    

A very scientific visual representation of reproduction , by sexual process ( left) and asexual ( right) .

 How could I link it to my project : 

- Reproduction of other's people work
- Mass production approach
-Reproduction as a technique used in art

Signification : 

  

The best example of signification I could find would be visual metaphors. In this case, John Holcroft ( Left) is representing the idea of private health care probably in america, as a Dr toy which always will move as soon as you put some coins in it.

On the other hand, Pawel Kuczynski's illustration represent the isolation that technology nowadays provide us,  making us think we are more "connected" between each other but the true is that smartphones are destroying the human social interaction little by little.

How could I link it to my project : 

- Processing or signifying symbols or signs in my practice
- The continuous use of signs or symbols as main communication skills

HOW CAN YOU INTERPRET  THESE TERMS RELATED TO YOUR THEME ? 

I'm not sure about reproduction term would fit in anything I want to do for my cop project, but signification is definitely related to my theme and how I'm planning to approach to it. The use o visual metaphors plus a little of satire to represent a society that is falling apart thanks to the technology used nowadays , therefore signification is the best term that I could have picked from the list. I will need to look at the others anyways and see if there are more terms that I could use on my cop project and apply it, but is a good starting point. 

Graphic Design Lecture

Book Reference

• Visual  Research : An introduction to research methods in graphic design by Ian Noble and Russell Bestley
• Visible signs ( semiotics) by David Crow
• Cultural theory and popular culture by John Storey 
• Citizen Designer by Heller and Vienne 
• NO LOGO by Naomi Klein
• Understanding Media by Mc Luhan 
• New Media By Martin Lister
• Media,Gender and Identity by David Gaunltlett 
• Mythologies by Barthers
• The hidden persuaders by Vance Packarol
  
  

Core text (Animation) - Lecture

Frankfurt school - Critical theory
Institute of social research  ( 1923-33)

• Theodoro w. Adorno
• Max Horkheimer 
• Herbert Marcuse 
• Leo Lowenthal
• Walter Benjamin 

They have to leave the country when nazis came to power because they were all revolutionary jew thinkers .

Marxs concept base / Superstructure base

Force of production - materials, tools workers, skills
Relation of production - employer/ employee, class , master/slave

SUPERSTRUCTURE
           > determine content on form of > 

Base                                                            superstructure

           < reflects form of and legitime    <

"All mass culture is identical"   by Theodoro and Max 

ADORNO AND HORKHEIMER

• No anarchy but comformity
• Maintains social authority
• Satiates superficial 

"We are the same thing over and over again "

ADORNO ON POPULAR MUSIC 

• Standardisation   
• Easy to produce and consume 
• Acts as social cement
• Pasive listening
  
  Adorno relates the popculture music with the fordism movement. Repetition , where consumers are slaves .
  

AUTHENTIC CULTURE VS MASS CULTUREQualities of authentic culture :

• Real 
• European
• Multidimensional
• Active consumption
• Imagination
• Negation
• Autonomous 
• Individual creation
  
  " The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction" by Walter Benjamin 

KEY CONCEPTS

• Aura
• Culture Idol 

PPP Lecture - The creative industries

Da Vinci was the creator of industry as we know it.


Industry is the production of related services within an economy
To work within the creative industries .you should forge your "networking" 

ARTSCHOOL and the creative industries 

• ThThe great exhibitions
  it was focus on :
  - Skills
  - Technique
  -Experience
• Students of art revealed against the 20th century artschool traditional way
  -Rebellion
  -Reaction
  -Independence 

Studio Brief 2 ( COP)

• Produce a full visual journal (a5 concertina) that visually explores a subject or theme 
• Produce a poster that clarify my research subject, accompained by 10 word pitch.
• Clear visual communication is key and my work should focus on summarise my position, practically and theoretically .
• Communicates a clear understanding on a subject.

CONCERTINA SKETCHBOOK 

1. Research/Experimentation (15 A5 pag min ) 
2. Feedback/Development (15 A5 pag min ) 
3. Focus/Concept/Theory/Theme (10 A5 pag min ) 
4. Rationale (10 A5 pag min ) -------------------------{Giving a reason "why" I'm doing it}
5. Positioning my work (10 A5 pag min ) 
6. Evaluation of my synthesis (10 A5 pag min ) ----{Understand my theory and practice}

1. RESEARCH 

• Respond to and experimenting with line, colour, shape, texture, collage
• Focussed investigation : exploring process and theory 
• Focus on drawing practice and visual language 
• Politics, society, culture, history, technology, aesthetic 

     2. FEEDBACK 

• Extend initial ideas, identify successful practical research.
• Focus on 1 element ( line, texture, colour, etc ) 

     3. FOCUS/THEME/CONCEPT

• Theme/Question
• Theorist
• Theoretical model               Methodology+Production = Meaning 
• Quotes
• Concept

Triangulation exercise - Study Task 3

Looking at "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" from  Laura Mulvey , she argues about how Hollywood films  has completely brainwash the spectator perception  and therefore, it has make them sensible to what the industry would like them to see the world as it is .She talks about the process of project to the audiences different ideas in their mind, such as erotic. 

To start with ,  Mulvey use references and support her ideas using Freud's studies . On ‘Three Essays on Sexuality’ explains that humans normally tend to use sexuality as an object . Furthermore this specific behaviour can led to a manifestation of a narcissistic aspect on each individual, which recognise others, and therefore the cinema has bring its visible style through actors and actresses. Mulvey  started to seen that the male gaze was vicious and continous during that period on the cinema, as Richard Dyer also suggest on the film Picnic in "Stars and Audiences" .Just then Mulvey started to use this element as man need to be masculine .

Hence, looking at John Storey ‘Cultural Theory and Popular Culture’ he started to identify the images of acotr saw on cinema and associated them with the "self-image or mirror stage . It is a psychology process whereas the individual desire the appearance of their favourite stars from the big screen.

Not just that, but also when Storey argue about Mulvey's opinion, stating that the narratives found on " Noir" film is also a exploitation of the female role as it is,short dialect, sexual desire and showing their bodies. a new opinion on the topic,where she began to critic the banishing of pleasure on cinema, the context of making revolution in the industry to free woman's persecuted role . She states that on cinema is neccessary to stimulates other aspects of the male and female gaze 

Establishing a Research Question - Study Task 2

This is my researched question so far. I started by picking the most intereseting points from the notes and mapping I procuded last day , and try to elaborate it a bit more using related core texts and sources from the website. I'm not sure if those theorist will accompany me through the whole project, or I will change them at some point. Some of the themes and topics mentioned on theirs texts are relevant, but I feel like I could dig more into it, using these theorist as a starting point but perhaps moving forward to a more specific theme and theorist, more suitable for my ideas.

Study Task 1 - The Death of the Author.

Ian Mcque is an illustrator and concept artist based in Edinburgh, Scotland. McQue studies illustration and printmaking at Duncan, where he started as a freelancer after finished his career.  His unique science fiction aesthetic led him to get into the videogames industries , where he is currently the Lead concept artist director working on Rockstar ( One of the most famous videogame studio worldwide.) McQue tone of voice come is based on robots, speaceship and science fiction in general, but the question is , Is he the original creator of this genre ?

On "The Death of The Author" , Barthes states " but a multi-dimensional space in which a variety of writings, none of them original, blend and clash. The text is a tissue of quotations drawn from the innumerable centres of culture."  suggesting that there is always an original author behind an author, whereas the second one has taken influence from the first one. For instance, although Ian McQue has build a very personal and unique aesthetic during his years, he firstly had to take the inspiration from somebodyelse in the past. In an interview with McQue , he describe that his practice was totally overwhelmed by the first Star Wars concept art by the artist Ralph McQuarrie . He described  McQuarrie's frist impression on his artwork as " in a way, it was a job that hadn't really existed before " .  McQue was so fascinated by this artwork, than he started to "borrow" his style on his own practice. However, McQue argue that it wasn't until a couple of years after that, when the first 'Alien' film was released, that sealed his style for ever. 
Barthes also argued that "Thus is revealed the total existence of writing: a text is made of multiple writings, drawn from many cultures and entering into mutual relations of dialogue, parody, contestation, but there is tane place where this multiplicity is focused and that place is the reader" . This means that everything ever created , it has been formed taking bits or pieces from different areas . For instance, McQue has revealed that his artworks was complety influenced by McQuarrie's Star Wars concept art ,but , where did McQuarries took the inspiration from ? Is he the real original one ? It seems like he was as he is the father of Science Fiction. However, what Barthes states is that even McQuarrie was be the first one to produce science fiction aesthetic, in order to create something 'new' he first had to  combine different 'pieces' from different areas (such as  Architecture, Transportation and Astronomy for instance )


In conclusion , what Barthes is trying to explain on "The Death of The Author" is that nothing is 100% original, everything that exist it has been formed by combining different pieces of styles and influences during the years. But the important thing is that although it might feel like a copy of a copy, that new ' copy' it has its own originality because it all depend on the reader, meaning the death of the author. 

Mind Mapping IDEAS

SOCIETY

1.  Distribution 

• Social pyramid 
• Key words: Injustice, Balance/Unbalanced, Corruption

   2. Direction (Where society is heading to ) 

• Brainwashed society 
• Capitalism 
• Consumerism 
• Key words : Isolation by technology, Fear, Manipulation 

   3. Practice ( strategy )

• SATIRE
• Visual Metaphors 
• Propaganda 

  4. Aesthetic references 

• BLACK MIRROR (tv series)  

I've been thinking during the past weeks which theme and question would I want to explore this year for COP . I struggled in this very same stage last year, so I'm hoping that with my previous experience I can come up with an interesting subject that will keep me excited and at the same time meet the requirements for the module.

I was thinking to do something complety different of what I did last year ( SATIRE) , but after having a deep thoughts, and looking back in the past of how fun Satire  turned up last year, I decided ( or at least at the moment) to take further Satire and exploring it a bit more to get really into the theory . 

My main exciting starting point that help me to decide repeat Satire on this year, come from a british TV show "BLACK MIRROR" , which is a critique of how technology is affecting in contemporary society direction , heading us to a isolated future. This gets even more interesting due to the fact that the future world the tv series is showing, is not really that far away, and it could easily happen tomorrow.

Everything is still on the air and this is the very first stage of theme selection, which on my experience, is the stage where I should really be careful when picking it, because I will need to stuck with it the rest of the year. As I said, still a very primitive thoughts , but having a powerful visual reference as Black Mirror  really helped me to have a clearer idea of what i want to do 

RESEARCH AND EPISTEMOLOGY pt 1

Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we've already been. If process drives outcome we may not know, but we want to be there.


"Fail quicker because you will have more time to get it right" .


IDEA

approaches or generation of ideas:

• Simulated approach : Conscious or subconscious search for inspiration from an external repertoire .
• Systematic approach : Based on the systematic collection and modification of components, characteristics, etc
• Intuitive approach : This is the development of thought process, which is primary based on internalised perceptions.

" Research is the process of finding facts, these facts will lead to knowledge" .

TYPES OF RESEARCH

• Primary research : Collect information you dont know about it.
• Secondary research : Collect information that already exists , but creates relation 
• Quantitive research : Facts, figures, measurements, numerical data, gathering and analysing data.
• Qualitative research: Tries to understand people's beliefs, experiences, attitudes, behaviour and interactions. No numerical data. 

 WHAT IS INFORMATION ? 

• The result of processing , manipulating and organising data in a way that adds knowledge.
• Processed data can create meaning and hopefully knowledge.

"Information is all about communication" .

Different stages of absorbing information. 

1. Phase 1 : Assimilation (The acumulation of general information)
2. Phase 2: General study ( The investigation of the nature of the problem.Also investigates possible solutions or meanings ) 
3. Phase 3 : Development ( The development of one or more solutions) 
4. Phase 4: Communication ( After the selection of the best solution, communicates it)

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A strategy for thinking through a problem 

1.  Analysis: Analyse the problem
2. Research: Ideas generation 
3. Evaluation: Selection of the best ideas
4. Solution: The final ideas becomes reality 

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"Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what i'm doing " .

-Knowing that...  (theoretical knowledge)

-Knowing how... (practical knowledge)

Knowing where..(Contextual knowledge)
 

Choosing subjects and questions to embrace this year

We should start to consider what we would like to explore in details this year. There are a range of main themes to pick up from .

THEMES

• History
• Society
• Technology
• Cultural
• Aesthetic
• Politics

Now I should think carefully what I REALLY want to explore this year, because I wouldn't like to pick a wrong and not appealing theme which it will drag me down during the rest of the year, so for me this stage is critical and I should consider and make a list of things that I enjoy to learn from. Last year , even if at the beginning I wasn't sure of my theme and at some points I struggled , I have to say I really enjoyed being part and embrace the satirical illustrations in depth . Studying the theory was super interesting but even more, the visual responses I produced due to the context I learnt from research and writing the essay.

In one side, I would love to carry on through this path and getting more technical and expand the theories that I learn looking at satire , although in the other hand , I would like to explore something else to keep the balance of my studies and feel the hunger for different knowledge .

These are some ideas , although  still in a very primitive stage of theme selection .

• Social : Satirical illustration 
• History :  Print history and the screenprint boom  
• Culture : Fan art  and merchandising culture 

I'm very excited to pick up screen print history and get submerged into it . I have been always whining about I never do screen print, either outside college or in my briefs. This is the perfect opportunity to learn more about this subject and at the same time , produce a great amount of work based on this culture through screen-print processes.

These are just some examples of how good is the visual impact of this process can get :

 

Looking at these images, I could focus my research based on " Texture"  and/or "Colour"  as part of COP visual development due to that we need to stick to one of these aspects of drawings 

( Texture,line, tone, colour, collage ) 

Getting started : COP 2

New year , new goals . This is how we start this course. After a successful year in the course , we are ready for some more.

Today's session we talked about context of practice for the whole year and the deliverables we need to submit .
Info :

• Essay .......3000 words
• Choose our own question to explore through the year and possibly as a guide for level 6 dessertation.
• Academic skills (Blog: triangulation,research,visual analysis,reflective practice,academic writings )
• Visual journal 70 pages of concertina a5 book ( we should pick a theme and explore it through our visual development .These themes can be : line, shape, colour, tone,texture)

Saying this, we were suggested to keep mondays for our personal cop development day .

End of Module Self Evaluation

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

Through this module I developed my visual communication skills more than I expected I could do. On my personal work I normally draw the first thing that comes to my mind without even thinking, I leave my imagination do the work but with a content and context on my back, I realised that imagination can be more precisely and produce artwork with more sense. This module really pushed me to think before draw and even knowing that the rest of the modules share the same fundament, I think this one changed the way I think before to illustrate .

2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your practical outcomes?

Research was the key for this module. But first , I want to mention that it was really important for me to find first a point of interest that I like to do , for instance caricatures. Having a starting point that I found enjoyable really helped to to carry on and feel comfortable with. On the other hand, I re-watched episodes of South Park as research for my satirical essay which really put my on track for my visual response on my sketchbook

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

For being a international student, I really think that my theoretical skills (essay) , and academic way of writing really improved in comparison with previous modules. To be honest writing was never my strength even back in Spain , but through the practical task I felt that improved from previous modules and briefs. I found that satirical illustration gave me another way of thinking and also improved my visual communication skills. I will use these skills and my new way of thinking for future projects for sure, not just at college but also for my personal artwork .

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?

I feel really bad about my time management. This module could have been much more equilibrated if I started it sooner than I did. I struggle with my essay for a while ,even thinking of change the question at the middle of the module ( luckily I didn't ). This issue leads me to my visual journal. If I didn't have these struggles at the middle of the module, I could have focus more on my artwork and enjoy it a little bit more than I actually did.

5. Identify five things that you feel will benefit you during next years Context of Practice module?

My research skills , I should have spend more time on the library at the beginning of the year in general . I should consider try different medias and processes while I still have time, Get out the box and think new ways of approaches, this really helped me on this module while I was feeling stuck and it turned out it was the best thing that happened during the module I should make more planning ,structures and mapping before crack on with the things I got so far As always , I need to improve my time management in general, not just in this module but the rest too . Having the brief from the first day and submission at the end of the year really made me feel relaxed .I know this now , and hopefully it won't happen next year.

Final Essay : Why is Satire the most effective way of persuasion in contemporary society?

Visual Response

Final Crit session and last tips before submission

We had the final crit today and the chance to talk about our essay and visual journal to some of the peers in the class and receive the final feedbacks.
Now that the essay is done , i can focus more on the visual journal and produce more artwork, one of the biggest fear i have for this module .

We also wrote down for the class some tips for the weekend and final push before submission .

• Review the essay and finish the last bits if needed 
• go back to our journal and dedicate the last days to produce more artwork related to our chosen question
• Make sure everything is labelled correctly and ready for submission 

Satirical illustration (visual Response) "SOCIETY" part 2

The continuation of my satirical project "Society"
The themes I explored on these set of illustrations are about

• War issues
• Environment 
• Society injustices and ironies 
• Media and manipulation 
• Politics