Message and Medium, Pencil, Pixel,

Performance, Packaging

This weeks lecture on Form and function, a conversation between Susanna Edwards and Sam Winston.

We live and work in a world filled with digital communication and find ourselves stuck to our screens. Although there is craft in using digital tools and having an intellectual approach to solving problems there is much to be learned and found through exploring tools with our hands. Exploring a variety of mediums and craft not only gives you more tools to work with, but by using your hands to create you are moving away from the visual sighted to a more embodied type of learning through craft and touch. Sam Winston’s observation ‘You need to work out how the idea manifests as a substance’. Your hands do seem to have their own intuition and knowledge.

The first project Sam worked on, he got a book and folded the pages in on themselves. Looking at it he realised he would not have been able to have intellectualised that into being, there were too many variables, that were beyond his visual perception – the way the paper behaves and the way the form perhaps taught him. Learning through touch.

Sam Winston describes this exploration of medium through touch as, ‘It is basically moving into a physical embodied approach to something, which is clumsy and not manageable and its full of mistakes and its messy - but they’re all the qualities the controlling brain doesn’t necessarily want, but it’s the thing where ideas and mistakes make for interesting new…ideas!’ A realm where ‘happy accidents’ can arise.

Resources

Friends of the Earth

The first image is of a Friends of the Earth project, created in 1990. It is a cinema PIF, rated U, which makes its scientific point with creepy music. The billboard is made out of litmus paper and when acid rain falls, it starts to turn red, like blood. The blood represents the damage done to the environment, killing it and we should act now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soztSYWrTmw

The Solar Report

Image 2/3 are from the Solar Annual Report, which is powered by the sun. On initially opening it the pages appear blank but react when sunlight falls on the pages revealing its contents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm0tRDW9wgI

These are great direct examples of using the medium to enhance the message content they are to convey.

Oil & Water Do Not Mix

This screen-printed poster was made with oil collected from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster. Anthony Burrill designed the poster with one of his simple speciality phrases, hitting the message concisely. Proceeds from the sale of the print were donated to CRCL (Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana) a non-profit organisation dedicated to restoring the Gulf of Mexico’s coastal wetlands. The project was conceived and produced in collaboration with Happiness Brussels.

Again an example of using a medium at the heart of the message.

Medium Vs Message

David Carson - Raygun Magazine

Stephen Sagmeister - Cranbrook Talk

Felice Varini’s Environmental Typography

Stephen Doyle

David Carson Talk

V&A Exhibition Poster

The Clock Exhibition Graphics

J. Muller-Brockmann Poster

Challenge Task

How can a message be enhanced through the medium in which it is implemented?

Research

Initially, I went for a walk and took a few photographs and then sat for a while on a bench listening to passers-by. It was a beautiful evening, as the sun was just setting which had brought several people out for walks. I heard two conversations from different people talking about the covid pandemic and how they’d become regular walkers around the millpond during the lockdowns, as a means of escape. Another conversation was between some dog walkers and how they wouldn’t let their dogs of on the shore any longer, as one had become sick since swimming there.

Image: Drone footage shows sewage pumping into sea in Hampshire conservation area (Paine, 2022).

Stats from the Guardian news Youtube channel using Chris Pearsall Photography's Drone footage (The Guardian, 2021):

• This is untreated raw sewage being released into the sea through a 7 foot wide pipe
• It was reportedly pumped into Langstone Harbour, a conservation area for 49 hours straight.
• The wastewater was released from a nearby treatment centre to prevent it backing up.
• Sewage was spilled into England's rivers and seas over 400,000 times in 2020 prompting calls for tougher penalties for water companies that do so.

Southern Water have appeared in the news a fair bit in recent years for illegally discharging sewage and polluting our seas and rivers. However, this is not a new thing. Sewage contamination was to blame in the great oyster scare of 1902. This occurred when guests at a Winchester banquet became ill and the Dean of Winchester died from typhoid attributed to eating Emsworth oysters served at the event. Following inspection of the Emsworth oyster beds, gross sewage contamination was identified (Newell, 2022).

If the Emsworth oyster did kill the Dean of Winchester, then the subsequent publicity and findings of investigations of the case did for the Emsworth oyster industry. Sales plummeted, livelihoods were lost and the industry was devastated, never to recover its former esteemed position. Certain attempts to re-establish the industry in the town have been made, most notably between the two World Wars when the onset of World War II caused understandable interruption and disruption (Newell, 2022).

Now our waters are still under threat by contaminated sewage and from time-to-time people and dogs have been heard to get sick after swimming or part-taking in water sports in the area. Locals have been campaigning relentlessly to get MPs to make southern water accountable and force a positive change. I have witnessed staff from the environment agency testing in the local area and they wear full protective clothing including suits. What does this say? More and more houses have been built in the area with no further infrastructure put into place to cope with the rise usage nor has SW invested in the aging facilities to improve or upgraded their capacity. Nothing has changed, just more discharges! These discharges are supposed to happen only to cope with storm water and it is said that the sewage is considerable diluted beforehand. Drone footage taken by ?? was released of one of these local discharges and it gives a grim view. SW have a duty to report all discharges and when they are going to happen but with increased pressure it has been found that their data is flimsy and not always reported. So, those that use their reporting system to see when it is safe or safer to use our local beaches are doing so are then unknowingly being put at risk. I have seen reports on social media of people complaining about the smell or seeing toilet paper and sanitary products floating in the harbour.

The harbour is a conservation area and noted as an area of outstanding natural beauty, yet there is all too often a hidden danger laying in these waters.

Words to Describe the Area

 Idyllic, calm, tranquil

Vs

Scandal, anger, fury, disgust

Inspiration

Thinking about how I might communicate these two very different ways of feeling I remembered some railway posters I’d seen while holidaying near Swanage. I did the tourist thing, visiting local sights and travelled on the steam railway. On the platform at Swanage, they had several vintage posters adorning the platform walls, like these examples. All portray an idyllic picture postcard illustration of a village or beach to visit and explore by train.

Images: London Transport Museum and Etsy.

With this in mind I thought I could create my own but also representing the murky disgrace caused by numerous discharges of sewage into the surrounding seas by the hands of Southern Water.

Searching for the ideal word to marry these two together, I came up with scourge. An area of outstanding natural beauty scourged by sewage contamination. This also has the undertones that the public are being lied to.

References

Etsy (2022) Vintage railway poster swanage dorset train travel advert art deco print. Available at https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1310569147/vintage-railway-poster-swanage-dorset?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_uk_en_gb_c-art_and_collectibles-prints-giclee&utm_custom1=_k_Cj0KCQiA4OybBhCzARIsAIcfn9nlj7kx1Jr5ZXvMmRVCpMsfpl_bmlaMHr23jbJLiR0F1eiZSp6uM-waAshcEALw_wcB_k_&utm_content=go_325944888_20231796888_88477835928_aud-463075091758:pla-106555092035_c__1310569147engb_446968090&utm_custom2=325944888&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4OybBhCzARIsAIcfn9nlj7kx1Jr5ZXvMmRVCpMsfpl_bmlaMHr23jbJLiR0F1eiZSp6uM-waAshcEALw_wcB (Accessed 19 November 2022).

Etsy (2022) Corfe Castle, Dorset Southern Railway Poster. Available at https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/758223396/corfe-castle-dorset-southern-railway?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_uk_en_gb_d-art_and_collectibles-prints-digital_prints&utm_custom1=_k_Cj0KCQiAg_KbBhDLARIsANx7wAxlHo2_YVWnFxI5kXO6OQ00Ixu-yrHNIPBi3ryrGWhp7Xo1VReSezUaAjAVEALw_wcB_k_&utm_content=go_326242248_20237094048_88513737528_aud-371913912633:pla-106555091555_c__758223396engb_480729579&utm_custom2=326242248&gclid=Cj0KCQiAg_KbBhDLARIsANx7wAxlHo2_YVWnFxI5kXO6OQ00Ixu-yrHNIPBi3ryrGWhp7Xo1VReSezUaAjAVEALw_wcB (Accessed 19 November 2022).

London Transport Museum (2022) Collections: Posters. Available at https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/collections-online/posters/item/1983-4-736 (Accessed 19 November 2022).

Newell, L. (2022) The Emsworth Oyster Industry – A Short History. Available at https://emsworthmuseum.org.uk/artifacts/75-emsworth-oysters (Accessed 19 November 2022).

Paine, T. (March 2022) Southern Water sewage monitoring scheme is labelled 'feeble' as only one device is in the sea. Available at https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/politics/southern-water-sewage-monitoring-scheme-is-labelled-feeble-3602542 (Accessed 20 November 2022).

The Guardian News (2021) Drone footage shows sewage pumping into sea in Hampshire conservation area. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTwjUh92j00 (Accessed 19 November 2022).

Development

Initially I was not sure which direction to take, a film or print outcome. I created a contact sheet in photoshop to review my photos and video (image 1, below).

With the photos I had, I made the decision to make a poster with the rail posters in mind. I experimented with image 1 and 2 using photoshop filters trying to give a painterly feel. The dry brush added part of the aesthetic I was looking for, but I wanted it to be more like an illustration than a painting. Going off on a tangent I experimented adding a distressed layer in image 4. Not happen with any of the images I looked at the video I'd taken again and decided to take a still (image 5). I kept this simple and only added a smart blur which was more of the aesthetic I'd wanted.

Dates of process screenshots do not correspond with the final outcome, as I am terrible at remembering to screenshot as I go and subsequently took them after to show my journey.

To create the poster I took the new illustration into Adobe Illustrator to begin constructing the layout. I used a creamy coloured background to give a slightly dated look. Next I browsed my own font collection and then Adobe Fonts to find an appropriate typeface. Settling for Mendl Sans Dusk Bold for its Art Deco style appropriate to the era of the poster style in the 1920s.

From here I wanted to represent the idea of sewage seeping into the local waters. In reality by the time it gets here the colour is diluted and not always as noticeable other than some scum on the surface, floating faeces, toilet paper and sanitary products. I wanted the unseen to be seen, so I created some vector shapes, adding different colours to each ring of scum and added a darker transparency, along with adjusting the shapes fill to a lower opacity.

Another idea would be to add a dirty smear across the poster rather than have created a vector seepage. Mud from the beach could be used but obviously not directly to the poster due to bacteria contaminates hence me using a safe option.

So, I couldn't leave it there and decided to make some hand smears reiterating the message of being scourged while I also feel the filthy hand is trying to cover it up.

Final Outcome



Although I chose to create my final outcome as a poster it would equally work as a postcard. Had I more time I would have experimented by creating the illustration by hand to get a more authentic outcome to the inspiration, but my illustration skills are not the quickest and I would not have got to this stage. The alternative would have been a vector illustration from the original photograph, and subsequently simplified the scene further.

This style of artwork has been a bit over used with postcards popping up in many tourist towns and villages, however, I think it carries the message effectively, especially for local people, although subtle. It could easily become a campaign poster with plenty of space to add more information to call for more support and push for long-term action and a resolution to the century long scourge on the environment.

I feel the medium has enhanced the message due to the public being misled by the title of the area being that of outstanding natural beauty yet it is continually soiled and contaminated?! The added smear below also implies a cover up, like a grab for the lens while implying that there is someone behind the scourge.

I’ve also had the idea that this could work as a video with calming sounds of the seabirds and water lapping, then the sound of the gush of a sewage discharge while the footage changes to a view of the pipe discharging, breaking the idyllic, tranquillity. This would have a jarring effect from calm to the loud and violent. Or without sound and have footage of the murky water slowly seeping across the water, so a milder, calmer feel like the poster. The video could be distributed via social media.