OUGD501 Context of Practice 02 Rationale for Practical Piece

Although I have already written about my plans for this practical piece in the last blog post I have developed my plans further to fit to a greater exploration of these complex ideas in my essay. this way the final product is the practical research rather than an outcome of the research.

My essay, with the title 'to what extent is Jameson's theory of pastiche relevant to modern typographic Practice', covers the way that applying the theory of pastiche to typography as a discipline brings the holes in the theory into relief. Jameson describes pastiche as  'blank parody' an empty emulation if you will, with no creative validity. I argue that in typography emulation is the foundation of learning and through emulation you learn how to break the rules in the right way and innovate in the field. Jameson argues that innovation is no longer possible in this cultural design climate of emulation.

I intend to create a set of letters or a full font, which will be decided later in the project, that takes and emulates the production methods and styles and then uses them to create something new. The very innovation that Jameson said to be impossible. I will learn calligraphy lettering in as many guises as possible. This is because it is something that contributed to the typographic decisions made in the stranger and stranger absinthe bottle and it creates distinctive stroke marks that could be drawn on to create something completely new.


Brief:
Create some lettering or a full font that draws on aspects of the calligraphy discipline and creates something new for the postmodern era. Record the process of learning calligraphy and use what the process of emulation teaches you as the impetus for the design. Create a video that details The learning of calligraphy and how it was used to create the final designs.

Background considerations:
It may take an indefinite time to learn calligraphy but ensure you get a cross sections of different styles and cultivate an understanding of each in historical terms. Consider the audience for this which is designers, how can you reach and appeal to this audience to communicate this deep theoretical message?

Deliverables:
A video which sows the development of some calligraphy based lettering.