Evaluation 3 - Colour and Application
The square rhythmic visualisations were very dense and compact
and don’t capture duration particularly well. I decided that creating a
horizontal and long scroll of music would show the different elements of the
song in time better, they would show the ebs and flows of the music and could
be something more engaging than a built up square expression. Having said this,
the paper I used was still not long enough to capture a 4 minute song so they
were more like stretched out dense expressions.
I then thought I should use
bigger paper to try and get some clarity between the lines and patterns. I
wanted to break up the mark making and make the images less structured, however
when I used bigger paper, my mark making scaled up proportionally and it looked
extremely messy (but very expressive).
I then decided to pick apart one song ‘Youre
the One’ and turn it into a scroll which you could read - an experimental music score, using 10 sides of paper. I wanted to mark
every element in the right order, in perspective with the other elements
interacting with it.
The application and digital editing of my initial and raw rhythm responses
was a break through! I took small sections of the longer visualisations and
digitally layered and edited them into tiles. It was extremely important at
transporting my artwork to another level.
It turned the responses into abstract snapshot patterns rather than the
images being a composed and compact image. I realised that most imagery created
for music are square (apart from posters). They are created for album artwork.
This gave me framework for the format of my outcomes of this project,
something that will tie every outcome together smartly.
I associate music strongly with vibrant colour therefore this is
something vital to consider. The use of colour differentiates music genres, it
adds to the mood of each band and creates an essence of their music.
Initially
with my first rhythmic square responses I tried using coloured stock to
communicate colour simply. However, the black didn’t work that well on the
coloured stock and they were still very dense images. I also tried to Photoshop
colour into the background of them but they looked very rough, flat and unprofessional.
I really like the coloured digital square images (3 colours applied to
the lines/marks). I like the variety of colour and pattern and I think they
have become my experience of the music. I know they need to be developed more
for example, they have very similar line qualities and scale even though each
band is different.
I needed to consider: Who are the audience of these square tiles? How I could
turn the concept of personal musical experiences which is subjective into
something engaging?
I applied my initial black and white squares onto records and Tshirts
but they don’t look right. They detract from the strength of the artwork,
degrading it.
Experimenting with poster design seemed like a natural route into
applying my artwork more commercially, to an audience. Graphic design is not
something I am comfortable with at all. I just can't see what looks good, what doesn't and why. I took inspiration from other band
posters and researched poster designs for layouts and then applied to my own
imagery. I think I have made progress with poster design but I feel that
perhaps the images don’t need to be applied anywhere. They are bold and
striking and need to having confidence in their own right. Perhaps all that needs to be applied is the name of the band. This would turn an abstract pattern into a concept with
purpose and viewers can engage. The audience therefore will be people who like the music of the bands I have chosen, or simply people that like the bold and colourful patterns.
