OUGD501: Study Task

Technique, Content, Communication.

Based on the above, extract the practical issues/aspects surrounding your chosen field of interest. 

My Essay Question: 

Do fashion publications perpetuate traditional feminine ideals? 

Practical Element of COP:

For the practical element to COP I plan to create a magazine going through the evolution of the feminine ideal, I plan to date it back at least 100 years and go through each decade showing the feminine ideals and models from that era with a small written analysis and quotes. 

Technique:

Layout/Editorial
Grids 
Advertising/Sex Sells
Photography/Photoshop
Models/Size Zero
Gender

Content: 

Typeface 
Colour
Celebrity Content 

Communication: 

Gender Representation
Class

women's ideal body types throughout history

My housemate showed me this video of women's ideal body types throughout history, which is incredibly relevant to my essay. In fact I could possible use this as a basis for my COP practical, perhaps designing and producing a magazine on 'the evolution of women's ideal body type' throughout history. Buzzfeed has used a diverse cast of models shows how the standard of beauty for women has changed dramatically over time.

Lecture: What is research? Part 1

Context is Everything

an incomplete manifesto for growth - Bruce Mau

Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.

Forget about good. Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you’ll never have real growth.

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 where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.

Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child). Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.
Steven Johnson - where good ideas come from

approaches to the generation and investigation of ideas

stimulated approach
this is a conscious or subconscious search for inspiration from an external repertoire in the surroundings, media, in discussion, libraries etc. The main concern here is the development of analogies and associative approaches, which are then further developed into individual solutions.

systematic approach
this is based on the systematic collection and modification of components,  characteristics  and means of expression: such as by structuring and restructuring, enlarging and reducing, combining and extracting, replacing, adding, mirroring or reproducing

intuitive approach
this is the development of thought process, which is primarily based on internalised perceptions and knowledge, that is to say an internal repertoire. This type of thought process may occur spontaneously, without being evoked specially. This is actually a systematic process that takes place subconsciously.

Types of Research

primary research
research that is developed and collected 

secondary research
published or recorded data that has already been collected

quantitative research
deals with facts and figures. data that can be converted into numbers

qualitative research
explores and tries to understand people's beliefs, experiences, attitudes, behaviour and interactions (in-depth interviews/focus groups/documentary analysis etc)

What is information? 
Information is the result of processing, manipulation and organising data in a way that adds to the knowledge of the person receiving.  Data that has been processed to add or create meaning and hopefully knowledge for the person who receives it . Information should be sufficient competent, relevant, and useful.
Any communication or representation of knowledge such as facts, data, or opinions in any medium or form, including textual, numerical graphic cartographic narrative or audio visual forms 

Essay Planning

Discussion points: 

> Evolution of Vogue 

>Visual Language (type and image) 

>Colour Schemes 

>Advertisements (influential in formulating, maintaining and altering how readers understand construction of socially acceptable gender forms) 

>Body-Size (Social pressure/thin body is admired as it is considered socially attractive) 

> Glossy Mags - (Feminine Power/sell escapism/language of liberation) 

>Psychological Factors that influence consumer buying behaviour: Motivation & Need, Learning & Conditioning, Perception, Attention, Distortion and Retention. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs ∆ 

> Consumer Culture Theory

Lecture 10: Censorship and Truth

Censorship

The practice or policy of censoring films, letters, or publications. 

Ansel Adams, aspens. 

He manipulates his photographs in the dark room , to render a different interpretation (different season etc)

Stalin with, and without, Nikolai Yezhov (another example with Trotsky didn't suit his political purpose so was removed from the photographs.

9/11 ironic/anti-capitalist 

Kate Winslet on cover of GQ Magazine, with legs elongated in photoshop.

Robert Capa, Death of a Loyalist Soldier, 1936 (invented persona//vue quote)

Simulacrum
noun
an image or representation of someone or something.
"a small-scale simulacrum of a skyscraper"
an unsatisfactory imitation or substitute.
"a bland simulacrum of American soul music"

Ken Jarecke, Iraqi soldier,1991. Too graphic for the front page of a newspaper

Morals 

Principles of knowing whats right or wrong.

Ethics

moral principles that govern a person's behaviour or the conducting of an activity.
the branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles.

Opium advertisement. Opium emplies drugs, sexual ecstasy. 

agnolo bronzino, venus, cupid,folly and time c 1545, oil on wood

balthus, the golden years, c 1945

therese dreaming, 1938 

lots of sexual connotations. because its a painting does it distance itself from a photograph?

andy earl, bow wow wow cover

The singer for Bow Wow Wow was only 15 years old when this album was released. Lwin’s covered-but-naked body on the album cover, prompted her mother to accuse band manager Malcolm Mclaren of exploiting a minor. Scotland Yard even investigated the case.

the miller test, 1973

3 questions to determine a given work should be labelled obscene.

obscenity law

to protect at whilst prohibting trash 

the dividing line between speech and non speech

the dividing line between prison and freedom

sally mann, candy cigarette, immediate family, 1989

Lecture 09: Globalisation, Sustainability & the Media

Definitions of Globalisation 

Socialist- the process of transformation of local or regional phenomena into global ones. It can be described as a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together. This process is a combination of economic technological, sociocultural and political forces. 

Capitalist- the elimination of state-enforced restrictions on exchanges across borders and the increasingly integrated and complex global system of production and exchange that has emerged as a result

"Covering a wide range of distinct political, economic, and cultural trends, the term “globalisation” has quickly become one of the most fashionable buzzwords of contemporary political and academic debate. In popular discourse, globalisation often functions as little more than a synonym for one or more of the following phenomena: the pursuit of classical liberal (or “free market”) policies in the world economy (“economic liberalisation”), the growing dominance of western (or even American) forms of political, economic, and cultural life (“westernisation” or “Americanisation”), the proliferation of new information technologies (the “Internet Revolution”), as well as the notion that humanity stands at the threshold of realising one single unified community in which major sources of social conflict have vanished (“global integration”)."

-Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

'American sociologist George Ritzer coined the term 'mcdonaldisation' to describe the wide ranging sociocultural processes by which the principles of the fast food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of american society as well as the rest of the world'

-Manfred B Streger, Globalisation: A very short Introduction, page 71. 

Marshall McLuhan

'Today, after more than a century of electric technology, we have extended our central nervous system in a global embrace, abolishing both space and time as far as our planet is concerned (1964)

Rapidity of Communication echoes the senses. We can experience instantly the effects of our actions on a global scale.

Centripetal forces - bringing the world together in uniform global society

Centrifugal forces - tearing the world apart in tribal wars.

Three problems of globalisation:

sovereignty - challenges to the idea of the nation state

accountability - transnational forces and organisations: who controls them? 

identity - who are we? nation, group, community 

Cultural Imperialism 

If the 'global village' is run with a certain set of values then it would not be so much an integrated community as an assimilated one.

key thinkers:

-schiller 

-chomsky

Rigging the 'Free Market'

Media conglomerates operate as oligopolies . Liberalisation of the worlds community. 

American culture starts to simulate companies all over the globe. 

New corporations divide world into territories of descending market 

important 

1. north america

2.western Europe, japan and australia

3. developing economies and regional producers (china, india, brazil)

4. rest of the world 

us media power can be thought of as a new form of imperialism

-local cultures destroyed in this process and new forms of cultural dependency shaped, mirroring old school colonialism

-schiller - dominance of us driven commercial media forces US model of broadcasting onto the rest of the world but also inculcates US style consumerism  in societies that cant afford it. 

Big Brother - Mono-culture. Meaningless gameshow, mindless public (ringing in and making money for these corporations) 

Chomsky & Herman (1998) Manufacturing Consent

See news as a giant system of propaganda for capitalism especially US capitalism, public take everything as fact.

Propaganda model - Five basic filters

-ownership (eg. Rupert Murdoch- dictates news, political backing- Blair/Labour)

-funding 

-sourcing

-flak

-ideology (eg. Anti-Islam

Flak

US- based Global Climate Coalition (GCC)

- comprising fossil fuel and automobile companies such as exxon, texaco and ford. the gcc was started up by Burson-Marstekkar, one of the worlds largest public relations companies to rubbish credibility of climate scientists and scare stories about global warming. Flak is characterised by concerted and intentional efforts to manage public information.

Al gore, 'an inconvenient truth' raises moral awareness 

Jim Inhofe 'Global warming is one of the biggest hoaxes ever perpetuated on the American public' 

Sustainable Development - economic development that is conducted without depletion of natural resources.

'most things are not designed for the needs of the people but for the needs of manufacturers'

Ecologism -  Ecologism is a new political ideology based on the position that the non-human world is worthy of moral consideration, and that this should be taken into account in social, economic, and political systems. 

You cant place man as the dominator and the creator. 

Crit//Essay Question

This morning we had a group crit where we presented our potential essay questions. At the moment I have two possible questions...

An exploration into the effects of Graphic Design on femininity and fashion or  Do fashion publications perpetuate traditional feminine ideals? 

It was agreed that the second question was better, so I'll run with that. 

I explained what I want to look at:
Evolution of Vogue (most influential fashion magazine) 
Advertisements within fashion magazines- influential in formulating, maintaining and altering how readers understand the construction of socially acceptable gender norms.
Cover models (they all look similar//glamorous) 
Look at the Visual Language (Type and Image) 

What I want to create:
essentially create a fashion publication
pick my favourite articles from Vogue
ethical design
Androgynous? 
Improved way of viewing fashion
collage/scan in/recycled paper. 

Gentlewoman

It was suggested that I look at a magazine called, 'Gentlewoman' that I've heard of before. Its a well designed magazine, similar to printed pages. I'm planning on buying a few back copies for primary research.

'The Gentlewoman celebrates modern women of style and purpose. Its fabulous biannual magazine offers a fresh and intelligent perspective on fashion that’s focused on personal style – the way women actually look, think and dress. Featuring ambitious journalism and photography of the highest quality, it showcases inspirational women through its distinctive combination of glamour, personality and warmth. These qualities are also at the heart of its website, thegentlewoman.com, a virtual place where real women, real events and real things are enjoyed.'

Pantone

It was also suggested that I look at Pantone Fashion Colours so I started looking at Pantone Spring 2015 colours, that I could use in my final publication which will make the overall publication more contextual. 

Spring 2015: En Plein Air

This season, cooler and softer colour choices with subtle warm tones follow a minimalistic en plein air theme, taking a cue from nature.

This season there is a move toward the cooler and softer side of the colour spectrum. An eclectic, ethereal mix of understated brights, pale pastels and nature-like neutrals take centre stage as designers draw from daydreams of simpler times. Remembrances of retro delights, folkloric and floral art, and the magical worlds of tropical landscapes restore a sense of well-being as we head into warmer months.

“Many feel compelled to be connected around the clock because we are afraid we’ll miss something important. There is a growing movement to step out and create ‘quiet zones’ to disconnect from technology and unwind, giving ourselves time to stop and be still. Color choices follow the same minimalistic, ‘en plein air’ theme, taking a cue from nature rather than being reinvented or mechanically manipulated. Soft, cool hues blend with subtle warm tones to create a soothing escape from the everyday hustle and bustle.”

Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director, Pantone Colour Institute®

I'm looking forward to eventually use this colour palette throughout my publication they are so natural and fresh and harmonious. They are not necessarily feminine or masculine as well.

Gender Advertisements, Goffman 1979

It was also suggested that I look at this book, Gender Advertisements, Goffman 1979. However it is slightly outdated so I am unsure how helpful it is but could give me some good contextual knowledge. 

Gender advertisements give the viewers a glimpse into a world laden with socially defined and constructed gender relations, displays, and roles. These images are crafted to mimic real life and many mistake the concepts of fantasy and reality in regards to advertising. Erving would would call it “Commercial Realism,when advertisers try to present the advertising world in ways which it could be real. Goffman argues that advertisements do not look strange to us, when they should. Advertisements take something that exists already in the world and they change it, forming a distorted reflection. “They emphasise some things and de-emphasise others,” it is a hyper ritualisation of the world, and we recognise, and even relate with some of the images.

Shortlist and Stylist Comparison

Stylist is the title of a free weekly magazine for women that is published in the United Kingdom which launched on 7 October 2009. Stylist is owned by independent publishing company Shortlist Media Ltd, which also owns Shortlist, a free weekly magazine title for men. ShortList is a free weekly magazine published in the United Kingdom, which launched on 20 September 2007. The magazine has the biggest circulation of any men's lifestyle magazine in Britain

Overall, I found the crit really helpful narrowing down what I want to research. I think I will need another tutorial with Richard to help with choosing some books for contextual reference. 

Do fashion publications perpetuate traditional feminine ideals?