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Ashley Booth: Rubbish reflections
This projects intention is to explore the possibilities to use symbols and pictograms that are normally accepted as simple and inflexible visual messages, to investigate objects and attitudes and to express abstractions and more sophisticated messages.
By Ashley Boothm, Associate Professor at the Dept of Design, Subject Area Visuel Communication.
Using pictogrammatic language as a visual tool I wish to examine the classification of value in a cultural, social, philosophical or political context, be it an evaluation of what is worthless, nonsensical or rubbish or what is appreciated as precious and not rubbish.
In this research project it is my intention is to use pictograms as an open-ended language that acts as a catalyst to provoke interpretation. My research question is: “How can symbols and pictograms as a visual examination of the various perceptions of rubbish encourage philosophical reflections on what really is trash, or not trash?”
As a designer my particular professional interest is:
“How can symbols and pictograms be used to express abstractions, differences in degree, nuances in definition and philosophical concepts?”
Why pictograms?
Pictogrammatic programs have intentionally been created to lack descriptive detail, to avoid style, decoration and beauty, thus to enable us to catch it’s meaning at a glance and avoid codifying reality. I wish to experiment with how to express abstraction in the philosophical sense, as a thought process wherein ideas are distanced from objects. By using pictograms, with their simple forms, I will attempt to utilise their lack of individual expression of form to enhance the focus towards content and context.
Why Rubbish?
Our future lifestyles may be based upon new values, a common mantra now being “I have a high standard of living but a poor quality of life”. Now is always a good time to challenge ourselves to re-examine our beliefs and values. What our beliefs and values are - or could be – can be questioned by attempting to define what is valuable or not or what is rubbish or not rubbish? I believe this theme to be most interesting in it’s actuality in these times of eco- and economic consciousness and ethical and aesthetic discussion.
Also the theme’s platform is so open in it’s definition that it may be addressed in many ways e.g. in a cultural, social, philosophical or political context. This, I believe, will invite a critical approach to visualisation, as the theme is open for interpretation, and will encourage provocation and solicit attitude.
How will the theme of rubbish and the visual pictogrammatic language work together?
The theme of rubbish will be used as a motivating factor for me. Also as a definition and limitation of the subject exemplification in the early phases of the project‘s experimentation it will hopefully help focus the project‘s visual language development and encourage it‘s emphasis towards content.
As the pictogrammatic language toolbox and experiments develop, I believe, that the integrity of the expression will increase and make the theme of rubbish more and more relevant as the theme will act as a basis for philosophical reflection and further development. I hope the theme will also help create a platform where ambiguousity and nuance may be interpreted and assessed for their tenacity or obscurity. I believe the theme‘s definition may help me evaluate vagueness by intent.
Aims
I wish to visually examine different perceptions of rubbish, not only of my own opinions but also those of others, and to encourage different viewpoints, positive and negative, debatable and conflictual. By not taking one definite stand or using a moralistic language, I hope to encourage the audience to adopt their own particular stand.
I do not perceive the need to produce new pictogrammatic styles; strength in concept and visualisation could be within the ‘re-use’ and ‘re-cycling’ of historical or established norms that they again become relative by appearing in new situations and contexts. How then can a ‘conventional’ pictogrammatic language be interesting for experimentation in visual commentary? Representation may be based on the use of a pictogrammatic expression where comparison of two or more objects or subjects can be juxtaposed and play with or against each other and create new associations, nuances and subtle distinctions. I hope to use these accepted visual symbolic norms in contexts that may be unexpected. I hope to create unclear choices between different definitions, ‘self-evident’ pictograms may become context-dependent for their definition, and this will hopefully give me the possibility to vary context to create the ambiguous or the unambiguous.
I wish to address my professional challenge in experimenting in – how symbols and pictograms can be used to express abstractions, differences in degree, nuances in definition and philosophical concepts – systematically, I will first concentrate on content and context, thereafter on philosophical reflection and finally ambiguosity and nuance.
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