Most of the work that I analyzed so far used illustration as a form of representation of reality, or functionally, as a way to communicate a story.
Artists like Christoph Niemann and Maira Kalman, examined in posts 01 and 02, often take a ludic and/or poetic approach to storytelling. They sometimes use sequences of images to convey a message. Other times, they mix words and images. But, in general, they are depicting a situation, describing a scene or capturing a mood, and trying to have a fairly high degree of control over how their message will be interpreted by the audience. For these reasons, I am grouping Niemann and Kalman in a category that I am calling “designer storytellers.” Figure one shows a conceptual piece by Niemann (2010), using descriptive labels.
On another side of the spectrum, there is the visual storytelling of artists like the British David Shrigley and the Spanish Joan Cornellà.
Shrigley and Cornellà employ many of the same visual narrative tools used by Kalman and Niemann, like sequences of images and a mix of words and images. But they differ in one key aspect: they often wave most of the control over how the message will be interpreted. They often choose to transmit a mood, instead of a clear message, and open a wide range of interpretations to their work. For this reason, I am grouping them as “artist storytellers.” Figure 2 is a sample of a sequential series of illustration depicting a surrealistic scene, by Cornellà (2010).
What are some of the elements that set apart the works of “designer storytellers” from the works of “artist storytellers”? What are the consequences of these approaches, in regards to how they make their living?
Art and functional mass communication are often intertwined and the distinction between art, graphic design and visual communication is often blurred. But there are a few pragmatic distinctions between them.
When artists like Cornellà give up control over how the message will be interpreted in favor of their self expression, is one of the critical differences between simple communication, satire or a cartoon and art. Another distinction is that the main goal of “designer storytellers” is to convey a message and to create a product for consumption. While artists give up some of the functionality and act under their own rules.
As a result, the choice for self expression may put artists at a greater financial risk than storytellers who are targeting a particular audience. While artists are trying to pass on a deeply personal feeling or interest, “designer storytellers” are ultimately trying to create a product for consumption.
Both designers and artists have advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage for the for designers is that they have a relatively more certain path to sustainability, since they are more focused on creating a product for market consumption. As for artists, there is greater financial risk, but also a somewhat greater changes that they will achieve more fulfillment through self-expression.
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References:
CORNELLÀ, J. (2018) instagram.com/sirjoancornella. Untitled artwork. [Online] Available from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BjwhXVpjWo-/ [Accessed on Nov. 28, 2018.]
CORNELLÀ, J. (2018) instagram.com/sirjoancornella. Untitled artwork. [Online] Available from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BjBqcIVDv42/ [Accessed on Nov. 28, 2018.]
NIEMMAN, C. (2010) Christophniemann.com ‘I Lego N.Y.’ [Online] Available from: https://www.amazon.com/I-Lego-N-Y-Christoph-Niemann/dp/0810984903 [Accessed on Nov. 28, 2018.]
PEÇANHA, S. (2018) Sergio’s research & enquiry. ‘Post 01. Christoph Niemann — TED 2018, You are fluent in this language (and don’t even know it).’ [Online] Available from: https://sergio.video.blog/2018/10/16/post-01-christoph-niemann-ted-2018-you-are-fluent-in-this-language-and-dont-even-know-it/ [Accessed on Nov. 28, 2018.]
PEÇANHA, S. (2018) Sergio’s research & enquiry. ‘Post 02. Maira Kalman, The Illustrated Woman’ [Online] Available from: https://sergio.video.blog/2018/10/24/post-02-maira-kalman-the-illustrated-woman/ %5BAccessed on Nov. 28, 2018.]
Sergio’s research & enquiry 