contextual practice
14th january - interpreting the audio file
The audio file consists of 15 minutes of reversed audio, that can mainly be interpreted through the description included. The file is titled "Unlearn all languages in 15 minutes" and seems to be a satirical take on the concept of "back masking" which is playing something backwards to hide and distort it's true meaning.
The descriptions allude briefly popular theories about musical artists hiding subliminal backwards messages within their music., perhaps influencing young impressionable teenagers to do "bad things". Audio digest seem to be subtly critiquing this idea by raising the issues of more obvious and outright corruption and shadiness in the entertainment industry and constant privacy policies. They bring up the idea of the future being "local" and that the purpose of the audio is to "unlearn" all the un local languages (subliminal messages) to feel more protected.
When I reversed the audio, it was beginners vocabulary being dictated in many different languages. Gradually voices would build up over each other. Some of the languages I recognized were French, Spanish and English.
With this as a starting point I thought that it might be interesting to play with the concept of distorted messages, themes or versions of reality. My interpretation of this audio is a hidden "gem" that might initially make people curious about its true meaning however when analysed, the actual content is essentially meaningless. This could be a reflection on the highly critical and superstitious society in which we live. It had me thinking about how I could translate this into a publication.
autodigest unreversed audio
15th january - ideas for the book
Moving on from my initial ideas I started brainstorming how I could translate my ideas into a story of some sort. One thing that I aimed to do with this book was confuse the reader through changing scenes, hidden details or a unclear depiction of reality. Juxtapostion and contrasting images was one thing that can be conveyed into a book format effectively - so the reader flips the page and they might be faced with a slightly different version of the image on the previous page. I decided that the best way of doing this was by following a character through a series of events and scenarios.
16th january - finalising the idea
After learning about some book binding techniques and book formats, it opened my eyes to the many ways to relate it to the subject matter of my book. While considering many options, I decided that a traditional pamphlet style book would be appropriate for what I wanted to carry out as I wanted the book to be readable from any page or read in any order to give the reader new ideas as to what might be happening in the non linear story. With this cryptic story i had to come up with an equally cryptic name and "Everything You See, Is Not Everything You've Seen" seemed like a fitting title. I wanted the title to be fully revealed when the cover is lifted to support the meaning behind it, of things not being obvious or clear upon first glance.
I created a story board of the scenes I wanted to illustrate while trying to make them flow into each other as best as I could. Some scenes there would be two characters to imply the concept of a false self that might not instantly be recognized linking to my original idea of superstitions and hidden information - this time relating to oneself.
20th january - drawing the scenes
I felt most comfortable hand drawing the scenes, scanning them and then digitally colouring them in Illustrator. So I drew the double page spreads on A4 paper with a black pen.
research
autodigest
autodigest: 'Why not pay a humble tribute to the golden age of backmasking? Once upon a time, radio DJs would go up in flames accusing pop records of containing satanic messages woven backwards onto the groove. These would then supposedly make their way onto your teenage subconscious, and from its depths command you to do very bad things. Echoes of the Altamont and Manson traumas aside, it was all a bit naive when compared to the magnitude of the very shady side of the entertainment industry nowadays, where worthwhile pop music once again becomes demonised: the recent, heavy policy proposals against online piracy, the terrorist-like shutdown of megaupload, the steamroller-like production-line of prime-time karaoke, the pervasive disgust of auto-tuning, the endless parade of cute iGadgets valiantly ignoring the abyss of over-consumption and worldwide economic meltdown. Hubris, Icarus, Tower of Babel... Some say the future is once again in the local. Let's just forget all those un-local languages, then. Press play, unlearn them all, quickly and painlessly. Bliss.'
Stefan Sagmeister - Made You Look
"Made You Look contains practically all the work we ever designed, including the bad stuff. Published as a paperback in a red transparent slip case. Removing the book from the red tinted transparent slip case causes the mood of the dog to worsen considerably; bending it over results in the title "Made You Look" (or in the other direction: dog food) showing up on the fore edge. Peter Hall wrote a very detailed text (for a design book), I included handwritten excerpts from my diary and many comments from our dear clients."
Sagmeister being one of the most influential graphic designs of today caught my interest with this book which is essentially a collection of his best work. However the cover design alone is interesting to me and my idea because of the way it overlays two images over eachother, with the same dog in a different pose. The result is this frantic image that "makes you look" for a awhile before you understand what is happening. This is an interesting technique that I may use in my publication
Perfect Blue (1997)
The 1997 psychological thriller by Satoshi Kon Perfect Blue follows the downward spiral of Mima as she quits her idol lifestyle to pursue a career in acting, however she is soon haunted by a stalker who begins to manipulate her entire life and identity through the internet. The film begins with a clear idea of the reality we are shown, but this quickly becomes shifted and the reality distorts to the point where the audience is unsure of what is real and what's fake. Mima's character is no longer singular, as she is manipulated so much by the people around her they starts to alter her identity as the film progresses.
This film inspired me with my publication mostly through Kon's methods of distorting reality through smooth cuts and transitions to mildly disorientate the audience and had my thinking of ways this could possibly be explored in print.