I visited the Keith Haring exhibition at Tate Liverpool as a way to further explore different ways of approaching my work as Haring's work often dealt with community, interactivity and spreading information. I found this exhibition to be really effective for my current project, OUGD504, in which I'm creating a conceptual book - the concept determines all production methods. A large part of my concept is the idea of sharing and community, and Keith Haring's approach to this directly influenced my approach to my book.
Avant-Garde-Arama flyer for the Performance Space 122 Programme, 1981
The Avant-Garde-Arama is a contemporary performance art event for the public which featured Keith Haring in 1981. They describe their aims as a space "to create an open environment for artists and audiences, and thus foster community through performance and discourse" and this focus on fostering the community through performance can translate into my book as my book needs to be able to include multiple readers at once.
The flyer itself follows the typical punk zine production methods of the 80's as it's just a printed page that's been drawn on photocopied onto coloured paper however what makes it interesting is its grid. The grid is designed so that each square can be cut out and handed out which can be used for my current book project as the method of perforating edges works well with the theme of sharing. The softcover that encases the book can use this method so that it has a more effective purpose.
The content within each square follows some rules such as the images having the same height constraints and the handwritten text being written generally in the same place. The printed type is interesting as it provides the more professional appearance as it resembles Swiss design but pushes the boundaries as the unusual kerning defeats the purpose of complete practical legibility, but it follows this rule on each line allowing the flyer to be playful but still professional. The "g" in "garde" also follows this idea of constrained but playful as when cut, the glyph would be split in half rendering it ineligible.
This screen printed handkerchief was used as invitations which allowed the guest into the party at the Paradise Garage, which was an LGBT night club. The bright colours and the purpose of the design combined with the simplicity of a plain handkerchief push the boundaries of what's conventional for its form as a handkerchief isn't often used as an invitation but it's effective in communicating the idea of exclusivity.
The method of screen printing fabric could be used in my project as I initially wanted to include fabric as a way of providing more physical/textural experiences.
Other pieces I found generally inspiring:
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