Genealogies Week 1: Studio Brief and Initial Ideas.

Genealogies Week 1

Brief Analysis: 

The first brief for the second year is a project that focuses on the Genealogy Method. The task for this project as stated on the brief, is to 'give a narrative to a found object.' Examples on how this can be achieved are by finding ways to elevate, alter, advance and convert the perception of said object through the means of using original story techniques, research and creative thinking. 

The brief provides some examples of how I can approach this project on a design level. The list consists of ideas from Posters to 3D artefacts giving myself some creative freedom for this project. Personally I would like to work with motion graphics more and perhaps make a series of animations that could give my 'object' a level of importance.

Potential Ideas:

Idea 1: Signifying the Dysfunctional:

When it comes to objects that I can give a narrative to, I want to try and think outside the box. My first idea that sprouted during the lecture was how I could make an ordinary/useless object have significance, a prime example being the 'supreme brick'. The supreme brick was a limited edition red clay brick that was marketed by the fashion brand Supreme, these bricks sold for $35 and people willingly queued round the block at every Supreme store that was selling them.

Briefly I think that they created this as a mockery aimed at consumerism and how brand fanboys would literally buy anything with the brand's logo slapped on it. This could also be directed at large companies such as Apple.

Inspired by the concept of this supreme brick, I came up with the idea of how I could get an object and create an advertising campaign making it out to be the best thing in the world also ridiculing consumerism. I think it would make a more sarcastic approach if the object had no function or if it had a really simplistic purpose initially, an example could be a piece of litter or something that is broken.

The Inflatable Banana:

An object that I could advertise is an Inflatable Banana. During Fresher week of the second year at uni, I obtained an inflatable banana on a night out and ever since it's been compactly folded into my jacket pocket. Other than it having the whimsical value of about 5 minutes it's pretty useless and has no function. However an idea is creating an advertising campaign that promotes it as if it's a necessity for the consumers lifestyle.

Idea 2: Turning Function into Dysfunction:

My second idea is takes an opposite approach compared to the first. Rather than creating significance to a dysfunctional object, my idea is to take an object that has a simple function already and make it completely awkward to use or down right entirely dysfunctional. 

This idea is inspired by Italian artist and photographer Giuseppe Colarusso and his ongoing series titled 'Unlikely'. Colarusso turns these ordinary objects such as cutlery and makes them useless or uncomfortable by editing them to have rope handles. His work gives this feeling of awkwardness and discomfort when viewing, depriving us of satisfaction from the simplest of things like a sink without a plughole or a rolling pin that is cubic instead of cylindrical. 

Below are examples of his work.

It would be really interesting to try and create something inspired by this concept, an idea I had is to take a really grungy approach to the items deemed 'Useless', an example would be an air horn with a gun suppressor on it. Although it wouldn't work at all in a practical sense the idea of two contrasting objects put together to make the airhorn useless and 'dysfunctional'.

Idea 3: Pills here!

My third idea is a bit of a strange approach to this brief, inspired by science fiction such as 'Soylent Green' and an episode of Rick & Morty, my idea is to advertise food and drink in pill form. I came across the idea one morning when I was having breakfast, due to taking a couple of supplement and vitamins in the morning on a daily basis I made the joke "breakfast is served" whilst holding a handful of the vitamins. This arose the idea of advertising meals like 'Full English Breakfast in Pill!' 

Using the two toned caplets which are commonly used for Cold and Flu relief I could use Photoshop to edit the colours of the caplet and maybe even add small text to them stating the meal that they are. I could do a small photo shoot with these pills on plates at a family dinner table. This idea has a very futuristic, dystopic concept to it and could be considered as a scary realisation to how the near future might turn out when comes to food and drink. 

us people can't get enough of that sweet convenience in our lifestyle!