LAUAN501 - Study Task 8 - Reflective Writing/Conclusion

Studio Brief 2 - Theory into Practice Reflective writing

Reflective
Researching related imagery and animated clips for experimentation, certain media could portray the best describe meaning and expression behind the chosen concept. I found strong graphic imagery depicting the education system and society at the time, showing the suppression of individuality, expressing the suffering, humiliation and oppression through strong graphic media. Taking the concept of 'Teacher' and concerning it with socialism and oppression of freedom, a tyrant in a system molding the minds of children to become 'just another brick in the wall'.

Strong imagery of drained bodies expressing the concepts of excruciating emotion and pain, with bleeding, heavy media such as inks, bold lines and shapes.
A molded society, represented in the form of a wall, created from blended students in a press.
Gerald Scarfe's art best represents these abstract and surrealist concepts, over exaggerating the characters to an obscene point and in a sense exposing their true forms to the world and the imagery that would be depicted in the minds on those who experienced the monsters within. Spewing ill content down upon the minds of the community and the obscenity of their own existence with plenty of graphic images parts representing the distorted effect they have on society.

Experimenting with paints and inks, the flowing effect represents emotion of children being formed into bricks to unwillingly serve a oppressed society, suffering from the recent war, unable to rebuild their community with inspiration or freedom, only from breaking down into metaphoric material to feed a wall of division, destroying anything beautiful or natural, reducing freedom into an abstract concept itself.

The meanings and concepts I wanted to convey with the contemporary examples about materialism and the political use in society, is that it is a way of subduing community from having stronger faith in culture or conscious of individualism, separating from the struggles of life with a wall of materialistic desires, separating community from society, becoming an element of economy that runs the political machine, in the form of dividing concepts of community valued at their own expense on material goods. Consumerism is a political technique for achieving a greater objective of controlling society, taking common values of an 'ideal world' of hypocrisy.
Interpreted by the media and images as a contemporary political 'propaganda' materialism is government and politics controlling society by dividing freedom in conformity, like a wall of consumerism, a form of reality and destruction of dreams and the belief of community without political influence.




Conclusion

'How are British politics represented through historical and contemporary animation?'

The theme for the project is British politics in historical and contemporary animation, concepts, and ideals communicated in relation to economics, propaganda, and socialism.

My work changed through this project through the research, beginning at historical political influence based from Pink Floyd the Wall, (1982) introduction and plot, but then developing my work into the contemporary concepts of consumerism in society and reading about how this is used politically to influence and even suppress society. 

I have developed my ideas through reading and triangulating, economical and consumerist growth in society in Juliet, B. and Douglas, B. (2000), The Consumer Society Reader, as well as techniques of propaganda from history and today in, Bernays, E (1928), Propaganda, and viewing animated film expression and surrealist art in Pink Floyd the Wall, (1982), Directed by A. Parker and G. Scarfe for practical journal and concept art.

Researching and developing these concepts, I found really in depth texts, explaining about Political influences and in relation to material in Pink Floyd the Wall, (1982) on society. Explaining the social reform, mould and change on society metaphorically, as a historical example example based around the character 'Pink'.
This was a tricky project to understand and explain in my work, when evaluating each concept and I feel that I had to explain a lot of detail and reasoning for having taken the project in this direction. Understanding lots of various ideals and pathways that I could have taken to explore the theme, and I am surprised at the amount of work produced in Pink Floyd the Wall, (1982) film because of this.
Contemporary forms of political oppression included exchanging with a consumerist society. 'Pink' from Pink Floyd the Wall, (1982), was a victim of this consumerism and its influence on community when it diminishes his moral values based from the products or, 'material' he possessed and found that it only deepened his emotional struggle, separated by a wall of consumerism and losing faith in him self.
Reading Juliet, B. and Douglas, B. (2000) on the significancy of consumerism I found that, signified as a currency for a government value in capitalism as a means of mass production for a consumer driven society.

I looked into the Dadaist movement for war and post war time inspired abstract art and artists for inspiration and reference to Scarfe (2010) projects while working with concepts from Pink Floyd the Wall, (1982). In my practical I focused on these ideas with research and inspiration for examples of surrealist art and media based around World War 2. 

I feel that through out this project I have taken on a challenging but very interesting stream on political concepts in art and animation, and because of this the researching has in turn taken a lot of time to formulate into a strong concept for experimenting and development. Because of this I feel that  the work flow was held up at the begging and resulted in a limited development of concepts and examples to evaluate and understand in the final production.
Overall I feel that I have developed my own skills in this project for reading complex texts on politics and have adapted (halfway through the project unfortunately) to the techniques of understanding political meanings and context shown through art and design in animation.