routine to the rest of us as ways
of devaluing them... . If they are to
have any significance, their lives
must be self-constructed and
made significant with the use of
home-made materials.’
6these expressions of identity and have a cultural sense of which haircut, language or music (for example) works most economically for ourselves. Willis stresses the importance of this aspect of symbolic production. He points out how young people in particular feel marginalised by the constructed visions of youth supplied by our society through institutions, advertising, magazines and television. This is brought about by the perception of difference between how they are told they should be and how they actually are. Studies of football hooligans in the UK also point to the necessity for disenfranchised young people to define their identity in opposition to existing constructs.
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Creator: Francesca Bunny Williams Title: www.wonderleague.co.uk Exemplifies: Symbolic creativity
Personal lifestyle, choice of clothes, eccentric visual imagery and subcultural styles are all part of the way that Bunny Williams (aka Bunny Bissoux) describes her identity on her website. The web has provided individuals with the opportunity to create a holistic identity that extends far beyond the limits of conventional promotional marketing. In addition to an illustration portfolio, www.wonderleague.co.uk includes personal photographs, a shop selling vintage clothes, shoes, accessories, retro toys and homewares. Potential clients are invited to immerse themselves in the symbolic creativity that is Bunny Bissoux as they get a contemporary portrait of the artist.
7. SYMBOLIC CREATIVITY
Portfolio
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Creator: Kate Moross
Title: ‘T-Post’ (T-shirt) Magazine/Badge Sets/Bag Exemplifies: Symbolic creativity
The importance of clothing in the expression of identity is harnessed by a Swedish magazine, where the magazine and the T-shirt are one and the same. The front of the T-shirt functions as the cover of the magazine and the content is printed inside. This brings together two important cultural reference points for young people in exercising their symbolic creativity. Kate Moross also offers her audience the opportunity to share her expression of individualism with a range of ephemeral items available through her online shop. These items form part of a personal obsession with geometric shapes and how they symbolise human qualities. This work is playful, low cost and accessible. These qualities are ideal for
experimentation with personal symbolism and enable us to place our identity in specific groups and periods.
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Kate Moross Nike Dunk / Be True
Symbolic Creativity
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Title: Nike Dunk/Be True Exemplifies: Symbolic creativity
For the celebration of the Dunk 23rd Anniversary, Kate Moross collaborated with Neil Bedford and Carrie Mundane to produce a range of life-size illustrated photographic portraits for an exhibition sited in London’s hip Brick Lane. The context of the project is as important as the visual language used. An event in a carefully chosen venue is a very important sign. The brief was to visualise the connection between basketball culture and London street style. The designer referenced a series of interviews where people talked about their aesthetic and the importance they place on the way they represent themselves in their clothing, the way they communicate and the music they listen to. Clearly, it is important for brands to reflect the personal symbolism of their audience in the objects they manufacture. This creates a sense of ownership of the brand by the people who use it to express themselves through lifestyle choices.
7. SYMBOLIC CREATIVITY
Portfolio
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Job:01980 Title:Visible Signs 2nd Edition (AVA) Page:140 Creators: Ian Mitchell (Left)/Michael O’Shaughnessy
(Right)/Seel Garside (Opposite) Titles: Event Poster – Bellini/Kogumaza/
Cath and Phil Tyler
Exemplifies: Symbolic creativity
A series of posters advertising a single music event. A group of designers and educators express their individualism through their interpretation of an event at their local art school. Unlike most of the population, designers are occasionally given the opportunity to express their identity using the tools and media of mass production. In these examples, the content of the event is overridden by the desire to produce a playful set of personal gestures. Just as most people employ a set of personal signs and symbols to identify themselves with subcultural groups, designers can also use personal and cultural reference points to signify who they are and what excites them visually.
7. SYMBOLIC CREATIVITY
Portfolio
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Go to SELF-DIRECTED STUDY: EXERCISES
page 185
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JUNK
AND
CUL-
TURE
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