AD4004 Report 4

Visual language and constraint

The artistic styles of different cultures represent a nation's personal visual language. Visual languages are a set of elements that appear consistently throughout forms of art, design or written langauge. One example of visual language native to Western countries would be the pictogram systems used in airports (ie. bag represents baggage claim).

Another good example comes from the coding systems of ancient cultures, such as those used in Egyptian art and hieroglyphs. Seen below is an image of a page taken from the Egyptian “Book of the Dead” and is a prime example of the combination of this sort of ancient code, alongside the images of gods and goddesses. (1) More modern types of visual language include a drawing or painting style used by an artist that is unique to them, and provides a form of coding that is personal and one that only they can interpret correctly.

The idea of 'constraint' in the art industry refers to any restriction that is placed on an artist, in terms of the medium or colour they can use, or specific instructions set by their clients. Artistic constraint is particularly evident in the comic genre, as comic book artists have to be restricted by page/panel size and borders, while attempting to illustrate a narrative.

However, a recent psychological study found that constraint is actually useful for generating ideas that would deviate from the norm for any kind of artist, making them think in a way different than what they are used to. (2) This includes the introduction of self-imposed constraints, such as creating deadlines, limiting material usage, or even working as a team. A person's art is limited to just one setting if they don't try new methods of controlling the production and themes of their work. Their abilities as an artist on the whole can improve through the imposition and practice of these sorts of constraints.

When an artist divulges into the reduction or application of formulae or elements in their art, in an effort to create new ideas or meanings (usually in the conventional comics format) is known as “generative constraint”. (3) A French group of artists that frequent in generative constraint are called the “Oubapo”. They work by creating new, interchangeable rules for their artists to follow when making comics. This results in the creation of unique works in terms of idea, medium, layout and story structure.

An example of the kind of generative constraint on artists happening in today's Western society comes from the adapted comic strip “Garfield minus Garfield”. (4) This strip is a revised version of the

original “Garfield” comic series – by removing the main character (Garfield) the reader is left to view the “existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle” (Walsh). Through this simple self-imposed constraint, the artist has managed to isolate the thoughts and behaviour of the lonely human. This route is effective in demonstrating how a simple addition/subtraction can change the way we percieve a narrative and, to a certain extent, ourselves.

References

(1) Kinnear

(2) Cooper

(3) Madden

(4) Walsh

Bibliography

Cooper, Belle Beth (March 10, 2014). “Proof that constraints can actually make you more creative”. FastCompany [online]. [Accessed 23 March 2015]. Available from http://www.fastcompany.com/3027379/work-smart/the-psychology-of-limitations-how-and-why-constraints-can-make-you-more-creative

Kinnear, Jacques (2009). “The Written Language”. Ancient Egypt [online]. [Accessed 23 March 2015]. Available from http://www.ancient-egypt.org/_v3d/index.html

Madden, Matt (2013). “Oubapo: Comics and Constraints from France”. [online]. [Accessed 20 March 2015]. Available from http://wordswithoutborders.org/article/oubapo-article1#ixzz3QFWni88Z

Walsh, Dan (ongoing). “Garfield minus Garfield”. [online]. [Accessed 20 March 2015]. Available from http://garfieldminusgarfield.net