Retail Retold: September 2008

Friday, September 26, 2008

desk-top critiques + graffito final phase.

The following is a presentation on my group's design ideas (based on the concept of graffito) for a retail center within Revolution Mills.

Desk Top Crits...
This morning our Retail Retold studio had desk-top critiques to review work done thus far. It seems as though my group's "concept" of graffiti was appreciated by those I spoke with. During my first critique with Jackie, it was expressed that the several main aspects i was wanting to incorporate into the space (the centralized floor cut-out w/ local art display, the window panels with colored panes/stencil graffiti art-work, and the layered circular floor plan,) are definitely worth pursuing and building-upon. During my second critique with Emily, I was encouraged to enhance the notion I had surrounding "natural graffiti." It was really interesting how I shared similar ideas with both of my critique partners. Jackie and I both wanted to incorporate an opening within the space that exposed the top floor to the bottom and vice-versa. Emily and I both shared an appreciation for the nature encompassing the area.

Although the concept of graffiti was welcomed and respected, I was advised to target in on one or two key features of graffiti and focus on incorporating those features of graffiti into the space in a more abstracted way. Overall I found this mini-critique very useful as an opportunity to gather and organize my thoughts as preparation for moving on to the next step in the process of designing the retail space of Revolution Mill.

process sketches.

I put pen to paper and came up with some sketches of potential features for our graffiti inspired retail center.

graffiti: inspiration.

Graffito: peeling/scratching away layers

Natural Graffiti

Traditional Graffiti

(images courtesy of: http://www.zimbio.com, http://www.foxinni.com, image.guardian.co.uk, http://www.flickr.com, http://www.robayre.com, www.inhabitat.com, www.asphaltandair.com, http://www.cynthiaeardleysculpture.com, www.rjgleason.com, www.bartolottaphoto.com)

My Thoughts

- So much money being spent to “clean up” (cover up graffiti) similar to how so much is being spent to cover up Rev. Mill’s history

- What’s the difference between graffiti and art?

- A related term is "graffito," which involves scratching through one layer of pigment to reveal another beneath it (http://en.wikipedia.org) – instead of pilling on layers to Rev. Mill, we should expose the pre-existing ones.

- Natural vs. Man-made graffiti

- Modern graffiti vs. graffiti of the past (spray paint vs. inscriptions, figure drawings, etc., found on the walls of ancient sepulchers or ruins.)

Potential design concept: Graffiti

Research:

- Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. Graffiti is sometimes regarded as a form of art and other times regarded as unsightly damage or unwanted. Some people think of it as art, others vandalism, and others, a culture of its own. (http://en.wikipedia.org)

- Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples going back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.[1] Graffiti can be anything from simple scratch marks to elaborate wall paintings. In modern times, spray paint and markers have become the most commonly used materials. In most countries, defacing property with graffiti without the property owner's consent is considered vandalism, which is punishable by law. Sometimes graffiti is employed to communicate social and political messages. To some, it is an art form worthy of display in galleries and exhibitions, to others it is merely vandalism. There are many different types and styles of graffiti and it is a rapidly evolving artform whose value is highly contested, being reviled by many authorities while also subject to protection, sometimes within the same jurisdiction.

(http://en.wikipedia.org)