UNIQUE

My first attempt at Adobe Illustrator was a success (I think). I created a very simple image, the word "Unique" with synonyms written on the inside of each letter. The font is stencil-like to reinforce the possibility for infinite reproductions and the colors are simple black and white, to make the image seem as 'un-unique' as possible. Again, although the sticker claims to be "unique" it really is not, it has the ability to be mass produced.

Only when I take the photographs of the sticker in context with actual individuals will it move past the infinite and into the unique. I think it's a fun juxtaposition. I think I may want to send out the image to a company to make bumper stickers, and buy them in bulk for two reasons

1. The act of the mechanical production of the stickers works with my theme

2. I'm not sure how to go about making my own, as I am having trouble finding vinyl sticker paper to print on. Besides, its not the actual sticker that is my final project, it is the photographs. Mechanical production will just be a part of the means to the end.

The COEXIST Bumper sticker:


It sends a nice message, but everyone has it. If you walk down mainstreet you probably will find one of these on about 1/3 of the parked cars. I want to make my bumper sticker in the same style, so that when one sees it they might think of the Coexist sticker, adding to the implied generic-ness of my design. The sticker, as I said yesterday, is supposed to be recognizable not for its unique design, but for the redundency (which will hopefully show through in each of the photographs I take).

I have been thinking a lot about the infinite print project lately (half because I am a bit stumped, and half because the first part is due in a matter of hours). I keep asking myself, what is a mass produced object, easy for everyone to get their hands on, but can be altered in a personal, unique way?

The first thing that came to mind was greeting cards. There are hundreds upon thousands of cards that are mass produced, bought and sold each and every day. Each one (of a certain type) is exactly the same until the purchaser puts his or her own handwriting into them. A simple "Dear Grandma, Happy Birthday, I Love You" can bring tears to an old woman's eyes and a 10 page long, script, heartfelt love letter written on loose leaf paper and stapled into a Hallmark may turn into an engagement. It is the personal touches added to the mass produced card that really make it an individually unique object.

So my idea was to make a bunch of greeting cards, nothing to do with any specific holiday, and e-mail some (the digital version of this project) and mail some. I would also include a blank and ask the receiver to mail me back the blank card with their own words, transforming my unoriginal blank card into something truly special.

However, today I was scrolling through the class blogs and saw that someone else had an idea along the same 'greeting card' line as me. I don't want our projects to be too similar, so I'm going to have to drop the greeting card idea and think of something else. I am excited to see what her outcome is and what direction she is going to take with it...so good luck!

So now, back at square one, I need to think of another mass produced, yet personal and unique item. I've been thinking about it for a while and I've come up with something kinda similar to greeting cards (actually not really similar at all) - Bumper stickers. These stickers are mass produced by the millions and people spend their money on them to stick to their cars and then call themselves "original". But are they really being original? They are sticking a generic image to a mass produced car. Seems kinda lame really.

BUT It is that personal choice that that individual had to pick out that bumper sticker and place it on that specific car. The choice in itself shows some spark of originality.

I think that I want to make my own bumper sticker. I'm not quite sure of the image yet (or how to go about the process of making them) but I will e-mail some (with printer friendly directions of course) and make some. After that, I want to go around and take pictures of each unique person with their own unique car with my generic-turned-individual sticker on it.

The image itself is going to be plain, boring, something that seems that it could be found anywhere. Maybe just words. Black text on white background that says something along the lines "This Bumper Sticker Is Unique" (or maybe something a bit more witty). Something generic that will link all the photographs of the individuals together.

It is not the sticker that is the unique object, but the free will of those choosing my sticker to enhance their car that is truly original. The unique object presented in class Monday after spring break will not be the photographs, but the people that they capture. The people will be single-handedly turning my un-unique item into something much more exciting.

It really could be a fun project. I like the idea of compiling photographs. Maybe I can even stick my bumper stickers to things that aren't cars- walls, bulletin boards, desks, skateboards...a world of possibilities.

So after a long and arduous process, my screen-printed James Joyce inspired image never came out. I tried emulsifying and exposing my screen on two different occasions: the first time my imaged washed right off the screen, and the second time the extra emulsion would not wash off at all...until I hit it with the power washer. Big mistake, I basically blew off a ton of words and detail.

For the crit I just printed out a digital version of my image, which I wasn't so happy about since I didn't get the chance to play around with the screen print/colors/difference surfaces. I was really excited about screen printing since I had never done it before. Oh well. Trial and error. It was a good learning situation though, and hopefully the next time I attempt something like it I will know what mistakes not to make again.

Just in case anyone was wondering, this is the original photograph used for my screen print image:

So I found a photograph of a street scene I took in Italy (it may not be Joyce's Dublin, but it has that Euro feel). I was able to convert the photo into text, with three tones (highlights, mid tones and shadows)- don't ask how i did this, because honestly I was playing around in photo shop for hours and I'm not sure if I could do it again ha ha. (It's on the post below, my computer was acting funny and wouldn't allow me to type and write in the same post).

Anyway, from afar you can make out the street scene, and when you get close up you can read Joyce's words (I chose a bunch of Bloom's lines from the Circe episode). The image is a bit confusing to the eye, but Ulysses is an extremely confusing text, intentionally written that way.

I definitely want the image to be printed big, but I haven't decided what color yet. The scene takes place at night "Night Town", Dublin's red light district. Maybe I should keep it in black, grey and white? There are only three different tones in the digital image. Should I add a color? a deep red for the shadow?