COP3 Ideas

Question 4: To what extent do technological developments in production and distribution impact on illustration? 

I have been reading a book called ‘A Whole New Mind’ by Daniel H Pink which is about why people who predominantly use the right side of their brain will succeed in the future. It is about how a lot of left brain functions can be mimicked by machinery more easily than the right brain functions, and therefore jobs based around right brain functions will most likely stay in the hands of humans for longer. I feel an interest in this topic may have stemmed from my essay for COP1 which was about how developments in technology have impacted on illustrators’ practices. I am keen to look at whether illustration and/or broader creative disciplines are under threat from developments in technology. 

Another potential route that this could take is whether the rise of social media has helped or hindered illustrators’ practices. The arguments could be that it gains publicity but they also have less control over the sharing of their images. 

Relevant subjects: the rise of the online publication, animation, artificial intelligence, social media, job market. 

Relevant quotes: "If we take seriously the dictionary-definititon of creation, ‘to bring into being or form out of nothing’, creativity seems to be not only beyond any scientific understanding, but even impossible.” (Margaret A Boden - Artificial Intelligence and Creativity) “Maybe the only significant difference between a really smart simulation and a human being was the noise they made when you punched them.” (Terry Pratchett - The Long Earth).

Relevant books: ‘A Whole New Mind’ by Daniel H Pink, ‘Play Matters’ by Miguel Sicart, ‘Creativity and Artificial Intelligence’ by Margaret A Boden, ‘Drawing on the Right Side of The Brain’ by Betty Edwards, ‘The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms’ by Margaret A Boden

Relevant websites: http://www.wired.com/2012/12/ff-robots-will-take-our-jobs/, instagram.com, nytimes.com, http://www.madeyoulookdoc.co.uk, twitter.com

Alternatively….

Question 1: What is good? To what extent does social responsibility impact on the role and function of illustration?

I like the idea that illustration can be used for positive change and I feel that morals play an important part in my practice so this would be something interesting to investigate. This has been the basis of my applied illustration module as the overall aim is to promote positivity and wellbeing. I think having social responsibility plays a big part in this discipline, the whole concept of communicating something through imagery can be put to good use and I feel communicating a positive message is important. Also raising awareness of things going on in the world and trying to combat censorship in the media is crucial for allowing people to form their own opinions. I know that I feel it is important but it would be interesting to investigate opposing views, maybe looking into the morality of illustrating for big corporations or companies seen as unethical. 

This is the information I brought to yesterday's crit. I have not yet decided on which of these routes I want to go down. I am torn because I feel like the first option would be interesting to investigate into but I'm not sure how I could incorporate this into a visual project. The second option is something I see as relevant to my practice and what I would like it to be in the future however I don't feel it has much direction (yet) to base a research proposal on. I need to do more research!