blogos

It’s about the process, not the result… the journey, not the destination…

… even though a satisfying outcome would still be ideal.

Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon — do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,

as many sensual perfumes as you can; visit many Egyptian cities, to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.

Without her you would have never set out on the road.

She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.

Wise as you have become, with so much experience,

you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

Constantine P. Cavafy (1911)

chronologically inaccurate

Was trying to squeeze this in with some earlier posts but couldn’t successfully pull it off, so I’m just placing it here – suspended. It hypothetically fits everywhere, yet cannot practically be placed anywhere.

Visual triggers —>  bound to cultural myths, historical baggage, national identity, politics etc  < —

In researching my disaster, I inevitably came across images of what I now consider cliched, overused, misappropriated and, frankly,  bordering on kitschy. I am referring to images of classical Greek structures such as the Parthenon, whose rendering into a mass produced image (among other commodity forms) has now become similar to a tacky souvenir that ignorant tourists eagerly purchase in the midst of some kind of spiritual cultural consumption. Those images, to me, no longer bear any “real” connection to the past… they are merely attractors to the easily seduced and the easily misled.

I was therefore cautious in using the meander because its use can often become tacky. I did not want my logo to turn into a condensed equivalent of this tacky Greek house:

In any case, I feel as though an obligatory analysis (ala Macnab) is in order, so as to justify the image/shape I chose to extract from the montage/collage/ pastiche of images that has been created in my mind with the help of the Google image search engine.

Instead of choosing the most typical shapes characteristic of the three prevalent architectural styles in Ancient Greece (Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian order), I chose to focus on the meander-like shape that is perhaps a fusion of principles extracted from all of the aforementioned orders and -at the same time- a creative departure from all these styles and their functionality. The meander-like shape emerges from some recurrent shape/image-concepts in this blog, such as the labyrinth and the hypertext metaphors.

What is interesting about the meander is that it has made the leap from architecture (originally: Greek and Roman, e.g. used in temples) to art – from function and form, to aesthetics and conceptual design. Nowadays, the Key design is not only used in modern Greek design (sometimes to a fault, as in, for example, Greek restaurants in America), but also in products of other cultures (e.g. Mexican buildings).

Commonly, the meander symbolizes unity and infinity, or infinite potential.

Ironically (or, fittingly), a random snapshot of a meander reminded me of the swastika symbol. Not the spiritual and religious usage of the swastika, but the stigmatized version that is loaded with fascist overtones.

Of course, the meander-turned-swastika could be related to many aspects of the disaster, such as in relation  to concepts of anarchy, education, democracy, freedom, cultural myths, and progress.

In terms of my logo design, I wanted to transform and appropriate the meandering shape so as to touch on its classical undertones, but also transcend its overbearing significance.  However, with this transformation, some unexpected associations emerged that were unintended and beyond my control (see my aforementioned swastika symbolism).

In Decoding Design, Maggie Macnab cites the example of the swastika to illustrate how “subtle alterations [in design] can be used to influence belief and reconstitute the common meaning of a symbol.” She then goes on to mention how the positive associations of the swastika became overwhelmed by the propagandist appropriation of the symbol by the Third Reich. Despite Macnab’s assertion that an appropriated symbol can overcome its original meaning once it becomes redesigned and recontextualized (and, inevitably, de/repoliticized), I do not think the swastika can ever fully move beyond the negative signification it gained post 1920s.  These associations will continue to overwhelm the swastika symbol – at least for the Western imagination -  and no amount of amount of de/reconstruction and manipulation can help it surpass the baggage it is automatically associated with.

I am aware of this unspoken stipulation, and using it productively to stimulate my logo’s evolutionary progress and the branding of my disaster.

Rejects?

I-mage

Inauthentic Hybridity – is that all we can hope for?

“In a world in which stylistic innovation is no longer possible, all that is left is to imitate dead styles, to speak through masks and with the voices of the styles in the imaginary museum.”

– Marjorie Perloff, Radical Artifice

And with this inspiring remark in mind, I try to motivate myself to carry on designing…

Everything is Intertwingled?

Intertwingularity is not generally acknowledged, people keep pretending they can make things deeply hierarchical, categorizable and sequential when they can’t. Everything is deeply intertwingled – Ted Nelson

According to Educational Technology magazine, “Digital convergence brings four (previously) distinct industry sectors in collaboration/competition with each other. Thus, we have Media/Entertainment, PC/Computing, consumer electronics, and telecommunications industries all interacting more closely with each other than ever before. This version of digital convergence is happening all around us.”

Even though I do not think that the four industry sections were necessarily “distinct” prior to digital convergence to begin with, it is undeniable that with the advent of the Internet the convergence possibilities have multiplied.  Nevertheless, the digital and the academic have not (yet?) converged. As hierarchical structures are still in place – albeit temporarily displaced at times – some educational institutions (or, at least, some educators) are embracing the digital and manage to successfully incorporate it into pedagogical techniques.

Convergence misleadingly implies a smooth fusion of two supposedly discrete entities that have forged a symbiotic relationship. But, of course, convergence is the term we use for lack of a more adequate word.

While it is tempting to generalize the impact of digital learning on the quality of education on a global scale, the truth is that some countries cannot keep up. I want to talk about what I know, so I will focus on Europe – and specifically Greece- for the time being. Is Greece’s educational system on a par with the rest of Europe? Well, of course that depends on which European countries we are focusing on. Despite the European Union’s attempts to homogenize Europeanize standardize its participating members (e.g. in terms of exchange currency, educational language, and anglicized place naming), the educational system is still not uniform in terms of standards and quality. But should it be? Wouldn’t that mean that quality will subsequently be standardized and undiversified?

The Aftermath of the Riots?  – - – Digital Learning in Greece – - –

The introduction of digital learning in Greece might not be directly related to the rioters demands and the public’s disillusion with the Greek educational system. I am not trying to see the positive in the disaster here. It seems to me that the promotion of digital learning is more related to the allegedly impending recession that was looming even before the riots began.

In an attempt to enhance digital literacy, the Hellenic Republic is strengthening ICT infrastructure and supporting the development of digital content and educational software. The Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs wishes to modernize the administration of education via the incorporation of ICT into pedagogical strategies in all levels of education. The Ministry is also planning to introduce informatics as a subject in high schools and technical schools. In addition, three new projects have been proposed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs. The tentative names of these projects/ campaigns are: Get Digital, Portable Computer for Every Student, and Blog Out.

This seems promising, but there have been other projects prior to these ones that have never officially been launched.

Perhaps I can get myself a job in Greece if I ever finish my degree. Perhaps by then they will introduce Film and Media Studies in higher education. And perhaps students might actually be interested in enrolling. One can only hope. . .

Most of my family thinks I am making movies in grad school. They do not understand what the point is in studying film without actually producing it…

Eurovision

http://eurovision.ert.gr/

Greece has one of the worst records in the European Union for racism against ethnic minorities. Anti-immigrant sentiment is still high, especially against ethnic Albanians, who form the largest minority. Until the 1990s, the BBC notes, Greece had been an extremely homogenous society. Even though Greece is gradually becoming more ethnically (but not yet racially) diverse, there is no real sense of multi-ethnic integration.

No wonder xenophobia is a word of Greek origin.

This is one sociopolitical aspect where the Cypriot attitude is in agreement with mother Greece

Wiki says: Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (Greek: Γεώργιος Κυριάκος Παναγιώτου, born 25 June 1963) best known as George Michael, is a two-time Grammy Award winning, English singer-songwriter, who has had a career as frontman of the duo Wham! as well as a soul-influenced, solo pop musician.

He has sold over 110 million records worldwide, encompassing 12 British #1 singles, 7 British #1 albums, 10 US #1 singles, and 2 US #1 albums. His 1987 debut solo album, Faith became one of the best selling albums of all time, as well as the first album to produce six top 5 singles in the United States^. It has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.

All four of his solo studio albums have all reached #1 on the U.K. charts and have gone on to become huge international successes.

The disaster is already branded

Copy, Paste, Remix

Greek Recession?

ATHENS, April 15, 2009 (Reuters)                           

The Greek economy may fall into its first recession since 1993 this year as the global economic crisis hurts the country’s shipping and tourism revenues, central bank governor George Provopoulos said on Wednesday.

‘It is estimated that economic activity will stagnate this year,’ Provopoulos said. ‘It’s even possible to have negative GDP growth rates within the year while activity might be even more unfavourable if international economic conditions deteriorate substantially.’

Provopoulos told the central bank’s annual shareholders meeting Greece’s current account deficit, one of the highest in the European Union as a percentage of GDP, will decline to about 13 percent from 14.4 percent last year as imports fall because of weaker domestic consumption.

Exports of goods and services are expected to drop by 12 percent this year, Provopoulos said. Credit expansion to businesses and households will decelerate further this year. Falling energy prices will help Greece’s EU-harmonised inflation slow to about 1.5 percent this year, from 4.2 percent in 2008.

Core inflation, which excludes energy and food prices, will reach 2.9 percent, compared with 3.4 percent last year, according to central bank estimates.

Unemployment is seen rising by 0.5 to 0.8 percentage points this year from 7.6 percent last year.

Google Image Search – Keyword “Greece Euro”

Warm Up

NOTES: Fire as:

• recombinant force (in color theory, of primary colors red and yellow) – number 3
• an alchemical emblem because in its destructiveness, it also encapsulates the potential for re-generation and the resolution of conflict [see post about liquid/ Greek fire]
• mythical connotations: Prometheus as both the bearer and thief of fire
• The shape of fire as a triangle? the triad – religious connotations [Holy Trinity, conservatism, traditional & backward values and belief system].
• Triangle as a “metaphor for transforming destiny into choice, or repression into freedom” (Macnab, 95). This aspect of the fire could be compared with the energy movement of anarchy and/ or younger generations (at least the specific kind covered in this blog).
• But also: the fire’s energy movement as sprawling out of control, also manifest in the branching out of the distorted hexagonal heptagonal polygonal (?) shape of the crack in the wall.

Take One:

Integrating smaller concepts to a larger whole.

Take Two:

Adding value by cutting out distraction (e.g. easier to remember and reproduce)

Using paradox to discover unexpected connections –> Macnab asserts that the paradox allows for the possibility of resolution (in this case, also visually) between opposites.

Take Three:

Back to Basics

In Decoding Design, Maggie Macnab’s experience as a practicing graphic designer has provided me with some tips on how to get the logo-designing process started. Putting aside my tendency to overanalyze signs and overly interprete symbols, I simply let myself photoshop without any perfectionist expectations. Here are some of Macnab’s tips of  easing into the process and forming a relationship with the brand identity. Taking cues from Macnab, this is what I instruct myself to do, in no particular order:

• Start simple. Break down a concept into basic components. The starting process does not need to be visual at first: it can consist of abstract ideas and proposals.
• Ask yourself: what is the core of the disaster’s identity? In this case, what do you think are the [human] values that lie at the heart of the disaster? Visualize them by breaking them down into signs.
• What is the archetypal image(s) of the disaster-as-brand?
• What is an interesting way to draw these images? [Marketing considerations aside, I still think that an aesthetically pleasing design would be ideal]
• What is the most graphically interesting way to render this shape, so it will reproduce well? [Of course, my logo will probably never need to be reproduced into other media, but it would be useful to have remediation and adaptation in mind at a later stage]

These considerations seem straight-forward enough. But applying them was much more difficult than I had imagined. I basically created the opposite of what I had envisioned…

From graphic:

To something that is closer to a logo but not yet a logo:

Bansky

“Bansky” is a notorious British underground artist who uses graffiti (among other art forms) in a subversive way to deconstruct pervasive symbols and thus stimulate cultural and political commentary. Bansky’s identity remains a well-publicized mystery, along with a validated explanation of his works and his intent.  Bansky’s works can be regarded as creative destruction, that is, defacement of public property fior a higher/ self-serving purpose:  to introduce “alternative” public discourse through art.  Conversely, the canvals of his work (usually the walls of buildings in crowded public areas) can be seen as destructive creation because the creation of something new inevitably leads to the repurposing of the canvas itself through the newly-created artwork.  Bansky’s operating strategies  – usually a “design and dash” method – seem to follow similar energy patterns as those of anarchist activities (at least specifically speaking, i.e. during the Greek riots).  Moreover, Bansky-as-myth and rioters-as-symbol epitomize a state of liminality in the sense that they cannot be placed within a consistent framework. Their symbolic and mythical status oscillates between anarchy [[social marginality]] and organized political movement [[within the cultural/ capitalist logic]].