Study Task 5

References:

 L. Zeegen, Where is the content? Where is the Comment?  Creative Review, March 2012 [1] 

L. Zeegen, Computer Arts (Issue 174), The Illustration Revival [2]

Lisa Beta

The definition of illustration has become somewhat blurred over recent years. In my opinion, it is an image that is designed with a purpose and communicates something. I think that designing an image with a purpose sets it apart from just producing a drawing that you might stick on your wall or leave under your bed to gather dust. An illustration communicates a message either on its own or is aided with the use of text. For example, the image above by Lisa Beta shows two people sat at a dining table with food in front of them. However, they are not eating, instead they are playing on their mobile devices and not even engaging in conversation. In my opinion, this is not the kind of image you would draw for your mother on her birthday. It is a representation of what appears to be the norm around many dinner tables nowadays. It is a cold reminder that more often than not, people would rather socialise with a machine than have a conversation over a meal because as a nation, we are addicted to the internet and technology. 

However, increasingly illustration is becoming somewhat of a trend and is losing its voice in the media. It is becoming something viewed only by other young, new illustrators who are no longer trying to "fight the nothingness; stake a claim into new territories, challenge preconceptions, perceptions and conventions" [1].  It seems that a lot of the modern, trendy illustration is nothing more than "contemporary eye candy" [1] and that we aren't seeing these people's opinions on the world because it doesn't look nice and it won't sell on a T-shirt or mug. 

The image above, in my eyes is a good example of illustration. The message is subtle and yet so powerful and it makes me feel something. The warm colours contrast beautifully with the cold message it imposes. The food and wine is made to look inviting to juxtapose with what the two people are doing - just ignoring their meal and each others company for their virtual social networks. This image is not a piece of fine art or simply a drawing, it is an example of "a discipline heroically standing its own ground" [2] and showing an opinion on the world today. 

Because of the wide audience illustration is created for, it can shift opinions on topics throughout the world. The Shepard Fairey illustration of Barack Obama "Hope", helped define politics today. It had a role in impacting and changing the lives of Americans and others around the world.

Illustration is also there to entertain and invoke some kind of emotion from us. For example, comics are popular with younger people but the morals of the stories stay with us for the rest of our lives and we are able to enjoy those stories over and over again. Illustrations can teach us things that words cannot. They are visual representations of concepts to help us understand and figure out what we know as the world around us.