Thursday 7 January 2016

Harvard Referencing & Triangulation

1.- Triangulation

In the discussion about graphic designers working for social or advertisement purposes First thing first (2000) remains with the same message from First things first (1964), which is about prioritising social works over consumerist ones, since they are important for the society. Although, in 2000 there is an emphasise on how not only is good to perform these changes, but how bad is to keep doing things like they have been done until now. In Disrepresentation Now (2001) there is no difference between social and company values, but there is between representative and presentative designs: representative is lying, presentative is to tell the truth. Fuck Comitees (1998) is an extension of First thing first and emphasises how designers give an unexistant personality to companies, selling the real values of art.

2. Analysis


This type of designs that make an image interact with surrounding objects are usually very eye-catching. Both models are with the eyes closed, with a delighted expression on their faces, like if they were tasting the ropes (spaghettis) and, on the side, is the logotype. This is a very simple technique of representation that could have been used in social contexts to attract peoples attention. If the person would have been a kid, with stains all over his face, with the eyes open, crying, but with a relaxed expression it could have been a social advert for children hunger. If the kid is crying, with the eyes closed disgusted by the taste, it could be also social, let's say, a campaign to stop forcing kids to eat.

3. Evaluation

First thing first (2000) arguments are undeniably right, but Disrepresentation Now (2001) took the effort to think out of the box, see the whole picture and identify the real problem: it is a world made of illusion (representation) and not of reality (presentation). Amorality is the key to avoid traps of representation or deception, but it needs to be more detailed. How something can be presentative, amoral and enjoyable is a contradiction that needs to be solved.

4. Paraphrasing

In Disrepresentation Now (2001) the authors claim there is no difference between Trotsky and Napoleon heading an army. It doesn't matter what the values are, but the way the message is delivered: through representation, and here is where the problem resides. Representation is subject to the subjectivity of the artist that can be personal or assigned, while presentation is the objectivity before audience's eyes. In First thing first (2000) they don't consider presentation and amorality, but they discuss about who is right in a confrontation based on morality and values.

Tuesday 5 January 2016

Ex Machina

Simon played Ex Machina during one of the Film Club sessions and it is a film that reflects very well the construction of femininity.

Ava is the sophisticated and technological approach to the concept of femininity and how she hypnotises the main character with a behave "every man would like from a woman" (at least that's how the director and scriptwriter Alex Garland puts it).


There are differents moments in the film where Caleb (the main character. From the film the main character is supposed to be a woman, but instead she gravitates around the man) watches Ava through a monitor, doing an excercise of scopophilia. For him it's not important that she is a robot... which is important is that she is feminine.

When Ava wears the dress it's a shout of liberty in form of the beauty designed for a man's enjoyment. It is saying to men: this is what a woman should be like, and to women: even robots want to be like that. Your appearance is your real charm.

Important to highlight the languidness of Kyoko, a characteristic that is alive from a long time ago in old paints and has been commented by analysts like John Berger. Unlike Kyoko, Ava is in need of expressing her femininity as the only way to be free.