German Literature - Poster Designs

The last three month I have been travelling all around europe and also have spend a month in India. I have now, the pleasure of developing all the analoge pictures I took the last month. I have travelled from Germany all the way to Athens through twelve countries, various in eastern Europe and also like Italy, Austria and Croatia and all the way to the Bosporus in Istanbul.

Many places have made me wonder about how this world connects, I asked myself often, how people can be so different but so alike in various parts of one continent. In India I expected to explore many spiritual things,  understand another part of the world and sometimes I understood very well and often I had problems to not think with my western european mind and had difficulties approving and acknowledging what I saw. Visually, especially India had many aspects that I loved, and architectual I enjoyed visiting the past by seeing the socialist impact in eastern europe or the small alleys and river-roads of Venice. Serbia, with the war inflected past of the Kosovo conflicts impressed me with unexpected beauty and Istanbul absolutely blew me away.

The pictures above, I took quickly, and shows are few women in Haridwar, in Uttarkhand in North India. Haridwar is a rather small indian city that is located directly at the edge of the Himalaya. Pilgrims venture to wash in the Ganga river, which is here cleaner and has a strong tide as it just comes out of the mountains. Many ashrams and temples are plastered along the river and in Haridwar the community comes together in the evening hours to wash sin free and send baskets of flowers with candles down the stream of the water to wish for good luck and health. Many boys spend time in the evening looking for the money others throw into the river to worship their gods. I love the  photo of the hindu women listening to the gurus speech, because the women appears so strong and her dress and beauty combines femininity, tradition and believe. The image next to that, shows a Guru that is helping to find the right words to a hindu who is about to let his basket into the river, this is a way of getting good money as you pay the guru for his prayers. Below are images I have taken on a simple Analogue 35mm Camera, I brought one with me, but unfortunately on my first day in Dehli I dropped it in the hectic stream of poepleso that i bought a new Kodak analouge for 500 Rupees. That one broke too just after two weeks, so I got another one for another 500 Rupees ( around 9 Euros).
I do love those images, obviously not all of the 15films  I developed were great, but mostly I am very happy with the outcome.

Vague// Design of Flyer and Model. 

Photograph taken by Jason Lake 

elastick photography uk

Grande Launch on the 28th of May 2011.

if i would' ave known you' comin I would 'ave shaved

I have started my new Photography project. As for last year when i was working on personal repetion, I am now kinda going for a similar look but for a very different approach. I have decided to go on a hunt for as many faces I can find which are the so called 'Off-license-guys'. 

University Brief:

Create a photographic essay / Record of six or more individuals within the same work environment. Think about the range of jobs, professions, age groups, gender, cultural background and location.

Self-directed-Brief

People Working in Off license shops in London.

As in many communities people who work in Off licenses have a connection to their surroundings. 

Especially in London, where People move quickly and shops come and go, it appears that especially young people create a connection to their “off-license guy”. 

Also the availability to buy objects of indulgence, such as crisps, beers, sweets or cigarettes, creates an interesting idea of consuming and connection between a shop owner and customer.
In a city that has the availability of consumption 7 days a week and variations of shops and qualities of food that is absolutely incredible, there is a certain connection we have to tend to go to the off license instead for the quick buy. I personally argue its the smalltalk and the friendly approach that we will receive from our own Guy but how would I know, I only now my guy.

Outcome:

A set of photographic images of people who work in off licenses/ convenient stores across london. Visually interesting here is firstly the range of colours within an off license, and also the cultural background and gender of the shop keeper.

Also this Project, I believe is way stronger in quantity. I am asked to produce six Photographs but I believe that having around a hundred or so is a lot stronger than, just a few.
Again, the idea of Repetition comes across within this Project, which I have looked at a Year ago about myself.

Self-directed Project Brief.

I have had the chance to live and explore two countries due to my education. Because of the choices I have made I had the chance to explore two different European cultures. Therefore my Final Major Project is focusing on the differences and similarities of the countries Germany and England and the stories and people I have experienced and met.

The aim of the outcome is determined to be both humorous and critical, as I am looking at the ideas of stereotypes, cultural differences and prejudice. As my idea evolved from personal background and experiences I am determined to find an angle of communication that is interesting to me and also exciting for others. I will be looking at visual differences, ‘What’s looks different’ also ‘How do we feel about the other’ and ‘Why do we feel this way’. 

I’d like to explore why we, sometimes unexplained, feel a certain way about another culture. My initial idea is an illustrated outcome, as I have been interested in the medium of illustration throughout my degree and also planning on keeping up working with illustration in the future. The use of illustration also represents my personal preference in design and links to my subject, which is personal and important to me. I want to create a balance between exploring the fun aspects in both cultures and also exposing a rather critical side to the portrayed stereotypes and problems between the two cultures. This I am aiming to present in an interesting mix of ideas to others, both Germans and English and anyone else who is interested in design and culture. Here is to add, that the outcome is determined to have a universal language, by using imagery, however, as I am very interested in typography both languages German and English will be incorporated.

As a starting point in visual research visiting the Goethe institute in South Kensington London, and exploring German influences in London. Also German restaurants and their owners are spread over the city, so that I have a number of places and spaces to begin gathering primary and visual research from Germans in London. For this particular research I have to gain a vast amount of primary research that I have to obtain from people who live outside of England. To do this, social networking will come in very handy as I can gain a lot of information from people in both countries quick and for free. The other part of my research is a theoretical approach; I am looking at stereotypes, prejudice and stereotyping and therefore looking at Charles Stangor who discussed these topics in a number of essays. Also the writings in Of mimicry and man: the ambivalence of colonial discourse by Homi Bhabha can give me interesting viewpoints on cultural movement, colonialism and stereotyping. I also will be incorporating insights of the historical backgrounds in both countries and how these effect our conception of their cultures. Here I have a lot of information to gather starting from the wars and the political differences in the past and in the present. I can explore subculture identities developed in Britain such as Rave or Punk and how this has become part of the German youth culture. At this stage I am able to research and include a number of essays by Dick Hebdige, Sabine Von Dirke and Mark Fenemore. Visually, any illustration, posters and design work from both countries can give me an interesting insight and will affect my work. It helps that Germany and England are both countries with a lot of good design, produced in the past and present. Resources such as books, places, articles and exhibitions to gather research of the arts from both countries are greatly available in London. I have previously researched a few artists who have worked on a similar approach due to their cultural heritage. For example; Yang Liu, who explored the differences between China and Europe in her book east meets west.

To an extent I am aiming towards a similar approach that is given in east meets west, which is mainly a collective of ideas of difference. For my work I will explore this topic further by incorporating ideas that will make the viewer laugh, reconsider prejudices and to learn exciting attributes about the two cultures.

creeps of christmas eve.

I wondered around snowy lands and christmas decorated houses. And there they are, the creeps of Christmas. They appear very cute and innocent because of their size and the nice colours they wear. in Germany we call this Kindchenschema, (sceme of childlike characteristics)

But looks at these monsters! They have unhappy eyes or huge unhuman size noses or no fingers!

Creepy christmas faces, thats ecaxtly what they are.

funny world.

Okay now I guess, I have to admit now, that I have a slight obsession with tea. It is odd, as I am not that much of tea drinker, okay I have a cuppa when I decide to have a hot beverage in bed, I think tea goes very well with bed. Maybe because both words have three letters. But normally, I am a coffee, whenver the finance allow it, a Café Latte. Normally coffee, yes, instant.

But there is something about tea. The way it is consumed facinates me, I never had a british cuppa before coming to England, which seems obvious, but think about it. Tea, one of the most traded products in the World. It absolutely amazes me how 'the brits' have totaly took that ship and anchored it, yes.

Sterotypically we all know, yes, 'they'drink tea, eat cucumber sandwiches and porridge. Plus that horrendous british breakfast, which has the amount of meat in it, that an average cityzen would eat in a week.  (To be fair that is exactly what my granddad would say)

But the tea, that is the one thing that sticks. 

The brits drink tea, but they do not have tea. It is a representation of colonialism but it has gone much further than that.  From this advantage of power back in times, yes, England had global power at some point, has evolved an entire culture. An entire craft has evolved with the tea, any Antique shop in this country helds the most beautiful tea-sets  any nana would dream of. Actually, all Nana's and myself. 

It is used as statements in Films and it is still 'the' in thing to do. Tea-houses, tea-time.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I am not forming an opinion here, I am absolutely fascinated.

As you should know, I relate to myself as Fish 'n' Chips and Sauerkraut. I am obviously slightly keen on sterotypical food-preferences. But Tea, yes that is something, that will probably just stick with me for a while. Where ever I will go.

recycle.

 

I just found a copy of this old London lite article, which featured a project me and my friend Thomas did together during our first year of the BA course.

The class was called Design for change. Back in 2009 before the Credit Crunch hit the economy, we still had two more free newspapers in London, the London paper and the London Lite.

We made a video for the project facing the topic recyling... It was such a fun day when we shooted the movie starting with walking from Stepney to Whitechapel and all the way into the city in the tube finishing at trafalger square. The video is below, Its not necessarily the perfect outcome I would say today but I really enjoy seeing what we worked on nearly 3 years ago.

london has identity.

funky x-mas.

identity.

Project=mother tongue=language= indigenous= identity= colour= ?

http://www.indigodesignnetwork.org/?p=838

personal work on the tragic Loveparade 2010.

happy alone is the soul that loves.

Austrian Alps.

 I absolutely love the alps. I think it is quite clear why.