WHAT IS 'MINDLESS WONDER' / REVIEWING RESEARCH QUESTION /

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES (500 WORDS):

- One of my aims is to use the graphic novel to talk about mental wellbeing in a lighthearted manner, where words and images create a coherent whole, literal, abstract and metaphorical. My aim is to present a body of work where the reader participates as narrator, discovering and creating her/his own emotional and personal meaning realising and benefiting from it. 

- As a response to a previous module 'ANALYZING PRACTICE IN GRAPHIC ARTS'- and the first chapter from Rebecca Solnit's 'A Field Guide to Getting Lost' the idea of 'lost mind' started formulating and it continues to grow. The story has a twofold meaning, but it ultimately leads to a peaceful end.

- Inspired by Polish Futuristic poem by Tytus Czyzewski 'The Eye of the Tiger', and general interest of the poetry and literature from that period, especially the ways language and the words were treated and deconstructed, I created a narrative to express a state of mind in a humorous critique of performing 'mindless wonder'.

-I want the reader to become part of the narrative and create her/his own personal meaning. 
I want the reader to find the meaning by searching for words through the use of stylised type. The words don't seem so obvious at times as they become part of the image. I would like the reader to engage in a sense of going beyond what is visible and obvious. We live in a world where the importance of textual and visual materials intertwine with each other in every discipline. It's important too.

WHAT IS 
'MINDLESS  WONDER'?

MINDLESS is to reflect the actions (activities) of a group of people (society) where the person is acting stupid (careless, thoughtless) and the activity is extremely dull, simple or repetitive (monotonous, mechanical, automatic, mind-numbing) as to be performed automatically. 
[Accessed 4.12.20]

Sadly, the majority of our daily routines are conditioned making our behaviours become automatic. 
Habits we develop like looking at our phones and mindlessly browsing for hours are mind-numbing. Technological advancement is portrayed here as a negative form of 'wonder'.

Coming back to MIND, it's overloaded with visual and textual messages every day, subliminally and purposely. 

We're never in the moment, always looking to achieve another 'goal', another step, pondering about the past, worrying about the future. 
 
PINK FLOYD'S 'ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL' makes me think how much consumerism pushed society on to the edge...Consumer capitalism linked with mental illness.









www.redpepper.org.uk

A PLAY ON WORDS


WONDER/ WANDER  with a constant presence of visual and textual information/messages in our daily lives. 

By definition to think and speculate curiously; to feel wonder at; to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; walks aimlessly
In the negative and opposite definition, as of an antonym, indifference, apathy, not questioning, Antonym of wonder (synonyms.com) [Accessed 4.12.20]

Actions of no significant meaning-making, understanding, being kind, or open-minded. 
A play on words on nonsensical tasks and concerns mind can easily tune in to.

I'm designing a book which consists of elements of graphic novel/comics/picture book. Does it mean it belongs in that category? I have illustrated a poem after all. A poem, which words are purposely coded. The reader is searching for meaning. 
I'm telling a story based on the personal and second-hand experience of an unsettled mind and its consequences on a person's wellbeing.
My work is an observation of people's frantic actions every day. The story is a response to the hectic way of life we carry out day in day out. Yet the story has twofold meaning and can be interpreted in a lighthearted way. After all, it's a story of keep searching for inner peace within ourselves and the world around us. It's a question: How are you doing today? 

CHALLENGES AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES (500 WORDS):


- Misunderstanding of the idea I try to portray.
- Designing the book in an interesting and innovative format, which will make it into a valuable object in its own right.
- Incorporating elements of modular comics strip/ graphic novel in juxtaposition with typographic design.
- Understanding the basic principles of the book design and the software in which the book is created. 
- Understanding the forms and possibilities of a book as an object and its functionality. 
- Understanding the basic principles of typography and its relevance in meaning-making.
- Being able to create expressive and harmonious book design working simultaneously with text and image in a narrative context.
- Understand comics/graphic novel/manga characteristics and employ these in my practice. 


RESEARCH (2000 WORDS) - 

IN PROGRESS ...


DISCUSSION OF YOUR PRACTICAL WORK (2000 WORDS):

DEVELOPMENT AND OUTCOMES:

- How has your work developed?

From SOLNIT  to now? 



- What strategies have you employed in the development and realization of your work?

Firstly, I thought of the narrative in form of a text. Secondly, images, responding to the words. However, both became intertwining with one another and I simply began to draw them out. 
I focus on developing software and learning further illustration skills, in terms of the colour palette, perspective, I started with the main characters and their  



- What are the key concepts inherent in the practical work, i.e what is your work about?



- What are you trying to communicate and who is your intended audience? 



-What different strategies were considered and rejected? Why?




- Methodology - how have you approached the production of the work?




- What were the key considerations in terms of critical, conceptual and technical production?



- The relationship between the form of the work and the concept/creative intention. 



- How does the presentation of the work reinforce the creative intention described above?



CONTEXTUAL EVALUATION (500 WORDS)

- How successfully does the work operate within the context/genre described during the earlier section of the evaluation? 



- What has worked particularly well?



- What would you change or modify in the work?



- What have you learned?



PROFESSIONAL AMBITION/DISSEMINATION STRATEGIES (500 WORDS)

- What will you do next in terms of your practical work?



-Where do you see your work and yourself within a professional context?




 






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