As development of my specialist practice I chose to investigate the work and process of Dave McKean, Yoshitaka Amano, Henri Matisse, and Lyonel Feininger. I aimed to find the ‘gap’ between intention and outcome; investigating ways that others have found voices in creative fields.
Looking at the Panaou and Michaelides’ analysis of McKeans work as ‘groundbreaking’, we can see how his pushing of the genre of Graphic novel (“a book with beginning middle and end in comic book format”[1]) is what makes his style work. Rather than the “correct application of an already-known law to a new case”[2] his work as graphic interpreter of Gaiman’s writing tells a totally separate, complimentary narrative, something that “imposes a new paradigm, [and] a new way of looking at the world”, a characteristic of the “high arts”[3]. This intention, of a deeper story told by the use of collaboration rather than just dictating the action pictorially and removing the engaging element of imagination, fits the use of collaging and painterly aesthetics (traditionally fine art media) perfectly. The style of typesetting – using collaged snippets of an article on computer hacking[4] in a way comparable to speech boxes in classic comics or graphic novels compliments the style of the work as a marriage of the text and the pictures. “Find[ing] yourself reading and not looking or visa versa” due to the skill of each creative is “unfair” to the experience of reading as both need to be experienced together[5], however, both aspects weave in and out of each other fluidly.
In achieving the immersion of the viewer into his voice, McKean uses consistency in his formatting before straying into further experimentation. Having a standard point to return to that the viewer becomes familiar with grounds the comic. It serves the dual purpose of also showing the cycles the main character goes through. “This type of authenticity which relies on…repetition to create its own standards of reality”[6] can be seen used in Western illustration and West African markets, where authenticity is based on its adherence to the original and value is based on the quality of the final result rather than uniqueness[7]. While separate concepts, McKeans repetition of format serves a similar purpose, to acquaint the viewer with the new format before building off into the more experimental double pages spreads. In my own work I often attempt being different each time, however, like in font design, the restraint to keep to a few designs and then break off into a few, more impactful double pages shows it’s effectiveness in ‘Signal to Noise’. It can also become inefficient as the ideas become less fitting.
Illustration is generally more fluid than graphic novel, comic, or magazine design due to more selective use of artwork. As art progresses to a more personal level of involvement rather
than trying to reach as large of an audience as possible[8][9], innovation needs to be made. McKean innovates in the use of his work, and it also possible to innovate through visual language. Without referencing a different practitioner everyone has their own voice shaped by experience. So, implied experience can be conveyed through the use of visual language. This can be as impersonal as dark lighting implying a somber or mysterious tone, or as personal as visually combining the vocabulary of childhood aesthetics. David Hockney uses ‘style’ in this way to implicate himself to particular movements[10]. “”Throughout his lifetime of making art Yoshitaka Amano has consciously and unconsciously crossed borders that might have restrained other artists”[11]. Amano’s work stood out to me aesthetically and contextually for the reverse reasons of Hockneys, as Amano will create his own universes from the natural build up of influence[12]. In this way Amano also fully believes in the continuous progression of voice, with ‘style’ being so sought after in the current illustration market, he wanted the freedom to continuously develop through ‘certain catalysts’ tapping the ‘endless well of creativity’ inside of him[13] rather than be trapped[14]. Hockney worked between styles[15] whereas Amano intended to move past something so limiting.
Counter to this, artists like Henri Matisse who worked largely from life and had limiting factors in their work process[16], create works that also accomplish their aims. In creating his work Matisse also followed a vision, constantly reworking his pieces to an established goal but he noted that ‘modern painting[s] have no need for a frame’, as they didn’t need to conform to the classical standards. This is a similar sentiment to McKean’s use of conceptually original design layouts for his graphic novel – each has no need to fall back on norms as they can create their own. In talking about creating movie posters McKean says it’s “all about tone of voice”[17], a sentiment that can be applied to each of the other artists too, working to show the specific tone they are aiming for.
The final of the contrasting practitioners I have researched in relation to developing a cohesive style is Lyonel Feininger. Design templates exist for a reason. An artist has created a harmonious model for a non-artist to use in making their item look good. As an artist it is my job to present the artwork in a way that fits with function. Feiningers work is meticulously created, a rhythmically satisfying, cubist-expressionist combination of angles, values, and colour. A design template turned artwork. Like Matisse, Feininger heavily iterated on the creation of his pieces to find the correct compositions, layouts etc. (Fig 1.) To achieve the same balance in my works, where it feels as though if anything had been done differently the piece would fall apart, I would need to iterate down and down at each stage of working rather than work on a single idea linearly. This hones the design to a level where each piece is considered.
Feininger, similarly to each of the artists I have investigated, drew inspiration from many influences. He noted that “…in his native land… America.. [he was] sometimes classified…as a German painter” but in Germany he was known as “der Amerikaner” and that “some have seen relationship to Chinese art in [his] work… but what is the artist, if not connected with the Universe?” [18] This statement indicates that openness to being influenced by the world is likely not as active of a practice as I first thought, with more attention directed at mastering the use of media.
One of the key elements of these voices is that they don’t attempt to swerve to ‘fit-in’ with outside influence, they take on-board input and absorb it into their vocabulary – the difference between using the grammar of a different language with your words, and incorporating the new words into your language – the former is likely understandable but sounds broken, whereas the latter sounds natural but some elements are unfamiliar. As seen in these artists, new words can be found from other languages, created from a combination of different words, or invented based on the grammar of your language. The more words you use, some will stick and some won’t, and which words do depends on the speaker.
In conclusion, voice comes based on outside influence, however, it is the seamless stitching together of these influences that creates a professional voice. The techniques I have found used to achieve this are iterating not just at the start of a piece but all the way through to the end, focussing the tone of voice of the piece above everything else (considering how each element of the viewing experience completes the tone of the piece – composition, bordering, type-setting, colour harmony, framing – not just the piece itself), using repetition within pieces and between elements of a project to create rules that allow the audience to focus on what’s important, and using the known aesthetics of your avenue to your advantage, luring the viewer with familiarity and subverting it, or using established paradigms to create a solid foundation for new discoveries (the basis of combining ‘arts’ and ‘crafts’).
Bibliography
[1] Panaou, P. and Michaelides, F. (2011) “Dave McKean’s art: Transcending limitations of the graphic novel genre,” Bookbird: A Journal of International Children’s Literature, 49(4), pp. 62–67. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2011.0072.
[2] Eco, U. (2005) “Innovation & repetition: Between modern & postmodern aesthetics,” Daedalus, 134(4), pp. 191–207. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1162/001152605774431527.
[3] Eco, U. (2005) “Innovation & repetition: Between modern & postmodern aesthetics,” Daedalus, 134(4), pp. 191–207. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1162/001152605774431527.
[4] Gaiman, N., McKean, D. and Carroll, J. (2013) “Introduction for the original edition by Jonathan Carroll,” in Signal to noise. Milwaukie, Oregon: Dark Horse Books, pp. 4.
[5] Gaiman, N., McKean, D. and Carroll, J. (2013) “Introduction for the original edition by Jonathan Carroll,” in Signal to noise. Milwaukie, Oregon: Dark Horse Books, pp. 2.
[6] Eco, U. (2005) “Innovation & repetition: Between modern & postmodern aesthetics,” Daedalus, 134(4), pp. 191–207. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1162/001152605774431527.
[7] Phillips, R.B. and Steiner, C.B. (2014) Unpacking culture art and commodity in colonial and Postcolonial Worlds. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.
[8]Chu, Y. (2018) “Analysis of the application of Illustration art in graphic design,” Proceedings of the 2018 3rd International Conference on Politics, Economics and Law (ICPEL 2018) [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2991/icpel-18.2018.126.
[9] Maldonado, D.V.H. (2019) What will art look like in 20 years?, BBC Culture. BBC. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190418-what-will-art-look-like-in-20-years (Accessed: November 16, 2022).
[10] Gayford, M., Kemp, M. and Munro, J. (2022) Hockney’s eye: The art and technology of depiction. London, Greater London: Paul Holberton.
[11] Amano, Y. and Gregg, G. (1997) Think like Amano. New York City, New York : Ten Productions.
[12] Terpstra, A. (2022) Spotlight: Yoshitaka Amano, cookandbecker.com. Cook & Becker. Available at: https://www.cookandbecker.com/en/article/174/spotlight-yoshitaka-amano.html (Accessed: November 16, 2022).
[13] Corriea, A.R. (2012) Final fantasy designer on breaking creative boundaries and wearing wild accessories, Polygon. Polygon. Available at: https://www.polygon.com/2012/10/15/3506952/final-fantasy-designer-on-breaking-creative-boundaries-and-wearing (Accessed: November 16, 2022).
[14] Amano, Y. and Gregg, G. (1997) Think like Amano. New York City, New York : Ten Productions.
[15] Gayford, M., Kemp, M. and Munro, J. (2022) Hockney’s eye: The art and technology of depiction. London, Greater London: Paul Holberton.
[16] In reference to his ‘cut-outs’
[17] McKean, D. (2015) FAQ, FAQ – Dave Mckean. Available at: https://www.davemckean.com/personal/faq/ (Accessed: November 16, 2022).
[18] Gaffney, D. (2010) Antiques Roadshow, PBS. Public Broadcasting Service. Available at: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/stories/articles/2010/5/3/nazis-and-modern-art-pre-war-germany (Accessed: November 17, 2022).
