WORKSHOP CHALLENGE: COLLABORATION
What are the essential components of the collaborative mix?
Find one example of collaboration past or present that has led to an exemplary and historically significant piece of work.
Analyse the relationship of the collaborators and the roles they played;
Research any documented history of the challenges they faced and the outcome they produced;
Explore and analyse any specific approaches they took to their creative process or recording of their ideas that facilitated a successful outcome.
Design as an editorial piece (300 words), along with accompanying imagery.
A COLLABORATION 60 YEARS IN THE MAKING
I chose to focus on Christo and Jeanne-Claude for the subjects of my Workshop Challenge editorial design. Their partnership spanning from 1963 to after both of there passing (Jeanne-Claude in 2007, and Christo in May of this year) brought to life some of the most prolific art installations and exhibitions from all over the world.
Their unique approach to artistic expression was immersive, unexpected, at times resented, and often embraced by the communities in which their art resided. They never took a penny for their work, always choosing to self-fund their art. Christo would make detailed sketches documenting not only their approach to the artwork but also to reconcile any regional, geographic, architectural considerations and to serve as the proposal content to garner the necessary approvals to proceed.
I chose to leverage the bountiful sketches and images that well-documented their 2005 installation called The Gates which inhabited the entirety of New York’s Central Park for two weeks for my editorial design for this week’s Workshop Challenge. The color palette was chosen to emulate the saffron color pop this installation created against the dulled greyscale background of a New York in winter.
Further, I chose three typefaces: Garamond to nod to the history of New York and the legacy of these prolific collaborators; Roboto to acknowledge the progressive and contemporary approach of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and finally Eddam and Louren, a hand-tooled face that mimics the handwriting of Christo. I found it charming that the typeface name was also a partnership.
The layout starts as their art does, with sketches and notes. The reader is teased with a photograph of the installation as well. Moving into the second spread, the sketches are used to further illustrate the amount of thought and consideration went into the work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Finally, the last spread showcases the photography of the installation including a panoramic shot, an aerial as well as a portrait of the artists tucked in the center of the photographic grid.
The layout is completed by a bespoke icon of a saffron gate to indicate the end of the article.
“Our works are temporary in order to endow the works of art with a feeling of urgency to be seen, and the love and tenderness brought by the fact that they will not last.”
REFERENCE:
Carter, M., Mandani, S. (2016) ‘Tune out, dive deep, read on’, [online] Eye Magazine, Summer. Available at: http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/tune-out-dive-deep-read-on (Links to an external site.). [Accessed 29 March 2019]
It's Nice That, Danielle Pender (2019) Nicer Tuesdays: Riposte magazine, [online video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOWyVOy7JwMM (Links to an external site.). [Accessed 4 June 2019]
Penny Stamps Lecture Series, MoragMyerscough(2018) Belonging, [online video]. Available at: Morag Myerscough: Belonging (Links to an external site.). [Accessed 11 June 2019]
It's Nice That, AnnaLomax and Jess Bonham (2016). Nicer Tuesdays,[online video]. Available at: Nicer Tuesdays: Anna Lomax and Jess Bonham (Links to an external site.). [Accessed 11 June 2019]
It's Nice That, Liv Siddall(2016) Nicer Tuesdays: Rough Trade magazine, [online video]. Available at: Nicer Tuesdays: Liv Siddall (Links to an external site.). [Accessed 11 June 2019]
BBC News (2019), ‘Photographer Trevor Keys album sleeves go on show’[online]. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-41331715 (Links to an external site.). [Accessed 11 June 2019]
Hari Peccinotti, https://showstudio.com/contributors/harri_peccinotti (Links to an external site.)
O'Brien, K. (2019) ‘Director Tony Kaye happy to be working and out of “Hollywood jail”’, [online] The Drum, 17 April.Available at: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2018/04/17/director-tony-kaye-happy-be-working-and-out-hollywood-jail (Links to an external site.). [Accessed 4 June 2019]
DesignBoom (2019) Interview with graphic designer Vaughan Oliver,[online]. Available at: https://www.designboom.com/design/interview-with-graphic-designer-vaughan-oliver-12-19-2014/ (Links to an external site.).[Accessed 4 June 2019]
Falmouth University (2020). The Collaborative Mix | Reflecting on Classic Models for Graphic Design Working | Lecture. Studio and Entrepreneurship GDE730 20/21 Part-Time Study Block S2 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)
Gupta, A. (2013, October 22). Artist Collaboration Fuels Creative Exploration. Retrieved August 01, 2020, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/artistic-collaboration-_b_3763586
Christo and Jeanne-Claude, The Gates (article). (n.d.). Retrieved August 01, 2020, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/global-contemporary-apah/20th-century-apah/a/christo-and-jeanne-claude-the-gates
Lemisch, J. (2019, January 15). Art for the People? Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "The Gates". Retrieved August 01, 2020, from https://newpol.org/issue_post/art-people-christo-and-jeanne-claudes-gates/
Christo and Jeanne-Claude. (n.d.). Projects: The Gates. Retrieved August 01, 2020, from https://www.christojeanneclaude.net/projects/the-gates
Dalela, S. (2019, May 15). Why Collaboration Is The Way to Grow As An Artist. Retrieved August 01, 2020, from https://blog.dextra.art/why-collaboration-is-the-way-to-grow-as-an-artist-58f17bc4e918
Podder, A. (2018, October 19). Performa Reveals Program to Honor Groundbreaking Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude at Performa 2018 Gala on November 1 at New York City. Retrieved August 01, 2020, from https://mysocialgoodnews.com/performa-reveals-program-to-honor-groundbreaking-artists-christo-and-jeanne-claude-at-performa-2018-gala-november-1-new-york-city/