Alice in wonderland exhibition review

As I enter the British Library I already see the Alice in Wonderland exhibition. I enjoyed the graphic design, especially the design of the title. In comparison with the 2010 Alice in Wonderland movie the visual representation came across quite poor. I hoped for something breath taking.

One was able to enter the exhibition from several sides which was confusing since the graphic design was suggesting to use the entrance pointed towards the side but the front entrance looked like the main entrance. So I entered from the front. Mirrors were located in front of the exhibition beautifully printed with Alice in Wonderland illustrations. The mirrors were slightly distorted but not as much as you would expect for a story like Alice in wonderland. Props, books and other items were exhibited. The props were wonderfully made, it would have been nice to see more of them. Descriptions of the work and the people involved were printed on the walls. The space where they chose to locate the alice in wonderland exhibition was poorly chosen. Especially in comparison to the Tin Tin exhibition in Somerset House it was disappointing. Alice in wonderland is such an amazing story which the exhibition failed dot bring across.

The chosen place inside the British library was very open which didn’t compliment the concept of the story. Alice was trapped in a different dimension\world in the book, this should have been communicated through this exhibition. I was missing the feeling of curiosity and surprise. When walking through the exhibition the entrance of the library was visible. To encase the viewer in the world of alice. A good example of the potential of such exhibition would be the alexander mcqeeun exhibition in the V&A. The graphic design of the exhibition was my favorite part. The curation and the limitations which I’m sure the library set for the exhibition held the creatives back. I especially liked the little arrows leading the way through the exhibition which made you feel like you are actually in alice in wonderland, but also the exhibition poster was very well done. It was a big tag where the exhibition name was written on very beautifully. One of the enjoyable aspects was the puzzle where you had to place about 10 images in the right order which tells the story of alice in wonderland. It was very entertaining and fun.

Overall the exhibition could have been executed better but it would still be worth going just because of the items they chose to exhibit.

Alice Through the Looking Glass

Have a look:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014759/

http://www.bl.uk/events/alice-in-wonderland-exhibition

“In the freezer and out of the oven”

Illustration influences you

Illustration is following you. All throughout most peoples childhood illustration played a big part in their visual development. It forms our taste and visual language almost comparable to advertisement. Even though most don’t like to admit it but advertisement does affect our decisions. It unconsciously influences us, this is very similar to the visual content we encounter as a kid. It unconsciously forms us. People often like to be in control, to some the idea of being manipulated is so scary that oblivion is often preferred. I can see how that might influence the awareness of the importance of children’s books.

We discussed where illustration can be found and when we first encounter illustration, how does it influence us? The first time we encounter illustration is in our childhood. Most probably in children books which our parents read to us and lovingly show us the illustrations. This might influence the way of thinking and our taste and understanding of design in adulthood.

As a kid you are a blank slate and easily impressionable. illustration gives our imagination guidance, it helps developing minds to understand the story better. Children books play huge role in any childhood. Often books are used to teach us how society and the world works.

It would also be very interesting to further research into it is in what extend children’s books influence us in such tender age. Does it define our taste in adulthood or even our mindset? Many people think childhood is not that important because we form ourselves in adulthood but is that really true? Maybe childhood defines everything we are, obviously genetics do as well but how big of a role does childhood really play?

In the second lecture we talked about opening sentences and how we can persuade the reader to keep on reading. We could start with a famous quote or a statement. A famous quote might seem a little bit boring and wouldn’t really be attention catching. An other good way to start a piece of writing is a strong statement or opinion, maybe something very controversial. It should maybe shock the reader or make them want to find out what you article is about.

NOTES:

where is illustration located?

when we encounter illustrations in childhood it produces a different mindset

when you are a kid you are a blank slate. /easily impressionable

childhood is like a world of imagination

fairytales are written in a way to teach children and help them understand.

lines and squares ernest shepard : http://www.nthong.co.uk/lines.htm

lines and squares building blocks of illustration

http://www.varoom-mag.com/?page_id=2035

http://www.dialectograms.com/dialectograms/

 

We are a blank slate when we experience illustration

Illustration is everywhere

Illustration is following you

How

Where is illustration

Identity, Subculture, Representation, Narrative (CTS)

Identity is fiction?

Today we discussed the purpose of identity and subcultures. Before we can think about whether or not identity is fiction and what kind of purpose it serves, we need to know what it is. Identity is everything about yourself. Who you are, your experience, your family and friends, your education, your gender, your class, your taste, and how you visually present yourself. Identity is everything about us. The thing that divides and unites us. Can identity be changed ? If identity is something that we created to explain what can’t be understood would we be able to change it if we wanted to? or is it something that is created over time and that we figure out as we get older? If I start thinking about who I am and what my identity is, I think about all the things I have done and what I have. I don’t think about how others may perceive me. That could mean identity is not something that other people decide or yourself, I identity could be something that cannot be changed, it could be who we are and who we were. But we also create our own identity for others to see. How we dress and how we present ourselves is part of our identity. That could mean that identity is partly created by us and partly something that we carry within us and that we can only unconsciously change with our actions. It can give us the feeling of belonging which is very important to most people.

We discussed the idea of existing s well and what does it mean to exist. Are our thoughts the only real thing that we can be sure of? When you think about it everything that is real for us is generated by our brain so we cannot be sure that everything we see is real.

Some quotes:

“I think, therefore I am”(Cogito, ergo sum).

“identity is fiction”

-frankovitz, 2005

Have a look at:

“the enlightenment” C17

 

NOTES:

Identity, what does it mean?

-yourself

-who you are

-experience

-family and friends

-education

-status

-gender

-class

-taste

-visual representation

Are the soul and body separate

(hand question)

“I think therefore I am”

“Cogito, ergo sum, ( Latin: “I think, therefore I am) dictum coined by the French philosopher René Descartes in his Discourse on Method(1637)” (2015)

 

identity is something we invented to explain something that is too complex for us to understand. We always have to invent a narrative to understand.

Identity brings us together which creates unity.

identity is continuous, it always stays with us.

“the enlightenment” C17

http://www.history.com/topics/enlightenment

CULTURE

• conspiracy theories

SUBCULTURES

subcultures all related to each other

term comes from social groups

REPRESENTATION

sign= concept around meaning

for example red means stop, green means go.

how do we mentally represent ideas?

dreams mean nothing socially but might mean something to us personally.

-perception

we don’t have a shared conciseness