White Space
White Space in the context of Graphic Design is incredibly important - as it is such a visual medium, white space can be used in many different ways. As well as making it easier for the purpose of layout and printing, aesthetically, leaving white space can be a deliberate act of design (active white space) or passive white space (such as leaving white borders/spacing to better understand the graphics). White space can look elegant and certainly less cluttered, enabling the viewer to focus on the intended content. A lot of my initial research has focused on negative space, the area around an object, as personally I find this particularly appealing and often clever, as in Noma Bar's work.
Grayson Perry / Red Alan's Manifesto
This is an example of an appealing manifesto with graphics included. The handwritten typeface is typical of Perry's work across multiple media, such as his textiles and his pottery. It obviously gives a casual handwritten impression as seen by the lines separating the rules (he hasn't even used a ruler) so it appears even sketchier, even hurried and certainly homemade. Underlining, bold type and capitalisation is widely used for emphasis and there is use of pattern around the borders, again typical of homeware (rugs, pots etc.)
The Guerilla Girls
The Guerrilla Girls: a group of anonymous women, wearing gorilla masks, who picketed the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1984. MoMA was opening a show which purported to be a definitive survey of contemporary art, and yet out of the 169 artists featured in the show, only 13 were female. Since their inception, the group have worked to expose the under-representation of women in the art world by targeting galleries, art dealers and critics. Their manifesto comes in the form of their famous slogan artworks.
This appeals to me because of the overt feminist overtones, seeking to redress the balance of gender inequality in the fine art world. In particular, it uses the typical nude female form of historical portraiture to grab attention with added emphasis because of the bright colours, black outlining and the seemingly strange inclusion of the gorilla's head (play on words with Guerilla Girls).
Veronica Vera / Post Porn Modernist Manifesto
The Post Porn Modernist Manifesto: an art movement, which "celebrates sex as the nourishing, life-giving force. We embrace our genitals as part, not separate, from our spirits." It advocates the "attitude of sex-positivism" and wishes to "communicate our ideas and emotions ... to have fun, heal the world and endure."
I was initially attracted again by the gendered representations and also the shock value of the images featuring semi-nudity and bondage regalia. The fact that the female figures are smiling and unashamed reinforces the positivity of the message, recognising and welcoming female sexuality.
Post Porn Modernist Manifesto
Dan Burgess
Source: https://danburgess.art/
I like these illustrations because of the monochromatic simplicity and sense of isolation implied (white space is used to indicate light areas such as snow but also as a purposeful design element of negative space around the wolves).
Andrea Dezsö
Illustrations for The Original Folk & Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grim
Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses
Source: https://mymodernmet.com/andrea-dezso-brothers-grimm/
These illustrations are redolent of old-fashioned cutouts in paper. The white space almost jumps out at you because of the extreme tonal contrast.
Noma Bar
Source: https://www.dutchuncle.co.uk/noma-bar
I particularly like the simplicity and cleverness of Bar's work which uses flat colours and minimal detail to often get across a poignant message (it is deceptively simple in appearance).
Shigeo Fukuda
Vasilis Marmatakis / The Lobster
Antony Gormley / Blind Light
White Space Photography
Source: http://creativecrusade.com/student_blogs/s122719/files/2015/05/9665611860_f6b5257ae2_o.jpg
Source: https://leightonestick.wordpress.com/2015/11/14/minimalism-1950s-1960s/
Source: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/06/c1/d7/06c1d7805b3d6aca4d69efd1772c63e6.jpg
Source: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/54/89/97/54899789ad2f7c56b3dae228f0c30440.jpg
White Space / Manifesto
The idea for my manifesto came about through one of my photos of white space in the local area - I focused on gaps (blank space) on a drain cover (the phrase 'get your mind out of the gutter sprung to mind). I recreated the pattern of the drain cover on a piece of white card by cutting out areas, creating white stripes. I moved around the studio, creating interventions that experimented with how the white stripes could remove information, 'getting your mind out of the gutter' in some sense by obscuring meaning. I think my experiment of the white stripes covering text was the most successful, hence why I used it as the basis for my manifesto. The phrase also made me start to think about ‘dirty’ or ‘unclean’ thoughts and how a person can unburden or purify themselves through the act of confession and hence the confessional manifesto was developed. The white stripes and gaps in the white card became the partition in the confession booth.
White Space / Outcome
My final outcome for the ‘White Space’ project is called ‘Blank Slate’ and is displayed in 3 stages.
In stage 1, the page is meant to appear blank from a distance, using white space in a physical context.
In stage 2, the first layer (clear acetate with a white pattern) is removed and a minimalistic black and white abstract pattern appears.
In stage 3, the second layer (white card with holes cut out of it, redolent of a confession booth partition) is removed and the confession is revealed.
The piece is meant to be a visualisation of unburdening your sins, providing you with a blank slate and clean conscience, using white space in a more metaphorical sense.
Shira Barzilay (@koketit)
Source: @koketit (https://www.instagram.com/koketit/?hl=en)
All of the above photographic examples feature the use of white space in either real-life objects or graphics superimposed upon white subjects. The inclusion of drawn elements appeals to me because of my interest in line and cartooning.
Greg Payce
Source: https://mymodernmet.com/greg-payce-optical-illusion-vases/
These pots use white ceramics and negative space very cleverly to suggest figures in the manner of visual illusions.
Mathilde Roussel-Giraudy
Source: https://mymodernmet.com/feeling-your-absence-8-pics/
While Roussel-Giraudy's sculptures use white space in a literal sense, they also use space to represent physical lack of presence. This can emphasise feelings of loneliness and even longing.
Kylie Stillman
Source: https://mymodernmet.com/kylie-stillman-book-sculptures/
Blank space is used as negative space in these physical objects. Sometimes the actual objects are indented or cut away which is an interesting reversal of the more usual method of the background being removed.
Pejac
Source: https://mymodernmet.com/pejac-birds-negative-space/
These examples in real life settings use glass windows as a medium, again making use of negative space. The use of the bird motif at even the simplest level can refer to the fact that birds often crash into glass windows by accident.
Tang Yau Hoong
Ileana Hunter
Christian Capurro
‘Another Misspent Portrait of Etienne de Silhouette‘, 1999 – 2004
Source: http://pietmondriaan.com/tag/christian-capurro/
(erased Vogue magazine)