what I got out of of the artist series

I liked all of the videos; some more than others.

I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to get out of these, but I got at least one thing out of each one.

Malcolm Gladwell.
Never read any of his books, but it was interesting to listen to these people talk about the process of illustrating his books. He said he likes them because they add to the reading experience, but don’t distract from it. He said that a writer’s biggest fear is losing the audience, so it makes sense he’d want to achieve a balance between the writing and illustrations.

Also sidenote: Malcolm Gladwell book generator

Daniel Libeskind.
This guy is an architect. He believes that it can’t just be one more building; it has to liberate. I never thought about it, but architecture is similar to graphic design, because they both have to marry form and function.

Lawrence Weiner.
I enjoyed this one, mainly for the slow-motion tracking shot moving toward the artist. It was just so cool, and he had the most intense look on his face. I also totally like the same font he likes, so that helped me like him more. My favorite thing he said was, “Be who you are no matter how dangerous it is.” What a BAMF.

Stefan Sagmeister (’08 and ’05).
I recognize him from Helvetica. I think it’s interesting how personal graphic design is for him. He says for him the final piece must incorporate the process visibly. I’ve never thought about that before. It is a truly amazing goal. He also said, “Everything I do comes back to me.”

Mark Romanek.
Cool–a filmmaker! He said a few things that I thought were cool. He talked about how sometimes the surprise of sequencing certain clips together often produces something good. It isn’t always possible to plan everything out. And he said that when you make movies and music videos, you are creating a fake moment you want people to believe in. I think that is a really accurate way to think of movies.

Milton Glaser.
He said that design lies between two sensibilities: business and art. He believes that art helps people have something in common, and therefore it reduces conflict in the world. I also liked it when he talked about the ability to be astonished.

David Byrne & Brian Eno.
First of all, David Byrne is the man. I am a mega Talking Heads fan. They are almost always in my Top 5 listened to artists on last.fm. I’ve never listened to any of Byrne’s solo work or collaborations with Eno, but I bet they are really interesting. I like the part where Byrne talks about how when you listen to music, you kind of know what’s coming, but if, as an artist, you disrupt that a little bit it can actually be quite pleasant. Also, a fun fact I discovered is that Stefan Sagmeister won a Grammy for the album design of Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.

James Victore.
First of all, awesomely descriptive quote: “Graphic Design is a big fucking club with spikes in it and I want to wield it.” He also mentions that graphic design, while good at selling socks, is best for sociopolitical stuff.

Iran do Espirito Santo.
While I don’t feel enlightened enough to fully understand his installations, I appreciated them. And I loved what he said about light: “it’s what turns the world visible.”

Pentagram (’07 and ’06).
A bunch of these guys were interviewed in Helvetica. The timeline of Pentagram was funny and interesting. It’s cool that there is a successful company out there that works in such a collaborative structure with no managing partners. I liked the idea that a couple of the interviewed people shared about how design is attempting to resolve conflicts or solve problems.

David Carson.
This guy was in Helvetica, too. He also has a very personal approach to his design work, like Sagmeister. Because he didn’t have much formal training, his work is really not about the message at all–it’s like he uses words and text as his artistic medium. And he says that for him it’s an attempt to interpret something, and that it’s important to let your personality come through.

Paula Scher.
Another Helvetica all-star. She was different from a lot of the other artists because she said she doesn’t do the process well. If she doesn’t get it by the second crack, she probably won’t ever get it. For her, it’s instantaneous. My favorite thing she said was that the computer made her feel like her hands were cut off. It is a horrifyingly accurate description of the computer from an artist’s perspective. Also, her maps are SO COOL.

Four Illustrators.
One of the illustrators, Christoph Niemann, said his goal is for the audience to have a reaction.

Overall, these videos were really fun to watch. I think the collection of perspectives is really helpful for me as someone so new to design. I feel like I’m starting to understand more of the why I feel a certain way about things instead of just having the feeling.