Art and Design
The artwork for the Student as Producer poster ( see opposite above) is based on Jacob Epstein’s (1880 – 1959) ‘Torso in Metal from the Rock Drill’ (see below).
This sculpture was itself derived from the earlier work: Rockdrill, which Epstein produced in 1913-1914. The original version of Rockdrill (see below) was a celebration of the progressive power of technology.
The later version of the sculpture, in which the power of the original piece is disabled, was a response to the machinic killings of the Great European War (1914 – 1917) and the destructive power of the automative.
What remains undamaged in the Torso is the pregnant possibility of an embryonic child.
The two sculptures, taken together, demonstrate the way in which humanity is transformed through its relationship with the machine, and the possibilities and dangers that are inherent in machine technology.
The lines of the font in the design for Student as Producer follow the vectoral angles of the Torso’s head and limbs, running diagonally and in parallel. These angles give the sculpture a sense of dynamic movement, which is mirrored in the shape of the lettering.
The tone and texture of the Student as Producer design is rock-like and engineered – graphic granite and metallic bronze. The chiseled angles and the verdigree suggest transformation through the forces of human production and natural history.
The CAPITAL letters add a sense of structure, which, in the form of paragraphs, are shaped like building blocks out of which something substantial can be constructed.
The poster and the flyer are engineered to be made into something else. The flyer is literally a flyer, with the straight angled lines providing the folds for a paper aeroplane. The image of the paper plane, in the top right hand corner of the design, gives an instruction, instilling a sense of humour and fun into what is a dark and difficult piece, like the times in which we live.
Student as Producer is indebted to Matt Chambers from Optima Graphic Design for his inspired and inspiring work – http://www.optimadesign.co.uk
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