Posted in Uncategorized

Art and Design: After Epstein’s Rockdrill

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

13 thoughts on “Art and Design: After Epstein’s Rockdrill

  1. My partner and I stumbled over here coming from a different web address and thought I might check
    things out. I like what I see so now i’m following you.
    Look forward to exploring your web page yet again.

  2. hello there and thank you for your info – I have certainly picked up
    anything new from right here. I did however expertise some technical points using this
    website, as I experienced to reload the website a lot of times previous
    to I could get it to load correctly. I had been wondering if your hosting is OK?
    Not that I am complaining, but slow loading instances times will very frequently affect your placement in google and could damage your high quality score if ads and marketing with Adwords.
    Anyway I am adding this RSS to my email and could look out for a lot more
    of your respective interesting content. Make sure you update
    this again soon.

    my page – spot reputable websites

  3. I am not sure the place you are getting your information, but
    great topic. I must spend some time finding out much
    more or understanding more. Thank you for excellent information I used to be on the lookout for
    this information for my mission.

    Feel free to visit my webpage :: insomnia for dummies

  4. This is the right web site for anybody who really wants to find out about
    this topic. You understand so much its almost tough to argue with you (not
    that I personally will need to…HaHa). You certainly
    put a fresh spin on a subject that’s been written about for years.

    Excellent stuff, just great!

    Take a look at my blog venturi carpet cleaning

  5. of course like your website however you have to take
    a look at the spelling on quite a few of your posts.
    Several of them are rife with spelling issues and I find it very troublesome to
    tell the truth however I will certainly come again again.

    my blog post :: pemutih kulit (Lawanna)

  6. Hello! Quick question that’s completely off topic. Do you know how
    to make your site mobile friendly? My website looks weird when browsing from my
    iphone. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be
    able to fix this problem. If you have any suggestions, please share.
    With thanks!

    Review my website – Full Statement

Comments are closed.