From Doodle to Design: Almost Wordless Wednesday

Given that I am an obsessive doodler, it's no surprise that when cleaning my office I would find scraps of paper with little pen and ink doodles on them. A couple evenings ago I fed these to Google's Gemini (AI Flash 2.5) to be "converted" into watercolors. Here's what I received in return.

Be curious.

You never know what you will find next.

The world is your oyster.

Where Art and Scandinavia Meet: Alison Aune

It takes a special kind of fortitude to pursue an inner vision that is out of step with the prevailing winds. This is precisely where Alison Aune was at while acquiring degrees in art, including a doctorate from Ohio University (this blogger's alma mater.) While post-pop, modern and post-modern were in vogue, Aune derived inspiration from ancient cultures and her own Scandinavian roots, a vein she continues to mine to this day.

Aune is one of four women whose work will be on display in November as part of a Duluth Art Institute (DAI) exhibition titled 4North: New Work by Alison Aune, Kirsten Aune, Ann Klefstad, and Arna Rennan.

Earlier this week Ann Klefstad shared a little about her work in preparation for this show. Neither Klefstad nor Aune are strangers to group shows.

In 2007-2008 Alison Aune had a show featuring her Swedish paintings in the John Steffl Gallery at the DAI. She has a gallery above Pineapple Arts downtown and is a professor of art education at UMD. She traces her ancestors to both Norwegian and Swedish immigrants who no doubt found the beauty and climate here similar to their homeland... and "there's no place like home." (Especially if it's not Kansas.)

She did her doctoral these on the artist Cora Sandel. The ongoing theme through her work is women’s traditional crafts as inspiration for painting. What follows is from an artist statement:

Contact with pattern from Nordic women’s handwork down through the ages is important to her work. The cultural inheritance from the Nordic countries lies for her in what women sewed, knitted, embroidered or wove, in the home and often in collaboration with other women. It was folk art that came with the immigrant women to the Midwest. Aune’s paintings are multicultural and deal with women’s history, while at the same time the main motif is contemporary. With understanding and deliberateness she creates a clear departure from contemporary art. She has collected patterns from pillows, bedspreads, old mittens and wall hangings. Aune incorporates this into her paintings so that it creates a connection with collective patterns in earlier women’s handcrafts.

A 2015 artist statement amplifies some of these ideas still further:

Artists Between Two Cultures from Oslo: Dag og Tid, Dec.13th, 2013 by Oyvind Gulliksen (Trans. by Arna Rennan)

In these paintings, Alison Aune celebrates her ancestral Swedish heritage and culture by exploring traditional folk art textile patterns, designs, and symbols. In the Knäckebröd Mandala painting series she uses Siljan’s rye crisp bread wrappers as the circle mandala to symbolize harmony and balance. The floral patterns surrounding it and within it are from Swedish material culture: textile patterns such as dukagång, Dalarna kattun, IKEA napkins, and various wrapping papers. These paintings have been exhibited in Minnesota, Washington state, and Sweden.

Høstfest 2015

This is the statement from her 2008 show:

Nordic Pattern Paintings by Alison Aune

For the past several years, I have been integrating historic decorative-symbolic motifs found in Swedish and Norwegian textiles and domestic artifacts into my paintings. The first painting series was called Dekorglädje, literally translated from Swedish as “decoration happiness” and then my work expanded to a Floral Icon and Nordic Mandala series. My current project, Nordic Pattern Paintings includes both traditional Swedish and Norwegian symbolic patterns and designs with floral forms and portraiture. This project is a culmination of my Dekorglädje series and is rooted in the framework of a feminist aesthetic that honors women’s historic contributions to textiles and folk art. Through the process of inquiry, critical reflection, and the direct referencing of these decorative patterns into my paintings, I am discovering the original symbolic meanings and the cultural significance of these designs. In this way, I am not only exploring my heritage but I am keeping the imagery alive by re-contextualizing these ancient forms into a new and contemporary artistic form.

As you can see from the images here her work, like the hearts of the people of Scandinavia, is vividly colorful and stimulating. The attention to detail is rich, like the connections she makes with her culture, a culture woven into the fabric of our own. Especially here in the Northland.

The reception for 4North is November 10. If you are on Facebook, be sure to add it to your calendar.

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Engage it. 

Design Matters

“Design is the method of putting form and content together. Design, just as art, has multiple definitions, there is no single definition.Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that's why it is so complicated.” 
~Paul Rand

Paul Rand was one of the 20th century's most influential designers. A prof at Yale, his major contribution circled about the development of corporate identities. The list of clients whose logos he designed famously includes IBM, ABC, Westinghouse

A few years ago I picked up Michael Kroger's slim volume, Paul Rand, Conversations with Students. The conversations distill the essence of Rand's ideas, which I have come to believe are so very important. Design matters. Yes, we keep hearing the mantra "Content is king" as if it were holy writ, but the truth is that great content can be badly hampered through poor presentation.

Whether it's web pages, brochures, invitations, billboards and signs, or corporate logos, design matters. Over the course of my career in advertising I readily acknowledge that the designers who assembled my ideas made all the difference in the outcome.

Rand points out that painting for Picasso was a process of elimination, which means you begin with complexity and move toward simplicity. "That is difficult for anybody," he said.

Other quotes from these conversations include these two which I  highlighted in my copy of the book:

"Design is also a system of proportions, which means the relationship of sizes."

And...

"Content is basically the idea, that is what content is... Form is how you treat the idea, what you do with it. This is exactly the meaning of design. It is the conflict between form and content, form being the problem. I mean how you do it, how you show something, how you think, how you speak, how you dance; choreography is the content, it is the dance itself."

Here are a few additional quotes from other sources which capture his approach to design.

"Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations."

And...

"Asymmetric balance creates greater reader interest. Pleasure derived from observing asymmetrical arrangements lies partly in overcoming resistances, which, consciously or not, the spectator adjusts in his own mind."

When it's not working we may not know why, but we know it intuitively. There's something innate in the nature of reality. Or as Rand states elsewhere, "You can't criticize geometry. It's never wrong."

* * * *
This week is the third installment  Design DLH
a wonderful series of presentations hosted by the Duluth Art Institute.

This week's meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Friday, January 8 at Bent Paddle Brewing Co. "How Do We Embrace the Cold?" will feature Greg Benson of Loll Designs, Bent Paddle Brewing Co., and Kym Young.

Each Design DLH gathering invites local designers to present ideas around a prompt that addresses some aspect of Duluth’s visual identity. Last month that symbol was our aerial lift bridge. The focus of Session Three, “How Do We Embrace the Cold?,” is the winter weather.

Sessions are free and open to the public, but due to limited seating, RSVPs are required at info@duluthartinstitute.org. The public is also invited to participate in the conversation via Twitter, using the hashtag #DesignDLH. Additional question prompts and materials for doodling and notations are available at each session.

Westinghouse image used courtesy Creative Commons.

Five Minutes with Artist/Designer Marian Lansky

It was about two decades ago when I first became aware of Marian Lansky's work. I was in need of a designer for a project at the time and she was recommended to me by, I believe, Service Printers. We met for lunch and I reviewed her portfolio. I was impressed. She also said she was too busy with other projects to take on something new. That was that.

This past month I attended an art opening for Mad Women, featuring the work of women in the advertising field. Marian Lansky's exhibited works again made an impression on me, and I asked if she'd consent to be interviewed for this blog. She said she was still quite busy, but made the time.

Ennyman: Briefly outline your career.
Marian Lansky: My graphic design career started in 1989 when my son was a baby and I was looking for a way to be able to make a living at home. I'd always loved combining words and images, and then one day I saw a demonstration of a Macintosh computer with Aldus Pagemaker, Aldus Freehand, and Adobe Photoshop. It was pretty primitive stuff compared to now, but I was hooked. Went to a bank downtown and got a loan to buy a Mac IICX, one of the first HP scanners, and an Apple Laserwriter. Within a couple of years I was making a decent living doing what was, at that time, called desktop publishing.

Enny: How did you determine to make a living in the creative realm?
ML: Before then, I'd worked at a number of different jobs. I wasn't especially fond of any of them, but they were excellent life experiences for me. I'd worked in offices, stores, restaurants and as a registered nurse in hospitals. Coming back to doing something visually creative was coming back to my roots. I'd grown up in New York City and attended the High School of Music and Art as an art major. My art education there was fantastic. The school pulled kids from all over the city (you had to test in by submitting a portfolio of work and taking several hours of drawing exams). We had five studio classes a day in every conceivable discipline, on top of a rigorous academic load.

Enny: Who were your early influences?
ML: My early influences were probably too many to mention. Growing up in NYC, I spent countless hours at museums. They were my favorite hangout. When I played hooky from school, I'd spend the day wandering through museums. And then my teachers… all incredible artists in their own right, were a tremendous influence. As a teenager I loved Matisse and Bonnard.

Enny: Do you consider yourself more designer or artist? And what is the difference between the two?
ML: For the last 22 years, I've considered myself more a designer than an artist. As a designer, you give visual expression to your client's goals and values. Now, however, I am beginning to consider myself more an artist than a designer. In a way, I've become my own client… giving visual expression to my own inner values.

Enny: How have you gone about getting clients? What works and what doesn't?
ML: I've been just unbelievably fortunate in that I never had to advertise to get work. For most of my career I've had as much work as I could handle (and sometimes more!), without doing anything to promote myself. My philosophy of business has always been to keep my head down, put the client first, and do good work. Word of mouth worked wonders for me.

Enny: You have a wonderful portfolio. Do you have a few favorite pieces?
ML: Thank you. I have to say that I usually love the last piece I did the most! I learn more with everything I do. I recently completed a big commission of 14 pieces for a client and what I learned doing those pieces I've turned around and applied to my own work. I finished one yesterday that is my new favorite.

Enny: Any advice for young creative people looking for a career in design?
ML: I guess one piece of advice I'd give to anyone starting out in this business, or perhaps in any creative endeavor--is to love what you are doing. If you don't enjoy it, your lack of joy will show in the work. Find what you love to do, do it well, and the rest will follow.

Marian and her partner Rick Allen own a business called Kenspeckle Letterpress which can be found at www.kenspeckleletterpress.com.

You may follow Marian and Rick's current activites at their Blogspeckle, located on the Specklesphere at http://www.kenspeckleletterpress.com/blogspeckle/

Five MInutes with Artist/Designer Marc Zapchenk

Sunday I wrote about the winners of our Bob Dylan Way Manhole Cover contest. One of those winners was Marc Zapchenk, an illustrator and designer from Shoreview, Minnesota. He graciously agreed to share with us a little about his art.

Ennyman: When did you first have an inkling that you would be an artist when you grew up?
MZ: I really enjoyed creating art as a child. I realized I that had some talent and potential in grade school. It wasn't until I was about to graduate high school that I learned I could pursue a career in art.

E: You make a living as an illustrator. How did that come about?
MZ: I started my career as a graphic designer. After that, I was hired to be an art director and I had the wonderful opportunity to collaborate with other professional illustrators. Eventually, I was offered a position as an illustrator and designer.

E: You also express yourself in the fine arts. What is your favorite medium?
MZ: I prefer painting. Currently, I am exploring digital fine art and I am enjoying that process.

E: Who have been your primary sources of inspiration?
MZ: I have had many fabulous visual art teachers over the years. And, although I am a visual artist I am most inspired by singer songwriters like Bob Dylan, Bob Walkenhorst of The Rainmakers, Steve Forbert, Warren Zevon, and Paul Kelly.

E: How would you define the difference between "art" and "design"?
MZ: Because I have worked as an illustrator, a designer, and a fine artist, I have always struggled with how these different disciplines are related. I have come to the conclusion that they are more similar than they are different. However, design and illustration is more intentional. It is about problem solving and clearly communicating ideas. Fine art involves many of the same visual principles, but it is more suggestive. When I produce fine art, I let the image lead the journey... I let it surprise me.

E: It must have been fun to learn you won, and then a surprise to discover you had more work to do. What did you learn through the process of making the Dylan Way Manhole Cover?
MZ: I learned that I had to be patient and open to learning a new process. Most importantly, I had others that were willing to help me make this project a reality. I am most grateful for the Lase Magic, Inc. for laser cutting the prototype board. This project truly would not have happened without their generous assistance.

If you are in Duluth on Bob Dylan's 70th birthday, May 24, you might be able to meet Marc who will be here helping place a couple manhole covers that day. Here's a link to a site where you can see more of Zapchenk's work.