Author: Mark Ecob

Notes from Labours 2 workshop:

• Interesting exercise in citing a set of people who inspired our group individually (Anthony Burrill, Dana Abdullah, Raymond Queneau, Anne Alders, Oswin Tickler). In group with mainly Yr 2 students
• We cited using Language in the form of Text and vice versa after eliminating more everyday connections such as form, methods craft.
• Fascinating way of reconsidering connection, citation
• ‘Book Waste Book’ reference – everything about supply chain and material on the imprint page in the prelims, very interesting for my industry background
• We chose the loafers image to ‘citate’ and considered everything from materials to corporate map of sales, distribution, company ownership all the way to basic ‘commons’ involved in the production or a shoe, and cultural references such as the Japanese heritage in the design

15/2/25

Tutorial 1 notes
• Eduardo advised that in his research, motion was not recommended in icon design focussed on improving accessibility
• José – simplified the toolbox in Adobe, can this expand to other tools? Can it be more complex?
• Adobe software monopoly discussed, pricing means majority of users catered for are sighted
• Is bespoke toolbox design achievable? Will we alienate one community if we work with another?
• Abbie – conversely, the development of technology has adversely the affected accessibility
• Beatrice – project is functional, recommends ally-ship and approaching the community we are focusing on to develop the enquiry and inform the design. Community-specific testing
• José – WACOM connection? Example from mark’s experiments, practical consideration in a week
• Abbie – recommend narrowing it down either ICONS, NAVIGATION or APATHY (Adobe issue), we’re asking the right questions.


Follow up meeting with Harry and Jane, with Abbie – agreed to approach various practitioners of low sight or connected to the community, to provide user led feedback. Also started sharing references for written piece.

My final iterations were two videos, available here on Onedrive:
Iteration 1: https://artslondon-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/m_ecob0820231_arts_ac_uk/ER4HrtyoXylLssVLa-rFbUsBz7Nsm-Gj20S2UBusHev1YA?nav=eyJyZWZlcnJhbEluZm8iOnsicmVmZXJyYWxBcHAiOiJPbmVEcml2ZUZvckJ1c2luZXNzIiwicmVmZXJyYWxBcHBQbGF0Zm9ybSI6IldlYiIsInJlZmVycmFsTW9kZSI6InZpZXciLCJyZWZlcnJhbFZpZXciOiJNeUZpbGVzTGlua0NvcHkifX0&e=jhkiOn
Iteration 2: https://artslondon-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/m_ecob0820231_arts_ac_uk/EXzHMyiv-fJPl1GwiWa–FwBTAxQvRvULjj67KsKWkGbyQ?nav=eyJyZWZlcnJhbEluZm8iOnsicmVmZXJyYWxBcHAiOiJPbmVEcml2ZUZvckJ1c2luZXNzIiwicmVmZXJyYWxBcHBQbGF0Zm9ybSI6IldlYiIsInJlZmVycmFsTW9kZSI6InZpZXciLCJyZWZlcnJhbFZpZXciOiJNeUZpbGVzTGlua0NvcHkifX0&e=E90G4M

Some notes from my final tutorial:
• Yellow version works better, more contrast and curation
• The removal of the T is enough
• If iterated further, remove line between the words
• Consider space around it, now the move to moving image, is there a way of echoing ‘furniture’ from letterpress or a background?
• Yellow one succeeds because all of the hands are moving together
• Newsprint version (iteration 2) is more fruitful to printmaking, but feels like a proof or draft
• Artist mentioned as reference but incomplete – ‘Sebastian ____’, neon artist, being between words like this, to follow up
• Now I have the tool, further iteration could mean new words and brining this to a wider audience
• Could this riff on identity, could I commission cut letters of elements on identifying documents for me and repeat this process, asking “how are we defined by documents?”

The form of draft 3 of my written response is a video.
Due to memory constraints, it is available here on OneDrive: https://artslondon-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/m_ecob0820231_arts_ac_uk/EehlRFMMQO1KrFTJqtbn9PYBNWrqB6rn9FKh6xWVmmyR3w?nav=eyJyZWZlcnJhbEluZm8iOnsicmVmZXJyYWxBcHAiOiJPbmVEcml2ZUZvckJ1c2luZXNzIiwicmVmZXJyYWxBcHBQbGF0Zm9ybSI6IldlYiIsInJlZmVycmFsTW9kZSI6InZpZXciLCJyZWZlcnJhbFZpZXciOiJNeUZpbGVzTGlua0NvcHkifX0&e=StRlZG

Please contact me at m.ecob0820231@arts.ac.uk for any access issues. Thank you.

This workshop was aimed at troubling the idea of an index.
• Example: Imperfect Index, where the index is at the front and not set up traditionally, that viability giving it authority as ‘para text’ or the main text, organised as a map to move you around in different ways
• To consider when making an index: western knowledge frameworks, ignoring marginalised groups, local knowledge often considered as secondary, language
• Language and colonial power dynamics, latin alphabet dominates
• Queer Arab Glossary example, collects slang, organised by sound, theme, image, illustration
• Coral Dictionary
• Hives / Aladin Boriolo
Parallel Encyclopaedia / Suter – a NOT book, non-sequential
• Decoding Dictatorial Statues / Yoon
• LATCH theory / Wurman
• Snowglobes / Nancy Duarte

As a group we combined our BT Archives choices, mine wad a rotary phone from my childhood, into an offline visual index that included manual/tactile use, phone box window designs and other unexpected factors, we rendered it in the form of a large phonebox.

• Hack based on reversing the process of letterpress, where ink is replaced with adhesives and then removed leaving negative space.
• Through iterative practice, discovery that I was printmaking by removing the printed matter. Space was left behind simply because of the existence of the paper and our interaction with it as communicators.
• Destructive nature and imperfections left behind very interesting, how can that be used?
• Discussion about capturing the process of printing, then removing a type block using film or moving image. Interesting opportunities regarding editing, sequence etc etc
• Could it work with a short quote about reclaiming, or revenge, giving then taking back, or personifying the type blocks somehow?
• To iterative now by sourcing a quote, executing prints and documenting for next week
• Form of final essay draft to use process as drop caps, to experiment with this if possible before next tutorial.

Tutorial 1 21/2/25

• How can I disrupt this tool?
• The beauty and insight is in the making
• Use this method in a way it was not intended to be used
  
  Having been intrigued by the imperfections of the hand stamped letterforms, and the experience of type outside of a digital space, my intention now is to ‘anti-stamp’…
  
  Letterpress or hand stamping GIVES ink to a surface, it adds, augments, usually in a very direct and confident way (ref Anthony Burrill’s work). I would like the wood type to TAKE or SUBTRACT from the surface. Instead of a clean and refined, typeset piece of printed matter with a clear message, I’d like to use wood type blocks to take away pages, images and form from printed matter.
  
  I intend to collate a set of printed matter, coat a wood block ampersand with glue, wallpaper paste or turpentine and place is on a page. Then after drying, I will take it away in the opposite action of stamping, pulling away. This will create insight into the space left behind, what is revealed.
  
  Can I use other surfaces like plaster on a wall, wallpaper, food, the bark of a tree?
  
  Can I reprint with what I take away?
  
  Some experimenting to do this week…., and also keep in mind the written element and how I view my work through it.

• Amazing session, complete eye-opener about quilting’s place as a craft of history, civil and social protest particularly for women
• Incredible examples: The Queen’s Quilt, Rajah Quilt and above all Aids Memorial Quilt (largest community art project in the world. I was particularly engaged by the rationale of every segment being the standard size of a US gravestone)
• “DO NOT MISTAKE THE SOFTNESS OF QUILTS AS WEAKNESS”
• Themes of fortifying, armour, comforting. Something intended as warm, protective can be considered in a historical and protest sense
• Loved the practical side of this, my sewing skills were awful
• My segment was intended to reflect my MAGCD journey so far using abstract shapes, from red, pointed shapes to calm colours and calm seas over the course of the first semester