INTRODUCTION
Why do my thoughts change from time to time? And why is it hard to form a statement because you know it will change again? During the study of graphic design we learn how to position ourselves in the society so we know where to find potential clients, collaborators, workspaces, etcetera. Positioning is important in the current society because the options are diverse and people expect you to have chosen for a specific side, so they know what you and your work stands for. Unconsciously this is happening all the time; during studying, in your private life being as a citizen in society, and also in the professional work environment. We have to take a position.
Because I am graduating in graphic design I am critical towards many topics within the design field and I read articles and opinions on the contemporary vision of the profession to keep track. I always tried to form an opinion about it. Besides my study, as a human in society and as a work- ing designer, I am constantly exploring all possible truths and speculations about graphic design. But then I noticed these are in a constant transition. The opinions, theories and speculations are connected to time and so they change. Taking a position is therefore challenging and it might be just for a short period. What if changing is not seen in a negative way but a sign of innovation? Being up to date on all new visions that appear daily on the internet and constantly questioning published statements keeps you sharp and relativistic. For me this is more important than having taken a position as a graphic designer and sticking to that. I decided to let go of positioning and gave myself the freedom to change meaning whenever I think differently. Uncertainty is a term that has a negative reputation in society, but research results show an interesting correlation between uncertainty and wisdom. “The more you know, the more you realise there is to know” is an interesting quote by Rob Wijnberg in a graph in his article: Een ode aan de twijfelaars. Re- searching into this topic, and reading articles on De Correspondent about uncertainty and opinion change made me realise it is not that bad to doubt, and I started to embrace it. Now I use doubt as a tool to be critical towards myself and as a way to always re-think everything I do and say at a moment and it opens up new interesting thoughts. Thinking never ends, and neither does doubt. At least I feel free as a person and designer to not always have to take position.
During this research I searched for a “new” mentality as a graphic designer in relation to the appreciation of uncertainty. My goal is to translate this new way of thinking into a performance to show the “Ode to Doubt” to the public and to try putting doubt in a better position in society. I will research the current, speculative, western philosophical stream since it has been changing for the past decade. Theorists have attempted to tackle the question of what comes after modernism and post-modernism and they call it: “metamodernism”. I took metamodernism as a main topic for my research and linked it to graphic design and a collaborative practice musically performing this theory during the end-exhibition.
The affinity with a musical performance comes from an earlier (extreme) doubt choosing between music conservatory or art academy and the fact that I’ve been playing the drums for almost 10 years. Being born in 1989; raised slightly traditional on the countryside and meeting younger generations engages me with this topic. I can place myself on the border of the two generations and I needed to understand it better.
I am collaborating with fellow graphic design student Kirsten Spruit for the graduation project. We literally meet each other halfway on the road to metamodernism. Both our researches are merging in a practice doing weekly and daily exercises upon the subjects and building towards a musical live-performance.
This is the introduction of my graduation thesis. More (full) publication info is coming!
Why do my thoughts change from time to time? And why is it hard to form a statement because you know it will change again? During the study of graphic design we learn how to position ourselves in the society so we know where to find potential clients, collaborators, workspaces, etcetera. Positioning is important in the current society because the options are diverse and people expect you to have chosen for a specific side, so they know what you and your work stands for. Unconsciously this is happening all the time; during studying, in your private life being as a citizen in society, and also in the professional work environment. We have to take a position.
Because I am graduating in graphic design I am critical towards many topics within the design field and I read articles and opinions on the contemporary vision of the profession to keep track. I always tried to form an opinion about it. Besides my study, as a human in society and as a work- ing designer, I am constantly exploring all possible truths and speculations about graphic design. But then I noticed these are in a constant transition. The opinions, theories and speculations are connected to time and so they change. Taking a position is therefore challenging and it might be just for a short period. What if changing is not seen in a negative way but a sign of innovation? Being up to date on all new visions that appear daily on the internet and constantly questioning published statements keeps you sharp and relativistic. For me this is more important than having taken a position as a graphic designer and sticking to that. I decided to let go of positioning and gave myself the freedom to change meaning whenever I think differently. Uncertainty is a term that has a negative reputation in society, but research results show an interesting correlation between uncertainty and wisdom. “The more you know, the more you realise there is to know” is an interesting quote by Rob Wijnberg in a graph in his article: Een ode aan de twijfelaars. Re- searching into this topic, and reading articles on De Correspondent about uncertainty and opinion change made me realise it is not that bad to doubt, and I started to embrace it. Now I use doubt as a tool to be critical towards myself and as a way to always re-think everything I do and say at a moment and it opens up new interesting thoughts. Thinking never ends, and neither does doubt. At least I feel free as a person and designer to not always have to take position.
During this research I searched for a “new” mentality as a graphic designer in relation to the appreciation of uncertainty. My goal is to translate this new way of thinking into a performance to show the “Ode to Doubt” to the public and to try putting doubt in a better position in society. I will research the current, speculative, western philosophical stream since it has been changing for the past decade. Theorists have attempted to tackle the question of what comes after modernism and post-modernism and they call it: “metamodernism”. I took metamodernism as a main topic for my research and linked it to graphic design and a collaborative practice musically performing this theory during the end-exhibition.
The affinity with a musical performance comes from an earlier (extreme) doubt choosing between music conservatory or art academy and the fact that I’ve been playing the drums for almost 10 years. Being born in 1989; raised slightly traditional on the countryside and meeting younger generations engages me with this topic. I can place myself on the border of the two generations and I needed to understand it better.
I am collaborating with fellow graphic design student Kirsten Spruit for the graduation project. We literally meet each other halfway on the road to metamodernism. Both our researches are merging in a practice doing weekly and daily exercises upon the subjects and building towards a musical live-performance.
This is the introduction of my graduation thesis. More (full) publication info is coming!