Are surface designers merely space fillers? Can they, should they and are they allowed to make comment on matters such as economics, social and political issues or moral and philosophical debates?As a practitioner do you even care?
As a learning surface designer I feel that this is an issue I feel quite strongly about. I think that sometimes society thinks of the art world as a place for design only without any need opinion or depth, which I see as completely wrong. I would hate to be labelled or thought of as a mere observer or creator who is denied the opportunity to communicate a message as strong as economics, social or political issues because it is not what I specialise in. I feel it is ignorant for people to see a designer of any sort in this way as just because they are a visual creator it doesn't mean they can not have the same passion for these issues as others.
Most of the best work from designers has sprouted from issues such as the above and more than likely caused quite a fuss or had a large impact. Good art is art that is talked about and discussed in depth all over the world. Important issues are sometimes ignored if seen too complicated or in-depth for most people to understand but a picture, illustration, pattern or painting can be viewed and if strong enough a million things can be thought from that one image by a million different people. What better way then to communicate a vital issue than to spread an image around the world to get people's attention? Just one image can cause an outrage or a following because no matter what people will always have opinions on art weather it be good or bad and especially if it has a point to make about something serious.
Reading words after words after words on a subject or having someone preach down your ear could soon cause the mind the switch off and forget, however seeing an image for the first time can be unforgettable and will stay with someone for a long time, if not forever. I remember going to a museum a few years ago in Liverpool and seeing an exhibition that was beautiful textile dresses made from glass and some barbed wire corsets. The exhibition was by Diana Dias-Leao and was called 'Dare to Wear: Glass Dresses'. I wasn't really interested in the rest of what the museum had to offer but I saw these dresses and thought there was something interesting about them and they really captured my attention. I then read on to see what the point in these dresses were and I quickly found myself quite emotionally attached to this exhibition and it's purpose. The see though dresses had been created as a representation of women's beauty inside and out. They had been created to show the affects that the media and the fashion industry have on the females of today resulting in serious illness such as anorexia, self harm and bulimia. She had created this art to cause people to stop and think about these issues, to cause debate and discussion around the subject, therefore commenting on social issues. I feel this form of communication from Dias-Leao has worked as I stopped and looked deeper into these dresses to see what their purpose was. I left the museum with a new issue in my head that I had never thought about before and had all kinds of oppinions going through my mind.
“Even though the image is glittering, it is the person inside who is priceless.” - Diana Dias-Leao.
I feel that if someone can have such a strong impact on someone through creating art and has took the time to research an issue and think of an idea to display this, then why should they not be aloud to comment on such an important issue? They should and maybe it's even possibly the best form of getting a message so serious across today.
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