PRO-FORMA

Project Summary
To re-appropriate pornographic images and language for a mainstream audience.

Context
Moving on from my dissertation, I intend on taking a closer look at pornography. I’m interested in disguising pornographic content in a way that appears beautiful and of a higher cultural form than the original media. I will achieve this through experimenting with both visual and literary pornography, as well as different ways of presenting them. I am particularly interested in people’s reactions towards porn and the ways in which we consume it.

Rationale
There are a number of aims I want to achieve with my project:
-To disguise pornographic content in a way that appears beautiful and of a higher cultural form than the original media.
-The result being the viewers unknowingly condoning the porn in appreciating my product, unaware of the true content at first glance. The aesthetic quality and inherent connotations of the medium would win the audience over before they learn the true meaning and intention behind it. The language used in pornography and ads is normally crude, blunt and blunt. By embellishing it in a way that isn’t normally seen, I am temporally masking the obscenities.

Skills Evidence: (Rough 13-Week Plan)
Weeks One, Two and Three: Research – studying existing work, watching porn films, looking at pornographic magazines, internet sites etc. to establish common images, languages etc.
Weeks Four, Five and Six: Experimenting with different processes, materials, treatments, ideas.
Weeks Seven and Eight: Planning/drafting the final outcome
Weeks Nine, Ten, Eleven and Twelve: Production of final outcome
Week Thirteen: Documentation of final outcome (photography, presentation etc.)

Topicality, intellectual rigour and debate
Everybody has some sort of opinion on porn, even if they haven’t experienced much of it first hand. Everybody also has their own preconceptions concerning higher cultural forms. The marriage of the two should create an interesting combination. I want my audience to be torn in two looking at my work – to appreciate the beauty of the production and aesthetics without necessarily agreeing with the content.
I’m interested in the use of language and syntax used in pornographic media. I want to bring to peoples attention the fact that language can be used persuasively and effectively in all forms of media– even something like porn can establish visual and literary conventions which possess its own subtle eloquence.

Focus of research and analysis
To ascertain the type of language used in current pornography, I will need to look at what’s out there and in what context it can be found – on the Internet, sex shops, mainstream video rental shops, magazines etc.
Existing work that utilizes text and decoration, as well as work that masks underlying messages through disguise.
Experimenting with different methods of presenting my idea.
After researching extensively for my dissertation I feel I am already well informed about the subject and I feel I am able to comment on it intelligently and confidently.

Practical skills involved
Drawing, painting
Printmaking – knowledge of possible techniques and how to do them
Working with words –manipulating text

Sustainability and Content of project
I am confident that I will be engaged with this subject throughout the thirteen weeks. Experimenting with different printing methods and ways of presenting will take up the most time, as I need to be certain that my final outcome is the best solution before I embark on producing it.

Projection of professional or further research ambitions
I want to take to opportunity to combine effectively skills from the different disciplines graphic design, fine art and crafts. I enjoy drawing and painting and can take this chance to show off these skills and have a bit of fun with it. I hope to learn new printing techniques which I haven’t tried before. I’m also interested in trying gold leafing which will be relevant to the project.

Elements of risk and challenge
My biggest challenge is to produce something that is unique yet risqué without being clichéd, crude or overly offensive.

Predicted outcomes
Final outcomes at this stage look to be mainly print based but I intend to experiment with a number of different mediums to ascertain what is most appropriate. I want the end product to be something beautiful – a piece of art in its own right.

Manufacturing and production issues
The processes and techniques I will end up using will probably be quite time consuming, laborious and involve detailed knowledge as this is the nature of the more respected forms of art and culture. I have to keep this in mind when managing my time as I will need to become suitably practised before producing my own work in order for it to be of the best quality.

Opportunities for professional feedback
Throughout the project I will be looking for advice from printers and typographers I will meet along the way. I will also be taking a visit to a letterpress studio in Hoxton where I can talk to the printers there. I will be in constant contact with a professional artist and poet (including erotic poetry) who will be acting as my mentor throughout the project. I don’t consider it necessary to discuss my project with people within in the porn business although I have been given various contacts so I will consider looking into them for further research.

The Proposal

Moving on from my dissertation, I intend on taking a closer look at pornography.

I’m interested in disguising pornographic content in a way that appears beautiful and of a higher cultural form than the original media. I will achieve this through experimenting with both visual and literary pornography, as well as different ways of presenting them.

Final outcomes at this stage look to be mainly print based but I intend to experiment with a number of different mediums to ascertain what is most appropriate.

Some ideas include:

Presenting text and images from contemporary porn films as illustrations using more traditional printing techniques such as etchings and woodcuts.

Extracting the explicit portions from porn films and working with the sections left behind. These sections are always there but only exist to support the explicit material. I would be interested to see the effect the remaining inoffensive material would create.

Experimenting with different ways of presenting text – quotes from porn screenplays, pornographic writings.