Class of 2007 / 13 sep 07
The group of designers graduated in 2007 presented itself on the opening night of the Zeebelt Theatre at its new location on the Constant Rebecqueplein, The Hague. These five designers, Karlijn Budel (HKA Arnhem), Hyo Kwon (KABK The Hague), Jeroen Sikma (WDK Rotterdam) en Cristian Smets (HKU Utrecht) Magda Malina (HKA Arnhem), could now give their very best in a hall crowded out with its 150 seats.
Last year Pierre Derks already showed that personal data are not inviolate on the internet, and now Karlijn Budel (HKA Arnhem) proves that the theme still upsets people. She stole the on-line identities of four persons for her project 'real -- more real -- most unreal? ' in order to link fictional stories to them. Interactive elaboration of the project would have been more reasonable. The congealed graphic shape requires explanatory comment, but to some in the audience this constituted its very charm.
In 'Maybe' Hyo Kwon (KABK The Hague) explores the indecision which befell her while finishing her studies, and she manages to present a strong result in spite of the lack of the non-committal nature of the subject. 'Maybe' reads like a coming-of-age project in a surprising format. Hyo's finishing paper 'Maybe postmodern - postmodernism and its influence on graphic design' looks as if it were designed by Marcel Proust: nine lines set across the entire width of the text space right through the entire book.
Jeroen Sikma (WDK Rotterdam) provides visual commentary on the differences between rich and poor in Latin America in the shape of a newspaper en a video. In the video he has exchanged the sound track of two films, so that we look at palm beaches while we are listening to crime statistics, and images of gang wars are accompanied by tourist promotion talk. Sikma acts as the director who wants to awaken the spectator, not as the designer who gives shape to his idea.
Cristian Smets (HKU Utrecht) graduated with a visual analysis
of a.o. Helvetica and Times. By drawing all vector points of the contour of a letter towards the middle new shapes arise. It was quite striking that all the shapes o the Times were regular, whereas the Helvetica led to irregular results. Is it really possible to derive any conclusion from this about the quality of a letter, or is the final result a good-looking lucky hit in spite of everything? The question remained unanswered. The evening finished off with Magda Malina (HKA Arnhem). She surprised the audience by manifesting a enormous zest for form. Her project 'Paper cuts; how to love the moment' showed a fascination for portable paper objects so artfully designed that they take your breath away. A wave of admiring mumbling went through the audience. The paper's nature, at once fragile and sturdy, led to almost architectural shapes. One's respect for her work only increases one sees all those hundreds of casts, experimental cuttings and folded models that precede her finished designs. To possess one of her works would be agony: what occasion is special enough to wear and thereby destroy such a beautiful object for?
Absence of colour, minimalist typography: the lack of style which is all the craze in the world of graphic design at present showed itself clearly in the graduation projects presented this evening. The role of the designer as a author with a social conscience leads to content with character. It is a pity, however, that this is not always supplemented with distinguishing visual features.
NEDERLANDS
bekijk de Uitnodiging
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