Final Proposal 2

Politics = the aesthetics of the system + the aesthetics of failure = Politics

The Cuban race is not an indigenous race it is a mixture of Spanish (and other European conquering races) and Black (slave) genes. The aboriginal race was systematically cleansed by settlers. This was a similar to the fate the indigenous American people suffered.

When Castro states ‘If the US are triumphant, Americans will be in Cuba’ does he mean the indigenous race?

Materials

Organic: Commercial oil based paints mixed with animal fat and traditional oil paints. Emulsion paints mixed with traditional acrylic/watercolor/gouache paints

Synthetic: Commercial and domestic self-adhesive vinyl tape, cut with a commercial computer based design/cutting program, using a hacked (dongle busted) Signlab v.4.95 software package.

Title: Self Portrait in Red

The image above is a proposal for a painting whose width is 20 meters and is derived from the source material below. Costs to produce approximately £10,000 to £12,500.

The billboards around Cuba proclaim Revolution; the heroic gestures of Cuban heroes symbolize the power of Revolution. Cuba is still in a politicized state of revolution, a religion of the state.

Dr. Kwho I met whilst riding with vaqueros in Cuba took the photograph above. The text on the proposed painting has been written by her and scanned into my system. She is the creator of the image and her handwriting will sign it. My role is to program it into the system and to make the final formal choices.

The red background will be painted in red paint (see materials above) with techniques that are employed in traditional signwriting. (This is knowledge I gained from working for a signwriter in Exeter)

Prediction: the text will be difficult to read, through the system distorting the handwritten quote.
Prediction: the iconic image will be difficult understand, through the system distorting the small graphic.
Prediction: the finished image will not function as a billboard.

Original idea and background

Notes: The image of the native American is infact a metaphor; the finished image should be viewed as a self-portrait. This head is a design I adapted from a 1950s Boys Own annual, where all the Natives were evil and the settlers were righteous. The use of handwriting is not a new idea for me; during the 1970’s I was fascinated by shorthand and the power secretaries had…understanding a simplified language. During the 1980’s I won a design award (The Crown Memorial Design Award) for the most original memorial design. The design was a simple block of black granite with the signature of the deceased on it.

This text is subject to prescriptive/predictive rules of a system aesthetic. This text has been written on four computers, two of which are on a network and two of which are stand-alone systems. Each computer is running a different version of a Windows operating systems, (Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows XP). The text is written in Microsoft Word, three are using version 2000 and one is version 97. Three versions are operating with an English dictionary and one (v.2000) is using an American/English dictionary. This text has been written in two locations, my homes in Bromsgrove and Woolacombe. This text has been subject to 100’s of system protocols, however the structure of the text is predictable; each computer has its own subtle nuances and offers syntax and grammatical recommendations. I am not completely responsible for this text, my systems are. My main contribution is editing and using the cut and paste facility. If I had attempted to write this in its finished running order, it would have taken me longer to write…my spelling is appalling and my grasp of grammar is minimal…the written word is not my preferred method of expression. This text would not exist without the existence of the system.

This page has been created in a non web-prescriptive manor. The use of Times New Roman font is a positive reaction to the webs political and aesthetic values. I do not wish to be cool and use prescriptive methods of page creation. I have written this in Word (one of the most frowned upon web-prescriptive creative tools) and not Dreamweaver or any other trendy formulaic program..I do not want to be a part of the webs system of aesthetics. (However if you look at the source the urge to fiddle with the code was irresistible. This was done in notepad and in Star Office (Linux) . I have made this page unstable.)

I do not encourage the use of pirated or hacked software.