SEEN AND NOT SEEN • A GRAPHIC DESIGN & PHOTOGRAPHY ANNUAL NO.2
SEEN AND NOT SEEN A GRAPHIC DESIGN & PHOTOGRAPHY ANNUAL No. 2 Coming back from the world of online classes, it is a pleasure to see all of the student work in print as we put out issue number 2 after a two-year gap. What is design? How can graphic design and photography bring people together? These are two of the questions we were asking ourselves as we put together this new issue of Seen and Not Seen. See what we came up with within our feature Coming Together: Images of Unity. In addition, there is also more outstanding student work from this year, along with an article on Gilbert Baker, creator of the rainbow flag. Take in the view and enjoy! – Moa Cronheden, Art Director and Editor
Created by the students of the Graphic Design and Photography programs at Santa Barbara City College. Art Director and Editor: Moa Cronheden Publication Design: Sophie Ashton, Moa Cronheden, Camila Uriegas, Samuel Giszpenc, Katherine Ottrando Faculty Advisors: Seantel Sanders, Co-Chair Graphic Design & Photography, James Van Arsdale, Co-Chair Graphic Design & Photography Graphic Design Faculty: Madeleine Ignon, Irene Ramirez, Mandy Schuldt, Ann Schoenfeld Photography Faculty: Bruce Burkhardt, Linda Lowell, Chuck Place, Say Dempsay Skiles Thanks to: Michael Medel, Alan Price, Kimberly Hahn, Scott Gordon Front and back cover: Background graphics by Camila Uriegas, “Famn” typeface by Sufi Genosar, layout by Moa Cronheden Printed by: Typecraft, Pasadena, CA Typeset in Gibson and Avenir
CAMILA URIEGAS
Funded by Perkins 21-C01-650 All content ©2021-22
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Joy, Beauty, and Power: Gilbert Baker and the Creation of the Rainbow Flag James Van Arsdale
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Coming Together: Images of Unity
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Photography Student Work
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Graphic Design Student Work
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CHRISTY KNUDSON
Program Information
Joy, Beauty, and
Gilbert Baker, Eight-Color Rainbow Flag, hand-dyed natural cotton, 22”x 15”, edition of 35, 2013. Before his death, Baker advocated for restoring the flag to its original eight colors. Top: A font inspired by Gilbert Baker called “Gilbert” Designed by Hayato Yamasaki, Kazunori Shiina, and Robyn Makinson. From Fontself.
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Power
Gilbert Baker and the Creation of the Rainbow Flag It has flown in parades and marches, at homes and businesses. It has flown over the Houses of Parliament in London and by US embassies around the world. Gilbert Baker was in his mid-twenties when he began conceptualizing a design to symbolize unity for the gay and lesbian community (later referred to as LGBTQ). He was inspired by glam clothing and the Pop Art flag imagery of Jasper Johns and Andy Warhol. He adored the pageantry of the National Democratic Conventions and learned to sew to create his own outfits that he would wear to dance at Bill Graham’s Winterland Ballroom to the music of The Grateful Dead or The Rolling Stones. The country had just celebrated the American Bicentennial the previous year, and the red, white, and blue flag imagery was everywhere. He was driven to activism, spending a large amount of his time at the Gay Community Center located near City Hall. There, on the Graphics Committee, he and others created effective and sometimes shocking visuals for parades, marches, and printed pieces that promoted liberation and freedom. Prompted by his peers, he made the decision to embark on a new symbol for his community and, while strolling the Civic Center one evening, inspiration struck to create a flag as a way to represent identity and independence.
“Flags are about proclaiming power” – Gilbert Baker
It happened at the aforementioned Winterland in 1978—its final year before closing. The music could’ve been Styx, Patti Smith, The Jam, or perhaps even Ritchie Blackmore’s post-Deep Purple group Rainbow, who all played gigs in the former ice-skating palace that Spring. Baker found himself dancing, moving and floating amid the psychedelic experience in colors of light and bodies, and inspiration struck that his new flag would use all these colors—it would be a rainbow—to represent the diversity and vibrancy within his community. Baker created the original Rainbow Flag with friends and collaborators Lynn Segerblom and James McNamara. It featured eight stripes of handdyed fabric. Each color held a special meaning; hot pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for magic, indigo for serenity, and purple for spirit. Colors are rich with meaning and message, and not only did this flag use colors to symbolize these aspects of life, but it was the combined colors that gave the flag meaning. The combination is natural—as seen when light in the visible spectrum is divided by wavelength— just as the love it represents is natural as well.
That June, as they finished the flags at an immense scale of 30 x 60 feet each, they knew they had realized a vision of liberation. “It declared that sexuality is a beautiful expression of nature, a human right,” said Baker. They celebrated giving birth to what would become a new international identity for all LGBTQ people at San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza as the two giant flags were raised upon poles eight stories high and were allowed to dance in the currents of wind for all to see for the very first time. The rainbow color motif had been seen in history before in several contexts—biblical, Masonic, Indigenous American, and Asian mythologies, international peace movements. It existed far back in recorded history as a symbol of hope and purity. It also could be spotted in pop culture and counterculture at that time—Glam Rock, tie-dye clothing, The Rainbow Family, and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. In Baker’s vision, the rainbow was a perfect symbol of togetherness: all the colors laid next to each other, existing as one. The two flags raised that day in June of 1978 were hung in two different ways—one with the hot pink stripe at the top and one with the purple stripe at the top. The original flag couldn’t be hung upside down: there was no designated top or bottom. There was no hierarchy, no inverse, no opposite. (An aspect that unfortunately has been lost in the modern six-color version.) The design of the flag uses an arrangement of evenly measured horizontal stripes. It’s a strong and stable design, giving it a solid foundation. The colors provide the vibrancy and activity that imbue it with life and connect it to the diversity and love inherent in the community it represents. One of the initial 1978 flags had a field of blue tie-dyed stars created by Segerblom, which was dropped the next year for the more minimalistic and visually stronger design with the uninterrupted stripes. It is both a classic flag design with a connection to the red and white stripes of the U.S. flag and a unique, instantly-recognizable design that defied any of the standard color conventions of flags of the world at the time. It shares some common ground, visually and socially, with French artist Daniel Buren’s striped works from the late 60s and early 70s, Affichages Sauvages, that were installed guerilla-style in Paris, Tokyo, New York, and Los Angeles. His works were an act of political activism, pasted over billboards and ads, and hung flag-style in ways that made a statement by their placement in a particular setting.
Above: Baker raising the original eight-color Rainbow Flag in San Francisco in 1978. Photo by James McNamara. The lone remaining segment from this flag was donated to the GLBT Historical Society in April 2021. Left: Gilbert Baker, Gay Freedom Celebration 1978 poster, screenprint on paper, 30x22 inches
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“The reason the Rainbow Flag endures is because people own it. It means something to them.” – Gilbert Baker Above: Gilbert Baker, late-1970s, photo by Mark Rennie. All images courtesy The Gilbert Baker Foundation.
This new symbol of freedom and power was also very much the product of the efforts of San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in the state. He arranged for the first time ever to supply city funds to support the annual Gay Freedom Day Parade. With his flag idea in mind, Baker now had the opportunity to make it a reality. He petitioned to use $1,000 of these new funds to buy a thousand yards of muslin, ten pounds of dye, and one hundred pounds of salt and ash. He and dozens of helpers began working in the top floor art gallery at the Center. Giant barrels were filled with organic dye baths. Hundreds of pounds of wet cloth were somehow carried by hand to an area launderette for drying and then were painstakingly hand-ironed—all one thousand yards—before sewing began. The pink triangle was the primary symbol of the gay community at the time but had a tragic origin: initiated as a means of oppression in Europe by the Nazis during World War II. In Baker’s mind, his creation would put forth a new positive symbol of pride and togetherness, which was needed as thousands upon thousands of people were coming out and speaking out for equal rights, fair treatment and the protection of their civil rights liberties. The timing was important. On the election ballot that November was State Legislator John Briggs’ Proposition 6, which would mandate that California public schools must fire employees and teachers for being Gay
or Lesbian or even for supporting gay rights. It was luckily defeated, but the joy of the election win was short-lived. Only five months after Gay Liberation Day in June—the day the Rainbow Flag was first flown—Harvey Milk was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone. Many tens of thousands mourned in front of City Hall. The killer, an ex-police officer, and city supervisor received what amounted to a slap on the wrist. In response, the White Night Riots erupted, and police violence ensued. New Mayor Dianne Feinstein was elected and reigned over an administration that was often at odds with the LGBTQ community in the years to come. The community split into factions, and Baker was convinced that his flag had failed to unite. It may seem hard to believe for many—given its universal use now—but for years, some members of the gay community debated the use of the flag. However, as time went on, Baker was surprised to see that people were buying thousands of flags. Then thousands more. It connected with people everywhere and gave them the support to be themselves. It saved lives. When the flags were installed along Market Street in San Francisco for the 1979 Gay Liberation Day, the use necessitated a change in design. Four hundred flags were to be produced, and the mass production process used stock color fabrics rather than hand-dyed like the originals. The difficulty in procuring the hot pink color fabric necessitated that the design be reduced to seven colors. To stay on budget the turquoise color was also eliminated. This resulted in the more familiar simplified six-color variant that is known worldwide today.
Baker decided he would not trademark the design as it was a symbol for all—not to be owned. The popularity of the Rainbow Flag increased greatly over time, and its power as a symbol for the worldwide community strengthened as well. A key moment occurred in 1994 on the 25th anniversary of the historic Stonewall Uprising in New York City. Baker was commissioned to create a mile-long Rainbow Flag to be paraded through the city by thousands of volunteers and marchers down 1st Avenue. It would be the largest flag in the world. Along with James McNamara and Richard Ferrara, he sewed an astounding 150,000 plus square feet of fabric stripes in a Chelsea studio on his industrial Union Special sewing machine. As it approached its final destination for the march, Baker and volunteers cut large sections from the flag. They took these and jumped into taxi cabs to join the renegade protest march on 5th Avenue and fly the
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enormous flag section in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the home of the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal John O’Connor, who was an outspoken opponent of gay rights. The mile-long flag march and the 5th Avenue protest made national and international headlines, establishing the Rainbow Flag in the global consciousness. Baker decided he would not trademark the design as it was a symbol for all—not to be owned. In his later years, he advocated for a return to the eight-color flag variant rather than the six-color version. His final handmade flags featured nine stripes, with lavender representing diversity. Before his death in 2017 at age 65, Baker continued his performance art, activist endeavors, and projects. He presented a hand-dyed, eight-color flag to President Barack Obama at the White House in 2013 and produced a recreation of the World War II “Pink Triangle” concentration camp uniform in response to the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. The flag continues to inspire. In 2015, it was entered into the Museum of Modern Art New York’s design collection, and the White House was illuminated in the flag’s colors to celebrate the legalization of same-sex marriage. It’s been seen in films and television all around the world. The recent Thai television drama Not Me investigates activism and justice within the context of LGBTQ youth and prominently features a large Rainbow Flag as the centerpiece of a protest scene (see episode 7). Flown during celebrations, marches, and tragedies, with it, we witness the power inherent in design: the power to liberate, protest, bring together, and heal. It has succeeded in giving strength and support to countless people worldwide. Baker reflected on the legacy of the design, stating, “The reason the Rainbow Flag endures is because people own it. It means something to them.”
James Van Arsdale
Gilbert Baker’s book Rainbow Warrior: My Life In Color was published by Chicago Review Press in 2019. The exhibition Performance, Protest, and Politics: The Art of Gilbert Baker is currently on view at the GLBT Historical Society Museum & Archives in San Francisco.
Left: Gilbert Baker, Mile-long Rainbow Flag, 1994, New York City. 5,280 ft long x 30 ft wide, nylon. Created to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. The 5th Ave. protest flag cut from it is seen at the bottom of the photo.
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Images of Unity
LEFT: MADISYN GRAHAM ABOVE: LOGAN KAUFMANN, AMY PRADO AGUILERA, MATT CAPLES, JUAN VEGA
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“Design is collective rather than individual.”
– Camila Uriegas
LEFT: AMY PRADO AGUILERA RIGHT: LOGAN KAUFMANN (PHOTO: UNSPLASH/EHIMETALOR)
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LEFT: ERIKA TAI JAMES ABOVE: CAMILA URIEGAS
ABOVE TOP: MATT CAPLES ABOVE BOTTOM: MONIQUE BLAIS RIGHT: MEGHAN ROBLES
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“Design is not a confined discipline that operates within definitive boundaries, rather, it is an approach to construction that can help humans to flourish in their unique experiences and day-to-day lives.” - Eileen Bettinger
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ABOVE: ELIZABETH HANSEN LEFT: EILEEN BETTINGER
PHOTOGRAPHY STUDENT WORK
RIGHT: LAURA PENNER
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ABOVE AND RIGHT: LAUREN MAEVE MCINTIRE #LAURENMAEVEPHOTOGRAPHY WWW.LAURENMAEVEPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
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ABOVE: ADAM VERHASSELT RIGHT: ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ
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ABOVE TOP: MEGAN HAMRICK ABOVE BOTTOM: CHRISTOFFER LINDBLOM RIGHT: LAUREN MAEVE MCINTIRE
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ABOVE: JOAN RADDITZ RIGHT: ALEXANDER LIZALDE
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ABOVE: AUGUST VANRYNSOEVER BACKGROUND: ANNA VOROBYEVA
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ABOVE: JASON BECKER RIGHT, TOP: JORDAN BANCROFT, MIDDLE: JULIA BLACK, BOTTOM: KARI OSLIE
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RIGHT: IVAN SERRATOS ABOVE: GERARDO ZAVALA
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ABOVE: JOSEPH BISQUERA LEFT: MINH TRAN
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TOP ABOVE: ELODIE BOUVIER ABOVE BOTTOM: DELANEY DAUCHY, HAYDEN PARK LEFT: MONIQUE BLAIS
GRAPHIC DESIGN STUDENT WORK
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ABOVE: EMILY KOMESSAR LEFT: WILL YOUNG
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LEFT: CAMILA URIEGAS ABOVE: ANIKKA GEDNEY
“Design is a language.”
– Camila Uriegas
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LEFT: MOA CRONHEDEN ABOVE: ELIN NYBERG
“I think it’s vital that designers, instead of accepting what society tells us graphic design is, need to work together to make it what we want it to be.” – Moa Cronheden
this is your mind on plants
The great gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
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F. Scott Fitzgerald
THE GREAT
Michael Pollan
INFERNO
INFERNO 46
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ABOVE: RILEY SIKORA, JACK CAMPBELL LEFT: FRANCESCA TODARELLO, GENEVIEVE YORE, MILLY CAREY
TOP LEFT: FRANCESCA TODARELLO LEFT: JOLINA MUELLER, ABOVE: MASY SKIVER RIGHT: DAWER PEREZ CANETE (PHOTO: UNSPLASH)
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“Design is human.”
– Camila Uriegas
“Design is fun.”
– Camila Uriegas
LEFT: MOA CRONHEDEN RIGHT: EILEEN BETTINGER BACKGROUND IMAGES: UNSPLASH
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“Carpinteria’s vintage flyers advocate the beauty and safety of its beaches. Now a campground and park for families to enjoy the oceanside, Carpinteria has become a travel destination and small getaway location for locals. However, with its history as an asphalt mine, due to its rich underground oil resources, there are continuous environmental concerns surrounding the area, which has been left unattended as a tourist attraction. I developed a local environmental project to raise awareness about the leaking oil wells, and imagined it as a sponsored campaign by Clean California, from CA.org.”
– Jinhee Hwang
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ABOVE AND LEFT: JINHEE HWANG
ABOVE: KATHERINE OTTRANDO RIGHT: VALERIE GONZALES
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ASSOCIATE OF ARTS IN PHOTOGRAPHY OR PHOTOGRAPHY CERTIFICATE Department Requirements: Introduction to Photography Digital Darkroom Photojournalism Intermediate Photography and Lighting Fine Art Photography Portfolio Advanced Photography and Lighting Strategies Color Management
PHOT 109 PHOT 180 PHOT 190 PHOT 209 PHOT 250 PHOT 260 PHOT 280 PHOT 285
And select 6 units from the following: Digital Assets Management PHOT 130 Travel and Street Photography PHOT 140 Sports Photography PHOT 147 Stock Photography PHOT 150 Advertising Illustration PHOT 214 Digital Darkroom II PHOT 281
SAMPLE COURSE SCHEDULE FOR 2-YR PROGRAM Fall Semester, Year 1: PHOT 109 Introduction to Photography PHOT 180 Digital Darkroom Elective Course Spring Semester, Year 1: PHOT 190 Photojournalism PHOT 209 Intermediate Photography and Lighting Fall Semester, Year 2: PHOT 250 Fine Art Photography PHOT 285 Color Management Elective Course Spring Semester, Year 2: PHOT 260 Portfolio PHOT 280 Advanced Photography and Lighting Strategies sbccphotography.com Contact: Department Chair, Seantel Sanders: sdsanders@pipeline.sbcc.edu
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ASSOCIATE OF ARTS IN GRAPHIC DESIGN OR GRAPHIC DESIGN CERTIFICATE Department Requirements: GDP 110 Media Design GDP 111 Introduction to Graphic Design GDP 113 Typography GDP 114 Intermediate Graphic Design GDP 116 History of Graphic Design GDP 118 Creative Thinking GDP 212 Graphic Design II GDP 215 Publication Design GDP 230 Portfolio And select one course from the following: PHOT 109 Introduction to Photography ART 193 Beginning Printmaking: Silkscreen MAT 153 Web Design I
SAMPLE COURSE SCHEDULE FOR 2-YR PROGRAM Fall Semester, Year 1: GDP 110 Media Design GDP 111 Introduction to Graphic Design GDP 116 History of Graphic Design Spring Semester, Year 1: GDP 113 Typography GDP 114 Intermediate Graphic Design Fall Semester, Year 2: GDP 118 Creative Thinking GDP 212 Graphic Design II Elective course Spring Semester, Year 2: GDP 215 Publication Design GDP 230 Portfolio
www.sbcc.edu/graphicdesign INSTAGRAM: sbccgraphicdesign
BACKGROUND LEFT: ELODIE BOUVIER BACKGROUND RIGHT: MOA CRONHEDEN
Contact: Department Chair, James Van Arsdale jwvanarsdale@pipeline.sbcc.edu
– MAYA ANGELOU