The task for the third week was to develop 10-100 (or more) iterative experiments that challenge the chosen medium (Risograph) to do something that it is not meant to do. To achieve that we were challenged to think about the answers for following questions -> what it does, how it does it, or what it does it for.
Week 1 of the “Unit 1: Methods of Iterating” brief started with identifying a tool or medium that interests me but that I am not experienced with. Coming from my previous experience as a (digital) graphic and brand designer, I decided to work with Risograph. I have always admired the vivid colours and grainy touch of the machine, but never had an opportunity to explore it more. I took this brief as an opportunity to learn a new medium, lean toward my goal of bringing my digital work into physical form and challenge my skills.
The second task for the first week was to find an artist, that effectively uses the medium, and choose one of his works to replicate as accurately as possible for week 2. In my research, I was looking for work that already challenges Riso printing as a medium and will allow me to explore my own ideas.
After researching a number of artists, I found a Dutch graphic and textile designer Michiel Schuurman. His work specialises in typography and poster design, featuring a bold and fearless approach. He bases his projects on certain logic, algorithms or some historical or natural knowledge that he critically examines and challenges, which I identify close to my own practice. I got interested in a few of his print pieces from his 2018 book. Through his work, he pushes Risograph to its best, exploring ways to achieve 3-dimensional effects. His work already raised a few questions for me to begin with, mainly about movement, dynamics and depth achieved through the typical characteristics of Risograph.
Some of Michiel Schuurman’s works from his 2018 Risograph book:
After the first week’s class I started the process. To get to know the Risograph machine, I identified one of Michiel’s works that I aimed to iterate and I started in Illustrator to replicate the piece. That bit took me longer than expected, as the creation of the pattern was a challenge on it’s own. I have tried numerous tools and ways before I got the right outcome. The shadow was eventually created on iPad in Pro Create.
The piece I’ve chosen to iterate/ replicate (left) + my outcome in the digital ready-to-print version (Right)
Another step was preparing the files for print, exporting each colour layer separately in black and white and finally printing the work out. Through printing, I noted a few technical pointers down about working with the machine:
Written response (DRAFT 1):
The results that the Risograph produces reveal flaws in the print or texture, that are sometimes inconsistent or uneven. The graininess adds a handcrafted feel. And the bold and vibrant colours give the outcome an almost limited edition, one-of-a-kind feeling with a soul and character of its own. Yet the Idea of Risograph was to bring a way to mass production that is cheap, simple and effective. That raises a question of authenticity and almost fake realness in this tool that was meant for effective and low-cost reproduction.
The ability to layer and overlap objects bring a way to achieve new colours add depth, a sense of movement, dimension and a fantasy-like feeling of blurred motion and more things happening at one moment.
Working with Risograph as a medium raises questions of minimalism, and complexity hidden behind simplicity. How far can we take minimalism? How can we achieve complexity that benefits from simplicity? How far can we take expressiveness and emotion through Riso as a medium that is flat and has limitations? How to push the medium to achieve a sense of motion?