Abstract

POST TRUTH POST HASTE: INVITED GUEST LECTURE AND MASTERCLASS
University of Wolverhampton
08/02/2017

ABSTRACT
Phil Eastwood was invited by Jeff Leak, senior lecturer in visual communications at the university of Wolverhampton, to present a guest lecture and experimental design masterclass. The event was held on Wednesday 8th March 2017 in the ‘iconic School of Art building on Molineux Street, Wolverhampton,’ (1) forming part of the 2017 Faculty of Arts invited guest lecture programme.

The guest lecture and masterclass was open to undergraduate and postgraduate design communication students. Approximately 50 students attended the guest lecture, while 20 students had signed up to participate in the masterclass. The work produced on 8th March 2017 formed the basis of a limited edition, handmade publication. This was a special edition of an experimental art and design magazine published by the Little Riot Press. The magazine is titled: POST MERZ POST HASTE. The theme of the Wolverhampton edition was POST TRUTH POST HASTE. (2)

Post-Truth has been designated the word of 2016 by The Oxford dictionary. Post-truth can be defined as: ‘Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.’ (3)

The current debate surrounding Post Truth stems from concerns that objective truth and objective facts are potentially being replaced by false news and fake news stories - circulated predominately via social media apps such as; FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and TWITTER. The rise of fake news, and the term post truth, first came to wider public attention as a consequence of the 2016 UK European referendum and US Presidential election campaigns. Research has subsequently revealed that personal data collected from social media accounts can be analysed to identify and influence swing voters, and therefore potentially to influence the outcome of elections.

Editions of POST MERZ POST HASTE usually focus on current affairs and single issues. Editions have been published in collaboration with events held at Anhalt University and the Dessau Bauhaus in Germany, The Peoples History Museum in Manchester, The University of Northampton, The University of Lincoln, and as part of the RADAR programme of event focusing on Art, Politics and the Pamphleteer organised by LU Arts in Loughborough.

The premise for the guest lecture and masterclass was to present and extend Eastwood’s research findings in the area of post haste design - and its relationship to an identifiable aesthetic of protest. Experiments with post haste design suggest that limiting the time spent considering a multiplicity of possible options and potential outcomes encourages designers and illustrators to make more immediate, direct responses. Post haste design methods stimulate intuitive, uninhibited, creative productivity. Design decisions are made more rapidly, which encourages creative spontaneity, risk-taking and increased productivity. Research findings suggest that visual solutions are often more dynamic, immediate and arresting than work produced using conventional design practices. Rapidity of production tends to encourage increased levels of productivity - particularly in the initial image generation stage. This in turn provides a greater volume of material from which to select final pieces. In most cases participants in post haste design experiments are surprised by the quality and volume of their output.

Post haste design could be defined as being design that is conceived and realised;
‘as quickly as possible, without delay, (very) quickly, speedily, swiftly, without further/more ado, with all speed, promptly, immediately, at once, straight away, right away, directly, forthwith, double quick, p.d.q. (pretty damn quick), pronto, straight off.’ (4)

Eastwood has been collaborating with fellow University of Lincoln senior lecturer Chris Dunne, on an ongoing, extended research project that explores the impact of post-haste design principals upon the visual communication process. Research is located within the area of experimental graphic design, typography and collage based political illustrations. (5) Research extends to encompass an analysis of the evolution and identification of a classifiable aesthetic of protest, with focus on the development of underground, counter-culture, punk and issue based zines, pamphlets, artists books and handmade books – many of which have been produced by inexperienced makers, at short notice, with limited resources, and/or little prior knowledge of professional design practices.

Analysis of historical and contemporary examples of underground, counter-culture, punk and issue based zines, pamphlets, etc, suggests that a lack of formal artistic experience, resources or production time, often results in the creation of highly original, unique and emotive visual communication of protest messages. Eastwood and Dunne’s research draws parallels between the development of a recognisable aesthetic of protest and its relationship to rapid production processes, i.e. post haste design.

NOTES
1. The iconic School of Art building on Molineux Street,
https://www.wlv.ac.uk/about-us/our-schools-and-institutes/faculty-of-arts/wolverhampton-school-of-art/about-us/
2. Leak, Jeff, visual communication blog,
http://visualcommunicationwolverhampton.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/little-riot-press-workshop-post-merz.html
3. Post haste, definition,
https://www.google.co.uk/searchq=posthaste&oq=posthaste+&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.2590j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
4. Post truth, definition,
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/word-of-the-year/word-of-the-year-2016
5. Experimental graphic design, typography and collage based illustration archive, http://performanceprintsituation.tumblr.com/performance%20print%20situation%2008