Visual
Identity
Graphic
Design II
"To design is to communicate clearly
by whatever means
you
can control
or master."
~Milton Glaser,
Graphic Designer
ABOUT
the beginning
Exploration is the consistent drive for my creative work and the purpose of my work in Fine Art. Communication is the purpose for my work in Graphic Design. Discovering typography, I manually set type in the basement of a university print shop, the semester before I graduated with a BFA in Painting from the University of Connecticut Fine Arts Department.
Living in Iran for
two and a half years after graduating, I taught
Art at Rustam Abadian International British school in Tehran. The second
year I lived on a mountain top in Sar Cheshmeh, Iran and taught art for
a copper mining community there. Traveling was an opportunity to explore
first hand, historic art sites of the ancient world, particularly in the
Middle East.
Driving over land and camping out of a British army Land Rover, I followed Alexander the Greats route to India. In two and a half years I managed to see Persepolis, Knossos, Delphi, Parthenon, Taj Mahal, giant Buddhist statues carved into the Hindu Kush, the Golden Palace of Bangkok, and Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka.
Back in the US, I continued to teach Art and pursued a Masters of Science in Art Education. The thesis topic for this degree was "Humanism in Art". At this time, I discovered Wassily Kandinsky and his writing, Concerning the Spiritual in Art.
Studying Kandinsky, inspired me to continue to explore visual imagery through color while breaking down form. I was attracted to his search for visual language through painting and symbols, as I had noticed in my travels common visual symbols in tribal art. This in part, led me to graphic design.
When I create fine art, I prefer to work in a non-objective or abstract style. Expressive color and the break down of form, is often my main focus. But I am a generalist, my exploration leads me to realism, impressionism and illustrative techniques. The media I choose is critical to the end product. I consider all media fair game, and frequently mix media. I bring this type of exploration to my design and mix traditional media with electronic.
For many years I've held a Professional Connecticut Art Educators Certification pre Kø12th grade. Using my creativity as an artist in the classroom, I have been recognized in the teaching field, with awards for innovation and excellence. I continue to teach at the college level where I emphasize typography over image.
Graphic design education began informally for me, by cutting out letters for bulletin boards in public schools. As an art teacher, I designed large flat or relief surfaces (bulletin boards) with words and children's art. As deemed by the principal, bulletin boards had to be educational, generic and seasonal. Amid dwindling education budgets, I created slide presentations of children's art, for Board of Education presentations and parent curriculum nights. I found myself defending the value of the creative process for developing critical thinking skills and self-expression.
Buying my first computer, I saw it as an art tool and being a painter; particularly a big brush. Gradually, my focus began to shift from painting to design as the commercial art industry gave way to desk top publishing.
Exhibiting fine art regularly while teaching, I have sold at least one art piece, each year since graduating and have had a half dozen small shows, leaving me feeling isolated and dissatisfied.
My goals for creating art have changed. Instead of exploring aesthetics, principles of design and the formal elements, I want art work I create, to be of service and to have a purpose. I strive to illuminate perception, provoke emotion and/or uplift. It feels indulgent and wasteful to create art without service, relevance or beauty.
With special permission from the University of Connecticut Fine Art department and course work at Rhode Island School of Design, I pursued an undergraduate minor in graphic design. Disillusioned with "art that is as useful as an old shoe", I canceled my subscription to Art in America and signed up for Print magazine.
The shift from Painting to Graphic Design comes from life experiences. A maturing or change in perception, values and increased social awareness. To integrate image and type to heighten meaning and maybe change consciousness, is a worthy challenge. So what, if it does not hang on a wall or it is printed in a magazine, or it is down loaded from the web. I will move, touch and inspire the viewer with integrity, blending Fine Art and Graphic Design.
I am pursuing the integration of traditional art media with electronic media and as such Web Design and Motion graphics are areas I have been exploring.
I love small groups and teams, where true collaboration can flourish. As a life long learner and teacher, I have committed myself to excellence, exploration and the communicative art forms. I invite others of like mind to contact me for collaborative projects and freelance work.
I wish to thank a few designers who have influenced and guided me, in particular: Frank Armstrong and Dimitry Chamy. Jeff Bellantoni, Thank you for introducing me to Motion Graphics, and Ben Day to Architectonics. Thank you to Illustrator, Cora Lynn Deibler for empowering me and Joe Baz for teaching me some serious HTML. I am grateful.
For freelance projects, employment opportunities and consulting having to do with Graphic Design, Illustration, Web Design, Motion Graphics, Teaching, questions and or comments e-mail me at
Rebecca Moran
P.O. Box 354
Mansfield, CT
06250
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