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October 03, 2004
B is for Bitter Aloes
Following from the last 'A' I wanted to begin the next letterforms. I threw the dice again to get this entry, 'Bitter Aloes'. Conceptually this was quite a lucky roll . . . bitter aloes is basically the dried sap of an aloe plant and has been used for a long time as a drug to aid digestion. It is euphemistically described as a digestive stimulant, it is of course a 'purgative' ñ a potent laxative!
So this is about digestion. It fits well with things I've been thinking about in relation to appropriation and nostalgia, mainly the consumption and transformation of existing styles, images, and symbols. This is what Elvis did, and what he's doing here ñ cannibalising Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Hank Williams, and Bill Monroe.
I've approached this is the same way as the previous 'A', beginning with a hybrid letterform. The 'B' is a hybrid made from the Burger King logotype and a set of decorative capitals from the early 20th century with plant like forms intertwining through the letterforms.
I'm having real trouble with colour!? Maybe I'm just being indecisive? As I mentioned in the last post I was worried about these beginning to look too 'elegant' . . . and I had been looking for ugliness . . . or had I? Monsters? Anyhow I had thought I could try pushing colour around this problem a bit. I'm worried they could end up looking like a kiddie's introduction to the alphabet if they all follow this model though!? I guess that's a point though ñ the cushions don't all need to be a similar range of colours.
I'm going to try and get a couple of cushions made this week so I can get a better feel for what I'm dealing with, and also take them to Melbourne for the GRC next week . . . maybe the panel could fight each other with them . . .
Posted by Luke Wood at October 3, 2004 06:34 PM