In the world to day there are literally endless possibilities of different platforms and mediums for artists to work in and with. Gone are the days where an illustration would only be seen on paper in a book or a gallery. Everything from the side of a wall to a leaflet through your door could be the platform for an artist displaying their work to the world. Editorial platforms such as magazines and newspapers and publishing platforms as well as advertising and branding are a common place to find commissioned work by artists. More contemporary platforms are that of the online world, bogs and films are used to reach a wider audience. But anything can be used, and the more experimental of artists find yet more creative platforms for their work. Street art is one of my favorite platforms for an illustrator is street art, the fact that it is free and accessible to anyone and everyone is something I really admire. It is also a very pure form of illustrating as there are no publishers or clients to answer to affecting the message or out come of their work. An artist I found that uses this theme is the American political cartoonist Mike Flugennock. Whilst he publishes work newspapers, has it posted online he is also a pastes prints of his work across the world. Furthermore he now has a loyal following of fans that also ‘fly post’ his work. This form of displaying his work is a brilliant way of insuring his work can be seen all over the world and by anyone who passes it. More over, people who follow his work can be involved in the process too.
When looking at the way artists present an idea or message it is clear, by looking at different interpretations of the same subject matter, that the historical context of the different versions plays an important influence into the outcome of the piece. Many things will affect an artist and their work, where they are from the time they live in and the way of life they live. To explore this idea further I have looked at the different representations of the C.S. Lewis book The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. First published in 1950, the artist chosen to illustrate the book was Pauline Baynes. The image bellow is one illustration taken from a scene in the book and is very typical of its time. In post war Britain there was still a very strong sense of hard ship, people still had very little and there was very little extravagance. This reflected in Baynes work, dull limited colors are used which was typical of the time, and the illustrations are simple rather then unnecessarily lavishly detailed, reflecting the times.
Bellow is a later edition of the book published in 1970 and is a perfect example of how the zeitgeist affects the image produced. This version is heavily stylized to reflect the artistic styles of the time. The image is very symmetrical, and has been heavily designed. There are more colors used, bright pink for the title not being a colour we would necessarily associate with World War 2 Britain (where the story is set).
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