Grand Finale

I'm on a roll, so I'm gonna keep it going. Here are some images from this week:








WHAT NEXT

Work with text/image relationship

Differentiate between Motown star and Detroiter (style-wise)

Revisit the text in boxes (re-write, re-format)

GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO

Getting it Done

This week has been unbelievably busy and jam-packed with papers, exams and rehearsals for a concert tomorrow. I didn't have as much time to work on the posters as I would've liked, but from Tuesday to Thursday I laid out the title panel, Martha Reeves, and Otis Williams stories. After Friday, my schedule clears up considerably, so I can devote the time I need to the posters.

I've decided to have 6 posters, sized 24x40. The posters are as follows:

Stevie Wonder/Marsha Cusic
Smokey Robinson
Martha Reeves
Otis Williams
John Joseph
Elizabeth James
and Title poster - Intro, project statement - 11x17

I will have all of these completed for Tuesday, so that the coming weeks I'm just going to chug along and edit.

Here are some images from this week:





WHAT NEXT

I definitely need more white space for the stories to breathe, so I'm going to work on that as well.

I'm also going to explore using images that would enhance the story itself.

Work, work, work.

E-mail Stephan about displaying in Work:Detroit

Formatting and Editing

I spoke to various printing businesses (Kinkos, Kolossos, Dollar Bill) this week, and they charge an upwards of $800 to print the way I initially wanted to, which was 3 40x70 panels mounted on foam core. This is obviously not feasible what-so-ever, so I've decided that mounting them isn't totally necessary. I went to the Dude to see what Groundworks can do, and they can print 36x60 for $75, which is a bit more do-able. The only problem is that they only print on glossy, which doesn't lend itself well to solid color and text. I don't want to completely compromise my designs for printing, so I'm looking at more options. Cheaper options.

For the next week, I'm going to staple down exactly what images, stories, and number of panels I'm going to use. I hoping for Tuesday to have these all essentially layed out, so I can focus on the design and style.

Here is some of what I worked on this week:

I really like the element of the map, and I want to find a way to incorporate it more than just an image. Also, I'm thinking that the 'real' people stories could possibly work on their own panel.

WHAT NEXT:

Figuring out exactly what I'll have for the final product.

Continuing to design and incorporate the map.

Tellin' their Stories

So I've decided to focus on the anecdotal stories from Motown artists rather than just their bios. I always found these stories interesting, and for whatever reason didn't think of using them. I'm also going to use the stories of those I interviewed to work in conjunction with the Motown stories, for example, Stevie Wonder's story, and Marsha Cusic's story about her 'meeting' with Stevie

Here are those stories, first Stevie's, then Marsha's:

"Stevie got around better than I did.

I remember he came in my office one day,
where I had a jar of pennies. I would take all my pennies
and save them for my son.

Stevie came in, took my pennies and ran!

He ran out of the building, and was outside in the yard
before I could catch him.
And then when I took back the pennies, he said,

‘You gonna take a poor little blind boy’s pennies?’

So he was always full of the devil."


"My father’s record shop was just blocks from the Motown studios.

I always called him when I got home from school;
one day someone who was clearly not Daddy answered the phone.

“Joe’s Record Shop” said the strangely familiar voice.

“Who is this?”

“This is Steveland”.

“Stevie Wonder?!”

“Yeahhhh”.

To my astonishment, he said a few more cool-boy-in-high-school
kind of things in that Signed, Sealed, Delivered voice.

I dropped the phone in my excitement; it bobbed on its cord and I hung up, stunned!
I was shocked to be on the receiving end of this bona-fide heart-throb conversation."

I see these stories along with images in the gallery as an exhibit you would see in a museum.





WHAT NEXT

I'm going to focus on 3 artists/personal stories for Tuesday. Those include Stevie/Marsha, Smokey Robinson/Uncle John, and Jackson 5/Elizabeth James.

After compiling the stories, I'm going to edit down the text for readability.

Find good photos for each person, or an image I will use.

Down to the Wire

I decided not to ask for material from Elizabeth to create a book or other type of print object with the Motown Symposium artifacts. I thought about it it and talked it over with a couple of my classmates and decided to create a series of posters combining the information from my tour, and the research on each artist I was focusing on. I've always liked the style of the Motown posters:
I want to start with creating 5 24x32 posters, that will combine a place on the Detroit map, biographical information, and photos. I plan on having all 5 laid out with text and image by next Tuesday.

Breakthrough

Writing my thesis proved to be a very opening experience. I've been struggling the entire year with the reason behind why I am so attached to Motown. I wrote this in my thesis:

From kindergarten to eighth grade, I was usually the only white student in my class. The majority of my classmates were black, and coming of age in this environment was a very interesting experience. Motown was one way that I could relate to my classmates, because we all knew the music inside and out. For example, whenever it was someone’s birthday, instead of singing the old standard, we would sing Stevie Wonder’s version, which he wrote for Martin Luther King Jr. When I went to a different high school where I was no longer the minority, I lost that sense of culture and community. But listening to Motown reminded me where I came from.

I'm now a little unsure of where to go with my project. I'm speaking at the Symposium today, and plan on talking to people there (I'm bringing the recorder as well). I think the environment at the symposium will be perfect for talking to people about Motown in relation to my experience. After the symposium, I'm going to reassess and go from there.

WHAT NEXT

Conversations, conversations, conversations.

Quick Update

I interviewed Tyrone on Thursday, and received photos from Elizabeth. I'm now editing the audio for both, and integrating music. I'm also working on compiling the photos on an LP.

WHAT NEXT

Thesis!

Prepare for Motown Symposium on Thursday

Keep editing