Project R-1992

The context depicted. The visual context as a factor in generating meaningful narrative and figurative construction of a cartoon (Research)

In the current artistic climate, where a graphic novel succes in reaching the shortlist of the prestigious Libris Literature Prize in 2008, the cartoon is increasingly recognized as a fully fledged artistic medium. As with any autome medium, the cartoon needs a specific design theoretical framework. In the existing theoretical thesises the emphasis lies mainly on the tense relationship between text and image, a problem which was approached mainly from a theoretical perspective film . This research project starts with the assumption that the media cartoon has t much more unique potentially available. It does have the ambition to look for the distinctive feature of the genre, for what it fundamentally differs from other media such as film, and a completely unique design allows. Particularly an inventive use of the visual context is crucial. The functionality of the visual context will be examined to find the aesthetic value that it can offer. Special attention goes to the question how the visual context creates the signficance through encryption, allowing the sequences to operate as be semiotic analyzed code. This research aims to construct a semiotic analysis model through a dialectical process via literature research, that can then be used to inquisitive design, where the design results will be uses to refine and regenerate the semiotic analysis model. This will ultimately result in more profound design theory of the genre from a semiotic and narratological perspective, and the creation of a cartoon that explores the boundaries of the medium and horizons.

01 October 2008 - 30 September 2010