Date of Award
Spring 5-1-2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Graphic Design
First Advisor
Lucinda Hitchcock
Second Advisor
Benjamin Shaykin
Third Advisor
Lisa Young
RISD Fleet Library Catalog Record
Abstract
Today, we are surrounded by multiple, simultaneous narratives with various coexisting perspectives. Within these myriad relational scenarios there is always an unfolding and reordering between inside and outside, center and margin. Margins are not minor. Yet for many reasons we deem them secondary. Activate the Margins redirects attention to these peripheral stories.
As designer, I develop ways to reimagine peripheral content, supporting different angles for understanding the complex relationships at play in contemporary culture. By retracing, reorganizing and reframing the margin, I activate a dynamic interplay between foreground and periphery to destabilize power dynamics. Paratext is the surrounding material alongside the main text which indicates subsidiary elements located in marginal areas. Paratextual elements refer to secondary, minor, and subordinate components. However, the graphic designer's role is that of a storyteller who shapes counter space for the contents. I argue that paratext is a legitimate subject matter to be studied in graphic design practice, both for its literal and metaphorical connotations. Through my works, I examine the condition of the term paratext as a narrative device to reimagine conventions of storytelling.
Margins act as a vital bridge between story and readers - a place where a connection is made between readers, and storytellers. One of the biggest characteristics of the marginal area is its position as a connection and transition, between background and foreground information. Within it, paratext, exists as a storytelling device for creating narrative. Ranging from the conventions of traditional book forms to non-framed areas such as the Korean demilitarized zones, my work explores how viewer's perceptions and experiences can be altered and guided in unexpected ways and how values previously unseen can be formed.
Recommended Citation
Jung, Hyein, "Activate the Margins: Framing in Multiple Perspectives; Exploring Marginalia; Intentional Moves and Unintentional Consequences" (2016). Masters Theses. 1509.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1509
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Comments
Additional Masters Examination Committee members / advisors: Juliette Cezzar and Bethany Johns