The Prompt: For our final project, we were tasked to create two book covers and two event flyers inspired by the style of Photomontage (a movement that started with the twentieth century) . The requirements were to use both photographic images and graphic elements in our designs as well as evident influence of the artist we chose.
For this project I decided to reconstruct the cover of the book Algorithms of Oppression by Dr. Safiya Noble. As a dual degree computer science major, I dubbed it important to incorporate the topics I’m passionate about in art, regarding the reinforcement of systemic racism in the tech industry. Dr.Noble argues that the presentation of results from search engines aren’t equal and data discrimination occurs. She focuses on the reinforcement of stereotyping and negative biases presented in search engines and ” private interests in promoting certain sites”.
Her writing inspired me to capture the ugliness of technology despite that it is usually presented as wonderful innovations. I wanted to convey the message that it is naive to believe that there isn’t reinforcement of systematic racism in something so “new”. I chose the artist Hannah Hoch because not only did I align with her ideals, I also really enjoyed her visuals. Her ability to make an image seem so cohesive even though it was a collage, created a grotesque effect. She sewed things together that conceptually would not agree.
Stylistically I tried to follow concepts I saw in her art. I gave digital photographs a grainy look, added a textured/hand-made background, and created a contrast within the photos and the colors.
