Original
Problem:
The Gallery of Design at ASU held an exhibition on type, featuring sculpture work from Visual Communication Design students.
In order to display my work, I had to address a brief that required me to think about the idea of “originality” and whether or not that concept exists in today’s world.
Solution:
I tackled the topic by conceptualizing, designing, and producing a larger-than-life sculpture that examined typography and its origins.
I played with material and form in order to make a statement regarding my belief (or lack thereof) in the concept of true originality.
Back to the Basics
I began with the word “Original” and searched for the right base to build it from. Lobster, a Google font released in 2010, was downloaded over 15 million times in the 5 year period following its release.
While my Swiss-type-trained-brain screamed at me, selecting this font felt like the proper level of irony. To take a highly popularized and mechanized version of a script font is to examine a modern day distillation of what would be the most original form of font: someone’s unique handwriting.
High school math really kicked in here during the planning process!
From Planning to Production
Armed with technical sketches, a lot of math, and even more planning, I dove into production. My base structure consisted of CNC cut plywood letters, supports, and 1” wooden dowels. These would be pieced together by hand to hold the over 150 rolls of toilet paper that would serve as the final medium for the sculpture.
Why Toilet Paper?
Although seemingly an even more in-depth critique in post “pandemic toilet paper shortage times,” it was a last ditch effort to politely say, I am sh***ing on the idea that “originality” is still possible to achieve nowadays.
For me, this is a neutral statement. Especially in this digitally connected age, all of our creative ideas naturally stem from something we have absorbed, whether consciously or not. It is a blessing to be surrounded by the endless inspiration that’s out there in this world! And it’s not to say that someone can’t produce something that feels completely new or revolutionary; many people would define this as original.
But if we define the word original as “not secondary, derivative, or imitative” I believe that in 2023, the idea of true, pure, originality, can be flushed right down the toilet.
Project Credits
Gabriela Della Corna: Creative Direction, Design, Fabrication, Photography