Visual Communication
Hello,
We don’t really know who you are reading this. We hope you are part of an interested public, because this is important. During a conversation in March, Dramaten’s director Mattias Andersson was asked what responsibility he had as an artist. His answer, “The same as I have as a person”. From this, one can conclude that being an artist is being a person.
During a Svenska Tecknare event, Sara Telaman was talking to Jöns Mellgren, lecturer in Graphic Design and Illustration in the Bachelor’s programme. She expressed concern for the future of the profession. Jöns’s answer, “Yes, well. As a professor, you don’t get to spend that much time with the students”. He himself did not worry at all. From this one can conclude that the kids are alright.
In the report, “Bildkunnighet och Beredskap”* that Bildkonst Sverige has conducted on behalf of Myndigheten för Psykologiskt Försvar, we can read that “visual literacy, that is, the ability to interpret, analyse and create visual material yourself, is a central competence for strengthening society’s resilience”. From this, we can conclude that what we do, both at bachelor’s and master’s level, is important for the preservation of democracy.
Visual communicators are needed, but we need to get better at explaining what our expertise actually consists of. Students are responding to current events; they are finding new paths – we know! We see it! Every year, both contemporary questions as well as the eternal one are raised by students in Graphic Design and Illustration and Visual Communication, as well as all over Konstfack. Our big messy house is, of course, also a kind of intentional algorithm. A ‘safe and brave space’ may be needed for someone to dare to get thoughts out of their head and give them form. Here, students can hone their craft, ask new questions, suggest new answers, name them, be named, without immediately disappearing down the feed.
Maybe that’s what’s important; not to be silenced
by the economy,
by ill-conceived AI slop,
by the platform you ‘have to’ be on,
by the temporary ‘vibe’.
But for this to be visible and also exist outside of our ‘physical algorithm’, the Konstfack building, the audience must also strive for something. They must work, be willing to get off the beaten track, search, find, and ultimately – love.
You can do it!
Thank you.
Sara Teleman
Professor in Illustration