AVT 101 Midterm Paper

Genevieve Gauckler is a graphic designer. Her art has an abstract style. Almost all of her works have a simple design style with vibrant or brilliant colors. Her art is fun loving and creative. Being a graphic designer, she often incorporates text in her designs. The majority of her work consists of simple ‘cute’ monsters/ creatures. The creatures’ bright white eyes pop against the value-less flat shapes of their bodies. Many of her pieces contain elements of humor. An example is a design she has with a creature lacking of a face and a caption that reads, “How can you actually eat when you don’t have a mouth?” In the bottom right hand corner is a small casket and a caption that reads, “Unfortunately, there’s no way. You may die very soon.”

Genevieve also has done a few detailed designs that contain bits of photographs as well as computer design. When explaining a design that is essentially an enormous pile of food and a few other objects like human hands and legs, she reveals her interest in tourists and also mentions that the pictured dog is her pet dog. It is aspects like this that bring to our attention how things from artists and designers lives impact their artwork. Genevieve was born in France and has said she has always been interested in Asian culture and religion. In the picture at left you can see her design for a flyer advertising her show in Tokyo; based on this information it would be reasonable to conclude that France and Asia have both probably made significant impacts on her as a person and as an artist. This fact could have contributed to her style and design and helped shape her work to what it is today. In a video on YouTube she actually mentions Asia affecting her work as well as projects she has done in Asia. She specifically talks about how she did a wall painting in Japan and that inspired her to do one for the gallery she was presenting in. She painted on a wall large characters in bright orange and bright blue. The contrasting colors and simple designs make a bold image combined with a large pile of food packaging ‘trash’. Genevieve says she would have liked to make it larger. When art is made large scale it can really have a big impact on the viewer.

Genevieve likes characters, stories, and text among other design components. This all is apparent in her work and unique style. Genevieve has obviously made an impact in the design world. Otherwise, Coca-Cola would not have utilized her in an advertisement. Coca-Cola is a powerhouse company and has always stayed up to date and current with exciting and interesting advertisements. I have seen many very artistic Coca-Cola advertisements and commercials. This image at right is one Genevieve Gauckler designed for the company. 

This Image at left is my favorite I have seen of her work. The Bright colors of red and blue are split evenly down the middle. This divides the picture into two halves in a way. I also think the simplicity is what makes this piece such a strong image.  The fact that the eyes are looking left with only one right and not up and down gives the impression that the creatures are looking around almost cautiously or timidly. It gives me the impression they are in a strange habitat they have never seen and are exploring it with their eyes for the first time. The fact that the creatures do not have mouths also adds to the interesting ‘timid exploring’ look of their ‘faces’ in my opinion. I really like how the creatures are poking out of the black holes. It completes the look they have and makes a big impression on the viewer with the overall scene. I also like this picture even better because of its location and the environment it was created in. If I were walking by this image on the sidewalk, I would have to stop and take a picture.

Genevieve Gauckler has created a unique and bold style with her work. The simplicity of her design is the strength and consistent element that drew me to her work, that as well as the creative, unique, and seemingly fun loving characters. The final element that brings her work full circle is her color choices; they really set the mood for her work.