Context of Practice: How do we define illustration?

For the following discussion I shall make reference to the following articles by Lawrence Zeegen:
Where is the content? Where is the comment?
Computer Arts (Issue 174) - The Illustration Revival

Tyler Stout - 'Total Recall' poster commissioned by the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

I define good illustration as a communicative visual device which conveys a concept or meaning to specific recipients. Tyler Stouts illustrations for the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema are intensely well crafted posters promote film events, despite Zeegens allusions that "it's all quantity over quality" it is clear that despite the large catalogue of Stouts posters the intensive quality is not subservient. I would also suggest that these posters evidently "transcend the discipline of graphic art and explore the potential for working with a wider audience." The imagery was initially intended for the advertisement of limited film showings at a cinema chain, they have since become well sought after prints. They have transcended the limited circuit of influence and have become piece of design which manage to compress the narrative information of hours of screen time into a relatively small two dimensional image.

Illustration is primarily used to support or refer to an external medium (such as text) Successful illustration can cause the viewer to experience an emotion, to be informed or provoked. The application of the manipulative illustration will depend on the ethical awareness of an illustrator, this impacts how the piece is valued by peers and recipients, for example a stunning piece of propaganda may have visual merit but simultaneously demonise a class of race. Stout's Total Recall poster includes explicit reference to scenes which occur within the film, in this holistic explosion of narrative it can both intrigue those unfamiliar and inspire nostalgia in existing fans. Zeegen quotes Alex Spiro of Nobrow, "we always try to achieve finished products that are not only filled with great work, but are also art objects, to be coveted, collected and cherished." I would suggest that Stouts work certainly applies to Spiros' criteria, despite being initial reactive and commercial illustration for a specific purpose the works have become commodities which are sought after well beyond their intentional context. This is not a negative thing. Despite Zeegers vague assertions that an illustration such as Stouts might be nothing "much more than contemporary eye candy," I would argue illustration does not have to be weighted with social commentary in order to avoid "the nothingness." Stouts illustrations are not the consummation of the experience, they are connotative reference without being exclusive, an unfamiliar viewer can grasp the general themes an intricacies of the film and may be convinced to go watch it, in which case the poster has succeeded.

A critic might argue that Stouts' posters are simply regurgitating existing information, and lack in personality. I would refute this assertion, Stout has invested a great deal of skill and effort into producing the imagery and despite Zegeers decision that the "allure of the digital" has ceased; Stouts work merges the still evolving digital with screen printing which would  class a part of the "analogue-world." I would like to mention that the analogue world is generally the point of interaction with the majority of illustration, though the time people spend in front of screens is hideously large it is the analogue world that we routinely traipse through .

Context of Practice: Semiotic Analysis

Ralph Mcquarrie - [Untitled] Cantina Showdown

Despite the fantastical imagery within this piece of concept art, the presence of relatable cultural codes create a grounding in reality. A large proportion of a western audience will recognise the postures associated with a wild-west showdown. The figure facing us appears slow to reach for his holster and has a relatable human face, this contrasts with the monstrous gangly creature which is showing us it's back and has already whipped out it's blaster. These visual codes relate to the most basic stock characters, a protagonist to which the audience associates and rallies for and an antagonist destined to be thwarted by the virtuous monster slaying hero figure. Though the human hero is not a typically mythical in his stature (he lacks a herculean build) he is causation and wears an outfit reminiscent of a gunslinging cowboy from the old west, which conjures associations with the Hollywood or Spaghetti westerns.

Denotative features are apparent to those unfamiliar with the material. The numerous fantastical figures outnumber the recognisable human figure, we can infer that this is an alien and hostile environment. An armoured figure of authority stands passively as the commotion ensues, we can therefore presume that it is a lawless area and that violence is commonplace. It is connoted that the good characters are those highlighted in colour, and thus by the sunlight, while the villainous lie in a shady dwelling, this is a literal use of the light and dark to visually contrast the conflict between good and evil.
So, despite the initially unusual setting we find that the characters presented are mediated signifiers. The   gunslinging hero and the almost satan-like monster shrouded in darkness are both figures that can be traced back through popular culture.

A simple narrative is present in the image, a pair of characters are situated on the left, this insinuates that they have just arrived 'onstage', the human heroic figure has been surprised by the encounter with the trigger happy alien as his posture denotes, a tension is created by the perpetual showdown, the addressee is invited to imagine the next move. This procedural following of common text insinuates that good will indeed vanquish evil in this circumstance.

There are also numerous signs within the image which communicate characterises based on the addressee's cultural understanding. For example the villain of the piece has the iconicity of a medieval biblical monster, it has a pointed tail like a demon. The hero has a crown of golden hair (a staple of purity and heroic intention, which dates back to Roman association of blonde hair with heroics).

Meanwhile a viewer that is familiar with Star Wars will recognise the setting as the cantina in Mos Eisley Space Port, which is a hive of scum and villainy. The image appears to be early concept art of Han Solo and Greedo's showdown in which Han shoots first thus subverting the heroic nature of the character and creating an anti hero (this feature was later thwarted by digital edits). The indexicality reads thus: the hero Han enters a showdown with a bounty hunter which has been sent to settle various debts to his employer Jabba the Hutt. Though much of this information is inaccessible to an unfamiliar viewer, it is quite elementary even if the character design is not finalised.