Rankin 'Destroy' Analysis

This piece was created by Example for Rankin’s ‘Destroy’ project.

The creators of this piece are Example and Rankin; the photo was ‘destroyed’ by Example inspired by his marketing department and Rankin’s collection. You can definitely get a sense of the person that is the artist; knowing his background and having read the accompanying quote allows new comprehension of the piece. The image is part of a collect but is unique to itself, as the ‘destroyer’ and piece has his own inspiration. The piece was produced in 2009 and without prior knowledge I would have guessed it was a creation of the 21^st century because of the subject and the theme in the print.

The image is a 20x24'' piece I don’t think this makes a difference in how it is perceived as that is in the ‘alterations’ made to the subject. The photographer shot the piece in black and white while the ‘destroyer’ made use of colour- red. This adds a huge contrast between the subject and what the artist has done to create the final piece. The exaggeration is obvious because of the bold choice in colour and how different it is from the grey scale subject.

The final product was created by capturing and developing a black and white photo; after a red felt pen was utilised to draw hair, beard and text onto the developed image. If alternative materials were used in the development of this image the effect would be different, the tip of the pen give the detail where paint and pastels would give less defined results drawing away the cartoon realistic hair. The pen also could further the impression of someone doodling aimlessly.

The piece reminds me of drawing moustaches, glasses and beards on faces in newspaper and magazines looking for a way to make the image more entertaining. The quote adds a personal opinion, and almost making fun of the unsuspecting victim of a child’s boredom. There are also images exhibited in the Tate Modern that have a very similar attribute with the text written on the photo.

I like this piece as it is simple yet evocative. When I first saw the photo is recognised the subject as Example and immediately saw a connection between the subject and the alterations made; the text on the image reminded me of song lyrics and seeing as Example is an artist assumed that it was from one of his songs. Reading the quote about the context of the image from Example allowed me to understand that it wasn’t what it original seemed; just like the appearance of the musician can change but the music will stay the same, it is just the manor in which it is viewed.