City as Character
An written and visual investigation into the TV series Atlanta
An written and visual investigation into the TV series Atlanta
I wrote and designed this book as part of my masters thesis at the Sandberg Instituut. Following my long time interest in cities, literature and film, I chose the work of American actor, rapper, and director Donald Glover to analyze, starting with the idea that the city itself could play the role of protagonist in a work of art.
In the case of the work of Glover, that city would be Atlanta, Georgia. I started with a quote from Italian journalist and writer Italo Calvino, in which he described the role that the city played in his work in the following way:
“To represent the streets and the various districts as dramatis personae, each one with a character in conflict with every other, to give life to human figures and situations as if they were spontaneous growths from the cobbles of the streets, or else protagonists in such dramatic contrast with them as to cause a whole string of disasters to work in such a way that at every changing moment the true protagonist was the living city.”
With Calvino’s approach in mind, this book investigates how Atlanta plays the part of muse, protagonist, antagonist, and foil in the life of Earn (one of the show’s main characters, also played by Donald Glover himself), as well as the lives of the rest of the cast. To conduct this investigation, I build on Calvino’s conviction that the “living city” can be the “protagonist” in artworks. Moreover, viewed through a multi-disciplinary lens, the work of other writers, artists, philosophers, and architects throughout history is connected to this central point.
The influence that the city of Atlanta on Donald Glover’s real-life creative processes is also be the subject of analysis. Are there connections to his lived experience? Does the lived experience of the people he has known influence particular scenes or decisions? What is the specific role of the city and how does it affect choices and decisions made by the other characters in the series? What connections or references are being made to broader social or cultural events that had occurred in Atlanta and in other cities around the world?
In the book I looked at two specific episodes of Atlanta. Using the methodology of semiotic analysis, primarily in the style of Italian novelist, literary critic and philosopher Umberto Eco, I made connections and parallels in meaning between the dialogue, visual direction, and theme of each episode. These points of analysis were then related to the hypothesis that the city is a character in the TV series.
Project
Type
For
1 Sea Change
Publication Design
Haverford University
2 Heartworm Reader Issue One
Publication Design
Heartworm Press
3 Slagerij DeSchuyt
Identity Design
Slagerij DeSchuyt
4 By Proxy
Publication Design
James Cohan Gallery
5 Carbon Social Club
Identity Design
Lauren GIfford
6 Memory Place Desire
Publication Design
Haverford University
7 Digital Anthropomorphism
Publication Design
Andre Gray
8 Louise Nevelson
Publication Design
Locks Gallery
9 Making: Your Life As An Artist
Publication Design
Andrew Simonet
10 TwoFiveSix
Website Design
TwoFiveSix
11 A Field Guide to Philadelphia's Public Art
Publication Design
City of Philadelphia
12 Elizabeth Atterbury
Publication Design
The Colby Museum
13 Good For One Fare
Publication & Installation Design
Self-Initiated
14 Strategic HR
Publication Design
Ed Krow
15 Ultraboost 19
Global Advertising Campaign
adidas
16 City as Protagonist
Publication Design
Self-Initiated
17 What We Want Is Here
Publication Design
Asian Arts Initiative
18 Killscreen
Website Design & Strategy
Killscreen
19 The World by Train
Publication Design
Self Initiated
20 Next City Aniversary
Editorial Design & Art Direction
Next City
21 An Inaccurate, Incomplete and Absolutely True History of the City of Philadelphia
Publication & Installation Design
Self-Initiated
22 Philagrafika 2010
Publication Design
Philagrafika
23 Michael Snow / Photo-Centric
Publication Design
Philadelphia Musuem Of Art
24 LoDown x Radical Cutup
Publication Design
LoDown Berlin
25 The Pool
Identity Design
The Pool
26 The World Stage
Exhibition Design
Next City
27 Depth of Surface
Publication Design
Philagrafika
28 Next City Magazine
Magazine Design
Next City
29 Akustikplatten
Identity Design
Julien Grefe
30 Heartworm Publications
Publication Design
Heartworm Press
31 Letting Go
Publication Design
Pew Center for Arts & Heritage
32 Steve Powers
Publication & Website Design
Steve Powers
33 The Stumbling Present
Publication Design
University of Santa Barbara
34 Swindle Magazine
Magazine Design
Roger Gastman & Shepard Fairey
35 Common Touch
Publication Design
Library Company of Philadelphia
36 Mural Arts @30
Publication Design
Mural Arts Program
37 City Limits Magazine
Magazine Design & Art Direction
City Limits
38 Fels Policy Research Initiative
Identity Design
University of Pennsylvania
39 Red Collective
Identity Design
Red Collective Real Estate Group
40 Haiku Song
Publication Design
Mural Arts Program
41 Room 21
Website & Identity Design
Barnes Foundation / Jace Clayton