Katie Kidd | The Social Responsibility of Creativity
Katie Kidd is a designer and “general creative person” from Dublin. She has recently finished up her studies in Visual Communication at NCAD and is currently trying to break the world of advertising, while dabbling in other creative pursuits like printmaking and illustration. Katie feels she has a social responsibility with her creativity. Her personal work is concept-driven. This ‘social responsibility’ is enacted carefully, as Katie uses her work to communicate messages that draw the spectator in with well thought-out aesthetics.
Choosing subjects like the Agony Aunts of Ireland’s past and the beloved Panti Bliss (Ireland’s future, if you believe the presidential hype), Katie is clearly tapped into the cultural veins of her audience. Her creativity is her means of connection; an outlet for social and political concerns: “I think it’s incredible that as a creative, if you have an opinion or if you want to make a change, you have all this innovative thinking and skill at your fingertips to make people notice. Look at the US Presidential elections: out of that has come so much great art and design in protest of Trump. The things people can create when they have something to say is breathtaking.”
It’s not surprising then that she enrolled in the Visual Communication programme, though she glances back even further to pinpoint where her talent was nurtured: “I suppose I was always good at drawing growing up. I definitely went through phases of wanting to get into writing or languages, but I always came back to art. It was my favourite subject. My art teacher for the Leaving Cert was brilliant and instilled confidence in me. I genuinely believe that I never would have gone to art college without his encouragement.”
Though she concedes that an art or design degree isn’t necessary for creative success, saying that “it all depends on the person”, Katie believes that attending NCAD was a necessary part of her artistic progression: “For me, I feel that going to college was integral in developing confidence in my own work. Being around other creatives every day taught me more than any book could. I formed my work ethic, creative style and many of my beliefs at college.”
The college was also instrumental in fostering Katie’s love of lincocuts, which she uses in many of her projects. The Distiller’s Press in the Visual Communications department has been an indispensable utility for her printing: “No doubt myself and others took full advantage. The technician there, Jamie Murphy, was and is brilliant for helping us realise our print and letterpress visions!” Indeed, scrolling through her website quickly reveals that Katie’s artistic vision often employs linocutting, and she admits that it’s one of the more enjoyable processes for her: “I just enjoy making linocut prints as a break from my computer and to get back to drawing. There is nothing more satisfying then seeing a print I’ve made come together. As it’s quite a slow process compared to throwing something together on Illustrator or Photoshop, I appreciate the work a lot more.”
Here, we find where Katie shines as an artist; her dedication to multiple techniques and disciplines in the realisation of a vision, even if she has to step outside her comfort zone. As she says herself, “I think the best skill a creative can have is the ability to develop a solid concept which can work across various platforms. The technical aspects of the executions will follow, depending on the concept. My skill set is strongest in print, editorial/book design and illustration, but if a project warrants for something else, then I will make it happen.”
This belief becomes incredibly clear when we take a look at her two most impressive projects to date, both completed during her final year at NCAD. ‘Help! I have a desperate problem’ was born from Katie’s belief in her social responsibility, tracing social change in Ireland while highlighting the conflict between past and present that this creates. “I remember flipping through the ‘Brand New Retro’ blog and there was a section solely about Agony Aunt letters,” she explains. “I thought they were hilarious while at the same time poignant in showing Ireland’s relationship with women. The amount of girls that wrote in about sexual assault and crisis pregnancies, only to be responded to with scorn, was upsetting. Especially considering the conversation around the 8th Amendment we are having at the moment.”
Typical of the output of a Visual Communication student, the project appears monolithic in its execution. Katie designed a series of five booklets, based on dimensions of actual magazines of the 60s, 70s and 80s, containing Agony Aunt questions and answers according to their subject matter. The issues are chronological, pinpointing approximately when in a woman’s life she would ask these questions. Each booklet includes a serious contemporary essay by some of Ireland’s most promising female writers including Grainne Maguire, Louise O’ Neill, Norma Costello, Teresa Coyne and Una Mullally. They also include ‘interjections’; handwritten quotes from the interviewees in the accompanying film. You read that right, Katie made a short film for the project as well in which she poses real questions from Agony Aunts of the past to ten interviewees.
“The hardest part was figuring out the graphic style and visual language of the project,” Katie says of the undertaking. “After that was sorted, everything fell into place. Each execution brought another layer to the project’s narrative. The books nodded to history, the film to real women’s honest anecdotes and humour, and the installation to where we stand now with regards to Ireland’s relationship with women.”
The installation took the form of a letterbox which encouraged people to take a pre-stamped and addressed envelope from the letterbox’s shelf, containing an actual Agony Aunt question from a range of time periods. They were then prompted to respond to the question with advice as they saw fit. In an attempt to compare answers and attitudes, all answers were scanned in and uploaded to a Tumblr. Through her use of both print media and social media, Katie successfully threads a feminist discourse of the 1960s through the present, all through the figure of the Agony Aunt and her role in women’s lives.
In a similar vein, Katie used another project to juxtapose Catholic culture of the 20th century with our current social climate, in particular the campaign for marriage equality. Entitled ‘Karol & Rory’, it was a submission to the International Society of Typographic Designers in answer to a brief which required the designing of an exhibition and accompanying publication around an eyewitness account. The timing was perfect, as Katie was in the middle of reading Rory O’Neill’s memoir ‘Woman in the Making’: “Panti’s anecdote of the Pope’s visit was too good to pass up, both conceptually and visually.” Katie chose the title as a “tongue-in-cheek reference to marriage” using the Pope’s birth name, Karol, and Panti’s alter ego, Rory.
“I created an interactive exhibition of a 1970s bedroom interior,” she explains. “Viewers were invited to ‘root around’ it. I typographically interpreted both accounts into exhibition props, such as a Bible-like book on a bedside table, an LP sleeve, prayer cards and embroidery. The conflict and juxtaposition between the content of the Pope anecdote and ‘The Noble Call’ [the text of Panti’s 2014 speech is included in the book] highlights a significant change in Ireland’s relationship with the Church, homosexuality, society and so on.”
The imposition of Katie’s social consciousness onto her art is not just the result of an activist mindset, but has a personal impetus. Her latest project is a a limited edition linocut and letterpress print featuring Countess Markievicz, Wonderwoman, Joan of Arc and Athena called ‘Warrior-esses’, with the proceeds being donated to Breast Cancer Ireland. The choice of charity is no coincidence: “Breast cancer is an issue very close to me. My mother fought with it for 8 years. I saw first hand just how much of a badass it takes to live with it. Sadly, she passed away last year. I noticed that when we say ‘oh, so and so died of breast cancer’, we take for granted just how much of a battle goes into that death. As it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and as my mam’s anniversary approaches, I felt it fitting to make something beautiful and with a strong message that can raise funds for a good cause.”
This is not the first time Katie has mobilised her work as a means of fundraising, she recently exhibited a print at the very successful ‘Someone You Love’ exhibition, a collection of pro-choice work curated by Aifric Ni Chriodain which raised money for the Abortion Support Network. But ‘Warrior-esses’ speaks of an influence greater than anything: “My mam. Her humour and her beliefs seeped into all of my final year work without me even noticing. I used her original pictures of Pope John Paul II’s visit to the Phoenix Park in my ‘Karol & Rory’ project, for example, and photos from her youth for the ‘Help! I have a desperate problem’ books.”
Lending a personal charge to her work, and actively seeking to depict social change, when asked for advice for burgeoning artists Katie seems to make a rallying call: “Never go for the safe option. Nothing worth remembering is safe!”
Featured image: ‘Karol & Rory’ exhibition
