ART — Aesthetic, Rhetoric, Trash
Welcome to ART — Aesthetic, Rhetoric, Trash, this show is the aggregate of my experiences at North Carolina Central University as well as questions and concerns I have about my future role within the realms of design; professional practice, theory, research and education. The entirety of the work presented in this exhibition seeks to address these inquiries; Are design artifacts of high enough intrinsic aesthetic value to merit exhibition? Is communication design just the hijacked hostage of capitalism subjugated into spouting out the rhetoric of consumerism? Can branding be appropriate for the employ of culture, social issues & causes?

Communication Design is not simply just a tool of propaganda to coerce people to act, believe or purchase. I believe that design at its core is about problem solving, that it exists to meet basic needs. Design is an integral part of our everyday lives, encompassing all aspects of our lives from products, packaging, clothes, buildings and their interior spaces to our very essential need to communicate and archive our experiences embodied by print design and new media interactions. While institutions like governments, corporations, and militaries have realized the importance of developing well crafted concise messages that can instantaneously be delivered in multiple medias, social causes, marginalized people and the non-profit sector seem to be at unfortunate disadvantage I believe that this is a paradigm that can and will be shifted.

Design Artifacts all too often live a short unappreciated life, their ubiquitous nature are their curse. They are torn open, hidden, abused, and often ultimately discarded destined to rot, beautiful garbage in a landfill. It is important for me to help reverse this trend by presenting my designs in a gallery setting. Not out of any futile desires to “elevate” Design up to the lofty heights of the pedestal “Fine Arts” resides upon, but instead to expand the confined margins of perceived aesthetics. I have no allusions that I am the maiden discoverer of this “new territory”. I have an understanding of the contemporary and historical context in which my insights place me. All this is a round about way of stating, Yes, Aesthetic Trash however fleeting, trivial, or relegated it’s existence, deserves the same opportunities for public display, inquiry, discourse, reflection, evaluation and critique as traditional museum subject matter.

I do not want to simply create beautiful Garbage devoid of any meaning, instead I endeavor to confront the audience, enticing them to think, question, and interact with all my designs. Hopefully my work will speak louder than my written rhetoric.

DESIGN STATEMENT
Through Communication Design, Photography and Installation I explore, challenge and interject a subtle humor into modern cultural references and their ever-evolving meanings. I use everyday items; flyers, packaging, advertising, architecture, interior spaces and their furnishings as inspiration, and as a platform to question issues of accessibility, culture, community, and identity. Often I work with repetition, many times presenting my work in a grid format to reflect the mass-produced reality of our commodified reality. My work is constantly experimenting with color, light, line, space and contrast. I endeavor to confront the audience, enticing them to think, question, and interact with all my designs

Darnell Christopher Williams

Self-Portrait Diptych, 2006
Linocut, Monoprint on Japanese Newspaper
8 x 10”