The compensations of contemporary topographical illustration: a discussion of the enduring value of traditional watercolour painting in light of Foucault's heterotopia

Abstract

This article explores the value of juxtaposing an illustrator's individual mode of creative practice alongside a relevant theoretical text, specifically arguing that the wider social concerns of philosophy can amplify and make explicit the implicit concerns of the practitioner. The article works with a short piece by French philosopher, Michel Foucault, which provides a parallel text from which to view an example of contemporary topographical illustration – work that sets out to capture and record a geographic place with startling veracity. This juxtaposition of theory and practice is both valuable to the practitioner and the wider discourse of Illustration, enabling both to apprehend the potential for social commentary in work that is not self-consciously political. An argument is put forward regarding the historical pertinence of topographical illustration, specifically with respect to its ability to provide a source of escapism.

Keywords:

• topographical illustration
• realism
• British landscape
• Michel Foucault
• site
• heterotopia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Julia Moszkowicz is a Senior Lecturer in Animation Art Theory at Southampton Solent University. Her research examines the relation of contemporary studio practices to philosophical traditions, with a specialist interest in the work of Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and phenomenology. She has also published articles on graphic design, postmodernism and pragmatic design in The Design History Journal, Design Issues, Screen and Eye magazine. She also lectures on the philosophies of graphic design at conferences internationally, including the Design Biennale in St Etienne and the Centre for Design and Philosophy in Copenhagen.

Notes

1. Ravilious’ reputation within an academic context is further supported by his direct contribution to the education system, as a teacher, at Eastbourne School of Art, the Royal College Design School and the Ruskin School of Drawing.

2. Robert Crawford, the Director General of the Imperial War Museum in 2003, argues that Ravilious represents – even now – an idealized figure for a whole generation of documentary illustrators. He states that: ‘Of all the Second World War artists to whom the Imperial War Museum has given a retrospective in the past twenty years, Eric Ravilious has attracted the most intense interest, even before the exhibition opened’ (Crawford in Powers [2003] 2012, 4).

3. Documentary illustration is neither a widely used nor accepted term. However, it is an appropriate descriptor, in this context, to capture the range of practices and traditions that share an interest in capturing the world with a strong sense of truth, such as: visual journalism, reportage and topographical and architectural illustration.

4. See Ruskin ([1857] 2006).

5. A recent exhibition catalogue for the Tate describes how the history of watercolour is closely associated with topography or the representation of place, and some of the most famous images in British art are landscapes painted with this medium. By virtue of its very fluidity, watercolour is often regarded as an ideal technique for evoking ‘the atmosphere, climate and picturesque effects found in the British landscape’ (Tate 2012, 3).

6. As an example of this, Jarvis alludes to both the veracity and technical ‘dazzle’ achieved by architect and practiced architectural illustrator, Cyril Farey.

7. For example, there is a tendency to limit the discussion of illustration to that of an analogue craft. See Myerson (1997, 176–186).

8. Added to this, Foucault identifies how the relations between sites also have become a problem for our time, for the constitutive elements of any site can now be situated simultaneously across different sites (rather than enjoy the sanctity and stability of a singular situation). He states that, ‘Our epoch is one in which space takes for us the form of relations among sites’ (2).

9. While the verisimilitude in Jarvis's work normally points back to the space where Jarvis has ‘lived’ , this image is made from a photograph provided by a friend.