Alex Fortune
Designer | Artist | Educator
Research
As a teacher in todays ever-changing society, the importance of research should never be overlooked. Through the examining and consumption of a range of media, from academic articles to films & photography, I am to continuously educate myself in a variety of areas, prompting myself with ideas for not only my own practise, but interesting topics for exploration within the classroom environment.
Below is a sample of written assignments completed during my
undergraduate course of study in NCAD.
Full texts including bibliographies are available by clicking the 'Full Text" buttons below
Undergraduate Dissertation
DECEMBER 2022
'An Examination into the lack of creative design education at post primary level in Ireland'
This dissertation discusses possible contributing factors to a lack of creative design education in Ireland's post primary schools. As a design graduate, this question was something that particularly interested me, as when I began my teaching journey I was left wanting when I began to research the specified curriculum for design in schools.
This begs the question as to why we name the subject 'Art,Craft & Design', just to place design by the wayside. This was something I deemed extremely worthy of investigation, and through interviews with practicing teachers, I examined the reasons many seem reluctant to bring design into the classroom, and explore a possible solution to this problem.
"Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and think what nobody else has thought
-Albert Szent - Gyorgyi
Are Border Crossings Only Physical?
APRIL 2021
A School of Visual Culture written assignment examining displacement
This essay questions the purpose of a Border Crossing, and seeks to understand what exactly a 'Border Crossing' is at it's core - does it only physically limit us from moving from place to place, or is it a mental block also? And if so, who do these crossings affect? This essay seeks to unravel the complicated mystery of a border itself, diving groups into 'them' and 'us', and examines the artwork of a variety of creatives within this context.
'Judith Butler claims that Gender is Performative - Discuss'
APRIL 2022
A School of Visual Culture written assignment examining gender roles & cross dressing
This essay examines the preconceived notions of 'Gender', and how our somewhat assigned gender roles can impact our identity. It references the work of Judith Butler, reviewing this in relation to the concept of Gender as a performance - looking at gender as something we are not born as, but we become.
This was examined under a range of female theorist ideals, and also examining the classic film 'Kiss of the Spider Woman'. I aimed to examine the slippage that occurs within these gender roles when examining them in light of a performance, looking at gender parallel to the concept of fiction vs reality often seen in cinema.
'Casual Intimacy' - Studio Research
SEPT - DEC 2022
Studio based research proposal examining the concept of casual intimacy as a non romantic idea - presented for degree show proposal
This body of research explores my ideation process throughout the first semester of my Final Year project. When tasked with finding a niche that we could explore through communication design, I immediately though of the notion of communication itself, and how this is an innately intimate thing - however, these casual everyday conversations often have more of an impact than we realise.
I aimed to explore this idea, but noticed that while the terms 'Casual' and 'Intimacy' are never defined as anything strictly romantic, when placed together thus is the first idea people turn to. I wanted to explore this art of intimate conversation in a public way, de stigmatising the terms, and allowing people to see the value in their seemingly small conversations.
Ongoing body of research - uploaded to NCAD.works site in June 2024