Aqua, Monks and Water

The Stiftsarchiv (Abbey of St Gall) commissioned a a g to design an events poster for the big annual exhibition “Aqua – Mönche am Wasser“. It was also to be animated as a digital affice and presented in digital media. Today, the animation of images has even reached the classic analogue medium of the poster. This special effect is presented on what are called “e-panels“ – an outdoor display in the well-known Swiss world format. The headlines are large, golden, and pushed to the edges. The photorealistic “blotches” applied to the Baroque, illusionistic painting of the sky in the form of oversized drops of water are what constitute the image’s appeal. The spiritual significance of water and the way this meshes with the culture of religion is, after all, the theme of this exhibition. In the animated version the water appears to flow. The challenge was to prevent the animation from interfering with the distillation of contents to a catchy punchline that is a basic element of poster design and to avoid lapsing into merely decorative effects. The sole purpose of the reduced animation is to strengthen and continue narrative character of the visual idea.