Getai Kitsch: Reinterpretation of Getai's Aesthetics as a Visual Language for Contemporary Culture. Act 2

吾籠宮 藝晚會 ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 51 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: Stage Design Outline Gradient 52

ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 53 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: Outline Gradient Bevel and Chrome 54 Stage Design

坡加新 ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 55 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: Outline Gradient Bevel Effect 56 Stage Design

慶 祝 齊 天 大 聖 ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 57 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: Outline Gradient Chrome 58 Stage Design

ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 59 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: Stage Design Bevel and Chrome Gradient 60

ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 61 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: 紅 山 Outline on Text 62 Stage Design

紅 山 ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 63 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: 综艺 Outline Stage Design Gradient 64

艺晚会 ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 65 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: Glitter Drop Shadow Gradient 66 Stage Design

ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 67 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

68 Stage Design

Typography Design The iconic calligraphic Chinese characters found on the Getai stage form a significant portion of Getai’s unique visual culture. They are hand painted by the same group of skillful painters who once designed and painted the wood panel backdrops. The characters are a key visual identifier for Getai organisers, as they are typically painted to spell out the Getai organiser’s company name. Unlike the hand-painted backdrops, the calligraphic characters are still being used today by some Getai organisers as part of their stage identity. ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 69 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

This section focuses on the study of these Chinese characters and identifying their unique strokes. Their features are then applied to Roman characters to create a Getai-inspired contemporary typeface which can then be used as a way to help Getai find its space within today’s culture. 70 Geta Typography Design

ai kitsch ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 71 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

72 Typography Design

The Chinese characters are slightly expanded in width, and their thickness is bold with slight contrast. The tapered horizontal strokes are a common feature found in Chinese calligraphic characters, to mimic the wet brush appearance of hand-written Chinese calligraphy. This stroke was then applied to the vertical stem of the Roman characters. The exaggerated flourish on the tails is one of the unique features of the Chinese characters; this is translated in Roman characters as the bowl in selected characters such as lower-case a, b and p. These features set the parameters in creating the Getai-inspired display typeface: Getai Grotesque Display. This take on the Chinese characters found in Getai has been made open-source, to allow more people to access it and apply it in a contemporary context. Visit www.getaikitsch.com to download the typeface for free. ABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@#$% &*()_+-=:;”,./? ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 73 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

74 Typography Design

Poster Design With the increased accessibility of graphic softwares today, more efforts have been put into creating digital promotional materials for Getai performances on social media. Most of these materials are created by Getai enthusiasts/viewers who might not necessarily be professional designers or have in-depth knowledge on conventional “good” or “bad” design as we know it today. This has led to an unorthodox and unique approach to poster design and layout within the Getai community. Unintentionally, this has led to the creation of a distinctive library of visual forms that ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 75 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

are specific to poster design in the context of Getai’s visual language. By studying the visual elements of Getai posters, one can not only gain a deeper understanding of Getai kitsch but also catch a glimpse into kitsch graphic design in a local Singaporean context. The collection of posters for Getai in the next few pages are taken from several sources on social media, and are being presented in this book as a form of documentation. A number of the posters have then been selectively curated to continue further visual studies and deconstruction. 76 Poster Design

GALAXY ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 77 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms













Graphic Treatment: Outline Gradient Warp Text 84 Poster Design

ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 85 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: Outline Gradient Warp Text 86 Poster Design

ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 87 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: Outline Bevel and Chrome Gradient 88 Poster Design

ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 89 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: Drop Shadow Gradient 90 Poster Design

ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 91 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: Drop Shadow Gradient 92 Poster Design

ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 93 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: Outer Glow Drop Shadow 94 Poster Design

裕 强 中 元 会 ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 95 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: Outline Gradient 96 Poster Design

ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 97 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: Outline Outer Glow 98 Poster Design

ACT 02 Documentation, Visual Studies and 99 Deconstruction of Getai’s Visual Forms

Graphic Treatment: Outline Outer Glow Gradient 100 Poster Design