Pioneer Plaque

For our first Pioneer Plaque, we wanted to create something zany, exciting, and exhilarating that would catch the attention of spectators. Additionally, we wanted to work with an idea that would break the box of conventionality and be entertaining for not only the viewers but also for us as illustrators and creators. With these goals in mind, we began to think, why not show the aliens how Earth views them? Why not show them how we have thought of them for ages and how our popular media portrays their culture, habits, and behavior? We thought this would provide both an interesting hypothetical scenario and an extensive creative outlet. By integrating different elements of modern media, such as memes and films, classic representations of aliens, and preconceived notions of how extraterrestrials behave and function, we are able to present our visiting aliens with a fairly accurate portrayal of how popular media and culture in planet Earth has viewed them in the past and currently views them. For example, we decided to incorporate pyramids into the design of our plaque as the creation of these structures is heavily associated with extraterrestrial existence. Additionally, we also included depictions of aliens from movies such as Toy Story and Alien and design elements, such as gun blasters that take heavy inspiration from aesthetics in the 90s, that is heavily tied to other-worldly inhabitants.

When it comes to conveying this aspect of human culture to the aliens, we would first have to explain to them the concepts of both popular media and popular culture as understanding both of these ideas and the manners in which they have shaped society is vital for the comprehension of our final idea. We would then continue by explaining individual elements present in our Pioneer Plaque, such as the various depictions of aliens we have included, and how they each relate to our overarching theme of the representation of aliens in popular media and culture. If we were to convey these ideas to the aliens presented in Ted Chaing’s Story of Your Life, we would have to be communicating through semagrams, as presented in the story, and would have to undergo a process of learning how to understand and write semagrams, like the main character in the novel. 

Here is our First Pioneer Plaque!

When we were first brainstorming, the concept for this plaque was one of the first ideas that came to our minds and we were all immediately on board. The mere concept of presenting the aliens with a visual depiction of what Earth associated with them and the ideas that were tied to the concepts of extraterrestrials was hilarious and it gave us the floor to not only let our minds run loose but also include references from popular media and culture that we all loved and found entertaining. Furthermore, I think the way in which Eddy, who illustrated the entire piece by himself, conveyed the ideas and purpose we wanted to give to the piece ties up the piece really well.

 

Since we wanted to work in a group of three, we were tasked to do a second pioneer plaque with a different core theme and idea that we would present to the aliens. We wanted to preserve the same basis for our concept, conveying a cultural aspect that has been shaped by popular media. While brainstorming, we settled on creating our second pioneer plaque around dinosaurs as it provided an interesting dichotomy between the life that once existed on this planet and the one that inhabits it now. Showing the aliens a depiction of a prehistoric form of life that predates the existence of human beings and is no longer around was an interesting idea to consider and one that we wanted to further explore. Additionally, we believed that demonstrating the way in which a life form that predates our existence has integrated into and continues to be part of our own culture would provide for an interesting theoretical conversation with the aliens. 

Similarly to our previous pioneer plaque, when beginning to convey this aspect of human culture to the aliens in Ted Chiang’s Story of Your Life, we would have to begin by explaining the concepts of both popular media and popular culture. This time however, we would have to explain these concepts through a lens of scientific discovery rather than purely contextual, as outlining how they have integrated into one another and created our modern perception of dinosaurs is vital for the final idea. This can be further expounded with an explanation as to how this modern perception of dinosaurs has then in turn been integrated into popular media, such as Jurassic Park having enormous popularity as dinosaurs began turning into a sensation amongst the masses. When presenting the concept of dinosaurs to the aliens, we would also have to explain the processes by which they are found, classified, and studied. Additionally, we can present the extraterrestrials with fun facts about dinosaurs that contextualize their discoveries, anatomy, behavior, and much more. Once again, we would be communicating through semagrams with the heptapods and would have to hold sufficient knowledge about how to both read and write the semagrams.

Here is our Second Pioneer Plaque!

The plaque shown above is actually the second version that we created. Initially, we wanted to depict a casual scene from what a casual day in the era of the dinosaurs might have looked like. While effective in conveying a message, we found it quite simple and decided to alter the design in order to make it more visually appealing and make better use of the space provided. Additionally, we wanted to create something abstract rather than fixed from the concrete elements we were using. As one of the people who directly worked on this plaque, If I were to add or change anything about our final version, I would’ve included more elements that better integrate the theme of dinosaurs into popular culture and media as it would’ve created a connection between the world that once existed and the one that currently exists. Nonetheless, I think it is a good depiction of the aspect of human culture that we wanted to convey.