100 Days is an annual project at New York City’s School of Visual Arts that was founded by Michael Bierut. Each year, the students of the school’s Masters in Branding Program spend 100 days documenting their process with a chosen creative endeavor. This year, we’re showcasing each student in the program by providing a peek into ten days of their project. You can keep an eye on everyone’s work in the SVA 100 Days projects gallery.
Ashley O’Connor is a strategist, designer, and art director merging wit and wonder to create distinctive brands. For her 100 Days project, ‘Thought Contours,’ O’Connor combined 19th-century pseudoscience and 21st-century internet commentary.
In O’Connor’s words:
“My project, Thought Contours, analyzed language drawn from the online manosphere, sampling transcripts and posts from figures such as Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Andrew Tate, and Elon Musk. I recontextualized this text onto 19th-century phrenology busts—objects once used to advance now-discredited theories that linked cranial shape to intellect and moral character. By transferring fleeting social media commentary into a lasting physical form, I aimed to expose the normalization of misogyny and toxicity embedded in everyday digital discourse.”
I aimed to expose the normalization of misogyny and toxicity embedded in everyday digital discourse.
Ashley O’Connor
Find ‘Thought Contours’ on Instagram at @thoughtcontours100.
