Strive to be your own Hero

Leeds Art Gallery

exhibition: states of the nation-art and politics in the 1980's

(gallery 17)

Susan Hiller 

'Monumuent' 1980-1 (mixed media)

This work is concerned with the fragmentation of contemporary culture, Hiller states that she acts as an archeologist returning lost remnants of history to mainstream attention. Hiller believes 'art should reveal hidden, undisclosed, unarticulated codes within a culture ' and I feel the personal slant on this piece portrays this perfectly. The artist invites the viewer to reassess the ignored heroes highlighted by this work and makes the viewer stop and listen to the message she is communicating and in doing so you the viewer completes the tableaux!

Stephen Willats

'The Doppelganger' 1984 (mixed media on board)

This piece is one of a series of 'night works' exploring the inter social relationships with other people/environments. 

I was unable to take photographs of the art work on the day and couldn't find any photograph on line that did the wok justice! So.....as it's on the door step you'll all have to go and have a look for yourselves!!

Yorkshire sculpture Park

Sophie Ryder (until 2nd Nov)

explores sexuality and the female psyche

As this is on the doorstep for us Leeds dwellers it's worth a visit! I'm not really into sculpture but it was worth a look! Quite inspiring! There are a number of exhibitions on at the moment, so it would be a good time to go!  the memory bank project is quite cool. To celebrate 30yrs of the park they invite you to share your favourite exhibits/moments. The website isn't great but gives you all the info you need to get there.

website

Tim Walker

I think Tim Walkers art direction in his photography is just amazing! The images all have a delicate fairy tale quality that makes the clothing advertised look even more beautiful and delicate. Some of his intriguing work can be seen at the design museum at the moment.

Matt Collis

minoita x700s 18mm wide angle

puerto plata, dominican repunlic

cross processed portrait

at home

I love the juxtposition of the distinguised gentleman reading the kids comic, 

(and that I know for a fact it WASN'T staged!)

holga tunnel vision lens

san sabastien, spain

agfa clack 2.5hr exposure (cost £1, older than a colour tv)

in the alpajuras 

One of the reasons I am so inspired by this guys work is because he's my brother, and he now gets paid for doing something he truly loves...taking photographs. However, I realise it's still important to be analytical about his work. I feel one of the reasons the imagery is so striking is the experimentation with different lens and cameras. The photos have an honesty to them that lacks pretension. This may be as many of the images are the capturing of memories/places/people as and when they happen! This ability to always be ready to record something inspiring and visually interesting is something we should probably all take away from this post! I know I should! The diversity of style and subject matter displays the ability to have confidence in trying something new!

have a look at the website

David Callow

I love the mixture of mediums used by British designer David Callow in his illustrations. The collage effect runs through his work, mixing pencil sketches with coloured card pieces to create striking contrasts.I hadn't realised a technique as simple as this could have such impact...defiantly worth remembering. The collage look gives all of his work an inspiring element of depth which is evident in all of his illustrations even though visually they are quite different. 

His website is equally as well designed!

Nate Williams

Was recently introduced to Nate Williams work when I saw his illustrations on someone elses blog, the hand drawn doodley style reminded me of an earlier post of mine on Linzie Hunter. Williams' images show a darker side to this style of illustration through the use of colour perhaps representative of his South America background as opposed to Hunters bright hues. 

Graham Rawle 'The Wizard of Oz'

To be released next month 'The Wizard of Oz' by Graham Rawle is the coolest thing I have seen for a long time! I can't wait to see it for real! He has taken his interpretation of the story and made it into an illustrated book. A fantasy world is created from the use of colour and imagination with these quirky collaged scenes true to original book, interestingly perhaps even more so than the 1939 film! Questions are answered such as why is the tin man tin? and characters are included from the book such as dainty china and the hammer heads that weren't included in the film. This new interpretation of the story has such a strong visual presence that you will never think of the Wizard of Oz in the same way again! The collaged effect gives the impression of layers making the story have depth and levels. It's so unusual..I love it!

check his other work out

Star girl

 (front cover)

"Star girl is like no other. She's as magical as the desert sky. As mysterious as her own name."

From the minute I spotted this book I was drawn to it! The simplicity of the cover design intrigued me...what was the story? who was it for? what genre was it? None of this was obvious from the cover!  From reading the story I discovered it was about daring to be an individual in an American high school and the unique cover which in itself dares to be different is perfect in carrying through the theme of the narrative. However, the way the story is written is ambiguous, as is the cover illustration. The pictogram representing the books title couldn't be more visually intriguing. The story is aimed at young teenagers but the strength behind the simplicity of the design would draw anybody to the book. When the book was originally published in 2000 it received great critical acclaim and has now been through eight printings.

His other books have similar covers, the simple pictogram style is on all of them and the use of just the stock colour for impact is the same on all of them.

The simplicity of daring to exploit less being more definitely paid off visually. This book would hold its on own on any bookshelf not only as a novel but as a piece of design.

New Heights

When completed next year, the Burj Dubai designed by Adrian Smith will be the worlds tallest building. The height and form of this 160 storey building represent Dubai's central role in a growing world, a shiny symbol of the new Middle East - prosperous, over whelming and successful. The website also mirrors the sleek sophistication of the structure architecturally.  A limited use of colour gives the site a simple yet sophisticated look and the design is easy to navigate around for any user. They could have perhaps been a little more daring with the sites design, but this may have deterred from the function of the site as a point of information!

Burj Dubai website

New world of music unlocked!

Very cool.....internet firm 7digital.com have a new service where tracks are available to download from the the big 4 record companies WITHOUT a digital lock! Music is offered in the MP3 format which can be downloaded to ipods, other MP3 players, mobiles and blackberries. Basically it means we can now legally copy tracks to as many devices as we want, a service not offered by any competitors. EMI, Universal, Sony and Warner have agreed to remove the lock (digital rights management) from their downloads in collaboration with 7digital.

With 7digital downloads costing £0.79p, yep, just the same as itunes I think we are going to see apple and the itunes store facing it's biggest challenge yet! 

tempted?

King of Hype

NOT A HIRST

image from the art of quiting

My Neighbours atrocity

The Abyss

fetched just under £1.8million

The Golden Calf (18carat gold hooves/horns)

fetched £10.3million

Damien Hirst has made history with a 2day auction (ending yesterday) selling his work that has just raised a record £111million - the highest grossing sale dedicated to one artist. 

One bidder stated  "The hype around him breeds more hype. I think almost the fact that he can produce this work so fast, and on such a scale makes them valuable."  Surely this is saying people are only paying these crazy prices for these pieces because they feel they should because a) they have the money and b) they want to tell their friends they've got a Damien Hirst golden calf in a box in their living room. I personally don't really see the difference in quality between Abyss and one of the pictured ad's from the art of quitting website on the graphics blog! 

At the beginning of a week where a massive chunk of the U.S banking system folded you would think we have better things to spend our money on!

House of cards, Radiohead music video. Zoo films created by James Frost (director)

House of cards
Video sent by lioeto

It's definitely worth a close look at this stunning promo for Radiohead's track - House of Cards from the album In Rainbows. In a revolutionary first in music video technology it was shot with out the use of ANY cameras. Lasers and scanners alone were used to simulate the effect of party scenes, street scenes and Thom Yorke's face singing. After Frost discovered it was possible to 3D scan in real time he approached the band as he thought they would be radical enough to take the risk in trying such a revolutionary new concept. As is evident from the finished film it was well worth the gamble as the finished piece is visually spectacular, perfectly complimenting the ambiguous nature of the track. A UNIQUE video experience has been created unlike anything any other band are achieving at the moment.

If you're interested check out the making of video

Dennis is just too menacing!!

Even Dennis the Menace with his never ending cheek and wily nature it seems can't escape from the ferocious world of political correctness. The antics of the character and the other bash street kids have been toned down to prevent claims of homophobia and bullying. This claim has been centered around one character in particular, Walter the softy. Former editor of the comic has revealed that Dennis's victimisation of the character, an effeminate boy who liked having tea parties and picking flowers has already been diluted on purpose. In the late 1980's Walter was given a female love interest following concerns about his portrayal. Euan Kerr editor 1984-2006 denied the changes had spoilt the fiery nature if Dennis. I feel that this is taking it too far, it's all about having a sense of humour with graphic comics of this nature, not about making a political point. In response to this notion another journalist has raised the valid point that are we now taking it so far that we have to wonder why Desperate Dan was so desperate!!!

John Lewis, Leicester

The new John Lewis store in Leicester has architecturally caused quite a stir.  The £44million building has been the latest in the cities regeneration program as an extension to the existing Shires shopping mall in the hope of revitalising the shopping experience. Farshid Moussari and Alejandro Zaera Polo (Foreign office architects) say the idea for the building covered in mirror finished swirls and curls is an elaborate facade derived from an old fabric design by Richard Drey a linen draper back in 1803. Concentrating on a design inspired by the cities heritage is an effective idea, but I personally feel it should have been a tiny bit more subtle in order to look just so. However, it has to be stated that the building definitely has impact and will be the point of much discussion. It has also been stated that the design may be a play on traditional Indian decoration, a nod to the city's sizeable Asian population, again this provides a good concept in essence but I feel it has been taken a bit too far! The Guardian have said "It happens to look like a giant box that's been covered in an equally giant pair of tights!" I have to admit that I can see what they mean. The architecture and design is very now, but I can't imagine this trendy pattern having a timeless appeal!

Beyond Limits

Pomme de New York

Claude Lalanne

Planet 

Mark Quinn

Love Me

Richard Hudson

Mao Vest

Sui Jiango

House of Knowledege

James Plensa

Beyond Limits modern/contemporary sculpture exhibition

Chatsworth House gardens, Derbyshire

Sept- 2nd Nov

Chatsworth in partnership with Sotheby's have produced this the 3rd selling exhibition of over 20 works from around the world in the idillic setting of Chatsworth House's gardens.

I was really impressed by the diversity amongst the sculptures on display! However, one stood out in particular... the 3ft, 6-ton 'floating' baby, I have never seen anything like it!

Besides the enormity of the sculptures the thing that i took away from the exhibition was the importance of positioning! The baby wouldn't have had any where new as much visual impact if it hadn't been so prominently positioned in front of the main house! This was also the case with all of the other exhibits particularly Love Me, the symmetrical placing of the heart made the piece communicate all the more to the viewer. The open air setting definitly added to the visual impact the sculptures had and I found this consideration of placing was a great thing to take away from the experience and apply to my work in the future.

Trompe l'oeil Violin

Trompe l'oeil Violin

C1723 Jan Van der Vaart

When visiting Chatsworth House recently I couldn't believe it when I came across another visual trickery style painting like the Parisian house i posted about previously. The violin depicted here is not real! It was interesting how culture still views this style of painting as enticing as those of years gone by. In essence....our imagination today, in such a technologically advanced world is still captured by the same visual tricks that have been experimented with for years! To find 2 images to compare, one so modern and one dating back to the 18th century within days of each other was really fascinating.

Parisian architecture

How amazing is this? 

Owners of this house close to the centre of Paris have commissioned an artist to paint these murals on to their property. The main image depicted is a replica of a building in the same area. 

I feel that the doorway 'leading' to the picturesque path is particularly effective when juxtaposed with the cosmopolitan setting in which the property sits! As you can see from the photographs the image of the house front is simply amazing! You really wouldn't know that it was a bog standard house fascia beneath this beautifully detailed painting. The photographs don't even show the true effect of the image! It was staggering! 

What do you think? If I hadn't seen for myself how tastefully it has been handled, I would probably have thought the idea was a bit tacky? It definitely stretches the meaning of the term architecture!

Racist honoured by Royal Mail?

"She campaigned to have the poor, the sick and people of mixed race sterilised!"

Royal Mail are in the lime light this week after releasing their new collection of limited edition stamps marking women's achievements. They prompted criticism by including family planning pioneer Marie Stopes in the collection. The feminist is best remembered for opening the first family planning clinic in 1921. Stopes advocated 'perfection of the race' through selective breeding and was also branded a Nazi sympathiser. An example of her opinions, she disapproved of her own son's wife because she was short sited and wore glasses! From next month her face will appear on the 50p stamp as a representation of one of the 6th most influential women ever in British history!

Royal Mail say in their defence that a group of group of female academics and historians compiled the names and that the woman's impact on other women's lives over the years is undeniable. This is true, but in today's society surely it isn't acceptable to honour her achievement when it was fuelled by such a disturbing attitude.

Oh! Deer

Congeries

Oh! Deer

East

Verity Keniger has just graduated from the University of Brighton with a BA(hons) in graphic design. I am really inspired by her work! I feel she has such a great talent! I was drawn to her work as it is so different from the style of graphics that I tend to stick to! It has shown me a successful example of how diverse you can be, as her works are all different yet have a 'Kenigeresque' style! I definitely think it is worth keeping up to date with her work!

Interested?

One for One

For every pair you buy, they give a pair to charity!

Since being founded by Blake Mycoskie in May 2006 TOMS have given away over 10,000 pair of shoes to children in Argentina and 50,000 to children in South Africa.

Very cool shoes (lightweight, funky prints and really good value for money), and with an even better cause these are well worth considering! I did, I bought some and was suitably impressed!

However, the business concept in place is the true piece of design. House of Fraser representative Notts said "we don't make any profit from TOMS, but the publicity is enough!"

Everyone buys....Everyone talks! 

visit the website for more info- a really simple, well designed site...perfectly represents the tone of voice TOMS wish to promote!