I went to check out this years BP Portrait Award. As I walked into the exhibition I was greeted by a lifesize painting of two sisters by Tim Okamura called 'Little Sister'. What struck me about this painting was mostly to do with its process. Whilst still retaining realism it's very painterly; brush lines turn into drips further down and the hair is created through thick layering of paint. Next to that was a very different style of painting (one that I could have sworn was a photograph) by Jan Mikulka called 'Jakub'. It was just so soft, I still don't know how people do it. However I think my favorites were Nathan Ford's 'Abi' - a very small and seemingly incomplete painting of a crazed man, whose eye lures you into the mess of smudged black paint and simple line; 'Holly' by Louis Smith - which depicts a young fiery haired woman chained to a rock (an allegory of the Prometheus story) held in an enormous 12 foot gold frame. I do wonder how the award is judged, considering this years first prize winner... The painting wasn't at all bad, it just wasn't interesting. The depth to any meaning being it felt far too weak to have deserved £25,000.
Sistine Chapel - now Online
Found this while checking the Vatican Website. A 360 degree image of the Sistine Chapel! It's pretty detailed too, you can zoom right in and find some cool shit you couldn't see before. I went once, and it was a little overwhelming, then a little under. But all in all i think it was actually great. But its all the way in Rome? Not anymore... now you can go everyday!
Logorama
Logorama is a 16-minute long French animated film written and directed by François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy and Ludovic Houplain. The film depicts events in a stylized Los Angeles, and
is told entirely through the use of more than 2,500 contemporary and
historical logos and mascots. The film won the Prix Kodak at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the Academy Awards. Oh and its pretty darn rootin' tootin'.
Photographer: Sean Vegezzi
Sean Vegezzi has been exploring the subways of New York since he was 12
years old, and has walked every line there is. He's only 21 years old, but his work already shows intellect and great talent. His photography documents explorations of a world of abandoned subway lines, hidden under Manhattan. The feeling that the subjects want to escape the city is strong and emotive. It's hard to tell if they are rejecting the city in which they live or trying to embrace a lost part of it, but there is definitely a sense of freedom in their actions. A rejection of culture and rules... outside the box thinking. I fear the world would be a very different place if people never questioned their surroundings, or the things they are told.
Jeff Jarvis
I found these type samples by Graphic Designer, Jeff Jarvis, living and working from Brooklyn. Something drew me to his subtle and selected use of colour, playfulness execution. 'Fizz' has and incredible double 'z' and against that faded black the text has context. I'm sure it was his intention but I love the way 'there and back' makes your eyes travel forwards and backwards re-reading it while your eyes swivel in there sockets. 'Moving' is deliberately cropped to show movement in context, to show that it has moved. None of these things have any place in fonts but as concepts or as ways of demonstrating fonts they are lovely examples.
Back to the Future: Part 2
Hopefully you'll remember the awesomeness Now, I wasnt around in the 50's when Velcro was invented but that was designed to make putting shoes on easier right? Well back in 1989 Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale prophesied a world where shoes no longer needed to be done up and lights on shoes also came in adult sizes. Well 4 years ahead of schedule, Nike have decided to make 1,500 of these very shoes. They come equipped with the Back to the Future patented 'power-laces' and several different colored lights. So as long as you can pull these off, let alone afford them, I will forever worship you as some of the most bawler shit around.
Underwater
The feeling of being underwater is tranquil. I've always loved being submersed in it's embrace. Apparently I was meant to be born in water, but couldn't because I was being difficult. I learnt to swim at a young age; it was on a sailing holiday in Turkey that my parents threw me into the sea without arm bands in faith that I'd work it out. Which I did. The immense nature of the sea and what it represents makes for a very spiritual space. The sense of weightlessness makes you feel at one with it all yet so aware of your effect. I have come across many a thought, many an idea, in the sea.
Troika
Although they aren't just one designer, I have to mention Troika as one of my favourites. Troika are Eva Rucki, Conny Freyer and Sebastien Noel, who are widely known for their
experimental artworks. Their work is a combination of art, design, science and architecture. They produce work that's highly original based on surreal observations, scenarios and experiences, playing with sound, sight and movement in clever and innovative ways.
The Grand Canyon
Last year I spent two week traveling down through the Grand Canyon. As you look up to the top of the 6000ft cliff face above, you can't help but feel insignificant. Humbled by the mighty earth, I felt empowered to be so close to it. Having two weeks free from the distractions of technology, of noise, of time itself, you gain a lot of time with your thoughts. The sense of freedom is unparalleled. It's such a spiritual place.
Mountains
Mountain climbing/walking has been programed into me from a young age. When I was five I climbed Snowdon having done several climbs in the Lake District previously. Once a year we usually go on holiday to some mountains and spend the week climbing and huddling in the cold evenings. The process of walking is great facilitator of thoughts, and climbing a mountain is the ultimate experience of this. The journey has purpose and structure and to be at the top feels like enlightenment. I've had many thoughts whilst climbing many a mountain.
EasyWalker
Would somebody please explain this to me.. i just don't understand. Directed by David Lewandowski, an a computer animator who has worked on the likes of tron, his latest video is madness, but I kinda like it. Very curious to know how and why but I guess I'm never going to know...
One day i Plan to Top this
Sumo Science and Aardman have teamed up again to produce the worlds largest animation, as well as holding the title for the worlds smallest animation 'Dot'. The scale is just immense. I think in at least some of the shots the guy on the boat is a real person, which just shows you how epic the animation of the sand is, especially in the end bit. Also i have to say that the underwater scene reminded me distinctly of 'A Town Called Panic' when they go underwater in search of treasure. Awesome movie by the way and y'all should watch it.
Big Ideas Are Small
There is a Barcode revolution happening people. The Japanese company 'D-Barcode' has taken it upon themselves to make barocdes a fun and enjoyable for all. For some reason I had never questioned barcodes. I thought they were this thing that had to remain uncreased and untouched in order to be read by the magical infrared light wielded by seemingly untrained but somewhat mystical people. Now they just look jokes!
A Giant Fuck
This is a typographics piece I found on 'this isn't happiness' by Rita Gomes which I sort of like but can't explain why exactly. I have always thought that it would be interesting if you could make a handwriting font for a computer that would generate letters slightly differently at random so as to make it more free-form, like regular handwriting where letters are not uniform. This made me think of that, then it made me think of me being a fucking idiot...
A French Magazine for Him
I'm not too sure why I even posted this let alone how I found it, but here is the cover of the french adult entertainment magazine 'Lui' from the 60's. Sex has been selling quite well ever since it was first tried, but can it be an accredited means of design? It does seem a rather easy job to find someone who looks hot, take off their clothes off and take photos of them so you can hand them out to the public. If it didn't work then so well it would probably be a crime or outdated method of arousal. So if this really is an example of good advertising/graphic design then the grounds for it being so are not as well-rounded as it would appear...
Skin Type
While looking through 'ilovetypography.com' I discovered this really gross typeface by Thijs Verbeek entitled simply 'typeface in skin'. He uses clothes pegs to pinch various sections of skin into letterforms. Looking through the entire collection I found myself wincing at each image trying to work out where on the body it must be. For the entire alphabet click here.
Daniel Eatock
Daniel Eatock is still my favourite graphic designer.
I sat in a lecture of his, as a foundation student doing Graphic Design at Kingston, and marveled at the intellect, wit, and general awesomeness that spilled out of his mouth and circular slide show presentation. He explained the way he works as a freelance graphic designer. It is to
set himself rules and guidelines, and then to question them rationally or maybe irrationally. Despite having always thought I would be a fine artist, I had spent the whole year studding Graphic Design (I still wasn't sure why, it had just felt right). But as I sat there mesmerised I finally understood why fine art was so limiting... There were no rules. Without knowing limitations and boundaries, what was there to compete with? What was there to question? Fine art is art, art can have meaning, art can question anything you want it to question, but it can't ever have the same forethought that Graphic Design has, if it does it's just Graphic Design... call it what you want.
Music Video Project
So there's this band called SaintFalcons who play music, and one day they approached me and said "hey, we need a bassist!" and I was all like, "hey, I play bass guitar" and then a few hours later we were shooting the music video for a song they wrote. The shoot was a group collaboration, with all of us wielding the camera at one point or another, as was costume design... A very special thanks to the special effects crew who were on hand 24/7.
( Shoot: 2 Mornings / Edit: 1 Day / Location: Richmond Park )
Vivian Chiu
Vivian Chiu is a recent graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in the Furniture Design department. An individual that likes to push herself mentally and physically, she believes in the value of hard work, a philosophy that drives many of her designs. Much of her work is a mixture of sculptural and functional, and shows her interest in the materiality of wood. She draws inspiration from artists such as Martin Puryear, Anish Kapoor, Tom Friedman and Richard Sweeney.
| 'Inception Chair' |
| 'Pixel Chair |
| 'Hypercube' |
She also had a nice bunch of photos on her site, the one below
particularly caught my eye as a Gerhard Richteresque shot on a
trainline. This image applys the same effect Richter uses in his painting method to transform a photo into a mere memory
| 'TheNortheast' |
PIXELATOR
I don't tend to watch much television, mainly because once you start it is hard to stop. Its warming glow draws you into a state of self aware-d mindlessness. I noticed recently that if there happeneds to be one on in a pub, say, my eyes would tend to glare at it, even mid conversation, despite having little to no interest in the program viewed.
This Pixelator device highlights the uselessness of television into simply light and colour moving mysteriously over the screen. i.e the effect of the television is the same with it on or not, and to be honest i think i prefer it on.
Linotype
Here is a trailer for a feature-length documentary film made by Doug Wilson about the Linotype type casting machine. About a year ago he partnered
up with two good friends on a journey to document the Linotype and the
people who loved and still love these crazy machines. After 45 interviews and 26
separate shoots, they have amassed an amazing collection of footage
telling the surprisingly emotional and fascinating story of the
Linotype.
10 key facts about me
1 My hair is long. When I was a kid would just get my head shaved then
let it grow into a buzz before shaving it again at a place that didn’t speak
English apart from offering them a number between 1 and 20 which would indicated the
length of hair you wanted. After
realising this wasn’t that normal for kids my age I got proper boy-length hair
for the first time. This meant
having to go to a proper hairdresser, which is where the fear began. Failed haircut after failed haircut
left me with a bitter taste in my mouth and a hatred of anyone who attempted to
cut my hair. So I pretty much stopped cutting it for good.
2 I love music. A lot. Music is definitely a big part of my life. I
don’t think I could cope without music.
For the last 4 years I don’t think there was a single point where I
haven’t had a ticket booked for a gig or something. I crave the bass; being
able to feel the music physically gives it a whole ‘nother level.
3 I can’t stop writing in caps-lock. I think I find it hard to write
joined up because it’s too much to think about when trying to spell and think
of what to say at the same time. So for I while I went through a phase of
writing in lowercase but keeping letters separated, but then I kept missing out
the first letters of words for some reason. Ironically it was when writing history of art notes that I
decided to try writing all in capital letters, because I found it harder to
read lowercase. Once I started I couldn’t stop, and now I have forgotten how to
write not in capitals.
4 Given the choice of getting something done well before a deadline so
I can use any free time after I’ve finished to either relax or refine what I’ve
done, or leaving it until the last minute so I freak out and work overtime to
get it all done… then you’ll probably find me doing the latter. Not that at any point I’d feel
comfortable overriding my perfectionism and scrutinising over minute details
that no one but me would ever see.
5 I love making lists. Whenever something needs to be done, or be
remembered or anythinged… I’ll probably make a list. I even go as far as making tiny check boxes for each point
that needs to be accomplished.
6 I’ve only ever had one
pet. A frog called Trevor. It
wasn’t even a real pet, it just kept swimming around this bowl of rainwater in
my garden. But everyday it kept coming back. I would just try and touch its
back as it jumped around me and we’d play stupid games. A few days before my 6th
birthday I came out one morning to find it skinned alive by my neighbours
cat. It was like seeing Uncle Owen
and Aunt Beru burnt carcases in Star Wars for the fist time. My stomach shrank.
7 Although he’s 20 years older than me to the day, I met my longest
standing friend/best friend of all time while at nursery school. When he was
around my age now, he worked at the nursery by day. My mum asked if he’d take
me home every other for lunch and then got into babysitting me on the regular.
We would just hang out like we were brothers. He was a breakdancer and super
talented graffiti artist by night, and as a kid I was in awe of him, I still
am. Directly and indirectly he educated my music taste, taught me to draw and
fundamental morals and thoughts about life. To this day we still find time to
hang, go climbing mountains or whatever. There are many people that have shaped
my life, but I know I’d be very different if I’d never met him.
8 I have a brother who is three and a half years older than me. We went
to a state primary school called John Betts where once a month they would give
out ‘gold awards’ in assembly to students who had excelled in one form or
another. Now these were just pieces of paper with some gold writing on but we
wanted them bad. There were these other awards called attendance awards for
never being late or missing school, which you’d receive at the end of the year
if you’d managed this. Well my bro went through the entire 7 years without
missing a beat, and so they made a new award for him… The ‘Super Attendance
Award’. As his younger brother, of course I wanted to follow in his footsteps…
and I did. So there I am at the
year 6 prize giving waiting eagerly to accept my reward, but it never came. I
was told they just forgot, but apparently in reception I missed half a day
because of an ear infection… damn fascists…
9 I pissed on someone’s sofa once. It looked expensive too. Embroided pillows. Goose feathers. I mean this thing was
an antique. But I just needed to go and I didn’t know where the toilet was…
10 Oh and I think a lot. Maybe too much. But i dunno. I tend to write how I would talk so I tend to write too much because I'm carried away with all these words that I like to say, but then again I'm more selective when I type and tend not to write 'like' and 'um' which I say a lot in real life. Haha real life... Also I think I sound more intellectual when I write probably because I can think about what to say a little more and think of big words and stuff.
Self Portrait
This is my self-portrait. It is done in a mixture of 'super sculpey' and 'plastercine' using only my hands as tools. I tried to caricature my face a bit, but hopefully I don't look too similar to this - crazy person. I did another version a while back, but wasn't trying to be anything like accurate, in an animation I made with Stephanie Unger last year on foundation. You can watch that here.
Things I Will miss about Home
1 My family: The thing I will miss most is family, my brother and my Dad and I have always been pretty close. We all sort of need each other without telling each other and have the same crass humour that I will sorely miss. I'll have to go back to see the old man every now and again.
2 Free food: The fridge in my family's house is massive. It was my Mums idea to get some next, custom made fridge from Sweden or something so that if me or my brother would ever bring friends around unexpectedly she/we would be able to feed them. She always knew it was important for people to eat if they were hungry or about to consume vast quantities of alcohol.
Things i wont miss 'bout home
1 Things getting thrown away: My Dad gone through a phase of throwing things away that are mine if they are deemed clutter or are just generally in the way. It has cost me many a fine clothes and general miscellaneous items that I dare not try and remember to save me from remorse.
2 I can't actually think of anything else that i won't miss. Which i guess is flattering to my family and home. Maybe I shouldn't have left... oh no....
Websites I Frequent
= Blogs = Reference = Artists
The Future
In ten years time I will be... older and wiser. I will hopefully have accomplished things that I can be proud of. Maybe I'll have a kid or something crazy. If I could choose I'd either want time travel to be invented so I could head back to the 60's or for technology to have gotten so advanced that id be able to quote Blade Runner without sounding ironic. I could sit here and think of all of the places or people I could be in 10 years time but it would all be fantasy. Perhaps none of it would come real. I would hate to live in false hope.
Typography
Got given this book about fonts for my Birthday. I think my knowledge of
typography is embarressingly limited, compared to most people studying
graphic design. Over the last year I've realised that one would be wise
to learn the phopa's of typographics before attempting to show their
work. The first chapter is entitled "We don't serve your type", written
in Comic Sans... Obviously a classic graphic design joke. Seems like I
got some reading up to do...

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