Emancipation of the Sign: Poetry and Finance During the Twentieth Century

The subject does not belong to the world, rather it is a limit of the world.” 

Language has an infinite potency, but the exercise of language happens in finite conditions of history and existence.

Nevertheless, while social communication is a limited process, language is boundless: its potentiality is not restricted to the limits of the signified. Poetry is language’s excess, the signifier disentangled from the limits of the signified.

Irony, the ethical form of the excessive power of language, is the infinite game words play to create, disrupt, and shuffle meaning. A social movement, at the end of the day, should use irony as semiotic insolvency, as a mechanism to untangle language, behavior, and action from the limits of symbolic debt.

×

From “A Place We Do Not Know” in Franco Berardi’s new book The Uprising: On Poetry and Finance, published by Semiotext(e), 2012.

Recorders Down Under

Rafael Lozano Hemmer's exhibition, Recorders, has travelled to the southern hemisphere. I saw the show at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art. The exhibition was just as engaging as when I saw it in Manchester, with a few new additions.

Gerhard Richter

I'm not frightened. I'm not frightened of anything. The more I suffer, the more I love. Danger will only increase my love. It will sharpen it. It will give it spice. I'll be the only angel you need. You will leave life even more beautiful than you entered it. Heaven will take you back.... and look at you and say: Only one thing can make a soul complete; and that thing is love."

~Frederich Von Schiller, "Love and Intrigue"

Reader, 1994

The Mad Square

Modernity in German Art 1910 – 37

National Gallery of Victoria

“Experimental, provocative and utterly compelling...”

Two of my earliest memories of graphic inspirations were László Moholy-Nagy and El Lissitzky and since then Constructivism and later Modernity have been of huge inspiration throughout my career. On discovering NGV latest exhibition entitled “The Mad Square” (Der Tolle Platz), it was a pre-requisite for me to attend. The exhibition name derives from Felix Nussbaum's 1932 painting of Berlin's famous Pariser Platz. 'Tolle' translates to mean both 'mad' and 'fantastic.' which is certainly a common thread, running through the exhibition. The 'square' is approached as a physical space, with representations of the city, as well as a state of turbulence and unrest, which characterises the era.

Felix Nussbaum, Der Tolle Platz, 1932

Aptly the exhibition begins with a screen excerpt of “Das Cabinet Der Dr. Caligari,” which is the story of deadly sonambulist, Cesare, approaching mental illness in a way which forces the viewer to be sucked in and an example of early German Expressionist cinema.

My recently completed university dissertation follows themes of unrest in Weimar Germany, in relation to artists such as Hannah Höch and Marianne Brandt, both of whom feature in the exhibition. A time of turmoil within Germany inspired incredible 'avant-garde' art movements; Expressionism, Dada, Constructivism, Bauhaus and New Objectivity. It was really inspiring to me to see so many points of cultural and contextual reference grouped together in one exhibition, and especially considering their relevance and importance to my own creative development. For me the exhibition combined both artistic, graphic, physical and filmic examples of a whole spectrum of inspiration and as I followed the prominent jagged red arrow around the space I was never disappointed by what was around the next corner.

El Lissitzky, Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge, 1919

László Moholy-Nagy

Aritists featured in the exhibition include: Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, George Grosz, Christian Schad, Hannha Hoch, August Sander, Laslo Moholy Nagy, El Lissitsky
Website

The Truth About Sex

Graphic wit at its best.

Sarah Illenberger, information graphics for ‘The Truth about Sex’, published in Neon magazine (2008).

Surrealism: The Poetry Of Dreams, Brisbane

SURREALISM AND CONTEMPORARY ART

23 JULY 2011

DR. MIRANDA WALLACE. (Curational manager of international art and exhibitions research)

I decided to visit Brisbane's recent major Surrealist exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art. I was lucky enough to also catch a lecture with Dr. Miranda Wallace, the curatorial manager of the exhibition, in discussion about the relationship between the Surrealist movement and contemporary art, which enhanced my visit to the exhibition.

When asked what she liked most about Surrealism, Wallace said she finds it first of all difficult to pin down what Surrealism is, but that largely her favourite aspect is the photography and the clear influence of cinema on many surrealist photographers, including contemporary artists. It is clear that Wallace wanted emphasise this link within the exhibition as film projections consistently appear alongside static works within the exhibition. There is also a surrealist cinema season devoted to moving image, (The Savage Eye; Surrealism and Cinema) which is running alongside the exhibit.

Wallace continues that one reason why it is so hard to define Surrealism is that many works are not linked by a visual style or approach but rather it is more a 'mode of enquiry.' Surrealism sets out to approach the more challenging aspects of life; the subconscious, The invisible realm and other 'hard to access' places, in fact Surrealists were obsessed by these themes. When we consider this, it makes sense and that there isn't one all encompassing style, as if there were, there would be some suggestion that each individual's subconscious is not unique. This is not to say that there are not common themes between artists and links between certain symbolic aspects of work as well and artistic approaches, however each outcome is essentially personal to artist.

In regards to contemporary art or in fact contemporary culture, Wallace explored the fact that Surrealism has also been one of the largest influences in commercial advertising; this bringing together of random things, is a technique, which at one stage became hugely useful within advertising.  

Wallace then began to talk us through a collection of slides' some from the exhibition and some contemporary examples.

SLIDES

Victor Bauner 1934 – artificial man,

This first slide displayed a hybrid creature, displaying this idea of part human part machine. Surrealists were consistently concerned with the line between the real and unreal to perhaps create a stronger more capable human being, forever trying to cross this boundary. In the example shown, the real and the unreal are merged. An idea, which became possible after WWI when the production of prosthetic limbs rose and these hybrids appeared, bringing us closer to this surrealist vision of the unreal becoming real. Wallace made the link to The Tales of Hoffman; where a man falls in love with a mannequin; falling in love with something unreal is perhaps the ultimate bringing together of real/unreal.

Wallace touched on a lot of important things and appeared to have absolutely vast knowledge, especially in terms of Surrealism's relevance to contemporary art, theatre, literature, culture, history etc. This fascination with the body perhaps stemmed from Breton and Ernst's medical background, both trained to be doctors, until they resigned to become poets, yet their fascination with the body continued as they searched to link artificial worlds.

Ron Mueck, mask 11, 2011

contemporary example of the real and the unreal joined together

-the fantastic world

Perhaps the difference between then and now is that contemporary surrealists there is an element of humour and a replication of the movements attitudes, whereas surrealists of the time were completing a genuine search for truth, a genuine way to tap into the subconscious and make the unreal, real.

Wallace showed a slide of Bretons 1960s studio/home, which was fascinating and of which a video appears in the exhibitions, the studio is permanently displayed at the Centre Pompidou, Paris. Within the studio many esoteric objects appear. Breton had a strong belief in the power, status and mythology of objects, hence his vast an eclectic collection.

Often the question is asked 'When does the object become art? Is it when the artist pronounces it art, as if the artist somehow has a divine power. In the case of Surrealism the answer is no, an object must hold some magical power, or retain a sense of meaning or worth, never be a commodity or mass produced consumer item, perhaps found or manipulated in some way. The fall in popularity of Surrealism is largely to do with the rise of Pop Art, which was doing precisely this taking and everyday consumer object and displaying an oversized, over spruced, shiny version of it and calling it art, essentially going against everything that Surrealism was about. Refusing to commit to convention.

The exhibition itself was curated in chronological order, mapping the rise and 'fall' of Surrelaism.

“Transform the world' said Marx, 'Change Life' said Rimbaud. These two orders are for us one and the same” - Bréton 1955

"Every product of disgust is capable of becoming a negation of the family is Dada: a protest with the fists of its whole being engaged in destructive action dada: the knowledge of all the means rejected up until now by the stonefaced sex of comfortable compromise and good manners, dada: absolution of logic: which is the dance of those impotent to create: dada of every social hierarchy and equation set up for the sake of values by our valets Dada absolution of memory: dada – abolition of archaology” Dad absolution of prophets Dada: absolution of the future absolute and unquestionable faith in every God that is faith in the immediate product of spontaneity."

Tristan Tszara -Dada Manifesto, 1918.

The fall of popularity in Surrealism due to the rise of Pop Art, which essentially went against everything that Surrealist was about, often the question is asked ' when does the object become art? Is it when the artist pronounces it art, as if the artist somehow has a divine power. In the Case of Surrealism the answer is no, an object must hold some magical power, or retain a sense of meaning or worth, never be a commodity or mass produced consumer item, perhaps found, but then manipulated in some way. Pop Art was doing precisely this taking and everyday consumer object and displaying an oversized over spruced shiny version of it and calling it art. 

On visiting the exhibition itself after the talk I found some very different works to what I have seen before – the surreal house was more specific, obviously centred around the house and themes of domesticity, of course this is a revisited theme from many surrealist, this show has a broader, general overview of surrealism, with a strong link to cinema in conjunction with the surreal film festival being held at the gallery, there is a clearer narrative, however when listening to the talk it seemed that Dr. Wallace's interviewer was perhaps speaking with little knowledge of Surrealism, which is perhaps effective as it is such a vast and complex subject that many of the audience may only have touched on parts of it. It was reassuring, however, that Wallace clearly had more to offer on the topic.

 Belle Du Jour, 1967

 Commercial Surrealist Film

 Early Hans Richter

Mannequin Love

Frida Kahlo: Face to Face

Judy Chicago

Frida Kahlo: Face to Face

18 June 2011

During my second year at university, I initially discovered the work of Judy Chicago. I was working on a group project with 'Rubix' and we were researching themes based around Busby Berkeley, Journeys and a quote which led us to the idea of 'A Dinner Party;' it was then of course that Judy Chicago's, Dinner Party came into our research, an immensely important feminist work consisting (in brief) a tablecloth embroidered with the names of empowering women ( more about that here). When given the opportunity to attend a talk with American Artist, Chicago, I couldn't refuse.

Chicago was predominantly in discussion about her recent book 'Frida Kahlo; Face To Face' Chicago outlined that the book is essentially a discussion about Kahlo's work and Chicago describes that instead of most Art history books, she didn't want to re-create that omnipotent art historian voice, which often convinces the reader that whatever is being written is the absolute truth, and cannot be disputed. A feeling, which I am sure many have felt when reading a hefty volume about an artist as exposed as Kahlo. This being said, although Kahlo is well- known, she is perhaps mis-represented, according to Chicago at least. Although many are aware of her name, Chicago details that some are perhaps not aware of the breadth of her work. The majority of books about Kahlo tend to focus upon her self portraits, these being the most infamous of her work, but as the lecture went on Chicago showed slides of work, of which, many, (including myself) had never seen before and were very different in style to the works I Had been familiar with.

Chicago discussed how, often, female artists have been mis-represented throughout history, which is not the fault of art historians, as how can they comment on work which has been unarchived, mis- restored or lost completely, which is why only recently female artists have been able to in some way come into their own.

It is no that their art is unfairly criticised, it is simply that many surviving, important female works have been placed in an incorrect context, historians attempting to skew and squeeze certain works within the existing male dominated narrative of Art History. Perhaps the themes and issues being explored, are naturally personal, therefore sometimes gender specific. These works contain their own mode of enquiry, which does not fit with any existing model, but needs to be viewed in the context of an artists life or compared with previously unseen autobiographical elements, or in Kahlo's case, a full cache of work. Within her book, Chicago is outlining various phases of Kahlos' life and setting her work accordingly in the correct context.

Chicago emphasises that her book is first and foremost a discussion, therefore is still open to the opinion of the reader and shows a balanced discussion between Chicago and another art historian, allowing the reader to form their own opinions as well as consider the facts placed before them in the book.

Chicago was engaging as a speaker, yet I often dislike talks which appeared too rehearsed and formal, therefore when Chicago veered off her script, her outbursts and personal opinions were in the end the most interesting parts of the talk.  

The Denver Doldrums

Last Stanzas in Denver, 1947 Art is illusion, for I do not act -

Dwell or Depart - with faithful merriment

My thoughts, though skeptic, are in sacrament

So I enact the Hope I can create

A lively world around my deadly eyes

Sad Paradise it is I initiate

and fallen angles who lost wings and sighs.

In this unworldly state wherein I move.

My Faith and Hope are hellish currency:

In counterfeit worlds, I coin swell Charity

About myself, and trade my soul for Love.

Allen Ginsberg's poem, part of The Denver Doldrums, handwritten in a letter to Kerouac. The words 'Sad paradise' in the second stanza, appeared to Kerouac as 'Sal Paradise', the name he used for himself in On the Road.

Pina Bausch, Die Klage der Kaiserin

John Walsh is currently running a Flux Magazine brief again for the second years, so for inspiration he showed Pina, Die Klage der Kaiserin, the first film by choreographer Pina Bausch, and I tagged along. After watching this film, I will never look at contemporary dance in the same way again. I found the film wonderfully weird and got really engrossed in the strange mirroring of 'reality' through dance. The movements seemed completely natural, not rehearsed. I became really inspired by the absolute expression of self within the film. Often seeing things on screen can dilute them but when I really thought about what the people were doing in the film I became fascinated by the ever evolving narrative. It is interesting to think that a film which seems so obscure and seemingly sub-cultural could easily be an influence for many big screen, popular films. I could see how Black Swan could have been influenced by this and certain Tarantino films. I like the thought that an idea can start as one thing and evolve into new and changing things until on a fine thread remains between beginning and end, a subtle non-obvious link. Anything can be inspirational and can be a seed of a new idea. I really want to make my own film after watching Pina, so I think I might.

Angelheaded Hipsters

After a critique about my Beat Generation project, I decided to go back to my research phase and try to learn a little bit more around the background and culture of the Beats, hoping this would inspire me further in the project.

What better way than to visit the Angelheaded Hipsters exhibition at the National Theatre in London. the exhibition was an extensive collection of Allen Ginsberg's photography, amongst others, which mapped out, behind the scenes of archetypal Beat characters such as Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Carl Soloman, and Herbert Huncke to name a few. I was surprised at the sheer quantity of photographs and found Ginsberg's annotations of the photographs a great insight. It was intriguing to see Ginsberg's photographs of close friends,David Hockney, Madonna, Patti Smith and Roy Lichtenstein as well as the Beat's huge influence on the likes of Jim Morrison and Bob Dylan.

All images courtesy of Corbis.

Wim Crouwel: A Graphic Odyssey, talk and Exhibition

From right Mels & Wim Crouwel & Rick Poyner, Tony Brook (Spin) on front row.

I took a trip to London to visit the the Design Museum's retrospective of Dutch Typefather, Wim Crouwel. A Graphic Odyssey was accompanied by a talk from the man himself and his architect son, Mels Crouwel. The whole discussion mediated by renowned design critic Rick Poyner.

Curated by Tony brook of Spin, the exhibition is aptly gridded out with long white tables. A huge collection of Crouwel's work adorns the walls. Crouwel's lesser known early exhibition design resides alongside his iconic posters, detailed sketchbook extracts and logo roughs as well as Crouwel's lower case re-design of the phonebook. The exhibition also showed work from contemporary designers who have since been inspired by Crouwel, proving that the Total Design aesthetic remains undated even by todays standards.

After seeing the exhibition I walked upstairs to the intimate lecture space, to watch the talk, which was sold out. There were a limited number of seats, which created a good atmosphere as the talk felt much more like an informal discussion rather than a hard nosed design debate.

On seeing Crouwel I noticed that he had such a presence amongst his many admirers and it was clear that I was in the company of an icon. Mels also white haired an bespectacled, didn't wilt in his fathers presence, but rather embraced it, as he explained he had done all his life. For Mels, a career within design was inevitable, growing up in a converted house boat, surruounded by the designs and creations of his father from furniture to the house structure itself.

I found the discussion lively and upbeat, Poyner certainly knows how to curate a discussion and it was interesting to see that although Mels had been saturated by his fathers design influence and shared his modernist values, when applied to architecture, Mels is certainly a designer in his own right. The idea that graphic design can be applied to the way a space works is not a new idea, but it is certainly one that makes sense, highlighting the ever blurring boundaries between creative disciplines.

I bought the beautifully designed catalogue at the end of the show and if it wasn't for my need to catch an early train I would have definitely hung around to meet the man himself and perhaps get an autograph. Overall an great insight into Modernist Dutch design as well as the influence of Britain (Fletcher Forbes Gill) on the Dutch design scene. A great addition to my ever increasing interest in typography.

I have recorded the talk and it can be listened to here

It was never about “me” or “I,” It is about “we.”

I have just read an interview between Jessica Svendsen and Sheila Levrant de Bretteville for Broad Recognition, A feminist newspaper at Yale. I feel incredibly inspired by this interview, I find Bretteville's articulation of language empowering and her absolute belief and passion for her life's work, completely affirms her as one of my idols. I have posted some extracts and also my own opinions.


"When you look at the word demo­c­ra­tic as a part of fem­i­nism, that equal­ity and that abil­ity to argue with each other, come into fric­tion with each other or come into con­nec­tion with each other, on an equal plane, that is inher­ent in the ideal of democ­racy. If you try to trans­fer that into a fem­i­nist per­spec­tive, it holds that same mean­ing that we can talk with each other, agree or dis­agree, and work it out, as a part of self-criticism, as well as a crit­i­cism of fem­i­nism, as well as a crit­i­cism of mod­ernism, how a demo­c­ra­tic and more equal soci­ety is cre­ated so that what­ever kind of gender—there is as much dif­fer­ence within each gen­der as between the gen­der. You come from that per­spec­tive, it makes it very hard to talk about men and women all the time, around it. But I do think the word fem­i­nism is impor­tant because it car­ries with it an activist buzz. It really belongs to pay­ing atten­tion to how women are being treated, which, until we are treated absolutely equally, then I can­not let go of the word."
I often feel as though the word feminism carries with it certain negative or perhaps cliched connotations and it seems that most, male or female, have their opinion on what feminism means. For me, I feel that feminism is not a word that can be described with one sweeping definition as everyone's opinion differs depending on their experiences and their actions or involvement in feminism. I feel that almost all women are aware feminism in some way whether they proclaim this or not, simply by being a woman, involvement is unavoidable.(I can't imagine how any woman would want to avoid the topic)

JS: Many women design­ers acknowl­edge the glass ceil­ing and every­thing that sur­rounds them being a woman designer, but they are not nec­es­sar­ily fem­i­nist designer. Can you clar­ify the dis­tinc­tion between a female designer and a fem­i­nist designer?

SB: A female designer is often talk­ing about her­self, as many of the women who voted for Hilary in the elec­tion. These women talked about the expe­ri­ence with misog­yny as their rea­son for vot­ing for Hilary, rather than look­ing at what Hilary might do as Pres­i­dent. That was not what they were look­ing at; they were look­ing at their expe­ri­ence, and where they felt dissed. Vot­ing for a woman was acknowl­edg­ing them­selves. That is sim­i­lar to women design­ers who acknowl­edge the glass ceil­ing are really look­ing at.

I think to be fem­i­nist is to really care about women in gen­eral, not only design­ers, not only at priv­i­leged insti­tu­tions like Yale. Think­ing about women who don’t have any­thing, and what are the forces at work in our shared glob­al­ized cul­ture that keep women from actu­al­iz­ing their poten­tial. That is not what those women are talk­ing about. They are talk­ing about their poten­tial and their actu­al­iz­ing. That is the dif­fer­ence between being just a woman designer or being a fem­i­nist designer. It doesn’t mean that you are always work­ing on fem­i­nist con­tent, it means you think about, more broadly, women as a cat­e­gory and how that cat­e­gory is used against women, wher­ever they are, on a socioe­co­nomic level in a glob­al­ized world. That, to me, is fem­i­nism. It was never about me, what­ever “me” or “I” is. It is about “we.”

I find this statement explains an aspect of feminism very well. Being a woman does not make you a feminist (although you may be affected by feminism) in the same way that being a female designer does not make you a feminist designer. This idea of a 'we' instead of I, really rings true for me.

Much of my work centres around feminist attitudes and the portrayal of women, however I create work based on alternative themes too. The fact I make work about women is not what makes me a feminist necessarily, infact if I describe myself, as a designer, feminism is only one dimension and I would not like to narrow the perception of myself in that way. I feel my work does, and will span across a wider platform, therefore, yes I am a feminist designer but also an experimental designer, a concept-driven designer etc. etc.

Certainly as a person (being a designer as part of that) I would absolutely describe myself as a feminist. Although I may get angry about certain issues regarding the treatment of women, this is a level of unrest not designed to be anti-male or to take over the world, but merely to be offered the modest chance of being absolutely equal to men. no more than that. Some may think that equality has been achieved, however the balance is not level (in both directions, I wouldn't claim that men have all the advantages) It is, as Bretteville described, a genuine interest in the well-being of women, not just myself, not just designers, but all women be it those who are deprived of choice, my peers or colleagues.

There is one thing I would like to return to. You men­tioned the Miami poster cam­paign, and many peo­ple asso­ciate fem­i­nist graphic design with more con­fronta­tional or aggres­sive tac­tics, like the Guerilla Girls or Bar­bara Kruger. What alter­na­tives are there for fem­i­nist design?

SB: I am one of the alter­na­tives. I chose to focus on what we don’t have and how to get it, not on what is oppress­ing me or oppress­ing us. Some peo­ple are filled with a tremen­dous amount of anger and the way to express it is through their work and through their work about what is oppress­ing them. I think that that is very impor­tant work. It just hap­pens to not be my work.

Yes, because it is also how the notion of good design has changed. Both have changed. I just felt that Yale was known for good design, which was very much aligned with mod­ernist design at that point. So I was try­ing to open up the design, try­ing to open up the fem­i­nist design. A state­ment, like that, out of con­text, requires a lot of unpack­ing. Both around what is “good” and what is “feminist.”

I had an inter­est­ing con­ver­sa­tion with some stu­dents the other day. It wasn’t about fem­i­nism, but it is like this: two stu­dents were doing work that had images of like, kit­tens and sun­sets and palm trees, but they came off of Google images—they were get­ting them off the net. I was try­ing to locate what it is that those images were serv­ing. One of the other stu­dents, who was older than the two stu­dents who were doing it, said, “It’s gen­er­a­tional. The response to that.” I said, “I don’t think that if that’s oper­a­tive, it is not all that’s oper­at­ing.” It turns out that one of the stu­dents was doing it as a reac­tion against good design, clean design. Here we are, 2009, and some­one is choos­ing, what I call trashy, low, images to sig­nify “sweet­ness” as a reac­tion. My com­ment was: “You are here at Yale to do your own work. You don’t have to react against some­thing. Go for some­thing.” Because to spend your time against that now, unless you do it from an extremely informed, thought­ful, broadly-researched base, is a very knee-jerk, against, kind of activ­ity. It is not that you can­not use kitty kats and sun­sets. It is more: Why are you using [these]? I want to here from you, why, some­thing other than “I am against good design, clean design, all that design I learned at RISD.” I want more. I want to hear more. Talk about it more. Tell me more.

Bretteville continuously offers a considered and intelligent insight, Here is the full interview

Manchester Design Symposium

There was a great buzz around the first Manchester Design Symposium and I felt really excited that so many creatives had congregated together for the event. It seemed that much of the hype had been generated via Twitter and subsequently any Design Symposium related tweets should be followed by the tag '#mds' Many of the people I interact with on Twitter were attending the event and I wondered if any of them would actually speak to me in 'real life,' away from the safety net of the computer screen, The likelihood of which I found unlikely and was eventually proved right. There were five key speakers at the event; Si Scott, John Walters (Eye Magazine), Bruno Maag (Dalton Maag), Jonathan Barnbrook (Barnbrook) and Tom Dorresteijn (Studio Dumbar) David Crow orchestrated the event, commenting and introducing each new speaker. The theme of the event was 'The Value Of Design' and each speaker had free reign as to how they may interpret this. of course any public speech is an opportunity for self promotion and for some this is exactly what happened, whereas others genuinely offered their slant on the value design had. There were certainly a diverse range of responses. First up was Si- Scott. I have heard a talk from Si-Scott before and I have to say that this talk was not much different really. I didn't think that Scott explained the 'The Value Of Design,' but merely talked us through his career path so far and how he has become successful using his own personal style. I think that Si Scott has an interesting style of work and the direction his more recent work is going in is good. He is a down to earth person and I think many audience members related to him, however I didn't think he offered any interesting opinions and his oration was a bit dull (might have to let him off though slightly, as he was under the influence of strong pain killers)

John Walters, however, offered his opinion about 'The Value Of Design,' from a non-designer perspective, which is exactly what Eye Magazine is base on. It was very engaging and refreshing to hear his opinion. Founded by Rick Poyner, Eye magazine has brought design writing from being, at best, a caption or short summary to an extensive dialogue and interesting discussion. Walters explained his view that Design has Value in five key ways; Editorial, Cultural, Functional, Financial and Educational Value. During the Question and Answer section at the end I asked Walters whether he thought the online accessibility of eye magazine affected the popularity of the print version of the magazine, Walters answered that eye has always had a strong online base, and that eye's online presence is as important as print, and part of what has made eye so popular, it just depends how people prefer to view things, and he had faith in eye as a beautiful printed item as well as an informative online resource. I certainly regard eye as one of my major online, cultural resources.

Probably one of the most entertaining of the speakers was Bruno Maag. Maag is like a firework and jumped straight into his talk with a sparky warning to anyone not paying for font licenses that he would personally hunt them down. Maag has a very craft-based respect for typography and he told us about the return to black and white gouache in drawing typefaces, and that any intern must close their mac and appreciate type non-digitally before they can create type digitally. I was really inspired my Maag and thought it would be enlightening to do a placement at Dalton Maag, a kind of karate kid technique in learning about typography. Maag quite literally talked about the value of design, in that the design of typefaces, which are effective and which work to sell product, can literally lead to cold hard cash, his unashamed discussion of making money was something, some conservative Brits, may have found unusual, but Maag has proved in his own work with huge clients such as Windows and Nokia, that you can make a lot of money from type. (I suppose you would have to be paid a lot to design a typeface that can be read in 3 billion different languages!) Maag has also created a free typeface also called Ubuntu, which has a vastly impressive number of variations, made available to everyone regardless of financial circumstance, location or language or as Maag says "before now typography has mainly been in the domain of the geeks"

Jonathan Barnbrook talked us through his experience as a more unconventional type designer, I couldn't help but think their may have been tensions between Barnbrook and Maag, all in good faith of course. Barnbrook is an extremely likeable and witty character and although I am unsure if he described a value of design as such, it was really interesting to see how he sourced inspiration for his typography and imparted anecdotes from his design experience.

Finally tom Dorresteijn spoke about his interpretation of 'The Value of Design.' For some reason everyone woke up slightly as Dorresteijn began his talk, maybe it was the change in accent. As a design strategist, Dorresteijn believes that the value of design is the 'design of value' in that if you can persuade a client that your design has value, then that is the key to success. In other words if the client is turned on' then they will appreciate the value of design and see how good design can result in business success.

I found that all in all the day was really inspiring and it was great to experience so many discussion about the topic of design, I felt that the day re-affirmed my belief that what I am doing really doe have value and is extremely valid as a vocation. Although I was disappointed at the absence of female representatives at the event. Afterwards the talks continued at The Deaf Institute, with a networking event organised by 'designinnit.' (to be continued)

Björn Soneson

I found this when browsing for inspirational book formats for my current project

John Stezaker

Whitechapel Gallery, London

04/03/2011

John Stezaker is one of the most renowned collage artists of our time and it was a treat to find that a retrospective of his work had been curated for the Whitechapel Gallery. I first came across Stezaker's work when I visited New York in 2007, whilst studying on my foundation year, at the time I was unaware of how influential Stezaker would come to be. I re-visited a sketchbook from New York whilst studying my degree and noticed a small thumbnail of an intriguing and jarring image, researching further I realised it was Stezaker and began to explore his work further.

Within my wider research for my dissertation I researched Stezaker and found some of his themes very interesting. Stezaker uses film stills an juxtaposes them with disparate or complimentary images, film, stills.

Stezaker explores gender roles in cinema and is often described as a male feminist. It is interesting to wonder whether his work is perceived differently because he is male, compared to if a female generated similar work.

He comments on the idea that women are objects of attention and subjects of the male gaze, a theme prominent within Hollywood cinema. Using collage Stezaker subverts, exaggerates and draws attention to our perception, using what we take for granted and offering the opportunity to re-think what we see by rearranging the way images are ordered and presented. This transformation of images allures the viewer, as collage does so often, into a new sense of reality, a continuous comment and questioning of perception.

I researched Stezaker for my dissertation, I found it interesting to observe a male response to some of the feminist issues I had been exploring. To see the huge retrospective of Stezaker's work was inspiring and overwhelming to see so much of his work in one place, the work has much more resonance in the space of a gallery rather than on screen or in a book, seen at the size which Stezaker intended. What was so impressive is that each of the collages were original works, not re-produced or printed out, the actual fragments were original, and there is something endearing about how two disparate, unedited elements can work together in a strange harmonious chaos.

The idea of male dominance/gender hierarchy and the male/female gaze is something I have explored in a film workshop, with Sam Meech using found footage for the North West Film Archive, and something I will continue to explore in future work.

Jesse Lenz

Jesse Lenz Is 'A 22 year old artist' and has an absolutely fantastic portfolio, with a huge range of clients and is the same age as me! Here are some examples of work.

Jesse Lenz Is 'A 22 year old artist' and has an absolutely fantastic portfolio, with a huge range of clients and is the same age as me! Here are some examples of work.

DR. ME Talk

After rumours of a Skype lecture, I was unsure what to expect from DR.ME and was surprised on entering the lecture theatre to find the Manchester duo present. Instead of talking over points in voices, which they self-confess, would send us to sleep, the usual rambling on about the self, certain points taking far too long, and missing out vital pieces of information. DR.ME, which is the collaborative creative name of Mark Edwards and Ryan Doyle, decided to shake things up a bit and use an automated voice to concisely explain their university and post-university journey.

I found the lecture insightful and certainly have never been to a lecture which uses this platform and true to form it did keep me engaged. I took from the lecture the idea that if you keep working, keep doing work you believe in, continue to network and most importantly enjoy yourself then opportunities will slowly but surely start coming your way. DR. ME have recently moved into their own studio, which is an incredible achievement considering they only left university 7 months ago.

After the lecture I spoke to Mark and Ryan and talked through my portfolio, I found what they had to say really helpful, their constructive criticism was good to hear as it is always good to get an outside opinion on your work. I also found it useful to discuss how they coped working abroad, as this is one of my aspirations after leaving university, so thanks guys for putting my mind at ease!

Link to my blog post on DR.ME does Urban Outfitters

Sir Eduardo Paolozzi; General Dynamic F.U.N

Sir Eduardo Paolozzi

General Dynamic F.U.N

Holden Gallery, Manchester.

A New Exhibition at The Holden Gallery, Manchester features 50 photolithographs and screenprints from renowned artist and sculptor, Eduardo Paolozzi. Paolozzi places disparate images next to each other and finds a connection between the two, however tenuous this may be, the treatment and composition of his prints are striking and a social comment on the world of benevolent technology.

"Thermo-nuclear weapons systems and soft drinks commercials co-exist in an overlit realm ruled by advertising and pseudo-events, science and pornography"

I found the prints intriguing and incredibly contemporary, it is clear to see that Paolozzi (b. 1924) has been a great influence to other artist working on the topic of mass media advertising and consumerism or dealing with the diversity of the image. I find that some of the attitudes expressed in his prints are reflective of those discussed in the documentaries of Adam Curtis, a sinister undertone juxtaposed with a certain 'squeaky clean-ness' are present within Paolozzi's prints and Curtis' documentaries.

After the recently attending a lecture by Vaughan Oliver, I find the exhibition especially relevant, regarding Oliver's discussion of the importance and impact of placing two seemingly disparate images together within a graphic design context. The unexpected connection can create a sense of joy, fear, horror, beauty....or a combination of jarring emotions.

I definitely recommend this exhibition to anyone interested in the semiotics of the image and the potential subversion of that.

see It Felt Like A Kiss

Lucy May Schofield

I was vaguely familiar with Lucy May Schofield's work before this lecture and I am fascinated by the intricate art of bookbinding, as I myself probably don't have the patience to be an absolute perfectionist, which seems to be a trait of bookmakers. Lucy showed us a range of beautiful books, but what was most interesting was the story behind her journey. It seems that her work, life and play are synonymous, she lives and breathes her work and her personal experiences are what fuels the content for her books. Her creative inspiration is her self and her interaction with others and the links and emotions floating in between.

I always like to hear how people get to where they are, as it is reassuring to find that it is okay (and probably a good thing) to not have a complete idea of what you want to do. Lucy is a great example of someone staying true to what they love doing despite difficulties and obstacles in terms of production and mass distribution. In fact it is all in the charm of a handmade book, that there are only a few and owning one of these few knowing each is hand finished is a very precious thought. Lucy's next venture is her 'School of Life' inspired, roaming, cathartic library this sounds fascinating and I admire her freedom to explore.

Lucy's Website (by Hilary Judd)

beautiful ready-made love note books, especially apt and inspiring near Valentine's Day

Johnny Hardstaff

I have just completed a two day workshop along with half of my course with inspirational designer/director/person, Johnny Hardstaff. Johnny has worked with some very impressive clients including Sony, Orange and Toyota and its no surprise because I get the impression that Johnny could sell an idea to anyone, not that he is short of them either, he has sketchbooks overflowing with unexplored ideas and it is clear that he lives and breathes his practice.

For the workshop we had to try to make the 'feeling of intoxication' appealing to a consumer, forgetting the negative stigma of alcohol and presenting it in a contemporary, innovative and fresh way. The client was Smirnoff. There were some amazing concepts and ideas flying around the room and over the course of the two days I felt utterly empowered by the enthusiasm and passion that Johnny has. I felt that I got to explore a large range of concepts in a short time. A great idea can be thought up in a moment, and what you do with that idea is when the magic happens. It was a privilege to get to work with someone like johnny and hopefully I will get to again in the future.