P-o-i-n-t-less.

"One thing.  Three parts."

1. Do something pointless for an hour.
2. Document it.
3. Present it.
   

This workshop with Ian Anderson was a lot more self directed than the last and Ian really asked us to think on our feet.  We were told we were to know where we're going and that the end result should dictate.  He told us to think about the fact that we had to present it, could we justify that it was pointless?

So where am I going with this project and why?

I spoke to Ian one on one in the afternoon, and he told me not to be lateral and think so much about it.  He couldn't care less if I jumped on the spot for an hour.

So I went home.  And counted coco pops.

It didn't provide me with anything.  The end result lacked any sign of being self beneficial and was a complete waste of my time.

It was pointless.

This was essentially a sourcing excercise, with an aspect of editing.  We had to stretch ourselves whilst providing interest for those in the room.

The great thing about Ian's workshops are the presentation tips and also how to interpret a brief.  The learning curve today was that we all looked too much into the hour and not into what we were essentially being asked to do.  The presentation.  So the hour was indeed pointless.  Because we learnt we should look to what we are being asked to do and not to be seduced into doing the most creative piece.  I really need to listen to a brief, and work out what a client wants me to come back with.  Pitch as if they don't know what you have been asked to do.  And if they say talk for ten minutes.  Then fill your slot.  The industry is 50% design and 50% selling.  Be engaging - human nature will win them over.

The comments I got from Ian and the group surprised me and actually gave me some confidence!

And just incase you are wondering.

I counted 376.5 coco pops in an hour.  I drew each one, examining each grain.  This averaged at a pitiful 13 coco pops a minute.  20 grams when weighed.  This suggests that if you were to hand select each coco pop for your breakfast in the morning, your recommended 30g would take one hour and a half to make...

G-MAN talks Self Promotion:

"Self Promotion is one aspect of design that cannot be taught.

You are really out on a limb and your on your own with this one,

and the pitfalls are numerous: should it be funny or serious?"

I've been flicking through the self promotional IDN recently, thinking about how I want to promote myself/represent myself visually etc, so the timing of this lecture was perfect.

Graham highlighted the importance of the following:

• Identity
• Portfolio
• Website/Online Presence ie Twitter/Facebook/Behance/Flickr
• Printed Material

It's remarkable what you can make out of your current situation.  I loved how he broke down the Via identity into elements around him that he had taken inspiration from.  I've never thought about carpet patterns and pots of paint in that way.  It sort of reinforced what I learnt from John Walsh's wander/wonder workshop last week.  I'm now eyeing up everything I come across.  Is it silent... Is it pointless... could it be used to promote me?

"Your business card is your primary weapon."

Examples of cards and letter heads using Graham's personality.

Also shows selection is memorable.

Things to remember:

• Be consistant
• Be memorable without being annoying
• Give your buisness cards to as many people as you can
• Show care and attention to detail
• Update your contacts every few weeks... a great way of keeping in touch and reminding them who you are
• Make a conserted effort to catch eye
• Don't trust your client will always use you, establish trust, then let them know you are always interested/willing
• Express your personality with passion and dare - know that people respond to personal approaches
• Let the work speak for itself - don't bullshit or over sell
• Exploit every avenue.
• Make the person you want to work with/for think they are special - send limtited/unique/personal mailouts
• Strive to do great work
• Get involved with the printing

"Finding clients will be the main battle in your whole career:

not only to find clients to start you going but constantly to be finding clients to keep you going."

Online presence and business cards for Loose Collective's identity.

Designed by Graham.

Personal mailer above: leaving space for handwriting/personal msg.

I love how Graham photographs his work and the execution of the pieces themselves made me want to learn more about printing and stock.  I found this a really beneficial lecture.  I feel maybe just a little better about stepping out into the big wide world.

Tuesday October 27th

Kino4: Let The Right One In

I am really enjoying the film nights!  I'm inclined to say the films get better every week, but my heart still lies with 'The Diving Bell and The Butterfly.'  'Let the Right One In' comes in close second.  Not usually one for vampires or a fan of suspending belief in the supernatural, but this was a cut above what I had stereotyped this film as.  Instead it was an array of poetic imagery and scenes that addressed many social issues.  Bullying, murder, romance, gender, pedophilia, prostitution and theft.  Perhaps even loneliness?  I would define it as quite an ambiguous film, I think it is largely down to how the viewer chooses to interpret relationships between characters and the motifs behind their actions.  It may communicate notions of the dark side of humanity but it was delivered so poetically that it wasn't heavy viewing.  It could easily have been gory and dark but it wasn't.  There were notably a lot of contrasts within the film, significantly the snowy Swedish backdrop to emphasise the colours, often red, and blue.  The reoccurring image of Eli's boarded up window next to Oskar's light filled room.  The casting of Eli and Oskar, the dark hair and the blonde.  Romance after murder.  Birdsong.

I became fully engaged in this film.  I didn't question the fact that Eli was a vampire, that she flew, that she was 200 years old.  It dawned on me how immersed I had become when I realised I had been holding my breath as the bully held Oskar's head under water.  (Three minutes... don't try it at home kids!)  but it was ruined slightly by the fact that the bullies were then ripped to shreds.  That and the scene where Ginia is attacked by the cats just before she goes up in flames.  Just a little bizarre.  But all in all I would definitely recommend anybody to watch this film!!

Liverpool D&AD stylee.

Forgive me for a little bit of late post, the last week and a half has just been so busy.  Preparing for reviews and my trip to New York.  Last friday (23rd) a group of us made another return journey to Liverpool.  We have ventured there a lot lately, but there is just so much to see in terms of galleries and museums... I still haven't managed to squeeze in everything.

First stop:

TATE Liverpool

Starting at the top and working our way down:

Joyous Machines co-curates the work of Jean Tinguely and Michael Landy, documenting the relationship between the two and the ways in which Tinguely's mechanical installations inspired Landy's development and work.  Both examine constructive and destructive elements, especially within the context of mass consumerism.  The poignant social comments added a unique perspective to a quite radical and subversive collection.  I had never seen art brought to life so physically - even the delicate static pieces appeared to dance with their shadows on the wall, casting a beautiful depth.  Tinguely's dense and angular geometric abstract paintings were set in rhythmic motion for 1 minute in every 15, I thought this was a really amazing way of interacting and positioning the viewer, if for no other reason than aesthetics and to communicate and mirror the sequential movement of machines.  Everything in this exhibition was so highly considered, it was quite impressive.  Tinguely also alluded to art history showing a vast critical realm with his paraodys of modernist art.  As i expressed in my post about Bridget Riley exhibition - I love raw and unformed sketchbook/ mapping pieces.  Tinguely's sketches of function and movement were delicately framed and I loved these inked pieces.  There is just such a natural element to them, so much more pleasing to me than the final works.  I would have loved to have been able to take pictures to document these.

 All this inspiration and I haven't even begun to talk about Landy.  His work really inspired my creative thinking for silence and so I think I will blog separately about him when I update my project on here.  Breakdown 2001 changed the direction of my work totally.  This was a very worth while trip indeed.

Down a floor and in to the DLA Piper Series: This Is Sculpture.

Select your headphones, pull back the heavy curtain and head for the aptly lit dance-floor, surrounded of course by sculptures.  This was a contemporary exhibition attempting a revolutionary look at modernist objects and installations.  I thought this was really innovative.  But nothing provided the wow factor for me.

And on the ground floor was 'The Seagram Murals' by Mark Rothko.  This work commanded your awe.  The sheer size of it and the way in which it was atmospherically presented just made the simple pieces impressive.  I read that Rothko asked for the walls to be painted grey specifically to transform the room to function emotively.  That and the lighting enhanced the nine paintings dramatically, enhanced by the compact nature of the space.

There was lots of artists in the TATE collection that displayed some really interesting and socially vocal pieces, my notebook got quite full!  There were many permanent pieces that I have seen on my previous visits so a lot of it I had already seen and written about in year one and two.  It's always nice to see Cindy Sherman's 'Bus Riders' and I came across new work by Francis Alys which I really liked.  There is so much, that I couldn't possibly write about it all.

And so we moved on.

Second stop:

Bluecoat

This museum was Bethan's find!

The work here was quite diverse, and I didn't quite understand if it was just a collection or an exhibition.  The work here was quite modern so it was nice to see fresh stuff, though a little traditional.  A few pieces by Jorge Martinez Garcia (2007) caught my eye.  I think they are quite intriguing etchings.  

Triptico-Los Comisarios

2007

Estela Maya

2007

Monotype on acrylic

En La Cantina

2007

(Below)  A little room with a silent movie playing.  There was something quite profound about the lack of sound and quality of image, confined to a small dark space and a single chair for a lone viewer.  Silence - Silence - Silence.  It appears everywhere since I was given this brief.

Ian Anderson returns...

The story so far...

I sent him something to keep forever...

He sent me something to keep forever...

And now I have just spent the last hour handpicking each individual coco pop for my 30g portion, drawing each one as I counted it into my bowl.  Yes I could have just poured them in and added milk... but that wouldn't have been pointless now would it?

It's fun to stay at the...

Y-M-C-A

SEVEN DAYS!!!

"Words on a gravestone: I waited but you never came."

On my search for my personal interpretation of 'Silence' I came across this image by Erin Nicole.

After my first feedback tutorial with Liz, we decided that I should look further into Censorship, but this image sparked a sequence of ideas, ones that I feel show a more individual and lateral response to the brief.  I am intrigued by the props and their placement.  The silence of these objects in actual fact creates an endless production of meaning.  This led me on a journey to discover notions of memory and experience, analysing objects as a profound material language and how they together have the ability to voice a narrative.  I find it a compelling thought that objects are overlooked as silent things, especially when left behind or lost.  We often project our silent thoughts and feelings onto them with a found element of sentiment.

This closely links in with my interest with missing people and the way in which they can be traced before the lingering silence.  It is strange how you become immortilised as a description, known for your last known movements, the possessions you carried and wore at the time.  And then there is the family that will wait for you, leaving your possessions untouched for their comfort.

The image of Resusci Annie (above) fascinates me.  The ethereal death mask taken from the body of a young girl found dead in the 19th Century.  Her identity was never discovered and her face was adopted as the universal resuscitation doll.  It is speculated her death to have been a suicide, perhaps a story of unrequited love?

In a bid to piece together a narrative I linked my two ideas through romantic sentiment.

I showed my visual experiments to Liz, and to Sue.  Two of which are above.  I scanned in a rose, a sentimental object to me.  What may be a dead object to someone else, provokes memories for me.  It appears timeless, I really like the aesthetic the scanner creates.  Both tutors gave very similar advice and so I feel set on track.  Although the image is quite nice it feels expected.  They told me to avoid the cliche, to delve further.  The image of the rose already has connotations of sentiment, so the text should be more abstract.  Liz wants to see at least 5images of household objects photographed out of context, and Sue told me to take 10 possessions, capture, and on the reverse experiment with offbeat memories they may trigger.  I can see this project developing continuously, who knows where it will end up...

The Fantastic Mr Fox

Yesterday morning while I was enjoying my tea and toast, I came across the T4 Movie Special for The Fantastic Mr Fox.  Rick Edwards is possibly the single most annoying presenter I have ever watched, but other than that it was good to catch a few snips of how they made such a large scale stop frame animation.  Wes Anderson's adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic looks impressive.  The painstaking and precise nature of the hand crafted sets and figures is stunning.  Each so detailed and versatile in their movement and expressive abilities.  It was also fascinating to see how Anderson steered away from recording studios and vocal boothes, moving out into the open to create an air of 'humanity' and a feeling of 'naturalism.'  I really enjoyed the footage of the actors acting out their parts, eating and rolling around as is animated for us.  I noticed that this is on at the Cornerhouse, think I might have to squeeze this in!

Nicola Rowlands

On tuesday (October 20th) we were joined by Nicola Rowlands.

A D&AD graduate from last year who has an extremely lovable individual and creative style.  I found this a really reassuring talk, hearing from somebody who has worn the shoes that I am now, so to speak, quaking in.  I appreciated her advice...

• Be nice to your teachers
• Be raw and confident
• Write genuinely about your practice, and when approaching agencies for work
• Go out on a limb - but don't be too wacky
• Create an online presence for yourself, & a pdf folio to send out
• Don't put all your eggs in one basket - keep an open mind
• Don't blend in
• Be aware - watch TV, read the newspaper
• Be yourself and not someone else
• Keep in touch

...and the images dropped in between these for a lil bit of humour.

Nicola is evidently a hard worker, with many placements and freelance work under her belt.  These include presentations and posters for the BBC.  A great example of her illustration and how this style has a place within the commercial industry which is usually full of slick graphics.

Can't go without mentioning Nicola's blog.  I love it!  It's more than just a third year journal, it shows contextual awareness and personality.  It reads like a diary rather than point scoring 20 D&ADcredits.  It shows somebody who is what they practice.  I aspire to shape my blog in this way.  

Le Scaphandre et Le Papillon

'The Diving Bell And The Butterfly'

'Let your imagination set you free'

This movie captured my imagination right from the moment the title sequence began to roll.  I don't think I have ever seen such a stunning and captivating beginning to a film.  The cinematography instantly drew me in, the flicker of light and surroundings; the sound of Jean-Do's breath engaging my senses.  It was as if the viewer was waking with him.  To be placed so accurately in this perspective was fascinating.  This is definitely a piece of art that will change your outlook on life.

We learnt of the true story, of Elle magazines editor Jean-Dominique Bauby - who at 43 suffered a stroke that rendered him paralyzed bar the exception of two things; his left eye, and his imagination.  'Locked in syndrome', symbolised by the diving bell effectively made me think in terms of our silence study and silent communication.  The technique used by Jean-Do to communicate was the blinking of his left eye.  Once for yes, twice for no, and a blink to spell out words with the reciting of an ordered alphabet.  Using only this, he inspiringly wrote his memoirs.  Despite feeling so emotionally and physically confined we still flutter into the past and absorb the imaginative scenarios of his present, witnessing some poetic views and emotive scenery.  Spine-tingling and eloquently told.  Beautiful.  Now go get yourself a copy.

What a "WACKY WEEK"

Wow.

The pace of third year is definitely kicking in.

I already sense myself becoming dependent on borroca and pro plus.

I have never been so tired and I think I may be getting flu, bad times...

but one must battle on.

So...

Tuesday:

Tutorial with Liz

Nicola Rowlands Presentation

Kino 4 - Le Scaphandre et Le Papillon

Wednesday:

Tutorial with Sue

Michael McIntyre a la M.E.N

Thursday:

Wonder/Wandering with John Walsh

Friday:

TATE Liverpool

My to do list is looking a little daunting.

Blogging this week for the ol' journal, a two day

workshop with Ian Anderson,

dissertation, review week...

 and NEW YORK.

Big Lights Will Inspire You

TWO WEEKS!!!

IDN: Self Promotion

The self-promotion issue

IDN

This has helped me to think about how I want to begin to promote myself and open my eyes to how original and well designed some promotional pieces are.  On top of that there is some gorgeous work throughout.  I love IDN, i think it always captures a sense of strong creative aesthetics and is always pleasing to the eye and an interesting read.

Visual Documents.

On tuesday, we got Silence Part 2.  

This asks us to take our inspiration from Part 1 and record and encapsulate our work, combining it with an element of written language.  This may consist of facts, findings, reflection or a fictional narrative.  I have opted to produce a print format piece that works as a sheet and also as a folded document.  I was really keen to do the Amnesty campaign because of the opportunity to work on copy, but I really want to develop my lateral thinking, design and bookmaking skills so opted to do A.  If it's not too ambitious I may try and do the Amnesty as a side project at a later date.  To develop Silence in to part2 I have been looking at examples of 'visual documents.'  Mack used the Street Training Manual from the City Gymnasium exhibit as an example.  I had picked this up when I visited the Cube Gallery in town with Gemma two weeks ago... for me it was the highlight of the exhibition which I didn't really take any inspiration from.  It is also worth mentioning that we enquired about degree show costs for june/july hire.

Whilst at The Cube, we also picked up this piece, which was nominated at the Roses Design awards 09.  It is by MARK and is the catalogue for the Manchester Literature Festival.  Its format doesn't fit the brief but thought I'd share it none the less, I really like it!

Routing further through my (now very big) box of inspiration I have, I came across the exhibition leaflet for Undercover, which I visited in London in August.  When I blogged about this visit, back in August, I described how gorgeous this is.  I've finally photographed it and now you can see how it visually puts the subject into a chronological way as it unfolds, before opening into a poster.

And, to further my thinking around formatting, I have been flicking through a book I bought in my second year.  'Templates' consists of visual examples of document formats, as well as providing the templates on a disc.  This makes it easy to digitally paginate your work, and gets you thinking about how far your format can be taken to emphasise the  meaning within your work.  If anyone wants a flick through or to copy some of the ai. files, just lemme know and I will bring it to studio.

As for narrative and visuals for S.p2 ... a little stuck on the direction.  Need to push my ideas, really can't wait for tutorial on tuesday.  Tis very much needed.

If... (1968)

If, directed by Linday Anderson.  The second film in our now weekly film club.  A film that metaphorically addresses the British social class system.  I really didn't know what to make of this film.  Obviously it is a profound statement about rebellion and revolution, but I struggled to find a specific plot for my interpretation.  I think Rollerball touched upon similar themes in a way that engaged the audience much more.  Perhaps this was because Rollerball, being about media is a subject that speaks to the masses.  If, in 2009 does not communicate with a generation raised in a world that has broken down some of the barriers of superiority and class.  However, it should not be overlooked that for its time it is revolutionary.  Not only for statements by the male protagonist Mick Travis who boldly states:

"There's no such thing as a wrong war.  Violence and revolution are the only pure acts."

"One man can change the world with a bullet in the right place"

but also for the attempt to film parts in colour despite a low budget.

I found it to be interestingly structured.  It was like reading chapters of a book.  Allowing a brief reflection on what we had seen and what was to come.  This could be interesting in terms of the 'Silence' part2.  Along these lines I found the sound of the cane much more profound than seeing the action, sometimes visual silence evokes more within a viewer.  This is definitely a film that would be best understood after more than one viewing and a bit of discussion.

MA D&AD at The Holden Gallery.

As I confessed with The Special Collection Libary, The Holden Gallery is something I have walked through most days for the past two years and have very rarely found time to stop and take in what's there.  So I thought I would begin by looking at The MA show currently on display, which is hosting D&AD work as well as some beautiful and quirky textile pieces. In particular two D&AD projects stood out.  I think this was because they were artistic and a lot of my frustration comes from trying to separate the two, and then trying to marry them.  I'm trying to find a balance.  I have always been fascinated by those who have their own unique and commanding style.  My work seems to get lost in the conceptual and never seems to progress into the visual.  I think researching/idea generating/blogging is sometimes my way of procrastinating.  

Dave Molloy

I find this work so intriguing.  There is so much depth captured in it, a combination of linear approach and image manipluation.  I imagine this to be the kind of work that every time you look, you see something different.  I would love to know the concept and process behind this body of work.  The light was poor so my photographs don't do these portraits justice but I loved the glossy quality of the print.  That is an area I want to become more familiar with over the next year, so that I can get the most out of my execution.

Visiting the Special Collection: Stilled Lives // The Story of Things

I have to admit, ashamedly, that until yesterday, I hadn't visited The Special Collections Library since the first week of first year.  How I have missed out!  Insanely I don't think I realised quite how vast our resources are, and was almost unaware of it.  Some of the books in there are gorgeous, unique.  The best quality being age.

I was also unaware of the small exhibiting space just infront of the library, which at present has two small studies of interest, Stilled Lives and The Story of Things.  So thanks to Gemma for suggesting we go!

The Story of Things

Curated by Carson & Miller

"Collections are essenitally a narrative of experience; as objects are a kind of material language, so the narratives in to which they can be selected and organised are a kind of fiction..."

Pearce, S.M (1995)

This has really inspired and contributed to my interpretation of 'Silence'.  I have been looking at the missing and the lost, and this had led me to think about objects and sentiment.  The voice of something left behind and overlooked.  For me, it reiterated the idea that 'things' can tell an individual story but together can form a narrative.  This collection looks at notions of memory, narrative and collections and explores their relationship with each other.

Some of the artefacts themselves have great visual appeal and if you are interested in ephemera then I think that you should give 5 minutes to go and have a browse!  

"...the absencing of meaning, which in turn, evokes an endless production of it, an endless production of fortuitous encounters..."

Allemer .P (2009)

It also sparked my imagination by stating that the 'production, consumption and interpretation of narratives in visual form is central to contemporary cultures.'  Analysing how within this context, the visual expression of narrative can be traced.  It made me think about the positioning of the viewer and the way in which a reader/viewer would have to interact differently depending on what they are presented with, ie text and/or image.

Stilled Lives

Stilled Lives, is a limited edition book that features collaborations from artists, designers, poets and writers across MMU.  This is to provoke further explorations of narrative, memory and collections.  I loved seeing work by Sue, Clinton and Hitch.

Sue

'Strange Library'

Clinton

'Across The Garden Wall' (The Last Lads)

Hitch

709.05 KOM

The Special Collections Library is something that I will definitely be taking advantage of whilst I am still at Uni.