Sunday, 22 July 2007

TATE MODERN



Although I enjoyed the Tate Modern, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Although the scale of the building was impressive, I found parts of the building to be soulless and ironically quite dated in appearance.

Overall though, I did see a lot of work which I found to be exciting and inspiring (although there was also a lot of work which came across as annoyingly pretentious) and I will go back to see the bits I missed.

THE ART DIRECTION BOOK

D&AD asked 28 of the world's top art directors to talk about their craft. They published the results and examples of their work in this book.

The examples of work included aren’t particularly inspiring as they do look a bit dated (the book was published in 1996), but the advice given is still very relevant.

The three pieces of advice that recur throughout the book are: 1. If you want to be the best work with the best. 2. Keep it simple; don’t be distracted by fads and fashions. 3. Get a life outside art direction.

Other pieces of great advice include:

“Even the most radical work should be easily justified”

“It is easy to do something that looks different or something that looks relevant. Doing both is the tricky bit.”

“If you know what you’re doing you can’t be doing anything original”

“It’s more difficult being wrong than right.
If you want to be right, just do it the way everyone else does.
Doing it differently means listening.
The cleaner can improve your ad.
The most junior account handler can.
Your aunt can.”

JUSTIN MORTIMER




Justin Mortimer, a British Artist, born in 1970, creates semi-abstract drawings, paintings and photo-collages. He has won many awards for his work including Young Artist of the year in 1996 and First Prize in the BP Portrait Award in 1991.

The one piece which I am a massive fan of is ‘HM the Queen’ (1997. Oil on Canvas. 135cm x 135cm) The Royal Society for the Arts commissioned this piece to mark the 50th anniversary of its link with the Queen.

I really admire Mortimer for staying true to his semi-abstract style and producing a piece which was obviously going to be controversial and attract a certain amount of criticism.

He describes the piece as “fresh and funky” and says:

"I wanted to get away from the royal aspect and paint a picture of a person rather than the Queen.

It means people can focus more on the abstract quality of the painting and get away from the 'normal' paintings of royalty, where everything is intact and, dare I say it, sycophantic."

I totally agree with Mortimer's way of thinking. There is no point in repeating what’s already been done before.

HONG KONG MUSEUM OF ART



The Hong Kong Museum of Art’s mission is to preserve the cultural heritage of China. Its collections now number in excess of 14,000 art objects, including Chinese paintings and calligraphy works, antique Chinese treasures, paintings of historical significance as well as creations by local artists.

I visited the museum in 2004. The work I was most interested in was from the ‘Vietnam Behind the Lines’ exhibition. This collection featured Communist propaganda posters from the time of the Vietnam War.

It was really interesting to see what the war looked like from the Vietnamese point of view. I was surprised at how similar the posters were to western propaganda posters, both in layout and the messages which they were promoting. They were full of national pride and a ‘dig deep’ mentality. They graphically portrayed the Americans as evil monsters who were attacking innocent Vietnamese people, including women and children.

After viewing these posters I had a much greater sympathy for the Vietnamese people. I suppose this is proof that this type of poster is effective, especially in a war situation. It makes me wonder if the British Government felt it necessary to produce war propaganda posters today, how different would they be to those Vietnamese posters produced all those years ago? My guess is, not much.

ONE PLANET





“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page” St Augustine

I think this is so true and for this reason I think travel is definitely one of the best sources of creative inspiration.

One Planet is a celebration of life, curiosity and the experience of travel. It is a collection of quotations and inspirational photographs from around the world.

The stunning photography of real people and places capture things that have to be seen to be believed. For example, the nomadic ‘Sea Gypsies’ from Indonesia (pictured, top) look more like characters from the film Water World.

Saturday, 21 July 2007

BANKSY GREENPEACE POSTER




The beauty of this poster is that it will appeal to everyone from children to the elderly. Most people have seen the Disney film, Jungle Book, probably when they were small and this poster revokes all those feelings you had when you first saw it. We have some kind of emotional attachment to these characters, maybe more than we do to the real-life jungle animals and people, and the thought that someone’s about to take them away from us, provokes a kind of protective reaction.

Visually, I really like the effect of combining a black and white photograph with colourful cartoon drawings. The idea of taking these fictional Disney characters and putting them into the real world in a sinister context, is really quite arresting.

I wonder if it would work better for Greenpeace as a poster though if it displayed their logo in the corner. Although this would take away from the poster aesthetically, it would add weight to the message, making people think more seriously about it, rather than just seeing it as another quirky piece of art by Banksy.

Wednesday, 18 July 2007

LYNX



This is an online viral ad for Lynx. It’s promoting the “spray more, get more” philosophy. It works because it’s such a simple, clever idea. It’s refreshing, as this kind of thinking isn’t usually seen in advertising aimed at the young male market.

It works well as a viral as it’s relatively short. This means people may well be inclined to watch it more than once and send it onto their friends.

In contrast to this viral, the most recent Lynx "naughty to nice" ads that are currently being shown on TV are over-complicated. They are not clever, sexy or cool. This is a shame as in the past Lynx ads have always been so good and spot-on for their target market.

Sunday, 15 July 2007

THIS IS ENGLAND



This is England is a British coming of age drama which gives us with an unbiased insight into the skinhead movement of 1980's Britain.

The film is both gritty and uplifting. Filmed in the Meadows in Nottingham, it is a powerful demonstration of British filmmaking at its best.

The frequent add-libs demonstrate the actors’ natural dry wit and add to the realism that resonates throughout the film. It is moving without being over-sentimental: a trait that ruins many Hollywood films.

My favourite part of the film was the opening credits (similar to the start of the video above), which sets the scene of 1980’s Britain perfectly, capturing the energy and mood of the time. While this might provoke a feeling of negativity, the evocative period Ska soundtrack gives the opening sequence, and indeed the whole film, an optimistic twist.

Sunday, 8 July 2007

WOODHOUSE








Woodhouse is a deprived area of Leeds and as a result has a bad reputation. From a creative point of view though, I find it stimulating.

The large student population gives the place a laid-back, optimistic feel. Day and night, a range of music can be heard echoing from various bedroom windows. It’s full of life.

Visually it is also very interesting. The rows of red brick terraces are full of character and are reminiscent of a bygone era.

In contrast to this, the fly-tipping and the graffiti which springs up over night keeps things fresh and can be a great source of inspiration.

JONATHANYUEN.COM

Jonathan Yeun, a multi-disciplinary graphic designer, has created a self-publicising portfolio website with a difference: it doesn’t feel like a self-publicising portfolio website.

Instead its tranquil, simply animated scrolling pages feel more like a beautifully illustrated children’s book.

The focus of this 'site is not Yeun's portfolio of work, it is the 'site itself, which he uses as a demonstration of his creative talents.

This confident move is what differentiates Yuen’s ‘site from the thousands of other portfolio ‘sites out there.