Forever 27 at Proud in Camdem

27 seems to be a cursed age for musicians with apparently over thirty musicians dieing at that age. "Forever 27" an exhibition at Proud Camdem focuses especially on the five most famous members of this club- Rolling Stones founder, Brian Jones who drowned in a swimming pool in 1969, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain.

The exhibition features a mixture of iconic and never before seen images by photographers, Elliot Landy, Phil Townsend, Joe Sia and Jill Gibson.

Going here will be a cause for reflection on the pressure of fame, the waste of potential talent in the end and a celebration of their work that you think about when you see the images.

The exhibition makes me think will the likes of Pete Doherty and Amy Winehouse end living as tragic images on a wall all for the price of that strange thing called fame.

Buildings of Disaster: The Dakota Building

This has to be one of the strangest items I have seen in quite some time. It is a model of the Dakota Building, with the date that made it notorious inscribed on the bottom. That date be of course, the assassination of John Lennon. 

It is one of a series entitled "Buildings of Disaster" with others in the collection including the Texas Book Depository, Watergate and Chernobyl. The art project itself aimed to look at how disasters change our perceptions of famous landmarks or unremarkable architecture, which is an interesting idea but perhaps buying one for your home is a little morbid. I'm not sure if the demand for them would be high, I don't think I would be buying one anytime soon.

Great Opening Credits

I love watching opening credits. While most shows simply set a bunch of clips to music, a few recognise the power of an unforgettable opening, something that is visually stunning, humorous or just plain cool, all without recyling images from the show.

Here are two of my favourate opening credits...

Dead Like Me. This seqence is quirky, fun and proof that something as depressing as death can be too.

Six Feet Under. "We wanted something that you would see week after week and be entertained enough to keep watching. Something that wouldn't completely reveal itself on the first viewing" - Alan Poul

I love the way that the actual titles themselves were worked in. It's a very elegant and understated approach.

The thing that sticks out the most is the crow. It seemed like something that was not literally tied to the show and not overly macabre, but so evocative of the darker feeling that the show would conjure up.

Did you know that it is illegal to film true crows in the United States for commercial purposes? 

As a result, the crow used was actually a pied crow. It has a white chest, so they had to paint it black.

Tate Museum Liverpool

It might not be an impressive, eye catching building from the outside but this museum is great and a must see when in Liverpool. Displays frequently changing, has a relaxing atmosphere and full of culture.
Recently the museum exhibited many important work by Klimt, most never before seen in this country. There was a reconstruction of Beethoven Frieze because the original will never travel but it was of exceptional quality.

Sawdust

is a passionate and creative design studio formed in 2006. Sawdust work on an array of creative projects large or small with expertise in print design, corporate identity, branding, retail, illustration and digital.

Obviously a design company needs to have a well designed logo themselves and I definitely think they achieved it. Love the simplicity, yet clever design with the W cut like a plank of wood with a saw. The black and white colour makes the logo not look to obvious and connected to sawdust itself, ie using a brown woody colour.

Their work is fresh, modern, aesthetically pleasing and carefully considered. Check out their cool website for a look-

www.madebysawdust.co.uk 

logotype

digital campaign

CD packaging

The Urbis

The Urbis in Manchester is an exhibitibition centre about city life where you can explore exhibitions about contemporary art and design, urban gardening, the city environment and the people who make cities what the are.

The four floors of exhibitions are updated twice yearly. Not great in comparison to Manchester's Art Gallery but at least there is no chance you will miss anything. Also quite frankly I think the building is far to big for what it holds, theres just so much space that is 'wasted'.

This is certainly an eye catching museum from the outside but its design doesn't in-keep with surrounding buildings, (ie printworks) which I think should be important.

Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim

I love this book by David Sedaris, which is full of his skewed sense of humour and his spot-on observance of those moments in daily life that ultimately makes us laugh at ourselves.

His world is alive with obscure desires and hidden motives- within a family where forgiveness is automatic and an argument can be the highest form of love.

A refreshing look at a teenager growing up with excepting who he is and coping with being gay.

This book I did find in places slightly warped and little too bitter but nevertheless a great read.

Humor is always a necessity in life! 

www.leoburnett.com

Listed as one of the most important people of the 20th Century, Leo Burnett is said to have "launched today's visual assault on the senses by proving that images, not words, were the nuclear power of advertising".

This site that bears his corporations image is an icon to his creative thinking. Its very inspiring and reminds you that image is everything.

"big ideas come out of big pencils"

The Pianist

This film is the true account of Vladyslaw Szpilman's experience as a Polish Jew living in the Warsaw ghetto during the Second World War. His love for playing the piano is a constant theme in the film and shows how things have changed for him, from playing in the ghetto, imagining to play, and performing in front of a German soldier who saves his life.

The Pianist combines easy emotional connections and refuses to oversimplify, and I think it is one of the most powerful Holocaust films ever made.

I like the restrained, unsentimental way the Director, Polanski tells the story and I believe Polanski wants us to think more than he wants us to emote. It doesn't oversimplify the situation as there are good and bad Jews, Poles and Germans. As a result, there is a certain amount of randomness to the events that is not comforting, but I think that is realistic.

Unlike Schlinders List, the concentration camps are not shown in the film, making it less shocking in comparison and easier to watch. 

The underlying theme here is one of optimism and hope- Wladyslaw and his family never gave up the belief and against all odds civilisation does triumph.

Kill Bill Animation Sequence

The animation sequence seen in the film Kill Bill was produced by Production I.G and is technically known as an "anime".

The Director of film, Quentin Tarantino personally asked them to create an animation sequence that was a homage of the genre films that he loved so much.

One of the notable things here is the extremely violent edge to the film, which are so excessive they actually detract from the "reality" of the situation. Also I feel there was no real reason to make this animated, apart from Tarantino's thought "Wouldn't it be cool to have an anime segment in this film?" There is no doubt that it's good but is it really necessary?

Overall, the segment is executed very well and for the very least, Tarantino deserves credit for exposing mainstream audiences to anime.

Bearskinrug.co.uk

An Illustrator's site, Kevin Cornell, embodies the essence of his style and if you take a look, it does an excellent job of filling the space with content. Count how many things on the page are both navigation and content. Everything has a touch of the illustrator's brush, so the site is saturated with his talent.

As seen in Sex and the City

by Ursula Doyle

If you have seen the 'Sex and the City' film, then you will have heard about this book. It is the book Carrie reads to get romantic inspiration from the greats through history. From the private papers of Mark Twain and Mozart to those of Robert and Oscar Wilde. Taken together, these "Love Letters of Great Men" show that perhaps men haven't changed so very much over the last 2,000 years; passion, jealously, hope and longing are all represented here. 

The $12 Million Stuffed Shark

This book is great for anyone who wants a quick overview of how the business of art works. Don Thompson, an economist and branding expert undertook a years research to write this entertaining study of the economies and psychology of art, dealers and auctions.

Thompson admits that material and some numbers in the book are single-source stories and facts, which are embellished in the retelling. Also the glossary of facts does not have any references or footnotes, as a result makes you question the accuracy.

The author is quite biased on the side of everything in contemporary art is a game of branding and marketing, which is probably true since the majority of "art" these days are meaningless to the general public without the fancy gallery/museum.

I found this book quite humorous in the attempt to answer important questions such as 'yes, but is it really art?' and  'why would a very smart New York investment banker pay twelve million dollars for the decaying, stuffed carcase of a shark?'.

Shynola

The video for the song was created by Shynola. It is set in a computer-animated environment, where Beck rises from a grave, digs up a dog, and climbs buildings, among other things. It was nominated for "Best Music Video" in the 2005 Arias Awards.

Shynola is the collective name of a group of four visual artists based in London who have collaborated on a variety of projects, most notably a number of acclaimed music videos for several pioneering artists, such as 'Go With The Flow' by QOTSA

The name Shynola is a reference to a line in the Steve Martin movie The Jerk which implies that all you need to know in life is the difference between shit and Shinola.

Spun

Spun is a 2003 independent film directed by Jonas Akerlund. The film's title is a reference to the slang term for the way users feel after going multiple days without sleeping while on a crystal meth binge.

The film holds the Guiness Book of World Records for the most edit/cuts in a full-length feature film. It includes more than 5000 edits.

Akerlund has convincingly simulated the drug addicts desperation by using constant jolting cuts, juddery camerawork, rapid mood swings, nail biting and a general sense of unpredictable chaos.

The film got mixed reviews. 'Time Out London' accused the film of "smug amoralism", and claimed that director Akerlund simply re-uses other people's ideas and techniques. Roger Ebert was more empathetic in his review, where he described the film as having "effortless wickedness". His main appraisal is the fact that the film in no way attempts to romanticise any of the characters.

I think Spun shares great similarities between the earlier Requiem for a Dream as they both use the same type of frantic camerawork, editing and drug concept.

The First Undersea Restaurant

Ithaa, the undersea restaurant in the Maldives descends 16 feet underwater and gives 12 diners 160 degree views of colourful fish, sharks and other sea life in the coral reefs through curved, transparent acrylic walls. 

I love aquariums and I love eating, perfect.

Rob Mueck

These amazing sculptures look realistic but actually they are made from fiberglass resin.

Mueck, a London based artist faithfully reproduces the minute detail of the human body, but plays with scale to produce disconcertingly jarring visual images. Scarily impressive.

Pebbledash Buildings

Yorkshire Post, Leeds

I can't say I have ever seen a nice looking pebbledash building ever. Pebbledash is basically render with small stones added to give a gritty vertical shingle beach effect to external walls. Of course today we know that walls should never be treated as vertical beaches, but back in the rush to build houses in the 1920s, it was widely used to cover cheap or inexpert brickwork and sadly it's still being used.

The Yorkshire Post building is a good example of this. It saddens me every time I enter Leeds. Leeds is such a great city with great buildings, just a shame that this is the first impression you get.

If anyone knows of any good looking pebbledash buildings, I would be happy at to change my mind...

Casa Mila

Casa Mila is situated in Barcelona and was designed by Gaudi who was commissioned to create a family home.

The strange exterior, known for its limestone curves, tangled wrought-iron balconies and spider's-web main doorway, caused much controversy when it was completed in 1912. It was described as a petrified aquarium, a hangar for airships and even an earthquake preserved in sculpture.

In the 1920s, French President Georges Clemenceau was said to have been so disturbed by the sight of the building and that in Barcelona they were building homes for dragons. 

However, now the building is seen to be a masterpiece in Barcelona as the smooth lines, sleek surfaces and forms go beyond pure Modernism. It is a triumph of aesthetics over practicality. Therefore, this was never a house for a family as Gaudi reputed that a tenant must take up the violin because it was too hard to fit a piano in the house.

Also it is far bigger than envisaged and the Barcelona City Council asked for the top floor to be knocked down or to pay a 100,000 peseta fine.

The building may have had its challenges, nevertheless in 1984, UNESCO declared it World Heritage Site, being the first 20th-century building to achieve the honour.

28 Days Later, Alone In London

This film is widely recognised for its opening scene, where Cillian Murphy's character wakes from a coma to find himself in a deserted London.

The shots of the barren city are amazing as the character roams the streets in search for life. The scene is all done without special effects, a blaring soundtrack or anything starling from the characters and script. 

Down to just organised timing, hours of filming and closing one road made it one of the most inspirational scenes that thought never could be done without special effects.

What The...?

Hoover advertisement

Mr clean advertisement

 

Sopranos advertisement 

Guerrilla advertising such as these are used to create a buzz. There is no limit to the imagination involved to humour, shock or just create some attention. 

Some may say that advertising is getting too in your face, you can't even mind your own business looking at the floor on a street anymore without someone trying to sell you something. Others may just find it clever.

Hand Drawn Maps

A great site of hand drawn maps. I always draw maps rather than a list of directions, always illustrating what I would see rather than road names. 

It's nice to see how other people interpret and visualise their environment in such unique ways.

www.handmaps.org

Sunka

I have seen the future and its called Sunka, an inspired concept of supermarkets that are springing out of Lleida, near Barcelona in Spain.

The Pujol family's chain of neighborhood food stores didn't panic when the powerful hypermarket formula started to bite. Instead they created Sunka, a store designed for 'demanding and stressed out' people.

Entering Sunka you don't see what you would normally see in a supermarket. Shoppers are welcomed by artwork displays, tranquil music and a poetry tunnel, which surrounds the customer with thoughtful words and phrases. This is so far from anything in the UK such as the great Tesco, yet it is proving to be very successful.

The Flatiron

The Flatiron building was designed by Daniel Burnham in the Beaux-Arts style and was completed in 1902.

HG Wells sums up the feeling when you first see the building- "I found myself agape, admiring a skycrapper, the prow of the Flatiron Building, to be particular, ploughing up through the traffic of Broadway and Fifth Avenue in the late-afternoon light"

I've always loved this building for its stark contrast in shape against the other skyscrappers.

The building, which took its name from the shape forced on it by the traingular lot it was bulit on- the Flatiron block, so called because it was shaped like a clothes iron. Personally I think it as a wedge, a wedge of cheese or a door wedge.

It would be interesting to hear other peoples opinions on what it looks like?

Lovemarks

Kevin Roberts passionately believes that LOVE is the way forward for a business. A 'lovemark' is when a product or experience have the power to create long-term, emotional connections with consumers.

My Lovemark is camarelised red onion chutney, which has to be from Marks and Spencers. As soon as I smell or taste it, it reminds me of fond memories of comfort, my family and obviously those great meat sandwiches.

This book is great for those who want to see how one of the biggest advertising companies Saatchi & Saatchi think. This idea that consumers, not companies own Lovemarks is fundamental. This book shows that it is not only business mavens, but those special individuals Roberts calls "Inspirational Consumers" who can shape the future of commerce.

Not only is this book inspiring and motivational, it is obviously designed well with interesting use of colour and pictures, no page is ever the same.

All you need is

Days Of Sunshine And Poses

Every weekend since 1969 the photographer Joseph Szabo, has taken photographs of people on Long Island's Jones Beach. Some may say its a love affair with the camera or could be called an obsession.

Through the pictures you can see the beach is nolonger quintessentailly American as all different cultures are brought together.

When people pose they show their personality. Spontaneous moments show their Vulnerability.

I prefer photographs of unknown people whose story you don't know because then you can guess where their life leads. However for that instant shot it's more about capturing a moment of honesty, the pictures show trust and understanding.

Rijks Museum

I visited the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in the summer of 2007.
The museum was founded in 1789 and opened its doors in 1800 to the public. The building itself is designed by Pierre Cuypers and has since been an Amsterdam landmark due to its greatness in detail and size.

The Rijksmuseum has more than a million works of art and historical objects. Nowhere in the world is there such a complete overview of Dutch pieces. More than two centuries of collecting have resulted in the most wide-ranging and representative survey of art in the Republic of the United Provinces.

However the art only covers the period 1400 to 1900. I would have liked to see 21st century Dutch art as well, as it would show how Dutch art has developed and progressed.

Nevertheless the museum is a must see for anyone who hasn't gone due to the fact you can learn so much about another culture and history.

'God's Own Country'

Pies, flat caps, beef dripping with bread, people saying t'shop t'pub, brass bands and most of all yorkshire puddings are cultural trends seen in Yorkshire.

The North Riding

I wandered o'er the moors around

And see the braken golden brown

The heather laden with the morning dew

Its purple acclaiming the Autumn view

The moors they stretch so far and wide

Like some great sea without a tide

Whose waves roll onto meet the skey

Where white crested clouds go rolling by

Along the paths the sheep they graze

In loneliness they spend their days

Night and day they brave the weather

Making their way amongst the heather

The sun when shining paints the scenes

By picking out the different greens

Of this great picture I'll never tire

It's my home in North Yorkshire

By John Parkin (my Grandad)

Published in Yorkshire Thoughts, Poems by Yorkshire Poets