Study Task 4 - Books, Books, Books

I love books.

Picture Books/Comic

VERY CASUAL - Michael Deforge 

Very Casual is a collection of stories/comics of varying styles and lengths, by the illustrator Michael Deforge. It seems slightly disjointed and random in it's sequencing and selection, although this aligns perfectly with his absurd, otherworldly drawings. It feels as if when reading it you are being catapulted through Deforge's evidently unusual mind, sometimes unaware of where one story finishes and another starts; no break for breathe between each one, jumping from one idea to the next like a small child after a packet (or 5) of smarties. 

Some of the stories are several pages long, following a structured plot and series of characters and others a simply a single image thrown in between two longer stories. The narratives themselves are often as absurd as the images, random and nonsensical and sometimes quite dark. Humour is obviously inherent in his work and the off centre narratives add to this. 

The randomness is also enhanced by the eclectic mix of image styles, particularly in the use of colour. One page could be bold black and white drawings, the next a bright combination of yellows, reds and blues, the one after primarily different tones of orange. I feel like it's contested as to whether to mix monochrome and full colour works in one outcome, but in this instance it works perfectly, again aligning with his imagery. It also serves as one of the very few delineations between one story and another. 

The audience will likely be existing fans of his work who want to own a physical collection of his stories in one place. However I had not really explored his work much in the past, therefore the book also acts as an introduction to his practice and his interestingly weird mind and creativity. 

I actually really like how absurd this book is and the stories within it. Theres something refreshing about his somewhat distorted methods of story telling; I particularly love the ones with few images, or a single page,following a strange and sometimes unsettling story. I love how some pages are just one single, bold image, and also how some frames and simply landscapes, setting scenes or breaking up time or the characters. Sometimes they act as little extra insights or aspects of the narrative, particularly in stories such as the spotting deer, a parody of a nature documentary. 

Non-Fiction

THE EASTERN FELLS - A.Wainwright 

Well known and widely loved British poet and artist Alfred Wainwright's books on the Lake District are popular with walkers and artists alike. His distinctively detailed and attentive landscapes of the Lakeland fells are simply beautiful on their own, but coupled with his numerous maps, diagrams and depictions extensively illustrating such landscapes, his books become highly charming and informative guides. However even those that don't walk or visit the Lakes can appreciate them as beautifully illustrated artefacts. 

The fact that all the copy is hand written and at the back the personal notes of Wainwright himself are included makes the whole book feel like a very personal, intimate and invested piece of work. It makes it such a pleasure to not only use on site but also to sit back at home and browse through, appreciating the incredibly imagery and writings of the poet and artist. He clearly loved the Lakes and infectiously it shines through every one of the books in the collection.

Owning his books is satisfying, especially as they are part of a series and a collection; having them all is part of the appeal, and you cannot help be amazed at the extensiveness of energy and time and interest he has poured into the series when viewing them as a collection together. 

Visually wainwright has an ability with line to create such beautiful tone and form that the books are inspiring enough for that reason alone. 

Self-Published

THE ROUTES WE WANDER issue.3 - Lee Taylor

I picked up this little zine along with issue 2 of the series at a little zine fair in manchester a few years ago. They are a collection of thoughts and ramblings along with drawings of a walk that Taylor has done, often in the British countryside. The drawings are what initially attracted me to buying them but when reading them properly I started to notice how much they resonated with me personally. 

Lee is obviously somewhat of an anxious person, a self-described over thinker, and that is the premise which this issue of the zines plays off. Documenting a walk along a local canal, he ponders on the idea of overthinking, the logic behind it, the harm that it can do and the nature of his personality. The thing that makes these zines so effective is the relationship between these ramblings and his loose, sometimes spare drawings and the walk that is done to produce these drawings. The thoughts are the kind of mind wondering that can often occur when walking in nature, especially alone, and theres a element of comfort that comes with reading about someone else's thoughts and ideas that resonate and make so much sense to you. 

The zines are honest and imperfect, their layout is of little importance and neither is the overall aesthetic further than the drawings which accompany his writing, but thats something which I love about them. They are so bare and human and they feel very personal and authentic. They are not hiding behind anything, least not their appearance. This is a quality of zines in general, not having to a adhere to any rule or expectation. 

Imaginative Press

A few weeks ago I participated in a fairly new creative project called Imaginary Press. Set up by one of my old Foundation Tutors, the Press is a response to current affairs and the news we digest on a daily basis, posting one new piece of work every day based off a news story of that day. It works with submissions, and anybody can submit via the email on their site.

Ben Greenhalgh, the founder of Imaginative Press, has allowed me to pick days that fit into my timetable to produce that day's work to be featured on their site and Instagram, and Ash Wednesday, 1st March 2017 was one of those days.

It was actually really refreshing to work on work outside of uni, on a brief with no pressures or expectations. I was really able to create something that is very reflective of my typical practice as an image maker, especially that which was prevalent before starting this course back in September. 

I am planning on doing lots more for Ben and his project in the not so distant future.

Study Task 6 - Interdisciplinary, Skateboarding

It is unquestionable that skateboarding has had one of the biggest influences on my creative work, and is arguably the single most influencing aspect of my life. Whether consciously or otherwise, the way the culture and the pursuit of this activity has ingrained itself into my character and my work is evident even if only after some deeper consideration.

First of all and possibly the most obvious influence is the actual artwork and creative work that skateboarding is soaked in. From deck graphics to t-shirts, magazine pages to skate videos, art and design are critical and inseparable threads that weave themselves strongly throughout the culture. I remember as a little kid going into Projekts skate shop in manchester to choose my first 'real' set up, having the freedom of looking up at the wall full of unique and beautiful graphics and being able to pick the deck that I wanted. I remember that exact deck as well and turns out it was hand illustrated. It was made by a company called Distance, (which I must say was totally irrelevant to me at that time, I just wanted one that looked good) and it had a grey wallpaper background, a repeated pattern of diamond shapes, and then it had a hand-drawing of an old red telephone in the middle, the numbers replaced with letters spelling out the company name. Admittedly I perhaps wouldn't pick the same one now if I had the choice, but at the time that graphic was just so cool to me and I truly believe that the fact that it was hand illustrated really played a part in why. Even before this experience, I was drawing skateboard graphics, designing my own boards clad with guitars, flames and corporate branding...

And today, the creative works of skateboarders and companies continue to inspire and influence my creative practice. One of an example of this I always come back to is the illustration work of Soy Panday, a founder and the creative brains behind French skateboard/apparel company Magenta. A lot of his work commonly consists of black line drawings, often portraits, animals and objects, coupled with drawn shapes or patterns in a different colour, usually a muted blue or shade of yellow. I think looking at his work it is apparent that his style of work influences mine.

Soy's Work

My Work

However, skateboarding's impact on my life and creativity goes way beyond the visuals that come with it. The actual act of it is inherently creative, the way you push down an open street even is a creative and expressive act. And this process is similar to that of drawing or image making; taking a  medium, responding to your environment for inspiration, using your surroundings as a resource, and making something visual that didn't previously exist. And just as every drawing is unique and different, every trick is different, each and every time. No two drawings are ever the same and that applies to skateboarding too. 

The way skateboarding influences your every day is also similar to how drawing and image making does, and many lessons can be learnt from one activity and applied to the other. Both demand you to be constantly observant, to take in details and continually scan for inspiration and material to respond to and use. Both can be immensely frustrating and stressful when they don't work out how you want, both are absolutely a labour of love, where most of the time is spent failing and getting it wrong. There is something that unites throwing yourself down a set of stairs for hours on end and trying to draw something difficult, having to redraw, rub out, go over and tear your hair out before getting down an image you're actually happy with. And even when you do land something, or create a drawing that 'works', you can still see infinite ways that it could be improved and made better next time. 

Here's video proof of the struggle from a day in Manchester with my friends back in 2012. I'm not much better 5 years later.

And no matter how frustrating both of them get to me, I would find it impossible to quit either for good, I could never stop drawing or skateboarding for the rest of my life. Once it has you, you're in it for good. You're always a skateboarder as much as you are always an image maker. 

Study Task 5 - 'Strange and Familiar' at Manchester Art Gallery

Last weekend I visited Manchester Art Gallery to see 'Strange and Familiar', a photography exhibition containing the works from international photographers (including big hitter such as Cartier-Bresson) documenting Britain through the ages.

Curated by renowned British photographer Martin Parr, the collection of work on display aims to discuss The United Kingdom's identity over the years, documenting the quirks, oddity, mundanities and everything in between that make up everyday British life. What is perhaps the most interesting thing about this exhibition is that all the photographers are from other parts of the world; they are visitors, 'outsiders' with fresh eyes witnessing the lives of the diverse range of people that have inhabited this nation from the 30's onwards.

These photographers have sought out and responded to the many cliches and stereotypes of Britain, but they have also delved deeper into what gives this nation its identity, to British people as well as foreign lands.

At face value, this exhibition was very interesting to me just to take in and see all these amazing photographs from some of the greats, and some more unknown artists, in person, to appreciate the images in physical form as opposed to on a screen. I am very interested about photography, and the way you read an image I believe inherently changes (for the better) when viewed in person. You are afforded the time to stand and appreciate an image for longer and to really break it down. In regards to what we have been learning in visual language, I couldn't help but notice the techniques used by the photographers to capture their images; composition, colour, view point, all are techniques that can be learnt from photography and applied to illustration and drawing.

Another appealing thing about this exhibition was the social, and educational aspects. I visited with my family, and seeing how they all read and responded to each photograph differently was fascinating. My dad who is a very passionate and active photographer himself saw the images differently than how my Mum did, who is equally as creative but just in different mediums. However they both stood and reminisced about their younger years looking at a photograph depicting the inside of an old sweet shop taken by Jim Dow in 1983. There is value in learning about how other people view and read images and to compare this to how I read an image and evaluate the reasons for each. There is also immense value in listening to my parents stories and memories,something which I cherish the opportunity to do so.

I felt very inspired after leaving the gallery. Pushed to further pursue my passion for the medium, I also rediscovered the value and importance of documentation of today, as the everyday things that make up our lives. Photography has a place in documenting this but drawing and illustration also has a need and purpose within this. The work that we create today will possibly be seen in 30, 40, 50 years time and will serve as a time capsule of 2017. The way future generations will view the world as we know it at this particular stage in history will be formed and influenced by the creative work made today in response to today's culture, social situations and the experiences creative people are having right now. This industry and the work we are producing is very important, if only for this purpose.