Destino

Been rekindling my love affair with surrealism and was doing some reading about Salvador Dali. I'd never realized that Dali and Walt Disney had begun a collaboration about 50 years ago that was canned when the studio ran of money (just think!) The project was later unearted and 'finished' by a team of artists, and Destino was released in 2003. Obviously, it's a little misleading to call this the work of Disney and Dali at this point, just because of the huge involvment of others in finishing the project; although it's clearly the animation style of Disney and Dali's art direction , the amount of CG involved probably means the finished short looks quite different to how either originally intended. Nevertheless, it's still lovely, ethereal and poetic. A great example of two very different minds meshing together perfectly.

The Artist as Collector at the Barbican Centre

I've always been a bit of a collector; not of rubbish like old bus tickets or anything like that, but of things that I like to draw, or that I think may contain some spark of inspiration - interesting old records, wooden elephants, toy cars, needle felted foxes, antique bookends from India, that kinda thing. This exhibition was recommended to me by a friend, and as I still had a day in London to kill I decided to check it out. 

Two words: TOP NOTCH! There were collections here from a diverse selection of artists, my favorites were probably those of Damien Hirst (taxidermy galore), Peter Blake (a fellow elephant enthusiast) and Andy Warhol (an enormous collection of slightly disturbing novelty cookie jars). It was very interesting to see the kind of objects there artists chose to surround themselves with, and the connections in their work became very apparent. For example, Warhol's obsession with disposable, everyday Americana is explicitly reflected in his collection of mass-produced tat. It definitely helped bring home the idea to me that, if you surround yourself with things that are of genuine interest to you, be it books, films, experiences, or horrible cookie jars, a unique voice of authenticity will become apparent in you creative output.

Damien Hirst's personal collection of Victorian taxidermy and other gross oddities was especially fascinating (if a little gory in parts). I love drawing animals and birds from life, but it's so rare to be able to capture them static - taxidermy is the answer! This reminded me of our group trip to the City Museum archives right at the beginning of the year - and here I am, 8 months later, still drawing stuffed birds.

Interning with Owen Gildersleeve pt. II

Um okay so YEAH I had an amazing week! Got to help Owen out with some really interesting stuff, including making paper props for a photo shoot which will be displayed at a private exhibition, and helping to assemble some collages to be sent off to Benefit Cosmetics. 

a morning spent making paper cigs

It was really interesting to see how the world of illustration works as a day-to-day job. Seeing people come into their shared studios and sit at their desks for hours, taking their work seriously, and treating what they do as a proper job was pretty eye-opening, an affirmation that - YES- it is actually possible to make a living doing this stuff. 

Probably the best thing about this week was getting to talk to the people who do this full time and actually make a living from it. It was also comforting to hear plenty of the people I spoke to say how much they've evolved since their uni days and, on reflection, how bad the work they made while studying, especially in first year. I sometimes feel very out-of-my-depth when I see some  of the amazing stuff being made by people on our course, so it's nice, every so often, to be reminded that no one expects truly great work from a first year.

This was definitely a valuable experience and I'm coming away from it in a positive frame of mind about my own practice, and with the fact that I should be pleased at where I'm at, and looking at how I can now move forward, fresh in my head, as opposed to beating myself up about not being where I want to be with my practice right now. I think I will definitely look at getting involved with more internships, placements in the future.

Secret 7" at Somerset House

A high point of the week was getting to go along with Owen to the Secret 7" private view at Somerset House. To be surrounded by so much work (both the weird and the wonderful) was very exciting, as was actually getting to speak to working practitioners, the people that make this stuff everyday. At university it's very easy to start existing in an insular little bubble and forget about having to exist in the outside world, so talking to people actually making a living by working in what I'm studying is very grounding. 

This over for 'Dead Flowers' by The Rolling Stones was my favorite from the whole exhibition. So clean, so understated, so clever. I was surprised at how much I liked this one, as it's way more graphic things I typically go for. 

More lovely stuff here - great use of media. 

A trip to Copenhagen

I was bummed out earlier this year and decided that I needed to spend some time on my own. As I was doing a COP project about creativity, introversion and solitude, I took a trip away, by myself (I'm a pussy, this made me feel brave), with no objective other than to be quiet, absorb the place, and draw, draw, draw. As the days went on, I felt my vision and state of mind becoming calmer and clearer, and I was drawing pictures with a greater fluidity that I had in a long time. I feel that I am coming back with a wealth of feelings and experience to inform my COP project, in the run up to creating the visual element of the module.

National Gallery of Denmak: Matisse

I love illustration, I really do. But that doesn't mean that I don't get sick of it from time-to-time, and just want to give all my attention to the other forms of art that I love. That's what I did at that Matisse exhibition - just switched off illustration-mode, and spent a languid, happy afternoon just falling in love with Matisse' painting and sculpture all over again. Came away feeling inspired and like anything is possible

mmmmm dat colour

Copenhagen design musem

I admit to being guilty of not yet really thinking like a designer in my practice. I'm trying to work on this, especially with the work I'm planning for the Persons of Note brief, but I can always do more to help myself. While in Copenhagen I made a trip to the design museum, to think about design.

There were SO many amazing posters on display here. Poster design is something that I think I could be very interested in, even though I don't know anything about it really, and have 'struggled' (read: made bad work) for both the PPP poster tasks we've made so far. I really loved all the shape and flat colour I saw in the work on display here. Great stuff, am definitely hoping to employ more flat colour in my work in the future (and hopefully embark on a little bit of screen printing)

Saw some beautiful patterned textiles and funky furniture as well. Obviously we spend a lot of time absorbed in the world of illustration, but sometimes it's great to bust out of that bubble and look at some different forms of design. Stops the mind becoming stagnant.