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I CAME ACROSS THIS TOTALLY RANDOM BLOG. I THINK THE PHOTOS HAVE A REALLY BEAUTIFUL QUALITY ABOUT THEM. THEY REMIND ME OF OLD FASHIONED SLIDES FROM THE FIFTIES OR SIXTIES - - - MAYBE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE SPACE IN THE BACKGROUND OR THE SHEER SIMPLICITY OF THE SUBJECT??..??

http://urara1117.blogspot.com/

FINGER BOBS <

seventies crafty weird surreal beautiful simple genius!

MILLS A ND BOON B OOK C OVER <<

ANOTHER GENRE WE COULD LOOK AT WAS 'ROMANCE' AND FROM THAT WE COULD LOOK AT MILLS AND BOON BOOKS. THIS WAS REALLY FUN, BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH SCOPE FOR REALLY MESSING AROUND WITH THE IMAGERY AND COLOURS. I CHOSE TO DO BIG NEON SPLASHES IN THE BACK GROUND WITH MUSCLEY MEN IN NEGATIVE OVER THE TOP. NO BODY READS A MILLS AND BOON FOR THE QUALITY LITERATURE, SO I WANTED THE COVERS TO REFLECT THE REAL POINT OF THE BOOKS. I PUT THE BLACK STRIP ALONG THE BOTTOM TO FIRSTLY ACT AS A WAY TO HOLD ALL THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS TOGETHER. IT GIVES A SENSE OF GRAVITY TO THE TEXT AND HELPS TO STRENGTHEN THE IMAGERY. IT ALSO REMINDED ME OF WHEN THEY TRY TO COVER THINGS UP ON THE FRONT COVERS OF SAUCY MAGAZINES OR SOMETHING AND SO IT GIVES ANOTHER INDICATOR OF WHAT GENRE YOU ARE GOING TO READ. . . . .. . . . ... . . . ... .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. ..

>J AMES >B OND >B OOK >C OVER

JAMES BOND BOOK COVERS -- THAT HAD TO FORM A COHESIVE SERIES. WHETHER IT WAS THROUGH THE USE OF COLOUR//VISUAL LANGUAGE//TYPOGROPHY. I REALLY STRUGGLED WITH THE JAMES BOND COVERS BECAUSE I WANTED TO STEER CLEAR OF THE OBVIOUS IMAGERY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME YOU HAD TO CONSIDER THE GENRE OF 'SPY NOVELS'. HOWEVER I DID ENJOY PLAYING AROUND WITH THE LAYOUT AND THE IDEA OF CLICH E.

PENGUIN B00K COVER < < <

THE PENGUIN BOOK COVER TASK WAS A GREAT PROJECT BECAUSE IT ENCOUREGED US TO APPLY MANY DIFFERENT SKILLS TO ONE FAIRLY STRUCTURED END RESULT - A B00K C0VER. WE HAD A CHOISE OF THREE STORIES AND WE WERE GIVEN AN EXTRACT OF EACH TO READ AND ANNOTATE HOWEVER WE FELT WOULD BE MOST USEFUL FOR CHOOSING A KEY IMAGE TO GO ON THE FRONT COVER. WE THEN HAD TO CHOOSE ONE OF THE BOOKS AND WORK FURTHER FROM THAT---PRODUCING ROUGHS WHICH WERE SHOWN TO THE CL A SS AND THEN TAKING ONE FURTHER TO FORM THE FINAL COVER.

PETER ASKED US TO CON SIDER THESE THINGS WHEN MAKING OUR COVERS----- --- --

"consider moment of choice, counterpoint, cropping, blank space, asymmetry-symmetry, figurative-abstract, the statement, what not to say, sense of time and place. Do you need observation? Location? Reference?"

I CHOSE TO DO 'SCALE' BY WILL SELF. IT WAS A STORY ABOUT A MAN WHO WAS A DRUG ADDICT, BUT FROM THE OUTSIDE HE WOULD HAVE APPEARED LIKE A COMPLETELY NORAMAL PERSON. IT WAS FANTASTICLY ENGLISH- USING IMAGERY OF MOTOR WAYS/MODEL VILLAGES/BUNGALOWS BUT AT THE SAME TIME IT IS PARRALELLED WITH A TYPICAL DARK BRITISH SENSE OF HUMOUR. ALSO IN KEEPING WITH THE TITLE, THE STORY OFTEN MAKES REFERENCES TO SCALE (MODEL VILLAGE/BUNGALOW) AND YOU GET THE SENSE THAT AS THE PROTAGONIST SLIPS FURTHER INTO HIS DRUG ADDICTION HIS SENSE OF SCALE --IN ALL MEANINGS OF THE WORD STARTS TO BECOME DISTORTED.

VIDE>OKE

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

>>>>>>WORD CARDS>>>>>>>>>>>>

ANOTHER THING WHICH HAVE REALLY CAUGHT MY EYE RECENTLY ARE THESE OLD SEVENTIES PICTURE CARDS USED BY SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPISTS TO TEST LANGUAGE. THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT ONES, BUT THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVEROUTES:::::::::THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THESE CARDS. BUT I SUPPOSE 1 OF THE THINGS I LOVE MOST ABOUT THEM IS THAT THEY ARE SUCH A PRODUCT OF THEIR TIME. THESE CARDS ARE REGULARLY UPDATED ---SO AT THE TIME THEY MUST HAVE SEEMED SO MODERN. THE ACTIONS ALSO APPEAR REALLY ABSTRACT WHEN TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT AND ADD A SURREAL ATMOSPHERE TO THE PICTURES. . . . .

G < O < D

SOMETHING WHICH HAS REALLY CAUGHT MY EYE SINCE MOVING TO NEW CROSS (S.O.U.T.H LONDON) THIS PAST YEAR ARE THE RELIGIOUS PARA PHIN ALIA YOU GET GIVEN OR CAN FIND ON VARIOUS FORMS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT.

I THINK THE COVERS ARE FASCINATING, AND ALL TAKE A SLIGHTLY DIFFERING APPROACH TO *SPREADING THE WORD*. THEY ARE BRILLIANT IN THEIR SIMPLICITY AND HAVE SOMETHING VERY HUMAN ABOUT THEM. THEY ARE ALL PRINTED ON THE SAME KIND OF PAPER - WHICH FEELS AS IF IT IS FORTY YEARS OLD AND WERE PRINTED IN VAST NUMBERS WHICH HAVE SUBSEQUENTLY SAT IN BOXES IN CUPBOARDS IN CHURCH HALLS. ALL OF WHICH COULD BE VASTLY .WRONG. <<

DR AW ING S>> >> >>

>SPEECH MARKS

>>>>BEST>>>>BEFORE>>>>>SHOW

AT THE END OF TERM WE ((THE CLASS)) HELD AN EXHIBITION IN CAMBERWELL, JUST DOWN THE ROAD FROM OUR UNI. WE DIDN'T HAVE LONG TO PREPARE, SO NEEDED A THEME THAT WOULD SUIT A FAST PACE OF WORK MAKING. BECUASE OF THE L0CATI0N OF THE SHOW SPACE>>IN CAMBERWELL'S SHOPPING PRECINCT>>WE CHOSE THE **POUND STORE** AS OUR INSPIRATION. WE HAD TO EACH CHOOSE AN OBJECT FROM THE SHOP AND MAKE WORK USING ONLY MATERIALS GATHERED FROM THERE. WE ALSO DECIDED TO MAKE WORK THROUGHOUT THE WEEK - BECOMING LIKE A FACTORY//LIVE SHOP. WE WANTED TO CAPTURE THE FAST PACE OF THE SURROUNDING SHOPS, AND THE WAY THE WINDOW DISPLYS + STOCK WAS ALWAYS CHANGING AND ROTATING. WE HAD TwO ADJOINING SHOPS WITH A HOLE KNOCKED THROUGH, MEANING WE WERE ABLE TO MOVE FROM ONE SPACE TO ANOTHER. SUBSEQUENTLY WE CHOSE TO HAVE ONE ROOM AS THE PLACE WHERE COMPLETED WORK WOULD BE DISPLAYED AND ONE WHERE WORK WOULD BE CREATED. FOR ME, ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING AND INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT THE SHOW, WAS THE INTEREST WE HAD FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC. DUE TO THE LOCATION OF THE SHOW SPACE---IN THE MIDDLE OF A SHOPPING PRECINCT, OPPOSITE THE POUND STORE--THERE WAS A CONSTANT STREAM OF PEOPLE WALKING PAST. PEOPLE SEEMED FASCINATED BY THE SUDDEN APPEARENCE OF A GROUP OF WEIRD LOOKING ART STUDENTS, DRAWING STRANGE PICTURES WHEN THEY WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR WEEKLY SHOP. BUT PEOPLE WERE REALLY KEEN TO GET INVOLVED - SO MUCH SO THAT BY THE END OF THE FIRST DAY WE DECIDED TO SET UP A 'VISITERS TABLE' WHERE PEOPLE COULD COME IN AND MAKE WORK TOO.. . .. ... . . I THINK THE RISK WITH 'MAKING WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY' IS THAT IT CAN SO EASILY RUN THE RISK OF BEING PARTONISING AND TOTALLY OUT OF CONTEXT WITH IT' S SURROUNDINGS. BUT I THINK BECAUSE PEOPLE CHOSE TO GET INVOLVED SPONTANEOUSLY THERE WAS NONE OF THAT FEELING AT ALL. I LOVE THE IDEA OF IT BEING A SHOW BEING A GROWING AND EVOLVING SPACE INSTEAD OF AN INTIMIDATING AND STAGNANT ENVIRONMENT. ALSO, I THINK THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO CAME IN, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN, PERHAPS HIGHLIGHTS A GREATER NEED FOR THIS SORT OF THING TO BECOME MORE COMMON PLACE.<<<<< HAVING NEVER TAKEN PART IN A SHOW BEFORE, I FELT LIKE A LEARNT SO MUCH ON A PERSONAL LEVEL TOO. BASIC THINGS LIKE HOW LONG IT TAKES TO SET THINGS UP AND HOW MUCH YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER THE SPACE AS A WHOLE E.T.C.E.T.C. I THINK IT WAS AN INVALUBLE STARTING POINT FROM WHICH LATER KNOWLEDGE CAN BUILD UPON. IT ALSO FELT LIKE A REALLY GOOD EXPERIENCE FOR THE GROUP AS A WHOLE AND WAS A GREAT END TO THE YEAR.

(((APOLOGIES FOR THE FILMING SKILLS. OR LACK THERE OF)))