interview :: experimental jetset

The first time I saw Gary Hustwit’s 80 minute documentary about a font, Helvetica, was at the ICA; part of a competition with some friends to organise the geekiest Friday night out which had started with a screening of This is Tomorrow (a documentary largely about a carpet*) at the Royal Festival Hall with a live score performed by Saint Etienne. Needless to say, I won, albeit by a fairly narrow margin!

saSA

From left to right: Erwin, Danny, Marieke. Poster part of the 'La Zafra de los Diez Millones' series, by Olivio Martinez Viera, Stedelijk Museum. (Photo by Karina Bisch)

Helvetica, now my favourite film, was my introduction to a number of influential graphic designers, not least Wim Crouwel and Experimental Jetset.

out and about :: barbican

The boy and I recently spent an enlightening Sunday afternoon exploring the Barbican on one of their official architecture tours led by the very knowledgable Richard Burton.

Once voted Britain’s ugliest building, this 35 acre, Grade 2 listed estate has been the subject of much controversy and misunderstanding.

The Barbican

The word ‘barbican’ means

creative spaces :: wimbledon art studios

For the latest in my series of creative spaces features, artist Fiona Brown very kindly invited me along to see her space at Wimbledon Art Studios
and suggested I time my visit to coincide with Open Studios weekend (12th – 15th May 2011) so I could also get a look those of her fellow artists.

Blue Studios, Wimbledon Art Studios

In 1993 six artists started renting spaces in a paper warehouse,

here’s one I made earlier :: screenprinting

I recently had the great pleasure to spend an evening at The Make Lounge on their Screen Printed Textiles workshop. I first tried my hand at screenprinting at the Print Block in Whitstable, during the Oyster Festival and I’m starting to think I might have caught the bug!

Screenprinting ink

We started with a demonstration from the lovely Helen Rawlinson who led the class.

thinking about :: festival style

A month with five Sundays affords me the opportunity to deviate from my usual topics and include a little something about Festival Style; topical at the moment due to the Southbank Centre’s 60th anniversary celebrations of 1951’s Festival of Britain which began last week and run until September.

Original Guide to the Festival of Britain, 1951

The Festival of Britain took place from May to September 1951, and was designed to commemorate the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851.