Weapons of Mass Communication

The first responsibility of any leader during times of conflict is to win the minds, body and imagination of the people - see President Obamas' branding campaign. Since World War 1, 1914, the weapon of choice has been the poster.

Investigating the power of the poster was exhibited at The Imperial War Museum which ran from 04 October 2007 - 30 March 2008, a fantastic demonstration of propaganda that I felt was worth noting.

Weapons of Mass Communication: War Posters featured hundreds of iconic posters exhibited across the walls in their bulk. The designers and advertisers of the day were employed to influence the wills of civilians and soldiers, the most successful were memorable, direct and strikingly beautiful, disguised to carry the government message.

The iconic images of Alfred Leete’s Kitchener recruitment poster, the pioneering designs of Julius Gipkins and Abram Games were on show as well as the influential graphics of Peter Kennard and David Gentleman.

Truly a fantastic exhibition and one I'd recommend to anyone, artist or otherwise if they display the posters again.

The principle of propaganda I find fascinating and ultimately terrifying, but above all this is history and evidence of the socio-political times as well as a reflection of people as a whole; ...how our minds were easily influenced, how culture dictated, how far through freedom of speech, woman's rights etc we've developed and grown as a race.
These posters are what made us who we are today and without a doubt should be appreciated.

100% Design

Earls Court London showcased a fantastic array of the UK's leading architecture and design; everything for the modern building and interior.
100% Design London features world-class interiors show 100% Design, innovative and sustainable architectural products event 100% Detail, cutting-edge materials exhibition 100% Materials and emerging talent showcase 100% Futures.

Apologies for yellow tinted images, was the best my phone could take!

The London Design Festival

I do love this time of year in London - Art show after art show after art show.
The London Design Festival is the UK’s biggest annual celebration of design made up of a range of design disciplines. The wide array of new ideas and activities which have made each Festival dynamic, different and uniquely London - supported by the government and leading well known businesses, the Festival offers a platform for the best design talent.

Goldsmiths : Make Believe
Goldsmiths, University of London have put on an exciting and innovative showcase of emerging design talent titled 'Make Believe' including the majority of projects from the Design Master programmes; MA Critical Practice, MA Design Future, MRes in Design and the MA Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship alongside work from third year BA/BSc Computing & Interaction Design students.

"Paint has the potential to create worlds of make believe. Design has the potential to create worlds for us to believe in."

The work focused on the socio-cultural issues through a lens using developed and practiced means which in turn became the paint in which designers create the worlds for us to believe in.

It was hosted by Kinnarps at Covent garden and was open from 19 - 27 September

Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design
'Up All Night' was the annual showcase of post graduate work from Saint Martins and to be completely honest I was a little disappointed.

The design outcomes are wide and varied and explore elements of sensory and problem solving design, ranging from chocolate switches and flocked tiles to photographic Trompe L'oeil wallpapers.

Clearly accomplished young designers yet it was all very surreal and the purpose was very difficult to comprehend.

Wakefield Art Walk

Art walks in some form or other are becoming terribly popular in West Yorkshire. The last few weeks alone have seen Huddersfield Open Studio Trail, Saltaire Arts Trail, Ways of Looking and Headingley Triangle to name but a few, and of course Leeds’ very own Light Night on October 10th. September saw the last of Wakefield’s three pilot art walks, the organizers now assessing how they have gone and are to proceed. The biggest change since the first walk back in July has been at the ArtHouse. When we first visited, they had been open only two weeks, and were just beginning to sign people up to the studio spaces. Now all long term studios have been rented, and there is a long waiting list. All that remains is to get more people signing up to their short term leases, which can be between a few days and three months. For a venue that has been so long in the planning, it is wonderful to see it fully up and running, and exciting to see what new ideas it will bring to Wakefield.

On then to Interval Café, where artist Paula Tod was showing Scottish landscape-inspired paintings. While on these walks it is important to keeps your wits about you amidst so much complimentary wine, Interval wins in my book for most unusual refreshments with their free haggis.

The Wakefield Art Gallery is the most traditional of the Art Walk’s venues, and the only one to provide a live string quartet in addition to the art itself. The gallery houses an excellent collection of Moores and Hepworths, and were offering visitors an opportunity to explore the forms with coloured torches. It did make for an interesting way to approach the sculptures, though the pieces in the gallery room were somewhat crowded. The effect was better realized in the sculpture garden at the back, where a tent had been erected around a Hepworth piece, to minimise outdoor light spoiling the effect. Being a city art gallery, there is a tendency towards the National Trust effect: unnecessary cluttering up of free space with additional information, and primary coloured activities for children. That said, this was the one venue where I did see families getting involved together, which was great, but it seemed a shame that there was no other noticeable effort to encourage them elsewhere on the walk, it being a great way for parents to introduce their children to art in the city in an uncomplicated and fun way.

The Coach House Gallery is an excellent example of a well planned gallery/studio space. Though the gallery is small, a lot had been fitted in without making it feel overstuffed or claustrophobic. Downstairs was given over to the first full exhibition of Charlie Morris, whose paintings suggest influences of Hopper. Upstairs was a lovely, dance inspired triptych by Kate Marr, who may be somebody to watch out for.

Westgate Open Studios are, we knew from experience, an evening in themselves, so we saved them until last to give ourselves time to explore them at a nice lazy pace. By this point in the night, many of the artists were beginning to head longingly for the pub, but we were still able to catch up with a few. My favourite studio this time around was John Harrison’s (lack of) space, stuffed to the gills with constructivist sculptures and assemblages. Westgate Studios provide large spaces for artists, both private and shared. While working your way up the narrow winding staircase to the top floors can be hard going after a long walk round the city, the art works adorning the stairwell make it worth it.

Westgate Studios will be next open on November 27th, then every eight weeks from 5 – 9pm.

While the Wakefield Art Walk takes a break to evaluate and plan for the future, I am glad that it seems set to continue a regular feature of the city’s art scene. It can be a lot of walking for one evening, and there are problems; some venues such as the Wall Gallery are rather far out which may put some people off, and temporary exhibitions may find it difficult to get publicised if they are not on the map (such as the photography show at Art of Oak this time around). It is, however, a great way to really get to know what goes on in Wakefield, and meet the people behind everything. Look out for the next one, wear some sturdy shoes, and be prepared to meet some strange and wonderful people.

Eureka!

What can I say...I'm a big kid! I was wary that disappointment would follow after a visit to Eureka! much like the dismay I felt after a recent visit to Tropical World - everything always seems much grander and exciting as a kid. Having not visited for at least 8 years this was not the case & although not a scratch on Magna, it held its own. For an educational environment it was fun and engaging, plus the younger cousins I attended with couldn't get enough of it ...worth the admission fee I'm not entirely sure though.

Everything is easily accessible, brightly coloured and invites a hands on experience where exhibition sets make noises, produce images, provide information and test initiative; emphasis on interactive learning.

What is appreciated is that Eureka! is the complete polar opposite of the museums you'd ordinarily see in the Yorkshire area, Royal Armouries being a good example and the Leeds Museum springs to mind, that is a museum with artifacts encased in glass cabinets.

It ticks all the boxes as a kids science museum, however from an adults point of view it wasn't particularly challenging and was a stretch to keep focus for the duration.

Tate Britain; William Blake 1809

Tate Britain have re-staged William Blake's 1809 first and only solo exhibition, reuniting nine of his surviving works 200 years after they were first displayed.

Tate Britain have culminated this event via loans from the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, to mark the 200th anniversary of this exhibition that was once displayed at his brother's shop on Golden Square, Soho, in May 1809.

Sadly with many great artists, musicians/performers and authors fame is not apparent till the death of the said individual, Blake was no exception with his original show being poorly attended and receiving one review in the press; negative.

Blake is now recognised as the literary idol of the Romantic Age and viewing these works reminded me exactly why that was.

I note Blake for his 'Songs from Innocence and Experience' prose and illustrations, much of my own personal work to date is heavily influenced by his songs, so my knowledge of his other collections was minimal - I'd read excerpts of 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'; 'Prisons are built from the stones of law, brothels the bricks of religion'

The work which stood out for me was 'Jacob's Ladder' (see right image), illustrated beautifully with a heavenly aura. Not religious but immensely interested in religion, how it's interpreted worldwide in particular the stories such as Jacob's Ladder; a ladder to heaven described in the Book of Genesis. Fascinating to see a visual representation.

Although a short specialist collection, it was certainly worth a visit for my interest in Blake however another exhibition currently on at Tate Britain that's heavily displayed is Turner's artwork and future exhibitions consist of Yorkshires Henry Moore and what sounds to be really interesting - 'British Comic Art'


The Blake Exhibition at Tate Britain runs from 20th April - 4th October 2009.