Posted: April 24th, 2013 | Author: Steph | Filed under: Photography, Typography | Tags: Ampersand, Emily Blincoe, Let's Be Brief, This & That | No Comments.
The Ampersand has never been adverse to the odd makeover. As a typographer’s favourite, its history is cited to date back to 63 BC and was actually the 27th letter of the English alphabet up until the 19th century.
Photographer Emily Blincoe adds to this graphic symbols interesting lineage. Blincoe creates a series of visual puns that help to keep the ampersand young & beautiful. Visit Emily’s suitably titled This & That blog for more.
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Originally published on LBB
Posted: February 1st, 2013 | Author: Steph | Filed under: Art, Community, Events, Illustration | Tags: Boxpark, Jester Jacques Gallery, Let's Be Brief, Sky Nash, twenty%extra | No Comments.
With our Let’s Be Brief hat on we’ve teamed up with street art specialist Jester Jacques Gallery and their Pop-Up at Boxpark this February for Carfumes: The After School Club for Creative Types workshop.
Working with LBB’s very own ‘The Keen Eye’ illustrator Sky Nash, you can give loved and not so loved brands a tongue-in-cheek makeover.
Through illustration and witty copywriting turn well-known brands and straplines upside down / inside out and help create a Zine made from the nights work – all in the name of silly.
Have a break, have a quick crap; make some wonderful Carfumes.
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FREE EVENT | 20th February 2013 | 6pm – 9pm | Boxpark Shoreditch, 2-4 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6G
Posted: August 25th, 2012 | Author: Steph | Filed under: Art, Photography | Tags: Juno Calypso, LCC | No Comments.
As you may or may not know, we also run: Let’s Be Brief (LBB), which features all kinds of clever and creative wonderfulness and today we have a little treat for you. Taken from one of LBB’s Q&A’s with creative talent, we feature Juno Calypso – a recent LCC graduate – who we feel is tipped for the top. Please see the interview below.
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A few weeks back I toddle off to the LCC Accelerator Originators graduate show 2012 to see the latest of crop of graduates. One of my stand-outs from the exhibition was Juno Calypso.
Juno’s framed photography graced the back wall of the gallery space with a party tray installation piece of an oversized slice of cake, jam tarts, Battenberg’s and a saveloy. Across from the installation there were two screens with images of a glamourous lady looking contemplative.
The first thing that struck me was the theatre of the whole installation. The artist had clearly thought about both the experience of the voyeur and the quality of the photography, which wouldn’t be out of place in a glossy editorial.
On further investigation, Juno Calypso is indeed theatrical, with her recent work featuring herself as the fictitious character Joyce;
“Joyce is character through which I perform critical studies into modern female rituals of seduction and beauty – her glazed appearance acting as a mirror to the exhaustion felt by whilst bearing the dead weight of constructed femininity.”
Juno’s work is a clever juxtaposition of glamourous editorial style photography that tells the very real, yet fake story behind the current western ideals of ‘femininity’.
We were very curious about Juno’s inspiration and motivations, and had to find out more…
Q) Tell us something about yourself and your work?
I’m a London born artist, working with analogue, large format photography, and also digital video. At the moment my work focuses on a self-portrayed character named Joyce.
Q) Your work is as strong visually as it is conceptually. What was the process of you deciding you wanted to be an conceptual artist?
My BA degree really fuelled that process. I came from a slightly commercial background so had good technical knowledge, but then they really pushed me in terms of research and critical thinking. You never felt like a student, you were taught to present and view yourself as an artist straight away.
Q) Your work explores ideas of ‘femininity’ and female representation: what initially drew you to the subject?
It’s always been at the centre of my work, but I suppose this project is the first time I began to critique the construct of femininity. Previously, my only desire as a photographer was to create images of women looking hyper-alluring and flawlessly beautiful. But it came to the point where I had to face criticism and question the stereotypes I was perpetuating.
Q) You are carrying on the tradition of the likes as Cindy Sherman – by becoming the subject – when did you first start this process and why was it important to do so?
It started in two stages. I was a teenager during the dawn of camera phones and social media, and so like many others I spent a lot of time just photographing myself. Not necessarily out of vanity, but as a form of self-exploration – just seeing what you look like to other people.
Then halfway through my degree I used myself as a stand-in for a model I was supposed to photograph the next day – and that’s where the process began, where Joyce was born. When people responded more to the images of me clowning around, I realised this was an important step in my work.
Q) We’re living in interesting times concerning representation of the female image through popular culture from Beyoncé to TOWIE. What do you think will be the impact on young women growing up is such an image conscious culture?
I think you can already see the impact. When I was a kid everyone was worried about what effect Barbie would have. Now look at us. But I don’t think fake tan or silicone is the problem – adornment is a human ritual that exists in every culture. The problem is that women now have little choice – consumer culture is teaching women to be repulsed by their natural body, and that spending money is the only solution to low self-esteem.
Q) As an artist what impact would you like your work to make?
To make people laugh at themselves and the absurdities of modern life.
Q) You’ve recently graduated, what’s next?
My work is being exhibited at a group show right now at the Simon Oldfield gallery in London which is up till the end of July. Then later this summer I’ve been thinking about taking Joyce abroad somewhere – maybe go in character to a holiday resort or cruise ship and see what images I can create there.
Q) Lastly, what’s the best thing about being a woman?
Women’s humour.
Posted: July 15th, 2012 | Author: Steph | Filed under: Design, Music | Tags: The Mixtape Club | No Comments.
Mixtapes; I love them. Let me re-phrase that; I love good mixtapes.
The Mixtape Club is a website dedicated to “the art of the mixtape”. Each contributor is asked for his or her favourite album and album artwork. Each month features ten people, with ten tracks and ten album covers.
The site is stocked with great music and design. Needless to say I’ve now become a regular visitor.
Posted: June 27th, 2012 | Author: Steph | Filed under: Art, Events, Exhibitions | Tags: Boxpark, Earnest Endeavours, Let's Be Brief, The Insomniax | No Comments.
Everybody likes to be a winner. We’re particularly reminded of that now the 2012 London Olympics is around the corner.
The perception of what ‘winning’ means different things to different people. In May Let’s Be Brief (LBB) & Boxpark put out an open brief inviting designers to visualise that winning formula in poster form.
Join us on July 5th at Boxpark Shoreditch to see the winning entries for ‘The Art of Winning’ exhibition, with music from art label Earnest Endeavours and a PA from The Insomniax.
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The Art of Winning Exhibition Preview: 6 – 9pm
2 -4 Bethnal Green Road | Shoreditch | London | E1 6GY
Please RSVP here.
Artwork by competition winner Erica Donovan.
Posted: May 28th, 2012 | Author: Steph | Filed under: Activism, Events, Society | Tags: KK Outlet | No Comments.
“If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.”
So what do you think about the Economy, Equality, Education and Digital Politics. What’s Next? aims to find out.
Each week a different art collective, group of technologists, printers, designers will take over the KK Outlet gallery space and create work in response to a live twitter feed as people discuss a specific topic:
Critical Architecture Network: Economy week 4 – 9 June 2012
Girlcore: Equality week 11 – 16 June 2012
Technology Will Save Us: Digital Politics week 18 – 23 June 2012
People of Print: Education week 25 – 30 June 2012
There will be a different panel discussion and workshop each week, exploring the themes of Economy, Equality, Digital Politics and Education. These panels are made up of a rich and inspiring collective of thinkers, doers and activists. Needless to say twenty%extra™ will be involved as part of the education panel chaired by Lawrence Zeegen.
What’s next? Do they have big plans on how to right today’s wrongs? Do they have new ideas on how deal with the problems they have inherited?
PANEL DISCUSSIONS
For the list of speakers for each panel discussion and to book free tickets, go here.
Economy panel discussion 7 June 2012, 7 – 9pm
Equality panel discussion 14 June 2012, 7 – 9pm
Digital Politics panel discussion 21 June 2012, 7 – 9pm
Education panel discussion 28 June 2012, 7 – 9pm
Posted: May 9th, 2012 | Author: Steph | Filed under: Art, Typography | Tags: Farhad Moshiri, Life is Beautiful | No Comments.
Without any pun intended, Farhad Moshiri’s Life is Beautiful message gets straight to the point; a typographic installation created with kitchen knives.
Posted: April 22nd, 2012 | Author: Steph | Filed under: Art | Tags: Joeri Horstink, Mark van Wijk, Robin Stam, Rotganzen | No Comments.
Melted disco balls is by a Rotterdam based artist collective formed by Robin Stam, Joeri Horstink and Mark van Wijk.
Disco is dead. No wait, long live disco.
Posted: March 29th, 2012 | Author: Steph | Filed under: Environment, Events, Workshops | Tags: FARM:shop, Trade School London, twenty%extra | No Comments.
Worms, bins and compost aren’t the usual topics we cover in a workshop, but hey, don’t say we aren’t full of surprises.
Ansel will be sharing his home grown knowledge and green fingered wizardry in ‘How to create a self contained wormery’ at the Trade School London, which will be hosted at one of our new fav local spots FARM:Shop.
Based around the idea of the social nature of exchange, Trade School is a global initiative that uses barter as a way to engage knowledge share. For example, “I’ll teach you how to mend your bicycle puncture for art supplies and a banana or better yet teach me a skill”.
Starting in April and running on Thursdays and Sundays throughout the month, you can learn anything from yoga for beginners, make usable websites or even check out the ‘divine/ridiculous’ an exploration of the collision point between the sublime and the silly’ workshop.
To sign up for any of the classes please go here and hit join.
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How to create a self-contained wormery composter | 6.30 -8pm Thursday 19th April
FARM:shop
20 Dalston Lane
London
E8 3AZ
Posted: March 13th, 2012 | Author: Steph | Filed under: Design, Events | Tags: Imagethink, Inforgraphics, Ogilvy Notes, SXSW 2012 | No Comments.
Whilst having a ‘wish I was there’ moment after reading a stream of tweets from various bods at the South by South West conference, I saw a useful tweet about a blog based on the conferences’ various seminars.
Ok it’s not quite the same as being there, but the Ogilvy’s Notes blog employs RSA style infographics on the events key lectures. The infographics are produced by Imagethink, a graphic facilitation company who bring some vava voom to lectures and meetings by visually recording the content. Great idea for all visual learners and let’s face it probably would perk up any boardroom meeting.