Beamish

I was trying to think of museums i had or was planning to go to that would inspire me enough to write about them, that i would know alot about and how i could easily research more...then it clicked. I better write about the one i LIVE in.

Yes, i live in a museum. Well sort of. I live in the grounds of Beamish Museum, a built up town that has everything from the dentist to the sweet shop all set in the early 1900's. It's spread across quite a large amount of land. There is a town centre, the mines, the old station and garages where old cars are being repaired...It even has a merry go round. The tram or an old fashioned bus takes you from place to place and quite honestly...it's a good day out.

Beamish has always been popular with the surrounding schools for school trips. Dressing the kids up as victorians with flat caps and mop hats and sending them off to see how their ancestors survived without washing machines and television. It boasts cafes such as 'The Canny Cuppa' and what i must say is the best sweet shop around.

It's nice to see a museum that's abit different, clearly i am bias as my family decided to live in the surrounding grounds to it, but i think it's great to see somewhere trying to educate whilst having fun, it's a perfectly designed place for kids and adults and has had people travelling from really quite far away to come and visit.

Kyle Jones

http://www.justkyle.com/index.html

I have been trying to find a graphic designer that has a broad subject of work, work that i like and could relate to and a great website. I actually surprisingly found this alot harder than i thought i would. There seems to be alot of graphic designers websites out there that look exactly the same, all very sparse, soft colours, their name written elaborately across the top of the page...It makes you forget who is who as they all blend into one.

However, when i fell upon Kyle Jone's website i found myself clicking around it, playing all his motion pieces and just generally taking an interest. His work is a big part of my interest as he has alot to do with motion and illustration. His work is really welcoming, lots of big and bold illustrations and motions with bright colours and daring features and backgrounds. I particularly like the poster he did for using other modes of transport and being green (the middle picture). I think it captures the essence of the subject well.

I also like the feeling on Kyle Jone's website. It's professional but also has alot more humour in then some other graphic designers website, even things such as his introduction on the home page being 'Howdy!' puts you in a good mood as you are clicking around the site.

Kyle Jones has alot of work to show and also a section on his site called 'My life in pictures' which is partly to do with his work but partly about his personal life, he even has about when he started a blog for his work on this blog website.

Chuck Close

I have enjoyed looking and studying Chuck Closes work for a few years now. I studied him for my art Alevel and now refer back to him quite often when people question on me on which artist i believe to be the most unique or influencial to me.

Close first became famous for his acrylic paintings (the lower picture). He airbrushed layer on layer of acrylic paint onto the piece to get the most visually accurate end result that he could. Close was obsessed by portraits, how people were structured and shaped. However he was annoyed how most artists concentrated mainly on the features of the face, he believed skin and hair, even the background was neglected on portraits and how they represent the people. So therefore, every single pore of skin was thought about and developed perfectly in Close's acrylic portraits, which has to be admired- as these could take years to complete.

Later on in Close's career he took to a new style, which was woodcut print. Developing each tiny block with a specific mix of colours so that when they were all put together they created an accurate portrait. These blocks could have layers and layers of paint on them and only the tiniest speck out of line could ruin the process behind the whole painting. (There is an example in the first painting, Close's niece Emma). Although i think i probably prefer Close's acrylic work to look at i believe that this process is so intelligent it blows my mind, how someone can visualise the end product so perfectly and have the patience to work every colour and piece together is trully a unique talent and one of the many reasons i admire Chuck Close and his work.

Run boy run!

This is an advert for Visa. I think the reason why this advert was so successful was because it managed to hit everybodies humour spot as well as sentimental spot. The total unrealistic idea that he would ever have made it to that wedding makes everyone laugh, and probably realise how much they do fall back on their Visa card for saftey, just maybe not to that extreme.

I would have thought it would have been a one hit wonder advert, that once you'd seen it, you'd seen it and that was it. However, with great acting throughout the advert from the man you notice new and funny things every time you watch it. My favourite being the look of total 'i'm going to get you' to the best man as he enters the church.

I think this advert was also set to a wide spread target audience, amusing men and women, yound and old which will be part of the reason for it's national success. It's one of the funniest and well put together adverts i have seen in a long time and represents Visa very well.

Philippe and Pierre...

http://www.idioticadventures.com/home

Philippe needs a body and Pierre needs a brain...that's the basis of the whole of this website and all their stories and animations throughout. Having said that...it's amusing. The website, created by Dane Schlefman is just purely for fun. From story to story you just see the struggle of Pierre and Philppe trying to get their head back on their shoulders.

The animation is well done, it is basic but that is part of it's charm and i like the way the characters and sets are drawn. They are very much cartoons, rather than trying to expertly draw a perfect looking human body and head they are very simply done and it adds to the feeling and charm of the whole website, which is set out in a similar way.

The Laing

The Laing is a art gallery in Newcastles city centre. I have been going in and out of The Laing for as long i can remember, popping in when i am in Newcastle to see a new exhibition or display that is up at that time. They have paintings that come and go, and others that stay on a permanant basis. I have always found it a great place to go and walk around in peace, collect your thoughts and gain inspiration for whatever project you have in your head at that time.

It is a great building visually on the outside as well as in inside, one of the buildings that you are proud to have standing in your home town. The gallerys permanant collection consists mainly of early 20th century artists who have done oil paintings or watercolour paintings. Although some people may find this type of art quite boring, i think it's nice to always know that The Laing contains this art sort of as it's structure and then adds to it by bringing in new artists and ideas to keep the place fresh.

Currently, there seems to be a Chinese theme within the gallery, there are Chinese ink paintings and also installations mainly to do with water by Chinese artists. It's great to know that such an adaptable gallery is on the doorstep.

Quantum Of Solace

Yes! He is back. Bond, James Bond himself. The trailer has recently been released for the new James Bond movie 'Quantum of Solace'. I personally think that when an action film does a good and even trailer for a movie that they are the best going...and this hits the mark.

Starting off with the slow introduction, this Bond has a newer and darker feeling than previous films-the bad guys seem really real and threatening rather than such exaggerated characters that were in the older Bond films. The idea of James Bond being a rebel against his orders, grieving the loss of the love of his life and still trying basically to do his job i think sets up a good scene for the film.

However, in the trailer it then builds up to a finale full of action moments, quirky lines and a flash of a pretty woman and abit of torso-who would want to leave the old Bond ways all together? No one i hope. I believe a mix of modern agression with the tradtional touches will make 'Quantum of Solace' a great success.

The trailer is really well edited in it's difference between paces, the almost blinking eye way of changing scenes smoothly and the music volumised and silenced in the right places. Another thing that caught my eye was the 007 turning into the words for the title and the date the film is coming out. I think every touch like that means the trailer has been well thought out and professionally executed.

If the film is anything like the trailer, bring it on!

Behind the Scenes...

This is a book i received as a gift a while ago. It's about the program 24 but instead of being about the story lines and the characters etc it is about how the show is made, edited and finally put together. They have interviews with some of the cast but often interviews and inputs from the crew and what they think about the show and it's great success.

This book is slightly larger than A4 and done landscape. From the front cover to the back i think it is beautifully set out and put together. As i said with the website and most designs to do with 24 it is quite a boxy black and white set out but with this book there is a softer edge with great photographs that are captured in the moment behind the scenes.

It's nice to read about how much work goes into a show like 24 and how the need of a strong team to constantly improve the show and bounce around new ideas is so important. The amount of work that the cast and crew put into even the minor details always takes time and money and often the crew can be forgotten to be put in the lime light when it comes to praising the show. Therefore, along with the fact this book is so visually stunning and therefore a great read it is nice to see the whole 24 team getting recognition for their great work.

Millenium Bridge- Gateshead/Newcastle.

Newcastle's Millenium bridge was placed in one piece over the river non surprisingly in 2000. However, it was not opened to the public until 2001. It is a pedistrian and cyclist bridge only as the lane in which to walk over it is very thin.

The bridge has become famous for tilting in a non usual fashion to let ships and boats through. Once a year on the Tyne we have a few days called 'Tall Ships' where all the ships come in people can get on and see them, stalls are set up, food and drink is sold.... and now the bridge lifting to let them through has become part of it's yearly routine.

The bridge lifts up into the air, rather like an eye and therefore has been nick named by the locals 'The Blinking Eye'. It also does it reasonably fast and smoothly, it certainly looks like a great design paying off. The other aspect that the bridge has become known for is it's changing colours on a night time. The bridge goes from blue, to purple, to red, to orange and so on and on. As this reflects on the river it sort of makes the whole surrounding area shine in a glow. It is absolutely beautiful and you dont fail to see people every night on the Quayside of Newcastle looking over and staring at it.

I think the design is simply done with it's bare structure but so well thought out and brilliantly executed. It cost 22 million pounds to be but into place...Worth every penny i say.

Vimrod

I have been receiving and giving Vimrod cards for a couple of years now. I dont really think that for someone's birthday you can go wrong with a cheeky little card with some animation of little people with really big heads.

The whole theme of the cards is very tongue and cheek, often just on a white background and possibly only including one colour. The font is always like someones hand writing whilst they are drunk and the animation looks like someone is having a laugh. But all together i think it works brilliantly, and it's total sparseness is what actually makes it stand out.

When looking into Vimrod more i realised that they dont only do cards, they seem to create every single thing under the sun. From flip-flops to money boxes they are branching out their company in every possible way all with a similar look and feel as the cards have. So maybe now i can not only give and receive Vimrods cards, i can give and receive their gifts too!

Here's their website...http://www.campusgifts.co.uk/acatalog/Vimrod.html

Barbara Kruger

"Do you know why language manifests itself the way it does in my work? It's because I understand short attention spans." Barbara Kruger.

Barbara Kruger has always been a designer and artist who i have followed and i have always enjoyed her work. She mainly does black and white bold work with block bright colours mixed in which is often the style that i prefer when it comes to serious and demanding to the eye pieces.

Kruger always has a point to prove and an opinion to put forward and as she says in the quote above she always gets straight to the point. She has not only created very influencial pieces of work involving text with photos and art work which can often be so powerful they are almost disturbing she has also spread her work to alot of different mediums. As you can see above Kruger has filled whole rooms with her unique style, thoughts and designs all in bold fonts that you would expect to see on a newspaper headline. That's how she wants her opinions and thoughts to be seen. She has also had her work shown in very public places such as bill boards where it stands out so excellently in the middle of a busy city centre.

Everything that is said within Krugers work, in the pictures or within the words is very clear and daring. She wants to make people talk, even if it is just to say how rude they think she is. Everything helps the word and her name spread. She has done alot of work on consumption, shopping, modern addictions and everything that on some level we can connect ourselves too. Therefore i think bringing out the point and thought behind Krugers style of work.

WALL-E

'Wall-e' is the new Disney Pixar film that has come out this Summer. With it being from the makings of 'Finding Nemo' etc i was hoping it would be good, however i thought it was amazing! The trailer for the film is the video above, but really to see how clever the film is you have to watch it as a whole.

I saw the trailer and sort of shrugged, presuming i probably would go and see it at some point but i wasn't overly excited. The animation looked to be an amazing standard and that it certainly was. There are huge landscapes of built up earth and space within the film and i have to say at times you had to wonder if they weren't just filming it rather than creating it. However when the film hits the 'space centre' where all the humans are living they are created in a more tradtional animation (animation that looks like animation, if you get what i mean). And i quite like that.

Of course you leave the cinema thinking my God Wall-e is literally the cutest thing that has ever been created...you just want to steal him and have him as your house robot. Once i was over this, i realised that the film was so daring and cleverly done, compared to alot of other disney pixar films. To begin with for the first twenty/twenty five minutes nobody speaks, you just follow Wall-e around Earths surface clearing up rubbish and watching what he finds and how he reacts...how terribly wrong that could have gone. But it didn't. Then in the rest of the film there are humans, so dialogue is set but to be honest it is to a minimum and the majority of the time you're just wanting them to shut up so you can find out whats happening to Wall-e and Eve the two main robot characters. Never did i think you could get so attached to something that is not only cartoon, but is also not even human.

I think Wall-e is trully a break through for Disney pixar because although it does have the warm slushy ending it is alot more daring then their usual films, the writer has certainly throught outside the box is very skilled to be able to pull off a script like that so well. Along side is the amazing animation and actually quite a good moral message about protecting the earth (especially for kids ears) Wall-e surprised me, and will certainly be hitting my DVD collection.

Come Closer...

There have been alot of impressive music videos coming out lately. I think the new thing for music stars is to have a break through video that gets everyone talking...it also can cover up the fact that often the songs are distinctly average.

However, the music video that has caught my eye lately has been Ne-yo's 'Closer'. It's not really breaking through the boundaries of any previous video ideas, or showing off some brand new technology to shock us all. I just think it's so amazingly edited and well put together that it's hard to take your eyes away from watching it. Often, text mixed with video can often come off looking quite tacky but in this video i think it fits in perfectly, especially when they are using the shape of the set or screen to create letters for the words.

The lighting of the sets are also all perfect for the theme and mood of the song. Set in mainly black and white but with splashes of gradients of colours coming through. The changing of lights and changing from set to set is also timed really well, never missing a second and being so sharp but well flowing. It is this that makes what actually looks like alot of simple sets appear to be so eye catching. Therefore, instead of being another R'n'B video with a guy and girl draped around each other, it stands out from the crowd.

Oh i do like to be beside the sea side...

Has everyone forgotton about the tradtional English holiday? Getting your bucket and spade out, flip flops on and plodding down to the beach to dip your toes in the sea and eat a 99 icecream?

The problem is that every seaside town (or at least the ones we know of) now are over run with fair ground rides, slot machines, and chavs eating hot dogs from the free standing van.

However, i am happy to say that recently i found a little sea side town in England that hadn't been tainted in this way, it still had rock pools full of crabs, kids building sand castles and parents looking slightly...cold.

It's name is Runswick Bay. A small Bay on the North East coast (hence the coldness). With hills going up every side of the beach it is fairly impossible to build near or around it, apart from the little white houses that were dotting in amongst the green. Therefore it hasn't been tainted at all, and it was nice to see. I'm not saying that living there wouldn't actually kill me...because i think the silence and total tranquility would drive me up the wall after a while and not having a local shop or neighbours would make me feel very isolated from the outside world...but as a day trip, and an amazing view, it was all a thumbs up.

This Book Will Save Your Life...

I know what this must look like...A book about putting your life back in order, starting a new career, finding your inner self confidence...Thankfully no. It's fiction.

In a way though, i do think it's a very appropriate title. The book is about a man named Richard Novak who is a very wealthy man living in LA overcome by the modern life style of training for hours a day, eating no carbs and being constantly obsessed with himself and his unbreakable routine. It then progresses into his rather rapid realisation and therefore break down that his life means nothing, he has no real friends and he can't go on the way he is.

We then see Richard Novak trying through his physical and mental break down to meet people, to walk around and explore things, to break his routine. He becomes friends with a doughnut shop owner and starts to gorge on them whilst slowly building his lift back up with a more realistic and sensible view. Therefore, i approve of the title, because i think this new 'LA craze' needs to be look on as if it is fairly ridiculous, and actually can effect people much more than just on the surface.

This book is an eye opener, whilst being gentle and reasonably easy to read i think it portrays well how human kind can be so easily effected and sucked in by stereotypes, crazes and have such a need to fit in with everyone else. Stephen King has written a review of the book on the back which says 'I think this brave story of a lost man's reconnection with the world could become a generational touchstone, like catch-22 or The Catcher in the Rye...And hey, maybe it will save somebody's life.' And i agree.

Plus, i know they say never judge a book by it's cover, but this one definitely caught my eye whilst wandering through WaterStones...

Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper has always been one of my favourite artists. He died in the 1960's but left the world luckily with many of his paintings which were mainly done in oils. However he was also known for his watercolour paintings too.

Hopper was known for mainly painting alone people who were in very simple day to day backgrounds or surroundings. Above we can see this in two backgrounds being bedrooms and another being a local bar on a night time. Hopper appeared to be able, like no other artist in my opinion, to create the essence of loneliness through a painting. The mixture of darks and light that flow with each painting and also how the people or one person is situated, seated, or looking always pin points a mood perfectly.

My favourite Edward Hopper painting is 'Night Hawks' which is the top picture above. The man who is sat with no company on the bar nearest the front of the painting has his head down, shadow cast upon him and is capturing that mood that Hopper always manages to create perfectly. The streets look bare and dark, giving the impression this is the last place open for this man to go. Not only do Hopper's paintings have personality but i also enjoy his painting style and colours. Nothing is massively precise within the pictures, but the colours and movement of the paint allows it to look real.

The Natural Confectionery Company

Over the last month or so The Natural Confectionery Company seems to have blasted onto television screens. I personally hadn't heard of these sweets until these new adverts appeared. There are many versions all in a similar humour to this one, including one with a bear trying to be massively hard and stick to his roots of bear like behaviour and another where a jelly snake is talking and the bear is butting in constantly. I just love how simple this idea is. Simple kitchen worktop setting and it's awkward movements of the sweets just add to the hilarious copy that's said with such meaning and seriousness from the jelly animals. I think the idea of this advert is very daring and could have very easily not worked however i think this is going to catch many peoples eye and amuse them alot. It certainly has for me.

Lost

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vc1oEJUxks

This is the Lost promotional advert that came onto Channel fours screens before season one begun. I know that now this advert was aired quite a few years ago and surely there must be something newer that could have influenced me or made a big impact when advertising a TV show? Honestly, no. Not as much as this one. When this advert came out, everybody talked about it-it seemed to hit every target audience because of it's pure mystery and elegance. Many TV shows have started up or carried on with seasons E.G. Dirty sexy money or prison break. Like them or not...i'm not sure i can even remember what the promotional adverts were for them. This Lost advert made a huge impact and made everyone feel...well...lost, until they saw the show.

Giant Bee...he's so lovely.

http://www.rathergood.com/giantbee/

It's one of those things that has sort of got to be seen to be believed...this video is from rathergood.com and made by Joel Veitch and Stuart Payne. Who from making their websites full of random videos and games have gone on to make a small fortune...muchly deserved i think. They also sell their music on CD. Out of all the videos on the website i like this one the most, it's happy, hilarious and doesn't fail to make you smile. How can you go wrong!

24 - probably the best show ever made.

I have been a HUGE fan of 24 since day one. It's coming up to season number seven and if LA would stop having forest fires, writers would stop going on strikes and Kiefer Sutherland would stop getting himself put in prison, it would have been here alot sooner!

The show first became famous for it's new layout that TV shows had not seen much of before. The whole show is set on a split screen zooming in on various story lines and then back out to change over. This choice of editing allows the show to run very smoothly and for the viewer to keep up with the many complicated storylines but it also keeps a very formal and professional look to what is appearing on screen and therefore represents what the show is about and who it involves very well.

When going on the 24 website i discovered that it was set out in a similar way. The pictures above show how it's box layout with dark backgrounds and bright colours for font etc all are part of 24's unique structure. It is very busy yet organised, much the same as the show.

http://www.fox.com/24/

I believe that what doesn't kill you, makes you...stranger.

Recently i went to see the new Batman film 'The Dark Knight'. I'm sure it's the huge cliche at the moment to talk about how amazing Heath Ledger is but there you go...I was a huge fan of 'Batman Begins' and thought that they wouldn't really top it with a sequel, however i was proved wrong. With a mix of Ledger's dark and quirky version of The Joker and some top of the range actors playing the more minor roles, such as Michael Cane and Morgan Freeman the film in my opinion was one of the best action films to come out of Hollywood for years.

The film is almost three hours long but you don't even really seem to notice just flying along with the plot and seeing all the twists and turns, i think its great to have a bad guy who just never saw the wrong in what he was doing. The Joker is distructive only for the sake of it and never redeems himself, therefore changing the idea of the true American moral that appears to show through so many things that come out of Hollywood.

Little touches brought the film to the peek of it's greatness, things such as the Joker's make up being over scars, and him changing his story throughout the film as to how he got them. The colouring of the whole film is dark and dingy and puts you in the right frame of mind, as well as the music keeping you highly tense. Lee Smith, the editor of 'The Dark Knight' also cut the camera angles and the scenes so well that your eyes never left the screen.

All the actors played a great role within this film, the only thing i would have to moan about is Christan Bale's voice for Batman...is there a need to growl to the people that know you are Batman? However, Ledger especially played an amazing part within the film and will be missed in the acting world. Below is a link to him talking about playing The Joker.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKa-aDga1fE

The Tate- Liverpool.

Recently i visited 'The Tate'. A large museum well situated on the outskirts of Liverpools city centre.

When first entering The Tate you are hit with Rodin's 'The Kiss'. Just in the lobby way, as a lovely taster before actually going into the main exhibition area. From the 30th of May to the 31st of August the main exhibition is 'Gustav Klimt- painting, design & modern life in Vienna 1900'. The exhibition displays dozens upon dozens of Klimts pieces, by no means scamming you into coming along to see a few copies and early pencil sketches; quite the opposite infact. The exhibition has nine days left, so if you are in and around Liverpool-go!

Klimt was a very influencial artist and designer in the 1900's. He was part of a group of artists called 'The Viennese Secession' Who pushed for art to be moved forward and dare to use materials that werent just pencils and paints. Klimt used a wide range of materials within his pieces including gold leaf and jewels which make every piece he does so mind boggling complicated that you could stare at it for days.

Klimt also liked to show the difference of people and different forces and circumstances that put people into certain roles. A great example of this is 'The Beethoven Frieze' That was situated in the centre of the first room of the exhibition. It shows figures representing sickness, maddness and death merging into figures that represent compassion and ambition. (It is the first picture above.)

The next example of Klimts work showing how people differ with time and experience is his area of work named 'The world in Female Form' This piece shows how women go through the young, prime and old. Having a rather depressing look on old age...(Second picture above).

I believe Klimts work is very influencial within art and design because without him and his group of believers bizarre outlook on life and art itself the chances of design being moved forward smoothly and successfully as it was in this time period probably would not have happened so successfully. The Tate in Liverpool is a great building and this exhibition too. It's situated on the first and fourth floor (a lovely treck when you're scared of lifts).