Naive John

This was a lecture of two halves. The first half was how Naive John started and works, The second was his most recent commission.

I was surprised to see how John works,  in some ways I could relate to his work as I found it very similar to my own work. His research methods and initial process for building an image are not exactly the same but extremely similar. in fact if it wasn't for the fact that the final image ended up as a painting i would have said that John is more of a graphic designer.

Once John finished the first half we should have had a break, although everything he said was extremely interesting and useful to see the process he was just talking for too long. I needed a coffee and I needed a pee. Yet we could not go as he got excited about his most recent piece.

his recent piece I believe was a copyright minefield. morphing Stella cans, Tellybubbies and other kids TV puppets. The process he showed us though was to dissimilar to what we had already seen. If it wasn't for his good public speaking this would have made me leave. Despite this I really enjoyed John's talk and feel like i will be taking a few tips away with me.

TABLE

 

CTRL.ALT.SHIFT: Unmasks Corruption

Last month I went to the opening of Unmasks corruption at the contemporary urban centre. Hearing famous artists where involved and seeing some of the styles that would be on display, I was quite excited about this Exhibition.

It was a small room, smaller than I had expected. As i walked round I found there was a video installation towards the back of the room, so naturally I joined on the back of the small crowd. It seemed to be a documentary of some sort but with James McKenzie and Julian Barratt being in it i quick realised that this was a comedy film. As you will see below James plays a play write, trying to get his plays made to send a message and Julian is a ignorant producer just trying to make some money. This sets up the scene for some awkward yet hilarious moments that had me in stitches throughout. Yet as i looked around I saw that no one was laughing, no one was even smiling........ did they not get it?.....(joke plays out)..... still nothing! now I'm not sure if the crowd didn't understand this was a comedy, didn't like it as a comedy or just didn't want to laugh because of the environment that it was played in. It may have been because this does point out some serious issues but this was easily one of the most surreal moments of my life.


Ctrl.Alt.Shift Film Competition Winner: HIV - The Musical from Ctrl.Alt.Shift on Vimeo.



From AK-47's trying to get jobs, 3 fingered Hands outstretching and  a spoof documentary about HIV: The Musical, this was a much more varied exhibition than I had originally expected. 

Most of the Exhibition was paper based and the majority of this was screen printed. I found it quite encouraging to see this because all the equipment used for this process is all available to me in uni at the moment. I was especially encouraged when I noticed for some of them the stories for the comics where written by and Illustrated by different people. To me this means I could easily get in touch with a poet or writer, generally someone with something to say that impresses me and still make a successful piece.

There was a wide range of styles in the illustrations displayed from Japanese styles to Western styles, raw styles to traditional styles. but i was disappointed to realise Dave McKean's piece was in another exhibition.Dave McKean has always been a big influence on my work and was to be a denied highlight of this exhibition.

In full this was an inspiring exhibition that has made me think about my own work a lot. As i write this now i'm currently looking on the internet for a screen printing bed with the intentions of buying one for when I leave university.

work in progress: Table