The Angel – About time album dropped this week, It’s a jam packed CD or Double CD if you grab yourself the deluxe edition of hits from Angel and also some of Britain’s finest Urban Chart toppers. The Album is the final piece in the puzzle of designing the look and feel for this up and coming UK artist Angel.
ANGEL ABOUT TIME
CATEGORIES: Art, Design, Miscellaneous, Music, Photography
SIGN PAINTERS DOCUMENTARY
We love a good documentary here at Fluid, and when it comes to documentaries the more dedicated and absorbed the subject, or the more obscure the hobby or occupation the better.
Its in this vein that we present to you…Sign Painters, a brand new documentary chronicling the resurgence in hand painted signage in the USA. Though we’ve only watched the trailer, it looks a treat. The filmmakers wanted to explore the world of traditional sign painting as, in their words, “like many skilled trades, the sign industry has been overrun by the techno-fueled promise of quicker and cheaper” giving way to a “creeping sameness into our landscape”.
The brushstrokes and stories of over two dozen American sign painters are featured in the documentary, which you can learn more about here.
CATEGORIES: Advertising, Art, Design, Documentary, Film
BIRMINGHAM ARTS LAB SESSIONS
Those who remember the Arts Labs that sprung up around the country in the late 60s, and those with memories of the Birmingham Arts Lab in particular, will be interested to know that as part of the Flatpack Festival a set of dates will focus on a homage to the period in the form of documentary films, audio interviews and memorabilia.
The Birmingham outfit is an interesting case as it was able to carry on throughout the decade when many other Arts Labs across the country fizzled out, and in a large part this is attributable to its strong film programme, which arguably subsidised the music, visual and theatre output. Its key players in film were Tony Jones and Peter Walsh, who assembled a rudimentary cinema from salvaged bits and pieces and showed films that would not be screened elsewhere in the city. Their stories and those of many others have been unearthed and brought together in a ‘bricolage of memories’ of this creative culture.
Among the events are the chance to see Tony Palmer’s documentary on the city from 1971, a collection of interviews unearthed by Trevor Pitt in an atmospheric audio installation, and a talk headed by many of the Lab’s original participants about what worked, what didn’t, and what we can learn from the Arts Labs today.
For more details on the Birmingham Arts Lab sessions visit the Flatpack Festival website, and to learn more about the Birmingham Arts Lab there is an article here.
CATEGORIES: Art, Documentary, Events, Festivals, Film, Theatre/Performance Art
LIBRARY
As a Birmingham-based agency we like to support initiatives from our fellow residents, and this week saw the launch of online boutique Library from the Birmingham-based design agency Family. Featuring a great offering of prints from designers and illustrators, many of them sharing our impeccable choice of geographic location… these prints aren’t available for sale anywhere else.
Take a look at http://www.wearelibrary.co.uk.
CATEGORIES: Art, Design, Illustration
EYE SEA POSTERS
If original vintage Polish and Turkish film posters are your thing, then you’ll want to check out Eye Sea Posters, which sells originals and is a great source of some of the bizarre film artwork produced by established artists in the 60s and 70s. Originating from a time when the Polish film industry was regulated by the Communist state and artists were commissioned to produce unique artwork individual to a film; photographic stills and advertising a film’s main stars weren’t a requirement and this gave way to some really creative interpretations of a film’s imagery.
Plenty of inspiration to be found there…
CATEGORIES: Art, Design, Film, Typography
THE RISE OF THE ALTERNATIVE MOVIE POSTER
An interesting article about the rise of the alternative movie poster in today’s Independent after last night’s Oscars. Perhaps due to an onset of boredom in response to the glossy sameness of Hollywood movie posters, and a decreased emphasis on book and album cover art in our Kindle and iTunes age, alternative TV and movie posters are on the rise. Typically picking up on a singular memorable detail from the film, or recreating the film’s visual style, alternative posters are usually created as a hobby and shared online. Showcasing individuals’ own interpretations, alternative posters can garner large followings – some creators are even selling their alternative posters online.
The rise of the alternative poster is in no small way helped along by a sense of being ‘in on the joke’, as often the imagery featured is only recognisable by somebody who has seen the film. Unlike Hollywood film posters, the alternative movie poster is rarely descriptive “if you haven’t seen it, it doesn’t make sense”, says Albert Exergian, the creator of alternate TV show posters. Also check out the treasure trove of alternative posters for almost every film you could ever think of at the Home of Alternative Movie Posters.
CATEGORIES: Art, Design, Film, Typography
ALLO? BY JEAN JULLIEN
If you’re anything like me, then you’ll be harbouring a love/hate relationship with technology. The love definitely outweighs the hate – but I still find myself agreeing with every single one of these brilliant illustrations in the series Allo? by Jean Jullien, currently showing at East London’s Kemistry Gallery until the 23rd March. The 59 (!) images are variations on the theme of the negative presence of technology in our lives, with our omnipresent mobile phones featuring heavily.
And I always choose the self-service checkout over the real human standing at the till. Now I feel awful.
Courtesy of It’s Nice That.
CATEGORIES: Art, Exhibition, Technology
SECRET 7″S
We’ve just finished up a couple of sleeve designs for the annual Secret 7″ project run by Talenthouse, a project bringing music and art together for a good cause. Designers, artists and photographers from across the globe are invited to design an original vinyl sleeve for a selection of artists involved with the project – (our choices – Laura Marling and Elton John!) 30-50 winners for each artist will be selected, a copy of their design produced and given exposure online and at an exhibition space at creative agency Mother. The 700 final vinyls will go on sale – but you don’t know what you’re going to get until its in your hands.
The project is set up in conjunction with Art Against Knives, a charity that funds arts led initiatives to discourage youths from violent gang culture. So why not take a look, design your own sleeve and do something for charity too…
CATEGORIES: Art, Design, Music, Photography
OLIVER JEFFERS
As a special Friday treat we thought we’d share this interview with artist Oliver Jeffers over at It’s Nice That. Jeffers is better known for his children’s illustrations but has been quietly working on his fine art practice, which he has compiled into a monograph entitled “Neither Here nor There” published by Gestalten. The interview also features a video and some examples of his work. If you like what you see, visit his website at www.oliverjeffers.com
NERVOUS SYSTEM
We’re becoming a little bit obsessed with 3D printing at the moment. During our internet travels we came across the people at Nervous System, who write computer programs that generate designs based on patterns and processes found in nature, which can then be printed into art, jewellery and housewares. Anybody can download the software and generate their own design pattern, and the beauty of 3D printing means you can personalise your unique items however you like.
Now just to save the £2500 for my own 3D printer at home…
CATEGORIES: Art, Design, Technology