It was November 1989, my last year of high school, suddenly the news on television has become interesting. The falling of the Berlin Wall was one of the first televised ‘life-changing’ moments I can remember watching on TV.
That same night David Hockney was faxing artwork in a live event witnessed by spectators and masterminded by Jonathan Silver of Salts Mill, Bradford. Hockney sent a 144-sheet composite image, Tennis, to the 1853 Gallery at Salts Mill.
At the time, the fax was an important bit of business kit, faxes were sent then like emails are today – we used to say ‘how did we ever cope before the fax machine?’.
Jump forward twenty years and Hockney is still embracing new media for his art, he has become a fan of an iPhone app called Brushes.
The 71-year-old painter invested in an iPhone earlier this year and has created a host of drawings including landscapes, portraits and images of flowers, all using Brushes.
His exploration of the iPhone culminated in an exhibition ‘Drawing In A Printing Machine’, displaying ten landscapes and eighteen portraits at London’s Annely Juda Gallery in the summer of 20…
Otl Aicher created possible the finest set of sports posters for the 1972 Olympics, and I’d go as far as saying the finest sports posters ever. He is held in such high regard over his involvement with that olympics that he set the bench mark for many future designs.The posters are timeless and wouldn’t look out of place at this years olympics.
What made them so great was the fact they captured the nature of each event they represented, simplistic yet bold and with great use of typography.
The canoe and 100 metre sprint posters capture the movement of the sport so well because of their simplicity, straight lines on the track give the feeling of speed, and the mass of texture on the canoe poster make you feel the power of the rapids.
The boxing poster has an certain intensity because of the contrasting colours, almost looking like a thermal image you can feel the heat of the two boxers.
In contrast the on archery poster you get a sense of concentration due to the calmness of the olympians face.
I’m really looking forward to the 2012 London olympics posters and hope they live up to the standards set by a truly great design…
Art & Copy is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray, it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time — people who’ve profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry.
Exploding forth from advertising’s ‘creative revolution’ of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in Art & Copy were responsible for ‘Just Do It,’ ‘I Love NY,’ ‘Where’s the Beef?,’ ‘Got Milk,’ ‘Think Different,’ and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them.
Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their ads are brought to light in this dynamic exploration of art, commerce, and human emotion.
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