ICM - Leeds Design Agency

Drainspotting

In Britain, they’re traditionally just left in there orignal state. But in Japan, hundreds of manhole covers serve as works of art, despite their benign function.

In a new book called Drainspotting (Mark Batty Publishing, 2010) – Photographer, urban artist and film maker Remo Camerota documents some of his favorite examples of this interesting art form.

“Designs range from images that evoke a regions cultural identity, from flora and fauna to landmarks and local festivals to fanciful images dreamed up by school children. In Kyoto, a turtle adorns the city’s manhole covers, signifying wisdom and longevity,” he writes.

Hopefully people in Britain will follow suit as it’s a hole load of f…

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Who is in charge of design as a whole for the London Olympics? It might just be me, but I think they’ve taken leave of thier senses. I just don’t understand some of the decisions that have been made. Having just got over the initial shock of the 2012 logo which I have to admit I wasn’t too keen on at first, along come Wenlock, Mandeville and the Orbit.

Lets start with Wenlock and Mandeville the mascots for 2012 Olympics – creatures supposedly fashioned from droplets of steel used to build the stadium. With a metallic finish, a single large eye made out of a camera lens, a London taxi light on their heads and the Olympic rings represented as friendship bracelets on their wrists they resemble… well nothing.

The names I can put up with as they have meaning. Wenlock, named after the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock that helped inspire Pierre de Coubertin to launch the modern Olympics, and Mandeville, inspired by the Buckinghamshire town of Stoke Mandeville, where the Paralympics were founded. Lord Coe, said the mascots were aimed squarely at children and designed with the digital age in mind. So ok, maybe I shouldn’t get too annoyed as they are not even aimed at people over four foot.

It just seems nowadays we can’t have anything “normal”. The official mascot for the World Cup in 66 for example was a lion called World Cup Willy, a straight forward no nonsense lion who wore a Union Flag shirt of red, white and blue. Maybe it’s just me getting old.

Then we come to the Orbit designed by Anish Kapoor who has done some very nice work around the world, but here in my opinion has created a monstrosity beyond all comprehension. What is it? Why does it look liKe a trumpet roller coaster? Why do they keep comparing it to the Eiffel Tower?

The Eiffel tower became a work of art in the eyes of the world against the protestations of the Parisian art world. The massive iron structure appears graceful and almost part of the natural environment. By comparison, Kapoor’s structure is a prime example of man demonstrating his mastery over nature. All it represents is, we could, so we did.

Whether you love it or hate it, the last word should go to Boris Johnson the Mayor of London, who said of the Orbit: “It would have boggled Gustave Eiffel”. Well no I’m having the last word Boris, it’s rubbi…

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We’ve already said enough on here about our views of the 2012 Olympic logo, so now it is time to take a look at the recently introduced Olympic mascots – a subject we’ve touched on before here

I suppose we have to be thankful that we haven’t ended up with a Lion or a Beefeater or a telephone box or some other nausiating cliché, instead we are introduced to Wenlock and Mandeville:

Forged from the last drops of steel that made the girders that made the stadium, the full story of how Wenlock and Mandeville were created can be seen here.

Come back and tell us what you think after clicking the link.

Like the logo, I feel the mascots will take some warming-to. There must have been a massive temptation to ‘play-it-safe’ after the public backlash at the logo. Maybe I’m too old, too cynical? Maybe they will inspire a younger generation?

Let’s just hope that come 2012, they are as cool as Berlino the Bear!....

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