Printmaking
I was pleasantly surprised to see that from the 23rd of October to the 5th of December this year the Zach Feuer Gallery in New York had a retrospective exhibition of works by the Pop artist, teacher and nun Sister Mary Corita.
One of my all time favorite image makers who sadly passed away in 1986 spent 30 years practicing as a nun at the Immaculate Heart Convent in Los Angeles where she also had an art studio and used her time to create screen prints and serigraphs.
Her work features a beautiful mix of type and image usually in bright or fluorescent colours. Newspaper photos, chopped up slogans and quotes, advertising images, jingles and hand rendered type all came together to illustrate political and world issues she felt strongly about with a great sense of playfulness and freedom
It has been said that she is “responsible in part for advancing the silk screen process as fine art”. I can only hope one day to see them with my own eyes. Maybe next time…
Alex Geoffrey
Posted on Thursday, 10th of December 2009 Permalink
I recently came across this online. It’s a website dedicated to simplifying various film posters. Although you may not recognise a lot of them, it doesn’t take away from the pleasure of seeing these things translated so beautifully into basic geometric forms. If only everything in life could get the same treatment.
Alex Geoffrey
Posted on Thursday, 24th of September 2009 Permalink
I recently spotted this online. Its a wedding invite which has been designed by the groom who is also a graphic designer called Matthew Dorfman. It reminded very much of the letter press invite that Nathan did for his wedding earlier this year which was type set and printed from real wood type blocks, a collaboration with letterpress practitioner Kelvyn Laurence-Smith.
Alex Geoffrey
Posted on Tuesday, 8th of September 2009 Permalink
Anyone who is unfamiliar with the work of photographer JR from Paris, France should definitely look him up.
He started off documenting subcultures with a camera he found on a subway and now pastes up his images in large scale on walls and houses all over the world.
JRs Women project was set up to highlight the importance and “Pivotal role” of women in society, traveling to poor areas like the favelas in Rio de Janero, Kenya, and more recently (in March of this year) Delhi, shooting them in their everyday lives and pasting their images in a huge scale on the surrounding buildings, bridges (and interestingly enough an entire train) in their home towns.
His thinking is that by pasting these same images both in their native countries in the streets and in galleries of western countries he can draw attention to and give a voice to those often over looked people, colliding the two worlds in a striking and unmissable way.
Alex Geoffrey
Posted on Friday, 21st of August 2009 Permalink
There is a very welcome addition to the Grand Parade on the seafront in St Leonards on Sea. British designer Deborah Bowness has been busy renovating the space at No. 14 and will be opening her doors from the 5th September. Deborah has been designing and producing her sophisticated and unique hand printed wallpapers for seven years. We welcome her to the town and wish her every success.
Nathan Usmar Lauder
Posted on Wednesday, 19th of August 2009 Permalink
Raymond Biesinger’s illustration is instantly recognisable and has been featured in a slew of publications too many to mention. His stuff is always so wonderfully dark and subversive, like a Luddite who has a go on the printing press just before he destroys it. I had the opportunity to commission him last year for a BMW book (above is a poster from the same project), which was a real pleasure. Not content with being a nice bloke and an awesome illustrator, he’s also a musician in The Famines and a fledgling publisher too – how infuriating.
One of his first publications is 100 Black on White Illustrations by Raymond E. Biesinger, a snip at $14 on Etsy.
David Rainbird
Posted on Monday, 15th of December 2008 Permalink
Christian Marclay has some new cyanotypes on show at the Paula Cooper Gallery in New York until the 11th. Standing in front of these wall-sized blueprints of unspooled cassette tapes is an immersive experience – these tiny images really don’t so them justice. Here both subject and reproduction are legacy, analog formats and the resulting images are stunning and ethereal.
Also on show is “Looking for Love”, a video work in which a close-up camera is trained upon a record-player needle which is forcibly skipped around vintage pop records, trying to find any mention of love. Mesmerising.
David Rainbird
Posted on Saturday, 4th of October 2008 Permalink
