New Designers

So last night myself (Kirsty) & Claire attended the private view of Part 1 New Designers - so much talent all under one roof at the Business Design Centre in London. New Designers showcases the work of the freshest talent from 200 of the UK's top design institutions all in a bid to start their professional careers.

Additionally, New Designers hosts 'one year on' which showcases a specially selected group of designers whose work has had significant improvement since graduating last year. My close friend Sadie Chesterman-Bailey was lucky enough to be awarded this honour and by 8:00pm last night already sold four pieces! One year on regularly attracts the attention of retail buyers, stylists and galleries and remains the highlight of New Designers so make sure you go look at this whilst your there.

 We had a really good time (whilst sipping free cocktails) and got the chance to speak to some people about their work and check out what other institutions are up too. Applied Art it will make you realise how competitive design is and make you inspired for your Summer project. Don't be afraid to chat to the graduates about their work.

If you're keen to discover more here's our top picks:

Sarah Louise Tanser , Lucy Baxendale, Rebecca Hill, Jessica Long, Nicola Keir,  Megan Parry, Caroline Brown, Ashleigh Williams, Lucy Jane Foakes, Rosemary Milner, Charlie Divall, Damien Barlow, Clare Munro, Serena Oneill and Elizabeth Addyman.

Summer Assignment: Folklore Fantasy, Fable

image source, Alexandre Herchocovitch A/W2010 collection

Theme: Folklore, Fantasy, Fable

The Textile artists/designers/companies listed are simply to suggest a variety of sources; you will find many more!

Textile Surface Design

Tileke Schwarz 

Textile Artists 

Tileke Schwarz 

Textiles for Interiors

Celia Birtwell, Marimekko


Fashion Illustrators
Tara Dougans, Martine Johanna

Fine Art/Fashion

Viktor & Rolf, Mella Jaarsma, Marine Weber, Emilie Meldem, 

Fashion

Zandra Rhodes, Thea Porter, Ossie Clark, Celia Birtwell, Marimekko, Megan Parks, Mella Jaarsma, John Galliano, Alexandre Herchcovitch: Fall 2010 collection (more images here), Setareh Mohtarez, Prada SS10 Lookbook, Mary Katrantzou


Fashion Accessories
The Beta Versions Pixelfolk 2011 bag collection, Michael Tcherevkoff

Fashion Photography

Tim Walker, Annie Leibovitz, Marine Weber

Traditional textiles

Indian, Chinese, African, Russian


Additional articles and images that are worth looking at...
This Trendland article on pattern mixing and This Vogue photo shoot

Emilie Meldem

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How beautiful is this piece from Swedish Fashion Designer Emilie Meldem's A/W 10/11 collection. She uses a range of found and unusual objects throughout the collection and the location for the photo shoot really adds atmosphere to the pieces. 

Fake or Fortune?

Would you say the above Monet painting is a fake or fortune? That's what this new BBC programme is all about! Fiona Bruce and art dealer Philip Mould try to authenticate art by analysing evidence and clues. In the first episode (image above) they investigate the validity of David Joel's claim to owning a genuine Monet painting. David Joel from Norwich, has spent the past 18 years trying to prove the authenticity of his beloved £40,000 painting. You can watch this gripping programme here.

BBC COUNTRYFILE NEEDS YOU!

"The annual Countryfile Photographic Competition is a national institution."

This year Countryfile wants your best photographs for this unique competition. The title is 'Best in Show' and there are 12 different categories you can enter. There is one snatch though.. all photographs must have the countryside or the natural world within them. 

The different categories are wildlife, insects and spiders, in all weathers, working animals, leisure and pleasure, the lighter side of country life, plant life, landscapes, water worlds, farm life, birds and country people. I know all of you won't struggle for inspiration with these themes so why not give it a go and find that perfect place for that winning snap!

The best image in each category will be judged by John Craven, Chris Packham and Jo Brand. The winning images will then feature on their own page in the 2012 Countryfile calendar which is sold in aid of BBC Children in Need. The programme viewers will also get a chance to vote for the 'Best in Show' and the lucky person will win a range of the latest photographic equipment to the value of £1,000. There is another prize too! The person who takes the judge's favourite photo will get to choose equipment to the value of £500.

Look at last years winner below.. her perfect shot was taken with a standard compact digital camera. You don't have to put in hours of effort or have the most expensive camera to win this! The competition is only open to amateur photographers like you but excludes entries that have previously won other competitions. The image must of been taken in the UK too. For more details go to countryfile and to look at last years winning entries click here.

Good luck guys.. ps. Let us know if you do enter so we can track your progress!

Just to remind you all...

The London Street Photography Festival launches this week to celebrate this great genre of photography.
From the 1-31 July 2011, the festival will feature curated exhibitions alongside diverse events and workshops - bringing together leading international artists past and present.

You can check out what's going on here.

Eyewitness at the Royal Academy of Arts

Eyewitness: A new exhibition from the Royal Academy of Arts looking at Hungarian Photography in the 20th Century Brassai, Capa, Kertesz, Moholy-Nagy and Munkacsi. The exhibition is dedicated to the birth of modern photography and showcases over 200 images that forefront stylistic developments in photojournalism, documentary and fashion photography.

The exhibition opens on 30th June until the 2nd October 201l and is definitely worth a visit!

AS-A2 Summer Assignment!

The Worksheet is also available to download on Moodle under 'The AS-A2 Projects - Summer Term' and then clicking on 'AS-A2 Summer Assignment 2011'.

BBC - Your Paintings

Neil found this great resource last night from The BBC titled 'Your Paintings'. They are embarking on a new website and programme, cataloging the entire collection of oil paintings held in galleries in the UK.

"Many people don't realise that the UK has tens of thousands of paintings in its publicly funded museums and institutions that are not currently viewable by the public, either because they are in storage or are kept in buildings that are inaccessible to the general public. The vast majority of these paintings have never been published online."

The website aims to have 200,000 paintings (64,000 are online and search-able already!) with tags to help users search by artist, theme or collection.

ps. Don't forget the Google Art Project too!

Summer Assignment: Nature In Magnification

image source, from the Insects Collection by Paul Finch

Theme: Nature and Magnification

The Textile artists/designers/companies listed are simply to suggest a variety of sources; you will find many more! 

Textile Surface Design 

William Morris, Omega Workshops, Eileen Hunter, Robert Bonfils, Celia Birtwell, Marimekko, Janet Ledsham, Polly Binns, Dancia Maier, Claire Coles

Textile Artists

Paul Finch, Susie MacMurray, Kazuhito Takadoi, Nora Fok, Louise Greenfield

Texiles for Interiors

Claire Coles, Timorous Beasties

Artists

Raoul Dufy

Fine Art/Fashion

Susie MacMurray, Nora Fok

Fashion

Barbara Hulanicki and Biba, Zandra Rhodes, Celia Birtwell, Ann-Louise Roswald, Kapow Wow, Stephen Jones

Related Art Movements

Arts and Crafts movement

Exhibition/Workshops: Stitched Science at The Science Museum

This Saturday and Sunday Stitch London are hosting 'Stitched Science' at The Science Museum in London. There are going to knitted and stitched science specimens on display created by artists/designers from across the globe, you can see some examples of these here. There are also free knitting workshops throughout the weekend - like knit a neuron and pom pom planet rings so if you want to learn to knit this weekend will be a great chance to do that! 

If you do pop by have a look out for a knitted aeroplane amongst the stitched science specimens as that's one of mine! - Claire 

NEW National Gallery exhibition.. and it's free!

AS Graphics Analysis Images

All of these advertisements form part of a collection of images so please find other examples and reference these in your written work.

Jamie Reed - God Save The Queen

                                                 LEE CLOW - PIONEER ADVERTS

Laura White

In my final year at Goldsmiths I was lucky enough to have the talented Laura White as my tutor and her new work is fantastic! Laura explores the language of sculpture by using a range of different materials from everyday objects to constructed matter. She is interested with the 'stuff' of the world, from the readymade to the handmade, image to objects, the representational to the abstract, playing with value, profile, association and meaning of individual and collections of objects.

"Laura gathers, makes, places, arranges, manipulates, distorts and re-presented objects and stuff to create new relationships and meanings. Sometimes things are left untouched while other stuff is highly manipulated or crafted from scratch, such a bags of purchased popcorn juxtaposed with hand-modelled clay pots. The constant accumulation of objects and stuff bought from high street shops and the internet is part of the process of making her work and is reflected back in the finished pieces, often as collections."

Contradiction is clear within the work as she questions our relationship and associations with the 'stuff', whether that be those displayed in shops, homes, museums or left stranded on the pavement. To see more of Laura's work click here or visit the staff page at Goldsmiths!

Amelia's Magazine: Graduate Shows

Amelia's Magazine is fantastic! They cover almost everything including fashion, art and music. Another gem is that they do amazing features on graduate shows they are well worth having a look through as you can see some of the incredible work this years graduates have been making and find out what University they studied at. 

My Vintage Vogue

image source, from the Ladies Home Journal, March 1960

My Vintage Vogue is a collection of vintage fashion photographs from the 1920s-1960s. I love the piece above purely because it looks as though the 'rug' she is standing on is made from exactly the same material as her dress and the printed pattern is wonderful! Also they have not one, but two pages of photographs on the site. 

UntitledCereal

UntitledCereal is a quarterly online publication dedicated to image-based media produced solely by students. They are now reviewing submissions and have also just published issue 3!

Exhibition: Tracey Emin at the Hayward Gallery

image source, photo credit: David Levene

The Tracey Emin exhibition at the Hayward Gallery is well worth a visit, if only for her blanket pieces. They are an amazing example of applique. If you're thinking of creating quilts, wall hangings, flags or canvas pieces this exhibition is a must see!  

When: now till August 29th 2011 

Where: The Hayward Gallery

Cost: £12 or £9 (students)

Photography Course from the Guardian!

A 2 day workshop with Alex Eduoard and Gareth McConnell designed to take intermediate photography students to the next level through a series of short lectures, structured discussions and practical exercises. You will learn about the history and uses of photography, key critical ideas relating to the photographic image and trends in fine art.

You will also visit galleries to learn how to put into practice and apply different techniques for making interesting and unusual images. Practical participation will be highly encouraged throughout!
The course will also include a portfolio review and 'crit' sessions of each other's work.

It is pricey.. but it is a fantastic opportunity to network and meet two leading professionals within the industry. Book online here or contact Lucy Bramley at masterclasses@guardian.co.uk

Fringes: Images from the Street

Images from the Street is a new exhibition that has been put together by 20 photographers from all over the world, who met on Flickr taking part in the Street Photography Now Project. They all have a common interest in street photography and will document the show as it happens.

The exhibition runs from July 6th-22nd 2011 (at the same time as the London Street Photography Festival!) at Blackline tattoo parlour, Brixton. Definitely worth seeing!

Remember this?

Remember the post a month back about artist duo FrenchMottershead?

Well.. their exhibition Over the Threshold is now installed outside The Photographer's Gallery in Ramillies Street. Check out more of their fantastic images on their Flickr page before you head down to see the work!

Anders Petersen

Acclaimed photographer Anders Petersen is back in London for his second part of his residency at Bloomberg SPACE. Petersen's aim is to create 'a very personal portrait of one of the city's most vibrant areas'. Immersing himself in Soho life, Peterson is using local cafes, bars, homes and hotels as a backdrop for his photographic practice. Halfway through the project, Petersen is holding a free artist talk and speaking to Stefanie Braun, Senior Curator at The Photographer's Gallery, about his working processes, previous work and projects and his experience of photographing London. 

The talk is being held at Bloomberg SPACE, Tues 21st June at 7pm. Booking is essential.

Watch this!

American photographer Taryn Simon has a new exhibition at Tate Modern titled A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters. Simon travelled around the world researching and recording family bloodlines and their related stories. The subjects documented by Simon include the body double of Saddam Hussein's son Uday and the living dead in India. Her collection of images chart the relationships among chance, blood, and other components of fate.

Watch the video below as Taryn Simon talks about her new exhibition.

Simons exhibition is open until 6th November 2011.

Fashion in Motion at The V&A: Yohji Yamamoto

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On Friday July 1st The V&A are hosting what is going to be a spectacular event as part of their Fashion In Motion catwalk events. This catwalk show will feature menswear and womenswear pieces Yohji Yamamoto's archive. The pieces will be modelled by real-life London couples echoing Yamamoto's SS 1999 menswear show which used real-life couples from the streets of Paris.  

There will be shows at 13.00, 15.00, 17.00 and 20.00, tickets are limited so booking is essential. The tickets will be available from Monday 20th at 9am, to find out more information and how to get tickets please see the website. 

BP PORTRAIT AWARDS 2011 - NOW OPEN

Summer is an exciting time for contemporary art lovers in London, the classic BP Portrait Award, organised by the National Portrait Gallery and BP opened today for the public at Trafalgar Square. The prize is the most important painting portrait competition in the world. Held once a year, it allows submissions from all over the world and opens a window for collectors and critics in contemporary art.

"This year's exhibition, featuring fifty-five works selected from a record 2,372 international entries, includes the four shortlisted artists - Ian Cumberland for Just to Feel Normal, Wim Heldens for Distracted, Sertan Saltan for Mrs Cerna and Louis Smith for Holly - as well as the BP Travel Award 2010 winner, florence-based American artist Paul Beel."

The NP Gallery really get the visitors involved with the works by allowing you to have the chance to nominate your favourite and win a cash prize. It really involves the audience in a judges process.

The exhibition runs until September 18th 2011 and admission is completely free!

 Don't miss your chance to see some of the world's finest portraitures. 

Travel Photographer Of The Year

The 2011 Travel Photographer of the Year is now OPEN for entries. Make sure you submit your entry by the closing date of October 9th, 2011. There's something for everyone with four portfolio categories: Cultures & Traditions, Natural Elements, Exotic and Spirit of Adventure. They also have categories created for you budding photo students: One Shot single image category, Young TPOTY (for those are you aged 18 years and under), the First Shot beginner's award and New Talent. It is the perfect opportunity to showcase your work at the Royal Geographical Society's Kensington gallery in London next year during the 2012 Olympic games.

Travel Photography Of The Year has teamed up with the YPA (Young Photographer's Alliance) to offer  mentoring and portfolio reviews to the New Talent and TPOTY winners. This new and exciting scheme could offer you a valuable opportunity to get advice on your photography from leading photographers and picture editors in the industry. The winners will also be offered guidance from the editorial team of the British Journal of Photography. 

There are some fantastic prizes including travel adventures, photographic equipment and photography tuition. For some inspiration why not check out the 2010 winner's gallery here. 

Good Luck to those of you who enter!!

Exhibition: The Art Car Boot

The Art Car Boot Fair is an amazing event held annually in London, this year in Brick Lane. There's a chance to see works by loads of artists, such as Gavin Turk, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and tons more. There's  lots of stuff to do at the event, you could watch a band performing on a car, have your fortune read by a gypsy fortune teller or design your own penguin book cover!

When: Sunday 19th June 2011 12-6pm

Where: Brick Lane (entrance is on the corner of Brick Lane and Buxton Street) 

Cost: £3

Inspiration and Exhibition: Kate Terry

Pin Point, 2005, image source

Kate Terry creates these wonderful installations using threads and pins. Each length of thread is installed by hand and must be place in precisely the right place the create these wonderful shapes. Her current exhibition moves away from her thread pieces demonstrating her skills in creating stunning sculptural objects. The exhibition is on now until July 10th at the IMT Gallery, the gallery is open 12-6 Thursday-Sunday and until 9pm on the first Thursday of the month.  In collaboration with the exhibition abstract critical have video interviewed Kate discussing the work in her studio and you can view the videos here. 

Inspiration: Lisa Solomon

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Lisa Solomon is an amazing artist whose work spans embroidery, drawing, installation and more. Her work often depicts domestic scenes in soft pastel colours and includes a doily or two. You can read more about the ideas behind her work here and her blog gives an amazing insight into her practise.

Inspiration: Jessica Ginsberg

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How beautiful are these yarn installations by artist Jessica Ginsberg?

Inspiration: A Collection a Day

Day 314 vintage wound thread/yarn, image source

From January 1st  2010 to December 31st 2010 artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon posted a entry on her blog everyday with a photograph, drawing or painting of one of her collections. The project was spurred by her childhood obsession with collecting and then arranging and displaying the collections the results of the project are amazing and they've recently been published in a book! How inspiring! If you're inspired by collections or groups of objects perhaps you could use this idea as a starting point for your next project. 

The Vorticists at Tate Britain

This is a brilliant exhibition about Vorticism (a 1914-18 British avant garde movement led by Wyndham Lewis!) The exhibition features over 100 works and includes paintings, sculptures and the rarely seen photography of Alvin Langdon Coburn. The Vorticists reacted against the culture of Edwardian England with new aesthetical art that embraced the modern world. 

"This exhibition aims to shine a new light on this revolutionary group of artists, presenting the style, radical aesthetics and thoughts of one of the most truly avant-garde art movements in British history."

The exhibition is open now until the 4th of September at Tate Britain. Click here to find out more!

1960s Design Items

Below are a few examples of some 1960s design items I found on the V&A collection online. You can narrow your search so you look specifically for items made from 1960-1969 as well as narrowing the place of origin, all the items below were made in the UK.

This Furnishing Fabric was designed by Eddie Squires and produced by Warner & Sons in 1969 to celebrate the Apollo 11 Moon Landing! Can you imagine furnishing your home with this? Perhaps a pair of curtains or a set of pillows! 

In 1926 modernist designer Marcel Breuer predicted that in the future it would be possible to sit on air and this transparent Contour Chair by David Colwell almost makes it possible! Lots of 1960s furniture was made from plastic as it was seen as futuristic and fitted in with the space-age interior trends of the time. 

Lego a popular children's toy back in the 1960s - and it's still popular today!

In 1967 The Beatles released the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club and the album sleeve is probably one of the most famous of all time. 

The campaign for nuclear disarmament (CMD) was a big political movement during the 60s. This poster entitled 'Stop Nuclear Suicide' was deemed so politically controversial that it was banned by London Transport.  The CMD used these posters to advertise it's protests marches and demonstrations. 

Inspiration: Brat & Suzie

For those of you interested in T-shirt design and also the possibility of setting up your own label you might be interested in the designs of Brat & Suzie. Having set up a stall and grown from humble beginnings these two young ladies now sell in Topshop!