Ok lets start with the daft word I put in the title. A 'Probortunity' = turning a problem into an opportunity. This may sound like some sort of cringe inducing self help nonsense but it's a tactic I've come to know and love. Last week the topic of vintage British design came up at normann and naturally being the 'English guy' I was plucked for knowledge, or more accurately, asked a question which went something like - "name some British designers you like, but dead ones". Sadly dear readers, my knowledge was found somewhat lacking, only being able to name a handful off the top of my head (and suggest looking on the bloke from Salvage Hunter's, Drew Pritchard's website). This was a problem (see where I'm going with this). I have to admit, the thought did come to mind that maybe I should learn about my own national design history before branching out into Scandanavian, but what the hell, we live in a global society and it's a well known FACT that the grass is always greener on the other side. So I turned the problem into (yeah you guessed it) an opportunity.
An evening of internet scouring and I managed to find a plethora of greats in the Deceased British Designers category, filled in a rather wide hole in my design knowledge and created (as promised last week) my first 'Top 5' list. I decided to stick to product and furniture designers to syphon my findings somewhat. In no particular order here's my Top 5 - Deceased British Designers, I didn't know of, but do now.
(click the photos for links to more info) (am I writing in brackets too much?)
An evening of internet scouring and I managed to find a plethora of greats in the Deceased British Designers category, filled in a rather wide hole in my design knowledge and created (as promised last week) my first 'Top 5' list. I decided to stick to product and furniture designers to syphon my findings somewhat. In no particular order here's my Top 5 - Deceased British Designers, I didn't know of, but do now.
(click the photos for links to more info) (am I writing in brackets too much?)
Ernest Race 1913-1964I didn't imagine I would be talking about elegance in British design but that's exactly what I've found with Ernest Race. Maybe it's the mixed distinctions between Designer and Engineer in British design culture which propagates this view. Christopher Dresser 1834-1904British Bauhaus, before Bauhaus - controversial? Whatever the lineage, Dresser was designing functional, affordable and attractive home products from the 1860's. Some of his toast rack designs are still in production today! |
Eileen gray 1878-1976This is a cheating a bit as Eileen Gray is actually Irish and spent most of her design career in Paris. She did however grow up in London and trained at the Slade School of Art. A renowned force in Art Deco and Modernism, click the link to see some of her furniture and textiles and be prepared to drool. |
Gordon russell 1892-1980Instrumental in forming the 'Industrial Design Council' (now 'Design Council'), Russell believed, like Dresser, in designing products accessible to the general public. This became most important when he was involved in the Utility Furniture Advisory Committee, which aimed to provide efficient sturdy furniture to British homes during and after the WW2. |
W a s benson 1854-1924Benson's lighting, coming from the Arts and Crafts movement, is much more ornate than the design I would usually find attractive. However his use of the inherent visual properties of the metals he works with as the driving aesthetic in much of his work, warrants his inclusion in my list. Or in other words - really like copper at the moment! (Sorry about the crappy image, it's really hard to find images of Benson's designs that are available for free use) |
You may be wondering at this point 'well this is all nice but what's with the random picture of a park at the beginning'. Well as promised in my last post I'm now going to report on my first Photo Meetup: It was great. Check out the pictures.
On a serious note, if you haven't tried Meetup yet, check it out. There are people all over the world interested in the same stuff you're interested in, just bring an open mind and your weapon of choice (in my case, my new Fuji). I've met some great people so far who have been more than happy to share their knowledge of photography. More snaps in the next edition!
Last weekend I went to Cisternerne, on a tip-off from a friend from the photo Meetup. Cisternerne is, as the name suggests the old, long redundant cisterns which supplied CPH with it's drinking water. The structure is now a used as a very unorthodox and somewhat creepy space for art. The current installation is by Danish artist Ingvar Cronhammar, with music by the Danish composer Martin Hall. If there was ever an example needed for 'site specific art installation' this would fit the bill nicely. Haunting sounds welcome you into the darkness of the first space, where sedimentary concrete stalagmites/tites add to the gloom. In the second space the columns of water, lit from above, take you into a more fantastical world. I half expected to be met by one of Tolkien's pals in the gift shop (thankfully there was no gift shop, which improved the experience immensely in my opinion)
So now onto the exciting part, vice and graffiti..............
............that was shameless misdirection on my part in an effort to give the audience a sense of drama to come. I merely attended 2 events which involved Vice and graffiti but in doing so came across 2 great venues and did a bit of partying. The launch party for the Vice Magazine photo edition at Vega was interesting. It was the first time I'd entered a night club where everyone was sat down reading. After a good dose of free Tuborg everyone was up dancing till the wee hours. Some great music coming up at Vega, so this may not be the last time it features in the blog.
............that was shameless misdirection on my part in an effort to give the audience a sense of drama to come. I merely attended 2 events which involved Vice and graffiti but in doing so came across 2 great venues and did a bit of partying. The launch party for the Vice Magazine photo edition at Vega was interesting. It was the first time I'd entered a night club where everyone was sat down reading. After a good dose of free Tuborg everyone was up dancing till the wee hours. Some great music coming up at Vega, so this may not be the last time it features in the blog.
Above is the full audience at Bremen for the launch night of the CPH:DOX film festival here in Copenhagen. 'Banksy Does New York' kicked off the programme, which I fully enjoyed for the art and the humour in the film. One of the first lines was from footage of an American news anchor declaring "NO-ONE has ever seen Bansky", brilliant! After the film there was a cool Danish band called First Hate. Large portion of Depeche mode, Ian Curtis-esque moves from the front man and a chunky slice of bass. Big thanks to normann-copenhagen for the free tickets.
If you got this far thanks for reading. Next week - wolves, dynamite and tornados, or something like that. Farvel!