Amelia’s Magazine | The ACOFI Book Tour visits Comma Shop in Oxford

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011

Last Wednesday was my second night on the ACOFI book tour last week – and my first time visiting the lovely new Comma Shop on Iffley Road in Oxford. Comma Shop has only been open since last October and it’s a truly wonderful little store that stocks all kind of goodies. I arrived in brilliant sunshine so it was easy to spot – gleaming like a brightly coloured gem in this mainly residential area, abortion intermingled with car dealerships and hippy cafes. This part of east Oxford is enjoying something of a renaissance thanks in part to the newly refurbished Pegasus Theatre in a nearby side street.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Gemma CorrellACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Gemma Correll
Details from Gemma Correll’s mural for Comma Shop.

Gemma Correll has done a truly wonderful mural on the wall as you enter Comma Shop and everywhere hand made and unusual items have been stacked in expert manner. Dave quit his job in IT to start an innovative designer tea towel business with his partner Sally who was formerly in marketing. To Dry For showcases the work of up and coming designers and the window of Comma Shop is used to showcase the tea towel artwork.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Dave Emery
Dave Emery of Comma Shop.
ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 To Dry For tea towels
To Dry For tea towels in the window.

ACOFI book tour Comma ShopACOFI book tour Comma Shop postcardsACOFI book tour Comma Shop

It comes as no surprise to find that Dave grew up in shops: his parents always ran small shops, ampoule and despite the fact that he saw what long hours they had to work he has clearly caught the bug too. He also previously worked as a merchandiser, sickness which would explain his knack for putting stuff together. Who else would have thought of interspersing my Roger La Borde cards with designs from everyone else? Yup, he’s got an eye, this one.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Roger la BordeACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Dave and Sally
Dave and Sally. Sally has had to take some time out of the business due to the unexpected early arrival of their first child – but I was glad to meet her a bit later in the evening.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badges

From 6pm attendees began to dribble into the store and we set to making some fab little fabric rosettes with Anna Butler from Custom Made UK, who was on hand to show everyone (including the children and the men) just how easy it is to make these fun little badges.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badges Anna Butler
Custom Made UK button badges from Anna Butler.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badges Anna ButlerACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badges Anna Butler
Just some of the lovely button badges that were produced in a jiffy.

Anna also runs classes at Darn It and Stitch – the brains behind this new Oxford based haberdashery shop and teaching centre is Jo, who turned up with her partner Luke and friend Sally. Her store is part of a growing trend for a return to hands on creativity – it seems we just can’t get enough of it these days, and I for one heartily approve.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Jo Darn It and Stitch
Jo of Darn It and Stitch.

Many of the goods stocked in Comma Shop are one offs. Amongst those that really stood out were the gorgeous intricate papercut framed artworks of Helen Musselwhite – if you’re an owl fan you can’t go wrong! And I loved the Charity Shop Orphans – reappropriated with a lick of bright paint by Emma Harding. She also produces a zine if you prefer your collectable items in print.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Helen MusselwhiteACOFI book tour Comma Shop Emma Harding Charity shop orphans

Other stuff I love: the fact that Jack Teagle has committed one of my favourite art pieces to print in the form of a greetings card from Toasted. Comma Shop also stocks cards produced by Rachel Wilson, who was on hand with boyfriend Ben to help serve the Juiceology juices and G & D ice cream.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Toasted Jack Teagle
Toasted card by Jack Teagle.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop JuiceologyACOFI book tour Comma Shop G & D ice creamACOFI book tour Comma Shop Rachel Wilson and Dave Emery enjoy ice cream
Rachel Wilson and Dave Emery enjoy some raspberry and chocolate ice cream.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Dr.Hauschka
Love the Dr.Hauschka samples displayed in a pottery log and some vintage jelly moulds!

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford London Walks Baudade
One of the first to turn up was Joanne, known as Baudade. She’s just published a new comic book, London Walks! with the Tate.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Will Mccallum
Will Mccallum, aka Art of Activism, also popped in to buy a book. Although he sadly wasn’t able to stay for the talk his purchase was much appreciated! And it was nice to see a friendly face from someone who is doing good stuff in the world.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Good Biscuits
It made me very happy that Caroline of Good Biscuits (whom I met at Wood Festival) not only came along in person to drop off her delicious creations – vanilla melts, vegan chocolate buttons and chewy pistachio cookies, nomnom – but she also stayed to listen to me talk. What a lovely lady, who was inspired to start a healthy sustainable biscuit brand after her job in local authority led her to work with local food producers. Make sure you try some Good Biscuits if you’re in the Oxford area.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Drew and Jo
Drew and Jo. Also present was Drew, who is the press officer for Wood Festival. I wasn’t sure why he looked familiar and then it suddenly twigged that I had met him at Wood, but only when it was late and very dark. Fortunately his unmistakable bush of hair gave him away!

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Laura and Helen
Later on we were joined by another member of the Truck clan, younger Bennett brother Chris, with girlfriend Beehive, who was teaching clay model making at Wood Festival. It really was an Oxfordshire love fest for me last week!

The Oxfam Fashion crew
The Oxfam Fashion crew. Apparently the biggest employers in Oxford are the university, publishing (of all sorts) and Oxfam… which has it’s global office there. So it was nice to see quite a few Oxfam types in attendance.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Sarah PlantACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 custom made uk
Sadly Sarah Plant of Ferment Zine did not stay for my talk but it was nice to meet someone that I have chatted with on twitter. And we also had a very small visitor in the form of Aisha, who enjoyed making a fabric button.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Laura and Helen
Laura and Helen. Laura Hill Lines works at Bridget Wheatley and is hoping to launch her own jewellery brand soon, featuring big uncut gems. I can’t wait to see what she produces!

Malaika Aleba
Malaika Aleba is a Canadian staying in Oxford over the summer and a writer for the Sierra Club.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 postcardsACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Anastasia DuckACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Anastasia Duck

Last but very not least it was really lovely to see Michael aka Anastasia Duck – who is a fashion blogger who came along to my launch party at 123 Bethnal Green Road back in January. Not only was it great to see a friendly face but I am very thankful because he did a very speedy and good write up of the event, which you can read here. I like his description of me as being ‘haphazard’….heehee

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Jo and Michael

Don’t forget that my final ACOFI Book Tour date is at Tatty Devine Brick Lane with Biscuiteers on Tuesday 7th June. Akeela Bhattay has just posted a very lovely blog about the last event in Covent Garden. See you there x
Here’s who I gave my talk to:

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011

Categories ,ACOFI, ,Akeela Bhattay, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Anastasia Duck, ,Anna Butler, ,Art of Activism, ,Baudade, ,Biscuits, ,Bridget Wheatley, ,Caroline, ,charity, ,Charity Shop Orphans, ,Chris Bennett, ,Comma Shop, ,Custom Made UK, ,Custon Made UK, ,Darn It and Stitch, ,Dave and Sally, ,Dr.Hauschka, ,Emma Harding, ,Ferment Zine, ,G&D Cafe, ,G&D ice-cream, ,Gemma Correll, ,Good Biscuits, ,Helen Musselwhite, ,Ice Cream, ,Iffley Road, ,Jack Teagle, ,Juiceology, ,Laura Hill Lines, ,Malaika Aleba, ,oxfam, ,Papercut, ,Pegasus Theatre, ,Rachel Wilson, ,Roger La Borde, ,Sarah Plant, ,Sierra Club, ,Tate, ,Tatty Devine, ,Tea Towels, ,To Dry For, ,Truck Festival, ,Will Mccallum, ,Wood Festival

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Amelia’s Magazine | The Threadneedle Prize at the Mall Galleries


Man on Fire courtesy of Tim Shaw.

To be honest I had not heard of the Threadneedle Prize before nor was I rushing to attend the preview party on Wednesday the 1st of September. The Mall galleries have managed over the years to develop a reputation as the purveyor of stuffy exhibitions.

Phenomena (1) courtesy of Jarik Jongman

But no! No this new cool kid on the block of a prize with its decisively rock n roll intention of freeing figurative art from the shackles of conceptual taste. Move over Turner Prize. It was a nice surprise to get acquainted with this young show at a time when similarly funded prizes are running scarce and the government siphons money erstwhile dedicated to the Arts to programs deemed more “in the public’s interest”.


Oil Baron courtesy of Martin Roberts.

Detail of Moon Loght courtesy of Mark Entwisle

Let’s huff a long sigh of relief! At last art on display that does not pretend to be what it’s not… Yep, this dedicated art lover has been more than once unimpressed by the shovelful of bad abstract material pushed down her throat! But let’s not be mistaken by what kind of art Threadneedle is offering us either; theirs is a bold break from the past with a new kind of figurative art that does not pretend to ignore the Tate came that way and altered the artistic landscape.


Displace courtesy of Louise Folliott.

This second will last forever courtesy of Fiona Finnegan

This year the public is encouraged to choose the Visitor’s Choice award’s £10,0000 winning entry. Let me tell you what I was definitely not going to vote for! Some things seemed rather gimmicky to me such as the upside down portrait of Georgina by Oliver Jones. It’s upside down so it is clever so it’s in?


It’s a Bloomin’ Marble! courtesy of Garry Martin


Plexus courtesy of Valerie Jolly and Toilet Pipes courtesy of Thomas Doran

The exhibition’s booklet read, “our selectors have chosen a smaller but more coherent exhibition than previous years” with 2,170 submissions to arrive to a final 46. So why in the world choose such dreary artefacts that seemed to me to make more of a statement than to offer any redeeming value to the overall group! I was mightily unimpressed by Simon Carter’s Gulls on a Breakwater – it’s representational but hey look, doesn’t it seem abstract? Or Enzo Marra’s John Singer Sargent- it’s got thick paint and tonal Sargent palette. Is that all? Toilet pipes seemed to be all the rage this year…

But to be fair the overall level of work on display was very high. I fell in love with the sculptures and installations. Man on Fire by Tim Shaw (see above) got me all worked up and Stuart McCaffer (see below) got the crowd queuing to enjoy its view! Built like a shed, it reminded me of a watchtower somewhere in the Scottish Highlandds. The dichotomy between the sense of isolation and of space and freedom was interesting.


Den courtesy of Stuart McCaffer.

The prize spoke to me most when it was attempting to be political, daring, intriguing or just plain funny. Special mention to Wendy Elia’s Elsewhere, Jarik Jongman’s piece or the Anna Adamkiewicz cabinet.

Cabinet courtesy of Anna Adamkiwicz

Elsewhere courtesy of Wendy Elia


Frame, Figure, Frame, Figure courtesy of Caroline Walker

But my personal favourite was Caroline Walker’s surreal narrative. I am still haunted by the evocative psychological space this painting put me in. Very troubling.


Clee Hill courtesy of Boyd and Evans

The Threadneedle Prize for painting and sculpture runs until the 18th of September 2010 at the Mall Galleries, the Mall, London SW1.

Categories ,abstract, ,Anna Adamkiewicz, ,Caroline Walker, ,conceptual, ,Enzo Marra, ,figurative art, ,Jarik Jongman, ,Oliver Jones, ,Simon Carter, ,Tate, ,the mall galleries, ,Threadneedle Prize, ,Turner Prize, ,Wendy Elia

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Amelia’s Magazine | EXPOSED: Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera at Tate Modern: A Review

Tate Modern Exposed Philip-Lorca diCorcia Head
Detail from the Head series, doctor 2001, see by Philip-Lorca diCorcia.

Exposed: Voyeurism, cost Surveillance and the Camera at the Tate Modern claims to be the first major exhibition to try and document our complex relationship with voyeurism and covert photography. It’s a fascinating subject and Exposed attempts to unravel this relationship via a series of themed rooms rather than a systematic historical walk through. So in the first room we are immediately confronted with the giant flash lit photos of people caught unawares in the street by Philip-Lorca diCorcia alongside tiny ancient photographs in sepia from Horace Engle, who captured his subjects sitting on the trams in small town America during the late 1800s at a time when unposed scenes were far from the norm. The contrast could not be more stark in terms of the garments worn or the technical prowess, but the unselfconscious expressions of those who don’t know they are being preserved for posterity just at that precise moment remain the same. The curation of this fabulous exhibition brings about a fascinating realisation that the carefully cultured veneer that humans present in public situations (where we know we are being watched) has not changed a jot over the years.

Tate Modern Exposed Philip-Lorca diCorcia Head
Detail from the Head series, 2001, by Philip-Lorca diCorcia.

Tate Modern Exposed Walker Evans
Detail from Subway Passengers, New York, 1938 by Walker Evans.

Tube Couple May 2010
Oh woops, this isn’t in the exhibition, but it’s an example of covert photography on the tube in May 2010.

At a time when photographers had become more sneaky about their trade Walker Evans spent three years during the 1940s surreptitiously photographing passengers on the New York subway, and an accompanying case displays examples of the cunning implements that were used by him and others, including a walking stick, a shoe and a flattened disc worn beneath a shirt – lens peaking out through a buttonhole. Deception could have its downsides though as HR Voth discovered whilst documenting the Hopi Indians in Arizona over a period of 9 years at the turn of the 19th century – when they found out what he was up to he was summarily blamed for all their ills and ejected from their tribe.

All sorts of sneaky tricks were used to capture an unaware public; Yale Joel set up a trick mirror in the Broadway movie theatre to capture women and men making subtle adjustments to their best clothes. By the 60s photographers were quite literally stalking their prey – the photographs of Lee Friedlander include his shadow, eerily close to the backs of his subjects.

Tate Modern Exposed Lee Friedlander
Salinas, CA, 1972 by Lee Friedlander.

We are then given the opportunity to examine the crossover between covert photography of the masses and the classic paparazzi shot. Alair Gomes shot strangely homoerotic pictures of young men pumping iron on the beach in Rio using a telephoto lens whilst John Gossage went one better, picking out people on a Mexican beach from his location several miles away in California, safely across the famously dangerous border. Alison Jackson became well known for her carefully staged set ups of famous people seemingly at ease and Exposed features a famous shot of the Queen playing with her corgis.

Perhaps one of the most interesting series in the exhibition belongs to an early fan of self promotion. Over a period of forty years from the mid to late 1800s Pierre-Louis Pierson was hired by the French Countess of Castiglione to present her in some extraordinary fantasy poses drawn from ideas in fashion magazines and theatre. Just think of all the celebrities who have taken her ideas to heart in the years since – all those staged marriages in the pages of Hello! magazine have their genesis in the Countess’s photo albums.

Tate Modern Exposed Game of Madness by Pierre-Louis Pierson
Detail from Game of Madness, 1863-66 by Pierre-Louis Pierson

Of course, as soon as the use of cameras become sly what should photographers turn their attention to but erotica? We are treated to a whole room of voyeuristic shots of prostitutes and their punters, mostly taken by secretive means. Amongst the more familiar images of the great Henri Cartier-Bresson and Helmut Newton we are treated to some fabulous shots taken by the likes of Weegee, who used infrared flash to take pictures of lovers on the beach at Coney Island or snogging each other’s faces off at the movie theatre.

Tate Modern Exposed Weegee Palace Theatre 1940
Tate Modern Exposed Weegee Palace Theatre 1940
Details from Lovers at the Movies and Palace Theatre, both c.1940 by Weegee.

Infrared flash is a technique that has been revisited by voyeuristic photographers the world over, and a whole run of wall is devoted to a series taken by Kohei Yoshiyuki during the 1970s, when he infiltrated groups of men who liked to stalk and attempt to touch lovers making out in the park. Although he regarded himself as one step removed from the men he joined he admitted that the act of photography was one of voyeurism too.

Tate Modern Exposed Kohei Yoshiyuki
Photo from the series The Park, 1971 by Kohei Yoshiyuki.

And therein lies an interesting conundrum. What is the difference between a voyeur with or without a lens to separate them from an event? At the end of the day is there any division at all? Or does wielding a camera merely legitimise an act of voyeurism, allowing us to partake in an event without feeling too closely attached to it? As someone widely practiced in the more voyeuristic end of photography I can confirm that I use the camera as a form of safety blanket in high stress situations like climate activism, allowing me to get closer to subjects than I would otherwise feel less confident about engaging with (very large Danish riot police with huge steel boots, batons and pepper spray). Taking photos satisfies my need to be in the thick of an event whilst retaining an element of separation. I’m there, but not there. The reason I enjoy taking photos in other situations – such as on the tube – is less clearcut. I simply enjoy capturing a visually interesting scene that hasn’t been staged for my benefit.

All this brings me to the last rooms of Exposed, which are devoted to surveillance, CCTV and the use of documentary photography to capture acts of aggression. I didn’t have as much time to peruse these sections, but they necessarily featured lots of photos from more recent times, as cameras have become a more and more ubiquitous part of our existence.

Tate Modern Exposed Mitch Epstein 1997
Detail from a photo in the series The City, 1997 by Mitch Epstein.

This is a thought provoking exhibition and a must see not just for photographers but for anyone intrigued in how the documenting eye has become ingrained in our lives over the space of less than two centuries.

You can find out more about Exposed: Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera here. The exhibition opens today and runs until 3rd October 2010 before travelling on to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art where it will be open from 20th October 2010 – 17th April 2011.

Categories ,Alair Gomes, ,Alison Jackson, ,Camera, ,CCTV, ,Coney Island, ,Countess of Castiglione, ,exhibition, ,Hello! magazine, ,Helmut Newton, ,Henri Cartier-Bresson, ,Horace Engle, ,HR Voth, ,John Gossage, ,Kohei Yoshiyuki, ,Lee Friedlander, ,Mitch Epstein, ,new york, ,Philip-Lorca diCorcia, ,photography, ,Pierre-Louis Pierson, ,review, ,Surveillance, ,Tate, ,Tate Modern, ,Voyeurism, ,Walker Evans, ,Weegee, ,Yale Joel

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Amelia’s Magazine | EXPOSED: Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera at Tate Modern: A Review

Tate Modern Exposed Philip-Lorca diCorcia Head
Detail from the Head series, 2001, by Philip-Lorca diCorcia.

Exposed: Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera at the Tate Modern claims to be the first major exhibition to try and document our complex relationship with voyeurism and covert photography. It’s a fascinating subject and Exposed attempts to unravel this relationship via a series of themed rooms rather than a systematic historical walk through. So in the first room we are immediately confronted with the giant flash lit photos of people caught unawares in the street by Philip-Lorca diCorcia alongside tiny ancient photographs in sepia from Horace Engle, who captured his subjects sitting on the trams in small town America during the late 1800s at a time when unposed scenes were far from the norm. The contrast could not be more stark in terms of the garments worn or the technical prowess, but the unselfconscious expressions of those who don’t know they are being preserved for posterity just at that precise moment remain the same. The curation of this fabulous exhibition brings about a fascinating realisation that the carefully cultured veneer that humans present in public situations (where we know we are being watched) has not changed a jot over the years.

Tate Modern Exposed Philip-Lorca diCorcia Head
Detail from the Head series, 2001, by Philip-Lorca diCorcia.

Tate Modern Exposed Walker Evans
Detail from Subway Passengers, New York, 1938 by Walker Evans.

Tube Couple May 2010
Oh woops, this isn’t in the exhibition, but it’s an example of covert photography on the tube in May 2010.

At a time when photographers had become more sneaky about their trade Walker Evans spent three years during the 1940s surreptitiously photographing passengers on the New York subway, and an accompanying case displays examples of the cunning implements that were used by him and others, including a walking stick, a shoe and a flattened disc worn beneath a shirt – lens peaking out through a buttonhole. Deception could have its downsides though as HR Voth discovered whilst documenting the Hopi Indians in Arizona over a period of 9 years at the turn of the 19th century – when they found out what he was up to he was summarily blamed for all their ills and ejected from their tribe.

All sorts of sneaky tricks were used to capture an unaware public; Yale Joel set up a trick mirror in the Broadway movie theatre to capture women and men making subtle adjustments to their best clothes. By the 60s photographers were quite literally stalking their prey – the photographs of Lee Friedlander include his shadow, eerily close to the backs of his subjects.

Tate Modern Exposed Lee Friedlander
Salinas, CA, 1972 by Lee Friedlander.

We are then given the opportunity to examine the crossover between covert photography of the masses and the classic paparazzi shot. Alair Gomes shot strangely homoerotic pictures of young men pumping iron on the beach in Rio using a telephoto lens whilst John Gossage went one better, picking out people on a Mexican beach from his location several miles away in California, safely across the famously dangerous border. Alison Jackson became well known for her carefully staged set ups of famous people seemingly at ease and Exposed features a famous shot of the Queen playing with her corgis.

Perhaps one of the most interesting series in the exhibition belongs to an early fan of self promotion. Over a period of forty years from the mid to late 1800s Pierre-Louis Pierson was hired by the French Countess of Castiglione to present her in some extraordinary fantasy poses drawn from ideas in fashion magazines and theatre. Just think of all the celebrities who have taken her ideas to heart in the years since – all those staged marriages in the pages of Hello! magazine have their genesis in the Countess’s photo albums.

Tate Modern Exposed Game of Madness by Pierre-Louis Pierson
Detail from Game of Madness, 1863-66 by Pierre-Louis Pierson

Of course, as soon as the use of cameras become sly what should photographers turn their attention to but erotica? We are treated to a whole room of voyeuristic shots of prostitutes and their punters, mostly taken by secretive means. Amongst the more familiar images of the great Henri Cartier-Bresson and Helmut Newton we are treated to some fabulous shots taken by the likes of Weegee, who used infrared flash to take pictures of lovers on the beach at Coney Island or snogging each other’s faces off at the movie theatre.

Tate Modern Exposed Weegee Palace Theatre 1940
Tate Modern Exposed Weegee Palace Theatre 1940
Details from Lovers at the Movies and Palace Theatre, both c.1940 by Weegee.

Infrared flash is a technique that has been revisited by voyeuristic photographers the world over, and a whole run of wall is devoted to a series taken by Kohei Yoshiyuki during the 1970s, when he infiltrated groups of men who liked to stalk and attempt to touch lovers making out in the park. Although he regarded himself as one step removed from the men he joined he admitted that the act of photography was one of voyeurism too.

Tate Modern Exposed Kohei Yoshiyuki
Photo from the series The Park, 1971 by Kohei Yoshiyuki.

And therein lies an interesting conundrum. What is the difference between a voyeur with or without a lens to separate them from an event? At the end of the day is there any division at all? Or does wielding a camera merely legitimise an act of voyeurism, allowing us to partake in an event without feeling too closely attached to it? As someone widely practiced in the more voyeuristic end of photography I can confirm that I use the camera as a form of safety blanket in high stress situations like climate activism, allowing me to get closer to subjects than I would otherwise feel less confident about engaging with (very large Danish riot police with huge steel boots, batons and pepper spray). Taking photos satisfies my need to be in the thick of an event whilst retaining an element of separation. I’m there, but not there. The reason I enjoy taking photos in other situations – such as on the tube – is less clearcut. I simply enjoy capturing a visually interesting scene that hasn’t been staged for my benefit.

All this brings me to the last rooms of Exposed, which are devoted to surveillance, CCTV and the use of documentary photography to capture acts of aggression. I didn’t have as much time to peruse these sections, but they necessarily featured lots of photos from more recent times, as cameras have become a more and more ubiquitous part of our existence.

Tate Modern Exposed Mitch Epstein 1997
Detail from a photo in the series The City, 1997 by Mitch Epstein.

This is a thought provoking exhibition and a must see not just for photographers but for anyone intrigued in how the documenting eye has become ingrained in our lives over the space of less than two centuries.

You can find out more about Exposed: Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera here. The exhibition opens today and runs until 3rd October 2010 before travelling on to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art where it will be open from 20th October 2010 – 17th April 2011.

Categories ,Alair Gomes, ,Alison Jackson, ,Camera, ,CCTV, ,Coney Island, ,Countess of Castiglione, ,exhibition, ,Hello! magazine, ,Helmut Newton, ,Henri Cartier-Bresson, ,Horace Engle, ,HR Voth, ,John Gossage, ,Kohei Yoshiyuki, ,Lee Friedlander, ,Mitch Epstein, ,new york, ,Philip-Lorca diCorcia, ,photography, ,Pierre-Louis Pierson, ,review, ,Surveillance, ,Tate, ,Tate Modern, ,Voyeurism, ,Walker Evans, ,Weegee, ,Yale Joel

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Amelia’s Magazine | Five things you might not know about Chris Ofili

Sparky Deathcap is a twenty-something musician and artist from Cheshire, sildenafil whose wry tales of love and loss are in turns hilarious and heartwrenching. You may have caught him recently supporting the likes of Los Campesinos! and Hot Club de Paris.

On songs like “Berlin Syndrome”, case guitars and handclaps loop and whirl around lyrics like, recipe “Since then you just make cameos when I’m asleep/you’re the William Shatner of this elite genre of women that I have loved and lost,” creating a lo-fi landscape one that is simultaneously bleak and full of warmth. At times the songs are reminiscent of early Smog, when Bill Callahan wrote songs like he had a sense of humour and sometimes felt a bit awkward. As well as the recent Tear Jerky EP (available here) he maintains a brilliant cartoon blog at his website.

It’s a busy year for Sparky, off on a European tour as we speak, but I managed to send a few emails back and forth about comic books, rock operas and the Wonder Years.

So, you’re on tour with Los Campesinos! right now, how’s that going?

It has been really fun, it’s an absolute privilege to tour with my friends Los Campesinos! and the supports, Islet and Swanton Bombs, are two outrageously good bands. It was my birthday the other day coinciding with our Aberdeen date and the crowd sang happy birthday to me which was a really touching moment.

Sparky Deathcap presumably isn’t your real name – is it a sort of onstage personal that allows you to unleash your inner diva, like Beyonce Knowles’ Sasha Fierce?

I originally chose it something like 5 years ago when I started doing the one man and a guitar thing live because I felt like it would be easier to play if I could invent a persona. Now, however, there isn’t really a great separation between Sparky Deathcap and me, except for when I remember some of the crap, depressing gigs I used to do and I think about younger Sparky as this sort of beleaguered little brother or something and how excited he’d be by the exciting things I’m getting to do at the moment. Crikey, my mind is like Fellini directing The Wonder Years. Edited by Lassie.

When you play live you have drawings projected behind you, do you think you might ever make a whole comic book, is that something you’d be interested in?

Oh I have grand, grand plans for comic books. I’m working on a little comics booklet for my album and an illustrated valentines rock opera for next year. I’m also trying to resurrect my weekly comic strip for my new blog. The trouble is that comics are incredibly labour intensive. Chris Ware pointed out once that unlike writing a novel, comics don’t allow any sort of natural flow to occur as every page has to be planned out as a whole and so the panels within in it are predestined. I’d love to create a big Clowesian comic book one day, but for now I have to concentrate upon producing small, gimmicky things to “build my profile”… urggggghhhh, the modern world… adulthood…

You mentioned your rock opera there, what does that involve?

That was something I wrote for a ukulele festival in Manchester last year on Valentine’s Day. I was wrongly under the impression that we had to perform the whole thing on ukulele and didn’t really have any ukulele songs so I set about writing a sort of musical/rock opera about an organ transplant van driver finding love whilst snowbound in a rural town. I drew some illustrations for my old overhead projector as well. I hope to turn it into a special edition record and book for next year’s Valentine’s Day.

Musically, who would you call your biggest influences? You get compared to Jeffrey Lewis a lot, right? But that seems like a pretty easy comparison for anyone who sings and draws…

I have an awful lot of respect, naturally, for Jeffrey Lewis, and he has obviously influenced some aspects of my live show, even if it is in trying to steer away from his territory as much as I possibly can. I suppose the bands I have revered the most over the years are The Beach Boys, Pavement, Smog, Silver Jews, Magnetic Fields and Why?, but increasingly I’m becoming very interested in Steve Reich and Bill Evans. In terms of my artwork I’m very heavily influenced by Archer Prewitt, Daniel Clowes, Chris Ware, Adrian Tomine and Marcel Dzama. Archer Prewitt is another artist/musician; he plays in the The Sea And Cake and under his own name whilst also drawing the incomparable Sof’ Boy comics.

So, after this tour, what’s next for Sparky Deathcap?

Next up: more touring with Los Camp. I’m trying to perfect my world-weary, “oh, touring is such a drag,” but in truth it’s the most fun I’ve ever had. We have European and US tours to come which will be really amazing. In between I’m working hard on writing and recording my album, which is really very exciting.

Sparky Deathcap is a twenty-something musician and artist from Cheshire, viagra dosage whose wry tales of love and loss are in turns hilarious and heartwrenching. You may have caught him recently supporting the likes of Los Campesinos! and Hot Club de Paris.

On songs like “Berlin Syndrome”, generic guitars and handclaps loop and whirl around lyrics like, “Since then you just make cameos when I’m asleep/you’re the William Shatner of this elite genre of women that I have loved and lost,” creating a lo-fi landscape one that is simultaneously bleak and full of warmth. At times the songs are reminiscent of early Smog, when Bill Callahan wrote songs like he had a sense of humour and sometimes felt a bit awkward. As well as the recent Tear Jerky EP (available here) he maintains a brilliant cartoon blog at his website.

It’s a busy year for Sparky, off on a European tour as we speak, but I managed to send a few emails back and forth about comic books, rock operas and the Wonder Years.

So, you’re on tour with Los Campesinos! right now, how’s that going?

It has been really fun, it’s an absolute privilege to tour with my friends Los Campesinos! and the supports, Islet and Swanton Bombs, are two outrageously good bands. It was my birthday the other day coinciding with our Aberdeen date and the crowd sang happy birthday to me which was a really touching moment.

Sparky Deathcap presumably isn’t your real name – is it a sort of onstage personal that allows you to unleash your inner diva, like Beyonce Knowles’ Sasha Fierce?

I originally chose it something like 5 years ago when I started doing the one man and a guitar thing live because I felt like it would be easier to play if I could invent a persona. Now, however, there isn’t really a great separation between Sparky Deathcap and me, except for when I remember some of the crap, depressing gigs I used to do and I think about younger Sparky as this sort of beleaguered little brother or something and how excited he’d be by the exciting things I’m getting to do at the moment. Crikey, my mind is like Fellini directing The Wonder Years. Edited by Lassie.

When you play live you have drawings projected behind you, do you think you might ever make a whole comic book, is that something you’d be interested in?

Oh I have grand, grand plans for comic books. I’m working on a little comics booklet for my album and an illustrated valentines rock opera for next year. I’m also trying to resurrect my weekly comic strip for my new blog. The trouble is that comics are incredibly labour intensive. Chris Ware pointed out once that unlike writing a novel, comics don’t allow any sort of natural flow to occur as every page has to be planned out as a whole and so the panels within in it are predestined. I’d love to create a big Clowesian comic book one day, but for now I have to concentrate upon producing small, gimmicky things to “build my profile”… urggggghhhh, the modern world… adulthood…

You mentioned your rock opera there, what does that involve?

That was something I wrote for a ukulele festival in Manchester last year on Valentine’s Day. I was wrongly under the impression that we had to perform the whole thing on ukulele and didn’t really have any ukulele songs so I set about writing a sort of musical/rock opera about an organ transplant van driver finding love whilst snowbound in a rural town. I drew some illustrations for my old overhead projector as well. I hope to turn it into a special edition record and book for next year’s Valentine’s Day.

Musically, who would you call your biggest influences? You get compared to Jeffrey Lewis a lot, right? But that seems like a pretty easy comparison for anyone who sings and draws…

I have an awful lot of respect, naturally, for Jeffrey Lewis, and he has obviously influenced some aspects of my live show, even if it is in trying to steer away from his territory as much as I possibly can. I suppose the bands I have revered the most over the years are The Beach Boys, Pavement, Smog, Silver Jews, Magnetic Fields and Why?, but increasingly I’m becoming very interested in Steve Reich and Bill Evans. In terms of my artwork I’m very heavily influenced by Archer Prewitt, Daniel Clowes, Chris Ware, Adrian Tomine and Marcel Dzama. Archer Prewitt is another artist/musician; he plays in the The Sea And Cake and under his own name whilst also drawing the incomparable Sof’ Boy comics.

So, after this tour, what’s next for Sparky Deathcap?

Next up: more touring with Los Camp. I’m trying to perfect my world-weary, “oh, touring is such a drag,” but in truth it’s the most fun I’ve ever had. We have European and US tours to come which will be really amazing. In between I’m working hard on writing and recording my album, which is really very exciting.

‘The Holy Virgin Mary’ All Images Courtesy Tate Britain, order London © Chris Ofili

1)   Alongside his other works of art, dosage currently being showcased at The Tate Britain, decease one canvas has elicited more controversy than others. The Holy Virgin Mary, portrays an African Virgin Mary surrounded by clippings of genitalia taken from blaxploitation and porn films.

Hang on a minute, could he be making a cultural criticism on the fact that the media has a tendency to deify white idols (Vogue has been in monthly syndication since 1973, to date publishing 446 issues since then, 14 of the covers have featured black women) whereas black women are at best, overlooked and at worst, reduced to faceless sexual objects? Of course he’s not! He’s screwing up America! Bernard Goldman’s right wing book chronicling those who are most to blame for the current predicament of ‘screwed up America’ – the not too creatively titled ‘100 People Who Are Screwing Up America’ listed Ofili at Number 86 for his contributions to the decline of United States. Whether he is directly responsible for environmental decline, the War on Iraq or the 35.9 million citizens living below the poverty line in the US is not made clear. Quite a feat considering he’s actually British. Regardless, Mayor Giuliani was appalled enough by Ofili’s artwork, that in 1999 he threatened to withdraw The Brooklyn Museum of Art’s $7million grant because, as he said “There’s nothing in the First Amendment that supports horrible and disgusting projects!” Well good sir, in which, can we ban Fox News? Or at the very least, Rush Limbaugh. No? Guess the pendulum doesn’t swing both ways. Digressing, I can’t help but wonder whether it’s the depiction of The Holy Virgin Mary as a black woman, the genitalia or the use of elephant dung as an art material that has caused so much outrage?

‘No Woman, No Cry’

2) Continuing from point Number 1; The Holy Virgin Mary had to be placed behind a plexiglass shield when on display in New York. However, crafty little old Christian pensioner, Dennis Heiner, 72, jumped behind the plexiglass shield and smeared white paint over the artwork until the Virgin Mary was obscured from view.  He was charged with second-degree criminal mischief and a $250 fine. That wasn’t a typo. $250. Who wants to place bets on what would happen to me if I threw paint around inside the Vatican?

‘Painting with Shit on it.’

3) Chris Ofili refuses to be molded by his own success. His more recent paintings that are displayed in this exhibition have shrugged off the bright glittery tones of their predecessors. Black on black-blue, the new canvases tell a story, but a story you have to dance around to see. Standing in front of dark canvas, adjusting your eyes to make out the images, like looking for sharks in a dark sea, you can make out a few images; a deer carcass, men making music – but being practically invisible, the mind is forced to project it’s own ideas on what Ofili is both displaying and commenting on.

‘Blue Riders’

4) After winning a scholarship to study in Zimbabwe, Ofili studied African cave paintings, which he has cited as a source of inspiration for much of his work.

5) Chris Ofili is one of the few black artists to be included in the artistically elite group ‘Young British Artists’ which also included Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.  Any young artists, or anyone young (under 26) can visit Chris Ofili at The Tate Britain for only £5. Pretty good, eh?

Click for our event listing for this exhibtion

Categories ,africa, ,african art, ,amica lane, ,art vandalism, ,cave paintings, ,Chris Ofili, ,controversy, ,discounts, ,equal rights, ,left wing, ,politics, ,right wing, ,sensations, ,Tate, ,Tate Britain, ,young british artists

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Amelia’s Magazine | Bauhaus: Art as Life at the Barbican Art Gallery


T. Lux Feininger’s Sport at the Bauhaus by Scott Nellis

A retrospective of a German modernist design movement seems like a slightly curveball choice whilst London is busy boasting about everything British. Even Tate, notorious for shunning British artists at its Modern site, celebrates Damien Hirst this summer. In Hirst fashion it’s rumoured that he kicked up a fuss at the thought of exhibiting at Tate Britain, and even paid for the floors of Tate Modern to be reinforced to accommodate his dead animals in tanks, leaving Tate Britain tenuously linking Picasso to British artists (and, hilariously, dealers) in its Picasso in Britain major exhibition. Even so, the theme of London’s galleries seems to be how great Great Britain is. Except, it seems, for the Barbican.


Bauhaus by Sam Parr

Nevertheless, I was excited to see what this new retrospective would offer. A visit to the Bauhaus Archiv in Berlin is a must for any design perv. I’d clocked that this Barbican showcase was in association with said archives so my feelings were mixed – would it be pieces I’d already seen, rehung in a different fashion?


The Barbican from above, by Morgane Parma

Unusually (I think) this exhibition begins on the upper floor of the gallery, which had punters looking a bit bemused at the bottom of the stairs, most of them deciding to begin on the ground floor and bottle-necking one of the lower exhibition rooms. I stifled giggles as I crept upstairs where it was relatively quiet. I couldn’t help thinking that Gropius, Mies Van Der Rohe, Moholy-Nagy and pals would be pretty happy that their work and influence were being celebrated in the Brutalist concrete alcoves of the Barbican Art Gallery. The first room charts the opening of Bauhaus at Weimar and Walter Gropius‘ educational approach, particularly the Programme of the State Bauhaus in Weimar, a hefty text which has since become known as the Bauhaus manifesto. There are a few interesting pieces in these early rooms – particularly Lyonel Feininger‘s woodcut for the manifesto cover, on loan from MoMA.


Walter Gropius by Scott Nellis

The rest of the upstairs takes us on a tour of the early years of Bauhaus the ‘return to crafts’, showcasing the school’s impressive roster of teachers including Klee and Kandinsky; ‘salute to the square’, discussing the turning point in 1923 where Bauhaus progressed from emphasis on craft to its more rational aesthetic with which we associate the school today. One room, ‘instruments of communication’ got me particularly hot under the collar, showcasing some of Bauhaus‘ incredible typographic and editorial design work and many examples of Bauhausbücher produced between 1925 and 1930. The eclectic style of early Bauhaus print had by this point been replaced with a slick, efficient design aesthetic – geometric shapes, simplified information and even printers’ marks. In my humble/honest opinion, it’s some of the sexiest graphic design ever created.


All photography by Jane Hobson courtesy of the Barbican Art Gallery

It’s downstairs where the exhibition really comes alive, though, through tangible design, photography and costume, charting the move to Dessau, Bauhaus’ final home. Vibrant photographs document life at the school – sport, recreation, teaching, socialising. Dramatic photographs of the building itself show what a marvel it must have been, from Gropius‘ futuristic design to Marcel Breuer‘s tubular-steel furniture. The exhibition opens up here and it feels slightly overwhelming at first, particularly as you’ve been guided so carefully around the upstairs rooms.


Oskar Schlemmer’s Triadisches Ballett by Niki Groom

It was a challenge not to go wild as I surveyed the space, with costumes from Oskar Schlemmer‘s Triadisches Ballett that I hadn’t seen in Berlin, Josef Albers‘ nest of tables and club chair, Marcel Breuer‘s Wassily chair… it was a feast for any design fancier. Pig in proverbial shit, you might say.


Bauhaus (with Marcel Bruer chair) by Gilly Rochester

I could talk more about the pieces but any of the Bauhaus publications do it much better, so I’d recommend, if you can, to just go and bloody see it for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.


Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe by Sandra Contreras

In 1933, after only 14 years, the Bauhaus dissolved under Mies Van Der Rohe‘s leadership. The Nazis grew ever anxious about what the school represented. Hannes Meyer was dismissed due to Communist leanings; Kandinsky‘s work had to be hidden because of his Russian background and funding was withdrawn. A poignant letter hangs as the last exhibit, written by Mies Van Der Rohe to the final students of Bauhaus, detailing its closure. It’s a poignant end to an exhibition that celebrates the enduring legacy and worldwide impact of the school.


All photography by Jane Hobson courtesy of the Barbican Art Gallery

Categories ,1920s, ,1930s, ,Archiv, ,Archives, ,Art Deco, ,art gallery, ,bauhaus, ,berlin, ,Damien Hirst, ,design, ,Dessau, ,editorial, ,Germany, ,Kandinsky, ,Klee, ,László Moholy-Nagy, ,london, ,Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, ,Lyonel Feininger, ,Marcel Breuer, ,Modernism, ,MOMA, ,Nazis, ,picasso, ,publishing, ,Tate, ,typography, ,Walter Gropius, ,Weimar

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with award-winning typeface designer and Royal College of Art lecturer Henrik Kubel


Fifteen typefaces designed for commercial use, seek 2010 (A2-TYPE, doctor London)

On a bitingly chilly but sunny Saturday afternoon, sildenafil I sauntered down to the A2/SW/HK design studio in the heart of Hoxton to meet Henrik Kubel, one half of the talented A2/SW/HK duo. With a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it entrance, the studio is housed on the third floor of an old textile warehouse, exuding understated coolness. On entering, I feel as if I have reached some kind of design nirvana where the huge windows splash a radiant bright light onto the pristine white walls, furniture and Macs. I quickly glance around the room to see work tops sprawled with rolled up papers and intricate-looking sketches; a vintage Remington Standard typewriter nestles comfortably amongst a collection of art titles on the glossy white shelves – the mother of type. Standing tall and smart-nonchalantly dressed in a well-fitted navy blue jacket with a thin red trimming, off-white shirt and faded blue jeans, Kubel looks picture-perfect in his surroundings.


Zadie Smith: On Beauty, 2005—06 (Penguin Books, New York); hardback and paperback cover designs including bespoke typefaces

For typography and branding enthusiasts, viewing the latest A2/SW/HK typeface collection that recently launched online is the equivalent of setting a restrained, hyperactive child free in a sweet shop. Spanning over 15 years of work, the array of fonts range from the delicate, swirling Zadie, commissioned by Penguin Books New York for the US version of the novel On Beauty by Zadie Smith (hence the name), to the heavier, more robust Impacto, which cuts a dashing and authorative figure, as its name suggests. Similar to walking into a department store to choose an appropriate outfit for a function, A2/SW/HK have meticulously crafted a typeface for every occasion, depending on the message and feeling the consumer would like to convey.


Impacto typeface, 2010 (A2-TYPE, London); bespoke typefaces

The impressive collection comprises of 15 typefaces, many of which have multiple weights (fonts), with each font containing 256 characters. Overall, there are 53 fonts to marvel at totaling 13,568 individual glyphs (these include all members of the alphabet, diacritics, numbers, symbols and punctuations).


Psycho Buildings, 2008 (Hayward Gallery, London); art direction, bespoke typefaces and design

The typefaces were previously designed for bespoke projects across various media platforms including print, screen and interiors, however, the launch of the collection in their entirety means that, for the first time ever, the fonts are available for general use. “The typefaces can be used for any type of advertising now; even by two different fashion brands if they want,” says Kubel. “A typeface can work for many people in different ways, depending on who the creative director is and how they choose to use it. You’d be surprised at how many times a single typeface can be used to present different meanings for different jobs.”



Lisson Gallery, 2008 (Lisson Gallery, London); redesign of existing identity

Although A2/SW/HK is essentially a two-man strong team, don’t be fooled by their size. Formed in 2000, the pair have worked with a number of leading national and international clients, providing design consultancy, art direction, brand identity, website design and bespoke typography. Their recent client list includes Hayward Gallery, Lisson Gallery, Tate, Design Museum London, Phaidon Press, Faber & Faber, Penguin Press New York, Royal Mail, Danish Post, Vogue UK and MoMA. “I don’t see ourselves in the category of a small business,” says Kubel. “We are a creative design studio and it doesn’t matter whether we are ten people or two people. If you look at big businesses, they might have a work force of fifteen people but from a creative point of view there’s only two. We’re very self-sufficient.”


Fabric of Fashion, 2001 (British Council, London); bespoke typefaces and design

Born in Denmark, Kubel was exposed to art from an early age (his mother was an artist and encouraged painting) and developed a passion for type at the age of eleven when he discovered graffiti. In 1997, after graduating from Denmark’s Design School in Copenhagen, Kubel moved to London to do his Masters at the Royal College of Art where he met his design and business partner Scott Williams. “When Scott and I graduated, we just thought ‘lets do our own thing’ which is ridiculous now come to think of it. We had no network, no clients, no idea of anything – all we had was our creativity.” Yet following their graduation, with minimal resources, their gritty determination and hard work led to them being selected by highly acclaimed visual communications magazine Creative Review to feature in their annual ‘Creative Futures’ show, an initiative showcasing the most promising graduates to watch from across the country.


Radical Fashion, 2001 (V&A Museum, London); art direction, bespoke typefaces and design

Although Kubel downplays his and Williams’ achievement, attributing their selection by Creative Review to ‘just luck’, it is clear the raw talent that the duo possessed was enough to capture the attention of a representative at the British Council who subsequently signed them up to their first ever commission. “We ran a very successful project called Fabric of Fashion in 2001 and at the opening of the show, we met one of the editors who worked at the V&A so landed our next stint, which was about radical fashion – it was all very exclusive.” Post-radical fashion, more commissions ensued and as word got out of the duo’s work and their creative circles widened, their client list began to grow.


Samuel Beckett, complete works, 2009—2010 (Faber & Faber, London); cover design & bespoke typefaces

With an eclectic (and damn cool) portfolio which includes the cover design and bespoke typefaces for the complete works of Samuel Beckett (2009-2010; commissioned by Faber and Faber), sheet and typeface designs for Ian Fleming’s James Bond limited edition stamps (2008; commissioned by Royal Mail UK), and the ‘Reading Room’ exhibition design and print campaign for the Turner Prize Exhibition (2002-2007; commissioned by Tate Britain), which also made the front page of The Independent, to name a few, it is a collaboration with Margaret Calvert, an old tutor of Kubel’s at the Royal College of Art, on the New Rail Alphabet, which he names as being one of his career highlights. A revival of the British Rail alphabet originally designed by Calvert in 1965, which was used nationwide with British Rail, BAA and the NHS, was digitised, updated and re-launched in 2009 with a family of six weights.


New Rail Alphabet, 2009 (A2-TYPE, London); typeface in six weights; designed in close collaboration with Margaret Calvert

In the higher echelons of the graphic design industry, A2/SW/HK’s work has not gone unnoticed. They have picked up a plethora of global accolades along the way including awards from The International Society of Typographers, British Design & Art Directors and Art Directors Club of New York. In 2007, Kubel and Williams received recognition as members of the prestigious Alliance Graphique Internationale, which is a testament to years of tireless dedication to their craft, talent and skill.

Despite a well-decorated mantelpiece, complacency is not something that festers within the fabric of Kubel’s work ethic. “We may have achieved a lot but it doesn’t get any easier. You’re always judged by your last piece of work and I’m worried about looking back at my career and not being happy with the work I’ve produced.” He pauses briefly before calmly adding: “But there are only a few pieces that I feel this way about. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the work we’ve done and don’t mind looking back.”


Ian Fleming’s James Bond, 2008 (Royal Mail, UK); miniature sheet design and bespoke typeface

The weekend that I meet Kubel, he is in particularly fine form. Earlier in the week, he received news that he had been awarded a three-year working grant by the Danish Art Foundation, which is one of the most sought for and prestigious working grants awarded by the Nordic country for exceptional quality of artistic production and artistic talent. Kubel has worked almost non-stop over the past decade, and the grant means that he can now afford to invest some time in himself, creating more headspace for new ideas. “I shed a tear when I found out and called my mom; imagine how proud she is?” he says with a content but tired smile.


Turner Prize Exhibition design, 2002—07 (Tate Britain, London); art direction, design and bespoke typeface

In an industry which constantly strives to be ‘achingly hip’ and ‘cutting-edge’, A2/SW/HK’s approach to their work is refreshingly non-pretentious, which is what many of their clients may find appealing. “It’s the thinking and sensibility behind the solutions that makes us strong. I don’t see us as being ‘trendy’ but I don’t see us as being ‘old fashioned’ either – we are probably somewhere in between,” Kubel expresses. “We don’t work to trends, we work on what we feel best complements our clients’ brand values.”



Ergonomics — Real Design, 2009—2010 (Design Museum, London); exhibition identity, applied graphics and brochure including bespoke display typeface; exhibition design by Michael Marriot; photography courtesy of Luke Hayes & A2/SW/HK

In the design and communication industries, the choice of type may have many different connotations and certain typefaces are chosen to represent a brand because they effectively embody the product’s philosophy. This may, in turn, help to explain why we have a certain affinity for some brands more than others. For A2/SW/HK, understanding this psychological aspect of branding is the crux of their trade. “Typography is hugely important. Everything you look at contains letters – it’s used for direction, it’s used for instruction, it’s everywhere. If you can’t read and write you’re lost, aren’t you? That’s what binds society together, it’s communication.”

In a market that already contains 200,000 typefaces, does Kubel think there will be a day when the typeface market will be saturated and there will be no more typefaces to explore? “It’s already saturated but that doesn’t mean you should stop designing. It’s been said many times before, we need new films, new music, new exhibitions, new chairs, new painters and we need new typefaces.”


Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era, 2005 (Tate Liverpool); art direction, design and bespoke typeface

During the course of the interview, Kubel shows me some of his sketch books, a collection of sketches and scribbles, images torn out of newspapers/magazines, and various other eclectic items which looks like an art project in itself. “It’s very personal but this is how I keep my inspiration and ideas,” he says. As we talk at his spotless white ‘consultation’ table, there is a moment when I mentally take a snapshot of him casually drawing a letter ‘R’ with a graphite pencil on a sheet of paper in front of him. The letter is so perfectly formed that it looks as if it has been produced with a Letraset font style pack, with angles and lines drawn like a ruler has been pressed against their edges – I couldn’t help but comment. “People say that if you spend 10,000 hours on something, you become a master…,” he coolly replies. “…I’ve probably spent 8,000 drawing typefaces.”


A2/SW/HK Process AGI Poster, 2010


Typography Workshop Posters, 2000—06 (Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College); posters (40+ in series)

Kubel strikes me as somewhat of a paradoxical figure, humble yet self-assured, content yet massively ambitious. Speaking of his life prior to London, he says: “I remember when I was at the Danish Design School and we visited the Royal College (of Arts) and I knew I wanted to get in. I knew I wanted to go to London, learn the language and find someone to set up a design studio with. I was very naïve.” Naïve he may have been but in effect, he has achieved everything he set out to do – and then some. Having realised his dream of studying at the Royal College of Arts, he now teaches at the world-renowned institution twice a month. “My students are scarily talented – I am teaching my competitors of the future but I was taught there myself. The Royal College means a lot to me and I will give back as much as I can for as long as I can.”


Cold War Modern, Design 1945—1970, 2008 (V&A Museum, London); art direction and bespoke typefaces

As our interview draws to a close, and my mind is buzzing with more questions about typefaces and I entertain myself with the thought that on some level, humans and fonts are quite similar in relation to their variety, heritage and what they stand for, I ask Kubel which font he thinks would best describe him. He ponders for a moment, cocking his head to one side and glances out of the window onto the terrace, which is beginning to speckle with raindrops, to gather his thoughts. “You’d have to put a lot of typefaces together to describe me; I’m not one, I’m very broad,” he says with a glimmer of mischief in his eye. “I draw all styles, from very eclectic to very bland; it’s me and my personality. I’m a chameleon typeface.”

The new A2/SW/HK typeface collection is now available online and can be found here.

A2/SW/HK have also teamed up with Playtype who will releasing additional fonts from the A2/SW/HK library in December 2010.

Categories ,A2/SW/HK, ,Alliance Graphique Internationale, ,Art Directors Club of New York, ,baa, ,British Design & Art Directors, ,British Rail, ,British Rail Alphabet, ,Creative Futures, ,Creative Review, ,Danish Art Foundation, ,Denmark’s Design School, ,Design Museum London, ,Faber & Faber, ,Hayward Gallery, ,Henrik Kubel, ,Ian Fleming, ,James Bond, ,Kat Phan, ,Lisson Gallery, ,Margaret Calvert, ,New Rail Alphabet, ,NHS, ,On Beauty, ,Penguin Books, ,Phaidon Press, ,Playtype, ,Remington Standard, ,Royal College of Art, ,Royal Mail, ,Scott Williams, ,Tate, ,The Independent, ,The International Society of Typographers, ,Turner Prize Exhibition, ,Vogue UK, ,Zadie Smith

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