NOISE FIVE LAUNCH

On Thursday evening of last week I attended the launch of Noise Five, the latest design book from ATTIK who have produced a series of Noise books over the last 20 years. It was an excellent opportunity to gain an insight into how the book was made and the design processes which have contributed to the finished product from the faces behind the book, from the designs, to paper stock to printing. As a student designer it was interesting to hear how much experimentation was involved in producing a book which has been in the making for 3 years and took 3 months to print.

After seeing a preview of Noise Five, it looks spectacular and I'm looking forward to getting my copy when it is released!!

THE FACE OF DEFEAT

Here are some images from, Photographer Sandy Nicholson's latest book, 2nd.

Sandy decided to photograph the 'losers' from a range of contests and competitions rather than focusing on the glory of the winner, he took a closer look into getting 2nd place. Through the series of photographs one can see how important coming first is to people, the look of disbelief and 'if only' makes the viewer relate to how it feels being second best, not the best. Each of his subjects were photographed just after hearing the results or standing down from the '2' podium so you really get a sense of reality and disappointment. An interesting collection of work to look at.

DIANE ARBUS

American photographer Arbus (1923-1971) was known for her portraits of people on the fringes of society. Her work is very raw, and sometimes quite controversial. She spoke of her work and said, "I really believe there are things which nobody would see unless I photographed them”. Alot of her work was focussed on transvestites, dwarfs, giants and prostitutes- showing an insight to the outcasts of society. Even her work with the working class "ordinary" people was posed and shot in unconventional places to capture an honest yet obscureness about them. She was captivated by all kinds of people.
As Arbus' work began to develop, a distinctive style became apparent. A big feature in most of Arbus' work was for the subject to be starring into the camera. Susan Sontang, who Arbus once photographed said "Arbus' brilliance was to catch everybody unmasked, at the moment of transition between unconscious repose and practiced, social self-representation. People seemed to reveal, in that moment, their essential being, which was alienated and miserable".
At the age of 48, Arbus committed suicide. A year later, MOMA held a retrospective of her work. It was the most popular solo photography exhibition in its history, and the monograph that followed, one of the best-selling art books in history.

PUMA

This is an older campaign from Puma, but I thought it was a good example of how good photography, crisp presentation and excellent execution can make a particularly engaging piece of work out of an idea which does not appear to be overly strong. It shows that sometimes it is not all about the idea, but what you do with it is just as, if not more important for it to be successful. "New Stuff" is an immaculate campaign by Puma.

"New Stuff" Print








"New Stuff" Ads

FACE ART

Dutch artist, Levi van Veluw recently won the Photographer of the year award at the IPA, International Photo Awards in the USA. He has completely changed the style of landscape portraits by reinventing traditional methods- he literally uses his face as a canvas and becomes part of his surroundings in his art. This is a one man project, Veluw draws and photographs his work himself. These photo's are fantastic, Veluw uses materials from ball point pen to wood, gravel and grass. This series of landscapes was also adapted to video installation. Amazing work.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY