Craig Ward- words are pictures

I came across this amazing piece of typography on another blog . The paper cut illustration was done by London-based artist Craig Ward .This is an A1 paper cut illustration, which took the artist 11 hours to complete, I believe was well worth it as I haven't seen such innovative and imaginative typography like this before.
Craig ward is a senior designer and typographer at New Yorks Grey , he has worked for some highly recognisable companies such as BMW,Lexus, MTV.com and Creative Review.
His website www.wordsarepictures.co.uk ( I urge you to check out his website even the website has a twsit) depicts his exact thoughts he believes typography is art.

His work with typography is extremely inspiring he has created some true masterpieces and made me want to use tyopgraphy in its raw element and not use it to support images.
Below are a few of my favourites:

When graphic artists get bored ( photoshop manipulation)

I came across this random video post on youtube, all of the images used on the video are photoshop manipulated images that can be found on www.worth1000.com.
I did try looking for the artists who created them on the website but there's such a vast amount of images on the site and had no luck.

To be honest to person who posted it arsap hasn't really done much work apart from collate some images together, none the less the final outcome is an amazing slideshow of very quirky, unique and well executed photoshop manipulations.

I think this may need to be an art I need to familiarise myself with as some of the images are so unreal.
There's some real imagination that has gone into them, not even thinking about the time taken to do this but I think the artist must take real pride in their work as some of the manipulated images look so real.
Seeing images like these has made me want to learn these technical skills and restored my faith in creating art for the fun of it.

Modern art

I came across a blog about modern art by a guy called Dave Munger

"Today we decided to do something different and headed for the Georges Pompidou Center, where the national galleries of modern art are housed. Some fascinating stuff there, including some works which attempted to question the very nature of art itself. Jim was particularly perplexed by this piece:"

The 'modern art' consists of three plain white panels hung on the wall. The artist says that the colour white represents nothing at all.

I've been to the Georges Pompidou Center myself ( it was a few years ago) but I do remember seeing some very creative and fascinating pieces of modern art that evoke emotion and cause a general stir.

So how is hanging three white canvasses on a wall art?

I know art is meant to be interpreted in many different forms, expressive and can be pretty random. But isn't this being pure lazy?

I used to love painting and seeing something like this has inspired my to actually want to create meaningful art, something that a lot of thought an depth has gone into. A piece of work to be proud of.

Urban Art

I came across another blog where I found some very interesting images of urban grafitti photography courtesy of PhotoSIG.Visit the website on www.photosig.com to take a look at some really great photos from everyday photographers.

Graffitti has been an interest of mine, yes I know it is illegal and can be distructive, but it can also create some amazingly emotional pieces of artwork.
The graffitti ( done by unknown artists) is so raw and intense, which I feel is what real art is all about. Something that is created in a moment of raw passion that could probably not be created again.

I love urban art and the sub culture that graffitti has created, I feel there is real colour culture that can be seen through a lot of street art that you would never see in a art museum. If we could consider every surface medium are place as a blank canvass I think that some underground artist's would be abe create some pretty amazing artwork.
personally seeing some graffitti that you can see has been really though about and worked on is more inticing and though provoking than seeing a piece of 'modern art'

Rotunda Chandelier- Dale Chihuly

I visited the V& A Exhibition is London, while I was in the foyer I looked up and saw the most amazingly awesome, unusual and coolest Chandelier - I have ever seen in my life( no exaggeration).

I've never seen anything like it, the sheer size first hit me, it fill the two story high ceiling foyer entrance. It is made entirely of blown glass and held together using steel.
Instead of rambling on about the detail I though it would be better coming from the exhibition experts:Unfortunatley the images I took don't really seem to do it much justice, but honestly it is one of the coolest things I had seen through the whole exhibition.
I would definitely suggest just having a little wonder into the reception area to get a glance of this
Dale Chihuly is a very dedicated, talented sculpture and artists to have even though of something like this, then execute something so ridiculously amazing.

It is truly inspiring, I love it!

Artwork in Slough highstreet

It incorporates designs developed by artist Bhajan Hunjan, through workshops with Fusion, a local dance company for young people.

Poetry from around the world is being hand carved on sections of granite - in the paving, around trees and on the granite plinths and benches.

Throughout the High Street there are 10 poems carved into the granite in languages representing many of the communities who have chosen to make their home in Slough – Welsh, Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic, Polish, Caribbean French, Iranian, Hebrew, Mandarin and Turkish.

Each poem is carved in its original language alongside an English translation.

Artist Alec Peever said: “When poets write, their poems are normally printed in books but now the poems have been carved and are a permanent fixture there to be read every day.

One of the main pieces of poetry in the centre square, I walked past in many times but actually took the time out to read it, Below is a video below :

it reads: Far far away on a distant planet
There lies a stone unseen untouched
It can be seen only with closed eyes
As you see your loved ones
Amarjit Chandan – Punjabi

It's a inspiring way of bringing people from many different backgrounds together to show the diverse range of culture's that reside in one community.

Quiet Revolution- A Hayward Touring Exhibiton

Quiet revolution is a exhibition that brings together international artists who use everyday objects to create poetic, lo-tech inventions that explore how we can transform and be transformed into our surroundings.

It plays on the principles of public perception of the qualities of regular day to day common place object, that I think results in quite a random exhibition which as first glance looks as if not that much thought or effort has gone into it, but once it is explored is quite and interesting and makes the audience question each piece and I think it can all be interpreted in your own way.

At first I didn't really think much of the exhibition as it just looks like random objects placed together the create 'art' but I think the randomness of the placing of the objects is what intrigued me, making me want to explore how each individual will interpret something in a different way.


Below are some examples of some of the pieces:

Lydall Phelps - The pigeon Archive

This is an exhibition I visited in the Milton Keynes Gallery which is a presentation a new body of work by the Australian - born aritist Lyndall Phelps.
The Pigeon Archive explores the little known yet highly significant role pigeons played in the First and Second World Wars. The Archive documents, through photography, video and sculpture, the re-enactment of pigeon manoeuvres using re-constructed wartime equipment. When I first saw what the exhibition entailed I didn't think it would be very interested but looking at the amount of dedication and research that has gone into each individual piece I was impressed with the discipline that Phelps has demonstrated.
An example of the artist's depth into research is when three replica transport cases are crafted as well and thirty- two brown oil harnesses that the pigeon would have worn to carry secret information. Each individual harness was meticulously handmade by Phelps resulting in a very detailed piece of work.


One of the pieces that I though was particularly interesting was the enigmatic film made by the artist in 2008 in which a light- weight surveillance camera is strapped to a pigeon and then released in flight over Cambridgeshire, which was once littered with military air traffic. The film results in a dizzy, spiraling documentation of the landscape in the very motion of the bird.
I really liked the way this piece interacts with the audience, it is quite hard on the eyes as it is a continuous motion but I found myself watching it, I captured some of the film in the video link below.





Overall I found the exhibition very interested and inspiring, I like the way the artists has taken a not very well known or even interesting subject and interpreted it in their own way resulting in an exhibition of intricacy and devotion which is informative and educational.

Take a look at her website at www.lyndallphelps.com to see the exhibition and some of her other projects.

Banksy Vs Bristol Museum