Jean Paul Satre

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (June 21, 1905 – April 15, 1980), normally known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher and pioneer, dramatist and screenwriter, novelist and critic. He was a leading figure in Twentieth-Century French Philosophy.

Jean Paul Satre-quite an interesting read for the uninitiated, like me


Satre' Autobiography is called "Les Mots", or "The Words"

Deuchars chose to use the Spanish version- "Los Palabras"...why? Is Losada a Spanish Publishing company? Am I being stupid? Anyway...this is by the by....

Research Project Proposal

Hand Rendered Type & Lettering

Aim: To research and analyse artists that employ the use of hand lettering, gaining a deeper understanding into this accessible alternative to straight typesetting.

Research: Should include analysis on original font creators such as Eric Gill and the ornate stylings of David Jones, look into clean cut perfectly hand rendered type from the 80s (Neville Brody [and impact on illustrator rendered logotype]), and research modern pioneers such as Marion Deuchars, David Shrigley and Paul Davis.

Impact: I hope that this will help me to understand when it is appropriate to use handrendered type, and also pick up a few tips on use of materials and letterform construction.

Detail:
Paul Davis and David Shrigley create letter forms that are immediately recognisable as stylised and humorous. Their use of materials is especially intriguing; objects (such as felt tip pens and coloured pencils) that aren't usually used in creating beautiful illustrations or type.

Marion Deuchars is similar in the way she creates recognisable stylised lettering, however her letterforms seem more refined than either Shrigley or Davis. She also separates herself from these two artists in the jobs she chooses to do; whereas Paul Davis and Shrigley are associated with self published works (or at least books that are published which are devoted to themand their work), Deuchars creates logos and works on company reports.

Good Examples and Bad Examples:
When insurance companies and supermarkets begin to use handlettering, does this change the way we look at handrendered letters in graphics?

Was the Conservative campaign right to use handlettering in an attempt to appeal to people on a wider spectrum?

a crane

Confucius

John Zorn, the man, the legend

"New Traditions in East Asian Bar Bands" is a recording of three of John Zorn's later Game Pieces. For those unfamiliar, the Game Pieces are essentially a series of rules for a group to improvise with-- nothing is precomposed, but a set of cues are used to indicate change in direction in performance. The original Game Pieces were named after sports and games, then eventually Zorn switched to Asian titles. Because of the nature of the Game Pieces, they are extraordinarily hard to "get" and they can sound fairly random, particularly the early recordings, when in fact they are highly ordered. The later recordings, where the performers have more experience in this sort of thing, sound much more cognizant and are easier to understand, but even still, they're an extraordinarily difficult listen if you're not ready for it: case in point, the three pieces on this recording.

What I'm trying to say is that if you're not altogether familiar with Zorn's work, the Game Pieces are probably not the best place to start (that'd probably be "Naked City"). Even if you are listening to Zorn, virtually all the Game Pieces are difficult to get until you've seen an example of how they work. If you can't get to a live show, there's some footage on the documentary piece "A Bookshelf on Top of the Sky: 12 Stories about John Zorn" by Claudia Heuermann, which is what initially cleared it up for me. Indeed, I couldn't listen to any of these before I got that. Mind you, if you want to explore the Game Pieces, "New Traditions in East Asian Bar Bands" may be the best place to start.

To begin with, the recordings benefit from restricted format-- each recording is a duet with an Asian-language narration on top. "Hu Die" (from 1986) is recorded with guitarists Bill Frisell and Fred Frith, "Hwang Chin-ee" (1988) with drummers Joey Baron and Samm Bennett, and "Que Tran" (1990) with keyboardists Anthony Coleman and Wayne Horvitz. With only two musicians, it's easier to get a feel for the interactions between them and the subtleties of their work. It also helps that it seems these are about extended dialog-- the early Game Pieces all appear to be about (relatively) brief moments, meaning that as ideas develop, they get thrown away in favor of the next, leaving little in the way of the illusion of conventional structure for the listener to grab onto. "Hu Die" certainly proves to be an exciting listen-- Frisell and Frith wrap around each other, one usually seems to lead with the other following, playing in forms from gentle and supportive to explosive and fierce. By and large, explosiveness is the driving factor of "Hwang Chin-ee", although the drummers do entwine around the narration to a far greater level of detail to the guitarists (who seem by and large to ignore the narrator). "Que Tran" is by and large a minimalist affair, with the keyboards suggestive around and delicate, rarely stating anything directly around the quiet narration.

The net result, a surprisingly diverse and reasonably enjoyable record, in fact probably the most so of the Game Pieces. Highly recommended.

David Carson

David Carson Video
Article on David Carson

Go 'ed big Nev

"Neville Brody, the British designer and art director, has now been at the forefront of graphic design for over two decades.

Initially working in record cover design, Brody made his name largely through his revolutionary work as Art Director for the Face magazine. Other international magazine directions have included City Limits, Lei, Per Lui, Actuel and Arena, together with London's The Observer newspaper and magazine.

Brody has consistently pushed the boundaries of visual communication in all media through his experimental and challenging work, and continues to extend the visual languages we use through his exploratory creative expression.In 1988 Brody published the first of his two monographs , which became the world's best selling graphic design book. Combined sales now exceed 120,000. An accompanying exhibition of his work at the Victoria and Albert Museum attracted over 40,000 visitors before touring Europe and Japan.

In 1994, together with business partner Fwa Richards, Brody launched Research Studios, London. Since then studios have been opened in Paris, Berlin with plans to open a New york studio. Clients range across all media, from web to print, and from environmental and retail design to moving graphics and film titles.

A sister company, Research Publishing, produces and publishes experimental multi-media works by young artists. The primary focus is on FUSE, the renowned conference and quarterly forum for experimental typography and communications. The publication is approaching its 20th issue over a publishing period of over ten years. Three FUSE conferences have so far been held, in London, San Fransisco and Berlin. The conferences bring together speakers from design, architecture, sound, film and interactive design and web."

Source: Neville Brody Website