A wise homeless guy's prolific ramblings on whatever takes his fancy from general life, to music to the state of the economy be sure he has a view point!
While graphic design isn’t my forte I seem to have been drawn to it’s subject matter twice in as many days. This time my attention has been attracted by the movement that is graphic art, more specifically the upcoming exhibition at Somerset House, London entitled ‘Pick me up’.
23rd April – 3rd May is the time frame in which you can attend and £5 is what you’ll have to part with at the door, which at first glance seems steep for what basically seems to be a glorified market for art, especially in these hard recession times, but a more in depth inspection reveals a whole host of activities including open studios and print workshops.
If you have a passion for graphic design or even art in general then this looks like it could be just the day out for you. If you still aren’t convinced (and believe I’m not getting paid to give props, just seems interesting) then you can visit the website, by following the link below, where you will be treated to a more in depth explanation of what to expect, from which you can make a more learned decision.
Now I’m by no means a graphic designer nor have any desire to be, but I have over the years developed a respect for what they do day to day and more importantly the value of what they do. Essentially there are elements of graphic design within everything we come across on a daily basis whether it be the buildings we work in or the magazines we read or even small elements such as the logo on the pen we write with, it’s something we can’t avoid.
As with every industry there are elements and processes that, due to the digital era, are becoming redundant and need to be preserved. Within Graphic design it seems to be the art of printing, and more specifically typeface creation and printing that is facing extinction. Even with sparks of interest in finding out about the roots of their industry from the new breed of designers it’s heading along the same path (arguably) as vinyl is for DJ’s, loved by many but only used by a diminishing group of die hard fans. This makes institutions such as the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum in Two Rivers even more important in that it keeps these practices alive.
The film Typeface (for which you can view the trailer below) is a documentary following Greg Corrigan’s (museum director) efforts to keep the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum open not only for the ageing staff who continue to produce the hand crafted type sets but for the workshops that are hosted there every weekend and the graphic design community both locally and internationally, who without the expertise and traditions of such institutions are in danger of losing touch with the fundamentals that made them what they are today.
Produced and Directed by Justine Nagan under the documentary powerhouse that is Kartemquin Films, this is a moving insight into an almost forgotten world. The film, and I quote, ‘will be of interest to art and graphic design enthusiasts, to teachers as an educational resource, and to anyone looking for a film about perseverance and preservation in the heart of America.’ Typeface is currently enjoying strong feedback on it’s tour of the film festival circuit so if you get a chance and this sort of thing interests you give it a look, their viewing schedule is listed on their website (which I have linked to below).
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