Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Teal Triggs

14/10/10
Fanzines

"A special form of communication" - Frederick Wortham 1973.

"Little publications filled with rantings of high weirdness and exploding with chaotic design" - Stephen Duncombe 1997.

Teal Triggs has written some very popular books including The Typographical Experiment and Fanzines. She came into university to give a talk about Fanzines; I am ashamed to say I did not know what the term meant so it was an interesting and insightful lecture. She began by explaining what a fanzine is but said they are so unconventional and far from mainstream that they are hard to define, so there are numerous interpretations of them.



Fanzines have been around for a long time and have long since been influential upon social trends. In the mid 80s ideas were emerging within zines about consumption, popular culture and technology. In the 1990s a feminist version of punk materialized and the zine allowed the free expression of these ideas. Fanzines began as lone voices, individuals who subtly recorded thoughts in a magazine type format. They have become collaborative pieces and are now about a community - a subculture, a publication which is only spread through word of mouth.

The lovely thing about a zine is that anybody can do one, you do not have to be a designer, it is purely an opportunity to express yourself in a totally free form. They are "intimate fan publications" which are produced by individuals and collaborative groups, and express so many personal styles, graphic languages and thoughts that they inspire commercial graphic design. They always say something about the producer and their history. They express subjects that someone is interested in and passionate about, and recording it in a visual form means it can be appreciated.

Teal Triggs asked the question, are fanzines part of a DIY revolution? I am not sure, but I think they will be a constant source of unique thinking and inspirational diverse style. Before this lecture I would not have considered these publications as design as they are so unconventional, but now I think that that is the positive about them.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Weirdness








Trying to experiment as much as possible with encasing all sorts of things. Do like the idea of it being a weird medical experiment so I am photographing live things, or things that look like they could be living.

Location Location Location - Hans Island Video







Finding a location for shooting the Hans Island Video where the band will be able to perform, where a lot of people can gather, and where we will not get in trouble for trespassing etc.

This is one suggestion - its close to the city centre of Manchester and can not really be seen from the main road.

Its also rather intriguing and dramatic.

A Million Pigeons

A Million Pigeons : The Home of Creative Blind Dates

A brand spanking new Manchester company that brings together the up and coming creatively talented to create music videos, photo shoots and album/single artwork.

If you're an artist or designer and want to work with record labels or awesomely talented bands get in touch and send us a link to your stuff...

If you're in a band and want videos, promos or artwork, send us your stuff and a rough idea of what you need and we'll find a designer that suits your style...


Jo Lowes from A Million Pigeons introduced herself recently to our year group at university. She is going to offer a number of different projects that we could be a part of. If we like the sound of the brief then we can come up with ideas and pitch them, and if the client likes them then we will go ahead with the project.

The first opportunity was a music video for the band Hans Island, for their song You've Been Told which is due for release very soon. Myself and three friends decided to collaborate and we pitched an idea to the band which they liked and the idea grew with the discussion - and so we are producing a music video. It is all getting rather exciting!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Encasement

















I have decided to explore an encasement theme within Static.

The previous hand photographs triggered thoughts of scientific experiments, so I am going to explore the theme by encasing different things within different substances.

I aim to create close macro shots that obscure the subject and leave an air of mystery.