21/11/2008

Arthur Bispo do Rosário



Marie O'Connor has sent me this, of an astonishing garment by Arthur Bispo do Rosário. From 1938, in Rio's psychiatric hospital Pedro II, he created a 'minature universe' of works to be presented at Judgement Day. The thread used was unpicked from his inmate uniform.



There is an unintentional visual tally, on the top left of the garment as seen, with the Admiral logo so chunkily applied to c.1975 football kits. Most spectacularly, Coventry City, Wales, Leeds United.



Also reminiscent of Scouting/Guiding 'camp blankets' (via Earth Water Fire Ice), traditionally a record of camping, 'jamboree', hike.

11/11/2008

New 'Fact' Blog



I've started up another blog for a project called 'Fact', set to my Camberwell Illustration group. It's thinking about the imaging of scientific ideas. Trying to move beyond the literal. Here's my favourite thing so far, showing eye discolouration (as seen on the amazing BibliOdyssey) by Majimaganryonozu, from a collection of C18th and C19th Japanese medical books archived online by Kyushu University.



Dermatological conditions by Hosonozu. See more here and note the intertwined image, calligraphic text and the use of flatness and abstraction for organ-forms.

03/11/2008

Cloud Water Stone



This poster is one from a series I'm exhibiting in an upcoming show at Melbourne Museum. The exhibition, 'New Views', is an open conversation about graphic design today. This poster is talking about the possible connection between a wilfully local-limited-language of available materials, idiosyncratic stories and a universal vocabulary allied to hand craft skills as taught by the Bauhaus. Something about a Local Universe. Everything within your walking distance and arms-reach-periphery.



I was citing this Max Bill poster (via Walker Art Center), with an RGB version of the primary triangle circle square. For me he struck an amazing balance, mentioned in an earlier post, of a machine-aesthetic and hand-craft-method.



The other source was this late Ming dynasty (c.1600) work by Ni Yuanlu, 'Cloud Water Stone'. It is describing the essence of qi, the active energy force that runs through and binds animate and inanimate things. I like the idea of something nebulous being 'konkrete'. Reminiscent too of Alexander Cozen's studies of clouds, which in turn influenced John Constable.