Jon's Blog is Lacking a Clever Name

OWT ISSUE #10 'DISPLACEMENT'

2011-12-29T13:44:00.004Z

This is OWT issue #10 'Displacement'. It features interpretations by eighteen different Northwest creatives as well as the members of the OWT team. It comes in three different flavours with cover design by Barney Ibbotson. The zine contains several added extras that make each one individual, with us working into the zine and a screen-printed cover as well. If you'd like to purchase a copy, you can do so from HERE.

My piece pictured below focused on the idea that our memories become altered/eroded by exterior forces. I included 125 individual pencil drawings and the text on the left hand page invites the reader to 'please erase the tower', some will, some won't.

For the love of UK Garage : 7 Days Beak Book

2011-12-04T11:29:00.005Z

Created with OWT creative for DR.ME's '7 shop'. They approached us on Monday, we conceptualized on Tuesday, we were making zines by Wednesday and on Thursday & Friday & Saturday. We chilled on Sunday.

Talkin' 'bout zines

2011-11-27T20:56:00.002Z

Here's a clip from the film for Salford Zine Library, you can catch us about a minute in. I didn't realize I was so flexible...

So i'm in a film...

2011-11-10T21:51:00.006Z

So i'm in a film... talking about zines. I really should have posted this earlier as it has been going on for a little while, but I've fallen behind on my blog. I'm talking about OWT creative and general zine culture with my OWT pal Ben. If you love the sound of a monotone Middlesbrough accent and an uncomfortable welshman then this is the film for you. In all honesty though, Craig from Salford Zine Library put in a lot of effort to put it together and it's a really interesting watch. It runs all the way to the 29th of Jan, so there's no excuse not to get yourself down there. I'm not sure we'll make the sequel.

OWT #9 'CHANCE' OUT NOW

2011-10-28T19:55:00.002+01:00

This is OWT issue #9 'Chance'. It features interpretations by twenty different Northwest creatives as well as the members of the OWT team. We're really honoured to have Mercy design the covers for issue #9 and they have not disappointed, giving us a beautiful design that comes in three different flavours. The zine contains several screen-printed pages and cover as well as additions to make each zine individual. Thanks to everyone who contributed. Here are some sample pages. If you would like to purchase the zine you can do so in the OWTshop.

Article Magazine Commission - Beacons Music Festival

2011-10-23T12:31:00.008+01:00

I was asked by Article Magazine to create a piece for a mini issue they were creating for Beacons Music Festival, Sheffield. The issue was to be released in the form of a poster and they asked for a one colour graphic on the theme of village fetes. Here's my interpretation... Unfortunately I have plenty of prior experience when it comes to village fetes. I myself was always forced to don fancy dress and stand humiliated on the floats that would go through the town. So this piece is in fact a self-portrait. That's me, aged 7, dress as a knight and looking thoroughly unimpressed. I have uncomfortable memories of being sandwiched between Darth Vader and a crying Robocop while they drove us through a wet and miserable north-east high street. I've tried to channel my mood of the day combined with the reassuring words of my parents.

I also included this piece in my Masters Degree show, that's me posing with my poster at the bottom, looking like a gimp.

An Update

2011-10-14T16:54:00.006+01:00

Not been able to blog in ages, been so busy. Just finished my Masters and did pretty good, which is a relief. I've got myself a sweet job working as a teaching assistant at MMU on the course I graduated from only 2 summers ago, I've got my own timetabled slot with the second years and everything. I'm also volunteering one day at City College teaching photography students graphics, it doesn't even feel like work most of the time, it's such a good laugh. With this in mind I managed to last three whole days as being a non-student before starting a new course, much to my father's distress, studying for my PGCE teaching qualification so I can look to move into lecturing alongside my own practice. Our studio in Ancoats is now up and running and we seem to be working constantly, which is great, if a bit tiring. I'll pause for breath now. More stuff soon.

Oh! And if you're in Manchester you should come down to the MA show at the Holden Gallery MMU, it's on until Thursday the 20th.

WHP Horrors

2011-10-14T16:49:00.002+01:00

Off to the warehouse project tomorrow night to see the horrors, not looked forward to a gig so much in ages.

The Lonely Life of the Secret Luchador

2011-09-08T15:56:00.006+01:00

Here is my latest zine, 'La Solítaria Vida Del Luchador Secreto' or 'The Lonely Life of the Secret Luchador'. This is the first zine to be released through OWT press, the self-publishing arm of OWT creative.

This was a collaborative project between writer Rob Starkey & I. It documents the lives of five individuals who were dealt a tough hand by fate, their only escape from the mundanity is through the glory of their secret lives, as Luchadors.

Each zine has a four colour screen print cover and has numerous hand cut pages. If you would like to purchase a copy you can do so from my SHOP.

A big thanks to Igor Termenón for all his translation help!

Lonely Luchadors

2011-08-29T21:39:00.003+01:00

Working on a new publication with a writer friend. It's nearly finished, hopefully have some photos up this week. It's the first publication to be released through the new OWT press, 'La Solitaria Vida Del Luchador Secreto'.

Duck Tron

2011-08-25T23:51:00.001+01:00

Duck Tron from Ryactive on Vimeo.

I love Tron and I love this video, that's all there is to say. From The Curious Brain(again).

500 People in 100 Seconds!

2011-08-24T14:17:00.002+01:00

found on The Curious Brain.

Striking a pose for Article Magazine

2011-08-23T19:21:00.004+01:00

Today Ben and I made tits of ourselves for Article magazine. We had to keep a lot of the photos to ourselves as they were too saucy, especially my over the shoulder coy look. I tried some specs to look more intellectual, failed miserably. Don't ask why we're wearing the same t-shirt, wardrobe malfunction.

New Order - Temptation 1984

2011-08-22T23:34:00.001+01:00

Should be writing my Masters dissertation, instead I'm watching New Order on youtube. Shit

'Duality' piece for OWT #8

2011-08-22T21:50:00.003+01:00

A fine line between love & hate. 250 hand-cut pages.

Hard Workers Club - Volume 1

2011-08-22T17:10:00.004+01:00

Hard Workers Club - Volume One from Hard Workers Club on Vimeo.

"Volume One is the first collection of work by artists featured on Hard Workers Club.
Volume One features work from Rio Rio, Ace Kieffer, Thea Everett, Kyle Cook, Matt Ritson, Gabriel Green, and Lukasz Wierzbowkski."

This has been so long in the making and it hasn't disappointed. Well done guys.

Hard Workers Club

M/M Paris - Bjork

2011-08-21T17:31:00.000+01:00

Beautiful Bkork gif here courtesy of M/M Paris.

Hermann Hesse - Demian

2011-08-20T14:02:00.000+01:00

A friend recommended I read Demian as he felt it could be beneficial towards my research. Beautifully but simply written it follows the life of Emil Sinclair from youth, through adolescence and into manhood. Emil realizes he is different from normal people and lives his life constantly struggling between the real world and the world of illusion. He meets Max Demian who takes Emil under his wing and helps him to understand the superficial nature of the real world and Christianity and helps him realize his 'self'.

I enjoyed the book immensely, the idea of living your life not to the ideals of other individuals or religions really resonated with me. Having being raised Christian as a child I soon became disillusioned after reaching my early teens and gaining self-awareness and I could empathize with young Emil. Here is a short extract from the book that I found especially inspiring.

"There was but one duty for a grown man; it was to seek the way to himself, to become resolute within, to grope his way forward wherever that might lead him. The discovery shook me profoundly; it was the fruit of this experience. I had often toyed with pictures of the future, dreamed of roles which might be assigned to me - as a poet, maybe, or prophet or painter or kindred vocation. All that was futile. I was not there to write poetry, to preach or paint; neither I nor any man was there for that purpose. They were only incidental things. There was only one true vocation for everybody - to find the way to himself. He might end as a poet, lunatic, prophet or criminal - that was not his affair; ultimately it was of no account. His affair was to discover his own destiny, not something of his own choosing, and live it out wholly and resolutely within himself. Anything else was merely a half life, an attempt at evasion, an escape into the ideals of the masses, complacency and fear of his inner soul."

The bird struggles out of the egg.

NEW WEBSITE

2011-08-19T23:29:00.002+01:00

Decided a couple of weeks ago that my website was looking a bit dated and in needed of a facelift. It has ended up taking far longer than it should have. If you notice something wrong with the coding... probably best not to mention it to me. It's done now at least. I'm going to have a some prints, zines and other stuff in the shop section within a couple of weeks, if I haven't remade the entire site again by then that is.

jonhannan.co.uk

Just So

2011-08-18T21:12:00.000+01:00

In an uncharacteristic move this week I vol-un-teer-ed? (It seems like the hard effort of work, without the sweet reward of payment) to help my fellow OWT colleague set up their piece for Lord Whitney at the Just So festival out in Leek. Yes this is a full scale gingerbread house in the middle of the woods.

I'm not sure what's wrong with me, this will do serious damage to my hard-earned reputation as a bastard. I suppose if I can make one child cry with fear, it will all have been worth it.

La Jetée

2011-08-13T21:29:00.000+01:00

The Horrors - Still Life

2011-08-13T20:42:00.000+01:00

OWT #8 'LOVE' & 'HATE' OUT NOW

2011-08-12T17:33:00.000+01:00

Here it is, OWT issue #8 'Love' & 'Hate'. This is a special double edition that features interpretations of 'Love' & 'Hate' from eighteen different Northwest creatives as well as the members of the OWT team. We have never invested so much time into one of the zines, and we're really proud of it. Each zine has an individual cover designed and hand-cut by DR.ME and contains several screen-printed and hand-cut pages. It is a very weighty issue, we hope you enjoy it. (WARNING some of the 'Love' covers do contain strong sexual scenes. Don't be put off though, embrace it.) You can buy it now from the OWT shop.

Blue Velvet

2011-08-10T01:13:00.000+01:00

I watched David Lynch's Blue Velvet the other day and it absolutely blew me away. I hadn't seen it before and neither had the people who came to view my flat mid way through, although they have now seen the rather violent rape scene. This opening sequence is fantastic, sums up the whole film.

OWT studio

2011-08-10T00:55:00.000+01:00

I've just moved into my first studio with the rest of the guys from OWT creative! It's the first step towards us becoming a fully functioning design studio. Located in Hope mill down in Ancoats, as you may have guessed, it's an old mill. Unlike a lot of mills in Manchester it has hardly been touched in terms of renovation, very cool to get in the old lift and pull those shutters across. It's a really exciting time for me at the minute, I'm coming to the end of my Masters and feel like I've really got a grip on my practice, commissions seem to be coming in and OWT goes from strength to strength. All I need now is a haircut.

Tumblring

2011-07-23T12:47:00.000+01:00

I'm tumblring now as well as this blog. I'll try keep this up to date, but tumblr is so much easier to use. http://jonhannan.tumblr.com/

Adam Curtis - All watched over by machines of loving grace

2011-07-04T23:10:00.001+01:00

I missed this when it was first broadcast so I'm now catching up. A MUST WATCH

Super8 Experiments

2011-05-29T21:46:00.000+01:00

Ste and I have been experimenting with Super8 video. I purchased films from flea markets and began chopping them up and pasting them back together digitally. This method relies heavily on chance, as with the slide work, as there is no guarantee that what I actually purchase will be of any creative value. This element of chance and the found imagery is a direct link to my more familiar montage work. This method is all about responding to what I come across, nothing in my work is directly sourced, what I create relies on what I find.

Influenced by the work I created in response to the Perec story, I used videos that focused on families, experimenting with subverting the context of what are, happy family memories, making them into something far more unsettling and hint at underlying issues. One moral issue I encountered when using this material, was that they are somebody’s memories. I didn’t feel comfortable to physically cut the film into pieces, so instead opted to digitally splice it so as not to harm it. I don’t see it like cutting up a magazine, which would be widely reproduced. As far as I know I’m in possession of the only existing copy and would feel a considerable guilt if I destroyed it. The idea of someone wanting to escape these memories by selling them echoes the atmosphere I have sought to create in my montages. That someone has sold their family memories makes the video far more emotionally charged and adds further depth.

Super 8 Montage Experiment #3 from SAPB on Vimeo.

OWT #6 Differences

2011-05-16T15:29:00.000+01:00

This is OWT issue #6. This issue shows the five members of OWT plus nineteen other contributors interpretations of the word 'Differences'. Produced in a limited run, each 55 page zine has a hand-screened cover and several hand-screened inner pages. The zine is numbered in its run of 125. All funds go to the creation of future OWT zines. You can purchase the zine from HERE or from Magma, Cornerhouse or Good Grief! in Manchester. This issue has been a real labour of love, we hope you enjoy the change of format.

Projection #2 'Weltschmerz'

2011-04-21T12:48:00.000+01:00

I've been working on some new projection montages. Here's a taster, more to follow.

Untitled (Differences)

2011-04-20T00:03:00.000+01:00

Untitled from Jon Hannan on Vimeo.

It feels like I've got about thirty projects on the go at the moment and haven't managed to document any of them yet. I've been experimenting with some stop frame animations recently. This is a collaborative project between Rob Starkey, Ste Beed and I. Rob wrote the poem, I handled all the imagery and film the animation and Ste assisted with the technical side and addition of the sound.

OWT #5 Atmosphere

2011-03-27T16:58:00.000+01:00

This is OWT issue #5 The issue shows the five members of OWT plus twenty other contributors interpretations of the word Atmosphere. Produced in a limited run, each 56 page zine has a hand-screened cover and several hand-screened inner pages. The zine is numbered in its run of 125. All funds go to the creation of future OWT zines.

Animal Nitrate

2011-03-20T12:01:00.000Z

Suede are helping me fight through the paperwork.

ZEENE Interview Done!

2011-03-20T11:42:00.000Z

Just finished this interview for the guys at ZEENE. I enjoyed it although I did find it hard not to be too precious with the paper, I had to let myself go a bit.

Billy Childish

2011-03-19T23:35:00.000Z

This Thursday (17.03.11) I finally got chance to see one of my punk heroes, Billy Childish. He was talking at Islington Mill in Salford on how Kurt Schwitters has influenced his life. I'll blog that later. For now enjoy some of his music, something he's not doing anymore, really disappointing.

D&AD Feature

2011-03-19T21:01:00.000Z

I wrote a piece recently about OWT that would be featured on the D&AD blog. We were really flattered to be asked, it's nice to see that people take notice. If you're a D&AD member you can read the piece HERE.

ZEENE Interview

2011-03-18T18:35:00.000Z

Received this beauty in the post yesterday courtesy of the guys at ZEENE

Zines away

2011-03-15T19:21:00.000Z

Projector experiments

2011-03-13T20:54:00.000Z

Experimentation with projector for a forthcoming publication.

Exchange Zine

2011-03-08T19:19:00.001Z

Created using the slides and imagery received at OWT at Cord on 10/02/11. Each individual zine is different and comes with an genuine slide from the evening attached to the front cover. They come in a limited run of 10. This zine is not for sale, if you would like to exchange something for one please contact jon@owtcreative.com

The Stranglers - Always the Sun

2011-03-06T13:21:00.001Z

Exchange zine

2011-02-25T19:33:00.001Z

For OWT creative's recent event at Cord Bar we set the theme of 'Exchange' and asked people to bring something to the theme that could fit into a slide case. Well here are all the ones we received, thanks to everyone who took part. It was great to see something constantly evolve and grow as the night progressed as more and more things were brought to us. I'm currently in the process of collating the best slides received into a publication. The zine will not be available to buy, instead it will only be available for exchange. More to follow.

OWT at Cord 10.02.11

2011-02-16T11:08:00.000Z

A big thank you to everyone who came down last Thursday (10th) for the opening of our two week exhibition at Cord Bar. We had worked solidly for four or five days leading up to the night itself so it was good to see all the hard work pay off with a great turn out. I won't go on too much, I will be blogging about the projection zine later so another big thanks if you contributed to that. Here are some photos of the evening taken by Jodie Guest. There is a link to the entire set on Flickr HERE. The exhibition runs until the 24th of Feb, if you're in town pop down into Cord's basement and have a look.

OWT creative Issue #4 Direction

2011-02-13T19:57:00.000Z

It's been a couple of busy months for OWT, but we're pleased to finally announce that issue #4 Direction is now on sale. It features the work of the five OWT members as well as twelve other North West creatives and their interpretation of the word 'Direction'. A lot of effort went into this issue with us clocking up over 900 individual screen-prints putting together the one hundred and twenty five issues and we're really proud of it. You can purchase issue #4 from HERE.

We'll be putting up a new call for entries for issue #5 and a review of our unbelievably successful first exhibition shortly.

OWT creative at Cord

2011-02-03T01:37:00.001Z

A showcase of work featured in zines 1-4.

Feb 10th - 24th at `Cord Bar, NQ, Manchester

Opening night Feb 10th 7pm

Launch of Issue #4 'Direction'

Theme - 'Exchange'

Alongside the exhibition we would like to invite people who attend the opening evening to bring a small piece on the theme of 'Exchange' that will become part of the exhibition. The piece must be small enough to be clipped into the frame of a projector. It can be a clipping of a magazine, a piece of coloured film, a photo or anything else as long as it's flat. This is by no means compulsory, but if you bring us something you may receive a small something in exchange.

Experiments / Sketchbook Project

2010-12-13T08:52:00.000Z

Some experimental work in progress. I've been creating responses to the story of 'The Tell Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe for my personal sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project. I'm trying to show the dark nature of the story, the physiological torment of the central character, his mental state deteriorating and the destructing of the self. I want my piece to feel like a David Lynch film tied up in a sketchbook. I'll update with my progress soon.

Sculpture de Crayons

2010-12-13T08:21:00.000Z

Unbelievable carved pencil sculptures here by Dalton Ghetti. It obviously requires incredible patience and skill.

OWT #3 Reality Out Now

2010-12-11T21:25:00.001Z

It's been a busy couple of weeks but it's finally here. Big thanks to everyone who submitted, we're really proud of it. You can find out more about OWT from our website HERE, or if you would like a copy of the zine it is available from the OWT SHOP.

Busy

2010-12-06T13:02:00.000Z

As OWTcreative's popularity grows I'm increasingly finding that the time I have to spend on other things decreases. I'm not complaining, in fact quite the opposite. The growth of OWT has amazed no one more than the OWT team. It was only just over 3 months ago that we came up with the idea and now we find ourselves with a zine stocked in Manchester and London bookshops, blogged by MTV, featured twice on the Creative Review feed and are in the midst of planning our first exhibition amongst other things. We're receiving emails all the time from people wanting to get involved or support OWT in some way, it's a really exciting time. We were also invited to give a talk to the 3rd year graphic design students, a terrifying but at the same time enjoyable experience. We've had a couple of positive messages from them, it's hard to tell if they're just being nice though!

Aside from OWT my Masters course is now in full swing. Research wise it's been a real step up from the Undergraduate course and the workload is intense, but I'm also enjoying the recommended philosophical readings (Perec, Baudrillard, Deleuze etc) as well as my own reading into the history of independent publication. I'm also on the lookout for some kind of internship/placement here in Manchester to give me some professional experience, it turns out they're hard to come by. I can't complain though, everything is good, except maybe the weather which feels more Siberian than Mancunian at the minute. Even the canal, which is more traffic cones and shopping trolleys than water, is frozen.

OWT Issue #2 Reflections Out Now

2010-11-08T21:32:00.000Z

OWT Issue #2 Reflections is out now. The zine contains contributions from the whole OWT team as well as six other contributors from around the Northwest. It contains a hand-screened cover, poster and several inner spreads. We're really proud of Issue #2 and we're delighted with the high standard of contributions we received. If you would like to purchase a copy you can do so from the OWT shop All money received goes towards the printing of future OWT zines.

OWT 1. "Beginnings" is now on sale

2010-10-04T18:44:00.000+01:00

I'm pleased to announce that OWT 1 is now on sale available from the OWT shop or from anyone of the members of OWT directly. We really love the zine and we hope that you will too.

Better late than never. Chekhov poster finished

2010-09-30T00:51:00.002+01:00

I realized today that I never actually blogged my finished Chekhov poster after earlier blogging the development process. I thought I really should seeing how it was also the piece I presented in the end of year show. Well here it is. I was really satisfied with the conclusion and this poster then gained me another project creating some artwork for Edinburgh Fringe Festival so it's good to know it was well received.

Johnny Knoxville Detroit Lives (Palladium Boots)

2010-09-24T23:57:00.000+01:00

Three fantastic videos here with Johnny Knoxville exploring the apparently decaying city of Detroit. It makes you question what can be considered progress, many of the larger corporations have gone bust and the factories stand empty, but the ingenuity of the people and the way the community has come together is admirable.

Orson Welles meets HG Wells

2010-09-21T09:07:00.000+01:00

One of the world's greatest film makers meets one of the greatest writers. When this was recorded Wells is obviously old and in decline whilst Welles talks about the upcoming release of his new picture, Citizen Kane, which will go on to be one of the most celebrated films of all time. Fantastic.

Moon

2010-09-20T10:00:00.001+01:00

I've had Moon sat here to watch for a while now and never got round to it, partly because I thought it was going to be a major effort to watch, but I finally got round to watching it last week and I was pleasantly surprised.

Sam Bell is the only man on the moon. Working alongside the computer Gerty sending valuable resources back to Earth to help solve our problem with limited natural resources. Sam is coming to the end of his 3 year shift and has been keeping himself going by watching the video messages sent from his wife and young child back on Earth. He then makes a discovery that him question his sanity and doubt his own existence.

I was genuinely entertained by the film, it's beautifully shot and Sam Rockwell is fantastic, almost being the only on-screen actor in the entire film. The feelings of loneliness and abandonment really come across and you really begin to empathize with Sam. Along side the film the film poster is well worth a Google, here's the official trailer for the film...

OWT 1 is taking shape

2010-09-20T09:24:00.000+01:00

Everyone involved in OWT has been so busy recently but we're finally starting to see some of the results. The website is up and almost finished and issue 1 of the zine is taking shape nicely, and looking incredibly content rich if I do say so myself. It's launch date set for the 3rd of October at the Picadilly Self Publishing Fair and we'd love to see everyone there. If you're really lucky you may even receive an OWT present in the post but that's for another time. On top of all this 3 of the members of OWT each start their Master's degrees next week (an incredibly daunting but exciting notion).

If you don't know about OWT's blog check it out by clicking HERE please follow and keep updated with what's going on. In the meantime here are a few teasing photos of issue 1 being put together.

WARNING! These photos do contain a large Welshman.

New Collective...

2010-08-27T14:51:00.001+01:00

I've recently formed a collective with a few fellow design graduates called OWT creative. We're looking forward to undertaking lots of exciting design based projects in Manchester and beyond. Please follow our new blog HERE

Holiday find

2010-08-24T10:04:00.000+01:00

I spent a week on holiday near Plymouth a couple of week ago and came back with this lovely map as a memento.

I'm in Blanket magazine... which is nice.

2010-08-22T20:14:00.000+01:00

The new issue of Blanket magazine is out and I'm pleased to say I'm in it. The work featured is illustrations I created for my interpretation of the Anton Chekhov story 'the lady with the little dog'. Blanket is only about £1.30 (depending on the exchange rate) and it's always full of nice work, well worth it.

OWT creative

2010-08-16T17:18:00.000+01:00

I've been busy, hence not so many blog posts, forming a collective with four of my fellow graduates. I don't want to give too much away at the minute about our plans, but we're all really excited about the coming months. Have a look at the website (it's still under construction but the blog is up and running) More soon, Peace OWT.

I've been neglecting you lovely blog

2010-07-23T20:48:00.000+01:00

I've been so preoccupied lately I've not had time to keep up with my blog. I've been busy finding somewhere to live and being between Manchester and the North East, feeling like I'm in limbo with my life in boxes. While this has been going on I also successfully applied to the MA course and juggling some freelance work for Edinburgh Festival. Things are starting to fall into place , I'm in my new flat and there are whispers of exciting opportunities coming soon...

AT-AT Afternoon

2010-06-28T23:10:00.000+01:00

“When I was a kid, there are two things I wanted badly and never got… A real dog and a Kenner AT-AT Walker.” Patrick Boivin

The Creators Project / United Visual Artists

2010-06-20T16:22:00.000+01:00

Another great video here from the Creator Project. This time it's a piece on United Visual Artists talking about some of their fantastic installations all created using LED technology. They've created visuals for some mega artists such as Massive Attack and JayZ (as well as some shite artists like U2).

It's finally here...

2010-06-17T17:02:00.001+01:00

Our end of year show opens to the public this weekend (19th). This year has flown over and it doesn't seem like two minutes ago since last year's show. It's showcasing all of the best work created this year from all the the students and really shows the diversity of the work that can fall under the d&ad name. Come down to have a look if you get chance, you can find out more information HERE

The Creators Project / Ronson

2010-06-09T21:22:00.000+01:00

Really interesting interview on the creators project here with Ronson about his new video Circuit Breaker. Any video that is a nod to Zelda is ok by me. Have a look see what you think.

Print by Lego

2010-06-08T16:23:00.001+01:00

I used to think the dynamics of the Lego castle trapdoor were complex.

Has anyone mentioned it's a World Cup summer?

2010-06-07T19:09:00.000+01:00

Gorgeous prints courtesy of Ryan Tym. www.ryantym.com/subbuteo.html

Blanket Magazine

2010-06-02T14:32:00.001+01:00

I'm in Blanket Magazine this month along with my good friend Shauna. It's a great magazine and very reasonable at around £1.40, treat yourself! Blanket Magazine

Pocko Times

2010-05-30T18:02:00.000+01:00

Pocko Times is a magazine I only recently discovered but I felt it was worthy of mention. It's cover to cover good stuff, no filler and it's only a fiver in Magma. I recommended it.

Edinburgh Fringe Festival : Cabaret Chekhov/Kantor

2010-05-27T11:41:00.000+01:00

Work in progress.

www.jonhannan.co.uk

2010-05-24T22:46:00.000+01:00

My website has finally had it's long needed overhaul, I ended up making an entirely new site! go on have a butchers.
www.jonhannan.co.uk

TeeTwelve

2010-05-23T15:31:00.000+01:00

My design for Arron's TeeTwelve shirts, model coming to a Littlewood's catalogue near you soon.

Journal

2010-05-18T19:14:00.001+01:00

Done at last!

D&AD3 Football Zine

2010-05-15T11:32:00.001+01:00

After the game we had so much information and photographs I decided I wanted to create something to mark the occasion that could be given to everyone who played or helped make it happen. In the end the printing costs meant that I would have to charge for them, £3 to students or £5 (on Sue's insistence) to tutors. They're individually screen-printed and hand numbered (1-25), If you would like one let me know.

Flight of the Conchords

2010-05-13T09:05:00.000+01:00

Last night i went to see New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo at the Apollo and it was fantastic.

Finished Cow T-Shirts

2010-05-09T22:12:00.000+01:00

At last.

Elemental Opera 'The Rape of Lucretia'

2010-04-26T22:07:00.000+01:00

This was a brief set by Elemental Opera to design a poster for their latest production, The Rape of Lucretia. The Requirements were that it must primarily use the colours red & green as well as being both stark and visceral. I tried to reflect the classical nature of the opera but in a contemporary way.

Cosmos

2010-04-13T13:16:00.000+01:00

Another brief from Blanket magazine here to create a response to the word ‘Cosmos.’ I’ve been researching a man called Robert Goddard. An American scientist, he’s considered one of the founding fathers of modern rocketry, he was experimenting with rockets and the idea of sending men into space as early as 1900, nearly seventy years before the American Apollo 11 mission would land on the moon. At the time of these experiments though Goddard wasn’t regarded as a pioneering scientist, he was ridiculed as a basket case. The New York times publicly denounced Goddard’s claims as farcical, citing that a rocket could not work in the vacuum of space as it would have nothing to push against, a claim already proven as untrue by Sir Isaac Newton long before that. After one failed rocket attempt a local paper even ran with the headline ‘Moon rocket misses target by 238,799 1/2 miles.’ Goddard was completely undeterred by this criticism and continued experimenting. America only began to take his work seriously after the Nazis began experimenting with rocket technology based around Goddard’s works. Later after the moon landing the New York Times wrote a full apology to Goddard but he never lived to see it or his ideas ever truly reach fruition. He would later have a NASA space flight centre named after him. The story of Robert Goddard was the inspiration for my piece; let’s hope they’ll take it!

‘The years forever fashion new dreams when old ones go. God pity the one-dream man.’

- Robert Goddard

Cow ‘Vintage’ T-Shirt Brief

2010-04-01T08:40:00.000+01:00

I should start by saying I found the brief itself a complete contradiction. Cow ‘vintage’ store would like some ‘commercial’ t-shirts please… I’m not sure about how other people view vintage clothing but to me the whole point seemed to be that you own something unique that anyone cannot just pick up in a high street store.

I had a look around the shop and was not surprised to discover that most of the clothing was not used or second hand but in fact brand new. The give away was in the back of the t-shirts which all contained the same label. They have gone to the effort to find a supplier that can offer slightly worn looking t-shirts to further add to the aesthetic. The designs on the shirts themselves were very uninspiring mainly consisting of fake American football team logos with ridiculous slogans across the front. For me Cow is not a vintage shop, it is vintage style clothing for the high-street shopper, the person who does not want to put the effort in to look around thrift shops but desires that ‘Alexa Chung’ look straightaway. I think this is production line vintage for the masses. To completely contradict everything I just wrote I do think that this is a really good opportunity to get some work out there in the public domain.

I decided that I would approach this brief firmly tongue in cheek. I wanted to create something aesthetically pleasing that would work on a t-shirt but that would also have a pop at the same consumer market it was aimed at. I started experimenting with a simple montage style taking fashionable vintage photography and deforming the human figures but replacing the heads with heavy machinery, the simple concept that people are becoming unoriginal and effectively becoming machines, simply consuming. I developed the designs by incorporating German text from a production line assembly manual, the use of German and the choice of industrial typeface Din engschrift adding to the aesthetic.

Don't Panic - TV

2010-03-26T20:26:00.000Z

I’d been mulling over if I should take part in the brief for a couple of weeks because I don’t think the subject matter is that inspiring. I finally decided I would take it on as a one day brief to challenge myself for a quick turnaround in between larger briefs. On the Don’t Panic site you can view the current entries and I have to say that the majority are absolute dross. People seem unable to get past the first things that pop in your head when you think of TV, ideas that should be dismissed as too obvious are in abundance. I decided that I would take a slightly different approach; I wanted an image that personified both the best and the worst of the subject without literally sticking a TV on there. This led me to working with pictures of Tony Hancock… in the 60s he became a megastar through his television and radio work transforming him into a household name. Unfortunately off screen he was constantly battling personal demons and his decline in mental and physical state can be measured in the decline of his television programs. His last commission was for a series for local Australian television, after completing only three episodes he was found dead having suffered an overdose of prescription painkillers and alcohol. I’ve tried to hint at the piece looking like an obituary, the newspaper paper and the bold headline text also bearing similarities to a gravestone. Television made him but ultimately destroyed him too. Please go on the Don't Panic site and vote for me I'd really appreciate it.
http://www.dontpaniconline.com/designtheposter/TV/entry/429

HG Wells Finished Book

2010-03-14T15:03:00.001Z

At last here is a finished book cover for the Orion Books HG Wells brief. I’m pleased with the final outcome, the contrast between the different stocks of the cover and slip works really well.

I Think I Can Fly

2010-03-11T17:00:00.000Z

This is a project set by Blanket magazine to create a response to the line ‘I think I can fly.’ I looked at several different approaches but finally settled upon illustrating a short story I found simple entitled ‘balloon boy.’ It’s the story of a young boy who’s parents were hot air balloonists and one day the balloon escaped and… the boy was nowhere to be seen. Convinced the boy was inside the basket news soon spread around the world being broadcast on television stations as far away as the Middle-east and Asia. It was then discovered that the boy was not in the balloon but instead was hidden in the attic of the family home, afraid of being punished by his father for earlier misbehaving. Eventually the whole tale was revealed to have been carefully planned by the boy’s father in an attempt to become famous. This was a short one-week brief I set myself, treating this brief similar to my earlier responses to the Don’t Panic posters. The naïve styling of the balloon is to reflect the child’s naivety, this is contrasted by the sharpness of the red balloon, the misregistration of the circle representative of the lie of the parents.

Chekhov

2010-03-05T21:51:00.000Z

I thought I’d give a brief update of what I’m up to as I’ve been falling behind with the blogging lately due to the massive workload I’ve got on the go. The main focus of my time is the BBC Chekhov brief to create a set of ten illustrations to any of Chekhov’s short stories or plays. I chose the story ‘The Lady with the Little Dog’ as I’d already read part of it previously for reasons I forget. The story is an unconventional love story with the two characters immersed in sorrow rather than love, the story is much more about the moral journey that the lead character Dmitri Gurov embarks on. I’ve taken several approaches to my image making, here is a sample piece in which I’ve played with deforming the human form to create an unsettling effect. I’ve been looking at artists who play with this effect to create an uncanny feel to their work such as Ed Gorey and Andrei Klimowski. I’ll reveal more soon…

The Baltic Newcastle

2010-02-22T12:49:00.000Z

On a recent visit back home to the North East I thought I would travel into Newcastle to visit the cities contemporary art gallery, the Baltic. It’s a great building made from an old flour mill so it really feels part of the city’s heritage and is situated right on the quay side. Unfortunately I possibly picked the worst time of the year to visit the gallery as they were between exhibitions at the time so the displays were limited. There were in fact only two exhibitions one, the first being a exhibition of video work by the American artist Jordan Baseman. Baseman uses a technique of voice driven narratives, often that he has obtained himself through interview, accompanied by found footage or even stop frame animation. The piece claims to ‘explore belief systems, human motivation and experience through three though-provoking and poetic works.’ I watched the pieces and I couldn’t help but feel that maybe Baseman was overstretching himself and that the pieces would have possibly worked better as individual pieces focusing on separate emotions. I felt that Nasty Piece of Stuff was the far stronger of the pieces with an entertaining narratives and impressive visuals. I waited for over ten minutes into one other piece, Joy on Toast, before any visuals were introduced. The story itself was highly engaging, telling the first hand tale of a botanist travelling through Borneo and I found myself begging for some imagery but none was forthcoming. Overall the piece was enjoyable and compared to the piece I’m about to talk about was like I rollercoaster ride…

The second display was apiece entitled Pharmacy by British artist Damien Hirst. I’m going to resist turning this into a rant about Damien Hirst’s work and try to keep it as impartial as I possibly can. My feelings towards the work of Hirst are similar to that of a man I have been researching for my dissertation project, Billy Childish.

“I contend that Damien Hirst would not pickle sharks for 20 or 30 years in his garden shed through belief, he does it once off purely as because there's a market that will pay cash on the button now, he doesn't invest anything of himself. There is no vision or interpretation, just the object and a weak poem to introduce the notion or simulated experience of thinking if you like. In short, if the artist doesn't believe in his work then why should I?”

Billy Childish is himself completely opposed to conceptual art and consumed by figurative painting but I can appreciate conceptual art I just can’t help but feel that Hirst is almost taking the piss. Pharmacy is attempting to show that ‘medicine, like art, provides a belief system which can be seductive but deceptive.’ The installation is a perfect remake of a doctor’s waiting room/pharmacy complete with floor to ceiling glass cabinets full of medicine bottles and equipment but then in the middle of the floor lies honeycomb. I may have missed the point completely but it feels to me that Hirst’s fame from the Brit art times have given him the freedom to do whatever he likes and people will accept it. I wasn’t taken in by the surroundings at all and it didn’t induce any feelings within me other than contempt for Damien Hirst and the people who buy into his work. This may have turned into a rant, never mind.

Personal Project 3 : Don't Panic 'Value'

2010-01-19T16:46:00.000Z

I found myself with a week left before hand in and the majority of my work completed. Eager not to get complacent I thought I’d find another brief that I could complete within a week. I looked for a new don't panic brief after enjoying resistance and found last month's word was 'value' and even though the competition is now closed I thought I'd do it anyway. I wanted to create something playful and light hearted for the brief after previously completing briefs for Amnesty and Kosovo I was beginning to feel everything in my folio was a bit heavy. I found a quote by Arthur C Clarke (2001 Space Odyssey) "it has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value." I began experimenting with ideas surrounding the quote and it reminded me of a television program I watched some time ago about pandas and how they are such useless animals.

Some panda facts -

Pandas give birth to twins 45% of the time but can only look after one, the other always dies.

A panda will often not recognize it's own young and kill it after it’s born.

Pandas only eat bamboo but can't digest it properly; they have to spend 16 hours a day eating it to gain any nutrition.

Pandas rarely find mates they like making breeding uncommon.

They cannot defend themselves; their only defence is there black and white colours as a deterrent.

It’s amazing that these animals have lasted as long as they have. I thought I'd just make a range of light hearted illustrated posters taking a unusual stance of these endangered animal generally being lazy, indecisive, useless, picky animals, simple as that.

Personal Project 2 : MAK

2010-01-14T15:14:00.000Z

Manchester Aid to Kosovo have decided to create a CD to mark ten years since they provided aid to Kosovo and to promote the link between Manchester and Kosovo. With the album called ‘Ten’ the brief was to simply create artwork that incorporated the name and could represent the themes of celebration, new-life, freedom and remembrance. I decided that I wanted to use the roman numerals for ten, an X, as the main focus for my designs and began to experiment with that. The whole idea behind the design is to have past events give you a view into the present improved events. The X can symbolize past strife, it’s also ten in roman numerals and the style of the font hints at memorial markings and remembrance. Inside is a set of five interchangeable cards that represent the themes I was originally asked to incorporate. I wanted to make the design upbeat and focus on the positive aspects, avoiding any negative imagery associated with the events without neglecting the seriousness of what happened.

New Camera

2010-01-12T11:13:00.000Z

I’ve been looking to buy a new camera for a long time but I’ve never had the free cash and seeing as it is something of a luxury as I only have a passing interest in photography I’ve never been able to justify it. When we were in New York my friend Betsy had brought along her lovely old 35mm camera and this made me wonder if back at home there was an old camera stuffed in a cupboard or up in the attic that I could bring back to life. I mention it to my dad and I couldn’t have dreamt of him finding something as good as he did. He found my grandfather’s 1954 Adox Golf 63 camera. I’m under strict instruction to take very good care of it under the threat of losing my hands if I break it. I’ve just ordered some black and white film for it and I’m excited to get going with it.

Pa/Um=O

2009-12-28T18:41:00.001Z

Potential ability equals Unfamiliar methods resulting in terminal velocity (output)

Free-er Resistance

2009-12-27T14:36:00.001Z

Hitch suggested I experimented with the elements of my design and perhaps try to be less regimented with their placement, so I created a tactile version of one poster and have just been playing around.

D&AD Football...

2009-12-24T11:38:00.001Z

At the start of the year I thought it would be a good idea to try and see if any of my course mates were interested in participating in a D&AD football team if I were to set one up. Anyway a few of the boys declared an interest so I sent off the required paper work and had us entered in the student league that would take place every Wednesday. So myself Arran Murphy, Alex Hoggarth, Fran Roberts, Ben (sicknote) Almond, Oliver Rew from 1st year and an interactive arts friend of mine organized into some form of team, due to everybody else’s ineptitude I was given the responsibility of goalkeeper, initial results were shaky to say the least. The biggest problem was fitness one; every player had all the hallmarks of a person who spends a large part of their day sat over a laptop or sketchbook. We purchased personalized shirts from a cheap Internet site so we at least looked the part if nothing else. In the end the results didn’t matter to us (because we kept losing) although we did pull off a couple of memorable victories. As well as my short but sweet goal scoring cameo appearance outfield that will live long in the memory of all who witnessed it... I think we found it was just good fun to meet up with everyone and have a small escape from the massive workload that would await us when we got home.

(Edit - Ben Kither's one appearance should not be forgotten as he did us a massive favour & Paul your commitment at the beginning was very questionable, i expect big things from you next year)

Don't Panic - Resistance Experiments

2009-12-21T13:16:00.000Z

I took inspiration from Arran's resistance blog about putting yourself out of your comfort zone. So my first example of resistance is a personal one of me resisting my usual working methods, i.e montage, i decided i would work with geometric shapes to restrict my free style of working as much as possible. The second example was to be resisting the use of typography to convey my message, i wanted it to speak for itself. So i started thinking of a way to bring these two forms of resistance together... then i thought about terminal velocity as a metaphor for this, which is two forms of resistance coming together (air resistance and gravity) in perfect balance. So here is terminal velocity...

It's not my style but that was what i was after... I've put the grain on them jpegs to just suggest what it might look like when i screen-print them, I want to do it on a nice meaty stock. I like the fact they're quite ambiguous, like a lot of the existing don't panic posters, people might get it they might not.

Acetate Shadows

2009-12-19T23:05:00.000Z

Ian Anderson Workshop

2009-12-14T09:24:00.000Z

I was invited along to Ian’s workshop by my fellow student Alex has a ‘creative guest’ which I felt was a lot of expectations on me from the very beginning, was I to be called on to be creative on demand? Anyway we were separated into groups almost as soon as we arrived with the aim to challenge us by making us work with people we hadn’t worked with before and people who’s working style is different to that of our own.

We were then set a quite elaborate but ultimately pointless task. We were told that ‘In the future the world is run by one organization, it can be evil or good it’s up to us. Circumstances conspired that in this future every colour is owned by a different company. Somebody at world organization has decided they need to rebrand across the world with new signs and uniforms etc. The company who’s colour is chosen will be of course quids in as their colour will be used on everything across the world and each company is desperate to win the contract. In our teams we must present a compelling argument as to why our colour is to be the chosen colour.’ We were given the colour green which we felt could be seen as very easy, but also very difficult due to the associations that already go along with that colour. So we brainstormed ideas first and tried to narrow down our colour to its key identifiers and it’s most powerful attributes. We decided that green stood for regeneration, growth, balance and peace amongst other things. Another big thing associated with the colour green is recycling and although it was obvious we didn’t want to ignore it just because of that. It was decided that rather than looking at recycling in the conventional way that its seen here in Britain, throwing your tins in a separate box from your other rubbish, we would look more at the principal of recycling and the reusing of things such as ideas. An idea for the presentation was deciding on where we would try and claim that we were trying to recycle all the defining features of all the other colours that would be pitching and make them ‘go green’. A small stop frame animation to illustrate this idea was then created, it was mainly to give the audience something to look at after viewing a couple of dry presentations. The animation was simply the other colours being fed into a shredder but out of the other side came only green, a subtle way of putting the boot into the other teams we thought. I was fairly happy with the animation and a friend from another group commented that you could certainly tell that I had made the animation as it had my style running throughout. For the rest of the presentation we decided that we wanted something punchy and uncomplicated so we took the key words that we felt best described green and put them next to pictures in a simple slide show that would reinforce these values. I thought the presentation went ok and Ian and Hitch seemed to generally think that we had done well but maybe hadn’t pushed certain angles of what we presented well enough. If we were going to stick the boot into the other teams we should have gone straight for the jugular rather than a little dig followed by a little bit of humour. We possibly had to many things going on and didn’t push home the message that the world organization really had no other choice than to pick green as their colour.

After initially worrying slightly what was in store for me in the workshop I’m pleased to say that I genuinely enjoy the experience and learnt a few things along the way. One of the main things I’m going to take from the lecture is that I now know I have the ability to get up at and start working for 9am in the morning and being a student isn’t an excuse to sleep in. If I want to do well on this degree I really need to put the hours in so I’m going to try and make this my routine. I thought Ian was a really nice guy and it was interesting to see the way in which his mind works, I wouldn’t mind keeping in contact with him in the future for opinions on future projects.

M/M Paris

2009-12-12T12:03:00.000Z

I have been researching M/M Paris for the piece I'm currently writing on the state of handmade design and thought i would share my findings. M/M is collaboration between French designers Michael Amzalag and Mathias Augustnyiak. They are living proof that as designers you do not necessarily need to define yourself as one kind of graphic designer, be it print, digital or anything else. Their work is instantly recognizable even though they mix the methods of how they work including typography, illustration, photography and even 3D design.

What appeals to me most about the work of M/M is the handmade elements that they introduce into a piece of work. They will add illustrations, tear the paper or even add stickers to the designs. Similar to my own work they aren’t afraid to leave an ink stain on the page. Although these elements are not always the result of a clumsy heavy handed designer like myself knocking over my pot of ink, these elements are often highly considered for aesthetic effect and to give the impression of individuality about a piece of work. When asked about how their work is characterized by the handmade element and ‘mistakes’ and what these aspects mean to them at the design museum exhibition 2003 M/M responded.

“It might look spontaneous or "handmade", but the way it is produced can be very complex, very highly crafted. Maybe it is about life, not pretending to do the impossible, allowing the mistakes to show. However, we’re however not sure this is an issue.”

Personally I think adding ‘mistakes’ for aesthetic effect detracts from the purity of a design. I like to see the hand of the designer in a piece and I think consciously adding this removes the authenticity of a piece of design. The again I’m not working for the likes of Calvin Klein and Stella McCartney and as much as they appear the free-spirited designer types unconcerned as to the reaction a piece of their work receives they obviously know what puts bread on the table and know how to replicate this sense of ‘individuality’ these clients are searching for.

Helen Murgatroyd

2009-12-09T12:56:00.000Z

Helen came in to speak to us about how she gained entry in the RCA and her work in general. I found the work she created while on the D&AD course the most engaging of all her work and she showed us one piece in particular that really excited me. It was drawings that went together to create a map of her home from the point of view of a person. The drawings were just so beautifully drawn, they weren’t supposed to be technically spot on and had a great personal touch to them. Being honest I found a lot of the work that followed a lot less engaging and maybe slightly to ‘fine arty’ for my tastes, I like to feel that my work has something of a purpose rather than being purely conceptual and experimental. What I really admired about Helen though was her determination and the fact that she really knew what she wanted to do. After failing to gain entry to the RCA once she didn’t forget about it like a lot of people might have done, instead she got a job that she felt would inspire her in the work and leave her time to create new pieces, so she became a postlady. I like to think that I myself would do an MA, be it after this year or maybe after a few years experience but I’ve always doubted my own ability and if I would ever be considered good enough to study at that level. This talk went some way to answering a few of those questions for me and gave me a boost and sense of drive.

http://www.helenmurgatroyd.co.uk/

H.G.Wells Book Covers Update

2009-12-05T12:20:00.000Z

I decided from the 5 books to choose from i would create covers for Kipps, Tono-Bungay and The History of Mr Polly. The reason i chose these three was i believe their stories are of similar themes, being commentaries on the class system that was present at the time of their publication. The characters in the stories see themselves making a dramatic change in class, be it up or down, and they generally fail to adapt to this change due to their upbringing and or their lack of being of the right blood. From these themes i initially began looking at blood, in a genetic fashion rather than a slasher horror one. The writing of these books coincided with the industrial revolution where the wealthy factory owners generally got richer at the expense and the blood of the poor. This led to the writing of books such as Dracula (the wealthy aristocrat feeding on the blood of the lower class). From blood i then moved more towards genetics and D.N.A. I have been looking at genetic codes and footprints and began experimenting with these genetic footprints to map the rise and fall of the characters in the stories.

Hamish Muir

2009-12-04T23:31:00.001Z

Hamish came in and basically gave us a brief run through of his career as a designer. He started at art school 30 years ago after initially studying science. He says that his earliest memory of design is his fondness of painting airfix models as a young boy, remembering his attention to detail and how the paint job had to be exactly right. I agree with him that all designers must have a degree of OCD, some more than others, because I myself have always seen myself to be a perfectionist and I become easily frustrated when I can’t get something exactly how I want it. He studies at Basel school of design under teachers such as Benno Zenhder, Armin Hofmann, Kurt Hauert and Andrea Gutler. When he returned to the UK in 1985 he moved to London and met another RCA graduate Simon Johnston. Together with Mark Holt they formed 8vo. Through contacts of Simon they began working for clients such as Tony Wilson and Factory Records. I was already familiar with a lot of 8vo’s work due to my own personal interested in Factory Records although to be honest I’ve always been more into the work of Peter Saville than 8vo. I do like the hacienda birthday posters that they created over the years though, great use of type. He also talked about the introduction of computers to the design process and how he learnt to use the computer as a tool and not be ruled by it, I found this really useful information regarding my essay as this is exactly what I’m writing about. Octavo was another interesting topic that he talked about. It was a magazine specializing in typography that 8vo produced that would only run for eight issues before ‘self destructing’. Each issue they would talk about different typographical issues and try to be revolutionary with the design, the last issue was simply a cd which was ‘new technology at the time. Hamish says how he likes the fact that the software required to run the cd is now outdated meaning the data is going to vanish and become obsolete. Although Hamish’s work isn’t to my own personal tastes I found the lecture really interesting and it enlightened me to some of the working practises that I’m going to encounter in the working world.

Nazario Graziano

2009-11-20T12:16:00.000Z

Stumbled across this guy's work the other day and quite like it. Some of it is a bit cliche and there are a few of his pieces that really don't do it for me, he seems to be over using that squiggley line a bit for my liking. I do like his use of colour in his work though, he's very selective in his palette. http://nazariograziano.com/

Kino4 Seventh Seal

2009-10-27T23:58:00.003Z

Life, Death, Fate, Regret, Religion, Faith and a pretty ink painting.

Cipher

2009-10-27T23:32:00.000Z

I found these photos of WWII cipher machinery and they feel almost indecent. Could look at this sort of thing all day.