The Suits

Very recently I have become a member of the working world (I’m currently on a months work placement). On the way to work I have noticed that I have become one of the faceless masses, driving or walking to work. Shirts and ties and smartness, everybody avoiding eye contact, seemingly robotic. This, I admit intimidated me greatly for a couple of days, all these suits, people who must be powerful and important and far more knowledgeable than me. Though this changed on my third day as I gradually noticed the more endearing and human qualities of ‘the suits’, firstly, they all carry a packed lunch. Whether in bags or briefcases or in a plastic bag which barley hides the distinctive shape of a Tupperware box (these people are my favourite,) they openly show what the rest of us are hiding. That we made our lunches, and that we planned our day around the food we shall eat, sometimes we get excited. Sometimes if it’s Friday, we will bring a treat. The basic human need for food reminded me of the human in all the suits, maybe I do not have the knowledge yet, or perhaps never will. But the slim sign that everyone takes in their Tupperware, their banana and a sandwich, whatever. It gives me hope.

Pepsi RAW

Pepsi has recently launched the latest of its products Pepsi RAW. Named so as Pepsi claims it to be “natural born cola”, a concept which is alien to me as I can’t wrap my head around cola being natural, is the whole point of it not to be artificial, to be sweet, to be fizzy and to be fun. Not to be natural, water is natural, water is boring. Pepsi is neither natural nor boring. Though a “sparkling cola drink with natural plane extracts” edges towards a more mature market, a business man at his desk, not the usual teen playing football. Pepsi is perhaps venturing into this market with the RAW range being its first new product in 10 years. The advertising is certainly aimed at a more mature audience with distinct sexual undertones, a obvious link to the ‘raw’ and ‘natural’ key themes of the product.

The packaging harks back to a simpler time for cola, a sleek glass bottle, a simple logo. It is classic and elegant; the six packs come in almost brown paper. I really like this packaging, it is touchable it is wholesome, I wanted to buy it. Even though, dare I say it, my preference for Coca Cola.

Do you believe in unicorns?

An article in the Guardian recently caught my imagination, though it was about Britain’s first atheist camp, the religious or non religious nature did not concern me. I was far more interested in how children were encouraged to think about the possibilities of the world. They were asked to prove that a unicorn didn’t exist, though given the conditions that you couldn’t see hear touch or smell these creatures and that they don’t leave any trace behind them… Not surprisingly no one has managed to disprove the existence of these mythical creatures.

Some people argue that the “meaning” behind unicorns which were woven into 15th Century tapestries has been lost. But I say does that matter? The eternal reinvention by imagination means that unicorns could be one of a million things, but this is surely the excitement. Some people like to live in the present, in the realms of what they can see and touch.

“Is it not enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom?” – The God Delusion

Interestingly enough another atheist source, but I say no, its not enough. Every body can see the garden, many can appreciate how beautiful it is but few can believe that there are fairies at the bottom. This imagination is what makes the world exciting, it what makes us strive to prove that unicorns exist. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/jul/28/atheist-camp-quest

Wacker Eins

Wacker Eins is a Berlin based illustration team which specialises in fashion illustration, they often sell their illustrations to advertising companies and fashion/lifestyle magazines. For example they were recently commissioned with outdoor advertising for the “spring” campaign for one of Berlins most successful shopping centres, this was particularly interesting to me considering my last project for university, where the brief was focused around outdoor advertising. The sketchy hand rendered style of their illustration gives both a fashionable and relatable touch to designs. The designs are also contemporary and hidden detail is often inserted, such as the flies on the dress of the illustration above. This gives a deeper meaning to the images and makes you question their true meaning, whether there can be true beauty without a little ugliness, even if it is well hidden.

The Sage

The Sage in Gateshead celebrates its fifth birthday this year after its grand opening in 2004. A centre for musical entertainment, the stainless steel and curved glass building was designed by Foster and Partners at the controversial cost of 70 million pounds. Many people objected to this as the feared it would only add to the highbrow culture emerging on thee quayside, a culture irrelevant to a large section of the Gateshead population. It was argued that the money would have been better spent reviving communities. My opinion of this however, is that the Sage does revive communities, by running classes in musical education and brining more tourism to the area. It could also be argued that surely in current areas of highbrow culture, those elements of culture must have been brought to that particular area at some point. So why can’t Gateshead now have its turn?

The cost was not the only issue, the very design of the building, was and still is a mater of debate. Despite The Sage Gateshead winning a number of awards, including the Local Authority Building of the Year in the 2005 British Construction Industryawards and the RIBA Award for Inclusive Design, it has also been described as a “shiny condom” by Gavin Stamp. Though modeled on a hand clawing at the river Tyne, and its outstanding acoustics, I can also see the resemblance to the giant slug, which some locals refer to it as. Despite this I feel that the Sage adds an interesting element to the developing quayside. It’s good to be different.

http://www.thesagegateshead.org/

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Who?

Like most adaptations of books, I found this film lacking. The plot had been tapered with almost to the point of none existence, and the key themes ( in my opinion) of the book were missed. For instance the 'half blood prince' was hardly adressed, simply thrown in casually at the end of the film.This could be for many reasons, either the ‘darker’ scenes were not acceptable for the films target audience of children; the film is a 12A rating. Or they are waiting for the next films to fully explain the layers of action happening within the grand scheme of the Harry Potter books. However, these possible reasons do not account for the dialogue being unconvincing; I felt that the characters did not possess the same qualities that the written word instils in them. This is of course only my opinion, one of the great problems when visualising a novel; every reader sees something different. It seems an impossible task to delve into millions of peoples imaginations and pull out that single common thread.

However it cannot be denied that the set and costume design was amazing, the most convincing film in terms of visuals so far. The teenagers were dressed like teenagers, and the wizards exactly as described, down the stripped sofa the character Horace Slughorn transforms into. This is particually true in the 'cave scene' generated in its entirity by CGI. These sets captivated the imagination and created a world that extended far beyond the 157 minutes of the film.

Romeo Oh Romeo

On my trip to Italy I also visited what has been named to be Juliet Capulet's balcony in Verona. Whether this is genieunly where Shakespear took his inspiration from, or a lucky happening for someone who could spot a money making oppotunity is unknown. There is however an undoubtable tinge of magic in the air surrounding this spot. And though many may say that the tourism industry spoil such places, it is my argument that it is fact these pilgrams make not brake this place. What was most striking to me was not the balcony of the old house but the alleyway leading up to it. The alley, which was being cleared while I was there was full of love notes piled ontop of eachother, stuck or written on every inch of the walls. I found this out pouring of emotion from strangers who are all brought together by the idealism of love, (we have to at this point ignore the ending of said play), extrodinary and touching. It gave the place a real sense of purpose, of pilgramage, of romance and of love.