Nice Letter Day

I’m soon to start a new project called Nice Letter Day.
It’s a project that’s been laying dormant in my head for some time now.
After a recent twitter message from Tom Bloxham – Chair of Architect practice Urban Splash, commenting how he found a really nice thank you letter from a couple who loved the experience they had of an hotel that Urban Splash had redeveloped. This kick started me into setting up the Nice Letter Day project.

Personally I’d much rather receive a paper letter than an email. The project aims not only to get people writing nice things to one another but also appreciate the letter as an art form in itself. It hopes to look at the letter as something to keep with found memories unlike the instant ‘send to trash’ of the email culture.

Developments can be followed at this blog or my twitter feed.
www.twitter.com/niceletterday

Free Agent

The Artists Agent has been around as long as the artist him/herself. It’s one question that is continuously raised at some point in the artists’ career, Should I get an agent?
No matter how many times the artist asks this question, it can only really be answered by the artist him/herself. I personally feel that the traditional stereotype of the artists’ agent has long since past, it needs to be more of a collaborative approach from both sides. Over the years there has always seemed to be a ‘them and us’ attitude, the artists wanting to gain work and representation and the agent wanting to make money from the artist.
This is usually a catch twenty-two position; the artist has to have some success and professionalism to prove to the agent that he/she is a worthy candidate for representation. The last thing the agent wants is an artist without drive or passion.

On the opposite side the artist needs an agent whom understands his/her work, where the artists work fits into the current market place and how the agent will contribute to this.
I’ve had so many bad things told to me about agents over the years, it’s no wonder why agents get a bad name sometimes.

Some of the questions I’d ask myself before I consider any agent agreement are the following:

What do I want from an agent?
If it is only to make more money, then are there other ways or options to do it in a different way. Think differently; Think out of the box and Think Big.

What benefit/s will an agent bring to me?
Do they have more contacts? Do they offer any extra opportunities, services or products that will enhance my career?  What will they do that I can’t?

Have you talked to anyone who already has an agent?
Get industry feedback, from the agent and from the artists with agents.

What style of agent do I want?
Just as there are many different art forms and disciplines, there are many different agents and styles. Are you looking to exhibit more? Are you looking for more commercial work and projects? Do you want to raise your profile and target audience of your artwork? Do you want an international agent?

What is the contractual agreement? And Terms & Conditions?
Every professional agent should have an artists contract. Can I have more than one agent? Or is it exclusive? What is the percentage cut artist/agent? Are there any ongoing costs to the artist?

My definition of a good agent is one that works together with the artists and sees it as a team collaboration and partnership. They should not only offer excellent work opportunities but also nurture the career of the artist. The artist and agent therefore, need to operate as one. The agent needs to stand out and above all the many other agents. It needs to conduct itself differently to do this. It needs to be exciting, innovative and create a buzz not only within the industry it operates but with its represented artists also. If the agent represents a collection of artists, why not introduce everyone to one another. I find it amazing the amount of artists out there who are represented by an agent and they have never been introduced or been in contact with other artists that the agent represents. Not all artists and agents want to do this but if the artists are chosen carefully to complement one another I feel this can have a great benefit and professional standing.

The agent and artist should be seen as equals, not as an ‘us and them’ attitude. Whatever the artist puts in, so should the agent. Therefore, I’m convinced that the agent should not directly make money from the artist for things, such as, promotional literature, portfolio and website updates etc… etc… This could be done in more fun and creative ways, for both the agent and artist.
This only leads back to the ‘us and them’ approach and the ‘win win’ idea of the agent making money from the artist at whatever cost.

Pecha Kucha Night Stoke-on-Trent

I’ve been a freelancer for the last seven years now and over this time I’ve met some very interesting people, businesses and organizations. As a freelancer, continual collaborations and networking are a great bonus to any individual practice, or team for that matter. It was 2003 when I first came across Pecha Kucha, introduced by D&AD at its annual members events. I found it an exciting, fast-paced event that cut down on the waffle and got straight to the point. The out come, was an invigorating and fun presentation platform for designers, artists, and creative people from all backgrounds and disciplines to talk, view and meet. I found it a fabulous way to network in an informal and none pretentious setting. Ever since then I have wanted to be involved in some way. Recently I approached Pecha Kucha Tokyo to see if it would be possible to hold a Pecha Kucha Night in Stoke-on-Trent, after a series of emails and a long eagerly awaited response, the reply came back with a Yes. The rest is just about to begin.

“The idea behind Pecha Kucha is to keep presentations concise, the interest level up and to have many presenters sharing their ideas within the course of one night. Therefore the 20×20 Pecha Kucha format was created: each presenter is allowed a slideshow of 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each.”

The Pecha Kucha book and paper work arrived on Monday and once more this sparked the imagination, possibilities and locations for these series of rousing PKN Stoke events.

and now Stoke-on-Trent.

I hope Pecha Kucha will not only spark a flurry of creative and imaginative discussions throughout Stoke but also throughout the world. Not only is this a great opportunity to network on a local level but also on a global level.

I’m very pleased to be working with the Pecha Kucha team and Klein Dytham Architecture, the founders of Pecha Kucha. More importantly, I’m very happy that Pecha Kucha values quality over quantity and proves that it’s not the size of the city that matters; it’s the people and community it affects.

I look forward to an exciting series of PKN Stoke events and I hope it can offer a valued creative expedition across landscapes, imaginations, cultures, disciplines, and the Mythical City of Stoke-on-Trent.

The Final Show

It’s that time of year again, when summer is unpredictable and the weather is surprising. It then seems fitting that the end of year university and college shows coincides with the flamboyant British weather. This year, like many previous years, I visited the Newcastle-under-Lyme College Art and Design course shows.

The yearly proceedings seem to be no different from any other years but on approaching the Newcastle Trinity site campus, you can’t but help notice a new piece of architecture peering over the old Trinity site, like an eager relative.

Every year I always look forward to this show because I find the fresh and lively work invigorating. It has a loose yet dynamic feel to it. Some may say, at times it can overburden the viewer, but I’d rather this, than a sterile climate with no true expression. The talented new blood never fails to intrigue my senses and passions of ‘no holds barred’ creative activities and ventures.

This year plays a prominent role in the history of the Trinity building and the Art & Design faculty. It’s the final year show to be held in the old building before the department and others move into the newly built premises behind the Trinity campus. As soon as I heard of this last year, a whole host of memories came flooding back from my time at Newcastle.  The friendships I made, the friendships I lost, but most importantly the supportive and passionate staff that nurtured and guided thousands of Staffordshire students into creative disciplines and careers. Many of my friends and peers have gone on to successful roles at national and international agencies, design studios and fashion brands. Newcastle is just one of a few local art colleges that offers a multi-disciplined approach and sharing of collaborative creativity.

I would like to wish all the new and current staff/students the best of luck with the move and I hope the new development stimulates continual success by giving the opportunity to learners across Staffordshire and beyond.

How many designers does it take to change a light blub?

In relation to a recent article in Creative Review magazine, June 09 – Twelve: the magic number? I found the following facts of intrigue but also gratifying.
“According to the Design Council, 82% of UK design studios have ten or less employees; nearly 60% employ fewer than five people.”
For the lone freelancer this also proves that most of the time you won’t be competing against super ‘all in one’ studios/agencies. When talking with other freelancers the issue at some point always crops up, the commissioner or buyer decided to go with the larger design studio or team. This seems to happen a lot in the public sector, because the presumed larger company is more equipped to deal with the said job. This is not always the case and I find the following responses hit the nail on the head exactly.

“In a Conversation I recently had with the aforementioned Erik Spiekermann, he made the point that even in big design companies (companies that no longer call themselves design companies) the work is nearly always done by small teams of no more than four or five people. Odd therefore that so many clients think they have to go to big studios and pay lots of money.”
Adrian Shaughnessy. 03/04/09

“I think Adrian Shaughnessy is spot on. Big clients pay big money for big design companies and end up with a small team at the end of the day. Why not start with a small team with big ideas?”
Michael Murdoch. 05/04/09

Working as a freelancer for the last 6 years I’d have to say I’ve found it liberating and also exciting the amount of collaborations I’ve worked on. I’ve been brought in to fill that need of the ‘extra team member’ or consultant on certain projects and campaigns. This is what the client doesn’t see and is not always aware of. Just because the freelancer is individual doesn’t mean he/she can’t or wouldn’t collaborate with others on larger projects. On the flip side student projects and college/university self-negotiated briefs tend to see the individual working alone. You learn to do everything, be everything and fill many roles. The student creates the campaign, book, website, branding etc… that you would expect to be done with usually many more hands and heads.

The point I make is not to underestimate or undervalue the smaller or individual creative professional/s. I’ve always been in favour of the ‘David and Goliath scenario and working on freelance projects can be extremely lucrative too. The individual can move faster, be more flexible and reduced unwanted baggage. Quality is power and cannot be measured by increasing volume.

Boy, Man, and Footballer.

The story goes that when Stanley Matthews was a boy he regularly visited my grandmothers’ family plant nursery to play football. Stanley went to the same school as my grandmother and he visited the nursery to play and generally hang out. The field where he played was mainly used for growing and the uneven surface always gave a challenge for running and controlling the ball.  This now seems a far removed contrast with todays footballing profession and training.

Stanley was born on February 1st 1915 in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, began his professional career in 1931 and became a well-known player and character throughout the Stoke City team, the city, the profession and the world.

I’d now, really like to do a photographic portrait of the current Stoke City Football team in this field. Not only would it be a great artistic photo shoot for the team and fans but also play an interesting part of social history for the city and the club.

Of course, the field has changed a lot over time and it’s no longer used for growing or farming. It’s almost become a natural untouched space with beautiful wild trees and daffodils. It now feels like a genuine tribute to Stanleys first unprofessional home ground.

Typography & Beer

If you’re a graphic designer or typographic geek and quite partial to the odd beer then I’d seriously suggest a visit to the Coachmakers Arms pub in Hanley. It has a vast collection of beer mats from local and UK breweries. All of which can be viewed on the walls of the pub. The design and typography spread many generations, brands, identities and tastes. There’s a great selection of heavies, lights, bolds, and darks. I’m now seeing the similarities between typefaces and beers with different eyes. After a few pints the games soon kick in, with ‘Guess the Typeface’ and bonus points awarded for the designer and year created.

What makes the Coachmakers Arms even more interesting and a well-deserved visit, in my opinion, is that the pub is located within an area of planned demolition.

Another typical British pub, the once icon of community life and home to many traditional traits, characters and stories due for extinction. I’m not against change and I’m not against regeneration but I do disagree with the proposed developments and plans for this site.

Personally I feel that it would be truly sad to see it come to an end any time soon and loose another individual and enchanting character for the British pub industry.

Professionally I also feel that it’s places and spaces such as this that stimulates the creative hub of the city. The very idea that I’m writing about it and relating it to my art and design practice proves the point. Space and environment is crucial to creativity and my visit to the Coachmakers Arms was just as precious to me as any visit to gallery or museum.

My day with typography and beer.

If you’re interested in visiting the Coachmakers Arms, would like to find more information or even to help petition the demolition plans you can find further info at the following link. http://www.thecoachmakers.co.uk

The DIY Artist

I’ve seen a lot of different engaging exhibitions over the last year, some by the larger institutes, some by the individual artist and some by groups/collaborations.
The one thing that has struck a chord with me is that the self-promotion of the artist sometimes lacks the inventiveness and imagination that the artist puts into his/her work.

You create the work, you want to put on a show but how do you tell people about it? And how do you create a buzz about the show? How do you promote and advertise yourself?

For the full-time artist self-promotion I feel is as important as your work itself. I’ve seen a large selection of DIY self-promotion/s over time, mostly quite bad and this is the reason behind my writing.

If you don’t know what kerning is and lack the basic skills of typography and graphic design I wouldn’t even try to design your own invite or exhibition poster. Ideally a professional graphic designer would bring more value to your literature than a lame one-day attempt on Photoshop or Word by yourself. If you are sticking to a budget and you can’t afford a designer and printer to work on your promos why not trade skills and offer your services for theirs. Or if you’re still at university ask around the other courses to see who would be willing to help or share a collaborative project. If none of those are possible why not start networking and join a creative circle that could give advise on such things.

Everything you put out there is seen as your professional representative and DIY self-made promotions if done incorrectly can be viewed as unprofessional, cheap, rushed, and thoughtless. If this comes across before you’ve even proposed for a job it leaves commissioners thinking how will the actual work turn out?
Now I’m not completely saying that the artist can’t and shouldn’t create or work on his/her self-promotion. Who else knows you better than yourself and I think it can be very effective working on self-promotions. But representing and promoting yourself is probably one of the most difficult things for the self-employed artist. Remember that we can’t be good at everything and if your promotion of yourself does not come up to the quality of your work it will very easily show and let the whole package down from a professional viewpoint. Take a close look at some of the larger exhibition invites, posters, promotions and art magazines. Ask yourself why something is working or looks well and if you’re totally stuck loosely borrow a similar theme without infringing copyright or blatant copying.

If you do intend to make your own promotional material try to opt for laser printing at the very minimum. Inkjet doesn’t tend to wear well and can be prone to smudging, bleeding and colour fade. On the layout side stay away from heavy thick boarders around images and be careful that you don’t end up with your invite looking like a cheap take away menu. From a graphic designers point of view please stay away from the typeface Arial Rounded, Chalkboard, Comic Sans, and Curlz. These can also cheapen and conflict with the overall design, layout and content. Carefully consider you type, after all, typography is considered just as much as an art form by some designers/artists.
There are many reasonable priced printing companies out there at the moment and if you do decide to go with the larger print run of litho printing consider the longevity of them.
Telephone numbers, email and postal addresses can change frequently and the last thing you will need is 2000 business or postcards all with outdated contact details on. If given the choice consider recycled papers and card and eco safe inks.

Try to make you printed material objects of desire, something that the intended viewer wants to keep or collect. Keep them wanting and waiting for your next promotion or invite, instead of just another flyer or mail out.

Paul Fusco Q&A’s

Today Magnum Photos held a questions and answers session with photographer Paul Fusco. The event was held on twitter and anyone who wished to ask a question could do so in real time to Paul himself. I was very privileged to have my questions answered below.

Photo of Paul at Magnum New York.

Q. If you could only take one photograph with you to a desert island, what photograph would it be? And why? #fusco

A. If I had to choose 1 photo it would be W. Eugene Smith’s photo “Minamata:Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath”.

Q. Who would be the most memorable person you have met throughout your photography career? #fusco

A. Cesar Chavez, leader of the farm worker movement, he committed himself completely to the cause and gave his people hope.

Q. Do you think with todays mass globalization of media and imagery less is focused on content over equipment? #fusco

The Above question went unanswered.

Q. Within the UK Police forces are increasingly becoming annoyed and unhelpful to photographers. Have you ever been censored whilst trying to take photos? #fusco

A. Yes, by the military while working on the funerals for Bitter Fruit.

Many thanks to Paul and Magnum. More info on both of them can be found at www.magnumphotos.com

The Artists Rant

The stench of desperation lingers in the air. The calling, the scratching, the constant bombardment of look at me artworks are pulling at my delicate nervous system.
I here the vote for me ping in my inbox, another one I must delete before I go to sleep and dream of a talented world were talent is patience and ego is ctrl alt.
Artists dabbling in politics and pretending a pretentious plethora of puke soaked limp campaigns. Vote for me.