JOCHEN GERNER: COMIC ILLUSTRATOR

"an unfocused drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied"

Jochen Gerner (born 1970) is a French illustrator, he has had his comic-book style work published in several publications including the New York Times and various childrens books. 


Liberation (Source)



A 'doodle' is defined as an unfocused, aimless scribble or drawing, whilst a persons attention is distracted. Gerners' 2003 book entitled Branchages is a perfect example of mindless drawing, the book was entirely produced whilst Gerner was on the phone.

It has become a sort of personal journal. It witnesses my conversations, my readings and my personal reality.

        Jochen Gerner



 Branchages (Source)





Branchages gives an insight into his thoughts, feelings and conversations through clues in his work, it is through Gerners subconscious that these are portrayed to each page. When looking at pages from Branchages, your eyes don't know where to look, there are so many tiny little moments Gerner has unknowingly shared with us.







ILLUSTRATIONS THAT DEFINE A DECADE: NOMA BAR

"The simplicity of a logotype with meaning and emotion"



Noma Bar, an Israeli born graphic designer was also featured in the Summer 2009 issue of Varoom. Unlike Hardstaff he works in a very different field whilst also provoking the same reaction, their work is both well-thought and has much more meaning than just 'meets the eye'.



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Noma's style and influence originated from a simple radioactivity symbol on a black background, we've all seen it and probably didn't think too much of it, but in this Noma saw two eyebrows and a moustache and in his mind this was the face of Sadam Hussein. He developed this signature style during his move to London working for several publications.

It is through his strategic placement of vector shapes and colour that Noma produces such politically questionable and cultural graphics, none of his work is as simple as it seems, there is alot of context behind it all.

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Noma's work is that it is reduced to the bare minimum. Sometimes you can't beleive how little he needs to make an image. 

Mark Porter

An expert at "saying a lot with a little", Noma's unique style makes you think, and it is through his deeply-thought illustrations on political, religious and social perception that his works combined are a perfect example of Illustrations that define a decade.

ILLUSTRATIONS THAT DEFINE A DECADE: JOHNNY HARDSTAFF

"A decade fragmented, networked and connected yet coolly detached"

An article featured in the Summer 2009 issue of Varoom Magazine recently caught my eye, it has several articles discussing just what is the definitive illustration of the last 10 years. The wide variety of illustrations provide a thought-provoking view on contemporary society.

Johnny Hardstaff is both a graphic designer and animator whilst also as working in film and video. He first came into the limelight in 2000 at a festival in Prague with his work entitled 'History of Gaming', commissioned by Sony PlayStation. The nostalgic animation begins as a gem, then unfolding into a sidescrolling animation detailing a timeline of graphic references to growing up in the 70's.

Source: Varoom 2009 Summer issue (scan)

Hardstaff works meticulously in developing models and plans with finely detailed models and plans with finely detailed and intricate drawings.

Shane R. J. Walter; original article

As a follow up to his History of Gaming, Hardstaff was further commissioned to produce another short titled Future of Gaming, also for Sony PlayStation. The short opens your mind to both story telling and emotion within animation. Hardstaff has shown it is possible to make memorable work that has substance, meaning and 'intelligent playfulness'.  

The work of Hardstaff has deep meaning behind it and is well-thought, not only does it have impressive graphical cues mixed in with a blizzard of cultural and historical references but it doesn't shy from having a narrative. Hardstaff tells a highly visual story with his work, making his pieces a perfect candidate for defining a decade.

TRIANGULATION BLOG

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Triangulation Blog is one of the most subject-varying blogs I'm following, ranging from architecture to animation to 3D modelling it provides an insight to all things design. Initially following for the interesting posts on contemporary and concept architecture I found that all other categories are equally as impressive.

Black on white, the design is beautifully simplistic and easy to navigate, I enjoy every post that's made. With most of the content being digital it really inspires me seeing some visual outcomes of just what software can produce.

ART INCONNU

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Perfectly described as a collection of "works by artists who are forgotten, under appreciated or little known" Art Inconnu is a great source of information on those less famous artists.

I first came across Art Inconnu when researching Eric Ravilious, after searching the internet to no avail, Art Inconnu was my last hope for information. Although the design and content of Art Inconnu are much more traditional I can't help but enjoy the artists work that is posted. It's always nice to go back to basics and see some old-fashioned painting, sculpting and pastels.

THINGS ORGANISED NEATLY

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Things Organised Neatly is a blog entirely dedicated to those pedants amongst us. More of a shrine to perfection, its main focus in content is, as the title suggests, things organised neatly.

When browsing,  you can't help but realise how pleasant it actually is to see things efficiently sorted in order of colour, size or shape. The simplicity of arranging objects out in mostly linear paterns really makes for some interesting photography that wouldn't look out of place in exhibition.

Reguarly updated, the simplicity of the blog itself makes for easy-browsing and the design keeps things simple, complementing the photography.

DESIGN DUST

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Design Dust; 'a collection of photography, graphic design, fashion, architecture and other creative matter. '

Design Dust is a very simplistic blog focusing more on visual than the written content, it links to several other subject-related blogs. Containing innovative creative content such as pop-up books and simplistic, vector artwork the posts really are inspiring.

THE ARCHITECTURE BLOG

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The Architecture Blog showcases some of the greatest man-made structures, focusing mostly on home designs, contemporary interior design and concept house exterior. The posts really are inspiring, I follow The Architecture Blog simply because it exhibits some of the finest architecture around. I have always been interested in home-design making this blog ideal for me.

Posts are made regularly on world-wide designs, less of an original content blog The  Architecture blog focuses more on exhibiting other bloggers work as a hub for information.

FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN: 1951

The Festival of Britain took place in 1951, opened by King George, it celebrated the nations recovery after the Second World War. It was a showcase of the best science, technology and design aimed to inspire the redevelopment of an already ruined London. The festival was an attempt to give a feeling of recovery and progress and to promote better-quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities following the war.

Skylon (Source)

Several graphic and architechtural designers were recruited to aid the design and construction of various buildings. Abram Games was the graphic designer for the event, as an official war poster artist at the time he heavily influenced people to visit the festival with his series of posters and flyers.

The Skylon a large, unusual shaped tower described as a "vertical feature", was one of the most notable structures of the festival.  Aimed as less of an art statement and more futuristic thinking, the tower is supported through tensegrity using three cables to support it, coated in alliminum and lit at night, the Skylon was the most thought-provoking piece at the festival.

HENRI GAUDIER

Bird Swallowing Fish, the 1914 bronze cast sculpture by French sculpt Henri Gaudier caught my attention at The Restless Times exhibition in Sheffield.

Bird Swallowing Fish (Source)

Gaudier worked in a very primitive style, often taking influence from nature and animals in his work. Having no formal qualifications or experience he moved to London to become an artist, inspirted by his carpenter father he began creating minituristic sculptures. Often creating sculptures by direct carving into solid, opposed to working with the wet plaster, Gaudier creates eye-catching naturalistic works with then go on to be cast in bronze.

ERIC RAVILIOUS

The Westbury Horse

Eric Ravilious was an English painter and designer. He

began his artistic life as a muralist and worked from 1924 until this death in 1942. Ravilious was an comissioned as an official war artist during the second world war where he died during service.

Ravilious often painted water-colour landscapes, focusing on the relationship between the modern world and the English landscape, in a style that was both formal and yet deeply felt.





Train Landscape

 




Train Landscape and The Westbury Horse are two great examples of Ravilious water-colour paintings.

RESTLESS TIMES

Restless Times; Art in Britain 1914 - 1945

A recent visit to the Restless Times exhibition in Sheffield broadened my awareness of pre and post war artwork. The works in the gallery range from sketches to paintings to sculptures and prove that the first half of the twentieth century were some of the most destructive yet creative decades.

A few pieces that caught my eye were by Eric Ravilious, his series of oil-painted canvas entitled Train Landscape, Chalk Paths and The Westbury Horse. A sculpture by Henri Gaudier also caught my eye, Bird Swallowing A Fish (1913 - 1914) is a bronze sculpture widely influenced by Gaudiers' studies of primitive art.