Matthew Ritchie, White Cube

White Cube's show for Matthew Ritchie utilised the whole space of the gallery, but I'm not really sure that that was really warranted.  Just because you can do something doesn't necessarily mean that it is appropriate...The space somehow felt cluttered and the noise of the guitarists at the opening just lessened the experience too.  A shame, because the paintings on their own said as much to me as all the other stuff and Ritchie is very talented.

D&AD Black Pencil

The internet gets more and more interesting... from reporting about it, to visuals to innovations such as twitter...

This is an interesting technology article about the D&AD's 2008 Black Pencil awards.

Firstly Apple won 2 pencils this year and secondly Projector Inc won a a pencil for their site they designed for Uniglo the Japanese retailer.  I have to admit to spending a few minutes transfixed...

Twitter, is a word that now describes a new kind of internet activity...it's mobile and web microblogging, you are only allowed 140 characters to give updates.

Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats

Edward de Bono's thinking technique based around 6 differently coloured hats is always interesting, partly from how you can use this technique to problem solve, but also the type of thinking ascribed to a particular coloured hat.  The colours chosen for the hats are based upon the colours used in printing maps.  This technique of using symbolic hats is meant to remove any blocks in problem solving by going through the process logically step by step.

White hat - neutral and objective - pure facts

Red hat - anger/rage/emotions

Black hat - gloomy and negative - why it cannot be done

Yellow hat - sunny and positive

Green hat - creativity and new ideas

blue - control and organisation of thinking process

I've never used this technique myself but I do find it fascinating, almost as fascinating as Luscher's Colour Test, but more on that and colour another day.

Biomimicry - Morphotex

Morphotex is an interesting fabric developed by a Japanese company, Teijin. It is based on biomimicry as it is inspired by the South American butterfly called Morpho.

As part of its camouflage the butterflies wings reflect light.  Morphotex doesn't use any pigments or dyes as it is made from very thin fibres so it is also environmentally friendly as less energy is used to create it.

Morphotex is a highly innovative fabric as it is the first of its kind that doesn't use any pigments.

Intelligent Colour, Professor Ozin

This posting is as much a reminder to pursue this as anything else.  It's something I've been trying to look into since January.  I missed this talk, by Professor Ozin at UCL on Intelligent Colour which was a really stupid thing to do.

However, his talk was filmed so you can still see Professor Ozin talking - 22 January 2008 on Intelligent Colour.

To encourage you to download it and watch it here is the blurb:

"Not all colours in nature originate from pigments.  Colour can also emerge if the microstructure of a material is fashioned into a grating that allows optical diffraction.  In nanotechnology, this 'structural colour is now within our grasp, and it is easy to imagine how it can be intelligently integrated into jewellery and artwork, vehicles and buildings.  Beyond 'static' structural colour is 'dynamic' form that could enable a full colour display, where one material provides an infinite range of colours - for use in security devices for identification and authentification, and military vehicles with active camouflage for example.  Opportunities for intelligent colour are truly boundless."

Matthew Williamson, Urbis, Manchester

(images, top digital print on tyvek 1999, examples of prints, mood board done especially for the exhibition)

The Matthew Williamson exhibition, Urbis, Manchester was originally on at the Design Museum in London in 2007 to celebrate Williamson's 10 years in fashion.  

It's a comprehensive exhibition moving from his interest in art and design at school up to the present with his plans to develop an accessories range of bags and shoes and a shop in New York.  There are lots of show cases with his dresses, drawings and sketches, furniture and information about his progress.  The colour and decoration in his fashion show how much he is inspired by his frequent trips to India.

As a student he worked for Zandra Rhodes for 3 months which he found to be very inspirational.  He used the off cuttings of lace that he scooped off the floor from the pattern cutters when he was there for his final degree show collection!  An example of sustainability from necessity!

There is also an interview which shows him to be passionate about what he does.

Notes from the filmed interview.

• If you work from the heart then the work is effortless
  
• Fashion is hard, but the cyclical and relentless nature of it makes him disciplined and gives him structure, so it suits him.
  
• He likes developing ideas and concepts into an end product.
  
• He is passionate.
  
• 100% committed to his own vision, without a vision there is nowhere to go.
  
• It's unusual to find one person with the balance of creativity and business sense, he was lucky to meet his business partner so soon.
  
• His collection would be eclectic as he is like a magpie if left to his own devices.
  
• Has a kaleidescope of different influences.
  
• Now he hopes his collection happens in a much more sophisticated and pared down sort of way , that as he has progressed they have become more polished.
  

More Videos - Hamish Morrow

Two films really caught my eye on Hamish Morrow's site:

Digital Echoes: this is fantastic and it explores the idea of virtual prints.

The second is Fashion in Zero-G, that is zero gravity.  It is set in space so as well as the technology aspect there is also the recycling element.