Writing, not writing

Often after returning from show visits I've tried to collect my thoughts for the purpose of this blog. Last weekend should be no exception; I've been inspired by the collective talent of D&AD New Blood, Enlightened by Interesting2008, non-plussed by Free Range, and totally blown away at the RCA Show. But on this occasion, I took no photos, and condensing the amazing work I saw into a few short posts probably wouldn't be fair.

Instead I'm posting some of the work I did when I was at i-D last summer. Only one of these made it to print, in October issue 281, and it was pretty much pulled to pieces. The other two didn't make it, for a number of reasons. Firstly, they're probably not very good. I wrote them in what I thought was the i-D Style, rather than in a manner that was appropriate to myself and the subject. And the subjects probably weren't particularly suitable for an international style magazine anyway. Nevertheless, here they are: Mario preview, Transformers preview, and Louise Bourgeois Retrospective preview.

MARIO’s got all the moves. With a heritage stretching back before 1983, he entered our lives (from the left, naturally) as a character in Donkey Kong, and rose to fame as if he’d jumped on a mushroom. The rest is multinational mascot history – He’s bounced his way through pixel-popping arcade games, the original Nintendo Entertainment System and the Game Boy, to name a few, earning a world record for biggest selling video game of all time on the way. Now he’s fixed up and looking sharp for the Wii this summer. So it looks like this plumber is here to stay.

 

TRANSFORMERS is back after 20 years to join the line of hyped-up films this summer. But it’s not just some retro spin-off – it should have enough tricks up its mechanical sleeve to have kids all over Cybertron hungry for another sequel in 20 years’ time, and the oh-so-collectable merchandising should seal the deal – the super-primed action figures are set to be this Christmas’ must have plaything. As if giant transforming robots from outta space weren’t enough, Billy Corgan’s re-formed Smashing Pumpkins represent on the soundtrack. Not so much doing the robot as blasting it straight into 2007 and beyond… best lock up your toybox.

 

Sometimes subtle, often unmissable: Seven decades into her career, Louise Bourgeois is still proving she’s ahead of her game. This season sees her building on the success of the 35ft spider installation that set the scene for the opening of Tate Modern with a new retrospective there. It’s set to showcase the paintings, sculptures and drawings that have separated her from the crowds since the 1940s, and introduce her to a whole new generation. But reaching out like this is nothing new; In 1982 she was the first woman to be given a major retrospective at MOMA, and having taught at New York’s Pratt Institute during the 60s – the art school that’s nurtured such i-Cons as Patti Smith, Paul Rand and Jeremy Scott – and standing up to be counted for the feminist movement throughout the 70s, she can safely add her name to the list of vital contemporary artists of the last 100 years. Inspiring successive generations to do their own thing, her prolific and varied works are deeply personal, referencing the life of a contemporary critic, wife and mother.