6/11/07

I was expoed to two things today through Phil Baines and Katherine Dixon. THe first was the British Library. The British Library was really neat. We went through the Special Exhibitions part to see all the sacred manuscripts and illuminated manuscripts. The books were amazing. It is definitely interesting to learn about the history of book making and book binding. There were no set rules or standards back then in the first millenium. Many things were tried. Illuminated and carpet pages were so detailed and ornate. Sheer outstanding. I love looking at those old manuscripts. The Sacred part was really neat too. I loved it so much. I wish to have spent more time there.
After lunch, the group and I were exposed to an art school in London for the first time. St. Martin's school of art and design. With Phil and Katherine, we looked over much typography and some of the curriculum that the students go through here in St. Martins. Some greats such as Alan Fletcher, Eric Gil, and Colin Firth have passed through the building. The school definitely has a reputation. Next was seeing Gary Wallace who taught photography specifically for graphic design. He embraced improvisation and experimentation I remember.
After St. Martins, we had a talk with this guy whom I remember the previous class loathed a bit. It was Peter Saville. I had this idea of this guy being negative the entire time. Indeed, Peter is a negative person, a pessimist. Yet, through his cynic views, he does have some insightful comments which can be a reality check for the most of us. Example, is what we do honest? Is it true to us? He went further into saying that there's a lot of advertising and design that misleads the user or the viewer into thinking something. He realized this and is now in the process of backing out of design and stepping more into the realm of fine art saying that we wouldn't want to do design for the rest of our life. He wants us to do something important, or something that matters. Let's be more cynical. What is really important in life anyways? That's really what we decide to do, not his decision. Peter Saville in short loves to hear himself preach and talk. The way he sat in the chair gives it all away. His body language shows that he's not really concerned about other people and is curled up in himself. Not impressed with the guy I'll admit.