A first review of half an Alan Fletcher Exhibition
Alan Fletcher - wake up at the back. Pay attention.
The Alan Fletcher exhibition started at the Design Museum yesterday. I've had a busy weekend, lots of functions to go to, you know the kind of thing. But this morning I had literally an hour to spare. So I thought I'd race down to the Design Museum, rush through the exhibition and race home again. It's OK, I'm planning on going a lot and I like visiting museums for a short amount of time. I like challenging them to interest me.
And it was fantastic.
You know how you get excited about stuff and then the actual experience doesn't quite live up to it? England's performance in the World Cup, a new Oasis album, Hollywood blockbusters, all spring to mind. The Alan Fletcher exhibition is the opposite of that. By God it's good. Short (this is the Design Museum) but brilliant.
Lots of stuff from the early days. Lots of stuff that isn't in Beware Wet Paint or Sideways. Lots of commercial stuff that I hadn't seen before. Lots of big stuff. A six foot Reuters logo with the holes cut out. Collages made for Paola.
(That's Alan on the left. I can't help thinking the world would be a better place if creatives dressed like this now, and not like thirteen year olds at a surfer themed fancy dress party.)
You're getting excited aren't you? Sadly after this photograph my camera died. So you'll have to wait for a full review. That's a big, big shame because there was loads of stuff I wanted to share with you, my beloved listeners. Sorry about that.
At the exhibition you get given this lovely thing all about Fletcher. You know those things you get at museums. This one is a little different.
It has all the text and info and stuff.
It also has ten wonderful pictures from inside his home/studio.
This reveals so much about the man. How the boundaries between work and home blur so completely if you're passionate about your job. It reveals the amazing magpie like brain he had and it makes you wish your house / studio looked like that.
I've decided that I'm going to make it my mission to get as many non-designers as I can down to the Design Museum. All you need is an hour to spare and seven of your English pounds. Russell, fancy having a coffee morning there?
I will go back and I will take more pictures and write a fuller review soon.
As someone who works outside of the graphic design field, but has great interest in design, I love reading your thoughts on designers and being able to see the impact they've had on modern techinques and design in general (i.e. Alan Fletcher).
I just started reading The Art of Looking Sideways from your recommendation, and it is absolutely brilliant. I can't remember the last time I've read something so insightful.
Posted by: Isaac | Nov 12, 2006 at 22:53
Thanks for the swift preview, I had no doubts (and it's only half of it).
Now that's what I call a TASTER (with reference to your previous Pentagram examples)
Posted by: DelBoy | Nov 13, 2006 at 09:48
Thanks for this. I can't wait to go.
Posted by: Brad Brooks | Nov 13, 2006 at 12:44
Thank you.
Very tempted to jump in a plane and will before
February 18.
Looking forward to your further comments.
Posted by: Ciaran McCabe | Nov 13, 2006 at 13:16
My public library has that book, Graphic Design: Visual Comparisons.
Posted by: MaynardWinter | Nov 13, 2006 at 17:58
I've just got back from the exhibition (I don't have a proper job either and get to spend my days swanning round exhibitions and blogging coffee mornings. It's great), and my camera also died there.
That aside, it is an absolutely brilliant exhibition. Not just for the undeniable brilliance of his graphic design, but because it makes you appreciate the importance of looking outside your own field at creating interesting pieces of visual communication. So employing architects and product designers, keeping your eyes open to different influences and so on. The range of what he created is phenomenal and an important reminder of what you can achieve if you avoid being narrow-minded, or too tied to a brief, in terms of what you create.
And then I went to the pub for a pint. All in all, a great afternoon.
Posted by: Lebowski | Nov 16, 2006 at 16:52
I went last night - you were right Ben!
I've blogged on it here
http://sit-down-comedian.blogspot.com/
Posted by: claire | Nov 17, 2006 at 09:44
My Asian classmates just told me that his great book will be reprinted this July (2008) by Zoar Int'l Press! it's a English-Chinese Bilingual Limited Edition. Incl. Orig. 1963 Introduction & New Interview w/ Bob Gill. ISBN: 978-986-83080-4-6
Posted by: chie | Jun 19, 2008 at 09:32