I went on a ted binge and this guy unloaded his head in my face- i felt like i'd had a days lecture in like 20 minutes- the guys presetentation would make mike weep- and he passes around some beautiful theory and then concludes with a workable and interesting example.
Lawrence Weiner
Was never to sure about this guy- but i like this video, served him drinks once ya know- and Hillman Curtis's videos are worth checking out.
Newcastle Review
It's always good to get away and Newcastle always clears my head. I remembered when i was in m&s that i hate shops- too big, too much shit- i'm aint no hippy or nothing but this was weird:
wine should not be sold next to boxers. no. I also spotted this- lol and a half: 
Also checked out the latest exhibition at the Baltic which was Yoko Ono, i love the Baltic and some of Yoko's stuff i enjoyed- these fixed cups, 
and her ideas for installations, architecture and paintings were great (i like that the ideas were enough, that there was enough description involved that you understood the concept and what the general gist would be of the piece without it being made) unfortunatley some of the ideas had been done and they didn't feel good. I feel that when my mum talks about 'Art' and 'Artists' being highbrow and unknowable and incomprehensible with that tone that people do sometimes- she's talking about Yoko Ono, hippy, lovey, peacey, cheesey, and pretty tacky pieces- hang your wish on a tree, same picture with abstract and pseudo meaningful legends- sort of junk- kind of felt like alot of the cheesey new relgious prayer and interactive worship stuff that I was once invovled in but without the acceptable pretence of religion. Rant over.
Tutorial and Stuff
Having a good time at the moment but I'm getting worried that my project isn't getting where i want to be fast enough- part of this problem is not knowing where i want to be, i just know I'm not there! I had a good tutorial with Rosario she harked back to an old project of mine: the one with the puddles in bags and water collections. She pointed out that it's success came from a specific thing- a context, a problem and that now i had good research but that i was in danger of letting my research outdo whatever outcome it might be that i come to- i need to start getting specific- and pretty soon- I'm going to say that by the end of January for sure (hopefully sooner) i will have concluded my research to do list and that i will have a more specific area of interest to run with and make real good.
We talked about which bits of my project were interesting...... i like this drawing and the idea of getting movement involved, time passing, motion, something happening during the accumulation/ collecting process- the way i see it the collecting process goes:
start static---------during, movement, interest, play, motion, active-----------after i.e. completion static once more, lack of interest, shelved,
slopes, conveyors and time passing interest me with that. We also talked about completion:
this shows an item given which contains one item, with spaces to fill, promoting collecting and accumulation- this links to one of my interests previously about a frame with a label will attract not just more of the same item mentioned within close proximity but will actively attract like a magnet, other artifacts of a similar label. A split box is better at suggesting collection by implying a set and an aim- a completion- something of a particular size for instance, when compared to a large empty cardboard box. Levels, compartments, trays, sections all describe and imply a set. I fancy making a group of objects some with 2 parts ranging up to many parts. Making tools/ objects to instigate a collection in someone- i guess to an extent i have it with my book a week framework, why not make other tools for others.
Rosario was also interested in the industrial process of standardisation. That when everything is manufactured to be 'perfect' the imperfections become the rare collectibles. If there are limited editions, or only a certain number of an item in existence (as is the main norm with collectibles- here defined as anything collected) then they are ripe to be collected. I'm wondering, what if every thing was different, but still was a product of an industrial mass process, then every one would be collectible- so none would be as each was as valuable as the last and the next. This leads on to the idea of the specimen- the best artifact within a comparable group of artifacts. Would this evolve despite having nothing to be directly compared against. Could a specimen still be manufactured..............
Tutorial No.1
I had my first tutorial today with Laura, it went well and hopefully i need to just carry on. Laura asked us to send her a brief overview of our territories to get to know what was going on and one of the things was listing 3 weaknesses and 3 strengths with the project- this was interesting as it helped me get out some of the things i was thinking about but hadn't externalised- some things were: that i think people outside of a design context (and of course within it) will be able to relate and engage with the project, i reckon everyone collects something- (this is something i need to come back to and explore more- i think a questionnaire for the moment would suffice with a follow up 'collection of the week' book for some of them to be photographed and displayed.) Mini projects are good. I need to get more people involved- collectors, curators and people who might be interesting. I've been wanting to do this but my to-do list is finally getting shorter and so i should be able to get involved on another level next week- interviews, by either email or video will be good. I also want the time to do some drawing- bad Luke- draw all the time.
Feedback
Notes on the feedback from my presentation, Alex: Neil Cummings, read his publication on material things. Archives, how are they made? Classification systems. How collections become institutionalised.
Matt: Ever ending. Read 'Observatory Mansions' and Tibor Fischer 'The Collector' or 'Collectors Collector'. Go and interview some collectors and design something for them.
Charlotte: Does it need the collector? Does a collection need to be displayed to be a collection?
Jimmy: Collection and scale. Serial Killers. Shoes. I'd love to see an example of fast/ slow collection. Ebay as a facilitator of collections.
Pres
Seriously I'm so behind the times with these posts.
This is from a 4 day project about bringing about an upgrade through decay (like a snake shedding it's skin or muscle tearing to grow stronger.)
These are some pretty pictures of decay- looking at tearing, ripping, and dying things rather than the dead.
Messing about with time in decay looking at how time plays a part in it.
This was an experiment where a book cover was photocopied and then the copy was copied and so on for 150 pages creating a distorted, pixelated version.
These coins were created by leaving in coke for different amounts of time- they followed thinking around the ideas of wholeness and subtraction and asked 'when is an artefact at it's best?'
I created this stamp that would degrade over time to produce a smudge of its former self- this and the photocopies and the inbuilt change and decay in the outcomes produce interesting limited editions and groups.
This is as still from a short animation where the original shapes were copied and then that was copied, similar to the photocopies but more human and much more varied- the interesting part is that when 3 consecutuive frames are placed next to each otehr it is impossible to distinguish the first from the last. The decay is subtle and gradual. Each new variation is a change from the one before and if we accept that decay is change and that, as the saying goes, a change is a holiday (where a holiday is considered an upgrade) then decay = upgrade.
This is an image which hit me hard and fitted the brief well. It speaks of conservation and challenges the perceptions of decay.
Repetition, repetition, repetition. Another 4 day project, this time concerned with accumulation and the effects of repetition. 
These clock represent the start of my interest in collections and collecting- the separatley mundane clocks are brought together on mass to create an engaging collection.
I began to think about how many trees make a forest- separatley there are 15 trees, but when put inside a frame the trees become bounded and layered creating a forest. I began to look at proximity through this aswell.
This experiment is concerned with rhythm and pattern, using the most basic form: a black line. I began to put these lines inside frames giving the image a greater pattern like appearance. Maybe the frame or boundary gives it's contents a context in which to be a pattern or collection. 
For part of the project I collected photos of house numbers: a seldom appreciated artefact- and created this book which displays them numerically, both as a collection and, due to separate pages, on an individual basis. In this format the numbers can be appreciated singularly and favourites can be concieved.
I also displayed them as a poster giving thought to their posisiton on the street in the layout so as to give more context. In the poster the whole group is viewed at the same time, leaving the space for similarities to be recognised- these similarities begin to form small patterns. 
Last Slide.
Hang on...
Actually there was one embarrassing moment, right at the end of the interview where he asked me who my favourite graphic designers were and i somehow clammed up and said erm erm erm you, and erm erm erm Build... and i couldn't think of anymore. So i had a think and thought i should post a list or images or something to remind myself of the awesome stuff i like. I dont think i have favourite graphic designers more like favourite projects and some favourite projects are by the same company or person because i have three favourite design projects- only one of which i graphics. I dunno- here's the list. (not extensive- enough for say when someone asks you in and interview) (of graphic designers and projects) (in no order) Stefan Sagmeister, particularly the Anni Kuan project http://www.sagmeister.com/work2.html
Build http://wearebuild.com/
The book A B Z more alphabets and other signs 
Bibliothèque http://www.bibliothequedesign.com/
This old map of bus routes around Brighton
Buro Destruct, particularly the BBD Designer screensaver http://www.burodestruct.net/bureaudestruct/bddesigner/index.html
Spin http://www.spin.co.uk/
Iwant, particularly the Youssou N'dour sampler and Tracey Thorn Project http://www.iwantdesign.com/iwant2007.html
Non-Format http://www.non-format.com/
This poster for Iceland supermarkets