Image:Rob Ryan
The title of the show Pick Me Up, also suggests a very optimistic outlook with creativity as a social saviour
Your thoughts please….
Exactly. We thought people needed cheering up. What better way than to come and meet some of your favourite designers, see them at work, and then take something nice home with you. Pick me up, take me home and love me.
Illustration, craft, hand-drawn provocations have all seen a huge resurgence in the past years,
Who’s your favourite and why now?
There are so many different ways of approaching the medium of graphic art and illustration that it’s impossible to choose a favourite designer. We’ve tried to reflect the broad spectrum of what’s out there, and include as many different ways of working as possible.
What part of the show for you summed up the spirit and energy of Pick Me Up?
There are many different facets to the show, and everything is in constant flux; that’s the nature of the show. My favourite bits so far are Rob Ryan printing the record sleeves for the first release under his new record label, and Mike and Jon printing ‘Eat more Protein’ posters with Print Club London (in homage to Stanley Green, the Protein man who wondered up and down Oxford Street with his banner) on a range of different papers, including plastic and mirror film.
Why curate a show first like this at Somerset House?
We’re interested in introducing a ‘restless’ element to each exhibition we do at Somerset House so that it can evolve, and become more questioning, inclusive and participatory. In ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice: Wishful Thinking in Art and Design’, we established a studio space in the middle of the exhibition where designers such as Martino Gamper, a.b.a.k.e. and Julia Lohman took up weekly residencies. For ‘SHOWstudio: Fashion Revolution’, we built a photo studio for Nick Knight where, through a two-way mirror, the public could see the whole process of a Vogue cover shoot or portraits of London’s Beau Monde shot for ID magazine. Thinking about the future programme, we wanted to do something about graphics, but wanted to make it more than simply a show of contemporary illustration. We started wondering if we could combine an element where people could take something from the show home with them with something that captured the energy and excitement of the contemporary graphics art scene.
Do you find it difficult as a curator to find the right level of cultural content? How did you find/choose the participants?
I’ve always felt a little constrained by the gallery, and I’ve drawn from my previous experience with Scarlet Projects (which I founded with Sarah Gaventa in 2000) and the idea of taking ‘curating’ out of the gallery and into the wider world. With events such as the Village Fete at the V&A we explored how you might get across the idea of design to a wider public audience and allow them to engage with it in a meaningful way, with the help of a few trestle tables and some very inventive designers.
With Pick Me Up we are now back in the gallery and I’m aiming to inject a little of what we did with Scarlet Projects into the programming. The illustrators for the exhibition were chosen by a panel of industry insiders which included Patrick Burgoyne, editor of Creative Review, Agharad Lewis, editor of Grafik Magazine and Liz Farrelly, a graphic design writer and editor.
What do you hope to achieve next year with Pick Me Up?
This is the first year, and we really didn’t know how it would work. It was very much an experiment. We’ll build on the most successful elements of this year’s fair to make next year’s more exciting.
What type of mix will we look forward to seeing next year?
Difficult to say at this early stage.
Please complete the following
I’m looking forward to eating more coconut mushrooms
I’m looking forward to listening to more birdsong
Ashley or Cheryl? Ugh. Neither.
PICKMEUP is on till Monday May 3rd More Info here
