Pick Me UP 2015: OUR TOP PICKS (PART 2 Of 2)
Posted by Liam Howlett on 30th Apr 2015
Over the weekend two of us from East End Prints visited the 6th Pick Me Up Art Festival at Somerset House.
Pick Me Up is a fantastic festival with a great platform for talks, debates and demonstrations. One of these talks was hosted by the guys over at magCulture, where they talked to the founder of People of Print, Marcroy Smith, about the magazine Print Isn’t Dead. This was a pretty interesting discussion, finding out how they collate the content for the publication and the different ideas that go into producing each copy of the magazine.
It was compelling to see someone that still values the heritage of printed magazines, as well as celebrating the platform with different ideas, from using Pantone spot colour in there printing, to Unique Screen-Printed colours, even offering personalised front covers.
My top picks from this years Pick Me Up are two fantastic but varying 3D artists.
The First, Jack Cunningham, created his entry as a Tribute to his Dinosaur obsessed child hood. And I feel like he did a pretty good job fusing a childlike innocence into the 3D characters he created from his illustrations. I love the fact that the 3D design of the dinosaurs manage to still keep the adorableness and simplicity of the illustrations.
“Jack Cunningham is an illustrator and director, graduating from the Illustration and Animation BA at Kingston University in 2010. His recognisable and unique style works equally well as still images or “wiggling ones”, and both are hilarious and magnificent.”
Next, is the amazing work from Hattie Newman. Her fantastic use of paper craft and delicate attention to detail makes these miniature paper constructions look amazing in the landscape style photographs taken of each construction. Next to one of her very stylised models there is a print out of a quote from her saying “Ideas start in my sketchbook and come to life on my cutting mat” which was stuck in my head all weekend.
“Hattie Newman is known for her inimitable creations in set design and paper-craft. Drawing and collaging every day, these abstract notes are translated into 3-dimensional sculptures made from paper, wood and plaster.”
Pick Me Up Art Festival 2015 is open in Somerset House until Monday the 4th of May, so if you want something to do this bank holiday head down to Embankment and pop in and look around, there’s even a sweet interactive workspace set up by a collective including one of our artist Pâté and there groovy scratch off style prints. You can find out more about Pick Me Up Here.
(I think PÂTÉ's might be better than mine, but it's close)