Image by Don Davis

Growing up in the 1970s has left one with several nervous impressions and images. Pulling up one’s stubbie shorts to high, being accidentally burned by cigarette holding adults (unaware the cigarette smoking and lung cancer are connected) at suburban bar-b-ques and disaster movies.

Numerous disaster movies left a strange tick. One can vividly remember terrorized faces looking skyward… as the massive tidal wave came, the sky scraper crashed down, the plane fell out of the sky, an alien spacecraft landed or the looming asteroid came plumetting towards the earth.

On Monday night, the ABC’s Lateline program interviewed Tim Flannery (2007 Australian of Year, Environmental advocate). During that exchange Mr Flannery in plain english stated – we are 18 months into a course of dangerous climate change (ten years ahead of predicted schedule). In summary this means human activity is critically on the path of effecting the quality of all life on the planet. In as little as 40 years many places on the earth that were once habitable will become uninhabitable. Yet it seems that people that make the culture changing decisions; our political leaders, are doing their best to balance two opposing forces – unprecidented economical growth and consumerism with the cultural shift needed to get human activity back on less critical path.

Everyday our news is littered with report after finding stating that human activity has to change. At an individual level masses are subscribing to endless variations of the “ten things to do for the environment” list. At best this individual feels powerless. For all the individual water saving, light switching, public transporting, the biggest impact one make as individuals is to strongly appeal to our leaders to – sign the Kyoto Protocol, develop new lifestyle protocols and assist developing countries with our knowledge and technology to improve their living standards with clean and sustainable methods.

We could also encourage our politicians to: buy less bombs, fighter planes, write less reports, nuclear reactors, and desalination plants; and put in place small less sophisicated projects, not dissimilar to John Howard’s ‘Gun buy back programme’. Some examples that come to mind include: addressing the clash of work and school start times, fully assisting households across Australia to become the water catchment – install water tanks, and become the power grid – install solar hotwater systems and solar electricity panels.

If the threat of ‘global warming’ was instead ‘a comet or asteroid on a fatal forty year path towards the earth’ one can’t help to think that humanity would pitch together and change history.

There seems so much to do, let’s not waste time looking skyward.

Read the transcript between Tim Flannery and Tony Jones on Lateline – 08.10.2007

Email our Prime Minister ( Mr John Howard MP)

Email our opposition leader ( Mr Kevin Rudd MP)

Those who don’t already have an eye for such things are more likely to be perplexed than persuaded.
Bill Burns Brown, Buzzcuts – Express Media.

Bill Burns Brown of Express Media has recently reviewed the Studio’s exhibition – Twenty Dollars Only. The review is mixed. However, it is exciting to think that an outsider to the process of generating graphic design is able to get a sense of the madness that is required to produce such work from spending a little time taking in the exhibition. Graphic design is a vocation that typically sees a designer jump from client to client, industry sector to industry sector, project to project, has to eventually effect the people who develop and produce the work in one form or another. We are pleased that the exhibition has the potential to excite, overwhelm, persuade, perplex or possibly communicate.

Read Mr Brown’s complete review here.

This magnificent tram tunnel and stop – Spout, The Hague, was design by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaus. Within its confines of open space, timber, low slung platforms, concrete, glass and glimpses of dull metal is a poster gallery aptly called – The Poster Gallery / De Affiche Galerij.

During the AGI 2007 conference in Amsterdam, sixty two graphic designers and artists that live or work in The Hague exhibited posters addressing theme ‘Clean or Appearance’. The exhibition ‘Clean or Appearance’ was developed by Dutch graphic designer, Gert Dumbar and showed at The Poster Gallery / De Affiche Galerij – Spout tram tunnel, The Hague, Holland from 26 to 29 September 2007.

The opening night was hot, literally. So many people, many posters, a confined space – the temperature had to rise. Thanks again for everyone’s support, the show is up until 20 October, so feel free to drop by.Twenty Dollars Only is a poster exhibition that is a manifestation of the cliché – necessity breeds intent. Within the confines of modest budgets and great expectations one feels compelled to (pick up the camera; become familiar with pens, paints, brushes, inks, glue; understand collage, software filters; source props, locations, subjects and gestures) develop the best possible outcome. A2/A1 posters are $20, over 90 designs to choose from…Twenty dollars only at IMPpart of Melbourne Fringe 2007 FestivalAn exhibition of affordable posters by Studio Pip and Co.04 – 20 Octoberat IMP (above), Greville St Books145 Greville Street, PrahranOpens12noon to 5pmWednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

As part of the Alliance Graphique Internationale Congress in Amsterdam participants where asked to respond to Amsterdam’s marketing theme “I am Amsterdam”. Thanks again to Lee at Little Irrespressible Wonton for putting the clip together. Visit the congress’s website