Video of the Week > Shame Trailer 2

I've been a fan of Michael Fassbender since seeing him in 'The Devil's Whore' which was shown on Channel 4 in the UK in 2008. Since then he's been a rising star and I think it's safe to say he is hot property at the moment! He is currently a well sought out actor in Hollywood with the box office hits such as X-Men: First Class which was amazing, a beautiful retelling of Jane Eyre and 3 highly anticipated films coming out next year: Haywire, A Dangerous Method and Shame. The trailer for Shame really caught my eye which was directed by Steve McQueen. McQueen had directed the hard-hitting drama, Hunger featuring Fassbender 3 years ago which brought Fassbender into the limelight. The pair have teamed up again and Shame looks like an intriguing, mesmerizing drama. Fassbender plays Brandon who has a sexual addiction in New York but when his sister comes to stay everything is turned upside down. Though my very short synopsis of the film seems very shallow the trailer speaks for itself. From just looking at this short trailer it shows that McQueen is certainly a director to watch. My favourite part in the trailer is at 1.00 / 1.34 when Brandon (Fassbender) softly touches a woman's hand on a vertical rail on the NY subway. The mere touch has a sexual energy which I find fascinating.

The film is due to be released 13th Jan 2012 in the UK, rated 18. It also features Oscar nominated Carey Mulligan from An Education, another star in her own right.

Watch it here:

I also love the poster promoting the film. How the meaning of a word can change with the presence of a picture. Text placement and images are powerful tools in advertising. I particularly like how they've used an image of crinkled bed sheets with the simple noun, 'Shame' written in plain sans serif white font. I'm thinking it could be Helvetica however I think the subtext is, not the main title. If anyone knows please drop a comment below! Thanks!

Sources

IMDB: Shame

Youtube: FilmsActu

Shame Poster

M.A.S.H

Nisha Haq Photography > Dood Looks Like A Lady

One of my most interesting and 'daring' shoots I've done to date. For 'Dood Looks Like a Lady' I decided to get my fabulous gay friend, Matt Giles to dress up as a transvestite for a an hour for my Photography chair project. After continuously seeing how the androgynous look is very in season (especially after the Andrej Pejic case of modelling both females & menswear) the fashion world is becoming more accepting and even promoting this fashionable 'transvestite' trend. This particularly intrigued me where I wanted to explore themes of burlesque styling with a modern 'twist'. I linked this in with my chair project as burlesque dancers often use a chair as part of their act so thought I'd mix these themes up.

For this shoot (shot in March 2011) I dressed Matt in my lingerie (was really funny doing this) with the aid of Lauhren Jones for dressing and some make up. I had asked him to bring in a wig just in case however chose not to use it as his neck length conditioned hair looked very silky and feminine anyway! Despite being very rushed for time as I could only book the college studio out for an hour I only had 15 minutes of good shooting. I thought Matt was a great first time model (especially in clothes out of his comfort zone!) and certainly worked the studio space and followed direction very easily. Here are some of the edited shots from the day:

Check this photo out on:     Flickr    /    Facebook

Nisha Haq Photography & Design Links:

BLOG: mashthings.blogspot.com

FLICKR: flickr.com/mashnashphotography

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/pages/Nisha-Haq-Photography-Design/18373...

TWITTER: twitter.com/nashdood

M.A.S.H

Big Question: Is Technology slowing eradicating Art?

I've been browsing through internet blogs and started thinking about how much new technology is available to us and how easily accessible it is. I'm talking about MP3s, MP4s, e-book readers... you name it. The technological world is creating devices where we don't need CDs, DVDs or books any more, everything is technological including online streaming/downloading. I know I can't say much, I've done the odd song download where I didn't want to buy the album or the one-off movie stream when I couldn't go to the cinema which goes on to a whole new topic about illegal downloading n blah (don't report me to the authorities, I'm innocent... honest!), this post is about how art is left behind.

Music

Being a graphic enthusiast; I feel as if people have forgotten the importance of cover art on CDs and how it isn't impacting as it was before the incredibly fast digital era came; this is mainly down to the increased use of the internet. People download singles or albums in MP3 format and don't bother to buy the CD. I prefer buying CDs and enjoy looking through the album art especially interested in the graphic design (and photography) of the front cover, layout and typography.

Here are some great examples of cover art including iconic, controversial and general awesome design:

 

When listening to music I enjoy flicking through the album art especially if the artist & production team have taken a lot of time and effort into creating an outstanding visual booklet. Although I prefer booklets with lyrics inserted inside I believe concept art is more important. I see albums like a book of songs and each song is a chapter of the story. The booklet should visually represent the concept so that is one reason why album design is very important. I'm quite put off seeing manufactured pop acts with an over-airbrushed face for a front cover and some meaningless sexy poses inside, it just represents the artist as being uncreative and talentless. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE pop music however you can tell the artists that contribute to the CD to those who has everything done for them. So if album art was eradicated then the concept of the album can be lost on the way as music and art certainly go hand-in-hand.

Books

Moving to books I think that people should hold a book when reading. With the new e-book technology where people can just download numerous books to fit on an e-book; people need not buy real books just download data. I'm quite against this technology; yes it's easier and has many benefits especially for people 'on-the-go' but the feel of holding a book and all the other senses we take for granted when reading books will simply be lost. I love the smell; touch and sight of books filling up my shelves and to see that it can all fit in to one small compact silver object isn't satisfying for me. It's like having a whole beautiful closet shoved into one tiny box; no one can admire it. I recently bought a book called 'How to do more of just about Everything' (which is an addictive read!) and I hadn't bought one in ages! I forgot how much I enjoyed reading books and flicking through pages rather than sitting hours on end on my laptop. It's the same with CDS and DVDs as I like collecting and seeing them on my shelf in front of my eyes and the array of colours and designs that feature on the covers makes the stories/music much more exciting. Furthermore I believe the existence of blurbs will be lost and people will soon lose touch with the importance of books; the bearer of knowledge. So not only is technology diminishing art but possibly making people less active in terms of not going to the library and researching the old way: using books.

Cinema

Technology has also impacted cinema and with increased sales of devices that offer high quality (even HD quality now!) video functionalities eg. iTouch, people are downloading movies rather than buying DVDs or with the click of a button people can view ratings on movies online and need not bother to see whether the cinema poster art will affect them to watch the film. Gone are the days when artists hand created movie posters to be put especially outside the cinema; this is one reason why Bollywood hand made movie posters are still in high-demand and a joy to look at. The film industry is obsessed with super Photoshopped film posters and there have been numerous blunders that just ruins the art of film and design. A recent example is X-Men: First Class first film poster where many people were shocked at how awful it was and had no reflection on how amazing the film was (honestly is an awesome movie so go watch it now!) but thankfully the marketing team have changed it!

Original posters:

More examples of pretty bad film posters:

All these art forms; cd covers, film posters etc. are not only a form of artistic expression they are created to sell the product so of course has the advertising & marketing element. Does this mean that films, music and book sales will decrease a lot without the impacting presence of poster and cover art?

Well we've already seen a decline in album sales. Statistically this would look like artists and record companies aren't selling as much as before and the music isn't getting out to the public however due to the internet age; data can spread like wildfire making it easier to download both legally and illegally alike especially with the emergence of a blog culture. Sooner or later shop shelves won't be selling hard copies of albums and books, people will just be solely using the internet for everything this includes reading magazines and newspapers online with software/sites such as 'Other Edition', 'issuu.com' and downloading apps to read on iPads and other tablet devices.

In conclusion I believe that printed art for the entertainment industry such as CDs, books and film posters are slowly becoming unnoticed and unappreciated. I honestly hope it doesn't become a dead art form. I don't think technology itself is eradicating art but the development of this has inadvertently lead to the decline of printed art which would be a huge loss to both art and entertainment worlds. Everyone loves to see images and viewing a picture is one of the quickest ways to receive information rather than read words; it is also one of the most powerful methods of communication. If this is lost then hearing about new releases, the experience of reading a book/magazine/newspaper etc. could possibly have detrimental effects on socialisation and the impact of media. I believe advancing technology is brilliant such as the invention of portable devices like iPods, internet blogging (I wouldn't be posting this entry otherwise!) and applications on smartphones etc. has transformed the world in many amazing ways and has made information quick, cheap & accessible and has made people more interconnected because of this, but lest not forget the importance of printed media and where it all began. I hope CDs, DVDs & books etc. are not replaced by the internet and downloadable apps but somehow I've got a feeling it won't be due to the priceless experiences of printed media.

M.A.S.H

Please let me know what your thoughts on this matter are! Post a comment below!

N.B Please note I do not own copyright to images used in this entry and have been copied from other sites. For source origin, right click on image and select 'Copy Image URL' (For Google Chrome users)

If you wish to use excerpts from this entry please credit me and link to this entry page. Thanks.

'Buy Your Own Burka Barbie' Graphic Design Posters

Hey Guys

It's been a while since I've posted my work on here and being a person who likes things in chronological order I couldn't post recent works until I posted my old ones (I really should get a hold on things!) So I traced through my Flickr photostream to see what the last piece of work I posted on my blog and realized I haven't blogged these pieces.

Burkas, Barbies & Banning

'Buy Your Own Burka Barbie' was created for my A2 Graphic Design final piece 1 coursework for college (there are 2 final piece coursework modules.) I created these in January 2011 (photo was taken Nov 2010).

Burkas
This piece was submitted for my Identity/Feminism project where I looked at aspects in my life, how I identify with them and my strong views & beliefs. I wanted to look into my Islamic roots (my grandparents are very religious), self-portraiture and what that meant to me. I had intended to just do a self-portrait (see below) but was lacking inspiration on how to go about it. I had submitted this as my first final piece until I realized I really didn't like it and had a typical general message that didn't really identify with me.
I was surfing the internet looking for inspiration and came across Shadi Ghadirian's 'Like Everyday' photo series which looks at the role of Islamic housewives in many Arab countries. Some may say this is stereotypical, I say it's realistic. So 'Like Everyday' and looking at burka Barbie dolls on Trendhunter.com inspired my final piece coursework. I do think Islamic women are oppressed especially in the Middle East (though this is just a generalisation, not all women!) and their voices are left unheard.

Barbie
I decided to create these posters linking in with Barbie, a Westernized concept of beauty and the perfect woman; also Barbie represents global corporate branding. I wanted to look at how women in Islam, in particular housewives are seen as dolls in the sense that they are the 'property' of their husband and are told what to do without a say in the matter including sexual demands. I wanted to portray these themes in this poster with a stereotypical 50's Western housewife advertising style including the catchphrase 'I'm your Real Life Housewife!'. The tagline 'Available in all men's stores for only £1.99' meaning how cheap, easy & accessible it is to get a wife like 'me'.
Whilst creating this design (both posters took a whole weekend of work) I heavily airbrushed and 'Photoshopped' my face to make myself look 'doll-ish' but still human. I wanted the surface to be bright and colourful but with a sarcastic note to it, addressing heavy concepts with a flavour of dark humour. I didn't want to be too provocative, just enough skin showing to communicate my concepts clearly and of course the burka relating to Islam.
(FYI, no copyright infringement intended on Barbie!)

Banning
I had this work exhibited in one of my college's corridors and stayed there for a few days until it was suddenly taken down! At first I thought it was because the college was clearing the space for more work to be exhibited but was unusual that only my work was taken down and my friends work in my graphics class still remained on the walls. I lead myself to believe that the technicians got tired and hadn't gotten round to taken the other work down... but of course that wasn't the case! I had to enquire myself (unfortunately the college didn't have the decency to tell me themselves) why my work was taken down. It later came to my knowledge that my work was TOO CONTROVERSIAL!! The principal had apparently voiced concerned that it wasn't 'family friendly' and subsequently was taken down for open evening where all ages were welcomed to attend. At first that seemed shocking for the bad reasons that I couldn't exhibit my work any more, then I realized to some extent is a weird sort of compliment that my work was too controversial (meaning my message obviously came across!) and as a graphic designer is a good sign to cause such a reaction (I hadn't considered these posters to be controversial or using shock tactics as such until now). The only problem I had about this incident was that I wasn't notified (especially as my work was exhibited in an educational establishment, not a public place which is understandable) and the poorly explained reasons behind it. I think people should hear about these issues and if 16+ year olds are going to study at college should know what they're getting themselves into! (sorry for all this banter.. sometimes the blogging takes over me!)

Anyways... here are my posters! Tell me what you think!



I really liked the background typography and the effect of the texture so decided to make a typographic version with an outburst of bright colours. I also used the 'Barbie' logo font to make my posters more realistic. I particularly like the use of lens glare on this poster, it's such a handy tool to use in Photoshop! I think these posters look really effective A2 plus. When I printed it out on glossy on A2 size paper I was shocked looking at my own face! haha, Never seen it so big before!

Please note that I do not intend to hurt, target or upset anyone, only simply to communicate my views in an artistic form. I do not wish to spread hate or anger just bring to light issues in today's world. Hope you can respect that.

M.A.S.H

'Open Wide' Graphic Design Poster

One of the main reasons I started this blog was to post my work like an online journal of work however lately I've been drifting away from this and have been lazy posting my work! I mainly use Flickr & Facebook for regular updates on my work but there is still much to post as I'm always work on new projects, edits and shoots.

This edit I did all the way in January 2011 for my 'Feminism' project for A2 Graphic Design course at college. The background image was taken in October 2010 and the mouth image I shot in Jan 2011. In this poster I wanted to show how females can be portrayed and how they are 'sex objects' and all a woman has to do to please a man is 'open wide'. If you can't see what the background image is, it's basically my legs 'open wide'!

click pic to see bigger

M.A.S.H

18th Birthday Today!

Hi Guys

It's been a very long time since I've blogged an entry! gah, sorry guys but now that I have a little time off from exams I have some time to blog more! yay

I've done quite a few things since the last entry such as my first Wedding, Photography & Graphics exam, few University Interviews, volunteering projects a few live events and loads of photo shoots . But of course the most important thing that has happened recently is my 18th BIRTHDAY TODAY! woop woop

Had a few friends sleepover last night and went to the cinema to see Priest, which was okay but the effects were pretty good. Also my super aweosme mother took me out on Saturday and we had a fun happy day (which made me realize I definitely don't feel 18 yet!) I'm excited to go out drinking and clubbing for the first time legally! haha

So I'll leave a few photos of what I've been up to and what to expect PLUS MUCH MORE! some of these photos may feature a chair/s which has been for my photography exam project on chairs!... this time I'm going to try much harder to post regularly. Also thinking of a blog make over... new logo design, layout background.. the whole sha-bang!