JIMMY TURRELL

New Experiments and new business cards.

2012-02-09T05:19:00.000-08:00

Heres a few little experiments I've been trying out for a future project and also my new business cards which were designed by 2xelliott and printed beautifully by the guys at Team Impression. Loads more posts coming this week of new work for I've been doing for The New Yorker, New Scientist and Seattle Met so keep checking back.

IDN magazine interview

2012-02-06T06:49:00.000-08:00

Last month I mistakenly deleted the interview I did with IDN magazine last year from my blog. Only just got the chance to upload it now so here it is again for the few people who asked:

IdN: How would you describe your work / style to those coming across it for the first time?

I guess a lot of my work is steeped in nostalgia but I try hard to examine it in a contemporary setting. I try to use methods that produce strange (and often awkward) combinations of images and ideas.

Mixing analog techniques from the past with imagery and subject matter from the present can create strange hybrid worlds - which in themselves feel new and of their time.

This often means my style is quite diverse - it can jump from hand painted portraits to complex collage work to very simple graphic pieces - though hopefully a certain spirit runs throughout.

IdN: The colours in your works are quite contrasting - how do you see the relationship between color application and retro / nostalgia?

In terms of direct influences a couple of things really stick out from my childhood that I think have affected my understanding of colour and its nostalgic qualities.

I grew up in The Byker Wall in Newcastle Upon Tyne, a huge council estate development built by the architect Ralph Eskine. At the time it represented a major break from the high-rise Brutalist architectural orthodoxy in Britain and rather than dull concrete tones I grew up around complex, textured facades, colourful brick, wood and plastic panels. I was surrounded by bright, primary colours everywhere I looked and this definitely left an indelible mark on me and consequently my work

Also as a young boy I distinctly remember being entranced by my Dad's copy of Disraeli Gears by Cream and being totally blown away by the fluorescent pink artwork on the cover.

He also had old copies of Oz and International Times which also effected my appreciation of colour within print. Later on as a student I became a big fan of 60's Polish and Cuban poster art which again utilized the same bright, poppy colours.

IdN: How you would describe the term retro and how you would title works as retro / nostalgia?

It's sometime hard to know what constitutes as "retro" now as the world around us moves so quickly, but in my eyes the best work does more than just mimic past styles by simply duplicating whole movements within design history. Although it usually has a healthy respect for its source material it forms an aesthetic that can create a specific mood or awaken memories within people while still creating something vibrant and fresh.

Sometimes the most interesting work can come from an individual not truly understanding or even experiencing that aesthetic first hand. I grew up in the Eighties but I feel that my take on the Sixties has a certain warped twist to it - like I'm trying to experience the decade vicariously through my work but then getting it slightly wrong. Which can then throw up interesting results.

IdN: From your perspective, what role does retro / nostalgia play in popular culture?

The past in itself is vital to popular culture as it represents the main source of the reference points that inspire us. So whether it's Push Pin being inspired by 19th Century Victoriania, The Psychedelia movement referencing Art Deco or even say, LCD Soundsystem being influenced by Krautrock - in some sense every creative person is looking for guidance from the past in some way.

Its how we adapt, integrate and make relevant those influences that's most important.

IdN: Making retro / nostalgia work with up-to-date technology / software actually is a bit contradictory. Whats your take on it?

In terms of technique I tend to try to explore as many different pathways as I can. I often use classic methods (screenprinting, watercolours and inks) and antiquated technology (old fax machines and typewriters) to examine very contemporary subject matter - and vice versa. As long as it's honest I don't think there's really a right or wrong way to create this type of work.

Its almost a re-imagining of the past and it holds a yearning for a more idealistic time.

Movements such as Retro-Futurism and Steampunk take it one step forward - taking depictions of the future created in the past and then updating them for the 21st Century. This might sound paradoxical but this collision of ideas and themes has truly helped to create new aesthetic languages.

Nostalgic design is often bolstered by optimism about human potential and the so called "good old days" but at the same time it can suggests a half ironic, half melancholic longing for the past that i think we can all appreciate.

Thanks to Dazed and Confused, Creative Review And Mr A. Shaughnessy

2012-01-27T09:07:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the lack of action on the blog over the last month - I've been a bit snowed under.

Anyway this is just a quick one to thank a few people. First up is Dazed and Confused. Their exhibition

Making It Up As We Go Along finishes this weekend at Somerset House so pop along and catch it if you can - its really great. It celebrates 20 years of one of the worlds greatest style magazines and I'm lucky enough to feature in both the exhibition and the book that accompanies it.

Dazed was one of the first magazines that took a chance on me when I first moved to London so big up to them and their Art Director at the time Peter Stitson. I did lots of illustrations for them over the years - heres a small selection from the early 2000's - Jordan with a boozoka (which features in the book), French cheesebomb Johnny Halliday and an illustration for an article on child soldiers in Sierra Lione. My style has moved on a bit since then but I thought I'd show them here anyway.

Next up is Creative Review who featured my Yellowire project in their last issue - The Music Issue. It was included in an article about special editions and how independent labels are using this format to keep the physical product alive and kicking.

And I'd also like to thank Adrian Shaughnessy as his tweet about our other project Primitive Heritage lead to an inordinate amount of traffic to the site. Cheers to IDN (we have a small feature in the next issue), blog.iso.com, ventilate, reformrevolution, Adobe, Computer Arts Magazine and Building A Wolf for similar posts about the work.

Heres some imagery from Dazed and various one-offs and limited editions which we've sold through Primitive Heritage.

Bloomberg Portraits

2011-12-22T06:40:00.000-08:00

Over the last few months I've been commisioned by Richard Turley at Bloomberg Businessweek to illustrate portraits for their Hard Choices column. Basically various business people are interviewed about a crucial decision they've had to make which affected the course of their company.

Before I took over they had a problem in that the straight photographic portraits often resulted in a rather stiff and unattractive outcome.Instead they wanted a painted portrait of each person surrounded by extra elements which were relevant to that particular story i.e. company logos, other relevant characters, symbols etc.

It's sometimes a challenge to make these guys look interesting but here's a select few that I think have worked.

Political Magazines - Covers For Newsweek and Internazionale

2011-12-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

I've worked on a few illustrations for magazines of a more political bent lately including the covers for both Italian magazine Internazionale and Newsweek. For their cover story about the crisis of capitalism they wanted Karl Marx as Santa Claus - a fairly straightforward assignment that I gave them three options for. They went for the more photographic piece with the sun over NYC.

Another cover I worked on for them concerned Assad's censorship of the media in Syria. Again I gave them two options - the Syrian flag blocking out his mouth was chosen over the barbed wire.

The Newsweek illo's were both based around the negative connotations of the financial collapse so I tried to keep them both relatively gritty - there of Angela Merkel and Jon Corzeen. Big up to the Art Directors - Giovanni De Mauro and Nick Mrozowski for Internazionale and Leah Purcell and Lindsay Ballant for Newsweek.

Primitive Heritage

2011-12-03T05:04:00.000-08:00

Just set up this morning down in Great Western Studios. I'm selling prints from the new collaborative project I'm working on - Primitive Heritage. Working alongside James Horwitz from 2xelliot and Mark Bloom at Mashcreative we aim to produce a series of limited edition risoprints and screenprints and the occasional one off piece. The torn up Michael Jackson and Kanye Prints are the first of this run. If you get a chance pop down to the open studios this weekend - it runs from 12 - 6 Saturday and Sunday.

Details are here: http://www.greatwesternstudios.com/events/399-05-10-11-open-studios

Open Studios at Great Western Studios

2011-12-02T09:28:00.000-08:00

Pop down to Great Western Studios this weekend if you get the chance. I'll be opening my studio along with hundreds of the other artists, designers and craftspeople. I'll be selling Primitive Heritage prints (see the Kanye and Michael Jacksons prints above - only £25) and some one off collage pieces and screenprints (the other two pics). It would be great to meet up and have a cup of tea so hopefully see you down there.

Heres the details: http://www.greatwesternstudios.com/events/399-05-10-11-open-studios

New Work in BAFTA Auction

2011-11-14T08:01:00.000-08:00

I was asked by a friend to contribute a few pieces to A Gala Charity Art Auction for Bafta and The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. It will take place at the BAFTA's and be hosted by Sir Richard Attenborough and John Cleese. I have two of my own pieces in there and also a couple of collaborations I've done with 2xelliott and Mashcreative. Other artists include Terry O'Neil and Kate Gibb.

New books featuring my work

2011-11-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

My work has been featured in quite a few design books lately so check them if you can.

The first is Mid Fi by Emil Kovak. Mid-Fi takes a extensive look at the recent change in the perception of how a computer can be used in a graphic-design/ illustration process. It basically examines how the computer is being used more as a tool, instead of as the main instrument for creating graphics and art. It examines this hybrid crafts-based approach, mixed with modern technology, and the new forms of expression that it brings.

The second is from my old lecturer at St Martins - John Ingeldew. A really lovely guy and brilliant teacher John has written The A-Z of Creative Ideas - How to Solve a Creative Brief. It examines the key ideas, sources of inspiration and visual techniques that have been used throughout design history. Showing where ideas and inspiration come from, the book provides numerous strategies to help unlock the reader’s creativity.

Also out is Andrew Hall's Illustration - This broad introduction to illustration reveals the artistic, intellectual and organizational skills needed to practice as a freelance illustrator, and helps the reader navigate the specialist areas of its application.

Lastly Atlas Of Illustration which features 600 pages of the most promising new talents from different international backgrounds, sharing their best commercial art and personal projects.

Varoom Magazine Interview

2011-11-02T05:52:00.000-07:00

Heres a little interview I did with Varoom magazine about the Yellowire project.

Collage giveaway

2011-10-07T07:08:00.000-07:00

To mark the launch of www.jimmyturrell.com I'm giving away an original collage I made while creating the Yellowire video. Become a fan on http://www.facebook.com/JimmyTurrell.Illustration or follow on twitter - winner picked at random on Wednesday 12th October

Creative Review's Album Cover Of The Month - Yellowire

2011-10-06T07:24:00.000-07:00

I'm really pleased to say that my design for Yellowire's packaging has just been chosen for Creative Review's Album Cover Of The Month. Check their blog here.

New website and blog changes

2011-10-05T01:37:00.000-07:00

My first new website for 5 years (www.jimmyturrell.com) went live yesterday and thanks to everybody who've given it their support. Due to the nature of the site and the ease in which I can now edit the imagery there will be fresh updates on there all the time so keep checking back. Consequently this blog will now feature much more than just my own work. I'll be posting up music (a monthly Spotify playlist), video and also other artists and subjects that I find inspirational - basically anything that floats my boat and feeds back into my work. Site designed by Two Times Elliot.

Yellowire - The Aftermath.

2011-10-04T08:23:00.000-07:00

Finally got my studio sorted again after the mammoth project that was Yellowire. Sometimes a bit of creative chaos can be very inspirational but its good to get some order back to clear the head.

Yellowire/Universal

2011-09-09T07:06:00.000-07:00

I recently completed the artwork for new Universal Records band Yellowire. They lets me go to town about a bit with the packaging on this one - I managed to get die cuts, fluro inks and metallics all in the same piece of artwork so big up to Olly Beach, Ruth Ward, Ali Essen, Jim Beach, Fernando Gutierrez, Kerry Wadsworth, Dean Rose and James Horwitz at Two Times Elliott (for the pack shots). Hold tight for the video….

The Guardian Guide

2011-09-09T01:57:00.000-07:00

Here's tomorrow's Guardian Guide cover. As its Robert Smith from The Cure I went for a more freeform

style of painting and I raided Boots for the cheapest lipstick they had for the typography. I've always loved the band so this one was a pleasure.

Little White Lies Thanks

2011-07-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

Just a quick one to thank everybody who came down to the Little White Lies Show at Kemistry Gallery. The prints are still online to buy here and heres a few shots of the show itself.

BLOOMBERG

2011-07-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

Richard Turley (ex art director at The Guardian) has completely revitilised the look of Businessweek since he took over in NYC last April. He has managed to transform potentially dry sounding subject matter into imagery that's fresh, bold and exciting. Heres a few illustrations I did for them back in February that I forgot to post up. I basically came up with the idea of Obama as "Regulation Man"- a superhero who uses red tape as a weapon to help businesses. For more about Turley check here.

KRAAK & SMAAK - ELECTRIC HUSTLE

2011-07-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

I just recently completed all the artwork for the dutch band Kraak & Smaak. Heres the final artwork and a couple of ideas that never made the cut. And heres my favourite track from the album - Never Too Late. Loving those Aeroplane-esque chords and drop at about 2 mins 21 secs in. Hype.

KEMISTRY GALLERY + SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER

2011-06-14T02:11:00.000-07:00

Heres the full details of the Kemistry Gallery exhibition. I did the the poster of Serpico below and also a little extra piece - Saturday Night Fever. It runs from Thursday 16th June until Sat 2nd of July. Pop along if you get the chance.

KEMISTRY GALLERY - LITTLE WHITE LIES EXHIBITION

2011-06-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

I was asked by Little White Lies Magazine to create a bespoke piece of LWLies cover art based on my favourite 70's film. The Serpico piece served as visual feature inside this month's mag and will now be featured in an exhibition, LWL70 at Kemistry Gallery in Shoreditch.

A limited edition of each artwork will be available for sale at the show, then when the show ends LWL be selling the prints in a dedicated online shop.

I wanted to try and capture the real sense of isolation Frank Serpico feels so went for a simple black background with Pacino looking directly into the camera.

Check back tomorrow for my take on Saturday Night Fever and full details of the exhibition.

SKETCHBOOK WORK

2011-06-10T01:48:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start posting sketchbook work on my blog from now on. I think its important to show the working process so I'm going to start showing everything from very early working roughs, collages, typographic and graphic experiments and variations of work that has never been published.

I'll be putting new stuff up every week now (promise!!) so check back to see work in progress on a variety of projects. Heres some sketches + graphic pieces of early work for Kyocera and Pentagram.

New work - Adidas, New Scientist and other stuff.

2011-01-24T03:15:00.000-08:00

Been really busy lately. Here's a few new pieces I've created over the last month. A piece for Adidas for Saatchi, a painting of Keith Richards and a sneak peek at some artwork I'm doing for a mates band for their upcoming album. There's also a cover for this week's New Scientist which had a similar theme to a piece I produced before for them so they just wanted me to tweak an earlier sketch I'd done to fit this article.

Little White Lies

2011-01-05T11:52:00.000-08:00

Here's another one for Little White Lies. Its of Javier Bardem for his new film Buitiful. Again the guys at LWT wanted it pretty straight up and representational with no real extra elements. Sometimes its really nice to sit down and do this sort of illustration. A challenging brief is great in terms of testing the old grey matter but sometimes just chilling out, sticking some tunes on and painting is the way to go.

Little White Lies / Grolsch

2010-11-10T05:35:00.000-08:00

Here's an illustration I've just done for Little White Lies Magazine and Grolsch. Its of Guy Pearce in the new Australian thriller Animal Kingdom. Loving that tashe baby!

The Guardian Guide

2010-09-24T09:46:00.000-07:00

A Guardian Guide Cover I've just finished about how the internet has made music videos relevant again.

New Scientist

2010-07-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

Illustration for The New Scientist about a new hearing device that helps the blind envisage imagery.

The New Yorker

2010-07-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

Illustration for The New Yorker on the madness of The Eurovision Song Contest. They wanted it to be "super pop" - hence the OTT colours.

Uniqlo/ Metal Gear Solid Event.

2010-06-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of pieces I created for an event for Uniqlo/Amusement Magazine in Paris. The event was to celebrate the release of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and I was one of five illustrators to be chosen to give my personal response to the game.
The works were presented at a press presentation with the video game producer Hideo Kojima at the Uniqlo store in Paris on June 17th. For video of the event click here.

The Ride

2010-06-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

I've loved The Ride magazine for a while now so it was an honour to be asked to contribute to their latest issue. My illustration was for a feature about about a workshop called The Bike Kitchen in San Francisco.

The Wall Street Journal

2010-06-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

My second cover for The Wall Street Journal. Again to coincide with the World Cup and England's game with USA but also a larger comment on the state of the two countries so called "special relationship".

Business Week Cover

2010-05-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a cover I did for Business Week on the rise of South Africa. It's basically to co-incide with the World Cup.

KK Outlet Exhibition - Ex Fax Machina

2010-03-18T09:49:00.000-07:00

I was one of four illustrators chosen to take part in Fax Ex-Machina - a one off live art exchange (involving live drawing and fax machines) between Brazilian and UK artists taking place simultaneously in KK Outlet, London and POP Gallery Sao Paulo. The other UK artists involved were Billy Jean, Andrew Clark and Mcbess. The exhibition runs until 26th March. Heres some pics of the event.

For all the info on the exhibition - http://www.kkoutlet.com/art/2010/ex-fax-machina

The Guardian Guide - Tim Burton

2010-03-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

Apologies about the big gap on the blog - I've been super busy.

Here's a cover and inside spread I did for The Guardian Guide on Tim Burton. I suppose this one's a lot more cartoony than work I've done in the past but the art director wanted an injection of humour and Tim's crazy hair just seemed to be the obvious hook.

Nike / Intro

2010-01-26T05:23:00.000-08:00

I was digging around yesterday and found some old some sketchbook pages from my work with Intro for Nike (for a campaign for their Nike Pro training tops) that I did last year.

New Scientist

2010-01-26T04:48:00.000-08:00

Three sketches I've just done for New Scientist magazine.They were for a biology/evolution piece about the contribution viruses have made to human evolution. Not sure which ones will make the final cut.

Heart mailer

2010-01-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Here's my Heart Agency mailer.

WIRED magazine

2010-01-06T08:32:00.000-08:00

Quite a simple one here for Wired magazines HOW TO section. This one was how to roll a kayak.

The Wall Street Journal

2010-01-06T08:27:00.001-08:00

Heres a cover I did about the Noughties for The Wall Street Journal. Although the major events of the decade were primarily dark in tone (911, Iraq) I chose to strike a balance by including more positive content (social neetworking, Apple) and by using bright poppier colours against the black.

The Guardian Guide

2009-12-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

Heres an alternative version of the cover I did for this weekend's Guardian Guide on Spike Jonze's Where The Wild Things Are.

Just What I Never Wanted

2009-11-25T05:19:00.000-08:00

I've just contributed to a new exhibition at KK Outlet in Hoxton Square. It's called Just What I Never Wanted and runs from 3rd - 23rd December 2009 and the private view is on December 3rd 7-9pm. Other contributors include HORT, Anthony Burrill, Yokoland and Scott King.

Gifted

2009-11-04T03:56:00.000-08:00

I've just contributed to an new exhibition called Gifted in aid of The Teenage Cancer Trust. Other exhibitors include Ronzo, Steve Wilson, Mr Bingo, Chrissie Abbot, Rankin and Peter Stitson.

The Guardian G2

2009-10-24T15:37:00.000-07:00

Just created this piece for the cover of the Guardian's G2 section on forty years of the internet. It was pretty much inspired by the piece I did below on evolution.

Elmwood book project

2009-10-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

A piece I created as part of a major project for Elmwood which never got used in the final book but I think could work quite nicely as a poster. The book comes out later this year.

Evolution

2009-10-14T06:50:00.000-07:00

A couple of personal pieces I've just done on the theme of evolution.

The Illustrated Ape

2009-10-07T06:18:00.000-07:00

Heres an alternative version of an illustration I did for the current issue of The Illustrated Ape.

Rome Snowboards

2009-10-01T06:35:00.000-07:00

Just completed 5 snowboards for Rome. The guys over there wanted something dark and brooding so I based them around the concept of fallen idols. Heres a peak of three which never made the final cut.

My Pics 2009

2009-09-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

I've just created a Flickr set of all of my photography over the last year. There's a good mix here - from trips to Berlin, Vegas and good old Newcastle Upon Tyne.

The Observer

2009-08-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

Heres an illlustration I just did for The Observer on high speed rail travel.

Glastonbury 2009

2009-07-23T04:14:00.000-07:00

I was commissioned by The Guardian to illustrate all their promotional material for Glastonbury 2009. The brief was entitled "Flyposter My Life" and was based around the concept of a person flypostering their music memories (their favourite gigs, their first ever record, the record they first fell in love to etc).

I also designed the interior and exterior of The Guardian Lounge. This included an exhibition of original framed artworks, the flypostering of all the stage panels and the creation of large 3d letters above the stage.

My design assistant on this project was Marcos Villalba. Here's all the imagery with pics of the bands playing (including Little Boots, White Lies, Ebony Bones, Golden Silvers, The Maccabees and Peter Bjorn and John)

More Glastonbury images

2009-07-22T06:10:00.000-07:00

2009-07-21T05:34:00.000-07:00

Nissan / Designboom

2009-06-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

Poster I created for Nissan + designboom.

Design Week Award

2009-05-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

The book I illustrated for Pentagram has won first prize in this year’s Design Week Award for Editorial Design and won a D&AD award in the same category

Older Collages

2009-05-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

Couple of bits of hand done collage work I did a while back.

Kyocera Sketch

2009-04-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

A sketchbook piece for Japanese electronic firm Kyocera.

Beth Ditto for OMM

2009-03-06T08:48:00.000-08:00

An alternative version of an illustration of Beth Ditto I did for The Observer Music Monthly.

Brain Wave

2009-02-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

A piece of personal work I created around the concept of inspiration.

GQ - Generation Kill

2009-02-02T09:07:00.000-08:00

Illustration I just completed for GQ on the HBO television show Generation Kill about soldiers in Iraq.

More Ancient Mariner

2009-01-20T11:11:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd post up a couple of more pieces that i created for the Ancient Mariner project that never got used.

OMM Coldplay + Duffy

2008-12-31T09:18:00.000-08:00

An illustration I've just done for The Observer Music Monthly for Miranda Sawyers column on Coldplay and Duffy. I had to keep this very representative and in my more painterly style.

Tokion book

2008-12-21T04:46:00.000-08:00

Check out a short interview with me in the new book Revisionaries : A Decade Of Art In Tokion. Really comprehensive book with artwork and interviews with Barry Mcgee, Deanne Cheuk, Shepard Fairey, Faile and loads more.

Guardian Guide Cover

2008-12-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

Just finished this cover for the Guide on Anthony and the Johnsons. Again they

went for a painted portrait but here's a couple more graphic, darker cover ideas

I came up with.

Klaxons

2008-12-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

Heres a new piece I've just done of Klaxons for Miranda Sawyers column in the Observer Music Monthly. A slightly different version is being used with the new singer Duffy included instead.

Ancient Mariner

2008-11-19T14:57:00.000-08:00

Some ideas I've been working on for Beat magazine - a book published by my agency Heart every year to promote everyone on their books. This one is based around the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem "the Rime of the Ancient Mariner".

DC Shoes Poster

2008-11-07T09:33:00.000-08:00

A poster I created for a mate at DC Shoes for a street art exhibition

in Paris.

Kyocera Billboards

2008-10-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

The illustrations I created for Kyocera as a bus wrap and on stairs in an airport.