Posted by kluster on March 22, 2010
Its that time of the year again, when all of Sydney's inky-fingered hipsters and design aficionados descend on the convention centre for Semi-Permanent. The two-day programme of inspirational speakers that come from all areas of the creative arts.
The conference started with a presentation from the founder of frankie magazine - Louise Bannister. She explained how the mainstream publishing backing simply gave them the freedom to think big and take chances; summarising the secret of the success in a very simple mantra - 'follow your gut and listen to your readers'. frankie photographer Natasha Cantwell then revealed that the ideology behind their photo shoots is to ignore all the usual tricks of fashion photography which make the model feel more comfortable in front of that camera, in fact, she said, frankie's visual identity has been built around that awkward and undoubtabley more natural feel.
Next up, Travis Millard and Mel Kabel took to the stage with a 6-pack of Coopers. They met in a women's toilet he was painting and now live in a log cabin in LA nextdoor to Devandra Banhart. They have a printed a huge amount of home-made zines with a Gocco printer, as well as more commercial projects for Vans, Spin Magazine and various skate companies. In the Q+A section it was reveled that Steven Speilberg had recently bought one of their drawings for Harrrison Ford for his birthday, although Travis dismissed the star-studded anecdote with a shrug, "Hey man, its Hollywood."
After the lunch break Craig Schuftan presented a highly detailed and entertaining defence of the 80s music revival. And then John Trippe presented his blog-turned-artistic-showcase - 'fecal face dot com'. The site, he said, is simply a continuation of a life spent among artists and skateboarders with whom he has always felt an affinity.
Sydney's Glue Society followed the afternoon break, with a series of incredible videos, which showcased an unconventional approach to advertising and a celebration of lateral thinking. James Dive explained that as they have no regular clients and work on a project-by-project basis, they can achieve true creative freedom by only selecting work that excites them.
The final presentation of the day was delivered with passion and gravitas. Ashley Gilbertson described himself as a conflict photographer and his work as "attempting to reflect the humanity of civilians caught in the crossfire of warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan". Photo journalism, he said, should not be art, but rather a document without opinions and always maintain "a core value of integrity". The audience were also given an exclusive preview of a recent project that was due to run in The New York Times merely hours afterwards. This was a series of photographs of the empty bedrooms of soldiers that lost their lives in Iraq, the story of each image was described in detail as the creator grew visibly more emotional with each shot. It was a poignant way to end an amazing day, and a reminder that the visual arts is a lot more than just making things that look pretty.
semi-permanent, frankie magazine, travis millard, mel kabel, craig schuftan, glue society, ashley gilbertson