Culture

A recurring theme in Paolozzi’s work during the sixties is the combination of man and machine which can be seen in his sculpture and vivid screen prints. The sculptural pieces were pioneering in the art world by their use of concrete to reflect the modern world in a raw and brutalist style. Produced at the same time and in direct contrast to his sculpture a series of screen prints burst with bright colours and metallic inks. The process involved layering up multiple inked plates to create intricate, bold and inspiring images which sit comfortably in the Pop Art bracket.

During the eighties Paolozzi experimented in sculpture and the process of making. He would copy and recast artworks in plaster, then assemble them into new forms, destroy them and then again reassemble them before casting the whole creation in bronze. The whole point was that the “art” is in the creative process of the making and that the final piece was irrelevant. These are very modern concepts of art and something that younger artists would go on to build upon in contemporary art across the world.

Following our highbrow outing we decided to keep things real by heading straight to Poppies Fish & Chips shop in Spitalfields to process all these concepts over mushy peas and a pint.

Recommended by Living Group this exhibition runs from 16 February – 14 May 2017 at The Whitechapel Gallery, London

Designed by Herzog & de Meuron – a swiss based architectural firm – it’s 11 floors high, and expands the museum by 60%, housing art exhibitions, restaurants and bars.

Tate’s director Sir Nicholas Serota told a press briefing in London that the aim was to create “a new museum for the 21st century that reflects a truly international view of art”.

The views from the balcony are breathtaking. Definitely an ‘I Love London’ moment. That view is worth a visit alone.

Oh, but ‘please respect your neighbour’s privacy’. All will become clear!

This raw early work shown in the first room is truly compelling. To see the human body photograms on blue print paper and the abstraction of the tire print is quite a privilege as few artist’s formative work is ever shown. The next room takes you into Rauschenberg’s experimental work of the 1950’s. Here you can see the ‘Combine’ work where he added real objects (often found discarded on the streets of Manhattan) into visceral paintings. There’s a palpable energy in the work at this stage of the show which is rough, honest and unapologetic. You really get a sense of an artist who is creating work free from a commercial agenda.

The show moves swiftly onto Rauschenberg’s more famous works created in the 1960’s dominated by his explorations into screen printing. These works really absorb the viewer’s attention into the multi image layers, overlays of incidental typography and gestural brushwork. There’s a wonderful depth to the silkscreens not only visually but also in terms of subject matter. Of all his contemporaries Rauschenberg was clearly bolder in addressing the political events of the 60’s.

A rather unexpected addition to Rauschenberg’s work in the 60’s are props, sets and footage from his lesser known performance art. Becoming one of the founders of the Judson Dance Theater Rauschenberg not only designed and created the sets and lighting but was also credited with choreographing performances.

This really is a show which keeps giving. Just when you think you’ve recovered from the revelation of Rauschenberg as a master of dance you’re thrown into his experimentation with technology. ‘Mud Muse’ is a wonderfully playful installation of a large metal tank containing a 1000 gallons of bentonite clay mixed with water. The tank is pumped with air which causes the mud to pop and bubble, the sound of which causes the air to be re-injected into the tank. 

The end of the show takes you through the collaborative of the ROCI ‘Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange’ foundation where Rauschenberg travelled to countries behind the global iron curtain producing works inspired by each location visited. One work produced in the series was donated to national museum of the host country. This work sees Rauschenberg leveraging photography, print and new techniques to create artworks that sought to communicate across cultural and political divides.

The Rauschenberg retrospective really does deliver a compelling visual and sensory journey through an intrepid lifetime’s work by an artist who acknowledged no boundaries in his artistic expression.

The show runs until 2 April at the Tate Modern. Don’t miss out.

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/robert-rauschenberg

Andy Richards

In the last 80 years, quite possibly as an effect of Mussolini’s Agricultural policy of fascism in the 1930s, the region suffered from drastic levels of unemployment that still grips the town today. In light of seeing their home town become little more than old brick, wood and clay shells, ‘Andrea Bartoli and his wife Florinda Saieva bought several buildings in the semi-abandoned city center’ and from it, created an oasis of life. The Farm Cultural Park opened in 2010 and has since drawn in tourists from around the world to view its exhibits, screenings, talks, cultural events cafes and shops.

The area itself is pleasing to the eye and almost a little bizarre. Boldly coloured playful murals depict local life, old chairs and cupboards are suspended from the flaking building walls and politically charged statements hide playfully within the natural landscape of buildings. All the while the stray cats and dogs play their endless game of hide and seek between the narrow baking streets of old cafes re-furbished restaurants and a-top craggy stairways.

The main exhibit at TFCP was a photographic exploration titled ‘The Commonality of Strangers’ by Mahtab Hussain. I was surprised to find that it was in fact a Britain-centric exhibition; a collection of portraits and interviews of immigrants both new and old, that set about ‘demystifying who these individuals are, while confronting the viewer with the reality of their experience and why they came to live in the UK’.  

The accounts of the individuals are highly personal, sometimes shocking and always surprising. You cannot help but notice the stereotypes you lazily accept being wiped away before your eyes. Their opinions on subjects and the eloquence and the depth that they understand, leaves you with a clear impression that they obviously know more about these issues than the everyday Britain born Caucasian. Yet they are not necessarily angry or bitter. They are grateful, rational, concerned and in many cases have lived with the changing of policy on immigration first hand. They have seen the benefits when it works and also mourned the effects of its failures.

If you find yourself in Sicily it is no mean feat to drive to Favara. Spend an afternoon walking around The Farm Cultural Park and buy a local pastry or two. It is only very small, but it leaves a big impression.

You can view the exhibition online here:

http://www.mahtabhussain.com/work/the-commonality-of-strangers/

http://www.farmculturalpark.com/place.html

You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966 - 1970is a minefield of distractions. From the moment you walk in you are greeted with the sounds of the sixties, quotes from Bob Dylan and the likes, seminal works of art and hand written lyrics by Lennon and McCartney that align you with the vivid history of London’s cultural upheaval. You drift from music to fashion, then film and design, literature and of course recreational drug use, through the Middle Earth movement and into vast swathes of psychedelic album and gig poster artworks. The UFO and Grateful Dead posters with their mixed mediums are strikingly evocative. More so than in the decades that followed, this period of musical artwork clearly reflected current ideas and now exist as works of art that still have relevance in the 21st Century. This section of the exhibition is almost library like, with real texts for you to pick up and read. Unfortunately, there are no bean bags.

The second of the five rooms picks out key events and movements: second wave feminism, gay liberation, Black Panthers and Martin Luther King with Cassius Clay days before he changed his name after a religious awakening, Nazis and police brutality in the face of social unrest and resistance, cases of self-immolation in objection to war and other extreme acts of defiance flying in the face of the half-truth the media pedals. Meanwhile collage-style audio playlist of helicopters, TV static, crowds yelling and screaming helps set the scene and to an extent assaults the senses. The third and fourth rooms explore the new world of advertising and selling lifestyles – then futurism, the World Fair and space travel.

On the whole the journey is visually stimulating, grasping at your imagination with sounds and layers of texture, making you long to be there in the late sixties feeling the waves of the free love era and genre defining music coursing through your veins. Then it shocks you and again makes you feel the pain and the struggle at the violence and intolerance - dispelling romantic visions a golden era on the road to utopia.

The last room is dedicated solely to Woodstock. I will not ruin the surprise, but I suggest you leave ten minutes of your time for it alone as you can relax and experience the festival in vivid colour, again with a smattering of artefacts from some of histories best loved musicians. While this room is a slightly odd pastiche to the era in a very un V&A manner it does allow us time to reflect on the experience before returning to the present day.

Woodstock:

Day 1: Friday, August 15 1969:

Richie Havens, Sweetwater, Bert Sommer, Tim, Hardin, Ravi shankar, Melanie, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez 

Day 2: Saturday, August 16 1969
Quill, Country Joe McDonald, John B. Sebastian, Keef Hartley Band, Santana, Incredible String Band, Canned Heat, Grateful Dead, Leslie West & Mountain, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, Sly & The Family Stone, The Who, Jefferson Airplane 

Day 3: Sunday, August 17 1969
Joe Cocker, Country Joe & The Fish, Ten Years After, Johnny Winter, Blood Sweat And Tears, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 

Day 4: Monday, August 18 1969
Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Sha Na Na, Jimi Hendrix 

Here’s a link to the exhibition.

Also on at the V&A is the Engineering of the World: Ove Arup and the Philosophy of Total Design.

‘Ove Arup (1895-1988) was the most influential engineer of the 20th century and the pioneer of a multidisciplinary approach to design that has defined the way engineering is understood and practiced today.’

Edward Webb, Middleweight Digital Designer

The Sunday Football series shows a reality that many of us are familiar with but also one that many of us pay little or no thought to. The images that Chris has captured are both honest and compelling, showing us the rawer edge of a game played by somewhat unconventional characters who clearly do things on their own terms. The series is a refreshing view into the antics of everyday guys simply wanting to have a kick about with their mates and parking life’s stresses for 90 minutes. 

So if you’d like to escape the day’s pressures for a short while check out Chris’s show and I guarantee you’ll be charmed and amused.

The show runs until 12th September, at The Print Space, 74 Kingsland Road, London E2 8DL. Don’t miss out.

http://bakerworld.co.uk/

https://www.theprintspace.co.uk/

Hatoum is renown for her large scale installations and sculptures that challenge the aesthetics of minimalism and surrealism to expose a world shaped by conflict and contradiction. Themes of human vulnerability are central to her work a focus evolved from her time spent at the Slade School of Art in the 70’s and early 80’s. By the late 80’s her focus had shifted to installation and sculpture employing the use of a diverse range of materials to create geometric, systematic concepts. Her explorations into the conflicting states of order and chaos yielded a range of juxtaposed work that really challenges our perceptions of our reality.

The exhibition doesn’t deliver the usual linear chronological experience instead it amplifies the contrast of conflicting emotions and perceptions that her work exposes. Each room presents a visual and sensory experience that is both compelling and unexpected.

There’s only one week left to catch this excellent show so don’t hesitate.

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/mona-hatoum

Andy Richards

"Throughout the time that I have attended my work experience at Living Group, I have felt very welcomed by everyone that worked around me. The team have helped me develop new skills on the field that I really enjoyed by teaching me how to work on Photoshop, animate with coding and working on layouts for different projects like magazines and comic books. I really enjoyed my time doing my work experience here because I learnt valuable life skills for the future, not only did I learn this but I also learned how it is to work in an office environment. This experience also taught me the process that takes place behind many of the logos and adverts you see on a daily basis, which takes a lot of work and skill to complete effectively. Thank you to everyone in the Living Group that helped me and thank you to Jim Campbell who went out of his way to help me develop and understand the skills needed to succeed."

Brayan has shown enough this week to make me think he’s going to have a long and successful career in the creative industry – if that’s the career path he wants to follow. 

Everyone at Living Group wishes Brayan all the best for his future!

Jim Campbell

Rice dumplings

Known as joong in Cantonese, these are made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. There are many fillings ranging from shredded pork, salted egg, and chicken to red bean paste. Traditionally, every home makes dumplings and shares them at family gatherings.

Dragon boat races

Teams of paddlers row narrow boats with a dragon’s head on the prow to a finish line. A drummer sits at the front and uses the drumbeat to keep everyone in time and push the pace. In Hong Kong, the races are held at Stanley (and other places), where teams from many large corporates fiercely compete against each other – it’s an impressive festive ‘team-building’ activity!  

The legend

These two seemingly unconnected customs originate from the same legend; that of Qu Yuan, a talented poet and minister during the Zhou Dynasty, who became so disillusioned with the King that he drowned himself in the Milo River.

The local people so admired Qu Yuan that they raced out in boats to save him – and from this dragon boat racing was born. Unable to find him, to honour his soul and to ensure it did not go hungry in the afterlife, as well as to ward off fish, they scattered balls of sticky rice into the river – and from this the tradition of rice dumplings started.

Fast forward to today and Tuen Ng is one of the most popular Chinese festivals. Everyone should really try rice dumplings – they’re delicious – and watch dragon boat racing – it’s exhilarating. 

At Living, we plan to enjoy some savoury and sweet dumplings. Guess what the fillings are?

Hayley Lai, Account Manager, Hong Kong

One is the knowledge that, worldwide, roughly 52% of users are browsing on their mobile devices. The implications of this are huge and run deeply into the dynamic of any design studio. On the face of it the solution is simple – design for mobile, first. This is a wonderful result for all as the problem of foreseeing how large-scale desktop content will condense to mobile is eliminated. Also no content need be omitted due to feasibility. It encourages clean considered design, avoiding complexity at all costs. The crux often occurs at the point at which the company needs to express this shift in the web design paradigm to their client. Clients feel uneasy about this change and often push back. In their view an initial mobile design alone will not give them the substance to take back to their superiors or perhaps give the vision of how it will translate to desktop. Somehow it lacks weight. Therefore the importance of filtering the confidence and solidarity within the design studio to the client is paramount (along with some wireframes). This allows us to begin designing in the most effective manner.

Factor two addresses the efficiency of design and development in a much more hands on manner.  Web designs have been created in either Photoshop or Illustrator for decades. They have been irreplaceable tools, engrained into the hearts and minds of every agency. Now there is a new name that is growing in popularity simply due to its success. The programme is called Sketch; an open source piece of software that has all-the vector based precision of Illustrator with the fluidity of Photoshop. Ithas all the tools one needs to create a website or app, and being open source has allowed for endless plug-ins to be developed. Ranging from meaningful placeholder content pulled from the web of a folder (Craft), keyboard shortcuts to avoid scouring menus (Sketch Runner) and most brilliantly a packaging tool called Zeplin. This tool allows you to export your entire website dissected as css, assets, typography and colour palette style guides. You can either view a webpage as a design, click to inspect an element or use the ‘style guide’ feature. Probing deep into layers and groups is a thing of the past. Drawing rectangles to measure distances between design elements is in the wind. Clicking on every piece of type to check its specifications is dead in the water. 

As a designer there are three things that sets Sketch apart. Simply holding down the ‘alt’ key measures the distance between any two or more design elements. The ‘round to nearest pixel’ button avoids blurred edges on any line or solid vector. To cap it all every page design for all devices is visible within the same document. Allowing you to rapidly create alternative device layouts and also free your brain from worrying about consistencies. I have only scratched the surface – Sketch is going to explode. Already animation is being built in via plug-ins as well as fully interactive designs with transitions and button states being exportable straight from Sketch to device (a crowd pleaser). Have no fear, Sketch is here!

At Living Group we have only recently made the Sketch switch and we are just two websites in to our adventure. I can honestly say that design and development have never been happier to meet up over lunch or a game of pool and get that quality time we all so longed for.

At Living we’re committed to our community both in terms of pro bono work and supporting education whether it be through our partnership with INSPIRE - http://www.inspire-ebp.org.uk/ or through the annual design internships we offer. So when I had the chance to spend a day at Sheffield Hallam University taking part in the visual communication department’s portfolio surgery day I naturally leapt at it.

The day was spent at the newly refurbished and I must say excellent design studios at Sheffield’s old central post office in Fitzalan Square and began with a number of professional creatives sat at desks in one of the larger studios like design GPs waiting for a swathe of keen 2nd year students to present their portfolios in a 10 minute window. One by one the students showed their work and were advised on how to improve their books to get the best out of professional interviews either for internships or when they graduate.

It was encouraging to see so much good work and listen to young designers speak passionately about their ideas and experiences on the course. Clearly many students had put real effort into making their books standout by approaching the task from a conceptual angle.

What was most apparent at Sheffield Hallam was that the students were very serious about future careers in design. This is evidently a perspective that has been shaped by the dedication and efforts of the lecturing staff. Their commitment to the student’s development as creative thinkers was inspiring and left me with a real sense of positivity for the future of this industry that we all put so much of ourselves into. 

Perhaps in the future one of the second years from Hallam will walk through the doors at Living with a razor sharp book and convince me that they are right for our team.

The show features music from the late 70s and early 80s from eponymous bands such as The Smiths, Joy Division, The Human League, The Buzzcocks, and Soft Cell to name a few.  The staging and live band makes you really feel like you are at a music gig and the addition of contemporary dance is visually striking.  Horrocks is part Debbie Harry and part Ian Curtis and moves from song to song with style and vigour.  In a recent interview she mentions that the lyrics to Joy Division songs are often not clear and she wanted to make them so, showing how poetic they truly are.

What it certainly shows is how creative, talented and brave Jane Horrocks is in putting together a show which could attract an abundance of criticism.  Though ultimately the show is so impressive that I doubt it will.

A great way to spend an evening and a handful of tickets still available. Running till the 16th April.

http://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/if-you-kiss-me-kiss-me

Helen Tejedor

The exhibition, celebrating the amazing photography commissioned by British Vogue since it was founded in 1916, featured British icons such as Twiggy, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen and of course, the ever-beautiful Kate Moss, among many, many other striking Vogue covers and spreads.

The covers are by some of the best-known photographers of the day - David Bailey to Mario Testino, Patrick Demarchelier to Nick Knight - are all visually stunning. It was also good to see the early Kate Moss shots from Corrine Day make an appearance from the 1993 shoot for Vogue entitled “Under Exposed”. 

Particularly interesting were the covers from the 1920’s. Using art deco-esque illustration, the covers are simple, bold and striking which seemed to perfectly capture the essence of what was to become the most influential fashion magazine in the world. 

On until the 22nd May and highly recommended - http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/vogue/exhibition.php

Suzie Snell

Hankel’s writing style is very matter of fact which helps articulate his process simply and the inclusion of very honest, personal stories along with case studies from others who’ve transformed their professional lives certainly helps to build trust with the readership. 

Split into three parts which tackle succinctly why people need focus, how to create it and how an improved focus can help better negotiate those tricky situations we all face from time to time. I think where this book succeeds is in its honest and practical way of conveying a clear strategy for improving personal and professional trajectories. Give it a read and see what happens!

Andy Richards, Creative Director

The space was shared with Lily Charmed a hand crafted jewellery brand but as I ventured into the backroom I was met with walls adorned in Michelle’s work. A mix of Giclée prints created from original montage artwork Michelle’s work uses shocks of colour, layers of different printed images, type and patterns to create a strata of different textures and compositions.

What I really liked was the instantaneousness and freedom in the work as if the mind is left to drift creatively along the thread of an idea, shifting and changing with every move.

Naturally I couldn’t resist buying something so I picked up one of the prints from the White Stuff Spring campaign.

If you’d like to see Michelle’s work and treat yourself to something wonderful here’s her website.

www.michelle-thompson.com

Just before we start, here’s a quick test to check your understanding. 

- Why do people give red packets during Chinese New Year?

- What colour should you include in your CNY outfit? What should you avoid?

- What lucky foods should you eat at CNY?

Would you like to know the answers? Scroll down to read some of our tips!

CNY Do's

Giving Lai See

Giving red envelopes (lai see) containing money is one of the most popular customs, and married couples hand these to single people. Considered very lucky, the colour red also wards off evil spirits.

Lucky Foods

Certain foods which sound or look lucky are traditionally eaten. Fish, for example, sounds like the Chinese word for receiving money. Other good fortune foods include tangerines, dumplings, sweets and rice cakes.

Hanging “Fu” signs

The Chinese character 'Fu' means good fortune and 'Fu' signs can be seen everywhere during the festivities. Printed on paper squares which are hung upside down, they are believed to usher in good luck.

CNY Don’ts

No washing hair

Chinese believe that washing one's hair during the first three days of Chinese New Year also washes away good luck. The Chinese words for 'hair' and 'wealth' sounds similar, hence this belief.

No frayed, black or white clothes

Tatty clothes should not be worn as they bring bad luck. Avoid black or white garments too as they are associated with mourning. Wearing red is strongly recommended as it symbolises good luck. 

No buying shoes

'Hai', the Chinese word for shoes, sounds like someone sighing and is considered unlucky. So Chinese traditionally wait until a month after the first day of the New Year before buying new shoes. 

We hope these little tips will be useful for everyone who’s experiencing this festival in Asia or Chinese communities in the West. Our ultimate tip is to enjoy the festival and don’t be too shy to ask for red packets!

Last but not least, Living Group, with our 'Tray of Togetherness' in the photo, wishes all of you a healthy, prosperous, and happy Year of the Monkey!

Gong Hei Fat Choy!

Hayley Lai - Account Manager

It's a great little website that allows you to drag and drop pre-animated assets onto a canvas to create a weird and wacky scene which you can then share on Instagram or Twitter. You don't need much instruction to get going – choose your background (we love the exploding Rover 216), then some tunes, then go mad with all the assets – from dancing babies to blinking eye balls.

It’s great fun and a fantastic way to introduce your kids to creating animations – fun for the adults too. The best bit though – your kids can be creative without you having to tidy up after! 

Check it out:

http://www.mtvbump.com/canvas

Jim Campbell, Senior Artworker.

The Barbican’s current exhibition explores both designer’s creative journey’s along a time line which saw their initial meeting and subsequent relationship, through to their innovations while working at the Evans Products Company, the shift to mass production with The Herman Miller Furniture Company, the design and build of their Case Study No.9 house and right up to their prominence as leading contemporary designers in the 1960s and their film making careers of the 1970s.

The show brings together important examples of the most famous Eames office designs along with experimental prototypes and rarely seen works in film, photography, architecture and installation design.

Bet you didn’t know that Charles Eames designed a groundbreaking plywood leg splint for the US Navy in 1943. Imagine owning one of those.

The exhibition runs until 14 February 2016. Tickets are £14.50 and well worth every penny.

The latest EY Exhibition, ‘The World Goes Pop’ really expands the notion of Pop art into a wider geographical context, showing how artists from different cultures and countries contributed to the movement during the sixties and seventies. After seeing a significant amount of pop art in various exhibitions over the past 25 years I think this show really evolves the concept showing work from relatively unsung european, asian and north african pop artists who explored issues beyond consumerism, addressing social dynamics, censorship, gender equality, sexuality, tradition, war and the political establishment.

The exhibition runs until the 24th of January. Don’t miss out.  

‘Design is a job’ is by Mike Monterio. It’s one of a series called ‘A book apart’ written by a bunch of design professionals. Monterio, a San Francisco based designer, has a refreshingly honest approach when reflecting upon his career to date and tells you how he sees it; frankly and candidly.

His book takes you on a journey through a world of clients, contracts, processes and presentations. And although it’s a world viewed through a web designer’s eye, it applies to the whole creative playing field…and no there’s not a line of code anywhere.

At a time when the internet is saturated with opinion I can safely say I have succeeded in sifting through the coals to find a true diamond of a book.

Jonasson’s tale centres around the unlikely hero of Allan Karlsson who on his hundredth birthday escapes his residential care home seemingly with no plan other to obtain a bottle of his beloved Vodka and embarks upon a mad adventure involving scrapes with drug barons, gangland hoodlums, insane spinsters and eternal academics. The story is wonderfully told through parallel timelines giving the reader the background to Allan’s life told through his random involvement with major 20th century figures and events. 

Johnson’s highly visual  storytelling reads like a Wes Anderson film with vivid characterisation and multi dimensional plots that sway between the unlikely and the bizarre. 

So if you’re rummaging through Amazon for your next commute read do consider popping this one into your basket. You’ll be thoroughly amused and charmed from cover to cover.

This truly compelling retrospective show is well worth a visit. Showcasing the revered British sculptor’s most significant and beautiful sculptures created between the 1920s and 1970s. The works transcend materials including bronze, wood and stone and are truly captivating in the way that they present multiple aesthetics within every aspect of their form. Hepworth’s exploration of space and dynamic in her work really establishes her unique perspective as an artist and positions her as one of the 20th century’s most accomplished and progressive artists. 

The show also extends beyond Hepworth’s sculpture showing documentary photographs and films of the artist at work in her various studios alongside selected works from Henry Moore, Jacob Epstein and Ben Nicholson. Rest assured this show delivers the audience with a utterly compelling visual experience.

The exhibition runs from 24 June – 25 October 2015

£18.00 adults

Its a rare event indeed when I’m actually moved by minimalist art but there’s really something quite thought provoking about Agnes Martin’s work. The seemingly sparse light canvases are almost reminiscent of school exercise books or pre scrawl draughtsman’s paper. The rigidity and and order overwhelms the senses particularly when one considered that these systematic images are authored by a human being. Painting during the same era as more expressive artists like Pollock, Rothko and Rauschenberg Agnes Martin’s work seemed to represent an internal existential odyssey into creating order out of the chaos within. Suffering from schizophrenia and frequent debilitating psychosis for much of her adult life, its evident in many of her works that there’s a struggle to maintain an ordered structure and direction.

The intricate grids and linear compositions are almost soothing in their spartan aesthetic. I couldn’t help thinking about the digital world we now live in and how the works appeared like a premonition of things to come. The seemingly cold strictures that give form and order to the richer experiences we all now enjoy online. 

This is the first retrospective of Martin’s work since 1994 and if you’d like a more compelling after seeing the Sonia Delaunay show then stroll across the landing and immerse yourself. The exhibition runs from 3 June – 11 October 2015 and tickets are priced at £12.00 for adults. Find out more at www.tate.org.uk

Image copyright of Agnes Martin.

People around the globe poured onto the streets to pray, eat and jubilantly commemorate the passing of this holy month. It’s honored with feasts, family gatherings and is a time to give back to the community.

Each day of Ramadan is called Roza, with literally translates into ‘fasting daily’. Traditionally the breaks in the day-long fast emulate prophet Muhammad, who also broke fast in this fashion. The early morning meal is called Sehri, which is a time for nutrition and sustenance for the whole day. Sundown denotes the evening meal called Iftar, where the daylong fast is temporally broken.

It brings the best of Muslim values to the foreground - where people think of others - and inspires charity among many. The act of Zakat is also performed during Ramadan, where Muslims who meet a minimum threshold donate 2.5% of their total savings, income and wealth to poorer communities.

This week our London team celebrated with a banquet of traditional food, drinks and sweetmeats to mark the passing of this special time. Our festivities are a testament to the coming together of a whole community, and a time to admire the successes of our fellow colleagues.
 
Our lead Front End Developer Usman Afzal commented on this year's celebrations, saying: “I was humbled by the experience knowing I had the privilege of breaking my fast with an abundance of choice in food”

Wishing you peaceful, prosperity and happy Eid from all the team at Living Group.

Eid Mubarak

Going past 2014, the Year of Horse, this year we are heading to the Year of Goat which officially starts from Feb 19, 2015 to Feb 7, 2016 according to the Chinese lunar calendar. Working out the addition and subtraction of 12, you should come up with this: the previous years of Goat include 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, and the next will be 2027.

Since it was said that people born in years of the same animal sign would share certain characteristics attributed to that animal’s personality, for all ‘Mr Goat’ and ‘Miss Goat’ born in the above years, you should be artistic, tender, sympathetic, sensitive and sweet, concluded by the Chinese’s belief that goat is the most creative and elegant sign among all the zodiacs.

So in general, does Year of Goat itself say something?

Yes, it does! A goat is commonly regarded as an auspicious animal in the Chinese culture, this means it's a promising and prosperous year ahead for everyone. Apart from that, goats are symbolic of peace and harmony as they’re gentle and soft so this coming year should also herald a more calm atmosphere, and most importantly, it also means something for us in the creative industry – given the innovative and inventive characteristic of goats, we expect 2015 will be a year of high creativity where our creative minds on various areas and multiple channels can be unleashed and maximized! Look forward to inspiring and interesting projects – stay tuned!

Last but not least, Living Group wish everyone a happy, prosperous and creative Year of Goat!

Chris produced a custom piece in his iconic florescent style for our London studio in Shoreditch, East London. Opting for the words: ‘Living Forever’, incorporating Living’s heart inspired logo into the design was a perfect match to Chris’s aesthetic, which famously featured lively fusions of imagery and fun typography that represented his louche Soho beginnings.

Starting out as a graphic designer in the 1980’s, Chris saw an opportunity to move into the neon business and help shape West London’s burgeoning sex industry, by creating signs that have helped shape the Soho that we know today.

Throughout his 40-year career, Chris commissioned numerous neon tube pieces for a wide mix of commercial and residential projects. Fondly known as ‘The Neon Man’, Chris went on to produce work for movie blockbusters such as Blade Runner, Batman and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.

Our HR manager Helen Tejedor commented: "After having discussed with Chris our ideas for a neon sign for our studio, we had the pleasure of visiting his team at God Own Junkyard to pick the materials.  Wow what an experience.  A heady mix of neon signs, from small and understated to full on Soho showgirl, larger than life pieces.  Could have stayed in there all day!  It was a pleasure to be able to work with Chris, a truly talented individual."

A skilled process that involves bending and shaping glass by hand, and then adding vibrant optical tints, Chris’s unrivalled craftsmanship is revered by socialites, politicians and designs lovers alike.

Our “ Living Forever” piece is a true testament to how Chris Bracey’s work will have an eternal legacy and continues to be a source of joy to the offices, homes and lives of many people.

Shakespeare in Shoreditch is a Festival, which reconnects the historical Shoreditch that the young William Shakespeare once lived and worked in, with its vibrant 21st Century counterpart.  The festival aims to celebrate the connection between Britain’s best-known playwright and East London’s most creative neighborhood, a link that is often forgotten.

For 10 days, plays, films, talks and workshops will populate the streets of Shoreditch to celebrate how Shakespeare can inspire our busy lives today. Audiences are taken on either one of two routes around the local area where attendees are exposed to street performances, talks and monologues along the way.  

Produced by theatre group RIFT, the Festival aims to create a lasting legacy in the local community with many events taking place on residential estates and busy focal points. New writers and local talent present newly commissioned interpretations of Shakespeare’s finest work, broadening its reach to new audiences.

The Festival is deep rooted in something very true to modern day Shoreditch: a place that thrives with innovation and creativity. The festival runs from Wednesday 1^st October – Sunday 12^th October, with shows nightly at 7pm.

To find our more, visit: www.newdiorama.com/whats-on/shakespeare-in-shoreditch  

From vast sweeping landscapes in the remotest parts of the planet, to the colourful hustle and bustle of New York City, many of the images on show are not only beautiful but thought-provoking and poignant. The exhibition runs from 11 July through to 17 August 2014 and is free!

You can find out more at www.tpoty.com/exhibitions and see some of the fantastic images on the BBC website.

This annual event has been growing every year since the first one, now over 20 years ago. Crisis are a national charity for single homeless people and rely on events such as these to give them the funds to deliver life-changing services and continue to campaign for change.

This event is one of many that Crisis organise throughout the year so if running isn't your thing then check out all the other events on their site - http://www.crisis.org.uk/pages/events.html

Well done team and here's to next year!

Overall, everyone enjoyed the film and comments from our very own critics included:

"A beautifully shot and well-crafted film from a director who is at the top of his game. The attention-to-detail throughout was fantastic, as was the careful use of different filming locations to give the viewer a sense of the future. Even the fashion was subtly adjusted to show changes in how we dress in different decades. In summary I would highly recommend it."  Duncan

“I believe the adjective poignant does not do this movie justice. Beautifully shot and cleverly built around a simple story about being able to accept that we evolve through relationships. The not-so distant future setting helps us to feel less uncomfortable facing the theme of a romantic relationship between humans and artificial intelligence, which might be unavoidable but luckily is not quite here yet. Is it just our body that makes us human or is there more? Where is our need and desire for companionship taking us? For once is good to leave the cinema with so many questions unanswered.”  Daniele

"On paper the synopsis reads like a twenty-first century 'Mills & Boon'! … But actually having now seen the film, I would thoroughly recommend it. It's funny in the right places, artistically shot and an eye-opener for the what the future of technology holds! Go buy some pop-corn and slouch in your comfy cinema seat to watch it – you won't be disappointed!" Greg

I would definitely recommend the film and I can see why it was nominated for a Golden Globe. Chloe

Here’s a taste of some of the traditions around this highly anticipated festival:

Preparing the home

CNY decorations are an essential part of the celebrations. Beforehand though you need to clear out (or donate) any unwanted possessions and tidy up your home – literally sweeping away the bad luck. Make sure you prepare a candy box filled with a variety of snacks. Candies, chocolate coins and Chinese melon seeds are popular, not just for the family, but for relatives and friends who visit throughout the week. In keeping with long-held Chinese traditions some families stick red strips of paper with lucky greetings written in Chinese calligraphy on their doors.

 
Paint the town red

The days before CNY are an opportunity for guiltless shopping. It’s a time to buy new clothes before CNY officially arrives so you have new things to wear when visiting relatives or friends. CNY is overwhelmingly associated with the colour red – the ultimate symbol of joy, virtue and a bringer of good luck. So, wearing “as red as possible” is a must.

 
Things to eat

Tangerines are said to bring about wealth because they symbolise luck and prosperity in Chinese. If you don’t like these little treats, just having them on display will do – maybe in your candy box. Also on the food list are savoury turnip cakes and sweet glutinous rice cakes; normally fried or steamed for breakfast on New Year’s Day. The Chinese character for “cake” sounds like “tall” or “high”, hence it is traditionally eaten so children would grow taller, and businesses would reach greater heights.


Popular greetings

Now you know what to eat, wear and prepare, it’s time to learn what to say! The most popular greeting among the Chinese is “Kung Hei Fat Choi” (“wishing you prosperity and happiness”). To which the response is “Sun Tai Kin Hong” (“wishing you good health”). As it is the Year of the Horse, we can also expect to hear greetings with the Chinese character for “horse” to be popular. “Lung Ma Ching Sun” for example, means “energetic and strong as a horse and a dragon”.

Kung Hei Fat Choi from the Living Team!

Both say you must try and visit before it finishes on the 9^th March – for its pure inventiveness, individualism and beautiful colour palette.

Find our more at http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/ey-exhibition-paul-klee-making-visible

Abigail Vyner and Helen Tejedor

Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

One of our resident Italians in the team, Daniele De Blasio, took us on a journey through different regions where we sampled amazing cheeses that had been carefully paired with complimentary wines. Overall the evening was a huge success and we all learnt something new, plus enjoyed the cuisine of one of the finest countries in the world.

Forza Italia!

Comments gathered from the rest of the team:

"I didn't read any of the hype about this film, I wanted to view it on face value, it doesn't disappoint. I thought the effects were amazing, if a little disorientating. In general, intense, gripping, a teeny bit cheesy. Remember when you were little and thought about becoming an astronaut? Clearly, some careers are best left as dreams!" Emma

"Made me feel claustrophobic at times, so a good achievement." Usman

"The movie succeeded in making me feel some of the 'absolute' loneliness astronauts are subject to while in space, together with claustrophobia, sense of exposure to cosmic danger. I suppose the best part was that made me feel humble, and reminded me of my place in the GRAND (not using this word lightly) scheme of things. A touching and intimate movie with a blockbuster budget, you don't see that often…" Daniele

"Visually nice, but over-hyped and otherwise poor!" Mark

"Fantastic special effects and a great movie to see in 3D, however there was little or no storyline and it was cheesy in parts!" Duncan

All in all a great evening and without a doubt the best place to see a 3D film.  A few tips: wait for the doors to open before buying food as the popcorn is sold upstairs, switch your phone off (I know that's obvious for most people) as if left on vibrate it could ruin the start of the film for whoever is sitting next to you and last but not least, be prepared to feel a bit queasy all the way home!

Helen Tejedor – HR Manager, London

About 216 of Sebastião Salgado's black-and-white documentary photographs are on show in Genesis. They capture some of the furthest and wildest corners of our world, portraying indigenous communities that continue to live in accordance with their ancestral traditions, and showing rare insights into their lands. During the 8 years in which Salgado travelled around the world to produce this collection of images, he often stayed with the people he photographed.

Salgado reflects: 'Many of us live in cities, cut off completely from the planet. My wish was to experience living with people with real links to nature... For me to go back to nature was a huge pleasure. I wished to present the planet in my language, photography. And so came Genesis.'

Beautiful breathtaking photography and well worth a visit to the Natural History Museum – running until the 8th September 2013.

http://www.nhm.ac.uk

As you walk around the exhibition your headphones sync in to the area you are in and you are either listening and watching footage of Bowie being interviewed or listening to music relating to the costumes on display.  There is never a dull moment and a couple of hours easily flies by.  My 10yr old daughter was particularly amazed at some of the costumes and slightly outraged by some of the videos but notonce said “can we go to the gift shop now.” So that’s a first!  

It’s amazing to see someone’s entire back catalogue, with video footage, old interviews, concert footage, original costumes and much more, over a careerspanning more than 40 years. We all left knowing we had witnessed an amazing event and clutching a V&A bag full of goodies including a guitar book of Bowie classics. My daughter has promised to learn to play Rock and Roll Suicide over the next few weeks, doesn't get any better than that.

Whether a die hard fan or not you can't argue that Bowie is truly one of the greatest music and style icons of modern times! The exhibition runs to the 11th August.

Helen Tejedor, HR Manager, London

The weather was kind which enabled guests to relax in style on the balconies at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, which overlooks the prestigious Pall Mall, and soak up the atmosphere and glorious views. A big thank you goes to the Living entertainment committee who decorated the venue with detailed wall art and produced a captivating slide show made up of inspirations from each member of the Living team.

A great way to start the summer – long may it last!

Several World Book Night events are held across the country on the 23rd April and last night I attended one at the South Bank Centre. Not knowing quite what to expect from the evening, I was pleasantly surprised by what turned out be a very special two hours. The evening was hosted by the comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli who clearly has a passion for storytelling and great (if slightly irreverent!) respect for the writers. In turn, the authors of some of the titles from the 20 selected books, past and present, read excerpts from their stories.

It was fascinating to put faces and personalities to some of the authors that I love (Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Rose Tremain – Music and Silence & The Road Home, David Nicholls – One Day, to name a few), but also quite a privilege to hear them reading their own books. A highlight for me was an incredibly moving reading by poet Lemn Sissay of his beautiful poem, Invisible Kisses (Google it – it made me cry!!). It was a surprisingly entertaining night and a wonderful way to celebrate the joy that books, reading and storytelling bring.

For more details about World Book Night and the books that were included this year, please visit: www.worldbooknight.org

Katherine Jones, Finance Manager

Reactions vary; my daughter finds it all too much and buries her head in my shoulder, only to emerge blinking, seconds later, entranced by the sounds from the stage. Others leap to their feet squealing oft-repeated phrases from their favourite bedtime books; “I’m stick man, I’m stick man, I’m stick man, that’s me!” or “is there room on the broom for a dog like me?!”

After a 45-minute blur of happy chaos, colour and noise it’s over and a tangle of coats, scarves, toddlers and tottering aunts unwinds onto the street, smiling and united in a warm glow of agreement that they’ve enjoyed something together, truly together, as a family. And it’s not everyday that happens.

And the favourite DVD in our house this past Christmas? Enid Blyton’s Famous Five. As Kincade says in Skyfall, “Sometimes the old ways are best”.

Nick Smith – Copywriter


Image copyright of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

So last Saturday afternoon I saw Constellations at the Duke of York theatre starring Rafe Spall, son of Timothy and hilarious lead in Pete Vs Life, and Sally Hawkins (Happy Go Lucky, Made in Dagenham, Jayne Eyre, to name a few). A play by Nick Payne which uses advanced physics as a metaphor for life, sounds heavy but not the case.  

Payne shows a couple, after a chance encounter, going through the varying rituals of co-habitation, betrayal and separation. Each scene has 3 or 4 possible outcomes, with each conversation at some point skipping back to the beginning with another possible outcome taking place. A fast paced intelligent play, with 2 outrageously charismastic actors, which keeps you entertained throughout and wanting more at the end. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for what Nick Payne is up to next!

Helen Tejedor, HR Manager