Barcelona Architecture

I loved these buildings in Barcelona, covered in decorative details. The cherubs and floral decorations are so beautiful and make the outside of the buildings look so much more interesting. It seems strange that I havn't seen buildings with these kind of details before because I think they're so lovely and much more interesting than plain panels of colour or brick. It almost makes the front of the building into a work of art. Why should buildings always be plain and boring? We're surrounded by them all the time and the walls are always so dull. Obviously these days buildings are deigned to be quick to build and decoration is not a priority. At least there are still building left like this in the world for us to see. 

Light House Cinema- Dublin

I came accross photos of this cinema in Dublin and i think it looks amazing. Alhough you don't go to the cinema to look at the deats of the decor nad spend most of the time in the dark- it's nice to arrive into a good looking theatre room- and these ones look particularly stylish and glamourous. Why not make make the cinema as sophisticated and well designed as the films shown are. 

I always prefer to travel to a particular cinema out of town than go to my local, just because it's big and glamourous with neon signs outside and seems to make the experience more exciting- like going to a hollywood theatre. The lok and feel of the cinema makes it more enjoyable for me. Unfortunatly, the lack of comfort in the seats at my favourite cinema ruin it a bit. 

I think this cinema would definatly make for a better movie viewing experience and you wouldn't be greeted by a depressing dull room when the movie ends and the lights come up.

The Salvador Dali Theatre and Museum - Figueres

When I went to Barcelona this Summer I visited the museum of the artist Salvador Dalí in his home town of Figueres, Catalonia. The museum opened in 1974 and houses the largest and most diverse collection of Salvador Dalí's works, including many from the artist's own collection. Aswell as Dalí paintings from all decades of his career, there are Dalí sculptures, 3D collages, mechanical devices and other curiosoities from Dali's imagination. My favourite part and perhaps the most unusual part of teh museum was a living-room with custom furniture that looks like the face of Mae West when viewed from a certain point on some stairs above the room. I'd certainly never seen anything like it.

What I loved about the museum is that it isn't just a building housing the artists work, but is a work of surrealist art in itself. The building is very striking, with a roof bordered by giant eggs and pink walls covered in gold blobs. Walking around the museum, there are are interesting things to look at everywhere, not just the paintings on the walls. There are holographs, potical games and strereoscopic paintings- double paintings which , when viewed through a mrror, becoem 3D images.

I've always been liked Dali's work for it's surrealism. His work is like something from a dream, when you can't quite get your head around what you saw in your dream or why your brain created these images. His work isn't just abstract for the sake of being abstract but combines thing syou wouldn't mormally see together into wierd imaginative compositions.  Thework in the museum is fun, playful and interactive and it makes you look at things differently. Definatley the most interesting art gallery/museum I've ever been to and worth the trip out of Barcelona.

Antoni Gaudi Architechture- Barcelona

I went to Barcelona over the Summer and found a city full of beautiful, varied architecture and art. The work of Antoni Gaudi can be seen all over the city and his architectural style is admired all over the world for it’s unique and distinctive style. 

I visited Park Guell – a park full of amazing buildings, sculptures, and tile work designed by Gaudi, including his old home, which is hgh above the city with fantastic views.

Antoni Gaudi's past home as Park Guell

Gaudi's work was greatly influenced by natural forms and this is reflected in the curvy shaped stonework, organic-like forms and twisted iron sculptures and also his use of colour- with mosaic tiling. The vibrant colours he uses add another dimension to his architecture which is often overlooked by other architects.

There are also buildings all over the city designed by Gaudi which have his unique style and features. They're really interesting to look at and covered in details. I love how Gauidi goes against architectural trends and rules that have been followed for hundreds of years with his designs being assymetrical in many places. This building looks almost like it's covered in sea urchins and shells and like it's been worn away by the sea in places. It also reminds me of the house in Hansel and Grettle- it looks like it could be made of sweets and biscuits.

Jame's May's Lego House Nobody Wants

I think it's such a shame that this amazing house, made entirely from Lego, is going to be hacked to pieces with chainsaws if nobody wants to give the home a new home.  Around 1,000 volunteers built the 20ft house for James May's new BBC TV Show 'Jame's May's Toy Stories, but the land on which it is built is now needed back by the owner's. The house is free for anyone who wants to pay for it to be moved to their own land but, being made form around 3.3 million plastic lego bricks it probably weighs a few tonnes! 

The house is big enough for fully grown adults to live in comfortably...except everything is made from lego.

The house comes with a fully fitted kitchen and utensils, although using them might be a challenge and also a bathroom with working taps and basin. The house looks like it would be a delight to visit and have a look around and it seems such a waste for it to be knocked down - especially a waste of plastic that will end up in land fill. It must also be a great architechtural achievement- the first bulding made entirely from plastic blocks that require no adhesives, and it looks great too. Much more interesting than clay bricks. I hope someone can give the home a new home and enjoy it.

Shelf Awards 09

I recently attended the exhibition for the Shelf Awards 09. The shelf is an award scheme where undergraduates are given the chance to answer an integrated creative brief and then exhibit their response and a selection of their work to Creative directors and other industry experts. I was invited to attend and vote for which work I thought deserved an award. The winners will receive The Shelf - so called because upon it they will be able to place the future awards they gather in their career.

The creative brief this year was to create ideas for a new 'Text to Vote' service which enables the public to vote via text message from anywhere they want. One of my favourite campaigns for this brief used statistics for text messaging in the UK, in particular, statistics relating to obscure places in which British people text. I think the campaign works well at grabbing the audience's attention and engaging them with it. You will find you are either shocked by the statistic or remember a time when you have been one of those statistics. In some cases I didn't believe the statistic but it got me thinking about how easy, quick and also discreet text messaging is which is what the campaign wants people to realise in order to encourage them to text to vote.

Another campaign that caught my eye, displayed by the same design team, was this campaign for PJ Smoothies.  The posters are really colourful and eye-catching and the handwritten type in loads of different styles draws you in to read it. The words used and the childish handwriting is really fun and leaves you with a fun, happy feeling about the product.

Credit: Thomas Perry

http://thomasperry.co.uk/index.php?/university-work/creative-cv/