Flotsam & Jetsam
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Dimitris Karaiskos is a graphic design from Athens who collects interesting debris that washes ashore. He has recently published his collection in a book entitled "Flotsam & Jetsam".
"It's actually a small part (about 150 pieces) of my collection of around 1000 objects I found washed up mainly on beaches in Greece but also around the world (from Scotland to New Zealand and the Maldives).
Some of them are strange and unusual, some are common but photographed in such a way that you can't really tell what they are (or how big they are, since we decided to kill any sense of scale): Nautical maps and graphs found nearby cargo boat wrecks, pieces from lighthouses, an inflatable sex-doll head, a lifejacket from a US-Navy fighter jet, pieces of driftwood that look like creatures, deformed kids' toys and endless consumer products from around the world in their dilapitated by the sea, sun and oil packaging. We paired these objects together in funny or nice-looking combinations."
In the book's introduction, Ian Jeffreys writes, "Beachcombing is a way of consulting providence. You walk the shore and kick this or that piece of plastic debris and although it might turn out to be no more than an emptied tube of Polish toothpaste discharged by a freighter it might be altogether more intriguing. If we are lucky providence delivers something of value, something surprising and enlivening."
Work/Life new photographers
/We are pleased that more photographers have responded to our email invitation sent earlier this week. (To read more about this project, click here.) Photographers in the Work/Life project to date include:
Weathered
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Here are some photos of deteriorating handpainted signs by Calgary poet Derek Beaulieu, taken off the main street of Black Diamond, Alberta. UPPERCASE will be hosting a show of Derek's Letraset poems in the coming spring!
Derek and my husband, Glen Dresser, will be reading from their newly published books on December 8 at "The Calgary Extravanganza" celebrating twelve local authors who have recently launched books. The event is at Lunchbox Theatre from 7pm to 10pm (2nd Level, Bow Valley Square, 205-5th Ave SW). More info about this event can be found by clicking here.
Correction Road book launch
Mark your calendars for Glen's book launch: December 4th at McNally Robinson. You can join his facebook group here.
TYPE BLOCK update
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Our Type Block project is going well. We've got 28 participants from all over contributing to the Flickr pool. This submission, above, is by Alan Campbell (Kentigern) from Glasgow, Scotland. He has some amazing photo sets worth checking out. You can join the group here. (You can sign up for a free Flickr account if you don't already have one.)
TYPE BLOCK
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TYPE BLOCK: an UPPERCASE project
International artists are invited to explore letterforms in their surroundings by documenting what they see within one city block of where they live or work.
Participants can post their images in a Flickr pool for the online exhibition. UPPERCASE gallery owner, Janine Vangool, and photographer Kirstie Tweed (Orange Girl Photographs) will curate from these images to create a physical exhibition and companion book. The exhibition will be part of Exposure, the Banff-Calgary Month of Photography (February 2008).
Wheels
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Please join us Thursday evening as we celebrate the launch of Wheels, a book about Lloyd Cooper and his roller rink. This sort of book is my ideal project: loads of visual inspiration from the rink, its people and historical documents. I would like to thank Paul Grescoe from Tribute Books for wandering into UPPERCASE one afternoon – I am grateful for that impromptu portfolio showing and the opportunities it has brought my way.
Kirstie Tweed is the wonderful photographer who took the cover shot and portraits of the Lloyd's Recreation family. I am happy to once again have her photographs in UPPERCASE. (We hosted her Orange Girl exhibition last year.) Please visit her photo blog where you'll see some beautiful images and read her thoughts on the project.
A new Beyond
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It took over a year since the last one, but there is indeed a new issue of Beyond available in UPPERCASE or through the magazine's website. Beyond is a non-profit magazine based in Calgary and it was one of the very first design projects I had when I was fresh out of college (thanks to Aaron Leighton with whom I co-designed the first issues). In the past decade, the magazine content has changed considerably — along with my design sensibilities and ability. This issue sports a new masthead and typographic style to reflect the maturing content. Preview Issue 15's content at the Beyond site.
The cover image is by photographer Karin Bubas.
Glorious Libraries
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