Thursday 29 October 2009

Weekly bulletin 29/10/09

Hello

Good week? Us too. So first things first, there's only one copy left of Michel Dhillon's The Cuckoo Parchment and the Dyke to giveaway so first come, first served.

Right on to business, We're still looking for people to be involved in our fair this Christmas at Islington Mill in Salford, it's on Sunday 6th December and it's going to be great, we already have about 20 stalls so get on it! Give us an email for more details or just tell us what you make/sell if you want to get involved:

cheap-magazine@live.com

As we've mentioned Cheap will be changing and expanding in the next few months so we can now let you know there's an interview with inkygoodness in the pipeworks so watch out!!

Also Cheap zine is going to go through drastic changes, we can't let you know yet but we can give you the line-up for issue 9 which will be released on the 11th November:

Mario Kolaric (part two!!)
George Mitchell
Brett Manning
Ashley Fauguel
Billy Anderson Barnes
Laura Skilbeck
Sakura
David Procter
Claudio Parentela
and the first of a two parter from Steve Tillotson!!

In other news our Tommy Eugene Higson has had his first set of bags approved and are now on sale on envelop so check out:

http://www.envelop.eu/shop/designers/p/detail/tommy-eugene-higson

We have also recently met and befriended Zine Friendly so head on over here for all your latest zine news and events info:

http://zinefriendly.wordpress.com/news/

We'd also like to mention a couple of issue 9 artists, first Brett Manning who has just expanded her already beautiful range of tees on etsy and Red Bubble and secondly Billy Anderson Barnes who has a very cool range of prints available from his online shop, head to their respective sites to shop:

http://brettisagirl.com/

and

http://sumocloud.com/

Aaand finally! if you're in Manchester this Saturday pop down to Islington Mill in Salford, there's and exhibition opening of new work from Rob Treen, Liam Harrion, Polly Steiner and Nelson Ferryman 6-9 and a live drawing and sound performance collaboration between Rachel Goodyear and Lee Paterson 7.30-9.30!! For more info:

http://www.concretehermitnetwork.com/events/event/show?id=1376432%3AEvent%3A61883

and

http://www.islingtonmill.com/events.php

And that's all for this week, thanks for listening!!

Tommy and Nikki

Wednesday 21 October 2009

Weekly bulletin 21/10/09

Hello all,

Hope everyone's had a good week, so, straight into it. If you've not already read or don't already know the inkygoodness 3: Wonderland review is now up on our myspace blog as is our review for Michael Dhillon's The Cuckoo Parchment and the Dyke (there's still a couple of copies up for grabs so get on it!)

Also if you check out our various sites and myspace things are pretty up-to-date, there's preview images of all the issues for sale on the shop at concrete hermit as well as in our images folder on myspace. Also from the myspace blogs links to the artists sites are working so you can check them out a bit more. Link buttons to a history of Cheap and our blog are now also up and running which can also be found here:

http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/569256/0/1/asc

and here:

http://cheapzine.blogspot.com/

and next week we shall be announcing issues 9's creatives.

We are also still after proposals for our next creative fair at Islington Mill in Salford on Sunday 6th December so if your interested check out more info on the myspace blog or blog and give us a shout.

In other news Cut-Click issue 13: Text is out now for free download and features work from our Tommy Eugene Higson and Simon Corry amongst others (Oliver 'mon53' Smith I think is pretty cool) so check it out:

http://www.cut-click.co.uk/

And finally our friend Dario Molinaro has finally announced his first solo show info in Italy from 7th of November till 5th December, check out our myspace photos for the flyer and more info.

That's all for another week folks, have fun, stay safe,

Tommy and Nikki

Friday 16 October 2009

Michael Dhillon's The Cuckoo Parchment and the Dyke review



The Cuckoo Parchment and the Dyke paints a fictitious reality lived by thousands of artists, the romantic; drinking, whoring, seclusion and strife to change the world. Very real current issues are raised pertaining to the purpose and functionality of art and its omnipotence, the importance of artist popularity and misinterpretation, the brutality of sensationalism and the violence of revolution via extremes akin to that of Watchmen or V for Vendetta. Michael Dhillon's adventure excites and grips as it unfolds and tangles you in its complexity of issues, what should an artist be? what will someone do to be remembered? how complicated is morality? -Tommy Eugene Higson

Monday 12 October 2009

Cheap Weekly Update 12/10/09

Hello all,

Today we put up the inkygoodness 3: Wonderland review to the blog and the blog space on myspace so check it out if you haven't already! Review of Michael Dhillon's The Cuckoo Parchment and the Dyke will be up on Wednesday, an addictive read and we still have a few copies left to giveaway with issue 8 of Cheap Zine so get yours whilst you can!!

http://cheapzine.bigcartel.com/

Also Tommy Eugene Higson's first zine is now on sale:

http://tommyeugenehigson.bigcartel.com/

In more news A Cheap Affair our creative fair at Islington Mill in Salford is to be a monthly event, taking place on the first Sunday of every month (apart from January which will be the second) times tbc.

So we are looking for people to be involved for the first new event (6th December). We ask for proposals no more than one side of a4 and a few images or a web link so we can see your work. We don't want intense essays we just want to know what you do. We want designers, illustrators, artists, clothes makers etc. we want a wide variety! We will let you know if you are successful either way. The deadline is 8th November and if you are successful you will be alloted a 2m x 2m space for your stall, you must bring you own table (we simply do not have supply) and will have to pay £5 for use of your space (you keep all your profits). For more info see the blog or blog space on myspace or give us a shout!


And finally, as always, we want your work to show the world :) We're after doodles, paintings, writings or any other images/visuals. black and white a5 portrait please and send us at least two images, you get two pages but we like choice (and there is still space in November's issue so if you send us something by Friday 16th October you may well be in the next issue!!)

Email: cheap-magazine@live.com

Also if you want anything promoting, anything you are involved in or doing or making give us a shout and we will do our very best to help.

So until next weekish,

Have fun!

Tommy and Nikki

inkygoodness 3: Wonderland Review



Felt Mistress & Jonathan Edwards
. Courtesy: inkygoodness.



David Shillinglaw
. Courtesy: inkygoodness.


Vaad Gallery, Birmingham
12 - 27 September 2009
Reviewed by: Tommy Eugene Higson

So I enter the gallery and my senses overload, I spot a tree with multicoloured leaves crushing a poor bird superhero/villain, spilling his Wonderland pills (Rainbow Drops) over the floor, the DJ's instrumental beats sound out across the room, I turn around and people are chalking away at one of the walls; characters, pattern and words encompass everything whilst one of the artists Moot is painting and doodling a board installation nearby, not until I am almost on top of it do I notice the goodies stall with books, prints, posters, t-shirts, zines and toys, my mind must be elsewhere, maybe it's the film crew, or maybe it's the drawings, inks, prints, and paintings of animals, people, cartoons and creatures that cluster around, and down every wall, and the space is huge, this is going to be fun.

Wonderland is the third exhibition staged by inkygoodness (illustrators Lisa Hassell and Michelle Turton) who work to provide a platform for emerging and established illustrators, artists, designers and crafters to exhibit together creating networking and professional development opportunities. It also thus works as an instrument to chronicle a fairly new movement of contemporary image makers; showing new work and innovations from new people, how established makers are developing and their influence on new practices.

One of the things that first hits you looking around the show is the familiarity you feel, the sense that you've seen people like George Mitchell and Rainbow Donkeys somewhere before, and you probably have; on flyers and posters, in magazine and comics, in shops, the list goes on. The self promotion of these makers is key to their renown and takes many forms from obvious influences like Keith Haring, Takashi Murakami and David Shrigley. What is important is how few of these practitioners seem to draw any kind of differentiation between their illustrative and design practices and their gallery work. It is not something which develops with their practice it is a given, why should a design for someone dictate not working like yourself and so why therefore should working with global brands be a bad thing?

The show is filled with such a wide variety of gems and jewels that there is something to entertain and enthrall everyone. Felt Mistress contributes some crazy half-bred animal characters with Jonathan Edwards' painting accompaniments. Steve Rack's characters represent something of a more fruity yet somehow more human set of Mr Men and Women. A giant wall painting from David Shillinglaw covers half the end wall and combines illustrational and graffiti techniques to create a large fellow filled and surrounded with pattern and obscure cultural references from cLOUDDEAD and Sole to Milk and Big Foot, a great analogy for this movement.

Other stand-outs include Lisa Hassell and Kate Hindley and their intricate, colour filled, patternful worlds. Simon Wild and Mark Wilkinson and their new art historical Cubist, Mexican, African, graffiti, design, illustration works. Moot's incorporation of graffiti into a more traditional painting practice and it actually working and coffee stain painted portraits from Adi Gilbert carried out with fantastic execution. Not to mention Gemma Correll who is always entertaining and Juan Salas' ink drawings and one particular work depicting a frog and young girl playing leapfrog.

It is unfortunate that the show is plagued by some nagging annoyances. One thing that stands out is some over-reliance on tired source material such as Super Mario backdrops, clouds, arrows, buildings and cities. Like Micropop the work is still the same quirky, vivid, electric work that excited you in the first place but in places it seems a little stale. There is still life in these icons and symbols however as Simon David Mills demonstrates, but innovation is required.

It is also a shame how some work imitates others work, Jon Burgerman and David Shrigley being the main victims of this. Showing influence is one thing but replication does not continue any kind of critical debate and therefore does not develop a movement or continue and allow for new conversation.

Other problems are minor, it would have been nice to see text and installation have a bit more presence and an animation or two wouldn't have gone a miss. I also feel the range of subjects could have poked somewhere a bit more beyond the aesthetic. The other minor problem is the lack of professional presentation of some work, crumpled paper and colour print outs on poor quality paper is not of a professional standard but understandably for some practitioners this is a first time exhibiting and like I said, these problems are minor.

Overall this is a great, great show, there is some fantastic and important work from some established and new makers and this movement is still in its early days so there is more to come, I don't think I will be disappointed and I can't see how anyone could leave this exhibition without a smile on their face.

Artists: Tixe Art / Dave Bain / Louise Boulter / Gemma Correll / Simon Corry / Pascal Cuttoli / Rainbow Donkeys / Camelia Dobrin / Chris Dorning / Jennifer Dubet / Adi Gilbert / Adam Hancher / Lisa Hassell / Kate Hindley / I heart Joan / Yee Ting Kuit / Simon David Mills / Felt Mistress & Jonathan Edwards / George Mitchell / Vicky Newman / Steve Rack / Sarah Ray / Karoline Rerrie / Juan Salas / Mike O’ Shea / David Shillinglaw / Steven Silverwood / Diggy Smerdon / Amy Timms / Michelle Turton / Simon Wild / Mark Wilkinson / DocVek /

Sunday 11 October 2009

Cheap Affair every first Sunday of the month at Islington mill

Call for proposals... "A Cheap Affair"

Cheap are putting on an art/craft/illustration/design/fashion/anything else creative fair at Islington Mill in Salford on Sunday 6th December and are looking for proposals for stalls now!

We are not looking for massive intense essays, one side of a4 should suffice and half a dozen images to give an idea of what you (want to) do. We like things that look nice, we are all about aesthetics, accessibility and relevance. We also like people who have things to sell, we like products and we like consuming! These are not a must but it is up to you.

Don't let it be a daunting task, we just want to get an idea of what you do and what you would do with your stall/space so all applications will be considered.

Each successful applicant will be asked to pay £5 for use of their space (and no commissions will be taken) which is to be payed on the day of the event and all applicants will be notified if they are or aren't successful. Each space will be approximately 2m x 2m (give or take), or the size of a regular sized market stall fold-up table with room behind enough for a chair, for stock and to eat your lunch. No equipment, tables or chairs will be supplied so come well prepared, also their is only approximately 30 spaces so get back to us soon!!

Please send your proposals and any queries to: cheap-magazine@live.com
Deadline: Sunday 8th November

If you have any queries don't hesitate to ask and please feel free to pass word around. So that's all, good luck and we look forward to reading all of your proposals soon!!

Wednesday 7 October 2009

Cheap Weekly Update 7/10/09

Hey Everyone

Welcome to this weeks bulletin!!

As promised Cheap Zine issue 8 is now on sale and the first 6 people to buy their copy will receive a free copy of Michael Dhillon's fantastic new book about dada, art and revolution The Cuckoo Parchment and the Dyke (review to come on Friday!). Contributors to the new issue are:

Hannah Rowlands, Kef, Solen Last, Elle Teague, Meeshle, Rose Greenfield, Alistair McInnes, Abe Honest, Jack Edwards and Daniel Bird and the first part of a two-parter from Mario Kolaric!

Head on over here for your copy:
http://cheapzine.bigcartel.com/

Also to be released this Friday is Tommy Eugene Higson's review of the awesome show which was inkygoodness 3: Wonderland, keep your eyes on them!

Information about our future fair at the lovely and very cool Islington Mill in Salford will be announced this weekend/early next week so keep listening to find out how to get involved.

And finally, as always, we want your work to show the world :) We're after doodles, paintings, writings or any other images/visuals. black and white a5 portrait please and send us at least two images, you get two pages but we like choice.

Email: cheap-magazine@live.com

Also if you want anything promoting, anything you are involved in or doing or making give us a shout and we will do our very best to help.

So until next weekish,

Have fun!

Tommy and Nikki