SHRIGLEY

Looking at that old exhibiton poster i posted earlier it reminded me that David Shrigley was actually in the same building on the opening night (although he didn't bother walking through to see the show). he was giving a talk, very badly..that suited him and his work. i was running between the talk and the exhibition i curated, missing all good bits of both.

even though nobody's ever said anything to me, i'm always aware people may think i try (and fail) to rip off his style. this couldn't be further from the truth. i first saw his work during my art foundation course (1999 i think?) many years after i'd begun to draw simple little men hitting each other with toothpicks and brushes in my sketch books, on bus tickets, and on people. obvisously he's work is full of wit and humour and mine's just nonsense but still..I DIDN'T COPY HIM!! i love all his stuff and it has influenced me a great deal in the past and still does to this day but in a negative way. you see..since knowing his art, when i'm doodling i'm thinking 'don't do a Shrigley, don't do a Shrigley!' and i try and drag the pen/brush differently. i've just had a wierd feeling i may have said all this before? sorry, just want to be clear. i hate to be thought as a copycat. god, that was all very whiney wasn't it?

anyway, enough about little ol' me. he's designed brilliant new album covers for two of my favourite musical artists.. Deerhoof & Malcolm Middleton (below)





in case you aren't to familar with him, here's a video profile of the man..



'Who I Am And What I Want'..

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

It must be like when A Bug's Life came out at the same time as Antz or Flushed Away and Rataouille or Finding Nemo and Shark's Tale or The Wild and Madagascar or Armageddon and Deep Impact or Capote and Infamous.

JJJH said...

..or not (althought i like your choice of comparison).

he's been doing his thing in public for years and years. i store everything in boxes and sketch books.

more importantly..he's brilliant and i'm very average.

Anonymous said...

Well, the other thing is one of those films usually does very well, the other is a flop. :(

JJJH said...

i thought that might be what u were getting at. very good.

Anonymous said...

i hope that copycat email i sent a while ago didnt spark this paranoia! I was only talking about at Bathtime poster and Gormley.
I wasn't avin a pop!

JJJH said...

no no nothing to do with that. that picture was a strange waste of time though.