Meanwhile #160
Plus a shot of historical amnesia.
— Yes, I’m on Threads. It all feels very unfinished, but at least the designers seem quite open about admitting that, and appear open to constructive criticism (i.e. not replying with poop emojis).
— Micaela Alcaino looks at AI's influence on cover design, the future of book publishing and how to utilise these new tools in a healthy way. I’m totally against using this technology as a replacement for genuine human creativity, but there are certainly aspects of it that can be useful – for example, the whole “let’s expand the Mona Lisa’s background!” thing is, on its own, crass and absurd, but I’ve found gentle deployment of that type of effect is an absolute godsend for getting into the bleed without losing the edges of the art.
— Brothels, bartenders and film stars – a selection from the UK’s first Eve Arnold retrospective in ten years.
— Okay who wants to give me $3,950,000 so I can buy Charles Schulz’s office and art studio in California? The epitome of Hobbiton-modernist. Worth it just for the bench.
— New hobby: scrolling through abandoned or vacant properties in rural areas of Japan (aka Akiya Houses) while daydream-renovating.
— Absolutely gorgeous mid-century illustration work by Edwin Georgi. There’s one in particular – fourth picture, third row – that I absolutely need on a wall somewhere in my new California and/or Japan pad.
— “Claiming complete originality in type design (or any creative discipline) can be seen as either naive ignorance, or historical amnesia, since we learn by absorbing influences in the world around us” – Peter Biľak on originality in type design and the boundaries between interpretation and plagiarism.
— Sorry, but I simply had to contribute to the relentless Barbie discourse. Font humour is the best humour.
— Model maker Simon Weisse’s Instagram is a delight. Loads of behind the scenes pics from Asteroid City and The French Dispatch, and photographs of the locations that inspired them. Actual Wes Anderson is far more interesting than accidental.
— The Great When is a bit addictive. Watch the archive footage of London, guess the year, that’s it. I’m currently averaging 7.8 years out – Dr B is particularly helpful as her approach is to stare intensely at the hats. Apparently hats help.
— Thank you to everyone supporting Meanwhile with a paid subscription. Really appreciated. And Friday’s new members-only Five Rectangles edition seems to be going down well!