Storytelling

I liked these relics of bygone technology spotted at MMU yesterday. The tape reel reminds me of the kind my dad had for some reason (can't remember what), and the object it is sitting on is an overhead projector.

That last device of course is still in use, though usually injection-moulded and with a webcam attached, rather than hammerited steel with glass optics. Architect Ted Cullinan is a master of the medium, enchanting audiences with freehand pen sketches to illustrate anecdotes from 50 years of practice. I last saw him at a sustainability seminar at Bluecoat in Liverpool last year.

As a technique it seems to have a closer relation to speech than powerpoint which often seems like a publication of some kind, and therefore more fixed. As a result, it leads to a sense of storytelling rather than a show - which is sometimes just what an audience needs. I will to give it another try at the first opportunity.

Cup face

Who would have guessed that this would happen when you put glasses on a cup? Those of you who know me know that I like puns. Visual ones are not necessarily better, just different. And especially fun when they happen spontaneously after an evening meal, with two everyday objects.

536 examples of the same thing here.

Caro

The Chapel of Light in Bourbourg received little attention from the architectural press a few months back, and I've just been reminded of it after a talk for LICC in Manchester on the Theology of Architecture. Anthony Caro's work lies at the cusp of architecture and sculpture, and I remember a fine retrospective of his work in the fields of Yorkshire Sculpture Park a few years' ago.

In the neglected shell of a bombed French neo-gothic church he has inserted beautifully-crafted expressions of biblical themes. The three interventions use three materials - metal bas-reliefs in the niches of the apse, oak 'towers' like pulpits in the nave, and a stunning spiral of stone as a baptismal font in the chancel.

Micro-knitting

I've been following news of the new movie of Coraline, not least via twitter and Neil Gaiman's account of the relentless press junket itinerary for him and Director Henry Selick. It looks amazing.

On something of a tangent, but a fascinating one, is the work of Athea Crome for the film. Her extraordinary skill is micro-knitting, and a short film of her talking about it is featured here.

Cheesegrater

Good to see Allies and Morrison's new Charles Street car park in Sheffield city centre. Despite being a dull day, the simple idea of rotating a single standard trapezoidal anodised panel still looked lively and intriguing. I've admired their urbane work for a long time, and they've brought their usual distinctive but unassuming approach to a prosaic building form. Oh, and the people have already given it a nickname - did you guess?

95 years on

Years ago I had a book containing milestones from the history of photography. Included in it was Henri Lartigue's 1913 image of a racing car, speeding past the camera. The shutter action moved vertically from top to bottom, and as it did so transferred the light
onto the plate. With the pace of the car, the time which the shutter slit took to scan the lens became significant, such that circular
wheels were captured as ovals. So, I believe, the inspiration for Roadrunner's leg action was born.

Now idly snapping from the train to Sheffield, I find that by turning my iPhone to landscape format I can reproduce the same effect. We've clearly come a long way in 95 years.

The International

'The movie also looks at the role of architecture in our lives and how much it influences emotions. Expensive modern architecture has changed the landscape of so many big cities. It's fascinating architecture: it seems driven by a desire to exude clarity with its lines, yet at the same time it is hard to read.' (from Sight & Sound)

A visual artist's observation on international modernism, as Tom Tykwer describes the key role of architecture in his new film 'The
International'. Looking forward to it - and seeing the always watchable Clive Owen in action.