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The Macguffin Library at Somerset House by Noam Toran and Onkar Kular

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Went to the last-but-one day of Noam Toran and Onkar Kular‘s “MacGuffin Library” as part of the longer “Wouldn’t it be nice” exhibit at Somerset House.

They have a 3d printer constantly making macguffins for imaginary movies, which are then placed next to it’s unmade-film’s synopsis. The macguffin, so often never even seen, is celebrated right through to the theatrics of fabbing them in the gallery.

Lovely.

Particularly liked this nice little touch to the warnings generally found in galleries:

Wouldn't it be Nice / The Macguffin Library at Somerset House

Freeriders of the purple sage

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The tragedy of the commons is a myth.

There is a vast conspiracy enacted by those who would steal the common off the goose.

A giant distributed clan of supervillainy: the free-riders.

They are sent across the globe and beyond – into our fictions and our factions to ensure that the tragedy plays out as prophesised.

They cannot be reasoned with, they cannot be bought (as they are freeriders) – the only way they can be stopped is by applying a sharp pinch to their left elbow and when they turn around on their hard heels, giving them an extremely disapproving, disappointed look.

Start now.

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4×4 Meme: More About Me

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I got tagged by Saffer, who I kind of regard as my commanding officer, so here goes.

Four Jobs I've Had in My Life:

  • 1987-1990: Working after school and weekend in Harris Printers, Porthcawl. I nagged the guy who ran it for a job and got one – folding stuff, stapling, sweeping up at the end of the day. It progressed through learning to set type and help run the letterpress, help make plates and run a litho through to installing and running their first Mac set-up. An SE30 with an A3 black-and-white radius screen and a LaserWriter+ that cost a small fortune.
  • 1992-93: Gregg's the Bakers, Cardiff. While in college – I had a job that involved sweeping and mopping the floor of the bakery shop and serving customers. You got to take home quiches and sausage rolls, so I thought it was a pretty sweet deal.
  • 1993-94: Architectural Assistant, Welsh Health Common Services Authority, NHS Wales For my year out working I stayed in Cardiff and had a hell of a year working in the NHS, drawing ceiling and landscaping details by-and-large but towards the end of my tenure there I got to do the early concepts for a few schemes such as a respite ward for cancer patients which had some interesting passive-solar features, and a medium-secure unit for violent mental patients, which probably wouldn't pass the Sarah Connor test, but did have nice 45 degree corners in corridors so patients could give staff nasty surprises. I also developed a nice moonlighting role getting paid cash-in-hand to do concept sketch work for one of the qualified architects over the weekend, which he would then pass off as his… This also sticks in my mind as being the one place I have worked where myself and three colleagues successfully managed to speak only using song titles for an entire day.
  • 1995: Assistant Producer, Camden Lock / Delphi: My first job out of architecture school, and into the WWW, courtesy of Mr. Phil Barrett. In a Camden basement where I met Stef, Yoz, Mick, Pouneh, Obi, Emyr, Alex, Pete, Graham, Stuart and others, mucked around with Emacs and Video Cameras; and fully fell in love with the Web.

Four TV Shows I DVR (I don't have a DVR, but let's say… time-shifted time-based media originally produced for television… ahem):

  • The Wire: I've just finished Season 2, so no spoilers. Also this is something I watch on planes, trains, buses – anywhere I'm on my own. Foe is not so into it to say the least. I, however, am totally hooked.
  • Lost: Season 4 and it is back on, as far as I'm concerned. Like the Alias Rambaldi Arc, I like my J.J.A stories weird and byzantine. The more DHARMA the better.
  • Sarah Connor Chronicles: It gets a bit emo now and again, but Cromatie is awesome. Also, I guess it's a sign of age that I fancy Lena Heady way more than Summer Glau.
  • Primeval: This is UK-pulp family scifi served straight-up and dumb, without any of the shameless Whedonising of RTD's Doctor. I love it.

Four places I've been:

  • Adelaide: Beautiful, and the central market is not to be missed – especially the lamingtons…
  • Shanghai: crazy corpuscular, muscular hypercapitalism. maximum city, reached by maglev. Maglev!
  • Aberdeen: grey stone in sunshine. A majestic market town and a little bit post-peak oil.
  • Sienna: The archetypal Italian hill town, and a wonderful place to passeggiata through the contrada…

Four music artists I'm listening to right now:

  • Saffer beat me to British Sea Power," Do You Like Rock Music?", but 'Atom' is magnificent.
British Sea Power, 'Atom'
British Sea Power, ‘Atom’

Deerhoof - The Perfect Me
Deerhoof – The Perfect Me

That's it!

Now, I'm afraid I have to tag people don't I.

Chris Heathcote, Matt Webb, Flo Heiss and Iain Tait, come on down!

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QotD: A Life-Changing Work of Art

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What work of art (film, book, record, whatever) changed your life?
Submitted by bodhibound.

Eamesanimation
Eamesanimation

It's a cliche, but probably it's Charles and Ray Eames' "Powers of Ten".

I saw it first on a children's television show in the UK called Picture Box, that showcased short films. I recollect it also showed "The Red Balloon" so obviously someone there was trying to bombard young kids with amazing visual culture as early as they could.

It blew my mind, and back then I couldn't have possibly known how many times I would watch, reference, dissect, crib, and re-watch that film for its themes, its form and its content. Scale, systems, and the seductiveness of self-similarity.

I think it's why I do what I do, and why I love what I do.

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