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Our final interview from issue 0 on copying is with editor of subversive men’s mag Manzine, Kevin Braddock. Manzine is a magazine for that want to escape the aspirational, archetypal, male stereotype of the typical men’s magazine. Published occasionally by a small group of writers who work on other men’s mags such as GQ and Esquire, Manzine is a sort of hobby project that talks about real experiences, whilst sending up the over-exaggerated lifestyle claims of glossy magazines. This makes it one of Article’s favourites.
In this issue, we’re looking at copying in creativity as something that’s useful. In dealing with the myriad influences you have, being subversive or indeed totally original might not be appropriate. How useful is imitation or copying to you as a way of communicating in the right way?
I don’t know how useful it is, but it is certainly inevitable in some ways. All creativity is a product of what it absorbs and reinterprets, it all exists in a lineage or tradition, so in that respect there is probably nothing truly original. What you do with the influences is what counts. Manzine combines a tradition of DIY publishing and the process and formats of established, mainstream magazine production. Those are our two key influences, and they way they react off each other is what makes Manzine unique.
Tracing paper, I imagine, is one of the greatest aids to creativity. Read more ⇒
A few weeks ago we posted some of the nice reviews and things people have said about the last issue. Since then we’ve had a few more!
Linefeed Reading List 08/10 from Michael Bojkowski on Vimeo.
Line Feed
It was really flattering to make the Linefeed August Reading list with so many other great magazines. I think we’re in good company with Gym Class, Sup and Fire and Knives! The review is above in video form. We are at about 9:55
State of Independents
SoI is a blog/research-project/magazine about independent magazines. We posted them a copy and they gave us this lovely review. If you have a chance, fill in their survey about your magazine consumption habits. You have until August 20th.
Features and interviews in our coming issue look at how copying informs the work of artists and designers, how it can be a compliment, how it can be the best solution, how originality and reaction aren’t always the best responses. One section of the issue is dedicated to interviews with designers, artists and musicians about their relationship the often derided practice. This interview is with Stephen Banks, head designer of Norsea Industries, a British clothing label that takes as a starting point the workwear of the Northern England
In this issue, we are thinking about the use of copying in a creative process - perhaps because being original, reactive, subversive is not appropriate. Do you find copying useful as a way of finding a solution in design?
I don’t think as a designer copying alone is ever a good solution to a brief. Systems of how to work are something you can copy and learn from but creativity needs real inspiration as a starting point. A designer doesn’t want to be told to simply copy something. The reference sample or picture you start off with is only the beginning of the process, intangible things like wisdom, vision, vigour and craft need to be applied before you have a finished product.
Given that there’s a historical awareness to your designs, is there a difference to you in the types of influences you have? How does the researched, historical piece of clothing compare to the continuous stream of images you might see on a daily basis?
The best advice I can give is not to go on the net for too much research. Look outside in your own environment and find something more personal you can get passionate about.
Our brand Norsea came out of our move back to the Yorkshire coast. It was not something we planned but after a while the surroundings and influences came together and a clear direction and aesthetic appeared. Our references are rooted in the everyday all around us, fishing boats, yacht rigging or debris left on the shoreline. You could never get the same feeling of immersion by hitting your keyboard a couple of hours a day while sitting at your desk in an office somewhere.
There’s an idea that the clearer a clothing company’s influences, the more successful it will be. There’s definitely a trend for this now, as seen in workwear and heritage, historical brands. Do you find this need important, either commercially or artistically?
Whether your brand is workwear or sportswear the clearer your message the better. Like people brands have identities, consumers get to know them over time. You align yourself with the brands you feel speak to you. If a brand suddenly changes direction the consumer can end up confused and alienated.
Could you pinpoint one piece of work that you’ve deliberately done as a copy?
I’ve tried to recreate the old Teddyboy jackets that the local fishermen used to wear in places like Hull 1950’s. My Dad has still got one of the originals, it’s hand tailored and fits like a glove.
Is there something you would like to copy / anything that absolutely shouldn’t be copied?
I’d like to copy the longevity of someone like Oscar Niemeyer the Brazilian architect and still be enjoying my work when I’m ninety nine.
Have you been copied?
I get to see inside the design rooms of quite a few leading brands when I do the odd bit of consultancy. I have noticed quite a few Norsea images appearing on mood boards. It’s great that another designer has found inspiration in what we are doing. But in the end their copy of our one of our pieces only ends up further away from the original concept, like a photo-copy, much of the detail is lost.
Universal is the allure of smashing one’s face (or any other body part for that matter) against the cold glass of a photocopier. So wIth the upcoming issue’s theme being ‘Copying’, it seemed only natural to give in.
This issue’s fashion was conducted using only a photocopier. The idea was pretty simple, make a copy of a model in clothes, and then copy the copy, and copy the copy, ad nauseam, until the images were reduced to a grey nothingness. Nothing has been edited, just lovingly scanned in to the computer by Kate.
It was bizarre, because, each original took the same number of copies to reach the same ugly grey. Usually the second and third copies look the best.
But you can judge for yourself. Expect to see the full sets in the issue.