Assignment
5508
Joshua Flinn
S1205471
Stanley Donwood
Stanley Donwood
is the pseudonym of the graphic artist, painter, illustrator and writer Dan
Rickwood. He is best known for his close collaborations with Radiohead, since
1994 he has produced all the artwork for the band. Donwood is also known for
his short stories which he publishes online and sells through a shop on his
website. Slowly Downward sells a large portion of his work, including books,
badges, jigsaw puzzles and of course a selection of different prints. His work
is clearly advertised throughout the music world from album artwork, and
vinyl’s to festival posters. His work is extremely collective as he has two
main fan bases, the fans who collect his artwork and scramble around online to
get hold of certain limited edition prints and also the Radiohead fans who are
keen to buy his work because of their loyalty to the band. I place myself in
both camps being a fan of both the band and his artwork. While listening to
their music and viewing Donwoods art it is obvious to me that they are both
developed together. The more eerie pieces of Donwoods work fit hand in hand
with the haunting sounds of Radiohead music. I think combining two art forms in
this way is extremely powerful and lures in both audiences into the same
collaboration between music and art. This is clearly a great advertising scheme
for both parties.
Donwoods stories
have a very dark view on the world. Many of the stories are a surreal version
of real life, they seem somewhat believable but then something will crop up
that is unsuspected and totally fictional. He has said his first book Slowly
Downward was part of a self-administered therapy as he had “gone a little mad”.
The stories he writes inflame my imagination and motivate me creatively as they
are filled with such rich vivid images and concepts that I find myself wanting
to illustrate them or write my own. This is a short story by Stanley Donwood I
have recently heard, I say heard as Donwood has provided a podcast style
narration behind each of his short stories so you can browse his website whilst
listening to them.
“BIG BIRD
Whilst on a
walking holiday in remote regions, I chance upon a secluded valley, away from
the popular walking routes. Some distance along the valley I come across a
scene so breathtakingly beautiful that I drop to my knees in wonder. There is
something about the serried ranks of deciduous and coniferous trees standing
tall on the opposite bank of the river that sets my heart ablaze. The colours
of the foliage are poetic, whilst the arrangement of species seems divinely
inspired. Clouds swoop and whirl above the topmost branches, and the river
sparkles through an uncertain reflection below.
Suddenly, the sky
darkens, and along the river advances a flotilla of huge birds with menacing
eyes. The size of the birds staggers me; one is as tall as a bus, and the
others not much smaller. Their plumage is a shimmering blue, but their eyes are
full of hate and looming disaster. With a horrible sinking feeling, I realise
that the birds have noticed me. One of them clambers up the nearside bank, and
waddles towards me. I take to my heels, and scramble along the path. Gaining
speed, I run at full tilt.
Then I see people
in front of me, running towards me. First one passes, then another, then
another. They are wide-eyed with terror, and keep taking quick, fearful looks
behind them. There must, I realise, be something unutterably horrible in front
of me, but my fear of the big birds compels me to carry on. More people run past
me, all with the same frightened expression. They are running towards the
birds, away from something unknown. I am running from the birds, towards
something unknown. Not for the first time in my life, I curse my bad
luck."[1]
Donwood doesn’t
illustrate his short stories but he does use images in books he has publishes.
In his book titled Dead Children Playing (A Picture Book) the text is
accompanied by paintings he has made, the majority of them being very strange
almost post apocalyptic scenes made from using acrylic, charcoal, blackboard
paint on canvass.
Donwoods artwork
expresses a large personal interest in politics with heavy emphasis on war and
society. He has painted many war-obliterated pieces depicting baron landscapes
after a nuclear apocalypse, missiles and bombs falling towards cities.
He exhibited an
18-foot long linocut of Los Angeles being ruined by natural disasters for the
album The Eraser by Thom Yorke.
The Eraser[2]
I have listened
to The Eraser many times and can completely vouch for Donwoods accuracy in
depicting the albums style and atmosphere. While making artwork for Radiohead
Donwood has said he listens to the music of the album that he is working on
continuously so the end result is the music and the artwork being woven together
and thus creating a much more integral feeling musically and visually.
The Erasers album
artwork depicts a King Canute style figure with a trench coat and hat. This
stems from a historical reference of King Cnut, commonly known as King Canute
who was the King of Denmark reigning between 1016-1035. King Cnut is referred
to as being deluded enough to believe his great powers would hold back the
tide. Obviously it continued to rise and “dashed over his feet and legs without
respect to his royal person”[3]. Cnut was supposed to have set up a royal
palace on Thorney Island as it was known back then, today it is believed to
have been Westminster and it is believed this is where Cnut tried to command
the waves. It is also believed this actually happened on Thorn Island,
Southampton. I think Donwoods work accurately reflects a current day version of
this event whatever the location was and whether is ever happened or not. I
think it could be aimed at mankind believing they have control over everything
which is portrayed as important buildings such as Parliament, this suggests he
is putting the government in the crosshairs and saying they think they have
everything under control until a greater force, symbolized by the flood comes
along and wipes everything out. The power of belief in power isn’t good enough
and when the flood comes there will be nothing to stop it.
In the image he
is stood holding his hand out towards the waves, which is crashing down all
around him but not actually reaching him (yet). Awash in the flood are iconic
London buildings, which include, Parliament, tower of London and the Battersea
power station. Presumably the floodwater is the Thames overflowing. The idea
was stimulated by a flood Donwood and Yorke witnessed in Cornwall in 2004. The
image is very simple and not over complicated due to the detail in the linocut
print. This makes a heavy impact visually and becomes instantly recognizable.
This designs idea and style was so successful it later went on to become
reworked in the form of a scene of Armageddon in Los Angeles for the album Amok
by Atoms for Peace.
Amok[4]
Stanley Donwoods
inspiration can be attributed to many things social and cultural, he says that
Los Angeles has made a big impression on him. He seems to be confused and frustrated
at the politics and cultural acceptance of things like obesity, violence as
entertainment and advertisement. A lot of this clearly can be reflected in his
work, his passion for illustrating social and politician corruption can be seen
as being very bitter towards the world but equally a lot of his work has humour
entwined. In his artwork for Hail To The Thief he traveled around Los Angeles
making notes of road signs and signs in peoples gardens. He notice the same
recurring colours and noticed the almost absence of black. Some of the signs
were comedic and after reflecting on them I imagine quite hard hitting. In an
interview about his concepts behind Hail To The Thief Stanley makes a good
point at pointing out the absurdity of the laws, reactions of people on a moral
level and just how things can escalate in some states of America.
“They have these
signs on people's front lawns which say 'Armed Response' which is like way
further than keep off the grass isn't it? It's like, what? If I go on your lawn
you'll call the…? Oh my god!”[5]
Hail To The Thief
[6]
Donwoods style is
very hands on and gives off the feeling of everything being completely in his
style without perfecting it and polishing it digitally. Donwood believes that
it’s important to draw by hand for him as when he uses a computer he feels like
he hasn’t really done anything. I can completely agree with this as I prefer
drawing by hand as it seems more unique and customized rather than perfectly
straight lines and beautiful angles that anyone with a computer with certain
software can achieve too. I can also agree with the self-satisfaction behind
it, drawing to me is expressive and clearly it also is to Donwood, I believe
there is no computer software that can replicate the expression of a human hand
directly onto the required medium.
Culturally there
are so many artists now that use digital means to work with and I do enjoy
that, but I can always seem to tell which has been hand drawn, and to me it is
immediately more personal and expressive.
Donwoods work to me stands amongst a few in an era that seems to be an
ever growing wave of computers touching up every last detail for perfection
until there is no relatable human expression behind it. All it becomes seems to
be digital artwork that stays on the computer screen and on the screen of the
ipod. I think it’s killing the originality and human warmth behind everything.
Maybe I’m in a small minority that likes having a CD booklet in my hand to feel
the paper and really see the artwork within it.
The artwork Donwood made in 2012 for The King Of Limbs not only went into being produced in an ephemeral cardboard CD booklet but he and Thom Yorke set up a newspaper stand in London and handed out the public the CD along with a newspaper which featured lyrics, artwork, poems and short stories.
The artwork Donwood made in 2012 for The King Of Limbs not only went into being produced in an ephemeral cardboard CD booklet but he and Thom Yorke set up a newspaper stand in London and handed out the public the CD along with a newspaper which featured lyrics, artwork, poems and short stories.
The Universal Sigh [7]
The newspaper title was The Universal Sigh, the text obviously had to be produced digitally but they retained the theme by using web offset lithography. The artwork in the paper can be purchased from Slowly Downward, which is an interesting way of advertising your work, through handing out papers for free. This advertisement scheme was essentially Donwood handing out business cards.
Donwood lists
Peter Kennard as one of his early influences and now after I have looked into
Kennard’s work I can see direct political symmetry in each of their work.
Kennard’s work
uses mashed up manipulated photos of imagery and symbolism to create very
visually powerful messages. His work between 1970s an-80’s was that which
influenced Donwood. This work was created for the Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament. The similarities in the work are clear particularly when you
observe the two artists work depicting their similar views on the CND
situation. Both have very minimal detail and have dominant symbols of power
infiltrating peace. The minimal content and detail provides a direct
explanation of what they are trying to express.
Peter Kennard Union Mask[8]
Stanley Donwood USA CND [9]
I believe Stanley Donwood impacts a wider
culture by highlighting our destructive and naïve present way of living that
will undoubtedly lead us into a self-destructive and malevolent future. His
post nuclear apocalyptic images are a terrifying glimpse into a future that
could come around sooner than we think. These pieces evoke taking actions to
prevent present day crisis’s like infrastructure collapse and rapid climactic
change to future based problems such as global warming and nuclear war and
stand as a warning about the potential self destructive behavior towards each
other and our planet.
After browsing through Donwoods work on The
King Of Limbs I realised this particular work reminded me of a book I had
recently looked at called What Is The Truth, which was illustrated by R.J
Lloyd.
What Is The Truth [11]
His style of working throughout this book
retained a theme of using a smudging technique accompanied with lots of
scratchy detailed lines. I found I enjoyed the style of his work. It looked
untidy at first and hastily done but after inspection I discovered the emotion
in the eyes of the animals and the restriction of not using colour was
fascinating. A lot of the images have a haunting and sinister especially the
scenes under moonlight. Which gives me a similar chill up the spine as I get
when I look at many of Donwoods pieces of work. Most of the work in What Is The
Truth is of nature, plant life and animals. The effect of smudging and naively
scribbling in some parts adds up to form different textures and makes the image
seem more intriguing, almost as if you want to reach out and feel the different
textures. The subject is not unlike that of The King Of Limbs work, the picture
below shows a piece called Bad Woods III. It expresses the same eerie feeling
as if one was alone amongst the trees, there are no animals present but there
are strange creatures in the background, which are difficult to make out as
they are very slightly drawn. This is cleverly done as the creatures represent
forest spirits and aren’t supposed to be seen clearly as they drift around.
Bad Woods III [12]
Bear Logo [13]
Hello
Kitty [14]
Donwoods signature logo that is used from
album artwork to an embossing stamp, which is placed near the edition and
signature, is a sinister looking bear. He uses this character all across his
artwork and even in the animations he makes. These bears usually have the same
sinister expression an seem to communicate a childlike drawing with something
darker, probably due to the spiky teeth. The minimal design and easily
recognizable face reminds me of the evil clone of the Hello Kitty face. They
are both very similar in terms of design but give off completely different
emotions. The Bear being quite sharp in it’s design makes us naturally uneasy
about it’s appearance but the much more rounded and visually softer and gentle
Hello Kitty seems a lot less threatening. These bears are usually depicted in
different scenarios amongst Donwoods work from being used as generic characters
to convey a political message to having personality and being actively involved
with the image. This picture is the album artwork from Com Lag: 2+2=5 which was
a Japanese release only E.P. The bear seems to be pointing a gun at the other
bear but the translation of his speech bubble reveals he is saying the Japanese
equivalent to “say cheese”. This adds a new dynamic to the image and leaves the
viewer to make up their mind if it’s an execution or simply a photo being
taken.
Com Lag: 2+2=5 [EP] [15]
I believe
Stanley’s place in our current culture is an important one due to having views
that could easily be regarded as prophecies as to what could potentially happen
in our future. His ideas and artwork should seriously make us consider our own
damage that we as individuals and as higher governed power have upon the earth
as once day there could be an element of truth in some of Donwoods disastrous,
nuclear apocalyptic concepts.
References
[1] A Quiet
Afternoon- Stanley Donwood
[2] The Eraser-
Thom Yorke, released 2006
[3] Henry of
Huntingdon The Chronicle, p. 199
[4] Amok, Atom
For Peace – album artwork by Stanley Donwood 2012
[5] Stanley
Donwood interviewed response to Hail To The Thief artwork
http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/stanley-donwood-on-the-stories-behind-his-radiohead-album-covers
http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/stanley-donwood-on-the-stories-behind-his-radiohead-album-covers
[6]
http://blogs.laweekly.com/arts/Radiohead-Hail-To-The-Thief.jpg
[7] The Universal Sigh – artwork by Stanley Donwood
[8] Union Mask,
Peter Kennard -
http://www.printed-editions.com/upload/standard/Peter__Kennard_Union_Mask_496.jpg
[9] USA CND
Screen-print – Stanley Donwood -
http://hanguppictures.com/Images/Contemporary/Stanley-Donwood-USA-CND.jpg
[10] Amnesiac,
Radiohead, Artwork by Stanley Donwood released 2001
http://cdn.self-titledmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/tumblr_m6q5t6qplY1r1bc1so1_r1_1280.jpg
[11] What Is The
Truth, Author Ted Hughes, Illustrated by R.J. Lloyd
http://gerryco23.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/badger-rj-lloyd.jpg?w=282&h=211&crop=1
http://gerryco23.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/badger-rj-lloyd.jpg?w=282&h=211&crop=1
[12] Bad Woods
III, Stanley Donwood http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lh29xbHbV51qb4lmho1_500.jpg
[13] Stanley
Donwood, Bear Logo
http://kingydesignhistory2012.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/hgfjpg.gif
http://kingydesignhistory2012.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/hgfjpg.gif
[14] Hello Kitty
Logo, designed by Yuko Shimizu
http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/19200000/Hello-Kitty-hello-kitty-19285460-849-757.gif
[15] Radiohead, Com Lag: 2+2=5 [EP], artwork by Stanley Donwood,
released 2004
http://www.iconic-culture.com/catalog/com%20lag%20japan%20cd.jpg
Bibliography
Dead Children Playing
by Stanley Donwood –Published 2007
The Eraser, Thom
Yorke, released 2006
What Is The Truth, Author Ted Hughes, Illustrated by R.J. Lloyd
AMOK, Atoms for
Peace, released 2012
Amnesiac,
Radiohead, released 2001
The King Of
Limbs,, Radiohead, released 2011
Interview With
Stanley Donwood for The Vinyl Factory
http://www.thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-factory-releases/cover-versions-radiohead-artist-stanley-donwood-on-record-sleeves-doodling-and-sleeping-in-the-forest/
http://www.thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-factory-releases/cover-versions-radiohead-artist-stanley-donwood-on-record-sleeves-doodling-and-sleeping-in-the-forest/
