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by Griffith University to set up a screen-printing workshop. Almost all of Redback’s subsequent output was client focused. This initial autonomy (and regular pay cheque) allowed Callahan to conceive of a studio “where you actually got paid… an alternative-style advertising agency for the left”. The critical provocation of posters like Redback’s inaugural print, If the unemployed are dole bludgers, what the f**k are the idle rich, would eventually be replaced with a less confrontational stance related to clients’ specific needs. For some art critics and theorists, design remains a compromised cultural activity. Griffith University arts academic Jess Berry when writing Earthworks and Beyond argued that socially committed practices accepting commissions from government departments, for example, were demonstrating a retreat from principles (as if suggesting working for the public service is the same thing as party political propagandising). This typifies a naiveté about the nature of graphic design and its contemporary practice that must make initiatives like Redback Graphix puzzling
for some. The art world often still struggles with the idea of a creative discipline that has both social agency and commissioned mass appeal, as if the art market itself wasn’t one of the most lucrative industries in world. In Anna Zagala’s generally excellent survey Redback Graphix, she writes about the studio’s “strangely indeterminate status… [straddling] the two very different worlds of art and advertising” – but where’s the mystery? It’s called design (if you really want to call it something). In spite of their genealogies, practices like Redback and Inkahoots (the studio I form a part of ) probably have more in common with visual communication studios such as Grappus in France than open access poster collectives like Earthworks. After Brisbane, Callaghan moved Redback to Wollongong in 1980 where several others joined him, including Gregor Cullen, before relocating to Sydney in 1985 with hopes of growing the business. While Cullen stayed in Wollongong, Alison Alder and Leonie Lane went to Sydney as others joined, and Marie McMahon returned to the studio in 1987.
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From left: Condoman says: Don’t be shame be game, use frenchies! (1st version) Redback Graphix, screenprint 1987. National Gallery of Australia © Redback Graphix. What now Mr Mao, dance? Redback Graphix, screenprint 1979. National Gallery of Australia, © Redback Graphix Pay the rent: You are on Aboriginal land Redback Graphix, screenprint 1981 National Gallery of Australia, © Marie McMahon. Fresh blood Redback Graphix, screenprint 1983, National Gallery of Australia © Redback Graphix
“They were politically committed visual advocates and activists during a decade in which most Australian designers were milking the excesses of corporate vandalism… They were passion, compassion, disgust, anger and humour with a squeegee.”
Throughout this period, they continued to produce vibrant visual communication for community and cultural groups, arts organisations, unions and government departments. Groups like Redback are rare. They were politically committed visual advocates and activists during a decade in which most Australian designers were milking the excesses of corporate vandalism. They opposed the acrimony of the market by working with and for the vulnerable and marginalised. They were passion, compassion, disgust, anger and humour with a squeegee. I met Michael Callaghan for the first time the year before he died. Although unwell, he graciously accepted a gift of some Inkahoots posters, one of which was dedicated to Redback Graphix. I told him I could easily summon the thrill of first encountering a Redback poster, that seeing that fluorescent sipping monkey was like first hearing ‘Cattle and Cane’1 or ‘Stranded’2 and knowing there was hope… z 1 The Go-Betweens 2
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The Saints
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F E ATU RE
SAED MESHKI “I from East and you from West, I from northern hemisphere and you from southern hemisphere. In this moment in my land, it is almost spring and you are going to welcome autumn; but both of us have the same subject to have a conversation, to be friends without ever seeing each other, to respect each other and accept each other. Be alive, graphic design.” Saed Meshki is a humble voice for Iranian graphic design that resonates the world over, representing his home country as a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) and the Board of Iranian Graphic Designers Society (IGDS), as well as managing Neshan magazine – a graphic design magazine that seeks to draw ties between Iranian and international designers. He is deeply moved by the history, society and poetry of Iran and seeks to honour its present and its future through his work – modern design shaped and inspired by tradition, ritual, knowledge and dedication.
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Opposite: Publication celebrating Selected Posters and Book Covers of Saed Meshki, 2007. This page: 50 50 — The 5th color exhibition poster 2005 and A Little Kiss poster, 2005.
You were schooled at Tehran University in the 1990s and now teach at the same institution. What changes have you witnessed in design education, and in the work that young designers produce? Whenever I speak with my collaborators around the world, I see that they have the same criticisms that we have for our young students. They are hasty, they don’t read books, they are not deep thinkers and they are rude… I think our fathers have these same criticisms from our generation. Now, the ratio of girls to boys is 85 to 15 in the graphic course. There is high competition to successfully enter into university for a graphic course, especially these last 15 years and I can’t understand why. I think computers and new technology have affected a graphic designer’s approach and work. We couldn’t and we shouldn’t be faulted for that. As educators and elder graphic designers, we must accompany the youth and help them to bring out their energy the best ways. Have the unique characteristics of your country informed the way you and your students produce? Without a doubt, when we speak about culture, we clearly speak about literature,
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“The culture of my country has a history of thousands of years. If it isn’t impossible to escape it, it is certainly very difficult.” art, architecture, customs… The culture of my country has a history of thousands of years. If it isn’t impossible to escape it, it is certainly very difficult. And in another perspective, there is no reason to not pay attention to this culture when our students live on this valuable treasure trove of images, poems and music. It is because of this that Iranian graphic designers and cinema are recognised on the world stage. How has the application of graphic design changed throughout the social and political shifts within Iran? The other side of the world has a very different view about what really is going on in here. Don’t forget that several factors in the Middle East – long wars, ethnic conflict, historical boundary disputes, resources and mines and lack of water – all cause
special situations. Today, the neighbouring countries of Iran (Iraq and Afghanistan) are in war. Iran is a vital Persian Gulf route for drugs and world energy, with all the accompanying social and political issues. What could change in my country in a day couldn’t change in your country in several years. It plays a huge role in design that a large number of Iran’s cultural movements are supported by the government. Much of your work is very textural, it appears emotionally composed, warm and free of restrictive grids. What do you feel is the dominant thread that runs through your work? It comes back to what must be called poetry. I dare to say that anywhere else in world, poems haven’t such a broad cultural influence and encouragement as they do in Iran. On the other hand, I love calligraphy and writing and I also attempt to design according to the space of the book – that is a very exhausting process, but enjoyable for me. I try to use a small number of colours to emphasise form. The solitude and silence of the desert in which I was born has the most effect on my work. And you can see this silence in my work clearly.
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CAS E STU DY
Federazione Anarchica Informale (FAI)
The Federazione Anarchica Informale (‘informal anarchist federation’; FAI) is an umbrella insurrectionary anarchist organisation established in Italy in 2003. The FAI is composed of various Italian groups that are united in their belief in revolutionary armed action, including the July 20th Brigade, the Five Cs, International Solidarity and the Cooperative of Hand-Made Fire and Related Items. The groups act independently, but also under the banner of the FAI. The FAI has stated that it targets “the apparatus of control that is repressive and leading the democratic show that is the new European order” (as quoted by the BBC in 2003). It is opposed to the European Union (EU) and to Marxism, which it perceives to be just another type of oppressive
The FAI has stated that it targets “the apparatus of control that is repressive and leading the democratic show that is the new European order” (as quoted by the BBC in 2003). authority. The current strength of the organisation is not known. The FAI engages in bombings, and sends out threatening letters and propaganda to EU-related government offices in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.
The FAI logo features two Italian army Beretta SC70/90 assault rifles, standing for the group’s Italian origins. Red, which is associated with revolution, war, bloodshed and victory, signifies that the group engages in revolutionary armed action and believes it will eventually be victorious. Flames reinforce the group’s commitment to violent means in order to achieve its goal of anarchy, the symbol for which is the letter ‘A’, formed by the two rifles. The letter is also seen in the logo the FAI shares with other groups related to it, in the five-pointed star symbolising unity of all nations. The arrows pointing towards the same spot stand for the FAI’s composition of various groups, called a nucleo, and their collective effort to replace the Italian governmental structure with anarchy.
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Hezbollah هللا بزح
In 1982, Iranian clergymen founded a loose group of Shia militias in southern Lebanon to pursue Iranian objectives in the region, and in particular to carry out tasks in confrontation with Israel. These militias were trained by members of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (a branch of Iran’s military, known as IRGC), which analysts allege still provides military and financial support to the network. The name ‘Hezbollah’ (Arabic for ‘party of Allah’) was officially adopted in 1985. The group has approximately 200,000 supporters and is currently active in all Shia areas of Lebanon. Among the aims expressed in an open letter in 1985 were the foundation of a global Islamic state, the destruction of Israel, opposition to the US and the establishment of a Shia imamate. Hezbollah is among the most technically
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capable and heavily armed terrorist groups in the world. Alongside its militia and terrorist activities, Hezbollah operates a network of social programs and political operations. The group is governed by the Majlis alShura council, which consists of some 200 representatives from influential clans and is led by a secretary-general (currently Hassan Nasrallah). Hezbollah and its allies have dominated the Lebanese Parliament since June 2011. Hezbollah’s logo is a variation of that of the IRGC. Above the logo is Hezbollah’s slogan in Arabic, a verse from the Qur’an (5:56) that translates as: ‘Then the party of Allah will be victorious’. This represents the essence of Hezbollah’s promise. Green is associated with the Prophet Muhammad and red with Imam Hassan, a seventh century martyr and the son of
Muhammad’s daughter Fatima. Beneath the globe is a visualisation of the word ‘Hezbollah’ in Kufic script, the oldest form of the various Arabic scripts and the one used to write the first copies of the Qur’an. From this word, a clenched fist holding a rifle emerges from the letter known as ‘alef’, the first letter of the word ‘Allah’. This, the logo of the IRGC, a branch of the Iranian army, is the one on which Hezbollah has based its own. The clenched fist holding a rifle stands for armed resistance, while the wheatlike plant represents growth and prosperity. The book beneath the arm is a reference to the Qur’an and gives religious legitimacy to both groups and their acts. In the background, the globe signifies the worldwide ambitions of the Shia Islamic revolution that the groups represent.
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PROFILE
MIMI LEUNG ‘I was inspired by how close life and death were every day’
Born in Hong Kong and raised in the UK, illustrator Mimi Leung graduated from London’s prestigious Royal College of Art and soon after emerged in Alice Springs, outback Australia. It was an uncommon relocation for a budding creative professional, but one that provided an intensely influential chapter in her work and life.
You relocated from England to Australia after your post-grad study. What prompted this change, and why did you choose to go to Alice Springs? London was getting me down during my MA, so I went to Hong Kong (HK), where I was born, for a change. I stayed for about a year and exhibited my first solo show there, which kind of kick-started my illustration work. After that I divided my time between HK and London as well as Yuendumu, a remote community about 300 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs. My boyfriend had got a job there working at the local media centre. On my first visit, I really wasn’t very used to it. I loved the landscape and the quietness and it was all very novel, but it was a bit of a contrast to Hong Kong, where shops were open pretty much round the clock, to being in a desert town where you couldn’t even get milk after 4pm. It was interesting, but I was too into my illustration work to commit to living there for long. It wasn’t until early 2010, when I needed some time to figure out where my work was going, that I thought living in the desert would be a good idea. I’d expected to work at the local community art centre, where I’d worked on my previous visits, but things fell through at the last minute because of my visa and housing issues, so we just thought, why not move to Alice? Many designers and illustrators base their practices in major cities, to locate themselves around work opportunities. What did you find in Alice Springs, in regards to the type of work you did and were interested in? I didn’t want to be near anything like that. I’d had enough of cities for a while and enjoyed the remoteness of the desert. It gave me space mentally and I wanted to let go of all those comparisons I felt I was always making between myself and other graphic artists and illustrators out there. I didn’t feel that I belonged to any of that and I felt uncomfortable with it. I think I hoped that the physical distance Alice provided would help me focus on what I enjoyed most, and block everything else out. I didn’t know what to expect there and was curious to find out what went on under the surface. I kept looking for things to get involved in, I was sure there had to be something interesting going on underneath the touristy surface. So I worked for a few local art events like the Alice Desert Festival and a cabaret show, ran some silk-screen printing workshops and worked
at the local backpackers’ bar. I hadn’t thought about making any paintings until I met an artist, Rupert Betheras, shortly after moving there. He was really nice and showed me around his studio at Watch This Space and introduced me to a few artists. I remember he’d entered the Advocate Art Award and was going to the awards ceremony one night and I thought to myself, ‘Before I leave Alice, I’d like to have won that prize.’ So, as soon as I got a job, I hired a studio and started painting. The outback is home to much of Australia’s iconography – the red sand, wide sky, the wildlife, Uluru – although this is a part of Australia many of its citizens never see. As an Englishwoman, how did it feel to arrive in such a place? Ha, I’ve never referred to myself as an Englishwoman before. It sounds very proper…! I loved it. I loved the space and the colours. Completely different to the cities and the countryside I was used to. I hated camping in England because of all the mud and worms and stuff, but I loved camping out there. It was ace to just walk around in the sand barefoot and feel how hot it was. And I’d never seen so many stars. I loved the wild horses, camels and the Droughtmasters [a tropical breed of cattle] – all the wildlife and the bugs, lizards and snakes. I was inspired by how close life and death were every day. Once, when my dog was still a puppy, we saw him playing with a ball in the garden and thought how cute it was, but when we went outside to join him we saw that it was actually a cat’s head. It was gross and surreal. I really liked these constant, throwaway reminders of death. I was also lucky to have the chance to do some bush hunting and see some special spots in the country through my job in Alice Springs. I travelled quite extensively throughout the Central Australian region and had a go at bush tucker like goanna, roo tail, grubs, sweet flowers and bush turkey. Grubs were surprisingly tasty and roo tail is pretty brill. Did the focus on Indigenous art in Alice Springs impact upon your work at all? How did it affect the wider community? Obviously, Indigenous art is very important and prevalent in the area. I really enjoyed learning about different dreams and finding out how the paintings related to the land and history. I was interested to learn how people related to the art and how it was used. That was really new to me and made
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Left: Detail of Mimi Leung’s Selfie for the QUAD exhibition, In+Out. Right: Fall is one of Leung’s ‘versions’ of a Rubens painting.
me think about art in different ways. I learned some things about the production and distribution of some of this work too, which was eye-opening and kind of challenging. But it isn’t true that it is the sole focus of the region. I also found that there was loads of different arty stuff going on in the wider community. I really enjoyed digging deeper and finding out what else was going on there. I did some work for Red Hot Arts and volunteered for a few local theatre group events. There was also the Wearable Arts Awards (art for fashion), which I thought was a unique and fun thing. I really saw how creativity and just
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getting together to make stuff benefited individuals and groups. I felt conflicted at first because I hadn’t realised how narrow my expectation of what good art could be was before, but this experience gave me a broader appreciation of what art does for people. I think this is still affecting the way I work today; I’m still trying to be more carefree in my work and just do what comes to me instead of overthinking everything, trying to be more open-minded and confident of my own tastes. Although, I’m always battling with my critical brain… it’s hard to just go with it sometimes and get rid of the audience in my head.
mimileung.co.uk
“I wanted to be bad and it seemed like a good place to be bad…. I felt pretty lost, creatively and otherwise.”
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