Top 5 Meeting Notes

My job requires that I attend a lot of meetings. These have a habit of lasting longer than I can possibly maintain my concentration for. I take copious notes, I drink tea, I chew gum but, after a while, I will inevitably begin to doodle. You can imagine my delight when I came across these examples of Megan Ganz's meeting doodles. They appeal to my sense of aesthetics and my OCD tendencies. Megan is a comedy writer for cult US sitcom “Community”. I’ve not seen the show (I'm not even sure if it’s reached the UK yet) but I love these mini works of art and they make me want to watch it. They also make me want to try harder with my meeting doodles.

1. 12.06.11

2. 11.14.11

3. 07.16.11

4. 10.27.11

5. 11.13.11

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Top 5 Works by Martin Creed

One thing leads to another. I was listening to Marc Riley on 6Music when he had a session with Martin Creed. His music is low-fi punk but displays the same sense of humour you can see in his art. The single Thinking/Not Thinking is a two chord stomp about how life falls into those two categories of activity. Another song A-Z sees Martin recite the alphabet from A to Z. I like the simplicity of his lyrics.

Creed is most well known for Work no. 227 "The Lights going on and off" which won him the controversial Turner Prize in 2001. As with most modern artists it raises the argument about what is and what is not art. Personally I don't really care. From my point of view it's visually interesting and that is all that matters.

1. Half The Air In A Given Space (2004)

This is a variation of an installation he did a number of times before with different coloured ballons. I like the fact that the balloons are all the same colour.

I reckon this is an even better picture from outside the gallery. A room full of balloons - what's not to like?

This is work 628 from 2007. It's called dark-blue balloons and is another variation on the same theme.

2. Small Things (2006)

Another recurring idea. The top picture is from 2006 and is in blue neon.

Work 755. A version from 2007 in yellow neon.

3. Nails (2007)

Work 701 is quite a delicate piece. I like the way the shadows from the lighting cast geometric patterns.

4. Balls (2004)

Work 370 appeals to me as much for its similarity to our front room when the boys are having a messy day as its aesthetic value.

5. Everything Is Going To Be Alright (2007)

More neon. Nice juxtaposition against the grafitti.

Earlier version on a landmark building in 2006.

I've broken all my rules this week with multiple choices under one entry so one more won't hurt. This is work 925 Chairs.

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Top 5 Movie Posters

Felt I'd been banging on about music quite a bit this year and it was time for a change of topic. I started off trying to piece together my top five movie trilogies but gave up having found that there are very few examples with three consistently good films. In fact are there any? Ideas on a postcard please. However, that set me off on an alternative tack into the wonderful art of movie posters.

1. Star Wars - This might not be technically the best in my top five but for what it meant to me as a nine year old it has to be number one. Like the cover to a cheap fifties sci-fi novel it suggests so much in one picture, summing up all that was brilliant about the film in one image. The hero looks nothing like Mark Hammil, the heroine, with due respect to Carrie Fisher, looks sexier than the reality. The Death Star hangs in the sky ominously with X-Wing fighters streaming towards it. Above all though is the face of Darth Vader. A visual that clearly shows a villian like none that had gone before. Star Wars had a huge impact on me marking the point between be taken to the cinema to see Walt Disney cartoons, and becoming aware of what was on and what I wanted to see. Christmas that year I got a duvet and pillow case set with the same picture on it. Classic.

2. Vertigo - Stylish design that defines the crime film image. The font, the spirograph graphics, the man & woman fighting or dancing. They give very little away yet still manage to convey the nature of the film perfectly. A template for crime mystery movies ever since.

3. Pulp Fiction - Another 50s inspiration. Uma Thurman oozes mystery and sex appeal whilst the creases and pulp crime novel design elements tell you all you need to know about the movie.

4. Metropolis - Stunning image for this landmark 1927 film.

5. Rosemary's Baby - Sparse and slightly disturbing picture that again perfectly captures the feel of the film.

If you enjoy this sort of thing check out this impressive list of the 100 greatest movie posters.

Guest Top 5: Dan Whaley's Top 5 Dutch Artists

One of my New Year resolutions was to spend less time on the PC. That means getting a weekly top five out is going to be a little harder. So, as a way to fill in the gaps and also freshen up the blog a bit I thought I'd invite a few friends (and top five followers) to contribute the occasional guest top five. There's an open invite in fact. If you read the blog and fancy sharing your own top five (the more obscure the better) drop me a line and let me know. Also if you have you own opinion about any of the top fives I've published feel free to share this with me via the comments.

The inaugral guest top five is a suitably provided by the person who is largely responsible for me "coming out" as a listaholic. Dan Whaley was one of the founding members of the Charles Napiers (my favourite Mondo Wray instrumental band) and currently plays guitar, bass or ukelele in at least six different bands. As co-ordinator of the PRS focus group he gave me my first break in competitive top fiving. Here's Dan's list of favourite Dutch artists.

1) Piet Mondriaan

It was the Mondriaan-styled drumkit and shirt Alec Palao bashed and sported in The Sting Rays that first introduced me to this fantastic artist. His series of black line/primary colour square paintings from the 1920s are so incredibly visually powerful (and years ahead of their time). When I lived in Amsterdam, there was a Mondriaan-styled houseboat moored round the corner from my flat - Really, who wouldn't want to live in this?

2) M.C. Escher

As a child I used to spend most of December recreating this Escher self portrait with a bauble.

3) Theo van Doesburg

Not a million miles from Mondriaan...

4) Hieronymus Bosch

"You can take them flowers and shove 'em up your arse"

5) Herman Brood

Not that I knew it at the time, but apparently the night before Brood committed suicide he was sitting next to me and my mate Pete in a bar in Amsterdam. Could our inane conversation have been the last straw that led to him jumping off the roof of the Hilton? I do sincerely hope not.