Semi-Permanent, Sydney

Went and checked out the 2011 Semi-Permanent conference/convention in Sydney yesterday. Basically met my standards with highs and lows. Lots of talking from some really awesome people and some not-so-awesome. I only able to get the 1-day ticket but still got to see a bunch of inspiring people. 

While the people I was most looking foward to did not live up to my standards especially, I found new inspiration in others that I had never expected:

One of the inspirational people I saw was Corey Arnold. As he spoke about his work, he also spoke about his life and how it had formed him into the person he is today. He told all of these little stories that went along with these magnificent photos and was really down-to-earth, and he never appeared to take himself too seriously - this may be because of his Michael Cera-esque nature.

 Also saw Moffitt.Moffitt. These two fantastic twins who had double handedly created their own graphic design production company and has since had nothing but really cool clients and even better work. While these guys were a bit nervous, and sometimes babble off into 'twin-talk' they still made an interesting and absorbing presentation. With a broad amount of work in their portfolio - from sculptures to magazines, these are the guys to go to for if you want a clean and concise representation of your work.

 Finally, the last two speakers I was able to see were not as inspiring to me as the others, but still impressive. Kelly Thompson is an illustrator and photographer who only began her arts career in 2007, where she worked as a fashion photographer. She then found that she prefered to work as an illustrator and began to manipulate her work as to involve other graphic elements. Her speech at the Semi-Permanent started off well enough, but I quickly became bored of how her work never broke the boundaries or comfort-zone. Still well done, though.

The last person I saw that day was Annie Sperling. A good production designer, but a bit kitch and unimaginative for my taste. There was a lot of name dropping in her presentation - but then again, she is from Los Angeles, where having the right contacts is everything. I don't think she got quite the response she was looking for when she talked about her clients and co-producers, which inclueded David Lachapelle and J-Lo.
While what she produces is well done, I find that a lot of it has already been produced before with continuously played themes including Heaven and Hell and Alice in Wonderland. Lots of religious influence - not exactly my personal taste but may appeal to others.

 

Overall, a good day. Grabbed my first Starbucks coffee in over 3 years which I snuck in ninja-style and got a free Cola Chubachub. They didn't taste that well together.