Tuesday, June 28, 2011

A Troynovant Rebus


A Troynovant Rebus

Which narrow Street in old London town does this represent?

The first person to get this right wins a Kiss (although not necessarily from me!) and a Blessing.

To those who don't know, a rebus is an allusional device that uses pictures to represent words or parts of words. It was a favourite form of heraldic expression used in the Middle Ages to denote surnames, or, in this case, a place name. The composition alludes to the name, profession or personal characteristics of the bearer or location, and speaks to the beholder Non verbis, sed rebus, which Latin expression signifies "not by words but by things".

I would very much like a chapeau like that. Far & Few in South Kensington had something like it.

Twitter Ye Not - Lady Godiva


Twitter Ye Not - Lady Godiva

A regular piece for the Daily Mail Weekend magazine about how figures in history might have twittered or tweeted or whatever, had they the chance, inclination and technology.

According to popular legend, it was on the 10th July in 1040 that Lady Godiva rode naked through the streets of Coventry, in protest at her husband’s oppressive taxation of his tenants. We imagine the Twitter feed of that weekend.

I have shown Godiva on her horse moving unseen (almost!) through the streets of Coventry city. Legend has her horse being white (you know, purity and all that) but I've taken artistic license and made it darker to contrast with her pearly pale flesh. Godiva was a real-life Saxon noblewoman called Godgyfu or Godgifu, married to the Danish Lord Leofric, Earl of Mercia, who had been given land by King Canute (Knut) of wave-stopping attempt fame.

Behind the shutter of his hovel sits the tailor Tom, spying on the noble Lady through a small hole he has bored, and ever-after known as 'Peeping Tom'. I have drawn about him several symbols and tools of his trade - needle & thread, a french curve and some cloth shears.

Our Tom adopts the position in which, from time immemorial, tailors have worked - with one leg up and bowed and supported upon the other knee. The Latin word for Tailor is Sartorius (hence the adjective 'sartorial' - something complete strangers shout at me as I cycle about the city in my finery!). It is also the name for the diagonal muscle running from the outside hip to the inside knee, and in tension in this particular occupational position!

Lady Godiva is also Cockney rhyming slang for a 'fiver' or five pound note.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Newby Hall Gryphon


Newby Hall Gryphon

At beautiful Newby Hall, outside Ripon, North Yorkshire, last week-end I noticed a wealth of griffins about the place - on the entrance gates, beneath stone benches in the magnificent gardens and throughout the house.

When I asked the Guide, who looked a lot like a cross beneath Margaret Thatcher and 'Acid' Raine Spencer, if the griffin was perhaps a family crest she tersely replied 'No!'. Simon Costin, of the Museum of British Folklore, who was with us on the tour, leant over and consoled me, saying architect John Adam loved them as a motif. Simon I adore, the brittle clock-watching guide I was less than keen on!

The griffin, griffon or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. The griffin was also thought of as king of the creatures.

Griffins are known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions. Adrienne Mayor, a classical folklorist, proposes that the griffin was an ancient misconception derived from the fossilized remains of the Protoceratops found in gold mines in the Altai mountains of Scythia, in present-day Kazakhstan. In antiquity it was a symbol of divine powerand a guardian of the holy or sacred treasure. Some have suggested that the word griffin is cognate with cherub.

Infrequently, a griffin is portrayed without wings, or a wingless eagle-headed lion is identified as a griffin; in 15th-century and late heraldry such a beast may be called an alce or a keythong. In heraldry, a griffin always has forelegs like an eagle's; the beast with forelimbs like a lion's forelegs was distinguished by perhaps only one English herald of later heraldry as the opinicus. Some traditions say that only female griffins have wings.

Ripon Cathedral has an 15th Century carving of a Griffin on one of its many wonderful misericords, alleged by some as the inspiration for the Gryphon in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll, whose real name was Chrales Lutwidge Dodgson, had many connections with the area. His pseudonym or Nome de Plume was a play on his real name; Lewis was the anglicised form of Ludovicus, which was the Latin for Lutwidge, and Carroll an Irish surname similar to the Latin name Carolus, from which the name Charles comes

Perhaps the brittle lady with the painful smile and Raine Spencer hair is a gryphon spirit, or griffon in human form? Ferociously guarding the beautiful things of the house...


Sunday, June 26, 2011

Restaurant Magazine - July 2011


Restaurant Magazine - July 2011

A piece for the July 2011 issue of regular client Restaurant magazine.

Its about the global phenomenom that is Jamie Oliver, who is growing into something of an empire - TV shows, books, kitchen and household appliances and utensils, High St restaurants, ready meals, cook-in sauces, iPhone apps, &c, &c. Fingers in every pie. The greedy git.

Personally, I hate this trend towards globalisation - making every town across the nation bland and homogenous, and pushing out (out-pricing) smaller, more interesting, independents. It is pure greed, and very ugly.

I think I somehow capture a better likeness in my original, but unsent, rough (see previous post)!

Jamie Oliver - Rough


This is the rough of 'Naked Chef' Jamie Oliver that I DIDN"T send to the client on Thursday morning. But its a shame because I think that I've captured him perfectly.
Pound signs for eyes, slabbering tongie, crappy merchandise, with the Italian tricolore sticking out his jacksy. He stands naked on the High Street whoring himself and pooping coins. Ker-ching!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

City of Florence


Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the coat-of-arms of Florence, capital city of Tuscany (Toscana) in Italy.

Florence was established by the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 80 BC as a settlement for his veteran soldiers. It was originally named Fluentia, owing the fact that it was built between two rivers, which was later corrupted to Florentia, meaning blooming. It is from this later name that the city's arms derive.

The blazon: Argent, a fleur-de-lys flory Gules. Which is to say, a white or silver background with a particularly flowery form of fleur-de-lys, itself a stylised heraldic lily.

It is considered the birth-place of the Italian Renaissance. I have never been, but would love to (off season of course, without the crowds)

Bad Education, by Phil Beadle



This is a mock-up of the forthcoming bookcover design I recently completed for a book entitled Bad Education by former Guardian Teacher of the Year Phil Beadle, to be published by Crown House.

Phil is a great teacher and something of a maverick and iconoclast. He wrote fantastic and insightful articles for the Guardian every fortnight or so a few years back, and I would provide the accompanying illustration each time.

The cover design is based on an original image I did for a piece Phil wrote about the instituationalised homophobia prevalent in most schools, from staff and pupils alike, and the misery of gay (or unsure) pupils who are forced to conform to a social 'norm'. The obvious metaphor was that of trying to force a square peg into a round hole. But as it related to homosexual adolescents in particular I figured a pink triangular peg was more appropriate!

For the book cover I had to remove the face and features of the peg, extend the mallet and extend the grid of round holes, plus create lettering consistant with the pink peg design.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Museum Journal - Part 14


Museum Journal - Part 14

Part 14 of the Director of the National Museum of Britsh History's Diary, for regular client Museum Journal (MJ).

This month our man is ordered to come up with an idea for an exhibition themed around a British invention (and something we excelled at ) to rival Germany's Enlightenment exhibition. His idea? Colonialism!!

I have shown the Museum Director posing as Britannia (the personification of Britain since Roman times) with a map of the world above him, countries of the British Empire marked out in pink.

As always with MJ the final print size is minute (3 or 4 cm across tops) so its crucial to keep the design very simple and the detail to a minimum.

Twitter Ye Not - End of Rationing


Twitter Ye Not - End of Rationing

A regular piece for the Daily Mail Weekend magazine about how figures in history might have twittered or tweeted or whatever, had they the chance, inclination and technology.

At midnight of the 4th July 1954, restrictions on buying fresh meat were finally lifted, ending 14 years of continuous rationing. The Twitter feed from that time reveals the impact of rationing on the British consumer.

I have shown on the one side restaurant critic, television cook, writer, bigamist and 'bon viveur (sic)' Fanny Cradock, holding aloft a roast lamb crown, french-trimmed with chef hats, very 1950s! On the opposite side Prime Minister of the time, Winston Churchill, cigar in mouth. Winnie wants Fanny's brandy, but sadly her (common-law) husband Johnnie Cradock has pretty much necked the lot. The bottle stands on the floor behind her. Discarded and obsolete ration books litter the floor.

Talking to the very talented Chris Brown I was reminded of the wonderful incident many years ago on Nationwide (70s news & reportage TV show) when FC was making doughnuts live on air. At the end presenter Michael Barrett turned to camera and said "I hope all your doughnuts turn out like Fanny's"! Still makes me giggle that...

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

City of Ripon


Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the coat-of-arms of Ripon in North Yorkshire, Britain's fourth smallest city.

I am very excited to be visiting this beautiful town this coming week-end with my partner Nick for the new Jonny Hannah show, 'White Horses and Unquiet Graves' at Hornsey's gallery and the Museum of British Folklore at Newby Hall nearby (http://www.hornseys.com/forthcoming-events). I cannot wait.

I shall also be meeting Daniel Hornsey, proprietor of said gallery, for the first time, and presenting him with a number of my recent 'Mister Dark' print for him to sell.

Ripon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, located at the confluence of the rivers Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally significant, as well as the Ripon Racecourse and other features such as its market.

The city itself is just over 1,300 years old. It is one of only two cities in North Yorkshire, the other being York. The city was originally known as Inhrypum and was founded by Saint Wilfrid during the time of Angle kingdom of Northumbria, a period during which it enjoyed prominence in terms of religious importance in Great Britain.

It is also renown for the tradition of the Ripon Hornblower which has endured for centuries and continues on to this day. It originates with the wakeman of Ripon, whose job in the Middle Ages was similar of that to a mayor although he had more responsibilities in the keeping of law and order. Every day at 9:00pm the horn is blown at the four corners of the obelisk in Ripon Market. The horn has become the symbol of the city and represents Ripon on the Harrogate borough coat of arms. Doubly appropriate then that the exhibition is being held at Hornseys on the city's Kirkgate!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Twitter Ye Not - JFK in Berlin


Twitter Ye Not - JFK in Berlin

A regular piece for a certain national newspaper about how figures in history might have twittered or tweeted or whatever, had they the chance, inclination and technology.

On June 26 1963 American President John F Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he delivered his famous 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech. The Twitter feed of that time reveals the excitement - and confusion - his pronouncement caused.

I have shown President Kennedy at the podium (bearing the arms of Berlin) giving his infamous 'I'm a Doughnut' speech, greeted by (German Gothic ) laughter from the crowd. On the opposite side I have shown Soviet President Nikita Kruschev (who visited Berlin shortly afterwards), eating a jelly doughnut. Behind him hangs the Hammer & Sickle flag of the former USSR (CCCP), while below stands St Basil's Cathedral at the Kremlin. Between the two great Statesmen is the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin's most famous landscape.

To my American friends across the pond, please forgive my rather simplified representation of your beloved star-spangled banner - no disrespect was intended, just the size restrictions of portraying a relatively complex flag in a relatively tiny image!

Has anyone ever noticed a physical resemblance between US Presidents Kennedy, Carter and Clinton? In some way related perhaps?

Monday, June 6, 2011

Mister Dark (details #2)


Mister Dark (details #2)

This is my latest screen-print, printed beautifully for me by Suki at the Print Block (http://www.theprintblock.com) in Whitstable. They have done a fantastic job and I am delighted with the result. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

The print is a companion piece to my Prince Constantine of Albania print, which I created for the Secret Blisters show in Dalston and which sold out on the opening night. It is the second of a planned on-going series of tattooed figure screen-prints.

The design is based on a character from Ray Bradbury's 1962 novel 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' (made into a film in 1983), about a nightmarish travelling circus that arrives out of nowhere in a small Midwestern town one October night. The carnival's leader is the mysterious Mister Dark (aka 'the Illustrated Man') who bears a tattoo for each person's soul who, lured by the offer to live out his secret fantasies, has become bound in service to the demonic carnival.

The print is a limited edition of 75. It is printed in 3 colours on 300 gsm Fabriano 5 paper and measures 50 cm wide by 70 cm high and features over 200 individual tattoos

It is available to buy from me directly at £120 + p&p (contact me via paul@paulbommer.com), and from Hornsey's in Ripon (www.hornseys.com) and Frank (www.frankworks.eu) in Whitstable (and more to come!)

Mister Dark (details #1)



Mister Dark (details #1)

This is my latest screen-print, printed beautifully for me by Suki at the Print Block in Whitstable. They have done a fantastic job and I am delighted with the result. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

The print is a companion piece to my Prince Constantine of Albania print, which I created for the Secret Blisters show in Dalston and which sold out on the opening night. It is the second of a planned on-going series of tattooed figure screen-prints.

The design is based on a character from Ray Bradbury's 1962 novel 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' (made into a film in 1983), about a nightmarish travelling circus that arrives out of nowhere in a small Midwestern town one October night. The carnival's leader is the mysterious Mister Dark (aka 'the Illustrated Man') who bears a tattoo for each person's soul who, lured by the offer to live out his secret fantasies, has become bound in service to the demonic carnival.

The print is a limited edition of 75. It is printed in 3 colours on 300 gsm Fabriano 5 paper and measures 50 cm wide by 70 cm high and features over 200 individual tattoos

It is available to buy from me directly at £120 + p&p (contact me via paul@paulbommer.com), and from Hornsey's in Ripon (www.hornseys.com) and Frank (www.frankworks.eu) in Whitstable (and more to come!)

Mister Dark


Mister Dark

This is my latest screen-print, printed beautifully for me by Suki at the Print Block in Whitstable. They have done a fantastic job and I am delighted with the result. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

The print is a companion piece to my Prince Constantine of Albania print, which I created for the Secret Blisters show in Dalston and which sold out on the opening night. It is the second of a planned on-going series of tattooed figure screen-prints.

The design is based on a character from Ray Bradbury's 1962 novel 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' (made into a film in 1983), about a nightmarish travelling circus that arrives out of nowhere in a small Midwestern town one October night. The carnival's leader is the mysterious Mister Dark (aka 'the Illustrated Man') who bears a tattoo for each person's soul who, lured by the offer to live out his secret fantasies, has become bound in service to the demonic carnival.

The print is a limited edition of 75. It is printed in 3 colours on 300 gsm Fabriano 5 paper and measures 50 cm wide by 70 cm high and features over 200 individual tattoos

It is available to buy from me directly at £120 + p&p (contact me via paul@paulbommer.com), and from Hornsey's in Ripon (www.hornseys.com) and Frank (www.frankworks.eu) in Whitstable (and more to come!)

Twitter Ye Not - Robert Peel


Twitter Ye Not - Robert Peel

A regular piece for a certain national newspaper about how figures in history might have twittered or tweeted or whatever, had they the chance, inclination and technology.

On the 19 July 1829 Robert Peel's Metropolitan Police Act was passed, establishing a force of 1,000 constables, armed with wooden truncheons and rattles. Peel's London Metropolitan is regarded as the first modern police force. The Twitter feed for that time has now been released for the first time.

I have shown an irate bobby (or peeler, both nicknames in honour of Robert Peel), truncheon in hand. On the other side is an East End floosie/ doxie/ magdalen/ street-walker/ lady of the night/ tart, etc, showing a bit of ankle to the hapless law-enforcer (Outrageous!). She is based in part on Nancy from Dicken's Oliver Twist, which was set around this time. Between them stands a rather squat rendition of Nicholas Hawksmoor's elegent baroque masterpiece, Christchurch Spital-fields. Sorry Nick!

Anyone know what the object behind her is?