The Hard Sell - Cigarettes and Alcohol

Recently, I watched a videorecording which I borrowed from LCC library. It is a programme that BBC broadcast in 2008. It is about advertisements of cigarettes and alcohol in UK.

Some advertisements of cigarettes were analysized in this film. TV advertising of promoting cigarettes came out in 1955. Before the govenment of UK banned the advertising and promotion of tabacco, the advertisements of cigarette played an important role of persuading people to smoke. And these advertisements were full of persuasion, especially the advertisements of a cigar called 'Hamlet', which concentrated on happiness that cigar would bring to people. In fact, this point is important even today. People choose to smoke even they know smoking is bad for their health. Sometimes, happiness is the most important in our life.

So what can make people think smoking is not suitable for them? What about time? Or space? Or environment? I should try to understand what are smokers thinking about the relationship between smoking and their life (e.g. time).

Visual Language with Sam Winston

This is the second time we discuss works with Sam Winston. His belief is useful. We asked questions about what different between our works in MA course and works we may do for companies in the future. Why we want to study the MA course. These questions are all relating to our future. Maybe we should make self-position. Is it time for us to think about what we want to do in the future or which work we want to do? Anyway, I think this is a process of our study. Although we do some works for companies in the future which maybe not what we want, we are still studying. Works we do in our MA course are what we want to do. This is also a part of study.

This discussion is also giving me some inspiration about my new idea which is about tube map and network of human beings. I got some comments about this work, though I had not decided what I would make. I really like this discussion. It is helpful.

Finally, Sam gave us a document about Oblique Strategy. It is interesting. It is a good way to do some works.



Nice Photos about Smoking (Photography)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nyyankee/4150935202/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nyyankee/3758981286/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nyyankee/3795695088/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nyyankee/3884875778/

Cigarette displays do encourage smoking, researcher saysResearcher wants the government to ban point-of-sale displays – but the tobacco companies are lobbying hard

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/jan/11/tobacco-displays-encourage-smoking

Thanks, Ant.

Times Square becomes smoke free as New York extends ban outdoorsSmoking prohibited in parks and beaches in biggest anti-smoking push since ban from restaurants and bars in 2002

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/03/new-york-smoking-ban-outdoors

Is this a trend of anti-smoking? So where smokers can light up in the future? They can not use the public places to smoke anymore. However, will smokers allow govenments to do this? Maybe they will fight for their rights to smoke. Nevertheless, everyone cares about their healths. A smoke free society may become real. Hopefully!!!

Thanks, Ant.

Chinese come to their Cuban comrades' rescue by lighting up cigars

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/22/china-cuba-cigar-sale-rise

This article is about sale of cigar in China. Actually, many chinese think that smoking cigar is a symbol of rich. And someone still think that smoking is cool in China. Maybe China will be the largest demand country of cigarettes.

Thanks, Ant.

Mid Point Review

This is a work I did recently. Nobody Claim

In unit1, I chose ‘smoking’ as a theme of my project. I did some researches of smoking and tried to understand smokers’ thoughts of smoking. Also, I did different practises according to my project.

Walking on the streets, I took photographs of people who were smoking and discovered butts everywhere which I thought it was interesting. Using these pictures, I did some works about my project. On the Christmas show, I exhibited some photos of butts. Also, I did a short video about smoking. After this, I shaped my idea that combined smoking and time or space. Thinking time, I was thinking about how much time are people spending for smoking, e.g. smoke a cigarette will cost how much time. And I did a work about smoking and time in letterpress workshop. Thinking space, I also took photos of a street and used these photos to make a book. I found that spaces of smoking are worth to think about. Now the mid term is arriving. My last work about smoking is called Nobody Claim. It means people do not care much about the butts on the street. Nevertheless, these butts take some places on the street. It shows a long street on a book and I use white circle to highlight the butts on the street. They look like marks on the street. It is interesting. This work is not my final work of my idea. I need to do more practises.

To develop my study plan in the following term, I should focus on some impacts. I need to do more research about smoking and understand smokers’ thoughts about smoking. The aesthetic quality of photos I took can be better. I should improve the skills of taking photography. In addition, I should try different papers to print my works and do more experiments to present my concept. And I need to choose a proper way to show my work. In sum, I should do more experiments to find a way to improve my work that can express my idea better.

Book Binding Workshop

I went to book binding workshop in LCC. It was interesting. And I wanted to go to this workshop, because I wanted to make a book. I wanted to know the materials and tools used to make a hand-made book. Finally, I enjoyed this experience and began to make my own book.

Short Progress of Smoking

The is one of my practise about smoking. I want to show some situations of people smoking. But I haven't found suitable sound to fit this short film...And I am not good at recording and editting video, so this video is not very good for watching...

Hopefully I can do it better next time.

Smoking music

Smoking can make people feel high?

Smoking, Cool?

I found this music.
Smoking is a free choice of people. You can choose to smoke or not to smoke. This song make me think about teenagers smoking. Teenagers often think smoking is cool.

CDP Classic ads - Hamlet Cigars (1966-1997)

Some advertisements of a kind of cagars called Hamlet. And its selling point is this cigar can mke you happy. Actually, it meaned that when you felt anger or worried, smoking this cigar would make you feel better. Is this the point people need a cigarette? Maybe it is. Because today, many people choose to smoke due to the pressure in life.

Thanks, David.

Letterpress work

In the letterpress workshop, I did a work about smoking. It said 'How much time in your life for smoking. In this work, I was thinking about smoking and time. People may think they use 2 or 3 minutes to have a cigarette. But in average, people smoke 12 cigarettes per day according to a report did by Office for National Statistics. So people will spend 24-36 minutes per day for smoking. And about 196 hours per year people will use for smoking. Accounting this, it will be astonishing! 

Women begun to smoke. Smoking is a signal of freedom.

Thanks Laia

'Cigarettes are sublime'

Recently I read a book called 'Cigarettes are sublime'. It wrote by Richard Klein. It said smokers would not quit smoking though they knew cigarettes were bad for their healths. People like the taste and smell of smoking. They love cigarettes. People can release pressure through smoking. Smoking is a part of their life.

So what are smokers care? Is the whole progress of smoking good? What the feeling it is when they throw the butts? Maybe they will go back to the real world. And they find that they must face their life and continue to fight against the pressure.

Hat & Five Roses

I saw this image in ATLAS Gallery. A woman was smoking. Her hat was special. The smoke covered her face , which made her to be mysterious. This picture was published in Vogue in 1956. Is this fashionable at that time,  women smoking...Anyway, I love this picture. A woman wear "veil". 

"Every Building on the Sunset Strip"

On 25th Jan 2011, our class went to V&A museum to attend "Introduction to the V&A Artists Book Collection". It was a nice trip.

In the "Introduction", I was interested in Edward Ruscha's "Every Building on Sunset Strip". I like its style. And it is amusing that he took some photos of the street and combined them as a book. There are two sides of the street in the book. These two sides separated on the up and down of the pages. When I discovered this, I felt I can walk on the street. It was amazing. And I want to do work of my project like this style.

《The Man From Nowhere》

I watched this film on November 2010. It is a Korean film. It is a story about a man and a young girl. It made me recall one film called "The Professional". This two stories are similar.

Nowadays, it is popular for people to watch Korean TV plays and movies in China. Chinese people think Korean TV plays and movies are touching. Indeed, Korean directors are good at

seizing the right moving moment to get a good shot. And they are clever at using music to influence audiences.

This film is also beautiful. However, sometimes the frames are too perfert that makes it seems to be lacking something.

《The Swordswoman's World》

I saw this film in November 2010 when my friend recommended me to watch it. This film is an ancient costume film of China. Its directors is Chao-Bin Su and John Woo who are living in HongKong. Its style is traditional chinese martial arts film. It adds many sepecially good effects in acrobatic fighting scenes, which makes it shadowy. I think the dark atmosphere in the movie is perfect. It makes me feel nervous and want to continue to watch it. Maybe you will think it  is too exaggerated. However, this story happended in ancient times, of course it is not true. And actually this kind of film is classic chinese style. It represents chinese culture.