LISTEN:
“Ideas are dangerous, and dangerous ideas are even more dangerous. We don’t have enough of them. It’s partly because our exposure to humanity’s ability to be inhumane is so prevalent and constant now. We are always being confronted by these shocking ideas about how we treat our fellow human beings.”
This episode:
This episode is a true treat for the typographists. Famed artist Neville Brody joins host Stuart Semple to talk about The Face magazine, his Riot collaboration with Supreme, and his humble beginnings.
Neville has a long list of accolades. He is best known for his impact on The Face magazine, being the Dean of the School of Communications at the Royal College of Art, and producing typography and graphics for the likes of Coca Cola and Channel 4 Dunkin Donuts.
The Stuart Semple Show art podcast is all about the intersection between art, politics, and culture. No topic is out of bounds for two of Britain’s most prominent artists. They discuss the anti-culture movement that arose in the late 1900s and the worrying trend towards conformity in recent years.
This episode covers:
- Punk anti-culture
- The next generation of creators
- Social media reach
- The dangers of fast media
- That Goldilocks moment
- Humble beginnings
- The Face Magazine
Links & references (include in Blog Post)
Brody Associates Website:
Brody Associates Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/brody_associates
Stuart Semple Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/stuartsemple/
Stuart Semple Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MrStuartSemple/
Stuart Semple Website:
Culture Hustle:
Episode highlights
“It’s about shocking people by upsetting what felt comfortable. That’s what punk did. In a way, it really challenged what we thought was normality. It’s sort of very existential, saying that nothing is true. Anything is possible. And that’s the thing I’ve always held true to.” – Neville Brody – 06:40
“One of the frightening things I’m seeing in the younger generations now is dormant ideologies or normal ways of being or acting are so imprinted and so constricted that they don’t even realise they’re in these boxes. To challenge them you have to first become aware of them.” – Stuart Semple – 08:31
“Every society needs people that will turn things upside down and reveal stuff in order to advance our cultural independence.” – Neville Brody – 09:11
“When you try to appeal to the masses, you can’t please everybody. And actually, what you see is very bland stuff being created, because they don’t want to upset anybody. It all becomes very beige. Whereas when you’re making an edgy thing for 500 people who are into your subculture of stuff you’ve got complete freedom.” – Stuart Semple – 10:08
“Ideas are dangerous, and dangerous ideas are even more dangerous. We don’t have enough of them. It’s partly because our exposure to humanity’s ability to be inhumane is so prevalent and constant now. We are always being confronted by these shocking ideas about how we treat our fellow human beings.” – Neville Brody – 19:11
“There is that old thing isn’t there? If you’re not the buyer or the seller you’re the product. I think that’s the case on social. If you’re not buying something or selling something on social, you’re the product. And actually what these big tech companies are doing is they’re selling your data to advertisers. And they need to keep their networks fresh and exciting so that lots of people hit the like button. We’re prey to that.” – Stuart Semple – 27:11
“I think every new technology has a sweet spot moment and that Goldilocks moment where it can be ripe, big, free and liberating before it becomes commercialised and commodified. We need to move ahead and find these spaces or to create them. ” – Neville Brody – 40:53
“When I was at art school I was living in a squat. I had no income and for the first four years of my professional life, I was in abject poverty. My dad kept saying to me, go and get a job in advertising. I would be like, no, that’s the devil. I’d rather struggle with this and make it work and never compromise.” – Neville Brody – 42:53
“When I started out I was certainly in poverty. I was rummaging around the sides of my sofa for like 3p to get an onion from Lidl, but I did it. I wanted to make art. I had nothing but I did what I had to do. I wonder if future generations would be like, oh, I can’t afford a Deliveroo or a Netflix subscription. I’m going without, this is as low as it goes.” – Stuart Semple – 43:56
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