Good Grief, Charlie Brown Exhibition in London

Charlie Brown and Snoopy are iconic creations that are beloved all over the world. Creator Charles M. Schulz worked on the strip for over 50 years and created over 17, 000 strips in that time. It is easy to reduce the love of Snoopy and Charlie Brown to stuffed toys and the plethora of commercial products but it is worth remembering that the comic series is an existential piece of work, a reflective meditation on loneliness, defeat, and alienation. Seriously, if you read the comics you will find hard hitting truths and sharp observations on the human condition… it is a masterpiece of presenting truth, but through the mouth of babes.

Charlie Brown is an everyman, he rarely wins but he gives it his best!

Well, Somerset House have an exhibition celebrating the world of Peanuts running currently and I went along for the ride.

The whole exhibition is beautifully curated with many original strips alongside some personal effects of Schulz, such as his childhood baseball mitt, ice-skating boots as well as the stuff you'd expect from an artist such as his pencils, pens, papers etc.
Upstairs the cultural impact of Peanuts is looked at and there are many modern interpretations of the characters.
Overall, the exhibition is a wonderful celebration of this most singular and influential comic strip artist and worthy of your consideration. The exhibition runs until 3rd March 2019 and at a reasonable £14 entrance price, is worth a couple of hours of perusal.

V and A Video Games: Design/ Play/ Disrupt- Exhibition Review

The world famous Victoria and Albert Museum in London (V&A) is currently running the Video Games: Design/Play/ Disrupt exhibition. The real boon of the exhibition is that it allows the wider community to understand the gaming community and the lure of the virtual world.

The beautiful V and A museum in London is a great setting for the Video Games: Design/Play/ Disrupt exhibition.

Many contemporary video games are creative, immersive and innovative and some are having a huge social and cultural impact across the globe, not always for the best but it is important to consider the positives alongside the negatives which is what the media seems to focus on. The exhibitions focus is quite narrow as it doesn't really look at the history of video games but rather issues around the medium including the portrayals of violence, race and sexuality, which I feel are very important in an artform that is still quite young and seen as the enfant terrible of pop culture.
Across the exhibition well known big budget games and characters rub shoulders with some indie and cult classics but all are accorded respect and lovingly curated. There are large-scale immersive multimedia and interactive installations alongside the usual display stands and cases.

As I entered the space I was welcomed with a rush of colour and a wall of sound, with an extremely large screen showcasing some of the games I would be seeing.

A large screen greeted me as I entered the exhibition.

A large screen greeted me as I entered the exhibition.

Passing a material mesh doorway, there was another large screen, this time showing the beautiful images from Journey. Austin Wintory's BAFTA winning soundtrack played and its beauty washed over me. The design documents and concept are from the game were on show and the information accompanying the pieces was informative and rich. The concept art sketches and paintings were wonderful to behold and creator, Jenova Chen, had his storyboard based on the classic Hero's journey on display.

The next doorway led to The Last of Us and had the same layout, a large video screen showing images from the game and some of the minutiae that went into its creation. A highlight was the original cork board from creators Naughty Dog with the notes and ideas that helped to consolidate the narrative arc of the game and characters. Within the same room was Bloodborne, the classic hard-as-nails gothic horror game by From Software. There was a playthrough of the Beast Cleric with a voice over by hilarious YouTuber Matt Lees that discussed the strategies needed to defeat the boss and play the game. Also featured were original sketches and a short documentary  covering the creation of the soundtrack.

The next room did a complete volte-face as it featured one of the most colourful games of the current generation, Splatoon. Some concept art and early prototypes were on display but the wall featuring the logos and street art inspired fashion was the thing to look for here.
Also in the same room was an indie game I had never heard of called Consume Me. It was a fun mobile game with elements of Tetris but with food and details of its calorie content. It features a cute aesthetic and I can see why it was placed with Splatoon.

Following on, we had Kentucky Route Zero, the magical realism game which features beautiful art. The original Rene Magritte painting Le Blanc Seing was beautiful to behold and spoke about the inspiration for the game.

On the other side of the room was Tale of Tales' The Graveyard, in which you play an old woman with a walking stick walking through a graveyard and remembering her past. I had played the experience many years ago and found it moving, however I remember there being a backlash amongst many gamers as they claimed that the title wasn't really a game but more of a walking simulator. The sketchbooks and original wire frame animation offered a real insight into how Tale of Tales came up with their concepts. Their 10 point manifesto challenged what video games could be and how they could emotionally resonate with people, much like the Dogme 95 manifesto did for film.

Afterwards I entered a room which contained No Man's Sky, the much maligned but recently patched and actually wonderful procedurally generated space exploration game. As you entered there was a wall of screens, showing GIFs of the worlds you could explore in-game. It was beautiful and looked like an art installation. There were also animal concept art and books that inspired the look of the game, including Asimov’s Foundation books and Ralph McQuarrie’s Star Wars film art.

The next room was a large one and had several stations which asked deeper questions: Are video games political? Why are video games so white? Why are video games aimed primarily at boys? There was a super wide screen that features talking heads discussing these questions and asking the audience to consider their opinions.

After weaving my way through a black curtain I entered a large room with a huge screen showing a variety of e-sports, showcasing how huge it had all got. There were montages of Eve Online battles, Overwatch matches and League Of Legends world finals. There was also a video on the creation of Westeros from Game of Thrones in Minecraft.

After that I entered an arcade area that reminded me of entering a beachfront arcade in the 80s in Southend or the like... Some muted neon lighting added to the industrial look of the area but it was good to play some of the experimental games.

V and A Video Games: Design/ Play/ Disrupt

And so I had reached the end of the exhibition. So, after all this was it worth a visit. In a word, YES! The whole exhibition was well crafted and placed video games in an interesting space that requires people to examine it further. There is more that can be done but as the first major exhibition of its kind in London it is very worthwhile.

Anime Background Exhibition at the House of Illustration

When Akira was released upon an unsuspecting world in 1988, people were blown away by the animes detailed depiction of a sprawling dystopian megacity. A few years later Ghost in the Shell hit cinemas and again moviegoers were floored by the detailed vision of the near future. Both films have been cited as inspirations behind many major Hollywood films such as The Matrix and Ex Machina and been influential in other media. 

A major new exhibition at the House of Illustration, Kings Cross, London is now showcasing the backdrops to these and some other classic anime. It is a dying art as most anime are now computer generated but back at the time of these productions most were hand drawn. 

Over the course of 3 rooms you are given the opportunity to see pencil drawings, water colour paintings and other types of medium to understand the artistry involved when tasked with creating impressive but also believable cityscapes.

The anime films covered include Rintaro's Metropolis and Oshii's Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. What is astonishing is seeing how different artists and directors had such differing views of the future, some of the artwork seems almost eerily precient.  

Seeing the research photographs of Japan and China, the original pencil sketches and then the final painted backgrounds is interesting as you can see the process from beginnning to end.

I've seen all the anime and read most of the original manga that the films are based on but whether or not you have seen them doesn't matter. The artistry and futurist imagination is what is on show here and this exhibition places that left, right and centre! This is a must see exhibition for anime, manga, film and sci-fi fans alike.  

Adventures in Moominland Exhibition at the Southbank Centre

This winter the Southbank Centre, London will be hosting an immersive, interactive exhibition on the wonderful world of the Moomins. For the uninitiated the Moomins are whimsical hippo-like creatures who go through many adventures, philosophise and discuss the bigger questions in life. I enjoyed the Moomin cartoon in the 90's after being scared witless of the 80's stop-motion animation and have a deep love for Moominpappa, Moominmamma, Moomintroll, Snorkmaiden, Little My and their friends.

The Adventures in Moominland Exhibition is being called highly experiential as it will use archival objects from Finnish creator Tove Jansson's life to allow the audience to become closer to the artist and understand her motivation. Audio narrative will be supplied and by being led through seven immersive and interactive worlds people can understand the inspiration behind the many well-loved stories.

The exhibition will run from Friday 16 December 2016 to Sunday 23 April 2017 and time slots will need to be booked as it is a guided exhibition. I hope to be going very soon and will share my experiences here. 

London Anime and Gaming Con 2016

The London Anime and Gaming Con 2016 (LAGC) was on this weekend near London Metropolitan University. I had been to several anime and manga cons at the ExCel Centre but never to this one at the Rocket Centre in Holloway Road. So, having nothing to do this weekend I put on my best Tezuka t-shirt, hopped on a train and went into London.
The LAGC had been running for several years now and as a result is very established. There were lots of events running including the usual cosplay, anime voice actors and musical guests. But there was a big emphasis on gaming too. The Heart of Gaming were there with their arcade machines, pushing the retro gaming agenda and giving many youngsters an experience of social gaming that didn't involve headsets or online play. The whole vibe was very relaxed and there was a wide range in ages represented.

I was really into manga and anime in the 90s and early noughties but with the exception of a few notable anime and manga series am behind in the current wave of popular series. The last series I watched was Soul Eater and Death Note. I have Attack on Titan and Sword Art Online stacked in my 'to watch' pile but haven't got around to it, however classic series like Cowboy Bebop and Evangelion were present and correct so I didn't feel too out of my depth.
The Rocket Centre is a wide space and all spaces were packed with things to see, buy and do. I spent a long time with my cousin in the retro gaming area playing R-Type on the Master System and Rival Schools on the PS1.
The market area was packed with anime and manga goodies and I purchased a few bits including a cool Racoon Mario and classic Link figures and a great coaster for my mancave.

The LAGC is well worth the £13 price of admission and a younger me would have loved it more back in my manga prime even though I did enjoy myself, but for anyone with the anime and manga bug it's a great con to go to.

My Visit to the Cartoon Museum in London

Not far from the British Museum is this hidden gem, the Cartoon Museum. I have lived in East London most of my life (32 years) yet I only became aware of its existence a few weeks ago through a flyer in a comic shop.... well, that's the beauty of London isn't it?

So finally I found myself at a loose end a couple of weekend ago (as my wife was having a girly day in with a friend) so I trotted along to Holborn and with a quick 10 minute walk was outside the museum.

The museum itself is not a large building but they made good use of the space available. There are free lockers available so you can put your bags and stuff it there so you can enjoy the museum unencumbered. The museum covers two floors and is not very crowded at all so I could spend a great deal of time looking at all the art and read the provenances.

Upstairs is a wonderful large room flooded with light from the skylight, there is an area to sit and lots of different cartoon books to look at. This is a wonderful change from many museums I have been to where I feel rushed and hurried through. There is a small adjoining room where children (and adults) can practice their artistic skills and read the many comics available for free.

Downstairs there is an exhibition hall where they were showing the art of Mark Boxer, it was interesting but as I am not a fan of his work I moved through this quite briskly. Of more interest to me were the original Beano, Dandy, Constantine and V For Vendetta works.

This is a wonderful museum which is run by volunteers who want to save the heritage of comic art from Great Britain. If you get a chance go along and support it. It will be money well spent, there are worse ways to spend 8 quid!

Amazing Anamanaguchi Kick Up A Storm in Heaven 5/2/14

To say that I've been wanting to see Anamanaguchi for a while is a bit of an understatement. Ever since I became aware of them through the wonderful Scott Pilgrim vs the World game soundtrack they have been the hot band for me. No train strike was going to stop me from catching their one and only live London show, Under the Arches in Embankment.

                  Me with my ticket to the gig... I hadn't been to the venue before so was pretty excited to see what it was like.

Before the band came on we were treated to an amazing support set by Sabre Pulse, a one man Gameboy playing extraordinaire. He really got the crowd going with his uplifting ravey chiptunes, the most popular being a jungle remix of the first level Marioland theme.... The place erupted, much like when I saw Pendulum and The Prodigy... The crowd were suitably buzzing.

                                                   Sabrepulse got the room going with his mix of chiptune ravey tunes.

Due to the train strike Anamanaguchi came on earlier than planned, launching into their euphoric single Meow. The songs just kept on coming and a lively mosh pit started. They played for about an hour and played through most of the songs you'd expect.

                                                                 The light show was amazing, as you'd expect from the band!

I've been to many gig and this was definitely one of my favourites with a cool friendly crowd who made the band feel loved. The lead of the band, Peter Berkman thanked the crowd saying "Its Wednesday night and you guys are partying like its a summer weekend, we love you London".

It's times like this that I do truly love London, the folk here know good music and that's what the Anamanaguchi gig was... just very good music performed well!

I'll put up a full track listing later for you lovely people!