Things brings us antennae, Swiss climbing walls, odor-tastic magazines, a beautiful selection of photography, and the many faces of Bart Simpson

This week at “Things” we’ve got Swiss climbing walls, various smells, antennae, and a beautiful selection of photographic work. As well as various interpretations of Bart Simpson’s face, because why not. Enjoy!

Dr.Me Design: Art Simpson Zine

The influence of The Simpsons on anything written, directed or created over the past few decades will probably be the subject of millions of theses and doctorates in the distant future. In this case, it’s a delightful publication from Dr.Me, a Manchester-based design duo, who sent us their Art Simpson Zine the other day!

In short, Dr.Me asked a number of artists to do one thing: draw Bart Simpson from memory. The results are compiled within a wonderful spiked yellow cover with cut-out eyes – proof that the visual complexity of characters bears little or no correspondence to the extensiveness of their impact. Inside, the various illustrations are humorous, warm, and witty, with some straightforward renderings and more creative interpretations – from pixellated to monstrous.

www.dr-me.com

Art Licks – Issue 8 Summer 2012

Once I had a set of Crayola crayons that “smelled” of their colours; the green one smelled like pine trees, the pink one like strawberries, and the brown one like… leather shoes, apparently. Anyway, the novelty of all this was very cool, as it added another dimension to the already audio-visual-textural experience of applying waxy colour to paper.

The latest issue of Art Licks, their summer 2012 edition, also deals in olfactory matters, with a scratch-card “odoreader”, designed by Jammie Nicholas, that reveals smells relevant to different parts of the magazine. This interactive element is interesting in that smell evokes experiences and memories in a way unrelated to how text and image work, and the associations made between each scent and their relevant article are interesting. That said, the magazine is visually and textually very engaging, and is beautifully published – with reds, creams, pinks, and blues covering a wide range of topics – from the history of transport to new pirate television.

www.artlicks.com

Rosie Lee and Luma: London Calling

Speaking of pirate television, these posters, commissioned by Rosie Lee design studio in conjunction with Nike, are anchored around the image of an antenna. Produced by print studio Luma, they’re a spin-off of the Rosie Lee London Calling poster, and their use of this motif recalls images of Russian Constructivist broadcasting structures and mid-twentieth century television propaganda alike.

www.rosielees.co.uk

Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen: Opening – Petrit Halilaj

We got this beautiful poster all the way from Switzerland, and couldn’t be more pleased with the absolutely beautiful image of St Gallen’s climbing wall. We didn’t know what it was at first – it looked like an abstract sculptural installation – but nope, you can actually scale those tremendous heights and climb from geometric plane to geometric plane. It’d be like scaling a Cubist painting… we imagine! The poster’s also advertising a new exhibition of work from Petrit Halilaj – so if you’re in that neck of the woods/Alps, go!

www.k9000.ch

Jeff Hahn: The Next Best Thing to Loving You

Next we have The Next Best Thing to Loving You, a selection of Jeff Hahn’s compelling photographic work. It features beautifully shot scenes that are engaging, thoughtful, and carefully composed. Hahn’s a bit of a whizz-kid by the looks of things; he’s just graduated from the London College of Communication and his photographic and design work has already been published in Pop, Vice, Italian Vogue and Numero. And he’s 22. Watch this space, we say!

www.jeff-hahn.com