The Great Wall of Slow Boat

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Macdonald, Emma. From the back of the store, looking towards the front. Large wall covered in posters (right of photograph) is subject matter. 2016

Upon entering Slow Boat Records, if you look to the left you will see this large wall above the CD racks, covered in various music and film posters. From what I understand and from looking at the place that I’m in, I feel that this wall is used as both decoration and advertising. For one, this compilation of various different posters adds a certain chaotic attraction to the viewer, who is also a potential customer. Such diverse and colourful mixes of all of these different images is quite eye-catching and interesting, and it would leave an ugly blank wall, were it not covered in imagery.
The advertising also links in because I would assume each of these posters or displays will have some link to what the store sells. Seeing a poster of a band you like might entice you to search for their material, and in doing so you might just stumble across something you wish to buy.
From one stand point, you might see this as some kind of clever advertising tactic, but personally I prefer to admire the visual effect that it adds to the store as a whole.

Left Bank VS Slow Boat

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When comparing the Left Bank graffiti wall to Slow Boat Records, it is apparent to me that they both share a common trait. Both sites are examples of a cultural connection in their own way. As stated in the previous blog, I noted that the graffiti wall reflected the cultural diversity of the Night Market and represented the diverse food culture found there. In reflection of this, Slow Boat Records is a store that contains the very strong culture of Music, and all of its diverse genres, followings and links to popular culture. I feel it would be appropriate to describe both sites as some form of ‘hub’ for diverse culture. I feel it is also important to note that both sites make use of a warm orange colour to make the area seem more welcoming and relaxed, seen in the images below. Despite being two completely different sites, they both seem to share more than I thought they might at the beginning.

Macdonald, Emma. Slow Boat Records (Far right, bottom middle)
Left Bank Graffiti Wall (Far left, top middle) 2016

Slow, Slow, Slow Your Boat

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Macdonald, Emma. Slow Boat Records wall, 2016

Slow Boat Records is located on 183 Cuba Street, and as their website states, they are New Zealand’s longest running record store. They sell various products, ranging from vinyl and music merchandise, to DVDs and CDs. The inside of the store feels quite warm and calm, with its deep orange shelving and chill background music. The general vibe from all of this is very welcoming and relaxed.
When looking at the shirts of the people around us in Slow Boat Records, it was very apparent that there was no consistent pattern. All manner of people and their shirts were present, and despite the store being decorated and filled with various posters and colourful products, the majority of people in and around Slow Boat wore quite plain shirts. I noted only one man with a band tour t-shirt on, and another with a striped shirt, but other than that everyone I saw wore very plain, singular coloured shirts.

I didn’t take this as much of a surprise, as your attire does not at all have to represent your music interests or have anything to do with a record store, but it was interesting that there were very few t-shirts with some kind of image on them. Despite the store being this being a hub of musical expression, there was no notable expression through peoples attire.

Macdonald, Emma. Inside Slow Boat Records, 2016

Macdonald, Emma. Inside Slow Boat Records, 2016

Left Bank(sy) Graffiti Wall

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Peacock, Nathan. Left Bank Graffiti Wall, 2016

Located at the very end of the Left Bank alley that comes off Cuba St, is a decent sized wall covered in graffiti art. I use the term ‘graffiti’ here rather loosely, because the first idea that pops into someone’s head when graffiti is mentioned is the less attractive ‘tagging’. I assume this art was permitted to be created, as it relates heavily to what the Left Bank is known for, which is the Friday Night Market. As seen in the images, this graffiti wall houses many images relating to and about food. It is also important to note that most of the images link to food culture outside of New Zealand, such as the chopsticks and the three foreign men on the far right of the wall. This links up with the Night Market, as a vast majority of the Market is made up of foreign food stalls, selling various types of food from different cultures, making it a very popular hub of cultural diversity.

It seems to me that this graffiti wall was created to celebrate and promote this diversity of culture, to visually represent the variety one can find both in Left Bank, but also throughout Wellington. One thing I did find interesting, however, is that the graffiti wall is not easy to find. Being situated in the darkest part of Left Bank, it is quite easy to walk by or not notice the wall unless you really look at it. This makes me feel that it is almost like a hidden treasure, readily available to be found and admired by those observant enough to look.

Peacock, Nathan. Left Bank Graffiti Wall, 2016

Citing from the Gut

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Response to: Sheilagh Walker’s. “Chapter seven: Conclusion. Notes to myself: Writing from the gut”. Kia tau the rangimārie: Kaupapa Māori theory as a resistance against the construction of Māori as other. Auckland University: Unpublished Masters thesis (excerpt), 1996. 153–154. Print.

After reading Notes to My Self: Writing from the gut, I feel that the author’s key ideas revolve around trying to hold on to her culture and Kaupapa in an academic situation that doesn’t support her understanding of Kaupapa Māori, and trying to communicate those ideas to  “…the ones who are least likely to read it.” (Walker, Sheilagh 153). She also writes to represent not only herself, but her previous generations and generations to come, as stated here “…I am writing for my Mother, her mother, and her mother before her; my brothers and my own children especially.”  (Walker, Sheilagh 153).

Throughout this excerpt the author’s tone is both frustrated and challenging towards how this education system is trying to shape her views to their own way of understanding Kaupapa Māori. She wanted her thesis to be a “bi-cultural effort” (Walker, Sheilagh 154), but found that she had to defend her ideas before she could even explore them.  Through consistent use of the pronoun ‘I’, we see this is a strongly personal matter, as she states she represents her family and her ancestors in her writing as well.
From the way this piece was written, I really felt the frustration Walker was feeling. She uses strong emotive language and educated vocabulary to write an aggressive yet academic piece. I found it to be very engaging and I would be interested to see what the main body of thesis was like.

Do You See How I see ‘How to See the World’?

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After reading the introduction of Nicholas Mirzoeff’s How to See the World, I found the following points that Mirzoeff discusses to be the most interesting to me:

• “We assemble a world from pieces, assuming that what we see is both coherent and equivalent to reality. Until we discover it is not.” (Mirzoeff, Nicholas 10)
• “At the time it was published, many people believed that seeing Blue Marble changed their lives.” (Mirzoeff, Nicholas 4)
• “Like it or not, the emerging global society is visual” (Mirzoeff, Nicholas 6)

The first point interests me because it implies that a lot of the information we receive from various sources all combines and works together to build an image of the world that isn’t real, or at least that isn’t entirely accurate.
I find the second point interesting because in this day and age, an image of the Earth would have next to no effect on today’s society. It really emphasises to me how much the world has changed, and how our society’s views have adapted and grown further since then.
The final point interests me because it relates the most to my generation. It makes me wonder if this will have positive or negative repercussions on the society I live in.

Key Term

“Today, the world is young, urban, wired and hot.” (Mirzoeff, Nicholas 5)

We are now populated by a more young people, live out of the country, are all much more effectively connected and are facing climate change.

Crinking Thitically

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Critical thinking is all about observing the world around us. When thinking critically about something, we are looking past the surface of the information being sent. We observe every aspect of the subject and through this, we can analyse what the subject is composed of and how it all works together to from this cohesive product. On the other hand we can also analyse how the subject does not work, what parts hinder the final product, and how it might be improved.

Critical thinking involves pushing the surface of what we observe aside, and trying to understand what the core purpose of the subject is. If we thought critically about how we see and interact with other people around us, perhaps we might be able to gain a better understanding of them and see past whatever judgement we make of their appearance.

Well, that’s my understanding, more or less.

(237.130) The Bloginning

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And just like that, a blog is born.

Nothing too special, but it’s mine and it works, which is good enough for me. Speaking of ‘me’, I suppose an introduction is necessary. Let’s start with this inspiring snapshot shall we?

Photo by Eden Meser Photography

I am (as the title section states) Nathan Peacock, and this is my blog ‘Admit to Heaven’, named after a series of short stories I have written. On top of writing, I enjoy most forms of creativity, whether it be music, drama, art & design or even film. Interestingly enough, design is probably not my strongest or most confident art form on that list, but I enjoy it all the same and am eager to learn as much as I can.

I grew up on a farm just outside of Murchison, a small rural town in the South Island, with my younger brother and my parents. I moved up to live with my Aunt and Uncle in Motueka in 2010 to attend High School, so I have spent the larger part of the last 5 years away from what I will always call home.

I didn’t always know what I wanted to do with my future after High School (truth be told I still don’t really know what I’m doing) but it was only until late last year that I realised it didn’t matter what I studied, so long as I enjoyed it and could make use of the experience and education that it gave me. So when it came to deciding which direction to take, I kind of just shrugged my shoulders and said “Well, design is fun and I’ve been doing that for the past three odd years, I’ll have a go and see where it takes me”.

And now I’m here, and I’ve never been more excited for my future in my life. But when I ponder the question “what kind of artist/designer do you want to be?”, I can’t say for sure what the answer is. Maybe it would be easier if I give you an idea of what artists or designers I appreciate or look up to, and I can go from there…

 

Ed Sheeran, Multiply Wembley Edition, Album Cover, Ed Sheeran Website, 14/11/2016

 

I don’t normally get incredibly excited or emotionally invested in artists, but Ed Sheeran is perhaps the only real ‘idol’ I’ve ever had. He may not be a designer, but his story and his work inspires me to follow my own creative dreams, and to push my boundaries. His work is his own form of personal expression, which he shares with the world and I suppose that’s a trait I admire and would like to encompass in my own work.

Christi du Toit, Northlane Lost in Form Tour Band Art, Band Tour Poster, Christi du Toit website, 2015

 

Following that, one of the first designers I ever found that I admire is Christi du Toit. It was his work that made me want to explore illustration and combining my drawing with computer graphics etc. If you asked me what kind of designer I would like to be like, or what style I would like to make use of, I would point to this guy.

Liam Hopkinson, Title photo of paddle designs, photograph, Fluid Heights, 2015

Another artist I appreciate is my best friend Liam Hopkinson. Born four and a half hours apart, on separate sides of the globe, he is both a creative sidekick and an odd form of competition. From a young age, we have both been ‘creative types’, and I spent much of my time in Primary school pushing myself to beat Liam at the creative game. Nowadays I try to learn from his photography and design, instead of envy it, and we both work to help each other. He has inspired me to take my creations further, to do something with them, and I hope that I can achieve that over the next few years.

Jared Nickerson, Your Ideas Suck, T-shirt design, JThree, 2010

 

Finally, there is Jared Nickerson who, similarly to du Toit, is a designer I aspire to be like. Again, his art style is one I appreciate and because of that I used him as an art model for my art folio last year. On his website he states “Create art for yourself and in time everyone else will follow.“, and I feel that this is a view I can strongly relate to.

 

These artists have all inspired me in different ways, and because of them I have pushed myself and my creative work further. My decision to study at the CoCA was decided simply by my love of creativity, and my willingness to learn more, but I would not be the artist I am now without the inspiration received from these people.

So what kind of artist/designer do I want to be? I guess the truth is that I don’t really know right now, but I know that I am going to find out.