‘Suburban voodoo is what he did do, so well’: Last two days of Barney Bubbles exhibition at Rob Tufnell London

//Back Cover, Jesus Of Cool, Nick Lowe, Radar Records, 1978. Photo: Bob Bromide. Design © Barney Bubbles Estate//
//Back cover, Darling Let’s Have Another Baby/Something Else/It Really Digs, Johnny Moped, Chiswick Records, 1978. Design © Barney Bubbles Estate//
//Clock, Stiff Records, 1978. Design © Barney Bubbles Estate//
//Front, Life’s A Riot With Spy Vs Spy, Billy Bragg, Utility, 1983. Design © Barney Bubbles Estate//

“In graphics, in the music business at least, Barney pioneered the use of everyday objects in his work. He could see the design and the beauty in the apparently banal”
Suzanne Spiro, artist

The Barney Bubbles exhibition Optics & Semantics at London gallery Rob Tufnell closes tomorrow evening; if you have a chance, do go along and enjoy the late graphic arts maestro’s unique celebrations of the mundane and workaday.

Continue reading ‘Suburban voodoo is what he did do, so well’: Last two days of Barney Bubbles exhibition at Rob Tufnell London

Exclusive: The ultimate Sex Pistols rarity – poster for first gig designed by Adam Ant

Bazooka Joe Poster
//The poster was designed by Adam Ant (then Stuart Goddard) before the Pistols were added to the bill. Courtesy Daniel Kleinman. No reproduction without permission//

The poster for the Sex Pistols’ first performance (on November 6 1975 in the Common Room of St Martin’s School Of Art in central London’s Charing Cross Road) has been found after 40 years – and it doesn’t even mention them!

Continue reading Exclusive: The ultimate Sex Pistols rarity – poster for first gig designed by Adam Ant

In search of the entirely unexpected: Barney Bubbles among Print magazine’s Unsung Heroes Of Design

 

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//From Print’s 75th anniversary issue, illustrations (clockwise from top left): A section of Bubbles’ design for the sleeve of 1979 LP Armed Forces lines up with work by Ruth Ansel, Andrew Loomis, Ladislaw Sutnar, Cipe Pineles and Paul Bacon//

For its 75th anniversary issue, US visual culture publication Print has selected Barney Bubbles as one of six “unsung heroes of design”.

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Barney Bubbles designs go regional at the National Museum Cardiff + Ludlow Fringe Art Trail

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//A doozy: This point-of-sale design by Barney Bubbles for Elvis Costello & The Attractions’ 1980 LP Get Happy!! is among rare rock posters on show at Mod Lang in Ludlow. Photo: Paul Bradshaw//

The regions are where it’s at these days, so we are told, and naturally Barney Bubbles designs can be found in the thick of it.

Continue reading Barney Bubbles designs go regional at the National Museum Cardiff + Ludlow Fringe Art Trail