FUEL Design
Encyclopedia
The FUEL design group handles commercial commissions
specializing in the fields of art
, fashion
, and music. The group was founded in 1991 by Stephen Sorrell, Damon Murray and Peter Miles (who left the group in 2004).
. They first worked together on their magazine also entitled FUEL which was initially produced at the college. Containing ambiguous and thought provoking messages, these bold graphic statements served as a developing manifesto. After leaving the RCA they set up a studio in Spitalfields
, east London. Pure Fuel and Fuel 3000 followed. Far from being monographs these books examined the accepted notions of graphic design, illustrating ideas and preoccupations, as well as exploring themes of authorship.
s for Nick Cave
's The Proposition
, Sofia Coppola
's Lost in Translation
and Samantha Morton
's The Unloved
. They are known for producing books and catalogues, working closely with artists – in particular Tracey Emin
and Jake and Dinos Chapman
.
In 2006, they were asked to produce a 60th anniversary Penguin
Designer Classic (Crime and Punishment
by Fyodor Dostoyevsky) alongside Paul Smith
, Sam Taylor-Wood
, Ron Arad
and Manolo Blahnik
.
In 2009 FUEL purchased the archive of 600 original tattoo drawings by Danzig Baldaev from his widow, and in November 2010 FUEL curated and held the Russian Criminal Tattoo Exhibition (http://www.fuel-design.com/index.php?menu=5&tattoo=1 details). The exhibition consisted of works taken from the The Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia series, which were shown for the first time. It comprised 132 original drawings by Danzig Baldaev, and 16 photographic prints by Sergei Vasiliev.
award for book design, and in 2010 the three volume boxed set of the Encyclopaedia was acquired by the Design Museum
in London as part of its permanent collection. These books were also used as inspiration and reference by director David Cronenberg
in his 2007 film Eastern Promises.
Books published by FUEL publishing include:
Commission (art)
In art, a commission is the hiring and payment for the creation of a piece, often on behalf of another.In classical music, ensembles often commission pieces from composers, where the ensemble secures the composer's payment from private or public organizations or donors.- Commissions for public art...
specializing in the fields of art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
, and music. The group was founded in 1991 by Stephen Sorrell, Damon Murray and Peter Miles (who left the group in 2004).
History
The founder members of FUEL all studied graphic design at the Royal College of ArtRoyal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
. They first worked together on their magazine also entitled FUEL which was initially produced at the college. Containing ambiguous and thought provoking messages, these bold graphic statements served as a developing manifesto. After leaving the RCA they set up a studio in Spitalfields
Spitalfields
Spitalfields is a former parish in the borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London, near to Liverpool Street station and Brick Lane. The area straddles Commercial Street and is home to many markets, including the historic Old Spitalfields Market, founded in the 17th century, Sunday...
, east London. Pure Fuel and Fuel 3000 followed. Far from being monographs these books examined the accepted notions of graphic design, illustrating ideas and preoccupations, as well as exploring themes of authorship.
Works
In addition to commercial art, music, and fashion, the FUEL group has also worked with moving image, receiving awards for both their commercial and experimental digital work in this field. They also created the title sequenceTitle sequence
A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
s for Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
's The Proposition
The Proposition
The Proposition is a 2005 western film directed by John Hillcoat and written by screenwriter and musician Nick Cave. It stars Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Emily Watson, John Hurt, Danny Huston and David Wenham. The film's production completed in 2004 and was followed by a wide 2005 release in...
, Sofia Coppola
Sofia Coppola
Sofia Carmina Coppola is an American screenwriter, film director, actress, and producer.In 2003 she received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation, and became the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing...
's Lost in Translation
Lost in Translation (film)
Lost in Translation is a 2003 American film written and directed by Sofia Coppola; her second feature film after The Virgin Suicides and it stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson...
and Samantha Morton
Samantha Morton
Samantha Jane Morton is an English actress and film director. She began her performing career with guest roles in television shows such as Soldier Soldier and Boon before making her film debut in the 1997 drama film This Is the Sea, playing the character of Hazel Stokes...
's The Unloved
The Unloved
The Unloved is a British television drama starring Molly Windsor, Susan Lynch and Robert Carlyle. It is about an eleven year old girl called Lucy growing up in a children's home in the UK's care system, and shown through her perspective...
. They are known for producing books and catalogues, working closely with artists – in particular Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin
Tracey Karima Emin RA is a British artist of English and Turkish Cypriot origin. She is part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs ....
and Jake and Dinos Chapman
Jake and Dinos Chapman
Iakovos "Jake" Chapman and Konstantinos "Dinos" Chapman are English visual artists, often known as the Chapman Brothers, who work together as a collaborative sibling duo...
.
In 2006, they were asked to produce a 60th anniversary Penguin
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
Designer Classic (Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It was later published in a single volume. This is the second of Dostoyevsky's full-length novels following his...
by Fyodor Dostoyevsky) alongside Paul Smith
Paul Smith (fashion designer)
Sir Paul Smith jr, RDI, is an English fashion designer, whose business and reputation is founded upon his menswear. He is both commercially successful and highly respected within the fashion industry....
, Sam Taylor-Wood
Sam Taylor-Wood
Samantha "Sam" Taylor-Wood OBE , born Samantha Taylor, is an English filmmaker, photographer, and visual artist. Her directorial feature film debut came in 2009 with Nowhere Boy, a film based on the childhood experiences of The Beatles songwriter and singer John Lennon...
, Ron Arad
Ron Arad
Ron Arad may refer to:* Ron Arad , Israeli Air Force weapon systems officer; classified as missing in action since 1986* Ron Arad , Israeli industrial designer, artist and architect...
and Manolo Blahnik
Manolo Blahnik
Manuel "Manolo" Blahnik Rodríguez CBE, , is a Spanish fashion designer and founder of the self-named, high-end shoe brand.-Biography:Born to a Czech father and a Spanish mother and born and raised in the Canary Islands , Blahnik graduated from the University of Geneva in 1965 and studied art in Paris...
.
In 2009 FUEL purchased the archive of 600 original tattoo drawings by Danzig Baldaev from his widow, and in November 2010 FUEL curated and held the Russian Criminal Tattoo Exhibition (http://www.fuel-design.com/index.php?menu=5&tattoo=1 details). The exhibition consisted of works taken from the The Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia series, which were shown for the first time. It comprised 132 original drawings by Danzig Baldaev, and 16 photographic prints by Sergei Vasiliev.
Publishing
In 2005, FUEL Publishing was formed within the group. Concentrating on books concerned with visual culture, their approach to publishing involves close collaboration with authors over content. Their broad range of distinctive books have been critically acclaimed. In 2005 The Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia won a D&ADD&AD
Design and Art Direction is a British educational charity which exists to promote excellence in design and advertising...
award for book design, and in 2010 the three volume boxed set of the Encyclopaedia was acquired by the Design Museum
Design Museum
Design Museum is a museum by the River Thames near Tower Bridge in central London, England. The museum covers product, industrial, graphic, fashion and architectural design. It was founded in 1989 and claims to be the first museum of modern design...
in London as part of its permanent collection. These books were also used as inspiration and reference by director David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
in his 2007 film Eastern Promises.
Books published by FUEL publishing include:
- Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia, Danzig Baldaev and Sergei Vasiliev (London: Steidl/FUEL, 2004)
- Fleur. Plant Portraits by Fleur Olby (London: FUEL, 2005)
- The Music Library, Jonny Trunk (London: FUEL, 2005)
- Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia Volume II, Danzig Baldaev and Sergei Vasiliev (London: FUEL, 2006)
- Home-Made. Contemporary Russian Folk Artifacts, Vladimir Arkhipov (London: FUEL, 2006)
- Ideas Have Legs, Ian McMillanIan McMillanIan McMillan is a British poet, journalist, playwright and broadcaster who has continued to live in Darfield.-Background:...
and Andy Martin (London: FUEL, 2006) - Match Day, Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne)Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne)Bob Stanley is a UK musician, film producer and journalist.-Saint Etienne:Stanley is best known as a member of the pop/dance group Saint Etienne for which he co-writes songs and produces...
and Paul Kelly (London: FUEL, 2006) - BibliOdyssey, P.K. (London: FUEL, 2007)
- Notes from Russia, Alexei Plutser-Sarno (London: FUEL, 2007)
- Crime, Alix LambertAlix LambertAlix Lambert is an American television writer. She has been nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for her work on Deadwood.-Biography:Lambert directed and produced the documentary films The Mark of Cain and Rabbits ....
(London: FUEL, 2008) - Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia Volume III, Danzig Baldaev and Sergei Vasiliev (London: FUEL, 2008)
- The Marriage of Reason & Squalor, Jake Chapman (London: FUEL, 2008)
- A Process Revealed / Auf Dem Holzweg, Henrietta Thompson (London: FUEL, 2009)
- Spirit: Garden Inspiration, Dan Pearson (London: FUEL, 2009)
- Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia Volume I, Danzig Baldaev and Sergei Vasiliev (London: FUEL, 2009)
- Memoirs of My Writer’s Block, Jake Chapman (London: FUEL, 2010)
- Dressing for Pleasure, Jonny Trunk (London: FUEL, 2010)
- Drawings from the Gulag, Danzig Baldaev (London: FUEL, 2010)
- James White, Paintings, Martin Herbert and Jeremy Millar (London: FUEL, 2011)
- Own Label, Jonny Trunk, Emily King (London: FUEL, 2011)
- INTROSPASTIC: From the Blackened Beyond, Jake Chapman (London: FUEL and White Cube, 2011)
- They Teach Us Nothing, Dinos Chapman (London: FUEL and White Cube, 2011)
Books of FUEL's work
External links
- FUEL profile and interview at the Design Museum website
- FUEL Penguin Classic in The Guardian
- FUEL talk about their version of Crime and Punishment in the Guardian
- FUEL publishing on Design Observer
- FUEL and Alix Lambert talk about Crime
- FUEL talk about their Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia series in the St. Petersburg Times
- FUEL interview on the website of Russian cultural magazine Snob
- Review of FUELs Russian Criminal Tattoo Exhibition in The Guardian
- Review of FUELs Russian Criminal Tattoo Exhibition on Design Observer
- Review of FUELs Russian Criminal Tattoo Exhibition in Time Out
- Review of FUELs Drawings from the Gluag in The Moscow Times