Anthony Burrill

0:04[Applause]

0:19I'm not going to speak through any of this so um that's the title of my book make it now available in all good book shops it's really bargain price so it's about creative inspiration and the Art of getting things done it's kind of we're all here right.

0:50Now we're all all kind of in this room and we're all kind of making decisions and making work kind of I'm I'm really glad there was an interval between me and John because is really hard out to follow all these texts I'm going to show you lots of texts from the book. So each one of these things kind of kind of kicks off something.

1:12That's in the book. So it's about kind of going on a journey you know kind of creative journey I think sometimes you have to change location to do that I think I moved to the RO College um to study graphic design and that's where I kind of first started rebelling against the kind of teaching that was going on at the time I was kind of I knew what we being what were being taught was wrong and I knew wanted to do something different so this is the studio that I shared at the Roy College in the words of the wheelstone Raider it was a hole and you can that's for my son by the way so you can see it there's just stuff everywhere it was kind of a real mess but real creative environment it's the the people I was on the course with this is back in 1989 ancient history so kind of before computers so it's not that long ago.

2:27So yeah you you won't spot a computer that photograph so that's that's where I began to learn to look to kind of look at observe and kind of get get information. And ideas from the world. So this. This is where.

2:44I started to begin to work hard people. And I kind of people always say you know oh you know how do you do it what what's what's the big secret and to work hard and yeah and the yes the word nice a lot of people don't like it I'm pleased that it's nice I like it because it's it's one of those words that is it's a bit of a kind of lame word but in a way kind of like how else do you say stuff like that how else you say don't be an sorry liking things is important obviously but not always understanding things.

3:45So I think kind of looking at the world and kind of seeing things and kind of responding from from the heart more than the head I don't think you can't teach creat creativity there are no no shortcuts to creativity it's something that is inside you I think I know. There are people whose business it is to go around to corporate clients and instill the these ideas of creativity but I think they're I think they're false in a way I think you kind of need to know inside you what is what is creativity it's looking at little dots and kind of thinking what you know what what is that thing what is that little idea.

4:35And is it something I can expand and build on a ro here it's something it's kind of it's that idea of kind of being here and being being in this moment all together we're all in this big room in the middle of a massive City and we're all everyone's been quiet listening to me. And it's kind of for me it's a very what to kind of I can kind of say anything I want I can kind of and I think people like the president of America he he kind of he kind of he uses situations like this and he knows how to talk to crowds and I think it's it's kind of it can be very scary so yeah don't fall any rules I think anybody who tells you what to do you immediately have to ignore them completely and kind of do do the opposite especially me you can't you can't learn things through listening to other people talk about their work you have to do your own work I think it's it's amazing to see other people talk about their stuff but I think you can't you can you can read as many books as you want you can look at as much stuff on design blogs it doesn't really kind of count for anything you you've got to kind of make your own stuff you kind of in a way I kind of ignore everything else that goes on when people ask me what kind of designers do I like and what kind of design do I look at well I kind of try not to I try and stay within Burl world as much as possible and this is burl World.

6:27So that's that's me on the left and my sister on the right and a giant horse in the middle so when I graduated from leads poly Technic in 1989 one of my tutors John Ross who who ran the course he was an amazing man very kind of like this real kind of creative force and he didn't take any prisoners and it was the end of your degree show and he'd had a few drinks we'd all had a few drinks and he put his arm around me and he said get down to [Laughter]

7:11London okay John I will so yeah.

7:18So that's something I've always tried not to be or ordinary it's kind of it's being happy with yourself it's being kind of like thinking you don't have to fit in you don't have to be anything you don't want to be you can just kind of carry on being yourself you know working out what it is that you want to do sometimes you I've never had a job I've never worked for anybody and I've always kind of shied away from working for people on a kind of a full-time basis but I used to screw the tops onto shampoo bottles that was a summer job.

7:58And I think I kind of realized then that I didn't ever want to work anywhere you've you've kind of got to be yourself really.

8:11So the power of yes the power of saying yes to things and kind of being positive and you know it's it's hard sometimes like when thing you know people ask you to do stuff and you kind of you know what's in it for me what you know what what am I going to get at the end of it. And it's well sometimes you just do things because you want to do them you want to kind of experience things. So yeah say say yes a lot.

8:35And then positive things could potentially happen obviously think and make it's kind of when you see John talk about his work immediately you want to kind of photograph a Ice Cube and put some eyes on it. And it's kind of like it's it's that joy that untrammeled Joy of looking at the world and not not giving a really what anybody thinks but just kind of getting on with it.

9:13So yeah say stuff with your work you know engage with the world don't just make visual wallpaper that kind of doesn't mean anything it's like we've all got a stance we've all got a view on things especially now when everything is so you know kind of messed up it's it's to us and everyone to to kind of say stuff really there's tons of these the all night we're going to so yeah finding out things getting answers it's the only way to so every single student email I get can he ask answer questions to my questionnaire for my dissertation. And I always like the third or fourth question is where did you get your ideas from what's your inspiration.

10:04And I say well where don't you get inspiration from it's in the book. I was kind of writing lists of stuff you so you see Rand random stuff like photocopiers CCH Fitters the way that all these things kind of build together it's kind of it's kind of looking for stuff David hawne you know massive massive amazing creative man so this is just like the first five minutes of things I could think of just let you look at that for a minute you know if you're not happy doing what you do change it you know kind of do something else kind of you know it's that thing it's like we we've all got our own kind of Destiny in our hands we you know we can all kind of make things happen and this is you know it's a big one for me it's like just think of your own stuff you know don't don't look at other people's work and think oh yeah I like that I'll kind of do a bit of that it's like just look inside yourself and see what you're kind of capable of doing you know I've always had a very strong idea of where I come from which is Olden and it's it's a brilliant joke and that's I think I kind of grew up with these really strong values of kind of you know being so kind of self-determined and wanting to do my own thing. And I was kind of built with this this kind of voice that I kind of NE wanted to to kind of say stuff really.

12:10So I'm at the moment I'm really frightened because I'm stood up in front of all you lot. And it's that it's that time when you're in a stressful situation and you kind of have to deliver something it's like I couldn't yeah I kind of have to kind of come up with the goods right now while I'm speaking to you.

12:28And it's especially with that really bright light moving a you know moving forwards all the time and kind of again looking at John's stuff the way that he's constantly evolving and kind of like trying new things. And it's I think it's kind of being Bor of doing doing things one way and moving on I think as creative people you kind of constantly looking for new stuff news new ways of doing things even though I've got a very def kind of way of doing things for myself I'm always looking at new new bits of inspiration so so yeah it's always about moving forward so obviously as you kind of get a bit older and you've been creative for maybe 25 30 years you get to a stage where you've you've kind of done lots of things you wanted to do and you understand the kind of language and way of doing things.

13:27So yeah yeah but you can still kind of doesn't matter does it how old you are these days I'm 50 by the way so not that it's a big thing for me honestly yeah give giving the joy back is it's kind of it's about giving stuff back you know it's kind of like being generous with yourself and your time and and kind of bringing everybody along on the kind of Journey with you really do good stuff you know think make work for things that you believe in and speak up about things that you want to change oops so yeah here.

14:16I am it's kind of yeah got to be optimistic about how things are going to develop so now you're all dying to see the book aren't you so here's a lovely film that a friend of mine Max who I think might be here tonight haven't seen him yet made for me ♪

15:49than [Applause]