A few things to consider when typing out that print specification….

www.lovelyasatree.com

I went to see the much hyped “Shibboleth” at The Tate Modern the other week. To you and me, this is the large crack that the Brazilian sculptor Salcedo has created, running the full 167 metres (548 feet) of the Turbine Hall.

Salcedo says the work “symbolises racial division, representing the gap between white Europeans and the rest of the world’s population”.  

Erm, ok then. Is that a bit like the glass of water I saw on my first visit to The Tate, that I was supposed to believe, according to the artist, was a tree? 

According to Salcedo, the fissure is “bottomless… as deep as humanity”.  However, The Times pointed out in a recent article that it appears to be around three feet at its deepest point.

Regardless of your thoughts about whether it is ‘art’, it is nonetheless intriguing. I waited patiently for a stupid tourist to fall in it (apparently 3 people have done so since its unveiling) but sadly I wasn’t given the pleasure. Now that would’ve been clever.

However, I couldn’t help think about the ‘Art & Science’ behind this creation. There is no raised floor, the crack runs very deep, and it is embedded into the original floor of the Tate, or so it seems. The ‘art & science’ of this is the illusion is creates. The crack, to me, is the distraction. 

Better than a glass of water on a shelf…sorry, I mean a tree.

No blog on consulting would be complete without some commentary on PowerPoint, and in particular, Don McMillan’s guide.

Many brands ago, I consulted for the Department for Work and Pensions on their brand architecture and how to become more ‘customer’ oriented. So it is with great fondness, I happened upon The Pension Service website this morning, and thought that it seems a great example of how government communications can be.

Nice, clear and task oriented – yet still with a list of  common topics – real, valuable information is easy to access. Too often a rare thing in Government. To whoever was involved in the site’s creation, well done!