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  Texts
Credits
Foreword
Introduction
 
p. 8 to 37
p. 38 to 59
p. 60 to 79
 
p. 80 to 105
p. 106 to 123
 
Colophon
Front flap
Back flap
   
                       



Page
  English  
 
 
       



illustrations  
8
       
9
  Discman   Discman


10
       
11
  Found on the Internet   Trobat a Internet


12
  The alternative scene: slow but sure   Escena alternativa, lenta però segura
13
  Criticism against the flow   Crítica a contracorrent


14
  Spain is not that different   Espanya no és tan diferent com això
15
  Musical improvisation   Música improvisada


16
       
17
  Thinking iPod   iPod pensant


18
       
19
  A long night
or I can’t sleep
  Una nit llarga
o No puc dormir


20
  Searching for a melody in Australia   Cercant una melodia a Austràlia
21
  Radio-activity   Ràdio-activitat


22
       
23
  This is not a message against technology   Això no és un missatge contra la tecnologia


24
       
25
  Musical indigestion   Indigestió musical


26
       
27
  Taciturn Bob Dylan in boxers   Bob Dylan taciturn en calçotets   Open comment    
While I was designing an issue of Nativa about "Music and humor", the idea of this Bob Dylan in underpants appeared. It was not a matter of laughing at him but of making an ironic or iconoclastic look towards the idolized attitude that the lovers of the music have often with the artists and their career.

  Considering how to picture the brilliant musician, I needed to start from an iconic and known image. I took the famous poster of Milton Glaser, another guru but for the design. This gathered two "holy" characters under a certain humor, a wink to the musicians as well as to the graphic artists.

Since then, the character kept on turning up intermittently in different issues of the magazine: when Dylan was quoted, when his presence gave an breath of scepticism about the contents of the item, or without an evident reason. Until the last issue where, at last, he spoke.

 

Milton Glaser
b. 1929
"Dylan" poster
1966
Offset lithography
33 x 22 inches

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28
       
29
  After the storm   Després de la tempesta


30
  Storm over a digital camera   Tempesta per una càmera digital
31
  Listening to old records again   Tornant a escoltar discos vells


32
  The job of listening #1   L’ofici d’escoltar #1
33
  Very angry   Molt enfadat


34
  Comparing different souths   Comparant els diferents sud
35
  iPod: mobility or nostalgia   iPod: mobilitat o nostàlgia   Open comment
This illustration accompanied an opinion item about the iPod and the use that its users do.

The irruption of this device opened a door to the freedom and the independence in the access and the listening of music. But curiously, in the iPods we find more of the musical period that the owner looks with nostalgia than more up-to-date or innovative music.

  The text showed the iPod as a sword of double edge that can both facilitate the knowledge of the modernity or to perpetuate common places or secure zones of preferences.  
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36
       
37
  Recurring comments about live music   Temes recurrents de discussió sobre la música en viu


38
  Less is more   Menys és més
39
  Music and power #1   Música i poder #1


40
       
41
  Music and iPower #2   Música iPoder #2


42
  Always importing music   Sempre important música
43
  Music and power #3   Música i poder #3


44
       
45
  Culture and politics   Cultura i polítics


46
  What the hell do they mean when they go on and on about excellence?   A què redimonis es deuen referir quan parlen tant d’excel·lència?
47
  The descent into clubbing   Descens al clubbing


48
  Confusing music with gastronomy   Confondre la música amb la gastronomia
49
  First anniversary   Primer aniversari


50
  Less cement and more ideas   Menys ciment i més idees
51
  Outsiders   Outsiders


52
  Culture and creation in times of recession   Cultura i creació en temps de crisi
«Lo petit és bunic»
53
  Election   Eleccions


54
       
55
  Analyzing political parties’ electoral programs on music and culture   Tot analitzant els programes electorals dels partits polítics sobre cultura i música


56
  Music for escaping from reality   Música per fugir de la realitat
57
  The so-called Barcelona Sound   El «Barcelona Sound»


58
  New vs. used   Nou vs. usat
59
  What to do
or What to listen to
  Què fer
o Què escoltar


60
  Time as a flexible material   El temps com a material flexible
61
  I don’t get the decimal system   No entendre el sistema decimal


62
  Twisted effects of the official view of things   Efectes perversos de la visió oficial sobre les coses
63
  Twisted effects of municipal noise regulations in Barcelona
Times shown correspond to the Mediterranean lifestyle
  Efectes perversos de les normatives municipals contra el soroll
Els horaris mostrats aquí tenen sentit segons els costums mediterranis
  Open comment
If the opportunity and the subject allow it, I like to make the illustrations work also with a different focus to the item one. So, the images generate their own talk as a parallel opinion written in a graphical language.   The item was about the activities of leisure, the live music, the noise and the controversy that they generate. The graphic comparison of situations is an irony on the contradictory attitude that the Town Council and some neighbors had with the noise in the city.  
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64
  See previous page   Idem pàg. anterior
65
  Freedom to think   Llibertat per pensar


66
  The job of listening #2   L’ofici d’escoltar #2
67
  Mental auto-nomy   Auto-nomia mental


68
  Good mood   Bon humor
69
  Politaoke: deconstructing the electoral discourse v1   Politaoke: deconstruint el discurs electoral v1   Open comment
Political speeches as Politaoke
The American election are in its culminating point. After the victory of Obama in the last presidential TV debate, the accusations of power abuse on the governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, and the stock exchange and credit crisis, the Americans will go to the urns perplexed, fearful and surprised the next 4 November [2008]. As everything, also from an event like this a certain artistic profitability can be taken out. This is the one that think the pupils of the Bauhaus University Kreativfond in Weimar that they are on tour in the US. After their first performances in his country of origin, Germany, the Politaoke has arrived to several American cities, like Charlotte, in an arty show where speeches, interviews and other interventions of the politicians in the race towards the White House are the artistic matter to deconstruct. Politaoke provides to the audience a platform to intervene, to ridiculice and, also, to listen to what the politicians talk and to see clearly what the politicians say.
  Completely independent of any party option, it allows the assistants to decide in every session, arguing among them, interpreting how the talk of each politician is, in a serious or sarcastic way. The speeches of the politicians and the interviews are supplied, word to word, edited in sections (songs) of 1 to 8 minutes. A series of debates, interventions and television appearances are also given to the public as duets.
Created by Diana Arce, Politaoke is an evolution of the her work as artist and activist, interested in the use of artistic methods as a platform to put the cultural and political criticism in relation with the comment of the people of the street. Very interesting, for a foreigner like me, not only to see the mentioned work of artistic intervention, but also to know what the young people think about the politics and of the politicians of their country. An immersion into the American political thought with a lot fun.
  Joan-Elies Adell.
Published in Nativa no. 47, p. 4.
Barcelona, January of 2009
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70
  «Be yourself»   «Sigues tu mateix»
71
  Music education at school #1
or Teaching how to deal with the media
  L’educació musical a l’escola #1
o Ensenyar a tractar amb els medis


72
  Music and freedom   Música i llibertat
73
  Music education at school #2   L’educació musical a l’escola #2


74
  Music education at school #3   L’educació musical a l’escola #3
75
  Self-communicating systems   Sistemes de comunicar-se


76
  Random   Aleatori
77
  Politaoke: deconstructing the electoral discourse v2   Politaoke: deconstruint el discurs electoral v2


78
       
79
  Questioning the recurring general idea that Barcelona is a jazz hotspot   Qüestionant la recurrent idea generalitzada de Barcelona com a una capital del jazz


80
  Music criticism in newspapers: has it disappeared or merely changed shape?   La crítica musical als diaris: desapareix o es transforma?   Open comment

The illustrations in the magazine
In the first issues of Nativa, these illustrations had an almost marginal role. They were used to fill undesired empty spaces. By the time, they start taking its own speech and they had good acceptance among the readers. This led to giving them more protagonism from time to time.

Since issue #22, the magazine changed the full color printing to only one ink printing. The change was more conceptual than economical.

  As a logical consequence, the pictures in color of title page were substituted for the illustrations of solid black. This more austere and basic graphic language was more suitable for the new resources and more effective communicatively.

In the pages 80 to 87 of the book it can be appreciate how the illustrations were integrated into the title page and how they accompanied the texts of the main items.

In design, it is often said —and often is true— the sentence "Less is more".

 
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81
  Music and power   Música i poder


82
  Debate for a new form of radio   Debat per una ràdio
83
  Music education in times of emergency   Educació musical en temps d’urgència


84
       
85
  Music criticism in newspapers: has it disappeared or merely changed shape?   La crítica musical als diaris: desapareix o es transforma?


86
       
87
  Debate for a new form of radio. Are radio stations for popular music necessary?   Debat per una ràdio. Cal una ràdio per la música popular?


88
  From musical culture to the culture of sound   De la cultura musical a la cultura del so
89
  Mid-concert advertising
Buy. Whatever you want, but buy
  Publicitat enmig de concerts
«Compri. El que sigui però compri»


90
  Musicians’ family   La família dels músics
91
  Music Sponsors   Esponsorització de la música


92
       
93
  Music from the microcosmos #1   Música des del microcosmos #1


94
  The lack of criticism in newspapers   La desaparició de la crítica als diaris
95
  Xina   Xina


96
  With the band on the road   Sortir a tocar fora
97
  Nothing beats a live performance?   Res com el directe?


98
  Too much ado about the author   Molt de soroll sobre l’autor
99
  5fty   5Quanta


100
  Author! Author!   Autor! Autor
101
  Music from the microcosmos #2   Música des del microcosmos #2


102
  Music is a slippery business   La música com a terreny relliscós
103
  A so-called design guru rejecting the use of certain fonts
1: “Yuk! Folio!”
2: “Optima! Gross!”
3: “Comic Sans! What a jerk!”
4: “Arial!! Son of a bitch!!

  Un suposat guru del disseny rebutjant l’ús de certes tipografies
1: “Folio! Ecs!”
2 : “Optima. Quin horror!”
3: “Comic Sans! Serà imbècil!?”
4: “Arial!!! La mare que el va parir!!
  Open comment
Often I hear graphic designers saying bad things on certain typographies. I think that there aren't beautiful or ugly typographies, as there aren't beautiful or ugly colors. It depends on the way you use them and how they are combined.

In the 50th issue of Nativa, I worked with four of these damned fonts. It was on the headlines of four items, trying to fit with the contents and using them as rigorously as every typography requires.

  But beside the headline, a guru passed through criticizing the types and, even, insulting their use, as sometimes I heard to say.

This is another example of how to illustrate creating a parallel or complementary story to the item subject.

But this time it just reflected my farewell as graphic designer of Nativa.

 
    Nativa magazine, #50.
Barcelona, 2009
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104
  Do iPods dream of electric ears?   Somien els iPods amb orelles elèctriques?
105
  Sex for heroin   Sexe per heroïna   Open comment
Illustration published in a book of short pornographic stories: «La tarde que compré 'La vida sexual de Catherine M.'». Ed. Tintas Alternativas. Barcelona, 2008.

The concrete story portrays the need of a woman to get on prostitution to pay her addiction to heroine.

  I recognize that I had to read three times the story for achieving to understand it (lack of practice?) but once digested, the illustration was made in five minutes.

 

 
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106
  Forum of ideas   Fòrum d‘idees
107
  Logo for mestizo music festival   Imatge per a festival de música mestissa


108
  Logo of Indigestió, managing difficult music   Símbol per a Indigestió, gestió de músiques difícils
109
  Logo of Comarca Rock music circuit   Símbol per al circuit musical Comarca Rock


110
       
111
  What can I do about it?   I jo, què puc fer-hi?


112
  Agrofuels: green on the outside, black on the inside   Agrocombustibles: verd per fora, negre per dins
113
  Farm power   Poder agrícola


114
  The first #1   La primera #1
115
  The first #2   La primera #2


116
  Image for Setzevins Winery   Imatge per al celler Setzevins
117
  Mascot for The Colomer Group   Mascota per a The Colomer Group


118
       
119
  Who killed Bambi?   Qui va matar Bambi?


120
       
121
  Sketch for a personal project
«I’ll never be Paul Rand»
  Esbós per a treball personal
«Mai seré com Paul Rand»
  Open comment
A rainy afternoon, my friends in the organization team of the Festa del Grafisme [Graphics Party] and I, were killing time making illustrations with stickers. Just a few minutes before we had seen this poster in a Paul Rand's exhibition and it seemed touching to all of us.
    Paul Rand
1914-1998
"The Prepared Professional"
Poster
1982
Offset lithography
38 x 21.2 inches
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