Shark Awards chairman Peter Brady: what would happen if we didn’t have craft?
Craft is something we often don’t really notice but get it wrong (ie: remove the craft) and the results can be disastrous.
Ever think about the frame that surrounds the Mona Lisa?
Right now, can you picture that frame in detail?
I’m guessing the answer to that question is ‘no.’
And that’s how it should be. The idea of a painting’s frame is to complement, NOT get in the way of, or overpower the image. So how a frame looks and how it’s made (especially for the world’s most famous painting) is critical. But here’s a question you don’t hear very often – who gets the credit for the frame? Who provides the craft? Who makes sure that people DON’T say – “A luminous orange frame made from sea shells? It ruins the picture!”
Well the truth is The Mona Lisa has actually had quite a few frames in its time. Over the past 500 years, craftsmen and women have had to deal with wood warping and contracting due to external elements, world wars and even infestation by insects. They’ve had to learn about how different woods react, they’ve had to devise different designs of frame with supports and cross pieces. In 1909, the art collector Comtesse de Béhague gave the portrait its current frame design – a Renaissance-era look consistent with the historical period of the Mona Lisa.
And why are The Kinsale Sharks so interested in the frame?
Because to put it simply, we’re interested in craft.
And also, because we strongly believe craft should be rewarded and the names of those who provide real craft should be known.
This year’s Sharks has (like just about everything else) been massively affected by the Covid thingy but two things will not change.
1) We will as usual be assembling a fantastic team of judges who will be awarding the world’s best creative work.
2) The craft that makes ideas memorable and talked about will continue to be rewarded.
Our craft categories include (take a deep breath!) photography, digital innovation in design, typography, writing in design, casting, direction, best use of film stock, title sequence, CG/visual effects, art direction, production design, cinematography, colour grading, character animation, animation design and a lot (nb: a LOT!) more.
Seriously, if what you do makes creativity better, take a look at our categories.
We understand that with the world being the way it is right now, opportunities to do that creative thing you do may not have been perfect.
But we’ve also seen entries that tell us that creative people will always find a way to get their work and their ideas out there (it would appear you can’t lockdown great ideas).
For advertising, digital and design entries we close on the 1st Sept.
Best of luck. Enter here.
Peter Brady is chairman of the Shark Awards in Kinsale.
