Noma Bar
Biography
(British, b. 1973)
Noma Bar is a highly prolific artist whose graphic works are celebrated for their impact and simplicity. Each of his ideas are first drawn in a sketchbook and then transferred to the screen where he works on them digitally to come up with the final conceptualised solution. The duel strategies of his practice are efficiency and humour, and these come from a keen understanding of how the brain accesses and understands imagery.
With a limited pallet he subtlety and precisely manipulates shape and form where familiar symbols and pictograms evolve to form new meaning. Negative and positive spaces tessellate creating several images in one, and sometimes a few moments are needed to see the embedded, often poignant, message. Noma uses this technique to its best effect when dealing with social and political issues, which he is very passionate about, and subjects such as nuclear warfare, corporate greed and national identity are illustrated with a hidden twist of humour. In his portraits of celebrities or well-known figures, subjects' features are frequently merged with images that epitomise their fame to form an instantly recognisable face.
Noma once stated that he is after “maximum communication with minimum elements”, and his ingenuity in turning complexity into simplicity exemplifies this idea. Ultimately his dedication to his own principles means that he continues to achieve this personal challenge, time and time again, with universal elegance.
The works in the ‘Cut the Conflict’ series have been created using different materials up to 1cm thick such as flags, letters, photos, newspapers and fabrics that have been donated by people living in countries where there is currently conflict. By cutting and placing materials from two conflicting areas on the same page, Noma is forcing them to live peacefully alongside each other forever. With around 50 graphic pieces in the collection, ‘Cut the Conflict’ translates a sensitive subject into thought-provoking art that exposes social and political situations with a wry sense of juxtaposition.
London-based and born into a highly artistic family, Noma Bar graduated in 2000 from the Bezalel Academy of Art & Design with a B.DES Bachelor of Graphic & Type Design. He describes his craft as 'visual communication', combining the skills of artist, illustrator and designer. Having had over 2000 illustrations and 200 magazine covers published, his two highly acclaimed books, ‘The Many Faces of Noma Bar’ and ‘Negative Space’ have become a must-have for design school libraries and tutors.
Read
our article on Noma Bar
and 'Investing in Art' here
|
|