Anthony Burrill
Graphic artist, print-maker and designer
Episode 6
Graphic artist, print-maker and designer Anthony Burrill doesn't need an introduction. His bold and optimistic text-based work is held in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York.
His famous letterpress poster “Work Hard and Be Nice to People” has become a mantra for the creative community around the world.
Today we talk about having a creative/life partner, keeping ideas simple and the art of optimism.
Show Notes
One of Anthony’s most iconic works - the letterpress poster Work Hard and Be Nice to People
Anthony’s latest book - Make It Now! Creative Inspiration and the Art of Getting Things Done.
He’s my first mentor, really. I remember vividly at the Degree Show of the Royal College - he came up to me, gave me his business card and said “Come up to Camden to see me at MTV
Peter Doherty
He’s the first person to make me think “Oh yeah, I can actually do this”
“I think you have to learn to trust yourself. I think wherever you are in life it all has to do with your experience so far, how you see the world and how you see yourself fit into it, the interaction you have with other people. And you see somethings and you say “I want to be at that point “ and aim towards it. You know, you have to have goals, I don’t think you can just let things happen”
"I’ve always been the happiest when I’m in control of what I’m doing but not in a controlling kind of way"
“Absolutely everything boils down to human interaction. You can present yourself in so many different ways, you know, we all make assumptions about everyone else instantly, all the time. But it’s all about developing a track record, laying a trail of positivity behind you and making the most out of opportunities”
What's the Story: Essays about art, theater and storytelling
“Artists and scientists are activists. They look at the world as changeable and they look upon themselves as instruments for change. They understand that the slice of world they occupy is only a fragment but that the fragment is intrinsically connected to the whole. They know that action matters.”
“I’m aware things can’t be happy all the time. There are negative things that happen to you. You find yourself in circumstances that aren’t happy, but it’s about finding your way out of these circumstances and staying optimistic. There’s a bit of grit that’s needed to give everything a bit of reality.”
"I think I’m at optimistic realist"
"All your relationships rough life are constantly changing and progressing - they are dynamic. Emma and I’s relationship always feels like it’s renewing itself - she continues to surprise me. She’s very driven and focused and we I think we complement each other - I do some bits, she does other bits - but essentially we’r one thing, we’re one creature”
"People say how can you live and work with you partner? But you know, I like her. As a person I find her really interesting and of course, I love her. From that stable rock you can build out and achieve things”
Bethany Koby and Daniel Hirschman are a power couple and co-founders of Technology Will Save Us. Watch Bethany’s amazing CreativeMornings/London talk here.
"Having limitations is really useful.”
“I think it’s about linking things in and seeing your life as one thing and not separating life from work. I just see everything as one big life sphere”
3 things
Happiness
Being Inquisitive
Enjoyment
“Whenever an a opportunity is coming along I think: am-I going to enjoy this, and I going to have fun, and I going to meet some nice people?”
