Guy Browning

When I initially began to research into Browning, I was taken in by his humourous book titles including

• How to be normal: a guide for the perplexed
• How to push when it says pull
• Never hit a jellyfish with a spade.

I originally thought these books might be children's tales as I've found its not too often that adult books can appear witty and silly from the outside BUT never judge a book by its cover!! 

WHO IS GUY BROWNING?!

After research I discovered that Guy Browning is a humorist, after dinner speaker and film director.

• He wrote a "how to" column in the Guardian Newspaper from 1999 - 2009
• He was a part of a comedy duo
• He went into advertising and made the slogan "delicious meaty chunks in a nutritious gravy"

WRITING

• Browning has been said to combine his serious career as a business writer and his comedic work in order to create his quirky tales.
• "His humour is gentle and incisive and he steers clear of political comedy and cruelty" 

"Never work for a company that says people are its most important asset. If you wanted to get a mortgage and you said that your only asset was people you would end up living in a tent."

I liked this aspect of Guy Browning when I initially began research on him, I like that he seems to be inquisitive, really researching the everyday happening of ordinary people and things around us and translating them into a humorous quips.

I watched this talk he gave at TED about his life as a director in a small village where the film was set, he came across many difficulties and things that should have gone wrong but he managed to overcome them through having

OUTRAGEOUS OPTIMISM! 

I felt really inspired following the video!

• Positive thinking can change the world!
• Don't give up on things you want!
• Don't rely on other people, if you want something, go out and get it!
• ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!
• have OUTRAGEOUS OPTIMISM!
• Nothing is too crazy if it's your DREAM!

Although I found some of the feeling I had cliche, and felt the overwhelming sense that the feeling of encouragement might fade, I really enjoyed the way Browning phrased the speech.

"PEOPLE IN POWER ARE AS SUPRISED AS YOU ARE THAT THEY'RE IN POWER."

"THERES A FINE LINE BETWEEN OUTRAGEOUS OPTIMIST AND CRAZED FANTASIST"

"THE ABSOLUTE POWER OF ASKING PEOPLE FOR WHAT YOU WANT!"

WHAT COULD I EXPLORE?

• Browning's WIT and humorous charm! I could look at how these translate into illustrations, looking at exaggerating everyday happenings in the work and stories he writes about.
• Looking more closely and inquisitively at everyday life, I find I overlook a lot of this sometimes and it would be interesting to force myself into observing this as part of my work.
• He doesn't have many images or artwork associated with his work so I wouldn't have a pre conceived idea of creating images.

STRUGGLES I COULD FACE?

• I feel like I couldn't find much about GUY BROWNING as a PERSON rather just his thoughts and ideas, this could be a struggle when trying to create specific work but I'd have to do a lot of research into his though process' in order to get a greater understanding of him as a person.
• Although it can be seen as a positive, I find that not having any images or artwork at all associated with his work and writing, might be difficult to create pieces purely from imagination. I haven't yet read the books but unless they're description offering a lot for my imagination I can imagine this might be a bit of a struggle.