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Takischitt - Colour Chart

Poster
1997 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Dead Stupid Productions, who designed this poster, was formed in 1997 by Stuart Morrison and Jason Orbaum with, as in their words, 'the express purpose of breaking into the film and television industries. Within six months the company had stumbled sideways into the bizarre world of poster and novelty design.'

'Initially rejected as 'to[sic] controversial' the Colour Chart was seized upon by GB Posters [& Publications] and has gone on to be a best seller and cultural icon with appearances in media as diverse as Men Behaving Badly, Radio 1 and The Guardian.'

'The fictional company "Takischitt" originally created specifically for the Colour Chart Poster has gone on to spawn a range of posters, novelties and one of the funniest web sites on the internet (www.takischitt.co.uk)'.

'Takischitt' is an anarchic subversion of a paint colour chart, using tubular format in the same way as other conceptual art (for example 'The Great Bear' by Simon Patterson - E.1842-1992), which challenges traditional diagrams and information systems. The poster sold 41,000 copies in its first year.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleTakischitt - Colour Chart (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
printing
Brief description
'Takischitt - Colour Chart' poster designed by Dead Stupid Productions
Physical description
The image shows a conventional household colour paint chart.
Dimensions
  • Height: 90cm
  • Width: 64cm
Credit line
Given by GB Posters and Publications Ltd.
Object history
The poster was made for GB Posters and Publications Ltd.
Summary
Dead Stupid Productions, who designed this poster, was formed in 1997 by Stuart Morrison and Jason Orbaum with, as in their words, 'the express purpose of breaking into the film and television industries. Within six months the company had stumbled sideways into the bizarre world of poster and novelty design.'

'Initially rejected as 'to[sic] controversial' the Colour Chart was seized upon by GB Posters [& Publications] and has gone on to be a best seller and cultural icon with appearances in media as diverse as Men Behaving Badly, Radio 1 and The Guardian.'

'The fictional company "Takischitt" originally created specifically for the Colour Chart Poster has gone on to spawn a range of posters, novelties and one of the funniest web sites on the internet (www.takischitt.co.uk)'.

'Takischitt' is an anarchic subversion of a paint colour chart, using tubular format in the same way as other conceptual art (for example 'The Great Bear' by Simon Patterson - E.1842-1992), which challenges traditional diagrams and information systems. The poster sold 41,000 copies in its first year.
Collection
Accession number
E.442-1999

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Record createdMarch 1, 2000
Record URL
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