James Sommerville and Simon Needham

Published Date: 09 April 2010

James Sommerville and Simon Needham used to create their art on the pavements. Their latest – and last work together – goes on display in York today with a price tag of thousands. Nick Ahad reports.It all started with an argument. Five years ago, James Sommerville was having a heated discussion with Rod Lacey, managing director of publisher Aurora Fine Art. They admit that alcohol was involved."He was saying that art and design were one and the same thing; I said that they were two entirely separate beings," says Lacey."The following morning, he sent me an email."

Was Sommerville relenting and accepting that he was in the wrong? "I was outlining that I was right and that I would prove it some day," he says, unapologetically.That day came late last year when Lacey was forced to eat humble pie and agreed that his company would publish a series of wall art created by Sommerville and his artist partner, Simon Needham."I had to accept that he was right," says Lacey. "When I saw the work I thought it was amazing and we agreed to publish a limited edition of 95 pieces."

The Noise Collection consists of four limited-edition silkscreen art prints, four limited-edition hybrid giclee silkscreen art prints and two books.The first 85 went on display in galleries in December and promptly sold out – with high-profile collectors including Richard Branson, Charles Saatchi and Prince Charles. Tonight, the final 10 copies of the 95 edition print go on display at Bohemia Galleries in York. Sommerville, enjoying his taste of victory over his old friend, Lacey, one imagines, has included a personal statement which appears to be a full-stop to the argument.He writes: "Art is a mode of personal expression. It conveys a message or stimulates an emotional reaction. It does not need to follow any rules or meet with approval in order to be valid. No artist needs to explain why they did something in a certain way.

"Design is a calculated and defined procedure. It suggests that something has been deliberately devised, developed and realised through much consideration. It is a rational process, which can often be judged on whether it 'works' or not."This collection of work follows the creative methodologies of art and design, and fuses them into a single form."Sommerville says he was always adamant that the design work he has spent his career so far creating, was as much about his personal development as an artist as a designer. The seeds for the exhibition opening in York tonight were sown way back in the mid-Eighties when Sommerville and Needham first started working together. They had met at Batley Art School and decided to collaborate. Initially, this meant doing something that sounds suspiciously like graffiti.

"We were 19 years old and unemployed and spending our time as pavement artists, but wanted to set up our own graphic design studio," says Sommerville.They hit on the idea of creating pieces of work under the banner of Noise and then self-publishing this work as an art book. "From our earliest days, Noise formed a key part of our commercial design process. We wanted to experiment and create the highest quality of work we possibly could. We worked constantly on refining the work for Noise before we were ready to self-publish the collection in an art book," says Sommerville. As unemployed teenagers, they were unable to find the money to publish the book until they landed a £2,000 grant from the Prince's Trust.

The extreme level of dedication paid off and the Noise book became not only massively collectible but helped launch the pair's design studio, Attik. The design studio was bought in 2007 by the Japanese billion-dollar company Dentsu. Sommerville says: "Over the past 23 years, we've had opportunities to work for leading brands, including Scion and Lexus through Toyota Motor Sales USA, Adidas, Coca-Cola and Heineken. Looking back, it's clear to us that our dedication to Noise has been a key to earning us our best business opportunities." Sommerville and Needham are continuing to work with Attik, working under Dentsu, but the successful launch of the Noise Art Collection means they are planning on forging new careers as artists – but this time separately. And Rod Lacey accepts that Sommerville might have won the argument this time.

The Noise Collection opens at Bohemia Galleries, Gillygate, York tonight, until Apr 18. 01904 466 488.

Design success

James Sommerville and Simon Needham launched their design studio Attik in 1986 – today it is a renowned global creative agency with offices in Leeds, San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles.

In honour of their contributions to British design, James and Simon were invited to meet the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace in 2005.

An active member of The Prince's Trust Enterprises' Yorkshire and Humber Committees, and an adviser to The Trust's headquarters in London, James served as an ambassador for The Trust throughout its recent 30th anniversary celebrations.