Urban Canvas Project

Oh man....

some happy inspiration from ILOVEDUST for my auto share vehicle!...via Benign Objects

Wabi-Sabi from emmas design blog

Image via Wikipedia

I love the idea of Wabi Sabi. Emma Fexeus of emmasblog put together a great piece on wabi-sabi and a list of resources. Thanks emma!
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from emma's design blog 2008-12-30 @ 23:20:50
Wabi Sabi, a little more background

“Pare down to the essence, but don’t remove the poetry. Keep things clean and unencumbered but don’t sterilize” says Leonard Koren, author of Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers. That would be exactly what I think defines good interior design. And that is the reason why I am so drawn to the Japanese philosophy of wabi sabi, and would like to share some of what I've found out lately.

More...

another one from the same article...

“I think it’s also interesting to think about silence,” Mr. Gioni added.

something to think about...

“There was a time when some serious thought that later got reduced to catchphrases nonetheless was serious, and nonetheless did convey something about the art,” Mr. Storr said. “The turning of ideas into pitches, so to speak, was at the cost of ideas. We lost some good ideas because they got turned into spiels.”

OK, here they are. They are all sort of in the same series but a bit different. Not sure if which one I like if any. If there is anyone out there, what do you think?

wednesday/thursday sketches

Now I just need to convert the images from yesterday so that I can post them as well. I had a good day today but don't feel that I am "there" yet in the drawings. I still need more time to work on these. I am trying to bring in more of my work to the project. Then to bring back in the student art in a way that works. More later. Ouch my head hurts!

more for autoshare

another project

Here are some photos that I took recently to inspire some drawings I am working on for a client...I will update as I finish the work...funny that this is bird poop on the cement wall of an underpass in our neighborhood...anything can be mesmerizing and beautiful...

more inspiration...

This one is from the Design Museum in London from the Gio Ponti Show in 2002. It was created by design team Kerr Noble who worked together for 10 years before going their separate ways...

I wish I could find a larger image so I could read it but nevertheless totally beautiful...

Here is another from team Kerr-Noble and the Museum Sheffield show On The Map:

The blurb goes as follows...

"kerr|noble

Rivermap, Kerr | Noble, 1999 The Rivermap leaflet illustrates the importance of the process of mapping for designers in visualising information. In this map Kerr | Noble are representing the thoughts and feelings invoked by the River Thames, in London. They chose to use a poem by John Banck, A Description of London, 1738, to convey the character and history of the Thames. The words of this poem have replaced the geographical contours of the River, creating an alternative map. The font, Caslon by William Caslon, was chosen for its joyfulness and historicism, as it was designed at the same time that the poem was written." Find out more about Kerr | Noble Rivermap, Kerr | Noble, 1999

Another new project

I am working on another project that will involve text and image...looking for inspiration and I came across Stephanie Posavec's work...Her website really gives no indication of what her work is like which I found subversively interesting but grasping for more but her images are a knock out...my head spins with all of the information that she processes and depicts graphically...Pretty amazing...take a look

Stefanie Posavec “On the Map”- 04.02.08

 

NOTCOT Note: Here is another post continuing on Justine’s (aka RUGenius’) adventures in Sheffield, it took a bit of researching, but she’s come back to me with some MIND BLOWING infographics from Stephanie Posavec, you definitely need to click on the images after the jump to see them in full resolution where you can see what every curve and color represents. I kid you not, you will not see Kerouac’s On The Road the same again…

More from the Notcot article via Information is Beautiful...

I really like these images from Information is Beautiful:


David McCandless of Information is Beautiful describes this work: "The process involved intense mark-up of the original text."

and this one...





anyway, if you like them read on...

what I am working on now

I am working on some preliminary sketches for my Art on the Move vehicle using student work from our sessions at the Karen Kain School of the Arts in Etobicoke. See more here...

Hit List via Akimbo

This is a bit old but I printed it out and saved it because I liked it so much...thanks  to Elizabeth Zvonar for offering up her thoughts.

via akimbo 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hit List

Elizabeth Zvonar

Artist
Vancouver

Elizabeth Zvonar has exhibited nationally and internationally at venues such as the Contemporary Art Gallery, Morris and Helen Belkin Gallery, Artspeak Gallery and Western Front Gallery all in Vancouver; Cohan and Leslie, New York; Sign Gaienmae Gallery, Tokyo; and at Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen, Belgium. In 2008 Zvonar was the inaugural artist at the Malaspina Print Research Residency and an artist in residence at the Banff Centre for Cosmic Ray Research (a thematic residency led by Janice Kerbel). On Time, her exhibition of sculpture and collage, is currently on view at the Contemporary Art Gallery. She will be included in the upcoming Mercer Union group exhibition Days of the Eclipse, opening in late January 2010. Zvonar lives and works in Vancouver.

1. Manners & Memory

As the years pass, I am increasingly aware of how very impressed I am when I have social encounters that I come away from energized simply because those I am interacting with are polite. Not in a mannered or calculating way but from a place of personal confidence and thoughtful sincerity. These are highly attractive and productive ways of being that have more to do with being self aware and cognizant of the symbiotic nature of the world we live in together, than with who you know and where you went to school. The importance of memory makes good manners richer. Too often I am equally stunned by civil encounters that preference social amnesia as a method of navigating the real world, the art world, and the world of simple daily tasks that require routine interactions. I am acutely aware of my surroundings and am aware that as individuals, our lives are complex but like it or not, we are all in this together. Here’s to counteracting the death of civility through conscientiousness, generosity, gratitude and being open.

2. Feminism

Feminism never went away and now it really is on the vanguard of social consciousness. Each decade or so, feminism’s definition becomes more expansive and inclusive making for a stronger foothold on culture. Like any good philosophical, social, and political moment, feminism is constantly evolving and redefining itself, and more people are embracing this as a social movement. Kate Davis and Faith Wilding’s The Long Loch, Where Do We Go From Here (coming up April 2010) is a project that asks the five Ws of feminism, rooting its past to make a path for its future all in conjunction with CCA Glasgow and the Glasgow Women’s Library. For some fresh perspectives on the subject, their project, the Read Out! Read In! Feminist Lines of Flight in Art and Politics reading room will be available online any day now through a yet unreleased blog tentatively titled Lines of Flight in Art and Politics.

3. Intuition/Clarity

I have spent a lot of time watching and learning from others and I have come to realize that the act of observing coupled with an attention to listening are two skills I have honed over the years that are integral to a keen sense of intuition. Intuition never fails but only educated intuition can give a deep sense of clarity. I love it when people say what they mean and mean what they say. There is integrity in clarity of thought and value of meaning and when it comes from a place where a person is confident and happy with who they are, it makes for potential in culture.

4. Hearing

I have a rotating list of favorite stations and podcasts to listen to including the recently added Feminsting and the always educational This American Life. One of my recent favorites for awesome playlists in VanCity has got to be, without a doubt, Radio Zero; listen live on Fridays on UBC’s radio station CiTR. Want to travel far away? Try Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1 and if you don’t like her selections, try another DJ from the BBC Radio 1, the choice is extensive.

more...

Oh this is so great!

via Flavorwire...this is so great! by Hold Your Horses!


70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

National Poetry Month

Another beauty from Marian Bantjes and Poets.org. You can order a free poster or download a full-sized one. via Poets.org
the site of the American Academy of Poets .


Another great thing to have for National Poetry Month is Poem Flow 1.0, the poem reader for your iphone! Another great way to have a poem in your pocket 365 days a year. Inspire yourself anywhere!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Imagination: Roundup of TED2010 Session 9 (ted.com)
• Who's your poetry hero? (anchormast.com)
• Poem Flow Launches on Apple App Store (prweb.com)

This is so beautiful! I love Dennis Lin's work!

If you are in Toronto before March 5th, see Dennis Lin's work at 47!

From the press release:

n° 1-60
February 5, 2010 (All day) - March 5, 2010 (All day)

*
*

47 PRESENTS

n° 1-60
Dennis Lin Solo Exhibition
OPENING RECEPTION:
Friday February 5th 2010
8 pm – 12 am

Dennis Lin has collected it, bypassing the mill and has prevented it from being turned into something other than. The Maple has been debarked, sectioned into cookies, sanded, oiled, and waxed: preserved. The 60, three-inch wide slabs are sequentially hung on purpose-built hooks. Each has been numbered and tagged with a brass plate; the tree has been documented and cataloged.

“To see the sections of the tree is to wonder how it grew, how it lived and how it died,” said artist Dennis Lin. “I’ve cataloged this tree out of my own curiosity and to make it accessible for others to question how this organism came into being.”

More about the gallery (read on it is actually quite cool!)

This is an interesting piece via David McCandless's information is beautiful via the guardian newspaper

















After Google announced it may stop censoring the internet in China, I became curious about what exactly that meant. What kind of censoring are they doing? How extensive is it? What can and can't you do online in the People's Republic. What does China censor online?

Broadly speaking, most of the big social websites - Facebook, Twitter, YouTube - are all blocked. Many familiar sites, such as Wikipedia, remain but with entire sections or contentious pages disappeared by The Great Firewall. Porn is pretty much outlawed.

Data in this area is difficult to come by. ConceptDoppler.org is a good source but most of the information dates back to 2008. Censored search terms and online materials often vary from region to region. Sites are routinely blocked and then unblocked, sometimes on a weekly basis. You can check it for yourself in this Google Doc. More...

from the inspirational letter

I have always loved the concept of the Inspirational Letter from Bombay Sapphire--they lean slightly more toward design and design issues but I like the way they really tackle experiences not necessarily breaking up art-design-architecture-words...only wish they still had the English translation so more people could enjoy it! I love this recent entry and how the "letter" mysteriously shows up in my inbox...


Aquilone
Inspirational object #41

Si dice che l’aquilone fu inventato dal filosofo cinese Mo Zi, intorno al 400 A.C. Egli impiegò tre anni di studi per fabbricare quello che chiamò “il falco di legno”, il quale volò alto nel cielo per un giorno intero prima di rompersi. Questa è la leggenda ma l’origine è effettivamente cinese, e l’inventore, che sia stato Mo Zi o meno, senza dubbio doveva essere un filosofo o un poeta o uno di quegli ingegneri che si interrogano sul significato ultimo delle leggi della fisica. L’aquilone è infatti tutto questo, un semplice pezzo di tessuto che può invece rivelarsi tecnologicamente complesso, un gioco per i bimbi ma anche un oggetto evocativo e poetico, carico di molti significati.
Da principio era in legno di bamboo e fogliame, poi, con la diffusione della carta iniziò ad essere sempre più grosso, più leggero e soprattutto decorato. Dalla Cina arrivò presto in Giappone, dove ancora oggi è diffusissimo, utilizzato per la celebrazione di feste e ricorrenze e decorato in mille modi. Negli anni è stato utilizzato per gli scopi più vari, anche bellicosi, come vessillo, come lampada volante, come mezzo aereo per portare cariche esplosive oltre le mura delle città assediate. Oggi le pratiche aquilonistiche sono le più svariate, dalla fabbricazione di complessi aquiloni statici dalle forme più strane, alle gare con leggerissimi e supertecnologici aquiloni acrobatici, a quelli da traino, vere e proprie vele in grado di trascinare il vostro surf sulle onde o la vostra tavola sulla neve, e con un buon vento portare anche voi in alto nel cielo.

txt Daniele Druella

Yam Lau at Musee de Arte Joliette

Yam Lau
Hutong House, 2009
Image from the video
© Yam Lau
Courtesy of Leo Kamen Gallery
YAM LAU
(Version française)








In Praise of Evanescence: Space, Time and Image of the Everyday

January 31 – May 2, 2010

OPENING : January 31, 2010, 2 pm
Tour of the exhibition with the artist and the curator, 1 pm

Curator : Gaëtane Verna

In Praise of Evanescence: Space, Time and Image of the Everyday brings together three recent works by artist Yam Lau that combine digital video and 3D animation.

In the first two works, Room (2006) and Room: An Extension (2008), the domestic space and everyday acts are presented to us in a setting that overturns conventional representations of space and the passing of time. Using three-dimensional modelling software, Lau constructs a virtual environment in the middle of which stands a framework, a sort of cubical dwelling. Filmed sequences showing the artist in his private life are projected on to the translucent virtual walls of the structure, which slowly rotates. The effect of this movement is to make the planes multiply, pivot and nest, forming a cycle in which places endlessly break up and re-form from a different viewpoint or angle. The illusion of reality is thus blown away, leaving us with a moving world where our gaze cannot find any fixed landmark to focus on, but where, paradoxically, everyday, ordinary acts and familiar objects take on a new dimension.

The third work, Hutong House (2009), takes us into a Beijing siheyuan, a traditional type of house with a square courtyard, now becoming rare. As in the previous works, the architecture unfolds in the form of filmed sequences projected onto the walls of an animated virtual structure. Inside we see Yam Lau and a friend busy with a host of little everyday actions that are interrupted, resumed, repeated and shown on another level as the various parts of the dwelling move back and forth under our eyes. Time seems to have become frozen – and with it this ancient house and its modern occupants – in an endless present, balanced on the edge of the void.

Yam Lau was born in Hong Kong. He now resides in Toronto, where he is represented by the Leo Kamen Gallery. His work has been exhibited on numerous occasions in Canada, the United States and Europe and has been the subject of many publications. He currently teaches in the Department of Visual Arts at York University.