Found this video of artist Shepard Fairey via Twitter this morning. I value the opportunity to see artists in the process of making, to watch them as they’re in the creative groove. Often, I don’t actually care about the final product as much as I enjoy detail on their process, especially as each artist’s approach is so proprietary, so unique. Fairey layers really simple elements that are individually interesting, but in aggregate make complex images that appear deceivingly simple. Watching this video of Fairey in action reminded me of other favorite hooligan artists, like Jackson Pollock:
If you cannot identify the two buildings above you’ve been living under a rock. Both have graced the covers of just about every mainstream magazine and newpaper in the last year, not to mention my own obsession not just with the bird’s nest and watercube pictured above, but also with the CCTV Tower. Architecture in Beijing has been very, very hot with not only a rolodex of high profile architects present, but some incredibly innovative design and use of materials.
Over the last year a favorite blogger, toomanytribbles, has captured stunning images of this new Beijing architecture as it was completed prior to the olympics being hosted in Beijing last summer. You can see more of her work on her Flickr page. The image above was taken by toomanytribbles from the Ling Long Pagoda, and for it she employed the very cool effect called tilt shift. I love it.
The next time I buy a car, this will be how I let the salesman know he’s just made a sale. I mean, how do you really know you want a car without REALLY testing it out. I will put special emphasis on the ten second burnout as I depart the dealership.
This short took 3rd at the 15 Second Film Festival, which I recommend spending some time investigating.
The visualization of ideas is a powerful tool for telling an effective and compelling story. Then there’s this. Architects have long relied on animated renderings and computer models to provide clients with indications of what the built project just might be like. Along the way, great storytellers like those at OMA began building on these animations to communicate more depth and context, to make the paper architecture more real. In my opinion, this video by Tronic Studio of Herzog & de Meuron’s residential tower 56 Leonard Street nails it (check out the site for 56 Leonard, it’s also nicely done).
Sad news this last Friday that author David Foster Wallace had died. He was only 46. Wallace had immense talent, was an expert at darkish comedy, and had an incredible gift for storytelling (see the video below). My experience with his writing was through his many contributions to Harper’s and his novel Infinite Jest, which I read and re-read several times as the 1990’s drew to a close. I was introduced to his work by a friend who, while also an excellent writer, was a gratuitous admirer of Wallace and found great inspiration in his work. Wallace is considered by many to be one of the most influential writers of the last few decades, and a great American satirist who nailed the more inane aspects of modernity.
“This is so American, man: either make something your God and cosmos and then worship it, or else kill it.”
Beautiful photographs of the Olympic flame burning atop the Beijing National Stadium, the “Bird’s Nest,” with the moon appearing to be singed as it passes through the flames. The image above was taken by toomanytribbles, and is one from a series of photos of this nicely timed opportunity. Click to check them out as her photography is excellent. Most of the images I have used here to feature the new architecture of Beijing have been snapped by toomanytribbles, and I have especially enjoyed her periodic pictures of the CCTV Tower during construction.
I came across this video at Coudal earlier this week and loved it. I dig this song, and expected a video like this from Cut Chemist. This is the first music video to be shot with a 360 degree panoramic lens. You’ve got to admit that it’s pretty amazing. To really experience this I suggest clicking through to Vimeo and watching the video in HD.
And begin in an incredibly memorable way. Holy crap. A couple breathtaking images of the fireworks display for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing earlier today. Gorgeous. Below, Beijing National Stadium (The Bird’s Nest) explodes in a crown of thousands of fireworks.
This next image is the Beijing National Stadium again but with the National Aquatics Center in the foreground:
Definitely an impressive display, and all the more because of the dramatic architecture that is the backdrop for the spectacle. Nice work, everyone.
Alexandr Solzhenitsyn died yesterday at the age of 89. A Nobel Prize winner, Solzhenitsyn was an accomplished novelist, historian, and dissident. Even in the face of threats and reprisals he wrote extensively of the abuses of Soviet state power, and the system of gulags employed by the Soviet regime, having spent eight years in a labor camp himself for “anti-Soviet propaganda.” After serving his term he was released but only to internal exile, eventually having his Soviet citizenship revoked and forced into foreign exile. He lived for a time in Germany before making his way to the United States, where he lived until 1994 when he returned home after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Among his most noted books are the novel Cancer Ward and The Gulag Archipelago, a history of the Soviet police state the manuscript for which was discovered by the KGB and caused his exile from the Soviet Union. Solzhenitsyn was tough, and never hesitated nor shrunk from his personally felt responsibility to shine light on the failings of the Soviet system, and its abuse of the people.
“Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.”
Alexandr Solzhenitsyn 1918-2008
Solzhenitsyn outlived the Soviet Union by 17 years.
This animated short is going to be used by BBC Sport to introduce its coverage of the upcoming Olympics being hosted in China. It’s definitely interesting. The short is based on the classic Chinese story Journey to The West recently adapted by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett of the Gorillaz. I especially like the appearance of the Beijing National Stadium, the “Bird’s Nest,” that we’ve discussed here previously.
This is so much more interesting than the typically insipid animated graphics used to intro news programming on mainstream news broadcasts. It’s actually a well told story all its own, and will be used not only for the televised Olympic coverage, but also web, mobile, and radio.
Takashi Murakami is a master of the mashup, smashup, and mixing of ideas. A genius in the finding of inspiration. Murakami’s superflat is the liberation of the intrinsic value from his efforts. It is turning art into commerce in a way that Warhol probably envisioned, but did not have the chance to manifest.
Heavy, heavy day. Great discussion, new connections, incredible research, and too many emails and phone calls. I feel tired in a good way and as a contrast to the rather intense post of yesterday I offer this really rich animation just sent to me by a co-worker and via Vimeo. This is about all I can handle for the moment but am working on a number of posts on topics like the upcoming MX Conference in San Francisco from Adaptive Path, which I am attending, and a new Workplace of The Future piece stemming from conversations with Darren Shavor of Steelcase. Good times.
Being a lover of this movie and a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick, it seemed fitting to honor this incredible classic on its 40th anniversary (and it pains me to say “classic” in reference to a movie only just slightly older than myself). Given your probably very busy life, the above video has condensed this sci-fi marathon into five intense seconds. Enjoy.
Wise words from Stanley Kubrick:
“If you can talk brilliantly about a problem, it can create the consoling illusion that it has been mastered.”
Last evening, December 31, 2007 on New Year’s Eve, Ettore Sottsass passed away at his home in Milan. He was 90 years old. Remembered as one of the founders and the father of the postmodern Memphis design movement (of which I am definitely not a fan, but can respect from a distance), he was also the designer of many, many products that endure to this day. An architect by training, when Sottsass was able to break from Memphis he returned to his collaborative architecture practice in Milan where he practiced up to his death, enjoying a renaissance of his work in recent years with retrospectives in New York, Los Angeles and London.
A memorable Sottsass quote:
“Every color has a history. Red is the color of the Communist flag, the color that makes a surgeon move faster and the color of passion.”
That headline is a famous Miles Davis quote. I watched an absolutely kick ass documentary about Miles Davis this evening. I have always loved his music, but really did not know that much detail about his life beyond what is part of the legend. The documentary is “The Miles Davis Story” from 2001 and it is full of live performances, recording sessions, and interviews with Miles. Without a doubt, the man was on a mission:
“Don’t play what’s there. Play what’s not there.”
Miles Davis (1926-1991)
I love the design of those old album covers from the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Norman Mailer has left us. His work influenced a generation of writers and readers, and his legacy will last a long, long time. He was nothing if not controversial, and also immensely memorable. A literary man with the numbers to back it up… 40+ novels, 6 wives, 9 children, 2 attempts at becoming mayor of New York… his life seemingly a quest for better subject matter.
One of my favorite Mailer quotes:
“Revolutions are the periods of history when individuals count most.”
There is an excellent article about Julius Shulman in the latest issue of Metropolis. I was familiar with his work, but really knew very little about the man. The article is a terrific primer on Shulman who, at nearly 97 years old, has just had published a three-volume set of over 400 images of architectural projects shot over his 70 year career. The set, from Taschen, is entitled “Modernism Rediscovered.” Shulman began shooting modern architecture in 1936 when he photographed a Richard Neutra house. Over the next few decades his client list would read like a who’s who of modern architecture and design. He photographed the work of my favorites, like Neutra, Pierre Koenig, and Rudolf Schindler.
I plan to own these books. Soon. Here’s a choice quote from the article:
“We’ve always had green – those of us that are concerned with the environment. So why should we suddenly discover that green is good?”
A colleague of mine has launched his blog at knowlesystem. His focus is honed and specific to the forces changing and shaping the world of architecture and design. Cool stuff. We have had an infinite number of incredible discussions and brainstorms on this topic, and this was suggested as a way to begin capturing this content, and involve others in the conversation. I highly suggest subscribing as there will be a proliferation of compelling content coming forthwith.
Congrats on the site, Stephen.
Another colleague introduced acmesiren a couple weeks ago, and I wanted to offer a more formal welcome and congrats to Nick as well. His blog is focused on finding and revealing what is new, cool and interesting in the world of experimental music. Also, very cool stuff. And a terrific resource.
Both blogs are featured in the schneiderism blogroll in the right column, which is naturally an incredibly high honor.
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