John Maeda’s Exhibition
John Maeda is a world-renewed graphic designer, visual artist, and computer scientist at the MIT Media Lab, and is a founding voice for simplicity in the digital age. Named by Esquire magazine as one of the 21 most important people for the twenty-first century, Maeda first made his mark by redefining the use of electronic media as a tool for expression for people of all ages and skills.
John founded the ACG, an experimental research studio, in 1996. In the short time since its existence, individual experimental work in the ACG has received umerous awards and acclaim for a uniqueness in both concept and craft. A major component of the ACG’s efforts involves outreach to the design and art community in the form of workshop and events that introduce the underlying concepts of computing technology, as exemplified in the ongoing design by number’s project. Find his new exhibition at the Fondation Cartier for the Contemporary Art, France.
The Million Dollar Home Page
It took a 21-year-old a few minutes to come up with an idea which has made him more than one million dollars in four months.With $999,000 banked so far, Alex recalls his thought process at the time. He says:
“I wrote the title to spark the creativity and then wrote down the attributes the idea needed. It had to be simple to set up and understand. It was selling pixels, the dots which make up a computer screen, as advertising space, costing a dollar per dot. The minimum purchase was $100 for a 10×10 pixel square to hold the buyer’s logo or design. Clicking on that space takes readers to the buyer’s website.”
Alex spent £50 on buying the domain name (milliondollarhomepage.com) and a basic web-hosting package. He designed the site himself but it began as a blank page. His last 1,000 pixels will be sold on Wednesday on eBay, in a clever and lucrative twist to the story.
Susumu Mukai and Will Sweeney
British graphic artist Will Sweeney teamed up with Japanese designer/electro star Susumu Mukai to reveal their hyper-contemporary and ultra-imaginative universe which has resulted in cult-like toy designs, album covers, books, street wear collaborations and more.
The artist are featured in Gas Book 20. They both studied illustration and graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1998. Not only do they inspire each others artwork but they are also involved in Susumu’s music project, Zongamin, and perform together at live shows.
Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson is born in 1967 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He’s an Icelandic artist who was really inspired by the light of this northern country. Eliasson is now presenting his new exhibition at the Hara Museum in Tokyo. In this exhibition, the artist throws out various questions concerning colors: where could be the border between red and yellow? How would we perceive things in a world devoid of colors? The viewer’s interpretation is influenced by their culture and history.
BANFFscape
What you see is not aerial photography but a wonderful landscape made of wool designed by Marianne Desmarais & Liz Sargent. You can find more pics of their project at BANFFscape, along with a philosophical explanation of the concept.
(via MoCo Loco)
Mariko Mori
Mariko Mori is a Japanese video and photographic artist . She worked briefly as a fashion model in the late 1980s.The artist graduated from the Bunka Fashion College “Tokyo” in 1988. Later that year, feeling restrained by the Japanese ethic of uniformity, she moved to London attending the Byam Shaw School of Art (1988-89), and Chelsea College of Art, London (1989-92). Since embarking on an Independent Study Program at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1992-93), Mariko continues to work and live there.
Now, Mori has a new installation in New York. Called “Wave UFO”, the work transcends the pop iconography of her earlier efforts and offers an immersive experience that brings together architecture, real-time computer graphics, brainwave technology, sound, and state-of-the-art engineering to create a profound interactive experience. Anyone interested in experience design, and the relationship between art, technology and the future should see it.
Cologne Poster By eBoy
I’ve always been a huge fan of the pixel artists at eBoy. The team has created a beautiful poster for the city of Cologne, which you can buy online. Check out the amazing posters they also did for the cities of London ,Venice and Berlin. Long live the pixels!
Benjamin Edwards
The initial concept and general visualization for an image always begin for Benjamin Edwards out of everyday experiences as a consumer, from the subconscious repetition of elements of the mass-cultural landscape which unavoidably, and relentlessly, fall into his perception like droplets into an ocean. Mixed with aesthetic antennae willfully combing through this junkstream, and a tempered absorption of history and the patterns of past utopias, his hope is that a synthesis greater than the sum emerges, a nostalgically transcendental phenomenon. This new manifestation of previously unrelated and disorganized facts is an attempt to express something about the places we inhabit, the ones we have lost, the places we hoped to make, and the ones we hope to never see.
Karim Rashid
Karim Rashid is a leading figure in the fields of product and interior design, fashion, furniture, lighting and art. He received a Bachelor of Industrial Design degree from Carleton university in 1982 and completed his postgraduate studies in Italy Born in Cairo, half Egyptian, half English, and raised in Canada, Karim now practices in New York. His work is in the permanent collections of 14 Museums worldwide including MoMA and SFMoMA and he exhibits art in various galleries. Karim was an associate Professor of Industrial Design for 10 years and is now a frequent guest lecturer at universities and conferences globally. His approach to design can be described as functional and holistic.
Benjamin Pagart
Benjamin Pagart finished his cabinetmaker studies in Neufchateau, France. He was doing traditional furniture, but 3 years later he decided to go to Paris were he continued his studies and finished as one of the six laureates for the examination of Art Academy of Paris. At 30 (he already has six children), he’s working on special orders from contemporary designers. Here you can see his style, between Art Deco and Art Nouveau. He uses many kinds of wood patches and wrought iron. He never produces more than 8 exemplaries of a furniture.
DNA 11
Takes a sample of DNA and turns it into something suitable for framing. The image of your DNA is printed on canvas using the giclee method. The process begins with putting your saliva into a tube. It is then sent to a lab for extraction to create a genetic fingerprint that is stained with a fluorescent dye and illuminated by UV light. A special camera captures the image which is then digitally enhanced, cropped, color adjusted, adding colors and filter effects. The pieces can be ordered in three sizes and a variety of hues.
Mona Lisa’s Enigmatic Smile
Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile has intrigued viewers for centuries and now researchers claim they have unlocked the secret behind it.
A computer analysis of the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece has found that she is 83 per cent happy, 9 per cent disgusted, 6 per cent fearful and 2 per cent angry.
Helena Chistensen’s Exhibition
Born in 1968, Helena grew up in Denmark. Aged 18, she left for Paris to pursue a modelling career, and she soon became one of the top models of the 1990s. In 1997 her career as a professional photographer really took off when she became the creative director of NYC fashion magazine Nylon. Since then Helena has worked for many titles such as Italian and French Vogue.
Now, she will presenting her photographies in Paris. But this time, she will be on the other side of the camera. She will exhibit about sixty photos which, according to her, express all the contradiction of life.
The Delays Video By Simon Henwood
In 1986, when Simon Henwood finished his studies of mixed art, painting, animation and illustration at Exter College in London, he didn’t waste time and made many exhibitions around the world: California, Japon, New York… He expresses himself in various mediums such as painting, film animation and magazines illustration. His latest work is the new video for The Delays, which will be released in February 2006. The video is a psychedelic trip through dozens worlds which features a colourful cast of characters which evolve in a giant mechanical labyrinth.
Verner Panton
We wanted to talk about Verner Panton because with his antique furniture, he’s still more than contemporary. He’s the pioneer of the seventies design generation as he was one of the first designer who worked with plastics and mixed all the colors together. He was the theorist of the great psychedelic colors. We invite you to visit his website and have a look at the environment page. You’ll see, his influence can still be felt everywhere around us.
SURF – A Visual Exploration Of Surfing
Graphic designer and passionate surfer Steffen Mackert made a wonderful surfing book.
SURF – a visual exploration of surfing presents this sport’s basics through absorbing graphic design and insightful texts and is structured to give both insiders and newcomers step-by-step access to the sport, culture and aesthetics of surfing. The book begins with an introduction to the roots of surfing. Up to date explanations of surfer style, equipment and meteorological wisdom follow. The next chapters take place on the beach, where warm-up exercises and safety are addressed. Finally, readers are allowed in the water, where theory is put into practice through competent tips and tricks. It concludes with a short look at professional surfing. It’s one of the most amazing work I’ve seen this year and I highly recommend it to all surfers and people who just love graphic design alike.
The Polaroid Book
Now that digital cameras are everywhere, it’s nice to remember that there’s a medium that defies the digital age and remains a favorite among artists for its quirky look and instantly gratifying, one-of-kind images. The Polaroid Book is the greatest collection of Polaroid images in the world. Begun by Polaroid founder Edwin Land and photographer Ansel Adams, the collection now includes images by hundreds of photographers throughout the world and contains important pieces by artists such as David Hockney, Helmut Newton, Jeanloup Sieff, and Robert Rauschenberg.
Modular 3D Wallpaper By MioCulture
MioCulture‘s modular, three-dimensional wallpaper is a new langage of adaptative architecture. It empowers by providing a means to redefine and imbue surfaces with identity and meaning using waste ressources as the medium. Available in packs of twelve, it’s easy to cover any surface, big or small.
