RSS Daily Art

hmmmmaybe a hook would help

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

remember

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Fly crash lands on motorway

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Click for biggy.

Had to

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Am has Jetpack

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

: D

The horse is strong in this one

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

The Light Bulb Effect

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Long long ago when there were no light bulbs, people used to live with candles and their poor light. Times changes and now we are happy, since the only one twist of a switch allows you to see through the dark.

But sometimes we still want to have something like a romantic evening with candles. And how about a combination of a light bulb and a candle?

Here it comes – the light bulb effect!

Field of Light by Bruce Munro

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Have your ever seen a filed of light? Then you are highly welcome to enjoy one by Bruce Munro.

The installation took place in London and it consists of 6,000 acrylic tubes capped with glass spheres.

Munro’s field looks like a scene from the Avatar movie – completely unreal and spectacular!

Vitra?s Herzog de Meuron Campus Showroom

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

The following nice and eye-catching house is a showroom and its main aim is to present furnishings and other objects for the home. Love the way it looks – inspiring and unusual.

The combination of simplicity and uniqueness is really surprising. The showroom is both abstract and very warm.

Have a look at this fantastic house – it looks incredible.

How to Choose a Comfortable Bed

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

A good night’s sleep has nothing in common with usual whims, it is extremely essential for good health and spirits. A good sleep gives us energy, helps cope with problems and allows body to recover from every day stresses. As to me, there is the best way to ensure the right and successful night sleep – choose comfortable beds. Hope these tips will be helpful:

start with a good mattress, since a good beginning is half the battle;
choose the right sheet set – the one that is touch and eye-pleasing. Make sure the set is soft to your skin and always use a fabric softener to prolong its life;
be sure you’ve bought the right blanket, that is soft and cuddly and be very attentive – wool blankets can be very scratchy;
make sure the pillows you choose are the kind that fits you and notice which pillows you like soft or firm ones;
please, check the fact the pillow you choose is comfortable to lie against.

While choosing the right bed you will understand how huge their assortment is. There are sofa beds and divan beds, king-size beds and canopy beds, platform beds and etc. Most of them are available in any design, style or color you want. So before looking for a bed make sure you know what kind of bed you want and how it will go with the decor of the room it is going in.

Good luck and keep in mind that a comfortable bed is a necessity!

3 Things a Perfect House Should Have

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

I am ready to bet, we all want to live in perfect houses and we try our best to make this dream come true. Unfortunately, very often we neither keep in mind what this notion means nor know what kind of things a perfect house should have. So let’s make everything clear:

A perfect house is a place where you not only NEED to spend a lot of time, but where you LIKE to spend your time.You should feel comfortable, safe and peaceful there. Here is a list of 3 things all perfect houses should have:

bedside tables

A bedside table is a nightstand near your bed where you place not only anything you’ll likely need during the night but some photos of your beloved people and so on. Nowadays, most modern bedside tables are usually small tables with a drawer or a couple of them. Such a table makes your room cozier and more personal. Also, it ensures comfort.

rocking chairs

Tell me, please, do you remember you grandparents? And what kind of memory do you have? For example, I remember my grandmother and her stories about her favorite rocking chair. That is why I love rocking chairs so much, they are comfortable and cozy, they make any place warmer and better. Highly recommend!

tv stands

Modern life is impossible without TV-sets and internet. Progress is a great thing but it can be damaging to old traditions. If you want your house to be cozy and animate, then how about beautiful and stylish tv-stands, instead of tv-hangers?

Hope, this information will be useful!

Hannah Stouffer?s El Arbol de Amor

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Hannah Stouffer is famous for her unusual understanding of this world and her incredible pictures. One of the her freshest works is named a Bone Tree.

The following tree can be easily placed on your wall …And it will make your room look elaborated and exquisite …

From the first sight this tree looks completely usual and very stylish and only after a closer inspection it becomes evident that the tree is made out of … bones. A spine-chilling picture!

I like the contrast between the light surface of the wall and darkness of the idea. Los Angeles based illustrator Hannah Stouffer definitely knows hot to attract attention. Her contrasts are mind-blowing .

To find more about the works please visit this site.

Thinking Abstract at Gallery4AllArts

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Eimear Kavanagh, 'Holo', indian inks on paper

Fanchon Frohlich, etching

“Thinking Abstract”
6 February – 31 March 2010
at Gallery4allarts, Lark Lane

“Thinking Abstract”- a group show from artists working in a variety of abstract mediums such as: painting, etching, collage, mixed media, drawing and photography.

Exhibiting artists:
Andra, Richard Ashworth, Nicole Bartos, Fanchon Frohlich, Andor Komives, Jo Bywater, Eimear Kavanah, Adel Kiss, Mick Gill, Sue Ironfield, Emil Moritz, Nagachoo, Colin Serjent, Christine O’Reilly Wilson, Stanislaw Krakiewicz and others. Artists are generally based in the Merseyside area with the exception of the international guests: Nagachoo (Japan), Andra, Emil Moritz, Andor Komives (Romania), Adel Kiss (Hungary).

A fine selection of abstract works by a large group of artists curated by Nicole Bartos is on show in this gallery in the old police station on Lark Lane.

http://www.gallery4allarts.com/

Untitled - Mick Gill

Views from the Grassy Knoll ? More Details

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

A phantasmagoria of conspiracy theories, propaganda, science, art and politics. Truth and fantasy divide and collide in this day of talks, screenings and performances curated by international artist and researcher, Dr Bill Aitchison who headlines with his groundbreaking lecture, 2012 which reveals links between Mayan astronomy, the war on terror, dog cloning, the novels of Saddam Hussein and the end of the world.

Schedule:

2.00-3.00pm

Thomas Shephard, an artist based in Liverpool, conducts a walking tour around the perimeter of Liverpool One, exploring the private take-over of public space, boundaries and what they separate.

2.15-3.00pm

Gavin Schofield founder of the Greater Manchester Sceptics Society outlines how scepticism might be the best way we have of deciphering the world in which we live

3.00-4.00pm

Jane Parish, an anthropologist currently working at Keele University will explore the rise of the occult economy and conspiracy theorising specific to African communities in Liverpool.

4.00-5.00pm

Peter Goddard, co-author of Pockets of Resistance: British News Media, War and Theory in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq discusses Compassion, guilt and the Iraq war in the British press.

5.00-6.00pm:

Bluecoat regulars Philosophy in Pubs lead a discussion on conspiracy theories

6.00-7.00pm

Adrian Quinn discusses the place of conspiracy theories in contemporary society, drawing on examples found in the 2001 book The Age of Anxiety: Conspiracy Theory & the Human Sciences, to which Adrian was a contributor.

Break

8.00-9.30pm

Dr Bill Aitchison headlines with his groundbreaking lecture, 2012 which reveals links between Mayan astronomy, the war on terror, dog cloning, the novels of Saddam Hussein and the end of the world.

www.thebluecoat.org.uk

Help Haiti � have your photo taken! ? Fab Collective

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Help Haiti – have your photo taken! – Fab Collective.

On Saturday 27 February, 11am-4pm, local photographers from the Fab Collective will be at Liverpool ONE taking street portraits to raise money for Haiti.

For a donation of £1 or more you can have your photo taken, which will go into the Help for Haiti gallery on the Fab Collective website. All money raised will go to ShelterBox, the disaster relief charity currently working to alleviate the suffering of those in Haiti who were made homeless by the recent earthquake.

Check out the Help for Haiti gallery of portraits from Sunday here on the Fab Collective website.

The Bluecoat Opens New Silkscreen Studio ? 1 Mar 2010

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

THE BLUECOAT OPENS NEW SILKSCREEN STUDIO

Liverpool’s creative hub, the Bluecoat, opens a new silkscreen studio from Monday 1 March.

With a 40 year history of printmaking on-site, the Bluecoat has a wealth of experience in the art of print – adding to its rich heritage as a creative hub which engages people in the process of creating art.

In addition to producing prints and posters, the new silkscreen beds can be used to customise t-shirts, bags and cushion covers and will be used to decorate the aprons worn by staff in the Upstairs bistro at the Bluecoat.

Comprising two rooms, three silkscreen beds and an exposure cabinet, the studio can be hired by up to three users at a time.

Led by Print Studio Manager, Emma Gregory, the existing intaglio print studio has held a successful programme of workshops and courses for all abilities, from seasoned professionals to experimental amateurs, spawning the group of locally based printmakers, ‘Liverpool Illustrators.’

Bryan Biggs, Artistic Director at the Bluecoat said: “Printmaking has been a regular activity at the Bluecoat since 1968. Hundreds of people have learnt skills, mainly in etching, many of them as beginners, and the quality of prints produced has been outstanding. We are very excited to have a new screen printing facility, which will broaden our printmaking offer and enable even more people – professional artists as well as aspiring artists – to try their hand at one of the most satisfying art processes.”

The equipment for the studio is on loan from Liverpool John Moores University and has been funded with a grant from PH Holt Foundation.

For information on hiring the studios please contact Tickets and Information at the Bluecoat on 0151 702 5324 / info@thebluecoat.org.uk

Liverpool Cathedral hosts V A sculpture

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Glass font sculpture by Colin Reid

Liverpool Cathedral hosts V & A sculpture
11^th February – 31^st May 2010

An optical glass font from the V&A, which incorporates the early Christian symbol of a fish, is now on display in the Lady Chapel of Liverpool Cathedral.

The work is by the contemporary sculptor Colin Reid, and is on loan to the Cathedral from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It is at the Cathedral as part of the prize awarded to the Cathedral by ACE (Art and Christianity Enquiry) for the Tracey Emin neon, For You, above the Great West Doors, and was commissioned by ACE in 2004. It is supported on a wooden plinth designed by Jim Partridge.

The design of the font recalls the Greek word for fish, icthys, whose letters represent the words for ‘Jesus Christ God’s Son Saviour.’ The early Christians used the fish image to communicate their baptismal creed. It appears in the 1^st century catacombs in Rome and still has a special significance for many Christians today.

Colin Reid wrote in 2004: “If I were to identify a single thread that runs through my work it would be the influence of nature. My current interest is in natural materials that have been worked by craftsmen’s hands in the past and are eroding and reverting to nature. The medieval stone carving high on Gloucester Cathedral is being restored and the stone-masons have erected scaffolding giving access to normally inaccessible stonework. This I have cast and used as the starting point for new works.”

The sculpture will join the Icons in Transformation exhibition, which features around 180 pieces of art and runs until March 18^th.

Canon Anthony Hawley said, “Liverpool Cathedral is delighted to show this work, on its first visit to the North West, as part of the Cathedral’s mission to use the building to inform visitors and to encourage them to understand and learn about the challenge of the Christian faith.”

for those in new york

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

For those in New York: I'm going to be interviewing Bob Stein on Thursday as part of The Public School New York. This is part of The Public School's series on The Page + The Screen, which looks interesting all around. It's at 7:30 pm at 177 Livingston, a brand new space in downtown Brooklyn being operated by Triple Canopy, Light Industry, and The Public School New York. This should be a wide-ranging conversation about publishing & discourse past, present, and future. It's free.

Also: the Institute is putting together a series of occasional get-togethers for independent publishers in New York who are working or interested in working in online spaces and who are interested in talking to others doing the same. Email me (dan at futureofthebook dot org) for more details if you're interested.

And finally, if you are in New York, it's well worth setting aside some time to catch the Tino Sehgal show now up at the Guggenheim. We should have mentioned this earlier, but a handful of Institute-affiliated people are involved in this.

Artwork of the Week ? Hollywood Homeless

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Liverpool artwork of the week 2010-9. Untitled by Anon. Photograph in ‘Hollywood Homeless’ at St Luke’s Church until 7 March 2010.

One of my favourites from this splendid exhibition on the external railings and inside the ‘Bombed out’ church.

Hollywood Homeless
5 – 7 March 2010
Private View: Friday 5 March 2010 from 16.00 onwards, Performance at 17.00.
Hollywood is about image and perception, the roles that we play in life …. just like in a movie! Urban Strawberry Lunch, working out of the ruins of St Luke’s Church have been working in collaboration with photography group FAB Collective and over 60 homeless people to produce original music and photographs forming the basis of this multimedia performance and exhibition. Exhibition and performances 6 & 7 March.

Finding a voice through artistic expression can alter self image, inspiring self confidence and personal success. Becoming a producer rather than a consumer can provoke profound insights for anyone who dares to create. We hope you will come along and see what has been produced through the Hollywood Homeless project.

Private View: Friday 5 March 2010 from 4.00 pm. Performance at 5.00 pm
Exhibition and Performance (without projections): Saturday 6 March 12.00 to 4.00 pm
Exhibition and Multimedia Performance: Sunday 7 March 12.00 to 6.00 pm (multi media performance at 5.30 pm)

HOLLYWOOD HOMELESS has been made possible with the support of the EMPLOYABLE COMMUNITIES FUND – an ESF funded scheme managed by: Community Foundation for Merseyside, Merseyside Expanding Horizons and Merseyside Disability Federation.

USL are supported by Arts Council England.

Venue:
St Luke’s (Bombed Out) Church
Leece Street, Liverpool, L1 2RT

Make Do and Knit Liverpool March 2010

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

MAKE, DO AND KNIT

knitting and making fair
Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th March, 2010
The Bluecoat School, Wavertree, Liverpool

March 2010 sees the launch of an exciting event in the knitting and craft calendar Make, Do and Knit, which is to be held in the beautiful surroundings of the historic Grade II listed Bluecoat School in the charming and lively suburb of Wavertree in Liverpool.

This exciting two day, knitting and making fair will have a vintage feel, echoing drapers of yesteryear where one could buy everything one needed from under one roof. Within the school’s main hall, featuring magnificent arched windows, carefully selected retailers offering a wide selection of high quality knitting, spinning, dressmaking and haberdashery supplies.

Fashion shows will run throughout the two days in the historic, circular stone chapel with its glass domed ceiling. The chapel also offers visitors the chance to ‘knit in the round’ and relax in this awe inspiring setting, and have the opportunity to view the Poetry Society’s knitted poem.

Additional attractions will include book signings and textile art exhibitions. The café will also have a vintage feel offering high quality, home cooked food at affordable prices.

Advance Day and Weekend tickets now available to purchase.

http://www.makedoandknit.com

Tate Liverpool to unveil new commissions by Rineke Dijkstra in April 2010

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Video Still. The Weeping Woman, Tate Liverpool, 2009 © Rineke Dijkstra Courtesy the artist and Galerie Max Hetzler

Rineke Dijkstra: I See a Woman Crying
26 April – 30 August 2010
Tate Liverpool, Wolfson Gallery
Admission Free

In April 2010 Tate Liverpool is proud to unveil new commissions by acclaimed Dutch artist Rineke Dijkstra. Rineke Dijkstra: I See a Woman Crying features two Liverpool-based video works never seen before in the UK.

The works were borne out of the artist’s residence at Tate Liverpool during the European Capital of Culture 2008 exhibition The Fifth Floor: Ideas Taking Space; a groundbreaking project inspired by ideas and proposals from people across the city. Through collaborating directly with Tate Liverpool’s audiences, Dijkstra’s residence saw her working with groups of school children from across the region, after being inspired by the ways that Tate Liverpool staff encourage children to interact with art. During The Fifth Floor a studio was built in the gallery and the artist documented school children interpreting Picasso’s iconic painting Weeping Woman (1937), currently on display as part of the free exhibition DLA Piper Series: This is Sculpture.

Dijkstra has had a long and fruitful relationship with Liverpool, using its residents as sitters for her photography and video works for over 15 years. She explains that she is drawn to the culture of storytelling and the unwavering friendliness of the people of the city. Her first video work, Buzzclub, Liverpool (1996), features teenagers dancing to a soundtrack of 90’s acid house and rave in a studio erected in a Liverpool nightclub, in an intimate and revealing snapshot of urban youth identity. Focusing on adolescents, young adults and people in a transitional stage of life, Dijkstra’s portraits aim to capture ‘uninhibited moments’. By using pared down, reduced backgrounds she produces striking and beautifully rendered works which slowly unravel personalities, heighten emotional responses and emphasise the psychology of her subjects.

The newly commissioned video portrait The Weeping Woman, Tate Liverpool signals a new direction for Dijkstra, as she introduces dialogue and text into her work for the first time. Ruth Drawing Picasso, Tate Liverpool, the second work in the exhibition, is a subtle study of a quiet, observational response to Picasso’s painting.

Rineke Dijkstra was trained at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam. Her first solo exhibition took place in 1984 at de Moor in Amsterdam. Dijsktra’s work has appeared in numerous international exhibitions, including the 1997 and 2001 Venice Biennale and the 2003 International Center for Photography’s Triennial of Photography and Video in New York. She is the recipient of a number of awards, including the Werner Mantz Award (1994) and the Citibank Private Bank Photography Prize (1998).

The artist’s new videos and Liverpool-based portraits will be featured in Liverpool, an exhibition at Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin, from 20 February – 27 March 2010. In 2012 a retrospective exhibition of Dijkstra is scheduled at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).

Liverpool Design Festival 2010 ? The Design Show Call For Entries

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Liverpool Design Festival 2010 – The Design Show: Call For Entries Announcement

The Liverpool Design Festival was launched in November 2009 as a new annual design and contemporary craft festival in Liverpool. The 2010 Festival, building on the success of the previous year’s events, celebrates and promotes quality design, encouraging an appreciation of craft and design by the widest possible audience, providing opportunities for participation, particularly by young people, in design and artistic appreciation whilst also supporting new and emerging practitioners.

The Liverpool Design Festival will run from the 19th November to 28th November 2010.

The Design Show will be the signature event of the Festival and aims to showcase the best in contemporary design from the North West and the rest of the UK. It will present a selection of exciting and inspiring interior products, glass, ceramics, furniture, lighting, jewellery, textiles and fashion and will run from 19th to 21st November 2010.

The Design Show will take place at the Grade 1 listed St. George’s Hall in the city centre of Liverpool. The Call For Entries application pack will be available in March and you’ll be able to download that from our website www.liverpooldesignfestival.com soon. If you want a pack emailing to you please email Frank Collins frank@designinit.org.uk with your contact details and the pack will be emailed or posted to you as soon as it is ready.

The deadlines for applications and price points:
Apply before May 31st and if you’re selected you’ll qualify for the Early Bird Offer of a standard shell scheme of 3m x 1m at £250 plus £50 per additional square metre required.

We welcome applications from group exhibitors and stand sharers conditional on all exhibitors on the stand being successfully selected by the panel.

More info…

Artroom Exhibition Ends Sunday with a Sale

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Artroom Gallery, Parkgate. ‘Tangible Worlds’ ends on Sunday 28 Feb 2010 with a 10% sale off selected works.

In Brief Chip Kidd Milton Glaser and Other Supermen

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Out next month from Pantheon, Rough Justice collects the DC Comics sketches of Alex Ross in a volume edited and designed by Chip Kidd. At right, the 1938 comic book that sold for $1 million on Monday.

We would pay good money to hear Chip Kidd interview infants and household appliances, so imagine our delight upon learning that he has been matched with the one, the only Milton Glaser for a sit-down at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, which is featuring the work of both designers in its "Design USA" exhibition. Next Tuesday evening, Kidd and Glaser will discuss "work, ideas, and loving New York." ~~Register here.~~

UPDATE: The Kidd and Glaser event is now sold out, but not to worry. The Cooper-Hewitt's crack staff will be recording the event and streaming it live on the museum's website. Tune in on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Just in time to lend extra buzz to the soon-to-be-released Rough Justice: The DC Comics Sketches of Alex Ross (Pantheon), edited and designed by Kidd, comes news of the $1 million comic book. A rare first edition of Action Comics #1, in which Superman debuted in 1938, fetched a million dollars in an auction on online comics marketplace ComicConnect. "It's the Holy Grail of comic books," said Stephen Fishler, founder of ComicConnect. "Before Action Comics #1, there was no such thing as a superhero or a man who could fly." And the record-shattering price makes the buy-it-now price of $5,500 for Donald Duck #26 look like a bargain.

Meanwhile, DC Comics has a new creative dream team in Jim Lee and Dan DiDio, who have been named co-publishers. Comics writer Geoff Johns has been appointed chief creative officer.

And speaking of comics, artist Raymond Pettibon has won the Oskar Kokoschka Prize, which is awarded every two years to a contemporary artist. Past winners include William Kentridge, Agnes Martin, and John Baldessari. Pettibon will be presented with the €20,000 (approximately $27,000) award on Monday at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Benjamin Moore Announces HUE Award Winners

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Paint company Benjamin Moore has announced the winners of its fourth annual HUE Awards, which recognize the exceptional use of color in architecture and interior design with glass sculptures shaped like giant paint droplets and cash prizes. The 2010 HUE winners are Ghislaine Viñas Interior Design of New York (residential interiors), Envision Design of Washington, D.C. (contract interiors), color consultant Amy Wax of Montclair, New Jersey (residential exteriors), and Allen + Philp Architects/Interiors of Scottsdale, Arizona (contract exteriors). This year's HUE lifetime achievement award goes to Diamond Baratta Design. The firm's principals, William Diamond and Anthony Baratta, join past lifetime achievement honorees Steven Holl, Ettore Sottsass, and Ricardo Legoretta. Additonally, a HUE special achievement award will be presented to Cleveland-based Eikona Studios "for its unique dedication to the restoration and preservation of mural art and masterpieces that grace the walls and domes of American churches, cathedrals, and houses of worship." The awards will be presented on May 5 in a ceremony at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, after which the winners will paint the town umbria red, ryan red, milano red, ladybug red, spanish red, poppy, and crimson.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

I Photoshop Therefore I Am

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Enhance your resume and your vacation photos with the mediabistro.com mothership's two-day crash course in Adobe Photoshop, back by popular demand. In one screen-intensive weekend (March 6 and 7), you can get up and running on the program of programs—the subject of many an ethical debate—under the guidance of professional photo retoucher Mara Sachs, who has a blackbelt in Photoshop (or at least is an Adobe Certified Expert in the program). Learn more here.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Inuit Not Amused by Vancouver Olympic Symbol

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Now that the parade of ethnic stereotypes that was the "original dance" portion of the Olympic ice dancing competition has swizzled to a close, we can focus on the real issue: the inukshuk. You know, the traditional Inuit rock piles turned grinning emblem of the Vancouver Games? Or is that the love child of Grimace and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man? "In Vancouver, the official inukshuk logo can be found on everything from key chains and T-shirts to rain gear for dogs," writes the awesomely named Phred Dvorak in the Wall Street Journal. "Similar rock piles have inspired unofficial products—from $6 bottle openers to the Inukie Cookie designed by the creator of the Vancouver 2010 logo, which lets you build your own inukshuk out of maple-flavored shortbread." Nothing ignites controversy faster than edible riffs on cultural heritage. The Inuit use inukshuit (the plural of inukshuk, which means "something that substitutes for a person") as monuments, so they're less than thrilled to see them popping up on playing cards and doggie slickers.

Some Inuit elders, meanwhile, protested that the humanoid design isn't authentic. Others fret the original meaning is being lost. "Inuit are concerned that inukshuk are being used everywhere without having much meaning or respect to Inuit," says [Luke Suluk, president of the Inuit Heritage Trust].

All that hasn't damped the appeal, in part because an inukshuk is pretty easy to make. Touchstone Site Contractors Inc., an Ontario provider of commercial landscaping and security fencing, had never made a stone sculpture before it landed the contract for the Niagara Falls inukshuk. Office manager Brandon Bradley whipped the design up himself on AutoCAD. "As long as you keep it somewhat proportional—that's it," he says.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The Incredible Shrinking Tonight Show Logo

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

We've leave it to television historians, legal scholars, and TVNewser to sort out the epic bumbling that ousted Conan O'Brien from his rightful role as host of The Tonight Show, but we wanted to call your attention to the sleepy new logo that will greet the return of Jay Leno to NBC's 11:30 p.m. slot, post-Olympics. A miniscule preview of the show's new identity was recently posted on Leno's show page. Gone is the retro swagger of Tonight Shows past, replaced with wispy cornflower blue serifs on black that suggest a bedtime story or novel insomnia remedy. And if that isn't enough to encourage you to tune in, how about Leno's opening line-up of guests, which will include former governor Sarah Palin, the cast of Jersey Shore, and Simon Cowell. Must-see TV, indeed.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

FW Names New EditorinChief of Print

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Aaron Kenedi has been appointed editor-in-chief of Print, the 70-year-old graphic design magazine that owner F+W Media is now focusing on as "a brand serving the global community of visual artists," according to a statement issued last week by Gary Lynch, publisher and editorial director for F+W's media design group. "The editor-in-chief of Print will be responsible for developing the brand across many different channels—magazines, books, events, and digital," noted Lynch. "Aaron's background, skill set, and expertise are ideally suited to meet this challenge, extend the Print brand, and accelerate the growth of this profitable business." Kenedi previously served as editor-in-chief of Shift, an online magazine about the environment that published articles and blogs for several months in late 2006. He has also held the role of editorial director at Big Fish, a San Francisco-based book packaging company, and worked at Danilo Black. Kenedi replaces Emily Gordon, whose January departure was greeted with shock by many in the design community.

Previously on UnBeige:

F+W Media Ousts Print Editor-in-Chief Emily Gordon

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Want to Design Video Games? Go to USC

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Go west, young video game designer. That's the message of The Princeton Review's newly released rankings of the "Top 50 Game Design Schools." The test-prep company evaluated game design programs across the country based on academics, faculty, infrastructure, and career opportunities. Topping the list is the University of Southern California, which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in interactive entertainment through its eight-year-old Interactive Media Division, part of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Other top schools include the DigiPen Institute of Technology (just down the road from Microsoft in Redmond, Washington), Philadelphia's Drexel University, and Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts. The full list will be published in the April issue of GamePro.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Art Dealer Ernst Beyeler Dies at 88

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Art dealer turned collector Ernst Beyeler died late Thursday at his home near Basel, Switzerland. He was 88. His career in the art world began as a part-time job during college at an antiquarian book and print shop in Basel. By the early 1950s, he had taken over the place and was exhibiting Japanese woodcuts and modernism. But it was really a string of major purchases (100 Klees here, 80 Giacomettis there) from the collection of steel magnate David Thompson that set him on his way. In 1997, Beyeler opened the Fondation Beyeler, a publicly accessible home for the vast modern art collection he had assembled with his wife, Hildy, during their more than five decades as gallery owners. "Our motivation can be described in a few words," said Beyeler at the opening press conference. "Firstly, we have always been deeply moved by great works of art, and their impact on us is such that we are often loathe to part with them; and secondly, we have a need to share these works with others and pass on the profit they bring." Designed by Renzo Piano, the glass-roofed museum on the outskirts of Basel also mounts exhibitions linked to its permanent collection. But Beyeler wasn't one to miss the forest for the trees. Notes the Telegraph:

In his last years, increasingly frail but still energetic, he set up a foundation to channel part of the profits of his museum to protecting tropical forests. "In view of the dramatic changes in the climate," Beyeler wrote on his 80th birthday in 2001, "art should now protect nature."

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Chris Rubino Takes Manhattan

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

One of the 31 back-lit collages that Chris Rubino created for the Distrikt Hotel.

A New York hotel that celebrates New York—that's the concept behind the new Distrikt Hotel, which opened last week in midtown Manhattan. The 155-room hotel was designed by New York-based OTTE Architecture, and the firm tapped artist and designer Chris Rubino to create collages, murals, and typographic work that explore Manhattan from Harlem to the Financial District.

Each of the hotel's 31 floors features an eight-foot-long lightbox by Rubino, who sought to highlight the distinct feeling and features of the city's diverse neighborhoods. "One of the beautiful things about New York is that you can be walking down Eighth Avenue for an hour and feel like you've visited five different cities," he told us. "I know people say New York City has become homogenized, and of course it's cleaned up now, but I still have no problem feeling which part I'm in." A challenge of the long-term project was making sure that the neighborhood-themed works didn't feel isolated from one another. "I tried to find a consistent illustrative collage aesthetic that I could carry throughout the 31 floors while trying to capture a certain feeling in each," said Rubino. "I didn't want Midtown to feel like Chinatown."

After creating a unique collage for every floor of the Distrikt, Rubino decided that the hotel's cafe neeeded to represent all of them. The result: two 22-foot-long murals that offer guests the opportunity to see elements of the works—and neighborhoods—on floors other than their own. "I took sections of each collage and combined them to create these new images mixed with an illustration of an Althea Bloomingdale, which once grew wild on that very piece of land in the days long before 32-story hotels," said Rubino. We couldn't resist asking whether he has a favorite among all of those works. "I really like the Central Park piece (above), that park means so much to me," he said. "Plus, I had the opportunity to work the Guggenheim into that one, my favorite!" Another intriguing reason to take a closer look? "There is also a hidden secret in that one."

A mural by Rubino in the Distrikt's cafe and a typographic treatment on the a hotel wall.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Friday Photo Cardboard Camera

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

(Photo: Roman Buxbaum)

"The mistake is part of it, it is poetry," the eccentric Czech artist Miroslav Tichý has said. "And for that you need a bad camera." By "bad," 83-year-old Tichý doesn't mean that fuschia Le Clic you took to summer camp, he's talking pure DIY: shoebox cardboard, tin cans, toilet paper rolls, elastic bits. And the lenses? Plexiglas rounds polished with toothpaste and ashes. Tichý's remarkable homemade cameras, including the one pictured above, are on view along with approximately 100 of his haunting photos (heavy on the candid snaps of women and spookily distorted landscapes) in an exhibition at New York's International Center of Photography. Curated by ICP's Brian Wallis, it is the first North American museum show for the reclusive Tichý, whose fans include Richard Prince and Nick Cave (both contributed essays to the catalogue). Learn more about his extraordinary life and work in the 2004 documentary made by Roman Buxbaum, the friend and neighbor who brought Tichý's work to light. Miroslav Tichý: Tarzan Retired runs continuously in the gallery throughout the exhibition, which is up through May 9.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Twitter Along with UnBeige

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Wondering about the identity of the typeface currently plastered throughouht Vancouver?* Curious as to the fall 2010 aesthetic of fashion designer Alexander Wang?† Wondering who Francesco Vezzoli described as "the Cindy Sherman of the pop music world"?‡ Answers to these questions and many more can be found on our UnBeige Twitter feed. Are you following us? UnBeige, in Twitter form, is your source for terse and downright laconic breaking newsbites, event snippets, and links of interest. As you may have noticed, the mediabistro.com tech wizards have added to the sidebar at right a handful of our most recent word bursts (limited to 140 characters), but you can sign up to follow all of our twittering, and start twittering yourself here. Hey, if it's good enough for the ghost of Frank Lloyd Wright...

*A custom unicase version of Sebastian Lester's Neo Sans
†Street urchin turned bordello ringmaster with a velvet-flocked palette of black, wine, and ink
‡Lady Gaga

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Philippe Starck Dreams of Argentina Shuns Design Trends

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

El Bistro at the Philippe Starck-designed Faena Hotel+Universe in Buenos Aires. Reader, there are unicorns.

It was many years ago, in a post-ICFF fever dream, that we imagined a young Philippe Starck taking Buenos Aires by storm, embracing the city's heat, noise, and dirt while warning residents of his "star quality." Back then, we chalked it up to a bad mix of colorful cocktails and the Evita soundtrack, but it turns out, we were seeing the future. While Starck hasn't taken to the Casa Rosada balcony (yet), he's flying high and adored in Buenos Aires, where he designed the Faena Hotel+Universe, which opened in 2004. Part of former fashion designer Alan Faena's renaissance vision for the Puerto Madero neighborhood, the hotel began its life as a dockside warehouse. For Starck, the project is "the child of two very very good friends, who dreamed together on the beach, some years ago, about a good place for our friends," he told Tablet Hotels in a recent interview. "And we dreamed about this idea of Universe—the name comes from Alan. Alan loves the name Universe, and that's all. That means it's just a dream. It's just a dream of two persons."

Dreamy, got it! So what does it look like? Think Gramercy Park Hotel through the lens of Ruven Afanador. "It's purely the incarnation, the crystallization, of the spirit of Argentina," said Starck. "That means it's red like passion, there is gold, there is black, it's very passionate, there is life and death, there is poetry everywhere, there is a lot of surrealistic things, it's—you cannot even define a style, because Argentina is made of so many civilizations, so many cultures, so many languages." Meanwhile, Starck reiterated his lack of interest in the design world ("It's so boring") and offered a slightly confusing take on trends. "I don't care about design architecture and trends," he said, after emphasizing his focus on how people will experience places. "If you see what I do it is never in a trend. If there is a trend, we are at the end of minimalism, but it's still minimalism. I don't make minimalism. I make always—my only style is freedom."

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Robert Storr Battles Death Star Museums

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Don't step foot in a museum (or a Wal-Mart for that matter) before reading Robert Storr's excellent piece in the March issue of Frieze. An opening Baudelaire quotation on art, solitude, and crowds sets the stage for Storr's spirited discussion of the state of contemporary museums and museum-going. There's the retail push: as museums are increasingly marketed and marketing, "the degree to which 'educational' sites such as catalogue reading rooms function as antechambers for the bazaars that insistently bracket the spaces of art is ever more obvious." But for Storr, "the trouble in Paradise—where multitude once morphed into solitude—is the inexorable logic of 'crowd management' to which every sign and didactic label, corridor and door width, lobby and gallery dimension, security checkpoint and sales point, moving walkway, escalator and exit indicator conforms." Let's flesh that out, shall we?

One would be tempted to say that the contemporary museum is a machine for 'slipping glimpses'—to misappropriate Willem de Kooning's famous description of his painting, while noting that the essence of appreciating his work consists in looking hard and long at what he captured in a blink of the eye and the flick of a wrist. But, in truth, the mechanisms in play are horridly like those of a sci-fi monster that ingests people in great gulps, pumps them peristaltically through its digestive tract in a semi-delirious state, and then flushes them out the other end with their pockets lighter and with almost no memory of their 'museum experience' other than a mild anaesthetic hangover. In short, one leaves the halls of culture much as one does a colonoscopy clinic.

Probe further to learn about Storr's epiphany in the bowels of Austria's "bulbously futuristic, almost stomach-shaped" Kunsthaus Graz.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Wanted Urbane Designer

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

It's hard to live, so hard to live in the city. We know this to be true because we live in the city and also because Albert Hammond, Jr. tells us so in song. Citysearch seeks to ease urban dwelling through its various local media offerings, and the company has recently set out a search of its own—not for a terrific tapas restaurant or an establishment that rents pink scooters but for "a sharp visual designer with a clean and refined design aesthetic" to join its West Hollywood office. Bring your teamwork skills, Photoshop and Illustrator expertise, and "fanatical attention to detail." If they stump you with tricky interview questions, just take a deep breath and ask yourself: WWJJD? (What would Jane Jacobs do?)

Learn more about and apply for this visual designer, Citysearch job or view all of the current mediabistro.com design/art/photo jobs.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

One Club to Induct Saul Bass Mike Hughes into Creative Hall of Fame

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

The One Club has announced this year's additions to its esteemed Creative Hall of Fame: graphic designer and filmmaker Saul Bass (1920-1996) and Mike Hughes, president and creative director of The Martin Agency (the firm behind those memorable ads for Geico, among many other major campaigns). "Mike Hughes' 28-year creative leadership of The Martin Agency has propelled the agency from a regional creative shop to one of the top agencies in America," said Mary Warlick, The One Club's singular CEO. "Saul Bass created a visual language for film titles as a new art form. It is appropriate to induct both a copywriter and a designer to the Creative Hall of Fame." Bass and Hughes, who will be honored next Thursday at a ceremony in New York City, will join a roster of advertising and branding luminaries that includes Paul Rand, George Lois, and David Ogilvy.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Friday by Reinhard Dienes

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Designer Reinhard Dienes of Germany has designed a pendant lamp made of tinted blown glass and pressed aluminium. (more…)

House for a photographer by Peter Pichler

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Architect Peter Pichler of Bolanzo Bolzano in Italy has designed a house for a photographer with a large window at one end that doubles as a projection wall for presentations. (more…)

Dezeen’s top ten shoes

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

This month we’ve compiled our ten most popular Dezeen stories about shoes. (more…)

The Recovery Lounge by Priestmangoode

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

London industrial designers Priestmangoode propose hospital wards modelled on health spas and beds like those in first class airline cabins in a new manifesto for health service design, released today. (more…)

Mini Golf Club by La Bolleur

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Eindhoven collective La Bolleur will construct a mini golf course in Zona Tortona in Milan this April. (more…)

Cylinda and Dot by Paul Smith for Stelton

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Fashion designer Paul Smith has reworked a coffee pot by late Danish designer Arne Jacobsen to mark the 50th anniversary of Danish brand Stelton. (more…)

Dezeen podcast Object Rotterdam 2010

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Dezeen podcast: in this podcast recorded at Object Rotterdam last month, fair director Fons Hof, gallerist Wilpert Dreesmann of Particles, and Dutch designers Kiki van Eijk and Aldo Bakker talk about design in the Netherlands. (more…)

Ole Scheeren to leave OMA

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Dezeenwire: architect Ole Scheeren is to leave Office for Metropolitan Architecture and establish his own studio - see press release below:

(more…)

IPost Building by studiobv36

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Architect Daniele Durante of studiobv36 in Italy has designed a new headquarters in Rome for the Italian postal service. (more…)

Tokinokura Lavatories Shimodate by Shuichiro Yoshida Architects

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Tokyo studio Shuichiro Yoshida Architects have completed a tall narrow toilet block in Chikusei City, Japan. (more…)

Dezeenjobs latest jobs update

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Scroll down for all the latest from our recruitment site Dezeenjobs, including positions with us at Dezeen, furniture brand Viaduct, Glenn Howells Architects and Studio Octopi. This is also the last chance to apply for positions with Squint/Opera, Kelly McCallum Studios, Caro Communications and more… (more…)

Totem by Boym Partners

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

New York designers Constantin and Laurene Leon Boym have designed a set of four bowls that stack into the shape of a vase. (more…)

Vitus Bering Innovation Park by C F Møller

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Danish architects C. F. Møller have completed a centre for entrepreneurs in Horsens, Denmark, where a green fibre-cement staircase spirals round the central atrium. (more…)

Bono’s Laser Stage Suit by Moritz Waldemeyer

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

It’s taken a while, but German-born designer Moritz Waldemeyer has sent some official pictures of the laser suit he created for U2 singer Bono for their current world tour. (more…)

International Tourism Complex Hangzhou by Steven Holl Architects

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Steven Holl Architects of New York have won a competition to design a major urban quarter on a former industrial site beside a lake at Hangzhou, China. (more…)

PHOTO In Life below 600px Paddy Donnelly talks

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

In “Life, below 600px,” Paddy Donnelly talks about “giving the fold the finger” (i.e. making visitors scroll isn’t really THAT bad) and uses the 37signals home page to support the cause. “What I’m proposing is for you to think twice about these ‘rules’ which are preached so often around the web and aim to create something original.”

One Author Asks Who Needs You Big Publishing?

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

At the Tools of Change conference in New York City this week, author Scott Sigler delivered a provocative presentation entitled: Who Needs You, Big Publishing?

After publishing the thrillers Ancestor, Infected, and Contagious with Crown Publishing, Sigler (pictured, via Amy Davis Roth) founded Dark Overlord Media to self-publish a science fiction football novel called The Rookie--"a limited edition hardcover with a 16-page, full-color insert." According to the writer, he earned 10 times more per unit with his new strategy, but managed to sell one-tenth of the copies he could sell with a major publisher.

Nevertheless, he speculated during his presentation about a future where bestselling authors could defect: "The bigger names (if they wanted to do this) they could bring in a crapload of money and not have to share it with anybody. Stephenie Meyer in particular--if she was to write a book of short stories about some of the Twilight characters and sell that directly from her website which gets a massive traffic, she could clear 200,000 copies on her first day without batting an eyelash. So that's the kind of kind of thing that could take away from big publishing and put some of that control back into the hands of authors."

What do you think? Is this an inevitable future or a pipe dream?

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Lost Season Six by the Books

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

On Tuesday night, the literary television show Lost featured a loving cameo appearance of The Annotated Alice: The Definitive Edition--W. W. Norton's special edition of the Lewis Carroll classic. Since then, the book has rocketed up the Amazon charts, currently ranked 314th in Books and first in History & Criticism.

Over at Entertainment Weekly, journalist Jeff Jensen writes long, speculative essays about Lost, one of the more literary readings of the series you can find on the web. So far, Jensen has spotted two other books in the final season of Lost.

They are: Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie ("Its famous line? 'What's the use of stories that aren't even true?'") and the famous Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard ("which challenges true believers to embrace the absurdity of faith. Combined, both books send this message to us: This absurd sideways thing has a purpose. It is 'useful.'")

Have you spotted more literary references in season six? Add any books we missed in the comments section--we'll put them on the list in a future post. If you want to read more of our literary Lost coverage, follow these links:

GalleyCat Reviews looked at critical reception of the books of Lost.
Theoretical physicist Sean Carroll talked about time travel on Lost.
Chad Post revealed another book from the sixth season
Nikki Stafford talked about writing her unofficial guides to Lost.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

After Harriet the Spy Blog Wars Updating Classic Childrens Books

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Yesterday we pondered that movie trailer for Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars starring Jennifer Stone (one of the leads in the Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place)--a blogging update of a beloved children's book.

The good folks at Jezebel took the idea and ran with it, updating other children's classics with 21st Century twists--including The Bridge to Tumblrbithia and Wikipedia Brown, Boy E-Tective. Here's a Twitter-centric re-write: "The Twits--This Roald Dahl classic is tailor-made for a social media updating. Mr. and Mrs. Twit are two online misanthropes who use their shared Twitter account to say mean things about people. Then they learn that Twitter is for niceness, and everyone lives happily ever after."

So far, 87 readers have added their own titles, proving that this renaming game is addictive. Add your imaginary updates in the comments section--we'll round up the responses in a future (or futuristic!) post.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

PHOTO Jason told me about hobo signs last week

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Jason told me about hobo signs last week. Lots of really cool glyphs and pictograms here.

PHOTO Top notch UI copywriting from Wufoo

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Top notch UI copywriting from Wufoo.

Feature checklist dysfunction Twitter vs Google Buzz

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Speaking of “feature checklist dysfunction,” this piece compares Twitter to Google Buzz.

There’s so much Twitter can’t do…

That simplicity has made Twitter a huge hit. But “simple” usually means “limited,” and Twitter is no exception. Your messages can’t be longer than 140 characters. There’s no text formatting. You can’t paste in photos or videos. There’s no filtering of messages. No way to rank or rate people or their utterances. No way to send messages out to canned groups of people, like Family or Co-workers.

There’s so much Google Buzz can do…

Google Buzz overcomes all of that. It’s a lot like Twitter (with huge helpings of FriendFeed.com thrown in), but there’s no length limit on your messages. You can search for messages, give certain ones a “thumbs up” (you click a button labeled Like as you do in Facebook). You can forward messages by e-mail. Comments and replies to a certain post remain attached to it, clumped together as a conversation. You can link to your Flickr, Picasa or YouTube accounts, making it easy to drop a photo or a video link into a Buzz posting.

You can also post messages to your Buzz account by e-mail, which is great when you’re on the move.

So a traditional feature checklist comparison would lead you to say Buzz is the clear winner. But then there’s the problem that comes with doing all that stuff: confusion.

In eliminating the Twitterish bare-bones simplicity, Google stepped right splat into the opposite problem: dizzying complexity. At the moment, it’s not so much Google Buzz as Google “Huh?”s.

Sometimes all that stuff your product does NOT do is exactly why people want it.

Illustrating REWORK Part 1 of 2

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

This is a guest post by Mike Rohde. We hired Mike to illustrate original art for REWORK. Each one of the 90 essays in REWORK is accompanied by an illustration that captures the key message of the essay. We asked Mike to share the illustration process with you here on Signal vs. Noise. This post is part 1 of a 2-part series. Part 2 will be posted within the next few weeks.

In September 2009, I began work with Jason Fried to create a series of 90 sketchnote illustrations and 10 chapter illustrations for the new 37signals business book, REWORK. In December 2009, I completed the illustration project, delivering final illustrations to the publisher for book production.

Photo of sketches in my Moleskine notebook, featuring “Everyone on the Front Lines” and “Take a Deep Breath” — two illustration concepts for REWORK that are ready for inking. –Photo by Mike Rohde

Project Background

I met Jason after he saw the sketchnotes I’d captured at his first SEED conference in 2007. Those sketchnotes were featured on Signal vs. Noise and led to an invitation to sketchnote the SEED 3 conference in June 2008. The SEED 3 sketchnotes led, in turn, to sketchnoting Jason’s talk on business at Milwaukee’s Discovery World in September 2008.

More...

Photos from 37signals trip to San Diego

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

We’re all meeting in San Diego this week:

It’s kind of pretty here. Shot from Torrey Pines State Park.

A look at the conference table during company wide meeting. Yes, even we meet once in a while.

REWORK is in the house. Everyone got an advance copy. The book comes out “for real” in two weeks.

Jamis brought peanut butter flavored marshmallows that he made at home.

Sam’s got one of the cool “Just Below Zero” colors of Field Notes.

We’re recording it all for the one team member who couldn’t make it.

Lots of tea gets drunk.

Arrogant Bastard Ale! David said he’s considering becoming the spokesman.

VIDEO Haiti Earthquake Aftermath Montage Khalid

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Haiti Earthquake Aftermath Montage: Khalid Mohtaseb was hired to shoot footage in Haiti for two international networks. This is a montage of his personal footage of the aftermath shot during his spare time in and around Port au Prince. Amazing stuff. It was shot with a Canon 5D Mark 2 and the slow pans are a result of using the Kessler Pocket Dolly. Sites where you can help and donate to Haitian relief. [via ZK]

The Art of Hypothetical Book Design

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Today part-time book designer Charlie Orr launched a unique project--designing a hypothetical book cover for a book that a well-known author will never write. "I ask authors to imagine a book that they could, or might want to write, but never actually will, then write a description of that imaginary book. Then I design a cover for it," Orr explained.

His inaugural post is based on an imaginary book suggested by National Book Award winner Colum McCann. Follow this link to see the full cover. Future installments of The Hypothetical Library will include imaginary books by David Lehman, Lydia Millet, and Thomas Kelly.

Here's the jacket copy for McCann's imaginary book: "In the 17th Century vast numbers of Irish men, women and children were forcibly transported to the American colonies by the British government. In this spectacular reinvention and examination of history, Colum McCann goes to the heart one of the great untold stories of our times as he follows a group of Irish indentured servants on their voyage to the West Indies, their plight on the Atlantic seas, their subsequent serfdom and their eventual liberation on the wave of a bloody revolution. This is a gripping portrayal of another century, another continent, another loss, told in McCann's unique trademark prose, simultaneously stripped down and lyrical."

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Art Spiegelman to Judge Strand Bookstore Tote Bag Design Contest

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Generations of readers (including this GalleyCat editor) have spent hours browsing the crowded shelves of Strand Bookstore in New York City. Now a lucky designer can put their personal stamp on the bookstore.

From March 1 until March 31, designers from around the world can submit a design for the iconic Strand Bookstore tote bag, vying for a number of prizes. The grand prize winner will have their design featured on a tote. The contest will be judged by New Yorker art editor Francoise Mouly, cartoonist Art Spiegelman, School of Visual Arts faculty member Steven Heller, Masterpiece Comics creator R. Sikoryak, and graphic novelist Adrian Tomine.

The entire press release is embedded after the jump. Here's more about the contest: "the Strand Book Store wants to give emerging artists the opportunity to have their artwork featured on a Strand tote bag. Design Requirements: The illustration must feature either a representation of the Strand Book Store or books. The illustration must include the artist's signature, 'Strand Book Store NYC' and 'strandbooks.com' or a representation of the Strand logo (as seen on strandbooks.com)."

continued...

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Barack Obama Sends Fan Mail to Yann Martel

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Today novelist Yann Martel posted a piece of fan mail he received from President Barack Obama. The president wrote: "My daughter and I just finished reading Life of Pi together. Both of us agreed we prefer the story with animals. It is a lovely book--an elegant proof of God and the power of storytelling."

Over the last three years, Martel (pictured, via Geoff Howe) has been mailing books and letters to Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. The novelist posts the letters on his personal blog.

In his most recent post, Martel celebrated Obama's letter: "If there was a way of tattooing it on my back, I would. What amazes me is the gratuity of it. As you would know, there is a large measure of calculation in what public figures do. But here, what does he gain? I'm not a US citizen. In no way can I be of help to President Obama. Clearly he did it for personal reasons, as a reader and as a father. And in two lines, what an insightful analysis of Life of Pi. Bless him, bless him." (Via Quill & Quire)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Lambda Literary Foundation Launches Literary Website

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Today the Lambda Literary Foundation launched a literary website and community for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered readers and authors--Lambda Literary.

The website was built in six weeks by an international team of designers living in New York, Los Angeles, and British Columbia. It will publish new material, interviews, stories, reviews, and aggregate links from around the literary Internets. The site opened with a variety of content, including Is There, or Should There Be, Such a Thing as 'Trans Lit?'" by Cheryl Morgan and a new column about "news and noteworthy tidbits from the LGBT writing and publishing community" by John Morgan Wilson.

The entire release follows after the jump. Lambda Literary Foundation board member Nicola Griffith had this statement: "We're here; we're queer; we read. And on March 1st, we'll be even more visible to the world and to each other ... We're a community that loves books. We need books. All kinds of books: yaoi and high lit, graphic novels and celebrity tell-alls, heart-wrenching memoir and YA fantasy. We read to save our lives. We write, we edit. We publish, distribute, review, sell, advertise, lend, and buy. And Lambda Literary will now be home for the whole of the brilliantly diverse community that creates and supports our literature."

continued...

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Media Source Inc Acquires Library Journal and School Library Journal

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Today the Media Source Inc.--an Ohio-based company that owns Junior Library Guild (JLG) and The Horn Book, Inc.--announced that they had acquired Library Journal (LJ) and School Library Journal (SLJ).

Both publications were part of the Reed Business Information empire, and many were concerned about the future of the two publications--providing book reviews to hundreds of thousands of librarians around the country. Media Source has acquired "all print and Web products, services, supplements, and newsletters, including Library Hotline."

Here's a statement from Media Source CEO Randall Asmo: "Library Journal and School Library Journal are valuable magazines that deserve a corporate home focused on libraries ... We respect the history and contribution of LJ and SLJ...Editor-in-Chief Brian Kenney and Publisher Ron Shank are important to the success of SLJ and LJ, and they will remain in their current roles. Our goal is to build upon those strengths to provide a vital and comprehensive service to the librarian community."

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Harriet the Spy Random House Lady Gaga and Zach Galifianakis Weekend Reading

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

It was a wild week for publishing, from the Tools of Change conference to celebrity book trailers to bloggy-updates of classic children's books.

For your weekend reading pleasure, here are the biggest stories from the week. If you are interested in reading more, check the Weekend Reading archive.

The biggest story of the week was a sweeping executive reorganization at Random House, preparing for the digital future.

Next, actor Zach Galifianakis interviewed novelist John Wray in a topsy-turvy book trailer.

At the Tools of Change conference, we experimented with the Entourage dual-screen eReader and watched the future of the bedtime story.

We published a downloadable, printable, mobile-device readable monthly edition of GalleyCat Reviews.

continued...

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Heather McCormack Promoted to Book Review Editor at Library Journal

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

On Twitter today, Library Journal managing editor Heather McCormack broke the news that she was promoted to book review editor at Library Journal.

She wrote to her Twitter fans: "It's surreal & humbling. I will do my best to serve librarians. Let's talk as always."

Here's a recent review McCormack (pictured) wrote of Gail Buckland's Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955-Present: "[T]he way the author contextualized what might be a dead movement moved me even more toward that destiny. For decades, kids like me stared longingly into posters of rock gods like Elvis, Hendrix, Harry, and Cobain, hoping their cool would trickle down and anoint them. Yet so few of us know who captured those unforgettable gestures and faces. Buckland goes far beyond Annie Leibovitz to introduce us to a set of glaringly overlooked artists, many of whom have quit the game because of restricted celebrity access."

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

GalleyCat Reviews February 2010 Print Edition

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

It's hard to believe, but GalleyCat Reviews is now one-month-old. To celebrate, we've created a monthly edition of our book review section--a 31-page collection of our best review content.

Now you can read all of our reviews, essays, round-ups, recommendations, links, and Twitter directories in a single document. The new format maintains all our hyperlinks and layout, but allows you to take GalleyCat Reviews on the road. Read it all at this link.

With this special monthly edition, you can read GCR, print GCR, or download GCR to your favorite reading device. If you enjoy reading GalleyCat Reviews in this new format, please leave us a comment--how can we make this printed copy better for you?

Now you can take our favorite book reviewers with you as well. We've built a special Scribd edition of our Best Book Reviewers on Twitter Directory. As the directory grows, we will update this handy document.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Chart that Launched a Thousand Comments

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Over the weekend, NY Times reporter Motoko Rich published "Math of Publishing Meets the E-Book," an attempt to calculate the costs of an eBook versus an hardcover book. The article included a chart with this disclaimer: "A composite--and necessarily simplified--look at what it costs to make a book, both in print and digital form. Numbers are based on interviews with several publishers and consultants who work with the publishing industry."

According to the chart, a $26.00 hardcover book generates about $4.05 of profit before overhead costs ("They include staff salaries, electricity and rent"). At the same time, a $12.99 eBook generates between $4.56 and $5.54 before overhead costs are factored into the equation.

What do you think? Share your thoughts and theories for a future post. Our readers have some passionate thoughts on this topic. In addition, Don Linn wrote: "Saying a book costs "X" is about as accurate as saying people are 27 years old. Varies by publisher, title, other factors." Peter Kafka disagreed: "Good primer on ebook pricing, + publishers' (unconvincing) argument for keeping prices up." Read more at eBookNewser.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The Book Reviews of Roger Ebert

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

In addition to his work as a film critic, Roger Ebert is also the author of a number of books, including Awake in the Dark.

Inspired by Esquire and Deadspin's moving tributes to Ebert, GalleyCat Reviews collected some bookish material from the great critic. Do you have a favorite literary essay from Ebert? Add your links in the comments section...

Here, the great critic remembers reading Jonathan Swift's famous essay, "A Modest Proposal," for the first time: "I remember Miss Seward at Urbana High School, telling us to read it in class and note the exact word at which Swift's actual purpose became clear. None of us had ever heard of it, and she didn't use a giveaway word like "satire." Yet not a single person in the class concluded that Swift was seriously proposing that the starving Irish eat their babies. We all got it."

In a touching essay about his messy, well-loved library, Ebert celebrated the critically rejected novel, By Love Possessed by James Could Cozzens: "It and the other books on the list have been rendered obsolete, so that his essay is cruelly dated. But I remember reading the novel late into the night when I was 14, stirring restlessly with the desire to be possessed by love. I cannot throw out these books. Some are protected because I have personally turned all their pages and read every word; they're like little shrines to my past hours." More examples after the jump...

Want more reviews? Follow this link to download the February 2010 print edition of GalleyCat Reviews--one month worth of criticism and literary links.

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Publishers Weekly Names New Publisher Editorial Directors

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Just minutes after news broke that Media Source Inc. had acquired Library Journal and School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly has announced two big changes.

The publication tweeted the news: "New order at PW: Jim Milliot and Michael Coffey named co-editorial directors, Cevin Bryerman new publisher."

Library Journal (LJ), School Library Journal (SLJ), and Publishers Weekly (PW) were all part of the Reed Business Information empire. In addition to editing LJ and SLJ, Brian Kenney was editorial director of PW. He will lead LJ and SLJ under its new ownership. Also leaving with Kenney is Ron Shank, who used to serve as group publisher of Reed's publishing division. He will now serve as publisher at LJ and SLJ.

Reed's Business Media president Jeff DeBalko wrote about the new editorial directors: "Jim's work is widely read and respected by publishing industry executives and newsmakers, while Michael holds the reins of PW's day-to-day operation, guiding features, composition, and coordinating the delivery of content to print and online outlets. Jim has been at PW for 20 years, and Michael has been with us for 22 years."

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Henry Holt Stops Production of Charles Pellegrino Book

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Today the AP reported that Henry Holt and Company has ceased publication of The Last Train From Hiroshima, a nonfiction book by Charles Pellegrino that Avatar director James Cameron had considered turning into a film.

A Holt spokesperson told the AP that publisher could not find two sources mentioned in the book and Pellegrino (pictured, via) "was not able to answer" some of the publisher's questions about the title, a journalistic look at the bombing of Hiroshima. Last week, the NY Times uncovered a few other problems with the book.

Here's more from the AP report: "The publisher 'will issue full credit to wholesalers and retailers who wish to return the book. Consumers who seek a refund should return to the retailer from whom they purchased the book.'"

At Pellegrino's website, the author has collected both good and bad reviews of his books--an odd counterpoint to the story. According to his website, Stephen King once wrote: "This guy really scares me." More reviews follow after the jump.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Dynasty DNS � German PC Games Warez Release Group

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

In April 1996 three of the four largest and active game warez release groups at the time, Dytec – Dynamic Technologies, Vortex and EOD – Empire of Darkness merged into a single mega release group called “Dynasty”. I was co-leader of the Dytec PC section at the time and took an active part in this mega-merger. Dynasty has no homepage today so I decided to put up a page on my web site, where you

MOCAs 30thanniversary show and how it builds to Baltz

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

One of the most assertive curatorial decisions in MOCA's 30th-anniversary exhibition is the mixing of painting (and sculpture) with photography. Diane Arbus, Helen Levitt and Robert Frank haven't been shunted off to their own galleries or to their own floor as you see at encyclopedic or modern museums, their work is installed next to and across from paintings by Rothko, Tapies and so on. From the first two galleries of its 30th-anniversary show, MOCA, which likes to think of itself as America's most significant contemporary-forward art museum, is saying that from the 1950s on the pursuits of artists with cameras and the pursuits of artists with easels are intertwined. While it's a curatorial point that at first seems friendly and inclusive, by the end of MOCA's Grand Ave.-based presentation of art from 1940-80, MOCA's curators make plain why they started mixing photo and painting from their start.

This approach is particularly striking because as a visitor walks through the first galleries at MOCA's Grand Ave. building, where art up to 1980 is installed, the paintings are colorful, abstract and devoid of people. The black-and-white Arbuses, Levitts, Franks and so on nearly always have people in them and the pictures are about those people. Part of MOCA's point here is that representation did not leave art during America's abstractionist heyday, it just went somewhere else.

Even as abstract painting gives way to sculpture, expressionism, pop and so on, the photographs stay full of people: Garry Winogrand shows us parades, space-shots and Vietnam-era tumult. Nan Goldin captures lonely lusties finding company. Lee Friedlander takes to the streets and photographs people while hiding in plain sight. [Above: Friedlander's New York City 1968, 1968.] Larry Clark finds young people with whom something seems to be wrong. And so on through Wallace Berman, William Wegman and more. People, people people.

Then, suddenly, MOCA has installed a wall of photographs with no humans in them. Their impact is astonishing. Because they are photographs without people, they are photographs about us, about our collective actions. These pictures aren't about what people are doing, they're photographs about what a people has done. The installation is Lewis Baltz's The New Industrial Parks near Irvine, Calif. In MOCA's presentation of the story of contemporary art, it's a big moment, an artist's pushing a medium forward into a bigger-picture place. Baltz seems to have believed that to take a step toward a more conceptual use of his medium that he had to purge pictures of what they were best-known and most-used for: people. (I discussed the story Baltz was telling in New Industrial Parks here and here.)

Baltz didn't realize this on his own. By the 1970s painters' use of photography was almost 100 years old. But in MOCA's presentation the visitor can see that painters were using photography similarly to how Baltz was: They purged photos of people so as to open the door to conceptualist point-scoring.

Not far from New Industrial Parks is Richard Artschwager's 1967 Untitled (Tract House) [above], a painting in acrylic on Celotex, an industrially produced building material used to insulate tract houses. Artschwager isn't just painting a house, he's making an art object in one of art's most lasting, permanent media, painting, and he's doing it by using a relatively new material that is intended to make permanent humans' incursions into new, often harsh landscapes.

A 1964 Malcolm Morley, Boat, uses the medium through which centuries of Europe's cardinals, popes, dukes and kings declared their wealth and import -- painting -- to portray a way in which America projected its Cold War might: a battleship.

Also nearby is John Baldessari's classic 1966 This Is Not To Be Looked At [left], a painting of an Artforum magazine with a Frank Stella on the cover. Baldessari's canvas argues for progressiveness in art, that abstraction is out of ideas and that painting may (or may not...) be too.

As Baldessari uses a photograph to say that a common object, an art magazine, is not to be looked at, Baltz uses photography to say that a common object that we often ignore -- boring, bland industrial parks -- should be looked at and considered more often. Baltz is turning Baldessari's cheeky formula on its head -- and he makes something new out of his medium in the process. It's a chapter in the story of contemporary art that MOCA didn't begin to tell in the galleries surrounding New Industrial Parks, it's a dialogue that MOCA set up by including photography from the beginning of its collection presentation.

SAAM considering charge for privileged admission

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Only on MAN: The Smithsonian American Art Museum is considering selling early-access tickets to the upcoming exhibition "Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg," MAN has learned. The show opens on July 2. [Image: SAAM/National Portrait Gallery.]

Typically SAAM opens to visitors at 11:30am and stays open until 7:00pm. As at all Smithsonian museums, admission to SAAM is free. The ticket charge under consideration for "Telling Stories" would allow visitors to enter the exhibit between 10:00 am and the museum's normal opening time. SAAM spokesperson Laura Baptiste said that no decision has been made, but that the museum is considering the pay-for-early-entry idea as a "crowd-control measure." She said that the charge would recoup administrative costs associated with opening 90 minutes early, such as security.

Two sources told MAN that the charge discussed is around $18.50. A SAAM spokesperson said that no decisions have been made about what the fee might be. ~~and that the Smithsonian administration has already approved the idea. A Smithsonian Institution spokesperson had not returned MAN's call as of publication.~~ Smithsonian Institution spokesperson Linda St. Thomas said that the Castle has met with SAAM about the idea but has yet to approve it. "It hasn't been signed off," she said. "It would have to be signed off by the Secretary himself." [This post was updated at 2:15pm EST, after the Smithsonian Institution's press office returned a voicemail.]

The only Smithsonian museum believed to have charged fees related to exhibitions is the National Museum of Natural History, which charges adults $6 for entrance into its butterfly pavilion. According to the Washington Post, NMNH also charged for admission to the 1997 exhibit "Amber: Window to the Past" and to 1990's "Dinamation's Dinosaurs Alive and in Color."

As the Smithsonian has faced increasing budget pressures -- especially related to the deferred maintenance of Smithsonian facilities -- the question of whether Smithsonian museums should charge admission has become a hot topic. At a 2006 Congressional hearing, Rep. James Moran (D-Va.) suggested that the Smithsonian charge admission and suggested a $1 fee. The Washington Post reported that the then-No. 2 administrator at the Smithsonian, Sheila Burke, told Congress that the Smithsonian Board of Regents had considered charging for admission three times and as recently as 2002, and that the board had rejected the idea each time.

At the same 2006 hearing Burke said that four Smithsonian museums are legally prohibited from charging admission: the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Portrait Gallery, the Freer Gallery of Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. The National Portrait Gallery shares a building with the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It is not clear how the SAAM fee under consideration would be impacted by the National Portrait Gallery's charter.

Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) also floated the idea at a 2008 opening meeting of the Smithsonian's board.

The Smithsonian is a quasi-federal institution. Its federal appropriation for fiscal year 2010 is $761.4 million. The institution is about 70 percent federally funded. The remainder of the Smithsonian's expenses are covered through trust funds (which include contributions from private sources such as corporations and philanthropy) and Smithsonian-generated revenue (such as sales at museum shops, restaurants, Smithsonian magazine, etc.).

Related: On Friday, MAN will feature a Q&A with SAAM director Elizabeth Broun.

The Met doubles down on fluff shows

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Yesterday the Met emailed more details on its 2010 exhibition schedule. As I noted on Twitter, the Met announced it will host its second fluff show of Old Masters drawings in just over a year (in 54 weeks, actually).

Related: On the occasion of the NuMu embarrassment, Met director Thomas Campbell presented his specious, strawman-creating position on fluff shows.

Truth Exhibitions not about prowess at shopping

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

"I gave a big chunk of my collection to the Hammer and didn't even get a catalogue out of it, which I guess makes me a sucker. But in the end a museum is about curators actively engaging art and the audience over an extended period of time. It shouldn't be about my prowess at shopping." -- Los Angeles-based collector Dean Valentine, a member of the Hammer Museum's Board of Overseers, commenting on a Facebook post in which he agreed with MAN's position on "fluff shows." (I'm reprinting it here with his permission.)