The Story of the Image

While enjoying Abby's photos from a trip to a nursery in Oregon, I was caught by this image of the window of a blue house, the tree with faint spots of red. Lovely.

I have been looking at a lot of photos lately at work, like thousands a day. I've noticed that when I look at photography I can never silence the writer inside me. I also want to hear a caption, to know the context and hear a story about the captured moment. I can be impressed by the aesthetics of the image, but I can connect with it only when I can connect with its story. For me, the image of plants and flowerpots at a rustic nursery on a sunny February day in Oregon reminds me of the subtle beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Home. And then I wonder how my mother's landscaping project is progressing.

The Real Good Experiment

[vimeo vimeo.com/8201309 w=500&h=400] Finding useful stuff on the street is pure joy, like stumbling upon a pile of used books or a couch with hidden potential. Curb-mining becomes even better when you unknowingly get to be part of a good experiment.

Blu Dot decided to drop 25 Real Good chairs around the streets of New Yorks to see where they would end up. Hidden cameras and GPS enabled them to follow the reactions of people on the street upon seeing the chairs, filming the process from discovery, interest, inspection, to possession and then showing up at their door to ask them what they thought of the chair. PUNCOs to INCOs.

Pig 05049

[vimeo vimeo.com/7848473 w=500&h=400] Last November at TEDxAmsterdam, Christien Meindertsma presented the research of her book Pig05049 which tracked all the products that were made from one pig. Her inspiration was that, although the 12.2 million pigs in the Netherlands they're never seen anywhere. This is also true for many of the products, which don't appear to have anything to do with meat. From the different parts of the pig - skin, bones, meat, internal organs, blood, fat, and miscellaneous - a diverse range of goods are created, from beer to bullets and chewing gum to copper.

Trixie Whitley at De Brakke Grond

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_U7QLbJjBU&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Tickets from a friend sent me to see Belgian-born, Brooklyn-based Trixie Whitley play at De Brakke Grond last night. Although I had never heard her music or been to the venue, I was in for a pleasant surprise. The hall of De Brakke Grond was an intimate setting for the concert and Trixie Whitley played (mostly) solo, with minimal piano or guitar chords giving a frame to her impressive vocals. The whole band plays tonight at Paradiso.

Tiny Desk Concerts

Fans of La Blogotheque are likely to enjoy NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts, a series of short-set performances recorded live at the desk of Bob Boilen, music producer at National Public Radio, at the office in DC. The intimate setting leaves no room for amplifiers or special lighting, but draws an array of musicians nonetheless. Paul Fahri describes the concerts:

Each week, more or less, the little space becomes an unlikely stage for mini-concerts by an eclectic group of famous, near-famous and downright obscure musicians.

The video webcasts of past sessions can be viewed here.

Language in Flux

"Not until the 17th century did people begin thinking that the language needed to be codified, and the details of who would do that and how have yet to be resolved. Should it be accomplished through a government-sponsored academy, an officially sanctioned dictionary, or what? These and other means were attempted, but meanwhile ordinary folks, dang them, kept right on talking and writing however they wanted, inventing words, using contractions and so on." — NY Times article reviewing 'The Lexicographer's Dilemma' by Jack Lynch

Silvia Wald and the Sausage Pillows

Textile artist Silvia Wald has created a series of meat-inspired pillows for a cuddly version of German favorites, such as Leberwurst, Fleischwurst, Schinken, and a variety of 'meat accessories'.  Even for fellow vegetarians, this can certainly be enjoyed. The Fleischwurst and the Leberwurst (below) are great alternative neck pillows for long flights.

The sausage string can be wrapped around the neck for a loose shawl and the Schinkenkissen is perfect for an afternoon nap. Watch this interview (in German) to see Wald describe these products and others.

Travels in Germany

Enjoying a festive time in Germany! I am currently in Berlin where the snow is falling fast and 2010 is drawing near. Have a Happy New Year!

Weihnachtsmarkt an der Frauenkirche in Dresden.

A view of the Elbe in Dresden.

Der Reichstag, house of the Parliament in Berlin, with flags flying.

Snowfall in Berlin, outside the Wintergarten im Literaturhaus, my favorite place to enjoy tea and a book.

The State of Curation and Criticism

Individuals from various fields including art, design, film, and academia came together Saturday at the 'you, me and everyone we know is a curator' symposium, organized by the Graphic Design Museum and concepted by Sophie Krier and Mieke Gerritzen. The symposium brought into question how the ever-growing amount and influence of online content redefines what curation and criticism means today.

The starting point was the space and stage created online. Curators today bear witness to the shift of influence: From yesterday, where traditional institutions and experts filter the imagery, essays, videos, and other content, bringing the crème de la crème to life and resigning the rest to oblivion. To today, where the democratization of production and distribution has resulted in a deluge of online content and raised the question of quality control. How can one determine quality in an online environment when distribution is open to the masses? How does this influence the traditional perception of art, writing, and content in general? What new relationships are forged? How do old relationships change, adapt, and evolve? What are the results? Here, I highlight two speakers to give an impression of the discussion that took place:

Design critic Rick Poynor took a look at the blogosphere to determine the current state of design criticism in this unique environment. His focus was on the power and presence of the individual writer, who develops a coherent and consistent viewpoint over time. He began by retracing the changing yet extant influence of print media, design magazines, and journals, and their eventual migration to blogs, whether exclusively or additionally. He then looked at the emergence of new platforms for design writing: institutions with journals published online, museums creating online content, and academic programs.

When it came to the question of whether the online curator was a critic, Poynor argued against the belief that selection alone can be an act of criticism. He described the common presentation of a blog ‘astonishingly bare’ compared to where we came from. He used Space Collective as an example of how a blog can create a visual criticism, a ‘new semantics of argument based on the image’. When it comes to writers though, he found most promise in the dedication to quality writing and the interaction between print media and online content.

Julia Noordegraaf discussed ‘performing archival material online’ through the case study Celluloid Remix, a contest sponsored by the Dutch Filmmuseum. Noordegraaf spotlighted the results and effects that come about when audio-visual material is taken from its original context and reframed, which can happen ad infinitum in an online environment. Noordegraaf concluded that the role of the archivist or curator today will look more like an editor, who maintains information streams, check sources, edits input, and designs interfaces to facilitate interaction between the content and the user.

Biographies and information about all speakers can be found here.