.
A clever (if somewhat passive aggressive) poster designed by Serbian ex-pat artist Vuk Vidor (now living in Paris)… found online here.
(The tongue-in-cheek definitive style of the poster reminds me a little of the short guide to comparative religions [original author unknown] that I e-published last year, entitled An Excremental Exegesis. Both pieces “paint with a large brush,” yet to remarkably telling effect).
Morelia, (Michoacán) México
A picture really is worth a thousand words. I was happy to stumble across this oh-so-telling illustration by Rogelio Naranjo today, here.
London, U.K.
Greenpeace climbers recently scaled the front of BP’s corporate headquarters in London to “brand them with a logo that better suits their dirty business.” Greenpeace “thinks their logo needs a makeover to better suit a company that invests in tar sands and other unconventional oil sources like deep water oil,” and that a company that invests in tar sands—the dirtiest oil there is—needs something other than a nice green flower as their brand identity. “While our effort at a new logo is OK, we think you can do better, so we’re asking you to help us redesign BP’s logo…” More information here.
Several designer colleagues alerted me to this movement to find a more suitable “brand” for BP today (thanks Toze in Porto, thanks JS in Montreal). For years I’ve been showcasing BP’s effervescent floral symbol as the classic example of “corporate greenwashing” at design lectures I give, so I’m neither surprised nor disappointed at what seems to be a growing movement to help this industry-leading company project a more honest image. Just deserts, methinks…
Images: a selection from among of the hundreds of alternate BP logo entries flooding in; more here.
(Actually, the text on this vintage Spanish postcard reads “kisses and their consequences.” Don’t say you haven’t been warned though…).
Thanks for sharing that “old Spanish piece of wisdom” with me, Gonzalo.
The above illustration is from the humorous student-run magazine at Cornell University, The Cornell Widow. (Of course “she” is referring to the movement against U.S. imperialism begun by Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino…).
If, like myself, you enjoy a combination of vintage ephemera and serendipitous discovery… then meandering through pilllpat (agence eureka)’s Flickr collections could make you a happy camper too.
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Congratulations to my darlin’ Evelin (Richter) re: the acceptance of her ceramic sculptural piece, entitled (no fixed address), into the Manitoba Crafts Council 2010 Juried Exhibition: Home. Not only that, her work was also chosen to grace the invitation (image above). For anyone interested, the dates and times of the touring exhibition (it would be great to see you at the openings) are as follows:
St. Norbert, 3-22 June 2010
St. Norbert Arts Centre
100 Ruinesdumonastere, St. Norbert, MB
Gallery Hours: 11am-7pm | Wed.-Sun.
Opening reception 3 June, 7pm
Wasagaming, 16 July-11 August 2010
110 Wasagaming Drive, Wasagaming, MB
Gallery Hours: 11am-6pm | Daily
Opening reception 16 July, 7pm
Brandon, 9-30 September 2010
Glen P. Sutherland Gallery of Art
2021 Victoria Avenue (between 20th-21st) Brandon, MB
Gallery Hours: 2-6pm | Wed.-Sat. / 2-8pm Thurs.
Opening reception 9 September, 7pm
If we are to create balanced human beings, capable of entering into world-wide co-operation with all other men of good will—and that is the supreme task of our generation, and the foundation of all its other potential achievements—we must give as much weight to the arousal of the emotions and to the expression of moral and esthetic values as we now give to science, to invention, to practical organization. One without the other is impotent. And values do not come ready-made: they are achieved by a resolute attempt to square the facts of one’s own experience with the historic patterns formed in the past by those who devoted their whole lives to achieving and expressing values.
If we are to express the love in our own hearts, we must also understand what love meant to Socrates and Saint Francis, to Dante and Shakespeare, to Emily Dickinson and Christina Rossetti, to the explorer Shackleton and to the intrepid physicians who deliberately exposed themselves to yellow fever. These historic manifestations of love are not recorded in the day’s newspaper or the current radio program: they are hidden to people who possess only fashionable minds.
Virtue is not a chemical product, as Taine once described it: it is a historic product, like language and literature; and this means that if we cease to care about it, cease to cultivate it, cease to transmit its funded values, a large part of it will become meaningless, like a dead language to which we have lost the key. That, I submit, is what has happened in our own lifetime.
—Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) Values for Survival, 1946
Long Branch, New Jersey
Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) was a left-leaning American writer best known for her wit, wisecracks, and sharp eye for 20th century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhappy childhood, she rose to considerable acclaim—both for her literary output and as a critic in such venues as The New Yorker, Vogue, and Vanity Fair, and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table.
Her pointed witticisms and satirical aphorisms live on…
+ + +
The first thing I do in the morning
is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.
You can’t teach an old dogma new tricks.
Women and elephants never forget.
Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses.
If you want to know what God thinks of money,
just look at the people he gave it to.
The cure for boredom is curiosity.
There is no cure for curiosity.
I like to have a martini,
Two at the very most.
After three I’m under the table,
after four I’m under my host.
I’d rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy.
You can lead a horticulture, but you can’t make her think.
(when asked to use “horticulture” in a sentence)
The best way to keep children at home
is to make the home atmosphere pleasant,
and let the air out of the tires.
Brevity is the soul of lingerie.
Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.
They sicken of the calm, who know the storm.
Constant use had not worn ragged the fabric of their friendship.
Her big heart did not, as is so sadly often the case, inhabit a big bosom.
Salary is no object: I want only enough to keep body and soul apart.
If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.
…is give peace a chance.
(just step back… or move to the side)
Winnipeg, Canada
Some friends of mine were trying to remember what I looked like with a beard (I used to grow one each winter and then shave it off for the summer)—so here you go… get your chuckles.
“He that hath a beard is more than a youth,
and he that hath no beard is less than a man.”
—William Shakespeare
Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba
Hey, little buddy… it was hard to let you go today—but we’re relieved to know you’re breathing easier somewhere off in those (mythical?) happy hunting grounds. Just in case you’ve somehow got cyberspace access up there, following are a few nice words about you (somewhat maudlin, yes, but also cathartic for those you’ve left behind).
You and your non-identical sextuplet siblings were seemingly abandoned mere days after being born six years ago (in that neglected shack in the woods that will some day be turned back into a summer-kitchen behind Jen and Derek’s place on Hwy. #9). Cute as you were, it was inevitable that you’d be adopted right off the hop (together with your photo-grey brother Franklin) and you spent the next few years in the care of Nicki, Jay, and wee Jayden (who had named you after an animated toy train)… before ending up back here in Winnipeg Beach at Ev’s place. In the ensuing years you were literally the life of the party, offering us times of great hilarity (at your antics and odd quirks), lots of quiet companionship (we’ll miss your impressive purring), as well as more than your share of dramatic moments (remember the time you got the full facial blast from that nasty skunk in the culvert—and then you turned pink and black for a few weeks after we had washed you down with tomato juice to neutralize the skunk smell)?
We’ve made you a nice wooden box (from those boards we salvaged from the beach last month after the ice break-up) and we’ll be burying you this evening beside that bent little spruce tree where the deer sleep in the wild asparagus field back at Jen and Derek’s place… about a hundred meters from where you were born. Ev’s going to plant a clump of those daisies you always liked to hide in to mark the spot.
Don’t let this go to your head, Thomas…
but you truly were the coolest of cats!
Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
I’d like to say a huge Obrigado! (thank you!) to the kind folks who invited me to Portugal this week—the students, instructors, school administrators, and design colleagues who welcomed me with such open arms and kind hospitality. Special thanks go to graduating student Bruno Franco (my first contact at ESAD), Miguel Macedo (who initiated my participation with Comunicar Design), the driven and passionate Cristiana Pena (you rock, girrrrl!) for the inspirational and organizational effort, Anabela Figueiredo Machado Monteiro for the logistical support, and the rest of the ESAD/CR team and community…
Saudades!
Photos: Design… is a verb.—the title of my keynote presentation; event propaganda designed by the students; Bruno Franco (on the right, in the white sweatshirt) and others at the hands-on graffiti workshop (one of many diverse topics addressed during the event); some of the 3rd-day participants in front of the school (designer/author/presenter Nuno Coelho with doggy in foreground).
Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
I had heard (and written) about the enigmatic cartoon character Zé Povinho—the wildly popular “Portuguese everyman” created by the artist Bordalo Pinheiro in 1875, portrayed as a poor, somewhat passive-aggressive peasant known for flipping irreverent hand-gestures to uppity-ups in positions of privilege and power… so it was a delight to have the chance to visit the ceramics factory founded by Pinheiro here, and to view hundreds of his original drawings, maquettes, and signature ceramic creations. (Although the factory closed, sadly, in 2009 with the laying-off of over 100 employees, one of the kind women working in the retail shop made an exception and allowed Miguel and I to view the private museum collections).
Photos (from the top): Zé Povinho giving his classic salute (Pinheiro’s original piece); “The walls have ears…,” from the factory’s private museum; Zé Povinho as an installation piece; aside from the ubiquitous porcelain vegetables and cabbages the area is known for, the most popular object in any of the souvenir shops is ceramic penises*—ranging in size from baby’s pinky to a lumberjack’s forearm (and larger), including many cleverly attached/concealed on figurines of every description (and gender, for that matter), with the “members” in question “activated” by the pulling of a string—here a sweet little old lady shows off a small selection of the phallic wares she peddles in the local market square and from a tiny shop below her home; and, a few of the sculptures outside of one of Caldas da Rainha’s several sculptural museums (I’ll likely plan a return visit in the future to take these in).
*The tradition of making ceramic penises in Caldas da Rainha is said to have started when King Dom Luis, who ruled from 1861 to 1889, suggested that local potters “make something more interesting.” :-)
Óbidos, Portugal
Situated just a few km from Caldas da Rainha, the 14th-Century castellated village of Óbidos bristles with antique charm. Winding cobblestone streets inside the fortified walls are lined with an interesting mix of well-preserved Portuguese architecture spanning over 600 years (now most buildings are occupied by galleries, shops, and watering holes to serve the hordes of foreign tourists that apparently descend on Óbidos every summer—thankfully we encountered only a few handfuls of vacationing Brits and Germans in the narrow, nearly-deserted medieval laneways). I found myself drawn to the remarkably variegated patina and age-worn textures of the old facades, structures, doorways, and signage—what an incredible resource and palette for those in the visual arts living in this region!
My new ESAD/CR design-instructor friends Miguel Macedo and António Costa guided me on a meandering tour through the ancient castled village, and we enjoyed the local cherry liquor known as ginjinha, regional vinho tinto, and excellent fish dinners over spirited conversation as the sun sank into the Atlantic.
Methinks a person could get used to living in as civilized a place as this…
Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
I had the pleasure today of delivering one of the keynote lectures at day one of Comunicar Design, an annual three-day event organized by graphic design students at ESAD in Caldas da Rainha (the other keynote presenter was Rui Afonso Santos, an art historian and design critic from Lisbon). Students, teachers, and visiting designers (including quite a few alumni from across the country) were warm, welcoming, and enthusiastic.
The next few days will be filled with master classes and a variety of design-related workshops (including a collective examination of “Portuguese identity and persona,” further to the recently-published article I wrote for Communication Arts magazine.
Photos (from top): yours truly, giving the talk; my friendly host Miguel Macedo on the rocky coast at São Martino do Porto, just north of Caldas; the bay at Foz do Arelho at sundown; the daily fruit and vegetable market on the square in downtown Caldas da Rainha.
.
Allegedly, love is also blind
(it knows no colour, and is “no respecter of persons)”
it transcends time and space
(i.e. it’s timeless, ageless, and universal)
it knows no postal code or income bracket
or popularity index (it’s classless)
and it’s certainly not limited
by I.Q., BMI, shoe-size, or
the number of natural teeth
one may or may not still possess…
Who, being loved, is poor?
—Oscar Wilde
(image source unknown)
Victoria, British Columbia
If you’ve visited this/my blog in the past, you probably already know that I’m somewhat of a fan of unusual and vintage ephemera, oddball ideas, and assorted graphic juxtapositions and eccentricities… so of course I was happy about the serendipitous encounter I had today with an engaging and creatively stimulating online collection of “wacky” imagery.
Enjoy, eh?
Lisbon, Portugal
The May/June 2010 (#374 Illustration Annual 51) issue of Communication Arts magazine contains a feature article I’ve written entitled “Visual Communication Design in Portugal: Land of Discovery.” The piece investigates Portugal’s unique attributes, history, culture, and current realities in relation to visual communication—the article is accompanied by a selection of design and illustration by Portuguese designers.
I visited Lisbon in 2009 as a speaker at OFFF 2009 Oeiras (International Festival For The Post-Digital Creation Culture), an event attended by nearly 4000 enthusiastic participants. After the conference, I drew from dozens of attendees who contacted me following my talk in order to crowd-source opinions on Portuguese design and related issues, as well as suggestions for representative works.
I have been contributing in-depth foreign feature articles to Communication Arts magazine since 1994, including pieces on design and design events in Russia, Portugal (the XVI Icograda General Assembly in 1995), Uruguay, Australia, Korea, Japan, Brazil, China, Denmark, Cuba, and New Zealand. Copies of CA issue #374 are available at book stores and major news outlets around the world and may be purchased online from the Communication Arts website.
Read the full feature article (with full creative credits for works shown) or download the entire CA Portugal design feature here (1.1 MB). Note: this feature article from Communication Arts magazine appears with permission by Communication Arts ©2010 Coyne & Blanchard, Inc. All rights reserved.
A special thanks to the numerous Portuguese designers and design educators who enthusiastically contributed their insights, viewpoints, and suggestions regarding works that appear in the article, in particular; Sarah Chaves Brasseur, Carla Carrão, Aurelindo Ceia, António (Tózé) Coelho, António Costa, Ana Farinha, João Cardoso Fernandes, Antero Ferreira, Afonso Figueiredo, Margarida Fonseca, Bruno Franco, António Silveira Gomes, Carla Ponte Júlio, Ana Lopes, Miguel Macedo, Mário Moura, Fernando Oliveira, João Maio Pinto, Rosa Quitério, Luísa Ribas, Catarina da Silva, Paulo Silva, and Patrícia Sobral.
Ivrea, Italy
Just a sampling from a very nice Flickr collection of design for Olivetti…
(Thanks to Danielle Autran in Montreal for the link).
(at the risk of disastrous consequences all around)
(They can be such jokers at times…)
Georgian Bay, Ontario
Stretching from the vast wilderness of Algonquin Park in the east to the windswept shores of the Georgian Bay Islands in the west, the famed District of Muskoka includes the treasured towns of Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, and Huntsville, and the townships of Georgian Bay, Lake of Bays, and Muskoka Lakes.
The handsome new coffee-table book Muskoka captures the rugged beauty, pristine lakes, and charming settlements of this favoured cottage destination over four dramatic seasons. Translated from the Algonquin native language, ‘Muskoka’ means ‘land of the red earth’—unforgettable sunsets, stunning autumn tree foliage, and the region’s signature crop of cranberries—all relate back to the red earth theme and become the canvas for this keepsake photographic collection of one of Canada’s most cherished regions.
Author/photographer Mike Grandmaison (a close personal friend, a long-time client, and a former partner of mine some 20 years ago, when we both taught together as part of Praxis Photographic Workshops) is an award-winning Canadian photographer specializing in nature and landscapes. Working in the biological sciences for several decades instilled in Mike a deep appreciation for nature and the great outdoors. His work has been widely published in leading magazines and books and has been used by some of North America’s top corporations and organizations. Mike travels from coast to coast to coast in search of evocative images that capture the spirit of this great land we call Canada.
Look for Muskoka at top-quality local book vendors, or at www.keyporter.com (ISBN-13: 978-1-55470-260-2).
Congratulations, Mike!
Verona, Italy
I came across this lovely idea for a collective project (which Jason Kottke calls Geotypography) here.
