Secrets of New York

March 4, 2010 at 9:25 am
Filed under Architecture, Arts and Crafts, Placemaking, Public Art

One of the backlit collages Chris Rubino created for the Distrikt Hotel

Cafe mural (left) and typographic work at the Distrikt Hotel

Let there be Art (please)

March 1, 2010 at 10:07 am
Filed under Arts and Crafts, City Happenings, Public Art

Artwork: Kenneth Anger

In a town where image is everything, the ongoing battles among local government, residents, and billboard companies over what constitutes commercial signage and art are no surprise. As the various interests continue to duke it out in Los Angeles, a local arts center is having its say.

“How Many Billboards? Art in Stead” is a large-scale urban exhibition that proposes, simply, that in a highly mediated environment like LA, art “should occupy a visible position in the cacophony.” With its exhibition of 21 contemporary artworks on billboards, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture attempts to show how art can provide a needed respite from commercial images.

The show, in the works since 2006, was made possibly by donations from major billboard companies and by thought-provoking work from commissioned artists. It’s up through the end of March. — P.M.K.

Artwork: James Welling

Artwork: Kerri Tribe

Aggravure

February 18, 2010 at 4:22 pm
Filed under Arts and Crafts

“It’s rather hip for modern artists to skip traditional art media and forgo stuffy art galleries for empty factories and abandoned industrial spaces to showcase their art, but not a lot of them can pull off what French visual artist Baptiste Debombourg did.

In his installation Aggravure, Baptiste spent 75 hours creating the image of falling Phaeton* on a wall in a very, very unusual manner.”  Scroll down to see his medium of choice. — A.M.

How sweet it is

February 12, 2010 at 9:49 am
Filed under Arts and Crafts

In case you need some inspiration for this weekend’s holiday (and I’m not talking President’s Day), check out the sticky-sweet but clever work of Brooklyn-based artist Julia Chiang, whose medium of choice these days is melted lollipops—specifically, Ring Pops nailed to the wall. As they melt, they leave beautiful rainbows of color down the walls.

Chiang’s latest installation is helping to mark the opening of New York Hotel The Standard’s shop. –P.M.K.

Julia Chiang (courtesy OHWOW Miami)

Pointing to the arrow

February 12, 2010 at 9:26 am
Filed under Arts and Crafts, Symbols, Wayfinding

Paul Klee's paintings, such as Contrasts in the Evening and Separation in the Evening, are energized by crisp geometric arrows.

Paul Klee paintings on exhibit at MoMA’s current Bauhaus show set design writer Phil Patton off on an interesting riff on arrows in art and design. Klee’s use of crisp, geometric arrows in his dreamy compositions, such as Contrasts in the Evening and Separation in the Evening, represent energy, effort, and spiritual yearning, according to Patton’s piece.

Metaphysical meditations aside, arrows as a practical tool (first for hunting and later for giving direction) have been one of the most ubiquitous graphic symbols ever employed by humans. And now they’re everywhere: not just on highway and wayfinding signs, but in logomarks and branding for such companies as In-n-Out Burger, Subway, and FedEx. Even the Apple iPod gets in on the act, reducing the symbol to its essence: the small triangles that are even shorter shorthand for “point of entry.” — P.M.K.

An arrow hides playfully in the FedEx logo designed by Linton Leader (Landor) in 1994.

Tape art

February 11, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Filed under Arts and Crafts, Materials

Don’t know much about Richard Spinner, an artist who works with 3M tape as his medium.  But if you’re still snowed in and have a bunch of tape around, it’s an endeavor worth considering. — A.M.

Yes, but is it art?

February 6, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Filed under Arts and Crafts

In this case, the answer’s yes.  Don’t even get your devoted blogger started on what art is and isn’t.  But do check out this video on art that has to be identified as art – and not trash – at the Walker Art Center. — A.M.

Doggett honored at Yale exhibition

January 27, 2010 at 8:57 am
Filed under Architecture, Arts and Crafts, Signage, Transportaton

Environmental graphic design pioneer Jane Davis Doggett was among the first to understood the important role of airports as gateways to their communities, and she also recognized the power of graphics and signage to make them friendlier and easier to navigate. Her work at the international airports in Memphis, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Cleveland, Newark, and many other cities changed airport environments forever, and for the better.

Yesterday, her alma mater, Yale University, opened a new exhibit honoring her artwork—a unique blend of signage-influenced geometric graphic design and mysticism. Like her EGD work, the compositions feature colors and symbols that “transcend language and cultural divides.” Each illustrates an ancient proverb, bringing together ancient traditions and modernism, fine art and human behavior.

“Talking Graphics” will run through March 7 at the Yale University Art Gallery. Doggett will give a talk there Thursday at 5:30 p.m. –P.M.K.

Looking back at Bauhaus

January 18, 2010 at 11:21 am
Filed under Architecture, Arts and Crafts, Graphic Design

Just a few days left to see MoMA’s “Bauhaus 1919-1933: Workshops on Modernity,” the museum’s first exhibition on the avante-garde art movement since 1938. Founded in 1919 but shut down by the Nazis in 1933, the school was a laboratory for artists, architects, and designers to redefine the nature of art in the modern technological age.

Environmental graphic design has its roots in the Bauhaus ideals, particularly in its exploration of visual communication themes and the interplay of space, brand, and typography. Studying the Bauhaus is crucial to environmental graphic designers who would like to understand the roots of integrated architecture, graphics, and brand. — C.B.

Cal Lane

December 23, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Filed under Arts and Crafts

“I like to work as a visual devil’s advocate, using contradiction as a vehicle for finding my way to an empathetic image, an image of opposition that creates a balance – as well as a clash – by comparing and contrasting ideas and materials.”  That’s what Cal Lane says about her “Industrial Doilies.” — A.M.