Perhaps it was the novelty factor (not too many of these around as far as I’m aware), or perhaps it was because I wasn’t expecting it in the paper, but this advertorial for Kellogg’s Nature’s Pleasure made me smile.
Month: June 2009
Superluxury Vuitton
Louis Vuitton, the world’s most powerful luxury brand according to Forbes, isn’t really #1 without a reason (apart from 3/4ths of Japan’s female population contributing to their coffers in large numbers year after year that is): they make an effort to create a unique brand identity. This year, to celebrate six years of their association, Takashi Murakami has created a manga cartoon called Superflat First Love for Louis Vuitton. It is in keeping with rule #1 of manga: be bizarre. OK, I’m being a little harsh – my knowledge of manga extends to watching Paprika and a bit of Pokémon, if that qualifies! But you know what I mean.
The video is a bit like a weird Japanese Alice in Wonderland-meets-Louis Vuitton thing. I quite like it.
The value of value
Noticed this in Soho a few weeks ago. I admit the first thing that made me look was the Woolworth’s font. Except that it said ‘Worthless’…..which is not too far from the truth, though I was mildly interested to know that they’ve relaunched as an online store following their closing down a few months ago. Anyway, this group, called the Pollocks Group is ostensibly a network of young rebels that in this instance offered to transform any old piece of junk you brought in into a piece of art, and in return only asked that you pay what you thought the finished item was worth. It was a week-long event (I saw the poster only after the event), but it got me thinking about this sentiment of pay-what-you-think-it’s-worth that seems to be going around. This particular event was also ‘inspired by the recession’ and came about because the group was ‘compelled to create something positive’.
In the end, the financial meltdown can be summarised as having happened because of greedy banks and non-creditworthy people entering into deals they shouldn’t have. (That word ‘worth’ comes in here too). Models like pay-what-you-think-it’s-worth are like a fresh start in some ways. The key thing is to ensure that this value that we place on things doesn’t get inflated to the point that people get greedy again, and even more crucially, that banks aren’t allowed by regulatory bodies to act on that greed even if they do get greedy.
People definitely want to create a new world, one that is positive rather than negative and gloomy. I think it’s time we all move towards that. It’s up to the financial institutions to analyse how exactly to prevent a financial meltdown of the scale we have witnessed (recommended reading: some of Umair Haque’s thoughts on this), but the rest of us should try to move on.
All is not what it seems
This image has just stuck in my mind. Spotted on Fubiz again.
Voices amidst the cacophony
I chanced upon the work of Christopher Baker via Computerlove. He’s involved in a range of interesting projects, but my favourite without doubt is Hello World! Or How I Learned To Stop Listening And Love The Noise, a video installation that takes 5000 personal videos from YouTube to create a massive wall where they all play simultaneously. It will show in Gijon, Spain from 23rd October 2009 to 5th April 2010. He explains the concept behind it very well, and I really wish I could see it:
On one hand, new media technologies like YouTube have enabled new speakers at an alarming rate. On the other hand, no new technologies have emerged that allow us to listen to all of these new public speakers. Each video consists of a single lone individual speaking candidly to a (potentially massive) imagined audience from a private space such as a bedroom, kitchen, or dorm room. The multi-channel sound composition glides between individuals and the group, allowing viewers to listen in on unique speakers or become immersed in the cacophony. Viewers are encouraged to dwell in the space.
Here’s a video of the installation. Looks mesmerizing.
Bit by bit
There is some SERIOUS detail in this piece by Shepard Fairey. It’s easy to think that there isn’t in a lot of modern art, and then I see a video like this and I remember that it’s all in the details. The video is part of Arkitip’s Issue #51, which celebrates Fairey’s work in the light of his famous Obama ‘Hope’ portrait, and his talent at remixing. (As an aside, I didn’t know ‘Hope’ hung in the National Portrait Gallery in the Smithsonian. Neat.)
Shepard Fairey from Arkitip on Vimeo.
Colourful invisibles
Love this series of ads. Some of my favourite cartoon characters, with a touch of creativity.
Clay Shirky at TED@State: Power to the People
Earlier this year, I watched Clay Shirky speak at the LSE. Last month, he spoke at TED@State on the same subject – how social media mechanisms like Twitter and platforms like My Barack Obama are changing the way governments and politics operate. The TED talk has just been put up online, and I found it compelling enough to sit through again despite the fact that I’d already heard a lot of his points. Specifically, I think he lays the foundation for his talk in these very strong words which he admits need backing up (he proceeds to do so): “The moment we’re living through, the moment our historical generation is living through, is the largest increase in expressive capability in human history.”
Given that as I write this, #iranelection is still amongst the top trending topics on Twitter, I think he is onto something here. He may not have been the first person to assert the importance of social media in our current global landscape, but people who think tools like Twitter are crap (and there is actually someone who says exactly that in the comments to the video), need to seriously learn the facts – and about the stories of change.
Fitting the pieces together
On the tube today, I noticed a poem by William Blake as part of the Poems on the Underground series. Not very noteworthy in itself, but the poem specifically mentioned parts of London like Islington, Marylebone, St.John’s Wood and St. Pancras (such familiar London territory) and I was intrigued because to me Blake was always the poet who wrote ‘The Tiger‘ and other poems along those lines. Bit silly of me I suppose – I hadn’t done a Blake introspective, clearly! Anyway, I came back and did some Google work, and found that the poem was printed as part of the Story of London festival, a ‘month long celebration of London’s past, present and future’, and that tube commuters are supposed to get a free booklet of all the poems being published as part of this series, including ‘Composed upon Westminster Bridge‘ by William Wordsworth.
I can tell you that I’m going to be keeping an eye out for that booklet, though I haven’t seen it yet at any tube station – not too surprising since it was only released a few days ago.
Here’s the poem. It’s actually an excerpt from ‘Prophetic Books by William Blake: Jerusalem‘, not a separate piece of work in itself, but nice, nevertheless.
The fields from Islington to Marybone,
To Primrose Hill and Saint John’s Wood,
Were builded over with pillars of gold,
And there Jerusalem’s pillars stood.
Her Little-ones ran on the fields,
The Lamb of God among them seen,
And fair Jerusalem his Bride,
Among the little meadows green.
Pancrass & Kentish-town repose
Among her golden pillars high:
Among her golden arches which
Shine upon the starry sky.
The Jew’s-harp-house & the Green Man,
The Ponds where Boys to bathe delight,
The fields of Cows by William’s farm,
Shine in Jerusalem’s pleasant sight.
Banksy wins
Thanks to Faris, I spotted the news that Banksy‘s work has finally been legalised, in a sense. Rather than the government trying to get rid of all traces of his admittedly controversial work, the Bristol Museum has worked with him to get his work installed in the museum, interspersed with other (actual) historical works of art. As Gandhi said, first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they hate you, then you win.
I like that he has no problems with people taking pictures of his work in the museum – one thing that most museums across the world prohibit. In fact, look at the Flickr stream of s.butterfly, who already has pictures of almost all the work in the Banksy vs. Bristol Museum exhibition up online.
I think Banksy’s work is a very insightful commentary on the times, especially works like the one that has monkeys in the Parliament. To me, that ties in beautifully with the whole UK MP expenses scandal and makes me think that monkeys are probably smarter!
One Size Fits One 
