John Maeda lives at the intersection of technology and art, a place that can get very complicated. I understand that place very well. I’m posting this talk because there is so much of it that I relate with.
This talk creates more questions than answers. It is about observing, questioning, and experimenting. Creating something new that adds to the universe. Something that brings joy. Organizing found objects and everyday things to make something totally new.
John Maeda uses imagination to inspire. Walk one day in John Maeda’s shoes. Think, what would John Maeda do with this? Open your mind to new and creative ways to move forward in whatever you do.
BTW, Mr Maeda is no longer at MIT he is now President of Rhode Island School of Design. Makes me think about how much fun it could be to be back in school. You can find out more about what he is doing there. http://www.risd.edu/president/
During October 26 through October 30 I was involved in a twitter performance piece. The project was concieved and organized by @Platea. @Platea is a global collective of individuals interested in the power of public art carried out in the digital megacity of social media.
Methodology : observe and let the story unfold, improvise.
It all began with my first tweet:
The woman with the blond hair put on her raincoat, took her umbrella and headed up 18th street. #fp20
This was the beginning of a surprisingly participatory performance. I’ve written a recap at @Platea. I’m planning to make a series of drawings and a book to expand the story and experience from the performance.
We’ve spent plenty of time on the national mall usually in a gathering to protest an injustice and lend a voice for a more perfect union. Imagine our surprise at this new proposal for structure that would bring creative culture to the center of civic energy.
What an interesting approach to a design a dual agenda: raise the museum’s national profile and to put Washington in closer touch with creative life around it. Within weeks he was promoting his vision to legislators, museum directors and foreign cultural attachés.
The director of the Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Richard Koshalek proposes erecting an inflatable meeting hall That would pop out of the internal courtyard of the museum.
This is an exciting idea from any design point of view including architecture and placemaking, The other exciting aspect is a temporary structure reduces budget yet expands the impact the museum can make.
Congratulations to Mr. Koshalek and the Museum for such bold thinking.
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Designed by the New York firm Diller Scofidio & Renfro, the translucent fabric structure, which would be installed twice a year, for May and October, and be packed away in storage the rest of the time, would transform one of the most somber buildings on the mall into a luminous pop landmark.
I was really thrilled to find this mashup. I have always loved the work of Annie Lennox. Her understanding of every detail of performance and persona are breathtaking. I just had to post it for fun.
Time passes slowly up here in the mountains,
We sit beside bridges and walk beside fountains,
Catch the wild fishes that float through the stream,
Time passes slowly when you’re lost in a dream.
- Bob Dylan
Back from some time away from artificially managed time. When the sun goes down you go to sleep. When the sun comes up you wake up. This photo was taken at dawn. The color of the light is natural. This is the rose glow on the deck. The birds haven’t even begun to sing.
I imagine a Star Trek episode. The explorers have landed on a barren planet and deep in some bunker is an access point to a database left by a lost civilization. The away-team hits a button in error and a series of images are projected on a huge screen. The images are both exciting and disturbing; they are detached from events. They are a capture of moments past. A street photo of an apartment building, a restaurant, a grocery. The images are from many geographic areas and cultures.
This isn’t science-fiction this is Google, today.
Chances are that you’ve also seen some of these images when you have used google maps. Street View is an enhancement to the service. You can look at the landmark surroundings; make sure you are going to the right place; find out what the neighborhood is like. The camera captures these images without any other intention than a street view. But when one takes the time to look at more than just a couple of these images we can see the unadorned truth about us.
2588 N Hutchinson St. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
10 IJsselmeerdijk, Zeevang, Netherlands
These thoughts came to mind after readying a very interesting piece in Art Fag City written by artist Jon Rafman who lives and works in Montreal Canada. He raises some interesting questions about the cultural texts of the images one can find in this vast ever-expanding library.
I encourage you to give it a read and I would enjoy your comments.
This was a great site that I found about actions taken around the world to support the election protesters in Iran. An easy to navigate site that incorporated map locations. It used your IP to present you with an appropriate map view. You could drag and position the map to see other areas.
At the height of the protests the map was filled with green. The sea of green was information made visable.
Sorry I didn’t get it up sooner. The site is still live although it has changed.
Great new website! Follow the Apollo 11 mission to the moon with real-time experience. Follow the current point in mission. Listen to conversations, watch video that had been transmitted live. I’m just wondering around the site now and listening to the audio transmission.
Iran is ready for change. The Green Tsunami continues today despite the crackdown on protesters. There is a true revolution going on in Iran and we need to keep the story alive. If you tweet look for #iranelection and stay informed and spread the news. The movement continues from within and outside government even though the media sees it as less of a story.
The result of this movement can bring a change that will have impact on the entire Middle East and world policy. Iranians are forcing change. Let’ hope they will create an new environment that will push the restrictive regime from power.
Here’s a quote from the intro to the graphic novel. You can read it online or download it. Most importantly share it with your friends.
“The campaign of former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Moussavi galvanized voters hoping for change, especially among the youth – two thirds of Iran’s population is younger than 32. On June 12th 85% of eligible voters cast their ballots and what happened next changed Iran forever…”
