Just got word this morning that I will be taking the wheel of the guest editor bus over at coudal.com for the month of February. Those of you who have been visiting this site for some time will certainly recognize their name as having topped my list of the Top Ten Most Important Websites from a year ago (and again this year on the IBC "Top Ten Blogs of 2005"). Coudal.com is one of the major influencing factors as to why we got messed up in this blogging racket in the first place so this invitation is a true honour. Thanks to Jim and the entire team. I am looking forward to it.
For those of you who have just found this site via coudal.com, this is more of a hobby / portfolio site than my day gig over at Industrial Brand Creative but it does get updated on a weekly basis at the very least and you are more than welcome to hang out and explore. Thanks for coming.
Labels: Collaborators, Shameless Self Promotion
Monday, January 30, 2006
Mike Goedecke: The Industrial Brand Interview
Mike Goedecke, Founder and Executive Creative Director of the California motion graphics company belief was recently in Vancouver for the Canadian premiere of his short film "Embryo" at a SIGGRAPH event. The next day, Mark and I met up with him and his lovely wife Lisa at Cassis for a brilliant lunch and an interview on his process and passion.
Mike Goedecke, Founder and Executive Creative Director of the California motion graphics company belief was recently in Vancouver for the Canadian premiere of his short film "Embryo" at a SIGGRAPH event. The next day, Mark and I met up with him and his lovely wife Lisa at Cassis for a brilliant lunch and an interview on his process and passion.
Labels: Design, Shameless Self Promotion
Monday, January 23, 2006
Touch the Sound
In "Touch the Sound" we are challenged to reconsider the way our senses interact with the external world. This relationship is a fundamental component of existence to be sure, and one that few of us take the time to understand. In fact, it is only when one of our senses is lost or damaged that the impact is truly felt.
Evelyn Glennie has mastered the art of listening and also creating sounds. She is a world class percussionist, composer, musician and teacher. She is also almost completely deaf. When people ask her how it is that she can hear she explains to them, with a wisdom that has been gained through years of practice and application, that sound vibrations enter not just the ear but the entire body and she is able to read and decipher them in this way. Ironically, when she then asks the same question back to the person, the answer is little more than "Well, with my ears, of course!". It is apparent immediately in this film that Glennie hears more than most.
The film is centred around an improvised recording session by Glennie and composer/musician Fred Frith in a massive derilect industrial building in Germany. The rest of the segments follow her from New York to Scotland to Japan, meeting and performing with percussionists at each stop.
Visually the filmmakers approach the subject matter brilliantly using patterns and movement as metaphors for the world of vibration that Glennie inhabits. Cars crossing a bridge, pigeons alighting from the rafters, a flag waving in the breeze, stilettos on a marble floor, ice cracking on a pond, these are the rhythms that surround us.
And for Glennie, no object is above or below harnassing for its percussive potential. In one scene in a nightclub in Japan, Glennie shocks her Conservatory-trained accompianists by playing the opening number using chopsticks, an ashtray, wine bottle, dirty plates and a Kirin beer can as her instrument. The resulting performance is magical.
This is an inspiring and lifting movie. I recommend it highly. It is playing at the Vancouver International Film Centre until January 26th. You can view the trailer here.
In "Touch the Sound" we are challenged to reconsider the way our senses interact with the external world. This relationship is a fundamental component of existence to be sure, and one that few of us take the time to understand. In fact, it is only when one of our senses is lost or damaged that the impact is truly felt.
Evelyn Glennie has mastered the art of listening and also creating sounds. She is a world class percussionist, composer, musician and teacher. She is also almost completely deaf. When people ask her how it is that she can hear she explains to them, with a wisdom that has been gained through years of practice and application, that sound vibrations enter not just the ear but the entire body and she is able to read and decipher them in this way. Ironically, when she then asks the same question back to the person, the answer is little more than "Well, with my ears, of course!". It is apparent immediately in this film that Glennie hears more than most.
The film is centred around an improvised recording session by Glennie and composer/musician Fred Frith in a massive derilect industrial building in Germany. The rest of the segments follow her from New York to Scotland to Japan, meeting and performing with percussionists at each stop.
Visually the filmmakers approach the subject matter brilliantly using patterns and movement as metaphors for the world of vibration that Glennie inhabits. Cars crossing a bridge, pigeons alighting from the rafters, a flag waving in the breeze, stilettos on a marble floor, ice cracking on a pond, these are the rhythms that surround us.
And for Glennie, no object is above or below harnassing for its percussive potential. In one scene in a nightclub in Japan, Glennie shocks her Conservatory-trained accompianists by playing the opening number using chopsticks, an ashtray, wine bottle, dirty plates and a Kirin beer can as her instrument. The resulting performance is magical.
This is an inspiring and lifting movie. I recommend it highly. It is playing at the Vancouver International Film Centre until January 26th. You can view the trailer here.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Piece of Show
I saw an illustration by Andrew Zbihlyj (pronounced "ZI-BEE-LEE") in an old issue of Nuovo magazine while eating lunch the other day and immediately shouted down to my colleague Steph to throw his name into the google search. His work, a mix of "acrylic paint, black ink, various papers, tape, some harmful chemicals and...fire" reminded me very much of gonzo artist Ralph Steadman with a more sombre palette. Beautiful work.
I saw an illustration by Andrew Zbihlyj (pronounced "ZI-BEE-LEE") in an old issue of Nuovo magazine while eating lunch the other day and immediately shouted down to my colleague Steph to throw his name into the google search. His work, a mix of "acrylic paint, black ink, various papers, tape, some harmful chemicals and...fire" reminded me very much of gonzo artist Ralph Steadman with a more sombre palette. Beautiful work.
Labels: Art
Thursday, January 05, 2006
The History of a
Shameless Imposter
In my attempt to dissuade a client from her preference toward the font Arial, I came across a wonderful account of this homely typeface's origin and proliferation titled The Scourge of Arial over on Mark Simonson's site.
In short, Arial is like an invasive species, the English Ivy to the font world's Stanley Park. We need to rip it out by the roots.
Shameless Imposter
In my attempt to dissuade a client from her preference toward the font Arial, I came across a wonderful account of this homely typeface's origin and proliferation titled The Scourge of Arial over on Mark Simonson's site.
In short, Arial is like an invasive species, the English Ivy to the font world's Stanley Park. We need to rip it out by the roots.
Labels: Design, Typography
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Industrial Brand on
How Magazine's Top Ten
The Adventures in the Blogosphere continue over at Industrial Brand Creative as our blog gets named one of How Magazine's Top Ten Websites.
How Magazine's Top Ten
The Adventures in the Blogosphere continue over at Industrial Brand Creative as our blog gets named one of How Magazine's Top Ten Websites.
Labels: Collaborators, Industrial Brand Creative, Shameless Self Promotion
Monday, January 02, 2006
The Museum
of UnNatural History
Our perspectives on ethnology, consumerism and culture will be spun on their collective heads at the end of this month when Brian Jungen arrives back in Vancouver with his New York exhibition in tow. At first glance, his work seems more fitting in a Museum of Natural History: whale skeletons suspended from the ceiling; glass cases displaying First Nations ceremonial masks. On second look, one realizes that these artifacts have been created entirely out of materials from our present day disposable consumerist culture. The masks are skinned and splayed Nike basketball shoes; the whales bones no more than backyard plastic chairs. Everyday objects become sacred while at the same time, the mythical properties of nature and tradition are suddenly cut down to size.
Jungen has been receiving a great deal of exposure as of late, the New York show certainly serving as the pinnacle of this assertive rise. Vancouver will no doubt welcome him back in full prodigal son fashion. This is stimulating and important work that should not be missed. It will be on display at the Vancouver Art Gallery from January 28 to April 30, 2006.
of UnNatural History
Our perspectives on ethnology, consumerism and culture will be spun on their collective heads at the end of this month when Brian Jungen arrives back in Vancouver with his New York exhibition in tow. At first glance, his work seems more fitting in a Museum of Natural History: whale skeletons suspended from the ceiling; glass cases displaying First Nations ceremonial masks. On second look, one realizes that these artifacts have been created entirely out of materials from our present day disposable consumerist culture. The masks are skinned and splayed Nike basketball shoes; the whales bones no more than backyard plastic chairs. Everyday objects become sacred while at the same time, the mythical properties of nature and tradition are suddenly cut down to size.
Jungen has been receiving a great deal of exposure as of late, the New York show certainly serving as the pinnacle of this assertive rise. Vancouver will no doubt welcome him back in full prodigal son fashion. This is stimulating and important work that should not be missed. It will be on display at the Vancouver Art Gallery from January 28 to April 30, 2006.
Labels: Art
