culturalboundaries

I could not resist this opportunity to share one of my favorite places Brooklyn. If you’re not busy this  weekend stop by The Brooklyn Book Festival, this free public event presenting an array of literary stars and emerging authors who represent the exciting world of literature today. One of America’s premier literary and literacy events, this hip, smart, diverse gathering attracts thousands of book lovers of all ages. I’m working this Sunday with Ramin Ganeshram, chef/food writer, make sure to stop by her table and say hello. For more information check out: http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/

Beth Lipman, handblown glass sculpture, "Bride."

The mountainous glass sculpture in the window of the Institute of Contemporary Arts at the Maine College of Arts (ICA), in Portland, Maine is part of the two-woman exhibition, “A Meticulous Ferment,” featuring the work of Beth Lipman and Kirsten Hassenfeld. Both of the women artist are clearly obsessed with the dual functionality of found objects these aesthetic show-up in their masterful obsession with each piece in this installation. The artists work to exploit the language of various materials; one in handblown glass, the other in paper, each creating a distinct narrative in there work.
Respectively, this show conveys the artists shared interest in the

Kirsten Hassenfeld, Treen.

history of decorative arts and ornamentation. Both bring a sensibility of balance with the contradiction of disorder in our daily lifestyles as consumers excessively obsessed with decadence and the need for cultural consumption.

Read the rest of this entry →

Lots of great events happening this summer all around NYC such as films, visual art, design, food and more. Here is a breakdown of the ones that I’ve been able to find, the best part is some are free! Please leave a comment if I’ve left anything out or you want to share something interesting. Friday, June 18th, 2010 Soul of Brooklyn Launch Party Time:  7-11pm Description: Hosted by Brooklyn icon, Ralph McDaniels, The Soul of Brooklyn launch party will premiere the highly anticipated website and guide book that will highlight the unique African Diaspora cultural and business renaissance taking place in the great metropolis of Brooklyn, New York! Featured at the launch will be a special performance by “Blitz the Ambassador”, Brooklyn vendors, food, music, art and give-away items and more! There will also be a Soul of Brooklyn photography exhibition, featuring images by Malik Yusef at MoCADA. For a schedule of all events click: SOULOFBROOKLYN.COM SOUL OF BROOKLYN’S VIDEO:

The 4th Annual Food Film Fesitval Kicks-off from June 23-27th If you’re a foodie the 4ht Annual Food Film Festival offers some of the best of selections of places to eat while experiencing a diverse range of films all on food. Things jump off June 23rd-27th, 2010 in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Click the link for more details: http://www.nycfoodfilmfestival.com/ HOMO-HARLEM film festival showing from June 21-26, 2010 featured at the Maysles Cinema located at 343 Malcolm X Blvd, bet. 127th & 128th Streets. This is a week long film survey of the artists and personalities who’ve informed the gay aesthetic in Harlem. This event is curated by Michael Henry Adams and Valerie Jo Bradley. Fascinating line-up of films includes: The Polymath, or the Life and Opinions of Samuel R. Delany, Gentleman; As I Remember it: Portrait of Dorothy West; Flag Wars; Tongue Untied: Still In Vogue; Black is…Black Ain’t; The Josephine Baker Story; and Naked White Roses. Check out the Maysles Cinema website for more information.

Above the work of Christine Rebet, The Black Cabinet, 2007

On Friday June 18, THE DISSOLVE, SITE opens in SANTA FE, it’s the 8th International Biennial Exhibition offers an insightful twist on contemporary art by the shows two curators Sarah Lewis and Daniel Belasco. The curators will present a new sensibility to contemporary art, and they merge current technology with traditional visual arts (painting, drawing, and sculpture) with dance, music, and film. The show features new emerging voices to give this biennial an experimental appeal and then their is the work of the established artist such as Paul Chan, William Kentridge, Raymond Pettibon, Martha Colburn, Kara Walker and Federico Solmi.

International Architect David Adjaye has imaginatively designed the biennial’s 15,000 square feet space, and last spring he curated the Urbanism in Africa Photography exhibition at the Design Museum  in London. Adjaye is a member of the Freelon Adjaye Bond/Smith Group, where he’s the lead designer for the National Museum of African History and Culture, to be built on the National Mall in Washington. Below: Robert Pruitt Featured in the exhibition, check out more of his work on THE DISSOLVE website.

After recently reading this post on a design colleagues Ayana Baltrip blog, DESIGNSPEAKS, I decided this essay was definitely worthy to share, with my design friends too. Steve Mehallo, teaches at American River College and he decided to share his views on the best ways to teach and research Graphic Design History. I’m interested in hearing your thoughts about Mehallo’s essay, on how design history should be taught.

Read about Mehallo’s refreshing methods on, how he teaches Design History. His essay offers you a thorough review on many of the key design history books considered the best by lots of design educators. I’m not going to mention any of the design history books, since you’ll get to read all about them in Mehallo’s essay. Although Mehallo’s does give you his aesthetic reasons on which books are worthy, and which ones need to skipped. In addition, his essay offers a solid rationale why anyone who teaches design history should not solely depend upon one book, but develop their own research methodology to make this subject engaging. Otherwise once you start lecturing and showing slides, you might just get a lot of students sitting in your class with their heads bowed once you turn down the lights. Last fall, I started my second Master’s in the Design Criticism program at School of Visual Arts in NYC. As a design educator, who also loves teaching Design History, I must confess that teaching this topic is an arduous task. However, my design history instructor in the program, Russell Flinchum, taught our class with the rigor of a southern baptist minister on Sunday morning. All to say, none of my classmates dared to bow their heads once the lights were turned down. As for me I left Russell’s class with a more varied knowledge on the history of design, and a lot of new books to add to my already overloaded bookcases at home. (above photograph; by Steve Melhallo student Samantha Costanilla).

Read more about Mehallo on his blog: http://mehallo.com/blog/

So I’ve been teaching my version of ‘a history of graphic design’ for several years now. Just finished up my 9th session.

As a text, Philip B. Meggs’ landmark research book – History of Graphic Design, first released in 1984 – is the bible on the subject. Even the ‘making of’ has its own edition.

It’s the most thorough analysis, and one of the best graphic design reference books I own. But as Meggs points out in his introduction, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more to discover, find, research and incorporate into one’s own view.

Finally, there is another book that just hit the market – The Story of Graphic Design by Patrick Cramsie. It tackles similar ground, but from another angle. A refreshing find. And from what I could tell so far, it syncs with my own classroom take on ‘The Story’ . . .

Rick Griffith, Design Director & Principle at Matter is organizing, curating, and presenting: Pressed: An Exhibition of Letterpress Printed Ephemera along with few other forms of typographic mischief throughout Denver May 28th through July 4th.

On Friday the 28th of May Untitled #29: TYPO kicks off the weekend with Printing demonstrations, Spoken word, and various sorts of Typographic mischief that are sure to tickle senses throughout the night. The show opens at 7pm and runs until 10pm.

The following day the ABOUT FACE Symposia will be set into motion with two type related film screenings: Typeface, by Justine Nagan & Jack Stauffacher, and Printer by Jim Faris. The screenings will be followed by a Panel discussion lead by Nick Sherman of FontBureau & Woodtyper, Jim Sherraden & Brad Vetter of Hatch ShowPrint, Rick Griffith of MATTER and Tom Parson of Now it’s up to you publications.

Closing out the weekend on Sunday May 30th Pressed: An Exhibition of Letterpress Printed Ephemera will open to the public. The show will feature work from the Hamilton 10th Anniversary show, Hatch Showprint, and Works produced at the TypeLab/Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection.

This spring there are a lot of events occurring around NYC with film, visual art, design, food and more. Here is a breakdown of the ones that I’ve been able to find, and some are all free! Please leave a comment if I’ve left anything out.

Social Dramas and Shimmering Spectacles: Muslim Cultures of Bombay Cinema
May 19 to 27
Celebrate and explore the rich influence of Muslim cultural and social traditions on the cinema of Bombay at Lincoln Center. http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/bombay.html

Chaudhvin Ka Chand
M. Sadiq, 1960, India; 169m
Fiza
Khalid Mohamed, 2000, India; 170m
Garm Hawa
M. S. Sathyu, 1973, India; 146m
Jodhaa Akbar
Ashutosh Gowariker, 2008, India; 213m
Mammo
Shyam Benegal, 1994, India; 124m

May 21st and 22nd – Costume Collections: A Collaborative Model for Museums
The Brooklyn Museum and the Costume Institute are hosting a 2-day symposium about their new costume collaboration. I’m looking forward to seeing both exhibitions this spring!

Fredrick Levore at University of the Streets
We hope you can play your part in the audience and enjoy an incredible evening of live music featuring: Michael Feinberg on bass, Daniel Platzman, drums Richard Louie, piano Alex Pope Norris, brass Emily Greene and Tatiana Kochkareva vocals.
Saturday, June 5, 2010 at 7PM-11:30PM; located at 130 East 7th Street (Avenue A) New York City.

COLLABORATION: 
KARIN FONG OF IMAGINARY FORCES
THURSDAY 17 JUNE 2010 6:30–8:00PM
Join Karin Fong, founding member of Imaginary Forces and renown title designer, as she discusses the collaborative nature of designing cinematic experiences in its many roles.
As director and designer for a wide range of projects, spanning the worlds of fashion, entertainment, advertising, live-action direction, video games, experience design and environmental installations, Karin’s work carries a unique stamp whether it features the Marines or stop motion claymation figures.
AIGA/NY event

Black Brooklyn Renaissance: Black Arts and Culture, 1960–2010. The summer season gives ample evidence of the renaissance at work: the Black Brooklyn Drum Call, a concert featuring Toshi Reagon, an exhibition featuring the work of six Black Brooklyn photographers, the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival along the Dumbo waterfront, the annual Tribute to Our Ancestors of The Middle Passage in Coney Island and so much more. summer event calendar

I’m honored to be a part of such a creative group of 25 designers in the show Design Journey: You Are Here, set to open on 20 May, this week at AIGA in NYC. My good friend Rafael Esquer of alfalfa studio is busy racing against time to put the finishing touches on the mural for the exhibition.
Check out some of Raf’s sketches, better yet make sure to see the show to experience his amazing mural artistry.

I called Raf to offer my help along with some of his artist and designer to paint the mural on the wall in the AIGA gallery. And the entire process will be videotaped.

Below of are few more examples of the murals.

You Are Here opening reception: Wednesday, May 19, from 6:00–8:00 p.m. at the AIGA National Design Center. The exhibition was designed by TODA and will be open to the public from May 20 to June 23.

Venus 2010: Panel Three – The “Hottentot Venus” in Art and Film from NYU Photography and Imaging on Vimeo.

This was an excellent Symposium and now you can checkout all those inspirational presenters online: Venus 2010: They Called Her “Hottentot,” An Interdisciplinary Symposium on Sarah Baartman.
The event was a great success and we were honored to host such amazing presenters and attendees.
For information, photos, and video from the March 27th symposium, please visit our website at: http://photo.tisch.nyu.edu/object/photo_venusgallery.html
If you would like to purchase or find more information about the accompanying book,
Black Venus 2010: They Called Her “Hottentot” please visit the Temple University Press website at: http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/1440_reg.html

Venus 2010: A Poem for Sarah Baartman by Diana Ferrus from NYU Photography and Imaging on Vimeo.

I could not resist posting this amazing Graphic Design biennial featuring some of the most prolific international designers. Check out the poster design it’s an excellent example of the use of symbolism merging two cultures (Chinese and German).

The First Graphic Design Biennial Germany–China will open in Offenbach, Germany om May 12, 2010. More than 300 contemporary posters and 150 books, as well as numerous animations will be shown in the Am alten Schlachthof exhibition hall.
The best communication designers of China are coming to Germany to attend the opening. Amongst them will be Min Wang, designer of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games graphic identity, and many world famous poster and book designers. Furthermore they will give lectures and presentations at the HfG Offenbach from May 10 to 12. The presenters include Bi Xuefeng (Shenzhen), Chen Shaohua (Shenzhen), Chen Zhengda (Hangzhou), Yang Liu (Berlin), Lü Jingren (Beijing), Sascha Lobe (Stuttgart), Eike König (Berlin), Song Xiewei (Beijing) and Wang Min (Beijing).
Additional information can be found on the official website www.biennale-decn.com

Below examples of Poster in Chinese and German