culturalboundaries

Susana Barreto presents her paper on the recent phenomenon of global design targeted at international markets, and the criticism of these scenarios which can create problems as they take a strong hold in the ethical models of international environments. She is vehement about how graphic designers need to move forward in this area and why designers need to develop new models and methodologies for global design markets, and not replicate methods being used by other design disciplines.

Does the keyword global design  bring up issues of buzz words, while ignoring the specificity of cultures they are proposing to develop by lumping people together.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
What does Global Design mean to you?
Do designers need to apply the same techniques practiced by cultural anthropologists or ethnographer’s?

Susana discussion brings forth numerous questions, why are designers quickly latching onto clients seeking to globally expand into new markets?

Is global design another form of corporate colonization?

Susana discusses, the issues surrounding the existence of Darling toothpaste was once called Darkie toothpaste featuring negative stereotype of blackface minstrels.
Why are such ethnic stereotypes still used to sell products?

Let’s not forget Nikes sneaker design featuring the word “ALLAH,” inscribed on the back of the shoes. While Nike assumed they were being hip by there stylishly rendering of the word “Nike” in reality it was “Allah.”

Can you speak about the early 1990s controversial Benetton campaign created by photographer Oliveri Toscani, such as two young girls portrayal of angel and devil, and how these imaged fashioned to sell clothes tended to addressed negative assumptions of races, gender and sexism. Yet, the big questions arose at the time over commerce and fashion?

listens to Susan Barreto’s lecture

Lauri Lyons, a well-known documentary photographer has a new online publication, Nomads Magazine it’s a quarterly devoted entirely to global travel aimed at exposing its readers to many exciting cultural experiences that promises to take you around the globe. This magazine is guaranteed to be filled with adventuresome features stories and extraordinary black and white or color images by world renowned artists and journalists, who live their life on the run. Lauri also writes about culture and photography for the Huffington Post and this December she’s leading a NOMAD Photography Workshop in Salvador de Bahia.

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.

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The State of African American Studies: Methodology, Pedagogy, and Research

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the Institute for Research on the African Diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean at the City University of New York extend a call for papers for their regular conference on the state of scholarship in African American Studies. Entitled, The State of African American Studies: Methodology, Pedagogy, and Research, the conference will take place on January 6-8, 2011 at the Schomburg Center, located at 135th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem, and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, located at 365 Fifth Avenue. Complete panels and individual paper submissions related to the theme – broadly conceived – are invited from scholars and graduate students. In addition to papers in your academic areas of expertise, and on teaching and research methodologies, are particularly welcome submissions on labor, community engagement, gender, sexuality, visual culture, and relations in the Diaspora.

Proposals should be submitted electronically and must include your name, title of the paper, panel, or roundtable, and an abstract of 150 words. They should also include the institutional affiliation of each presenter, phone numbers, and email addresses. Submit proposals by November 1, 2010 to:

Aisha al-Adawiya
State of African American Studies
Schomburg Center For Research in Black Culture
515 Malcolm X Boulevard
New York NY 10037-1801
E-mail: aaladawiya@nypl.org

Please consult the Schomburg Center’s website for information on travel and hotels.
Registration $20, Students: Free

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.

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

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.

The AIGA/XCD is promoting “Design Is Not Justice,” they are asking designers to become more socially aware of what it means when countries sentence people to death. If you believe that “death” is wrong, then make your voice heard with your design.

Posterfortomorrow.org call for entries launches:

Call for Entries!
Death is not Justice.
October the 10th 2010 (10/10/10) is the World Day against the Death Penalty.
Poster for Tomorrow is holding its second annual poster exhibition featuring 100 exhibitions in 100 cities.
This year’s theme calls for the universal abolition of the death sentence, in the spirit of Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

We’re working with Amnesty International, the Council of Europe, Reporters Without Borders, the World coalition against the Death Penalty and Bianca Jagger to raise awareness of our cause.

In 2009, countries with the highest number of executions were Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. In China information regarding the death penalty remains secret, but estimates indicate that China probably executes more people than the rest of the world combined.*

There is hope – executions around the world are apparently on the decline. In December 2010, the United Nations is scheduled to deliberate on a universal moratorium on the death penalty.

To respond to our call for entries, please visit the Poster for Tomorrow’s website. Be sure to register and create an account in order to properly submit your work. Call for entries closes on July 18, 2010 at Noon, Pacific Standard Time. There is no entry fee.

Selected winners of the Poster for Tomorrow (as selected by the jury) will be included in 100 locations worldwide on October 10, 2010. Their entries will become part of the permanent collection of selected design museums worldwide, and published in the exhibition catalogue.
For more information about the awards, please contact:
Setareh Farsi, press office manager
T: +331 5341 4161, E: setareh@posterfortomorrow.org
*source Amnesty International