Playgrounds

Here are a bunch of really neat playgrounds from around the world. I've always really loved playgrounds on principle alone but recently I've realized how under-represented and under-rated they are in the world of architecture. I think there's definitely something "arty" to be said for them.

Is it a Crime?

I thought this video looked like it did not take much effort to film. In fact, I myself could easily have done it, however the concept behind the film is what makes it genius. The camera man/woman takes a piece of paper, with the instructions sayings DO NOT steal artwork from the museum, and plays with the idea, clearly showing the museum in the background, however distorted it may be. The music also seems very disjointed to me. Anyway I think its a great piece!

Fuck Planet Earth

This video reminded me a lot of a combination of our subtitles assignment and sound effects assignment. And it was hilarious.
Wonderful.

T-Shirt Travels: The Political Implications of Used Clothing

A documentary to provide some background on the world of clothing as we are thinking about the exchange of clothing as a meaningful act.

Amazing sculpture work

Brian Dettmer makes these amazing sculptures out of cassette tapes: They're skeletons. They're meticulous and jaw-droppingly detailed; but beyond that, they have incredibly interesting implications for the metaphorical death of analog media.



So that's just one sample, but I highly recommend you scroll through all his work.

He also has done these exquisite book autopsies. They are such an amazing new interpretation of book arts -- and so, again, meticulous. I am obsessed with them. Could someone send this along to Mare Blocker?

Hitler Contemplates Losing The War

There's a surprise I promise.

The Way Things Go and The Honda One Take Ad

Sarah, great post on the top 7 one take videos. That one from Quebec (Black Eyed Peas Cover) has really unleashed a craze this week-end. The Honda cog ad, you may be glad to know,  is in fact based directly on a famous Fischli and Weiss art film called "The Way Things Go." It's a rube goldberg contraption; an early masterpiece in art video and very famous. The DVD sold en masse at museums across the country (and on amazon and everywhere) and then Honda must have paid as well to make their ad in direct homage. Kinda interesting in light of our 280 discussion last thursday, too, vis a vis art, advertising...and the quick and the slow. Check it out. I have the whole film of this if anyone wants to watch it sometime too. It's 26 min.

One Takes

Here are some other amazing one-take videos to get the creative juices flowing.

Number six looks really fun and number seven is an ad... too bad all that creative jooz went to Honda!!

Humans vs. Nature

I don't know how the grounds crew around Whitman campus would feel about this happening here, but I think it would make for a good project that involves any participants. We could set up a course or something for people to follow and help create a design of our making. video

Robot...

So I stumbled across this video while checking out Kanye West's blog. I always find it fascinating how far a certain group will go for the sake of advertising as well. But it's short and fairly entertaining.

Impromtu Perfromances

I'm sure most people have seen this commercial/video but the "I Gotta Feeling" video that Ben posted really reminded me of it. People--in this case T-Mobile advertisers--make lots of preparation to achieve one sole performance. I want to experience something like this so bad. Is this an example of art as a demonstration of social behaviors?

AlloSphere

Hi everyone,

I stumbled across the AlloSphere yesterday and found it fairly mindblowing. I can't believe something like this has actually been built. Hope you like it.

No Child Left Behind...

Somethings just make you wonder what people do for edumacation...

COMBO animation

Incredible

Check out this single-take video made by a group of over 150 students at the University of Quebec. It's a spectacular result. Do any of you think it would be possible to do something like this in a single take here at Whitman? Would be interesting to try something even on a smaller scale. This is truly ambitious and fluidly done. Hats off to this group. Inspiring. Enjoy.

Another Nice Keyboard Cat

I watched this twice and it got funnier the second time. I think it will be yet funnier the 3rd. But it is also a little scary. Is anyone acting here? Does it matter?
Candid, tragic, and hilarious footage with our friend the keyboard cat.

Where have all the artists gone?

Here is a quote that relates to our most recent discussion.

What if we never made it to the moon?

This speech was written just in case Armstrong and Aldrin had been stranded on the moon. It makes you wonder how many other speeches politicians have written for these "just in case" circumstances and also makes you realize how different the world could be.

Free Hugs

This video shows a man giving free hugs. Another man joins him, challenging the his gesture. There are many great responses from pedestrians and the result is intriguing.

Gay Ken?

So I stumbled upon this great find. Turns out Ken was gay all along. I mean, he knows how to dress, shop, and wear fancy gold chains. Not to mention his wing man/lover.
In general, coming up with diverse doll products is a good idea, however this product actually seems to be mocking gay men. I might be wrong, but its clearly stereotyping gay men as shoppers etc.

Just Dance

I think this video gives Beyonce a pretty reasonable run for her money. These kids can really boogie. It's a fan video, not actually produced by the artist, Yelle, but it's pretty inventive and entertaining. Plus, the song is way fun.

Coldplay - Strawberry Swim

Lauren Maricle posted this on our blog that we use in painting class. It's such a great combo of painting and new media. I would go so far as saying this is really an advancement in the practice of "painting." The play with illusionary space and narrative and optics is just marvelous. Oh, and it's also a good song!

The video's embeddable tag is disabled, so here is the link. Hope you enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb9X5jMofEo

Subtitled Video Take One

So for this assignment I decided to play a little on the idea of switching out subtitles. Ridiculousness is what I was aiming for especially after watching the many Hitler-sub remakes. Please don't be offended.

I want one of these

Well, apparently it's Blogger's birthday, so here's a fun way to celebrate!
These cakes certainly can come in handy...

Shadow Puppet Show

I dont know what you would call this, but its pretty amusing. How/ when do you realize you are a good shadow puppet artist? Also, how does this even advertise for a car? Its a pretty inventive commercial if you ask me. Good technique!

Beats me.

All in a days art.

Here is documentation of an art piece being created everyday...for a long time. The artist gets into some really great concepts, even ones that we have been talking about in class.

www.behance.net/Gallery/Make-Something-Cool-Every-Day-2009/171640

Fun Music Video

I have always loved this music video. I had never heard of the band OK GO before, but when this video came out I was very intrigued. Check it out

People of Walmart-Funny or Too Un-PC?

I came across this site over the weekend. I haven't made up my mind about it yet but I think a discussion about it would probably make a pretty killer sociology paper...

Metallica - Nothing Else Matters

I really enjoy this band. When I was searching for music for our last project, I stumbled upon them and not only thought their music was cool but so were their videos. they seemed to be somewhat innovative in their choices of cinematography which I thought was quite neat. Also I thought it was neat that they are a semi classical sounding band, playing hard rock covers that are being debuted on MTV. Something to think about.

Siiiiiick

My cousin posted this on facebook, and I think this is by far the coolest thing I've seen in a good while.

We know machines do a good job at beat boxing, and people are pretty bad ass at it too. This video is crazy in the way it infuses the two ways in which we think about not just beat boxing, but music in general. Simply put: siiiiiiiiiiiiick!

Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc. from Chris Cairns on Vimeo.

Travel the World of Hermès

If you haven't heard of Hermès, it is a French high fashion house specializing in leather wear, scarves and other luxury goods. If you visit the online boutique and click the option "Travel the World of Hermès" you will get to a really neat interactive website, which has a grid of images. Each of the images have something fun about them that subtly (or sometimes not so much) has to do with the Hermès products. You might see a short dance clip, a run way show, a game, a selection of pretty horse photos, a music maker, a leather cutting tutorial, a brief history of the fashion house... etc. I find the site really amusing and engaging as well as extremely successful at marketing because that's what the purpose of this site is after all.

Uh Oh Enviro...

More mind-blowing environmental images. Thought the last post was extreme? Take a minute or two and look at this link! It is UNREAL. 

http://www.stumbleupon.com/s/#28T1FB/www.theglobalintelligencer.com/december07/chrisjordan.php/

Stars - Vimeo.com

Stars - Short (2005) from ξοgΙιαη κιdηεγ on Vimeo.

I know this video is a little long, but it is very interesting. The speaking in the beginning sets the tone for the short very precisely. The two lights, equalling the two characters we see throughout the short. And then at the end, when all the lights are swirling around her, made me humble. It's the fact that everyone dies, and that there is no need to be afraid of death.

Also, I think there is a lot to be said about the fact that this is in cartoon, and not acted out by real people. I think it's because people relate more to cartoons than real people, and this concept is very relatable to everyone.

Oh, Kanye...

I know we already talked about this in Art 180, but I found this picture quite amusing...

With Kanye West's show at the VMA's, we all knew he would be made fun of in every venue. Including videogames?

I just think it's funny, but I think there is a side of grotesque. It's all for the name cred. It's all about who can pull the best stunt without it seeming like a stunt. I mean, someone had to trump Janet's boob popping out at the super bowl. Just call him Kanye.

Celibri-me

Here's the first collaborative video project from 280 new genre. We ran our faces through an online face recognition program that determined which celebrities we most looked like. We took the top 3 matches for each of us then put it all together in this composite. A longer version with music accompanying is playing in the FCVA building currently outside the upstairs senior studios. As part of the project, we decided to replace the faces each week, so if you'd like to see your own face in this video, take a pic of yourself and send it to us at celebrify@gmail.com. We'll put you in next week's vid!

280 peeps you should take this and put it up on your FB pages and see what comments follow. Narcissize it up!

Powerline Sheet Music

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

I'm not sure how legitimate this is but I thought it was a really creative idea. It would be so interesting to see what you could get out of other arrangements.

Love in 2-D Curation

check it out here

Freaking The Establishment Man!

Dramatic Cat

Sky and I's first project

BabiesBeingUsed

Here is my first attempt to curate a YouTube playlist. The description:

Home video's of kids "saying the darnedest things" used to be reserved for family viewing. YouTube has created a forum where parents can make their children internet celebrities. The common theme in the following videos is a child acting in an unexpected and often adult manner. It really blurs the line between home video and parents capitalizing on their child's youthful appeal. Who needs to take their kids to talent auditions when you can have YouTube mega-hits and dropped in links to ad sites? I'm intrigued by both the appeal of the videos, as well as the intentions of the parents. Most adults have an extremely difficult time cracking 200,000 views on YouTube, but babies seemingly have a much higher success rate.

PS

This is my first-time attempt at a spliced clip. Got some more learnin' to do, but watch it anyhow. It's sort of a curated exploration of the prevalence of financial success videos on the internets.

Curating Youtube

My first project curating videos is here.
Do these merit a LOL or perhaps a second thought?

Facebook Song

I think this video, "Are You F****** Me?" is a really wonderful example of some defining characteristics of our generation--facebook + relationships + facebook relationships--all in one pretty funny song. It's a great critique of our obsession with, and reliance on technology in general, and facebook in particular. The singer-comedian, Katie Miller-Heidke, gives a great delivery, as well.

I also wanted to add that my mother actually posted this video on my facebook wall. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I think it's pretty remarkable.

The 7 Most Inappropriate Products for Children

This is just really funny. And it also makes you wonder about the people who invented them...

The 7 Most Inappropriate Products for Children

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb

Misheard Lyrics

I cant seem to get the link to work so highlight this, right-click, click go to address. Or copy and paste.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyhJgEJ8KCQ

Misheard Lyrics

This is along the same lines as a literalist video. There is some creativity behind it and its challenging to come up with words for the video, but then again, making them coherent isn't the point.

Kanye's Apology

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

...and here is some more interesting follow-up scoop, tying the Joe Wilson and Serena Williams outbursts to the Kanye stunt.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Last, The New York Times has an article about rudeness in our culture and the Swift-West spectacle (thanks for sending that Tessa!)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/arts/television/16taylor.html?_r=1&hpw

Shawn Knol

Shawn Knol is an artist I found a few months ago. He does some amazing stuff with chemicals, colors, light and photography. I don't understand exactly how, but somehow he captures the natural and chemical in an extraordinary way. This video is my most recent obsession:

Oil in Water from Shawn Knol on Vimeo.

Think The U.S. Is Starting to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle?

Think again...



















This is the amount of aluminum cans that America goes through every 5 MINUTES!!!!!!

Stumbleupon

Hey, so while searching around I found this amazing site called stumbleupon. It's a web application/website that brings up random sites that can be tailored to your interests. What surprises me most about this is the sheer size of the internet and how much of it I have never seen.

Check it out. http://www.stumbleupon.com/

I went from theories on space to world pictures to jokes on einstein.

#37

I found this video to be pretty hilarious. It is a song that is celebrating the fact that we are #37 in the world for health care. It is quite sarcastic, clever, and such a creative way to make a statement.

Serena Williams Loses Her Cool at The US Open

I thought I would add this to the group of outburst and interruption videos that have been in the news lately. I'm always excited by how much we love the intensity and seeming realness of such moments at the same time as many like to moralize about what a jerk is Kanye West for his rude behavior. The thought that entertainers and athletes can so easily create these "unexpected" and "wild" moments with full knowledge of the effect is intriguing, and could be argued is a way of elevating the ante on the spotlight. Some people for instance think that the whole Kanye moment was pre-planned. Hmmm. There's certainly a way in which these events resemble a well established genre of performance art, in which the intent is to suspend an audience between two realities; the audience truly doesn't know if someone is dying or just looks like they are. Tension galore.

This recent Serena Williams outburst at the US Open was pretty intense, and I'm fairly sure completely un-premeditated. Though you can't hear it all here, I'm sure you can find transcripts of it all over the Internet by now.

Classic Obama-Kanye banter

The Remix

Here's a clip from William Kentridge who some of you may know. I really like his animation and the development of this particular story. You should all read the explanation and viewer comments... I don't really know what to make of the two responses, but it's kind of humorous in a sad way.

Fay Jones

Fay Jones is an artist whose work I have always loved. I find it quite obscure and very appealing. All of her pieces catch my attention, and I love the common theme that occur throughout her paintings of people, animals and nature. She is an artist from the Seattle area, and the painting here is actually a painting that I have at my house. I am including the url for the link where you can see more of her artwork.

Check it out!

http://www.laurarusso.com/artists/jones_f.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxUBLUeF12g


sorry i couldnt add the video, just the link.

Anyway, I enjoy this video because it seems like a home video, and the actors are not very good/convincing, however what makes me really like the cheesiness is that it makes the video feel more approachable. In a way what we are seeing is very personal and we become voyeurs stumbling upon this moment in time that is too private for us to be watching.

300 Love (?) Letters

I thought this was an interesting project. It really made me think about the process of letter writing in romance and how that is changing with technology... Thoughts?

Be sure to check out the explanation of the project.

http://www.sleeptrip.com/300loveletters/2.html

The Art of Make-Up

So my roommate is a make-up artist and brought this amazing book to our dorm room to explore ideas and ways to play around with makeup. I thought the cover was absolutely fascinating and thought I'd see what you all though. Is this one woman? Is it two different woman merged together to form one face? Does this mean that make-up can literally transform people into a different race?

Threads

I love watching fashion shows and get completely engulfed in what different designers try to say with their clothing. There was just a large runway show for Spring 2010 fashion in New York this weekend, and I picked one of the better designers present. My favorite model they used is at 1:07. You can't tell if it's a man or a woman, and I love the ability for models to be transgender. Also, the model gets a little bit of sass in her step as she nears the catwalk. Very personal style, but very cheeky; I think it works well in the line.

My favorite piece in this collection is at :39. I am not typically a fan of camo, however the soft tones of the print go well with the purity of the white top. It's a simply yet flashy outfit.

My favorite designer all the way around was Ports 1961. I'm a sucker for modern classical. The first dress that has the one-sided pocket is very catchy.

Let's go hoggin'!

During pre-season for volleyball, the team and I were watching Man Vs. Wild, and we were watching Bear Grills try to catch fish with his bare hands. We were talking about this during a water break when assistant coach chimed in about how to catch cat fish with your hands, hoggin'. At first I was sceptical, but watch and see the beautiful (that's a stretch) art of "hoggin'"

Ben Morphs into Simon LeBon

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Vintage photographs - Genelogy

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Free printable family tree chart - Family pictures

celebrity

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity

yikers

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity

Matt morphs into Terrence Howard

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs

Ben Morphs to Simon Lebon

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Vintage photographs - Genelogy

What Celebrities Do You Look Like?

This is pretty cool.  Try it out and see for yourself.

http://celebrity.myheritage.com/celebrity-face-recognition

Lo-fabulous

Ariel Pink is wonderful and weird, and although he's somewhat of a darling of the LA music scene now I still love the lo-fi (see previous Killers post for comparative purposes) quality of his videos.
This is the best ever, mostly since it involves cake.



Side note: this guy is, like, 4 feet tall.

The Killers

As I was searching for a song to play for our current video project, I came across this music video and thought it was really really interesting. I'm sure we have all heard this well-known pop culture song, but the music video really gives a new perspective.

Accidental Art

This is a picture drawn by a famous neuroscientist named Cajal of neurons in the retina, but it reminds me of a painting by Joan Miro.

The "Evolution of Dance"

I found this video very entertaining, and I think this guy does a great job imitating all the different popular dances through the years. He covers so much in six minutes, including all the music that was popular through the past years.

Most Expensive Art Piece Sold in 2009

I don't know if its just me.. but I feel this is beyond absurd! $100 million for a diamond encrusted skull!? Does anyone understand the meaning behind this?

Vik Muniz

Vik Muniz is a fantastic artist form São Paulo, Brazil who uses peanut butter and jam, chocolate, sugar, wire, dirt and diamonds (etc) to create large-scale images, which he then photographs. His landscape or portrait images are usually inspired by current events, celebrities and historical figures. He has reinterpreted a number of famous works including the Last Supper (made out of chocolate sauce) and the Mona Lisa (made out of pb&j). Most recently, he's been working on even larger scale images, involving huge piles of junk or drawing cartoon cloud images in the sky with the help of a jet pilot. I heard about Muniz when my friend's parents came back from their home in Brazil and described his work to me. I am sure his gallery shows are fascinating because from a distance, his peices look like line drawings, or sketches (made from wire), etchings (made from string) or paintings (...), but once you take a closer look, you realize that the photograph is made up of something much more interesting. Relief in the image is created by layering string or bits of paper, and the 3-dimensionality of it is physical. In otherwors, there is this tension between what you would expect and what the image really is.

Here is a short clip of him reinterpreting the image of Atlas with piles of junk:



And for those who are interested, here is an interview with the artist. He is quite funny and very creative.

Alex Cornell & Aeolas International

Alex Cornell is a SF based designer/musician. I met him last spring and he's very talented at what he does. He has a fairly robust youtube channel that features his recordings of many popular covers. I clicked on the his newest video (posted above) and was enjoying the song until... well, you'll see. I don't know exactly what Alex is up to, but it appears to be part of a larger project he's undertaking. I'm excited to see what happens next.

A Serious Threat

Make sure you are keeping healthy this fall by checking this chart! Be sure to report symptoms to the appropriate people/organizations.

Auto Tune Your Life

Go no farther than your I-phone to sound like T-Pain!


Warning, this is a bit t-painful to listen all the way through.

Rafael Casal - Bay Area Slang Top 100

I've always loved the urban dictionary and slang in general.
You don't have to be from the Bay Area to appreciate this, but it may add a little extra fun for you.

Always Getting the Munchies

Another strange humor form.

"The Room" -- Art, Deadpan, or just really friggin bad?

You've probably seen or heard of Tommy Wiseau's film "The Room". What classification do you think it fits into? The director maintains it's for real.

The Bank Dance

While I am not a big fan of promotional things I am more of a fan of spontaneous dance and because of that this video still puts a smile on my face. But beyond the dancing the costumes used, song choice, and cheesiness of it all is great entertainment

Slavoj Zizek on Love

Here is a brief clip of the famous Yugoslavian philosopher Slavoj Zizek discussing the subject of love. I'm fascinated with Zizek's angle on the world.  It's unexpected and interesting to read or listen to almost always.  Thinking on his ideas gives me a sensation similar to looking at powerful artworks, because they contain new ways of seeing or considering things in the world.  An unexpectedly satisfying - yet sometimes alarming - angle. If you're as yet unfamiliar with Zizek, be sure to click on his name above and read his wikipedia page. 

Slavoj Zizek about love
Uploaded by oublierleracismeskyblog. - See the latest featured music videos.

The World of Chemistry

I found this clip on badatsports.com and although it's very different from Hannah's clip, it seemed to me to reiterate that how we learn classical concepts may be shifting. With so many different forms of media in today's world, there are very creative and innovative ways to present material. This video illustrates chemistry concepts in a (simplified, granted) way we can understand. 

A little creative juices to start the semester.

This video is my favorite type of short film. I am not sure how to categorize it.

The short film has professional execution, a modest presentation and tickles your imagination all the way through. This is the type of thing I could see our class creating. Or at least learning a lot from.

I would suggest letting it load completely to enjoy its genius uninterrupted.

http://www.dshed.net/harvest/

Lamebook

Another website highlighting the visibility of Facebook users in all their stupid glory.

The official reviews at the end of each post are usually right on par too.

Some personal favorites:

"What?"

and basically all the WTFights.

future masochist?

Charlie bit me remix

You should definitely watch the original too, but I think that this remix highlights the simultaneous pain and pleasure Charlie's older brother feels. Charlie's responses and giggling also make you question that he doesn't  understand what he's doing...

Bad At Sports

I just added the Bad at Sports - Contemporary Art Talk podcast blog to the CLEO resources for both art 180 and 280.  Check it out if you haven't already.  It's really smart and well done, and so another excellent resource.

This is from their about page:

Bad At Sports is a weekly podcast about contemporary art. Founded in 2005, the series focuses on presenting the practices of artists, curators, critics, dealers, various other arts professionals through an online audio format. Some of the program’s guests include Rodney Graham, Kerry James Marshall, Francesco Bonami, David Robbins, Carol Becker, James Rondeau, Jeff Wall, Hamza Walker, Lane Relyea, James Yood, Michelle Grabner, Gavin Turk, Dominic Molon, and Julian Myers.
In addition, contemporary art – and frequently books and movies – are reviewed on the program; contributions come from Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, London, Cologne, Switzerland and Tokyo. Bad At Sports believes that podcasting brings a certain spontaneity and raw dynamic quality to the art interview and review; that feeling of casual conversation and spirited debate that is often lost in print format, is fully present in the podcast. It is our hope that you download a few episodes, perhaps even subscribe, and joining our growing community of listeners around the globe.

The Inner Life of a Cell

Click here. Click "Watch the video: [high]"

This video is a giant leap in science, technology, and how we view the use of video for both entertainment purposes and educational purposes. The Inner Life of a Cell depicts the workings of our body to the extent of one single cell. Once I saw this video, it was hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that there are millions and billions (etc) of these movies going on, simultaneously! The ability to depict the workings of a cell gives us the ability to expand our understanding of biology, the human body, and the world in general.

The question that rang with me as I finished watching this the third time is, if there are organisms smaller than us, and seemingly more complex, than are we just the inner life of something else's cell?

Beatboxing Flute Player

I've seen this video quite a few times, and I just don't get tired of it. This guy is really talented, and I love the mix of music styles. The video clip above is only the beatboxing flute player. The one below is the whole video with the second beatboxer, "Beardyman," who is also fantastic. My favorite is when he adds in accents as he beatboxes.

give up!

The shopping channel, condensed and recut. The transitions are what make this video so genius.

Infomercial Hell from Everything is Terrible

A Program for the Rest of Us

Just something to think about... what do you think about these two unique pieces of art?

Dananddanfilms

This guy is great. He usually plays both Dan and Dan and sometimes even more than 2 Dans at one time. He has taken a very simple effect, written great dialog and executed the sketches perfectly. Check out more of his videos. I wish we were friends.

Last semester I studied abroad in Madrid, Spain. I went over there with no knowledge of any modern Spainish artists, however after taking an art history class I soon learned of the famous artist from Pais Vasco, Chillida Leku. This here is "Wind Comb" which is placed on these rocks right at the mouth of the inlet of San Sebastian, in northern Spain.
Although Chillida is not an artist of new genre art, I certainly respect his work and would love to perhaps connect the inspiration I get from his work into a future project. I am really interested in his organic forms and though it is more of a tradition art medium, I feel that I can take what I like from this style and apply it to a newer, more modern genre in the digital world.

Milk

MILK [Short film] from www.bastienroger.com on Vimeo.

I found this video as I was searching around the site Vimeo.com. I was first brought here by a friend from home to watch one of the music video's, and ended up falling in love with some of the short films. Milk is very well done stop-animation film.

The reason I like this video is because of the emotional pull you feel. You can't really relate to the main character, the Orange Man/White Man. However, the way the stop-animation worked was making me think about every movement he would take, and therefore I was putting myself in those movements, and eventually into the middle of the movie. I was the one moving from the evil and impurities of the world we all live and in to a purer place (the color being metaphor for impurities, for the world we live in today). It's an easy concept, but I feel the power of the metaphor is heightened by the stop-animation.

Chad Hagen's Infographics

I love the illustrations of Chad Hagen. I'm really into infographics, attempting to convey a concept through data in a visually innovative manner. Hagen's are self-proclaimed nonsensical exercises, so they lack a literal concept. However, they're really beautiful to look at. He really has a strong sense of color and scale. In the image above I especially love the overlapping nature of all the transparent graphics leading to a big cluster of images. It doesn't matter what the "data" is supposed to show, the viewer can grasp from the image that a diverse (in color, scale) but related (in shape) group of items are closely interwoven and intimately effecting each other.

I want to take some hard economic data (USA's GDP, AIG's exec bonuses, the % change of property in different regions/socio-economic areas) and convey it in large prints and motion graphics. What do you guys think about this? Too obtuse? I need some feedback because I'm too into it to be objective.

Dan Pink on The Science of Motivation

Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories -- and maybe, a way forward.


http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html