Sometimes I like to stare at nice, eye catching graphics, thinking one day I will start drawing them too :)
Today I stumbled upon this blog: http://klaustoon.wordpress.com (where I also found this image) and I think it is quite nice work.
“‘vertical horizon’, by french graphic artist romain jacquet-lagreze is a photographic journey between the buildings of the relentlessly
growing metropolis of hong-kong. the image series takes a deep dive into the city’s thick atmospheres, showcasing a visual record of
its wildly diverse built environment. presented in a hard-cover book, the collection of unique compositions contemplate the raw
nature of chinese culture and the expression of its sheer vivacity.” – Designboom.com
Taken from: http://www.designboom.com/art/vertical-horizons-by-romain-jacquet-lagreze/
At the beginning of this talk I was a bit sceptical hearing the claims such as “the colours decreased the crime rate”, “citizens started belonging to the place”, etc. Because I thought it’s a bit nonsense. Nonetheless, the more I heard, the more I am convinced that every word from this politician and a man is 100% true. Of course it is not only the colours that changed the situation in the city; he managed to do some pretty incredible things for citizens well-being in the last twenty years too: clearing riverbanks and giving back to public, creating lots of parks, planting trees, demolishing illegal constructions, diminishing corruption in the administration level, bringing green tax in action (and what is more important – achieving that everybody pays it) and as I understood many others.
I highly recommend to view this talk to get a good dose of optimism and inspiration. And I really want Kaunas would have at least half of this politician! Imagine, then it finally would become a real city! :D
Here are some images of painted Tirana:
8 views of Tirana, Albania — with its bright, multicolored buildings
We could argue that it looks odd, childish, stupid, etc. However I think that it is better like this, then like nothing is done.
Cheers!
‘Superkilen’ is a kilometer long park situated through the Nørrebro area just north of Copenhagen’s city center, considered one of the most ethnically diverse and socially challenged neighborhoods. The design pulls on themes and references that connect to the more than 60 nationalities in the area.
Here are some images/renderings of the park:
I would like to know what do you think about it? Good? Nice? Beautiful? Smart? Over-designed? Inappropriate? Stupid? Clumsy? Hectic? What else?
More pictures here.
“SpontaneousInterventions: design actions for the common good is the theme of the U.S. Pavilion at the 13th International Venice Architecture Biennale (Fall 2012). In recent years, there has been a nascent movement of designers acting on their own initiative to solve problematic urban situations, creating new opportunities and amenities for the public. Provisional, improvisational, guerrilla, unsolicited, tactical, temporary, informal, DIY, unplanned, participatory, opensource—these are just a few of the words that have been used to describe this growing body of work.” http://www.spontaneousinterventions.org/about
Picture: http://www.envelopead.com/proj_octaviakl.html
http://www.spontaneousinterventions.org/project/proxy
For the past couple of days I can not stop looking for interesting maps and infographics. There are millions of them, a lot of boring but many many are so eye- catching. A lot to learn from. It is impossible to put them all here – and no need to do that. Just some that I find nice.
Found here: http://infographiclist.com/
Found here: http://inspiredm.com/30-infographics-about-infographics/
Found here: http://www.pdviz.com/religions-world-map
Found here: http://www.pdviz.com/studio7
Following recent post about the satirical mapping from Alphadesigner, here comes the older maps with the same concept. One of my favourite ones is this one:
Designed and drawn by A. Belloquet; published in Brussels by Vincent in 1882
Image source: University of Amsterdam
Here are the links with a few more similar old satirical maps:
http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.nl/2009/06/satirical-maps.html
http://geographer-at-large.blogspot.nl/2011/06/anthropomorphic-and-zoomorphic_16.html
One of the better blogs that made my day. Though some of the mappings are older, they are still very inspiring and entertaining. The rule that it is better to see it once than to hear it for 100 times applies here definitely. So enjoy!
How do you stage an international art show with work from 100 different artists? If you’re Shea Hembrey, you invent all of the artists and artwork yourself — from large-scale outdoor installations to tiny paintings drawn with a single-haired brush. Watch this funny, mind-bending talk to see the explosion of creativity and diversity of skills a single artist is capable of.
Shea Hembrey explores patterns from nature and myth. A childhood love of nature, and especially birdlife, informs his vision. Full bio »
What I find the most intriguing from this talk is 5 definitions of the art that are presented by Shea. You may say its the matter of taste whether an object can be called art or not, however Shea´s definitions brings really a lot of clarity in defining contemporary art. Well, at least for me :)
If you are interested in Literature and Chinese Urban Culture, here’s one for you: Shi Cheng: Short Stories From Urban China. (edited by Liu Ding, Carol Yinhghua and Ra Page, published by CommaPress). This collection of short stories by a few of China’s hottest and most talented contemporary writers offers non-Chinese readers with an insight in what’s going on in Urban China and a peek into what Literary China has to offer nowadays. All stories take place in cities throughout China: Harbin, Shenyang, Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Wuhan, Nanjing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. The authors use the environment of the city as a theatre in which the stories are to be unfolded.
All of them do this in an amusing yet not pulpy way: stories by the hand of contemporary writers like Han Dong, Jie Chen, Xu Zechen (link to personal website for Chinese-readers here) and, my personal favorite, Cao Kou, are written in witty, obscure, realistic and cunning styles. There’s something in this collection for all tastes. My favorite story must be “Kangkang’s Gonna Kill That Fucker Zhao Yilu” by Cao Kou, a story which sets in Chengdu. As for the question whether Kangkang is actually going to kill That Fucker Zhao Yilu, I urge those who want to know more about Chinese Urban Culture or Chinese Literature to please DO find out, it’s worth it!
urbanus vulgaris 