Photo Essay

My photo essay initial idea was to take photos of different perspectives that are different from our usual view. I wanted to play with bird’s eye view and also low angle perspectives, like what my dog would see. During my first few rounds of taking pictures, I brought my dog with my and included him in various shots.

Knowing that the photo essay would be later placed in a book; I decided to pay the Center for Book Arts a visit to get some inspiration on possible book layout and ideas. The visit was fun and I was able to see letterpress in action, but I still did not know what kind of binding I would use for my book. I was certain I wanted to bind and not fold an instant book though.

I kept exploring the internet to see what I could do and I came across a scrapbook idea that I really liked. By this point of reviewing and choosing pictures, the photo essay was shaping into a photo essay around Bentley, my bichon frise and poodle mix dog. It was becoming like “A day in the life of Bentley.” Although I love my dog to bits and pieces, reviewing my pictures again the week before it was due, I realized I wasn’t completely happy with what I had. I felt like I was beefing up the book with a lot of craft and that the story and pictures itself were not all that strong. I spoke to Carmile and showed her some of the shots that I really liked and she told me to take the week to go back to taking pictures.

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At this point, I knew I had to work fast and work hard so I wouldn’t fall behind. I narrowed down 600+ pictures to 24 and sent contacts sheets to Carmile for feedback. Coincidentally, in my Typography class that week, we were starting our new project, a fun facts book so our professor actually brought in a bunch of samples of book mockups that she created and I saw the perfect layout for my subject! Remember how I said I really wanted to bind? Guess what, that changed. I opted for a folded instant book instead. I also created a sleeve for it and made the book reversible and can be folded both ways.

I’m actually quite happy with the final product, even though I didn’t get to bind. Production was painful though. It took approximately four 2-hour sessions at the AMT Lab plotter to be able to print the two documents the way I wanted it.

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Exhibition Report – Friendly Futures

[ EDIT 12/8/2015 : Now the exhibition has its own website. Please check it.  http://ff.prty.nyc/ ]

 

Before reporting about my Photo Project, let me introduce an interesting exhibition in this city.

PARTY NYC started their first solo exhibition in USA, titled “Friendly Futures” at Usagi NY, Brooklyn.

In this exhibition, a multi-disciplinal creative lab bases in Tokyo and NY, PARTY seeks the possibilities of new pervasive technologies transformed into platforms for the connection between people and the society. The show features their 4 newly launching projects which the visitors can touch and interact with each installation. This experimental exhibition is a part of the whole creation process of PARTY and some of prototypes will be developed as real products at last.

 

 

Bookü is a book customization service that allows you & your friends to become the character of your favorite book. (And we can buy it as a Christmas Present definitely unique in the world!)

Time Travel Radio is a music player that navigates through time. Instead of tuning in to a radio station, you dial in to a year. ( I really enjoyed the amazing difference between the funky 1979 channel and the pip-pip techno 1980 channel.)

The Song Wig is a hairpiece made of earbuds that explores new ways of sharing music. (I’m so sorry to forget taking photos. During opening reception, a cute female model wore this wig and walked around the gallery to share her music with visitors.)

Disco Dog is the world’s first smartphone controlled full-color LED dog vest.You can choose an animation or type in a message using our Disco Dog application on your smartphone. ( You can see the official video here, to see how does it looks with a real dog.)

 

The co-founder of PARTY, Masa Kawamura’s another work are also exhibited in “StereoType: New Directions in Typography“. You Parsons students and Faculty might know it’s running on the Ground floor of 2 West 13th building, at Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center.

By the way, this title of exhibition sounds to me another meaning. Masa and I are university alumni, we had been enrolled the same laboratory of Media Design studies for years. I’m so happy to hold a reunion with my old friend in New York. I strongly recommend my classmates to have a experience, not only “seeing” this exhibition, but also “touching” their works. Yes, our future is here, smiling friendly.

 

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information:

PARTY / FRIENDLY FUTURES

Dates: November 20 – December 26, 2015
Opening hours: Tue. – Sat. 11am − 6pm
Venue: Usagi NY, 163 Plymouth St, Brooklyn, New York 11201

In the world of technology, everyone is in a rush to step forward. We want faster, smaller, smarter, and cheaper. But what if we also make the future friendlier? FRIENDLY FUTURES is our exploration of this idea. It’s a mini-expo of PARTY creations from a more friendly future.
http://ff.prty.nyc/
http://www.usagi.com/ny/

 

Abbas: Children of Abraham

“My photography is a reflection, which comes to life in action and leads to meditation. Spontaneity – the suspended moment – intervenes during action, in the viewfinder.”

GB. ENGLAND. Yorkshire. Batley. At the Zakaria Muslim Girls High School, funded by the muslim community, girls in hijab (islamic dress) play touchball. 1989.

November 21, 2015 – March 20, 2016

“Children of Abraham presents 66 photographs of the monotheistic religions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, by renowned Magnum photographer Abbas. Since 1970 Abbas has documented through his camera lens the “political and social life of societies in conflict.” This exhibition is the culmination of over 13 years of research and travel by the artist to record religious practices and their manifestations in all parts of the world. This is Abbas’ first exhibition in America exclusively devoted to the theme of religion. Abbas will travel from Paris, France to present an artist talk, and a series of related programs and events are planned.” from the Arthur Ross Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania website – 11/19/2015

For More Information: http://www.arthurrossgallery.org

A Reminder: The Grolier Club

You are missing another NYC gem for those of you that have not visited The Grolier Club on the upper Eastside especially if you are a lover of books, printing, collecting…and more. It is a treat to walk through an exhibit in this Club established in 1884.

Here is a quote from The Grolier Club Constitution that can describe this “to foster the study, collecting, and appreciation of books and works on paper, their art, history, production, and commerce. It shall pursue this mission through the maintenance of a library devoted to all aspects of the book and graphic arts and especially bibliography; through the occasional publication of books designed to illustrate, promote and encourage the book and graphic arts; through exhibitions and educational programs for its members and the general public; and through the maintenance of a Club building for the safekeeping of its property, and otherwise suitable for the purposes of the Club.”

Cover Design from Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

Here is a list of their exhibitions (now through 2016).

Go to their web site for more information.

http://www.grolierclub.org

Admission: Exhibitions are open to the public free of charge

CHILDREN’S EXHBITIONS

• Now until February 7, 2016 | One Hundred Books Famous In Children’s Literature

GROUND FLOOR GALLERY

• December 9, 2015-February 6, 2016  |“The Grolier Club Collects II.” Curated by Eric Holzenberg and Arthur Schwarz
• February 24-May 14, 2016 | “The Royal Game of the Goose: Four Hundred Years of Printed Board Games.”
• June 1-July 30, 2016 | “Artists & Others: The Imaginative French Book, 2000-2015.”

SECOND FLOOR GALLERY

• November 19, 2015-January 16, 2016 | “Illustrated by Lynd Ward,” From the Collection of Robert Dance.
• January 28-March 12, 2016 | “Blooks: The Art of Books That Aren’t,” from the Collection of Mindell Dubansky.
• March 24-May 28, 2016 | “‘Brush Up Your Shakespeare’,” Miniature Bindings from the Collection of Neale A. and Margaret Albert.

Location & Gallery Hours 

The Grolier Club
47 East 60^th Street
New York, New York 10022
212-838-6690

Call to Confirm the Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10 am-5 pm.

A Visit to the Cooper Hewitt

This past Wednesday, my Graphic Design 1 class taught by Julia Gorton took a trip to the Cooper Hewitt Museum to view the Poster Exhibit and the Wallpaper Exhibit.  Exhibitions aside, the Cooper Hewitt on its own is worth a visit.  The building was originally a mansion; the home of Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), steel magnate and philanthropist.  The architecture is stunning, and the location on Fifth Avenue, just across from Central Park, isn’t too shabby either.

Before this Wednesday’s visit, I had been to the Cooper Hewitt to see the poster show as research for my own poster project for my Process and Skills class.  I was thrilled with the show the first time I visited; the museum offers visitors a special “pen” to record display items with a simple touch for later viewing on a personal online page, and to virtually design various objects on large tables equipped with enormous screens.  The interaction was great, and it made saving my favorite posters so much easier than constantly taking photos and writing down names.  However, as my first visit was very early on in the semester, I could not fully appreciate exactly what I was looking at.  Now that we have done so much in-depth research, both in Graphic Design 1 and Process in Skills, on various graphic designers, I was able to make my way through the exhibit with a lot more awareness and appreciation; of Stefan Sagmeister’s work, Massimo Vignelli’s work, and so on.  It was definitely worth the second visit.

This time, too, we all got to “play” in the immersion room of the museum, where the curator has set up hundreds of patterns for visitors to project onto the wall, and design their own.  Patterns could be resized, rotated, and more.  It was very inspiring!

The “How Posters Work” exhibit is on view until January 24, 2016.  A visit is definitely recommended.  Two thumbs up!

http://www.cooperhewitt.org/events/current-exhibitions/how-posters-work/

Girls and Boys…Swedish Wooden Toys!

On view at Bard Graduate Center

from September 18, 2015 through January 17, 2016.

There are over 300 “playthings” that date from the 16th to the early 21st centuries. These wonderful toys range from mini vehicles of all kinds from old fashion wagons, trains and sailboats, to rocket ship. There are also animals, weapons, games, and dollhouses. You can see items that were mass produced but many others are one-of-a-kind wonders.

“Although Germany, Japan, and the United States have historically produced and exported the largest numbers of toys worldwide, Sweden has a long and enduring tradition of designing and making wooden toys—from the simplest handmade plaything to more sophisticated forms.” – from BGC press Release

This exhibition will may help you open your eyes to your “Inner Chid”

This one is Italian! Wood, metal. © Roma Capitale – Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai
Beni Culturali – Collezione di giocattoli antichi, CGA LS 9522. Photographer: Bruce White.

Bard Graduate Center Gallery, 18 West 86th Street, Manhattan, 212-501-3011

bgc.bard.edu

In Search for Isamu Noguchi at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Isanu Noguchi at The Brooklyn Botanical Garden

As we start to do research on Isamu Noguchi for the “Bottle Concept” we are lucky to have a show of his sculptures that are taken out of the exhibition rooms of the Noguchi Museum. And, now are out in the open at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. Walk your way through this natural environment. Perfect for Noguchi and a Sunday afternoon stroll.

http://www.bbg.org/discover/gallery/isamu_noguchi_at_brooklyn_botanic_garden

http://www.noguchi.org/programs/exhibitions/brooklyn-botanic-garden

From The New York Times | Oct.22,2015: “Isamu Noguchi(through Dec. 13) The Noguchi Museum and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden are to be commended for installing such a show, in which sculpture is exposed to the elements (and the wandering visitors). But this exhibition of 18 of the Japanese-American artist’s sculptures parceled throughout the garden can be frustrating, as you attempt to locate his works on a specially provided map. The showcase of the exhibition is an installation of several Noguchi sculptures inside the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, a marriage of modern and traditional forms, and there are works just below the Native Flora Garden that offer moments of successful communion with art and curated nature. 990 Washington Avenue, at Eastern Parkway, Prospect Heights, 718-623-7200, bbg.org. (Martha Schwendener)”

The Masters Series- Michael Bierut at SVA

Although a trek to the SVA gallery on 11th Ave. and 26th St., I highly recommend the Michael Bierut exhibit! The gallery was extremely well organized and included a wide range of his work in all scales and mediums. It even included an entire room dedicated to his sketch books, which helps a student like me really get inside his head and see his process. It was amazing to see the simplicity of a lot of his logos but then see all the steps that lead to each final decision. Below are a few things that caught my eye!

Weegee Wednesdays at ICP

Weegee Wednesdays at ICP:

Sarah did an excellent presentation on Weegee in our Thursday morning section last week.  Those who are not familiar with his work, or ICP should become familiar. Both are essential as we discuss photography..

Picasso Sculpture

For my Color Theory class we were required to attend the showing of the Picasso Sculpture exhibit at the MOMA to gain inspiration for our next assignment. It was a wonderful exhibit where Picasso’s experimentalism showed through. He used a range of materials such as plaster, metal sheets, and wood. I would highly recommend going to the exhibit.

September 14, 2015–February 7, 2016

The Alfred H. Barr, Jr. Painting and Sculpture Galleries, fourth floor

Picasso Sculpture is a sweeping survey of Pablo Picasso’s innovative and influential work in three dimensions. This will be the first such museum exhibition in the United States in nearly half a century.

Over the course of his long career, Picasso devoted himself to sculpture wholeheartedly, if episodically, using both traditional and unconventional materials and techniques. Unlike painting, in which he was formally trained and through which he made his living, sculpture occupied a uniquely personal and experimental status for Picasso. He approached the medium with the freedom of a self-taught artist, ready to break all the rules. This attitude led him to develop a deep fondness for his sculptures, to which the many photographs of his studios and homes bear witness. Treating them almost as members of his household, he cherished the sculptures’ company and enjoyed re-creating them in a variety of materials and situations. Picasso kept the majority in his private possession during his lifetime. It was only in 1966, through the large Paris retrospective Hommage à Picasso, that the public became fully aware of this side of his work. Following that exhibition, in 1967 The Museum of Modern Art organized The Sculpture of Picasso, which until now was the first and only exhibition on this continent to display a large number of the artist’s sculptures.

Picasso Sculpture focuses on the artist’s lifelong work with sculpture, with a particular focus on his use of materials and processes. The exhibition, which features more than 100 sculptures, complemented by selected works on paper and photographs, aims to advance the understanding of what sculpture was for Picasso, and of how he revolutionized its history through a lifelong commitment to constant reinvention. The exhibition is organized in chapters corresponding to the distinct periods during which Picasso devoted himself to sculpture, each time exploring with fresh intensity the modern possibilities of this ancient art form.