Do you know what this is? I’ll give you three guesses.
Kaleidoscope?
Origami sculpture?
Re-tooled DNA?
Times up.
It’s actually the central vault above the atrium of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha.
But I’m pretty sure the artist had one of those three items in mind when he was creating his masterpiece.
Either that, or he was staring at his blue eye a bit too closely in the mirror.
I think I need more sleep.
Posted in Art, Design, Humor, Life, Museums
Tagged art, artist, design, DNA, Doha, Humor, kaleidoscope, life, masterpiece, museum, Museum of Islamic Art, origami, scuplture, three guesses
Facebook — a waste of time?
Maybe…but what an educational one!
While checking this morning’s newsfeed, I noticed a friend had shared a photo of street art in Mexico. Clicking on it for a better look took me to the Street Art Utopia community page, where I discovered the photo below of De Batavier in Lootstraat, Amsterdam.
De Batavier is a facade of books designed by artist Sanja Medic, ceramist P. Kemink and graphic designers Melle Hammer and Susanne Laws. The facade contains 250 ceramic books, the spines of which contain the names of actual works from 18th and 19th century Dutch writers and poets.
The installment was commissioned by Dutch housing organization De Alliantie and HVDN Architects.
I had never seen or heard of this building before today’s random search, but as a book lover, it really speaks to me. And if I hadn’t been goofing around on Facebook, I’m not sure I would have ever heard of it.
Let’s hear it for wasting time!
Posted in Art, Books, Commentary, Design, Humor, Internet, Life, Travel
Tagged 18th century, 19th century, art, art installment, artist, ceramist, commentary, De Alliantie, De Batavier, design, Dutch housing organization, Dutch poet, Dutch writer, facade, facade of books, Facebook, Facebook community page, Facebook newsfeed, graphic designer, Humor, HVDN Architects, Internet, life, Lootstraat Amsterdam, Melle Hammer, Mexico, P. Kemink, Sanja Medic, street art, Susanne Laws, Travel, Urban Street Art community page
Some people look out a window and think of what might be.
For Garrett Miller, that means ‘window graffiti.’
Garrett is a Washington DC-based photographer, developer and designer. He’s also the artist behind the Windoodles project on Tumblr.
That’s right — Windoodles, Garrett’s collection of window art that he describes as a combination of ‘dry-erase markers and joy.’
It is certainly filled with whimsy.
Remember, this artwork is all drawn on window panes with markers. Spiderman only appears to be scaling that building across the street ….but he’s really in free fall.
They look like fun to do, too. I can’t think of a more perfect way to spend a rainy Sunday. Or a boring day at work. Or anytime the outside world holds more inspiration than the tasks you have before you.
I’m sure that’s where Windoodles were born — Garrett just goofing off. But I look at them and think of all the practical applications they could have.
They would be a great way to brainstorm new concepts. Or a fun activity for kids of all ages. And what a creative and inexpensive decoration for any window (if you can draw, that is).
Way to go, Garrett — your ‘joy’ is pure genius.
Posted in Art, Blogging, Blogs, Business, Comics, Design, Humor
Tagged artist, brainstorm, Business, creator, design, designer, dry-erase markers, Garrett Miller, joy, new concepts, photographer, rainy Sunday, room decor, Tumblr, Washington DC, whimsy, windoodles, window art, window glass, window panes, windows, wishes
I’ve often heard people say Manhattan is a ‘filthy city,’ but I just don’t see it.
Maybe that’s because Justin Gignac is selling all our garbage.
Justin is an artist based in Soho. When a colleague poo-poo’ed the importance of package design, Justin took it as a professional challenge. He grabbed the one thing no one would ever want to buy and packaged it in such a way that they would.
Garbage of New York City was born.
It’s real trash from the streets of Manhattan, although Justin swears it’s odor-free. Each cube is dated and signed by the artist.
His first cube came from Times Square, where I’m sure you can collect some seriously gross garbage, iffin you’re of a mind.
He’s also made special edition cubes — at equally special prices — for such righteous refuse as Obama’s Inauguration and the Yankees Victory Parade.
Who would buy garbage, you ask? Some 1,300 folks from over 29 different countries to date. And really, isn’t it a far more artistic way to recycle than rinsing out milk cartons?
So, during your next family vacation or theatre weekend in New York City, be better than souvenir t-shirts or a miniature Statue of Liberty. Demand clear cubes of certified New York City waste products — your friends will love ‘em!
And my neighborhood will stay minty fresh…
Posted in Humor, Travel, Business, Family, Advertising, Friends, Shopping, Commentary, Design, Art, Crafts
Tagged advertising, art, artist, Business, commentary, design, family, family vacation, friends, garbage, Garbage of New York City, Humor, Justin Gignac, life, Manhattan, New York City, New York theatre weekend, Obama Inauguration, package design, recycling, refuse, shopping, Soho, souvenirs, statue of liberty, t-shirts, Times Square, trash, Travel, waste products, Yankees victory parade
Lady luck
When it comes to bugs, I earned my wimp card years ago.
I’m not a fan.
But the ladybug? That’s one very different beetle. It’s cute, it eats a lot of harmful insects and it’s lucky. (That’s a scientific fact.)
Look at that face.
And you might stop reading right now. Because the rest of this post on ladybugs will freak you out. It did me.
Hungarian Artist Gabor Fulop also likes ladybugs. A lot. So much so that he created 20,000 and hand-painted them.
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Posted in Animals, Art, Commentary, Design, Humor, Life, Museums, Shopping
Tagged animals, art, artist, beaded ladybug nightlight, bugs, commentary, design, Gabor Fulop, hand-painted ladybugs, Humor, Hungary, insects, ladybug sculpture, ladybugs, life, luck, museums, New York City, sculpture, shopping, Stoopher & Boots, Upper West Side New York City, wimp card