As seen in Sex and the City

by Ursula Doyle

If you have seen the 'Sex and the City' film, then you will have heard about this book. It is the book Carrie reads to get romantic inspiration from the greats through history. From the private papers of Mark Twain and Mozart to those of Robert and Oscar Wilde. Taken together, these "Love Letters of Great Men" show that perhaps men haven't changed so very much over the last 2,000 years; passion, jealously, hope and longing are all represented here. 

The $12 Million Stuffed Shark

This book is great for anyone who wants a quick overview of how the business of art works. Don Thompson, an economist and branding expert undertook a years research to write this entertaining study of the economies and psychology of art, dealers and auctions.

Thompson admits that material and some numbers in the book are single-source stories and facts, which are embellished in the retelling. Also the glossary of facts does not have any references or footnotes, as a result makes you question the accuracy.

The author is quite biased on the side of everything in contemporary art is a game of branding and marketing, which is probably true since the majority of "art" these days are meaningless to the general public without the fancy gallery/museum.

I found this book quite humorous in the attempt to answer important questions such as 'yes, but is it really art?' and  'why would a very smart New York investment banker pay twelve million dollars for the decaying, stuffed carcase of a shark?'.

Shynola

The video for the song was created by Shynola. It is set in a computer-animated environment, where Beck rises from a grave, digs up a dog, and climbs buildings, among other things. It was nominated for "Best Music Video" in the 2005 Arias Awards.

Shynola is the collective name of a group of four visual artists based in London who have collaborated on a variety of projects, most notably a number of acclaimed music videos for several pioneering artists, such as 'Go With The Flow' by QOTSA

The name Shynola is a reference to a line in the Steve Martin movie The Jerk which implies that all you need to know in life is the difference between shit and Shinola.

Spun

Spun is a 2003 independent film directed by Jonas Akerlund. The film's title is a reference to the slang term for the way users feel after going multiple days without sleeping while on a crystal meth binge.

The film holds the Guiness Book of World Records for the most edit/cuts in a full-length feature film. It includes more than 5000 edits.

Akerlund has convincingly simulated the drug addicts desperation by using constant jolting cuts, juddery camerawork, rapid mood swings, nail biting and a general sense of unpredictable chaos.

The film got mixed reviews. 'Time Out London' accused the film of "smug amoralism", and claimed that director Akerlund simply re-uses other people's ideas and techniques. Roger Ebert was more empathetic in his review, where he described the film as having "effortless wickedness". His main appraisal is the fact that the film in no way attempts to romanticise any of the characters.

I think Spun shares great similarities between the earlier Requiem for a Dream as they both use the same type of frantic camerawork, editing and drug concept.

The First Undersea Restaurant

Ithaa, the undersea restaurant in the Maldives descends 16 feet underwater and gives 12 diners 160 degree views of colourful fish, sharks and other sea life in the coral reefs through curved, transparent acrylic walls. 

I love aquariums and I love eating, perfect.

Rob Mueck

These amazing sculptures look realistic but actually they are made from fiberglass resin.

Mueck, a London based artist faithfully reproduces the minute detail of the human body, but plays with scale to produce disconcertingly jarring visual images. Scarily impressive.

Pebbledash Buildings

Yorkshire Post, Leeds

I can't say I have ever seen a nice looking pebbledash building ever. Pebbledash is basically render with small stones added to give a gritty vertical shingle beach effect to external walls. Of course today we know that walls should never be treated as vertical beaches, but back in the rush to build houses in the 1920s, it was widely used to cover cheap or inexpert brickwork and sadly it's still being used.

The Yorkshire Post building is a good example of this. It saddens me every time I enter Leeds. Leeds is such a great city with great buildings, just a shame that this is the first impression you get.

If anyone knows of any good looking pebbledash buildings, I would be happy at to change my mind...

Casa Mila

Casa Mila is situated in Barcelona and was designed by Gaudi who was commissioned to create a family home.

The strange exterior, known for its limestone curves, tangled wrought-iron balconies and spider's-web main doorway, caused much controversy when it was completed in 1912. It was described as a petrified aquarium, a hangar for airships and even an earthquake preserved in sculpture.

In the 1920s, French President Georges Clemenceau was said to have been so disturbed by the sight of the building and that in Barcelona they were building homes for dragons. 

However, now the building is seen to be a masterpiece in Barcelona as the smooth lines, sleek surfaces and forms go beyond pure Modernism. It is a triumph of aesthetics over practicality. Therefore, this was never a house for a family as Gaudi reputed that a tenant must take up the violin because it was too hard to fit a piano in the house.

Also it is far bigger than envisaged and the Barcelona City Council asked for the top floor to be knocked down or to pay a 100,000 peseta fine.

The building may have had its challenges, nevertheless in 1984, UNESCO declared it World Heritage Site, being the first 20th-century building to achieve the honour.

28 Days Later, Alone In London

This film is widely recognised for its opening scene, where Cillian Murphy's character wakes from a coma to find himself in a deserted London.

The shots of the barren city are amazing as the character roams the streets in search for life. The scene is all done without special effects, a blaring soundtrack or anything starling from the characters and script. 

Down to just organised timing, hours of filming and closing one road made it one of the most inspirational scenes that thought never could be done without special effects.

What The...?

Hoover advertisement

Mr clean advertisement

 

Sopranos advertisement 

Guerrilla advertising such as these are used to create a buzz. There is no limit to the imagination involved to humour, shock or just create some attention. 

Some may say that advertising is getting too in your face, you can't even mind your own business looking at the floor on a street anymore without someone trying to sell you something. Others may just find it clever.

Hand Drawn Maps

A great site of hand drawn maps. I always draw maps rather than a list of directions, always illustrating what I would see rather than road names. 

It's nice to see how other people interpret and visualise their environment in such unique ways.

www.handmaps.org

Sunka

I have seen the future and its called Sunka, an inspired concept of supermarkets that are springing out of Lleida, near Barcelona in Spain.

The Pujol family's chain of neighborhood food stores didn't panic when the powerful hypermarket formula started to bite. Instead they created Sunka, a store designed for 'demanding and stressed out' people.

Entering Sunka you don't see what you would normally see in a supermarket. Shoppers are welcomed by artwork displays, tranquil music and a poetry tunnel, which surrounds the customer with thoughtful words and phrases. This is so far from anything in the UK such as the great Tesco, yet it is proving to be very successful.

The Flatiron

The Flatiron building was designed by Daniel Burnham in the Beaux-Arts style and was completed in 1902.

HG Wells sums up the feeling when you first see the building- "I found myself agape, admiring a skycrapper, the prow of the Flatiron Building, to be particular, ploughing up through the traffic of Broadway and Fifth Avenue in the late-afternoon light"

I've always loved this building for its stark contrast in shape against the other skyscrappers.

The building, which took its name from the shape forced on it by the traingular lot it was bulit on- the Flatiron block, so called because it was shaped like a clothes iron. Personally I think it as a wedge, a wedge of cheese or a door wedge.

It would be interesting to hear other peoples opinions on what it looks like?

Lovemarks

Kevin Roberts passionately believes that LOVE is the way forward for a business. A 'lovemark' is when a product or experience have the power to create long-term, emotional connections with consumers.

My Lovemark is camarelised red onion chutney, which has to be from Marks and Spencers. As soon as I smell or taste it, it reminds me of fond memories of comfort, my family and obviously those great meat sandwiches.

This book is great for those who want to see how one of the biggest advertising companies Saatchi & Saatchi think. This idea that consumers, not companies own Lovemarks is fundamental. This book shows that it is not only business mavens, but those special individuals Roberts calls "Inspirational Consumers" who can shape the future of commerce.

Not only is this book inspiring and motivational, it is obviously designed well with interesting use of colour and pictures, no page is ever the same.

All you need is

Days Of Sunshine And Poses

Every weekend since 1969 the photographer Joseph Szabo, has taken photographs of people on Long Island's Jones Beach. Some may say its a love affair with the camera or could be called an obsession.

Through the pictures you can see the beach is nolonger quintessentailly American as all different cultures are brought together.

When people pose they show their personality. Spontaneous moments show their Vulnerability.

I prefer photographs of unknown people whose story you don't know because then you can guess where their life leads. However for that instant shot it's more about capturing a moment of honesty, the pictures show trust and understanding.

Rijks Museum

I visited the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in the summer of 2007.
The museum was founded in 1789 and opened its doors in 1800 to the public. The building itself is designed by Pierre Cuypers and has since been an Amsterdam landmark due to its greatness in detail and size.

The Rijksmuseum has more than a million works of art and historical objects. Nowhere in the world is there such a complete overview of Dutch pieces. More than two centuries of collecting have resulted in the most wide-ranging and representative survey of art in the Republic of the United Provinces.

However the art only covers the period 1400 to 1900. I would have liked to see 21st century Dutch art as well, as it would show how Dutch art has developed and progressed.

Nevertheless the museum is a must see for anyone who hasn't gone due to the fact you can learn so much about another culture and history.

'God's Own Country'

Pies, flat caps, beef dripping with bread, people saying t'shop t'pub, brass bands and most of all yorkshire puddings are cultural trends seen in Yorkshire.

The North Riding

I wandered o'er the moors around

And see the braken golden brown

The heather laden with the morning dew

Its purple acclaiming the Autumn view

The moors they stretch so far and wide

Like some great sea without a tide

Whose waves roll onto meet the skey

Where white crested clouds go rolling by

Along the paths the sheep they graze

In loneliness they spend their days

Night and day they brave the weather

Making their way amongst the heather

The sun when shining paints the scenes

By picking out the different greens

Of this great picture I'll never tire

It's my home in North Yorkshire

By John Parkin (my Grandad)

Published in Yorkshire Thoughts, Poems by Yorkshire Poets

A Growing Digital Society

This book has been a very good source of research for my dissertation.
'Communities Dominate Brands' is a book about how the new phenomenon of digitally connected communities are emerging as a force to counterbalance the power of the big brands and advertising.
It not only explains how marketing is changing but provides real business examples and guidance on how to react to a growing digital society.

The book is very detailed and I would think it would be difficult for someone who doesn't have business knowledge.
It was written in 2005 and therefore it must be taken into account that some findings may be now out of date and nolonger relevent.

The Guggenheim

Completed in the 1950s


I took this photograph in March 2006 when I visited New York. The structure of the Museum hasn't changed greatly since it was first bulit as you can see.
The building was designed by the architect Frank Llyod Wright, who also designed Fallingwater (mentioned in design theory, year one)

From the street, the building looks approximately like a white ribbon curled into a cylindrical stack or a shell.

Internally, the viewing gallery forms a gentle spiral from the ground level up to the top of the building. Paintings are displayed along the walls of the spiral and also in viewing rooms found at stages along the way.

Most of the criticism of the building has focused on the idea that it overshadows the artworks displayed within, and that it is particularly difficult to properly hang paintings in the shallow windowless exhibition niches that surround the central spiral.

To be honest I did not go to the museum particularly for a certain exhibition but to see inside the building itself. I don't believe that museums should be plain but should be a piece of art in itself.

Volkswagen Drive In

Volkswagen celebrates their 60th anniversary with a campaign site that invites people to sync lyrics and music of the last 60 years with the Volkswagen models which were released over the last 6 decades. Fun and colourful way to entertain and inform.

http://www.volkswagendrivein.nl

Having The Talent of a Turtle?

Can you spot which painting is by a turtle and which is by Willem de Kooning?

Answer: The painting on the left is by a turtle and the one on the right is by Willem de Kooning.

Kooning trained for eight years at the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts and Techniques...I guess the turtle was just born a gifted painter.