Distributed Projection Structure is an architecture prototype where physical matter is animated by algorithmic light.
this project is going to be in Milan next month!
We learned the hard way about a Toronto tradition for taking back the streets today- mass memorial rides for cyclists needlessly killed. Hubert Van Tol was a University of Toronto Professor and athlete- we rowed together on Lake Ontario (well, not quite together- he was twice as fast). Last Thursday a dumptruck turning right got him. This happens too often in Toronto (two cylists were killed on the same day) where the few bike lanes are full of cars and when it comes to enforcement, we quote Bob Dylan: "the cops don't need you and man, they expect the same". There are few North/South streets in the area of the accident and bike commuters are forced to use the ludicrously named Avenue Road, four fast-moving lanes, none for bikes- it just might slow down the rush hour traffic and we can't have that.
Artist designs cute looking spycams, razorwire, etc.
Mark Frauenfelder: A German artist named Matthias Megyeri has started a company called Sweet Dreams Security, which makes security items like padlocks, alarms, and razorwire that look cute and happy.
Examples of Mr Megyeri's art include padlocks designed to look like teddy bears, heart-shaped chains, and glass fir trees embedded in concrete, designed to replace broken bottle shards, which are now illegal.
While they look delicate, the top of the fir tress is very sharp, to deter people from climbing the wall.
Not just numerically cool: 6.6.6 is National Day of Slayer.
Coming up in a few weeks is a festival with new media art, architecture, and performance in Milan. Book your hotel room now because you wouldn't want to miss this!
impressive line up of artists, including Jim Campbell, LEMUR, Casey Reas, Diller & Scofido Renfro, Massimiliano Fuksas, Zaha Hadid, Ryoichi Kurakawa, Tina Frank... just to mention a few.
Continue reading "The Aphrodite Project: Platforms"
We reblogged the submission call for this project about two months ago (from wooster collective), and since the show is taking place in Italy, some Fabricanti participated by sending their work in. Though, they still dont' know if their work has been excepted for the show or not. Strange.
Anyway, the exhibit of posters starts this month and should last til the end of the month. The poster shown above says that the opening party is on the 13 of May from 16:00 to 1:00, costs 2 euros. Address: Via dei Reti 15 quartiere San Lorenzo.
I'll try to find the url and will post more info as it becomes available to me. But if you're in Rome, or know any more about this, please share the info in the comment section.
the idea of color changing concrete that can be used for information display was originally posted a while ago, but now seems to have finally reached the prototype phase. the system is able to dynamically display patterns, numbers & text in concrete surfaces. potential application range from simple products for the home to large-scale architectural installations.
an interactive network visualization that shows the links between Exxon (the world's biggest oil company) money & some of the loudest climate sceptics being quoted in the media. developed for Greenpeace with the assistance of the they rule application. the visualization contains dossiers & fact sheets for each organization & person with a description, history, staff bios, quotes, deeds & hidden affiliations.
designed as a tool for journalists, researchers & policy makers, this application can be used to research the links between climate sceptic groups & how much funding they get from ExxonMobil. searches can be made on organisations & individuals, cross-referencing automatically with other groups & individuals.
"This is something that was done for earth day here in Quebec. Stayed up all night with a couple of friends painting this apple tree or at least a branch thereof representing the various stages of the tree's development or at least from budding through fruit stages. Not that it would stand up to any kind of botanical rigor but you get the idea. Just as we were applying the final touches, the mayor and other political types including the leader of the Bloc Quebecois (or is it the Parti Quebecois?) showed up to plant a tree and a photo op. I had to pose for the cameras beside one of the trees in question, covered in paint, cracked out from no sleep. While no stranger to the media (here in Quebec it's not hard to get media attention-we've got our own star system here and Cruise and Holmes are not even in the top 50) this was a little much. Can we at least get some makeup over here. I've got snot smeared all over my face and it looks like I've pissed my pants (i didn't though I swear). I was just starting to break the top 100 here in Quebec but I can forget about it now."
A few weeks ago we posted some controvercial photos of street art done in the abandoned city of Pripjat, location of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Now, the artists have put up a website about the project. You can see it here.
See yesterday's post for Chernobyl, also the same art project blogged by BenettonTalk.
These clowns just left the building!
You may know them as Brett and Nicole. One's a musician and the other's a graphic designer. I think they used to be separate units, but once they found each other, we can't tell them apart anymore.
Well, their last day at the building was yesterday and the clowns are off island trotting in Croatia, then to the Big Apple New York City next week -- because that's where clowns go to try to make it in the entertainment business. You will be missed, guys!
Interview of Brett and Nicole coming in the near future.
"Killing wetbacks: just a videogame" !?!?
WOW. Incredible. And you wonder why Americans look like selfish retards to the rest of the world. This blog refuse to provide a direct link to this game for ethical reasons, but read more about this on BenettonTalk.
Cory Doctorow: Jane Jacobs has died at 89 in Toronto. Jacobs was an urban activist and writer about cities. Her book Death and Life of Great American Cities is the best book I've ever read about cities -- how they work, how they change. Reading that book rendered visible whole rafts of secrets about how the world around me functioned. It was like taking off a blindfold.
"The key with Jane was that she believed that the world was a complex place. It was not a simple place, it was a complex place, and you couldn't just think in straight lines," said Sewell.
"You had to think about context, how things fit together. That was the key about her."
"Jane Jacobs will be remembered as one of the great urban thinkers of our time," Toronto Mayor David Miller said Tuesday in a statement.
"Her contributions and insights have forever changed the way North American cities are developed.
Today is the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl Accident. I was only 8 years old when this tragedy happen and vaguely remember the news about a nuclear devastation in what was a super far away place for me.
So to recap for our generation: 20 years ago today, an explosion in the nuclear power plant in the city of Chernobyl, Ukrain (part of the Soviet Union back then) caused a radioactive spillout that spread to the Western Soviet Union, Eastern and Western Europe, UK, and as far as the eastern U.S.
According to one report, the explosion released over 400x more radiation than the atomic bomb of Hiroshima. Today, millions of people are suffering from/will develop some form of cancer due to the exposure.
Wikipedia's explanation of the cause, the accidents, and follow up reports done in the past 20 years.
The Far East Film Festival in Udine opened this past Friday (21 April) and goes on until next Saturday (29 April). This is the 8th edition of the festival and beyond the 73 film screenings, the festival also boost a rare movie poster exhibition and afternoons with actors and directors. There are also fringe activities during the week, notably some parties and concerts organized by Fabricanti Marco Mucig and Carlo Zoratti, among others.
The films in the festival are from China, Hong Kong, Japan, The Philippines, Thailand, and Taiwan.
It is a film event which concentrates its power on three of four blockbusters a year, liberalizes cinema halls and film distribution and democratizes the showing of the individual films regardless of their provenance. Nine years after its inception, Far East has brought Oriental films to the very backwaters of Italy. Three films were released as normal under Italian law, whilst the release of three others was blocked by the Italian film distributors, or their associates—an unprecedented event at the Far East festival.
Ferment, creativity, and production: cinema in Asia is still a cinema of stars, dreams, authorship, and market, but foremost of stories to be constructed, narrated and heard. Venice, Cannes and Berlin do not present Asian films because of the organizers’ whim, still less the cosmopolitan nature of the films; but because cinema is more alive in Asia than in any other part of the world.
The Far East Film Festival has been a launching pad and first showcase for films. Pang Ho-cheung is the most recent director to make an initial impact at the festival in Udine, and subsequent success at the major film festivals.
Together with the Venice Film Festival, we decided to double the events in this region for Asian film. In April, FEFF presents revelations, war films, real cinema, popular films; and the Biannual in September provides international limelight. These are two special events which make Venice and Friuli-Venezia Giulia—with its festivals, film library, and Universities—an international venue for world cinema.
The latest issue of COLORS Magazine is out and online now. This issue focuses on HIV/AIDS statistics from around the world, the website features all articles printed in the magazine and most published images for free. The magazine will soon be available at your hip bookstores in Europe, then North America and the rest of the world some time later.
Just 25 years since its discovery, the HIV virus managed to inhabit the bodies of 40.3 million people—the equivalent of Spain's entire population. Many people think that the global AIDS/HIV situation is under control because of the advance in medicines. Media attention has diminished, donations are turning elsewhere. Simply wearing the red-ribbon promotes awareness not prevention.
COLORS 67: AIDS brings back to light the virus 25 years later with visual reportage and factual information. The effects that it had on those who contracted it 25 years ago and those who got it at birth last year. The issue also gives a voice and face to many people who are doing their best to prevent the spread of the virus.
The Escape Artists Society (T.E.A.S.) http://www.escapeartists.ca wants your video art for Vancouver's first iPod viewing gallery or ViPod Gallery!
This is a fundraising event for Vancouver's hottest emerging arts society The Escape Artists Society (T.E.A.S.): we put art in unusual spaces – inserting 'our' world into 'there' world– penetrating public perceptions of culture, genre and form.
Submitted works must be created specifically for screening on Apple's new video iPod and can be no longer than 5 minutes in duration.
The content and style of your work is open – it can be narrative or non-narrative, personal or political, and presented in an experimental or documentary style.
Play with the notion of "ViPodification" in your work – the small, intimate scale of the iPod may direct your explorations technically and conceptually – "podify" it. Featured artists are eligible for prize packs featuring treats donated by local designers, artists and businesses.
Continue reading "ViPod Gallery, call for video submission"
One competition. Two walls. Three winners.
After the success of the Diesel Walls in Milan and Berlin, we have decided to merge the two into one big competition... with two walls... and three winners.
This is a single competition, so only one entry per person is allowed.
The jury will select three winners. Two winners will be shown in Milan and one in Berlin.
Unlike previous competitions, we are only accepting entries in digital form, from this website.
We impose no limits on your mind however. It’s just a wall. So get over it. Go round it. Think of it. Or climb on it. Tell us what you see.
Sarah, Yoni, and Those Thai Guys all left the building!
I've been remissed with the "...has left the building" bit, and now that spring time is here, we've lost a bunch of people!
Then Yoni Halevy, Israeli drummer transplanted to New York City, who joined Fabrica Musica for the "Winners" project (musical performance coming up in June) left us on April 9 to head back to the Big Apple. Everyone agrees that Yoni is the maddest drummer we've all ever met.
Yoni (right) and Diego who misses his 'batterio di uno spizzidou d'un porcofriend' !
After waiting a full two weeks for the server move, and suffering major blow to our website hits, we've decided to open up shop again, at the same slow server. Due to incredible technical difficulties involved in moving server from New York to Italy (virtually), we haven't really been able to settle. It's like our moving truck/ship never arrived!
Anyway, we're back for now and I have tons of stuff that was missed. Some time in the near future, we will be moving, but hopefully we won't have a major delay next time.
While the blog was taking a forced vacation, Fabricanti partied on the grass at Fabrica for the first time this year! Yay for SPRING TIME IN ITALY!!!
Check the Fabrica Picture Pool for more fun pics.
not to do another shameless self-promotion, but my colleagues have been hard at work on the Benetton Play site, so give them a short visit and see if you can beat Oriol at all the games. He's Armadillu in the score board, and no, he doesn't cheat.
We'll see you next week!!
Come and see us @ Fabbrica del Vapore, via Procaccini, 4 Milano.
Continue reading "Milan Design Week 2006"
an interactive geograpical map resource which contains detailed country information for over 200 states & maps key social, economic, environmental & political issues, such as greenhouse gas emissions, corruption, landmine risk & child labor statistics.
the interactive map enables users to view an issue individually or in combination with other issues in order to illustrate the relationship between 2 or more associated topics. the tool is meant to raise awareness, providing a framework for monitoring & analyzing a wide range of complex issues that impact on society & the goals of business.
see also radial visual browser & gapminder world trends.
i used to live 2 blocks away from that location! me miss new york!
Cory Doctorow: Greenpeace has published an amazing first-person account of visits to the rusting Chinese "ghost ships" floating off the West African coast. These fishing ships are loaded, supplied and collected form at sea, without any dock-time for maintenance (or for their crews to desert). They are floating wrecks, riddled with holes, hemorrhaging fuel, rotting to the water-line, and their crews are stuck on them for years at a time.
We head for the 'graveyard' itself. The first battered ship, the Lian Run 02 has holes near the waterline. They're so big, I could reach out and put my fist through. The two crewman are cheerful enough - or maybe just happy to see new faces. They'd been waiting there a month, in the hope of getting new crew - so far, there's no sign.
Next was the crumbling 'Happiness' ship already mentioned, the Zhang Yuan Yu 15. After we wave goodbye to the lone occupant, we head towards the next two ships. They appear roped to each other - the Zhang Yuan Yu 17 and the Lian Run 16. No one answers our calls on the first ship - but I see some movement behind the bridge, a cat... I'm not sure.
We move to the second ship, where again, a bunch of friendly young guys have been sitting at anchor for two months, waiting technical help and a new crew. Their engine doesn't work, and they no safety gear or radio. They can, however, run their watermaker, for desalinating seawater. Lines of drying fish hang over the deck, but they're running out of other food, and are often forced to signal other fishing boats for help. Like everyone else, their future is uncertain.