1473281434000

culture

%feed
http://insider.si.edu/2016/09/hirshhorn-plaza-demolished-92-dodge-keeps-pulling-em/
On Hirshhorn plaza, demolished '92 Dodge keeps pulling in the curious

Visitors to the Hirshhorn plaza encounter “Still Life with Spirit and Xitle.” (Photo by John Barrat)

Although it has no magnetic properties, the 9-ton red volcanic boulder on the plaza of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden keeps pulling people in from the nearby sidewalk on Independence Avenue. Perhaps it is the boulder's painted-on smirk or the fact that it sits atop a 1992 Dodge Spirit, creating, as a recent press expounds: “a slapstick disaster scene… part performance, part sculpture.”

“Joyful and cathartic,” is how Hirshhorn Chief Curator Stéphane Aquin described the sculpture “Still Life with Spirit and Xitle” on a recent August morning as he watched person after person curiously approach and then examine the artwork. Many took selfies with the smashed car and rock.

“On a very simple level, people just see a rock on a car and they say, ‘God this is fantastic,' because they wouldn't dream of wanting to see that on their car,” Aquin says. “And then some would, because they hate their car.”

Created by expatriate American artist Jimmy Durham in 2007, the Hirshhorn recently acquired the sculpture following its appearance in the 2015 Art Basel exhibition in Miami Beach. “It was truly the star of the art fair,” Aquin recalls. “I don't know if it is a sign of the quality of a work, but definitely of its public appeal, it blew up on Instagram. It was really the most spectacular thing in the fair.”

Durham's name for the sculpture refers to the ancient Mexican volcano Xitle (shy-tuhl) which means, “Spirit.” It erupted around 245-315 AD and engulfed the then-prominent city of Cuicuilco in lava. Durham had a 9-ton boulder quarried from near the buried city which was then placed by crane upon the roof of the Dodge Spirit. As a finishing touch, Durham painted a smug, cartoon-like face on the boulder.

Still Life with Spirit and Xitle” on the Hirshhorn plaza (Photo by John Barrat)

“It's sort of an open metaphor of the revenge of nature over culture,” Aquin explains. “It represents the encounter of two forms of spirit, one ancient, mythological and physical and the other—a Dodge Spirit—a car produced in Mexico.

Durham, who had lived in Mexico between 1987 and 1994, was aware of other associations with the car, Aquin says. “Because it was a powerful car undercover police would use them, as well as drug dealers…so it has associations of shady, nefarious government force.”

Although the volcanic rock appears to have landed violently upon the car, Hirshhorn staff placed it gently down with a crane. The boulder's weight had already bent the car's frame, pushing it down to the ground. “There is no car that's going to take 9 tons,” Aquin says.

Its placement on the plaza in front of the Hirshhorn's main entrance is not arbitrary, Aquin adds. Car and rock sit atop the only concrete pillar that supports the plaza from below. “We had X-rays done to locate the plaza pillar and determine the exact position where we could safely place it,” Aquin explains. “Anywhere else and it may have dropped straight down,” into the Hirshhorn's basement.

A crew of Smithsonian staff use a crane to install Jimmy Durham's sculpture “Still Life with Spirit and Xitle” on the Hirshhorn Plaza.

After numerous walks around the museum while observing the constant flow of pedestrians in the vicinity, Aquin and other HMSG staff determined that a large percentage of the Hirshhorn's visitors travel to the museum from the Air and Space Museum and L'Enfant Plaza Metro, walking west along Independence Avenue. With this in mind, the Dodge is aimed at an angle with its headlights pointing at these walkers as they approach the Hirshhorn's south plaza entrance. The sculpture is “a show stopper,” Aquin says. “Everyone stops. It's just a simple thing but no one gets over it.”

How does one preserve a demolished car? “It's complicated,” Aquin observes. As per Durham's wishes the elements will be allowed to take their toll upon the car. “We know the car is going to dilapidate over time. In 60 years it will be totally different and down the line it will disappear. Durham suggested at some point we replace the car with a typical Washington, D.C. diplomatic limousine…something like a Cadillac Escalade, a motorcade car,” Aquin says. “But if we do that then the question arises what do we do about the sculpture's title? We lose the Dodge Spirit.”

For the rock, geologists and volcanologists have been invited to assess the cracks in the rock and, as a few plants have grown on its top, a botanist also is being consulted.

“Still Life with Spirit and Xitle,” signals a new direction for the Hirshhorn more than anything else, Aquin says. “It's only one work but it has transformed the plaza and the whole look of the building. Little by little that's what we are trying to do.”

The post On Hirshhorn plaza, demolished '92 Dodge keeps pulling in the curious appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

culture

1473281430000

culture

%feed
http://insider.si.edu/2016/09/three-new-books-commemorate-museum-opening/
Three New books mark museum opening

To commemorate the opening of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture three new books have been released by Smithsonian Books: Dream a World Anew: The African American Experience and the Shaping of America; Begin with the Past: Building the National Museum of African American History and Culture; and National Museum of African American History and Culture: A Souvenir Book. Each book will be available in the museum store beginning with the museum's opening on Sept. 24. On Sept. 27 the books will be widely available elsewhere.

Dream a World Anew: The African American Experience and the Shaping of America uses objects and stories from the museum to examine the African American experience. It presents a sweeping history that includes the path from slavery to freedom, the struggle during Reconstruction and the civil rights movement, and the swell of major social, political and economic changes since 1968. The book also celebrates the achievements of extraordinary black musicians, writers, performers, athletes and artists who influenced American cultural identity.

Begin with the Past: Building the National Museum of African American History and Culture presents the long history of efforts to build a permanent place to collect, study and present African American history and culture. It traces the appointment of the director, the selection of the site and the process of conceiving, designing and constructing a public monument to the achievements and contributions of African Americans.

National Museum of African American History and Culture: A Souvenir Book showcases the treasures of the museum's collections. Highlights include a silk lace-and-linen shawl given to Harriet Tubman by Queen Victoria, Pullman Porter train cars and uniforms, the jacket and skirt worn by Marian Anderson for her 1939 Lincoln Memorial concert, Negro League baseball banners and jerseys, a Tuskegee Airman flight jacket and Chuck Berry's Cadillac. All of these objects and many more are accompanied by captions explaining their significance and role in the nation's history.

The post Three New books mark museum opening appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

culture

1473280961000

design

%feed
https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/5-11-september-2016/supple-studio-gives-d-r-w-interlocking-d-identity/
Supple Studio gives D.R.A.W interlocking “D” identity

Supple Studio has designed an identity system for D.R.A.W Recruitment using an interlocking “D' device and the strapline “The Art of the Perfect Fit”.

The new company was formed from the merger of Drummond Read Recruitment and Art//Work and specialises in sourcing talent from the fine arts, antiques and luxury markets.

Supple creative director Jamie Ellul, who was invited to tender, says: “The client had already spotted that their existing company names formed the acronym D.R.A.W; it felt like a gift of a name with a genuine back story.

“But we wanted to avoid the obvious solution of drawing things or sketching, so we took the angle of people being ‘drawn together' which led to ‘the perfect fit'.”

An interlocking D monogram was also created and Ellul says he “worked with the client to choose a range of materials that got across D.R.A.W.'s diverse client base and candidates from classic to contemporary.”

The main points of interaction for service users are the website and jobs board. Ellul, who also worked on these, says: “We've kept the design very classic using black and white throughout, with the only ping of colour being the monogram logos.

We were conscious of the fact it's a very discerning audience, so a neutral classic approach seemed to make sense. The typeface we've used is Value by Colophon, which lends a little quirkiness to the design, but still feels in keeping with the classic feel.”

The post Supple Studio gives D.R.A.W interlocking “D” identity appeared first on Design Week.

design

1473280959000

design

%feed
https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/5-11-september-2016/moves-changes-industry-news-3/
Moves & changes industry news

People

Rebecca Kirrane has joined Decibel Digital as a UX/UI designer, moving from commerce consultancy, Salmon.

Bentley has appointed John Paul Gregory to lead its exterior design division. Gregory's first production car is likely to be the new Bentley Continental GT.

Manchester-based studio Code Computerlove has announced the appointment of Amy Robinson as customer experience consultant. The role will see Robinson help bolster the studio's content, acquisition and conversion teams.

CloudTag has appointed Peter Griffith as chief creative officer to oversee the design, aesthetics and brand messaging of Cloudtag products. Griffith was formerly head of mobile phones design at Microsoft.

Consultancies

Jaywing has announced its acquisition of Leeds-based consultancy, Bloom. The consultancy hopes to grow the development and distribution of its data science-led products.

A new consultancy has been launched after the founder of Sumo Design, Jim Richardson, closed the business to focus on a new start-up. The creative team behind Sumo Sarah Tempest and Michael Sutton have launched their own consultancy in Newcastle, called Altogether.

Contact aimee.mclaughlin@centaurmedia.com if there have been any moves and changes in your consultancy.

The post Moves & changes industry news appeared first on Design Week.

design

1473280955000

design

%feed
https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/5-11-september-2016/gordons-gin-reveals-new-packaging-design/
Gordon's gin reveals new packaging design

Design Bridge and Diageo have worked together on the new packaging design for Gordon's gin, almost 15 years after the consultancy previously redesigned the gin brand's bottle.

Design Bridge's brief was to respond to the huge boom in interest in gin over the last few years, and “reassert Gordon's position as the top selling gin brand”, according to chief creative officer at Design Bridge, Graham Shearsby.

“We saw it as an opportunity to guide the packaging onto the next part of its journey,” says Shearsby. “It's always been quite a functional bottle, part of what we tried to do was bring more life to it.”

Taller, slimmer bottle

The new bottle is slightly slimmer and taller than previously, while the label has been applied to the D-shaped curved side of the bottle instead of the flat side like before.

“It was to get a bit more movement across the front label,” says Shearsby. “The bottle was a little bit too flat on the front, so this way it projects itself and will stand out on the shelf.”

Inspired by a trip to the brand's archives, which revealed an old advertising campaign with the tagline “the heart of a good cocktail”, along with heart-shaped labels from 1920s bottles, the heart symbol has become the focal point of the new design.

Hand drawn wordmark

The glass bottle itself has a heart shape with “botanical flourishes” embossed onto it, encircling the words “Estd. London 1769”.

Meanwhile, the Gordon's wordmark on the label has been redrawn by hand, and the brand's original boar logo has been made more visible, moving from the bottom to the front of the bottle.

The new design has also been introduced to Gordon's collection of flavoured gins, sloe, elderflower and cucumber, and to Gordon's Export gin. The newly designed packaging will roll out globally this month.

The post Gordon's gin reveals new packaging design appeared first on Design Week.

design

1473280952000

design

%feed
https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/5-11-september-2016/ragged-edge-refreshes-deliciously-ella-branding/
Ragged Edge refreshes Deliciously Ella branding

"Deliciously-Ella-Energy-Balls-Hazelnut-and-Raisin"

Ragged Edge has redesigned the visual identity for food blogger Ella Mills, commonly known as Deliciously Ella.

The rebrand includes a new design system and updated logo shared with health food restaurant Mae Deli, co-founded by Mills and her husband as well as the packaging for the blogger's first retail product, Deliciously Ella's Energy Balls.

“Reinforce personal connection with her followers”

Based on Mills' own signature, the logo features a hand drawn typeface and a “sunburst” shape that seeks to “reinforce her personal connection with her followers”, according to Ragged Edge.

The consultancy chose a hand drawn typeface Naive Line Sans for headlines and the monospaced Elementa Regular for body copy. Ragged Edge cofounder Max Ottignon says: “Used together, these feel approachable, warm and human.”

“Natural, simple and honest”

Meanwhile, the packaging for the energy balls has been designed to reflect Mills' three core values: “natural, simple and honest”. It combines bright colours designed to make it stand out on the shelf compared to other similar products and comes in a matte texture.

Ottignon says: “Much of Ella's popularity stems from her open and honest relationship with her followers. Maintaining that level of trust as her brand grows into new areas was crucial.”

“Our strategy set out to build on her core values and create a beautifully crafted design, with substance and weight.”

The Deliciously Ella Energy Balls launched at Whole Foods this month and will also be rolled out to selected supermarkets.

The post Ragged Edge refreshes Deliciously Ella branding appeared first on Design Week.

design

1473280950000

design

%feed
https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/5-11-september-2016/pearlfisher-creates-visual-identity-new-liberating-chinese-tampon-brand/
This new tampon brand hopes to empower women in China

Consultancy Pearlfisher has created the visual identity and packaging for a new tampon brand which looks to empower women in China.

Fémme is a new product from Chinese company Yoai, which aims to increase the presence of and education about tampons in China, and change a “patronising” tone around tampons to associations with “confidence and positivity”.

2% of Chinese women use tampons

Recent research found that only 2% of women in China use tampons, with the majority citing the reason as inexperience with the product.

The new brand aims to shift shake conservative, traditional associations with feminine hygiene care in China, says Pearlfisher creative director Natalie Chung, through a “stylish and discreet” design.

Chinese characters used in branding

The logo is composed of a Chinese character symbolising womanhood encased with a circle, within a circle, all created in a “bold” red to symbolise menstruation.

A simple, sans-serif wordmark has been used, which aims to “elevate the product from basic pharmacy to high-end premium”, says Chung.

The packaging also aims to be “elegant” through embossing, the use of a foil logo and card inserts of line-drawn female forms which replicate Chinese characters.

Pastel colour code

Packs use a pastel colour scheme of blue, pink and green to indicate different product sizes, and there is educational information included on the back which aims to “dispel cultural misconceptions” and teach women how to use tampons.

Victoria Li at Yoai says the new brand identity is “based on a modern interpretation of Chinese values” rather than something “overtly westernised”, and hopes the product will help to “liberate” and offer more choice to women in China.

The post This new tampon brand hopes to empower women in China appeared first on Design Week.

design

1473279594000

gaia

%feed
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvoices.nationalgeographic.com%2F2016%2F09%2F07%2Fthings-shouldnt-be-like-this-lingering-effects-of-perus-jungle-oil-spills%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8
‘Things Shouldn't Be Like This': Lingering Effects of Peru's Jungle Oil Spills

"Jusoe — Jusoe Esash Unum holds leaves covered in oil near the banks of the Marañon River, months after the January Chiriaco spill. (Photo by Brett Monroe Garner)

By Rebecca Wolff, National Geographic Young Explorer Grantee

I hadn't grasped the true human consequences of oil spills until we immersed ourselves in the situation going on in Peru.

The stories our team heard of lingering illness and food insecurity were heartbreaking. “When the oil spill happened, [the doctors] arrived in the community and gave out a few medicines, and then they never came back. Things shouldn't be like this,” we were told.

By June 2016, 8000 individuals and at least 30 indigenous communities were affected. I never thought it could possibly get worse.

On August 10, the fourth oil spill since the start of 2016 was reported in the Peruvian Amazon.

At least 10 indigenous communities are impacted by the newest spill in the province of Condorcanqui, department of Amazonas. More than 20 similar spills have crippled the region over the past five years.

This latest spill has the potential to impact the Marañon River and the indigenous groups living there, including the Awajún who were affected by the January 25 spill in Chiriaco and the June 24 spill in Barranca. The Marañon is one of the most important rivers in Peru, starting in the Andes and eventually becoming a major tributary of the Amazon River.

Anger and frustration are reaching all-time highs across Peru. In February, after two spills saw over 3,000 barrels of crude oil flow into the Chiriaco and Morona Rivers, state-owned oil company Petroperú was told to cease pumping oil on their Nor Peruano pipeline. The 40-year-old pipeline is in a state of disrepair, the believed cause of the multiple spills this year.

A third oil spill in late June raised questions as to whether Petroperú had followed state orders to stop pumping oil and indicated the company had in fact been continuing to operate their faulty pipeline. One week after the June 24 spill, the Peruvian Supervisory Agency for Investment in Energy and Mining sanctioned Petroperú for pumping oil without permission. The company's president resigned during the controversy.

"Petroperuì — A Petroperuì oil cleanup crew works at site of the January Chiriaco Spill. (Photo by Brett Monroe Garner)

The cause of the newest spill has not been verified. The Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement (OEFA) released a statement on August 11 saying the spill may have resulted from an intentional cut to the pipeline. However, advocates I work with in Peru feel that unconfirmed accusations like this only help shift the blame and responsibility for the spill away from Petroperú. It also remains unclear whether Petroperú ever received permission, after the June sanction, to pump oil again. People are demanding to know if Petroperú was operating illegally, once again putting the Amazon at risk.

Communities and indigenous organizations are often the first to report oil spills on their territories, yet they are not seeing swift legal action or recognition of their rights and needs in wake of these environmental disasters.

“Legal processes are often partial and incomplete. There is a major disconnect between the process and the expectations of affected communities,” anthropologist Rodrigo Lazo, one of our Peruvian collaborators told me. In the Amazon, many individuals simply feel that not enough is being done to help.

"Levitia, — Levitia, a mother affected by the Chiriaco spill stands in a field that was ruined by the oil spill. (Photo by Brett Monroe Garner)

For the past six months, my team and I have interviewed lawyers, community members, indigenous leaders, and advocates across Peru. The testimonies of those afflicted by the spills and those fighting on behalf of communities never waver. Oil spills have abruptly impacted livelihoods and health while polluting the land and rivers of the Amazon.

One mother worried about how she would feed her children when her farmland remained covered in oil, never cleaned up by Petroperú. A community leader explained the health and emergency food supplies provided in his area were not enough for the vast amount of people seeking support.

The number of oil spills occurring in the Peruvian Amazon is increasing at an alarming rate. As we wait to learn just how bad this fourth spill will be, I wonder about the countless stories never told of how oil spills impact human lives. I can only hope the inspiring indigenous leaders, communities, and organizations our team has met will keep fighting to make sure that a fair legal and social resolution is achieved for all those stricken by these tragic oil spills.

More by Rebecca Wolff and Team Member Kevin Floerke

Indigenous Amazonians Reeling From Oil Spills in the Jungle

Health Concerns, Food Insecurity Linger Months After Peruvian Oil Spills

Peru's Oil Spills Deserve the World's Attention

gaia