Paola Antonelli on Design as the Interface Between Progress and Humanity

Paola Antonelli — Senior Curator of Architecture and Design at the MoMA, longtime proponent of humanized technology, self-described “curious octopus” — has arguably done more for the mainstream infiltration of design literacy than any other individual in contemporary culture. In her recent opening keynote at the unequivocally titled media and ideas conference The Conference in Malmö, Sweden, Antonelli pulls the curtain on her curatorial process and, with her signature on-stage charisma, takes a revealing look at how her shows go about the incredible balancing act of being both beacons of the bleeding edge of design and an approachable education platform for instilling in the general public a basic understanding of the fundamental importance of design — something she describes as “push[ing] design down from the realm of art and up from the realm of decoration and prettification into real life.”

via openculture.com

PBS Arts: Off Book - Episode 3: Visual Culture Online

Subscribe to the new Off Book channel at http://www.youtube.com/pbsoffbook For decades now, people have joined together online to communicate and collaborate around interesting imagery. In recent years, the pace and intensity of this activity has reached a fever pitch.

PBS Arts: Off Book is a web-based series that explores cutting edge art and the people that make it. The 13 episode series focuses on the process, motivation and meaning of a new generation of artists.

Episode 3: Visual Culture Online
For decades now, people have joined together online to communicate and collaborate around interesting imagery. In recent years, the pace and intensity of this activity has reached a fever pitch. With countless communities engaging in a constant exchange, building on each others' work, and producing a prodigious flow of material, we may be experiencing the early stages of a new type of artistic and cultural collaboration. In this episode of Off Book, we'll speak with a number of Internet experts and artists who'll give us an introductory look into this intriguing new world.

Featuring:

Chris Menning, Viral Trends Researcher, Buzzfeed
MemeFactory, Internet Researchers
Olivia Gulin, Visual Reporter, Know Your Meme
Ryder Ripps, Artist and Co-Creator, Dump.fm
John Kelly, PH.D., Founder and Chief Scientist, Morningside Analytics 

Previous installments:
Episode 1: Light Painting
Episode 2: Typography

Andrew Zuckerman: On Curiosity, Rigor, and Learning As You Go

In this 99% talk, photographer Andrew Zuckerman argues that curiosity is an essential part of the creative's condition. But it's even more powerful when combined with rigorous technique.

In this 99% talk, photographer and filmmaker Andrew Zuckerman argues that curiosity is an essential part of the creative's condition. But it's even more powerful when combined with rigorous technique. He shares the lessons learned from his iconic WISDOM project, in which he interviewed "elders" around the world, including Chuck Close, Bill Withers, Jane Goodall, Frank Gehry, Massimo Vignelli, and many more. Zuckerman talks about the anxiety we feel as we start a new project, how fear can help us get things done, and the importance of honesty and good, old-fashioned hard work.

InsideOut Episode 1 by Photographer & TED Prize winner JR

Since the TED Prize winner JR announced his wish in March to turn the world InsideOut, thousands of people have participated in what he hopes will be the world's largest participatory art project. This is the first Episode documenting the project.

Beyond Fashion: The Met's "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty"

The Met's exhibit Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty closed recently after breaking many attendance's records for the museum. A friend, describing the exhibit as "a visual concert," prompted me to visit the museum to see it for myself. If you missed it the above video is the closest you'll have to attending the lavishly curated and presented collection. 

From the museum's catalog: 

The exhibition, organized by The Costume Institute, celebrates the late Alexander McQueen's extraordinary contributions to fashion. From his Central Saint Martins postgraduate collection of 1992 to his final runway presentation, which took place after his death in February 2010, Mr. McQueen challenged and expanded the understanding of fashion beyond utility to a conceptual expression of culture, politics, and identity. His iconic designs constitute the work of an artist whose medium of expression was fashion. The exhibition will feature approximately one hundred ensembles and seventy accessories from Mr. McQueen's prolific nineteen-year career. Drawn primarily from the Alexander McQueen Archive in London, with some pieces from the Givenchy Archive in Paris as well as private collections, signature designs including the "bumster" trouser, the kimono jacket, and the three-point "origami" frock coat will be on view. McQueen's fashions often referenced the exaggerated silhouettes of the 1860s, 1880s, 1890s, and 1950s, but his technical ingenuity always imbued his designs with an innovative sensibility that kept him at the vanguard.

Beyond fashion, what the exhibit represented for me was the work of a cultural remixer expressing his ideas via haute couture. In his video series Everything is a Remix Kirby Ferguson talks of artists copying, transforming and combining ideas to create new works that are remixes of ideas past. Every single garment presented in the exhibit embodied that philosophy.