Here's an idea, PBS Idea Channel is TED Talks from the fringe

/

Now that the Idea Channel has gone weekly it is time to catch up (and if you haven't before, subscribe.) Hosted with great wit by Mike Rugnetta and produced by Kornhaber Brown, each one of their short videos presents things we knew from an interesting perspective to consider, or introduces something you didn't know existed (bronies, really.) Their content is that particular blend of art, culture, technology and that something extra that I love and that is why I am declaring them the TED Talks from the fringe of creativity. Take a look at these recent episodes and you'll be hooked. ​

Is Twitter the Newest Form of Literature?

Everyone is familiar with Twitter, the uber-popular micro-blogging site, which limits the user to 140 characters. The tweet is perfect for sharing your favorite links and updating the world about your life, but it might also be the newest literary form! While many think that art requires unbridled freedom, constraints often inspire the greatest creativity. And this massively constrained communication, which has remarkable similarities to the Haiku, has inspired creativity worthy of the name "literature."
For the past 200 years, the gallery has been the home of new and cutting-edge art, a place where the art community can come together and share new ideas. But in this episode, we ask: is the web browser replacing the gallery as the best place to view amazing, cutting-edge art?!? In the era of the internet, you can view remarkable art from the comfort of your laptop. Accessible to virtually everyone, web art does away with the physical limitations of the gallery and makes impossibly cool art a part of our daily lives! 
Some of the best things to be found on the internet are music mashups! It's a strangely pleasing experience to listen to totally unrelated artists commingling on the same music track. Mashups are awesome because they break genre expectations, which makes us think: why have genres at all? Nowadays there's so much cross-pollination in music and art, creating more and more sub-genres, that the larger genre categories are becoming a useless relic.
Nail Art is all over the internetz, and suddenly it is a THING. The crazier the nail art, the more we marvel at the technique and time that went into it. But is there an artistic message behind these little cuticle canvases? Nail Art may seem superficial and trivial, but its fleeting nature allows it to be a purely free expression, and it's pretty to boot. Nail art makes us wonder if anything, given enough creativity, can be a canvas for artistic expression. 
If you haven't had a chance to play with Microsoft's Kinect, you're missing out on some great video games and some amazing art! The Kinect is a crazy awesome piece of XBox 360 hardware that maps your physical movements onto any screen. Artists of all stripes have embraced the Kinect - using the gesture recognition technology to create some pretty amazing interactive artworks and insanely impressive visuals. These works wouldn't have existed without this amazing piece of technology, making the corporate giant Microsoft the 21st century's incarnation of Lorzeno de Medici.

How Did Sherlock Holmes Pave the Way for 50 Shades of Grey?

You've probably heard of the risque novel "50 Shades of Grey" since it's now the best selling paperback of all time. But you may not know that it's Twilight fan fiction! It seems shocking that a fan fiction novel has become so popular, but 50 Shades isn't the first book to break through the fan community boundaries into mainstream culture. Over 100 years ago, Sherlock Holmes' popularity created a profusion of well received fan fiction. It allowed authors from amateur to professional to explore the world originally created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and pave the way for other future fan fiction canons, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, and yes, 50 Shades of Grey.

Consider this ​Mike Rugnetta interview by The National Film Society a post extra:

/ /
, , , , , , , , , , ,

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

The Art Of Logo Design: PBS Off Book

/

This episode of Off Book is a mini master-class on everything logos, featuring the incredibly prolific design writer Stephen Heller. This is one more reason why you should subscribe to the Off Book channel. ​

Logos surround us in digital and physical space, but we rarely examine the thought and artistic thinking that goes into the design of these symbols. Utilizing a silent vocabulary of colors, shapes, and typography, logo designers give a visual identity to companies and organizations of all types. From cave painters to modern designers, artists throughout history have been reducing the complex down to simple ideas that communicate with the world.

Featuring:

Stephen Heller
​Sagi Haviv
​Kelli Anderson
​Gerard Huerta

Previously:

Seeing Beyond The Human Eye
​Pop Culture Through The Lens Of Nostalgia: The Evolution Of 8-Bit Art​
​The Culture Of Reddit
​The Vast World Of Lego Art
​Three Points Of View On Fandom, Fan Fiction & Fan Art
​The Art of Film & TV Title Design: PBS Off Book
​Tattoos: Pop Portraits, Japanese Traditional, American Eclectic
​Art In The Era Of The Internet: The Impact Of Kickstarter, Creative Commons & Creators Project
​Animated GIFs: The Birth of a Medium
​Off Book Series One: The Complete Series

/ /
, , ,

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

The Shakespeared Brain

/

The Shakespeared Brain by Philip Davis, The Economists' moreintelligentlife.com: ​

We decided to try to see what happens inside us when the brain comes upon sentences like "The dancers foot it with grace", or "We waited for disclose of news", or "Strong wines thick my thoughts", or "I could out-tongue your griefs" or "Fall down and knee/The way into his mercy". For research suggests that there is one specific part of the brain that processes nouns and another part that processes verbs: but what happens when for a micro-second there is a serious hesitation between whether, in context, this is noun or verb?

Turns out the way something is written can alter our brains and change our minds. ​

/ /
, , , , ,

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

A year inside The Australian Ballet: Boys' Day, Episode 4

/

Where does the desire to dance come from?

​In Episode 4 of the ten-part behind-the-scenes series at The Australian Ballet, dancer Jake Mangakahia teaches a class of aspiring Baryshnikovs as part of Boys' Day, and reflects on his own dance journey and the importance of inspiring the next generation.

/ /
, ,

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

Thomas Pynchon's E-Book Novels Trailer

/

Thomas Pynchon’s novels will finally be released as e-books - latimes.com:

For the first time, Thomas Pynchon’s back catalog will be available as e-books starting Wednesday. Pynchon was a major writer whose absence from the e-book canon was notable — particularly since his most avid readers tend to be intellectually curious, the kind of people who are often technology’s early adopters.

The Penguin Press asked Pentagram to create a trailer to promote the release of the complete collection of Thomas Pynchon’s ebooks. 

Trailer for the e-book release of Thomas Pynchon's complete backlist from the Penguin Press. Design direction by Michael Bierut/Pentagram, motion design and original music by Teddy Blanks/CHIPS.

New at Pentagram: Thomas Pynchon:

Partner Michael Bierut, a longtime Pynchon fan, worked with animator and musician Teddy Blanks of CHIPS to create a 64-second tribute to a body of work that has enthralled readers for years, and which will now reach millions more in the digital realm. The author himself, however, is unlikely to be among that number. According to the publisher, “He likes to read in print.”
/ /
, , , ,

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.