Posts filed under 'Travel'
It has been one year, and today Sunday morning, I realize that you never stop missing someone. I visited the sculpture garden at Art Center to gather around a tree we planted in memory to Sean Sullivan. After listening to other people talking about Sean I was reminded again; like yesterday, like on friday, that the wonder and major challenge in life is to always develop new perspectives. To truly learn how to view the every day occurrences from different lights. During my grad school years Sean always brought new perspectives to my life, and that is what I don’t want to stop missing.
Flying from London to Los Angeles on Saturday morning I read a statement by Marcel Proust, The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes… Yes, indeed, so true and simple, and at the same time so easy to forget.
August 21st, 2006
This is the third year in a row that I went to San Francisco during the summer to attend a play on Mt. Tamalpais. At the top of the mountain there is an amphiteather with a gorgeous view of the bay area, the whole experience is lovely. The plays are nicely put together, but I have to confess that I go because of the “experience” rather than the play itself. I love the fact that I gather with a group of friends every year to hike for about three hours prior to the play, once we reach the top of the mountain we find a nice spot in the shade, and while we watch the play we share food and wine. This year it was different, the main reason: World cup season, which happens every four years. So instead of the play “experience”, I rather picked the couch “experience”.
I grew up in a country where futbol soccer is very important, it is more than a sport, it is a social activity. Although I don’t currently follow mexican tournaments, I played futbol during junior high and high school, and I do enjoy watching it on T.V., and certainly at the stadium. So this is a very special month for me, and the other millions of futbol fans in the world.
This year the World Cup has been as exciting as always, good futbol unexpected results, and expected ones… The World Cup has also been surprising from a design perspective, I thought that because Germany is hosting the tournament, the visual communication would’ve been great. My big surprise is that the graphic & media design are completely unexpressive, and non-appealing… trying too hard to communicate happiness… and at the end it is pretty sad to see how not only a futbol (3 times world cup winner ‘54, ‘74 and ‘90) but also a graphic design power house, has missed an excellent opportunity for good design. I found an interesting article by Spiekermann: “world cup design Just Embarrasing”. Interesting facts: Brazil 5 times world cup winner ‘58, ‘62 ‘70, ‘94 & ‘02, Italy 4 times world cup winner ‘34, ‘38, ‘82 and NOW ‘06, Uruguay ‘30 & ‘50, Argentina ‘78 & ‘86, France ‘98 & England ‘66.
June 25th, 2006
After a very long drive I met some friends at Mission beach in San Diego. I’ve been there before with my father and remember a strong breeze, cold water, seaweed along the beach and a few people, like some beaches in southern california. On sunday it was radically different: An MTV special recording guys surfing a big fake wave, music, food, alcohol and people. I’ve never seen as many tattoos as I saw that afternoon. Adornment, voice, self expression, status, choice, trends, sentiment of belonging, those where my initial thoughts. It was truly a sea of images communicating on different levels, some of them whispering, others screaming, and some where barely visible in suggestive body locations, all of them evoking a different story. 37% of the U.S.A. population between the ages of 18 and 32 have a tatoo somewhere in their bodies. “I believe in people, I believe in places, I do not believe in symbols, icons or images”, a coworker mentioned in a business dinner last month. His comment made me think a lot about the meaning of images and the value we give to them based on our own knowledge, literacy, culture and values.
I do believe in people, in ideas, in our power to give places and images the possibility to inspire, move and initiate change.
June 3rd, 2006
Where on earth are we going? A 200 pt. type sign on the ABC home window storefront on 888 Broadway in Manhattan. The moment of truth: highlighting social responsibility, sustainable business, global consciousness and cultural diversity. ABC home has developed fourteen icons in total that tell the stories of each of the products they sell. So the products are classified as follows: organic, fair & square, good wood, beautiful, handmade, pure, consciously made, local economy, community made, exculsively at abc, cruealty free, sustainable, indigenous, recycled. Their tag-line “this is the moment to consider our collective future, follow our conscience, vote with our dollars, consume with heart and purpose”.
It made me smile. It is positive that big brands are taking positions and communicating the way they think about the social and environmental circumstances of our planet. It’s worth looking at the Body Shop company values and American Apparel mission, both brands with strong personalities and work focusing on the community, context and human condition.
May 21st, 2006
I visited Finland for the first time, fresh smells, a cold and consistent breeze, dark-blue evenings and quiet streets. I worked hard, nevertheless I had time to enjoy the beauty of the city, wonderful salmon, and finish art & design. At the Design Forum, Marja Kurki’s Scarves and Ties, a three dimensional timeline of their work from 1976 up to now. A one woman’s business that became an international house of design, according to Tapani Kurki, CEO of the company their articles “meet the basic criteria of design products, timelessness and renewal”. I appreciated the variety of their portfolio and I enjoyed finding design moments specific to the 80’s and 90’s decades through their use of patterns and colors along the exhibit.
At Kiamsa, Museum of Contemporary Art Helsinki, ARS 06 an exhibit that examines how art meets ambivalence, good and evil, joy and sorrow dissolving as one. My favorite a piece by Kalleinen & Kotcha-Kalleinen, the Complaints Choir of Helsinki, choral work created by everyday complains of ordinary people. And finally re-discovering Alvar Aalto’s world of beauty and simplicity, after visiting the Artek store, which was founded in 1935.
May 21st, 2006
While walking in a shopping mall in Las Vegas I found out that each visitor is recorded about 784 times a day. My first thought: security. I began thinking about how security has changed since 9/11, and how much more it will change in the coming years. From credit card transactions to driving violations, our actions are, and always will be recorded in some way. How many times will our everyday actions be digitally captured? How and where will this data be stored? Will we be able to keep information stored in its original format such as 5.25″ floppy disks, 3.5″ floppy discs, jazz disks, zip disks and hard drives?
What will the digital libraries of the future look like?
November 20th, 2005