R+D

trinkets from the bitstream

cwongyap — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:35:40 +0000

O, Internet! Some glimmers of humor and poetry:

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In search of a book, I found this little gif. It’s a cover design that’s meant to stand in for a missing file, but it’s handsome, balanced, mysterious and beautiful on its own. Book-face with a swash-nose. I’d read it.

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Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi & Eugene Halton, The Meaning of Things, 1981

I’m slowly working my way through psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s books. This one, co-authored with Eugene Halton, is on how objects become associated with sentiment. It sounds very enriching for me as an artist. I love this graphic cover too: plates and photos on display, with the title in sentence casing in a gothic typeface.

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Aziz Ansari’s Treat yo’ self! clip from Parks and Rec. Ridiculous, self-indulgent, yet quite possibly a brilliant idea. What if everyone had one big Treat Yo’ Self Day every year? Rewards following accomplishments are nice, but too much performance-orientation can be unsustainable. I imagine that participants might demonstrate more restraint in the weeks prior and after the big day. You don’t need “fine leather goods” to indulge; you can share time, company, grace, learning experiences, etc.

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Ebrahim "Abe" Kazemzadeh, Emotional text recognition using Whissell’s Dictionary of Affective Language. Source: http://sail.usc.edu/~kazemzad/emotion_in_text_cgi/DAL_app/

Ebrahim “Abe” Kazemzadeh’s program, Emotional text recognition using Whissell’s Dictionary of Affective Language. Kazemzadeh is a PhD student at the University of Southern California (USC) studying computer science, with a graduate degree in computational linguistics. The program assigns colors and sizes to emotional words. Red indicates negative emotions; blue, positive. Representing subjective states with programming is such a wonderfully strange idea. The inherent failure is what makes it compelling.

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Pollyanna, I re-learned, lives by the principle of The Glad Game, the objective of which is to find something to be glad about in every situation. It turns out that Littleton, NH, hometown of the Pollyanna author, has an annual Official Pollyanna Glad Day, with a parade. Why not be glad? Why not tie balloons and daisies to and parade in a yellow pick-up?

Official Pollyanna Glad Day 2005, Litteton, NH (hometown of Pollyanna author Eleanor H. Porter). Source: GoLittleton.com

see: Laura Buckley’s Fata Morgana at Cell Project Space, London.

cwongyap — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:47:24 +0000

Via Re-title

Laura Buckley, Fata Morgana, 2012, mixed media, (l.480 x h.290 x w.242 cm)

Laura Buckley
Fata Morgana
20th January – 26th February, 2012
CELL PROJECT SPACE
258 Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 9DA

For Fata Morgana, Buckley has initiated an ambitious single screen installation commissioned specifically for the CYcLORAMA series and produced with the assistance of Cell, The Arts Council and The Irish Arts Council.

The title Fata Morgana refers to a highly complex superior mirage where inverted and erect images are stacked one on top of another causing an object on the horizon to be distorted beyond recognition. The name also refers to Morgan le Fay, mythical figure from the Arthurian legends at once a villain, seductress, witch, healer or goddess, her unquestionable power is dictated by her ability to shape-shift throughout the myths and legends in which she appears.

Where previously mechanical movement of objects has made up an important part of her installations, in Fata Morgana both the film and the sculpture are static. This allows the fast paced edit of the film and surface of the sculpture to interact with the body and perception of the entering viewer, including and absorbing them into the kaleidoscopic installation.

art competition odds: Millay Colony for the Arts 2012 residency

cwongyap — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:06:47 +0000

The Millay Colony for the Arts’ 2012 residency program received over 1,000 applications in the visual arts, writing, and musical composition for 55 residencies awarded.

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or about 1:18, or 5.5%.

See all Art Competition Odds.

Question Bridge: Black Males opening in Sundance, Brooklyn, Oakland, Salt Lake City & Atlanta

cwongyap — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:25:25 +0000

Via Hank Willis Thomas, I’ve been helping out with this project for the past several weeks, though it’s been much longer in the making. Congratulations to the Question Bridge artists, producers and partners for their efforts finally coming to fruition.

Community Engagement Events

Question Bridge Blueprint Roundtables
A series of intergenerational community engagement events,
in partnership with various organizations:
Oakland · Saturday, February 11, 2012 · 1 – 3 pm
Brooklyn · Saturday, May 19, 2012 · gallery tour : 1 pm · community discussion & performance : 2 pm

Target First Saturdays at the Brooklyn Museum
Saturday, February 4, 2012 · 5 – 11 pm · Free

Free First Sundays at the Oakland Museum
Sunday, March 4, 2012 · 11 am – 5 pm · Free

Evening for Educators
Explore the exhibition and discover new ways to engage your students with art.
Brooklyn · Thursday, April 26, 2012 · 4–6:30 pm
more info: questionbridge.com

Question Bridge: Black Males was created by Chris Johnson and Hank Willis Thomas, in collaboration with Bayeté Ross Smith and Kamal Sinclair. The Executive Producers are Delroy Lindo, Deborah Willis, and Jesse Williams. Transmedia production by Innovent.

questionbridge.com

houseplant spotted! rashid johnson @ hauser and wirth nyc

cwongyap — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:26:33 +0000

Black Yoga Communication Station (detail), 2011 Blackened steel, books, plants, shea butter, oyster shells, CB radios, branded red oak flooring, black soap, wax, Persian rug Overall sculpture: 213.4 x 181.6 x 279.4 cm / 84 x 71 1/2 x 110 in Sculpture: 213.4 x 95.3 x 186.7 cm / 84 x 37 1/2 x 73 1/2 in Rug: 181.6 x 279.4 cm / 71 1/2 x 110 in Photo: Genevieve Hanson. Source:HauserWirth.com.

Rashid Johnson
RUMBLE
11 January – 25 February 2012
Hauser & Wirth New York
32 East 69th Street
New York NY 10021

art competition odds: Smack Mellon’s 2012 Artist Studio Program

cwongyap — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:19:19 +0000

This year, Smack Mellon’s 2012 Artist Studio Program received over 600 applications for 6 available studios.

or about 1:100, or 1%.

See all Art Competition Odds.