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Browsing Archive: January, 2010

Painting without Brushes or a Canvas?

Posted by Kristen on Thursday, January 28, 2010, In : Art

He's a painter, but he doesn't use an easel or paint.

Jorge Colombo uses the iPhone, his fingertips, and the Brushes app to create fine quality paintings that have graced the cover of the New Yorker. The Brushes app works a bit like Photoshop, only it is a portable paint studio. Now, as Apple unveils the iPad in stores, the canvas is much larger and could possibly revolutionize the art world.

New Yorker

Painting "iPod Brushes air" instead of "Plein air".

Do you think that the Brushes app will...
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Can Art Change the World? (Part 1)

Posted by Kristen on Wednesday, January 13, 2010, In : Art

As you have seen from my previous posts, environmental causes can inspire some very thought provoking artwork. Art that has a message can be compelling enough to make change happen. Joseph Ellis recently tackled global warming with this recent installation in Beijing.

Greenpeace commissioned Ellis to make 100 life-size ice sculptures of children. The sculptures were left to melt in a Beijing park to raise awareness of global warming.

Photo: Reuters

The sculptures were created 100 days befo...

Fascinating Demographic Disparities by Zip Code

Posted by Kristen on Monday, January 11, 2010, In : Infographics

How different are we from zip code to zip code? Extremely, according to Netflix's infographics on the most popular movie rental titles featured in an article in the NY Times.

View the maps of LA and DC below and watch how dramatically our movie tastes change depending on the zip code. Hopefully this can give you some insight into each area's tastes which can be applied to your business and advertising strategy.

DC:

In DC, the urban drama Obsessed was more popular in the right hand side of the ...
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Modernism in Palm Springs

Posted by Kristen on Sunday, January 10, 2010, In : Architecture

The desert is full of suprises. Palm Springs happens to have one of the most concentrated areas of modern architecture. In fact, Feb 11-21 is Modernism Week. But I made my own "modernism day" by touring some of the most famous Modernist architecture sights in Palm Springs:

Albert Frey's Modernist Tramway Gas Station is one of the first buildings you will pass when you enter Palm Springs.

Much of the buildings were built in the 50s or 60s and have simple geometric lines.

Hotel del Marcos by Will...
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4 Must See Stores For Art Inspiration

Posted by Kristen on Friday, January 8, 2010, In : Art

1. Hennessy + Ingalls
Located on 3rd Street Promenade, H + I is a landmark for visual arts. It has a mind-boggling collection of art, photography, interior design and architechure books (and more) including rare and out of print books.

2. Taschen
Impressive collection of coffee-table top books ranging from every kind of artist you can imagine. I came across some huge encyclopedia-style books of art's major icons from Picasso to Botticelli to Hiroshige, and discovered some new ones too. Check out...

Most Beautiful Commercials

Posted by Kristen on Tuesday, January 5, 2010, In : Advertising

The following 6 commercials demonstrate that you do not have to be loud and annoying to be a memorable commercial (ie. Or Your Mattress is Freeee!). You just need some great cinematography, a narrative, a song, and hopefully some star power:

1. American Express "Take Charge" 2009
The concept of this ad might just make you smile.

2. Chanel No 5 Commercial avec Audrey Tautou
Filmed in Istanbul, this ad has some of the best cinematography a commercial has ever seen.

3. Adidas "Jose + 1...