Wow

You have to see this, amazing the new video for MIA, Born Free by Romain Gavras:

M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.

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Senseg

Haptic technology moving forward.

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Jeff Han

Jeff Han shows off a cheap, scalable multi-touch and pressure-sensitive computer screen interface that may spell the end of point-and-click.

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YouTube – Augmented Reality by Hitlab

YouTube – Augmented Reality by Hitlab.

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Stefan Sagmeister: The power of time off

This was really interesting to watch; this practice is something I used to do to rejuvenate and glean ideas; it has amazed me that Stefan Sagmeister and many organisations carryout this practice. Since being accepted on my Uni course I had lost sight of this activity and finding this talk has reinforced the importance of giving yourself a break and allowing you to discover other avenues.

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An interesting thought whilst enjoying breakfast.

Reading the paper and enjoying a danish pastry or two I came across this article which got me wandering. I am not trying to make giant assumptions by the comment I was just curious.

I am currently undertaking my dissertation looking into whether the cognitive process associated with dyslexia have impact on art and design. During the research I have been concerned with the both the positive and negative implications of this. The following article made me wander if Annie has dyslexia (diagnosed or undiagnosed) and if her attitude and working practices were a consequence of her condition. I have started to discover that many creatives care more about achieving perfection and the desired result and the financial side is not irrelevant but defiantly secondary to the art.

Photographer Annie Leibovitz $24M debt deadline looms closer

World famous photographer Annie Leibovitz has US$24 million in debt to pay back.

Annie Leibovitz’s portraits of celebrities, which regularly grace the covers of magazines such as Vanity Fair and Vogue, have made her as famous as her subjects and earned her millions.

However, Leibovitz now risks losing the copyright to the images in her entire life’s work if she does not pay back a US$24 million (NZ$34.8 million) loan by Tuesday (local time).

Art Capital Group (ACG), a New York company that issues short-term loans against fine and decorative arts and real estate, sued Leibovitz in late July for breach of contract.

“We have clear contractual rights and will protect them in any scenario,” said ACG spokesman Montieth Illingworth on Friday. “Our preference is for this to be resolved.”

Some experts say filing for bankruptcy reorganization could be the best option for Leibovitz (59), who put up her three historic Greenwich Village townhouses, an upstate property and artwork as collateral.

Leibovitz bought two of the townhouses in 2002, embarking on extensive renovations to combine them into one property.

This sparked protests from historic preservationists and a US$15 million (NZ$21.7 million) lawsuit by a neighbour after a common wall between their buildings was damaged.

Leibovitz eventually settled by buying the neighbor’s property for $1.9 million.

Leibovitz’s images of musicians, presidents and Hollywood glitterati are considered cultural touchstones by many.

One of her earliest photos is of John Lennon curled up naked in a fetal position with Yoko Ono, taken just hours before he was assassinated in 1980.

To many, her decision to gamble the rights to her work seems inexplicable. “Jaw-dropping,” Arts Lawyer Peter Stern said.

Leibovitz’s editorial agent, Contact Press Images, has declined to comment on the case, saying it is a private matter.

Her spokesperson, Matthew Hiltzik, has accused ACG of harassment.

“There has been tension and dispute since the beginning … For now, her attention remains on her photography and on continuing to organize her finances,” Hiltzik said.

A reorganization filing would suspend all litigation against Leibovitz and place her finances under the protection of a federal judge, said bankruptcy lawyer Paul Silverman, who works with Stern.

Neither attorney is involved in the case.

Last year, Leibovitz put up her homes and the copyright to every picture she has ever taken, or will take, as collateral to secure the loan to pay off her mounting debt created from unpaid bills, mortgage payments and tax liens, ACG said.

While no one has suggested publicly how Leibovitz got into such desperate financial straits, the mortgage debt on all her properties – including the townhouses in Greenwich Village and a sprawling estate in Rhinebeck, New York – totaled about US$15 million.

This includes the $1.2 million loan she took out on two of the townhouses, and another $2.2 million three years later, according to New York magazine.

In addition to her mortgages, court records show that she piled up years of federal, state and city liens and judgments from vendors for unpaid bills – all presumably now satisfied with the $24 million she borrowed.

Federal records show that Leibovitz owed a total of $2.1 million in unpaid taxes for tax years 2004, 2006 and 2007.

She also had New York state tax liens of $247,980 for six years, including $135,915 in 2007.

Leibovitz also owed New York City several thousand dollars.

Moreover, in 2008, a design firm that did work on one of her Greenwich Village properties claimed that Leibovitz owed it $51,000.

Leibovitz was also accused that year of refusing to pay $386,000 to a photo stylist during a 2007 shoot Leibovitz did for the Disney Company in 2007.

“Annie is working to resolve the situation so it would be inappropriate to comment,” Hiltzik said.

ACG, which consolidated all her loans in September 2008, charged in its lawsuit that Leibovitz breached the contract by refusing to allow real estate experts into her homes to appraise their value and by blocking ACG from selling her photographs.

ACG has estimated the value of the Leibovitz portfolio at $40 million while real estate brokers say her New York properties are worth about $40 million.

Leibovitz also owned an apartment in Paris, which she bought for her longtime companion, writer and feminist Susan Sontag.

Under the sales agreement with Leibovitz, Illingworth said, the company would get 10 per cent commission on the sale of Leibovitz’ real estate and 15 per cent on the sale of her portfolio.

Leibovitz would get the remainder after paying off the $24 million loan, interest and other fees, he said.

If she defaults, the company would get a net 12 per cent commission, after paying approximately 13 per cent for costs and fees.

Leibovitz’s Vanity Fair salary has been reported to be about $2 million, according to New York magazine.

She also has done work for Louis Vuitton and American Express and charges $100,000 for private portraits.

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Processing and Data Visualizing

visualizinglastfm.de 

Interesting use of data visualization and processing from Adjei and Holland-Cunz a final year project at the University of Applied Sciences in Mainz, Germany.

 

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Fantastic mapping from Schulze and Webb

 

Schulze and Webb 

As long as I’ve know Jack Schulze, he’s been working with maps. The first one I remember was a way of mapping Barbican, which is a three dimensional architectural maze of a housing and cultural development in central London, and notoriously difficult to find your way around. I’ll get him to dig out the results.

Late last year he started working with James King and Campbell Orme on an equivalent projection of Manhattan. We’ve had huge prints of the results in the studio these last few weeks, and it’s startling to look at: at the bottom of the map, buildings stand in three-dimensions. Then, looking into the distance, the city curls up and around into the sky, smoothly transforming into a more traditional map.

Here’s a detail of that happening:

You should see the entire thing. ANYWAY. What I mean to say is that, as his friend and business partner, I’m enormously proud to announce the following: First! Here & There — a horizonless projection in Manhattan is out in the world for people to see. Second! It is featured in Wired UK magazine, issue 2, which hits the shops today. Not only has it been given a massive gatefold (not kidding, you have to see it), but there’s a photo of Jack with his big blue eyes too. Awww. Third! Here & There is just too beautiful to keep to ourselves, and too high res to keep to the Web. So we’ve produced a limited run of art prints, and we’re selling them as from today.

Check out the Here & There project website to read more and get prints. 

Click on this link for the influences and more background information on this project and Schulze & Webb’s Blog. 

 

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Tattoovertising

Ethics and Morals in Advertising?

I’m currently reading Good: An Introduction to Ethics in Graphic Design Lucienne Roberts when I decided to take a break and picked up Wired magazine and came across an article explaining various jargon words one of them was ‘Cranial Billboards’ they talked about the natural progression from skinvertising, tattoovertising and assvertising this got me intrigued so I did a little research and once I stopped laughing I was horrified at what lengths people would go to.

Tattoo advertising has been around for quite some time. It sure catches attention and create marketing buzz but whether it works or not is another story. Some regard this act as ‘immoral’ and ‘betrayal of your own body’. But to the ‘walking billboards’, it sure makes them some money and err… it’s kind of cool?

They who sell their body parts to tattoo a brand, pocket in hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on the size of the advertisement and the part of their body which they have the tattoo on; making forehead the biggest asset a ‘walking billboard’ could have. Also mind that if you’re a ‘virgin’ to tattooing, you get more.

You’ll be surprise how many small and big companies out there are embracing this form of advertisement. Well, no denies that there are out there some brand fanatics who put the logo on without getting a single cent. Check it out.

Nintendo

 

C I Host – Rival, Globat.com runs the same body ads campaign, competing on the number of tattoos and popularity

Apple

Google

Ikea

Globat.com

GoldenPalace.com – This proud mama reported to pocket in $10K for this ads on her forehead

Window Vista

Zune – This is reported as his second tattoo. And he doesn’t stop there. He’s got a third one coming.

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The Nine Inch Nails Interactive Stage

I found this post Patrick posted on Creative Review Blog (6 May 2009, 11:09) I thought the idea was fabulous it brings a new dimension to VJing which can be controlled by the band and allows the band to respond to the crowd reactions on an individual level; each show is therefore very much unique creating something special which is very much respondent to that moment in time. This is one of the reasons that I admire the work Universal Everything and the installations of Canadian artist David Rokeby. I am fascinated by this interaction and this has probably the bases of my interest in Arduino and Processing.

The current issue of CR features The Annual, showcasing the best work of the past year. Nine projects have been chosen for our Best in Book section, the ultimate accolade. We are featuring each of them in a series of posts with additional content to further explain each project. In this post, see how Moment Factory created an interactive extravaganza for Nine Inch Nails’ last tour

Montreal-based Moment Factory created this ‘interactive environ ment’ for rock band Nine Inch Nails’ 2008 Lights in the Sky tour. The installation allowed the band to interact with the video and lights while performing, with the visuals reacting to their positions, movements and sound.

Moment Factory worked with the band to develop different interactive effects and styles for each song. This how it was done clip explains more:

And here’s some footage fo the show:

Credits
Created by Moment Factory Experience.
Client: NIN.
Art Direction: Rob Sheridan.
Show Designer: Roy Benett.
Video Supplier: Nocturne.
System Designer and Content: Moment Factory

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