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Posts Tagged ‘Inspires’

Curvaceous Skyscraper: Beyoncé Inspires High-Rise Down Under

08 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

curved skyscraper shapely tower

Architects in Melbourne cite the cloth-clad dancers in the music video for Ghost by singer, songwriter and performer Beyoncé as the source of this newly-approved building, tall, slender and full of curves. Indeed, the whole building looks like an undulating figure on a pedestal, rectilinear below and organic above.

beyonce ghost video

curved vertical skyscraper design

A skyline-shaping and head-turning structure, the mixed-use Premier Tower was designed by local firm Elenberg Fraser and boasts structural as well as aesthetic reasons for its complex appearance. The architects explain that “the twists and turns of this new project belie its pure and simple, first principles rationale,” representing the “culmination of our significant research into how to best work with individual site and climatic constraints, brought together using our new parametric modelling techniques.”

beyonce skyscraper

beyonce building

curved skyscraper square base

Structurally, the cantilever helps redistribute the mass to deal with frequency oscillation and wind loads needed to deal with local environmental conditions and meet building codes. At the same time, watching the music video (above) shows the visual source of inspiration that drove this design direction in the first place (arguably also influenced by the work of Zaha Hadid).

curved skyscraper lobby level

curved view building melbourne

curved columns in tower

curved lobby ceiling

The distinctively exterior curviness is carried into various interior elements as well, from wavy ceilings to complex cylindrical columns, repeating the same curvilinear theme throughout various indoor spaces both communal and private.

curved dinner seating chart

curved apartment unit view

curved night view

curved skyscraper appearance

The finished complex will house over 600 apartments and 100 hotel rooms, sitting next to Southern Cross station, anchoring a western progression within the city “heralded by the regeneration of Docklands, Fishermen’s Bend and Southbank.” Significantly taller than structures on all sides, the bold design sets a new precedent for the neighborhood. Creating a direct connection to a public figure in the entertainment industry is also a daring move, and likely to brand the building going forward, for better or worse.

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[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Posted in Creativity

 

Google Glass inspires etiquette guide and SNL mockery

08 May

Screen_Shot_2013-05-07_at_10.51.22_AM.png

While the sketch comedy television show Saturday Night Live mocked the awkwardness of Google Glass wearers this week, the Wall Street Journal offered up an etiquette guide for Glass wearers. Even Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt has warned we will have ‘develop some new social etiquette’ to accommodate the new technology. WSJ’s advice covers when and where to don the wearable tech, and more tips for early adopters. Read on at connect.dpreview.com. 

News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Posted in Uncategorized

 

Art Inspires the Curious Minds / 100% Acrylic Art Guards by Agata Olek / Dumbo Arts Center: Art Under the Bridge Festival 2009 / 20090926.10D.54792.P1.L1.CC / SML

07 Dec

A few nice visual art images I found:

Art Inspires the Curious Minds / 100% Acrylic Art Guards by Agata Olek / Dumbo Arts Center: Art Under the Bridge Festival 2009 / 20090926.10D.54792.P1.L1.CC / SML
visual art
Image by See-ming Lee ??? SML
See also Agata Olek talks about her 100% Acrylic Art Guards (Flickr 720p HD video)

Agata Olek (Flickr)
100% Acrylic Art Guards

"I think crochet, the way I create it, is a metaphor for the complexity and interconnectedness of our body and its systems and psychology. The connections are stronger as one fabric as opposed to separate strands, but, if you cut one, the whole thing will fall apart.

Relationships are complex and greatly vary situation to situation. They are developmental journeys of growth, and transformation. Time passes, great distances are surpassed and the fabric which individuals are composed of compiles and unravels simultaneously."

Agata Olek Biography. The SPLAT! of colors hits you in the face, often clashing so ostentatiously that it instantly tunes you into the presence of severely cheeky humor. A moment later the fatigue of labor creeps into your fingers as a coal miner’s work ethic becomes apparent. Hundreds of miles of crocheted, weaved, and often recycled materials are the fabric from which the wild and occasionally wearable structures of her fantasylands are born.

Olek was born Agata Oleksiak in Poland and graduated from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland with a degree in cultural studies. In New York, she rediscovered her ability to crochet and since then she has started her crocheted journey/madness.

Resume sniffers may be pleased to know Olek’s work has been presented in galleries from Brooklyn to Istanbul to Venice and Brazil, featured in "The New York Times", "Fiberarts Magazine", "The Village Voice", and "Washington Post" and drags a tail of dance performance sets and costumes too numerous to mention.

Olek received the Ruth Mellon Award for Sculpture, was selected for 2005 residency program at Sculpture Space, 2009 residency in Instituto Sacatar in Brazil, and is a winner of apex art gallery commercial competition. Olek was an artist in an independent collective exhibition, "Waterways," during the 49th Venice Biennale. She was also a featured artist in "Two Continents Beyond," at the 9th International Istanbul Biennale.

Olek herself however can be found in her Greenpoint studio with a bottle of spiced Polish vodka and a hand rolled cigarette aggressively re-weaving the world as she sees.

agataolek.com
agataolek.com/blog

13th annual D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival® (Sept 25 to Sept 27, 2009)
www.dumboartfestival.org/press_release.html

The three-day multi-site neighborhood-wide event is a one-of-a-kind art happening: where serendipity meets the haphazard and where the unpredictable, spontaneous and downright weird thrive. The now teenage D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival® presents touchable, accessible, and interactive art, on a scale that makes it the nation’s largest urban forum for experimental art.

Art Under the Bridge is an opportunity for young artists to use any medium imaginable to create temporary projects on-the-spot everywhere and anywhere, completely transforming the Dumbo section of Brooklyn, New York, into a vibrant platform for self-expression. In addition to the 80+ projects throughout the historical post-industrial waterfront span, visitors can tour local artists’ studios or check out the indoor video_dumbo, a non-stop program of cutting-edge video art from New York City and around the world.

The Dumbo Arts Center (DAC) has been the exclusive producer of the D.U.M.B.O Art Under the Bridge Festival® since 1997. DAC is a big impact, small non-profit, that in addition to its year-round gallery exhibitions, is committed to preserving Dumbo as a site in New York City where emerging visual artists can experiment in the public domain, while having unprecedented freedom and access to normally off-limit locations.

www.dumboartscenter.org
www.dumboartfestival.org
www.video_dumbo.org

Related SML
+ SML Fine Art (Flickr Group)
+ SML Flickr Collections: Events
+ SML Flickr Sets: Art
+ SML Flickr Sets: Dumbo Arts Center: Art Under the Bridge Festival 2009
+ SML Flickr Tags: Art
+ SML Pro Blog: Art

Art + Artists: James Cospito talks about the Brooklyn Art Project / Dumbo Arts Center: Art Under the Bridge Festival 2009 / 2009-09-26 / SML
visual art
Image by See-ming Lee ??? SML
James Cospito, founder of the Brooklyn Art Project, talks about the art seen at the project’s headquarter in Dumbo during the Art Under the Bridge Festival held annually by Dumbo Arts Center in New York City.

Brooklyn Art Project (FriendFeed / Twitter) is a free online social network that connects 5500+ artists, collectors, and art enthusiasts from over 44 countries featuring over 44,000 artworks and 800+ short films and videos.

Members can participate in collaborative exhibits in Brooklyn and beyond while enjoying unlimited online gallery space, blogs, forums, chat, and tools to share / promote their artwork across the web.

BrooklynArtProject.com

SML Simulcast
+ YouTube (720p high-def video)
+ Vimeo (720p high-def video)

13th annual D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival® (Sept 25 to Sept 27, 2009)
www.dumboartfestival.org/press_release.html

The three-day multi-site neighborhood-wide event is a one-of-a-kind art happening: where serendipity meets the haphazard and where the unpredictable, spontaneous and downright weird thrive. The now teenage D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival® presents touchable, accessible, and interactive art, on a scale that makes it the nation’s largest urban forum for experimental art.

Art Under the Bridge is an opportunity for young artists to use any medium imaginable to create temporary projects on-the-spot everywhere and anywhere, completely transforming the Dumbo section of Brooklyn, New York, into a vibrant platform for self-expression. In addition to the 80+ projects throughout the historical post-industrial waterfront span, visitors can tour local artists’ studios or check out the indoor video_dumbo, a non-stop program of cutting-edge video art from New York City and around the world.

The Dumbo Arts Center (DAC) has been the exclusive producer of the D.U.M.B.O Art Under the Bridge Festival® since 1997. DAC is a big impact, small non-profit, that in addition to its year-round gallery exhibitions, is committed to preserving Dumbo as a site in New York City where emerging visual artists can experiment in the public domain, while having unprecedented freedom and access to normally off-limit locations.

www.dumboartscenter.org
www.dumboartfestival.org
www.video_dumbo.org

Related SML
+ SML Fine Art (Flickr Group)
+ SML Flickr Collections: Events
+ SML Flickr Sets: Dumbo Arts Center: Art Under the Bridge Festival 2009
+ SML Flickr Tags: Art
+ SML Pro Blog: Art

 
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Posted in Photographs

 

Photography Inspires – Through the Eyes of a Child

07 Nov

When you’re a young child all you have to do is blink to see a brand new world in front of you. One second you’re home, the next you’re in Neverneverland.

As you get older, you need glasses to see the image right in front of you that is no longer clear, due to age and loss of youth.

For some young people, losing the gift of a child’s imagination and innocence comes all too soon.

leeds_liverpool_canal_1

© Jess Collins

When all you know is the world through one set of eyes, you learn there are an infinite number of ways to see – simply by exchanging lenses.

Photography allows you to find a glimpse into the bright eyed outlook of a child you once knew long ago.

Photography is a gift I hope to offer to young people from all different walks of life. Knowledge about camera functions and techniques is a bonus.

Shift your lens, enter another dimension. Change a setting; revert to a time period where colour did not exist. Attach length; transport yourself into the magnified scenery.

By learning about photography, young people can explore their thoughts, experiences and perceptions in search of something greater than what they know – allow their imaginations to run again and uncover an entirely new world.

Jess Collins is a traveller, blogger, photographer and regular contributor to the Street Style Surgery blog. Jess’ creative outlets are such an important part of her life that she loves to give back by sharing her experiences with young people.

dslrBlog

 
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Posted in Photography