An Uncommon Place by Reuben Wu
We’ve been following Reuben Wu for quite a long time since he started doing his “An Uncommon Place” series including latest Lux Notis, Dreamscapes and Aeroglyph projects.
Western Taiwanese by Mariia Ominina
Mariia is a poster designer from Russia, she works as a digital artist, but mostly creates posters. Also, Mariia is a student of the world-famous poster artist Peter Bankov.
For the past few years, Mariia has traveled and worked extensively in Asia. She explored cultural differences, the reasons for the immigration of Western people who come to live in Asia, and the difficulties they face living in Asian countries.
Mariia's travels and explorations resulted in a three-month solo exhibition entitled "Western Taiwanese", which opened in Dounan City in November 2018. For this exhibition, the artist prepared a series of poster, and also for the first time worked in video art and installation formats.
In her posters, Mariia tried to visually reflect her impression of Yunlin County, where she lived at the time. She used a variety of visual research methods to capture cultural landscapes while creating the style of her posters. For example, she used Google Earth footage for the visuals, and Mariia also worked with local historians in the archives department. Mariia has created a vibrant palette of 6 colors along with a dynamic composition that together reflects the brilliance and quirkiness of Taiwanese nature.
Wang Chia Wei, curator of this exhibition, says Maria's exhibition was a completely new way to see Taiwanese culture. She also added that these posters are more like hokku, where the artist expresses deep meaning in simple words.
Mariia Ominina's project "Wester Taiwanese" is a fresh look at the world of poster art, where the artist expresses herself not through direct visual clues, but via vague images or meanings. Mariia managed to capture the connection between meanings and the visual component in the paradigm of postmodern aesthetics, where the classical "laws" and "norms" in design have ceased to be decisive. Her posters are lively and interesting, plunging into the confluence of new-old art, that borders between meaning and visuality; conceptualism and avant-garde.
FREIGHT
A story of weight within us
Director Sava Zivkovic - “FREIGHT started out as a pitch for a client project. We were tasked with creating a short film that could demonstrate the capabilities of an upcoming real-time ray tracing technology. There were no creative limitations, everything regarding the story or the art direction was left to us, which at time seemed like a dream project finally coming to fruition.
We’ve assembled the core team of longtime friends and collaborators, Milan NIkolic, Nebojsa Jez and myself, and developed the pitch for the project, consisting of the script, character concept art and a detailed previz, as well as some keyframe renders. A pretty strong start for any project. Unfortunately due to many variables the client couldn’t proceed with the project, which left us with a completely developed idea, one that we felt really strongly about, but without client funding to produce it.”
EDITION Hotels ╳ Sila Sveta ╳ Times Square
Robotic art projects and 3-D billboard installations by Sila Sveta are attracting New Yorkers to Times Square
“Times Square is contemporarily known as the one-stop destination for tourists and the one spot New Yorkers avoid with more vigor than jury duty. Legendary Studio 54 founder and luxury hotelier Ian Schrager (@ianschrager), however, is seducing New Yorkers back to the area with the commissioning of two public-facing art projects located on the Jumbotron billboard on the corner of 47th and Broadway in celebration of the opening of The Times Square EDITION (@timessquareedition) “
“We wanted to bring something unforgettable to Times Square and create an iconic moment to mark the opening of The Times Square EDITION. The activations will be unique visual experiences that the public can take part in to celebrate this momentous occasion.”
“The new billboard project features a glowing display of urban media art that fuses classic depictions of art and nature with modern technology. Schrager is collaborating with Sila Sveta, the New York-based multimedia design studio that has produced installations for the MET Gala, to bring back the sophisticated glitz and high romance that Times Square was once known for in the 1940s and 50s. What is now blocks of fast food chains and naked cowboys was once a destination for New Yorkers themselves, lined with nightclubs where one could spin to the sounds of Doo-Wop at the start of the evening then end it with a nightcap accompanied by Frank Sinatra.”
Text by Document Journal (@documentjournal)
“Billboards are an important medium in contemporary public art. We want to augment the architectural environment with these new site specific works for the neighborhood”
Vans Faces by Leo Natsume
“Vans isn’t longer just a skateboarding brand, is become a broader lifestyle brand. The Old Skool and Classic Vans inspired me to create a series of figures that represent this new lifestyle and also explore new principles, organic and geometric shapes that are also associated with the products.”
UCCA Dune
Designed by Open Architecture the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art opened in Qinhuangdao, China. “The curvilinear form of UCCA Dune winds over 930 metres underground, and includes multiple galleries, terraces, and viewing areas.. The decision to bury the museum partially underground was an environmentally conscious one. With the museum designed to sit beneath the dunes, the views of the sea are preserved. Unlike many areas along the sea, the area surrounding UCCA Dune will be safe from development, providing a visual sanctuary for sea views for years to come.” via @Minimalissimomag
Pokras Lampas ╳ DLT
World leading calligraphy artist Pokras Lampas breaks fashion frontiers with his new capsule collection made in collaboration with Saint-Petersburg Fashion Store “DLT” (formal store of Russian Empire Guards Society, 1908-1916). For this case, Pokras, famous for his love to huge scales, live-painted a 30sq meters of denim and cloth during the fully packed event. The concept of collection lays in the intersection of ready-made thing, brush strokes, the work of artist and the high tempo of modern time. No doubts exclusive hoodies and cardigans are going to be sold out in a few hours today. To show the connection with a place, in his case - Saint-Petersburg, Pokras denied online sales for this collection. But world-wide fan base can still purchase his merch on @pokrasofficial
Watch Now
Unacceptable Behavior
Presenting a film inspired by thoughts from actress - Destiny Nolen (@miss_destiny_nolen). Directed by Clément Oberto, Unacceptable Behavior is a light poem about youth and loneliness. It is narrated by Georgia Feroce and guided by a subtle and sensitive score, composed by John Tejada (@johntejadaofficial). Clément Oberto created a film which follows a woman on the edge, someone who feels too much, a fragile and strong soul, always on the verge between bursting into tears or into generous and beautiful smiles.
“Our heroine wanders through the sublime landscapes of the American West. More than a portrait, this is a generation testimony, solar and vibrant. The story of young adults ultra-connected and yet still alone, victims of their hypersensitivity, trying to find harmony in this delicate balance between remains of childhood and promises of adulthood.”
Clément Oberto is French director and producer living in Los Angeles. His work revolves mostly around the feminine figure in music videos, commercials and Art films.
Raphaël Vicenzi Collage Art
Reflecting the inner world or internal landscape is how artist Raphaël Vicenzi says about his body of works mainly done in collage art technique
Elodie Milan Photography
Elodie Milan is a french photographer very inspired by paintings from The Renaissance.
She sacralizes her friends and empowered them with lights from Caravage and sometimes thanks to their clothes, an other big theme in her work
A Brutalist Tropical Home in Bali
Bali-based Patisabdhika Studio and architect Daniel Mitchell recently completed this gorgeous brutalist house. Named A Brutalist Tropical Home in Bali, the multi-level 5,500 square feet (512 sqm) house is located in a small valley nestled within rice fields on the south coast of the island. (P.s. for those who still have misconceptions of Brutalism as “brutal”, it is nothing to do with it - just “raw” and “cement” means a lot for Brutalism, but it’s still debatable)
Photography by Tommaso Riva (@tommasorivaphotography)
The Echoing Sound of Waves
Ambient photographer Jan Erik Waider (previously) shares new series of mediative shots of harsh but beautiful Icelandic nature under poetic title “The Echoing Sound of Waves"
Digital Abstractions by Philip Lück
Digital artist Philip Lück focuses mainly on abstract artworks with a hint of realism. You can follow his experiments on Instagram and support on Patreon
Matthias Freissler Photography
Minimalistic photography of architectural visual stories is a main interest of Japan-based and Germany-raised artist Matthias Freissler. If you like clean forms, light and magic - follow Matthias globally
Mollis Corpora by TAVO
“Mollis Corpora is an exploration of materials and forms, an investigation in the search for possible materials of the future, where the rigid becomes smooth and the search of the beautiful forms is the most important.
This is an exploration of how would be the future of decorative figures in a few years. A catalog of the future of product design.”
DESIGN{H}ERS : A Celebration of Women in Design Today
DESIGN{H}ERS is a stunning showcase of up-and-coming talent spanning across a variety of design mediums to highlight the distinction and diversity that women bring to their respective fields. Coupled with compelling stories revolving around the journeys of luminaries who have already made their mark, this book serves to intrigue and inspire the creatives of the future.
We are happy to see our friend and Digital Decade collaborator Louise Mertens (@louisemertens) in this book
Berger & Föhr
Todd Berger and Lucian Föhr have spent the past 16 years, side by side, practicing contemporary graphic design and brand strategy for cultural and commercial clients. They are co-founders of their namesake studio, Berger & Föhr, based in Boulder, Colorado.
Throughout their careers, they have created a volume of highly regarded brand identities, digital products, and bespoke printed collateral. While broadly international in style, their work spans discipline, sector, and clientele, often defying categorization.
Illustrations by Michał Sawtyruk
Conceptual digital artist Michał Sawtyruk uses tablet as a canvas to create awesome artworks, just take a look
La Résonance des Contours
Marc Da Cunha Lopes made a personal visual research of bones and textures under the title La Résonance des Contours
Umbrella by Snask
Snask Studio comes back with a new branding case made for consulting bureau Umbrella. Female founded and powered by two rising stars, Umbrella is rocking the consultant industry.
“We started out by visualizing the vision of the brand by choosing a strong and beautiful color scheme using a pale pink and a candy red along with off-white. We also chose a bold and strong display typeface to communicate strong messages and tag lines. With statements like “When we shine we shine together” and “Come play with us” the step to take the identity out into reality wasn’t far, but we also decided to do some 3D-animations to further elevate the brand. Whether you’re a developer, UX/UI-designer, QA, Product Owner or just share their values, get in touch with them and see how you can find ways of working together.”
Agency: Snask
Client: Umbrella
Photography: Per Björklund