ideas + images

Smithsonian teams with QVC

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 22:08:05 -0700

The Smithsonian Institution has entered into a licensing agreement with QVC to develop a jewelry collection based on artifacts in the National Gem and Mineral Collection, a part of the National Museum of Natural History. According to the Washington Post, the line will include a “smaller version of the Hope Diamond”, which will retail at $85.

Millions of people visit the museum each year, admiring its beautiful and rare jewelry and gemstone collection. Now our customers can share these national treasures in a very personal way as we give them access to owning jewelry based on items of great historical significance.

—Debra Puzio, QVC’s director of merchandising

The Smithsonian’s goal is to “create jewelry that is not only fashionable, but also serves to educate the public about the Smithsonian and the jewelry, gems and minerals found in its collections,” according to Carol LeBlanc, director of consumer products for Smithsonian Enterprises. As with most other museum stores (see: the Met), revenue from the Smithsonian’s stores (the organization reported a 15% profit margin in 2007) goes back into the institution to support its programs and educational initiatives, but it’s not clear if and how QVC would share the profits of this agreement. I also wonder whether shoppers agree with Carol LeBlanc and see their purchases as vehicles for personal edification—or whether it’s instead about the perceived prestige of owning an authorized reproduction of a museum-worthy piece. (Or maybe it just looks nice. Who knows?) With the Smithsonian’s move to sell their museum-inspired pieces through a third-party, home shopping TV network instead of directly to shoppers on site or online, it seems to dilute the messages of educational and cultural cachet. [Smithsonian and QVC Announce New Jewelry Line | CNN Money]

A sample of hate mail sent to the Hayden Planetarium from kids: “Why can’t Pluto be a...

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:20:55 -0700

A sample of hate mail sent to the Hayden Planetarium from kids: “Why can’t Pluto be a planet?… Some people like Pluto!” http://ow.ly/1yrQZ

Very Important Announcement: The Metropolitan Museum of Art disses hot dogs, makes way for cupcakes...

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:38:38 -0700

Very Important Announcement: The Metropolitan Museum of Art disses hot dogs, makes way for cupcakes http://ow.ly/1y9ev

Banking on the arts

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 11:06:00 -0700

Dancer Sayako Tomiyoshi from the English National Ballet displays a Damien Hirst-designed sign at the British Museum. Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

British artists, performers, museum directors, and leaders in theater and film rallied at the British Museum last week for the release of Cultural Capital: A Manifesto for the Future, a new report that demonstrates the economic contributions of the arts and culture sector. These leaders hope to discourage the British government from slashing funding in response to the country’s huge deficit, arguing that the arts—especially theatre, music, and museums—both create jobs and contribute to the nation’s GDP.

Last year, similar worries over arts funding in America prompted Robert and Michele Root-Bernstein to publish a study takes the argument one step further: artists contribute directly through their own fields, but they have also historically played a major role in scientific and technological innovation. What’s more, the most successful scientists are more likely to pursue artistic expression:

…almost all Nobel laureates in the sciences actively engage in arts as adults. They are twenty-five times as likely as the average scientist to sing, dance, or act; seventeen times as likely to be a visual artist; twelve times more likely to write poetry and literature; eight times more likely to do woodworking or some other craft; four times as likely to be a musician; and twice as likely to be a photographer. Many connect their art to their scientific ability with some riff on Nobel prizewinning physicist Max Planck words: “The creative scientist needs an artistic imagination.”

Their succinct article in Psychology Today gives many examples of scientific discoveries and technological innovations borne of artistic pursuits. “Successful scientists and inventors are artistic people,” the authors argue. “Hobble the arts and you hobble innovation. It’s a lesson our legislators need to learn.”

Here’s the trailer for Exit Through the Gift Shop, featuring graffiti artist and prankster...

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 10:55:33 -0700

Here’s the trailer for Exit Through the Gift Shop, featuring graffiti artist and prankster Banksy http://ow.ly/1rQ0k

Happy Ada Lovelace Day! She’s stylish and loved math: the proto-Computer Engineer Barbie! ;)...

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:42:22 -0700

Happy Ada Lovelace Day! She’s stylish and loved math: the proto-Computer Engineer Barbie! ;) http://ow.ly/1q4zy & http://ow.ly/1q4Gm

The @ symbol lands in MoMA’s design collection: “Design these days is often an act… not...

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 20:33:17 -0700

The @ symbol lands in MoMA’s design collection: “Design these days is often an act… not necessarily a physical object.” http://ow.ly/1p9Gi

On the problem of taste

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:21:53 -0700

When you’re choosing furniture for your home that’s supposed to express who you are, what you are also saying is you want other people to infer what you want them to infer. What if they see something different? Wouldn’t it be really depressing if you’re trying to be bohemian and instead they see you as Rush Limbaugh?

—Dr. Sheena Iyengar, Columbia University business professor & author of the famous study demonstrating the paralyzing effect of too many choices

Dr. Iyengar, who is blind, has a standing committee of friends, family and colleagues who provide recommendations on her wardrobe and interior decor. Her goal is both consensus and criticism, since she does not believe in making decisions based solely on her own taste. When making decisions about things that you hope will reflect your own style, “you cannot get to the heart of how things are going to be perceived unless you ask these [external] judges,” Dr. Iyengar believes. Of course, she remains free to ignore her committee’s advice. She says, “Everyone is convinced their opinion is the truth, and that’s what I struggle against. But doesn’t everyone?”

How much booze can a gummy bear drink? Recipes & activities from @Exploratorium’s Science...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:39:12 -0800

How much booze can a gummy bear drink? Recipes & activities from @Exploratorium’s Science of Cocktails event http://ow.ly/1ggi7

The economy of type

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:32:22 -0800

Designers Matt Robinson and Tom Wrigglesworth conducted a little experiment to measure the economy of type: they hand-lettered large-scale samples of commonly used typefaces using ballpoint pens.

The pens themselves form a neat bar graph—the remaining ink levels indicate their findings.

[via Flowing Data]

“There’s nothing like the isolating bleakness of long-term joblessness to make people...

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:47:13 -0800

“There’s nothing like the isolating bleakness of long-term joblessness to make people finally appreciate Andrew Wyeth.” http://ow.ly/1cTAz

How genetics works (via Kottke)

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:24:16 -0800

How genetics works (via Kottke)

Met guards challenge institutional rules limiting contact w/ visitors & unite to show own...

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:33:53 -0800

Met guards challenge institutional rules limiting contact w/ visitors & unite to show own artwork http://bit.ly/ba2P9i (via @ARTnewsmag)

Soap opera as performance art, according to James Franco

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:25:25 -0800

If you bake some bread in a museum space it becomes art, but if you do it at home you’re a baker.

Marina Abramović in conversation with James Franco, about the importance of context in performance artIn today’s Wall Street Journal, James Franco gives us an overview of performance art in the 20th century, noting that recent recognition by the Guggenheim, Art Basel Miami, and MoMA’s P.S. 1 lend credibility to an art form earlier considered frivolous and pretentious.

Just as the art world is reconsidering the stature of performance art, Franco hopes that his appearance on General Hospital will encourage people to “ask themselves if soap operas are really that far from entertainment that is considered critically legitimate was panned by traditional art critics.” [A Star, a Soap, and the Meaning of Art | WSJ]

(Also, Palo Alto represent! Though Franco and I went to the same high school, we never crossed paths.)

Serif tote bag

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:55:57 -0800

[By Little Factory, via Core77]

Target for the arts

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:43:00 -0800

Art is integral to how we do business. It’s in our DNA.

Laysha Ward, Target’s president for community relations

According to Robin Pogrebin’s NYTimes article on Target’s philanthropy, the company continues to give 5 percent of its income (roughly $3 million a week) to causes in the arts, education, social services and volunteerism, despite the economic downturn. Pogrebin observes that many of Target’s beneficiaries are arts institutions across the nation, who often hold “Target days” offering free or discounted admission to a program, performance or museum exhibition. Laysha Ward’s comment above serves a dual purpose within the article: it reminds readers both that Target supports arts organizations through philanthropy, and that they strive for beautifully designed products on their shelves (Ward cites the work of Michael Graves as an example of their commitment to creativity in Target’s stores).

Other interesting articles in the NYTimes’ Giving section online cover SFMOMA’s challenge to find space for Don Fisher’s collection, raising awareness (and funds) using social media, and the look of cause marketing during the recession.

When should you use Comic Sans?

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:08:28 -0700

{source}

Frank Stella on MoMA

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:20:00 -0700

The increased popularity of MoMA under Lowry hasn’t pleased everyone. “There’s never a quiet moment,” said Frank Stella, the 73-year-old American artist, speaking at a packed opening last month for a retrospective of designer Ron Arad.

Stella said the gradual expansion of the museum to artists such as Arad — who works in various media — has de-emphasized painting, sculpture and architecture.

“That was the focus of the museum,” Stella said. “Now it’s just a couple of floors in the department store.”

From Philip Boroff’s Bloomberg article on highly paid museum directors and MoMA’s success under Glenn Lowry’s leadership [Museum of Modern Art’s Lowry Earned $1.32 Million in 2008-2009 | Bloomberg]

Post-it pixels

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:03:00 -0700

Bang-yao Liu’s senior project at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Trash gets a second chance

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:13:00 -0700

If you throw everything away, there will be just a big pile of garbage, and you won’t have anything to make collages with.

Alexandra Lehrer, 5, a student at Beginnings Nursery School in Manhattan. The school’s Materials Center collects unwanted materials (everything from LPs to champagne corks to seashells) and uses them in the children’s art projects. [ Where One Man’s Trash Is Preschoolers’ Art Material | NYTimes ]