In Qatar, an Art Museum of Imposing Simplicity

The new Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I. M. Pei, opens next week in Doha, Qatar.
Nicolai Ouroussoff writes: "Rising on its own island just off the city’s newly developed waterfront corniche, it is the centerpiece of an enormous effort to transform Qatar into an arts destination."
"The inaugural festivities on Saturday, including a performance by Yo-Yo Ma, attracted art-world luminaries from around the globe.
"Viewed under the light of a spectacular evening fireworks display, the museum’s colossal geometric form has an ageless quality, evoking a past when Islamic art and architecture were a nexus of world culture. At the same time it conveys a hope for reconnecting again."
"Mr. Pei visited several proposed sites in downtown Doha before settling on the area just off the end of the seafront corniche.
"Worried that his building might one day be hemmed in by new construction, he asked Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, chairman of the museum’s board, to build him a private island so that his monument would be isolated from the rest of the city."
"The building seems austere by the standards of the flashy attention-grabbing forms that we have come to associate with Persian Gulf cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi."
Mr. Ouroussoff says the museum "recalls a time when architectural expression was both more earnest and more optimistic, and the rift between modernity and tradition had yet to reach full pitch."
"The museum, which houses manuscripts, textiles, ceramics and other works mostly assembled over the last 20 years, has emerged as one of the world’s most encyclopedic collections of Islamic art.
"The origins of its artifacts range from Spain to Egypt to Iran, Iraq, Turkey, India and Central Asia."
“Islam was one religion I did not know,” Mr. Pei said in an interview. “So I studied the life of Muhammad. I went to Egypt and Tunisia. I became very interested in the architecture of defense, in fortifications.”
“The architecture is very strong and simple,” he added. “There is nothing superfluous.”

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/24/arts/design/24muse.html?_r=1&ref=design

CS Shanghai: The City Past and Present

Textile hanging featuring Shanghai landmarks by Jellymon

There’s a feeling that Shanghai has returned to its roaring glory days of the 30s, which means huge energy, huge opportunity…and huge inequality

The first speaker session at the Creative Social Shanghai event this morning was by New York-based writer Stella Dong who recently published Shanghai: the Rise and Fall of a Decadent City. Stella gave a great potted history of a city that, as recently as the 1840s was just a quiet market town. “Shanghai is a city that no longer exists but in many ways has come full circle,” she said. “Old Shanghai was a freewheeling place, it was about being greedy for material things and for life which is what Shanghai is once again after a long hiatus.” Modern advertising came to Shanghai thanks to those lovely people at British American Tobacco who, in the early 20th century, came up with the idea to give away calendars featuring pretty Chinese girls [who also appeared on posters, which other brands copied, see below]. The images became iconic and unique to Shanghai.”

Link: http://www.creativereview.co.uk/crblog/cs-shanghai-the-city-past-and-present/

Killer iPhone Apps

Give an iPhone owner half a chance and they will happily launch into a lengthy demonstration of the latest slew of ‘apps’ that they’ve downloaded for their pocket-sized gadget. Apps are, essentially, packages of software that utilises (hopefully) the best properties of the iPhone’s hardware - ie the multi touch screen, GPS, and the impressively sensitive accelerometer. These properties, combined with a powerful operating system (Unix) and fast internet connection speeds mean that the iPhone is, in short, a creative programmer’s dream come true. Here at CR, we’ve been checking out a wide variety of apps and have compiled a round up of our current favourites…

Link: http://www.creativereview.co.uk/crblog/killer-apps/

Islamic Innovation in Dubai.

Islamic Innovation in Dubai.
Posted by: Bruce Nussbaum on November 12

On the road to the airport in Dubai, I passed a big billboard sign. It said:

“Innovation Thinking Based on Islamic Values.”

Fascinating.

other comment:
Cincinnatus
November 14, 2008 12:36 AM
Hey Bruce:
It's more like Frightening!
Have you any idea what the terms Islmamic Values means? Do you realize that Islamic law, Sharia, and Constitutional Law are 100% anti-thetical? Or are you OK with a Supremacist Ideology, with no Freedom of Conscience, Religon, Speech & Assembly? Are you willing to throw away the Golden Rule? Or the notion that All Men (& Women) Are Created Equal?

If so, then Fascinating may be the correct term.
If not, then mine is.

6 words means a lot. Many things could be thought under this statement.
Depending on positive as well as negative thoughts.

Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is the Grand Designer.

Hank Paulson is taking heat from economists, Wall Street institutional investors and politicians in Congress for changing the federal government bailout policy. The stock market went down last week partly on the fear that no one is in charge in Washington and that there isn’t any stability yet to the financial crisis and deepening economic recession. So Paulson the conventional wisdom is that Paulson is failing—and may be a failure.

That is simply not true. Paul is doing what he should be doing, which is what designers do—he is looking at the facts on the ground and iterating and prototyping as he goes. With the housing bubble bursting, we are now in a period of fast change, high uncertainty, and deep confusion as to what to do. Standard policies won’t work. New programs have to be created on the fly. The best strategy is to try many things, fail fast, learn from the failures and move on. This is what Paulson is doing.

In fact, the big question facing the US is this: What do you do when you don’t know what to do? The answer is design your way into the uncertain future. Which is what Paulson is, in effect, doing. Paulson is the Grand Designer.

Money, Lovely Money

Before the Euro, Dutch money was the most beautiful in the world. A new Five Euro coin, designed by artist and architect Stani Michiels, is a worthy successor to a great tradition

Michiels won a Dutch Ministry of Finance competition to design a coin with the theme of ‘Netherlands and Architecture’. “I approached the subject ‘Netherlands and Architecture’ from two points of view,” he says on his blog. “On one hand I paid tribute to the rich Dutch architecture history and on the other hand to the contemporary quality of Dutch architecture. These form also the two sides of my coin. Traditionally the front of the coin needs to portray the queen, while the back side displays the value of the coin.”

For the front of the coin, Michiels listed the names of prominent Dutch architects according to how many hits they gained on the internet: “Of course this order changes over time and as such this is another time stamp on the coin besides the number ‘2008′. Only the first 109 architects fitted on the coin, so that was immediately the selection.”

On the reverse, Michiels referenced the sheer number of architecture books published currently, arranging different sized books around the edge of the coin so that the space between their tops forms the outline of a map of The Netherlands. “The books rise as buildings towards the center. Through their careful placement they combine to outline the Netherlands, while birds’ silhouettes suggest the capitals of all the provinces. The following scheme reveals the process:”

African Textiles

“Movement Nr. 13”, 2004, by Owusu-Ankomah
Karen Rosenberg writes:
To the casual Western eye, “African art” equals “African sculpture” — masks, headdresses and ritual figures. As two new exhibitions make clear, this picture is laughably outdated.


A 19th-century man's robe from Liberia.
“The Essential Art of African Textiles: Design Without End,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, presents 19th-century fabrics alongside a few relevant contemporary artworks. Flipping the scales, “The Poetics of Cloth: African Textiles/Recent Art” at New York University’s Grey Art Gallery emphasizes the place of traditional textiles in works by contemporary African artists.


A 19th-century kente prestige cloth from Ghana.
The patterns of African textiles fall into three categories: woven, dyed, and printed or painted. In many woven fabrics, like kente cloth, narrow hand-loomed bands are joined together. Curiously, the designs of many dyed fabrics echo the structure imposed by the loom.


A print cotton textile from Akosombo Textiles Limited, 2007.
Any show of contemporary African textiles would be incomplete without some reference to commercial wax-print fabrics. The Grey’s selection illustrates the breadth of wax-print designs: some reproduce images of political and religious leaders, while others feature bold abstract motifs.


A print cotton textile from Akosombo Textiles Limited, 2007.
Any show of contemporary African textiles would be incomplete without some reference to commercial wax-print fabrics. The Grey’s selection illustrates the breadth of wax-print designs: some reproduce images of political and religious leaders, while others feature bold abstract motifs.



Link: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/10/10/arts/1010-TEXT_11.html

The World, Up Close

Started in 1974, the Nikon International Small World Competition is held annually to recognize excellence in photographs taken through a microscope. This year, there were more than 2,000 micrographs entered from around the world. Browse through top 10 images and listen to some of the photographers explains their shots.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/10/16/science/20081016smallworldgallery.html

The Art of Calligraphy

Calligraphy from Iran dated 1603-4.
Holland Cotter writes:
In the hands of artists over the centuries the Koran became a devotional object of surpassing beauty.


A pen case with hinged inkwell inscribed with a prayer from Turkey, circa 1850.
“Traces of the Calligrapher: Islamic Calligraphy in Practice, circa 1600-1900”and “Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qur’an,” both at the Asia Society, are perfect in size and proportion, gorgeous, and worthy of the book they honor.


A set of calligrapher's tools from Turkey, Iran, and India.
“Traces of the Calligrapher” is a manual of the techniques of fine handwriting and luxury book making, illustrated by superb examples of tools of the trade and finished products.


A pen case with inkwell from India.
No tool was more essential than the ink pen. The pen was an emblem for the creation of the world, when primal matter issued forth from God like ink on a page. The skill with which a calligrapher trimmed the nib – ideally with a single, deft knife stroke – was assumed to say everything about his force of character.


The pen came with sumptuous accoutrements. Small flat objects, called maktas, originally bits of stone on which the pen rested when cut, were transformed into miniature sculptures of walrus tusk and gold.


Paper scissors from Iran and Turkey.
Parchment was used for early Korans. Then paper became common and inspired yet another line of ornate instruments. The finger holes of a large pair of scissors made in Ottoman Turkey form calligraphic characters that spell out one of the names of God. With every slice, the idea is, you say a prayer.


A calligrapher's table from Turkey.
Over time, an entire industry of calligraphic accessories flourished, including calligrapher’s tables as ornate as altars.

The Best Buttons of 2008, in One Man’s Opinion

The Best
The words may sound sexist, but for Republicans, this button, with its pinkish celebratory hue and the party emblem, signifies a historic shift.



No. 2
Few campaign logos have been so well designed and identifiable. This motif works effectively with and without words, and is likely to have a life beyond the campaign.



No. 3
Parody is a powerful weapon. This button lampoons Mr. Obama’s slogan, “Hope,” and by using the official “O” logo sends the perfect sarcastic rejoinder.



No. 4
George Bush had his “W,” Barack Obama has his “O” (a single initial does not work for John McCain). This spare oval is both elegant and unmistakable.



No. 5
Less is often more. The simple McCain logo does the best job of conveying affiliation.



Honorable Mention
If Jerry Garcia were alive, he’d probably approve.

This long 2008 presidential race has been a wellspring for button designs, some produced by the campaigns and others by entrepreneurs. The computer has made it easy to customize a design for any cause or special interest.

Producing and selling these buttons has become a fairly lucrative business (on average, small buttons sell for $2, larger ones for $10 in Union Square in Manhattan, for instance). With the campaign finally drawing to a close, buttons have been selling like blue spruce on Christmas Eve, and some designs are almost gone.

Above, a nonpartisan look at some of the best.

Steven Heller teaches at the School of Visual Arts and writes the Visuals column for the Book Review. His latest book is “Iron Fists: Branding the 20th-Century Totalitarian State.”

A Sign

We recently received this most robust of invitations in the post. Yes, it’s an actual sign made from Perspex, inviting us to an exhibition of Perspex signs by artist Mark Pawson which will open later this week on 7 November and run until 23 December at Tatty Devine on London’s Brick Lane.

“I made twelve of those [invitational] signs,” explains Pawson, “the colour combinations are all slightly different - a way of working which carries through to the work in the show, and Perspex/acrylic is such a great tactile material to work with – it comes in a curious, limited sort of retro colour palette. Many of the pieces for the show are ideas/designs that might otherwise have found their way onto badges or postcards but have been given a more solid tangible, 3-D presentation as Perspex signs.”

Photography of these actual signs will be used in the bog-standard invites to the show. That’s right, CR got special treatment: “Most of [the actual Perspex sign invites] will go to press/magazines that have covered/been supportive of my work,” explains Pawson, “but if I look at them much longer I’ll want to keep them all for myself!”

The signs in the exhibition have all been laser cut and etched at Tatty Devine, and all the colourful letters in relief have been glued on by hand, by Pawson. Here are a couple of signs that will feature in the show…

What I take from this is the power of direct mail.
Although the cost of the mailer would be massive… so is the exposure!
I am sure it has been worth every penny.

All I Want For Xmas

For the special Christmas edition of their creative get-together, Glug, Ian Hambleton (of Studio Output) and Nick Clement (Made Studio) have launched a seasonal competition. Creatives are invited to respond to the statement, “All I want for Christmas is…” to be in with a chance of winning some rather tasty prizes.

So, here are the entry details from the Glug chaps:

Send entries via post, FTP or email by December 1 to:

‘ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS…’
STUDIO OUTPUT
109 BLACK BULL YARD
24-28 HATTON WALL
LONDON EC1N 8JH

GLUGLONDON@GMAIL.COM using the subject: ALL I WANT FOR
CHRISTMAS IS…

Make sure to include all of your contact details with your entry and any extra information that the judges might require.

Tickets for the Christmas Glug event go on sale tomorrow (November 1) and are available from gluglondon.co.uk. It’s a non-profit event, too, so all proceeds will be donated to a charity nominated by Ian and Nick.

This party is going to be a complete surprise for "all I want this xmas is...."
Completely design oriented!!

Stop Motion: Toys that take on human-like responsibility...