Luxury is all about experiencing

Urban Art Box by Shiseido

Vaness — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:00:01 +0200

Japanese cosmetics brand Shiseido may not be well-known for their support to artists.

Which is a pitty considering the owners, the Fukuhara family, have helped 5000 artists emerge over 100 years they have been supporting art. Besides their different art galleries, Shiseido used to make of their shopwindows in their Ginza store in Tokyo a place for art installations. A great way to bring art to the man in the street and to make an artist get noticed quickly. This year, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Shiseido arrival in Paris, the brand has decided to bring that artistic shopwindow concept to the Parisian man in the street: the Urban Art Boxes can be seen at the Hôtel de l’Industrie, 4 place Saint-Germain des Prés, 75006 Paris.

More information about the Urban Art Box project and Shiseido's support to art here.

Source: www.journaldesvitrines.com

H&M loves art

Vaness — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 15:14:51 +0200

H&M - "Your Art Here" from Your Art Here on Vimeo.

How strange! I just felt upon a new project of famous clothing brand H&M named "Your Art Here".

"Your Art Here" is a contest for visual artists to get noticed by winning the opportunity to have their own installation in H&M's New-York shopwindow on 5th Avenue. The jury is made of art professionals as well as anyone visiting the www.yourarthere.com website.

We knew H&M had their hands into high fashion by collaborating with some famous fashion designers; now it seems the brand wants to enlarge their commitment to the artistic world to the large art community. Let's see the result soon in their NYC shopwindow.

Contest is over but the submitted works of art are still available here.

Toilet story

Vaness — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:58:52 +0200

This is a more interesting brand initiative than it can appear at first look. To celebrate its 40th anniversary, French company SIAAP specialized in water treatment for the Paris area have decided to organise an outdoor exhbition about toilets throughout the world!

48 pictures, some by famous photographers like Martin Parr or Henri Cartier-Bresson, during 2 months (until October, 20th) at Boulevard de la Bastille in Paris. Beyond the fun of some situations depicted by the pictures, it's a clever way to make the man in the street, SIAAP final clients, be aware of the importance of their (hidden) work in a human being daily life. And how lucky we are in developped countries to have such a viable system avoiding us face heavy diseases.

Congratulations to that creative idea on how to earn visibility!

More information on the SIAAP and their exhibition here.

Source: www.paris.fr + www.siaap.fr

24th International Biennial of Graphic Design Brno 2010 (Czech Republic)

Vaness — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:55:32 +0200

Are you a graphic desgin professional or lover? No plans for the summer holidays yet? Then, why not gong to the Czech Republic and see the 24th International Biennial of Graphic Design Brno 2010?

This is the oldest exhibition of graphic design in the world. The 24th year focuses on poster, corporate identity, informational and advertising design. A programm on 4 months! Exhibitions, projects, cultural events, you'll have plenty to enjoy!

More information here.

Design Montreal Open House /Portes Ouvertes Design Montreal week-end (Montreal, Canada)

Vaness — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:00:01 +0200

Every first week-end of May, the designers and architects of Montreal open the doors of their studios and agencies to the man-in-the-street. A way for them to educate the general audience to design and architecture through their creations.

If yo'ure lucky enough to be in Montreal on May 1st and 2nd, go and open the doors!

More information here.

Now Big Brother is alive!

Vaness — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:06:47 +0100

Too late! I've just discovered a real interesting and differentiating exhibition that has just finished!

"Bricks of Enlightment- ML 2090 First Phase" by Bosniac artist Ismar Cirkinagic at the Nicolaj Contemporary Art Center in Copenhagen. Based on the amazing "1984" novel written in 1948 by George Orwell, the artist has tried to make it real the Ministry of Love, key building related to the Big Brother of 1984! He will imagine 3 instalments to "examine the staging and functioning of power" and push the limits of Orwell 1984 due date to 2090.

To be continued then! If like me, you're a great fan of prospective sci-fi, try not to miss the second stage of this instalment!

More information here.

Source: http://www.kunsthallennikolaj.dk/

"The Last Decade", Andy Warhol latest works (the USA)

Vaness — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:14:01 +0100

A major exhibition that has started in September 0ç and is due to finish on January 2011 in the USA: "The Last Decade" presenting Andy Warhol latest works. 50 works showing Warhol's vitality and continuing process of experimentation and creation in his latest days, a period when he has never created so much.

Two opportunities to see the exhibition:
Brooklyn Museum (June 18–September 12, 2010)
Baltimore Museum of Art (October 17, 2010–January 9, 2011)

More information here.

Source: http://www.artartworks.com

Wonderful Alice (Paris, France)

Vaness — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:52:14 +0100

With his new movie Alice in Wonderland to be on screen on March 24th, Tim Burton is everywhere these days.

Walking through the streets of Paris, I felt upon the windows of one of the key Parisian department stores Le Printemps which windows are dedicated to the movie. Elegant and poetic, isn't it?

For this event, Le Printemps associated with Disney to propose some activities (and buzz) around both the movie maker and the movie itself. Besides the windows, from February 1st to March 13th, you can also discover an exhibition about Tim Burton and make a break in the Laduree ephemeral teahouse in the spirit of Alice in Wonderland...A few days left to feel like Alice in Paris!

"Deadline": how is your art when you're close to death? (Paris, France)

Vaness — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:28:37 +0100

From December, 16th to January 10th, the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris presents a real innovative exhibition: "Deadline". The museum wonders about the ultimate work of arts of famous artists knowing too well their time had come. Sounds intrigating, right?

Source: AD Magzine October 2009

New venues to promote the design: Le Lieu du Design and the Cité de la Mode et du Design (Paris, france)

Vaness — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:12:00 +0100

So, here we are!! So far, Paris had no venue dedicated to promote the design industry, and now we have two: the Lieu du Design and the Cité de la Mode et du Design!!

The difference: the Lieu du Design, on the right bank of Paris is led by the Conseil Régional d'Ile-de-France (our region council), the Cité de la Mode et du Design, quite facing the other venue on the left bank, is led by the Mairie de Paris (our city council)! The common features? Many apparently for both venues aim to promote the design industry and are to become venues where designers and companies could meet. The differences? The Cité de la Mode et du Design might be a little bit more internationally open whereas the Lieu du Design might be more about promoting French design industry know-how; the Cité de la Mode et du Design might be more about design under all its aspects with a hard highlight on fashion design whereas the Lieu du Design might be more about industrial design; and other slight differences.

Sure, as a professional of the design industry and deeply passionate about it, I'm all too happy to see two new venues in Paris resulting from two separate political initiatives are dedicated to the design. And proud my country is pushy towards design through high-level schools, designers, venues throughout France. But still, I can't help wondering about how valuable it is to have two distinct major state-owned venues and teams working for promoting the same industry. Not to speak about the financial investment that might have been reduced should have efforts been focused on a unique global place.

In any case, the "battle" has been won by the Lieu du Design since its opening occured late October 2009 whereas the opening of the Cité de la Mode et du Design has remained a big teaser so far. Now I'm back home, I will spend a few days in 2010 to visit the two venues and make a better mind on them.

However, I already have a comment: how come the website of the Lieu du Design is the worse expression of what design should be? How to promote the design industry, even if they're more focusing on industrial design, when their own website doesn't achieve the goals a good website should do? And how to explain why tu use design to achieve a marketing goal when you have such a bad illustration? Browsing is not ergonomic at all, some pages don't work well, information is not well displayed, it's about everything in industrial design which is good but doesn't give information about what's happening in the venue. How can they think to convince firms that have no idea about how strategic an asset design can be when the first proof they can show to illustrate it is not relevant?

Sources: AD MAgazine October 09, www.paperblog.fr, http://blog.usinenouvelle.com/