Dallas Clayton, Author Extraordinaire.

The Greatest Writer Alive from Dallas Clayton on Vimeo.

The luckiest.

While at work today, I received an email from my boyfriend (Captain Amazing) that included a link to the video below, and said:

"This reminds me of you for a bunch of reasons. It's from the south, it's beautiful, artistic, complex and admirable. Just to name a few."

Aside from indulging in how unbelievably sweet my boyfriend is, I couldn't not seize the opportunity to share this beautiful video and project. The video is apart of a campaign to raise money for an artist's work, entitled Boxcar Fair. I've included information "about the project" and a link to the pledge page below the video - if you are so inclined to support this beautiful and poetic work of art.



ABOUT THIS PROJECT

Hello. Thank you for taking time to look at our project.

My name is Brock Scott. I am an Atlanta based artist / musician who lives for making cool things. I love using collaboration as a way to bring different artists and mediums together in creative ways. I studied sculpture in college and while there became really interested in artists who create unique kinetic systems in their work. i.e. Arthur Ganson and Theo Jansen who were artists that took the ideas of traditional mechanical engineering and adapted their own style to how we have perceived things to work. You could imagine how ecstatic I was to find that one of the most amazing kinetic sculptors I have ever seen lived just down the street! His name is Tom Haney. Tom is an artist who creates beautiful automata vignettes depicting figures performing random and often beautifully mundane actions. The delicateness of the pieces mixed with Tom’s amazing craftsmanship and ingenuity creates a window into his intricate world.

5 months ago, I approached artist Tom Haney with an idea for a unique project that was part puppet show, part kinetic sculpture, part musical performance and immortalized on film. I called it Boxcar Fair. The piece will follow a wandering explorer who stumbles upon a magical fair in the middle of a desert.

The explorer interacts with many characters along his journey including a giant anglerfish a fortuneteller an ornate elephant an enchanted mouse and a high diving dame, each of whom is more fanciful and elaborate than the last.

The video will last the duration of one song (approx. 2:30) that my band, Little Tybee, will compose and record. The entire sequence will be shot in a single take, with no cuts, panning from left to right (Similar to the platform view of the Super Mario Brothers game). The set itself would be approximately 45 feet long. The camera will be mounted on a robotic motorized dolly fixed to a rail that allows filming the entire length of the set smoothly. Tom and I are extremely motivated and itching to bring our vision to life. We have hired an amazing artist from LA named Ram Bhat to paint the backdrop for the entire 45 foot long set. Ram Bhat is a truly incredible artist and has worked on many amazing projects collaborating with Bjork, Black Eyed Peas, Greenday, Ozzy Osborn and Nintendo just to name a few. Ram has a very unique style that will compliment Tom’s figures and our musical score perfectly.

We have received amazing support from the local puppet and artist community and from the center for puppetry arts here in Atlanta. We are getting incredibly close to finishing this project but are asking for your help in raising funds to make sure this project will reach the potential we think it deserves. The money that you donate will go towards materials needed to finish the set, supplies needed to make the puppets, paying all of the artists involved in making this vision come to life and reserving a space large enough to house our ambitions. With your help, lets make something beautiful together.

Thank you.

You can follow the progress of the project here.
You can pledge a small (or large) amount to the project here.

Talk to Me?

An art exhibit entitled Talk to Me: Design and the Communication between People and Objects is showing at MoMA in New York between July 24 – November 7, 2011, and it deeply pains me to be missing it. I implore any New Yorkers who stumble across this little place to take the time to stop by.



About the exhibit:

Talk to Me explores the communication between people and things. All objects contain information that goes well beyond their immediate use or appearance. In some cases, objects like cell phones and computers exist to provide us with access to complex systems and networks, behaving as gateways and interpreters. Whether openly and actively, or in subtle, subliminal ways, things talk to us, and designers help us develop and improvise the dialogue.


The exhibition focuses on objects that involve a direct interaction, such as interfaces, information systems, visualization design, and communication devices, and on projects that establish an emotional, sensual, or intellectual connection with their users. Examples range from a few iconic products of the late 1960s to several projects currently in development—including computer and machine interfaces, websites, video games, devices and tools, furniture and physical products, and extending to installations and whole environments.



The Department of Architecture and Design is documenting the process of organizing Talk to Me from its early stages through its opening in July 2011 and beyond via an online journal. The site features projects we are currently studying and some we have already selected, along with relevant references and feedback and suggestions from designers and writers. Since we always cast our nets very wide and count on suggestions and opinions from the design community, this step comes very naturally. Besides, communication is what this exhibition is all about. Visit the online journal at wp.moma.org/talk_to_me/.



Visit the exhibit site online:
http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2011/talktome/

An amazing everything.

Holstee, a company that is dedicated to design with a conscience.

This is their quote.

"To deliver on this, we hold every design accountable for the impact it has for on all people, our planet and the product's quality. 10% of all Holstee revenue is used to empower entrepreneurs in the developing world through micro lending."

This is their manifesto.


This is their address.

http://shop.holstee.com/

This is what I love.

The 2009 Incheon International Design Awards is...

C A L L I N G - F O R - E N T R I E S!

Incheon Metropolitan City, KOREA,
together with DesignBoom.com promotes an international design competition.
participation is open to applicants from every country in the world,
to professionals, students, and design-enthusiasts.
free registration required.

Looking for entries in the following three categories:

1 - green design for humans
products and household items made of organic materials or recycled materials:
green designs to save energy and protect the environment.
IT devices, home appliances, automobiles or packaging:
green designs combined with state-of-the-art technologies to suggest a new lifestyle.


2 - city and green design
green design to improve city environment and its visual components-
street furniture, architecture, interior design, light: green designs for future cities
that apply environmentally-friendly concepts or alternative energy to urban environment.


3 - green design and communication
visual design of promotional materials or advertises for green design.
other forms of green design: movie clips, character designs, animation films or illustrations

Visit the DesignBoom website for more information and contest specifics here : http://www.designboom.com/iida.html

Let's all make some sense for once...

Electronic music masters, Hot Chip, have teamed up with VICE magazine on a quest to find five creative talents as part of their ‘Creating Sense5’ competition. The winners will be showcased at a one-off event curated by Hot Chip at The Arches on 4th June. The band will be inviting some favorite acts to play on the night and performing a special DJ set.

Hot Chip will join a panel seeking out creative talent from any field and the competition is open to all - musicians, designers, photographers, artists, film-makers etc.

For more info, or if you just fancy coming down to the night click here for tickets (http://www.viceland.com/creatingsense5/) **I suggest hitting up this link**