PlayLab is refreshing their collaboration with the Avenue of Americas Association for “Fantasy Landscapes.” The large-scale, multi-site, public art installation uses the technique of classic movie backdrops to transport visitors to various environments across Central and South America.
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12 Female Artists, Tired of Waiting, Are Hosting Their Own Gallery Show of “Night Shift” Creations
Night Shift is a one-night-only pop-up gallery show where female artists reveal what they create at night. I spoke with the collective of contributing artists to learn about the conception of Night Shift, how the nighttime influences the output of daytime creative professionals, and what advice they have for up-and-coming artists looking to create their own projects and make their own opportunities.
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It’s Nice That Is Celebrating 100 Years of the Bauhaus in Printed Pages AW18
In the latest installment of Printed Pages, It’s Nice That’s biannual publication, the London-based in-house team have made it their mission to celebrate creativity at work all over the world… and in the past 100 years. Front and center is a feature on the Bauhaus school and its century-old legacy, honored and unpacked alongside Pentagram partner Sascha Lobe.
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Leland Foster Blurs Medium Lines with Slick & Suspenseful Oil Paintings
It’s not easy deciphering the difference between Leland Foster’s paintings, photographs, and animated illustrations. The distinctions are subtle, yet striking once discovered. It’s part of the sorcery of Leland’s approach.
Read MoreFuck Your Manners: Shawna X Critiques the Western Gaze in Multimedia Exhibit
Shawna X's new exhibit "Fuck Your Manners" is a multimedia outpouring of artistic inspiration that packs both Shawna's signature palette & a well-deserved punch. "I focused on eating habits that are deemed impolite by the western gaze, but accepted in my culture.”
Read MoreBehold the Off-Centre Positivity of Sydney-Based Artist Elliott Routledge
Elliott "Numskull" Routledge is a designer and artist working out of Sydney. Here, he talks about his shift away from the agency world to embrace a career in the arts, where he’s found his voice. He's tried his hand at a variety of fields and mediums including painting, illustration, and design, but always relishes the opportunity to go big and do large-scale public murals and sculptures.
Read MoreGoogle Creative Lab Partners with 9 Animators for Pixel 2 Campaign
Creative Director Kristen Lewis discusses Google Creative Lab’s “iPhone People Talking Pixel” campaign, which involved curating a diverse and global group of nine animators - most of them WNW members - with a variety of styles including 2D and 3D animation, frame by frame, and mixed media.
Read MoreArt or Advertising? The Awards Show That's Starting a Dialogue
Enter Margery Cohen, Creator and Organizer of the Art of Creativity Awards, who is challenging the notion that Art and Advertising are better on their own. The AOC Awards invites advertising creatives to submit work to be judged on its artistic value by artists and curators from the art, museum, and cinematic scenes. "As a result of combining art and advertising, we’re aiming to push both industries to create new levels of fresh, inventive work. Bridging art and advertising strikes me as a natural progression to reach greater creative heights."
Read MoreThis Flint-Based Eyewear Brand Does Good for People & the Planet
In the wake of the Flint, Michigan water crisis, emerging eyewear brand Genusee seeks to bring new hope and vision to the city. Employing a circular economy business model, the company will make democratically-designed eyewear from recycled plastic water bottles. Their mission? To do good for people and the planet by making social and environmental impact in Flint, Michigan.
Read MorePlayLab Plants Giant Inflatable Flowers Along Sixth Avenue
"Grown Flowers" is a multi-site installation hosted by the Avenue of the Americas Association that imagines flowers inflated many times their normal size, giving visitors a new perspective on these iconic and playful representations of beauty. Through July 2018, visitors can stroll along Sixth Avenue and visit six different enormous inflatable flowers "sitting, lounging, floating, standing tall or even bending down to greet passersby."
Read MoreOlimpia Zagnoli Demonstrates How to Eat Spaghetti Like a Lady
Olimpia Zagnoli Demonstrates How to Eat Spaghetti Like a Lady
MIKE O'DONNELL / EDITOR
In 1942, Time Life magazine prescribed a step-by-step process for "how to eat spaghetti like a lady." It seems the times have changed. Milan-based Illustrator and WNW Member Olimpia Zagnoli has now masterfully subverted the original with her own series, also titled How to Eat Spaghetti Like a Lady. The black-and-white originals by Alfred Eisenstaedt (displayed below) suggest composure, conduct, and convention. Olimpia twirls this idea of uniformity into submission and shows off an eclectic array of colorful personalities, creatively enjoying their pasta as they defy the rules of conduct and, while they're at it, even the rules of gravity. Olimpia's show will be open through the end of July at Antonia Colombo Arte Contemporanea in Milan.
Photographs and Instructions from Time Life
Step 1: “Four strands of spaghetti should be segregated from the pile.” Step 2: “With soup spoon as prop, twirl fork and spaghetti gently.” Step 3: “A ladylike mouthful of spaghetti is ready for consumption.” Step 4: “Full forkfuls should be consumed in entirety. Nibbling is out.” Step 5: “Truant strands require patience, lip facility, suck-power.” Step 6: “With end in sight, diner has consumed 160 in. of spaghetti.”
Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!
NOT WORKING: ON THE HIGHLINE
NOT WORKING:
ON THE HIGHLINE
More brilliant hijinks from WNW Member #2120 Jeff Greenspan. Adding a little magic to an ordinary statue with The Statue Experiment.
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WORK: AUDIO TOUR HACK 'MAD WORLD'
WORK: AUDIO TOUR HACK
'MAD WORLD'
WNW members #36 Mark Svartz and #165 Hal Kirkland have released their latest installment of Audio Tour Hack in collaboration with The One Club and Creative Week. On display this week, Mad World puts a completely unique twist on some of the most award-winning television commercials of the past decade. After all, only the best ads stand the test of time. Even if that time is 50,000 years in the future.
Each commercial is interpreted as a serious documentation of what life was like for our ancient culture, much like how the hieroglyphics are interpreted as depictions of Ancient Egyptian life. (Maybe they were just ads too).
If you can't make it to NYC for Creative Week there's a preview below. You can check out the rest of Mad World on their site and if you're a fan of art or Transformers, take a listen to their first hack, Artobots, while you're there.
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NOT WORKING: IN MEETINGS
NOT WORKING:
IN MEETINGS
We're all thinking the same things in meetings, but WNW Member #1661 Madeleine Di Gangi turns that cynicism into art. Check out her hilarious and profound series, Notes From Meetings.
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WORK: PANTONE PAIRINGS →
WORK: PANTONE PAIRINGS
Delicious new project by WNW Member #1544 David Schwen. A series of hand-made Pantone chips using everyday foods. Signed, limited edition prints available at PantonePairings.com. We want the whole set.
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MEET #96 IVAN CASH
MEET #96 IVAN CASH
Art Director • San Francisco, CA
Creator of Selfless Portraits, Snail Mail My Email, Occupy George, & Coke Sitelets.
1. How long have you been freelancing?
I have been freelancing since the Summer of 2011, and have also freelanced in between gigs in the past. Man, freelancing is the best! It provides a great work/life balance, meaning I'm happier and (hopefully) more pleasant to work with and be around. My work is stronger because of that balance as well. I know it's not for everyone, but I really love the relative chaos: the uncertainty and constant change that the freelance lifestyle provides.
2. Is there a time or place that you feel most creative/have the best ideas?
I've noticed over time that I actually get my best ideas when lying down horizontally. As silly as that sounds, it's true! The skeleton idea for Selfless Portraits came minutes after I lied down on the floor of a Facebook conference room for the first time, after weeks of prior concepting!
I now make a point of doing this. Going on walks is also helpful for me to clear my mind. I'm usually most creatively driven at night, so sometimes I'll just stay up really late, jamming at my shared studio space. I also often go back to my creative inspiration blog, shwizle.tumblr.com.
3. What's your ideal Working:Not Working ratio?
Ideal ratio?? Do you REALLY want to know my IDEAL ratio??? Haha...Realistically, I'm happy when I can get it to be about 50/50 or 40/60. But you've gotta understand that when I'm not working, that really just means I'm working on my passion projects! So in a way, I'm always working...
4. Do your parents understand what you do?
Love this question! :) I actually think that they do understand what I do, moreso than most. My father is an artist and together with my mom, they both fostered a very creative and encouraging environment to grow up in. I probably shouldn't be saying this, but when I was home for the Holidays most recently and had some freelance concepting work to do, I ended up sharing the assignment with my dad and little brother, and the three of us sat around concepting for an hour or two. I paid them for their time and they were stoked. Their ideas weren't really on brief, but it was so much fun to include them in on the process.
5. What scene from a movie makes you laugh just thinking about it?
Hands down, the chat scene from Miranda July's film, "You, Me, and Everyone We Know" which is so hilariously weird: ))<>(( !!!
6. If you were stranded on a desert island, with your computer, what 3 websites would you take with you?
Facebook, Gmail, and Tumblr come to mind, but I suppose you want something juicier...
1) NBA League Pass so I could continue to watch the New York Knicks dominate!! :)
2) Notcot.org so I could continue soaking up inspiring creative content.
3) Syntheticpubes.com, 'nuff said. (Editor's Note: NSFW)
7. What do you do when Not Working?
I just got back from an intense month-long silent meditation retreat, and meditation—any sort of mindfulness practice really—is a big interest of mine. Training the mind to be more present and therefore open and spontaneous beautifully compliments the creative process. I highly recommend meditation to any and all creatively-minded folks.
When I'm not working in the sense of "working" implying making money, I'm most often spending time on personal art projects that result in great amounts of creative satisfaction and end up serving as strong promotional material I've found as well.
I also play pick up basketball every Saturday.
8. Do you have a hidden talent?
I'm a pretty decent pool player. Back in college, my game was more polished and I ended up getting paid by the school to serve as resident "Pool Pro" and teach pool to other students, haha. I would have said I'm a decent ping pong player, until Justin stole my thunder in a three game pillage.
Oh, and I make mediocre mashups under the alias "Aptly Last Named." (Get it??) aptlylastnamed.bandcamp.com
9. Any tips or advice for fellow freelancers?
Yes, actually!
1) Life is all about human relationships and freelancing is no different. So many of the gigs I receive—even the ones through WNW—are from someone I know or a contact of someone I know. The creative world is a small one, and I feel lucky to have lots of friends in it. Networking should never be a forced thing. I look at it like this: I am passionate about creativity and love to connect with others who share that passion. I'll often send emails to people I've never met, just letting them know I'm a fan of their work, with no intention of receiving anything in return. But then, I've found—a year or two later, they might think of me for a certain gig or something. But the key is that, even if they don't—even if I never hear from them again, that's totally fine! I believe that fostering healthy, happy human relationships is even more important than creating great work! I double dare you to find a creative whose work you admire and send them a complimentary email (or even better, handwritten letter!)
2) Be active in creating personal projects related to the kind of work you want to do. Then share that work with creative friends and blogs. Really make sure it's related to what you want to do though—I get inquiries every week or two to design infographics because of the parody "Infographic of Infographics" I created a few years ago, and have to tell every person that I don't actually take on infographic design gigs.
3) Always work with a contract and talk about money up front. Being clear and setting expectations early on really minimzes the chance of things going sour. I've learned this the hard way of course.
4) Use WNW of course!!! ;)
10. What's your favorite thing on the internet this week?
I just got back from retreat so I can't speak for this past week. But I do know of a hidden gem that is the animated gifs that my friend Cari Vander Yacht creates.
Oh, and I guess I can think of one thing that's timely: the Scope Bacon Mouth Wash April Fools prank is pretty awesome. I just wish they had made it into an actual product!
Selfless Portraits
Selfless Portraits is a collaborative art project I designed and co-created where strangers across the world draw each other's Facebook profile pics. So far, over 16,000 drawings have been submitted from over 115 countries.
Co-Creator: Jeff Greenspan Producer: Luis Peña Developer: Rally Interactive
Snail Mail My Email
Snail Mail My Email is a collaborative art project where volunteers handwrite strangers’ emails and send physical letters to the intended recipients, free of charge. A total of 431 volunteers have artistically interpreted and collectively sent 13,968 letters across the world since the project began in 2011. Snail Mail My Email, the book, was published in 2012 and contains the most notable letters from the projects first iteration.
Occupy George
By circulating dollar bills stamped with fact-based infographics, Occupy George informs the public of America's daunting economic disparity one bill at a time.
Co-created with Andy Dao
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