The philosophy is rooted in the idea that computing systems should “simplify complexities, not introduce new ones.”
The idea outlined in this essay reminds me of the wonderful concept of Shikake –”the Japanese art of shaping behaviour through design”– as well as the beautiful approach to tech displayed in the fantastic movie her and I wholeheartedly agree with its central claim; We need more Calm Design.
© Patrick Tomasso (via YouTube)
As –hopefully– established already, I’m a huge fan of not only movies but especially cinema. And even though I’m not creating (very much) video content myself and I don’t think I will ever create something for the so-called big screen, I always enjoy learning about what makes a movie great and how it was archived.
Fairly recently I shared a wonderful video about the astonishing sound of Dune, this time it’s this great video essay ‘Why The Batman Is So Beautiful‘ by Patrick Tomasso about the visual grittiness of ‘The Batman’ by Director Matt Reeves and cinematographer Greig Fraser.
Related: If you are into movies and cinema yourself I recommend the documentary Netflix series VOIR. Produced by David Fincher and David Prior, it’s a wonderful ode to the big screen and the craft of filmmaking told through visual essays and personal stories of movie lovers.
© School Of Life (via YouTube)
Wabi-sabi refers to the beauty of the impermanent, the imperfect, the rustic and the melancholy. It derives not from the love of invincibility, youth and flawnessness, but from a respect for what is passing, fragile, slightly broken and modest.
I keep coming back to this essential principle of Japanese philosophy.
© KUMMER (via Youtube)
Ich wär gerne voller Zuversicht /
Jemand, der voll Hoffnung in die Zukunft blickt /
Der es schafft, all das einfach zu ertragen /
Ich würd dir eigentlich gern sagen /
Alles wird gut
— aus Der letzte Song (Alles wird gut) von KUMMER feat. Fred Rabe
© Krista Kim / Times Square (via YouTube)
Synchronized across 90 electronic billboards, a slowly shifting gradient of color washes over Times Square, creating a moment of calm amidst one of the most visually kinetic places in the world.
Kim’s peaceful digital reflection takes over Times Square as the world persists through a pandemic that has disrupted and transformed our everyday lives, mental health, and collective well-being for almost two full years. Using the technology of our times, she creates a communal space that allows viewers to decompress.
In February ‘Continuum‘ by artist Krista Kim turns the billboards throughout Times Square into a huge vibrant colorscape at midnight for an art series called ‘Midnight Moment’. What an absolutely magnificent way to use all of this screen estate.
timessquarenyc.org/whats-happening/midnight-moment-continuum
© Patagonia Films / Jordan Manley (via Vimeo)
Follow a group of skiers, snowboarders, scientists and healers to the birch forests of Japan, the red cedars of British Columbia and the bristlecones of Nevada, as they explore an ancient story written in rings.
I’m in love with the magnificent short documentary Treeline by Patagonia Films. Strongly recommend you to check out the other “films with Impact” the collective has produced “on behalf of our home planet” so far.
© Yuki Kawae (via Vimeo)
In traditional Chinese culture, the moon is a carrier of human emotions. The full moon symbolizes family reunion. Due to the Covid restrictions between China and the United States, my trip to see my family in Beijing, which was scheduled in early 2020, is on an indefinite hold. While waiting to go back for the past two years, I decided to create a video series with the general intention of bringing the moon down to me on the earth, inspired by a Chinese legend of the Han dynasty entitled, “The lake reflecting the divine moon.”
Every winter since 2020, I’ve filmed myself alone tracing moon patterns by dragging a suitcase on the snow-covered ground in the parking lot adjacent to my apartment building in Chicago, as if to create circular mantras suspended in a time of waiting. I also made two summer counterparts of the same ritual on a sandy beach by Lake Michigan. As long as I’m unable to go back to China, I will continue to film this same ritual in the summer and winter.
This installation by Yuge Zhou called Moon drawings reminds me a lot of the beautiful patterns Yuki Kawae draws in his zen garden —but in an entirely different dimension. Gorgeous, even more so when you know the background behind the piece.
Made to Measure is an experiment that asks if you can reconstruct a person based solely on their digital data trail. Can you build a doppelganger of a person you don’t even know? Record, recreate, and replay the life of someone and their personality in detail?
[…]
Take an hour of your time and join us in the world of digital trails. How close will we get to the person behind the data?
How much does five years’ worth of personal Google data consisting of more than 100 000 data points reveal about the life of a person?
Using the online data¹ from an anonymous volunteer, the Laokoon group worked together with data analysts to reconstruct this person based solely on their digital trail. The result of the experiment is shown in an intriguing documentary called Made to Measure which is available through the dedicated project website —alongside different media libraries.
¹ the data Google is legally required to release according to EU laws
For decades now, designers have been taught to consider human needs in their work — only human needs. But design that is good only for people, without looking at the well-being of our planet as a whole, has gotten us into trouble.
As mentioned casually in another context before, I admire the work of Space10 a lot. The Swedish research and design lab is funded by IKEA on its mission to “create a better everyday life for people and the planet”.
There are a bunch of great projects –including two wonderful books about ‘Future Food‘ and ‘Urban Futures‘– and an online journal full of interesting essays to discover, but for any creative, I recommend starting with this plea to move beyond human-centered design towards a “people-planet approach” published last year.
© Baku Maeda
Cute New Year’s card for 2022 –which is going to be a Year of the Tiger in Japan and China– by artist Baku Maeda.¹ Hayao Miyazaki from Studio Ghibli created a nice nangajo to celebrate the new year, too.
Little fun fact; In contrast to the western and the Japanese calendar, Chinese New Year is on February 1, followed by a celebration of up to 16 days with 7 days of public holidays.²
¹ Original artwork in square format taken from Instagram, additional width/background for a more classical postcard aspect ratio added by me.
² More facts on chinesenewyear.net
© Bendo / Macklemore / Jason Koenig & Ryan Lewis (via YouTube)
And I, know I gotta roll with it /
I’m well aware the universe doesn’t owe me shit /
I know that, all of this pain means the growth, I think /
That next year’s gonna be better than this (Let’s go)
— from the Lyrics of Next Year by Macklemore
© Reisinger Studio (via Vimeo)
‘Arcadia’ is a narrated short film that journeys through our collective twenty-first-century existential crisis. It is a groundbreaking interdisciplinary collaboration between artist Andrés Reisinger, musician RAC, and poet Arch Hades.
Arcadia is a prime example of how interdisciplinary collaboration in the creative field can produce truly astonishing audio-visual computer generated art. I strongly recommend watching the ten-minute film in fullscreen on a big enough display and with a good sound system –or capable headphones– plugged in to enjoy this poetic piece in all its glory.
