Washington, USA

Full-spectrum dominance is a military concept whereby a joint military structure achieves control over all elements of the battlespace using land, air, maritime, and space based assets. Full spectrum dominance includes the physical battlespace; air, surface, and sub-surface, as well as the electromagnetic spectrum and information space. Control implies that freedom of opposition force assets to exploit the battlespace is wholly constrained.

The United States military’s doctrine has espoused a strategic intent to be capable of achieving this state in a conflict, either alone or with allies, by defeating any adversary and controlling any situation across the range of military operations. The stated intent implies significant investment in a range of capabilities; dominant maneuver, precision engagement, focused logistics, and full-dimensional protection.

The United States armed forces boast over 800 military bases around the world, a “defense” budget greater than those of the rest of the world’s nations combined (and growing each year), as well as a nuclear arsenal large enough to blow up the world many times over. Coining a concept such as the unending War on Terrorism provides rationalized justification and opportunity for expeditionary warfare, feeding the aspirations of those with dreams of an American Empire, while at the same time entrenching the world’s viewpoint of the USA as a hegemonic aggressor.

My heart goes out to the many millions of American citizens (among them hundreds of good personal friends) who do not wish this to be so… and yet seem powerless to bring about change—in large part due to the controlling dominance of the profit-motivated corporate sector (who continue to capitalize on the concept that “war is good business”) backed by the support of a fear-ridden populace. Thanks to the entrenchment of the USA PATRIOT Act (the contrived acronym stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001) it seems doubtful that meaningful change will emerge any time soon…

Image: American Dick by Scott Reeder, 2007 (as seen in the current issue of Adbusters, Number 6, Volume 17, #86, November/December 2009)

Tehran, Iran

I was privileged recently to be moderator of a session at the 2009 Icograda World Design Congress in Beijing at which Mehdi Saeedi presented his work—though I had previously encountered his poster designs here and there in recent years, I must say I was blown away by the deeply profound cultural understanding he exhibited and shared in his talk—in addition to the aesthetic mastery, calligraphic skill, and refined design sense evident in the actual work. You can see more of this “young master’s” works here.

Keep up the fantastic work, Mehdi!

Winnipeg, Canada

This day of remembrance, gratitude, and reflection also seems like a suitable time to (re)consider pacifism… following is an excerpt drawn from a useful and more in-depth online posting, here.

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Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes or gaining advantage. Pacifism covers a spectrum of views ranging from the belief that international disputes can and should be peacefully resolved; to calls for the abolition of the institutions of the military and war; to opposition to any organization of society through governmental force (anarchist or libertarian pacifism); to rejection of the use of physical violence to obtain political, economic or social goals; to the obliteration of force except in cases where it is absolutely necessary to advance the cause of peace; to opposition to violence under any circumstance, including defense of self and others.

Pacifism may be based on moral principles (a deontological view) or pragmatism (a consequentialist view). Principled pacifism holds that at some point along the spectrum from war to interpersonal physical violence, such violence becomes morally wrong. Pragmatic pacifism holds that the costs of war and inter-personal violence are so substantial that better ways of resolving disputes must be found…

Berlin, East Germany

Quite the unbelievable moment (twenty years ago today) for those of us who grew up in a divided land… I still have a bag of broken bits of the Berlin Wall as evidence of its demise.

…is having yet another exhibition, opening at the Bialystok Museum (Poland) on 20 November 2009. Best wishes, Stasys!

Shenzhen, China

I was surprised to receive this by e-mail… today’s Shenzhen business paper has run a lead article about the back-story of Icograda’s initial introduction to China (back when Professor Yu Bingnan of Tsinghua University in Beijing and I served together on the 2001-2003 Icograda board). I just wish I could read what’s been written…

Five years ago, I penned a feature piece for Communication Arts entitled “No Sleeping Dragon” about the dawn of visual communication design in China, drawing on some of the early visits facilitated by Professor Yu. A PDF version (4 MB) of the article is available here.

Beijing, China

Saturday’s the best day to ply the thousands of stalls of the infamous and somewhat chaotic Panjiayuan market (“Dirt Market” in Chinese) on the Third Ring Road, a “must-experience” destination we’d been told, for flea market aficianados, history buffs, junk collectors and the likes of us. As promised, Panjiayuan was chock-a-block with beads, bangles, books, jade, jewelry, Mao and Cultural Revolution memorabilia, Ming pottery, Yixing teapots, Tibetan souvenirs, silk galore, traditional crafts, and junk of every kind and description.

I scored a few Qing Dynasty brass water pipes (don’t ask me why), antique tools, and miscellaneous gift items, while Ev picked out some beautiful old celadon beads and some cute little teapots—we both acquired some additional Chinese seals and blanks (I had purchased some hardened chisels for carving seals earlier in the week at CAFA so that we could give this a go ourselves once back in Canada).

Beijing, China

We spent a delightful (though unbelievably smoggy) day today wandering serendipitously through the myriad alleys and galleries of 798 Art Zone (aka the Dashanzi Art District), an avant-garde artist community thriving in and amongst 50-year old decommissioned military factory buildings—a combination of contemporary art, architecture, and alternative creative expression that has evolved into a truly unique cultural concept. Certainly not the China I encountered on earlier visits only a few years ago…

Beijing, China

Today Ev and I linked up with about a dozen other Icograda delegates from various countries for a full-day guided outing (by means of a mini-van commandeered by our unstoppable guide ‘Sally’) to the north of the city, taking in a portion of the Ming Tombs (where 13 Ming Dynasty emperors are buried); lunch (replete with rigorous “everything you need to know about jade” instruction) at a government-owned jade factory; and then an afternoon ascending a portion of the Great Wall of China (Badaling section) along with several thousand others. The weather was outstanding (though a bit hazy for good photos) and we felt fortunate to take in this outstanding experience in the good company of friends. A fine day we won’t soon forget…

Photos: The ubiquitous security, here at the entrance of one of the tomb buildings; a photo of Mao at the very same spot taken the year I was born (notice the same tree to the right); Sally with yellow flag in hand trying to rally our troupe of designers (a bit like herding cats) in the Ming Tomb courtyard; a skilled jade carver (without proper eye, mouth, or ear protection)—Ev and I each ended up acquiring custom-carved seals featuring our respective initials; Ev on the Great Wall (alongside my good friend Gediminas Lasas from Lithuania); yes, it’s crowded at the top—and according to Chairman Mao, once you’ve been to the very top of the wall you can truly be called a “hero.”

Beijing, China

My first scheduled dinner engagement, (followed immediately by another late meeting), began a mere two hours after we arrived here from Canada last Friday… what with the 23rd Icograda General Assembly on the following two days, and then three consecutive days of the 2009 Icograda World Design Congress, the past week has been somewhat of a blur. While I’ve been busy with formal daytime activities, Ev has been out “touristing” and exploring the city on her own… then meeting up with me again at assorted venues for late-day show openings, dinners, receptions, exhibitions, and other design-related evening activities. Never a dull moment…

Photos: Ev and I at an evening opening (thanks for the photo, Halim); the remarkable Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) where the last two days of the Congress took place; a piece of quirky student work; Ev posing with a cast of Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker at CAFA; Ev’s auto-portrait at the Forbidden City.

(View tons more photos of the Icograda-related events in Beijing on friends Mark & Andrea Busse’s flickr site here).