We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home.
—Australian Aboriginal proverb
22 July 2012
A "just war" is hospitable to every self-deception on the part of those waging it, none more than the certainty of virtue, under whose shelter every abomination can be committed with a clear conscience.
R.I.P. Alexander Cockburn, (6 June 1941 – 21 July 2012)
21 July 2012
RedBall UK…
(across the UK)
New York-based artist Kurt Perschke recently brought his famous RedBall project to the UK for the first time, installing his massive inflatable red ball in a total of 20 sites around the country. Filmmaker Danny Cooke was on hand during the entire RedBall UK trip and edited together a great timelapse of the installation as it moved from location to location around the country—view the video here.
(source)
19 July 2012
18 July 2012
To lead people, walk beside them… As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honour and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate… When the best leader's work is done, the people say, "We did it ourselves."
—Lao Tzu / 老子
17 July 2012
The eyes have it…
New York, New York
Marion Bolognesi lives and works in The Big Apple, where she divides her time between accessories design and her personal passion for expressive, illustrative watercolor paintings, such as those shown above. Her work has been seen around the world, and she sells both originals and limited edition prints… view more here.
Figures can lie, and liars can figure.
(sounds like a cautionary something somebody’s Dad once said…)
16 July 2012
Appropriate or Appropriate
Melbourne, Australia
“Respectful depiction and referencing of Indigenous visual iconography has become an important issue around the world—especially when designers and their clients choose to visually represent national identity. This new emphasis on cultural authenticity raises ethical issues of appropriate engagement and knowledge ownership.”
On 9 August 2012, Russell Kenedy will give a talk entitled ‘Appropriate or Appropriate? Strategic considerations when representing Indigenous culture in communication design and branding’ at The Museum Theatre/Melbourne Museum (full information here). He will speak on the need for the design profession to establish a framework of engagement with Indigenous knowledge, which will educate and inform practitioners on issues relating to cultural ownership and respectful development processes. He believes a dedicated policy in this area will help facilitate the transition to an authentic national identity, one that celebrates Australia as the home of the world’s oldest continuous living culture.
My good friend Russell Kennedy is a Research Fellow at Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce (RSA) and a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia (DIA). He was Chair of the International Design Alliance (2009- 2011) and is currently serving as immediate Past President (2011-2013) of Icograda, the International Council of Communication Design and is Co-Chair of INDIGO, the International Network of Indigenous Design.
The poster design shown above is entitled “Peace Roo” (done for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games) and is by another Aussie friend, David Lancashire.
