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Jun 29, 2013

Open Invitation | Human-Centered Design for Social Innovation

Want to learn how to use design for social good? 

IDEO.org has announced Human-Centered Design for Social Innovation, a five-week course created in conjunction with Acumen. This course is designed to help people start using the human-centered design process to create innovative, effective, and sustainable solutions for social change all around the world.


In order to sign up for the course, participants need to form a team of between two and six people. Once formed, the design team meets once a week in person to learn by doing, via the human-centered design workshop materials that IDEO.org team has created (with help from Acumen). Along the way, each design team will also tackle one of three social sector design challenges in their community. 


The course is FREE and doesn't require any previous design experience.

Deadline to register is July 3, 2013. 


Interested in signing up? The course begins on July 10, 2013. Register here.

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Doni të mësoni si të përdorni design për të mirën sociale?

IDEO.org ka hapur Human-Centered Design for Social Innovation, një kurs pesë javor të krijuar në bashkëpunim me Acumen. Qëllimi i këtij kursi është të ndihmojë njerëzit të përdorin design duke patur në fokus njeriun, vetëm kështu mund të krijojmë zgjidhje novatore, efektive dhe të qëndrueshme për ndryshime shoqërore në të gjithë botën.

Regjistrimi është i hapur për të gjithë, kudo në botë, por vetëm nëse formojnë një grup me dy deri në gjashtë veta. Pasi të formohet grupi dhe të bëhet regjistrimi (deri më datë 3 Korrik) pjesëtarët do të takohen një herë në javë për të mësuar materialet e pergatitura nga IDEO.org (me ndihmën e Acumen). Së bashku në këtë mënyrë, çdo grup do të trajtojë gjithashtu një nga tre sfidat e design-it në sektorin shoqëror në komunitetin e tyre.

Kursi është FALAS dhe nuk kërkon ndonjë përvojë të mëparshme në design.

Dita e fundit e regjistrimit është 3 Korrik 2013.

Jeni të interesuar? Kursi fillon më datë 10 Korrik, 2013. Regjistrohuni këtu.

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Otherness | Misc. Projects of the Week

Otherness this week is:

APPLE MAP GLITCH ART
the collection is a record of all the struggles Apple’s algorithms had in handling data and textural mapping; mistakes occur when 2D images are incorrectly mapped onto 3D topography; images present a world, where everything seems to be under gravity’s pull, falling into the center of the Earth

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IN ORBIT
a steel wire construction with pvc spheres, the installation suspends 25m above the courtyard of kunstsammlung museum, where visitors can move freely between the spheres on all three levels; the spatial configuration becomes an oscillating network of relationships, resonances, and synchronous communication


EIGHTY EIGHT #2: INFLATABLE GARBAGE BAGS
an inflatable garbage bag installation that inflates and deflates in controlled rhythms, creating wave-like animations across the wall and floor; although each bag is mounted in a stationary position, the sequences of inflation and deflation create the impression of lively movements


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Jun 28, 2013

Open Invitation | AlbaniaNOW Exhibit

Albania-NOW is an international juried exhibition to be held in Detroit, Michigan, USA planned for the fall of 2013. The exhibit will display the best of Albanian architecture, urban design and art that is emerging today from this evolving region. The exhibit will be open to all Albanian designers, architects and artists living and working in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and other nations in the Balkans

The mission of the Albania-NOW exhibition works to bring a greater understanding towards the design work, art and architecture that is evolving NOW in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and other nations within the Balkans. While centralized in a region of both great cultural identity and past tumultuous relations, a new generation of designers and artists continue to define what Albania is NOW – not what it has been. Unlike many generations before, the emergence of a new design culture serves as evidence for a new beginning of the region, one bolstered by new academic institutions, such as, POLIS University in Tirana and the entrepreneurial opportunities provided by globalization. The Albania-NOW exhibit displays this new spirit to Detroit while also serves to build new opportunities for academic, cultural and economic exchanges.

The Albania-NOW exhibition has began receiving digital submissions via its website on April 1, 2013 and will continue to accept projects until August 1, 2013. The work will be juried and exhibited at the Studio Couture gallery in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Concurrent with the exhibit opening, Dr. Besnik Aliaj, Dean of POLIS University in Tirana, Albania, will conduct a lecture at Lawrence Technological University to discuss his current research on urban design and planning. The work presented in the exhibit will also be published for distribution.

Albania-NOW Jury

James C. Stevens, AIA
Amy Deines
Martin Schwartz, AIA
Pandush Gaqi

Schedule

October 1, 2012: Exhibit announced
April 1, 2013: Open for submissions
August 1, 2013: Closed for submissions
September 1, 2013: Announcement of work to be exhibited
October 2013: Exhibit opening
October 2013: Publication of Albania-NOW

For eligibility and requirements to enter go here.

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Shqipëria-TANI është një ekspozitë e vlerësuar nga një juri internacionale që do të mbahet në Detroit, Michigan, SHBA, e planifikuar për në vjeshtë të këtij viti. Ekspozita do të shfaqë arkitekturën, urbanistikën dhe artin shqiptar më të mirë që prodhohet sot nga ky rajon në zhvillim. Ekspozita do të jetë e hapur për të gjithë dizajnët, arkitektët dhe artistët shqiptarë që jetojnë dhe punojnë në ShqipëriKosovëMaqedoni dhe vende të tjera në Ballkan.

Misioni i ekspozitëShqipëria-TANI është shfaqja dhe njohja më e gjerë e punëve të dizajnit, artit dhe arkitekturës që po zhvillohen TANI në ShqipëriKosovëMaqedoni dhe vende të tjera në Ballkan. Duke qenë pjesë e një rajoni me identitet kulturor sa të madh aq dhe të trazuar historikisht, janë talentet e reja ato që po i japin formë dhe drejtim Shqipërisë TANI. Ndryshe nga brezat paraardhëse, kultura artistike po sheh një fillim të ri rajonal të mbështetur nga institucione të reja akademike, si Universiteti Polis në Tiranë ashtu si dhe mundësi ndërmarrëse globale. Ekspozita Shqipëria-TANI do të shfaqë këtë frymë të re në Detroit, duke ndërtuar në të njëjtën kohë mundësi të reja shkëmbimesh akademike, kulturore dhe ekonomike.

Ekspozita Shqipëria-TANI ka filluar marrjen e aplikimeve dixhitale në websitin e saj më 1 Prill 2013 dhe do të vazhdojë të pranojë projekte deri më 1 Gusht 2013. Pasi të vleresohen nga juria, punët do të ekspozohen në galerinë Studio Couture në Detroit, Michigan, SHBA. Në të njëjtën kohë, Dr. Besnik Aliaj, Dekan i Universitetit Polis në Tiranë, Shqipëri, do të zhvillojë një leksion në Lawrence Technological University për të diskutuar hulumtimin e tij aktual mbi dizajnin dhe planifikimin urban. Punët e paraqitura në ekspozitë do të jenë pjesë e një publikimi që do të shpërndahet gjithashtu këtë vjeshtë. 

Juria Albania-NOW

James C. Stevens, AIA
Amy Deines
Martin Schwartz, AIA
Pandush Gaqi

Plani organizues

1 Tetor, 2012: Lançimi i ekspozitës
1 Prill , 2013: Hapja e aplikimeve
1 Gusht, 2013: Mbyllja e aplikimeve
1 Shtator, 2013: Shpallja e punëve të zgjedhura për ekspozitën
Tetor 2013: Hapja e ekspozitës
Tetor 2013: Publikimi i Shqipëria-TANI

Për rregullat e aplikimit shkoni këtu.

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Jun 27, 2013

Featured Artist | Elizabeth Claffey @MIZA

MIZA invites 
American artist Elizabeth M. Claffey 
with her exhibit "UNIforms" 
grand opening on July 1, 2013 @ 8 pm 

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MIZA fton 
artisten Amerikane Elizabeth M. Claffey 
me ekspozitën e saj "UNIforma" 
inagurimi më 1 korrik 2013 ora 20:00 



Elizabeth M. Claffey's "Hospital Gowns" and "The Waiting" both investigate the often cold and stilted experience individuals have within the health system. The medical apparatus, its hardware, architecture, and personnel, are largely focused on efficiency, economy, and hygiene, rather than humanity and nurturing. Because the human body is both the subject and the object of this system, the patient experiences a rift between the psychological and physical self, leading to feelings of anxiety and alienation. Through image, form, and medium, Claffey's work articulates the complex relationship between the individual and their own physical self within this context.

"Hospital Gowns" consists of photographic images of anonymous individuals of both sexes with diverse body types printed on hospital gowns. The breadth of individuals represented in this series suggests that exposure to the medical system is a leveling experience, detached from issues of sex and race. By virtue of the photographic transfer process employed, the images of the bodies appear blurred and fragmentary. This result, coupled with the absence of a face or head, suggest that a weakened or degraded facsimile is all that remains of a former self. The hospital gown, with its apparent starchiness, transparency, and general feeling of cheapness, makes an appropriate substrate for these images, not only because the physical object immediately references a medical environment, but also because its characteristics conjure associations of vulnerability, impermanence, and the transitory. Furthermore, the method of display in which the gowns are suspended by a thin line emphasizes the experience of these human figures as apparition rather than concrete. This suggests a reduction of the patient from physical reality to abstract concept.


"The Waiting" is a video that pictures the artist clad in a hospital gown, seated uncomfortably in an austere, presumably medical, environment waiting for the doctor to arrive. The visual austerity of the composition, the figure's suspension in the center of the frame and distance from the camera, and the excruciating length of time and physical discomfort, all lead to feelings of alienation, control, and vulnerability.

Artist & CuratorRyan Mandell
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Uniformat e Spitalit” dhe “Pritja” të artistes Elizabeth M. Claffey të dyja hetojnë eksperiencën shpesh herë të ftohtë dhe te ngurtë qe individët përjetojnë brenda sistemit mjekësor. Aparati mjekësor, pajisjet e tij, arkitektura, dhe personeli janë të fokusuar kryesisht kundrejt efikasitetit, kursimit, dhe higjienës, në vënd të humanizmit dhe të përkujdesjes. Duke qenë se trupi njerëzor është njëkohësiht subjekti dhe objekti i këtij sistemi, pacienti përjeton një përçarje midis gjendjes psikologjike dhe fizike te vehtes, ç’ka shpie në ndenja ankthi dhe tjetërsimi. Nëpërmjet imazhit, formës, dhe mediumit, puna e Claffey-t artikulon marrëdhënien komplekse midis individit dhe vehtes së tij fizike brenda këtij konteksti.

Uniformat e Spitalit” përbëhet nga imazhe fotografike të individëve anonim të të dy gjinive me pjesë të ndryshme trupi të printuara në grykëse spitali. Larmia e individëve te përfaqësuar në këtë seri sugjeron që ekspozimi ndaj sistemit mjekësor është një eksperiencë njësuese, e shkëputur nga çështjet gjinore dhe racore. Falë procesit të tranferimit fotografik të ushturar në punim, imazhet e trupave shfaqen si të paqartë dhe të fragmentizuara. Ky rezultat, i çiftëzuar me mungesën e një koke apo të një fytyre, sugjeron se një faksimile e degraduar ose e dobësuar është gjithë çka mbetet nga vetja e mëparshme. Uniformat e Spitalit, me formalitetin e tyre te dukshme, transparencën, dhe pamjen e tyre të lirë, përbën substrate të denja për këto imazhe, jo vetëm sepse objekti fizik menjëherë i bën referencë një mjedisi spitalor, por edhe sepse karakteristikat e tij ngjallin ndjenjën e lëndueshmërisë, te përkoheshmërisë, dhe kalimtares. Për më tepër, metoda e paraqitjes nëpërmjet së cilës uniformat varen nga një tel i thjeshtë thekson eksperiencën e këtyre qënieve njerëzore si fantazma dhe jo konkrete. Kjo sugjeron reduktimin e pacientit nga realiteti fizik në një koncept abstrakt.

Prijta” është një video që pasqyron artisten të veshur me një këmishë spitalore, ulur sikletshëm në një ambient të sertë, me sa duket mjekësor, duke pritur që mjeku të vijë. Rreptësia pamore e kompozimit, pezullimi i e figurës në qendër të kornizës dhe distancës nga kamera, dhe gjatësia torturuese kohore dhe parehatia fizike, të gjitha shpien në ndjenja tjetërsimi, kontrolli, dhe dobësie.
Artist & KuratorRyan Mandell

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Jun 25, 2013

Featured Project | Performing the East

Dr. Amy Bryzgel is a lecturer in History of Art at the University of Aberdeen, where she teach courses on modern and contemporary art, with a focus on art from Central and Eastern Europe, especially performance art.


She is traveling through Eastern Europe (Baltics & Balkans) to research Performance Art for her book (Performance Art in Eastern Europe). Her first stop was Albania, where she met and interviewed artists, curators, art historians, and critics in order to have a more comprehensive understanding of local arts & culture. 
‘‘ The research itself is in many ways performative. As I attempt to tell the tale of performance art in Eastern Europe, I must retrace its steps, step into the paths of the artists, and endeavor, in my own way, to perform the East.’’ -A.B
Check out the project and follow her travels at: Performing the East.
 
Also, read her posts on Albania, its artists and the emerging local creative scene on her blog.

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Jun 24, 2013

Billboards | A Pop-up Urban Typology

Can billboards be public (accessible)? 
These pop-up urban elements are becoming user-friendly/habitable architecture. 
A new typology, maybe?

There are so many things being done with billboards nowadays. 
It's an urban element that is actually being used, not just seen
A visual public artifact that is being physically accessed by an increasing number of people.
By definition and their role thus far, some might compare billboards to privately owned public spaces, which in a way tells us who really owns, manages and defines city[land]scape. [power, politics, money] 

Framing the public city as a space of people vs. objects, actions vs. events involves a combination of involvement and separation.

Cityscape becomes a stage of action by people - or an advertising screen, a symbolic representation of 'reality'. 
The public's role changes from present to absent, actor/performer/participator to spectator/audience/consumerPeople as spatial instigators/users become a system of spatial representation.

Billboards by definition and physicality are screens not stages, a representation of life not actual city life. They are competing with city/landscape to capture and hold the attention of audience: people, the public. Just as the stage that is cityscape, the screen has a direct visual contact with the public, but a separation in time, space and level of reality. 
This brings into play a third space, a very public one at that: the realm of sound (and other environmental factors). 

Can billboards be really public? Physically, accessibly public?

A new typology of public space?

How do we frame the public city?

Maybe billboards are created for the sole purpose of being an advertising screen or maybe we have reduced them to be that way, but there seems to be a global movement that is finding new ways of accessing these 'objects' and making them 'move' without (much) change in their typology. 

Below, you'll find ways of capturing the present public constraint of billboards and enabling it as a navigational city stage.

txt references: 
1. Action and Image: dramatic structure in cinema by Roy Armes
2. Give me a gun and i will make all buildings move. An ant's view of architecture. by Bruno Latour & Albena Yaneva 

1. Billboards as Outdoor Galleries


A public art initiative Art Everywhere is putting up England's favorite artworks on over 15,000 outdoor billboards and posters. The goal is turning these spaces into massive outdoor art galleries so people passing by can show more interest in the arts. via

2. Transparent Billboard as Real-Time Weather Forecast


A transparent billboard created by Y&R NZ for MetService in Auckland, looks like a web browser page. It frames real-time weather conditions and it simply advertises weather reports. via

3. Billboard as an Artist Residency


Mexican paper company Scribe has recently launched Scribe Billboard, a temporary residency for artists inside a billboard. via 

4. Billboard as a Forest


Los Angeles based artist Stephen Glassman with his Urban Air project wants to transform the billboard space above the highway into a bamboo forest in the sky. via

5. Billboard as Public Doodles


London street artist Mobstr gave the public a chance to become artists themselves with his latest project called The Scribble Board. He placed a white billboard in a busy urban area that quickly became a large doodle board for anyone and everyone. via

5. Billboard as Public Swing


Paris-based architect Didier Faustino made a public swing set from a converted billboard for the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Bi-City Biennial of Urbanism and Architecture. via 

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Jun 22, 2013

Architectural Exhibitionism | What are Biennales and Festivals For? Who's the Real Winner?

We talk about architectural biennales and festivals as some of the most glamorous events, where international talents have the privilege to showcase their best (chosen) work, position themselves in the field as well as develop a (future) celebrity status. 

But what are the impacts, motivations and wider issues raised by this format of architectural exhibition and celebration? 
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Flasim për bienalet dhe festivalet e arkitekturës si disa prej eventeve më prestigjoze, ku talentet ndërkombëtare kanë privilegjin të shfaqin punën (e zgjedhur) më të mire, të pozicionojnë veten në këtë fushë, si dhe të formojnë (për të ardhmen) një lloj reputacioni .

Por, cilat janë impaktet, motivimet dhe çështjet më të gjëra që ngre ky format ekspozimi dhe festimi arkitektural?


‘‘ And the Winner is...? is a new series of critical and polemic explorations into architectural culture’s mechanisms for generating and celebrating projects, asking who the real winners are from the ever growing numbers of architecture awards, competitions and festivals.
The list of architecture festivals and biennales grows and grows. The best known, the Venice Biennale of Architecture, was established in 1980, but remains very much the younger sibling of the art biennale (in existence since 1895). 2012 saw the first Istanbul Design Biennale, and 2011 saw New York City host the first Archtober, and the Festival of Ideas for the New City. Other fixtures on the scene include the World Architecture Festival (established in 2008), the Lisbon Architecture Triennale (since 2007), the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (since 2005), and the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (since 2001). London’s own Festival of Architecture, initially launched as a biennale in 2004, will be an annual event from 2013.

Are these events dynamic catalysts to discussing and celebrating the city and architectural culture, or calculated devices of tourism and industrial promotion?  
How can a design biennale effectively impact upon its host city to leave a lasting change? 
And is the architectural profession even suited to the format of the grand exhibition, or has it been forced into an uneasy corner of exhibiting itself and competing on art's terms? ’’via
We should ask these questions more often, but for now you'll find some of the answers at this event.
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‘‘ Dhe Fituesi është...? është një seri e re kërkimesh kritike dhe polemike ndaj mekanizmave kulturore që prodhojnë dhe celebrojnë projektet e arkitekturës, duke shtruar pyetjen se kush jane fituesit e vërtete të çmimeve, konkurseve dhe festivaleve, numri i të cilëve sa vjen e rritet.
Lista e festivaleve dhe bienaleve të arkitekturës sa vjen e rritet. Më i njohuri, Bienalia e Arkitekturës në Venecia, u themelua në 1980, por mbetet akoma i njomë në krahasim me bienalen e artit (në ekzistencë që nga 1895).  Viti 2012 pa Bienalen e parë të Stambollit në Design, dhe në 2011 New York City priti Archtober-in e parë bashkë me Festivalin e Ideve. Evente të tjera mjaft të njohura përfshijnë Festivalin Boteror të Arkitektures ( themeluar në 2008), Trenalien e Arkitekturës në Lisbon (që nga 2005), Bienalen e Urbanistikës/Arkitekturës në Shenzhen dhe Hong Kong, si dhe Bienalen Ndërkombëtare të Arkitekturës në Roterdam (që nga 2001). Festivali i Arkitekturës në Londër filloi si bienale në 2004, por që do të jetë një event vjetor duke filluar që sivjet.
A janë këto evente katalizatorë dinamik për të diskutuar dhe festuar qytetin dhe kulturën arkitekturale, apo pajisje të llogaritura për turizëm dhe promovim industrial? 
Si mund të ndikojë efektivisht një Design Bienale mbi qytetin ku zhvillohet për të lënë një ndryshim të qëndrueshëm?

është profesioni i arkitekturës i përshtatshëm për këtë format ekspozitash madhështore, apo është shtyrë në një qoshe jo të qartë vetekspozimi dhe konkurimi, kushtet e të cilave janë paracaktuar nga arti? ’’via
Këto janë pyetje që duhen bërë më shpesh, por për momentin disa nga pergjigjet mund ti gjeni në këtë event.

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Jun 21, 2013

Instant Art Career | The Public Painting Machine

**A different kind of street art.


An empty retail space in Poland is transformed into an art gallery, with a Public Painting Machine as a storefront; a collaboration of the German artist Niklas Roy and Kati Hyyppä. 


The project invites the public to create paintings by pulling on the ropes. The collaborative works of art were then exhibited in the gallery inside.


The Public Painting Machine is completely mechanical and inspired by the computer controlled pen plotters.

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Jun 19, 2013

Guerrilla Interventions | The Art of Manipulating Urban Publics


Check out Brad Downey's public installations which frequently warp existing everyday objects like bicycles, cars, signs, benches, shopping carts and garbage cans.



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Jun 18, 2013

Otherness | Misc. Projects of the Week

Otherness this week is:

RADIO ANECHOIC CHAMBER 
by DTU-ESA
research facility mainly used to test antennas; the blue chamber minimizes any reflections of microwaves and the large foam spikes scattered around the space are filled with carbon and iron to absorb radio waves

photo via Alastair Philip Wiper
SOUND IN SAND 
this experiment is based on the chiadni plate where a violin bow was first used along the edge of a glass plate covered with sand to create visualizations of sound; the plate is divided into regions vibrating in opposite directions, bounded by lines of zero vibration called nodal lines

PROJECT LOON
by Google
the launch of numerous balloons into the stratosphere, in altitudes higher than those of commercial planes, that provide internet access to the people on the ground via a special antenna attached to the buildings below; the internet signal bounces from balloon to balloon and then back to earth


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