Perpendicular Dreams

Thought y'all would be interested in French illustrator Julien Pacaud's handiwork. He does a fine job of putting old magazine's (and his computer) to work. Have a look-see:

A Village of a Hundred People

This is a well-considered flash website that provides interesting facts about the entire world population as if it were proportional to just 100 people in all.

These days, its easy to get overwhelmed with statistics in today's global world. There are always millions of this or thats happening on a daily basis, but few of us really have the frame of reference to draw upon. It's refreshing to find statistics parred down to be more comprehensible, and given visual representation. By having to explore these hidden facts within each characters illustration, you're more engaged and therefore more likely to remember some of these statistics.

The Way Things Go

"The Way Things Go" is the title of a 30 minute film (created in 1987) I saw in a 7th grade art class and I will never forget it. This piece was created by two artists, Peter Fischli and David Weiss in which they received the Roswitha Haftmann Prize, in November 2006.
It may first appear to be a domino-like chain reaction, only it looks as if it was created by a brilliant mad scientist pyromaniac. As you might imagine this type of creativity/ingenuity has potential for commercial implications and some have indeed used this chain reaction for marketing purposes.



I will not get into the "original idea" argument (as I am not sure such a thing exists), my question to you however is this; does this insult the artists piece by taking something that is created to inspire the imagination, and making a buck off the same idea? Or does this require so much skill and patience that you earn the right to use it, if you can pull it off?

Honda has used this technique in their Cog video.
Here is a similar type of chain reaction video done for Clustarack.

Hôtel de Glace

15,000 tons of snow + 500 tons of ice + 35 artisans + 1 month = Quebec, Canada's ice hotel: Hôtel de Glace. About 70,000 guests dogsled into this ephemeral structure January to March each year. The walls, fixtures, and fittings are made entirely of ice, and are held together using a substance known as snice, a substance between snow and ice.

I know what you're wondering: How cold is it in there?
23 degrees F. A small sacrifice.

Other ice hotels around the globe:
Finland: SnowCastle of Kemi
Norway: Kirkenes Snow Hotel and Ice Lodge
Romainia: The Bâlea Lake Ice Hotel
Sweden: IceHotel , shown here:

Dig Deeper: The Evolution of an Artist

Last year while participating via live web cast of the California Women’s Conference, I found myself again captivated by an artist who once plucked at my heart strings when I was still young enough to dip a Lik-a-stick into purple sugar while watching Video 1 music videos on channel 9. In his career, Paul Hewson a.k.a. Bono has been one of the most charitably-impassioned artists of my generation. Artists, typically, are among the “feeling” ones in society, so much so that we can tend to curl inwards into self-absorption. I appreciate someone who takes that sensitivity and acts outwardly, in a way that positively affects others.

Whether or not you jive with U2, the Red and One campaigns, wealthy rock stars, women’s conferences or even Americans; this message is for you. The following speech is specific in its cause, but more so, I think it’s a call to action. Period. We each possess our own gifts which, if we decided to share them, would no doubt make the world a better place. Sometimes, we need reminding that we can be bigger than our careers, even greater than the person we currently offer to humanity.

I know it's a lengthy one. Watch, if you like.





Some links to organizations mentioned:
• Edun, a fair trade, eco-clothing line.
• The Red Campaign, a means eliminate AIDs in Africa while purchasing items on your shopping list.
• The One Campaign, a non-partisan unification advocating for United States government funding to strengthen international aid programs