Sheron Long's Blog, page 30
May 12, 2014
Hey, Could You Please Block My View of This Mural?
Thumbing his nose at the rules of art appreciation?
© Bruce Goldstone
Obstructions and Street Art Appreciation
Like many photographers, my eye is constantly drawn to vibrant murals and colorful street art. I often stake out a spot in front of an exuberant wall and wait for the perfect, pristine moment to capture the image.
Art appreciation guidelines suggest that the artist’s message is best interpreted with as little interference as possible between you and the art.
I’ve spent plenty of time waiting for everyone to get out of the way so I can snap the perfect picture, free of unplanned interlopers. But now I’m not so sure that’s really the best way to catch the spirit and meaning of art created on public surfaces.
It’s Alive!
More and more often lately, I’ve stopped waiting for everyone to clear out. I just snap away.
...
May 5, 2014
The Magic and Mystery of The Orient Express
The elegance of The Orient Express
© Meredith Mullins
Life-Changing Experiences Riding the Rails
Trains have always held a certain fascination for those with a traveler heart. But when the words “Orient Express” are uttered, an evocative world of myth and mystery, luxury and intrigue inevitably comes to mind. Such a journey often offered life-changing experiences.
What images emerge for you?
Diamonds and seduction
Cigars and whiskey
Dressing for dinner served in a dining car of white linened tables
Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express
Bond. James Bond on the Orient Express in From Russia with Love
Phineas Fogg riding to Istanbul on the Orient Express in Around the World in 80 Days
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles taking to the train in the episode Turtles on the Orient...
May 1, 2014
Do Wind-Up Toys Have Inner Artists?
Guess what the artist was thinking. Now guess again.
© Echo Yang
Creative Expression Unleashed with the Turn of a Key
When we look at art, we often try to imagine what the artist was thinking: How is this artwork a creative expression of the artist’s thoughts and feelings? Take, for example, this vibrant starburst of primary dots. What did the artist have in mind?
In this case, chances are pretty good that the artist didn’t have anything in mind at all. That’s because the artist was a tin wind-up toy. Wind-up toys are great, but great thinkers they’re not.
Here’s the wind-up chicken that painted the artwork, armed with a watercolor-dipped cotton swab.
The artist at work
© Echo Yang
OK, to be fair, this wind-up toy didn’t grab the swab and start painting. The set-up was done by artist and graphic designer Echo Yang, who has...
April 24, 2014
The Kale Project
Kristen Beddard, creator of The Kale Project, toasts her new life in Paris.
© Meredith Mullins
Life-Changing Experiences in Paris with a Leafy Green Vegetable
This could be a story about many things.
a crusader
an expat trying to feel at home in a new country
inspiration for healthy eating
how to awaken an interest for something lost and forgotten
persistence
persuasiveness
success against challenging odds
the ability to see a problem and create a project to fix it
life-changing experiences
Or, this could just be a story about kale.
In France, kale was a forgotten vegetable.
© bhofack2/iStock
A Tale of Kale: The Story of a Crusade
In fact, this story is about all these things, punctuated by “Oh, I see” moments of the best kind.
The two main characters are kale and a young American woman, Kristen, in...
April 21, 2014
Cinemagraphs Reveal Beauty In and Out of Focus
Is clarity always best?
© Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg
Natural Vision vs. Corrected Vision
Autumn leaves flutter in and out of focus in a striking image from Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg’s series of optical animations.
The effect is enchanting. But my reaction to this poetic series is perhaps atypical.
Am I the only one who gazes at this work and sees a powerful argument for the beauty of both corrected and natural vision?
The Secret Life of Photos
Beck and Burg have captivated the web since they created a new style of animated photograph to capture the excitement of Fashion Week in New York city. They call their moving creations cinemagraphs.
Cinemagraphs can capture both rapid and subtle movements.
© Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg
The technique stitches together photos to create a simple but persuasive illusion of movement.
Each...
April 17, 2014
Creativity’s Corner: Where Art Meets Wordplay
“US”
© John Langdon
Look . . . and Look Again at John Langdon’s Illusions and Ambigrams
In life (and at OIC), you often get the invitation to consider new perspectives, to see things from different points of view. Today’s invitation is to a place where the visual and the verbal play together in the work of John Langdon. And the souvenir you take home is a hidden, often deeper meaning.
Let the games begin: How does the painting above fit its title, “US”?
On first look, you probably see the word “Me,” a key part of “US.” But look again to find another word in the same space.
Once you do, the hidden meaning hits you in an “Oh, I see” moment—You can’t get to “US” without considering both “Me” and “You.” More than a visual trick, this illusion leads to one of...
April 14, 2014
Creative Thinking Busts 5 Myths About Public Parks
This portable park can park almost anywhere.
© Kevin van Braak
Redefining Parks and Other Public Spaces
A picture perfect park,
but not all parks have to look like this
© Songquan Deng/Shutterstock
After a long winter, public parks are once again greening up. On the first nice day, they beckon city dwellers to gather, relax, and play.
The model city park offers a grassy lawn, cozy benches, ballfields, and meandering paths.
But creative thinking is redefining what city parks can and will be. And the innovative projects that result have shattered these five common myths about what makes a park a park.
Myth #1: Parks Have to Be on the Ground
For years, we all pretty much assumed that parks had to be on the ground. After all, parks need soil, and that’s where soil is found.
But then parks began to reach for higher ground.
Looking for the park? Look up!
...
April 9, 2014
Tour 13 Paris: The Ephemeral Nature of Street Art
The beginning of the demolition of B Toy’s work at the Tour 13
© Galerie Itinerrance
The Long-Awaited Demolition: The Walls Come Tumbling Down
Art is fleeting. It lives for the moment.
Sometimes the artist, like Claude Monet in his later years, punctures holes in his paintings because he doubts himself. The work is destroyed before it’s ever seen.
Sometimes the life cycle of artistic expression is determined by the whim of contemporary tastes.
Sometimes an artist, like sculptor Andy Goldsworthy, creates the work to purposefully evolve over time, with nature as a collaborator. Stones are smoothed by water. Ice melts. Wood rots. Leaves wither. Life. Decay. Death. A natural cycle.
Sometimes the act of destruction is part of the work itself.
Street art, by its very nature, is ephemeral. Graffiti artists make transience their creed. They work quickly, often...
April 7, 2014
Richard Renaldi Poses Strangers . . . and Questions
Sonia, Zach, Raekwon, and Antonio, 2011, Tampa, FL
from Touching Strangers (Aperture, May 2014)
© Richard Renaldi
Touching Strangers Creates and Captures Fleeting Relationships
Two kids and two adults perch on a bed in an anonymous Florida hotel in Richard Renaldi’s striking photographic portrait.
Their body language shifts every time you look back. Are they relaxed or tense? Friendly or feuding? A hidden piece of information explains why the subtext is so hard to read: these people aren’t an actual family. In fact, they just met moments ago.
Renaldi’s project Touching Strangers investigates the complex chemistry of fleeting relationships. What happens when people who don’t know each other pose as friends, lovers, or family members?
Tom, Alaina, and Charlie, 2012, San Francisco, CA
from Touching Strangers (Aperture, May 2014)
©...
April 3, 2014
Wordplay: The Power of One Little Letter
Dropping a letter changes a best-seller with a sophisticated “code”
into a new plot starring a slimy “cod.”
(image thanks to @darth)
Clever Words for Clever Word Lovers
What’s so attractive about words such that some people become logophiles (yep, that’s the official term for “word lovers”)?
Perhaps it’s the puzzle of wordplay games like Scrabble where an aha moment lights up the brain when you figure out how to use all seven letters.
Maybe it’s the social aspect of games like Words with Friends, when folks who choose a random opponent meet through the chat feature. Some even marry , putting two important words together: I do.
But for many word lovers, it’s simply the thrill of the challenge. There’s power there, too, for people like @darth, whose creative ...
