ideas + images

curated by sierra gonzalez 

“Art and design should never be frozen in time.”

--Ana Cela, director of the museum shop and publications at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, on the museum's inspired accessories line inspired by Renaissance master Domenico Ghirlandaio's portrait of Giovanna degli Albizzi Tornabuoni. “I see these beautifully crafted accessories and I’m instantly ‘feeling Giovanna,’ ” she said noting that, while not replicas of objects in the painting, the pieces transmit “the same Renaissance aesthetic.”  [http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/travel/05Heads.html">Renaissance Portrait Inspires Gift Shop Goods | NY Times ]

Filed under  //   merchandising   museum store  

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Smithsonian teams with QVC

The Smithsonian Institution has entered into a licensing agreement with QVC to develop a jewelry collection based on artifacts in the National Gem and Mineral Collection, a part of the National Museum of Natural History. According to the Washington Post, the line will include a "smaller version of the Hope Diamond", which will retail at $85.

Millions of people visit the museum each year, admiring its beautiful and rare jewelry and gemstone collection. Now our customers can share these national treasures in a very personal way as we give them access to owning jewelry based on items of great historical significance.

—Debra Puzio, QVC's director of merchandising

The Smithsonian's goal is to "create jewelry that is not only fashionable, but also serves to educate the public about the Smithsonian and the jewelry, gems and minerals found in its collections," according to Carol LeBlanc, director of consumer products for Smithsonian Enterprises. As with most other museum stores (see: the Met),  revenue from the Smithsonian's stores (the organization reported a 15% profit margin in 2007) goes back into the institution to support its programs and educational initiatives, but it's not clear if and how QVC would share the profits of this agreement. I also wonder whether shoppers agree with Carol LeBlanc and see their purchases as vehicles for personal edification--or whether it's instead about the perceived prestige of owning an authorized reproduction of a museum-worthy piece. (Or maybe it just looks nice. Who knows?) With the Smithsonian's move to sell their museum-inspired pieces through a third-party, home shopping TV network instead of directly to shoppers on site or online, it seems to dilute the messages of educational and cultural cachet. [Smithsonian and QVC Announce New Jewelry Line | CNN Money]

Filed under  //   branding   consumerism   cultural capital   merchandising   museum   museum store   smithsonian   television  

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Banking on the arts

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Dancer Sayako Tomiyoshi from the English National Ballet displays a Damien Hirst-designed sign at the British Museum. Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

British artists, performers, museum directors, and leaders in theater and film rallied at the British Museum last week for the release of Cultural Capital: A Manifesto for the Future, a new report that demonstrates the economic contributions of the arts and culture sector. These leaders hope to discourage the British government from slashing funding in response to the country's huge deficit, arguing that the arts—especially theatre, music, and museums—both create jobs and contribute to the nation's GDP.

Last year, similar worries over arts funding in America prompted Robert and Michele Root-Bernstein to publish a study takes the argument one step further: artists contribute directly through their own fields, but they have also historically played a major role in scientific and technological innovation. What's more, the most successful scientists are more likely to pursue artistic expression:

...almost all Nobel laureates in the sciences actively engage in arts as adults. They are twenty-five times as likely as the average scientist to sing, dance, or act; seventeen times as likely to be a visual artist; twelve times more likely to write poetry and literature; eight times more likely to do woodworking or some other craft; four times as likely to be a musician; and twice as likely to be a photographer. Many connect their art to their scientific ability with some riff on Nobel prizewinning physicist Max Planck words: "The creative scientist needs an artistic imagination."

Their succinct article in Psychology Today gives many examples of scientific discoveries and technological innovations borne of artistic pursuits. "Successful scientists and inventors are artistic people," the authors argue. "Hobble the arts and you hobble innovation. It's a lesson our legislators need to learn."

Filed under  //   art   britain   economy   innovation   science  

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On the problem of taste

When you’re choosing furniture for your home that’s supposed to express who you are, what you are also saying is you want other people to infer what you want them to infer. What if they see something different? Wouldn’t it be really depressing if you’re trying to be bohemian and instead they see you as Rush Limbaugh?

—Dr. Sheena Iyengar, Columbia University business professor & author of the famous study demonstrating the paralyzing effect of too many choices

Dr. Iyengar, who is blind, has a standing committee of friends, family and colleagues who provide recommendations on her wardrobe and interior decor. Her goal is both consensus and criticism, since she does not believe in making decisions based solely on her own taste. When making decisions about things that you hope will reflect your own style, “you cannot get to the heart of how things are going to be perceived unless you ask these [external] judges,” Dr. Iyengar believes. Of course, she remains free to ignore her committee's advice. She says, “Everyone is convinced their opinion is the truth, and that’s what I struggle against. But doesn’t everyone?"

Filed under  //   consumerism   fashion   interior design   taste  

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Soap opera as performance art

If you bake some bread in a museum space it becomes art, but if you do it at home you're a baker.
—Marina Abramović in conversation with James Franco, about the importance of context in performance art

In today's Wall Street Journal, James Franco gives us an overview of performance art in the 20th century, noting that recent recognition by the Guggenheim, Art Basel Miami, and MoMA's P.S. 1 lend credibility to an art form earlier considered frivolous and pretentious.

Just as the art world is reconsidering the stature of performance art, Franco hopes that his appearance on General Hospital will encourage people to "ask themselves if soap operas are really that far from entertainment that is considered critically legitimate was panned by traditional art critics."

[A Star, a Soap, and the Meaning of Art | WSJ]

(Also, Palo Alto represent! Though Franco and I went to the same high school, we never crossed paths.)

 

Filed under  //   art   film   performance art  

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Serif tote bag

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[By Little Factory, via Core77]

Filed under  //   handbag   whimsy  

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Target for the arts

Art is integral to how we do business. It’s in our DNA.

Laysha Ward, Target’s president for community relations

According to Robin Pogrebin's NYTimes article on Target's philanthropy, the company continues to give 5 percent of its income (roughly $3 million a week) to causes in the arts, education, social services and volunteerism, despite the economic downturn. Pogrebin observes that many of Target's beneficiaries are arts institutions across the nation, who often hold "Target days" offering free or discounted admission to a program, performance or museum exhibition. Laysha Ward's comment above serves a dual purpose within the article: it reminds readers both that Target supports arts organizations through philanthropy, and that they strive for beautifully designed products on their shelves (Ward cites the work of Michael Graves as an example of their commitment to creativity in Target's stores).

Other interesting articles in the NYTimes' Giving section online cover SFMOMA's challenge to find space for Don Fisher's collection, raising awareness (and funds) using social media, and the look of cause marketing during the recession.

Filed under  //   economy   museum   nonprofit   philanthropy   sfmoma   target  

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When should you use Comic Sans?

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Filed under  //   comic sans   infographic   typography  

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Frank Stella on MoMA

The increased popularity of MoMA under Lowry hasn’t pleased everyone. “There’s never a quiet moment,” said Frank Stella, the 73-year-old American artist, speaking at a packed opening last month for a retrospective of designer Ron Arad.

Stella said the gradual expansion of the museum to artists such as Arad -- who works in various media -- has de-emphasized painting, sculpture and architecture.

“That was the focus of the museum,” Stella said. “Now it’s just a couple of floors in the department store.”


From Philip Boroff's Bloomberg article on highly paid museum directors and MoMA's success under Glenn Lowry's leadership [Museum of Modern Art’s Lowry Earned $1.32 Million in 2008-2009 | Bloomberg]

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Post-it pixels

Bang-yao Liu's senior project at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Filed under  //   color   post-it   whimsy  

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