Media Centric Design Magazine
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At the dawn of film in 1898, miniatures proved a vital special effects tool in recreating the sinking of the Battleship Maine during the Spanish-American War.
The following article offers a look at film miniature history from Metropolis to Titanic and its future in the CG age. Also featured, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, The Fifth Element, From the Earth to the Moon, Independence Day, Star Trek and Tora! Tora! Tora!. [Ed. Note: The proceeding article was originally written in 1998].
From the office of Dr. House to the interrogation room of the major case squad in Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and countless other television series, stands an iconic chair. Emeco’s classic 1006 Navy Side Chair. In production since 1944, the chair continues to gain popularity. Apparently it’s even a product of the twelve colonies, making a cameo in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series.
“Legend has it that Wilton Dinges, who founded Emeco in 1944, actually tossed a 1006 Navy Chair out the window of a six-story building. The result? A few minor scratches. Emeco’s 77-step patented construction process was invented to satisfy a military need for lightweight, corrosion-resistant equipment” for use on aircraft carriers, submarines, etc.
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One wonders what influence the work of architect Antonio Gaudí (1852 - 1926) may have had if Adolf Loos had not jump started the modernist movement with Ornament and Crime. An essay that arguably marked the downfall of the Art Nouveau movement for which Gaudí has most commonly been associated with.
Granted, Art Nouveau’s time was destined to be short-lived. Its expensive cost was antithetical to the world’s burgeoning capitalistic industrial economies. Furthermore Gaudí’s designs were often polarizing, leading to the mistaken belief that he himself was the etymology behind the adjective gaudy.
His individualistic work, also influenced by nature and Gothic architecture, has made him one of the world’s most eternal architects. He also has the unique distinction of being the architect behind the longest under construction building in modernity. The Gaudí designed Sagrada Familia, a Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, began construction in 1882 and is slated for completion in 2026. As Gaudí once said, “My client is not in a hurry.”
Continue reading ‘Antonio Gaudí Immortalized on Criterion DVD’
Last month art book publisher Taschen released Design Now!.
“Not only an in-depth exploration of contemporary design practice, this book is also a rallying call for a more sustainable approach to product design of every type, from lighting and furniture design to consumer electronic equipment, transportation, product architecture, and environmental design. Visually stunning and highly informative, Design Now! illustrates the latest work by 90 of the world’s leading designers and design-led manufacturing companies [Editor's Note: See appended for the complete list, an online exclusive], while also featuring in-their-own-words statements that give a unique insight into the nature of 3-dimensional design today. Additionally, the editors’ introductory essay authoritatively outlines the main issues facing designers, manufacturers and consumers, and offers a perceptive vision for a better way forward that focuses on the need to reduce, reuse, and recycle.”
Commencing this Friday, the Harlem School of the Arts will host “an exhibition featuring the works of 11 artists exposing their interpretation through form in a glimpse of their day. Collectively, the works discuss the historic and contemporary African Diasporic experience through photography, painting, and quilt-making, among other media.”
Curated by artist extraordinaire Al Johnson, the exhibition also features Adger Cowans, Lynne Foster, Yasmin Hernandez, Diane Pryor-Holland, Imo Nse Imeh, Jennifer Ivey, Rod Ivey, Nate Ladson, Tar, and Nicole Titus.
From a powerful collage of Puerto Rican Revolutionary & Nationalist Leader Pedro Albizu Campos (see appended) to the striking forms and poses by Imo Nse Imeh, this is an exhibition that demands attention.
This year’s Australian Open signified a time of change for tennis.
For the first time in three years, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal were not in a grand slam final. Former finalists Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis slugged it out till 4:45am local time - a record - in a classic third round match. The court even changed from rebound ace to plexi-cushion.
And the once unsightly umpire’s chair transformed into a noteworthy example of top design.
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The History Channel’s 2008 City of the Future: A Design & Engineering Challenge has come to close. For one week in January, eight teams in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta competed “to envision what their city might look like in 100 years.”
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Tonight ABC will re-air (9pm EST) an annotated version of Lost’s season 3 two hour finale, Through the Looking Glass, in anticipation of tomorrow’s season premiere.
Worse than Devil’s Island in French Guiana, the imprisoning island of Lost also serves as a key character. Filmed predominantly outdoors in Hawaii, the art department has still had the opportunity to conceive significant set pieces. All beginning with the wrecked Oceanic Airlines aircraft scattered across the beach. An expense that resulted in a pilot budget of $12 million, the most expensive in ABC history and rivaling the massive cost of the HBO/BBC series Rome.
Season two introduced elaborate interior sets as the we discovered what was behind the hatch. One section of the underground complex even featured a Buckminster-esque geodesic dome.
Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York has followed their announcement of the White House Redux competition, with the launch of a curated micro-bookshop this past Wednesday. A fascinating concept, “…its shelves will comprise a careful selection of books recommended by artists, architects, writers, filmmakers and other key figures who have helped shape Storefront’s unique identity over the past 25 years.
If the external facade of the gallery and store has piqued your curiosity, Archidose details the concept designed by starchitect Steven Holl and artist Vito Acconci on a mere $45,000 budget.
Earlier this month, the modern classics furniture shop Design within Reach released their Annual Book for 2008. It’s even more compact than last year’s edition, measuring a little over 6″ x 7″. A useful and practical reference book, the sharp layout and sizeable product photos are supplemented by the occasional spread offering a behind the scenes look into the furniture production process. 228 pages conclude with a thorough index.
While other furniture stores (Ligne Roset, B&B Italia) release impressive catalogs, this compact volume genuinely passes as a book rather than a traditional catalog and is printed on recycled paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).
Limited copies remain available at some DWR Studios or contact DWR online.
