Creative Collision

Star

Leap over your deepest fears.

Walk through the fire.

Be selfish once in a while.

Break the mould you emerged from.

Change you; Love you; Get lost in you.

Who am I to tell you what to do? Society!!!

Just dare to be you.

Poem by Ediri Ewhrudjakpo

A young actress, listed as the third richest Brit star, at the young age of 20, has truly shown an enormous transformation to the world. This is Emma Watson.

The news of her new cropped hair look and her abandonment of the cutesy HP1 self has already been around the rave several times. So with it all being past the scandal, what has she become?

Known mainly as an actress, but increasingly taking up photoshoots, the interesting thing about this creative being is that we know her work well ever since she was a mere girl. In a way, the world audience has tracked her, not only through the seven gruellingly spaced out movies of Happy Potter, but, for instance, her image walking alongside you in the Burburry ad when passing through the Guangzhou Airport and so forth. In fact, Emma Watson is pretty much my age, so developmentally, it was a fun comparison. What is she doing, and what am I doing in our various creative elements? Worlds apart, I assure you.

Gridlock

Nike, being the dynamic sports enterprise that it is, has sparked many initiatives that are effectively pushing out their brand and also the agenda of sport/an active population. Nike Gamechangers, a grant for sport initiatives all over the world, has received a flock of proposals and in due course, some really great projects will hopefully come to fruition. In London, there was a fun programme that has has engaged with a whole range of participants and the urban environment itself. This is GRID.

The idea is London becomes a board game for two weeks. The fancy triangular grid maps itself among the neighbourhoods and communities, where 'runners' can trace their activity to gain points. The video below shows the Boys vs Girl effect of Day 3 into the challenge, and from it, some interesting data can be drawn.

In architecture, urban design and planning, mapping is used extensively to represent a variety of layers in our cities. Never were maps as fun as this, nor did it have the attraction of a personal challenge. This form of mapping, the dynamic diagram, involves the psyche of a niche population, geography, and a funky digital representation to show us a slice of a common physical activity.

Chemigram

Some call it photography without a camera, but really, it's merely using parts of the traditional photographic development process and making something really great. Pierre Cordier pioneered the chemigram over 50 years ago and when someone told him he should keep the process a secret for himself, he refused. Now the technique is an open-source phenomenon and even today, chemigram artists share their passion with each other online and otherwise.

Is there ever an exclusive technique? Is there any point in keeping it a secret? Cordier clearly thought it was not worth the price of taking his creation to the grave. Instead, he set forth a seed that has now grown to become a flourishing creative community.

Drop

'Dead Drops', an art project by Aram Bartholl, has resulted in an array of digital/physical engagement. USB flash drives poke out inquisitively throughout a digitally saavy New York City, barely revealing the metallic port which defines what it is. It is also the only part of the device which does the connecting. So essentially, within our physical environment, pools of data is up for grabs, or indeed, at the ready to be contributed to.

What is fascinating is that digital interaction is rarely such a bodily gesture but this quirky street installation makes it one. Internet, wireless, Bluetooth... none of that makes us plug in our laptops at a concrete (or, more correctly, mortared) location. It is a piece of public art that teases out the relationships of what we unconsciously do digitally - sharing all the time, endless streams of anything, anywhere.

Coccon2

Here's a bit of urban metamorphosis for you all. In the Cocoon post I did earlier this year, I showed the Christo-like membrane that beautifully screened off an architectural transformation process. Now the addition has come out to be a true butterfly! Or at least an elegant moth...

History

Yesterday afternoon, as I headed through city up last the Skytower complex, there was a strange atmosphere to be felt. Traffic lights weren't working in various parts of the area and parts of the road were being cordoned off. Little did I know, the historic Palace Hotel building, which I have thoughtlessly walked underneath many a time, would soon be demolished. Within a short hour, the Palace Hotel changed from historic to history.

Being right across from the Skytower's entrance square, a crowd gathered to watch the drama of such an occasion. Indeed, unknowingly witnessed was a sampler of the most dramatic form of urban change - a historic building in the throes of death, a decision to remove it out of necessity. As the machines ripped traumatically into the old building, an absence was left that is a rare find within the CBD. It reminded me of Haussman's urban renovation of Paris in 1852 where whole streets underwent this form of urban surgery, albeit in a much smaller scale here in Auckland. The new possibilities for such a vital area of Auckland tourism laid before us - the ongoing conversion to an old brothel uncertain in it's tracks. So where too? Is this a chance for urban regeneration in a rather shabby tourist district? Or will urban life merely resume in New Zealand's sleepy sort of way?

Monroe

Marilyn Monroe as a child

Born as Norma Jeane Mortenson, who would have known the girl captured within this photograph would become one of the most well known pop culture icons in the world? The transformation of this creative being throughout her life was enormous. Physically, the façade of Monroe could be seen clearly, but internally, she was noted to be shy, sweet and intelligent.

Flora

Yuken Teruya

Tell

Upstairs along the super cultural K Road, lives a teashop that houses a gallery and a radio station amongst other things. The tea blend of culture can be felt within it's walls and, as exhibitions come and go, the environment morphs to meet it. The other night, the room was packed with people. It was a night of storytelling, where writer's performed their own pieces before an eager audience. Crafted sentences were soaked up with relish.

It was my first time going to a reading such as this. Somehow it didn't seem like a reading, but a live monologue. It was part poetry, part ranting, in an addictive combo. Suddenly, the performer talked of her secret desires to unleash her emo side and swiped a bit of her cherry red lipstick from mouth to cheek. A story unravelled and left us speechless.

The Fairy Tale Monologues was a showcase for 9 budding writers held at Te Karanga Gallery, 208 Karangahape Road, Auckland, 10-12th of November.

Flutter

After the posts about gaming and how the creative artists behind those worlds craft the details of virtual reality, I thought it might be fun to write about a playful approach to virtual reality within our real world environment.

iButterfly from DentsuAsia on Vimeo.

iButterfly allows iPhone users to use their devices to 'capture' virtual butterflies. Each butterfly is unique, and what's more, it acts as an involved way of promoting a product - each butterfly contains a e-voucher for some store.

Is this a small step into the world of surrounded virtually appendaged life? Although only visible on the screens of the iPhone, dependent on the area of use, these virtual butterflies are everywhere in a sense. It is merely our choice to not use the app to connect with this quirky method of advertising, sort of like turning off the television to a long infomercial.

Popular Posts

Behind Creative Collision