Artsy Farmers!

Even before I read the article, these images caught my attention immediately. I have never imagined that rice fields can be used as a canvas. Japanese is probably the pioneer of rice paddy art. It was started in Inakadate, a village located in Aomori prefecture, 1993, as a local revitalization project, an idea that grew out of meetings of the village committee. The farmers create the murals by planting little purple and yellow-leafed kodaimai rice along with their local green-leafed tsugaru roman variety to create the coloured patterns.

Rice field close-up

Daily Mail UK covers this story last year as well as WebEcoist, a website focusing on environment. Webecoist gives more information about this stunning art but they surely need to remove the google ads beside its introduction paragraph because it's out of proportion and looks unprofessional. The content is worth people's attention but the webpage layout is like a mess. There are too many ads and some of them are blinking and pop-up ads, which are distracting and annoying. On the other hand, Daily Mail has better layout, less ads and provides a time-lapse video of rice paddy art, which is interesting because readers can watch the initial process until the end of it. Daily Mail also gives informative captions on each images, uses narrative style in conveying its story, which create an easy to follow structure.

WebEcoist begins its story with a sub headline presenting some people's false perception in the past regarding this art. Some people thought it was a hoax because there was an argument that this art was produced by aliens or drunken pranksters when the picture of Mona Lisa circulated on the interwebs. In fact, it's real, it was planted in 2003. Interestingly, Daily Mail also use 'alien creation' term in its first paragraph. Some people might have believed
the hoax so that both articles mention about it.

Both Daily Mail and WebEcoist mention Inakadate, the village, as a travel destination in summer time because September is the harvest time. By giving interesting statistic numbers - 150,000 visitors to visit Inakadate, where just 8,700 people live, it will persuade people to come and experience this awesome art in person.

I personally like WebEcoist article better just because it has more detailed informations even though the story doesn't flow well. However, I encourage you to read the Daily Mail first because it has better structure and layout. 

- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1198381/Bizarre-spectacle-giant-crop-murals-covering-rice-fields-Japan.html

- http://webecoist.com/2010/05/20/amazing-living-art-18-giant-rice-murals-pics/

Big names of the past in ad industry - where are they know?

Adnews is Australia's leading publication serving the advertising, marketing and media industries. Its coverage includes news articles, news anaylsis, investigations of industry issues, comment from industry experts and many more.

I discovered this article regarding the big names of the past in ad industry in Adnews magazine 2009. It has an eye-catching title: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?, which made me initially engaged with article. It is an interesting article as I never thought about ad legends' life whom no longer work in industry. Well, actually, the article also mentions some ad legends whom still active in industry.

Adnews also says that they chased them over the internet, the phone book and the high seas to answer the question often asked over a beer ot two: whatever happened to...? This article contains human interest, which make this story is newsworthy. Adnews intentionally published it in their January edition to inspire readers as a new year dawns. Adnews also invites readers to interact by asking them to drop a line if they curios about particular ad legends whom hasn't been mentioned in this article.

Naseema Sparks

One of my favourite stories in this article is Naseema Sparks, former managing director at M&C Saatchi. Adnews explains her background, visions, and current activity briefly and supports it with interesting facts, such as she used to work as a pharmacist in Blackmores Australia, a breast cancer survivor and currently Sparks is president of Chief Executive Women, a group that aims to facilitate talented women's entry to senior levels, and spends a lot of her time mentoring younger advertising people for FREE!  - A very informative news for those who want to develop their advertising skills.

McFancy - fast food with a twist of luxury

Burberry burger, Paul Smith Sundae, Hermes Fries

How would you sell fast food to highly desirable, influential consumers that attend
Fashion Weeks? Access agency had the answer, " We envision a cool, surprising and fun mix of concepts. First is McFancy, an upmarket temporary McDonald's store that launches at Fashion Weeks around the globe - London, New York, Paris, Milan, Sydney, Hong Kong. McFancy is part art installation, gathering spot and, of course, a restaurant that offers a traditional McDonald's menu but packaged in a way that makes a playful yet stylish."

Chanel burger, Gucci fries

I think they should explain the product concept further like what Amy Moss, McFancy packaging designer, does on her website called Eat-Drink-Chic. She writes "to give McDonalds food a complete makeover and re-brand the fast food giant with an aesthetic suitable for a 5 star restaurant". It's simple and easy to understand. However, I think Access agency describes the restaurant details quite well. They mention about waiters in tuxedos, silver service, private dining areas, and packaging co-created with the fashion brands that present at Fashion Week - Paul Smith sunday, Burberry burgers.. which at first I thought  it was creme brulee because there's Chanel burgers and I thought they only have one kind of burger.

Restaurant Interior, insert: Private Dining Room

In this article, Access agency also gives eye-catching 3D interior images, it looks elegant and modern. However, I think it will be much better if they also update their article with real interior images, which taken during the Fashion Weeks to support their interesting description about the interior design: a central bar area providing a dramatic focal point, the ceiling is constructed from stretched fabric, ribbed to provide articulation and define zones and many more. Readers would like to see how the final execution looks like so that they can compare the 3D images with the real ones. It will give credits to Access agency as well if the have a successful execution as potential clients would acknowledge them as an agency who is not only good in designing but also in making it into realization.

http://www.access-agency.net/mcfancy

http://www.eatdrinkchic.com/post.cfm/mcfancy

A web review - Thecoolhunter.com.au

The Cool Hunter is a design site founded in 2004 by Bill Tikos. It won 2007 & 2008 Webblog Awards in best culture blog category and connect with just over 1 million readers monthly, generating over 1.8 million page views. 

The Cool Hunter is not a trend-spotter or trend-predictor but it values global relevance and sharing its discoveries to its worldwide audience, who values architecture, design, style, music, fashion and entertainment.

Pictures worth more than a thousand words is the best description for its content. This site filled with lots of attention-grabbing images of latest design along with concise information. It works very well for those who doesn't like to read long paragraphs but still can get some inspirations by only looking at the pictures, hence this is a designer-friendly web because most designers are visual people.

For example, The Cool Hunter article on Lexus sculpture only contains short descriptions on every images of Lexus sculpture. It briefly explains the creator, project's purpose, materials, and follow-up events. It delivers the significant points well and straight to the point. It also gives some details on sculpture form, which is an interesting fact: "the sculpture is based on a map of vertical lines created from the CAD model of CT 200h. It was built of 2,500 half-inch anodized aluminum bars cut to the exact measurements of the map."

Balance and proportion between pictures and text are probably the most significant thing that must be enhanced by this website. The pictures size are too big and take some time to load. In contrast, the font size is too small, out of proportion. The space between pictures and text also too tight, it is quite distracting. Nevertheless, this website still has potential to convert visitors to subscribes because of its newness and appealing images.

Lexus Sculpture - CT Umbra

5 Seeds Ad - too creative to be understood?

Have you seen this ad before? If you haven't seen it, you might want to spare a minute to watch it. People who already watched the ad were most likely fall into one of these two categories; "What??" or "Wow!!". Based on my own research, the first category has more followers than the last one because the ad's key message is not clear. The execution is beautiful but hard to understand its single minded proposition. However, in campaign brief, a blog for advertising creatives in Australia, lots of positive comments posted by its readers regarding this ad. Its readers are people who interested in advertising and work in related industry.

The Campaign of Tooheys Extra Dry cider, 5 Seeds, is created by BMF, Australian ad agency. The first TV commercial was aired in October 2009. Campaign brief explains the concept behind the ad clearly by using a valid source, BMF creative director, Simon Langley. According to Langley, the campaign poses an alternative reality to the rise of human kind: "Eating the apple gave humanity knowldge and power over all other creatures on earth. But imagine if another creature had eaten the apple first - they would have ruled the earth. Scary thought..."


After reading this article, I could understand the meaning of the ad. If I didn't know the concept behind it I would probably still be guessing. However, if people don't understand the message when they watch the ad, it's not a good ad after all.

Campaign brief also gives information about digital creative and strategy by Holler Sydney, which supports the integrated campaign. The online work centres on Facebook, as well as an online interactive film co-developed by BMF. This information is helpful for people who want to know more about the product.

The interactive film can be found on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3xfIMyaAnM

Source: http://www.campaignbrief.com/2009/10/bmf-launches-5-seeds-cider-for.html

Japanese bento (lunch box) art - delightful edible art

In Japanese cuisine, artistic presentation is important. It allows you to enjoy it with your eyes first. Appearance is almost as important as actual taste. In Japan, food and the dishes on which it is served are considered to be a type of art. (source: Japanese Food Culture Association)

Japanese people truly enjoy the artistic sense of the display of the food. They even put extra work to their kid lunch box to make it more appealing. SBS commences its article on Bento Box Art with comparing Australian parents who make simple sandwich as lunch box menu with the ever-creative Japanese who have taken school lunches to a whole new level with charaben (character bento) boxes, which feature food that has been artistically styled to resemble people, animals or other objects.

This article is informative and entertaining at once. It gives a new idea to mothers who are struggling to get veggies into their kids. It explains that charaben originally evolved as a creative means of persuading children to eat their sushi, sashimi and vegetables. The images of bento, which used in this article are also pleasant to sight and arouse excitement.

Debbie Elkind, the journalist, also interviewed Christopher Salyers, a New York-based designer and author of Face Food: The Visual Creativity of Japanese Bento Boxes to give trend perspective. Salyers says that charaben is becoming more of a sensation. Kids love them because they want to have the 'cool' lunch and parents find them to be a fun challenge while coax their kids into healthier eating. These reasons are driving the trend. He expects to see them on an outlet like Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray very soon.

Australian parents might want to try this innovative idea if they got time..

Don Antonio Blanco - A Spanish painter who was captivated by Indonesian beauty

The Jakarta Post, the biggest English language newspaper in Indonesia, published a feature introducing Antonio Blanco museum in Ubud, Bali. This year the museum turns eleven and it is still a must-see place in Bali. The target audience for this article is expatriates living in Indonesia who are interested in culture.

Antonio Blanco was one of the prominent foreign artists to make Bali his home. He married a Balinese dancer and had four children. He was recognized nationally and internationally, receiving numerous awards such as The Most Popular Painting Award (USA), The Cannon Prize (New York City) and Cruz de Caballero by King Juan Carlos I.

He landed in Bali in 1952. The King of Ubud granted him 2 hectares of land on the spot where two streams come together creating the Campuhan River to build his home. He also built his studio-mansion on this land and turned it into a museum in 1999. Ironically, he died just before its inauguration.

Simon Marcus Gower, The Jakarta Post contributor, uses descriptive details in explaining the museum environment to cause a reader to feel and not merely see words on a page. He gives detailed information on its size, appearance, values and atmosphere, certain feelings that can be sensed by visitors. He also provides the museum image which was taken by himself to support his writing. 

His article gives clear information about the museum, its history and Blanco's background. He also points out an activity at the museum that will attract visitors, a good attempt to persuade reader to visit the museum. Mario, Blanco's son, is also mentioned by Gower as Blanco's successor whose studio resides right next to that of his renowned father's. He concludes his article, stating that Blanco museum has sentimental value that is simultaneously interesting to the mind and calming to the spirit.

 http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/05/06/a-quirky-museum-a-welcoming-home.html

Droga 5 ad agency - proudly Australian owned

Droga 5 is an independent advertising agency established in 2006 headed by David Droga who grew up in the Snowy Mountain region of NSW.  To date, he is the single most awarded creative at the Cannes Lions, international advertising festival, with over 50 lions. He was named World's Best Creative Director by AdAge.
           His philosophy of advertising has made him appear to be distinct from other ad agencies. He believes that advertising is not just about capital gain but also as a tool to give positive impact on society that doesn't end when a campaign is over.
          David Droga has been featured many times in advertising magazines, newspapers, and other media because of his impactful works. New York Times in 2006 , for example, featured one of his campaign that has impacted society, The Tap Project for UNICEF.  

          This campaign encouraged diners in New York to donate $1 for tap water in order to help provide clean drinking water in Africa and it managed to raise more than 1.5 millions USD of funds. However, New York Times used references from Esquire magazine, which made the article lack of originality and newness. Other media also talked with the same angle. As a big media, New York Times supposedly conducted an interview with David Droga or his client UNICEF to get a different perspective.
          New York Times could also add short interviews with New York diners or restaurants who are participated in this campaign to get their opinion, which could add reality value to the article. 


Short video of Tap Water Campaign:

17th Biennale of SYDNEY - Everyone wants to understand art

 "This is what the Biennale aims to do: to open minds, to challenge ideas and to stimulate thinking." the Biennale's chief executive, Marah Braye, says.


Biennale is Italian for "every other year". It is most commonly used within the art world to describe an international manifestation of contemporary art (wikipedia). Biennale held in many countries including Australia. The 17th Biennale of Sydney was held from 12 May-1 August 2010 in Cockatoo Island.

Adam Fulton, a Sydney Morning Herald journalist who reports on the arts and entertainment such as as movies and music, wrote an article about this exhibition. He writes: "expect spectacular moments as Sydney is turned into a giant gallery" for its sub headline. It give readers a hint of what biennale is about  before they continue reading the content. He also interviewed David Elliot, The curator of Sydney's 17th Biennale, to explain about the concept behind and the aim Biennale of Sydney.

"Neo Thousand Armed Kannon"
Hisashi Tenmyouya
(acrylic on wood)

The target audiences for this article are art lovers, artists, art and design students. Fulton mentions some prominent artists from various countries and some works that highlighted at the launch, from paintings to installations and new-media art, such as Kader Attia's shantytown-like installation and Hisashi Tenmyouya's triptych depicting a 1000-armed Japanese god, and Brook Andrew's inflatable Jumping Castle War Memorial.

"Jumping Castle War Memorial"
Brook Andrew

"Kasbah"
Kader Attia

At the end of the article, Fulton explains that Elliot has dedicated the Biennale to Waterlow, the former curator of Sydney's biennales in 1979,1986 and 1988, who was killed in Randwick last year. It is an appealing statement to conclude the article because Nick Waterlow was the Biennale's most prolific artistic director and served on the Biennale's Board for 11 years (1994-2005).

Aboriginal Art - It's more than just an art, learn it and you will love it (hopefully..)

Aboriginal art has uniqueness and cultural significance that can be easily distinguished from other art styles and it is the world's longest continuing art tradition. Art, for the Indigenous peoples, means knowledge that used to attain status. It is central to their life. (Caruana 2003, 10)

National Geographic correspondent David Betz who is a curator of Songlines Aboriginal Art Gallery in San Francisco-Amsterdam wrote a traveler article about the art, painting in particular. He used narrative and descriptive writing style in explaining its history, value, and style. It helps readers to appreciate the art more and leave a trace of curiosity. David doesn't put a picture of Aboriginal painting but instead he describes it in words. If the intended reader is art collector it will be better if he also put a painting picture as he explains about promising future in Aboriginal painting. It will provide a visual aid to grab reader's attention.

The purpose of his writing is to explain significance behind the art that is related to Aboriginal culture especially their spiritual belief and also to give a new perspective to people that the artwork is now much valuable than it was and has achieved worldwide recognition. He mentions that in '90s paintings sold for a few thousand dollars but now fetch prices in excess of $60,000. 

However, National Geographic has intention to use the article as tourism purpose, giving the reader an information about new travel destination that they should consider. They try to convince people to go to the Aboriginal communities in Northern Territory and Western Australia if they want to buy Aboriginal art. In my opinion, this article should be classified as art and culture not tourism.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/articles/1077aboriginalart.html

Fashion Advertising - A love-hate relationship

Fashion is often described as glamour and luxury yet a very competitive industry. Fashion advertising is a branch within the advertising field that often avoided by traditional ad agencies in Australia. AdNews - Australia's top-selling advertising magazine wrote an investigation about this condition and it clearly explained the reason behind it through some interviews with creative directors and director from ad agencies (Block, The Glue Society, Publicis Mojo, Frost Design). I found the article is very informative and well structured, giving clear explanation and example to make it easy to understand.

AdNews collected opinions from the ad agencies that have been involved in fashion industry which is the best way to get the insight of the situation. They know exactly the nature of relationship between fashion advertiser and ad agency. It has been described as a love-hate relationship.

"Fashion advertising is all about style and emotion, and I don't think agencies are used to dealing with clients on that level.", says Mark Braddock, creative director at Block. His statement make me realized that I barely see a strong concept behind fashion ad because they accentuate strong feel for aesthetic and details in the execution part while traditional ad agencies believe that concept is everything.
Because of this, agencies resent this kind of strategic planning, whereas design studios find it stimulating.
It is not surprising then if many of Australia's biggest fashion names like Collete Dinnigan, Lisa Ho, Sass & Bide, Marcs and Country Road prefer to work with consultancies with a strong design focus like Eskimo or Moon, or design studios like Killanoodle in Sydney. (Barbara Messer)

Big ad agencies such as M&C Saatchi and Clemenger BBDO have had their hands on fashion advertising and it still uncertain wether they are willing to dip in again or not. They surely prefer to stick with retail which is by far the country's largest advertising category.

Value of a painting - Who said painters are poor? they are RICH! (well some of them..)

The current boom in contemporary Chinese art has raised questions and speculations. Some people willing to pay million dollar on a painting which is painted by a new artist. This seems unlogical.
CNN and New York Times published articles on this development. "In 2006 Sotheby's and Christie's, the world's biggest auction houses, sold $190 million worth of Asian contemporary art, most of it Chinese, in a series of record-breaking auctions in New York, London and Hong Kong." (New York Times).

The most expensive Chinese contemporary art ever sold was painted by Zeng Fanzhi. His "Mask Series 1996 No. 6" sold for AUD 10,775,500; price of 4 or 5 penthouses in Sydney CBD area.

He was one of the top 5 Chinese artist. Below is the example of not-yet-top five but still it has unreasonable price.
 

This 120 x 80 cm painting was sold at Christie's auction in Hongkong December 2008 for AUD 276,000. Why does it cost so much? It didn't use lots of colours, regular size of painting, not many details, not even have historical value since it's a contemporary one and it doesn't look beautiful.

A wellknown Chinese newspaper appraised him as an artist who has earned plenty of respect - and money - from his work. His paintings being regarded as a colorful and striking, bravely using Western skills and experimenting with personal expression as opposed to traditional realism.

I partly agree with the statement. I guess my taste is different from those who love the painting. Surely he has uniqueness in his paintings, the half-life looking and gloomy green colour. Rare concept perhaps? The only reason that make sense is the art is over-commersialized. People buy paintings as a new form of investment.

The writer only focused on the painter background and his achievements which only give one point of view. It would be better if they include opinions from art experts. People with no knowledge in art will not be able to understand why the painting has such distinct values.