Space & Time - Libeskind, Van Gogh and Doctor Who

 

Van Gogh, Self Portrait with Straw Hat 1887

 

This past weekend I had the pleasure of seeing "Becoming Van Gogh" at the Denver Art Museum.  The exhibition showed the evolution of the artist as he moved through his self training progressing from early monochromatic work with pencil and paint to his final works of brilliant color and amazing brush work.  The drawings and paintings in their chronological order gave a rare glimpse of time elapsed in his short and brilliant growth leading to the conclusion of his art and life.

The setting of the exhibition was equally as brilliant.  The Denver Art Museum designed by the Architect Daniel Libeskind is a wonder of sculptural space that allows you to wander through the asymmetrical galleries and passages in a state of continuous visual intrigue and surprise that seems beyond any specific time stamp.  With a snowstorm in progress muting the afternoon light the windows had a quiet beauty that added to atmosphere and mood of the exhibition.

                                         

                                                                                                                                                                        Denver Art Museum Window

 

In preparation for the showing and being a believer in diverse influences and interpretations I watched one of the best Doctor Who episodes on Vincent Van Gogh written by Richard Curtis and Jonny Campbell.  Amy and the Doctor travel in time to meet the artist in an attempt to help him deal with a particular tormentor only visible to Vincent but known of by the Doctor.  The best part of the episode is where the three characters are lying in a field viewing the night sky while Vincent explains what he sees and feels in nature and where Starry Night is beautifully rendered by the programs special effects.  Equally powerful is when the Doctor and Amy take Vincent through time to view his own exhibition in 2010 Paris where he sees and hears of his place in the history of art.  An amazing piece of programming that puts a very rare and graceful spin on beauty and timelessness.

 

 

Vincent Van Gogh played by Tony Curran on Dr. Who.

 





Liberty Tools

I came across this great video on Liberty Tools in Maine.  Salvaging and returning tools to a working circulation.  A simple way to pass on basic mechanical knowledge and a maker mind set. 

Lord Norman Foster Rebuilds Bucky's Dymaxion Car

Having been a fan of Buckminster Fuller since the 1970's it was great to see the British Architect, Norman Foster, recreate Bucky's Dymaxion Car.  The machine is still wonderful today and exhibits many of the traits that the design world is exploring in terms of doing more with less.  Design ground that Fuller was deeply into back in the 1930's.


Lord Foster's Dymaxion Car from Metropolis magazine on Vimeo.

Why Black Market Entrepreneurs Matter to the World Economy

Soon, two-thirds of the world's workers will be part of street economies, Neuwirth says.

Photo: Jessica Dimmock

                         Journalist Robert Neuwirth

In an older post I talked about "Off The Books" by Sudhir Venkatesh on the underground economy that I have been studying in terms of street market research.  In the January 2012 issue of Wired magazine there is an outstanding interview with journalist Robert Neuwirth by Robert Capps detailing what Neuwirth calls "System D"  the new do-it-yourself economy that moves under the radar and that we normally refer to as the black market or underground economy and how important System D is now and it's impact in the future. 

If you want to know about Marketing you need to watch what's going on at street level.

Follow the link below to read the full article.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/12/mf_neuwirth_qa

Carbon Drive

Back on a Carbon Drive bike to put on some test miles.  This time I got a Norco and it's been great riding it.  I'm still amazed how quiet the drive system is and the shifting is effortless.  We've had some pretty cold days during the last few weeks, no issues, just a sweet ride.

Winter Bike

Eight degrees out last week.  First real cold ride of the Fall/Winter Season.  Beautiful stars out on the ride in.  Dark on the ride home.  Just the beginning.



Wittgenstein's Hut in Skjolden, Norway



Wittgenstein's Patent

 I recently became interested in Ludwig Wittgenstein for the main reason that here was a man that bridged three distinct fields and managed to design, produce, build, record and publish in these fields over his lifetime. Engineering at Manchester University where he developed and patented  "Improvements in propellers applicable for aerial machines." A propeller equipped with small jet engines at the blade tips.  Philosophy, first with the publication of Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and finally in architecture where he kept a mountain hut in Norway that he used as a refuge of solitude for his writings and in Vienna where he helped design and build a house for his sister that was the essence of the clean, uncluttered lines of modernism.  The architecture of the hut and house fascinated me because they represent two insights into Wittgenstein's thinking.  The pure austerity of his thought and philosophy that are exemplified in the isolation of his Norwegian mountain hut and the same philosophical characteristics that actually take form in the house in Vienna where the sparse beauty of line, form and detail manifest his words in three dimensions.

Wittgenstein House in Vienna