Surabhi Saraf | Peel (excerpt)

PEEL presents a visual and sonic echo of the present instance: it takes an unexamined moment and gives it life. The transitional motion of going to the fridge to get an ingredient is stretched into the echo of an unforgettable instant, and what emerges is an examination of the subtlety and hidden beauty of that moment.

Peel, Short Excerpt from Surabhi Saraf on Vimeo.

One bad Apple

I'd read about it and periodically heard first and second hand accounts about people experiencing problems with Apple products and services and sat back thinking wow… that's never happened to me, at least not until today. In 7 or so years of using Apple products and software, not so much as a hiccup has come my way. Faith in all things Mac justified. Yesterday (10th Jan) in the early evening, unknown to me,  all that was about to change. The new Apple App Store was open and software was going at ridiculously cheap prices, but my radar was down and my default "hang on a bit, why so cheap' warning light failed. Seduced by the possibility of obtaining the updated version of my much used and heavily relied upon, Aperture, for a song, I succumbed to temptation and made my purchase from the newly proclaimed 'Queen of Cloudland'.

Suspecting all was well and that Apple would have all bases covered, I completed the transaction and the paid for the upgrade which seamlessly downloaded and installed without a glitch. I upgraded the libraries, despite the warning that upgraded libraries would not be accessible to earlier versions of Aperture….trusting soul that I am, what could possibly go wrong? Once installed, Aperture 3 exceeded my expectations and I can certainly say that if you are considering the purchase, do so with complete confidence, just not from the App Store.

Day 2

Prepared for a substantial rework of some of the 15,000+ images stored across a number of drives/libraries, I hit the Aperture icon and it bounced away happily and then died.
I checked the status of the app and found that it was open but not responding, just my desktop staring me in the face, waiting, like someone outside a closed bank. Force quit and re open, the ritual seemed endless.

Maybe I need to re-install, where's the dmg from yesterdays download and install? There is none!
Despite the App Store Help site touting that a saved copy of the app could be used to reinstall, no option for saving the install dmg appeared at any time during the download and install of Aperture 3. Not only do you not have a dmg of your purchased software you also don't get a serial number, so how are you supposed to obtain support for a product that you can't prove/verify you own? What if the serial number is on the splash screen? Great……but I can't even raise the splash screen. A better option is required for crashes like this.

Things were not looking good. Suddenly the extra you pay for the boxed version began to make sense, more outlay but….you have the install disk, serial number and a support ID number. My options were getting thin. After a thorough scouring of the App Store support site I scored a zero return, what happened to the traditionally good backup provided by Apple?  Bright idea…what if I download the 3.1.1 update and reinstall this over the existing installation. Back to the App Store, follow the links for Aperture to the in-store page that has the updates, download and install, error message "you can only install updates for this product from the App Store", hadn't I just done that?
I realised I was lost in glitch city, what to do next?

Search installation problems where Aperture crashes on opening, only an old one that was resolved in Aperture 3.0.1

What if I copy the app form the applications folder to an external drive aka the 'save your copy to an external drive' song from the help pages. It was an outside run that I know to be risky, but with no other options available at the moment…… Copy and transfer back, half way through the process " you do not have permissions required"
Back to the applications folder and try to re open "You can't open Aperture because it may be damaged or incomplete"
Suddenly I'm in no man's land.

What if I re-install my copy of Aperture 2 and download my purchase from the App Store? Aperture 3 is no longer on my system, so if the "if you delete your software you can reinstall it from the App Store as long as it's still available" is correct advice, I should be able to remove and re-install.
So I re-install Aperture 2, update it to 2.1.4 so that it runs on OSX 10.6.6. Back to the App Store, click on purchases,  'Aperture 3 is already installed' ……….no it's not. Aperture 2.1.4 is,
and no option available to re-download the software that I had paid for.

$100 down the drain. Only option now is to purchase the boxed edition and get on with life, otherwise my libraries become coffins.

If you use this application professionally and you are considering upgrading or purchasing for the first time, stay away from the App Store, buy it boxed online or from a local retailer.  I've certainly taken a hard lesson today and won't be back under any circumstance until Apple get their act together and provide the basics, like most other online traders that allow you to purchase via download, do.

It's irresponsible for Apple; and ultimately damaging to their reputation, to offer software that is used professionally without appropriate backup and support. Great software, lousy delivery.

Martin Belger | The world's first transparent pinhole X-ray camera

"Using the Divine Proportion camera, Martin Belger will photograph X-rays from inside a particle accelerator. The Divine Proportion camera is a lead glass encased pinhole camera, specifically designed to capture on film the scatter from the impact of a high intensity X-ray beam on sculptures representing creation and destruction. The sculptures will be selected based on iconic figures of creation and destruction from the region in which the particle accelerator is located."
text source and image ; Boy of Blue Industries

This work will be on show from April 30th at Meta Gallery Ontario

Interview with Mera and Don Rubell at the Rubell Family Collection, Miami

In this video, art historian and art expert Bettina Krogemann and Don and Mera Rubell sit down in Cady Noland’s installation “This Piece Has No Title Yet” (1989) to talk about the history of the Rubell Family Collection and the various aspects of collecting art.
The RFC was started in New York in 1964 when Don and Mera Rubell were first married. Since 1993 it has been displayed in Miami at its current, 45′000 square-foot location, and it first opened to the public in 1994. Since then, the Rubell Family Collection has been recognized as the pioneer of what is often referred to as the “Miami model,” whereby private collectors create a new, independent form of public institution.

Jellyfish | Deep Sea Cryogenesis | VJFader

Jellyfish - Deep Sea Cryogenesis from VJFader on Vimeo.

F18: Living Kitchen – Happy End of the 21st Century | SHIFT Electronic Arts Festival

Living Kitchen is an installation that plays with the notion of “allowing the objects familiar in an everyday kitchen to suddenly come to life in somewhat sinister fashion, almost as if ghosts, once raised, had made themselves comfortable in the exhibition hall’s own kitchen.” (excerpt from the press release).

F18 is the creative duo of Stefan Doepner and Jan Cummerow and was founded in 1996 in Hamburg. The F18Institute for Art, Information and Technology is primarily devoted to robotics and art.

Jenny Holzer | Foundation Beyeler

Fondation Beyeler in Riehen near Basel, Switzerland, is currently exhibiting Jenny Holzer’s first large scale exhibition in a Swiss museum. The focus is on recent works, some of which have never before been shown in Europe. On display are Holzer’s famous LED installations, combining poetic, socio-critical, political texts and visual effects, as well as paintings and sculptures.
Holzer is best known for her use of words and ideas in public space. In 1982 she publicised her statements and aphorisms (”truisms”) on one of Times Square’s gigantic LED billboards, in 2008 she created a site-specific light projection for the newly renovated facade of the Solomon R. Guggenheim museum in New York.

On until January 24th 2010.

Video and information courtesy of Vernissage Art TV

Sudden Intake | Your mother ate my dog

Music video for the band The Black Dog
Selected for The International Festival of Cinema and Technology in Los Angeles Feb 09.
Interesting animation from a young freelance designer. Made using Cinema 4D and AfterEffects

Sudden Intake from YOUR MOTHER ATE MY DOG on Vimeo.

Fotofestival | Images Recalled

From September 5 until October 25, 2009, the third edition of Fotofestival takes place in the German cities Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg. On display at Fotofestival(Images Recalled)are works by artists such as AES+F, Cao Fei, Thomas Hirschhorn, Peter Piller, Bettina Pousttchi, Sean Snyder, and VVORK. The festival has been curated by Esther Ruelfs, an art historian who specializes in photography, and Tobias Berger, an expert in Asian Pacific art.

Andreas Messerli | Baselworld 2009

An interesting one for students looking at exhibition design concepts and stand designs. An overview of Baselworld 2009 and Stands built by Andreas Messerli AG, Wetzikon, Switzerland.

Lake of Shimmer | Tokujin Yoshioka

"Lake of Shimmer" - Swarovski stand at Basel World 2009. Concept Design: Tokujin Yoshioka. Construction: Expomobilia

Module | Maxim Zhestkov

An extraordinary video from Maxim Zhestkov
At the age of six he was given his first computer, a ZX Spectrum, and devoted his time to drawing huge and very detailed illustrations. He was also a keen gamer, and believes his enthusiasm for design and CG effects can be traced back to those days. After high school Maxim undertook a degree in architecture, which he followed by studying graphic design, fine art, illustration and sculpture.
He says: “There are no limits in graphics - everything you can imagine is possible. But I have to say I still love architecture. It all started with 2d illustrations, that smoothly turned into 3d illustrations and spaces. Then I developed a passion for architecture and graphic design. Then I realized that the most important thing is video art!”

See More at http://www.zhestkov.com/

modul / zhestkov.com from Zhestkov on Vimeo.

Golan Levin makes art that looks back at you

"Golan Levin, an artist and engineer, uses modern tools -- robotics, new software, cognitive research -- to make artworks that surprise and delight. Watch as sounds become shapes, bodies create paintings, and a curious eye looks back at the curious viewer." TED
"Having worked as an academic at MIT and a researcher specializing in computer technology and software engineering, Golan Levin now spends most of his time working as a performance artist. Rest assured his education hasn't gone to waste, however, as Levin blends high tech and customized software programs to create his own extraordinary audio and visual compositions. The results are inordinately experimental sonic and visual extravaganzas from the furthest left of the field." TED

Waste not Want not | Song Dong at MOMA

This installation is part of Projects 90: Song Dong | June 24, 2009-September 7, 2009
Beijing-based artist Song Dong (b. 1966) explores notions of transience and impermanence with installations that combine aspects of performance, video, photography, and sculpture. Projects 90, his first solo U.S. museum show, presents his recent work Waste Not Want Not. A collaboration first conceived of with the artist's mother. Read more on this at In the Media @ http://rewired09.wordpress.com/

I'll go crazy if i don't go crazy tonight | U2 Video | David ORielly

David OReilly directs and animates new U2 Video. OReilly has won a string of awards and speaks extensively on the international design circuit.

U2 - I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight from David OReilly on Vimeo.

Credits: Written, Directed, Edited & Characters Designed by David OReilly. Art Direction, Production Design, Concept art by Jon Klassen. Animation & Rigging by Chris Hutchison and Daniell Brown, with extra animation by Steve White. The video was produced by Colonel Blimp and made at Lumiere Studios in London.

Antony Gormley | One and Other

In this video Antony Gormley talks about his new work conceived for the Fourth Plinth on the northwest corner of Trafalgar Square. Antony Gormley invited 2,400 members of the public to spend one hour on the plinth. The project runs 100 consecutive days (until October 14, 2009).

Antony Gormley on the Fourth Plinth from One & Other on Vimeo.

Miwa Yanagi | Windswept Women | The Old Girls’ Troupe

Representing Japan at the 53rd Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy, is Miwa Yanagi, with her installation entitled Windswept Women: The Old Girls’ Troupe. For this work, Yanagi takes the Japanese Pavilion, built in 1956 and designed by Takamasa Yoshizaka and covers its exterior with a black, membrane-like tent. Inside, Yanagi installs giant 4m high photograph stands containing portraits of women of varied ages. The photographs are presented in ornate decorative frames. The women stand unmoved despite being surrounded by turbulent wind and surreal scenery. In addition to the photographs, Yanagi also presents new video work.
Previous works include "Elevator Girls" and "Grandmothers".

Zilvinas Kempinas: TUBE | Lithuanian Pavilion | Venice Biennale 2009

"TUBE" (created at the Atelier Calder, Saché, France) can best be described as a translucent tunnel of parallel lines, created with magnetic tape. TUBE “resonates with the environment of the floating city and creates a space where vision and movement are linked by means of the body. TUBE addresses the physical and optical experiences of the viewer, and the passage of time, while creating the feeling of being inside and outside simultaneously".
'Tube' by Zilvinas Kempinas is currently showing at the Lithuanian Pavilion of the 53rd Venice Biennale.



Exhibition footage courtesy of Vernissage Art TV.

Semi Permanent | Melbourne 2009

Semi Permanent announce their Melbourne conference to be held at the Melbourne convention & exhibition centre SOUTH WHARF, MELBOURNE October 9th and 10th. Speakers include Jasper Goodall, Jeff Soto, Grafik Magazine, Industrial Light and Magic, Three Drunk Monkeys, Luke Lucas and Tara McPherson

The following video montage shows you what you missed at the Sydney conference earlier this year. Video courtesy of Semi Permanent.

For more info visit Semi Permanent

Semi-Permanent Sydney 2009 Montage from Semi Permanent on Vimeo.

Nathaniel Kahn on "My Architect"

In this video Nathaniel Kahn shares clips from his documentary "My Architect," which is about his quest to understand his father, the legendary architect Louis Kahn. It's a film with meaning to anyone who seeks to understand the relationship between art and love.