Back in 2003, Olafur Eliasson exhibited ‘The Weather Project’ in the turbine hall of the Tate Modern. His installation recreated the Sun and the Sky inside the turbine hall, transforming it into a serene and illuminating environment.
Today Greyworld, urban art specialists, installed an orange ball of light that illuminated Trafalgar square as a brand sponsored piece of public art. Dubbed the Trafalgar sun, this installation has gained plenty or attention and gained equally in column inches.
The Trafalgar Sun has arguably caused more of a stir than Olafur’s piece, which was incredibly similar in form and intention. It begs the question, would Olafur’s work been more popular and reached more people had it been in a public space?
It seems that in many cases people are more likely to walk pass exhibitions than walk through gallery doors, locking great art inside the four walls of a sparsely filled room.
Do there need to be more public art installations? I think so. More opportunities for regular people see interesting art? Certainly. Will this work get creative minds thinking of more ways to get their work seen by more people? Absolutely, I’m already plotting!
#52weeksofaction #week3
‘Fucking Bollocks’ - Jaguar Shoes 2012
Three weeks in, twenty-three days down and the ball is still rolling- if anything, it’s picking up pace. This is a year of zero resolutions, just lots of things to do and get done.
In the last week…
I’ve seen old friends, they are good, reminds me that I need to keep in touch with people.
I’ve been to Church, it was empty, but thats no biggie, I’ll go back.
I came across a great live performance of ‘Portrait in Black and Blue’ by King Krule. Watch it here
I wrote an op-ed piece on SOPA, it didn’t get the nod, so its old news but what the heck here it is anyway. Read it here
#makingshithappen can be frustrating, the polickin’ involved, as the photo nicely states, is ‘f**king bollocks’ and often it requires less talking and more doing. This week I’ve learnt that a lot of talking is sometimes necessary and speaking to the right people can be invaluable, not only in providing you with the right information but momentum too.
I’ve had chats with folk who have had good advice and given me some valuable leads and ideas, the next step is making good with this advice with the time I have available, which reminded me of an essay written by Paul Graham, ‘Relentlessly Resourceful’. If you’re trying to #makeshithappen it’s worth reading this essay here.
A SOPA wrap up - an ad kid’s point of view
What is SOPA?
SOPA (Stop Online Privacy Act) is an American bill that triggered a ‘blackout’ by online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, and widespread outcry by many other web services in protest of the proposed legislation.
Where did it come from?
Introduced as recently as October 2011, the origins of the SOPA bill stem from the PRO-IP act of 2008, which imposes civil and criminal penalties for trademark, patent and copyright infringement.
SOPA proposes to takes this act a step further, by introducing powers that allow US government agencies and copyright holders to seek court orders against US and non-US websites infringing copyright or facilitating copyright infringement.
What does it mean for advertisers and agencies?
If enforced these court orders could lead to:
- Advertising networks pulling ad inventory from accused sites - reducing the reach of advertising content.
- Search engines un-listing sites from search results - reducing the visibility of brand sites in search.
- ISPs blocking access to accused sites within the United States - blocking brand sites from US audiences.
- A maximum penalty of 5 years for ten proven infringements - advertising professionals could potentially face a stint in the state penitentiary for streaming copyritten content.
In principle the concept of protecting the rights of content creators and IP owners is a valid one, but will SOPA punish the user or the perpetrator?
#CatablogOfMusic - Wiley
I’ve long believed that Wiley is a musician made in the mold of the artist once again known as Prince; prolific and pioneering. Unlike Prince, Wiley only flirts with commercial success - Evolve or Be Extinct is his latest attempt to charm his mainstream mistress, whilst keeping his loyal companions satisfied. After an hour in the musical company of this new LP i’m sure both will leave contented.
Top track - Link up
#Thingsifoundontwitter
My twitter stream is a like a thief who stole my attention and ran too fast for me to catch it. For this reason I’ve favourited some of the most interesting tweets to read when time visits again. I thought I’d share this for the curious amongst you.
#52weeksofaction #week2
So I’m two weeks into my #52weeksofaction, a questionable attempt to finish a few projects I promised myself I’d complete back in 2009.
By the standards of 2009 - 2011, the first week of the 52 week stand was successful and my promise to #madeshithappen was fulfilled.
This week I made another Facebook tab. This one is part of the recruitment drive for a photography project conceived in the summer of 09, called LDN:Captured. Facebook don’t make creativity easy, in fact I’m pretty sure they stifle it to retain uniformity and control on the platform; a subject for another blog post. If you think you can tell an interesting story in photos and want to get involved in an interesting photography project, sign up here.
Check out what else I made happen after the cut…
