LIFE IMITATES ART

For the October J.Crew catalog photographer Jason Schmidt took photos of notable artist from New York City to go with the Life Imitates Art theme and his new book, Artists.



I am not a huge J.Crew fan but this catalog has peaked my interest. The photographs, clothes and accessories are all more interesting than the normal polos and khakis that I was used too.





Not everyone can be an artist but now everyone can dress like one. I really like the Belstaff® Colonial shoulder bag. To see the rest of the photographs, clothes and accessories, check out the full catalog.

QUOTE

TILT INSPIRATION

So, what if the world was tilted? Click on the images to view larger.







Photographs by French photographer Romain Laurent.

PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THE TOM

Cycling, the worlds second favorite sport. In American sports it falls a lot lower on the favorite sports list though, its closer to the bottom than the top. For just the third year Missouri has played host to one of the top 5 cycling races outside of Europe, the Tour of Missouri.

If you follow me on twitter you know I love cycling, so of course I went. Well, actually, if you want to know the truth, I was dreaming about this day for weeks. It was the final stage of the 7 day race. It was a cool late summer day that was spent with friends wondering the circuit course around downtown Kansas City. The best part about the day was that it was free minus the snacks we had at The Cashew.

The Tour was won by the American, Dave Zabriskie, who rode for team Garmin.

Below are just a few photos I took that day. If you would like to see more, check out my flickr site.

QUOTE

HIRE A DESIGNER

On Facebook from my friend and fellow book designer Charles Brock was this statement, "Its a sad day when the author of one of the best selling books of all time feels the need to have a cover design contest for his next book."

That is right, for whatever reason people feel the need to have design contests for professional work. And now unfortunately it has crept into the book industry.

This contest which is being sponsored by the author Rick Warren, the publishing company Zondervan, and/or another marketing team is giving away $5000 (up from $3000) for the design for the cover of The Hope You Need. Just recently the site added a few specs, oh and now some strict guidelines. Even with the high prize money it is still better to hire a professional designer and give him/her $3000 and get a book cover that will look professional rather than having people design in Microsoft Word. What a waste of money! Why not use the extra money to fight poverty Mr. Warren, isn't that what this book is about?

These concepts are why you hire a designer and pay him/her what its worth to create a well designed cover that will work for the market its being sold to. Contests reap a lot of junk.









UPDATED: My Favorite



And finally #551 which was removed.



See the rest here.

ZONDERVAN / RICK WARREN HIRE A DESIGNER and quit using lame contests which only devalue designers and produce a lower quality of work.

THAT IS AN ART BUILDING

Not too long ago the art building at Mount Vernon Nazarene University was located in an undersized multi-purpose 7,000 square foot building next to the physical plant near the back of the campus. Not many Mount Vernon residents or students for that matter even knew MVNU had an art program. That is all changing this fall. The art students and faculty will be moving to the refurbished and redesigned 105 year old historic Stage building in downtown Mount Vernon, Ohio.



The Buchwald Center, formally a variety of department stores, dramatically increases studio, gallery and classroom space to four stories and 32,000 square feet. The new facility features dedicated work space (printmaking, ceramics, design, photography, sculpture, painting, drawing, and more), senior studios, classrooms, library/conference room, faculty offices, student exhibit space and an atrium that opens to all levels.







As part of the redesign MVNU committed to making the building as environmental friendly as possible. The Buchwald Center is Knox County’s first LEED-certified building. The building is located in the heart of downtown Mount Vernon on Main Street. The new location will bring many cultural opportunities to the revitalizing downtown area. A long way from the hidden location of the previous art building.





Photos are from the Buchwald Center open house, September 4th.
MVNU = Alma mater

QUOTE

BELOVED DAUGHTERS

Beloved Daughters is a two-part photography exhibition organized by Princeton University Art Museum that is currently showing at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. The two projects, Moksha and Ladli, by photographer and activist, Fazal Sheikh, examine the lives of dispossessed and undesirable women in certain sectors of present day Indian society.

Upon arrival to the exhibition, I quickly noticed the great photographs of the women and girls in their native dress but as I looked closer it was hard to miss the scars, both physical and emotional. As I walked around looking at each photograph I could not help but read the stories that went along with each one. The stories I read where not of love and peace but graphic hatred and violence.

The images along with the stories made for an eye-opening and thought-provoking subject about human rights that we would never hear in media today. Sheikh writes on his website, “It is one thing to photograph a group of people, it is another to try to understand them. For that you need time, and patience, and an innate respect for difference.” It is amazing to see photography of human rights issues still happening today in a world so different from ours but to hear their voices and cries is something beyond moving.

Moksha is a look at the widows in the holy city of Vrindavan, who live out their lives in devotion to Krishna (a deity worshiped across many traditions in Hinduism). Many do so only because they have been rejected by there family.

Ladli examines the enduring prejudices against girls and young women in a changing, modern India.

On Thursday, September 10, 2009, the photographer Fazal Sheikh will speak about his experiences with the women of India featured in Beloved Daughters at the Atkins Auditorium. Tickets are required for this event and can be booked here.

This thought provoking and emotional exhibition, which is something worth taking time to experience, runs through September 13th at the Nelson Atkins Bloch Building and admission is free.