singapore international photography festival 2010

"the 2nd SIPF 2010 commences with two categories for open call. The open-ended theme category continues with the purpose of unearthing new works and talents. This year’s festival incorporates a brand new themed category titled, ‘HUMAN: NATURE’ to address universal concerns faced by the world. The duality in the theme can be freely interpreted either as ‘Human Nature’ or ‘Human & Nature’. The ‘colon’ represents a relationship and a balanced ratio between Human and Nature. Thematically, this category is an ambitious call for creative interpretation on HUMAN: NATURE.

Please be reminded that the deadline for open call submission is 31 March 2010. "

For more information, see Singapore International Photography Festival 2010

nytimes: scenes from a catastrophe

Pascale Monnin, Untitled

"In the two weeks since the earthquake struck Haiti, the devastation has been chronicled not just by journalists and news photographers, but also by novelists, bloggers and visual artists. The Op-Ed editors asked four painters, two in Haiti, two in the Haitian diaspora, to create works that reflect on the disaster and its aftermath."

From the New York Times

design film festival 2010

Presented by Anonymous - the first edition of A Design Film Festival will feature an eclectic selection of films that span the diverse disciplines of architecture, graphic design, art, photography, motion graphics and guerilla culture - many of which have yet to be shown in Asia.

Features Herb & Dorothy, Milton Glaser, Beautiful Losers, Rem Koolhaas, Visual Acoustics, Craftwork, Extended Play and J-Star.

20 - 30 January 2010 at Sinema, Old School.
http://www.designfilmfestival.com/singapore/

Tickets are selling out, so if you're interested, buy soon!

the art market now

Art Prices (and Mood) Inch Back Up

By, Carol Vogel, New York Times

Oh the drama of auctions: the salesrooms packed with smartly dressed collectors; the tension of having to decide in seconds whether to drop another million dollars on an artwork or let it go; the steely smile of the auctioneer trying gently to squeeze another hundred thousand from bidders. And the final results of the last two weeks of Impressionist, modern and contemporary art auctions in New York, which saw the return of a surprising number of collectors, their wallets open, but only if the price was right.

“The numbers may not be the same as they were two years ago,” said Guy Bennett, a former co-head of Impressionist and modern art at Christie's who is now a private dealer, “but confidence is back.”

Read the rest of the article here: Art Prices (and Mood) Inch Back Up

seiji aruga

Seiji Aruga, Le, 2009

Seiji Aruga, Le (Detail), 2009

Seiji Aruga, 968B, 2007

Seiji Aruga, 993 04 10, 2007

Numerous square-shaped holes measuring precisely 1mm are punched onto a sheet of paper. These creations by Seiji Aruga are beyond the scope of so-called paper craft. His world of punched, layered and folded paper fills us with overwhelming amazement. Technique alone cannot create this. He puts incredible effort and passion into each of his creations, and sets his visions free. Aruga's new, precise and amazing world will be revealed after two years' absence.

Tokyo Art Beat

100 most creative people in business

#22: Damien Hirst

How is he business saavy? How has his business sense affected his celebrity? And consequently, his art?

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Other notable figures on the list:

Fashion designers
#13: Stella McCartney
#24: Jil Sander
#42: Marc Jacobs

Architects:
#68: Zaha Hadid

Photographers:
#98: Scott Shuman (fashion photographer/blogger)

Artists:
#43: Neri Oxman (scientist/artist)
#70: KAWS (designer/artist)
#86: Cai Guo Qiang

And many other designers, creative directors, writers, etc. See the entire list here

gehard dementz

My Headphones Save My Life
158 x 38 x 35 cm

Your Monsters Are Just Like Mine
168.5 x 38 x 35 cm

Everything He Lied Was True
166 x 37.5 x 50 cm

You Have Stolen My Silence
167.5 x 55 x 38 cm

You Have Stolen My Silence (Detail)
167.5 x 55 x 38 cm

The Mouth Full Of Stars
166 x 50 x 40 cm

The Dark Celebration of Gehard Demetz

Gehard Demetz is a mystery artist, the only thing that we know about him is that he was born in 1972, Italy, and that he currently lives in the mountains of Selva Gardena. Maybe this is the only thing that matters when you set an eye on his absolutely marvelous wooden sculptures, since you forget everything you may have in your mind. Why lie, this is not wood, this is the material of the dreams. And dreams are the perfect place for dark surrealism to rise. What are those lost children looking for? What’s the story that they hide? They look at you and it seems that they are inviting you to torture them. Or to pay for having tortured them in the past, as if they were the habitants of a forgotten orphanage where bad things were happening.

Their sad expressions come as a contrast to the almost porcelain aspect of the wood. It seems that innocence was interrupted there and now it’s time for justice, for the revenge of the good. The missing wooden parts of the sculptures reveal the aching truth. That life may be at moments superficial and seemingly happy-go -lucky, but nobody can hide from the past, nobody can escape his ghosts. Gerald Demetz’s sculptures leave you defenseless. Addicted to darkness, you keep begging for more.

Apostolos Mitsios
Yatzer