Pep Talk

I may or may not have been told at one point or another that I tend to be a little hard on myself. I am surrounded by a throng of talented people who seem to be basking in glowing success as I am silently making note of everything I wish I had done differently with my last endeavor. These post project reflections always result in me doubting my abilities, getting frustrated that I doubt myself then wondering, “If I really don’t think that what I am doing is exceptional, why do I keep doing it?” I have been short an answer for some time until Ira Glass laid it all out for me. Thanks for the clip Polina. I watch it regularly to remind myself that I too am a work in progress.

Inspiration Unfolds

One cold wintery morning in January of 2007, I was sipping some coffee and flipping through the Times when smack on the cover of the Fashion & Style section was this image:

I know, I know, this collection is pretty stale and I should be blogging about how Shepard Fairey is quickly becoming a design force to be commercially reckoned with. However, this Galliano collection is constantly in my thoughts as I look at innovations in design that explore folds and creases to create structure, volume and texture. There is something inherently crafty about these pieces that speak to me as a designer and an artist that is always challenging my resourcefulness when asked to essentially make something out of nothing.

In a way, these pieces almost look like mathematical equations realized. They are beuatifully formulaic. I love their meticulous rhythms and clever exploitations of light and shadow. The reason why I always turn to the Galliano collection is that he did not stop his vision with the creation of a beautiful form. There is an additional layer that defines an identity.

It is such an inspiring collection for me. In architecture, I constantly struggle with how to treat interesting forms and spaces. I find architects love to make everything white to allow the form to be the interest. As a designer, I struggle with when to embellish and when to let the form read true and pure. Galliano took beautiful forms and successfully kept on going. While each piece would still look lovely in all white, I fear they would lose distinction and become ‘mathematical and formulaic.’ What do you think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJDKUtJWgAU

Ataraxia - II

When I was in high school there was nothing I looked forward to more than the weekend. Every Saturday night basements, warehouses, empty storefronts and even the Knights of Columbus would come alive with loud, sweaty music. The music was just as varied as the venues; punk, emo, rockabilly, metal, hardcore, you name it. Regardless of where you were or what band was playing, there was always some literate, social degenerate peddling their written thoughts in the form of a bi-folded collection of 8-½” x 11” pages, stapled down the middle. They were called zines and they were everywhere.

Way before blogging, these inexpensive publications were a way to share ideas and interesting findings with friends and strangers. The topics written about ranged wildly. Some reviewed newly released albums, others discussed social politics and my favorite was a journal-like collection of autobiographical essays written by a guy with bi-polar disorder. After a couple years of envying the authors and their ability to pen their thoughts, my best friend and I buckled down and wrote our own: Ataraxia. Gross typos aside, it had no focus, no message and I always thought we were mimicking the elements we loved in other zines. I didn’t feel we had anything to contribute that wasn’t already being said in another person’s writings. I recently found those two lonely issues. My memories of weak content were confirmed accurate however, I underestimated their nostalgic value. They are a snapshot of my passions and interests circa 1995 artfully collaged in a pine green Xeroxed booklet. This brings me to blogging. While the blanketing purpose is to share ideas and present things I find particularly inspiring, I am really looking to record my interests and experiences. Welcome to Level : Zine. The best zine around because it is free and I don’t have to drive to Kinkos to make it!