Check out my interview with Ron Magliozzi, the curator of MoMA’s new Tim Burton exhibition, at Coolhunting.com!

Check out Sagmeister‘s latest TED talk. It’s really interesting, and I’m definitely looking forward to the film coming out.

And check out my latest interview with him in Clear Magazine‘s Fall issue HERE.

It’s a daunting and tricky time, to be sure, and several questions have been repeated. Is print dead? What differences will the future hold for books vs. magazines? Will niche publications be the only to survive? Where is the balance between print’s tactile satisfaction and web’s immediate conveniences and opportunities? And so on.

Paste (a 6-year old, musically-focused print publication that includes a sampler cd of new music with every issue and has a solid, complementary online presence) has chosen to appeal to readers in an honest, simple tone on their website. The Save Paste FAQ sub-page even rhetorically asks questions like “Will my donation line someone’s pocket?,” “Is this just a temporary fix?,” “Why weren’t you prepared for this?” and “Isn’t print dying? What makes you think you will survive?” In addition to tone, though, and quite interestingly, Paste also offers paying supporters an exclusive, musically sweet offering: access to a growing list of songs donated by musicians also supporting the cause – from Arrested Development and Neko Case to Josh Ritter, She and Him, Matthew Sweet, Cowboy Junkies and The Decemberists.

While the publishing industry wonders what next, and so many cower and wait for the storm to blow over, it strikes me as the ideal time for innovators to rise. I’m personally quite ready to see the new leaders emerge. And while I don’t think Paste‘s latest move is necessarily the wave of the future – more so, it’s a sign of the times – it is interesting to watch. Obviously, publishers have to change now – Paste‘s moving and shaking provides a soundtrack.

As a friend of mine pointed out, it’s all about determining a value for your product in the open market. These freebies are not, in true terms, free, and really deserve to be renamed – “taste-testers” or “feelers” anyone? In a time when a band like Radiohead offers a “pay-what-you-wish” album or an independent music magazine offers 75+ songs for as little as a dollar donation, it’s not only time for the industry to change; it’s also time for the language we use to evolve.

 

Tonight, for one night only, L.A. store De La Barracuda hosts the Evolution exhibit. Organized by Factory 311 director Nicholas Hardy and photographer Lionel Deluy, Evolution is the result of a 16 month collaboration between the two. With a focus on the analogy between evolution and creative fame, Hardy and Deluy convened a crew of renowned digital artists to collaborate on the show. According to Hardy, “It’s about growth, fight and life…you can’t construct ideas on your own; you need to seek like-minded people.”

Celebrities on display include David Lynch, Dita Von Teese, Marilyn Manson, Will.I.Am, Gary Oldman, Ice Cube and more. And while some images are definitely stronger than others, the overall concept is well-executed. Deluy’s hope is to challenge preconceptions associated with celebrities. He says, “Today, the public perceive celebs as a somewhat God, but they are only human; I want to go deeper and further, to displace celebrities from their recognisable environment; make them shine in a different light, whilst capturing the essence of evolution.”

For more information, visit Factory 311.

Photographer Miru Kim is an urban explorer. The Korean-born, New York-based artist spoke at the 2008 TED Conference about her ongoing series, Naked City Spleen. Juxtaposing her own delicate human form with haunting, industrial ruins, Kim’s work alternately reveals extreme loneliness and a bold fearlessness, and contrasts the living, supple world with a decaying one. In Naked City Spleen, we follow Kim’s fictional main character through abandoned factories, hospitals, subways and catacombs around the globe. Kim is also the founder of Naked City Arts, a New York-based organization dedicated to promoting young artists in the city and drawing artists down to lower Manhattan.

To learn more about Miru Kim, check out my interview with the artist in the upcoming issue of Clear Magazine.

For additional information, visit http://www.nakedcityarts.com/