Everyone is asking, “Who won last night’s debate?”
We like to think that we, as humans, are far more advanced computational beings than computers, but we sure act like a bunch of computers. Considering the effective bit depth and resolution of our squishy neural networks, we spend a lot of time thinking and talking about ones and zeros. Win or lose. Red or blue. Right or wrong. Them or us. This or that.
Last week, I had the pleasure of spending five days at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, installing our piece Set Top Box at Graphic Design: Now in Production. I’d never been to the Walker before and found it to be an excellent destination.
Walking through the show feels like walking inside the extruded pages of a well-designed magazine. You’re excited to turn to the next page, but you’re happy to sit and gaze wide-eyed at any one spread. The Walker design team is stellar. In fact, the Walker staff is amazing on all fronts—from the workmanship of the exhibition furniture to the A/V crew to the curation staff. Professional and friendly.
The show is an impressive collection of work, spanning many mediums and temperaments, with a focus on typography. There is a mix of design and artwork that uses graphic design as its medium. I was reminded of the accessibility of artwork that looks like design. It has the power to lure people with an aesthetic language they are familiar with, and then deliver a deeper message. Of course, there is always the risk that the viewer walks away, satisfied by a quicky, without letting the real power of the work sink in. However, the pretty face often keeps people around long enough to feel the real punch.
Eric is in Minneapolis for the Opening of Graphic Design: Now in Production, an exhibition curated by a team lead by Andrew Blauvelt and Ellen Lupton, showcasing graphic design highlights from the last ten years. We are very proud to have Set Top Box included in the show. It opens at the Walker Arts Center and travels through 2014.
The Walker describes the show as follows:
This major international exhibition explores how graphic design has broadened its reach dramatically over the past decade, expanding from a specialized profession to a widely deployed tool. With the rise of user-generated content and new creative software, along with innovations in publishing and distribution systems, people outside the field are mobilizing the techniques and processes of design to create and publish visual media. At the same time, designers are becoming producers: authors, publishers, instigators, and entrepreneurs employing their creative skills as makers of content and shapers of experiences.
Just over two years ago we decided to take Sosolimited to the big time and open up our own art and technology studio. It’s been an amazing experience so far. We’ve been able to work with some incredible clients and we’ve also found the time to develop to our artistic practice.
We’re now a studio of five. Lauren McCarthy joined us full time after finishing her Masters at the UCLA Design and Media Arts program. We’ve known Lauren for years and are really excited to have her on our team. Just this month we brought on board Chen Blume, a talented designer and all-around great person. We continue to work closely with our good friend and trusted advisor Jesse Baer-Kahn. Jesse is involved in a lot of innovative small businesses and you can follow his work on the City Retail blog.
