Lehman Art

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This, I guess is what happens when a mega-billion dollar company folds and files for bankcruptcy. Artist GV Raymond has a habit of painting a portrait picture of a popular figure and letting others comment on it with markers:

The idea behind the series is to paint the subject during a particularly interesting or controversial moment in time and then offer passersby a chance to comment on the surface of the canvas.

And what better time than now for President of Lehman Brothers Richard Fuld, the person who led Lehman Brothers into bankruptcy after 158 years of operation. A venue to vent – though the frustration and exasperation experienced by Lehman employees could probably not be worth the ‘I-told-you-so’s scribbled on the canvas. Honestly though, I thought it’d be a lot more vulgar or explosive, but all in all the annotations still look comparatively tame, I think.

This could just be the only Lehman derivatives that is worth something.

[High Resolution version]

F1 in Singapore Simulation

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Singapore hosted the first ever night-race in the Formula One in 2008, and AixSponza has an excellent animated reel showing the road-track that will bring F1 drivers around iconic architectures in downtown Singapore. I’ve always thought that street tracks are a lot more romantic than purpose-built racing tracks – typical track racing gives me a much more sterile impression, while street races feel a lot more immersive (and I comment from my very qualified experience founded upon years of video arcade & racing simulation games).

The pictures above are just some stills from the reel, showing its quality quite impressively.  No further ado:

VW Golf Design Sketches

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Car Body Design has a great article/interview with the designers behind the VW Golf –  definitely one of the icons in Volkswagen portfolio. See how they explain the evolution of the Golf from its earlier incarnations to the present design, playing the balance between blending new changes and updating its image:

In the process, Walter de Silva, Flavio Manzoni (Group director for creative design) and Klaus Bischoff, (design chief for the Volkswagen brand), have not jettisoned the powerful design details of days past.

On the contrary: “We have assembled a selection of core elements, which can be described as ‘historical DNA’.

“Successful new Volkswagen designs – such as the one now realized on the Golf – will take on this DNA to create both a familiar impression and yet new feeling in the eye of the beholder”, says Walter de Silva.

Full article here.

Thoughtful Herb Pot

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The Herb Stand by Normann Copenhagen (designed by Jakob Heiberg) is certain to give your kitchen a fresh lift! Nothing compares in aroma or effectiveness as fresh home-grown herbs, so perhaps this nicely designed pot will spur you towards some micro home-gardening?

What I liked most about it, however, is the scissors that is innocuously concealed as a green decorative motif. Tada – all the tool you need for your planting and harvesting in one coherent, complete design~

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[Normann Copenhagen, via NOTCOT]

20 years, 1 owner

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Even as it seems like planned-obsolescence and a quick-fix mentality is the flavor of the moment, it is still heartening to see some objects that have served their owners a long time (and very likely became an integral part of their lives). Here are some photos of cars where their owners have held on to for twenty years – and from the looks of it, still roaring to go as ever~!

[Photographer Matteo Ferrari]

Instant Mona Lisa

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Well the Mythbusters point was to illustrate the difference between CPU and GPU processing (graphics hardware terminology) and how GPU being parallel-processing would be much faster. But that doesn’t really matter, because all you need to see in this video is how they INSTANTLY painted with a massive array of paintball barrels all lined up and programmed to shoot a colored ball at specific locations.

Jump to 8:00 if you’re impatient:

Ballot Design

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The US Election seasons are here, and voting comes into the spotlight once again. Here, AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) attempts to redefine how ballot cards should look like – from the almost-incomprehensible version (on top) to the much clearer version below:

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Among the improvements are clearer and more structural layouts, a direct and friendlier language as well as clearer instructions on the proper way to fill up your votes. It seems however that due to a range of difficulties these changes may not be in place for the upcoming elections, even if it is many years after the famous ‘Butterfly Ballot‘ incident in 2000.

Definitely miles better in my opinion.

[New York Times has more details on the ballot design elements]

Pencil Sculptures

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Some artists have great skills with pencils – though most of them use them to draw/sketch, instead of making sculptures like Jennifer Maestre. The sculptures are made by drilling one-inch section on the pencils, and then beaded with ‘peyote stitch‘. Many of them have animal-morphic genes in them. Here’s what the artist says:

Sometimes I have a rough idea in my head for a form, sometimes things go awry, and I end up somewhere I never envisioned. Sometimes I make a ‘pattern’ for myself, and follow it to see what happens. Many times, one sculpture will inspire the next. Originally, I was inspired by the form and texture of the sea urchin, I still make them out of pencils.

For a more comprehensive interview, head over to ReubenMiller.