Saatchi N.Y. Executive Producer Colin Pearsall and CD Kerry Keenan will be leaving the agency at the end of this month, Pearsall confirmed to Creativity today. When asked if their upcoming departure had anything to do with the recent J.C. Penney "Speed Dressing" controversy, Pearsall said he could not comment and referred related questions to agency PR, who did not provide response by press time.

» Read more

MPC heads to La-La-Land

he Motion Picture Company (MPC) is making the move from London to the California coast later this summer to open a fully operational post production office in Santa Monica. Senior MPC colorist Mark Gethin, whose work includes Cadbury's Gorilla and Sony's Paint, is also making the move to L.A. We spoke to him about relocating, the job's changing technology and asked him to unlock a bit of the mystery behind just what a colorist does.

» Read more

People news from Fathom, Elias Arts and more

New York-based agency Fathom Communications announced that former DraftFCB, Chicago creative director Cory Kammer and veteran ACD Joe Bednarski will assume the roles of CD and ACD, respectively, at its Chicago office. ... Bi-coastal audio production company Elias Arts promoted Christopher "Kimo" Kemp (pictured) from senior composer to ACD. ...

» Read more

This unassuming former tea pavilion, considered an institution by contemporary art lovers, is situated in Kensington Gardens and a stone’s throw from Royal Albert Hall and Kensington Palace. The journey to the Serpentine itself is an enchanting roam through Hyde Park and past the Serpentine river. Run by the relentlessly energetic and enigmatic Julia Peyton-Jones and Hans Ulrich Obrist, the Serpentine has evolved into more than just a showcase for artists such as Bridget Riley, Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Prince and Cindy Sherman. The gallery runs diverse education programmes, seminars, exhibitions, architecture and public programmes attracting over 750,000 visitors yearly and is staging the next instalment of an innovative exhibition of Chinese artists in collaboration with the Battersea Power Station.
Summer time is when the Serpentine Gallery comes alive. Aside from being a home for the arts, every summer, the gallery holds court to a summer pavilion and its annual summer party frequented by the likes of Kate Moss, Pierce Brosnan, Elle McPherson and Kiera Knightley. The pavilion is commissioned yearly by the gallery and created by a different architect each year, including Zaha Hadid, Toyo Ito, Rem Koolhas and Olafur Eliasson & Cecil Balmond’s latest collaboration. Each pavilion plays summer host to gallery talks, black-tie functions and Hans Ulrich’s 24-hour experimental marathon events. This very unique gallery thrives in building the connection between the art and its public, creating projects and events that help bridge the understanding and relationship between the two.

Kensington Gardens
London
W1 3XA
Tel: +44 207 402 6075
http://www.serpentinegallery.org

Saatchi Gallery

Exhibiting works by mostly new and unknown artists, the Saatchi gallery is seen by many as a launching pad for fresh faces entering the scene. Opened by Charles Saatchi, a former advertising executive, the gallery was originally established to showcase his extensive art collection. When Saatchi first launched his gallery in 1985, contemporary art only attracted a select audience. Twenty years later, the Saatchi gallery welcomes over 600,000 visitors a year and is perhaps the largest private gallery of contemporary art in the world.
Moving from the grandiose South Bank location to Chelsea’s equally expansive Duke of York’s HQ which opens this summer, the gallery presents both British and international artists, both the established as well as the unseen, introducing novel and revolutionary art that has influenced the way contemporary art is viewed in Britain. Saatchi cemented his reputation in the contemporary scene as a patron to Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and other Young British Artists. The diverse range of artists shown at the gallery, which also include Julian Schnabel, Chris Ofili on its list of luminaries, have never failed to bring forth media controversy due to the rebellious nature and content of the pieces and Saatchi’s unbowing stance to protect the freedom of expression for the artists he represents.
The Saatchi gallery thrives on the unfamiliar, the unidentified, the unseen and unheard of – of the new forms of art being born every day. It is a gallery that understands how the power of debate can raise the public’s consciousness of what contemporary art means to them as individuals.
True to character, this year Saatchi is taking yet another huge risk and leap of faith by opening his new Chelsea gallery with The Revolution Continues: New Chinese Art, an exhibition of works by contemporary Chinese artists whose names would not be recognized by the public. This year, Saatchi aims to reach a wider audience through the elimination of entry fees that was previously implemented in his South Bank gallery.

Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York’s Headquarters
Kings Road
London
SW3 4SD
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk

Any when I looked this morning I was getting a rating of 9.33 but now it down to 7.44 :(   The voting is open  all week and I really don't expect to do well but then I only entered for some fun.  See link at side.

Struggling with the March BJP.  I had one idea but decided to go with another one based on the fact March is one of the months I actually like in this part of Texas.  You have very warm days, middling days and cold days, not the relentless heat you face in July.  Also, if the weather has been particular good in the preceding months, some rain, some cold and some heat, the wildflowers are glorious at that time of year.  So we will see how this turns out.  I might revert back to my original idea or even combine the 2, who knows, wait and see.

The Saatchi Gallery Online, the internet presence for one of the most prestigious art galleries in the world, is holding a competition, with success determined by votes. I would love to influence this process. Julio Aguilera deserves to win because (1) he is a kick-ass artist, (2) he is a nice guy and (3) I have several of his pieces; his winning would make their value increase.

So, I'd appreciate it if you would vote for Saatchi and spread the word. Voting starts at 9 AM, so click here to vote eary and vote often!

This piece is "Geometric Mona," a variation of Leonardo DaVinci's "Mona Lisa," painted in Aguilera's signature geometric/cubist style. In fact, this is the review photo that Aguilera sent to The Saatchi Gallery to secure their interest in displaying his work on the website.

So, vote for Julio! He's a great artist who deserves to move to the next level >>

Ahora, para terminar, lo hago de nuevo con más cerveza, para festejar ... no se, la amistad, como lo hace este aviso de nuestra PILSEN, con la música de Calamaro. No importa si es invierno, total, "El clima lo hacemos Nosotros". Brindo por todos uds.

Y este también es nuevito, apareció hace pocos días y lo vemos en el cable. La cerveza argentina QUILMES siempre tiene buenos avisos, pero este es sencillo, sin más recursos que la risa, esa que nos contagia a todos, esa risa que e tienta aunque no quieras.
Agencia: Young & Rubicam Argentina.
No podía llamarse de otra manera este aviso, ALEGRIA, con la que quería terminar la semana, las vacaciones (a pesar de la puta gripe). Dedicado a todos uds, para que alegrarnos un rato.

Juro que fue sin querer, las dos cervezas son de la misma compañía ... jaja

Source: Telegraph India

EMERGING PAKISTANI ARTISTS  Rashid Rana occupies a unique position among Pakistan's contemporary artists and has been a hit internationally. Rashid Rana is a star, whether it's in Lahore, Mumbai or Hong Kong. The Pakistani artist wowed the crowds who flocked to his Mumbai show in November 2007. And he received an equally rapturous response last month at HK 08, the inaugural Hong Kong Art Fair.

The overwhelming response to Rana's eye-catching work didn't come as the slightest surprise to two Mumbai art galleries. Chatterjee & Lal and Chemould Prescott Road jointly organised the show of Rana's digital photo-montages at HK 08 and they were absolutely certain that it would receive critical acclaim. "It was all sold out," says Mortimer Chatterjee, partner, Chatterjee & Lal.

Artist names attracting attention

Rana occupies a unique position among contemporary Pakistani artists and he has made a huge name for himself internationally. But he isn't the only artist from across the border who's attracting the attention of connoisseurs in India. In the last two months, three shows by Pakistani artists like Bani Abidi, Ali Kazim and Muhmmad Zeeshan have been held across Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai. And many more are planned in the coming 12 months.

Collector Anupam Poddar buying Pakistani art with plans for show

Or take a look at art collector Anupam Poddar, who has built a sizeable collection of contemporary Pakistani art. His Devi Art Foundation is doing the groundwork for a show in March 2009, which will be curated by Rana.

Indian interest in Pakistani art

"Interest in Pakistani art is increasing in India," says Peter Nagy of Delhi's Nature Morte, who held the first solo show of Rana's work in India and then helped take his work overseas.So, is Pakistani art the next Big Thing in India? Many art experts believe the interest in Pakistani art is only natural. Says Chatterjee: "There are so many lines of inter-connection between the concerns of Pakistani artists and the lives of normal Indians that often the subject matter is entirely relevant to an Indian audience."There's also, as Rana says, "a kind of mutual obsession on both sides of the border, fostered by shared histories, the trauma of Partition and the years of hostility and inaccessibility."

Pakistani art more visible in auctions and fairs

Certainly Pakistani art, like Indian art, is suddenly becoming more visible at international art fairs and auctions. For instance, works by Talha Rathore and Nusra Ali Qureishi sold at auctions held by Christie's and Saffronart recently.

Bani Abidi - female video artist

For Bangalore-based GALLERYSKE's founder, Sunitha Kumar Emmart who had been following Pakistani video artist Bani Abidi's work, then, art fairs provided an opportunity to view the work of the Pakistani artist at first-hand. That led to a show by Abidi recently. "Regardless of nationality or gender, we have been interested in Bani's work primarily for the strength of her practice and the clarity of her artistic vocabulary," says Emmart. Abidi's themes went down well with Bangalore art lovers. In the video piece, Reserved, she shows a city coming to a halt for a political bigwig. It has images of schoolchildren waiting to wave crumpled paper flags at a motorcade that never arrives - it was a theme, obviously, that Indian viewers could relate to.

"I'm interested in talking about a more complex identity formation along linguistic and cultural lines, rather than religious ones," says Abidi, who was surprised by the response to her show. "This is the first time I've had a solo show in India. So, it was a first for me that this kind of attention was given to my work here and I value that," she adds.

Ali Kazim - watercolours

Meanwhile, Ali Kazim's mastery over watercolours drew a huge response at Delhi's Gallery Espace. The show was held in collaboration with Green Cardamom, a UK-based institution that promotes South Asian artists.

Mohammad Zeeshan - contemporary miniatures

And in Mumbai, art lovers got to see Muhammad Zeeshan's contemporary miniatures in his show, What Lies Beneath, organised by Delhi's Anant Art Gallery.

"There's a certain understanding regarding art that I find in Indians. And it feels good to be a foreigner only 40 minutes across the border and be identified with my imagery as an international artist," says Zeeshan, who has shown in Delhi, Agra and Calcutta since 2005. Miniature artist Muhammad Zeeshan wants his images to tease the imagination as in Let's Make A Great Pattern I and Untitled II.

2005 show in Mumbai was turning point

Pakistani artists are addressing issues like gender, politics and ethnicity in a language that's contemporary and international, says art critic Quddus Mirza.

India's interest in Pakistani art has been building gradually. The canvas was prepared by curators like Pooja Sood in India and Salima Hashmi in Pakistan, and institutions like Khoj International Artists' Association and VASL Artists Residency in Delhi and Karachi, respectively. Khoj and VASL have held artists' residencies since the late 1980s. Early shows like "Mappings: Shared Histories" curated by Sood too helped.

But till 2004, when Nature Morte held Rana's first show here, public interest was low. Recalls Nagy: "There was good response from the art community but not from collectors." That has changed now. One catalyst was the large show, Beyond Borders: Art from Pakistan, at Mumbai's National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in 2005. It was co-curated by Pakistani artist and art critic Quddus Mirza and NGMA's then director Saryu Doshi.

"I didn't realise it would create such a stir. It was the first time that we were recognised as contemporary to India in art," says Mirza.

Pakistan's art described as contemporary, international, cutting-edge

Since then, the momentum has picked up, spurred by galleries and artists. Says Muhammad Umer Butt, artist and creative director, Grey Noise, a new virtual art gallery based in Pakistan: "Rashid [Rana] has played an instrumental role in introducing us Pakistanis to India."

Mirza believes that apart from the "newness" factor, the similarities and differences between the two nations have attracted Indians. Shows like Beyond Borders also revealed that Pakistani artists aren't "making Islamic calligraphy or veiled women". "We're painting nudes, addressing issues of gender, politics and ethnicity in a language that is contemporary and international. So perhaps that shattering of pre-conceived ideas was one source for the Indian attraction," he says.

But it isn't just cultural affinity that's attracting Indian art lovers to the work from across the border. The fact is that cutting-edge work is coming out of Pakistan. Says Saffronart co-director Dinesh Vazirani: "Wherever collectors are looking at art from outside, they're looking for innovation." Hammad Nasar, co-founder, Green Cardamom, believes this is partly because, "for most of its 60-year existence, Pakistan has remained a cauldron of political and social upheaval." He adds: "This has proved to be a fertile ground for artists to mine."

Two broad categories: new media and contemporary miniatures

Certainly, it has thrown up a diverse palette. The Pakistani art scene can be broadly divided into two: there are artists working in new media, and there are those that have given a contemporary twist to the miniature tradition.

Indians, says gallerists, are interested in both types of works. The big draw, of course, is Rana with his multi-layered images and messages. Take his Red Carpetphoto-montage series - Red Carpet-1 incidentally sold for a record $623,400 at Sotheby's recent Spring Sale of Contemporary Art. At first glance, the work appears to be a large Persian carpet. But when you look closer, there's a series of tiny photographs of scenes from a slaughterhouse. The work reflects, in a sense, Rana's formal and conceptual concerns. He says in his artist's statement, "In today's environment of uncertainty, we cannot have the privilege of a single world-view. Every image or idea already contains its opposite within itself."

Other artists names

Other contemporary Pakistani artists are also being noticed around the world. There are prominent names like Naiza Khan, sculptor-photographer Huma Mulji, Hamra Abbas, Faiza Butt, Mohammad Ali Talpur, and sculptor Khalil Chishtee, whose recent work includes sculptures with garbage bags. Mulji's Arabian Delight, for instance, was reportedly picked up by British collector Charles Saatchi for $8,000 at the recent Dubai Art Fair.

At a different level, there are the neo-miniaturists - Indian collectors who are familiar with miniatures are quite enthusiastic about this type of work. Miniature art is a strong discipline at Lahore's National College of Art (NCA), and it has turned out stars like Zahoor-ul-Akhlaq and Shahzia Sikander, who made a name for herself internationally in the '90s.Now there are newer miniaturists like Imran Qureshi, Aisha Khalid, Nusra Latif Qureshi, Hasnat Mehmood, Talha Rathore and Zeeshan. "These artists have taken the South Asian tradition of miniature to new heights, and then moved beyond the page to invent a new visual language, rooted in tradition but of the here and now," says Nasar.

Take Zeeshan, who began painting porn cinema posters before studying miniature work at NCA, and who combines the beauty of miniature with edgier themes of gender, dominance and violence. Zeeshan says he enjoys "teasing" the viewer. "And I think my images tease a lot. The oddity of the composition leads the viewer to dialogue and maybe, just for a second, ask, ‘What is this?" he says.

Pakistan's art educational system strong...

Pakistan's rich artistic output owes largely to its strong art educational system, especially since, unlike India, most practicing artists there also teach. "This has honed the critical edge of art here," adds Rana.

But market infrastructure underdeveloped

For Pakistani artists too, India is an attractive destination, especially since the gallery infrastructure in Pakistan is still very underdeveloped. Grey Noise's Butt says, apart from a few spaces like Rohtas 2 in Lahore: "We have showrooms but not galleries unfortunately." Abidi too says, "The art market (in Pakistan) is almost non-existent and the small one that does exist is very conservative." That's why Butt felt compelled to found Grey Noise. "We're the first virtual gallery to represent cutting-edge artists based in Pakistan," he says.

International buyers showing interest

Already, Butt is "overwhelmed" by the response from India on his site. "I get a decent amount of taps from around the world and India takes the lead," he says. Artists like Ayaz Jokhio, Mehreen Murtaza, Fahd Burki and Amna Hashmi are getting the most queries.

Even Indians living abroad are showing an interest in Pakistani art, according to Prajit Dutta, partner, Aicon Gallery, which is present in New York, Palo Alto and London. Last year, Aicon held two shows with Pakistani artists in London and New York. This year, it has done solos with Zeeshan and Talha Rathore in New York. Coming up in July is a show with installation and video artists Adeela Suleman, Jokhio and Fareeda Batool. And there's a possible Naiza Khan show in New York next year. Dutta is also planning to show these artists in India. "We've got a great response from Western and Indian collectors," he says.

Pakistani art attractive proposition

The boom in the international art market and growing interest in South Asia have made Pakistani art an attractive proposition, feels Rana, especially since art from South Asia is expected to emulate the global success of Chinese art. "Pakistani art benefits from a kind of trickle-down effect from this tremendous energy in the Indian art market," he says.

Shows planned

The Pakistanis are obviously eager to make their mark in the booming Indian art mart. Green Cardamom, for instance, is planning two exhibitions in India next year, one by the acclaimed Hamra Abbas, who works in everything from video to animation, miniature painting and sculpture. In her Lessons on Love series, she transposed the romantic figures of Indian miniatures into sculpture. Says Green Cardamom's Nasar: "India is a place where almost all our artists are keen to show. So we'll figure out ways to do this to their best advantage."

Nature Morte too will host a solo with Abbas in 2009 in Delhi and Calcutta. Besides, Abbas and Rana are part of a large canvas project Nagy's working on with auction house Phillips de Pury in London in November, which will then travel to New York in January.

Meanwhile, GALLERYSKE's Emmart too plans to mount curated shows by Indian and Pakistani artists. Even Vazirani intends to increase the Pakistan section of Saffronart's auctions. And he will hold a two-city show with Pakistani artists in Mumbai and New York in 2009.

Prices still low

To be sure, prices are one reason why Pakistani art is suddenly becoming popular here. As Indian art prices soar, there are better bargains to be had across the border. One art critic says that emerging artists from Pakistan offer "much better value than most Indian art now". Vazirani too says: "There are opportunities to discover new artists."

According to one gallerist, high-quality miniatures from Pakistan are typically priced between $10,000 and $20,000 though the masters are more expensive.Autumn II, a miniature by Zahoor-Ul-Akhlaq, for instance, sold at Christie's' auction of South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art this month for over $39,000.

The artists, though, are sceptical of the commercialisation in the Indian art market. "What we have now is everyone trying to cash in, exploit the artist, and in some cases, the artist exploiting the buyer," says Abidi.

Yet the artistic exchange seems set to continue - barring the arbitrariness of officialdom. And as Chatterjee says: "This is just the beginning."

Image details: Rashid Rana

See:

• Full story with more images Telegraph India
• More on contemporary Pakistani art
• Images for contemporary Pakistani artists
• Contemporary Pakistani art books in Art Radar Asia store at Amazon

Subscribe to Art Radar Asia now

The credit card became the 'must have'. Targetted at the young in commercials - the card holder's cool while others flounder. A sound economy by spending next years crop -governments and all. Yuppies  played a new game that amazed them with its instant riches. Anyone who could see the wood for the trees knew that there was more to life than maintaining the state of 'upwardly mobile'  but lifestyles were available at low monthly payments.

The 'alternative' movement - got knocked for six and learnt that editors everywhere could be brought off by the State.

Being anti-europe became the norm for anyone who didn't want to be seen as a wacky radical who didn't see sense. I could've puked everytime I heard the way she said 'British' like it was the biggest award on earth that could be bestowed.

CND was vilified for supposedly being under heavy communist influence, and millions of pounds were openly spent to counter the then quickly escalating support.

She sent a message to the Unions 'your time of strength is over, we will banish the reporters and meet your determination with violence and jail.

For each family that lives under the british flag in the Maldives, there's a soldier dead to enable it. But it wasn't about the people there, they knew that, it was about the 'glory of the British flag' and the marketing was superb, Saatchi & Saatchi had a field day at her behest - back to the old wartime british spirit, and anyone who says different is a traitor to our great Country.

Squatters - it became a dirty word and squatting was criminalised. Empty houses for speculation was all good business practise, and why should businessmen be inconvenienced by homeless people....ggrrrrrr

I'm disgusted by the idea of a state funeral, no worthy politician has receieved it, why would it be given to someone so morally bankrupt ...unless it meant they symbolically buried her vision of 'the Police State' along with her, which somehow I doubt.

It's one of those things that 'you had to be there to appreciate the nature of the beast'.

A post  from Muffy..>>

Baron Acton (1834–1902) said, "Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolultely." This was the case with Thatcher when she was in power and the current problem with the village idiot that is currently at the helm in my country of origin. Both of them worked/works with a shadowy group of ass-kissers and yes men. They surround(ed) themselves with people who would never question or argue. That is why is can be seen very much as down to that individual and not the government as a collective. MT was evil and so is GWB. Unfortunately, the legacies live on. The UK is not the country it was prior to MT. And as Chazz pointed out, her son is a dishonest, corrupt individual. Learned that at his mummy's knee - how to inflict your will on others and when the chips fall, you are far from the melee.

I know little of the miners' situation, just the bits and pieces that made it through the filters of news agencies. But I do know that, just as it was happening in the States during MT's friend RR's presidency, the middle class all but disappeared, those who were "different" in any way were persecuted (like the travelers) and the poor were left to die, literally. It was during MT's and RR's reigns of self-interest that the line from the movie Wall Street became the credo for so many - Greed is Good! Hell, half of the kids I knew in university went on to get MBAs cause it was a guarantee of a good salary. Morals went out the window. And those who could throw their weight around, like the cops at the bean field, had carte blanche to do what they wished.

<< end of quote---------------------------------

When I first read the idea of having a party at Trafalgar Square the saturday after she dies, it initially shocked me , but I do understand that deep desire to cross the any boundaries when recalling someone who has hurt so many. Thatcher should be buried deep, but unfortunately the vile legacy of her 'bravery' continues.

With reflection I'd find it hard to see such time as a party, at that time the media will be spouting about her invaluable contribution - which for me seemed to be removing doubt about selfishness, greed, industrial progress and strategic war.  They'll be many playing and praying for the modern version of martyrdom.

A very public party at that time would stir venom and could well be used to stir media hate of anyone who speaks ill of her.  But I still quite get where those calling it are coming from.

Her death won't change the damage she's done. I'd prefer to  walk grimly with others with placard images of the too easily forgotten people who suffered violence and poverty during her years as PM.

It seemed we needed a leader with rampant greed to enable us to:

capitalise on the oil we'd found in the seventies, a temporary source of wealth and all the more temporary for the fact that we used it as fast as it was practical to extract.

And who'd crush the enviromentalist who protested it. And fund Scientists happy to downplay or deny the risks.

Someone who'd accept increasing the selling of public properties to chosen private companies, along with the franchises to raise cash, another source of 'once only' funds.

Someone who'd back boosting the economic flow as we purchased greedily, using more and more credit.

Someone who'd back a financial market that started to raise increasing funds on future earnings. There would always be more short term wealth around the corner.

Someone who'd be willing to trample on the poorer sections of society purely to 'give them motivation to earn' but of course really to reduce social spending programmes.

It seems strange to be talking of how someone still alive is going to be remembered when she dies, but when I read of proposals for her to be given a state funeral, I find it hard to be quiet when what she achieved is so deeply controversial for a large part of the populace.

For those not in the know, Aguilera will be showing paintings from his (in progress) "Ladies of San Fernando Valley" series. On display will be: Geometric Carmen (Luvana), Geometric Alley (London) and Geometric Sophia (Lynn). Also, he'll have Geometric Mona (Lisa) on hand, his geometric-style variation of Leonardo DaVinci's masterpiece.

Remember to vote for this painting in the current Saatchi Gallery online competition! The competition starts on July 14. Don't worry; I'll post plenty of reminders.

My thanks to Playgirl for running a photo of Geometric Carmen with the blog post. Though, I have to admit I'm confused. Why would they pass up a shot of Julio looking so GQ? Bald head, suit, cigar. I'm surprised he didn't get an offer to pose for the mag.

Read Playgirl's article >>

View Julio Aguilera's work at The Saatchi Gallery Online >>

Geometric Mona, shown here, is the painting that has been tapped for the contest. It is pretty damned interesting; I've never seen Mona Lisa presented in this manner. Also, this was the piece that caught the gallery's interest.

So, if you are interested in art or just want to help my friend, go to the Saatchi Gallery and cast your vote today! Julio would appreciate this, and I would, too. Also, this is a chance for you to be connected with a major international artist. In fact, you'll have helped make him a major international artist, and you can say he owes you a favor.

Vote for Julio >>

...and bags!...

Just a quick shoutout to sustainable boutique Nimli founded by New York native Rajat Arora - offering a delicious plethera of organic, natural, sustainable and fair-trade clothes, accessories and housewares.  Most impressively, their policy requires that designers ship their products directly to the consumer - great way to reduce the carbon footprint of cute stuff bought over the internet.

Arora is right on board with the new-guard sustainablility movement, creating a space for consumers to consume responsibly, and allowing sustainabiliy to move out of the worlds of regulation and conservation and onto our bodies for the world to see.  If you're going to buy a dress, might as well buy a good one.  Three cheers Nimli, we love you!

Super cute and not ridiculously prices on stuff for men and family too...check them out.

'Up this week on Saatchi Online TV are: a visit with Louise Bourgeois in her Manhattan house and studio, a tour of some of the most interesting hidden art works in New York, an interview with Matthew Barney about his film 'Drawing Restraint 9', starring his wife Bjork, and a tour of German artist Jonathan Meese's latest exhibition.'

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/saatchionline_tv/index.php

I've held my tongue for as long as I can. The J.C. Penney teeny bopper "speed dressing" video is: crap, made me throw up in my mouth a little, makes no sense, doesn't tell you what idea/product is being sold (or trying to be), sucks, sucks, sucks, disturbing, sucks, and I just can't believe it. If this is a repositioning for the company then they might as well slap themselves....twice. (J.C. Penney says they had nothing to do with the ad...only Saatchi their advertiser....who knows, who cares) No matter how you slice it, this is still pretty lame, whoever the scapegoat is.

Saatchi...what the hell are you thinking? Maybe I am not chic/hip/cutting edge enough to embrace the creative edge here, but I can't see what this has to do with a department store and how this won an award at Cannes last week. It fails as an ad and honestly just confused me about what J. C. Penney is trying to say....or...what Saatchi & Saatchi thinks they should be saying! Maybe I should just live a little. ;)

Check it:

In other weird news.....

What do you get when you mix Google and Yahoo! with advertising and a nice garnish of advertisers and congressmen? Nothing tasty at all. I expect the repercussions from this to really screw with the system eventually.

Finally, it looks like the IPhone was made too well! Could the IPod really get axed? Cannibalization is in the air...yikes.

Things are getting pretty juicy out there!

-- C

So... "Is this a stunt","Who is lying","Who really made the video","How will JC Penney respond"?

Oh goody.

As someone who works in advertising, and has worked in advertising for well over a decade, this is simply very, very funny.

Ever since I can remember the award shows have been dominated… well, not “dominated”, but something darn close… by ads that were not quite “real”.

Frequently establishing very successful careers for their unscrupulous submitters.

And I’ve certainly had that opportunity, too.

You see, in the “ad world”, our clients routinely kill good work. Sometimes even insanely great work. Work that is not only way, way better than most of the crap you see on TV, and in magazines, but ads that would win us awards, and actually make our client’s product/or/service fly off the proverbial shelves.

Stupid clients.

So why didn’t I do it? Because I don’t cheat, that’s why. And neither do the vast majority of people in the ad industry.

But, alas, some do.

And so now these numbnutz at Saatchi NY and Epoch Films have gotten caught with their greedy little paws in the liquor cabinet, and it’s all the talk of the Ad World.

Now can we please stop giving out awards to FAKE ads already?

There are way too many of us who work in the real world. We actually have these things called "briefs" and "strategies", and after we work our asses off we have to have our concepts approved by these people called "clients" before they run. Oh yeah, and then they have to actually RUN. And with the client’s permission.

And once, in Sheboygan, in the middle of the night doesn’t count.

Getting work through THAT spanking machine, and emerging on the other side w/something great is worth awards. And, more importantly, it’s worth our respect. But this kind of concept-in-a-vacuum, ad-school fakery should deserve nothing but our scorn. Shame on these charlatan creatives, and shame on the judges. Because we all know full well that they knew exactly what they were giving an award to, and why.

It’s high time this blatant brand of award grabbling be recognized for what it is: cheating.

• This one is at Saatchi Gallery Showdown:

Gratuitous Steven Colbert Image nicked from here, many thanks.

Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand, in conjunction with the Human Interface Technology Laboratory, have created an interesting interactive campaign for the Wellington Zoo. Using their mobile phones, readers of the newspaper can point their cameras at a print ad that looks like a simplified QR code and an animal appears in 3-D above the page. AdForum has a short article about the campaign and a good video explaining the concept (although the video can’t be linked to or embedded, guess they aren’t too keen on social media over there).

Go check out the video to get a sense of the ads.

The ads themselves are fairly unremarkable. They just look like clunky graphics of a bear, a giraffe and a cheetah to me. Although it is nice to see they had a reason for using the technology, that is to bring the animals to the people to promote the close encounters exhibit at the Zoo. (Side Note: I can’t help but think walking though New Zealand with a bear or cheetah on a leash would have gotten more attention, but possibly more lawsuits). It is nice to see a new technology being used in conjunction with newspaper advertising, goodness knows it needs all the help it can get.

Honestly, the best part of the campaign is seeing the reactions of people discovering this new form of advertising. I am guessing the shock and delight comes from the novelty of this execution and not from the actual display itself. If this technique were to become widely adopted with this particular example stand out from the crowd? Probably not. It is the technology that is playing the lead role here above the idea, whereas I like to see it the other way around. This campaign does seem to be effective, delivering a 30% increase in visitors.

All in all it is a pretty neat technology to add to the toolbox. Do I believe the video when it says, it is “set to revolutionize advertising as we know it?” Uh, nope. It is exciting to think of the possibilities. In the video they mention increasing the technology to include animation and video as opposed to the static image. What if you made it truly interactive, like a game you could play or clues to a scavenger hunt? What if you made it interactive where participants could store information at a certain site to build a knowledge bank over time or communicate with other participants?

The main problem I have with this technology is it requires a download (already the kiss of death for any interactive campaign). Further complicating matters, it is a download to your phone, activated by a text message. This seems to be asking a lot of the viewing public and quite honestly for not a big payoff. It is something that seems to be universal across all executions in new media, there is a novelty factor, but the idea seems to play second fiddle.

Jokk

Between assignment hand ins and the like, we spent 2 days trying very hard to get Creative.The point being that by unleashing our thoughts in a creative direction we will discover even better business ideas and I suspect solutions.. Plus there were parts of hilarious fun. Can you imagine a whole bunch of MBA's singing West Side story and even better shaking shakers while singing African tunes!

It was a brilliant two days with the team from Saatchi, Britten Sinfonia and our fearless Strategy Leader!

Who know's maybe now the ideas will follow for the remaining assignments?

Also the whole Wellington public art issue and the corporate art bonus scheme was fully explained in "Wellington: A City for Sculpture" definitely worth a read and also makes some more sense of the proliferation of art works on the city streets. However I believe someone in planning needs to have this repeated to them "The aim should be to ensure that sculpture does not become a gratuitous and irrelevant embellishment to urban sites". The book also reminded me of a time when my office on the Terrace looked out through Philip Trusttum's "Northern Lights"

Further to my last post on guerilla art, the Wellington Sculpture book also had a section by Christina Barton on less sanctioned public art, particularly "Interventions City Reclamation Project" and Barry Thomas' "Vacant Lot of Cabbages" (a brilliant piece IMHO). But also the official, "The Concrete Deal" in the James Smith Carpark, which I remember well, beautiful in its transient format . 

CK Stead's Kin of Place certainly cuts to the chase and has inspired more of my writing on truths and untruths and "the lies that bind". I love how many photos of Mr Stead are marvelously grumpy looking, but I have a soft spot for his writing due to early discovery of his poetry - "Scoria" encapsulating my Auckland experience at that time. His novel "All Visitors Ashore" also introduced me to a whole new NZ literary world.

Finally, over at Bookman Beattie he talks of Peter Simpson's lecture on Colin McCahon, The Titirangi Years. "At the end Linda Tyler proved as good a questionner as she was in intoducing the speaker by asking (among other things) why McCahon the commuter never painted Auckland city or any part of it, or (and I thought this the question of the week) why did he never paint Rangitoto?"

My thoughts on this is maybe Rangitoto was too obvious, or too symmetrical (which is what I find irrittating about it). However my own landscape is dominated by an island and in talking to a local artist recently they said it was very hard to resist.