Miriello Grafico

Abelardo Morell is a photographer who travels around the world (to Florence Italy in the photo above), bringing with him his  camera obscura devices that project the outside world into strategically located, dark interior room. Morell then re-photographs those overlapping world with extremely long exposure times.   Lensculture.com says: “He brings the outside in through a tiny pin-hole, and by the alchemy of optics, the outside is projected quite naturally upside down superimposing and hugging the surfaces of everything in the room.”

My friend, photographer Philipp Rittermann, has turned me onto Morell.  He said Morell was a most inspiring lecturer about his work and the thinking behind it. I find the graphic play or “real” and projected world, the overlap of realities and juxtaposition of images. very exciting and downright thrilling. Morell has me feeling like I’m actually inside the “machina fotographica” itself.

Here’s a Morell interview done for Lensculture.

World of Words sculpture

I’ve always been into globes, particularly old ones and odd ones. I’m not completely sure why. Probably because of their flawless shape, their utility and because of what they stand for. I like the idea of traveling to those unpronounceable places you saw as a kid, and still can’t pronounce as a grown-up. Unfortunately, these orbs have become popular with globe-collector types too, so cool ones have become harder to find without overpaying.

I’ve taken to making my own globe series instead. World of Words is one piece in a globe-like series I’m working up. This one was fashioned from an aerospace caliper, two volumes of the History of Negros in America, and an aircraft piston head. I’ll post more as they’re completed. -Ron    Photo by Ken West

 I had never spent time in Houston before so when Alex Barber, the incoming president of the Art Directors Club of Houston, invited me to help judge submissions to the 53rd Annual Art Directors Club of Houston, I was there.

In some ways Houston was what I expected, a city shaped by the oil industry, big money and conservative politics. But it was also a place of cool surprises, risk-taking creativity and reinvention. The ADCH kept the five judges running all weekend. If we weren’t huddled in a print warehouse evaluating Houston’s creative work, we were eating BBQ or becoming best friends with Houston artists, print makers and designers. With a largely traditional client base, the ADCH has a vital purpose in the Houston design scene where a creative community helps in the role of inspiring, promoting and pushing. Especially critical when the marketplace itself isn’t doing the pushing for them. And let’s face it, the marketplace is rarely the driving force for new creative invention in the end.

The judges group was stellar. It included art director Michael Borosky from Eleven, photographer Jeffrey Brown, illustrator Sterling Hundley and web expert Molly Holzschlag. Saturday night was a blow-out event with Houston artist Wayne Gilbert, a painter and Houston original whose pigments are made from human remains.

The last morning I spotted a bar room sign on the side of the road, ripped-down recently by the devastation of hurricane Ike. 10 minutes after I’d said, “I’d love to have that sign”, ADCH leader Jamie Farquhar was on the phone to her brother, “Get your truck out to highway 56 where it jogs south - right now. I need you to pick up something for a friend of mine.”  I was getting another glimpse of what makes Houston. . . Houston.

Scheduling a major party on the first day of the stock market’s downturn and the Vice Presidential debates might seem like its own form of social-suicide. Instead, the opening party of The Logan building was exactly what the masses needed. A place to meet, share, commune and understand that we are all in this together. And quite possibly, the innovation and problem-solving skills of the creative community may be more essential to the national dialogue than ever.

Ron Miriello toasted the crowd, “Our shared abilities of creativity and collaboration are fast becoming a new and important currency-type. As the financial markets waver and the myopic drive for individual wealth is paused, there’s an opportunity for the creative mindset and their unique abilities of invention, collaboration and informed risk-taking. The unique abilities of the people in this room are needed at a time like this.”

The celebration brought over 300 designers, architects, politicos, writers, artists and business people together to enjoy an evening in the creative beachhead neighborhood of Barrio Logan. The hosts – Miriello Grafico and LJG Partners – invited friends, clients and community members to a celebration – and celebrate they did. The Barrio restaurant, The Guild, managed the food and Temecula Valley ConVis organized the wines, all offerings from Temecula Valley. The Barrio Logan spokesperson Rachael Ortiz, arts tagger Crol, and the Mariachi Juvenil helped first-time visitors better understand the rich culture and history of the neighborhood. San Diego architects were plentiful, including the designer of The Logan, Jonathan Segal, who created a space where people obviously love to linger, share and invent.

Watch the party video on YouTube created by Jeff Durkin.                                                                        Find incriminating party pictures on Flickr.

Norika Ambe of Japan does amazing work that crosses between sculpture, product design and graphic design. The kind of work we love at Miriello Grafico. See her full portfolio at : http://www.norikoambe.com

via swissmiss.com

Visitors to MG’s new office always compliment our creative implementation of graffiti. Others are elevating the use of graffiti in new ways that promote a healthy environment. For instance, check out Anna Garforth’s web site featuring moss graffiti.

Finding a new creative use for  everyday, throw-away objects has a special satisfaction for both the maker and the viewer. Each get a slightly new perspective on things we see everyday. Re-purposed works send an interesting message that art is always surrounding - as long as we’re wearing the right pair of glasses.

These hanging mobile sculptures, made by Ron Miriello, are made from highway barricade sign and used zinc printers plates, cut with a CNC laser and then bent into three dimensional forms. This series was part of the Sanctuary 143 Reinventing The Wheel exhibition and are now installed in the offices of Miriello Grafico.

Here’s what the AIGA website says about the 2008 365 Show which includes the Miriello Grafico new identity system (proudly):

“After careful and considered review of more than 4,700 entries, the jury of “365: AIGA Annual Design Competitions 29” selected a group of 255 examples of outstanding design produced in 2007.

The jury’s selections will be mounted as a public exhibition scheduled to open at the AIGA National Design Center in New York on December 10. The exhibit will travel across the country to AIGA chapters and student groups during 2009. In addition, selections become part of the AIGA Design Archives, a searchable visual database of exemplary design, are documented in 365: AIGA Year In Design 29, an annual print publication and the physical artifacts join the AIGA Design Archives at the Denver Art Museum.”

Take a look at the AIGA site at: http://aiga.org/

Goodbye, sadly in this case.

First the SX-70. Now the rest. As some may know, Polaroid announced that it is no longer manufacturing instant film anymore. They will instead concentrate on TVs, digital cameras, and printers. “We’re trying to reinvent Polaroid so it lives on for the next 30 to 40 years,” said Tom Beaudoin, Polaroid’s president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer. I don’t know about you, but for some reason “Polaroid” and “digital” seem like unlikely bedfellows. It would be the last place I would go for digital photo technology. And that’s exactly why I loved the medium. There is something about the spontaneity, unique color qualities and that instant gratification that only a Polaroid could produce. That, and the stares that you get from everyone around when grabbing a 1970’s Polaroid camera out of your bag to shoot.

Check out www.savepolaroid.com for everything Polaroid, from flickr groups to ways to help spread the love of all things instamatic.

A vortex-shaped surface which reacts to sunlight.

From Dezeen Magazine-

OR is the boldest installation project at the Milan International Furniture Fair 2008, a vortex-shaped surface which reacts to sunlight.

The polygonal segments of the surface react to ultra-violet light, mapping the position and intensity of solar rays. When in the shade, the segments of OR are translucent white. However, when hit by sunlight they become colored, flooding the space below with different hues of light. At night, OR transforms into an enormous ‘chandelier’, disseminating light into the surrounding courtyard, an atmospheric space for events and gatherings.

The hues generated by the photo-reactive surface are therefore indicators of changes in weather and daylight, a dynamic architectural tool that can be used on building exteriors. OR is skin, OR is shining, OR is the light OR the shade.

OR is the first time that photo-reactive technology has been used on an architectural scale. The ecological structure is a step in exploring the possibilities of photo-reactive materials in the fields of furniture and design. The beauty of OR is its constant interaction with the elements. Each moment of the day is unique.

The project was developed by the architects and designers Ran Ankori, Francesco Brenta, Maya Carni, Christoph Klemmt, Laura Micalizzi and Elisa Oddone

Learn more at: http://www.klemmt.com/