In Search of Nirvana on the Web
Installation by John Isaacs at "Daydreaming with Stanley Kubrick" exhibition at Somerset House, London
1. Jeff Koons: MOCA
My most recent discovery has been the work of a film maker and producer Oscar Boyson. Among a range of his films I highly enjoyed the short documentary about the artist I'm sure you came across in the press, online, public spaces or mentioned by me - Jeff Koons. It gets better - the documentary is narrated by Scarlett Johansson. If you want to brush up your knowledge of artists' work or for those who already know enough - simply hear the actress calling Jeff a "sexy motherfucker” this 8 minute clip is light, informative and enjoyable thanks to Oscars smooth and entertaining narrative. It has both fun facts like Jeff listening to Led Zeppelin an hour a day as well as insights into how he would like the viewers to know that the key to understanding his art is through interpreting their own experience. My favourite quote was when the narrator addresses the artist by saying "It's almost like your art is the combination of all the great things you’ve ever seen". This is so true if you look at the amount of masterpieces being appropriated in Jeff Koons' work, including the ballerinas from Ukrainian porcelain figures I was once so surprised about.
April '17 MOCA hosted a gala honoring the artist Jeff Koons and commissioned this piece from Oscar Boyson.
2. "Why the Web Won't Be Nirvana"
“What’s missing from this electronic wonderland? Human contact”, writes Clifford Stolll about the Internet.
Let's rewind...
Newsweek 26th of February 1995, just after ARPANET/Internet celebrated its 25th anniversary, comes out this entertainingly opinionated article by Clifford Stoll. Although a technology skeptic, the astronomer Clifford Stroll is known to have helped capture a KGB hacker Markus Hess while being a systems administrator at the computer center of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (he also published a book about it). However, rather than discuss the accuracy of his assumptions in the '95 Newsweek article I want to include this article within the context of current discussions on the capacity of Blockchain technology. Although the hype might exceed the capacity to deliver in the short term (or not?), it is so engaging to theorise on the future potential. And perhaps, within these discussions to take a break and look back might help us in looking forward? #dontoverthinkit
PS.
"Electronic Wonderland"? Sounds catchy.
3. Grisha’s Guide to Kiev
Take an old gem, add a fresh touch = recipe for success. Exactly that's why I love this NOWNESS commission by director Jordan Blady. As he says, this was meant to be "a fashion film that didn’t feel like a fashion film". Which, I think he successfully achieved. I loved seeing such classic examples of my home towns' architecture elements populated by Supreme-ish youth culture and sprinkled with Wes Anderson-influenced aesthetics. Critically speaking it probably covered 0.1% of what there is to shed light on, yet it feels like a 100% leap forward compared to the existing western depictions of the region. #inlovewiththesubtleties
4. How Video Games Changed the World
The 2013 Documentary has been a one-off special by Channel 4. The film is a comprehensive overview of what he believes are the 25 most iconic releases that shaped the gaming industry since the creation of Pong in 1972. Presented by the British satirist Charlie Brooker, it features a vast amount of developers, specialists, comedians and authors in gaming and beyond. Documentary also includes interview with Will Wright, the designer of SimCity(1989) and The Sims(2000). Next thing I knew after watching this documentary was ordering the book by Charles Hamden-Turner on the Maps of the Mind (which actually finally arrived today), that influenced Wright to develop a model for the game's artificial intelligence. I'm sure one or two (or more like 10 or 20) of the games listed in this documentary ring a bell for you as well, so here's a chance to learn a bit more about the forces behind these creations:
5. 100+ Conversion Rate Optimization Techniques
And before you laugh or say WTF haha.. I actually found this resource quite interesting. I didn't study marketing but at one point my job has almost entirely been focused on how to best market our products. Although my focus has shifted, I've been catching up and researching on any old or new techniques or developments that could help me improve my knowledge of the best marketing practices ever since. And whether it is the luxury sector you deal with or the lower price echelon products, it doesn't matter - these tips can be useful for you even as a user to know how you're being 'manipulated'..or less harshly let's just say 'approached'. So after reading this resource I went ahead and renamed my blog entry from "Stuff I found online" to "5 Things I Found Online". Did it work? Well, if you got this far I hope so.. xx