Guggenheim / NYC

Rather than an exhibition within a museum providing a source of inspiration, it's the museum itself that does this in this case. The Guggenheim in New York has been a popular icon in modern architecture since its construction. I could regurgitate the history of this museum according to Wikipedia or some other infamous know-it-all but that isn't what caught my eye.
It's the rotunda that did.


I've never seen anything like it - having all the floors connected in one smooth direction. I found myself gliding through the exhibition, which is a novel feel because I'm use to dragging my feet. I spent hours in the museum happily; partly because the exhibition was amazing and partly because I was fascinated by the architectural design.

Cai Guo-Qiang

Imagine yourself in New York City. You're with your friends on a trip with the School of Design for just a few days. You walk up to the Guggenheim Museum just cold-calling it to see whatever exhibition is on at the time. You walk in through the entrance doors and you see this...


It's not every day you see this in suspension over your head while you buy your day ticket for a museum. I was blown away.


His name is Cai Guo-Qiang and he is very much a man of the moment. He focuses on present day sociopolitical issues, more notably terrorism since the events of 9/11. This piece is part of his Inopportune: Stage One, which follows the growth of an explosion over the course of nine American-made cars.


In the Guggenheim, it begins with the first car (unscathed) resting on the top floor of the museum. The remaining cars begin their fall through the central atrium of the Frank Lloyd Wright rotunda.


The cars as a whole represent a stop-motion pattern projecting the trajectory of one exploding car. Electric light rods in varying and progressing colors help us see the development of the explosion as if it was happening in one fluid motion. I couldn't stop looking at the colors of the bursts from each car, it was so inviting.


Obviously, the first emotion that comes to you when you see this is that of awe. Then it takes a more sinister turn. Like looking at a nuclear explosion, its an awesome sight and you tend to forget that you're enjoying a destructive act.


All pictures besides the one at the top are of the same exhibition but in a different location; MASS MoCA. Due to the available space at that museum, the cars were modified to be viewed horizontally. The lucky visitors were allowed to walk along and underneath the cars. I think this would of been a better way to see this in all its glory when you consider how restricted you are at viewing this at the Guggenheim.


The final car, which has finally reached the ground floor of the Guggenheim, rests unscathed as if the whole event had never occurred.


In a similar strand of creating art out of destruction, Cai went on to exploding gunpowder and photographing the end results.

I can't say enough how much I love his work. I've only brought you a sample of his work so search him on the internet and enjoy, you won't be disappointed.

Polaroid: EXP.09.10.09

In 1944, Edwin Land's daughter, whilst on holiday, asked him why she couldn't look at the snaps right away. A few years later, Land commercially unveiled the Land Camera Model 95 and for the next 60 years, became one of the greatest technological inventions.
Using Polaroid's always gave me a better experience than digital cameras ever did. To be able to click the shutter and then 60 seconds later hold your efforts in your hands is a feeling that never becomes novel.



Aim. Click. Capture. Develop. See.
It's an honest way of capturing what's happening, not perfect. The employees of WUCIWUG will no doubt recall the struggle we went through using Polaroids to create something exciting.
Nowadays, anyone can buy a half decent camera for an affordable price, go shooting away on their next holiday and come back with 100s of identical photographs that millions of other tourists have unveiled to their families. They can delete the undesirables and edit their favorites with a black&white effect to make them look chic.


Unfortunately, the Massachusetts-based company announced last year that they were going to cease production of the Polaroid product range.


To commemorate the loss of this instant format, the Atlas Gallery in London will be showcasing the work of the finest photographers who used this technology. There will be work from artists old and new, some you'll know and some you wont. Every photograph is up for grabs - as long as you have up to £8,000 to spare.


The exhibition is open from the 9th October this year. This date is significant because it is the use-by date for the last ever batch of Polaroid films.


May seem quite eager to post a museum event that hasn't been made available to the public yet, or one that opens past this blog deadline; nevertheless, I would never miss this for anything.

Log back on after the 9th to see pictures from this exhibition.

Design China Now

Whenever I hear the word 'China', I think of sweat shops and communism. I've never really looked into their sense of modern design. I was in London last year visiting some relatives and I stumbled on an exhibition called China Design Now.


The exhibition travels along three coastal cities and their take on design. Each were impressive in their own right but the jewel in the crown was Beijing. The Olympics was a major effort in both the stadium and the opening ceremony. This exhibition unveiled conceptual drawings, behind-the-scenes photographs of the construction of the Olmypics, as well as present day examples of Beijing's impressive architecture.

Sadly, I wasn't allowed to take any pictures and when I attempted to I got some pretty scornful eyes and a stern telling off. I've searched the best images off the internet that can hopefully give you an idea of how good this exhibition was...

Sheffield Museum

I went into the Weston Park Museum for a few simple reasons: the brand was clean and they used ITC Avant Garde Gothic (my favourite typeface) for the body text. Appearances mean a lot in the design world and I tend to judge something based on how it looks. If an advert uses Comic Sans then I get an impression on what I have to look forward to - usually nothing.

The museum itself was very enjoyable. Free entry and an exhibition on house-dwelling critters. It was its typographic choices that did it for me though and as a result, I read every segment of information on the walls.

The brand itself is quite striking. It's been weeks now since I went to the museum and yet I've just drawn an accurate representation of the logo. It has to be one of my most liked.