The Last Post

This is the last one. I don't have any specific ads or art to talk about, so I figured I'd just give a little summary and goodbye.

I had fun writing this blog all semester. You may or may not have known that it was for my writing class at Boston University. My professor really wanted to keep us writing often, and blogs were a great way to do that. Plus he's a big blogger himself.

It was definitely cool to be more aware of my surroundings and all. Most people don't realize how many ads and logos and design pieces they see every day. Design is every where. Good and bad. And if you've been reading since the beginning, you know I haven't loved every piece I've seen.

There is some really great stuff out there. Being an advertising student myself, I find myself extremely aware of ads. One of my friends even told me that she kind of looks at signs and logos differently now, after reading my blog. That's really exciting to me! I guess I've had a bit of impact on my small amount of readers. Haha.

So that's all folks. Have a wonderful holiday season! Thanks for reading!!

Video Art

In Downtown Crossing somewhere I saw the strangest art exhibit. It's modern art, which can always be a little bit, well, different. The exhibit is called Boston Art Windows, Street Seen. The artist is named John Gayle and the piece is called "Collected Girls."

The artist's summary of the exhibit says:
"These portraits are of strangers I met randomly or was introduced to by friends. Our relationship existed through the time it took to make each of these three minute looping videos."

So that's what it is. 2 sets of 9 different small-ish television sets in a window display with different looping videos on each screen of various girls. They stare at the camera, and that's pretty much it.

Most of the girls begin to show signs of awkwardness, as most people do in front of the camera. One girl starts crying. Some girls love the camera attention, a bit too much.

My guess for this exhibit is that the artist wanted to study human reactions and existence. It's always interesting how people react when in front of a camera. Some freeze up, some get awkward, some just love it.

This exhibit really caught my eye as being totally different and unexpected. I don't know how much I like it because the girls are a little difficult to watch, but it's very compelling. Everyone that was walking by would say something along the lines of "Have you seen this? It's really weird." And well, it is.

Sloane Tanen: My hero

About a couple years ago, I found this adorable book in a Virgin Megastore called "Bitter With Baggage Seeks Same," by author Sloane Tanen. Sloane photographs mini pom-pom shaped chickens in various situations and settings. Not only are her photographs extremely detailed and carefully laid out, but her writing is clever and witty as well. A short 1-3 sentence line accompanies each picture. Miniature chickens? Having slumber parties and taking baths? Genius.

Tanen's sequel to Bitter With Baggage came out just recently, called "Going for the Bronze: Still Bitter, More Baggage." The new book is just as cute and clever as the first. My favorite page has a chicken dressed as an Orthodox Rabbi buying a hot dog to break his Yom Kippur fast.

The point of this post--I saw an advertisement for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on the New York Subway over Thanksgiving break. It's part a series called "Arts for Transit." The image (shown above) has Tanen's chickens, dressed in old-fashioned, maybe 1940s style clothing, at the historic opening of the New York Subway.

What an adorable way to portray such a special event in New York's history!
Love it.

Ansel Adams

Last Friday afternoon, I went to the Museum of Fine Arts to check out the Ansel Adams exhibit. Ansel Adams was one of the most famous black and white nature photographers, and it was pretty amazing to see his work.

The exhibit encompassed a wide range of his work, including photographs from as early as the 1920s, and onto his final works. I enjoyed seeing all different stages of his work. I got to see how the paper quality changed, as well as his techniques and styles. With natural technology advances, his final works were extremely clear and beautifully developed, while his earlier images looked reminiscent of the year he took the pictures--a bit blurry and low contrast, though beautiful still.

Ansel Adams had this innate ability to capture the perfect moment in nature. A moment when the sun casts a perfect shadow over a given mountain top, leaving others shining. I've been told he was known to wait in the natural surroundings for hours at a time, just to get that perfect shot. His dedication is truly admirable.

Now if only I could get into that Photography Intro class next semester...

It's Art To Me

For most of you northerners fall is just another season. The bridge into winter. The calm before the storm, if you will. But for this Florida girl, it's more than that.

Since I haven't seen any art, ads or design around that have caught my eye this week, and I have been taking in my fall surroundings, I decided to write about that.

I live on campus at BU in a brownstone on a nice tree-lined street called Bay State Road. It's calm. It's pleasant. It's peaceful and this time of year absolutely beautiful. Some buildings have vines and ivy covering the brick walls. The trees have turned from green to gold. I just can't help but smile walking to and from my building.

The trees aren't the only reason I love fall. There's a scent in the air, almost a smoky, crisp smell that reminds me of cold weather. The smell I would smell for only about a week each year in Florida. It's the smell that reminds me how different my life is in Boston and how I've gotten to experience so many new things, seasons being a major one.

I know smell isn't really art, but my blog is really about sights in the city that I get a reaction from, good or bad. The golden trees, scent in the air, light jackets and scarves all remind me of how lucky I am to live on such a nice road, in such an awesome city, with such a different lifestyle than what I grew up with.

Kind of like a flipbook

Somewhere on the red line, I believe between Kendall and Central, there used to be a really awesome advertisement for Target. (But isn't everything about Target really awesome?) Well if you've been in Boston for at least a year and have taken the red line, you should know what I'm talking about. Everyone always ooohh'ed and ahhh'ed when the train went past it.

The ad was comprised of a long series of still images on the tunnel wall, but when the train went past them they appeared to be moving. It was almost like a film reel type of effect, except the film wasn't moving, we were. Almost like a flipbook.

Well recently I saw another one of these, in the new North Station stop. Only it wasn't an advertisement, it was simply art for enjoyment. The artsy sepia-toned images were of a family at the beach, playing with a beach ball and having fun.

This display is unique and definitely eye-catching. I love how when you are on the train it looks like a little silent movie. It certainly adds a bit of excitement to those boring T rides, and it's better than staring at grungy man sitting in front of you.

Portable Living Room?

Even if you don't live in an apartment, you have heard of IKEA. Everyone has. Well, IKEA is opening a location in the Boston area, somewhere outside of the city. And it is opening with a boom. This is going to be huge, at least the company is making it seem that way because of its advertising. I have seen SO many IKEA ads all around, especially in T stations, on the actual T cars, etc. All the ads generally have images of furniture and say something like "IKEA is coming." (Except it is coming to a place called Stoughton? Who even knows where that is?)

The other night I saw a CRAZY ad for IKEA's opening. A living room attached to a truck, being driven all around the city as a form of advertising. An actual living room, complete with couches, tables, lamps, rugs and decorations. And there was a girl sitting inside, just reading a book as if she were lounging in her own living room and not being stared at by tons of Bostonians in awe. The room was very brightly lit and the IKEA logo and copy were on top.

This could quite possibly be the craziest, most interesting piece of advertising I have seen, at least in a while. If this isn't non-traditional media then I don't know what is. The advertising industry is such a creative one. Any innovative idea that can be at all effective, works. It is a constantly changing industry, with room for so many cool ideas, just like this one. (That's why I'm studying it!) This ad will really help strengthen IKEA's already strong image. It makes them appear unique, fun and original, qualities I'm sure people would like to see in their new cool couch. Way to go, IKEA.