{ Nico Di Mattia }

While I was doing some surfing on Tim Burton@MoMA, I came to this youtube's video on this talented guy. His video left me breathless and speechless.

Speed Painting is what he called it.



More info on Nico Di Mattia, visit his site.

{ Tim Burton @ MoMA }

I had a read on the Behind the Scene of Tim Burton@MoMa on Juxtapoz Magazine. Thought it would be good to share it with you guys.

Taken from Juxtapoz Magazine:

Tim Burton. The name alone has developed into a virtual institution, conjuring visions of classic films and wacky sketches. In a fabulous video interview, Tim Burton discusses his new solo show up now at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Now open and running through April 26, 2010, Tim Burton’s show at MoMA is a collection of drawings, paintings, and sketches from all parts and aspects of this prolific man’s career.

The video interview allows Tim to discuss his exhibition, childhood, and why “striped socks make him feel more grounded.”

Also included are some youtube's videos on Tim Burton@MoMA.



*P.S: By the way, my all-time favourite Tim Burton's films are Edward Scissorhands & Beetlejuice :)

{ Ai Weiwei }

This so-called contemporary art is not a form but a philosophy of the society.

– Ai Weiwei

Recently I visited Ai Weiwei's Exhibition, "According to what?" at Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan. I was excited about the exhibition when I first came to know about it while surfing Mori Art Museum's website. I felt extremely lucky that I was able to visit the exhibition during my stay in Japan as Ai Weiwei is one of China's most prominent and provocative artists around.

"According to what" brought much inspiration to me, making me realise how cultural rich China is. Not to forget, the numbers of talented Chinese artists around. I have to say Chinese are one of the world's most patriotic people. They love their country as if it's their lives. Maybe not for all Chinese, but certainly the case for Ai Weiwei. The exhibition showcased a numerous of art pieces with rich Chinese heritage and background, in the fusion of old-meet-new, east-meet- west concept.

If you are familiar with Ai Weiwei, he is renowned for his rising profile in the architecture world and of course, his contribution in the design of the Olympic National Stadium known as the Bird's Nest for the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. And with his background on architectural, symmetrical forms and shapes are a common sight in his exhibition.

Needless for me to comment further, "A picture says a thousand words".....






About the Artist:

Photo credits: Aaron Deemer for The New York Times

(Taken from The New York Times)
Ai Weiwei is one of China's most prominent and provocative artists with a rising profile in the architecture world. Mr. Ai helped design the Olympic National Stadium known as the Bird's Nest for the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.

Known for his sharp tongue, Mr. Ai has been challenging the government to end what he calls its cover-up of incompetence in managing the response to an earthquake in May 2008 in Sichuan Province that killed more than 80,000 people. Defying Web censors in March 2009, he has created a sensation by posting angry commentaries about the quake rescue efforts on his popular blog. He not only criticizes the government's response but also chides officials for not yet providing a full accounting of schoolchildren's deaths, which he and many others attribute to poorly constructed schools.

The postings are unusual in that they have not yet been censored or removed from the Internet. Mr. Ai is being allowed to criticize the government sharply about a very delicate topic in Beijing.

Mr. Ai's father, Ai Qing, was perhaps the best-known poet of his generation, and among the most acclaimed Chinese literary figures of the 20th century. During the Cultural Revolution, Mr. Ai and his family were exiled from Beijing for nearly 20 years. The family lived in Xinjiang, a region in northwest China, and later further north in a quasi-military re-education camp on the edge of the Gobi Desert. They were allowed to return when Mr. Ai was 19; his father was exonerated in 1978.

Mr. Ai attended the Beijing Film Institute and later studied briefly at the Parsons School of Design and the Art Students League in New York. Returning to China, he restored the family name to prominence while producing sharply political artwork.

Mr. Ai, who is not new to controversy, is known for his avant-garde photographs and sculptures and for his blend of traditional Chinese elements and modern style.

For more read-up on Ai Weiwei, click the following links:
• Wikipedia
• Ai Weiwei's writeup on Beijing's Bird Nest Stadium and Olympics
• Fake
• Link #1

{ Unique Store }

One interesting store I saw while I was in Tokyo to attend the Tokyo Designers' Week 2009.

Stay tuned for my entries on TDW and other interesting exhibitions I visited in Japan...

{ Mind-Orgasm }

The title of this entry says it all.
View Here to experience the graphic orgasm.

{ Tokyo 2009 }

*inspired by Johanna Basford.

I am heading to Tokyo in October for Tokyo Designers' Week 2009. So excited about it! :D

While I was doing a planning of itinerary, I got bored and hence started doodling....Nothing particularly on mind, just some highly-brainless and addictive black and white illustration.

* interested in TDW2009? Click here and here!

{ National Punctuation Day }

In celebration of National Punctuation Day on the 24th of September, dAgraphik specially dedicate this blog space for everyone out there who loves typography. Remember to include these little info into your life-long Book of Knowledge! :D

' - Apostrophe
To indicate the omission of one or more letters in a word, whether unpronounced, as in o’er for over, or pronounced, as in gov’t for government; to indicate the possessive case, as in woman’s; or to indicate plurals of abbreviations and symbols, as in several M.D.’s, p’s. But do NOT use apostrophes for possessive pronouns or for noun plurals.

[ ] - Brackets
Provide an explanation if the author uses something your audience isn’t likely to understand — “The first words of Joyce’s ‘Stately, plump Buck Mulligan’ are Introibo ad altare dei [‘I will go to the altar of God’].” You might need to supply a detail not in the original quotation, especially if your reader is likely to be confused: “As Fairbanks notes, ‘The death of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia [Mississippi] marked a turning point.’” You might also provide a first name: “It was [George] Eliot’s most successful work.” Always the question is whether the clarification will help your audience.

If you’re changing a single word or a short phrase, especially a pronoun, and the word isn’t especially interesting in its own right, it’s okay to omit the original and replace it with the bracketed interpolation: you can change “In that year, after much deliberation, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation” to “In [1862], after much deliberation, [Lincoln] issued the Emancipation Proclamation.”

... - Ellipsis
The omission from a sentence or other construction of one or more words understandable from the context that would complete or clarify the construction. A mark to indicate the omission of letters or words.

! - Exclamation Point
The sign used in writing after an exclamation or interjections, expressing strong emotion or astonishment, or to indicate a command. AVOID OVERUSE!

: - Colon
The sign used to mark a major division in a sentence to indicate that what follows is an elaboration, summation, interpretation, etc., of what precedes; and to separate groups of numbers, as hours from minutes (5:30) or the elements of a ratio or proportion (1:2).

, - Comma
A mark of punctuation used to indicate a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, to separate items in a list, to mark off thousands in numerals, to separate types or levels of information in bibliographic and other data.

– - Dash
A mark or sign used variously in printed or written matter, especially to note a break, pause, or hesitation; to begin and end parenthetic text; to indicate omission of letters or words; to substitute for certain uses of the colon; and to separate elements of a sentence or a series of sentences, as a question from its answer.

- - Hypen
A short line used to connect the parts of compound words or the parts of a word divided for any purpose. Hyphens are joiners. Use them to avoid ambiguity or to form a single idea from two or more words.

( ) - Parentheses
Either or both of a pair of signs used in writing to mark off an interjected explanatory or qualifying remark. Use parentheses ( ) to include material that you want to de-emphasize or that wouldn't normally fit into the flow of your text but you want to include nonetheless.

? - Question Mark
A mark indicating a question. Seriously.

" - Quotation Mark
One of the marks used to indicate the beginning and end of a quotation. Direct quotations are another person’s exact words — either spoken or in print — incorporated into your own writing.

. - Period
A full pause, as is made at the end of a complete sentence. The point or character used to mark the end of a declarative sentence or to indicate an abbreviation.

; - Semicolon
The punctuation mark used to indicate a major division in a sentence where a more distinct separation is felt between clauses or items on a list than is indicated by a comma, as between two clauses of a compound sentence.

More read-up on punctuations? Click here.

*credits to Les Kerning and National Punctuation Day's website

{ Travis Millard }

“Working with kids is fun because I can openly plot to rip off their wild stylings and there’s nothing they can do about it!” – Travis Millard

Travis Millard creates some of the quirkiest and most endearing drawings full of characters it's tough not to relate to. This illustrator also has a great sense of humor. He live in a log cabin in Echo Park, Los Angeles, California with his illustrator girlfriend, Mel Kadel. Art has always been in the blood of Travis, his mother used to do a lot of crafty toll painting and small oil pieces with folksy sayings. She'd always encourage Travis and his brother to draw or make a cardboard fort or anything else just to keep their hands busy.

I came across Travis Millard's works from Juxtapoz Magazine. The illustrations are somewhat quirky and extremely well-crafted. He seems to have ordinary objects magnified and interpreted in a different perspective, usually depicting politics satirized, personal strife, fabricated characters and aggressive violence. His works are true evidence of passion do get you far.

For more info on Travis Millard, visit Fudge factory comics

{ Posters from Our Past }

Posters have acted as mirrors and visual records of our culture and history. Whilst posters have been used by governments and many private organisations to promote all kinds of products, posters have also been employed on the service of war, peace and propaganda. Placed in public environments, posters are effective in promoting causes and speaking directly to the mass.

An exhibition held in National Library Building's Central Public Library Basement 1, from 3rd Sep - 15 Oct 2009, showcased past years public posters of Singapore. This exhibition features how Singapore has evolved in their government's advertising campaigns.

While walking through the exhibition space, I seem to be walking through my childhood too as I saw some familiar campaign posters from the past. I have to admit local posters really come a long way, but sadly I feel that posters from the earlier days seem to speak to the public better and hence leave a long-lasting impression. I wonder how many people actually feel the same as me? Have a look at some of the featured posters and you'll be your own judge.

Interesting campaign in the 1970s to discourage men from having long hair.

A familiar mascot of the 1980s for Healthcare.

Language campaigns from the 1980s to 2000s.

The in-famous family control campaign from the 1970s. As the public during those days tends to want sons instead of daughters, the posters deliberately chose girls as the models for the campaign.

See how "Save water campaign" by the Public Utilities Board has evolved throughout the years.

{ Johanna Basford }

I was reading through CR Blog when I come across this illustrator, Johanna Basford who has a very distinctive style of illustration. She does only black and white ornamental motif-like illustrations. Her work is so outstanding and bold that CR Blog has to feature her in their blog updates.

This is what happened....Johanna was trying to promote herself to Creative Review and she created a direct mailer for the Editor of Creative Review. She literally recreated her own version of a CR magazine cover which also consisted of her self-promoting CD inside. Nicely-packed in a nostalgic brown paper warp, the package was sent off to London for the CR team.

A little sneak on the direct mailer....


About the Artist.....

Inspired by her upbringing on a small fish farm in rural Aberdeenshire, Scotland, much of Johanna's work has roots in the flora and fauna that she has grown up with. Her wandering imagination and passion for drawing took her to Art School in Dundee, where she graduated with a first class honours degree in Printed Textiles in 2005.

Having dabbled with the idea of moving to London, Johanna decided the concrete clad city sapped her creativity. She set up her small Scottish studio creating distinctively different hand drawn motifs in her signature black and white palette.

She embraces the challenge of a cross disciplinary approach, creating designs and surface patterns for everything from ceramics, to bedlinen, catwalk fashion, packaging, wallpaper, wedding stationary and visual merchandising. Her ever-growing list of happy customers includes names such as The Crafts Council at the Victoria and Albert Museum, DKNY, The BBC, The Scottish Parliament, Heals, Queensberry Hunt, Hendricks Gin, The Body Shop and Johnson and Johnson.

Here are some of her works...

For more info on Johanna Basford and her works, click here.

Special credits to Johanna Basford & Creative Review Blog