me news
total
my copy finally arrived in the mail yesterday… and it wasn’t a disappointment, i am not a huge fan of the early years of seminal dutch design agency ‘total design’ to be honest, at least nowhere the levels of hero-worship they seem to be receiving at the moment, the latest book from UK niche-publisher ‘unit editions’ is however really well made and presents the information in a clear and ordered fashion (designed by the excellent ‘spin’)
i’ll post a longer review when i’ve had time to look at (and read) the book in depth, i also came a across an old picture of the studio staff, showing my dear old colleague (now sadly deceased) mister ‘ritzo bloem’ sporting a trendy early-70’s goatee, we miss you ritzo x
this is
…in April, I had the great oportunity to discover a marveleous city called “Soulsville” also known as Memphis. I’ve been invited by my friend Robert Loeb who I met in Miami through the artist Angelbert, last November…
a funky, colourful mural made by french grafitti artist remed in memphis, tenessee earlier this year
ootje
a new book (see ‘forthcoming’) documenting the career of the man responsible for the most beautiful (and now defunct) banknotes ever made: ootje oxenaar, the book will be launched at the ‘stedelijk museum’ in late june with a series of lectures, i was introduced to him several years back and found him to be a very friendly and open person
…the role played by R.D.E. (’Ootje’) Oxenaar in the development of Dutch graphic design is a fascinating one. In 1970 he joined the Department of Art and Design at what was then the Dutch Postal and Telecommunications Service (PTT). He was deputy head from then until 1976, when he took over as head of the department until 1994. It would be hard to overstate his importance as one of the key public principals of Dutch graphic design in those years. That success can be attributed to Oxenaar’s own visual production from the early 1950s onward, and the position this earned him in the design field as a front-rank graphic designer…
x marks the spot
the dutch national museum (a planned nationwide historical portal) was in the news yesterday as the latest victim of cuts in funding by the current dutch ‘butcher’ government, plans to establish a large (physical) museum of national history now look like they will be shelved indefinitely
their latest online project, however, was launched this week… designed by two amsterdam agencies working close together (fabrique & vandejong) the project, known as ‘x was here’ aims to build a dynamic online database of significant historical locations, with the help of the general public, the database will be (politicians permitting) regularly updated, there is also an iphone app for those wishing to take part and the project progress, so far, can be seen by clicking on the x, each marked location has a it’s own unique icon in the database which can be scanned using the app to obtain information on demand, an ambitious and highly ‘now’ idea which (if successful) could perhaps lead the way for many similar initiatives… perhaps someone could make an app to mark all of the cultural institutes/art initiatives that we will soon no longer be able to visit or enjoy…
