What trends or commonalities do you see emerging across architecture?

Well the digital revolution has been and gone. We are now in the ‘sustainable revolution’  which has come and will stay, because it has to for some very obvious reasons. I think that work is moving towards a synthesis of global and local. Global issues and interests: environment, economy and technique. And local, in the sense of specificities and situations – design issues if you will and uniqueness. I think that there is always a mass move towards a global design product but that deep down people really want to see unique products. These are the issues we need to keep focused on when living in a globally thinking world. – Brenda Macfarlane.

Source: Design Folio, issue two, spring/summer 2010.

She is ables us to see where gridded cities  become flattened like many layers of urban graffiti. Her work represents the speed of cities that are found all throughout the globe.

In her own words getting a glimpse of “this little world that went berserk”.

Stadia 2003

Ink and Acrylic on canvas

She is able to express the chaotic elements of public space around the worlds cities.

“Do we ever stop to think how the products we use affect our environment?” he asks. “The point i’m trying to make with my art is that man has mercilessly used the resources of nature and created havoc with earth’s ecology.” -Bright Ugochukwu Eke.

He has used petrol cans to show how we consume fossil fuels.  They are plastic, so not only the content but the container is harmful.

“Human activities spew CFC (chlorofluorocarbons) into the environment, which causes holes in the ozone layer. Even one atom of this chemical causes destruction.  And again, Styrofoam causes great harm to the enviroment. We have caused global warming, depletion of the ozone layer. So my art installation is like a shield with gaps in it. It symbolises the ozone layer.” – Bright Ugochukwu Eke

His art is his message to the world. Do you think that Eke portrays his message with a definitive enough point? Your views/opinions are welcome!

Since 2005, brazilian artist Nele Azevedo (Below) has assembled her art installation ‘Melting Men’ in various countries around the world such as Brazil, Paris, Havana (Cuba) and Firenze (Italy).  There were 1000 melting men figures melting on the steps of the concert hall in Berlin, sponsored by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) as a global warming initiative.

Each installation lasts about 30 minutes, depending on the weather and the location. It concentrates on small sculptures of small men, the common men. The amount of sculptures also depends on the place.At every installation people who are there watching are invited to help build the monument placing the ice figures.

I love all the different angle shots on this particular installation in Germany. These are photos taken during the installation capturing the process of solid ice men soon becoming a liquid form. It powerfully speaks of the urgent matter of global warming and the threat it has on our existence on earth.  This art installation is able to strongly bring across this message.

Is there anything else she could have used on mass to highlight this global issue that would have been as effective as people? Your views and opinions are appreciated.

Mind Food Magazine – November 2009

I came across this video that has been used as an ad for fightglobalwarming.com and loved the way they have created this art installation on the street. It is able to capture your attention and emotion, as to see the polar bear slipping away.  It definitely helps to send a strong message to viewers that we need to seriously help save amazing creatures such as polar bears, through global warming strategies.  The installation has been set up in the street/pedestrian footpath, so its hard to miss.

GLOBAL ART

Global art enables the world to connect and communicate, as well as share and influence each other through cultural experiences. Many artists throughout the globe are successfully using globalism as their subject matter for their work. They are able to use their artistic expression to help communicate their strong views and messages about serious global environmental issues or political issues.

1965 – Jean Shrimpton broke Melbournes Derby Day etiquette, when she wore a Orlon mini-dress to the races.

This year there seems to have been tonnes of metal and leather carrying on through season trends. This includes jewellery being studded braclets/cuffs and fingers weighed down by a tonne of chunky silver rings. The common winter jacket was of a leather biker style. Leather studded boots or jandels were also amazing if you were able to source them. If you were talented you could stud your own denim cut offs around the pockets or the corners of your light canvas sneakers – and you were therefore well influenced by this trend.

The current Vogue Australia celebrates 50 years by having a brief look at designers and creative greats that have influenced our style/trends.

Collages that i have created – some trends that have had some influence on me this year.

Since the early 1960s, source of fashion influences have grown substantially. Today we can see that fashion directions come from a variety of places, past cultural influences/trends and various individual fashion icons.