Bringing contemporary art into the public realm, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House presents How Many Billboards? Art in Stead, a large-scale urban exhibition of 21 newly commissioned works by leading artists, displayed on Los Angeles billboards during February and March 2010.

*Above: Billboard by avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger.
Location: Beverly Dr, north of Pico Blvd, on the west side of the street, facing southeast.

*Above: Billboard by multimedia artist Kori Newkirk.
Location: Wilshire Blvd, west of Hoover St, on the south side of the street, facing west

Describing the rationale behind the project, MAK Center Director Kimberli Meyer says: “Art should occupy a visible position in the cacophony of mediated images in the city, and it should do so without merely adding to the visual noise. How Many Billboards? Art In Stead proposes that art periodically displace advertisement in the urban environment.”

*Above: Billboard by film, video and installation artist Kerry Tribe.
Location: La Brea Ave, north of Venice Blvd, on the east side of the street, facing north.

“Billboards are a dominant feature of the landscape in Los Angeles,” Meyer says. “Thousands line the city’s thoroughfares, delivering high-end commercial messages to a repeat audience. Given outdoor advertising’s strong presence in public space, it seems reasonable and exciting to set up the possibility for art to be present in this field. The sudden existence of artistic speech mixed in with commercial speech provides a refreshing change of pace. Commercial messaging tells you to buy; artistic messaging encourages you to look and to think.”

*Above: Billboard by performer and filmmaker Yvonne Rainer, featurinf an enigmatic quote from Hollywood grand dame Marlene Dietrich: “I look good, I know. I can’t hear. I can’t see. But I look good.” Location: Pico Blvd, west of Fairfax Ave, on the south side of the street, facing west

How Many Billboards? Art in Stead is organized by MAK Center Director Kimberli Meyer with co-curators Lisa Henry, Dr. Nizan Shaked, and Dr. Gloria Sutton, and public art consultant Sara Daleiden.

If you’re in the L.A. area, you can visit the overview exhibit and orientation station at the Schindler House, 835 North Kings Road in West Hollywood. Bus tours are also available. Public hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call (323) 651-1510.

For an up-to-the-minute map of the exhibited artwork locations, visit howmanybillboards.org.

*Images courtesy of MAK.

When great design inspires healthy living, there’s not much more we
can ask for. Y Water’s perfect union combines a cool and kid-friendly,
100% recyclable bottle with removable, biodegradable labeling and
a flavored, vitamin- and mineral-rich, low-sugar, organic beverage.
Once empty, the container becomes a toy that kids can link to other
bottles through biodegradable, connectable rubber “Y knots,” letting
them create spaceships, animals, robots, or whatever else their
imaginations can dream up. When all is said and done, parents can
log onto www.ywater.us and receive a free mailer to send the bottle
back for recycling.

The cheery Y-shape inspired the drink’s name, a playful riff on two
of the most commonly asked kiddie questions: “Why?” and “Why
not?” As Y-Water designer Yves Béhar says, “The brand, the bottle,
the graphics, the name … everything is one, connected by the idea
of giving a smarter, healthier and much more fun experience. The
category is so bland, so un-original … but kids are open-minded to
new and creative things, and that is what we wanted to give them.”

To read my extended review of Y Water for Clear Magazine, click here.

“Hate advertising? Make better ads.” So says Doug Pray, director of Art & Copy, a documentary study of art, commerce and human emotion. Pray’s newest film focuses on advertising’s best, featuring a series of interviews with the industry’s leaders: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney (who sadly passed away last year), Rich Silverstein, Jeff Goodby and other trailblazers, who bring honor to a profession all too often clouded by mediocrity.

In the spirit of other recent, great art/design documentaries – such as Gary Hustwit’s Helvetica and Objectified – and for a world so happy to embrace this under-represented industry – Madmen anyone? – Art & Copy considers the creative minds and passion of those who, generally without our awareness, sculpt so much of our world.

Art & Copy premiers tomorrow at the IFC Center in NY. For more information – and the trailer – visit artandcopyfilm.com

above: images from Stefan Sagmeister’s 2008 book, “Things I’ve learned in my life so far”

Absolut Vodka‘s ads are immediately recognizable, and over the years, their campaigns have become truly iconic. However, the company’s newest tv ad campaign, produced by  TBWA/Chiat/Day, is a bit too similar to another icon’s work for my liking.

While beautiful, the ad’s imagery and tagline (“Doing something differently leads to something exceptional.”) are incredibly similar in look and concept to graphic design star Stefan Sagmeister‘s  2008 “Things I have learned in my life so far.” A successful design book and exhibit at Deitch gallery in NY, “Things I have learned in my life so far” was inspired by a list of life lessons Sagmeister jotted down while on sabbatical the year before, and then spelled out using creative environmental typographic tools – everything from hangers to body paint, furniture to food, lightboxes to giant, white inflatable monkeys.

I interviewed Sagmeister in 2008 right after the book came out for Graphis. Just this week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sagmeister again for the upcoming fall issue of Clear Magazine. He returns to NY from his latest sabbatical year (in Bali) in September, and told me that when approached for this tv spot, he declined to work with the firm, as he’d committed to only personal design work over the year, and wasn’t taking any new client work.

Take a look for yourself below. And check out my interview with Stefan Sagmeister for Graphis by visiting my Writing Samples page or clicking here: The Art of Introspection.