Once in a while something comes along that can only be described as special, Tekkonkinkreet is one of those things.
Based on a manga (a general term for Japanese comics) by Taiyo Matsumoto but put together by the studio that made the Animatrix, Tekkonkinkreet is possibly unlike anything you might have seen before, as it’s a interesting and visually complex blend of East meets West, throwing away what we usually consider Japanese Anime.
But it’s not just the visual of Tekkonkinkreet that catches one’s attention but the storyline itself. Centred around two young characters, Black and White, the story takes place in a grotty, crowded and on its way out ‘Treasure Town’, somewhere in Tokyo. At its most basic, Tekkonkinkreet is a story about gang turf and Yakuza, though it really is about the complex and symbiotic relationship shared between Black and White.
With an very tight soundtrack, beautiful animation and a deep and complex storyline, Tekkonkinkreet is a must see and as it went straight to DVD, there is no excuse not to grab a copy.
The problem (problem?) with big galleries, is that you have to go to them; in the case of some of the nation’s best, that means a 300 odd k drive (each way) from Sydney to see them in Canberra. While there is nothing nicer than spending time cruising the halls, it often means that most people not in the direct vicinity miss out on what’s going down.
The National Portrait Gallery though has an exhibition that comes to you, or your broadband line as the case might be.
Check out ‘Animated‘, the NPG’s first online exhibit.
Coming up with the latest and greatest bit of Experiential Design to entrance the participant is always an interesting challenge, especially when thinking about longer term prospects. TiWalkMe, could be described as taking Experiential Design to a whole new level.TiWalkMe is a 1000 year clock using trees as the guage of time. Designed to track time for a millennia and engaging multiple generations, tree plantings grow, mature and die off as they progress along a tact of land, giving an indication of time marching on.The project is guided by three main principles:
Principle 1: The slow march of trees across the Escapement must always be visible and unobstructed.
Principle 2: The Escapement must adapt to future knowledge and needs, yet remain balanced with the past.
Principle 3: TiWalkMe’s mission is to bring perspective and insight to its visitors.
Call it a mass market backlash, a reaction to having the same stuff no matter how much it cost, than everyone else, but there is an ever growing trend, desire even, to be custom. From uber expensive small label jeans, to blinged cars, there is a growing sector of the market that doe not wan to be off the shelf, for all the obvious reasons.
So it should come as no surprise that Tobias Wong, for CITIZEN:citizen, has created the fantastically limited edition ccPhone….. a custom blinged out iPhone. Limited to only 50 world wide and with a price tag of US2k, you’re going to feel pretty damn special with one of these in your pocket. What’s so spesh about thisAs well as the new case, the ccPhone comes with selected software, music and wallpaper art….
Art, one might think is all a bit high brow. After visiting the ‘Sydney Art’ expo, it’s nice to see that seeing some great ‘art’ is probably more accessible than it has been in the past, even if the price tags are not.
Amongst the range of interesting work present, we discovered Joel Rea, who unveiled a new work at the show. What was most striking about Joel’s work was the combination of painting skill, strong concept, almost a bit Dali if we dare to say, and the odd mix of hooded street people and corporate suite types. His work is the sort that sits in your mind, nagging away at you to try and decipher the message.
From Joel’s site:
” Born in 1983, Joel has been painting in oils since graduating with a degree in fine art from the Queensland College of Art in 2003. Living on the Gold Coast and painting along side Brett Lethbridge at the Lethbridge Gallery in Brisbane, Joel is fully committed to his creative practice to which he generously engages anyone interested with insight into his fine art paintings.
Joel successfully exhibits his paintings in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney & Melbourne with Lethbridge Gallery.
Be Joel’s friend, find him at - www.myspace.com/joelreafineartist”
“I think that our distance from nature is already a cliché. City dwellers often have no relationship with animals or greenery. As a public artist I feel a sense of duty to draw attention to deficiencies in our everyday life. As a cultivator of eco-urban sensitivity, I usually go back to the sites to visit my “plants” or “moss”, sometimes to repair them a bit, but nothing more generally as they tend to get enough water from the air, condensation, and rain - especially in certain seasons. I also like to let them live by themselves. From the moment I put them on the street they start to have their own life. For me, the reaction of life on the street is also very important. I am curious about how people receive them, if they just leave them alone, or if they want to, take care of them or dismantle them. This is what makes my work similar to graffiti, although I am searching for a deeper social meaning and a dialogue with memories of the animals and gardens of my past in a small town in Central Europe. I believe that if everyone had a garden of their own to cultivate, we would have a much more balanced relation to our territories. Of course, a garden can be many things.”
