QUEENS MUSEUM MOST WANTED

Last week I took a little field trip out to the Queens Museum. Shamefully, I had never been there, even though I have lived in New York for six years (I am blushing as I type this, trust me!). I chose a beautiful sunny day and took the long subway trip out. Disembarking from the train, I frolicked through the World's Fair grounds and past the amazing Unisphere . . . (more photos I snapped of that here)

I popped into the museum's famous panorama. It is a scale replica of every building in New York City; when new buildings are added or renovated the museum staff even update it! Plus they have tiny planes flying in and out of the model to JFK. The whole thing is quite a spectacle, even if it does contain the occasional pair of dropped sunglasses in the Hudson River!

Then I checked out the impressive Andy Warhol exhibition about his controversial contribution to the American Pavilion at the 1964 World's Fair—a large 20' x 20' paneled painting depicting the photos of the FBI's thirteen most wanted men. The show was well researched and informative, calling on Warhol's practice as a whole and fleshing out the mitigating political and practical factors involved in the removal (technically the painting over) of Warhol's work just days after the opening of the fair. It was fascinating to see all the pertinent historical materials gathered in one place—copies of bureau info packets on the criminals at large, letters sent between people involved in the project (including Warhol's friends complaining about FBI raids on his studio!), newspaper articles recounting the removal of the work, etc.—intermingled with Warhol's concurrent silkscreens and the museum's models of the fairgrounds themselves. The show—and the museum's recently renovated space itself—is quite fun to explore and I recommend you take advantage of these last few sunny days of summer and pop over there before the Warhol show closes on September 7. You can also find out more information about the exhibition here and the museum itself here.

After my visit I came home to reread some of the reviews of the show, mostly to see what kind of critical attention it had garnered. I was pleasantly surprised to discover a new article in the New York Times that chronicles an unusually personal backstory; Mr. George Lawler stumbled upon a review of the exhibition earlier this year and was surprised to see his father's face illustrated in one of Warhol's 'most wanted' paintings. The Times story, while brief, recounts Lawler's abandonment by his parents and the unique perspective he has on Warhol's classic decree that 'everyone will have their 15 minutes of fame'. It's a cool article and I recommend you check it out here.

PATRIOTIC PASTA

What a cool idea! The Australian advertising agency WHYBIN\TBWA created this smart campaign to promote the Sydney International Food Festival. It consists of popular foods from 17 different countries  laid out to resemble their nation's flags. France is made with bleu cheese, brie and grapes; Greece consists of feta and olives; Japan has tuna sashimi and rice. The whole idea is simple yet well-executed—just as smart graphic design should be!

Check out more great examples here.

Still hankering for something to do over this long and potentially-rainy weekend? Here are some links to tide you over.

Four Steps to Better Photos.

I think these tips will prove useful for my trip next month.

Anthony Weiner needs more friends.

Thinking about heading up here this weekend.

This would be a lovely anniversary present.

Ununpentium—there's got to be a better name than that.

I am planning my Dad's 70th birthday party and these would be fun to have on hand!

What a useful (if nerdy) list.

I wish I had been able to see this.

Maybe this guy isn't such a dumbbell after all.

These are perfect for dinner parties, water cooler talk and networking.

This is one sophisticated first birthday party.

R.I.P. Gus.

"Trying to lift things" is this little man's only worry at college. No frat parties for him!

A cuter (but perhaps no less slobbery?) pope, ha!

I feel queasy just looking at this monstrosity.

In keeping with my post earlier this week, only clear skies from here on out.

Thanks, Miley, for degrading the foam finger. 

Have a great weekend!

IT'S ELECTION DAY!

In case you have been living under a rock (or live overseas, I suppose), I am here to remind you it is election day! And with this year's Presidential race as tight as ever, I hope you all will be exercising your rights and hitting the poles today to cast your vote, as these amazing illustrations from the tumblr site #GoVote encourage you to do. Lamely, the timing of changing my last name (post-wedding) precluded me from registering to vote under my new name in New York in time to weigh in on this election . . . sad! So I will have to live vicariously for you all and hope that all goes well!




On a separate voting-related note, do you remember what you learned in your eighth grade social studies class about the electoral college? You probably remember that it is important to the outcome of the race but not the particulars about how it works, right? Well here is a beautifully illustrated little video that gives you a tidy recap just before the poles close.

Happy Election Day! See more beautiful #GoVote designs here.


(Hat tip to swiss-miss for the tips here and here)

WELCOME TO THE WEEKEND

Whoa, where did this week go? I have a theory that short weeks at work are actually the craziest; at least for me, I have less time to cram in more work than usual to make up for my hedonistic laziness over the long weekend. Pair that with a very busy exhibition schedule here at the Whitney Museum and I am wiped!

Do you have anything fun planned this weekend? My in-laws are coming to visit and, given the beautiful weather forecast, I am hoping to take them here and here (maybe with a stop here for a cookie in between). Hope you are going to be taking advantage of the crisp fall air wherever you are!

For those of you who are stuck inside for the next couple days, or just want some procrastination inspiration at work today, here are some fun things to keep you busy:

I don't care that this place is in Minnesota, I want to go there now.

This is hilarious (and kinda disappointing) at the same time.

I need to stockpile this and this in black or red. (Won't they look great together?)

This looks super useful, and I think I would make it my mission to top the Today Show (there version is boring!).

I have been a die-hard reader my whole life and I did not know half of these things.

I need to learn all of these (and these). Now. And I need to try to use them without giggling.

I got in on this (so smart!) and wish I had gotten in on this (cool!).

If only Nemo's Dad had had access to this . . .

Okay, maybe Facebook isn't all evil . . .

Have you seen my friend Lily's blog? It's beautiful! And so is her artwork!

This woman is incredible. We would all be lucky to have even half of her poise, grace and downright awesomeness.

And now for something completely different (only in New York!)


Have a great weekend, all! See you on Monday!


Photo taken by me, last month, at the Eastern Market in D.C. Check out more of my Instagram photos here.

STOP PIPA & SOPA

I usually don't like to get into politics on the O.I., but since the new PIPA and SOPA legislation being brought before Congress so directly affects the blog world (by regulating the internet), I thought I would make an exception. Today my only goal in posting is to support the 'black out' effort to protest this retrograde lawmaking, encourage you to learn more about the issue and sign the petition here.


Let's keep our internet free!


(Image of Google's homepage in protest, learn more here)

OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE

November 19, 1863. One hundred forty-seven years ago and yet these words still ring so true. Adam Gault has made a beautiful visual representation of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Watch it and note how your jaw drops—it is stunning! It helps that Mitch Rapoport has the perfect voice for narration, especially when it is for a historical subject.

See more of Gault's work in his portfolio here.

(Found via OK Great)

IN THE CLASSROOM: SOCIAL UPHEAVAL

This week's 'In the Classroom' focuses on the social activism that arose in the 1960s and 1970s.

There has been an amazing amount of buzz about the graphic-artist Sister Corita, neé Corita Kent, in the blogosphere recently. Reading about her for class this week, I can understand why. As a sister in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, she ran the art department at the Immaculate College in California for years, slowly achieving renown for her creative teaching practices and brilliant serigraph poster designs. Using Pop art tactics--incorporating slogans and logos from products like Pepsi, General Mills and Wonder Bread--Sister Corita manipulated bold text and bright colors to create graphics that encouraged her viewers to find the beauty in life and God. It must also be noted that Sister Corita worked without the benefit of computers; her twisting type effects were done by drawing the type, bending and folding the paper, photographing that effect and then painstakingly recreating the photograph. The result were bold and dynamic poster designs that continue to inspire nearly 50 years later.

Learn more at the Corita Art Center here.

The AIDs crisis started in June 1981 when five men were diagnosed in Los Angeles with what was then known as GRID or 'Gay-Related Immuno-Difficiency'. Within a year, GRID was renamed AIDs, and the disease had become a full-fledged pandemic among gay and minorities communities around the country. Two major groups formed--Act Up and Gran Fury--to create poster and sticker campaigns that lobbied for the rights of the sick, pushing politicians to allocate money for health care and research to solve the crisis. Both groups used bold geometric designs and startling statistics to create posters that would jolt the public into getting involved. My particular favorite is the 'Read My Lips' campaign by Gran Fury. Designed to coincide with 'kiss in' events--where dozens of gay and lesbian couples would meet at a public place to make out, thereby demonstrating that homosexuality was not to blame, it was a disease that was at fault--these posters show that behind every individual was a person, not a stereotype, who deserved help and respect and who simply wanted to be able to be with the person they loved without the penalty of death.

There is so much more to learn about these two groups: more on Act Up here, and Gran Fury here.

PEOPLE BEHIND THE PRESIDENT

The New York Times Magazine has an amazing photo essay of 52 of Obama's top aides, advisors and cabinet members.  Taken by Nadav Kander, the photographs also have a great voice over describing the photo documentary  process.  I love the expressiveness achieved in each shot.  Check them all out here.

TOO MUCH BEAUTY IN ONE ROOM!

It's hard enough looking at Beyonce without wanting to kiss her, but when she is singing my FAVORITE SONG (which will be my first dance at my wedding) to the MOST GORGEOUS political couple IT IS TOO MUCH FOR MY EYEBALLS TO TAKE.

Watch it yourself but beware of smiling and pawing at the screen!

INAUGURATION DAY!

I am very excited to watch the Inauguration today (which is being broadcasted at school on our jumbo screen).  Just a couple of things to keep your excitement up:

Awesome Obama Stamp at Kiosk

Is Obama President? countdown website

Enjoy!

THE NEW YORK TIMES & OBAMA

NYTimes photographers Damon Winter and Doug Mills did a wonderful job capturing the poignancy of Obama's campaign in film.  

See more through a comprehensive slide show here.

PFFT, SARAH PALIN!

You, lovely reader, have permission to wink.  Sarah Palin on the other hand . . . 

Any woman who passes legislation to force survivors to pay for their rape kits is not a defender of women's rights!  America: just say no!  If she can't name a single paper or magazine she reads ("I read 'em all, Katie Couric! Everything on my desk!"), I am pretty sure she don't deserve to be in the White House . . . . Don't even get me started on Grandpa McCain!  Have you seen this website?

(Photo found at my favorite color is shiny)