Today marks the 1 year anniversary of my Lolo’s passing. One year ago on this day, my entire family was together at the hopsital my Grandfather was staying in, comforting each other for what was expected to come. I flew in from California to see him and the moment I entered his room he flashed his trademark smile at me to signify his joy of being together with another one of his Grandchildren. That is one of the moments during that stay at the hospital that stick out most in my mind – that he was able to still smile despite all of the pain and suffering that he was going through. My Grandfather was a man who was always devoted to the well being of his entire family and .....Continue reading
Archive for January, 2010
The other night my brother and some friends sat down at a local restaurant after a baskeball game to catch up and eat some good and cheap happy hour food. In the midst of our table conversations my eyes focused on the television that was replaying the sports highlights of the day when all of a sudden that big “O” that the University of Oregon uses as their iconic logo fills the screen to preface the upcoming segment on the university’s basketball team.
Now, a lot of you may be wondering why I’m choosing to write about their new identity. Not only am I a University of Oregon alumni (class of 2005, yaw!) but I follow their sports, especially their football team, which all don their trademark “O” symbol and University of Oregon typeface. The biggest reason however are my strong opinions of the icon that surface ever since it was revealed and .....Continue reading
In the design world, graphic work is recognized in countries like the US where corporate design is top notch, Germany from its Bauhaus influences, or Switzerland and its modern, minimalist approach and excellent playful work with typography. While these countries have played essential roles in shaping the design industry standards today, the world is full of talented designers in all of its corners.
Throughout the art history courses in school, we were taught about the design influences of major countries throughout Europe or the United States. Rarely did the teachings go beyond that region. Japan was an exception (they have to be with their ingenious design processes and developments). Frequently during those classes I would think to myself, “What about the graphic work of countries in Latin America or .....Continue reading
After writing an article about wood constructed eyeglasses, it reminded me of a bicycle I discovered through a magazine in the Philippines made primarily of bamboo. The article outlined a graduate student’s journey to the Philippines to concentrate on his studies and ended up applying them to the sustainable production of these bicycles. Not only was it stylish and .....Continue reading
During my trip to Las Vegas this past weekend, I was wasting some time in one of the countless shopping malls and peeked my head into one of the eyeglass shops since I am in dire need of a new pair. Although I am primarily in the market for a nice pair of full frame, black plastic spectacles, there was one pair that caught my eye that was designed by Gold & Wood of Paris. The company name is a literal translation of what made them popular – their frames are constructed of wood with gold inlay. The pair that grabbed my attention had .....Continue reading
The Philippines is a country with a very rich and diverse culture. With over 7,000 islands settled in the Pacific ocean in Southeast Asia, it has been a port utilized for trade and a pit stop for countries exploring the open waters. It is the country’s accessible and convenient location that has also subjected it to imperialism, being used as a strategic post for political advances. The US of A, Japan, and Spain are countries who have all had their slices of the Philippine pie, the latter ruling the 3rd world country for nearly 300 years, all of which has contributed to reshaping the culture of Filipinos. The influence of its colonizers can be seen in much of the Philippine culture today – foods have similarities to Spanish dishes, dialects carry the same phonetics as the Spanish and Malay languages, and .....Continue reading
On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, Haiti experienced a massive earthquake with a 7.0 magnitude followed up by aftershocks that were over the 5.0 richter scale. Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world with roughly 80% of its population living in poverty, was severely devastated from the quake with the city of Port-au-Prince practically destroyed in addition to the death toll expected to be in the tens of thousands. While… .....Continue reading
The first time I encountered Yayoi Kusama’s work was when I stumbled upon her publication in a bookstore last year. Her book was being promoted and it caught my eye because its cover was smothered in polka dots, a staple trademark of her work. Glancing inside its pages, I was intrigued by her obsession that she covered practically everything in polka dots. A performance and installation artist, she develops an incredible display of work where her patterns blanket practically everything in an environment and .....Continue reading
I talked about my trip to the Philippines and Southeast Asia in a previous post about the 2009 year and realized that I didn’t provide you with many pictures to view from the trip. Below are a few that I randomly selected throughout the 3 month excursion. We visited a total of 5 countries, ate amazing food, survived one of the worst typhoons in the history of Manila, and even made it onto the Philippine’s most popular TV show. If you wish to preview .....Continue reading
Meet Mikito Ozeki – cut out artist extraordinaire. I got the chance to preview his work at the New People art gallery in San Francisco’s Japan town. He creates these amazing robot figures with elaborate details of their wires and components weaving in and out of each other. However, the thing that impressed me the most about his work is the process by which these are created. With a large black sheet of paper as his canvas, Ozeki takes an exacto knife and .....Continue reading
