coffee and pie

I came across Philips Lumiblade Creative Lab through Jason Bruge’s piece Mimosa. Philips OLED Lumiblade (organic light emitting diode) is the first commercial module available and to showcase its capabilities they have partnered with leading designers to explore the possibilities of OLED lighting in design and construction.

The Lumiblade Creative Lab is an actual lab in Germany where various professionals from a range of backgrounds have come to explore what this new technology can do.

Jason Bruges Studio in Milan was commissioned by Philips to develop a light installation for the 2010 Milan furniture fair.

Mimosa is an interactive artwork displaying behavior that mimics responsive plant systems. The piece was inspired by the Mimosa family of plants, which change kinetically to suit their environmental conditions.

Mimosa by Jason Bruges Studio from Bruges Studio on Vimeo.

Jason’s project is lovely and it’s really to exciting to see a brand highlight the value in its products through these innovative partnerships. As discussed on my blog in the past all too often – especially since the surge in social media marketing – we see companies try and sell products through making them look good but without fully committing to an idea. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes out of Philips Lumiblade lab next.

Yesterday I went to the Tate Britain for some ‘culture’ (and cream teas) I went to see the Chris Ofili exhibition and I loved it. I cant stop telling everyone I have seen since to go. So go!

Chris Ofili I discovered yesterday was born in Manchester in 1968 and attended the Chelsea School of Art followed by the Royal College of Art. I went to the exhibition not knowing what to expect but was completely captivated by his pieces. I’m no expert when it comes to art so please excuse my amateur attempt at talking about the exhibition.

The earlier paintings at the beginning of the exhibition stopped me in my tracks when I walked in. The canvas’s layered with glitter, resin magazine cut outs and elephant dung were so colorful and detailed, trying to decipher the meaning was secondary to just looking, which is perhaps I realized yesterday what I try to normally do when looking at Art. It was incredibly refreshing to go to an exhibition where I didn’t think about the piece until after I had finished looking at it.

As you go through the exhibition you see how his surroundings have impacted his art. The pieces Pimpin aint easy and Blossom we learn were heavily influenced by his time spent living in Kings Cross in London and seeing the street activity of pimps, drug dealers and prostitutes.

No Woman no cry – a portrait of a weeping female figure created in the aftermath of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry includes pictures of Stephen Lawrence in each teardrop – it is this kind of detail and messages behind his work that made it so stunning.

Halfway through the exhibition there is a chapel-like space designed by David Adjaye for thirteen of Ofili’s pieces inspired by Andy Warhol’s monkey holding a chalice. Ofili wanted the space to feel like a place of worship and see if the traditional emotions that those type of places build up could be enhanced by paintings.

Its in the upper room you also start to see Ofili’s Spanish influence after moving to Trinidad in 2005. These are explored further in the final rooms of the exhibition where we see his works with textures and materials move on to working with colours and nature.

This type of exhibition makes me wish I could make things. It also made me realise how much stuff I consume online but never venture to see. I love the Internet but its nice to remind yourself that it is still better when you see something in real life.

As I tackled my bowl of soup, keyboard and mouse this lunchtime I came across these pictures by Fred Murram. I like.

Thank you today and tommorow