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We recently visited Panama and came across this very unique and vibrant art form. Molas are created by the Kuna Yala culture indigenous to Panama and residing in the autonomous region and archipelago islands of San Blas.

The word mola literally means ‘shirt’ and traditionally is part of the female attire where two panels form front and back of the shirt. The patterns of the molas were originally painted on women’s bodies and were mostly geometric. Kuna Yala started creating the designs in fabric once Europeans brought cotton. In the last half century or so more realistic elements such as flowers, fish or birds started appearing.

Creation of molas is quite interesting. Several pieces of cotton are sewn together and then the design is created by cutting away parts of the layers. The largest pattern is usually cut from the top layer showing the smaller pattern and the colors of the layers below. Edges of the molas are then turned under and sewn. Often the stitches are made almost invisible, especially in the higher quality molas.

The picture on the bottom shows the mola we purchased. To us the colors resembled the art of the 1980s, a bit in the style of Keith Haring and the geometric patterns of the Op Art of the 60s.

This was originally published on Jason’s blog

Of all the top social networks Facebook most successfully satisfies our vanity. We’ve all gone online. We want our existence reinforced. Facebook has claimed a monopoly on our actual personal networks. Twitter, Google+ and Diaspora are biased to connecting outwardly, helping us forge new networks. While this is a more noble premise if you believe in the potential of the world wide web, it also makes these networks much more disposable.

I recently allowed my birthday to appear for my Facebook friends. I received over thirty birthday wall posts. This personal and very human connection got me thinking that this is where Facebook’s advantage lies. Only Facebook virtually guarantees feedback on the signals we put out now matter how small our networks. This is because for most we’ve replicated our real life social networks on Facebook and nowhere else online.

I really like Twitter but I rarely use it for social purposes. My following is currently too small to give me much feedback on what I put out there. I do appreciate that so many reputable periodicals and notables use it to broadcast their links and links they find interesting. Twitter is life support to my Flipboard. The greatest paradox I find in Twitter is that nothing is better for receiving signals yet nothing is worse for sending them (for the average individual). I think Twitter will need to become more authentically social or the jig may be up very soon. I’m actually surprised Apple went with deep Twitter integration for the latest iOS release. I rarely use it. For photos I prefer Instagram as it sends out to several social services simultaneously. Why would I just Tweet photos when it’s nearly a guarantee no one is looking for my personal stuff there? Not saying I don’t do it but I’ve learned not to expect much feedback from Twitter. Thus far Apple hasn’t demonstrated many successful ideas for social media as relates to their software and devices.

I can see a counterpoint argument suggesting I just need to put more effort into Twitter. But why should I? My existence on Facebook is validated with minimal effort. Interestingly I’ve been getting decent feedback on Diaspora.

My Google+ profile has been floundering. My Facebook friends just did not migrate over. I dislike so much about Google right now that I can’t bring myself to invest more of my time in what feel like mediocre/unfinished products.

To circle back I don’t want to leave the impression that I’m pro-Facebook. I’m just pointing out that they will continue to be on top because they are better at finding ways to use our personal data to deliver the most meaningful signals to us. To leave off on a critical note, the Facebook paradigm feels too simplistic. The Like button has likely done irreparable damage in over-simplifying a complex world. Facebook’s presentation often feels much more superficial than the other networks.

I think the answer is not to have one network to rule them all, but to open up the ports so they can start to talk to each other. This comes back to the Promise of Diaspora. Many Diaspora users have closed out their Facebook accounts. I won’t be closing any social accounts until the day comes when I can communicate and interact with Facebookers without needing to actually be on Facebook.

We recently redesigned and launched the website of the ARTnews magazine, which is the oldest art magazine in the world. This was an exciting project for both of us as we have been reading this magazine since we were teenagers. We both have training in fine art and this publication helped foster our interest in art.

ARTnews.com has not undergone any redesign initiatives for a number of years. The project required a great deal of planning including migration of 15 years of magazine articles. We restructured the content to work within a contemporary content management system. To create the optimal User Experience and retain the traditional print magazine feel, we incorporated elements of print magazine layout and editorial design. The design and the structure is scalable and it can grow over time as new technologies become available.

Read our case study from our portfolio. And please visit the ARTnews.com website.

We recently went to see this extraordinary exhibit at the Met. We did arrive on an early Friday evening so the crowds were probably at their maximum capacity. Took over an hour of standing in line to get in, but it was completely worth it. Met had done a beautiful job customizing each exhibit room to showcase the collection pieces. With work so unique, intense and expertly crafted, it’s impossible to have a favorite. Most pieces were accompanied by quotes from the designer who very direct and articulate about his work. The work seems to almost exist in its own space blurring the lines between fashion and art, and the deliberate, timeless and genius nature of it is undeniable.

The exhibit is running through August 7th at the Met Museum:

http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/

We attended the keynote address by Rem Koolhaas for The Festival of Ideas for the New City, May 4–8, concentrating on how preservation (‘heritage’) has accelerated in recent year, how it’s becoming the future, and how it may leave little room for innovation. One of the highlighted points is how the urban landscape is in a state of absolute change and absolute stasis simultaneously. Rather than drawing final conclusions, Mr. Koolhaas was interested in how artists perceive this phenomenon of ‘heritage’. The ideas in the talk are explored in the upcoming OMA exhibit opening at the New Museum on May 7th.

The New Museum presents Cronocaos, OMA’s installation that asserts the critical position of preservation in archi-
tecture and urbanism. The exhibition will take place at the New Museum’s 3,600 square foot, partially renovated ground floor space at 231 Bowery. It includes historic objects and photographs, analysis of the rapid growth of preserved urban and natural territories, and a take-away display of OMA’s projects spanning thirty-five years. Cronocaos redefines this underexplored theme as one of urgency within and beyond architecture’s disciplinary boundaries.

Visit the New Museum website.

Visit the festival website.

Visit the OMA website.

Images from the talk. On the right is woman looking at Malevich’s Black Square.

We are very excited about the upcoming Festival of Ideas for The New City in early May. Variety of downtown organizations will participate to envision the future of the city. Rem Koolhas is doing the keynote address on May 4th and we will be thrilled to attend!

The Festival of Ideas for the New City, May 4-8, 2011, is a major new collaborative initiative in New York involving scores of Downtown organizations, from universities to arts institutions and community groups, working together to effect change. A first for New York, the Festival will harness the power of the creative community to imagine the future city and explore the ideas destined to shape it. It will take place in multiple venues Downtown and is organized around three central programs: a conference of symposia; an innovative StreetFest along the Bowery; and over one hundred independent projects and public events. The Festival will serve as a platform for artists, writers, architects, engineers, designers, urban farmers, planners, and thought leaders to exchange ideas, propose solutions, and invite the public to participate.

Find out more at festivalofideasnyc.com

Unsound Festival explores various genres of contemporary music from electronic to post classical to experimental. We just attended one of the panel discussions by a sound art group ((audience)) about using traditional movie theaters as venues for sound art. Festival performances will being on April 6th. It’s an eclectic mix!

More info on the festival

This amazing image is blend of infrared, near-infrared, and visible light satellite images taken by Landsat 7 over ten years ago. It was posted by NASA. The park in located in southeastern Algeria in Sahara and it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The texture is amazing. I think back on all those moments when as a designer one looks really hard for just the right abstract texture to complement the project. It seems this image could provide endless abstract details. Another reason this image caught my eye is because it’s topography, and yet with all the color it transforms into something more.

Read more here on NASA website