Swatch

Over the past couple of years i think that Swatch have lost their status and become less desirable. They introduced their snowpass watches a couple of years ago to allow skiiers and boarders to use their watch as a liftpass. Although this is a cool idea I don't think it all that popular, sales and interest in the product haven't been too impressive. This feature doesn't make the watches cool enough for people to buy them.

However the adverts for their new collections of watches are carefully considered and it is clear who their target market is. The photography is well art directed and interesting, i particularly like the 'Lady Square' adverts, the women with the square afro attracts attention and makes you look at the square watch.

Jardin de Maths, Geneva

Geneva Botanical Gardens is hosting the 'Jardin de Maths' exhibition this summer. After 2 years of studying design theory modules and being told that it was crucial that i knew all about the Fibonacci series and the golden mean i thought i should visit the exhibition...
An exhibition aimed at both adults and children and to include those with little interest in the subject, the topics are explained clearly and put into context with examples in plant and photography form. To actually see how theories work in real life examples helps you to understand. The Fibonacci series, the golden mean, fractals and symmetry are demonstrated using plants. Having previously studied these topics i found the exhibition reasonably interesting, however most of the other people there appeared to be there purely by chance rather than purposefully visiting the exhibition and tended to walk past the information and just enjoy the plants and peacefulness of the gardens.

Ideas have legs...

An amusing book by Ian McMillan, a poet and broadcaster, and Andy Martin, an illustrator.
'This book is the result of two artists collaborating words versus pictures. The result is a lavish book of ideas, oceans of notions.'

The book is thought provoking, it has definitely made me consider how i view images and words, independently and when used together. The illustrations are varied and they made me want to get doodling and play on photoshop. The copy is witty, in places it supports the image
and at other times it contradicts it. Next time i am using both copy and imagery i am going to have a flick through this book to remind myself of how i can make them work effectively together.

Foundation Pierre Gianadda

I've spent much of today at the Foundation Pierre Gianadda in Martigny, an interesting little town in Switzerland. The museum is built on Roman ruins and has several permanent exhibitions, including archaeological relics and a vintage cars!

There is an extensive sculpture park with work from Miro and Moore along with other renowned artists. I found the mix of traditional and contemporary sculpture refreshing, and it was interesting to see works of art that i have previously studied.

Picasso's 'Nu aux jambes oroisees' is alongside the work of Cezanne in one of the exhbits and i found it fascinating to be able to get so close to their work. The detail and precision in Picasso's work is amazing. Due to large security guards i was unable to take any photos!

At the moment there is a temporary exhibition showing the work of Balthus. Although i am not overly familiar with Balthus i enjoyed seeing his work. There is a slightly eerie and surreal feel to many of his pieces, although most of his work on display is in paint i preferred his work in crayon and pastel as it had a softer feel about it.


All in all the Foundation is a brilliant museum, if maybe a little too much to take in for one day!

Blog time

Welcome to my shiny new blog, which is gonna be filled with lots of exciting, inspirational things... :)