lehman brothers vs. hundertwasser

hundertwasser painting

um… why would lehman brothers be related or relevant to hundertwasser?  in fact, they aren’t comparable and belong to completely different domain.  so why mentioning both in one entry?  initially, i wanted to write about hundertwasser since i came across his art work and book again recently.   i’m always aspired by the imaginative, impressionist architectural design.

however, after hearing the news about the fall of lehman brothers, one of the world’s top investment banks, i got a mixed feeling about it.  i feel like ignorant and lucky at the same time.  in fact, the news would be relevant and make somewhat a big impact on my previous life before i made the change.  however, i felt indifferent as if i were immune from the world’s economy decline, while most people i know or around me expressed concerns and worries.  the truth is that the ripple effect will wriggle down to the micro-level and affect average citizens.  the analytical side of me led me into thinking about the situation further.  however, i feel lucky in a sense that i don’t feel the immediate impact.  although it’s true that no matters what we do, the declining economy will affect everyone on micro level.  yet, working in design seems to see things differently.  it’d be beneficiary to maintain a neutral mindset.  as i once read john maeda mentioned in his book or blog, he deliberately avoid reading news as those could very be noise and prevent one to have clear mind and focus on design (more on john maeda next time).

hundertwasser architecture

on to hundertwasser….
i first encounter the art of the master in Vienna, Austria during a trip in Europe.  I immediately fell for the liberating free-form building designs.  To some, the shapes and designs appear to be irregular; yet the non-conventional and non-rectangular shapes of building and interior are in fact inspired by the nature – the trees, flowers, colors, sky, and so on.  I’m particularly inspired by his keen eyes and amazing work in combining basic graphic forms and colors into architecture.  To him, if one loves architecture, what’s true of people is true for buildings.

Hundertwasser contends that ruler-drawn straight lines make people sick because, not occurring in nature, they incessantly subject people o an irritation for which the organism is unprepared.  In modern city, the insult of the straight line is relentless, and capable to the assault of chemical carcinogens,  of pollutants that cause fearful diseases.

At a basic level, Hundertwasser is well aware that “We are made up of cells, organically built up into humans.  So when these seeing cells perceive something that is alien to them, alien to organic forms, they transmit an alarm signal to the brain.”

let’s keep up the spirit of art and design and maintain a peace of mine to get through this down or upcoming downturn period.  Before sunrise there is dawn.

To family and friends…

mid-autumn – rabbit lantern – childhood memory

The initial idea of this blog was to capture the design works, progress and little and big things we observed and come across. In general, the focus is on design. Over time, there is a second thought. Regardless the nature of our work, be it design, art, science, music, etc, is the result and the synthesis of an individual or collective mind, experience, relationships, and finally knowledge. We are who we are primarily influenced by the people we relate to and interact with. It’d make sense to dedicate some time and space to the people whom we cherish for and everyday life we enjoy.

However, as we grew up, it’s hard to say every little things and thought to your friends and family due to lack of time, mental space, or physical distance even though technology such as email has made it much easier. Sometimes, it’s just easier to express; record it and let it be. Hope one day the letters will find its way to those that the letters belong to in this cyberspace.

mooncake festival

mooncake inspired design

This is the first blog in 2 months – what a shame. It was somewhat busy – traveling and stuff; we are slowly settling down and should get better posting more frequently again.

This weekend is mid-autumn festival. People in Hong Kong/China and maybe other of Asia celebrate for the this festival which i sometimes call it the mooncake festival since many eat the special-made sweet delicacy (note aside: this is probably a Chinese festival but other Asian countries might also celebrate as well). Regarding the graphic, it’s supposed to be a design for a purpose. Despite that, can you tell what the circles are all about? um.. let me know what you think, i’ll add my creative statement later; No it’s not mooncake, c’mon.

mooncake art

In any case, this is one of the few designs i came up with but i think it will remain in the “private” collection – or i’ll need to refine it even though i was originally pretty excited about the initial conception but am not so happy how it turns out… that’s part of the iterative design process I guess; There are a few designs; instead of the last piece, the third one turns out to be the best after all, so we decided to go with it – more on it later.

Happy mooncake festival!

wun ying collection

wun ying collection

wun ying means flies in chinese.  it’s a collection of artwork by a HK local artist, carrie chau.  having been traveling around these days, there are a lot of interesting things to see and discover, yet nothing exceptionally inspiring and surprising.  then i came across wun ying collection.  without knowing the background or seeing the artwork before, it’s refreshing to see the distinctive style in her artwork.  her drawings and paintings seem to reveal the artist thought and perspectives of the social issues and current event in a comical and imaginative manner.  it feels special and distinctive because it doesn’t follow the standard universal comic characters style found in japan or asia.   it’s a lot of subtle, dark but delightful.  it reminds me some of the artwork and drawings seen and found in Paris.

delicious design

It’s been almost three weeks since my last post.  It’s because I have been on the road traveling.  I haven’t got the chance to update the blog and the site.  Traveling is a great way to get inspiration for design and ideas.  Stay tuned, more design and update to come.

Since last post is about cross-over design and macaron, I’d like to show you my latest discovery during the trip.  Similar to the macaron-shaped pendants, I found some very nice dessert and bakery shaped pendants – yum!  Those in the pictures are some of good quality and well-made.  Although they aren’t completely handmade, they still involve some skilled handcraft work.