Questioning Reality

These are so genius, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it.  I really want some. bad. I’m going to talk to my contacts and see what I can do.  Think of the marketing possibilities.

[via gizmodo]

So I took this photo that I was pretty happy with (pictured above). its nothing amazing, nothing fantabular, but I liked it. and i was planning to resize it to post it online. For some reason, I kept trying to crop it down to a standard web size. I had convinced myself it needed to be 600×800px. I don’t know why - I just had it in my head that it had to be that way. I spent way too much time trying to crop it, when in the end, I just resized it and kept the same ratio that it was. And I was happy. It was infinitely better than any sort of crop could have done. Sometimes it just needs to be what it needs to be. The norm isn’t always better.

People make such a big deal about ad placement, billboard placement, how many people between the ages of 22.5 and 24.75 walk past a board between the hours of 9:00 and 12:00 per weekday (excluding thursdays), etc. I get tired of hearing and reading about it. Maybe it’s not that complex. Maybe it’s not complex at all.

“design lab” Orange 22 makes some interesting art/furniture/designs. Even more interesting are the photos they take of their products (as pictured above). I know nothing about the company, but I do know that there are some brilliant photos on their pages. It’s not their product in a chic white-on-white leather-on-white room. They’ve got the right idea. now it just needs to make the jump in the direction of billboards - or not billboards, as the case may be.

I was watching VH1’s billionth repeat of the 100 greatest songs of the 80s (or whatever… it’s something like that) when Run D.M.C. comes up for their hit with Aerosmith, “walk this way.”  Joseph Simmons (Rev Run) and Darryl McDaniels (DMC) are fairly interesting folks to begin with, but DMC was talking about their collaboration with Aerosmith and said “Rap and Rock…. it’s all really the same thing anyway.”  Just some food for thought.  Run is a rapper-turned-reverend, so the lines are obviously not rigidly defined in the stereotypical, expected patterns.  Maybe music, in the broad scale, is all the same thing.  So what about advertising?

I was sitting in Lawrence Hall, working on my final project for a drawing class.  I was miding my own business, huddling over my drawing at a 70’s style octagonal table, but couldn’t help to notice that nearly every person who walked by turned and looked at what I was doing.  Some slowed down to look, some even stopped and just watched me.  I certainly wasn’t iliciting any sort of response from people - infact, I had my drawing turned completely upside-down from the view of anybody walking by.

So the big question: what makes people stop?  Advertising always seems to be “how can I make a great billboard” or “what would make a funny bus shelter?” I’m wondering more if the first question should be “what makes people pay attention.”  Obviously by sitting and drawing at a table, people’s interest was piqued.  They looked… and payed attention. They got my message, even thought I wasn’t sending it.  So instead of figuring out how to make a outdoor board that people will pay attention to, why not try to do something people will pay attention to, and then bury a message in it somewhere?  Just a thought.  and maybe then they’ll have somethin’ else to look at and stop staring at me working on my drawing final in the hallway.

honestly… has it really gotten to this point? as much as I want to say it hasn’t, it’d be a hard position to argue. I just read about this bizarre technological masterpiece on Uncrate: the Cordless wine bottle opener. I mean, I completely understand utility and the desire to make life easier and all that, but is a cordless wine bottle opener really any easier than the good ol’ corkscrew? It looks like it takes up more space and probably wastes more time. I’m waiting for electric facial tissues. I doubt they’re far off. Until then, I’ll stick to the classic corkscrew. it works fine for me.

so one more day of thinking about things other than advertising. theoretically. This one was slightly less my doing, as I was forced to watch several episodes of Art 21, one of the best art documentary series produced by PBS(incidentally, it’s one which art faculty at the University of Oregon really like to put on when they don’t feel like teaching). I’ve seen most of them at least once, but there’s something unbelievably interesting about turning a toxic waste site into a productive garden in the name of art or drawing on/tagging trains in the name of art.

Okay. So I lied. this does tie in to advertising a bit. But just a bit. and it’s a connection you have to make yourself. The art community certainly isn’t about to go make the connection between their world and advertising on their own. In fact, they’re fairly adamant about the differences. I’m not so sure. but I’ll elaborate on that at a later time… or maybe multiple times. Only time will tell.

Last night I went to see (hear?) David C. Korten speak to a crowd of “engaged citizens” of Eugene. It was interesting, to say the least. To hear a crowd of socially-minded, environmentally conscious, anti-Walmart, engaged citizens listen to someone they already know and love was interesting. He was basically spoonfeeding them what they’ve already read and already know. As for his ideas, I’m not going to comment either way… he (and the majority of the people there last night) has good intentions, interesting ideas, and willpower. better than most of us.

I have to question, however, the usefulness of Mr. Korten writing books that are catering towards the people who already know what hes saying and already know what he’s going to say. They’re in the same mindset and have the same feelings, so its effectively just patting themselves on the back. Maybe his efforts might be more effective if he attempted more to reach others - not just those in agreement with his theories. Granted, I don’t really know much about his ideas, or many social issues for that matter, but it just seemed like a poor allotment of resources.

In his talk, he discussed change a great deal, often in ways I find it difficult to get behind. Much of what he said seemed improbably or extremely hopeful. maybe I’m just a bit pessemistic, but I’d like to think i’m just realistic. He did say one thing made complete sense:

“When dealing with the future, the inevitable choice is to believe that change can happen. Besides, it’s more fun than the alternative - dispair.”

In these past few weeks, I’ve been thiking advertising, but attempting to find and expose myself to just about everything that isn’t advertising. There’s a time and a place for it, but the benefits of a “liberal arts” view often goes overlooked in soceity, particuarly in academia. So do something else for a change.

Last night, several groups at the University of Oregon hosted Nigerian activist Omoyele Sowore, who has been imprisoned eight times and tortured for promoting democracy in his home country. While oil fields and global politics aren’t exactly in the center of my radar, it was both thought provoking and inspiring - not necessarily to become an activist kill my TV, and despise American Media, but to continue thinking outside the box. not the advertising box, but the box that has become our relatively enclosed world.

Someone asked Sowore what people would do in fifteen to twenty years when oil supplies were exhausted… if people would defend their territory, and in what ways. The idea of armed guerilla conflict was brought up, to which he simply responded, “who is to say in fifteen years wars will be fought with arms?” Makes you wonder what fifteen years will be like.

so this is the beginning of this. this being a renewed attempt at what i painfully must admit is essentially “blogging.”  what “this” is, i’m not sure. but everyone around me at the university of oregon seems to be caught up in the whole “blogging scene.”  why? i’m not exactly sure. various people have been coming up to me lately and inquiring as to why i don’t have a blog, as if it’s some status symbol or some stamp of creativity. which i may make and sell at some point. (a stamp of creativity, that is)

so this is it. some may say it’s selling out or i’m just doing it because it’s what everyone else is doing. when i mentioned my intentions to begin some form of blog or anti-blog to a friend, she told me i was just jumping on the bandwagon. maybe. but only so i can throw everyone else off said bandwagon and steer our oxen in the right direction before we all die of dysentery.