So, Alex McLeod has popped up all over the Earth lately, from NY, to Spain to his upcoming Solo show on the West Coast. Today, his new show is even listed as one of the top 3 things to do today in Toronto.
Alex's new show opens tonight at Angell Gallery and runs through September 25, 2010.
Alex's candy coated landscapes are worth seeing. Big.
Do you like Summer? Do you like Music? Do you like free music? Do you like Making your own album covers?
The answer is yes.
From Lunch comes the Dine Alone Summer Sampler. From the minds of STEM (aka Sajak&Farki) comes a way to make your own custom cover for our friends at Dine Alone Records. With Creative, Design and development coming from the men of STEM.
Featuring the music of: Hot Hot Heat, Moneen, Alexisonfire, Arkells, City and Colour, Attack in Black, Tokyo Police Club, Dinosaur Bones, Parlovr, Spencer Burton, Mockingbird Wish Me Luck and Walter Schreifels.
Thanks to Promax BDA's Brief Magazine and to Daisy Whitney for the great article on next gen marketing.
Check out the issue online - Pages 68-71 - Be sure to check out the full issue. Lots of great content.
Included below is the full interview from Amy Miranda from which the excerpts of the article in Brief were taken.
The transition to digital, or any new skill set is daunting. I think with digital it seems more daunting because of the role of technology. There’s been a lot of negative connotations to the digital space and the medium in general has unfortunately been oversaturated with people communicating that the transition is difficult, that people will be “left behind” or there’s an implication that if you don’t have experience in one area you can’t possibly transition to another. To me, that’s not a reality. Making the transition to anything new requires one thing: Passion. A real interest in learning. I can say that because although I’ve been in this business since it became a business, I learned as I went. I didn’t wake up and have the skills, I wasn’t taught them in school, in fact, I wasn’t mentored by any one person. Ever. I think that’s why I’ve concentrated so much on training, sharing the things I’ve learned so that other people can hone it, and make it better, and not have to go through the same challenges I did. My entire career has been a transition. I began thinking I wanted to do one thing, and specializing, to exploring different roles and learning about what I liked and what I didn’t. I asked a lot of questions, and I always encourage people to do the same. If you can’t find resources or people who are willing to help, it just means you should keep looking. People who approach the digital shift or next generation with a closed fist will be left behind, the future of the next generation of marketers is in transparency. I’ve seen too many good ideas, suffer, and in effect suffocate because people held on too tight. It’s really a balance, and whether we always are cognoscente of it or not, marketing is an art, and it’s about that balance between art and commerce. It’s about thinking differently, and taking risks – conversations. In terms of skills it’s about agility, and again a keen interest. Being adaptable and wearing different hats is critical, because everything is really becoming more efficient. So it’s about finding those efficiencies and developing solutions based on that. That’s a skill set that a lot of people have, when I do training and consulting with my clients about making the shift, whether it’s shifting the operational structure, or themselves it’s about knowing what you’re interested in doing and identifying what parts you don’t know. It becomes simpler to backfill. It’s about demystifying all of the unknowns. Most people, figure out quite quickly that they’re not missing the kind of skills they thought they were. You can’t teach people that, people are either interested or they aren’t. The next generation marketer is required to think about everything holistically, not elements individually, So when making the transition I think it’s important to be able to identify people who are thinking that way in what they do currently, and if you’re looking to learn attaching yourself to those people or companies is a great way to learn. You may not necessarily end up working directly with those people, but you can spend time with them. That happens a lot in my business, where people will ask to spend time with me, shadowing, taking part in industry functions or just talking. To me, that’s the best thing to do, is create a network where there’s a trade of knowledge happening, it’s been critical to what I do, and it’s where great ideas and new thinking is born. It’s like a nebula of ideas when you get enough smart people together and share knowledge. You can be a “traditional” marketer, or a “digital” marketer, or a designer, or a broadcaster but the soft skills are the same. It’s the application of those skills that’s different. I think people become daunted by the transition, to me it’s about being excited about it, if you’re not learning or engaged in what might be coming next, I can’t imagine still wanting to be in this business. Our currency is ideas, you can’t be left behind when that’s your focus.
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On Saturday June 19th from 7-10pm @ mocca 952 Queen Street West, Toronto Empire of Dreams - Phenomenology of the built environment will be opening.
The exhibit will feature contemporary artists from Toronto, including Lunch's own Alex McLeod. The evening will feature an outdoor BBQ and music and artists will be in attendance.
Hope to see you there!
Contemporary artists from Toronto
The things that we build embody our highest aspirations and our essential instincts to survive. They also express our will to find place, to establish dominion over territory, over our destiny. Empire of Dreams is an exhibition of recent work by artists that looks at ways in which we exist within our built environment – the phenomenon that is our experience and interaction with structures and architectures that shape complex sensory and cognitive relationships to our surroundings.
Empire is manifest through physical structure - the built environment - and also through intangible and arbitrary structures: economics, politics, and the social and cultural constructs that influence identity and our perception of our place in the world. The artworks selected and produced for Empire of Dreams convey the artists’ insightful and timely discourses around our ever-shifting relationships to architecture, urbanization, economic and cultural paradigms, utopianism, existing and imagined space; the physical and the fluid structures that characterize empire and define who we are.
The artists’ backgrounds are diverse yet are filtered through the common lens of living in Toronto, Canada in the year 2010. Though the exhibition and the artwork do not always reference Toronto specifically, this shared experience of living in a large urban centre inevitably reflects conditions of existence common to all of us in the age of globalisation, of an emerging global empire. Through a remarkable range of approaches, techniques and in various media, the works in Empire of Dreams awaken within us new understandings of our surroundings, of the worlds that we build and inhabit.
Empire of Dreams also includes a magazine-format publication documenting the exhibition, including text from the curator, interviews with participating artists, and contributions from prominent guest writers and theorists, produced in collaboration with new Toronto-based art journal One Hour Empire.
We're very pleased to announce the addition of Ben&Julia to the lunch network.
Ben&Julia are a French-Swiss duo of multidisciplinary talented
Directors and Art Directors.
We're thrilled to have them, from their art to their puppets, to their incredible sense of whimsy Ben&Julia join the team and are now available for work in Canada through lunch.
Julia graduated from Central Saint Martins and worked as an associate producer and graphic designer for MTV and as an art director for TV and press.
Ben studied editing at CLCF and 3D animation at Isart Digital and worked as a director, editor and VFX artist for various agencies in Paris.
In 2006, Ben & Julia decided to join their forces in order to create colorful and creative work, mixing animations, live footage, drawings, puppetry for commercials, virals, music videos and animations.
This year they've created Ben&Julia Studio in Berlin.
They work worldwide with clients such as: MTV, Swatch, St Michel, Tissot, RATP, Olympic Museum, Atari, Microsoft, Sega, EA.
Their work has been featured in books, magazines and websites such as Pictoplasma’s Characters in Motion vol.3, Digital Arts, Promo News, Motionographer, Videos Antville, Computer Arts, Computerlove and IdN.
Pictured: Special & Delicious FWY Chocolate bar from Magic Pony.
We at Lunch are very excited about the week to come. This week the opening of Daydreamers - the first solo exhibition of FriendsWithYou paintings in recent years, as a part of the Wish Come True Festival during Luminato.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Narwhal Art Projects
Street:680 Queen Street West
Narwhal Art Projects is pleased to present a FriendsWithYou solo exhibition, "Daydreamers". With their first exhibition of their painted works in recent years, FriendsWithYou artists Sam Borskon and Arturo Sandoval III draw on a personal mythology of magical themes and spirituality from their colourful universe. Much like the powerful enchantment and creative adventure they insert into all their projects, "Daydreamers" will be specifically dealing with the spirit of their experience with their "Wish Come True" installation for Luminato Festival in Toronto.
FriendsWithYou are globally-renowned for their vivid pop art aesthetic and brilliant character design. "Daydreamers" offers a rare look into the dense, delicate personal layers that take place behind the large-scale, physical presence of the artists' experimental installations. Exploring the more unseen dimensions of the FriendsWithYou psyche, "Daydreamers" presents a softer, more ephemeral portrait of their recent narratives, as Borkson and Sandoval put forward a deeply intimate glimpse into the representations of their transitory, dream-like states where the spirit of their expressive process is just coming into invention. Reflecting themes of metamorphosis, pleasure seeking and pure innocence in the portraiture of their fledgling subjects, Borkson and Sandoval present an unadulterated celebration of the imagination that defines their artistic practice and the visionary outlook that inspired their project for "Wish Come True". Much in the manner that Borkson and Sandoval aim to create immersive totalities for the playful environments of their installations, with "Daydreamers" the artists bring us into an inward realm unto themselves, creating heartfelt emotional space between the greater unknowns of their magical world.
In 2002, Miami-born artists Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III began FriendsWithYou with the aim to promote a different kind of creative practice, and one that is fundamentally inspiring. Developing larger-than-life artistic environments to immerse patrons into their FriendsWithYou universe, the duo seeks to create common ground to give people the chance to believe in themselves and connect with one another. The imaginative world of FriendsWithYou has taken shape in the form of designer toys, large-scale installations, experimental gallery exhibitions, digital video, graphic design and other media—running the gamut of fine arts, public events, advertising and entertainment.
From the "Skywalkers Parade" with 60-foot tall characters for Art Basel Miami, to an inflatable fun house for 30,000 people at Scope Art Fair, to creating a permanent playground "Rainbow Valley" inside Miami's largest shopping mall, one can see why Borkson and Sandoval would describe their large-scale art projects as an "explosion". Creating modern-day sanctums, they curate wonderful performances that are part confessional and part mystical ceremony—furthering the artists' mandate to foster good wishes for luck, friendship and fortune. As a message that is invariably accessible and positive, FriendsWithYou believe in promoting a sense of exuberance against today's general attitude of detachment. As Borkson feels, "In the sterile settings of modern society, spiritual outlets have become a low priority within our daily routines".
With a strong emphasis on belief, FriendsWithYou maintain that the more you believe in their magic powers, the more they become a reality. FriendsWithYou truly believe that items can be enchanted totems and talismans can bring good fortune. And after having established their place in the art world, the group have expanded their reach with FWYstudios to create incredible and innovative products; a home for the characters and concepts that foster/bridge new territory between the fine art and the commercial realm.
It's not often that you get the experience of being the client when you're in the advertising business, but Jack just had the opportunity to do it.
How do you build a site scalable enough to house 30 years of work and some of the best stories in the business? Carefully, methodically and of course, because it's Jack - quickly. This site could have used it's own asset management system.
Reading the copy deck for this site was like reading a white paper on how to have fun in the business. Compelling. Jack Neary was most recently Executive Vice President, Executive Creative Director BBDO Worldwide in New York and now you can track his progress, work and journey at NearyFest.com
From the design, to the hosting, to the production management, this was a real lunch production, fatbox, pixelpusher and of course the amazing content of our client Jack Neary.
This, comes the first in our series of Lunchentach. An opportunity for members of the lunch network to "officially" provide commentary on anything they'd like pertaining to the world of integrated production. First up, as usual it's me, because everyone else is too busy making stuff.
Talking about digital is our favorite thing next to making stuff. Training and educating people on best practices is something the entire lunch network takes very seriously. We're a network of close to 100 developers, and I can assure you that harnessing that brainpower can be a challenge, mostly because there's so much to know, and because they've been in the game for decades, it's important to share, because not one person can know everything there is to know.
At the end of the day we're in the business of production, and having been in that business specifically for the past 12 years - there's something I get asked - a lot.
What does it take to get up to speed? How does one make the transition? Recently I was asked that very same question by Promax|BDA. The article will be appearing soon, but in the interim here's the unedited response I provided to that question.
The transition to digital, or any new skill set is daunting. I think with digital it seems more daunting because of the role of technology. There’s been a lot of negative connotations to the digital space and the medium in general has unfortunately been oversaturated with people communicating that the transition is difficult, that people will be “left behind” or there’s an implication that if you don’t have experience in one area you can’t possibly transition to another. To me, that’s not a reality. Making the transition to anything new requires one thing: Passion. A real interest in learning. I can say that because although I’ve been in this business since it became a business, I learned as I went. I didn’t wake up and have the skills, I wasn’t taught them in school, in fact, I wasn’t mentored by any one person. Ever. I think that’s why I’ve concentrated so much on training, sharing the things I’ve learned so that other people can hone it, and make it better, and not have to go through the same challenges I did. My entire career has been a transition. I began thinking I wanted to do one thing, and specializing, to exploring different roles and learning about what I liked and what I didn’t. I asked a lot of questions, and I always encourage people to do the same. If you can’t find resources or people who are willing to help, it just means you should keep looking. People who approach the digital shift or next generation with a closed fist will be left behind, the future of the next generation of marketers is in transparency. I’ve seen too many good ideas, suffer, and in effect suffocate because people held on too tight. It’s really a balance, and whether we always are cognoscente of it or not, marketing is an art, and it’s about that balance between art and commerce. It’s about thinking differently, and taking risks – conversations. In terms of skills it’s about agility, and again a keen interest. Being adaptable and wearing different hats is critical, because everything is really becoming more efficient. So it’s about finding those efficiencies and developing solutions based on that. That’s a skill set that a lot of people have, when I do training and consulting with my clients about making the shift, whether it’s shifting the operational structure, or themselves it’s about knowing what you’re interested in doing and identifying what parts you don’t know. It becomes simpler to backfill. It’s about demystifying all of the unknowns. Most people, figure out quite quickly that they’re not missing the kind of skills they thought they were. You can’t teach people that, people are either interested or they aren’t. The next generation marketer is required to think about everything holistically, not elements individually, So when making the transition I think it’s important to be able to identify people who are thinking that way in what they do currently, and if you’re looking to learn attaching yourself to those people or companies is a great way to learn. You may not necessarily end up working directly with those people, but you can spend time with them. That happens a lot in my business, where people will ask to spend time with me, shadowing, taking part in industry functions or just talking. To me, that’s the best thing to do, is create a network where there’s a trade of knowledge happening, it’s been critical to what I do, and it’s where great ideas and new thinking is born. It’s like a nebula of ideas when you get enough smart people together and share knowledge. You can be a “traditional” marketer, or a “digital” marketer, or a designer, or a broadcaster but the soft skills are the same. It’s the application of those skills that’s different. I think people become daunted by the transition, to me it’s about being excited about it, if you’re not learning or engaged in what might be coming next, I can’t imagine still wanting to be in this business. Our currency is ideas, you can’t be left behind when that’s your focus.
I'm very excited about FriendsWithYou taking over Queen's Park. Very excited.
I'm even more excited to invite you to Narwhal Art Projects solo exhibition "DAYDREAMERS" by FriendsWIthYou artists Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III, with an opening reception on June 10th, from 6-10pm.
But wait, there's more - Magic Pony's just announced FriendsWithYou pop-up shop!
Opening Reception:
Saturday, June 12th
5-8pm
Magic Pony is proud to present the "Wish Come True" Pop-Up Shop, a special collaboration with Miami pop artists FriendsWithYou. For a limited time, visitors will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a world of luck, friendship and magic where the art wizardry of FriendsWithYou comes alive in a unique site specific retail installation showcasing a diverse range of creative multiplies within an enchanted space of dreamy wonder. The "Wish Come True" Pop-Up Shop marks the official launch of a brilliant new line of Magic Pony x FWY apparel and limited edition art prints, alongside favourite FriendsWithYou toys such as the "Wish Come True" mini figures, "Luckies" magical charms, and a showcase of early FWY product design including original plush and wood characters.
FriendsWithYou artists Sam Borkson and Tury Sandoval III will be participating in a special appearance and signing at Magic Pony on June 12 and from 5-8pm to officially launch the Wish Come True Pop up shop. All are welcome to join in celebrating this exciting new project and welcoming the artists for their first Canadian appearance. The "Wish Come True" Pop-Up Shop will be on exhibit until July 4, 2010.
Magic, luck, and friendship are the qualities that FriendsWithYou, a visual arts collective based in Miami Beach, seek to spread throughout the world. Now, in an unprecedented spectacle created just for Luminato, they invite Toronto to come out and play.
FriendsWithYou turns Toronto into Rainbow City, a delightful explosion of colour and jubilant energy. Led by the Rainbow King, Luminato 2010's Festival mascot, a host of celestial characters transform Queen's Park with larger-than-life dimensions of giant totems, bounce houses, and inflatable friends. Meanwhile, emissaries from this magical world fan out across Toronto to spread their universal message.
Inspired by the simple happiness of everyday life, the Wish Come True Festival is free. So come bounce, dance, and revel in the sounds of laughter and joy.
Queen's Park
Wed., June 16, From: 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Thu., June 17, From: 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Fri., June 18, From: 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM
