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The Royal Ontario Museum unveiled The Forbidden City: Inside the Court of China’s Emperors, presented by the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation with Manulife as Lead Sponsor. The exhibition is on display in the Garfield Weston Exhibition Hall from Saturday, March 8 until Monday, September 1, 2014. Presented in collaboration with Beijing’s Palace Museum, the show brings to Canada for the first time approximately 250 treasures that were part of Chinese imperial life for five centuries in a city strictly off-limits to all but the emperor, his family, and his personal servants. These objects are the relics of a momentous chapter in China’s long and fascinating history.

More than 80 of the exhibition’s objects, including textiles, calligraphy, paintings, and armour, have never before travelled outside the Forbidden City. Complemented by stunning artifacts from the ROM’s own internationally celebrated Chinese collections, these objects tell captivating stories and reveal the fascinating characters that made the Forbidden City the centre of an immense empire for more than 500 years. Due to the significant number of light-sensitive textiles and paintings, there will be an extensive rotation of objects half way through the exhibition’s engagement, presenting a new opportunity to experience the stories and exquisite objects of the Forbidden City.

The ROM has partnered with Beijing’s Palace Museum to create an exhibition that uncovers untold stories about life in the courts of the Chinese emperors. Dr Chen Shen is the exhibition’s lead curator and the ROM’s Vice President, World Cultures and Senior Curator, Bishop White Chair of East Asian Archaeology. He said, “This exhibition allows Canadians to see, for the first time, the finest objects hidden from view in the Forbidden City. We have worked with our Palace Museum colleagues to develop untold stories about life in the courts of the Chinese emperors; ensuring ROM visitors will enjoy many of China’s national treasures, many of which have never left the palace. These objects — both luxurious and everyday — provide the unique opportunity to advance our understanding of the people who lived within the walls of the Forbidden City.”

Robert H. N. Ho, Founder of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, said “The Foundation is pleased to present The Forbidden City: Inside the Court of China’s Emperors in Canada. Advancing the understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture is a key mission of our foundation. Robust educational programming in support of the exhibition should encourage wider exploration by the public, especially teachers and students. The Foundation is also proud to once again be working with the ROM, an outstanding institution which together with Beijing’s Palace Museum, has developed this wonderful exhibition, bringing to life the 600-year-old imperial palace and revealing for the first time many of its treasures and secrets. ”

The ROM’s exhibition uncovers the stories of the Forbidden City and China’s last emperors who led their lives deep within the palace’s opulent interior. Through intimate encounters with everyday objects, visitors meet a cast of real characters, including emperors, court officials, concubines, and eunuchs — castrated men who served the imperial families. The ROM’s exploration of life inside the mysterious Forbidden City transports visitors through increasingly restricted areas — the palace’s great halls, grand courtyards, and intricate terraces and roofs, until visitors ultimately gain access to the most private space of all: the emperor’s personal study.

Imperial throne set, The Palace Museum, Gu115711 (throne, footstool only) © The Palace MuseumIn the exhibition’s entrance, visitors gain information about the fascinating locale before progressing into The Outer Court, the official space where the emperor displayed his power only to those invited inside. In this, the exhibition’s largest area, ceremonial bells, suits of armour, weapons and large-scale paintings tell the story of the emperors’ governing and military battles. An exhibition highlight dates to the reign of Emperor Qianlong — a throne, symbolizing his authoritative power. This area also introduces visitors to the first of several characters, including Emperors Yongzheng and Qianlong, two of the most accomplished emperors of the Qing dynasty.

The exhibition’s climatic section takes visitors inside the Emperor’s personal spaces that were once forbidden to all but the emperor. As rulers, emperors were bound to strict institutionalized governance. However, their choices were their own in collecting and personal cultivation. This area showcases some of the most exquisite objects in the imperial collection including jades, calligraphies, and ceramics and an exceedingly rare porcelain “chicken” cup, commissioned by Emperor Chenghua for his mother; only two such cups exist today in the Palace Museum. In this section, a British-made musical clock and the character of a Western missionary represent the foreign dignitaries who gained access to the Forbidden City with gifts from their homelands — pieces much admired by Qing dynasty emperors.

The Forbidden City

China’s imperial palace, known to the world as the Forbidden City, was built from 1406 – 1420. It was the center of government and home to China’s last 24 emperors of the Ming (1368 – 1644) and Qing (1644 – 1911) dynasties. Made up of about 980 buildings and 8700 rooms in over 90 architectural complexes, the Forbidden City remains to this day the largest palace complex in history. Once strictly forbidden to all but the emperors, their families, servants, invited guests, and most trusted officials, the palace gates are now open to all.

The Palace Museum

The Forbidden City became the Palace Museum in 1925, one year after the last emperor was forced into exile. Located in the heart of Beijing, the magnificent site spans over 720,000 square metres and houses the largest collection of China’s imperial treasures. Designated by China’s State Council as one of that country’s most important protected cultural heritage sites in 1961, it became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. Today, it is considered one of the world’s most important museums. Popularly called The Forbidden City, it houses over 1.8 million art treasures spanning 5,000 years of Chinese history with many from the Qing imperial court. It is one of the world’s most visited museums, welcoming a record 182,000 visitors on October 2, 2012.

Source: The Royal Ontario Museum [March 08, 2014]

Pointe-à-Callière presents a major exclusive international exhibition, The Aztecs, People of the Sun. Visitors will have the unique privilege of learning about the people who founded the fabulous city of Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire and the site where Mexico City was built after the Spanish Conquest in 1521. The exhibition, presented from May 30 to October 25, offers insights into the dazzling world of a people who reigned over much of Mexico for two centuries.

The exhibition, produced by Pointe-à-Callière in collaboration with the Mexican National Council for Culture and the Arts – National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), showcases some 265 items from 16 Mexican museums, including the Templo Mayor Museum, an archaeological site museum like Pointe-à-Callière itself, and the Mexican National Museum of Anthropology. The tremendously varied objects are both spectacular and moving. Masks and statues, gold jewellery, figurines of women, children and animals, stamps for creating patterns on fabric and skin, sculptures and objects relating to the sacrifices required to keep the Sun on its daily journey, chests, boxes for offerings, vases and ceramics, all reflect the mysteries surrounding this people.

Stunning artifacts

The highlights of the Montréal exhibits include some of the most remarkable remains from the Aztec civilization. Two statues from the Templo Mayor Museum, each weighting 250 kg and standing 170 cm (nearly 6 feet) tall, are sure to appeal to visitors’ imaginations. The terra cotta statue of an eagle warrior, with jagged claws protruding from his knees front and back and his face emerging from an eagle’s beak, could also represent the rising Sun. This true work of art was found in the House of the Eagles, next to the Templo Mayor, used for rituals and penitential ceremonies. The terra cotta statue of Mictlantecuhtli shows the god of death leaning forward toward humans. With his skull-like face, pierced with holes for hair to be inserted, his shredded skin and clawed hands, stained with human blood, he is a terrifying sight!

Other items with splendid colours, like the vessel representing Tlaloc, the rain god, tell us more about the Aztecs’ lifestyle and deities. This vase is considered one of the masterpieces of Aztec art, and shows the god with his typical “goggles” and fangs, in his usual blue colour. The pyramid shapes on his headdress are references to the mountains where the Aztecs believed Tlaloc stored the water that would later fall as rain.

A wooden mask inlaid with turquoise, shell and mother-of-pearl is one of the rare Aztec “turquoise masks” to have survived. It may be a reference to the god Quetzalcoatl, whose face is emerging from the mouth of a serpent. This rare piece comes from the “Luigi Pigorini” National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography, in Rome.

A ceramic piece with three faces, adorned with 13 circular gems, or chalchihuitl, evoking the 13 months of the sacred calendar, is also stunning. It decorated a brazier or a funerary urn, and shows the three phases of existence: in the centre, youth opening its eyes to the world, followed by an image of old age, and then the face of inescapable death, with its eyes closed, all referring to passing time. This sublime piece expresses the cyclical principle of duality, so important in Aztec thought, where life is reborn from death.

There are also images drawn from historic codices, photos of archaeological sites and remains, and different videos. Then there are some 150 unique hand-built and painted figurines made in Mexico to create a colourful, joyous scene depicting the vast Tlatelolco market held north of Tenochtitlan in days gone by.

Exhibition themes

The exhibition focuses on the founding of Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire, their daily lives, the Templo Mayor, and of course the question of human sacrifices and the two Aztec calendars. It looks at many themes in their rich history: the Aztecs’ migration, guided by their god Huitzilopochtli, and the founding of Tenochtitlan; the remarkable urban planning and land use development in this “Venice of Mexico”; the Aztec art of war and the tribute paid by conquered peoples, as well as their agricultural techniques and the chinampas, the ingenious floating gardens that made the city self-sufficient. It also looks at the organization of Aztec society, with its different classes, a fascinating subject that addresses the role of women, education and the administration of justice. Aztec writing and the famous codices, manuscripts made up of glyphs or pictograms illustrating the spoken language, are examined in depth. Religion, an essential and omnipresent part of Aztec society, along with their various deities and rituals, are described. And lastly, the exhibition closes with a description of the Spanish conquest and the fall of the Aztec Empire, and the legacy of the Aztecs today.

Who were the Aztecs?

The story of the Aztecs began around the year 1000, when a warrior tribe, probably driven by famine, set out on a long southward migration. Despite many difficulties on their odyssey, they persevered, trusting in the god watching over them to reveal the place where they could finally found their city. And so it was that in 1325 the Aztecs, or Mexicas, founded the city of Tenochtitlan, building a temple on an island in marshy Lake Texcoco, in the central Mexican highlands. The capital was divided into four districts, watched over by the gods associated with the four cardinal directions. In a sacred precinct in the centre of the city stood the main temples, including the Templo Mayor or “Great Temple,” which would become the heart of their city and the centre of their spiritual and material universe. The Aztec Empire lasted almost 200 years, until 1521. They built lavish palaces, temples and markets there, creating an immense metropolis with a population of about 200,000 at its height. Theirs was an imperialistic society that relied on diplomacy and near-constant warfare to expand their empire and collect tribute in the form of regular “taxes” from the peoples they conquered.

A highly innovative civilization

Tenochtitlan was founded on a shallow, marshy lake. The Aztecs were able to increase the habitable area of their city by planting pilings and installing platforms to hold sediment from the lake. Thanks to this ingenious system, the city was crisscrossed by canals, and chinampas, or true floating gardens, were created where they could grow various crops. These remarkably fertile gardens produced up to seven harvests a year, feeding much of the city. The system was also used to recycle the city’s organic waste. The Aztecs developed trade in cocoa, maize and other crops, which were sold in markets of all sizes, and produced striking ceramics and magnificent gold and silver finery.

A life governed by gods and calendars

Like many other Mesoamerican peoples, the Aztecs divided their universe into three main levels: the sky, the Earth – an island with the Templo Mayor at its centre – and the underworld, inhabited by the god of the dead and his companion. The god and goddess of duality were the source of four creative principles occupying the “four roads of the universe” corresponding to the four cardinal directions. For the Aztecs it was important to constantly maintain the balance among the divine forces – a delicate exercise governed from day to day by following two calendars that dictated not only the maize planting and harvesting cycle but also the rituals required to appease some 200 different gods.

The Aztecs considered time to be cyclical, and human lives to be influenced in turn by their gods, at regular intervals, as spelled out in the two interlocking calendars. The solar or annual calendar lasted 365 days and consisted of 18 months of 20 days, adding up to 360 days. The remaining five days were seen as highly inauspicious – it was best to avoid all activity on those days! In every month a major god was honoured. Since this calendar governed agricultural activity, it included many feasts dedicated to the rain god Tlaloc and to plant deities.

The sacred calendar also dictated religious ceremonies and important dates. Each day was defined by a glyph or written sign (there were 20) and a number from 1 to 13. These signs and numbers combined in an unchanging order, and the same combination of signs and numbers repeated until the 13 x 20 possibilities were done, that is for 260 days. Every 52 years, the solar and sacred calendars aligned once again. For the Aztecs, this was a time of fear and anguish, since they didn’t know whether it signalled the end of the world.

The importance of the Sun and human sacrifice

The Aztecs worshipped the Sun, and feared that it would disappear if they didn’t perform various rituals. Just like many other pre-Columbian civilizations, they also engaged in human sacrifice. These sacrifices were considered offerings and an essential part of the various rituals associated with their religion and daily life. Victims were put to death to nourish the Sun and the Earth. When the rains failed to appear and crops were at risk, for instance, the Aztecs would sacrifice children to regain the favour of the rain god. Different kinds of victims were sacrificed: warriors captured in battle, slaves, people condemned to death for offences, and children.

Highly significant codices

The Aztecs had a special form of writing. They transcribed their language, Nahuatl, using a combination of glyphs, figures and graphic elements. These manuscripts, known as codices, are an inexhaustible source of details about their economy, and include tax rolls, property registers, politics, history, education, religion, sacred rituals and science. They are key to our understanding of Aztec civilization.

The Aztec heritage

When he first saw Tenochtitlan and its many canals, Hernán Cortés of Spain compared it with Venice. But despite his admiration for the city, he had no scruples about laying it to waste in 1521. Cortés left Cuba with about 500 men, on a mission to secure the interior of Mexico. After being greeted with splendid gifts by Moctezuma II, Cortés soon took the Aztec Emperor prisoner. The destruction of Tenochtitlan marked the end of the Aztec Empire and launched the colonization of all of Latin America.

Today the Aztec civilization is considered one of the most remarkable in human history. Many archaeological digs and different museums celebrate their exceptional contribution to world heritage. Mexico City, the country’s capital and largest metropolis, was built atop the ruins of the superb city of Tenochtitlan. Today it is home to some 22 million people. The Aztec language, Nahuatl, is still spoken by about 1.6 million Nahuas. Today’s Mexicans also carry the memory of the Aztecs in their name. When their god Huitzilopochtli guided the Aztecs to the site where they would found Tenochtitlan, he called his people Mexicas. Even today, a divine eagle perched on a cactus devouring a serpent – the sign that the god had sent to the high priest of the Aztecs to tell them where to found their city – adorns the Mexican flag and banknotes. And one can still travel by boat along the canals built by the Aztecs, in Xochimilco and other districts of Mexico City.

Source: Pointe-à-Callière [May 29, 2015]

Whether you look to the 80-foot-long mosaic at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal, the giant white wording ‘You’ve Changed’ on the side of a building near Queen Street West and Ossington Avenue or the Greenwood Village Mural in the Beach, Lilie Zendel said the first year of StreetARToronto (StART) accomplished exactly what the program set out to do.

“(StART) was created last year as part of the graffiti management program to support and celebrate permitted graffiti and street art,” said Zendel, manager of the City of Toronto program.

StART is administered by the Public Realm Section of the Transportation Services Division at the City of Toronto and aims to develop, support, promote and increase awareness of street art and its role in adding beauty and character to neighbourhoods across Toronto.

StART hosted a meeting at MOCCA in West Queen West on Jan. 21 to wrap up their inaugural year and share details of this year’s program.
In 2012 StART partnered with 20 Toronto organizations to create 48 murals across the city, on walls, fences, underpasses, benches and pavement, particularly in areas that are targeted by graffiti.

The creation of these murals assisted in cleaning up 1,300 pieces of ‘tagging’. More than 60 artists were involved in the projects.

The challenges that program participants faced in the first year, Zendel said, was finding the funds to match StART grants, which is a criteria of the program, finding walls to use in the city, and managing complaints from building owners, artists, non-profits and Business Improvement Areas.

The other big issue is maintaining the murals and preventing vandalism. “We certainly want to expand as much as we can in a geographic sense,” Zendel said. In 2013 StART will continue with its Partnership Program and its Diversion Program, which involves at-risk youth. Although StART aims to support artists it does not fund artists directly, but funds projects through organizations.
Applications for murals to be painted this year are due by April 15 and they can be made through the StART website at http://www.toronto.ca/streetart/
Applications have to be made by incorporated non-profit or charitable organizations and must operate in Toronto.

“I personally would like to see some really large-scale projects this year,” Zendel said, adding the maximum funding for the partnership program has been increased to $30,000.

The StART contribution cannot exceed 70 per cent of the cost of the mural and of that remaining 30 per cent the partner organization must raise at least 15 per cent in cash.

By the spring of 2013 Zendel said they hope to launch a user-friendly map, which gives the details of the 585 murals and street art pieces found in Toronto. The map would include information about the artists and their inspiration for the work.

Story by Erin Hatfield via: York Guardian To learn more about the City of Toronto program that aims to beautify communities across the city through street art and wall murals visit http://www.facebook.com/StreetARToronto

CBCNews has confirmed that the HERO Certified Burgers was awarded the primo City Hall location and Toronto Mayor Rob Ford savours the burger chain win.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was claiming victory on Wednesday night after an emotional, at times angry debate at City Hall.

Despite a packed meeting agenda, city councillors spent nearly three hours arguing over whether to allow a Hero Burger to open outside city hall.

"Are we really spending hours talking about burgers in the square?," Ward 15 Coun. Josh Colle tweeted.

The motion eventually passed after councillors voted 22-16 in favour of the move.

“It will be good,” the mayor said.

The restaurant had a previous bid thrown out by city council, who then wanted a restaurant offering a more diverse menu.

It all makes perfect sense now doesn't it Toronto? Let's just hope our Mayor decides to go for a few Hero Thin Burgers instead of his norm.

Del Taco’s new Fresca Bowls are full of surprises. Unlike other bowls, they’re jam-packed full of fresh ingredients. The bigger surprise? They only cost $4 each. Makes you wonder what other fresh surprises await you when you finish it.

:30 second version below...

Just when you thought you've seen it all, dating site Zoosk and it's creative ad agency Camp+King release this spot simply entitled "Frog Kiss." The ad is just that, a young lady who seems be desperate to find her Prince Charming hopes that engaging a long passionate kiss with the frog will help. Ya, we found it to be pretty sick too.

Credits:
Ad Agency: Camp + King
Chief Creative Officer: Roger Camp
Creative Directors: Rikesh Lal / Adam Koppel
Art Directors: Dan Korn
Copywriters: Kyle Davis
Production Company and City: Go Film. Los Angeles
Director: Jeff Tomsic
Executive Producer: Gary Rose/ Catherine Finkensteadt
Producer: P.J. Sodaski
Director of Photogrphy: Steven Calitri
Post Production City: Umlaut Films. San Francisco
Editorial Company and City: Umlaut Films. San Francisco
Editor: Doug Cox
Music Company and City: Dragon Licks. New York
Executive Music Producer: Dave Curtin
Song used/band: "The Search Is Over" by Survivor
Sound Design Company & City: One Union Recording Studios. San Francisco
Sound Designer: Joaby Deal
Account Service Supervisor: Emily Forsyth
Assistant Manager: Grace Lazarus
Planner: Anne Tway
Additional Credits:
Colorist/Effects Supervisor: Ivan Miller
Executive Producer (Editorial Company): Gina Locurcio
Production Designer (Production Company): Anthony Pizza
Production Manager (Production Company): Matt Oehlberg
PRODUCER(s) TO BE CREDITED IN CREATIVITY: David Verhoef

Creative Credits:
Advertising Agency: Made Movement LLC, Boulder, CO
Agency website: http://www.mademovement.com/
Creative Director: Karen McKinley
Art Director: Marybeth Ledesma
Copywriter: Phil Hadad
Chief Creative Officer: Dave Schiff
Production Company and City: Independent Media, Inc. Culver City CA
Director: Danny Leiner
Executive Producer (Production Company): Suzanne Preissler
Head of Production (Production Company): Marc Siegel
Line Producer (Production Company): Andrew Denyer
Post Production and City: Method, Atlanta
Editorial Company and City: Number 6, Santa Monica
Editor: Dan Aronin
Music Company and City: Beacon Street, Venice CA
Executive Integrated Music Producer: Leslie DiLullo

Sol brings ‘Espiritu Libre’ to the streets of London. The original Mexican beer films office workers as they ‘lose the tie’ and live a free-spirited life.

Sol, the original Mexican beer born in 1899, has revealed the hidden ‘free spiritedness’ of London’s desk-bound, 9-to-5ers in a film that sees them ‘Lose the tie, gain some Espiritu Libre’.

The campaign was created for the HEINEKEN-owned premium packaged lager by The Marketing Store, and captures the reactions of a host of city workers as they answer the call to break free and ‘recycle’ their ties.

It’s early evening at Canary Wharf and, after a long day at work, city workers are commuting home at Canary Wharf Underground station. At the station, standing next to the standard recycling bins, many are intrigued to see a tie recycling bin, with the words ‘Espiritu Libre’ printed on it.

We see lots of male city types strip off their ties and drop them into the recycling bin. The intrigue continues when the bin makes an unusual whirring noise as if it’s processing something and, much to the amusement of the men and passers by who have gathered around, we see the severed ends of their ties appear at the flap below. A note is attached to it by a Sol bottle top, bent into a clasp.

The note reads “Free Beer for a Free Spirit…” and offers a complimentary bottle of Sol at The Ledger Building Bar that evening.

The film ends by showing one of the men handing over his severed tie at the bar in exchange for a Sol. The barman pins it up on a board next to lots of other chopped-up ties.

The video is part of Sol’s ‘Espiritu Libre’ experiential activity, which saw the tie recycling bin appear at Jubilee Plaza, Canary Wharf on 21st February.

Vicente Cortina, Sol Global Manager says: “Sol’s ‘Free Beer for Free Spirits’ movement brings Espiritu Libre to the streets of London. The video shows the magic that can happen when you help city workers declare their independence and enjoy a Sol with friends.”

Graham Wall, Executive Creative Director at The Marketing Store, says: “The tie can be a symbol of power and success, but it can also be seen as a shackle, part of the daily grind. We wanted to give office workers back a sense of their true selves – to make bold choices and be rewarded for it. The ‘Espiritu Libre’ activity brings out that free-spirited sense of liberation that every bogged-down city worker has in his heart.”

Credits:
Director, Phil Hawkins
Production, Little Fish Films
Executive Creative Director, Graham Wall, The Marketing Store

Palazzo Strozzi is presenting The Springtime of the Renaissance. Sculpture and the Arts in Florence, 1400-1460, an exhibition which sets out to illustrate the origin of what is still known today as the “miracle” of the Renaissance in Florence predominantly through masterpieces of sculpture, the form of figurative art in which it was first embodied. Following its debut in Florence, where it is on view from 23 March to 18 August 2013, the exhibition will be shown at the Musée du Louvre in Paris from 26 September 2013 to 6 January 2014.

The lengthy preparation that has gone into the staging of the exhibition, which is curated by Beatrice Paolozzi Strozzi, director of the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, and Marc Bormand, curator-in-chief of the Département des Sculptures in the Louvre, has been accompanied by an extensive restoration campaign in both Italy and France with joint funding from the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and the Louvre. Visitors to the exhibition are able to admire many Renaissance masterpieces, including works by Ghiberti, Donatello, Dello Delli, Filippo Lippi, Nanni di Bartolo, Agostino di Duccio, Michelozzo, Francesco di Valdambrino and Mino da Fiesole, in their newly-conserved splendour.

One of the most significant projects undertaken for this exhibition is the conservation of Donatello’s imposing bronze statue depicting St Louis of Toulouse, 1425, from the Museo dell’Opera di Santa Croce where it has been throughout the restoration in a workshop especially set up in the museum and open to the public. The conservation was entrusted to Ludovica Nicolai, who was responsible for restoring Donatello’s David in the Bargello, with the assistance of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure’s scientific laboratory. The procedure was directed by Brunella Teodori, Soprintendenza Speciale PSAE e per il Polo Museale della città di Firenze.

The exhibition will be presented in ten theme-based sections.

Section I: The Legacy of the Fathers

The exhibition opens with an intriguing overview of the rediscovery of the classical world with some splendid examples of the 13th and 14th century works by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, Arnolfo, Giotto, Tino di Camaino and their successors, who also assimilated the expressive richness of the Gothic style, in particular from France.

Section II: Florence 1401. The Dawn of the Renaissance

The ‘new era’ coincided with the start of the new century and is represented in the exhibition by two panels depicting the Sacrifice of Isaac by Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi from the Baptistry doors, and Brunelleschi’s model for the cathedral dome. At that time, the writings of the great Humanists, singing the praises of the Florentine Republic’s political achievements, its economic power and its social harmony, were spreading the legend of Florence as heir to the Roman Republic and as a model for other Italian city-states.

Section III: Civic and Christian Romanitas

Monumental public sculpture, through the masterpieces of Donatello, Ghiberti, Nanni di Banco and Michelozzo, created for the city’s major construction sites – the Cathedral, the Bell Tower, Orsanmichele – is the first and loftiest expression of the transformation under way and of the triumph of Florence and its civilisation.

Section IV: “Spirits” Both Sacred and Profane; Section V: The Rebirth of the Condottieri

The exhibition also sets out to illustrate the other themes of classical antiquity that were assimilated and transformed through sculpture in this new Renaissance language, which lent its voice not only to the city’s creative fervour but also to its spiritual and intellectual mood.

Section VI: Sculpture in Paint

Sculpture, and more especially statuary, was thus to have a tremendous impact on the painting of the leading artists of the time, men such as Masaccio, Paolo Uccello, Andrea del Castagno, Filippo Lippi and Piero della Francesca.

Section VII: History “in Perspective”

The search for a “rational” space and Brunelleschi’s discovery of perspective were implemented in the most advanced forms in the art of sculpture, in Donatello’s bas-reliefs – for instance in the predella of his St George from the Bargello or in his Herod’s Banquet from the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lille. This echoed well into the middle part of the century in the work of Desiderio da Settignano and Agostino di Duccio in an ongoing dialogue/debate with painting, including that of the classical era.

Section VIII: The Spread of Beauty

From the 1420s onwards, the new standards of sculpture perfected by the great masters and illustrated in the exhibition by several masterpieces such as Donatello’s Pazzi Madonna from Bode Museum in Berlin, the Kress Madonna from the National Gallery in Washington, and the Madonna from the Diocesan Museum of Fiesole attributed to Brunelleschi, spread out via a seemingly endless output of bas-reliefs for private devotion (in marble, stucco, polychrome terracotta and glazed or “Della Robbia” terracotta), which fostered the widespread propagation of a taste for the ‘new’ beauty in every level of society.

Section IX: Beauty and Charity. Hospital, Orphanages and Confraternities

At the same time, the most prestigious artistic commissions in Florence, which were almost always from public entities, began to focus on venues of solidarity and of prayer (churches, confraternities and hospitals), where sculpture once again played a primary role.

Section X: From City to Palace. The New Patrons of the Arts

Thus, arranged around the city’s absolute symbol – the wooden model of Brunelleschi’s Cupola for Santa Maria del Fiore – the exhibition offers a retrospective of themes and types of sculpture that were also to have a crucial impact on the development of the other figurative arts, in a direct debate with their classical predecessors, from the tombs of the Humanists, to the inspiration provided by ancient sarcophagi, to the rebirth of the equestrian monument and the carved portrait. The carved portrait, which became popular towards the middle of the century – in the marble busts of Mino da Fiesole, Desiderio da Settignano, Antonio Rossellino and Verrocchio – heralds the transition from the fiorentina libertas, represented by public patrons, to the private patronage that already bore the mark of the Medici family’s impending hegemony. This transition is effectively captured in the culmination at the end of the exhibition with the Wooden Model of Palazzo Strozzi, the most illustrious private residence of the Renaissance.

Source: Palazzo Strozzi [March, 2013]

This Is Now, built by an Australian Firm called Lexical Gap, is a live feed of every Instagram photo shot and geo-tagged within New York city limits. There are also feeds London, Sydney, Tokyo and Sao Paolo — although, oddly, nothing from California yet. It's a totally new way to see a city, like a voyeur that's able to peek into thousands of lives at once.
It's also a rare look at Instagram's full content stream (or at least city-specific parts of it), which means you can finally see how an entire city uses the app, instead of just your circle of friends. Which, so far, means a lot of mirror pics, a lot of architecture and a lot of food. Also, some porn, which I was not expecting — it really is a raw Instagram feed.
via Russell Brandom-BuzzFeed

Winkreative and Guru Studio take you UP to Toronto with "Travel Happy," a playful and colourful animated journey through Toronto for the Union Pearson Express.

Coming to Toronto in 2015, the Union Person Express, or UP as it’s been lovingly coined, is a new high-speed train that will connect the city’s downtown core to the international airport. As Toronto is the 4th largest city in North America, this service is long overdue and a welcomed addition to the world class city.

Working with Winkreative and illustrator Lotta Nieminen, Toronto-based Guru Studio set about to weave a colourful populated visual narrative out of the imagined “Union to Pearson” trip from the script. As Winkreative and Lotta Nieminen are London and New York-based, Guru Studio’s immediate goal was to educate and inspire the team with local knowledge about what makes the city of Toronto unique, so it would look great on screen. Guru Studio also brought on board Toronto-based director Larissa Ulisko, to further strengthen their vision and bring the culture of Toronto to life.

“We worked with Winkreative to balance the script with the visuals so we could allow some space to breathe life into the spot,” said Frank Falcone, Creative Director, Guru Studio. “We felt that we needed to keep the graphics and animation style very clear and simple so we wouldn’t overwhelm the viewer.”

“Travel Happy” is a stylish and informative trip through Toronto, and although the express train isn’t coming to Toronto until 2015, promotions for the service have already begun via the UP website where the webfilm lives.

Credits:
Union Pearson Express "Travel Happy"
Client: Metrolinx — Union Pearson Express http://upexpress.com
Agency: Winkreative
CEO & Chairman: Tyler Brûlé
Creative Director: Maurus Fraser
Design Director: Corinna Drossel
Account Director: Ariane Elfen
Art Buyer: Petek Sketcher
Strategy Director: Steve Teruggi
Production Company: Guru Studio
Director: Larissa Ulisko
Creative Director: Frank Falcone
Producer: Amy Robson
Creative Supervisor: Yurie Rocha
Compositor: Boris Perenchensky
Animator: Chris Fourney
Illustrator: Lotta Nieminen/Agent Pekka
Producer: Petra Koivisto/Agent Pekka
Music: Eggplant Collective
via: GlossyInc.

The art of catching a cab is about to get a 21st century makeover, courtesy of a new app from the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission. To welcome this new age of transportation, Flatiron-based production studio Click 3X has donated its considerable resources to create “Variations on a Hail,” a new spot developed by Cooke&Co CD/Copywriter Marty Cooke, executed and financed entirely through Click 3X, and shot by Click 3X directors Josh Ruben & Vince Peone.
“Variations on a Hail” is a funny and educational video airing specifically on NYC taxi televisions. With a voiceover and appearance by NYC Taxi and Limousine Commissioner David Yassky listing all of the tried and true hailing “techniques,” the spot culminates with the most technologically advanced “hail” in history – the TLC smartphone app that will allow users to contact nearby taxicabs. The app promises to make life easier should New Yorkers find themselves in need of a ride in an unfamiliar part of the city, late at night, or while rushing to their next appointment.
A pro-bono project created for the benefit of the studio’s beloved home city, Click 3X managed production and all the stages of post, including color grading, VFX, and finishing. Click 3X also drafted its friends at audio post studio Heard City to handle mix and sound design. The directorial duo, also known as j+v, earned its reputation as CollegeHumor.com’s premiere video team – producing, directing, and starring in hundreds of videos over their six-year residency there. They bring their tongue-in-cheek comedic tone to “Variations on a Hail,” imparting a fun and informative overall affect to the PSA.
Credits:
Client: NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission
Spot Title: “Variations on a Hail”
Creative Ad Agency: Cooke&Co
CD/Copywriter: Marty Cooke
Production Company: Click 3X
Directors: Josh & Vince
VFX: Click 3X
Color Grading: Click 3X
Audio Post: Heard City
via: TrustCollective

OK love birds, Trojan Condoms is at again, this time they are taking to the streets with a fleet of Pleasure Carts to promote Trojan Vibrations.

Americans are getting ready to experience a pleasure revolution as the makers of Trojan™ Vibrations shake up the nation with a multi-city vibrator giveaway. Kicking off in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, November 13th, Trojan™ Vibrations will be touring the U.S. to serve up their latest line of Trojan™ Vibrations products via specially-designed Trojan™ Vibrations Pleasure Carts modeled after traditional hot dog carts.

This holiday season, the Trojan™ Vibrations Pleasure Carts will be satisfying pleasure cravings in multiple cities across the nation, where pleasure-seekers can swing by to receive a free Trojan™ Tri-Phoria™ Vibrator or Trojan™ Pulse Vibrator, while supplies last. The giveaway comes on the heels of this summer's buzz-worthy New York City sampling effort, where the Trojan™ Vibrations Pleasure Carts were greeted by thousands.

"With the success of the Trojan™ vibrator giveaway in New York City, it is evident that Americans understand that pleasure is a normal part of sexually healthy lives," said Bruce Weiss, Vice President of Marketing, Trojan™ Sexual Health. "By innovating high quality vibrators and making them easily accessible on drugstore, mass merchandiser and grocery store shelves, Trojan™ remains dedicated to taking pleasure out of the bedroom and into the mainstream."

Vibrators, Get Your Vibrators Here!

As temperatures outside start to drop, the makers of Trojan™ Vibrations will help heat things up by deploying a fleet of Trojan™ Vibrations Pleasure Carts over the coming weeks. The tour kicks off in our nation's capital and moves on to other cities, where brand ambassadors will be on hand to distribute free Trojan™ vibrators. People can track the tour and uncover upcoming stops by visiting Facebook.com/TrojanVibrations.

First stop? Washington, D.C., Location:The Park at Fourteenth 920 14th St., NW Washington, D.C. 20005. When: Tuesday, Nov 13th from 12:00 PM — 4:00 PM.

Join the Pleasure Party: Trojan™ Vibrations unites the country with a platform that aims to bring pleasure to the people. Visit the Trojan™ Vibrations Pleasure Carts for some post-election fun.

If you can't swing by the Trojan™ Vibrations Pleasure Carts, visit Facebook.com/TrojanVibrations for a chance to win a free Trojan™ vibrator.

What's the Buzz All About?

American couples are embracing vibrators more than ever before.[i] In fact, research from The Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University found that more than one in two American women (53 percent) and close to half of all American men (45 percent) have used a vibrator in their lifetime.[ii]

The makers of Trojan™ Brand Products are helping to lead the mainstreaming of the category by making high-quality vibrators accessible across a multitude of channels—at drugstores, grocery stores, mass merchandisers, online and in select adult stores—making it easier for couples to bring a higher level of fun and intimacy into their relationships. From vibrators to a wide variety of condoms, for over 90 years, the makers of Trojan™ Brand Products have remained dedicated to providing people with the tools they need to increase the heat index in the bedroom.

Trojan™ Pulse Vibrator delivers precise stimulation and boasts six vibration modes—three speeds and three pulse patterns, and is discreet and portable.

Trojan™ Tri-Phoria™ Vibrator provides 24 unique pleasure combinations via three interchangeable tips and eight vibration modes.

Trojan™ Twister™ Vibrator offers a unique twisting handle, allowing for multiple positions and options, including four unique twistable positions and eight vibration modes of five speeds and three pulse patterns. While Twister™ will not be featured as a giveaway at the Trojan™ Vibrations Pleasure Carts, you can find it at your local drugstore.*

For more information, visit Facebook.com/TrojanVibrations or TrojanVibrations.com.

About TROJAN™ VIBRATIONS

TROJAN™ VIBRATIONS is a line of high-quality vibrators and vibrating rings that help users enhance their sexual pleasure. This premium line of products offers unique features including multiple speeds and pleasurable pulse patterns in a variety of sizes and sensual designs to accommodate an individual's personal preferences. For more information, visit www.TrojanVibrations.com.

SOURCE Trojan(TM) VibrationsFrom PR Newswire

Category: Publications & media
Client: Helsingin Sanomat Oy
Agency: 358 Helsinki
Country: Finland
Creative Director: Ale Lauraéus
Art Director: Ale Lauraéus
Copywriter: Valtteri Väkevä
Copywriter: Ale Lauraéus
Agency Producer: Roosa Rudkiewicz
Agency Producer: Petra Yli-Hemminki
Photographer: Riku Pihlanto

NytBattle. One for al and all for the city.
One day. 47 tasks. Three teams threw themselves into Helsinki and made it better place to live. Results were used as a print ads for Nyt weekly supplement of Helsingin Sanomat.

In a young city, disparate and sparse, a city ruled by cars and taxis, there is little connection with the streets. The PUMA Fishtail Rides has been born out of a feeling and a need to reconnect with the streets of our city again.

Egg Films’ Kevin Fitzgerald recently directed Toyota Rav4 Rex for Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney, with Cape Town providing all the Australian locations.

Rex, which follows a father and son hunting for a missing dog, was conceived by creative director Steve Carlin and three expat South Africans – executive creative director Damon Stapleton, art director Darren Borrino and copywriter Stuart Turner.

The spot was shot by Rob Malpage and edited by Gordon Midgely at Riot Johannesburg, with a cameo appearance from Kevin’s own dog — not the first time he has made it into one of Egg’s commercials!

Credits:
Title: RAV4 “Rex”
Client: Toyota
Ad Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Agency producer: Llew Griffiths
Exec creative director: Damon Stapleton
Creative director: Steve Carlin
Art director: Darren Borrino
Copy writer: Stuart Turner
Production Co.: Egg Films
City & country: Cape Town, South Africa
Director: Kevin Fitzgerald
Director of photography: Rob Malpage
Production co producer: Jon Ronbeck
Executive producer: Colin Howard
Post production co: Black Ginger
City: Cape Town
Editing company & city: Riot, Johannesburg
Editor: Gordon Midgley

A museum in the port city of Volos in eastern Greece will host the replica of Argo, the legendary ship propelled by 50 oars-men and sail on which according to Greek mythology, Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to the Black Sea to retrieve the Golden Fleece.

Currently, the replica of the ship – inaugurated in 2007 and entirely built with traditional methods and materials used at the time like oak, beech, pine, ash and fir wood (for the mast and oars) – is still at the port of Volos, in the gulf of Pagassitikos, for students and tourists who want to go on board and discover the story of its mythical trips.

”But Argo, which is owned by Volos, doesn’t just aim to be an attraction for tourists,” said Deputy Mayor Fotis Lambrinidis, who is in charge of technical services at the municipality of Volos. ”This ship represents for us an element of culture, a real symbol of our city. The objective of the competition we called as a first concrete step for the creation of a museum to valorise Argo, is to gather proposals for the creation of a thematic museum to turn the contemporary Argo into a monument, presenting its history through myth and historical elements connected to it,” concluded Lambrinidis.

Source: ANSA [February 25, 2014]

An exhibit of American Indian art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art throws the connection between art and collector into unusually sharp relief.

"The exhibit honors Coe and the role he played in the acceptance and understanding of the Native American work," said Julie Jones, head of the museum's Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.

The show includes about 40 objects representing a wide range of materials, from stone to animal hide, as well as time, place and distinct peoples.

Most of the Coe collection dates from the 19th to early 20th century when Native Americans came in contact with outsiders ranging from traders to missionaries to the U.S. army.

"Coe had some particular interests, one of them being objects that have come to be called souvenir art," Jones explained.

Souvenir art melded Native American art with European art, such as mocassins embroidered with European-like floral designs. Work from the people of the Great Plains evokes the men on horseback wearing feathers and buckskin.

Masks and head dress ornaments, sometimes used in theatrical ceremonies and story-telling, are another aspect of the exhibit.

An imposing sculpture of a Noble Woman by the Northwest Coast Haida artist Robert Davidson, dated to 2001, is a contemporary expression of a long tradition of carving wood. Most of the objects were made by artists who were schooled by their predecessors.

"Traditions were handed down," Jones said.

The man behind the collection

Born in 1929 in Cleveland, Ohio, Coe grew up in a home with filled with works by Renoir, Pissarro, Monet and Manet, all collected by his father, a trustee of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

"Coe came from a solidly Eurocentric point of view. He grew up in a house full of European paintings and learned to love them," Jones said.

But a book by Miguel Covarrubias, a Mexican artist and amateur archaeologist sympathetic to tribal art, was a catalyst for Coe to turn his attention to the art of Native Americans.

Soon after reading it, Coe bought a carved model of a totem pole, his first work of American Indian art that would eventually form part of the Coe Collection, a group of more than 1,100 objects, some dating from prehistoric times.

He became a champion of American Indian art, a mutualism that continued for the next half-century.

By 1962 Coe, a curator at Kansas City's Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, organized "The Imagination of Primitive Man," an exhibit designed to illuminate the creative imagination of tribal peoples.

The most ambitious campaign Coe waged on behalf of this art resulted in "Sacred Circles: Two Thousand Years of North American Indian Art," shown in London as part of the United States Bicentennial in 1976, and in Kansas City one year later.

Its nearly 700 objects revealed the Indian approach to nature and nature's relationship to man, myth, time and space to a public that was unfamiliar with it.

"'Sacred Circles' changed the popular presentation of American Indian art and influenced a generation of collectors and museum professionals," Jones said.

For his last large exhibition — "Lost and Found Traditions: Native American Art, 1965 -1985" — Coe crisscrossed North America, seeking works of art that used traditional forms and materials, but were redefined by contemporary visions.

It marked Coe's transition from art historian to an advocate for the new, larger world of North American Indian contemporary art, and was shown in several museums in 1986.

Author: Ellen Freilich | Source: Reuters [January 17, 2012]

Advertiser: PUMA
Product/Service: PUMA FAAS
Entrant CIRCUS DF Mexico City, MEXICO
Type of Entry: Use of Promo & Activation
Title: THE WORLD´S FASTEST PURCHASE
Entrant Company: CIRCUS DF Mexico City, MEXICO
DM/Advertising Agency: CIRCUS DF Mexico City, MEXICO
Executive Creative Director: Facundo Romero (Circus)
Creative Director: Alejandro Stea (Circus)
Creative Director: Javier de la Fuente (Circus)
Copywriter: Ignacio Rozental (Circus)
Art Director: Ezequiel Chareca (Circus)

• Puma has the fastest sneakers in the world: the Faas500.
• This is why we created the fastest purchase.
• A promotion with one rule: the faster you buy your Faas500, the less you pay.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.
How did it work?

At the press of a button, the customer received a ticket with their exact time of entrance. The faster they bought their Faas500, the higher the discount they received. Another button marked the completion of their purchase and the discount earned.

Describe the results in as much detail as possible. 118 people saved 63,720 pesos in 372 minutes. The fastest sneakers are meant for the fastest people.

It uses point of purchase + brand + public interaction under de concept of the campaign and generated both key message, and product selling.