Silver Space Pillows has moved

It's time for me to pack up and move as I've just launched a shiny new site with an integrated blog. To read future posts please visit www.silverspacepillows.com or my Facebook page. See you there!

Fallon Brainfood x VCU Brandcenter: The Engagement Opportunity

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Fallon Brainfood x VCU Brandcenter: The Engagement Opportunity

View more presentations from Aki Spicer.

Fun for chores

An awesome example of the real world / digital world interplay. Here the construct of the role playing game helps you to get your boring 'to do list' stuff done and enjoy doing it. Nice.

Found via PSFK

Nike - Lace Up and Save Lives

This is such a great initiative and I continue to be blown away by how Nike comms continually raise the bar - you've got bad ass csr, eye watering film after film, they've handed the red campaign to the masses.....not to mention the fact they've utterly stolen the World Cup crown from under Adidas's nose. Pure class.

Stephen Bayley - old school pompousness

Don't let this charming photo deceive you, this man is on a mission and is likely to take out anyone who gets in his way. I went to a CMW Bacon Club talk last night and was looking forward to a talk from Bayley. Amongst a list of fine accolades he is/has been Chief Exec of the Design Museum, Creative Director of the Millenium Dome, as well as architecture and design correspondent of The Observer etc.

During his talk he failed once to talk about or champion design. Instead it was a vulgar crusade of me, me, me followed by bitch, bitch, bitch. I left the talk feeling disappointed, horrified and somewhat violated in equal measure. Thank goodness I'm not from that school of thought. C_R_A_P.

Unexposed exposures

You know I love Warhol (hence the name of the blog) and this previously unpublished shot, which ended up on the cutting room floor for his book Exposure, just caught my eye. He shot several rolls of film every week for the book he originally titled Social Diseases.

Found via 100WordsPhotographyMag

Science Museum rebrand

We all love Science Museum, don't we? So many of us remember knob-twiddling a go-go and sci-fi play as kids. Personally one of my seminal childhood memories was 'becoming' Superman on the green screen - loved it.

Over recent years, Science Museum has been working hard to bring in new visitors and break free of the age old 'science is for geeks' adage. The 'adult-only' lates, for example, have been proving popular. Ooerr.

Science Museum has just announced a rebrand - a continuation in their effort to present a fresh, human and more interesting self. The only thing is, it must have been on a budget...or maybe no budget. Why do I say this? Well it's a hasty visual shortcut to present something new. A new logo, and a new font.

What they needed was a true rebrand. Something which harnesses their values, their value in today's society and brings their story and mission to life.

The cautionary tale is you get what you pay for. And if you don't cough up the big players won't put out...and quite right too. Sadly, the end result just doesn't cut it.

Phyllida Barlow - Serpentine Gallery

I recently attended a talk by Phyllida Barlow hosted by the wonderful Contemporary Art Society. She spoke of her current work on display at Serpentine, her 'encounter' (rather than collaboration) with fellow artist Nairy Baghramian and of the new decisions and hard choices she's having to make late in her career post teaching.

Untitled: Columns 2010 

It was such a great day, the photo above shows one of Phyllida's vast sculptural installations which look robust and imposing but upon closer inspection are actually enormously fragile.  Layer upon layer is built up, there's a sense of movement and haste to it all of her pieces. They create a startling contrast to Nairy's work (below) which is so quiet, polished and paired back to be the smallest interruption to the surrounding space.

Sally Mann: The Family and the Land

I remember Sally's Immediate Family works from when I was at uni. Really beautiful and honest portraits of her 3 young kids. Her first UK solo exhibition is on at Photographers' Gallery. This is a must see.

Early One Morning with Time to Waste, Michael Fliri (Austria)

This work by Fliri really captured my imagination this morning. The polyethylene boat bobs happily in the open sea....'Real adventures can arise from the imagination', says the artist.  A wonderful contrast of nature and waste in a happier contrast than the oil spil and the open sea. I feel uplifted.

Check out other nominated works for the European Sovereign Art Prize here.

Best of BB King

Re-released this week, BB King's very best tracks are soothing my soul this fine summers day. Join me for some foot-tapping at Spotify.

Lisa Snook - Bittersweet

I absolutely can't wait to see Lisa Snook's show tomorrow night at St.Art. Her highly emotive work speaks of sex, death, fear, loss and love. She loves to work with found pieces that she then reworks to evoke new meanings using embroidery, latex and feathers. Here's a sneak preview of one of her new pieces. Just gorgeous.

Absolut at it again

Absolut continue to nail distinctive and meaningful art collaborations. Here's an ad campaign they're running in Turin where artist Ron English re-imagines iconic images.

Found via PSFK and Wooster Collective

NYC sTWEET art

A charming example of street art.

Thelma Golden: How Art Gives Shape to Cultural Change

Great talk focusing on Thelma's mission to encourage us to view artists (and museums) as catalysts of change in the community. And more specifically for her search for young black artists working 'in this moment' who she hopes will shape a 21st century black art cultural movement.

Retro glam - Alex Prager's Week End

Alex Prager's first solo show starts 10th June at Michael Hoppen Gallery. Here are a few of her retro inspired Hollywood heroines living out American popular culture from a bygone era.

The Confectioner's Confectioner, Leigh Ledare

In our world there are few taboo subjects that remain undocumented or unexposed. But I have to say a visit to Pilar Corrias gallery left me knocked sideways.

The show is a collection of photographs, archives and text that document a perverse relationship between the artist and his mother. On the outside this an honest and brutal account of a sexually blurred relationship. On the other hand, it's about director vs subject, control, self-representation and authorship.

After you get over the initial shock factor (which takes a while & for some is permanent), you appreciate the photography, the story-telling, the wit, the beauty of the ageing process and that real can be fantasy.

If art is meant for you to temporarily view the world from another perspective then surely this is 100 out of 10. Fantastic work, mesmerising show and I'm sure his work will go down in history. But I still can't stop thinking...was that him having sex with his mum?

Razorfish - Publishing in the digital age (and other IP)

There seems to be a splurge of agency & publisher IP in circulation. Here are a few pieces I'll definitely be reading:

1/ Firstly this razorfish report on digital publishing called Nimble
2/ Then a report by PR agency Edelman about social entertainment in the UK & US
3/ And finally, I'll be reading the future of retail study by PSFK

Have a look too.

Jeff Koons' BMW

Strewth, this takes boy racing to another level. Recently revealed in Paris as the 17th BMW art car canvas collaboration this is what Koons said at the unveiling:

“This car is about this type of life energy, this desire to achieve and this desire to win. This life energy is up against everything and it keeps pushing through with this desire to create.”

Silberblink/Squint @ Modern Art

I love this image. I can't wait to see this on Saturday - intriguing...

Claridges rebrand

I'm currently thinking about luxury brands and wanted to share this stunning brand work by design agency Construct for Claridges. They've masterfully executed a logo rebrand, a new font, an updated colour palette and have worked it through every iteration imaginable. Stunning work - I appreciate that they haven't subscribed to the old school rule of repeating over and over again the same elements in the same exacting way. Everyone likes surprises.

Write the future

Ambition, passion, wit, pace, cultural relevance - this is the real deal. A best in class product of our times:

Art.sy

Now, this sounds interesting. As a member of several online art and art collecting groups there's incessant buzz about selling art online - how hard it is and how current offerings aren't delivering.

Perhaps new start-up Art.sy, who've just won the TechCrunch Rookie Disruptor Award, hold the key to a new approach to welcoming new collectors to the scene and creating a site that genuinely helps people buy. We'll see.

Found via PSFK

Derelict but not unloved

I love this immense work by Blu & Os Gemeos covering a once unloved, ugly derelict building in Lisbon, Portugal.

Found via PSFK

Truman Brewery Drive-In

Yes, yes, yes - get me to the drive-in to live out those teenage Grease-inspired fantasies. 20 Volvos with the audio piped through the radio and a mega outdoor screen up front, will be in residence outside the Truman Brewery for 3 nights from 2nd July. I'm in :)

Found via Stylist.

In conversation with Ryan Gander, Lisson Gallery

Last Friday I headed over to a talk by artist Ryan Gander about his latest solo exhibition 'You walk into a space, any space'.  What a dude!  Really funny, dry & down-to-earth. I enjoyed that he set out to create a solo exhibition that felt like a group show. He likes stuff that doesn't look like art. In his mind to be a good artist is to be light of foot and not hell-bent on reproducing something familiar or continually focused on one theme.

Like any brilliant communication today, there's the surface layer of playfulness and then, for the 'geeks' (as Ryan puts it), there are multiple narratives that interlink and allude to possible worlds. This wormhole into the artists' mind was great fun - and what a cheeky & fun place it is.

PS The chocolate biscuits were amazing :)

Social media home truths

This slide from a recent Coca-Cola blogger outreach meeting in China sets out the drinks giant's core social media principles. Clearly, they're bang on. During the presentation, Coke detailed their online guidelines along with the do's & don'ts for staff and non-staff spokespeople online.

Found via PSFK

A new race of radically altered beings

Opening night at White Cube's latest Marc Quinn exhibition 'Allanah, Buck, Catman, Chelsea, Michael, Pamela and Thomas' was a circus with people everywhere and a who's looking at who vibe. Possibly the perfect backdrop for a fully fledged celebration of narcissism.

Centred round the public's obsession with the body, the exhibition shows the extremities to which people are willing to go to transform themselves. There's Pammy with her mega-watt bust, the pregnant man, the man who tattoed his face to look like a cat, male & female porn stars with sexual organs of the opposite sex - basically a whole new breed of altered people. A reminder that today you don't just have to play with the cards nature dealt you.

Whilst beautiful, I felt very detached from the virtuous sculptures and repelled and disinterested in the work to a degree, unable to make a connection. In hindsight, this is probably exactly how the artist wants you to feel as Quinn makes addictive viewing of the ongoing disconnect between body & soul.

PS I've just realised I chopped all the naughty bits out of my photos. Sorry about that :)

Louis Vuitton journeys

Gone (I hope) are the days of crass celebrity endorsement and a flashy show of fame for shallow commercial gain. In its place we're seeing more sophisticated partnerships matched with more intelligent story-telling. The dawn of a new era. 

I've already written about the rise of fashion film...and the latest Louis Vuitton journey shows just how good it can get. The online film experience is so engaging, I was on the site for about 20mins.

There are 3 journeys - the footballing legends (Pele, Madonna & Zidane), the astronauts & Annie Leibovitz with dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. It's a cross-generational sharing of stories and experience with a 'round the campfire' intimacy and friendliness.

Robin Hood Tax

I saw this on Curtain Road in Shoreditch last week on election night - I love drd (see previous post). I wonder what he's working on now the coalition dream team are in? Ha ha

Pick Me Up

The UK's first graphic art fair at Somerset House was a great day out and fantastic value for £5. Dalston's print club were in residence alongside the uber talented paper-cutter extraordinaire Rob Ryan who had recreated his studio and camped out there all week.  His space was full of personal effects and work, you could photograph anything and everything - it felt really inviting, honest and fun. I think galleries could take some learnings from this immersive and informal experience. I'd love to see more events like this, it's inspiring!