Words About Things

You might not have heard of Milton Glaser but you will certainly be familiar work his work as a graphic designer. His most famous creation is the I ♥ NY symbol created as part of a campaign to promote New York as a tourist destination.

This video was created by C Coy and features Milton drawing and talking about the art of drawing:

MILTON GLASER DRAWS & LECTURES from C. Coy on Vimeo.

Polaroid has announced that they will begin producing their iconic instant film once again. The company plans to bring back their digital and analogue ranges including the 600 instant film they are most famous for. The company’s instant film was gradually phased out throughout 2008 although it was still possible to find limited supplies of it.

When the Polaroid corporation collapsed (for the second time) it’s remaining assets were bought out by Summit Global who will be producing the new cameras. The new line of cameras will be produced in China and will be branded as Polaroid. An instant digital camera is also planned although details are vague so far presumably it will have an on-board printer similar to the bluetooth printer previously released by Polaroid.

The instant film will be produced by The Impossible Project which was set up by photographer Florian Kaps in order to save the film from dying out. Kaps managed to convince Polaroid to let him manufacture the film with the help of Ilford and even took over the factory in which it was made. Kaps managed to get $2.6 million in funding in order to save instant film.

The Impossible Project is proud and excited that its ambitions and all the relentless work that has already been invested are now becoming the foundation for Polaroid’s comeback as a producer of Instant Cameras.

The first commercial instant camera was created by Edwin Land who co-founded Polaroid. His design, the Land Camera, first went on sale in 1947.

When I was younger there were only four television channels so you had to watch whatever rubbish was on if it was raining (which was about 6 out of every 7 days). That is how I found myself watching an old black and white film about a plant that roamed around a town at night eating people. I’m not sure what the underlying themes of the film were (nature always prevails?) but it put me off my Broccoli.

Somebody has now invented a giant plant that provides free, solar powered, Wifi. The flowers have a seating area and solar pannels in the petals. They provide a Wi-Fi network and a chanrging point for mobile phones and other devices. They were created by Patrick Shearn and Cynthia Washburn who are artists from Los Angeles who are part of Poetic Kinetics.

Perhaps I aught to try and get one of these for my garden? I know my girlfriend likes it when I get her flowers (although perhaps not giant plastic ones that attract people with laptops like bees).

Saadiyat is a small island just off the coast at Abu Dhabi that until recently was mostly barren and uninhabited. Like the city opposite it Saadiyat is subject to ongoing development at an alarming pace. The UAE’s ecconomy shows no sign of slowing down and Abu Dhabi’s skyline is testament to the scale of its growth.

Next month a new bridge will be completeted which links Saadiyat with downtown Abu Dhabi. The bridge and the roads connecting it will be opened in time for the Formula One Grand Prix on the 1st November. The designer of the bridge, Frederic Turlier says that everything is right on schedule which suggests that no British builders were involved.

Abu Dhabi is aiming to become an international city of cultural importance, the Telegraph reports that:

By 2013, the capital of the United Arab Emirates will boast an offshoot of the Louvre, a new Guggenheim museum, a National Museum inspired by the British Museum, a performing arts centre designed by the British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, several art schools, and various pavilions and other cultural franchises that will be able to host temporary exhibitions from around the world.

The island of Saadiyat will be be home to many of the UAE’s cultural gems and those planning the development are keen to create a tourism friendly area. Flights to Abu Dhabi take around 7 hours from London and cost from around £230 upwards.