Typography as letterforms is more interesting to me, visually, when I don't know what they mean. Even with letterforms, sometimes "seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees". I am not going to identify the languages here. (Only the first example has an English translation)
Madurai, India. It's all about the aroma !
Allepey, India. Rickshaw drivers here upholster their seats with a wonderful array of vinyl patterns. Just 2 examples here.
Kochi, India. City wide, international Art event. Well attended with inspiring local involvement.
Event Graphic Design
The Biennale Foundation logo suggests an intersection. I don't know the origin or intent, but I wonder if it's related to an actual intersection, near the oldest art gallery in Kochi? "Muzuris" is a reference to the ancient (lost) seaport.
The logo system (often hand painted) is intended to represent the many interesting programs they support, including Art in hospitals. Inline font treatment (often stencil painted), in Malayalam and English, paired with colorful wavy lines that work well on the streets around town.
Event graphics for navigation, scheduling colatoral, ticketing, store, and Art interpretation are spread widely across town, radiating out from Aspinwall House at the center.
Even housekeeping has a Biennale uniform.
Art Hghlights
It wasn't possible to see ALL the interesting & thoughtful Art at the Biennale, in 2 days. Here are just a few examples, of Art that also stimulates thinking about museum design, mediation, or interaction.
An exhibition of "Bicycle Thrones" by designer Gunjan Gupta
A starscape, transluscent sun shade in the Aspinwall House courtyard
"Bad Trip". Danielle Galliano purchases existing paintings by unknown artists, and then interacts with visitors who then become subjects which he adds to the paintings.
"Secret Dialogs". C Bhagyanath's beautiful layered drawings, with their implied motion, reveal more, or less, as the air gently billows the paper. Interesting in relation to museum interactive use drawings.
This extraordinary theater was the venue for film showings during the festival
Yang Hongwei's scrolls, using photoshop to crossover past and present.
Sunil Padwal "Room for Lies", an installation of objects, beautiful drawings, and random photos. The lamp in each room hangs almost down to the floor. Interesting use of the corners, here and there.
Some uses of projection
Munnar, India. The little (Kannan Devan Plantation Company Private Limited) Tea Museum fits perfectly into the category of Commercial Visitor Center. It's informative, and interesting, but with the goals of glorifying/propagandizing the company and enhancing product sales, in this case tea. These motives are obvious at Commercial Visitor centers. We expect to get a crafted narrative that "advertises" the content. It's even part of the fun, sometimes. Just being out in the tea plantations, for instance, is an exciting reason to be here. When we think of it as an informative personalized store experience, it seems innocent, because we know it. But in museums in general, intentions are often a murky gray area, hard to navigate. When is a museum offering something for you to interpret freely, with no agenda, and when is a museum selling products and ideas? Who are the exhibition sponsors, and what are the hidden agendas?
At the little Tea Museum, the experience is controlled right from the entry.
Watch out. The guards are serious and stern.
Right away we are directed past some quirky historical displays, without permission to stop and look at them, and forced into a half hour documentary screening room. The video is full of really interesting regional history, but in the end, the high quality of life of the plantation workers is suspiciously glorified.
After the documentary we are forced past more displays and up a little stairway for a "Tea Briefing". This is presented by a charasmatic and knowledgable man, who is thoroughly engaging, and passionate about the many physical and mental health benefits of drinking green tea. His enthusiasm is infectious. We feel charmed, and inspired to become green tea drinkers. Amused, a subtle sense of humor and camaraderie forms in our group.
Then we are led back down a little stairway to the small factory area, where we can see a few machines in action, which leads inevitably to the Tea Shop at the end.
At the Tea Shop we feel obligated to buy a cup of tea, of course. To finalize our bonding as a group, and to get closure on the experience. We carefully steep our tea bags as instructed.
The product shop, wrapped around the dead end location of the tea shop, does a brisk business
Finally, we are set free, to retrace our steps out the side of the building and around to the front entry again, if we want to actually look at the appealing and random historical display rooms.
Bonus! Visitors can get a customized mug with their photo on it
Tamil Nadu, India. Jallikattu, the "Taming of the bulls" is a local tradition of hanging onto a bull's hump, to hold it still, or to take a flag off it's horns, to win various small prizes. It is controversial, and has been banned off and on by the government. Cruelty to animals, and preserving ancient local traditions and breed of bull, are some of the issues. The first poster here is in protest against the ban, from protests in Chennai in January. The others are event posters, because the ban has since been lifted, again. As always, lots of heads shots, outlined typography.
Various locations, southern India. Most road intersections showcase big billboards announcing upcoming weddings. Mounted on bamboo frames. A classic design/photoshop problem of putting a lot of headshots together, using a variety of bad photos. They feature relatives or friends, sized (I'm guessing) by importance .
Various towns, southern India. Election candidate billboards are posted everywhere on the roads, supported by bamboo frames. There's a quality of "glam" portraiture about them. Looking closely at the photoshop technique, the faces are stylized to soften them and to enhance the details in an illustrative, painterly way. A contribution, to the tradition of tinted/touch up photography art.
Is this a change of just the photo, or a change of candidate?
probably an election office, because it is papered solid with smaller posters
Pondicherry, India. Since 2012, Pondy Art, a photography initiative founded by Kasha Vande has produced a series of experimental photo exhibitions in public "non exclusive environments" focusing on important issues in India. This example, "Driving Forces: Recognizing individuals who work tirelessly towards positive change in India today" documents various everyday heroes, in a straightforward, inspiring way. Why is it presented in English only, and not in Tamil as well? Perhaps it travels around the country, where so many different local languages are spoken.
Pondicherry, India. Around this town, sharp little stones inset in the cement are used as a way to prohibit standing or sitting or lying on the surface.
Mammilapuram, India. This coastal town has some excellent food painting, specializing in seafood.
Mammalipuram, India. These cardboard figures are stacked up at the beach, to use for photographs. For a small fee, I assume.
Bodhgaya, and Madurai, India. In many areas, there are very few printed materials—brochures, posters, newspapers or magazines. But large product printsheets and billboard images are available, and useful, as street tarps, and coverings. Not a matter of trendy reuse, but necessity and resourcefulness.
Laos. More vehicle covers
Bodhgaya, India. Messages, shared with all sincerity and for their own sake, not to sell anything, not even a particular religion. On the side of a car, for instance.
Bodhgaya, India. The Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya attracts Buddhist pilgrims and refugees from all over the world. Little shack restaurants are everywhere to serve them homestyle food. Their signs are printed, not painted. Perhaps they're all designed by the same print shop, or they all just like to follow the same design formula. Fill the space, use all caps and outline fonts over a landscape or symbolic illustration. As well as photos of the dishes offered, add photos of religious & political leaders, flags, the owner(s), animals...
Kolkata, India. Interesting, and powerful, that the graphic designer for the Kolkata English language newspaper The Telegraph chose to screen back the "r", paired with this photo choice.
Kolkata, India. Doubled
Costa Mesa, Ca. This cafe wall sign continues "...of indulgence'. This simplistic style of "deep" consciousness messaging ruins the moment for me. Being literal about subtle experience cheapens it. Apparently everything is a profound subject in advertising. The affect is also... comical & ironic. Material consciousness. Spiritual materialism.
Kochi, India. Another example. Sacred advertising space
Los Angeles. The letters are crocheted (if that's the right word?) into the wire grid. They look so frilly. But it doesn't appear that any extra wires were added. It appears to be all interconnected.
Los Angeles, CA. Continous wrist B. Something about this is creepy to me.
