North Korean propaganda and our advertising, part 1
War Painting in Library
Art / Awareness / Freedom / NorthKorea

North Korean propaganda and our advertising, part 1

In yesterday's post on North Korean propaganda I wondered if they realized the pervasiveness of their propaganda. They seemed not to pay attention to it. Could they not notice it, like fish in water? Now I will explore two of the major themes of my writing on North Korea, based on major ways the visited affected me Seeing others reveals things about yourself and your culture — and the more different they are, the deeper they reveal about you and your world Similarities reveal more about you than differences Do you think communist countries use propaganda and yours doesn't? I would have thought so until I traveled around a country with no advertising. North Korea has no billboards. Or rather it has billboards, but it…

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October 27, 2011
Art / Freedom / NorthKorea

Propaganda in North Korea

Most of us rank its propaganda high on what we identify with North Korea. We saw and heard plenty while we were there, to the exclusion of nearly all other forms of public expression. For background, see the Wikipedia page or this essay. They give more background and pictures than I could, so I'll stick with my observations. Today I want to comment at a high level on North Korea propaganda as I saw it, then to return to it from other perspectives. Americans typically think North Korean propaganda as comical. The posters so over-the-top you can't imagine anyone taking them seriously. Television shows hardly differ. I understand television sets and radios come fixed to one station, with severe penalties for breaking the seal and…

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October 26, 2011
Flying through Shanghai
Shanghai's Bund at night viewed from an awesome restaurant after a gallery opening
Art / Creativity

Flying through Shanghai

Last summer at a Brooklyn art gallery a friend curated featuring a cityscape-like artwork, I took a camera and moved it around through the cityscape to make short movies that looked like you were flying through a city. They looked great. Unfortunately I did it with the camera of another friend, who deleted the movies. Now when I see a cityscape I like to make fly-through movies of it. Shanghai's Urban Planning Museum has a bunch of scale models of Shanghai. I couldn't help make the movies below. This time my camera battery was dying so I made them too quickly. This model is on the ground floor, near the entrance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKLtADMSunQ This model was on a wall, on an upper floor. It's smaller so…

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October 12, 2011
Union Square in Motion summary
Art / Creativity / Education

Union Square in Motion summary

Click here for all my posts on Union Square in Motion. A summary of my Union Square in Motion posts: Opening event pictures Fantastic behind-the-scenes making-of video Press and media about it Video of child viewing it Invitation to opening and map More videos Video of installation Map to find it Announcement of initial installation, pre-fine-tuning, with making-of images

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October 4, 2011
Union Square in Motion: opening event pictures
Art / Creativity / Education

Union Square in Motion: opening event pictures

Pictures from the September 26, 2011 opening of Union Square in Motion, presented by MTA Arts for Transit, Parsons the New School for Design, and us, the producers and artists. My friend with the camera left when the crowd was still building and before the reception at Parsons. I'll try to find more pictures of the festivities. EDIT: found a couple pictures of the signs posted at Parsons where they hosted the reception, but not during the reception.   In the meantime, click here for all my posts on Union Square in Motion.

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October 4, 2011
Art / Creativity / Education

Press and reviews of Union Square in Motion

Monday's opening saw some press for Union Square in Motion. Here are some links, starting with those who visited the installation or contacted us directly NY1 did a two-minute story on it, "New Artwork Best Seen In Transit Through Union Square Station" Arts for Transit's Director, Sandra Bloodworth, mentioned Union Square in Motion in an in-depth interview in Urban Omnibus, "Arts for Transit: A Conversation with Sandra Bloodworth" The Village Voice announced it ahead of time, "Union Square Subway Station Now Boasts the World's Largest Linear Digital Zoetrope" WNYC covered it, "Look | MTA Installs New Digital Underground Art Project at Union Square", including a slide show DNAinfo.com, "Students Unveil Digital Art Project in Union Square Subway Station" The New York Observer, "Union Square Subway…

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September 27, 2011
Union Square in Motion public art opening today
Art / Blog / Creativity / Education

Union Square in Motion public art opening today

Writing on my North Korea trip has been waiting while I finished my series on my Model. Now it will have to wait a few days more. Today's opening of Union Square in Motion got big, particularly after the MTA's press release and Parsons the New School for Design's post. Here is an initial video of a few children and parents seeing the display during installation. You have to come to Union Square to see what intrigued and fascinated them so much. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jxbwP6MV2I For more background, please see my art section and the sites of the other creators of the installation: Jeanne Kelly Hilal Koyuncu Rose Maison Umut Ozover Josefina Santos Anezka Sebek Jaqi Vigil As well as the MTA Arts for Transit main page…

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September 26, 2011
Video of Union Square Public Art Piece during installation
Art / Creativity

Video of Union Square Public Art Piece during installation

Here is a video of the Union Square in Motion public art piece most of the way through installation. I haven't gotten a couple of the monitors working yet, but you can see the basic display. Umut Ozover created the video, as well as helping create the art. As always, video and still images don't convey the medium like seeing it in person. So if you're in New York City, come see the display. If you're not, come to New York. Then see the display. https://youtu.be/R3xAdhrc-i8 (Directions to see Union Square in Motion)

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September 20, 2011
Finding Union Square in Motion
Union Square in Motion map
Art / Creativity / Education

Finding Union Square in Motion

Here are a map and picture showing how to find Union Square in Motion, New York City's most amazing new public art work. If you need better directions, contact me and I'll help. It's convenient to the 4,5,6,N,R,Q, and L trains, not far from the B,D,F, and M trains. Look for the subway entrance in front of Walgreens or Food Emporium, take the escalator or stairs down, and you can't miss the display. The piece is outside the subway turnstiles so you don't have to pay to see it.  

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September 19, 2011
Union Square display just up and beautiful!
Art / Creativity

Union Square display just up and beautiful!

The display looks amazing. It only took most of a year and fifteen hours today to put it up -- part of the joy of making art. That and it's much bigger, brighter, and in a higher traffic area than the Bryant Park display. People seem to love it already. (Directions to see Union Square in Motion, video of the display during installation) I have too many people to thank, but tops include my stepfather Bill, who built a major part of it, and the students whose names are on it for making beautiful images. Many people at MTA Arts for Transit (they're team players and ask not to be named individually but they should be), Parsons the New School, Submedia, and, of course our…

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September 17, 2011
Art / Blog / Creativity / Humor

The essence of creativity, as expressed by Man Ray

Why do we create and invent? Many people enjoy creating, but can't express why -- what they get out of it or what motivates them. The masters often express these things best -- mastery often requires understanding your motivations. A quote by Man Ray has stuck with me for years after first hearing it on an American Masters documentary on him. I believe it expresses a, or perhaps the, fundamental reason we create. He talks about fine art, but his answer is general. I'll let him say it best below. I'll say a bit on the matter in my words so you can see how much better he puts it. I believe we create art to express emotions words don't or can't. Any emotion is…

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August 5, 2011
Art / Blog / Creativity / Freedom

Animated Freedombox logo!

In the midst of my series on Communication Skills Exercises, yesterday I worked with the brilliant, talented, and accomplished Nina Paley -- free culture advocate, creator of Sita Sings the Blues, cartoonist of the insightful, funny, and subversive Mimi and Eunice, and friendly neighbor. We animated the Freedombox logos John Emerson and I worked on. She also does things like post blog entries titled "I am awesome," suggesting an obvious affinity for someone as awesome as I. I enjoyed the links in the reference section of Nina's Wikipedia page. Search on her and you'll find more creativity, humor, and support for spreading and sharing culture and ideas. She knew about the Freedombox project and was open to contributing. We shared ideas of how to animate…

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July 28, 2011
Art / Creativity

New videos of my art

Here are two new videos of my art by Bill Magargal from the opening of my solo exhibit at the Crossing Art gallery. First the north wall. I think it's better than the earlier video I took and posted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMam1KRcdJw Next, one piece on the south wall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbY7jddR1D4

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July 8, 2011
Closing event for my solo show at Crossing Art gallery with Leaders in Software and Art
Joshua Spodek Closing Event Description and Details
Art / Creativity

Closing event for my solo show at Crossing Art gallery with Leaders in Software and Art

The closing event for my solo exhibition at Crossing Art gallery will be held in conjunction with Leaders in Software and Art (LISA) Thursday, July 14, beginning at 6:15pm. Details and directions are below. Both organizations are outstanding and I owe gratitude to each. I spoke at Crossing Art for my opening event last month and at LISA in February. Unlike most LISA events, which are members only, this one is open to the public. So at this event you will have not one, but four artists represented, and not only wine, but hors d'oeuvres. LISA events are incredible. They mix art, software, related media and technology, and -- most importantly -- the people behind them. The people who speak at and attend these events…

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July 7, 2011
Rock Star Dream
Continued Fraction
Awareness / Blog / Creativity / Education / Nature

Rock Star Dream

With my ability to announce my posts blocked by the Chinese government, now's my chance to indulge in a selfish post without destroying my modesty, since fewer people will find out about it. A few months ago I had the most amazing dream. It even impressed me. Somehow I dreamt about this: It's called a continued fraction. I know I'd seen the fraction before. I don't remember if anyone showed me how to solve it. I know I hadn't seen anything about it in years, maybe over a decade. The mildly rock star thing in my dream was that I realized how to solve it. I'm impressed I remembered it at all. I have no idea how my mind came to be thinking about it.…

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July 2, 2011
Awareness / Blog / Freedom / Tips

Solving Problems I: The Dandelion Versus The Burning Building

Many people have a counterproductive yet common model for solving their problems. If you use it, you're holding yourself back from a better life. There's an alternative, however, which I'll write about below too. The Dandelion Model I call it the "dandelion model" because it's based on the idea that to get rid of a dandelion, you have to get to its roots. If you don't, it will grow back. The dandelion model says that to handle a problem in your life, you have to understand the root of the problem. If you don't, even if you think you've solved it, it will return and you'll have to deal with it all over again. A consequence of the model is that you should understand a…

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June 29, 2011
Art / Creativity

A review of my solo gallery show

Lillian Chan is an independent film producer and friend who has attended and recorded a couple of my seminars and now my gallery opening. After writing a few paragraphs reviewing the seminars, she reviewed my solo gallery show too.

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June 20, 2011
Art / Creativity

Joshua Spodek: big in China

I'm big in China! I can't tell what the video or text says, but Sinovision.net covered my opening. Here's a video of me and my work. Totally cool to watch, assuming they are saying cool things about me. Here's a write up. Here's a web translation of the write-up. If anyone can make better sense of it, please let me know: Static in the move - Joshua Spodek expansion diorama display 18 Flushing Author: Bin Zou time :2011 -06-16 17:50:07 Click: 78 [medium and small] [Zou Bin, China Press correspondent in New York reported on June 16] "Static in the move - Joshua Spodek expansion diorama" personal art exhibition will be held on the 18th day in Flushing, New Moon Art Gallery formally meet with…

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June 20, 2011
Art / Creativity

Solo gallery show first images and video

Here are a couple videos of my solo gallery show "Motion in Stillness" at the Crossing Art gallery in Queens. Yesterday was the opening. These videos are from before the opening. Better quality video will go up soon. Some people at the opening had some serious cameras. From before the press preview, here is a quick tour of the show. As always with my medium, only seeing it in person does it justice. Still, it's something. Some of the pieces were still under construction (the ones showing the animations in the back) and the camera is the low quality one in my phone. Another recording, slightly better, I'd say, is here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwbPjVO_wQY From Friday, after the press preview and before the opening, my sister, father,…

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June 19, 2011
Finishing touches
Joshua Spodek's solo opening at Crossing Art Gallery in Queens
Art / Creativity

Finishing touches

Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery I've been working day and night on the finishing touches for the show, mainly simplifying things, inspired by the space and the quality of the work by Jennifer, Sunny, and Kyung Yung (sp?), who work at Crossing Art. You'd think the sad irony would be that the more your work, the less chance of people recognizing it. But you don't have to worry about that. Most importantly, enjoying the work makes it its own reward. Secondarily, people who you want to recognize the work required for simplicity will. They've done it too. Others will simply enjoy the simplicity and you can…

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June 18, 2011
Your new plans for Saturday
Joshua Spodek's solo opening at Crossing Art Gallery in Queens
Art / Creativity

Your new plans for Saturday

Cancel your plans for Saturday afternoon, June 18, 3-6pm, this is better -- my first solo show in years, at the beautiful Crossing Art Gallery: Joshua Spodek: Motion in Stillness If you haven't seen my work, now is your chance to see some mind-blowing and amazing art. Like no other medium, there is no substitute for the wonder of seeing it in person. (EDIT: more posts on the show: images and video of the show, reviews, closing event with Leaders in Software and Art, more videos) Critics hail it as both retro, recalling Eadweard Muybridge and Étienne-Jules Marey, and radically new, pushing limits on laser-cut machining and digital image processing; showing both its commercial and subway-based roots as well as  my science and nature background…

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June 13, 2011
Art / Creativity

Linear zoetropes in Amsterdam

By chance I found a video of a display made by a Dutch art student last summer who contacted me to help make a lenticular linear zoetrope. Her name is Kyra Martens and she was incredibly resourceful and a terrific problem solver in creating the piece. She was able to bring together the Amsterdam Zoo (for whom she made the display), the Dutch equivalent of Macy's (in whose window she installed the display), a media company, and me to create a display as a final project for an art class. The video below shows the display she made with random members of the public viewing it with the usual wonderment people have viewing it the first time. Congratulations Kyra!

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June 11, 2011

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