Tag Archives: 2020

2020 Innovation: “Remote-Only Organizations”: Is This The Future Of Work?

From a Stanford Engineering article (April 8, 2020):

Stanford Engineering Remote-Only Organizations April 8 2020Companies that structure themselves as location-independent have developed norms and practices that bridge the emotional and logistical distances. The same is true for their workers. For such companies, remote-only work can reduce costs, expand the talent pool and boost productivity. By contrast, being forced by a crisis to work remotely is likely to be disruptive and frustrating. It may be better than shutting down, but it will likely lead to a big drop in productivity.

In the span of a single month, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies and organizations of all types to have almost all of their employees work remotely from home.

Has the future of work, the all-remote workforce and even the virtual organization, arrived in full force? Though online technologies have made remote work increasingly common, most companies and organizations are still run out of brick-and-mortar facilities. Now they are scrambling to stand up virtual workspaces overnight.

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International Magazines: “The Florentine” – Italy April 2020 Issue Released

 

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The Florentine Healing Not Broken Issue April 2020-page-11

In this special Covid-19 edition of The Florentine, rejoice in a renewed humanism from Florence, of learning, words, thoughts and creativity, with articles, poems and short stories penned by the city’s international community, plus ideas and considerations for the future from Tuscany’s leaders and institutional figures, all interspersed with iconic photography of Florence at its most restful.

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World’s Top Architecture: “Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen” To Open In 2021 (MVRDV Architects)

Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen (in Rotterdam, Netherlands) is the first art storage facility in the world that offers access to a museum’s complete collection. The Depot has a different dynamic to that of the museum: there are no exhibitions, but you can browse amongst 151,000 artworks, alone or with a guide, and get behind-the-scenes glimpses of – among other things – conservation and restoration.

The design – a reflective round volume – responds to its surroundings, Rotterdam’s Museumpark in which it will be completed in 2020, doors will open in 2021.

Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen by MVRDV Architects The Netherlands 2020

Museum Website

MVRDV Architects Portfolio
Website

New Museum Exhibitions: “Andy Warhol” At The Tate Modern, London (Video)

Although our galleries are temporarily closed we wanted to share the Andy Warhol exhibition at Tate Modern with you. Join Tate curators Gregor Muir and Fiontán Moran as they discuss Warhol through the lens of the immigrant story, his LGBTQI identity and concerns with death and religion.

Meet the man behind the brand. It’s a Warhol you might not know, with some artworks you may not have seen before.

Find out more about the exhibition here

 

New Travel Videos: “City Odes – Lagos, Nigeria” By Sheldon Chau (2020)

Directed, shot, edited by // Sheldon Chau

Produced by // Ella Utomi, Jide Adewale
Poem by // Ntongha Ekot
Starring, voiceover by // Jide Adewale
Music composed by // John Corlis

“EKO ILE” (CITY ODES) A CINEMATIC POEM SHORT FILM IN LAGOS, NIGERIA BY SHELDON CHAU (2020)

“Eko ile”

A man straddles a love-hate relationship with Lagos in which he attempts to not only grasp both the intensity and comfort that the city has to offer, but also to embrace it as his home.

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The City Odes Project is a passion project in which I collaborate with my composer, a poet and an actor to create a humanist, emotional, and visual story amidst the backdrop of a specific city. “Eko ile” is the second entry into this series and takes place in one of the most intense, vibrant, and overwhelming places I have ever been – Lagos, Nigeria.

The title “Eko ile” translates to “Lagos is home” in Yoruba, one of the primary languages in the country. For this piece, I wanted to capture the city in the language I encountered most when I was there – Pidgin English (which is sort of a local slang) as well as plain English, both of which my lead actor Jide Adewale (who also happens to be one of the producers) speaks as he narrates the poem. I wanted to create a character who personifies the feeling of living in Lagos in which the hustle is as real as it gets and the frenetic pace is nonstop. Lagos truly is one of a kind.

The final result here features the work of Ntongha Ekot – a Nigerian poet – who eloquently captures these push-and-pull feelings through her words, and my frequent collaborator John Corlis – an LA-based musician and composer – who complements the poetry with his emotional piano piece “Into the Atmosphere” from his latest album of the same title. My incredible producers Jide and Ella Utomi made it all happen by finding the locations, security and logistics; they took care of me during my memorable time there.

Website

New Timelapse Videos: “New Zealand Total Isolation” In 4K (Apr 2020)

Filmed and Edited by: Bevan Percival

Watch in 4K, sound on. New Zealand Total Isolation is my latest time lapse show reel of the beautiful New Zealand wilderness landscapes. All sequences shot as full ‘holy grail’ time lapse scenes – that is full sequences from day through night back to day, requiring 3000 to 5000 frames each sequence.

While we are all in lock down isolation here due to the current pandemic situation we can only reminisce at present what it’s like to be out in the wilderness. If your like me and can’t stand being ‘caged up’ maybe watching this show reel unfold in front of your eyes will help ease your soul? I hope so.

So many times over the course of shooting these challenging all night scenes my body, soul, mind and gear were beaten up by the elements and bad luck or other unknown forces, however there is just something about our earth, our land and the time spent in it that just brings you back time and time again. I always seem to have unfinished business, chasing the elusive and beautiful landscapes of Aotearoa New Zealand, and I can’t wait to get back out there, soon, it’s still there, waiting.

Website

Top New Books: “The Art Of Earth Architecture – Past, Present, Future” (Mar 2020)

The Art of Earth Architecture Past, Present, Future Jean Dethier March 2020The Art of Earth Architecture demonstrates the wide-ranging applications and sustainability of this building material, while presenting a manifesto for its ecological significance. Featuring raw-earth masterpieces, monumental structures, and little known works, the book includes the temples and palaces of Mesopotamia, the Great Wall of China, large-scale urban developments in Tenochtitlan in Mexico, the medinas of Morocco, and housing in Marrakech and Bogota.

For almost ten thousand years, unbaked earth has been used to build remarkable structures, from simple dwellings to palaces, temples, and fortresses both grand and durable. Jean Dethier spent fifty years researching this landmark global survey, which spans five continents and 250 sites.

This definitive reference features many UNESCO World Heritage sites and contains essays on the historical, technical, and cultural aspects of raw-earth construction from twenty experts in the field, as well as hundreds of photographs, illustrations, and architectural drawings.

The Art of Earth Architecture Past, Present, Future Jean Dethier March 2020

Jean Dethier has dedicated his life to the research, safeguarding, and development of earth structures around the world. Dethier worked at the Centre Pompidou as a curator of influential architectural exhibits for thirty years. Winner of the prestigious Grand Prix national de l’architecture, he sat on the jury of the 2016 Terra Award, the first international prize for contemporary earthen structures.

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Art Magazines: “Apollo” April 2020 Issue Released

INSIDE THE ISSUE
FEATURES | Michael Prodger visits the newly resplendent Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden; Yinka Shonibare talks to Samuel ReillySeamus Perry considers the visual qualities of Wordsworth’s poems; Tim Smith-Laing on the modern monsters of Léopold Chauveau; Emilie Bickerton looks at how museums tackle the subject of cinema; Christopher Turner talks to Grażyna Kulczyk, founder of the Muzeum Susch
REVIEWS | Matthew Sperling on Picasso’s works on paper at the Royal Academy; Nicholas Hatfull on Edward Hopper at the Fondation Beyeler; Scott Nethersole on Renaissance art in the regions of Italy; Alan Powers on the life of Humphrey Stone; Max Norman on a new study of Poussin; Peter Parker on John Minton’s illustrations for Elizabeth David’s cookery books
MARKET | Tim Maxwell and Tamara Bell on cybersecurity; and the latest art market columns from Susan Moore and Emma Crichton-Miller
PLUS | Matt Stromberg and J. Patrice Marandel consider if LACMA has lost its way; Kitty Hauser takes a personal view of the bushfires in Australia; Rachel Cohen on the resurgence of interest in the painter Beauford DelaneyFatema Ahmed on a display of chivalry in Abu Dhabi; Douglas Murphy visits an art nouveau masterpiece in NancyRobert O’Byrne on a talented Dutch curator; and Thomas Marks on museums and the art world in a time of crisis

Political News: “Brooks & Marcus” On $2.2 Trillion Economic Relief Package, Coronavirus Crisis (PBS)

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week in politics, including whether Americans are ready for the mounting coronavirus crisis, why the U.S. government wasn’t better prepared for the pandemic, the significance of the $2.2 trillion economic relief package and the status of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.