Monday, February 21, 2011

40 Places I Want To Travel To


-this is a list of 40 places i want to someday visit. i have my reasons as to why i want to see all of these places (although a few places i just want to revisit) but i wont bore you with them (except in a few cases).-
  1. paris, france (again)
  2. london, england (again)
  3. tel aviv, israel
  4. mumbai, india
  5. toronto, canada
  6. bali
  7. vancouver, canada 
  8. majorca, spain
  9. bhutan 
  10. tibet 
  11. copenhagen, denmark 
  12. capri, italy
  13. marrakech, morocco 
  14. istanbul, turkey 
  15. iceland (it would have to be with my dad though. he’s always wanted to see this country.)
  16. sydney, australia
  17. new zealand (this place looks so amazing… my god… paradise on earth!)
  18. tallinn, estonia
  19. san francisco, usa (again)
  20. monaco 
  21. stockholm, sweden
  22. luxembourg 
  23. italy (again)
  24. greece
  25. namibia 
  26. thailand, bangkok (to visit a friend)
  27. buenos aires, argentina 
  28. patagonia, argentina
  29. vienna, austria 
  30. croatia
  31. washington d.c. (again)
  32. amman, jordan
  33. hawaii
  34. dubai, uae
  35. oxford, england
  36. geneva switzerland
  37. provence, france (my mom studied in this area when she was 14. i want to see what she saw.)
  38. tokyo, japan
  39. rajasthan, india
  40. colorado (for skiing of course!) 
so where do you want to travel too? whats on the bucket list?
jem 

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

The Works Of Rodney Smith

I recently discovered the works of photographer Rodney Smith via the website mymodernmet.com and can I just say its pure genius. It was while reading an interview with the artist that I first saw some of his work and read some of his statements. I couldn't help but admire his poetic musings about life along with his great works of art. They are so aspirational, so inspirational. I love how happy his photo's make me feel when I look at them. 

I think art is meant to make you feel something. Whether it be feelings sadness, anger, being exuberant, melancholy, happy, or any other human emotion. If you do not feel a connection to the piece then to you it is not art although for someone else it could be. So feel every emotion possible, even the ones which aren't always good, they are what make us real and alive. 

Now, back to Rodney Smith, like I was saying before when I look at his photography I feel so happy. There is often an air of wimsicality to the pictures as well which reminds me of another favorite photographer, Tim Walker. Along with sharing some of Smith's work I took quotes which I loved from his interview.  



"Many people believe that one is born with talent and some people have it and some people don’t. I actually don’t believe that. I believe that everyone has the ability; because everyone is a human being and everyone has feelings. If they are able to express those feelings, than that is part of their talent."


"I don’t know my function in life. That’s probably the quest. Whether people articulate it or not, I think everyone is doing the same thing."


"One of the things that is interesting, and I think people are always intrigued by this, is that though my pictures seem so composed, they are extremely spontaneous. 95% of the pictures I take, I didn’t even know I was going to take them a few minutes before." 

 


"Great art has always been saying a giant ‘yes’ to life. The Renaissance was a period in which people in every medium were very aspirational, they were classical in their form, they were positive about the world’s views, they were excited to be alive. That is what nurtures great art. 
Everyone is aware of the evil in the world. I think what people are not aware of is the potential for doing good."




So now you've seen it- some of the stunning works of Rodney Smith- along with some of his inspirational personal statements.
Jem

Monday, February 7, 2011

Print vs. Internet





This video properly addresses why magazines are not dead. A lot of people ask me when I tell them I love magazines and want to work in the industry someday, why? Why would you want to work in a dying field? So now instead of giving them a long winded answer I just have to show them this video. Magazines are not going away anytime soon. I also love the Magazines: The Power of Print advertisements which have recently been published in many magazines. Its such a smart and eye-catching campaign aiming to inform readers that print is not dying out and still remains as popular as ever, even with the Internet.
I think that print and the Internet will learn to co-exist. Neither will go out of fashion anytime soon that's for sure! I love both the Internet and print for different reasons. I love how the Internet can present everything at the tips of your fingers within seconds. Whereas I love magazines for the paper, the texture, the smartly written articles, the photographs, and the ability to hold them in your hands. So please, don't make me choose.
Jem