DEVENDRA BANHART by neil △ krug, on Flickr

Untitled by soundless.drop, on Flickr

Nikolaj D’etoiles by Viktor gårdsäter, on Flickr

–_ by yannfaucher, on Flickr

Untitled by smotar ;, on Flickr

Untitled by Ren Hang, on Flickr

ll and ly by Yang Qiu, on Flickr

me quedan by Violeta Niebla, on Flickr

the truth is ugly by annaluxx, on Flickr

Untitled by vanya novikov ★, on Flickr

Untitled by heidifurre, on Flickr

Untitled by lukasz biederman

dippin’ dots by peopleareshapes

Untitled by Ρaul

Untitled by Luke Gregory

Untitled by nicolesnakamoto

Untitled by Matthew Genitempo

colchones de fe by Martin Pisotti

The Fairytale Fashion Collection uses technology to create magical clothing in real life. Electronics, mechanical engineering, and mathematics are used to create clothing with blooming flowers, changing colors and transforming shapes. Research and development for the Fairytale Fashion collection are shared online at FairytaleFashion.org as an educational tool that teaches about science, math, and technology through fashion. Fairytale Fashion was created with the support of Eyebeam Art and Technology Center nonprofit.

Gideon Obarzanek’s Digital Moves from PopTech on Vimeo.

Experimental Australian Dance Company – Chunky Move – check out their website

Full gallery is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/melmcveigh/galleries/72157623007039385/

Ren Hang is a Chinese photographer I discovered on Flickr.

I love his images. They are natural, playful but also slightly kooky.

my radio by louisclub

CìN by ilovmydog, on Flickr by ilovemydog

Untitled by chicagojulieelizabeth, on Flickr

photo sharing by whatever colors you have in your mind, on Flickr

encarregs4p by noemi elias bascuñana, on Flickr

88080017 by mademuaselle, on Flickr

FITTS FOR FIGHT by monamonamona, on Flickr

Untitled by Tania Lёshkina, on Flickr

Untitled by Ren Hang, on Flickr

Untitled by fudbal, on Flickr

Untitled by bonjour,lindsay, on Flickr

happiness by Thami Griebler, on Flickr

Untitled by jenna popoli, on Flickr

+++ by cobilanschi, on Flickr

chéri cherry by divo divnoe, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/melmcveigh/galleries/72157623131339808/

Untitled by Ren Hang, on Flickr

Untitled by deanmcdaid, on Flickr

. by neon.tambourine, on Flickr

Untitled by james.mcloughlin, on Flickr

ad catz by oldmanofthesea, on Flickr

Untitled by Tuwa, on Flickr

the title comes from a friend – it is his latest facebook status update. I just really loved it and while thinking about it, these pictures caught my eye. And I just love them.

this is not the full gallery. Check it out here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/melmcveigh/galleries/72157623006757993/

MVA – Heart by Vins Baratta, on Flickr

058 by Lina Scheynius, on Flickr

Untitled by Olalla U., on Flickr

i forgot how the winter looks and you reminded me by mum, i am gay!, on Flickr

Untitled by sylvain-emmanuel .P, on Flickr

casio bruise by bomb /s, on Flickr

Untitled by tear.drop., on Flickr

don’t by bomb /s, on Flickr

Noni by Oliver Bryce Yates, on Flickr

Untitled by ikebana,, on Flickr

Untitled by The Bridal shop, on Flickr

. by neon.tambourine, on Flickr

I am terrible at writing what i am thinking down. I tried it and gave up after five minutes. So, I decided to do the thing i know how to do best, curate a little photo gallery that best describes what i am feeling now. Here are the first two pictures.

The gallery is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melmcveigh/galleries/72157623131190786

This is when code really is poetry. I recently visited the Decode Exhibition at the V&A – December 8 – April 11. This is a must visit exhibition.

I am becoming increasingly interested in the image-making and technology. Not just the static photograph but how we manipulate our surroundings to engage in experience created by technology. What is even more exciting is when this moves into the realm of art and ultimately mainstream experiences.

Although not entirely dead, we are moving away more and more from the producer/consumer paradigm and increasingly into producer/consumer/producer roles. This throws into disarray a lot about how we percieve experiences, we are no longer passive in them and we can either create or manipulate with the use of free and open source technologies.

Why was this exhibition so much fun? Watching it through the eyes of a child. Everything for my son is new – he just plays, no barriers, no questions, no expectations, just simply – play. So, even though I work with these kind of technologies, I know conceptually how they are made, and they may have been technologies around for a while, the simplicity of play makes it so much fun.

The teenies for me are going to be defined by interactions. The blending of gaming, interaction, experience and design. This kind of work which is being produced with so much more frequency than before and even what was produced over the last 5 years was certainly not mainstream or in an exhibition at the V&A. This makes for an exciting couple of years ahead I think.

I so wish I had the luxury of time to learn how to code and create but also play in this space.

A brief rundown of my highlights from the show without spoiling it:

Video Grid 2009 by Ross Phillips – even more impressive when I realised he was the technical director at ShowStudio. Much respect!

Griffin Video Wall 2009

Oasis 2008–9 by Everywhere

It almost beats ShowStudio exhibition at Somerset House which I talked about here I’d recommend both highly. Actually they are same-same but different.

Go see!!!

Lite-Write makes my web camera into a slow exposure camera – meaning I can make pictures that look like I am playing with light.

Just download the software here, get a torch – I find smaller works better and play away.

Lite-write is a piece of nifty software, created using open processing by Tangible Interactions.

This mashing up of photography, experience and technology is something I am becoming increasingly fascinated with.

It is times like this I wish I was a true geek and could write code.

Flickr Gallery here.

The Lite-Write 912 from Company Policy on Vimeo.

Video that I stumbled across over the xmas break. An experimental film by Jim Henson. I just love the simplicity of the video but also the backdrop of 60′s suburban America. Oh, to have the simple life.

I discovered in on the fabulous design magazine site – Code77 – way cool. They also pointed me to Wikia Entertainment for more information on the piece.

But I found this, which only reminded me how much I love Buffy. A strong female character. And as much as I love Jacob and Edward, Bella does drives me nuts. Wet anyone. Girls don’t have to be so lame.

Read the great post from What Would Buffy Do? Notes on Dusting Edward Cullen and then watch the remix. Way cool. And the best thing – I discovered Rebellious Pixels in the process – even better.

Exhibition: SHOWStudio Fashion Revolution. Somerset House until December 20.

“The restless world of the internet has changed the experience of fashion forever”.

This is the statement that has stuck with me since I left the exhibition this afternoon.

The fashion industry surprisingly has been slow adopters of the internet. Maybe because their industry has been inextricably linked to the printed artifact of the magazine or they thought it was too geeky to get involved. But prior to the explosion of social media (circa 2004/5), too few magazines, curators, fashionistas, photographers were online in a credible way. Partly, I would argue and in their defense, until computers became ubiquitous, the quality of image resolution/bandwidth improved, there didn’t seem a credible argument to be online. Photographers still preferred the printed folio to a folio website and magazines were online for ad sales only. Sweeping statements yes, but having sat on both fences (digital & fashion), I have found it frustrating that not enough people in the fashion industry have embraced the internet. And to be honest, when they did venture on online, like every other publisher, producer, curator, they thought old school publishing, thinking the experience was the same and wondered why their endeavors failed to get the results they had imagined.

Now, in 2009 we live in a different world. Fashion blogs, trend websites, photographer blogs, TV channels abound. Everyone seems to be jumping on the experiential fashion bandwagon. More fashion shows integrate video and digital experiences into their shows. It is part of the overall experience. But really it is not that fashion forward, other industries (arts, media, music) have been doing it for years, it has just become ‘fashionable’ in 2009.

That is why SHOWStudio has been an inspiration and is the benchmark anyone would set if venturing online and in fashion.

If you put it in context, these guys have been playing with the medium of the internet since 2001. This is pre YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, social media, all the things we take for granted now in terms of collaboration & online ‘socialness’.

They may have set up SHOWStudio to demystify the creative process but in the process they have created something incredible in terms of pushing the medium. I even thought today, when students in 10 years time or even now are studying the history of fashion & imagemaking, SHOWStudio will be considered in the same light that The Factory was in the 60′s & 70′s.

Ok, still in the afterglow of seeing a great exhibition. So, what makes them so fab? They didn’t think – we work in fashion and publishing, so let’s do the same thing online. They played with the medium, they got the community involved, they broadcast live, no editing, exploring the medium’s strengths and weaknesses, understanding the experience and letting it evolve.

Of course, playing with technology is meaningless unless the core ideas are strong and engaging. But I think that the evolution and getting to know the technology, the naivety and brazenness of their approach in the beginning has meant they have really broken down some perceptions of fashion. And looked like they had a great time doing it.

So to experience and participate in person was a pure delight. Some things were a little twee, entertaining for my eight year old son, but certainly not challenging in an artistic sense.

But at the same time their were gems. Videos or images that had me transfixed for quite some time.

Without spoiling it, the work that impressed me the most were the two minute videos of models and fashionistas. It brief was simple. Stand in front of a video camera for two minutes with no direction. Do whatever you like.  Some were unbearable to watch, others showed the naivety of young people in front of a camera, just like you and I, uncomfortable in their own skin, just standing there. It was weird seeing famous models, who should be comfortable in front of a camera, (it’s their job), really uncomfortable on their own: exposed, vulnerable and personable. All because no-one was telling them what to do.

If you are obsessed with fashion, this is a must see exhibition. And I would argue even if you think fashion is a little bit unnecessary and pretentious but you love experiential design and the internet, this is also a must see exhibition.