Welcome to the third chapter of our 2011 year-end wrap-up, in which we focus on visual communication, including a full range of graphics, identity, packaging and otherwise visually-driven content from the past year. Without further ado:
Eye Candy
2011 was as visually stunning a year as any in recent memory: our minds were blown time and again by stencil art; artists' graphic styles were just as often informed by their method as vice versa; maps reimagined as portraits and dancers; and old Volkswagens elevated into art.
We also saw some good ol' fashioned trompe l'oeil; data visualization turned into abstraction; there were lights, camera and action.
The global street art movement continued its conquest of the design world, from Matthew W. Moore's angular foray into housewares to Geoff McFetridge's collaboration with Heath Ceramics. Barry McGee (sometime cohort of the latter) exhibited "New Work," as did his kindred spirit Scotty Albrecht, while Boston's Bodega hosted "Human Powered Works," a group show.
Techniques
Just as ketchup packets got a little more manageable, so too did graffiti: we'd love to see a combination of the Robo-rainbow and Arduino-enabled NTQ.
Designers also dreamt up (and created) a couple drawing machines large (á la complex harmonic motion) and small (á la computer numeric control). We also came across a Finnish artist named 'Tomi' who turns everyday MDF into physical halftone images.
On the other hand (or is that 'in the human hand'?), we were also glad to see the handiwork ofsurgically-precise pinstriper and a faux-pixel homage to the late Tobias Wong. Thanks to artist Frederick McSwain and Gallery R'Pure for letting us capture the process on tape.
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