Splendid Sandro

I caught sight of the brand new A/W 2012 Sandro campaign today and i loved it, obviously! So i went in search of all the campaign images i could find to complete my engaging puzzle, i also tried to find some kind of explanation or further insight into the idea behind the campaign but sadly had no such luck. However i personally feel it has something to do with self portrait and self expression, i love the contrasting images black and white and colour, the apparent randomness of the images as a collective and the askew angles the photographs appear to have fallen at.  Anyway see for yourself my personal favourite is the girls in the newspaper hats!

The Picture Collection

Whilst flicking through my monthly Wallpaper* magazine i stumbled across an extremely cool and interesting article about a collection of pictures [1.2 million to be precise] housed at the Mid-Manhattan Library, these prints, postcards, posters and images have been carefully clipped from books and magazines, and are part of the largest circulating picture library in the world.  Established in 1915 the New York Public Library Picture Collection has been a valuable resource for writers, historians, artist, filmmakers, fashion companies, costume designers and advertising agencies for many years. 'The artist Diego Rivera used the collection while working on his man at the crossroads mural at the Rockefeller Center. (At the time, Rivera noted how the scope and the limits of the collection might shape contemporary visions of America.)'  Taryn Simon, Wallpaper* magazine. The head of the collection from 1929-1968 Romana Javitz, recruited 40 artists during the 1930's to help clip, cull and catalogue the collection, the images at present are collated under 12,000 subject headings, members of the library can borrow up to 60 clippings at a time.  The collection is an amazing source of inspiration and a great research tool you can browse the collection online at digital.nypl.org/mmpco/index.cfm and choose from an overwhelming list of categories. Yet another website i could loose my life on!

The collection has also sparked Image Atlas a new project from artist Taryn Simon and programmer Aaron Swartz, 'Image Atlas investigates cultural differences and similarities by indexing top image results for given search terms across local engines throughout the world'. A little hard to get your head round but the basic ideas is visitors can refine or expand their search from 57 countries and sort by Gross Domestic Product or alphabetical order. Image Atlas creates the possibility for a universal visual language. The site provides an intriguing outlook and an enthralling insight into the search term and image results of various countries again a great inspiration/research tool but beware important hours of your life could be lost!

Folder:Snow-Avalanches. The Picture Collection.

Folder:Handshaking. The Picture Collection.

Image Atlas Selection, "Jews", 4.45PM (Eastern Standard Time).

Images from Wallpaper* magazine October 2012 issue.