World Press Photo 09

For the fifth consecutive year, Photographic Social Vision Foundation, in collaboration with the CCCB, presents World Press Photo 09.

The World Press Photo exhibition – a collection of the winning entries in the World Press Photo Competition – is internationally recognised as the most important touring exhibition of photojournalism in the world. As well as displaying the best photographs of 2008, it is also a historic document of the main news events of the year.

Each year, an independent, thirteen-member international jury chooses the winning photographs from submissions by photojournalists, agencies, newspapers and photographers around the world. The photos compete in 11 categories: news events, current affairs, people in the news, sports, action photography, sports reportage, contemporary issues, daily life, portraits, nature and art and entertainment.

The winning photographs are exhibited annually in 80 cities in 40 countries, on condition that all works have to be shown without censorship of any kind. The fact that thousands of visitors from around the world see this exhibition shows photography’s power to overcome linguistic and cultural boundaries.

World Press Photo provides images that become part of the collective memory. Stunning images that have changed, on many occasions, the course of history and public opinion.

To see all of this year’s winning images please click {HERE}

ARTFUTURA_ Art+Thoughts

 is a  brilliant Show at the Santa Monica Art Center in the lower RAVAL. Now in its 20th edition, they have provided a great retrospect of the catalogue of their work. Aimed at bringing art and technology together, they have presented a great collection of work that spans two decades in the making.

“At the beginning of this third millennium we enter a process in which art and science run together on parallel paths..”

Artificial Life, Virtual Reality, computer generated images… are only the first chapter of a new universe, capable of both broadening and shrinking the human spirit

 _ ART FUTURA

Last Thursday Improv Everywhere partnered up with ART FUTURA for the MP3 Experiment on Las Ramblas. Hundreds of people downloaded instructions on their MP3 player and showed up to the front door of the center without any idea what was in store for them. See what happens when technology encourages real time interaction.

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For more information on ::ART FUTURA:: click AQUI!

From Barcelona with a Brazilian kiss-NSISTA

 

Back in 2000, two Brazilian sisters- Marise Cardoso aka DJIIVA and Amarilis Vitale arrived in Barcelona and were instantly blown away by the electronic music scene that was taking the city by storm.

Together they formed NSISTA,  a band whose sound has been influenced by their travels around the world.  Their Brazilelectro beats have evolved over the years reflecting the years of crossing borders and  genres. Like stamps on their passports, their music is a unique collage of  samba beats layered over lush electronic arrangements and experimental sounds cascading in the background. Their look consisting  of recycled  materials such as plastic bottles and bottle caps  form post modern head pieces  which reflects their do it your self attitude.

On this particular Sunday night – NSISTA holds center court in an old convent  turned  cultural center on the border of the Born neighborhood. The hipster crowd below them- can’t stop moving their heads and hips to the sambatronic beats radiating from the speakers.  They stand center stage in an open courtyard, bathed in hot pink light and transmitting love for their fans.

The neighbors however, don’t seemed too amused by the weekend festival which is now on its 15th edition, was created by MARISE  and aptly named PULGAS MIX.  A  flea market based concept, that has over taken the space with artist, musicians and fashion designers from all over spain. The goal of the festival is to share the talent in an incubated center for people to touch and hear the pulse of Barcelona’s art scene. 

When not producing music, or organizing festivals NSISTA  also lends a hand and signature sound to bands such as Macaco, Ojos de Brujo, Brazuca and Matraca  that turn to the duo when looking to brazilify their sound.

To discover the SAMBA XXXPERIENCE click here .

Make sure to check out the AfroMix of  their new track CABOCLA

To  download their  new single  CABOCLA click HERE

Subtravelling-The Barcelona Subway Short Film Festival- For People On The Go.

 

 

 

No Time for movies? Barcelona kicks off the weekend with the 1st ever Subway Short Film Festival.

The Wizard of Oz in 30 secs

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An impromptu movie theatre has been set up at the Plaza Universidad Metro Station which allows viewers to catch a SHORT film while transferring lines.

The SUBTRAVELLING film festival <October 15-October 18> has generated quite a bit of buzz this week with locals and tourists alike.  This film festival which has already been quite the hit in Berlin has now stopped at Barcelona thanks to the help of the city.

Passengers can see the films at the Metro stations or in the train on the over head screens. Voting has already begun on the best Short Film online. As part of the campaign once you vote- you also enter the chance to win a trip to LA to tour the WB movie studio.

The rules of the festival are  simple: Short films could be  NO longer than 2 minutes.  Hundreds of entries were received  and so far the animated romantic comedy OKTOPODI  is in the lead. 

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For more information on the Film Festival or to watch more of the shorts click HERE

 

Will we still have prostitutes in BCN in 2159?

What will Barcelona be like in 2159?

Will we still have people selling Agua, Coca Cola , Cerveza in liquid form? Will we have intergalactic  prostitutes on Las Ramblas? Will the Sagrada Familia be finished?

A new time capsule project has been launched via the internet, for the citizens of Barcelona in 2009 to communicate with the barceloneces of 2159

The BARCELONA2159 project has taken shape and hundreds of people from ages 7 to 67 have populated the site. With the several different categories, participants can leave their theory on what the city of Barcelona will be like in 150 years.

Part of the ANY CERDA, a year devoted to the celebration of the man, whose ambition to tear down the gothic walls and expand the city was revolutionary 150 years ago. An ambitious plan that turned the city into the sprawling grid-like mass it is today.

The Project, which will runs until June 2010, will mark the beginning of the future of Barcelona.  Developed as  marketing tool for the exposition as well as  an opportunity for the people to leave their mark in  Barcelona’s history. You can leave written messages as well as  videos in the online time capsule intended for future viewers.

But who is the “New Cerda”? While they rip apart the Poble Nou area for the 22@ is it progress or greed? One thing is for sure if the future is managed by Zaha Hadid count me in.

The new Spiral Tower by Zaha Hadid  in Barcelona.

  To see some of the messages click below.

http://barcelona2159.org/

 

[Digg=http://digg.com/d319wMO]

Barcelona goes GLOBAL for the battle of design @ Cut&Paste 2009

 

 October 16th the battle for the hottest illustrator goes global at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.

48 artists representing 16 Countries will go against each other for a timed design competition as the world watches. Each artist will have only 15 min to create a work in one of the three areas of competition(2D, 3D and Motion Design) while an audience of hipsters and  industry leaders watch on from the sidelines. It is a sort of  “DESIGN OLYMPICS” only with cooler sneakers and slicker music.   

The contest will be live on www.cutandpaste.com  and  the godfather of cool Josh Rubin from COOLHUNTING will be judging the 3D portion of the contest.

Lets Meet the Boys from Barcelona…

REPRESENTING BCN in 2D DESIGN_ 

   MARCO GONZALEZ –  http://www.ilustracionpublicitaria.com/

After a life time of painting, drawing and spray painting  on any surface he could find Marco, opened up his own studio bringing together over 10 years of experience in “Urban Artistic Expression”.  The design challenge was to come up with a shirt from a prisoner’s uniform  with the theme being : Taboo.  This was his wining piece.

REPRESENTING BCN in 3D DESIGN_

BERNAT FORTET– www.bernatfortet.com 

 

Bernat is a digital student here in Barcelona, his passion is 3D images which as you can imagine take a lot of time and concentration in order to put these images together. Bernat is currently working for Kotoc – a major computer graphics firm here in Barcelona.  His design challenge which allowed the artists 20 mins to create a piece work inspired by the word: “CARTHARSIS”

 

REPRESENTING BCN in  MOTION  DESIGN_

SEBASTIAN BAPTISTA- www.sebastianbap.com

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Originally from Uruguay,  Sebastian  now resides in Barcelona where he works as a freelancer  with his partner in crime Robokid.  His website features his new work as well  has  spots for FORD as well as SEAT.

The theme of his competition was the Crisis.

 

We will publish the results of the CUT & PASTE compition on Sat, hoping that the guys will be among those winners.

For the rundown of how Cut &Paste started- here you go:

“Laptop to Laptop , Mano a Mano”

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http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2006/11/cut_paste.php

  

  

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ULLS FESTIVAL 09- Art For The People.

 

The ULLS Festival takes over the streets of Barcelona, October 14-18,  invading the city with four days of  Dance, Music, Film and Theatre.  This week the  ULLS Festival  sets up shop at the Palau de la Virreina and various points around the city. 

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 This festival is one of  Barcelona’s most radical and alternative of cultural festivasl  which the city hosts.  Now in it’s third year the  emphasis of this festival is placed in the performance of art.  All of the events are free of charge  in order to generate an open access to ART.

A  festival to be enjoyed by all who call the “cuidad condal”  home, regardless of money, social class, or citizenship.

The only requirement is to be one of an open mind.

The four day event will host a total of 8 theater performances, 5 concerts, 5 workshops, 3 film screenings and 2 performances by alternative artists.

Among the other events are art workshops for the kids  as well as an art exhibit.

 14 countries are participating in this forum, which is meant to act as a cultural exchange between Latin America and Europe revolving around artists  sharing their concept of life and art between the two continents.

For a complete listing of events and location check out www.ulls.org

 

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Cine Ambigu_Film Series OCT 2009

Back from their summer break  100.000 retinas <http://www.retinas.org> pick up where they left off, bringing you the best independent movies every  TUESDAY  in OCTOBER 

 Their commitment in screening the best movies without commercial distribution and major works of international festivals, that rarely see box office success. This time around they  present 3  underground movies in the indie movie palace known as VERDI PARK in the Gracia neighborhood<http://www.cines-verdi.com/barcelona/> the cities epicenter of all things indie.

 

Tuesday OCT 13 – YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH (2007)

Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola returns to the director’s chair after a ten-year hiatus with this adaptation of Romanian author Mircea Eliade‘s tome detailing the arduous journey of a professor whose life is thrown into chaos as World War II looms ominously on the horizon. When the 70-year-old scholar is struck by lightning, his age begins to reverse as his mind grows infinitely more brilliant. Now determined to understand the origins of language and consciousness, the fugitive professor leads authorities on a wild chase through Romania, Switzerland, Malta, and India. Tim Roth, Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, and Marcel Iures star in an ambitious low-budget drama trumpeted by Zoetrope as a “return to personal filmmaking” for the revered Godfather director.

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Tuesday Oct 28-OF TIME AND CITY(2008)

British filmmaker Terence Davies pays homage to the city of his birth in this visual essay on the seaside town of Liverpool. Described by Davies as “a love song and a eulogy,” Of Time and the City uses vintage home movies and newsreel footage to paint a portrait of the Liverpool he knew as a child, a tough working-class community where decay and resilience walked side by side, even as many of the efforts to “improve” Liverpool in the ’60s accomplished little beyond robbing it of its character and rough-hewn beauty. Combining a variety of found images with music and poetry, Of Time and the City explores how this slow evolution of Liverpool impacted the people who lived there, and how the people also became part of the city’s ups and downs. Of Time and the City was screened as a special presentation at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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**PULSO PICK**

Tuesday Oct 27- THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD (2009)

Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno are “The Yes Men,” two guys who combine political activism, performance art and the love of a good prank in the name of demanding the private sector take responsibility for the damage it’s done to the world and its people. Bichlbaum and Bonanno specialize in setting up realistic looking mock web sites that claim to represent famous and powerful multi-national corporations, and when they’re contacted to speak on the companies’ behalf, they deliver absurd satirical presentations that sometimes fool their audiences into believing they’ve seen the real thing. The exploits of Bichlbaum and Bonanno were chronicled in the 2003 documentary The Yes Men, and their further adventures have spawned a second film, The Yes Men Fix The World, which follows the radical pranksters as they claim responsibility for a major environmental disaster in Bhopal on European television, demonstrate a new corporate rescue orb, “defend” corporate interests in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and publish a mock edition of The New York Times that declares the end of the war in Iraq. The Yes Men Fix The World received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

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Tim Robbins presents:1984 in BARCELONA * Orwell’s future is here _

Walking through  the Ramblas this morning I came across a sign in huge white letters; simple font on a black background-  it read:

                                    

 -With security cameras, mobile messaging, facebook, twitter  -and google maps tracking our every move, we have managed to create a society that not only promotes interaction with one another but charts our every move. We are quick to sign up to every single website that is “all the rage”, clicking the user agreement box and ignoring the fine print, just to save time (at least I do).

With all this technology readily available at our fingertips- now more than ever is George Orewll’s timeless classic 1984 so appropriately  insynch with the times.

Across the world, our culture capitals have evolved into interatcive platforms.  Plazas that bombard us with ads; parks that have become wireless zones. Cites that now closely resemble video games, instead of the agoras of public interaction and debates that were so common years ago.  The private has become public and no matter how hard we try we can’t escape the watchful eyes of each other. The citizen is now fast resembling an Orwellian  citizen. A  one man machine- chronicling the ebbs and flows of  the streets and pulse of the concrete jungle.

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Yet, where does all this information go?

Where is all this data going? Who is watching the watchers?

Actor Tim Robbins and his theatre group “The Actor’s Gang” have taken over the -TEATRO POLIORAMA- , on the Ramblas, to stage the a limited run of the adaptation of  George Orwell’s classic futuristic novel, 1984.

Robbins has not only chosen BARCELONA as the background for where the story unfolds, but has also done some interesting market research on the streets of “La Cuidad Condal”.

Orwell’s ties to Barcelona run deep- his love for the city and respect for it’s anti-facist ways had  always facinated the writer, leading him to call Barcelona his home during the spanish civil war. His passion for the voice of the people, prompted him to write: Homage To Catalonia a chronicle recording the will of the city against a regime that grew strong before their very eyes.

In a twist of irony the George Orwell Plaza located in the Gothic Quarter remains under tight suppervision by Big brother himself- security cameras. A fact that Orwell himself would find mind blowing. 

With 73% of Catalans not finding anything wrong -with the digital repression , that has slowly infiltrated our streets, we take one-step closer to a future that not even Orwell could have imagined.

The play which begins tonight, aims to stimulate an important conversation and encourage the people of Barcelona to think about whether they really are perfectly happy being watched over by their elected officials.

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To find out more about 1984 log onto

www.1984BCN.com

The Future is now.

 

 

 

Benvingut!!

 

 

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A Digital Platform for digital people_