New art exhibition highlights the Indigenous experience through intergenerational love

By in Native

New art exhibition highlights the Indigenous experience through intergenerational love

ᓵᑭᐦᐃᑐᐊᐧᐠ sâkihitowak ełghąnuwutą they love each other, will be open to public until the end of 2023. 

Experience Indigenous history from the perspective of love and joy through a new art exhibition ᓵᑭᐦᐃᑐᐊᐧᐠ sâkihitowak ełghąnuwutą they love each other. The exhibition will be open to community members in the lobby of Jubilee Centre until the end of 2023 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday.

ᓵᑭᐦᐃᑐᐊᐧᐠ sâkihitowak ełghąnuwutą they love each other

The exhibition features historical images and artworks that highlight the Indigenous experience through intergenerational love. Viewers will be reminded that Indigenous Peoples are more than the historical traumas and institutions that sought to eliminate them. They are people abundant in brilliance, love, resilience and more.

The Journey Home: The Baby Moccasin Project

The gallery will also feature The Journey Home: The Baby Moccasin Project. Organized by Arts Council Wood Buffalo, this exhibit showcases handmade baby moccasins created by local Indigenous artists in memory of loved ones who attended residential schools.

Public Art Wood Buffalo would like to thank Jes Croucher of Pawâmiw Creative, Arts Council Wood Buffalo and Fort McMurray Heritage Society for their collaboration in bringing this exhibition to the community.

Visit rmwb.ca/publicart for more information.

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Jorge Zu�iga Blanco Advocates the Art of Content Marketing and Product Descriptions for eCommerce Success

By in Art World News

Jorge Zu�iga Blanco Advocates the Art of Content Marketing and Product Descriptions for eCommerce Success

Today marks the release of a crucial narrative for online retailers, penned by the acclaimed eCommerce strategist Jorge Zuñiga Blanco. His latest offering is a deep dive into the pivotal role of content marketing and impactful product descriptions in carving out eCommerce success stories.

Mastering Content Marketing in the Digital Age

In the bustling online marketplace, standing out is paramount. Zuñiga provides retailers with an intricate guide to mastering content marketing, emphasizing its vital role in capturing consumer interest and differentiating brands in a crowded digital space.

The Power of Product Descriptions

As part of his comprehensive strategy, Zuñiga focuses on the often-overlooked craft of writing product descriptions. His approach goes beyond basic features, advocating for storytelling that connects with consumers, enhances SEO and drives conversion.

Strategic Storytelling for Brand Resonance

Zuñiga’s expertise in strategic storytelling enables businesses to weave a brand narrative that resonates with their audience. He demonstrates how content can effectively communicate brand values, engage customers emotionally, and build a loyal community.

SEO: Beyond Keywords to Customer Experience

In Zuñiga’s blueprint, SEO is not just about keywords; it’s about creating a customer experience that organically improves search engine rankings. He teaches businesses how to craft content that satisfies the queries of potential customers, thereby enhancing visibility and credibility.

Data-Driven Content Decisions

Zuñiga champions a data-driven approach to content marketing. His insights guide businesses on how to analyze consumer data and feedback to tailor their content strategies for better targeting and increased relevance.

Enhancing Discoverability with Compelling Descriptions

Zuñiga provides invaluable tactics for enhancing product discoverability through compelling descriptions. His methods focus on clarity, relevance and persuasive language that captures the essence of the product and motivates the reader to take action.

Multi-Channel Content Consistency

Recognizing the multi-channel nature of modern eCommerce, Zuñiga emphasizes the need for consistent messaging across all platforms. His strategies ensure that whether on the website, social media or email, the content effectively communicates the brand’s message.

Adapting Content to Consumer Trends

Zuñiga is adept at adapting content strategies to evolving consumer trends and behaviors. His advice helps businesses stay ahead of the curve, ensuring that their marketing efforts align with the latest consumer expectations.

Leveraging Visuals and Multimedia

Understanding the impact of visuals, Zuñiga encourages the integration of multimedia with product descriptions. He showcases how high-quality images, videos, and interactive elements can complement textual content, providing a richer user experience.

Navigating Global Markets with Localized Content

For businesses eyeing global expansion, Zuñiga offers guidance on localizing content to cater to diverse audiences. He teaches how to respect cultural nuances and language preferences, making products appealing across borders.

About Jorge Zuñiga Blanco

Jorge Zuñiga Blanco is a leading eCommerce expert who has provided services to growing organizations worldwide. He has a diverse background of industries to his credit, allowing him to relate and contribute to business owners in various markets. He has over 20 years in the eCommerce industry. He has dedicated his expertise and knowledge to helping executives and managers develop their businesses for nine years.

Hancock Park District’s annual photography contest opens

By in Photography

Hancock Park District’s annual photography contest opens
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FINDLAY__Hancock Park District’s 28th Annual Photography Contest is now underway. To be eligible for judging, photographs must be taken in the Hancock Park System (i.e., parks owned and/or managed by the Hancock Park District), from the Blanchard River Greenway Trail, or of the Blanchard River (e.g., landscapes, wildlife, and outdoor recreation).

Eligible photographs at Riverside Park must be taken along the waterfront, which is the area managed by the Hancock Park District.

Please visit www.HancockParks.com/ Park News section, for complete entry rules and guidelines and to submit your photographs. Photographs must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM, December 31. All qualified entries in the Photography Contest will be posted on the Hancock Park District Facebook page between January 2, 2024, and January 16, 2024, where the public can vote for one “People’s Choice” winner. The photograph with the most “likes” will be named the People’s Choice winner. A cash prize of $200, along with a plaque will be awarded.

For more information about other upcoming park programs and events, view the “Programs & Activities Calendar” at www.HancockParks.com” or call the park office at 419-425-7275.

Willa Nasatir’s Blend of Photography and Painting Has Intoxicated the Art World

By in Photography

Willa Nasatir’s Blend of Photography and Painting Has Intoxicated the Art World
willa-nasatir

“I was talking with a friend the other day, and she said that being an artist is thinking, This is bad, this is very, very, very, very bad, but not derailing it,” says Willa Nasatir, laughing. “Like throwing a birthday party and wanting to cancel it at the last minute. But the thing about being 33 is having a better grasp of how to sit through that.”

The artist is in a serene mood when I meet her at Los Tacos near Tribeca Park, and says that she hasn’t been feeling the post-show depression that often hits two to three weeks after an opening. The show in question is her third solo exhibition at Chapter NY, the gallery that has represented the Los Angeles native since 2016.

willa-nasatir

The obligatory CV line about Nasatir tends to include the fact that she had a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art five years out of Cooper Union, but what’s useful in approaching Nasatir’s compositions across photography and painting is the psychoanalytic dictum at the heart of her work: Everyone and everything that appears in our dreams is a part of ourselves.

Nasatir’s pictures break down and anatomize the solidity of objects by splitting them up into parts, giving form to how the body is marked by and yields to the multiplicities of desire, power, and pleasure.

As an observer-participant of the world she depicts, her process is arguably one of the subject reflecting on herself as an object, and the central theme of her work might be that of relationships—those that constellate the fractured facets within personality, sexuality, and friendship, dynamics that are never concretized but drift in an ever-shifting tide of ebbs and flows.

willa-nasatir-artist
Willa Nasatir, Brick, 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and Chapter NY.

A couple days before our meeting, Nasatir had a dream that an Angelyne-like figure driving a hot pink Corvette backed into her car. The strongest emotional current in the dream was one of relief, she remembers, as she’d recently switched her car insurance from California to New York.

She pauses as she realizes she’s made a photograph of a brick smashing into a toy Corvette. It’s currently hanging in the Chapter NY show. Why did she make it? “I’m not sure,” she grins. “I guess to fulfill the dream I had a month and a half later.” She seems genuinely bewildered by this, but reasons, “I’m happy that my work still feels mysterious to me, that it doesn’t feel solved or like I’ve reached the edges, the contours of the thing.”

For more about CULTURED‘s 2023 Young Artists, read our features with Adraint Khadafhi Bereal, Giangiacomo Rossetti, and Oscar yi Hou.

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Gerry Native’s Bills’ Fiction Book On Sale

By in Native

Gerry Native’s Bills’ Fiction Book On Sale

A battle is depicted with the use of AI technology to illustrate Travis Carlson’s book, Mafia: Buffalo vs. The Multiverse.

GERRY — A project a year and a half in the making has finally reached its finish line, just in time for holiday shoppers to support its cause.

Travis Carlson, a filmmaker from Gerry and an avid Buffalo Bills fan, created a comic style adventure book, titled, “Mafia: Buffalo vs. The Multiverse.” The book takes a week-by-week journey through the Buffalo Bills season beginning prior to last year, with opponents as fictional characters presenting a challenge to the Buffalo Bills inspired characters, led by “Josh of Allentown.”

A graduate of Cassadaga Valley High School in the Class of 2009, Carlson owns a film company called Pan-American Film Division. From the writing, illustrations, and the promotional trailers for the book, Carlson has been the one steering the ship the whole time. Because of that, this project is one of the most gratifying works of his career.

“It’s incredibly rewarding. This project has been a 15-month labor of love,” Carlson said. Carlson called the completion of the project “a massive relief” because of the amount of work he put into it in all aspects.

Carlson relied on his filmmaking prowess to promote his book, as he organized and directed a video featuring 60 crew members to help his fan fiction vision come to life. The crew composed a four-minute video on May 20 to 21, shot on multiple stories of the Buffalo RiverWorks site. The video was shot on a camera held by a drone, while Carlson directed the action via walkie talkie.

A comic style adventure book, titled, “Mafia: Buffalo vs. The Multiverse,” was created by Gerry native Travis Carlson. The book is now available for purchase.
Photos created by Travis Carlson

Carlson began exploring the concept of his book through writing fan fiction stories in online blogs. Over time, he honed his craft as a writer and began to pursue the idea as a tangible work of art.

“I started this just for my own interest, writing something that I thought would be fun, just for myself,” Carlson said.

His first post had roughly 50 viewers, and even fewer in subsequent posts. “I am now, retrospectively, going to say that proves I was writing it only for myself,” Carlson joked.

Armed with the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, Carlson transformed his stories into a full-length book – well over 200 pages in length – with images he created by using the latest advancements in AI.

“It’s just insane how fast it has moved,” Carlson said of AI advancements in recent years.

Travis Carlson, a Gerry native, directed a Bills Mafia fan fiction video to promote his book, Mafia: Buffalo vs. The Multiverse, back in May. A portion of the book’s proceeds benefit the Pancho Packs initiative to provide school supplies to students in need.
Photo courtesy of Szobski Design

Initially, Carlson asked artists to create the book’s illustrations, but the artists he contacted about contributing to his project all stated they would struggle to produce photographs for use within a week’s timeframe, as Carlson produced the book week by week. That led him to AI, where he created the photos himself with MidJourney, an AI art generator.

“I was able to generate thousands of images,” Carlson said. “It went from being unable to create one image a week, to I was creating 2,000 images a week.”

Producing the images as a work of expression allowed Carlson to use the likeness of athletes and team logos. Carlson compared the use of AI to the development of other technologies over the years, such as the shift from typewriters and traditional portraits to using computers and cameras.

“This book wouldn’t have been possible without the tools that have emerged, literally as we’ve gone through it in the past year,” Carlson said. “I look at it as a tool. The tools aren’t going to replace anybody, it is just changing how much we can do and how fast we can do it.”

As a Gerry native, Carlson feels a strong desire to shine a spotlight on Western New York. That desire was a motivating factor throughout the process of writing and creating the book.

“I would consider Western New York being a little overlooked, especially in the national mindset. Being from here, feeling like an underdog, I have a lot of passion to make great work from here and about western New York,” Carlson said. “This project was one of those endeavors. … It certainly has an incredible amount of tender love and care.”

Carlson has pledged to donate 50% of the revenue to benefit the Pancho Packs initiative, which provides school supplies to students in need. Since the inception of the project and promotional video, more than $20,000 has been raised to benefit the Pancho Packs initiative.

Visit panamericanfilms.com for a link to purchase the book directly, where you can also view a promotional video Carlson created. The book is also available in a few select bookstores across Western New York, including the Good Neighbor Bookstore in Lakewood and Chautauqua Comics in Jamestown.

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The Gerety Awards announces 2024 Grand Jury

By in Art World News

The Gerety Awards announces 2024 Grand Jury

Respected and admired leaders of the advertising and marketing world join the Grand Jury for the 6th edition of the award. More than 40 different countries will be represented in the jury, which will be announced soon.

Says Lucía Ongay, co-founder, Gerety: “Gerety brings together another incredible list of judges from all around the globe to look at work from a powerful perspective.” explained Co-Founder . “The only judging criteria at Gerety is originality of the creative ideas and the quality of their executions. We cannot wait to award again the best campaigns.”

The 2024 Grand jury includes:

Yaa Boateng, Managing Director & Chief Creative Officer, The Storytellers Co Ghana
Delna Sethna, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy Africa Kenya
Ayodotun Rotimi-Akinfenwa, Global Head of Communications, Lifestyle Hues Nigeria
Donna Tobin, Global Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, DDB Worldwide USA
Enas Rashwan, Founder & President, Cairo Ad School Egypt
Roisin Keown, Founder + ECD, Buildbrill Ireland
Zsofi Szabo, Head of Research Department, Lounge Group Hungary
Eva Wallmark, Senior Art Director and Partner, Åkestam Holst NoA Sweden
Francesca Nepote, Art Director Supervisor, DDB Italy Italy
Laura Maness, Global CEO, GREY USA
Rachel Manchu Motloung, Senior Marketing Manager, Nedbank South Africa
Karolina Galacz, Executive Creative Director, VML Hungary
Tista Sen, CEO & CCO, Lady Finger India
Rvisra Chirativath, Chief Marketing Officer, Central and Robinson Thailand
Nonthaporn Ketmanee, Creative Director, Leo Burnett Thailand
Olivia Ross-Wilson, Chief Communications Officer, Volvo Cars Sweden
Susan Young, EVP, Global Executive Creative Director, McCann New York USA
Neena Felizzi Gatdula, Partner, Creative/ Concept and Art, Make it Happener Vietnam
Laura Tohtua, Creative Director, Hasan & Partners Finland
Julia Dovlatova, ECD, VML PRAGUE, WPP at CP EMEA Czech Republic
Nikola Hrbkova, Head of International Advertising, ŠKODA Auto Marketing Czech Republic
Lisa Ström, Head of Planning and Strategy, Prime Weber Shandwick Sweden
Charu Menon, Managing Director & Executive Producer, Heckler TV Singapore
Ana Rocha, Executive Creative Director, VML Cape Town South Africa
Miriam  Plon Sauer, Executive Strategy Director (EMEA), AKQA Denmark
Selonica Perumal, CEO, Shift Integrated Sri Lanka
Chanikarn Sitthiaree, Creative Director, BBDO Thailand Thailand
Ioana Gorganeanu, Head of Marketing and Communications, West High Growth European Markets (Romania, Croatia, Israel and The Balkans) Mastercard Romania
Collette Douaihy, Global Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu Health USA
Ana Noriega, Chief Creative Officer, FCB México Mexico
Koh Hwee Peng, Co Founder & Creative Partner, BLAK LABS Singapore
Luminitza Lopez Lozano, Creative Agency Partnerships Manager, TikTok Mexico
Andrea Corvetto, Digital & Innovation Manager, Fahrenheit DDB Peru
Kat Gomez-Limchoc, Executive Creative Director, Blackpencil Manila of the Leo Burnett Group Manila, Lead Culture Officer, Publicis Groupe Philippines
Joanne Theseira, Chief Executive Officer, Publicis Communications Singapore
Doerte Spengler-Ahrens, CCO, Jung von Matt SAGA, Germany
Marianne Admardatine, CEO, Hill and Knowlton INDONESIA Asia Head and Director for Innovation +Creativity Hub Indonesia
Janne Espevalen, Client Director and Partner, Anorak/NoA, Norway
Paula Nadal, Global Chief Strategy Officer, Ideal Brazil
Joanna Monteiro, CCO, Publicis Canada
Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Canada
Dani Ribeiro, CCO, WMCCann Brazil
Golda Roldan, CEO, VML, Philippines
Amani Duncan, CEO | Advisor & Board Member | Storyteller USA
Aylin Kanpak Gjerløff, Senior Planner/ Partner, &Co Denmark
Karen Blackett OBE, WPP UK President UK
Kate Bayona-Garcia, CEO, Publicis Groupe Vietnam
Teodora Ionica, Group Creative Director, Saatchi & Saatchi Romania
Valerie Madon, Chief Creative Officer, McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific Singapore
Beatriz Torres Marin, Head of Creative Content, ALMA DDB USA
Jen Speirs, Chief Creative Officer, Droga5 Dublin Ireland
Pum Lefebure, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Design Amy USA
Beáta Stumpf, Strategic Director, White Rabbit, Hungary

2024 will see the Gerety Awards hold judging sessions in 15 locations and judges for the executive jury will be announced in the new year.

As well as defining the shortlist, the executive jury sessions each select the agency and production company of the year from their country. This is chosen from the entrants of the Portfolio Cut.

The 2024 Gerety Awards will open for entries and announce the full jury in January.

Entrants are invited to learn more about the Grand jury and download the 2024 entry kit at www.geretyawards.com

Feminist photography and emotive still-life paintings

By in Photography

Feminist photography and emotive still-life paintings

Kalman and Weston speak to the crowd in the Alexander Gallery. Photo by Gabriel Lucich

By Gabriel Lucich

The Art Department has debuted a multifaceted new showing from two local artists at the Alexander Gallery on the Oregon City campus.

Grace Weston is a photographic artist that explores cultural and feminist ideas through her work. She plays with archetypal figures in the form of cultural images, texture and light to create images that are evocative of earlier ideas and artforms. 

Rachel Kalman’s richly textured paintings are both modern in subject matter and technique, while also anchored firmly in the classical romanticism of the Baroque Era and Dutch Masters.

On Nov. 16, artists Weston and Kalman came to talk to students and community members about their art and the exhibit, “Menagerie.” 

Weston does explore many ideas, but in reality, she plays with and takes photographs of dolls. 

“The dolls can be somewhat limiting, as they have expressions of their own,” said Weston. “I’m starting to look into removing all paint from their faces, and painting them myself using watercolor pencils. I’d love to get to the point where I can change all their expressions. I’m not a Photoshop person, I’m really very hands-on. The images aren’t composited, everything is done in camera, but I will clean things up.”

Her subjects don’t talk back, get hungry or tired. There’s no drama involved,  other than what she imbues them with. Her take on Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam is titled, “Divine Intervention,” and shows a female deity surrounded by infants handing a bald “Adam,” a stack of condoms, as if to say, “You’re alive, now be responsible with what you’ve been given.” 

“This particular series that I’m presenting here is a feminist series,” she said. “I’ve been doing a lot of reading on women’s art. This series is restaging or reconceptualizing older stories, even the Bible story and the creation myth. I wanted to flip those stories.” 

Weston’s work conjures a lot of different feelings from different viewers.

 Kalman’s work also requires some explanation.

“I think that to a lot of newer, fledgling painters, the Baroque Era has a lot to offer, mostly because it’s so glitzy and glamorous. There’s so much overconsumption that’s present in the images coming out of Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. That defined a lot of my aesthetic preference,” Kalman said. 

“ The fruits and flowers are all allegorical. Everything has its place. I can become quite obsessive about what things mean and why they are placed in certain locations in my paintings. In the Dutch still-lifes, there’s this almost nefarious underbelly with gorgeous yummy surfaces and that’s actually reflective of something wrong……like there’s a little bit of decomposition involved.”

“When composing an image, it is very dependent on what I have in my studio and what is feeling most relevant to me at the time. Sometimes that is something that happened to me personally, or it might be a larger geopolitical event or environmental disaster,” Kalman said. 

It is easy to see, when looking at her paintings, that she has many influences, and that the subjects and ideas in her still-lifes are pulled from everywhere. One of the paintings on display was inspired by the California fire season.

“I made sure there was plenty of greenery, the plants present in the painting were Eucalyptus boughs, an introduced and invasive species in California so oily that it explodes when it catches fire,” said Kalman, describing the subject matter in her painting “Kincade,” on display in the gallery.

Students and faculty alike had much to say about the new exhibition.

“I really like seeing their craft and how they simulate depth in the art,” said Mitchell Horn, 22, an art student here at the college.

“Phenomenal,” said CCC President Tim Cook, who was also on hand for the artist’s presentation. “I love the contrast between the artists and their unique take on art history.” 

The CCC Art Department curates several of these exhibits a year. Generally each with a corresponding artist talk. Each is interesting, and the selections are widely varied. If you haven’t visited the Alexander Gallery before, you owe it to yourself to stop in and view these carefully chosen works of art.

The Alexander Gallery is located on the first floor of the Niemeyer Center, at the CCC Oregon City campus.

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