Farmer’s market to host art project on Saturday
Art World News
Ememem Playfully Revitalizes Cracked Pavement With Vibrantly Patterned Tiles
Lyon, France. All images © Ememem, shared with permission
No crack in a wall, step, or curb is safe from Ememem’s delightful interventions. The Lyon-based artist (previously), also known as “the pavement surgeon,” continues to scout out gaps in sidewalks that he fills with colorful tiles. Akin to kintsugi, the Japanese practice of repairing broken pottery with gold to embrace the history of the object, Ememem’s technique doesn’t hide imperfections so much as highlight their possibilities. While making the surfaces safer to traverse, he adds gives new life to decaying urban walkways.
Find more of the artist’s work on his website, and keep track of new pieces on Instagram.
Corse, France
Decazeville, France
Arles, France
Marseille, France
Modena, Italy
Nantua, France
Paris, France
Zagreb, Croatia
Zagreb, Croatia
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Ememem Playfully Revitalizes Cracked Pavement With Vibrantly Patterned Tiles appeared first on Colossal.
The Art of Branding: Lessons to Borrow from Google’s Success
The Art of Branding: Lessons to Borrow from Google’s Success – Spiceworks
Discover some valuable insights that brands can glean from Google’s success.
Did you know that Google was almost called “Googol”? That’s right, but a spelling mistake changed everything! Today, Google is a household name and has created its own legacy over the years. But have you ever wondered what core values have helped Google become one of the most popular brands worldwide? Well, you’re in luck because this article will provide you with valuable insights into the lessons you can learn from the Google brand. Get ready to be inspired!
If you seek to shop, dine, book a cab, secure the best deal for flight tickets, rent a house, find the end of a movie, or learn how to generate more leads, the answer to all your inquiries is Google. Google has emerged as the world’s largest search engine, thanks to the internet and smartphones. Google’s journey of 25 years commenced in September 1998, when it took its first step towards indexing and searching online web pages. Today, Google stands as one of the most iconic brands globally. Therefore, it is imperative to understand what Google has accomplished in the last 25 years that has made them the great brand they are today and what marketers can learn from Google’s success story.
Building a Strong Customer Base
As the adage goes, the customer is king, and personalized experiences are expected to provide nothing but the best services. According to a recent survey by New Genesys, 77% of consumers are willing to switch brands if they encounter five or fewer negative interactions with a brand’s customer service. Google recognized this early on and understood that to gain customers’ trust, they must respect them. Google realized that customer trust could only be won if customers could trust the information they received. As a result, Google developed algorithms that placed customer experience at the heart of their strategy. Brands must remember that product and service trends may come and go, but credibility never does. Listening to customers is another way to gain their trust. Google has always encouraged customers to share their feedback through Google reviews.
Additionally, Google invests a significant amount of time in understanding customer-generated feedback. Rather than taking it negatively, Google works to address customers’ pain points. Therefore, brands must proactively monitor the feedback that customers share.
Data privacy is a keyword that is frequently used these days. However, data has always been critical to gaining customers’ trust as they are often skeptical about the data they share. Throughout their journey, Google has been transparent about how they use data, which has helped them gain customers’ credibility.
Innovation Is the Key
Innovation is the lifeblood of success, and no one knows this better than Google. Back in the day, before ChatGPT was even a twinkle in our screens, Google launched a similar service called Google Answer. But that was just one of the 200 products and services that Google has launched over the years. If you stroll through the ‘Google Graveyard,’ you’ll find a whole host of services and products that Google has discontinued. At Google, innovation is more than just a buzzword – it’s a way of life. Since its inception, Google has always encouraged its employees to develop new, innovative ideas. Google’s culture of innovation is evident throughout the company; in fact, Google’s employees are requested to spend 20% of their time to come up with new ideas or work on something that is of more interest to them.
While we talk about innovation and new ideas, one inevitable thing is failure, but Google has always embraced failure. In Google’s blog, Susan Wojcicki, Google’s Senior Vice president, shares Google’s eight pillars of innovation. She further mentions, “Google is known for YouTube, not Google Video Player. The thing is, people, remember your hits more than your misses. It’s okay to fail if you learn from your mistakes and correct them quickly. Trust me, we’ve failed plenty of times. Knowing it’s okay to forget can free you up to take risks. And the tech industry is so dynamic that the moment you stop taking risks is the moment you get left behind.”
See More: Why Brands Should Invest in Cross-Cultural Marketing
Data-Driven Decision Making
Google is a company that knows how to use the power of data. Yes, innovation might be at the helm of Google’s strategy. But even those decisions taken by Google are data-based. Google collects and analyzes massive amounts of data to gain insights into user behavior, market trends, and other important metrics that drive business success. This approach has helped Google make informed decisions backed by data-driven insights, giving it a competitive edge in the market. Therefore, data is the answer for marketers who want to achieve success like Google. Marketers can use and analyze data to get valuable insights into customer preferences. This will later lead to improved products and services that meet customer expectations.
Keeping UX (User Experience) Simple
Minimalism is the trending word today. However, Google has mastered this art way before. And this shows in all the products/ solutions they have designed. Google realized that UX plays a vital role in customer retention and building customer loyalty. A bad UX or UI (user interface) can confuse the customer and will lead to drop-offs in page visits per session. Therefore, Google has always maintained a similar color theme over the years, leading to increased customer brand recall. Google’s clear fonts, simple, clean lines, and even more straightforward, self-explanatory names and icon designs help customers navigate better. Also, Google’s simple design aims to make their products easy to use, so they are easy to understand and adopt by non-experts. Therefore, as marketers, you must realize that UX/UI helps create a brand’s identity.
Marketers must realize that regardless of the services or applications that Google offers in any country, they have the same look and feel. However, Google focuses on localization by customizing the languages to ensure local understanding. Therefore, marketers need to realize that improving customer loyalty, creating a brand loyalty UX, and localization play an important role.
Employee Advocacy
Ask anyone what Google’s most significant assets are, and they will say it’s their employees. Over the years, Google has encouraged its employees to share their stories. How often have we encountered Google employees sharing their stories on what makes Google such a wonderful workplace? The employee might not necessarily speak about any of the Google products but will talk about the work culture at Google. Since employees are the unsung heroes of any company, companies must encourage them to share their stories, which is exactly what Google has been doing for years. Google also has a special page dedicated to its employees where the employees are welcome to share their stories. So, if you want to emulate Google’s success, start listening to what your employees are saying and what your employees want.
Building Your Brand
The process of brand building is a crucial undertaking that commences with identifying and emphasizing your unique selling propositions. Google, for instance, has effectively recognized its distinctive selling points, which include prioritizing customer experience, fostering innovation, and leveraging data-driven insights. These factors have enabled Google to distinguish itself from its rivals and cultivate a devoted customer following.
What measures have you implemented to enhance your marketing strategy and establish a distinctive brand identity? Share with us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you!
Image Source: Shutterstock
MORE ON BRAND MARKETING
Enigmatic Wonder and Magic Envelop Sarah Lee’s Illuminated Landscapes
“Luna Moths” (2023), oil on canvas, 70 x 60 inches. Photo by Thomas Müller. All images courtesy of the artist and albertz benda, New York | Los Angeles, shared with permission
Mysterious magic emanates from Sarah Lee’s scenes. Often working at night in her East Village studio, Lee envisions quiet, unpopulated landscapes that become an escape from the electrifying energy of the city. Tempestuous storms, glowing Luna moths, and shooting stars enliven the serene vistas and illuminate what would otherwise be shrouded by the darkened skies. Each oil painting, rendered in a palette of cool tones, contains an element of surreal surprise, whether a graceful fowl floating on the clouds in “Black Swan” or a pocket of snowy earth opening to reveal the stars in “Among Trees.”
The works shown here are a fraction of those included in Lee’s solo show, Two Skies, on view now through October 14 at albertz benda in New York. Explore more of the artist’s work on her site and Instagram.
“Two Skies” (2023), oil on canvas, 70 x 80 inches. Photo by Adam Reich
“Rainbow” (2023), oil on canvas, 14 x 13 inches. Photo by Thomas Müller
“Among Trees” (2023), oil on canvas, 50 x 52 inches. Photo by Adam Reich
“Black Swan” (2023), oil on canvas, 44 x 40 inches. Photo by Thomas Müller
“Northern Lights” (2023), oil on canvas, 9 x 12 inches. Photo by Adam Reich
“Endless Night” (2023), oil on canvas, 70 x 80 inches. Photo by Thomas Müller
“The Trees of Secrets” (2023), oil on canvas, 12 x 9 inches. Photo by Thomas Müller
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Enigmatic Wonder and Magic Envelop Sarah Lee’s Illuminated Landscapes appeared first on Colossal.
18 Things To Do Around D.C. This Weekend
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Iranian galleries introduce the country’s contemporary art to new collectors at the Armory
Two galleries from Iran are taking part in The Armory Show this year, providing a crucial international platform amid ongoing domestic unease. A protest movement set off by the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police nearly a year ago has been met by increasingly violent government suppression.
Sarai Gallery, established in 2018 and based in Mahshahr, is showing a solo stand dedicated to the Iranian artist Abbas Nasle Shamloo, who is known for his sombre depictions of nature and landscapes. The gallery takes part in around ten art fairs each year and is largely focused on selling internationally rather than in Iran, founder Hassan Saradipour says.
“One of our main goals is to show Iranian artists and introduce Iranian talent all over the world,” Saradipour says. In 2021, the gallery won the fair’s Presents Booth Prize for its stand featuring works by Moslem Khezri.
Saradipour says visitors are often surprised to see galleries from Iran at international fairs, particularly in the US because of sanctions placed on the country in 2019. The art market is not specifically named in the US sanctions, but they can complicate some aspects of operating a gallery, like wiring money to and from international bank accounts.
Taking part in so many art fairs over the years has helped Sarai Gallery and others raise Iranian artists’ profiles in the international art market, Saradipour says. The Armory Show in particular is “one of the best”, he says, because of its reach within the US market.
Hormoz Hematian, who founded Tehran-based gallery Dastan in 2012, agrees The Armory Show’s position in New York allows galleries access to “so many curious and interested people who come from around the world to see art”.
Dastan’s stand focuses on work by artists of Iranian heritage, including Nicky Nodjoumi (whom Hematian describes as “one of the legends of Iranian art”); Andisheh Avini, who also works as a senior director at Gagosian; and Reza Aramesh, a visual artist based in London.
“They bring attention to traces of a really ancient culture that has a wealth of history with visual arts, and their work is an extension of that lineage,” Hematian says.
Indigenous artists in the spotlight at this year’s Armory Show
Discerning curatorial trends among The Armory Show’s more than 220 exhibitors can be challenging, but this year one current is especially clear: the fair, its galleries and organisers are foregrounding the work of Indigenous artists. This negotiation of Native identity in a commercial context begs some questions, including: what does it mean to decolonise an art fair, and can it realistically be done?
Candice Hopkins—a Carcross/Tagish First Nation citizen who is the director and chief curator of Forge Project in upstate New York—is curating The Armory Show’s Focus section, which this year features 31 galleries showing solo and two-artist presentations. Her vision for the section “is less about representing artists who I feel haven’t been represented on this kind of stage before, and it’s actually a deeper exploration into thinking about material inheritances”, she says. “That can be practices and tools and techniques that are passed down over generations. That can be regional or place-based, because materials and their histories tell stories.”
She highlights the work of Eric-Paul Riege—a Diné textile artist and weaver based in Gallup, New Mexico, who is showing with Minneapolis-based Bockley Gallery—as typical of her approach to the fair. “He works with many generations of weavers in his family, and he taught himself to weave based on a weaving that was made by his grandmother that’s now part of the regalia that he makes,” Hopkins says. “He makes these giant, oversized soft sculptures, many of them modelled after what you would see today as contemporary Navajo jewellery. They’ve increasingly become animated, so they make sound and he performs in relation to them.” Riege’s presentation at the fair will include performances.
Hopkins’s section spans emerging artists, like Riege, and prominent figures like Tlingit and Unangax̂ artist Nicholas Galanin (showing with New York’s Peter Blum Gallery), Seneca artist Marie Watt and Choctaw-Cherokee artist Jeffrey Gibson, who was recently selected to represent the US at the 2024 Venice Biennale. (Watt and Gibson are showing with New York gallery Marc Straus.)
A sculpture by Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, a Cowichan/Syilx First Nations artist Courtesy of Macaulay & Co. Fine Art
Vancouver-based gallery Macaulay & Co. Fine Art is bringing a more historically tinged solo presentation of works by the Cowichan/Syilx First Nations artist Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, including a painting featured in the National Gallery of Canada’s landmark 1992 exhibition of contemporary Indigenous art, Land Spirit Power. That was “the first time that the National Gallery of Canada had ever done an exhibition even acknowledging contemporary Native art, and it was after a lot of activism from Native artists”, Hopkins says. “It’s an opportunity to see a piece of history.”
Emphasis on history as a timely consideration is also on the minds of gallerists at the fair. “There’s been an uptick in interest in Indigenous work over the past five years,” says Dave Kimelberg, a member of the Seneca Nation and founder of K Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, which champions works by Native American, First Nations and Indigenous artists. The gallery is showing at Armory for the second time, focusing on the work of G. Peter Jemison, a member of the Seneca Nation’s Heron clan. The stand will span works from the 1960s to today.
“Peter has had an amazing and varied career, and it’s so exciting that we get to bring him to an Armory audience,” Kimelberg says. “Our agenda is to get Indigenous artists into the contemporary art market.”
Letter: Saturday Art Market increases attendance by 2,000 people
To the editor:
Saturday Art Market is a wrap — for our third and most successful summer. This has truly become a destination and we are grateful for each and every one of you who stopped by. Although our “unofficial clicker count” is not totaled, we are confident that our numbers will be close to 13,000 people who strolled through our space this summer, an increase in attendance of around 2,000 people.
This endeavor would not be possible without the combined efforts of many people including Carlson Music who provides our liability insurance, the local businesses who donate to help cover the cost of our advertising and musical groups, Explore Alexandria who financially supported us this year, also. Without the partnership of the City of Alexandria and the crew of the Alex Park Department, we would not exist. We are grateful, also, to the Echo Press for your weekly coverage of our musical groups.
The number of vendors rose this year to an all-time high of 35-40 who signed up to participate — giving rise to the fact that we always had a great variety of art available. Thank you, Alex Artists Guild for your support. Deja Bleu coffee and treats, Half Pint Ice cream, Doug Hasz and his popcorn all contributed to create a great festival atmosphere. Our musical groups were OUTSTANDING.
Thank you to Ron Branch and all the great people at the Farmer’s Market for sharing your space with us.
The arts are alive and well in Alexandria. Please continue to support all forms of Art throughout the coming year. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2024!
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Mimi Seykora, Bill Glade, Sandy Susag
Organizers of Saturday Art Market
Alexandria, MN
Caitlin McCormack Crochets a Speculative Future in the Wake of Environmental Catastrophe
“Swim Team.” Photo by Jaime Alvarez for Fleisher Art Memorial. All images © Caitlin McCormack, shared with permission
From humble, crocheted thread emerges Caitlin McCormack’s alternate reality featuring tiny carcasses, encased objects, and mysterious figures. Ideas related to the cycle of death and life, mutation, and overgrowth permeate her work, most prominently through her ongoing series of skeletons (previously) resting on beds of botanicals, often arranged in groups as if a single event wiped them out simultaneously.
Through a speculative view of a post-human world, McCormack imbues her work with a sense of foreboding that contrasts the medium of crochet and its comforting, nostalgic associations. Her current exhibition at Elijah Wheat Showroom titled SOUVENIRS OF THE WASTELAND, a duo show with Kat Ryals, also considers ideas around tacky novelties, sci-fi, and the impact of textile industry waste.
SOUVENIRS OF A WASTELAND is presented through the lens of “a pseudoscientific museum exhibition chronicling the influx of strange new life forms that have appeared in the wake of humanity’s demise,” McCormack tells Colossal. “The concept explores our complicity in environmental destruction and questions what will happen to our trash when we are gone. Turns out, things will get real weird.”
“Libidinous Drifter.” Photo by Stacey Evans for Second Street Gallery
Increasingly focusing on freestanding, sculptural works reliant almost exclusively on stiffened, crocheted material, McCormack has started to depart from her earlier wall-mounted relief compositions. “In 2020, I started building assemblages out of found objects, carefully upholstering the structures with hand-sewn velvet and adorning them so that their surfaces grew heavily-textured with an abundance of fiber sculptural relief forms,” she says. “The crocheted cotton is occasionally dyed with natural pigments sourced from my surroundings during hikes and time spent in the woods at rural residencies.”
McCormack will include a large-scale piece at the Jewish Museum Milwaukee as part of Women Pulling at the Threads of Social Discourse, which opens September 8. And at SPRING/BREAK Art Show in New York, she has co-curated a presentation titled Come, Dance With Us and Our Dead in the Rainbows (If It Makes You Feel Good) alongside Heather Renée Russ and Christopher M. Tandy, which will be on view through September 11.
SOUVENIRS OF THE WASTELAND continues in Newburgh, New York, through October 1. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
“Manicure at the End of the World.” Photo by Jason Chen
“Go Home Magna Mater, You’re Drunk.” Photo by Jason Chen
Detail of “Swim Team”
“The Only Witness to a Vanished World”
Detail of “The Only Witness to a Vanished World”
“You Know He Told Everyone.” Photo by The Wassaic Project
“They Come Back, But They’re Never the Same.” Photo by Jason Chen
“Prince of Nothing”
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Caitlin McCormack Crochets a Speculative Future in the Wake of Environmental Catastrophe appeared first on Colossal.
Art, music, and fresh produce are featured at Saturday’s Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market
BLOOMINGTON – The Bloomington Parks and Recreation Fair of the Arts event is on Saturday, September 9th from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
The event at Fernandez Plaza at 401 North Morton Street in front of Bloomington’s City Hall will feature artistic talents.
The event is free to attend.
Shop for art and fine crafts handmade by local and regional artists.
The event is held in conjunction with the Saturday’s Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market.
For more info: bloomington.in.gov/parks/events/a-fair-of-the-arts.
Music at the Market
The Market welcomes back Ross Martinie Eiler this Saturday at 10:00 a.m.
Ross is a hand-hammering, key-slamming, rock’n’roll piano man. He has headlined 1950s-themed theater shows around the country. He currently plays with Martinie’s Boogie Three (Joe Donnelly – saxophone, John Valdez – drums).
Ross explores the rock’n’roll side of blues & boogie-woogie piano and celebrates the high-energy dance music of the 1950s. It’s a flurry of bounce that combines original works with crowd-pleasers by Louis Jordan, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Ray Charles, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Mayor at the Market
Mayor at the Market is a community outreach program that invites Market-goers to interact with the mayor and various department heads from the City of Bloomington government.
This week, Holly Warren, Interim Director of Economic and Sustainable Development Department will be greeting the public and answering questions at the Market from 10:00 a.m. until Noon.
