All You Need is a Little Paint and Some Imagination

In the United States especially on the east cost, demolition of historic structures has become a very controversial topic, with many developers and communities clashing with very different perspectives and agendas. There’s a lot to be learned from experiments that other cities around the world are going through. The borough of Delfshaven located in Rotterdam is the second largest municipality (population wise) in the Netherlands. The buildings pictured above were (and still are) slated for demolition. The borough asked the well known Dutch artist, Florentijn Hofman to come up with a plan for the derelict block of buildings. His solution? Paint them bright blue! The catch is that the buildings will stay blue and intact until there’s a new plan for the area. Since this particular section of houses built in the early 20th century have been painted blue, the most unseen block in the city has become Rotterdam’s most photographed one. It provokes viewers to see the surrounding buildings and engage with the architecture but furthermore it moves them to decide what role the buildings have in the community. This project certainly puts the repercussions of demolition in perspective while attracting visitors who bring life back to the neighborhood while the future of the area is being planned. Who knows, maybe the buildings will be preserved as-is to continually liven the community, attracting painters, photographers and tourists to the unique spectacle.

Greener Gadgets: Chris Jordan

Chris enlightened the crowd with his interpretation of consumption. His medium? Photography. He shared his body of work and environmental philosophy which focuses on creating visual statements from trash. Powerful as they are conceptual, the images are incredible translations that give meaning to somewhat abstract statistics.

As an American consumer myself, I am in no position to finger wag; but I do know that when we reflect on a difficult question in the absence of an answer, our attention can turn inward, and in that space may exist the possibility of some evolution of thought or action. So my hope is that these photographs can serve as portals to a kind of cultural self-inquiry. It may not be the most comfortable terrain, but I have heard it said that in risking self-awareness, at least we know that we are awake.

His message was strong: the green movement needs a champion, a hero to guide it. His metaphor was Michael Jordan’s long baggy shorts. Jordan introduced the fashion idea, and because of his ‘cool’ factor they changed basketball shorts on basketball courts around the world. There is no one cool leading sustainable design, so it remains on the fringe in the general public. He says the electronics industry has the opportunity to be that Michael Jordan.

www.chrisjordan.com