concrete

clearly this photo wasn't taken recently. yes, i am back in baltimore. no, it isn't that much warmer than the mitten. (exposed toes would be a bad idea.) but i finally had to send my camera in for repairs (could take two weeks... could take six...) so i'm reaching into the iphoto "archives." and recently i've been thinking about the cities/sidewalks/text combo.

one class i'm totally pumped (surprisingly) to be taking is called "concrete culture: the city as text." it's a studio/seminar sculpture class, and a much needed departure from graphic design all the time. over the course of the semester, concrete will become my new best friend. it seems foreign to be focusing so much on material. indesign and illustrator don't count. this is about science and experimenting. i have no idea what concrete is capable of, much less what i could capable of doing with it. one of the sculpture majors in the class asked how easily it could be made to erode. another responded by pointing out that we've been watching concrete erode our whole lives, without giving it second thought, when we walk on sidewalks.

our syllabus read: "concrete is the second most consumed substance on the planet after water." (mark kingwell, concrete reveries: consciousness and the city.)

part of the excitement for me about the class (besides it being another take on cities) is seeing how far i can push design when i take it out of the typical context of computers and throw it out into the streets. (stefan sagmeister style.) now i'm interested in words activating a space/stumbling across a message in the morning and how that changes the way you go throughout the day.

it should be an interesting one... we'll see. (as soon as i get my concrete gloves.)