Barbarism begins at Home
Self-referential spelling mistake accidentally made by me on Paul Keller's Facebook profile.
Fake For Real
Design: Hendrik-Jan Grievink
Texts: Koert van Mensvoort
Editorial Team: Koert van Mensvoort, Hendrik-Jan Grievink, Mieke
Gerritzen, Arnoud van den Heuvel, Rolf Coppens and Edwin Degenhart
All Media / Bis Publishers
ISBN 978-90-63-69-177-6
Price 19,90 Euro
Fake For Real vs. Louis Vuitton
The Fake for Real Memory Game – consisting of 60 cards that playfully visualize the classical theme of fake and real in our society – has temporarily been taken offline due to legal issues with a luxury leather luggage brand Louis Vuitton.
The Fake for Real memory game is sold in a stylish box, decorated with a pattern resembling the internationally renowned Louis Vuitton pattern, which was ironically mimicked using right-free ‘webdings’ fonts from MS Word.
Louis Vuitton is one of the most counterfeited contemporary luxury brands, with over 90% of the items bearing the LV trademark monogram being faked. Louis Vuitton employs a team of special investigation agencies and lawyers, actively pursuing offenders through the courts worldwide, allocating about half of its budget of communications to counteract piracy of its goods.
Although the Fake for Real memory game is not a handbag, suitcase or anywhere near the product range of Louis Vuitton and the FFR memory game is immediately recognizable as an artistic and educational take on the fake industry, lawyers of Louis Vuitton nevertheless found it necessary accuse the creators of the FFR game of copyright infringement.
The creators of the game disagree on the matter and consider it their ‘freedom of speech’ to create a debate on the visual culture that surrounds us all. The industry around the authenticity of brands is factual and a relevant cultural theme of our time. Nowadays children know more brands and logo’s than bird or tree species. For centuries artists painted trees and clouds because that is what they saw around them, nowadays they remix brands and logo’s because that is what surrounds them.
Especially for a brand like Louis Vuitton, that has so many historic connections with the art world, it is troubling to see them stretch intellectual property legislation up to a level of intolerance towards any cultural expressions regarding their brand. Are we now moving towards a society in which corporations can deeply penetrate peoples lives with their logo’s and brand strategies, while at the same time any artistic response or remixing of the same brands is prohibited because of copyright law? Now that’s called brand management folks!?
Whereas copyright legislation was originally intended to avoid confusion and protect businesses from copycats seeking to steal market share with inferior imitation products, it is increasingly used as a tool to control any cultural reflections upon a brand. The flipping coin of brand management is that on the one hand corporate identities strategically aim to become part of culture, while on the other side of coin, these ‘cultures’ have to be managed to meet the goals of the corporations, if necessary at the cost of the people participating in that culture. Sounds pretty totalitarian hey?
Needles to say that for any self respecting media artist this situation is an outrage. However, ultimately one has to be mild and realize that corporations can’t help it. Corporations want to survive. They want to live and grow, just like people. Recognition is their most successful product and they will guard their brand identity with all the powers at their disposal. In the end it is up to the legislators to fine tune the law between the freedom of creative expression and corporate interests.
Returning to the case Louis Vuitton VS Fake for Real. In response to accusations made by the LV lawyers, the creators of the FFR memory game have decided that – despite any future legal verdict there may be – a corporation with such low sensitivity for cultural design and artistic practice shouldn’t be granted the homage of being mimicked on the package of the FFR memory game. Luckily, there are countless other highly counterfeited brands, besides Louis Vuitton, that can be cited in the visual debate on fakeness and simulation.
Hence as of now, the sales of the game have been put to a halt, awaiting a new and improved edition of the game. Available online and in the shops world wide soon!
Urban China Magazine
In october, I will be in Beijing to work on a special Beijing Creative Industries edition of Urban China Magazine. I will work together with Ned Rossiter, Bert de Muynck and Mónica Carriço. The last weeks of october, I will be in Shanghai to take a peek at the Shangai Biennale and of course to support Coralie Vogelaar, who's working on a forthcoming publication about the Kunstvlaai by the Sandberg Institute.
Visual Power Show Los Angeles
On may 17th 2008, I performed a visual poem about corporate styles, brand recognition and the image of words, at the Biggest Visual Powershow held in the Million Dollar Theater, Los Angeles.
The BVPS as a show where over twenty artists, scientist, writers, filmdirectors, architects, designers, presented their radical ideas, visionary statements and powerful imagery on how we can design, build and live in Next Nature.
Amongst the speakers where such as Peter Lunenfeld, Kevin Kelly, Floris Kaayk, Tinkebell, Joris van Gelder, Quirine Racké & Helena Muskens, Judith de Leeuw and Casey Alt. The BVPS was organised by Koert van Mensvoort and Mieke Gerritzen
Xiamen/Amsterdam artbook
This is the cover of "It is whatit is", a book with work of art students from Xiamen University (China) and the Sandberg Institute (Amsterdam, the Netherlands). The book will be officially presented at the forthcoming Kunstvlaai (Art Pie).
Toen Wij Van Rotterdam Vertrokken
Zondag 23 maart (1e Paasdag) 20.00 uur
NAi (Happening) | entree: gratis
Museumpark 25, 3015 CB Rotterdam
Op zondag 23 maart presenteert WORM i.s.m. ontwerper Hendrik-Jan Grievink: ‘Toen wij van Rotterdam vertrokken’. Een serie persoonlijke testimonials in woord en beeld van creatieve Rotterdammers die de stad hebben verlaten, dit gaan doen, of er sterk over nadenken.
De gemeente Rotterdam is net als al die andere gemeenten verwikkeld in een strijd om de gunst van de creatieve sector. Het gospel van Richard California verspreidt zich met razende snelheid door alle gelederen van het politieke en ambtelijke apparaat.
Wie voorbij de officiële succesverhalen, extra budgetten, talloze onderzoekingen en sprankelende statistieken kijkt, ontdekt een andere realiteit: die van de creatieve stadsverlaters. Kunstenaars die voor de hype uit wegtrekken, cultuurmakers die door goedwillende ambtenaren of vastgoedjongens wegge-gentrificeerd raken of vertegenwoordigers van scenes die achtervolgd worden door polls, expertmeetings en diepte-interviews van weer een geldverslindend onderzoek.
• Waarom zijn ze vertrokken?
• Waarvoor zouden ze zijn gebleven?
• Willen ze ooit weer terug?
Met Ted Langenbach, Leen Steen, Nico Haasbroek en Ronald Molendijk, Willem Kars, Arno van Roosmalen, Marc Bijl, Amie Dicke, Hajo Doorn, Hendrik-Jan Grievink e.a.
/////DIG/FEED/SHIT/////// > WORM //////////////
+31(0)10-4767832 / http://www.wormweb.nl
Fake For Real: Redefining Nemo
After having seen Disney’s blockbuster ‘Finding Nemo’, every scuba diver that happens to meets with the original white orange striped clownfish underwater, will unmistakable think ‘Hey, there is Nemo’.
A sweet and innocent example of how media experiences tend to structure ‘real-life’ experiences.
Play Fake For Real online
Fake For Real: Walking Leaves
Almost by default, we associate simulation with modern media: games and virtual reality. But what about the Phyllium giganteum? It is not a leaf but an insect disguised as one. This “walking leaf” demonstrates some of the most remarkable mimicry in the entire natural kingdom. But it is surely no accident. Countless other insects, flowers, and animals use camouflage or imitation techniques to increase their chances of survival. Simulation seems to be a natural phenomenon in life.
Play Fake For Real online
Fake For Real: World View
In ancient times, heroes like Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus explored unknown territories of the globe. The climax of these terrestrial explorations was reached at the beginning of the space age, when astronauts captured the entire earth in a single picture.
Today, world travel has become a teenage tourist activity, but luckily there still are other spheres to conquer. Whether we are roaming the globe with Google Earth, descending into the depths of our genes or traveling to the outskirts of the universe, our world view is fundamentally shaped through interfaces.
Play Fake For Real online
Fake For Real online
The Fake For Real memory is for sale and can be played online
Geenstijl.nl Found Footage
"Ik heb helemaal NIKS met religie en dan voornamelijk islam." gideonscience 09-10-07 @ 15:56
