Keeping an Eye On: Cristiana Couceiro

Portugal based freelancer Cristiana Couceiro is definitely a cool artist. She has created work for Nike, The New York Times, Wired Magazine, AND best of all, Marina & the Diamonds. Her work reminds me of the days when I used to flip through magazines ripping out the pages and reassembling. It’s probably not a big surprise that Couceiro’s work is inspired from similar memories, except digital using color sparingly with a collection of old images.

Something really strikes me about her work; I think it would be awesome to incorporate collage into my independent study while I’m abroad. What could be more inspiring than London really?

My favorites are below, but check out more of her work at her website here.

Keeping An Eye On: Chromaroma

This summer I am spending a lot of time on the subway, zipping up and zipping down, but guess what, your girl is going to London this fall. That means a new system, new rules. While there will be plenty of culture shock come October I am kind of looking forward to riding the Tube and keeping my Oyster card by my side. That might be a strange comment, until you take a look at Chromaroma’s game that makes the city the game space, and the Oyster card is like the controller. Almost like Foursquare for urban studies majors, Chromaroma keeps track of travel data that allows its users to take virtual control of different parts of London. It also encourages those playing the game to seek out new ways to navigate the city, taking away the notion of a boring morning (afternoon or night) commute. Why not leave a mark while you are on the move? I will be playing in London, will you? For more information check out their website, http://www.chromaroma.com/.

Keeping An Eye On: Beth Hoeckel Collages

With the summer quickly approaching I am starting to make a (for now mental) list of activities that need to happen this year. Last year I expanded upon my cooking skills, learned how to navigate the NYC subway system with confidence, worked at a pretty awesome yoga studio on the Upper East Side, and even started my own website. On this years list is to create a series of collages. My mom and I can sift through piles of old photographs at flea markets, I think it about time we buy a few and repurpose them.

My inspiration definitely stems from the work of Beth Hoeckel. I can’t get enough of her collages that use found images and meld them together. Vintage images of voyeurism combined with surrealist shots of space and clouds make for an intriguing collection of collages. Her mixed media images and photographs are awesome as well. Take a quick look at http://bethhoeckel.com/index.htm for more examples of her work, but check out my favorites from her collage collections below! All images from the linked website above.