I wonder if it even occurs to young artists in the globalist, pluralist present to try to stake out a spot in art history by changing the way history goes. Donald Judd, pioneer of the 1960s movement called Minimalism (the label wasnt his; he hated it), thought about this constantly. He wanted, right from the start, to be a big art deal, a super influencer. Long before his death in 1994, at 65, he was.

Major American and European museums owned his work. His signature sculptural image a no-frills, no-content wood or metal box had not only been adapted by other artists, but also riffs on it became a fixture of international architecture and design. To some degree, we all lived in Judd-world, and still do.

Yet over time, Judd himself seems to have retreated from view. The survey of 70 works that opens at the Museum of Modern Art on March 1 is the first in New York in more than 30 years. Its a fine show: carefully winnowed, persuasively installed, just the right size. Its one-word title, Judd, suits the artists view of his wished-for, worked-for place in history: so assured as to need neither qualifiers nor explanations.

The big, and maybe only surprise, particularly for Judd skeptics, is how really beautiful some of the art looks, how poetic, and mysterious. These were qualities that Judd himself, at least when he was starting out, would not have wanted applied to his work, which in the 1950s was painting. Beauty and mystery belonged to the art of yesterday. His was an art of today, a today that he kept close tabs on as a busy New York art critic in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Writing led him to network widely in the contemporary art world. It allowed him to observe its career-making machinery in action, and to consider how to position himself within it. His reviews listy, pontificating, proscriptive were a form of self-advertising that also served as a useful means of self-critique.

Through evaluating the work of hundreds of other artists, many his generational peers, he came to see that his own paintings two examples introduce the MoMA show were not, and would never be, strong enough to take him in the history-making direction he aspired to. He had to go another, less conventional way, and around 1960, he began to make work that was like no other art around.

It was three-dimensional, so it wasnt painting but, he claimed, it wasnt sculpture either. He called the new works specific objects, and left it at that. He titled all of these objects Untitled, and insisted they were devoid of metaphors, personal data or real-world references all the lures, in other words, that art traditionally uses to draw us in.

The earliest of these experimental objects look pretty funky. From 1961 comes what is essentially an all-black oil painting with a baking pan sunk into its surface. An oil-paint-mixed-with-sand picture, dated to the following year, is colored allover scarlet red and has a yellow plastic O a found bit of commercial signage sideways in its center. Almost every subsequent piece for the next few years is the same red. Judd said he chose the color because it made edges look crisp. He didnt mention that it also shouted Look at me!

For some observers, the most interesting thing Judd was doing at this early point was playing with space, in unusual ways. A largish 1963 work composed of iron flanges (Hardware store finds? Junk shop rescues?) attached to a flat wood panel, simultaneously hugs the wall, painting-style, and curves out into the room. And a smaller wall piece from the same year offers a preview of further complexities to come.

About the size of carpenters plane, it consists of a shelflike unit holding a length of square pipe. They seem to form a single dense, even leaden unit. Yet two small holes cut into the shelf hint at interior space, and a view from the side reveals the pipe to be hollow and open at both ends. Suddenly the piece feels light and buoyant. Air is moving through. You can almost feel it.

Then a more radical development arrived: Judd stopped making hands-on art. Most of the objects in the retrospectives first gallery were constructed and painted by Judd, with assistance from his father, who was a carpenter. Then in 1964, he hired a commercial sheet-metal workshop in Manhattan called Bernstein Brothers to fabricate his work, and it would continue to do so for years.

This came at a time when Abstract Expressionism that most touchy-feely of styles, remained the model of what serious art should be. Judd took critical heat for shifting production from his studio to what people assumed to be a factory. But in reality, his creative involvement with his art stayed intense. All the work was based on his detailed drawings. (Several are on view.) Indeed, drawing designs became one of his chief occupations. In addition, he chose the material, much of it industrial (metals, Plexiglas, acrylic paint), to be used for new work, and he often oversaw, or consulted on details and production. For a hands-off artist, he was very much on the job.

It is the art produced by this combination of authorial presence and absence that makes up the bulk of a retrospective that spans more than 30 years. In the second gallery, where industrial fabrication starts, we get a full range of what will be repeated Judd forms. There are round-ended metal wall pieces shaped like bolster pillows, and sets of thin, squared-off uprights reminiscent of high-jump bars. The little 1963 shelf-and-tube piece reappears in larger, more elaborate versions, its horizontal air shaft intact. And there are boxes, many, open and closed, foursquare and flat, single or multiple, floor-bound or attached to the wall and stacked up, one over the other, high.

A number of these objects come with what might be called special effects, not necessarily noticeable on a quick pass-through. A wall-climbing stack of stainless steel and yellow Plexiglas boxes generates a mini Niagara of light. Another, composed of gleaming copper radiates a tawny mandorla. A tall stack of boxes, its units blue-painted iron, casts shadows, and gives its side of the gallery a twilight tinge. Judds supposedly unexpressive art has many moods.

It also has an interior life, or lives. A floor box built of opaque honey-gold Plexiglas appears to have a dark form sealed inside. A row of four aluminum boxes spaced close together across the third gallery looms like a barrier wall. But peer into either end and youll find that the boxes are hollow and form a long corridor colored a subaqueous blue.

And theres the complex language of materials to savor, most industrially sourced. In the 1970s, commercial plywood caught Judds eye and he used it in a suite of boxy sculptures that look like a cross between shipping containers and anchorite cells. In addition, the unpainted sheets of wood chosen are rich with organic patterning: flamelike grains, knots like eyes. They exemplified an aesthetic of accident he relished.

In the 1980s he temporarily redirected his fabrication jobs to a firm in Switzerland. He simultaneously introduced a rainbow of harlequin colors forest green, marigold, pink to aluminum sculptures, as if circling back to the kooky roseate punch of his earliest objects, the ones that came from his own hands.

By the time his late work appeared, he had long since assumed identities he both did and didnt want. He had become a textbook historical figure, but also part of a past that many young artists either didnt know about or didnt need. When he died, elements he had tried to scour from his art narrative, personality, emotion were being re-embraced. Much of his late writing feels angry and bitter, partly, I suspect, because he knew he was no longer shaping the news.

He still isnt on any center stage. As a model for young artists now in an art world that acknowledges multiple histories and has zero interest in isms he seems locked in another time, as do many of his contemporaries who came of age more than a half-century ago. Simply put, they lived on a smaller art planet, one small enough to have faith in a Next Big Step. In the market-managed present, its hard to imagine ever thinking that way.

But its good to have him back in the spotlight at MoMA and elsewhere. (Several smaller New York exhibitions have been scheduled to complement the retrospective show.) And its nice to report that in important ways he still is news. His art once thought to be too severe to be beautiful (or maybe to be art at all) can now be seen to offer pleasures, visual and conceptual, that any audience with open eyes, can relate to, and that young artists can even maybe shoot for. Judd the critic once said that for art to matter, it needs only to be interesting. His is.

Judd

Sunday through July 11 (opens to members Feb. 27), Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street, Manhattan; 212-708-9400, moma.org.

Judd Around Town

Several galleries are offering shows related to the artist.

Judd in Two Dimensions: Fifteen Drawings at Mignoni, 960 Madison Avenue, Manhattan; through March 21; mignoniart.com.

Judd Foundation: In conjunction with the MoMA retrospective, Judds former loft and working space will operate an expanded visit schedule from March 1 July 11, at 101 Spring Street. It will also display 20 woodcut prints that Judd made in 1992 that have never been exhibited in New York. juddfoundation.org.

Donald Judd: Artwork: 1980 at Gagosian, 522 West 21st Street, Manhattan, March 12-April 11); gagosian.com.

Donald Judd: Artworks 1970-1994 at David Zwirner, 525 and 533 West 19th Street. Manhattan, April 18 to June 26; davidzwirner.com.

Salon 94 will be hosting a presentation of Donald Judd Furniture at the New York edition of TEFAF, May 8-12 at the Park Avenue Armory.

Link:
The Many Moods and Pleasures of Judds Objects - The New York Times

Abergwyngregyn was the home of the last Welsh Prince of Wales,Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, who led a revolt against the English but over 700 years later its at the forefront of a green revolution.

The villages old three-storey water mill is powered by an air source heating system which keeps the ground floor caf warm as toast and also heats the second floor, home to a number of village organizations, and the upper level where the snooker club has two tables.

It has been installed by Denbigh-based, Hafod Renewables, whose Managing Director, David Jones, said, Its a big area to heat but air-source works perfectly here because the system provides a constant comfortable heat for the building all year round.

Its reliability and the hassle-free controls are an added help for the users of the building too.

The air source heating made the gas system redundant which means the building produces no emissions so its safer, cleaner and easier to manage as they only have one utility to look after.

The gas supply has been disconnected which saves the centre over 100 a year in standing charges and the community will also receive 600 a year for 20 years from the Renewable Heating Initiative which will pay for the scheme.

Jones added, Abergwyngregyn is really leading the way with this approach as the UK Government shifts towards renewable fuels.

From 2025 the Government has said gas boilers will be banned in new homes and renewables, such as air and ground source and solar, will be the fuels of choice.

Its a remarkable village and they have big plans to become even greener in future with grants for local people to fit their own renewable systems.

It adds to the green credentials of Abergwyngregyn which already boasts a 1.3 million hydro-electric plant on the Afon Anafon which generates 200,000 from the National Grid which pays off the schemes loan repayments, pays rent to the landowners, provides social dividends to shareholders and provides 30,000 a year for the local community.

The village is best known for the spectacular 120-foot Aber Falls, one of the highest waterfalls in Wales, but Jacqui Bugden, one of the Directors of ARC, the Abergwyngregyn Regeneration Company, believes its green credentials are also putting it on the map.

She said, ARC manages the old mill as a community center and also two car parks because the waterfall attracts 100,000 visitors a year which keeps the caf busy and the center is very well used by local organizations from the tai chi group to the quilters, crafters and gardeners.

We wanted to make the building more sustainable and a survey showed the best option was to get rid of the old gas boiler and install air source and we were impressed by Hafod Renewables who asked the right questions and came up with the best solution.

Jones added, Abergwyngregyn is in a narrow valley which makes solar systems uneconomic but air source is a perfect solution and the sophisticated systems available now can easily be fitted to old properties.

They dont have much visual impact either and they can easily generate enough power to provide a home with a fully independent heating system that can easily give room temperatures up to 21C and heat water to 65C.

It operates like a fridge in reverse but the coolant in it has a boiling point of -40C so as long as its warmer than that then it can extract energy from the air it sucks in and heat the property.

Hafod has installed over 70 air source heat pumps in the past 12 months including one to provide underfloor heating to keep the abandoned dogs warm at the North Clwyd Animal Rescue charitys kennels near Holywell.

The company, which recently moved to its own carbon-free headquarters at Tremeirchion in the Vale of Clwyd, now employs 11 staff and has become a key player in North Wales in the installation of solar and non-solar systems.

Caption: David Jones of Hafod Renewables at the villages Old Mill community center, now powered by renewable energy.Picture by Mandy Jones Photography

See the rest here:
Panorama - Home of the Last Prince of Wales is Now Leading a Green Revolution - Renewable Energy Magazine

Art and Architecture: 6 Installations Responding to the Climate Crisis

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Studying the data that indicates a climate crisis that has been affecting the whole planet for the last decades, the reactionary attitudes may sound disappointing. However, at the same time that the news indicates a global average temperature rise, the political focus on the climate crisis is also intensified, according to the UN Environment report released in 2019, which is a reflection not only of the occurrence of manifestations and protests around the world but also of the so-called activist art expression.

This way, climate warnings have echoed in artistic installations that aim, through the visualization of the serious current stage and its future perspectives, to make people more sensitive towards this issue. Initiatives like ART 2030 (a non-profit organization that acts in order to promote, through art, the objects of sustainable development of UN) treat the climate crisis with artistic means and are very important to provide information regarding the climate conditions in the best way to reach a wide public.

Through temporary interventions, in buildings or public spaces, artistic installations assume different ways to incorporate architecture and cities into the intended message. Therefore, we have selected six artistic installations in squares, parks or buildings that alert to the climate crisis around the globe. Find out more below:

In order to raise awareness of climate change and deforestation damage, Littmann installed in theWrthersee stadium field, in Klagenfurt city, Austria, 300 trees of different species with the intention to replant themaround the stadium after the installation period. The piece, inspired by adrawing done by the Austrian artist Max Peintner, acts as a warning since it inquires if one day we will have to admire the reminiscent nature in designated places like with animals in the zoo.

The sculptures were installed on the ground floor of the Baltyk Building, designed by MVRDV, in Pozna, Poland. Each pattern and shape is an embodiment of a statistics or environmental study, resulting in abstract forms which meaning can be explored by consulting a QR code printed on each sculpture. According to the architect Iwo Burkowicz, the intention of the installation is to present expressive pieces, but also objective and factual.

The installation, that was placed in the Sesc 24 de Maio faade, during the 12nd So Paulo Architecture Biennial, had as initial bases the "Warming Stripes" chart that represents, through colored lines, the climate changes in Brasil from 1901 to 2018. Data relative to the changes in the average temperature of So Paulo city were added to this initial study, obtaining a chart that had to be adapted to the building size and the available colors. According to the creators, "the further we move away from Earth, hotter are the conditions and our existence becomes more critical, as well as for the other planet creatures.

Arranged in an open-air circle, twelve ice blocks taken from Greenland represents the twelve clock hands in the installation of artist Olafur Eliasson. The piece seeks to raise awareness of climate change through the direct contact between the public and the constantly melting ice, emphasizing the issue of time in this process. The project was held for the first time in Copenhagen in 2014 and, in the further years, it was installed in Paris and in London.

The sculpture of the artist Lorenzo Quinn during the Venice Art Biennale of 2017 represented two hands that, emerging from the Grand Canal, rested themselves in the Ca'Sagredo Hotel. The hands, that looked like sustained the building surrounded by water, represented an alert over the climate crisis and the susceptibility and fragility of the built environment when facing this issue. The symbolism of the sculpture was associated not only to the human capability of action to destroy the nature but also to their capacity of interfering in this scenario.

The installation, that was inaugurated in the UN headquarters in New York, as part of ART 2030 during the 74th session of General Assembly of the United Nations, also happened in the Central Park, inviting the public to take part in a collective piece that dealt with the air pollution. In two expirations, each participant should make two strokes from the top to the bottom (one stroke per expiration) in a white and curve panel. The project reflects the potential of collective and community actions, at the same time, it warns that the air we breathe is part of the world and the climate we share.

Proofread by Niall Patrick Walsh

Go here to read the rest:
Art and Architecture: 6 Installations Responding to the Climate Crisis - ArchDaily

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, 866-366-3723, uses a risk-based inspection reporting process for restaurants and other food handlers.

Brother's International Foods, 806 S. Duke St., complaint, Jan. 24. No violations.

C'est La Vie, 18 N. Market St., Jan. 24. No violations.

Columbia Mini Mart, 26 N. Fourth St., Columbia, Jan. 24. Food facility has been in operation for only a month. The facility has 90 days to enroll an employee in a state-recognized food safety course. Facility does not have written procedures for employees to follow when responding to an event involving vomitus or fecal matter discharge onto surfaces within the facility; procedures emailed to facility. The food facility has a three-compartment that is not currently hooked up to water supply, however is being installed. The food facility has test strips for quaternary ammonia, however does not have steramine tabs for sanitizing. The food facility does not have a hand-wash sink located in the warewashing area. The hand-wash sink will be installed.

Commonwealth Kitchen, 420 Pearl St., Jan. 24. No violations.

Dairy Queen, 1624 Lancaster Ave., Columbia, Jan. 24. Old food residue on the spindles of two Blizzard machines. Womens toilet room is not provided with a covered waste receptacle for sanitary napkins. No sign or poster posted at the hand-wash sink in the restrooms to remind food employees to wash their hands.

The Flour Child, 646 Union St., Columbia, Jan. 24. A utility sink or curbed cleaning facility with a floor drain is not provided in the food facility. The food facility does not have a hand-wash sink located in the food prep area.

Josephine's, 50 W. Grant St., Jan. 24. No violations.

Kristen's Katering, 301 Cherry St., Columbia, Jan. 24. No violations.

No BS Kitchen, 104 E. Maple Grove Road, Bowmansville, Jan. 24. No violations.

Sabor Criollo Restaurant, 802 S. Duke St., follow-up, Jan. 24. Floors and equipment, all nonfood contact surfaces, are not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dirt, oil and grease; repeat violation. ServSafe Certification was not displayed in a location visible to the public.

Stoners Barn and Restaurant, 605 Granite Run Drive, complaint, Jan. 24. No violations.

Adamstown Elementary School, 256 W. Main St., Adamstown, Jan. 23. No violations.

Blue Ball Elementary School, 126 Ewell Road, East Earl, Jan. 23. No violations.

Brecknock Elementary School, 361 School Road, Denver, Jan. 23. No violations.

Bridgeport Family Restaurant, 1655 Old Philadelphia Pike, Jan. 23. Bags of potatoes stored directly on the floor rather than 6 inches off of the floor as required; corrected. Cracked and missing floor tiles under the three-compartment sink. Soap was not available at the hand-wash sink in the warewash area. Working containers of cleaning-type chemical were not labeled with the common name; corrected.

Brisas del Caribe, 407 E. King St., Jan. 23. Food facility certified supervisory employee certifications have expired. Facility has 90 days to renew or replace. Potentially hazardous ready-to-eat food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 48 hours, located in the walk-in refrigerator, is not being date marked or have the common name of the food listed; repeat violation. Sides and walls around the food fryer and grill, all nonfood contact surfaces, are not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of oil and grease. Single-use tableware is not stored in a manner so that only the handles are touched by employees.

Cabalar Meat Co., 325 N. Queen St., Jan. 23. No violations.

Federal Taphouse, 201 N. Queen St., Jan. 23. No violations.

Garden Spot Fire Rescue - Blue Ball Banquet Hall, 4315 Division Highway, East Earl, Jan. 23. No violations.

Moms House, 415 S. Queen St., Jan. 23. No violations.

New Creation United Methodist Church, 10 W. Farnum St., Jan. 23. Food facility lost Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Food Employee Certification and has 90 days to replace.

Omni Dining Service LLC, 750 E. King St., Jan. 23. Condenser located in walk-in freezer is leaking onto food. Food is to be discarded and unit repaired.

Subway No. 24240, 245 Centerville Road, Unit 9A, Jan. 23. Food employees involved in food preparation, not wearing a beard cover until realizing an inspection was occurring. Torn rubber door gaskets on the bain cooler lids and on the walk-in cooler door. A tan, slimy residue on the ice chute on the customer self-service soda machine. The black bread-forms being stored draped over the faucet, risking splash contamination. A cutting board being stored behind the faucet of the prep sink which is not a clean and sanitized area. Ceiling tiles missing above the walk-in cooler, and need replaced. Mops are not being hung to air-dry.

The Tipsy Boar, 380 Centerville Road, Jan. 23. No violations.

Town Hall Restaurant, 4315 Division Highway, East Earl, Jan. 23. Food employee in prep area not wearing proper hair restraint in such a way that all hair is covered. Cooling procedures are currently in a refrigerator and are not sufficient to ensure that the 41 F or lower can be achieved without raising the temperatures of other food already in there. Assorted food was held at 45-47 F in the double-door refrigerator in the back room rather than 41 F or below as required.

Turkey Hill No. 171, 410 E. Chestnut St., Jan. 23. No violations.

V & F Mini Market I, 611 N. Plum St., Jan. 23. Thermometer for ensuring proper temperatures in reach-in milk unit is not functioning properly.

White Oak Campground, 3156 White Oak Road, Quarryville, Jan. 23. No violations.

Clubhouse at Masonic Villages in Elizabethtown, 1 Masonic Drive, Elizabethtown, Jan. 23. Cold air return ceiling vent has static dust accumulations.

Eisenlohr at Masonic Villages in Elizabethtown, 1 Masonic Drive, Elizabethtown, Jan. 23. No violations.

Grand Lodge Hall at Masonic Villages in Elizabethtown, 1 Masonic Drive, Elizabethtown, Jan. 23. Clean food equipment and/or utensils in kitchen area, stored wet in a manner that does not allow for draining and/or air-drying.

Health Care Center at Masonic Villages in Elizabethtown, 1 Masonic Drive, Elizabethtown, Jan. 22, Deflector shield for fountain soda ice chute has residue accumulations.

Lancaster Cupcake, 24 W. Orange St., Jan. 22. No violations.

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Lancaster Dispensing Co., N. Market St., Jan. 22. No violations.

Pasquales Pizza & Italian Restaurant, 1657 Old Philadelphia Pike, Jan. 22. Food employees in food prep not wearing beard covers. A food employee was cutting a sandwich roll a ready-to-eat food with bare hands; discarded.

Sweet Shenanigans Cupcakery, 3610 Old Philadelphia Pike, Gordonville, Jan. 22. No violations.

The Kling House, 3529 Old Philadelphia Pike, Intercourse, Jan. 22. No violations.

The Olive Basin at Kitchen Kettle Village, 3529 Old Philadelphia Pike, Intercourse, Jan. 22. No violations.

Achenbach's Pastry Inc., 375 E. Main St., Leola, Jan. 21. Prepackaged pies do not specify weight on label. There is no sign or poster indicating that ingredients for baked goods, made on premises, are available upon request.

Columbus Association, 1575 New Danville Pike, Jan. 21. Chlorine chemical sanitizer residual detected in the final sanitizer rinse cycle of the low-temperature sanitizing dishwasher was 0 ppm, and not 50-100 ppm as required; corrected.

Edible Arrangements - Lancaster, 103 Rohrerstown Road, Jan. 21. Containers of detergent and sanitizer stored on the same shelf with pretzels and single-use cups. The coving beneath the three-compartment sink has separated and is no longer attached to the wall.

Intercourse Fire Company, 10 Hollander Road, P.O. Box 52, Intercourse, Jan. 21. Dried food residue accumulation on the food slicer; cleaned.

Jade Garden Ming, 937 E. Main St., Mount Joy, Jan. 21. Raw chicken stored behind raw beef in the bain-marie. A bowl of raw eggs stored on top of sugar peas in the bain-marie. Raw beef stored above raw shrimp in the walk-in cooler. Boxes of raw chicken being stored on top of boxes of raw beef out in the food preparation area. Clean food equipment on the shelves, stored wet in a manner that does not allow for draining and/or air-drying (wet-nesting). The hand-wash sink in the back was blocked by four empty boxes and not accessible at all times for employee use. Employees were not able to wash hands properly, the hot water was turned off at the hand-wash sink in the back.

Leola Elementary School, 11 School Drive, Leola, Jan. 21. No violations.

Made With Love Not Gluten Bakery, 76 E. Main St., Mount Joy, opening, Jan. 21. No violations.

Panda Buffet, 1575 S. Market St., Elizabethtown, Jan. 21. No violations.

Pie in the Sky, 105 Duncan St., Suite C, Jan. 21. Torn rubber door gaskets on the pizza bain-marie unit. Black, moist residue on the soda fountain nozzles; cleaned.

St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 398 Locust St., Elizabethtown, Jan. 21. No violations.

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 5752, 125 Longnecker Road, Mount Joy, Jan. 21. Hot dogs were held at 87-101 F, on the grill, rather than 135 F or above as required.

Waffle House No. 1510, 1021 Dillerville Road, Jan. 21. Food employee (manager) involved in food preparation, wearing bracelets. Food employee is not using available sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine sanitizer concentration of chlorine bleach. No sign or poster posted at the hand-wash sink in near the dishwasher to remind food employees to wash their hands. Food facility is using bleach at an extremely high concentration of 400 ppm in two sanitizer bins, not approved in the Code of Federal Regulations for food contact sanitizing at this level. One gallon of milk, used for consuming by the glass, beyond the sell-by date. Time in lieu of temperature being used in the food facility to control ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous foods (eggs) without written procedures or documentation to verify disposition of food. Chlorine test strips with an expiration date of May 19, 2019.

Conrads Deli, 955 N. State St., Ephrata, Jan. 17. Hole in display case door is covered over with tape and cardboard and is no longer a smooth, easily cleanable surface. Food employee drying hands on a cloth towel rather than an individual paper towel. Food employee wearing a bracelet.

More:
Milk beyond sell-by date; hot water turned off at sink: Lancaster County restaurant inspections, Feb. 7, 2020 - LancasterOnline

Heart Squared Installation, Designed by MODU and Eric Forman, Opens in Times Square

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Dedicated to love and diversity, the public art installation Heart Squared has just opened to the public. In its 12th edition, the Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition curated by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum had selected the winning proposal of MODU, an architecture and design firm based in Brooklyn, and Eric Forman Studio.

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Celebrating Love in Times Square through the month of February, Heart Squared is a cloud of steel and mirrors that interacts with viewers. Commissioned by Times Square Arts and located in Father Duffy Square on 7th Avenue between 46th and 47th Streets, the urban intervention is shaped as an abstracted anatomical heart formed from a cubic steel lattice.

Heart Squared celebrates the essential New York bringing together people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, orientations, and walks of life. -- Phu Hoang, MODU

The ever-changing installation reflects anyone and everyone who engages with it. The overall design is revealed when passers-by discover the sweet spot that exposes a giant pixelated shape. 120 suspended mirrors within the open lattice, reflect an interwoven grid of the urban landscape of people, buildings, and billboards.

Heart Squared represents the collective heart of the city and as such, is an engaging civic statement about celebrating our differences and bringing people together in a fundamentally inclusive way. -- Rachely Rotem, MODU.

Emphasizing the importance of the horizontal Manhattan, the public floor of the city, the designers state that they imagined Heart Squaredas an amplifier of this togetherness. Eric Forman adds that Heart Squared is designed as a balancing act between structure and air, buildings and sky, people and city, and movement and slowness.

We are using the magic of mirrors and light to remix the urban spectacle into something unexpected, to give people a new way to see the city and each other. -- Eric Forman

Continue reading here:
Heart Squared Installation, Designed by MODU and Eric Forman, Opens in Times Square - ArchDaily

In sunny San Diego for Intersolar 2020, were seeing a new idea on tracking rooftop solar modules, diodes moving to the cell level, two types of building integrated solar products, and some solar hot water.

ISP Solars solar module innovation can minimize the usage and cost of silicon and potentially cut the price of solar panels in half (MIT and NREL think minimizing silicon is valuable, as well).

The company uses 24.3% efficient solar cells, slices them into thin strips and surrounds the cells with reflective mirrors that can boost the overall panel efficiency to a projected 20%.

A small motor is used to track the sun and because its employed with a low duty factor and kept in a sealed environment, its lifetime is extended to the required 25+ years for solar power modules, according to co-founder Dr. Suneet Singh Tuli.

The 552mm x 755mm solar panel in the article image is approximately one-fifth the size of a standard solar panel, and uses one-twentieth the amount of silicon as a standard 72-cell panel. It connects to standard commercial rooftop racking. The company is looking to offset the use of two diesel generators in First Nation territories in the coming months, and hopes to deliver real world data by the end of summer this year.

***

Recently, AE Solar released its Hot Spot-Free solar panel, which includes a diode in between each solar cell. This isolates the solar cells from each other, so that if a shadow hits the cell, it doesnt reduce the output in the entire solar cell string.

Speaking with the AE Solar folks at the booth, they say this adds a few percentage points to the price of the unit, but might add 5% to 15% more electricity production over the course of a year. Check out this video from the floor of Intersolar:

Ergosuns solar roof tile looks and feels like a black rubber square up close you cannot tell its a solar power generator. The company defines it as a solarized concrete roof tile. Each of the individual tiles generate 15 W, and with a size of 298mm by 335 mm, its got a panel efficiency of just over 15%. Since the product is a solar panel and a roof youll get a tax credit on your new roof.

Ecosolaroof makes a fiberglass metal roofing product with solar cells attached to the surface. In the image below you see the gentlemen at the booth showing how you can walk on the product, but be conscious of where you place your feet to not damage the solar cells. Each solar panel produces 200 watts, and with a total size of about 10% larger than a standard commercial module, the effective efficiency is approximately 10%.

Cutting my teeth as a residential solar guy in South Florida in the 2000s, you really paid your company bills via solar thermal either pool heating or domestic hot water. With the region not having hard freezes (four hours at or below freezing), we could install simple systems that were financially viable. Solahart showed off its solar water heating gear. The firm offers units that work in high- and low-solar insolation areas, as well as frost-protected units.

Visit link:
Innovative solar modules on the show floor at Intersolar San Diego - pv magazine USA

WILLIAM ABRANOWICZ

VIP Cabanas, circus tents, canopy beds in sky-high turrets: There's something dramatic about bold fabric hugging the walls and draped overhead. Not since Napoleon's time have tented rooms been this popularbut designers today are reimagining them with so much contemporary style. The fabric-cloaked ceiling trickwhether simply tacked on or fully upholsteredoffers practical value as well: It can help insulate a drafty space, hide architectural flaws, and even mask soffits and pipes. Keep reading to see eleven fabulous, over-the-top tented rooms for a design lesson in raising the roof.

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1A Daring Dining Room

Walking through the doors to this dining room by Miles Redd cocooned in blue zigzags is like stepping into Alice's Wonderland. The dentil trim introduces an extra layer of texture and pattern play for a showstopping wow factor. But mind you, rooms like this don't come cheap. A professionally installed tented room can be quite an investment (don't worryjust a few clicks away you'll find detailed DIY instructions at a much friendlier price point). Because of the labor and craftsmanship involved in the templating, sewing, and installing, it can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $50,0o0 according to Redd.

2A Dramatic Sitting Nook

While tented ceilings can bring a spirit of fun to any room, you'll want to make sure the ceilings are high enough to accommodate the extra fullness and depth fabric will bring. The high and round vaulted ceilings in this sitting enclave designed by Leandra Fremont-Smith are perfect. The designer used contrasting buttons to punctuate 40 yards of fabrics with tufting.

3A Sunny Vestibule

In this cheerful vestibule designed by Lilse McKenna, the walls and ceilings are upholstered on a flat surface, but the blue trim borders and geometric lines leading from the corners to the pendant light create the illusion of a tent-like shape. So while vaulted ceilings are a natural fit for tented rooms, don't let a straight-edge ceiling limit you!

4A Fantasy Floral Guest Room

This eclectic home designed by Sean Scherer is a treasure trove of antiques, whimsical fabrics, and cheeky decor that perfectly showcases the wry wit of Grandmillennial style. In this guest bedroom, vintage curtains were stretched and hung from wooden rods, then attached to the walls and ceiling to create a fantasy space. "You really do feel like you're inside a floral tent," Scherer says.

5A Transportive Children's Room

In this children's room, interior designer Emily Henderson let the child's favorite place and activity guide the theme: The canopy over the bed is hung by a rod, evoking the kind of tent you'd pitch at a campsite, so the room really feels like a camping experience.

6A Pretty Passageway

Fabric can make awkward and/or transitional spaces feel much more special, even if you install it yourself. Here, Aldous Bertram transformed this narrow apartment passageway into a magical portal in a few simple steps. First, he held one end of his affordable Etsy fabric to the height of the wall and cut, then he flipped extra fabric over the end, loosened it to swag, and secured it using a hammer and picture nails. Finally, he used hem tape to cover the raw edges with trim for a more a polished edge. Taking it one extra mile, he created a makeshift door using fabric and curtain rods over the frame. The loose, drapey effect brings dimension to the flat ceilings.

7A Victorian Home Office

When Miles Redd (or, as he's known around these parts, the crowned King of Tented Ceilings) first stepped into this Brooklyn home office, he felt "like a bug trapped in a mason jar." It's a 1980s glass solarium addition to a 1820s townhouse, so to make them feel consistentand to transform an afterthought into the main eventhe tented it. Stretching from the upholstered walls to the curved ruched canopy, the blue batik fabric cools down and softens up the space (temperature-wise and visually).

8A Rustic Escape

Though tented ceilings have a tendency to look fancy and decadent, they can actually fit right into any environmentit just depends on the fabric. This attic hangout space in a home renovated by two brothers is given a softer ambiance with a tufted upholstered ceiling but still fitIn general, tenting is a not-so-quick but highly effective complements the rustic materials like exposed wood and brick walls.

9A Whimsical Dining Room

"The dining room was our greatest challenge, but it ended up becoming the most exciting room in the house," says designer Sarah Gilbane of this fun space. The theme was vintage Everglades so decorative artist Brian Leaver painted the palms and flamingos over a grasscloth wallpaper, then created a trompe l'oeil tented ceiling. Painting over texture-rich materials instead of straight onto the wall can add even more depth, as proven here.

10A Bohemia Jewel Box

California interior designer Peter Dunham turned a tiny bedroom into an elevated bohemian paradise with a floor to ceiling canopy that takes up almost the entire space, proving that embracing smallness by going big with fabric can work in your favor. Besides, extravagant canopies are great way to to get that volume and drama that tented and upholstered ceilings achieve but with much less of a lift both upon installation and removal.

11A Timeless Bedroom

Given their playful circus roots, tented ceilings are perfect for kids rooms. In this bedroom by Amanda Lindroth, the playful drum pendant pairs well with the red trim and blue and white stripes while also igniting the imagination (perfect a young child) but it's classic enough to age gracefully as the inhabitant grows.

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11 Marvelous Tented Rooms - How to Install Fabric Ceilings and Walls - HouseBeautiful.com

On the Friday of Oscar weekend, the Academy sneaked a peek at its other big 2020 event the eventual opening of the Academy Museum later this year.

"This museum belongs to everyone," said newly appointed Academy Museum Director Bill Kramer as press gathered inside what will be the museums main lobby in the Saban Building at the intersection of Wilshire and Fairfax on Los Angeles Miracle Mile. "We want to tell stories from many points of view."

Kramer said the museum construction is nearly finished and its fundraising goals are 95 percent met, with more than $368 million in pledges and cash raised. The Academy plans to reveal an opening date very soon, with all signs pointing to a high-profile, Oscar telecast announcement Sunday.

Before it drops that news, the Academy led press through the museums key spaces, christened with the familiar names of noteworthy Hollywood donors.

Visitors could sit in the plush, red 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater, which was being kept chilly to facilitate the installation of laser projection, and walk across the glass Barbra Streisand Bridge, which connects the concrete 1939 Saban Building (formerly the May Company Building) to architect Renzo Pianos spherical glass addition, with its sweeping Hollywood Hills views. (In a flaw that would seem to vex the notoriously perfectionistic Streisand, her bridge did have a crack.)

Like the Academys Samuel Goldwyn Theater in its Beverly Hills headquarters, the David Geffen Theater, which is equipped to screen 35mm, 70mm, digital laser and nitrate prints, seems designed more for elegant cinema than for popcorn-chomping moviegoing, and can be accessed from the museum's north entrance that is designed to host star-studded premieres. There are no cup holders or reclining seats and a sign outside the theater warns that only water is allowed inside.

Evidence that this is still a construction site abounds plastic sheeting covers the green seats inside the 288-seat Ted Mann Theater, where Federico Fellini and Hayao Miyazaki retrospectives will screen.

Outside the fourth floor Katzenberg galleries, which will house future exhibitions on Miyazaki's animated Studio Ghibli films the first exhibition in the space and a showcase of black cinema from 1900 to 1970, construction crews are installing shades on the shingled glass panels of the sphere, built with materials that have been shipped in from Austria.

Inclusion has been a challenging issue for the Academy, which heads into the Oscars on Sunday with only one acting nomination for a person of color and no directing nominations for a woman. But the staff of the Academy Museum seem eager to signal that their exhibitions will tackle even unsavory aspects of Hollywoods past, including its exclusionary history. "Its important for us to...not shy away from difficult moments in film history," says Doris Berger, head of curatorial affairs. "That includes people who were excluded from Hollywood."

The Academy Museum, an idea floated since the earliest days of the 92-year-old organization, has had a long path to completion. The $388 million project, which was first announced in 2012, was initially slated to cost $250 million and open in 2017, but it has been delayed several times due to construction problems, including finding a prehistoric sloth fossil under the building and earthquake proofing Pianos complex dome. In October, Kramer, who had served as managing director of development and external relations, was named director of the museum after previous director Kerry Brougher resigned in August.

The former department store that will house galleries has had a sprucing up 35 percent of the 300,000 gold leaf mosaic tiles on its cylinder edifice have been replaced with tiles from their original manufacturer, Venetian company Orsoni. But much remains unadorned, including industrial-style open ceilings and exposed concrete columns, once covered in wood, which still show the wood grain imprint.

The museums collection will include examples of technology, like the original Steadicam; costume design, like the headdress Greta Garbo wore in 1931s Mata Hari and Bela Lugosi's cape from 1931's Dracula; production design, like the stone tablet props from 1956s The Ten Commandments; and makeup and hairstyling objects, like special effects artist Dick Smiths molds from The Godfather (1972), The Exorcist (1973) and Deer Hunter (1978).

One of the exhibits will use 1939's Wizard of Oz as a vehicle to demonstrate the art of filmmaking, accented by a pair of Dorothy's ruby slippers that were worn by Judy Garland.

Hollywood isnt just paying for this museum its also going to be shaping it, curators say. On the third floor galleries, guest curators will include filmmakers whose names everyday moviegoers will recognize, according to the museums exhibitions curator Jenny He, with a focus on science fiction and fantasy. He says, We want to remind you why you go to the movies.

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Inside the New Academy Museum, From the Barbra Streisand Bridge to the 1,000-Seat David Geffen Theater - Hollywood Reporter

CHICAGO, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

Kicking off the opening of the 2020 Chicago Auto Show, Mopar introduced a customized version of its new limited-edition 2020 Jeep Wrangler JPP 20, featuring a wide array of Jeep Performance Parts (JPP).

Kicking off the opening of the 2020 Chicago Auto Show this weekend, Mopar introduced a customized version of its new limited-edition 2020 Jeep Wrangler JPP 20, featuring a wide array of Jeep Performance Parts (JPP) targeted to the off-road enthusiast.

"The new limited-edition Jeep Wrangler JPP 20 is a 'check-all-the boxes' off-road vehicle for enthusiasts," said Mark Bosanac, Head of Mopar Service, Parts and Customer Care for FCA North America. "We loaded the Jeep brand's iconic rock crawler with factory-backed and quality-tested, authentic Jeep Performance Parts specifically designed and engineered to tackle the toughest conditions."

New 2020 Jeep Wrangler JPP 20 Based on the four-door Jeep Wrangler, the Wrangler JPP 20 carries a range of quality-tested parts and accessories from the JPP portfolio.

In addition to high-strength, full-aluminum doors, JPP steel tube doors and a new mirror kit are standard equipment. Tube doors, along with a mesh sun bonnet that provides shade for all passengers, deliver an open-air feel unlike any other production SUV. Standard JPP rock rails are made of heavy-gauge steel and Durabull-coated (truck bedliner coating) to provide superior protection and durability.

The JPP steel front bumper and skid plate are designed to take on whatever the trail can throw at it. Wide enough to provide fender protection, but narrower than the stock version, the bumper is black powder-coated with D-rings for extra towing capability. Completely waterproof to ensure reliable operation during water fording and other adverse conditions, the JPP Rubicon Winch includes 100 feet of Warn Spydura synthetic rope.

The Trailer-tow and Heavy Duty Electrical Group includes four auxiliary switches, a high-capacity 240-amp alternator and a Class II hitch receiver with four- and seven-pin adapters.

The Jeep Wrangler JPP 20 will be available in Ocean Blue or White. Additional standard exterior features include:

On the rear of the vehicle, the JPP Swing Gate Hinge Reinforcement allows for a larger spare tire to be mounted on the swing gate. The reinforcement is powder-coated black and works with the production hinge for easy installation. A JPP CHMSL (Center High-Mount Stop Lamp) Relocation Kit mounts the third brake light in the center of the spare tire.

The Jeep Wrangler JPP 20 will be delivered with an exclusive owner's kit.The kit will be uniquely packaged with a personalized booklet and other memorabilia. Also included in the owner's kit will be a customer credit that may be used toward the following dealer-installed equipment:

Inside the cabin, luxurious Katzkin Tuscany leather seats include an embroidered JPP logo on each front seatback. Standard Moparall-weather floor mats are injection molded and designed with deep drain channels, rigid sidewalls and advanced reservoir systems that contain liquids from leaking onto the floor. Front mats feature a patented drain plug that covers floor drain holes, whichallow draining without mat removal for easy cleaning. Behind the second-row seats, the Mopar Cargo Tray Kit provides full protective coverage of the cargo area and seat backs.

The standard Technology Group includes a 7-inch instrument panel cluster and fourth-generation Uconnect system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto available on its 7-inch touchscreen. In addition, Rear Park Assist and Blind-spot Monitoring also are standard.

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A full array of fuel-efficient powertrain options is available for the 2020 Jeep Wrangler JPP 20, including:

Each available engine option features a standard TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission.

Production of the Wrangler JPP 20 will be limited for the 2020 model year. Dealer orders open in the second quarter and vehicles will arrive in dealerships this summer. Pricing will be announced closer to the launch date.

JPP products from Mopar: Factory engineered, authentic qualityThe Mopar brand is coming off a decade of successful limited-production, high-performance vehicle customizations between the 2010 and 2019 model years. Building off that success and the growth of the Jeep brand, a laser focus is being placed on the JPP brand and the quality parts designed for off-road enthusiasts.

More than 200 Jeep Performance Parts and accessories were developed in close conjunction with the Jeep brand and the Mopar Product Design Office. During the process, more than 100,000 hours were spent on development, testing and validation before parts were brought to market. Specifically:

The strictest standards and factory-exclusive data, information not available to the aftermarket, were used to seamlessly integrate JPP parts and Mopar accessories with the Jeep Wrangler and to deliver proper fit, form, finish and quality right down to the color, grain, look and line of each product.

The Jeep Wrangler is one of the most accessorized vehicles in the world; more than 90 percent of Jeep Wrangler owners buy at least one accessory for their vehicle.

For 10 straight years, since the inception of the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) Awards in 2010, the Jeep Wrangler has been the only vehicle to be honored as the "4x4/SUV of the Year." The SEMA Awards are the show's definitive annual original equipment manufacturer honors, shining a light on the hottest vehicles that showcase aftermarket parts.

More information on Jeep Performance Parts is available atwww.mopar.com/jpp.

MoparMopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) is the service, parts and customer-care brand for FCA vehicles around the globe. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, the Mopar brand has evolved over more than 80 years to represent both complete care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.

Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era, with Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use, and expanded to include technical service and customer support. Today, the Mopar brand's global reach distributes more than 500,000 parts and accessories in over 150 markets around the world. With more than 50 parts distribution centers and 25 customer contact centers globally, Mopar integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.

Complete information on the Mopar brand is available atwww.mopar.com.Mopar is part of the portfolio of brands offered by global automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. For more information regarding FCA(NYSE: FCAU/ MTA: FCA), please visitwww.fcagroup.com.

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Mopar Introduces New Limited-edition Jeep Wrangler JPP 20 to Showcase Jeep Performance Parts - Yahoo Finance

With good labor getting harder to find and retain, Midwest Engineered Systems has found that automating the more redundant production processes has become a necessity.

Automating these tasks allows the transfer of valuable labor resources to more important tasks.

MWESs robotic case packing solution does just that for bagged products that have previously proven difficult to automate.

Of course theres other drivers for bringing in automation, including seeing demand increase faster than humans could pack.

MWES custom designs, builds and services automation systems for its customers specialized needs.

The MWES case packing system allows most firms to run their production systems at speeds closer to what the upstream automation can theoretically achieve without worrying about bottlenecks downstream.

With the labor market as tight as it is, its best to not waste human labor on repetitive practices when a machine can free your workforce to work on more high value operations.

Says Pete Gratschmayr, VP of sales and marketing, MWES: This thinking has been at the core of our design process for our case packer system.

To achieve these benefits, the MWES case packer machine uses machine vision to locate products as they enter the machine and translates that information to the robotic picking arms.

The vision system not only conveys the location of the product but its orientation on the belt. This allows for far more precise placement into secondary packaging a necessity for pack patterns that fill tight spaces.

The robots themselves use a proprietary vacuum end effector designed specifically for the rigors of picking and placing bagged products.

This system not only can be adjusted to handle more fragile materials, its also excellent at addressing the varying topology of the bags themselves.

These grippers help guarantee a near-zero drop rate even while running at the high pick place speeds the MWES machines can operate at.

Using its two robot configuration, the MWES case packing machine is able to pack up to 80 bags per minute with no drops.

To make installation easy, the entire case packing machine is encapsulated within its own welded steel frame.

Installation comes down to securing the machine in its location and connecting power, air and Ethernet connection and the system is ready to go.

In most instances, systems can be up and running in a day, making the MWES case packer as turnkey as they come.

Further, its compact design makes for integrating into a production area easy. Movement and positioning can be done with just a forklift.

Depending on robot configuration, MWES systems could also be installed in some cold room environments.

For some of its customers, the compact footprint of the case packer has even opened up valuable floor space.

Gratschmayr says: Weve worked on the system to make it quick to install and easy to run. Right now it can be installed in less than a day and adding another product recipe takes about an hour for an operator.

We think this really cuts down on the fear and uncertainty of adding this sort of automation.

The performance of MWES case packing systems has allowed customers to relocate 2-3 workers a shift to more meaningful tasks while offering production lines to operate at a much faster pace.

In their place only partial supervision of the machine is needed. The system also opens the door to downstream automation including a palletizing system to take the secondary packaging ready for shipping, as well as upstream box erectors to further automate the process.

MWES now offers these case packing machines as a standardized system that allows for fairly quick order turnaround times.

The systems can also be ordered with three integrated robots, allowing for packing speed of up to 120 bags per minute.

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MWES develops robotic system to increase case packing speed - Robotics and Automation News