"...a wide range of mediums from digital prints, sculptures, video and performance art, tackling themes such as emotional ambiguity, symbology, and visual communication. Works in the show explore ideas rooted in both pop and visual culture—appropriating and inserting emoji into the art history cannon, hypnotic moving images, emoji photo apps, inherent translation difficulties, and a desire for more emoji character."
2. Copy-and-twist innovation, as explained in Hamish McKenzie's e-book, Beta China.
"Part of what makes Sina Weibo so effective is that it deftly blends the strengths of the two American social networks, allowing users to share pictures and videos in-line with their 140-character “tweets” — for sake of ease, that’s how English-speakers in China refer to Weibo posts — and build conversations around them in the accompanying comments threads. It’s worth noting, too, that you can say a lot more in 140 Chinese characters than you can in 140 English letters.
Bill Bishop, a two-time entrepreneur and independent Internet analyst based in Beijing, is an avid user of both Twitter and Sina Weibo and has about 15,000 followers on each. He says the Chinese version is a far superior product. “Each post you make on Weibo, you can see if it’s been retweeted or forwarded, or if it has been commented on,” he says. “Each individual message you post on Weibo has potential to become its own full-on conversation between thousands of people.”
Unlike Twitter, Sina Weibo also offers premium accounts for its most dedicated users, charging about $1.50 a month to allow customized homepages, audio posts, and to provide increased security. Soon, premium users will be able to filter posts automatically by importance."
3. The robot comedian. Ha. Ha. Ha.
"The whole idea of automating something as particular and subjective as comedy—it totally goes against every notion of what comedy and creativity is about. But that doesn’t mean it’s not funny,' said Will Jackson, whose U.K.-based company, Engineered Arts Limited, created RoboThespian. Jackson used to work in advertising, but a few years ago he began dabbling in robots. 'It’s kind of acting by proxy,' he said. 'Maybe if I had the nerve I’d get up and do it myself, but it’s easier to have a robot get up and do it for me.' Development on RoboThespian began in 2005. He has screens for eyes, because, as Jackson explained, 'eyes are the windows to the soul.'
RoboThespian was supposed to be a dramatic actor..."
4. Eighteenth-century automata should not be forgotten.
"Jacques de Vaucanson (1709-1782) produced some of the most famous historical automata and is regarded by many as one of the greatest automata makers of all time. His most famous work, called ‘The Duck’, was and artificial duck made of gilded copper which ate and drank (it even digested its food like a living duck), quacked and splashed about in water. Vancanson also made the flute and tabor players. The flute player was 5ft 10in tall (1.8 m) and stood on a pedestal. A current of air led through the complex mechanism causing the the lips and fingers of the player to move naturally on the flute, opening and closing hotes on the instrument. It had a repertoire of twelve tunes."
- Siam Paragon (สยามพารากอน) shopping mall, Bangkok, Thailand
- Times Square, New York
- Disneyland, California
- Bellagio Fountains, Las Vegas
- Disney World Florida
- Staples Center, Los Angeles
- Central Park, New York
- Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
- Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) ท่าอากาศยานสุวรรณภูมิ, Bangkok, Thailand
- The High Line, New York
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