The recent arrest of Roman Polanski for the rape of a 13 year old girl in 1977 has caused much debate around the world.
On one side, Polanski’s defenders argue he should be freed immediately because the case is too old. On the other side, Polanski’s non-sympathizers argue he should be tried just like any other sex offenders regardless of how old the case is.
Many people are creating projects based on free Google tools, APIs, and Google brand as inspiration at large. Goollery is an online gallery dedicated to collect, archive and showcase some of the most creative, fun and innovative Google-related* projects from people around the world.
Goollery is an independent project by Ji Lee, Jeanelle Mak, Francisco Hui, Karishma Sheth and Andrew Bonventre.
The digital age has changed the ways in which we share our most important opinions and innermost secrets. The latter are usually reserved for our closest of acquaintances, but we don’t necessarily use the most personal approach to broach these delicate details. The combination of technology and weight of information has given us new rules for just how to break the news. Ji Lee’s 10 Levels of Intimacy in Today’s Communication is both an interesting and absurd display of the redefinition and possible redistribution of how we continue on with our most cherished connections.
Hundreds of unregistered billboards flood the NYC urban landscape, creating a glut of unregulated eyesores on nearly every formerly barren surface. While the city allows this unregulated illegal ugliness to stand unchecked, Jordan Seiler and PublicAdCampaign.com decided it was high time to do something about this piracy of the common landscape. In an effort to turn those blights on buildings into works of art, they launched the New York Street Advertising Takeover; whitewashing 126 billboards across the Big Apple and then asking eighty artists to do their best to remove our memories of some of that awful imagery. One of our favorite creations of the project sprung from the mind of our good friend Ji Lee, whose Delete billboard showed just how much the previous occupier of this particular swath of concrete was appreciated. Great stuff…
Prior to 9/11 many New York City-based business proudly displayed the Twin Towers as part of their skyline-centric logos. Even though it’s been nearly eight years since the tragedy at the World Trade Center, many of those same companies still carry the same image on their signs. In an effort to ensure that the Twin Towers will never vanish from our memories, Ji Lee, one of our favorite creative minds, began the WTC Logo Preservation Project. The open project collects logos still utilizing the iconic buildings. It is a great way to uphold that indelible image and meaning of the New York we once knew.
Behance believes there are too many ideas in the world, and not enough action. The name is inspired by Thomas Edison’s famous quote, “genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” The conference is for people that already have great ideas, but need to make them happen. The speakers are all people that have a track record of executing their ideas again and again, successfully. Seth Godin, our Threadless friends, Michael Bierut from Pentagram, Scott Thomas, the director of new media for Obama’s campaign, our friend Ji Lee and a few other very impressive folks. Perhaps the 99% Conference will be the kick in the ass that people with great ideas sometimes need?
Get your tickets now. Seriously. April 16th and 17th. Use the code 99EARLY09 and get $100 off the regular ticket prices. This looks like it’s going to be an amazing event, and probably the first of many to come.
Perhaps you have a penchant for geek chic but you don’t want to look like you just walked out of a comic convention. Adam Szary, illustrator and comic artist for the Z Crisis and December 2105 series, has a line of tees and tanks showcasing his works that will let you flaunt your love of zombies, well-endowed women, or aliens without the shame of admitting you know who Jim Lee is and can name all of the comics he’s worked on. The images printed on his apparel line feature characters from his books and while these simple pen and ink drawings are usually somewhat grotesque in nature, others like the “Hell Kitty” are just amusing.
We’re not sure that Dubya, Dick, and Rummy will ever give a straight answer for their reasons for invading Iraq this last time, but popular opinion can be best summed up by that early 90’s anti-war mantra, “No Blood For Oil.” Echoing that sentiment Andrew Wilcox (noted for his collaboration with Ji Lee on Tag A Dummer) along with photographer Jonas Lara have created a video showing Iraq veterans invading a gas station. It serves as a scathing critique on the Bush administration’s foreign policy, as they assert through Operation W.A.N.T. (We Are Not Toys) that soldiers should not be treated as plastic toy pawns in their war games.
When Sarah Palin was announced as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate, the term MILF was suddenly thrown into the political arena. Rather than focus on the real issues, sex appeal was suddenly playing more of a pronounced role in the election as voters were drawn to the former pageant runner up/mayor/governor’s charisma. In an effort to address the idea that natural attraction and instinct often plays more of a role in our decision making, Ji Lee and Cory Forsyth have ran with this idea of glamour fascination to ask voters and non-voters alike, “Which One Would You Do?” The seemingly simple sexiness poll pitts former Democratic favorite Hillary Clinton and the current Republican VP against both first lady candidates, with the current results relaying a not-so-shocking similarity to present poll numbers. What can I say, I voted for Obama.
In spite of all of the warnings about global warming, there are still those that continue to drive the gas guzzling behemoth that is the Hummer. The tank-sized vehicle is often purchased to compensate for shortcomings both mental and physical or just as a garish show of riches. In order to offset this ostentatious display of wealth and environmental disregard Ji Lee, Andrew Wilcox and Nelly Ma have come up with a project entitled Tag A Dummer. The project asks people to download and print out the letter “D” as provided and tag any Hummer they see by gluing it on and rebranding their vehicle a “Dummer” to alert the driver to the error of their ways. While it probably won’t convince people whose idea of a good time is cruising down the street in an urban assault vehicle to become environmentally conscious, it might at least go a short way in knocking them down a peg. Visitors to the site can also read up on the environmental impact of the vehicle as well as see pictures of Dummers that have been tagged.
It’s Mayor McCheese. Ji Lee, the absurdist genius who brought us tiny towns, thought bubbles, and the occassional straight ad, has crafted this politically charged representation of the Republican presidential candidate. He looks delicious — full of beef, cheese, and anecdotes about his time in a Vietnamese prison camp. After last night’s historic speech by Barack Obama, we suspected McCain to try and steal some of the Dem’s momentum. Turning your head into a sandwich … well played sir.
Ji Lee wants little people to live on your ceiling. We think you should let him. After all, he’s the guy who gave New York the Bubble Project. The newest project from the guerrilla artist/ad man is Parallel World, a tiny musician’s living room where, ostensibly, tiny musicians come to write tiny AAA radio hits. You may know Lee’s “legitimate” work (he’s done ad campaigns for Cheerios, Tylenol, and Monster.com, as well as logos for New Museum and the Tap Project), but these vertical dioramas are just one of a number of independent projects he’s posted on his site. If you’re looking for some inspiration, commissioned scenes have already included rooms, ski slopes, art museums, and disaster scenes. Personally, we think a tiny Three Mile Island would really be lovely in the rec room.
From the creator of the Bubble Project, Ji Lee, comes to us a new and novel way to make art out of your idiot box (television): the Abstractor. The instructions of this home-made art project are best described by Ji’s artful video, but I can tell you the basics. You can use matte black board or aluminum foil. You’ll need only duct tape, a measuring tape, a pencil, and a utility knife. Measure the size of your screen. Cut two pieces of board so that the the sum of them covers your screen (but for a thin slit in the middle). Duct tape to frame of Television. Turn on The O’Reilly Factor. Press mute. Prepare to be wowed– the show will have never looked so good. Kudos to Ji Lee for concocting a cheap and easy way to make art out of an otherwise overrated household appliance. He’ll also show you how to make an Abstractor out of a video billboard on the street if you want.
LOOKING for a cool new way to wrap those boring Christmas presents? Then what you may need is rapping paper, which is imprinted with the lyrics of rap songs and is sure to be popular in avant-garde American households this year, writes Tony Allen-Mills. The latest trend in gift-giving was identified last week by Josh Spear, a 22-year-old Colorado student who has become one of America's leading “cool huntersâ€, a new breed of internet-based trendspotter whose job is to track down cool new products before everyone tries to copy them. Full article here, or after the jump READ MORE…
It’s Mayor McCheese. Ji Lee, the 
LOOKING for a cool new way to wrap those boring Christmas presents? Then what you may need is rapping paper, which is imprinted with the lyrics of rap songs and is sure to be popular in avant-garde American households this year, writes Tony Allen-Mills. The latest trend in gift-giving was identified last week by Josh Spear, a 22-year-old Colorado student who has become one of America's leading “cool huntersâ€, a new breed of internet-based trendspotter whose job is to track down cool new products before everyone tries to copy them. 
