REVIEWS, Stuttgart — Traveling to Germany on Eurail had been an exciting adventure. Stuttgart, especially, surprised me, probably having more inspirational potential than text-based research would indicate.

The magnificent and exciting Stuttgart StaatsGalerie was holding an extensive Pop Art Exhibition at the time of my visit. It was a well curated exhibition of the Pop Art movement in the USA and UK primarily, in the 1950s & 1960s mainly.
Here is my journey through that exhibition, and an increasing realisation that modern art of a time period is often a window on …

ANALYSIS, Frankfurt — Art (or kunst in Deutsch) is a window into mens souls.
German art is a window into the Saxons, Prussians, Bavarians and other Germanic tribes.
People forget that the German nation is a modern construct, stitched together by Bismarck as a Greater Prussia. Prior to this, Germany was a collection of largely independent kingdoms.

Accordingly, major German regions and cities with links to art and design throughout European history are hardly surprising.
I find much to like in the art of Saxony, including Leipzig, and the so-called Leipzig School (an …

Cubicle non-comformity. Distracting? Or empowering fun? I guess that depends if you’re reading this at work…

The history of women in art. Features a lot of figurative works.
A very popular inspirational viral video on YouTube, Technorati and other social networking sites.

The Big Question: Do you have a blog that is art or design based?
You can be a painter, designer, critic or follower of art… or a student.

This is a list of interesting, different art and design blogs.
I am hoping to get over 1000 here, so I will be adding them to get us started,…

TRAVEL, Austria — Culturally Vienna, like Paris, is one of those cities you must visit for artistic and cultural depth.
Of course, many European cities have great museums and art galleries and hidden treasures.

Vienna has a secret museum though. Well secret in the sense few people visit it as tourists. If you are arts-minded though you will enjoy it. …

TRAVEL, France — When you visit France, there are some paintings you must see to complete your Parisian cultural visit and understand France, and the modern world.
As Ruskin said:
“Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts, the book of their deeds, the book of their words and the book of their art.
“Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others, but of the three the only trustworthy one is the last.”

ANALYSIS, Melbourne, Australia — My recent visit to the Guggenheim show at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne was most informative. But not about art.
The Guggenheim was informative about positive social change (innovation) and our society.
Art of recent years allows us to view the world through artists eyes. And great artists often have eyes and insight ahead of their time.
The most enlightening Guggenheim pieces were from the last 40-odd years. The well-curated Guggenheim exhibit of modernist & post-modernist art; informed visitors like me about inspiration & innovation.
Understanding Modern …

ANALYSIS — Visited the Art Gallery of South Australia on Saturday. Here’s the ideas and innovation from there.
A very nice venue, with a decidedly Australian colonial focus.
Innovation is like being the sole artist in a colony.
Take yourself back to the 1800s. You’re an English artist of limited fame. You board that long voyage of months to Australia, without more than another artists picture of the place, and a verbal history. Maybe some thin written reports.
It’s an act of faith, stepping on that ship to another distant and strange land. …

Melbourne has some pretty great food. Food that can inspire good ideas and with a cleansing beer or wise choice of red the occasional flight of fancy.
Melbourne World leader in Food Inspiration & innovation
The world’s best pizzas. The worlds best coffee. And some of the worlds’ best Greek and Italian food, as well as fresh cheeses, hams, dairy and delicatessen food.
Other cities (NYC, Paris, Vienna) might have individually greater restaurants. But for general consistency of greatness in food, you can’t beat Melbourne, especially with a local on your arm…
Of …

On the lighter side, whilst working these last few days I particularly enjoyed a link I found on digg.com to Calvin & Hobbes 25 greatest comics. An avid fan of Calvin & Hobbes, I won’t reproduce my favourite out of ‘IP respect’ so follow the link here.
Calvin the Innovator: a Parable for Innovation 
What is so great about Calvin & hobbes is that it is a strip that operates on an intelligent level for adults, and underlying is a strong current of the innovator (Calvin), the realist (stuffed tiger) and the …

My good friend Dennis Price, Dr Contrarian, of Ganador has written a neat post in his blog some time back: http://drcontrarian.blogspot.com/

The truth about time management
There is nothing any person can do to change one aspect or characteristic of time; but that does not prevent a manager from accusing a subordinate that he or she has poor time management skills. But the fact of the …

I just looked (last night) at a Coke ad for Coke zero, and wonder how exactly is that innovative? More Fried Chicken innovation we don’t need.
Last night, I went and saw a members exclusive viewing of the Australian Impressionism art exhibition National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Australia.
Over the long weekend in Australia, Queens Birthday holiday (yes Australia shares the UK monarchy), for innovation inspiration I visited the National Gallery of Victoria International and the Astor Theatre, an art deco beacon, and a very enjoyable and inspiring cinematic experience.
The post of …

Hollywood movies no longer constitute innovation. So where is the innovation? And do you need a conservative force to rebela against for avant-garde cinema…

Building on our practical observations and my personal experience which lead to the Innovation pockets model, the modern gathering place is the shops.
The modern source of innovation is ideas that are inspired (by art, culture, cultural exchange, music, friends, multi-cultural hotspots, food, travel, border towns, cultural artefacts. books, museums). One key source is small cafes, shops, and service businesses where retailers can afford to experiment.
So in other words they have a low enough cost base, as well as cultural permission to innovate, as well as incentives these can be financial …