Aventador, The Dark Side of The Force

Built in Italy. Just arrived from the future. Lamborghini has a history of revolutionary thinking. Whether in terms of design, like the iconic scissor doors. Or in terms of technology such as the V12 engine and carbon fibre technology. Going far beyond what was previously thought possible is just as much a part of the brand as the core values: uncompromising, extreme, and Italiano. These values are the reason why every Lamborghini is breathtakingly unique. The Aventador LP 700-4 represents a whole new level of performance, sets new benchmarks in the super sports car segment, and provides a glimpse into the future. It’s a car that’s already achieved legendary status.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs.

King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, serving as its first president. With the SCLC, King led an unsuccessful 1962 struggle against segregation in Albany, Georgia (the Albany Movement), and helped organize the 1963 nonviolent protests in Birmingham, Alabama. King also helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. There, he established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history.

“Almost always the creative, dedicated minority has made the world better.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Woodland Co-Inventor of The Barcode Dies

Norman Woodland, co-creator of the ubiquitous barcode has passed away at the age of 91. The barcode, since its inception has been the inspiration for futurists, designers, conspiracy theorists as well as technologists the world over. When ionCreative designed a new visual language for Vibe magazine the barcode played a prominent role in that communication. The reason for this is simple. Much like Woodland, we wanted to create an efficient way to inventory the sections of the magazine without using words. Our formula incorporated symbology with icons, numerals and most importantly the barcode as a guide to periodical, section, page and barcode; a tribute to the fact that this was something to be inventoried as a classic in your library. The inspiration of Norman Woodland and his revolutionary barcode (or Universal Product Code as it is more commonly known) is alive and radiating energy at ionCreative in addition to  being scanned over 5 billion times daily.

Picasso Black and Whites

Picasso Black and White is the first exhibition to explore the remarkable use of black and white throughout the Spanish artist’s prolific career. Claiming that color weakens, Pablo Picasso purged it from his work in order to highlight the formal structure and autonomy of form inherent in his art. His repeated minimal palette correlates to his obsessive interest in line and form, drawing, and monochromatic and tonal values, while developing a complex language of pictorial and sculptural signs. The recurrent motif of black, white, and gray is evident in his Blue and Rose periods, pioneering investigations into Cubism, neoclassical figurative paintings, and retorts to Surrealism. Even in his later works that depict the atrocities of war, allegorical still lifes, vivid interpretations of art-historical masterpieces, and his sensual canvases created during his twilight years, he continued to apply a reduction of color.

Picasso was born in Málaga, Spain, on October 25, 1881, to María Picasso López and José Ruiz Blasco. His father, a painter, art teacher, and curator, encouraged his son to become an artist after quickly realizing Picasso’s astonishing artistic gift. Following his studies in Spain, he settled in Paris and embarked on an extraordinary career to become the most influential figure in twentieth-century art.

Managing a complicated composition without having to organize contrasts of color, Picasso created such masterpieces as The Milliner’s Workshop (1926), The Charnel House (1944–45), and The Maids of Honor (Las Meninas, after Velázquez) (1957). The graphic quality of Picasso’s black-and-white works harks back to Paleolithic cave paintings created from charcoal and simple mineral pigments (Female Nude with Guitar, 1909), to the tradition of grisaille (Study for Sculpture of a Head [Marie-Thérèse], 1932), and to European drawing (Man with Pipe, 1923). Picasso used this distinctive motif to explore a centuries-long tradition of Spanish masters, such as El Greco, José de Ribera, Francisco de Zurbarán, Diego Velázquez, and Francisco de Goya, whose use of black and gray was predominant.

Picasso’s palette reveals the development of a unique working process, which he pursued until his death on April 8, 1973, in Mougins, France. His innovative works in black and white continue to influence artists today. This chronological survey, spanning 1904 to 1971, includes paintings, sculptures, and works on paper, all of which highlight the artist’s choice of black, white, and gray in lieu of color.

—Carmen Giménez, Stephen and Nan Swid Curator of Twentieth-Century Art, with the assistance of Karole Vail, Associate Curator

Red Bull Gives You Rings

SAO PAULO — Sebastian Vettel found himself spinning around on the track just after the start, watching helplessly as other cars whizzed past him. His Formula One title hopes seemed to be drifting away with them.

It was only the start of Vettel’s problems Sunday in what he called the toughest race of his career. But he overcame all of them and came away with the only prize that mattered — his third straight championship title.

Vettel shook off a first-lap crash and other difficulties to finish sixth at the Brazilian Grand Prix, good enough to protect his lead over challenger Fernando Alonso and become F1’s youngest three-time champion at age 25.

“Everything that could go wrong went wrong,” he said.

Jenson Button of McLaren won the race at Interlagos, with Alonso second and Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa third. Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, F1’s most successful driver, finished seventh in his final race after 19 seasons.

But they were all overshadowed by Vettel, who had to overcome a poor start, the early crash, a damaged car, a broken radio, a botched pit stop and pouring rain.

“Just look at the stuff that went wrong. It was for sure the toughest race,” Vettel said. “We kept believing. It was never game over.”

Vettel appeared in big trouble after he was bumped shortly after the start and spun. He dropped to last place before he could turn his car around and begin a difficult pursuit. But he steadily worked his way up the field despite a slightly damaged car and no radio communication.

“You are the man, you are a triple world champion,” a team official told Vettel on the radio after he crossed the line, without being able to listen to the driver’s response.

Vettel is the first driver with three titles in a row since Schumacher won five straight from 2000-04. The only other driver to win at least three consecutive championships was Juan Manuel Fangio from 1954-57.

“It’s difficult to find the right words,” Vettel said. “It’s unbelievable. I’m still full of adrenaline. It was an incredible race.”

Schumacher was the first to congratulate Vettel, having just bid his own farewell to the sport. Minutes before the race, he lapped the track with a flag with the words “Thank You.” He used the radio to thank the mechanics and engineers he has worked with as well as his fans watching on TV.

The 43-year-old German is retiring for the second time after struggling in his return with Mercedes. He had ended his career after the 2006 season and managed only one podium finish after retuning in 2010, at the European GP in July.

Schumacher is leaving F1 with numbers unmatched by any other driver. He retires with the most wins (91), pole positions (68), fastest laps (77) and most podium finishes (155).

Vettel needed to finish fourth or better to clinch the title regardless of Alonso’s result. The Spaniard would have a chance to overtake the German only by finishing on the podium. He looked to have the advantage after a superb start and a chaotic first lap, but in the end couldn’t erase Vettel’s 13-point lead in the standings.

Lewis Hamilton was leading in his final race with McLaren when Nico Hulkenberg crashed into him while trying to pass on a slippery track with 17 laps to go. Hamilton received a standing ovation from his McLaren team when returning to the garage.

“Mixed emotions, but I’m happy,” he said.

While the race was filled with drama and potentially title-deciding swings, it had an anticlimactic finish behind the safety car after Paul di Resta crashed just before the final lap. That meant Vettel could simply cruise safely toward the title.

It rained on and off throughout the race, making conditions difficult and forcing drivers to come in and out of the pits several times.

“It was more or less was what we wanted, mixed conditions,” Alonso said. “But it was one of the most difficult races we ever drove. You feel you are with the wrong tire on every lap. It was a risk to crash and have an accident on every lap. Obviously you are not in control of what your rivals do. We were hoping for a little miracle.”

And for a while, they had reason to believe in one.

Alonso moved from seventh to fifth after the first corner, while Vettel dropped from fourth to seventh. Vettel then was hit from behind by the Williams of Bruno Senna and spun at the end of the back straightaway, dropping to last place after sitting backward on the track with several cars having to go around him.

Moments later, Alonso passed Massa and Vettel’s Red Bull teammate Mark Webber at the same time to move to third.

But the Spaniard lost a position after locking his front tire and briefly running off the track at the first corner. Vettel — without significant damage to his car — began making his way back to the front, easily passing the slower cars near the end of the pack. He was already sixth by lap 15.

Alonso briefly had the title in his hands again after more rain fell with 14 laps to go. Red Bull lost time while putting the wet tires on Vettel’s car, dropping him to 11th place while Alonso moved into third. But after all cars pitted, Vettel was in sixth place, enough to keep the title. Alonso moved to second after passing Massa, but he needed Vettel to drop a few more spots.

Hamilton started from the pole and kept his spot for a few laps before being overtaken by teammate Button on the sixth lap, and Hulkenberg got past the British driver on Lap 18.

Hamilton, who will replace Schumacher at Mercedes next season, retook the lead with 22 laps to go, but was hit by Hulkenberg when the Force India driver came in too hard to make the pass.