With Dallas awash in Shepard Fairey murals, it’s time to get ready for the next stop on your Southern U.S. street art tour! Atlanta’s High Museum of Art is now putting the finishing touches on its major KAWS exhibition. Opening next Saturday, February 18, “KAWS: Down Time” will be the beloved Brooklyn artist (né Brian Donnelly)’s largest show of new work to date and offers visitors the opportunity to watch him paint a 22-foot-high, site-specific mural in the lobby. A jazzy 24-foot-long triptych will invigorate the museum’s atrium. Meanwhile, curator Michael Rooks has marshaled an impressive gallery installation highlighted by a grid of 27 tondo paintings, like the 2011 Sponge Bob-meets-a giant flower pillow canvas that in November set a new world auction record of $188,500 for the artist at Takashi Murakami‘s “New Day: Artists for Japan” charity sale at Christie’s. The auction took place just days before the High installed KAWS’s monumental 2010 sculpture “Companion” (pictured) on its piazza. “KAWS has created a new order of American Pop,” says Rooks, who joined the High in 2010 from New York’s Haunch of Venison gallery. “His work is uncannily familiar but foreign at the same time, like in a dream, and it unites the often distant worlds of fine art and youth culture.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

This week, Discovery.com is hiring a new art director, while Playboy is on the hunt for a senior art director. The New York Daily News is seeking a graphic artist, and The Daily Mail (UK) is looking for a photo editor. Get the scoop on these openings below, and find more just-posted gigs on mediabistro.com.

• Art Director Discovery.com (Silver Spring, MD)
• Senior Art Director Playboy (Beverly Hills, CA)
• Graphic Artist New York Daily News (New York, NY)
• Photo Editor The Daily Mail (UK) (New York, NY)
• Art Director Modea (Blacksburg, VA)

For more job listings, go to the Mediabistro job board, and to post a job, visit our employer page. For real-time openings and employment news, follow @MBJobPost.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Here are two things we didn’t know up until just a second ago: 1) that musician and longtime New Yorker, Moby, is now living in Los Angeles (apparently we must’ve missed this NY Times profile on the castle he bought in the Hollywood Hills), and 2) that, as of last week, he’s recently started a new architecture blog, the perhaps over-aptly named Moby Los Angeles Architecture Blog. Thus far, it isn’t the sort of site that you’ll glean a lot of factual information from, not even such info as who the architect was who built the building he’s profiling on that day. Instead, his very well-made photos are accompanied by leisurely thoughts on Los Angeles’ architecture (all residential thus far) and where that building-of-the-day seems to fit within the city. It’s certainly an interesting, somewhat meditative departure from our usual architectural reads, but we’ve already bookmarked it and are already awaiting more. Here’s a bit of the description of his new site from his first post:

a daily (or weekly) collection of some of the random and strange and banal and beautiful architecture i see in l.a. most cities have beautiful architecture. but most cities have beautiful architecture that is prominently displayed and relatively easy to find (think: chrysler building, sacre couer, st peters, sydney opera house, etc). one of the very odd things about l.a is that the most beautiful architecture in l.a is hidden on tiny streets that very few people will ever see. and the architecture in l.a is, generally, of a very domestic and modest scale (probably facilitating it’s strangeness).

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Even the most demanding design purist is hard-pressed to avoid marring that freshly Venetian plastered or de Gournay wallpapered wall with a dull disk of white—or worse, beige!—ribbed plastic: the inevitable smoke detector. A little bird told us that’s all about to change. Meet the Chick-a-Dee, perched perpetually on a branch and ready to emit an 85-decibel-alarm at the first sign of smoke. Originally hatched by Dutch designer Louise van der Veld with an eye to residential interiors, the Chick-a-Dee has winged its way across Europe and is finally bound for North American nests, having been given the all-clear by Underwriters Laboratories. Brooklyn-based neo-utility, the sharp-eyed promoter of “products that are inherently useful but also bring a new and dynamic approach to design,” debuted the device stateside at last week’s New York International Gift Fair (where it was our top pick for the Bloggers’ Choice Awards) and will offer the product on its website this spring for around $75. The whimsical smoke detector, equipped with a battery that lasts 1.5 years, will also be available at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (MCA) Store. Stock up early, Portlandia fans, because this bold new opportunity to “Put a bird on it!” is sure to fly off shelves.

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-Artist Claes Oldenburg recalls for Carol Kino what actually happened at the Happenings, in an article published in today’s New York Times. A critic writing in 1962 described “Nekropolis I” as enjoyable for “the heavy slow clamor of these bulky creatures crawling and messing around in that bulky ‘environment’ of burlap, paper, paint, and other assembled junk.” Oldenburg was singled out for having “made wonderful nondescript jungle sounds and heaved his considerable weight from mound to mound like a natural denizen.”

Pictured: Lucas Samaras, left, and Oldenburg in a scene from “Nekropolis I,” from 1962. (Photo Claes Oldenburg; All rights reserved Robert R. McElroy/VAGA, NY)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Cosabella is on the hunt for a new graphic designer to join its Miami-based team. Here, you’ll conceptualize and design artwork that reflects the intimate apparel brand’s aesthetic and identity.

In this role you’ll design assets for the company’s sales, marketing and public relations teams, and create images for catalogs, promotional flyers, posters, advertising, hang tags, video presentations and more. You’ll also be involved in photo shoots, retouching images for look books, editorial, product flats and web galleries. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Philip Johnson‘s Glass House will soon have a new leader manning the transparent and modern ship. Today, the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced that Henry Urbach will be taking over as director of the historic architectural landmark in New Canaan, Connecticut. Urbach most recently served as curator of architecture and design at SFMOMA, having taken leave from the position last spring to work independently, which included research work at the Glass House itself. Previously, he’d also run a popular gallery in New York for nearly a decade, the eponymous Henry Urbach Architecture. It is currently planned that he will take on the roll at the Glass House on April 2, replacing its current interim director, Rena Zurofsky, who had this to say about his selection:

I met Henry last spring and was struck by his energy and enthusiasm for the site. He seems to me ideal to lead the dedicated Glass House team into even more innovative and exciting programmatic terrain, and to push restoration programs on track. I congratulate Henry, and also Estevan Rael-Galvez, Vice President of Sites at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, on his astute choice.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Unless you’re reading this in another country, and even then it still might apply, it’s highly likely that you’ve at one point at least seen, if not purchased, something that features the now-iconic “Made the USA” brand certification mark (the one with the hand). The California-based design consultancy firm RKS is now taking a page from that “Made in the…” concept originally developed and designed by another design firm, Conrad Phillips Vutech, with the unveiling of their own brand mark, “Designed in the USA.” The intention, of course, is not only displaying pride and a sense of unity for American craftsmanship (or “designmanship”), as well as helping to win over consumers for whom homegrown design is important. And as an offshoot, we’re betting that, like Conrad Phillips Vutech before them, RKS wouldn’t mind at all if a brand mark they created became as familiar an institution. Here’s a bit from their press release:

Why use it? This logo can enhance your brand and expand customer attraction, differentiate you from competitors, influence sales or usage/adoption, and/or strengthen an export position. It will also raise the bar for all, while branding the contributions from the creative and ingenious talents that come together in the United States from all corners of the globe.

And here are the specifics of who can use the logo and where.

Businesses are invited to use the logo which design all, or virtually all, aspects of their offerings in the U.S.; have been operating domestically for 12 months, and are not the subject of any unsatisfactory rating from an applicable product/service rating company or government agency; and retain evidence to substantiate that designs are domestically produced with no, or negligible, foreign contribution.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

MediabistroTV debuts a new series today, “My First Big Break” where we talk to media heavyweights about that break that got them to where they are today. Our first episode features Brian Williams, the anchor and managing editor of “NBC Nightly News.” You know what he’s doing now, and you may know a bit about his past. But did you know he went bankrupt, that he maxed out his credit cards and that he worked in technical operations after failing in small market TV? Williams tells us who gave him his First Big Break, and how it changed the course of his career.

For more videos, check out our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Stark’s latest production is WOOD SHOP, a “surprise ambush” of Nina Freudenberger‘s Haus Interior in New York. “For about a month, all of the product that Haus usually carries will be removed and replaced with our limited-edition WOOD SHOP collection that is inspired by the iconic wood worker’s atelier,” explains Stark of the collaborative concept store-cum-art gallery, which opens to the public on Friday at 11:00 a.m. (sneak a peek at some of the goods and buy them online here). “We’re excited to take the pop-up store to the next level.” Stark took time away from last-minute preparations to answer our seven questions about wooden must-haves, his start in event design, and how he created a “garden of Versailles” out of shredded paper.

1. What are a few of your favorite products in WOOD SHOP?
Oh, I love so, so many of them that it is hard to name one or two, but I am particularly happy with the hand-crocheted paint can and brush pillows, the turned poplar vases, and I do love the “Pining for You” poster/valentine. It’s a fantastic card to send in the mail, and it is also cool to frame and put on a wall. This pieces is the newest in our company tradition of newsprint cards that we have sent to friends and clients over the last couple of years. Those cards have become so popular that they are commonly saved and framed as wall art.

2. You went to art school at RISD. How did you get your start in event design?
Totally by accident! I didn’t even know there was a career called, “event design”! Back in the day, I worked with flowers and a partner, making arrangements for parties to support my fledgling painting career. Over time, I did more and more floral work than painting and got better and better at it. One day we were invited to interview for the job of designing the décor for New York City Opera’s fundraising gala. Carolyn Roehm, a noted florist in her own right, was the chair lady of the evening, and she took one look at our book and said, “Well, there is no question that you make the most beautiful flower arrangements, but this evening is not about flowers at all.”

All of a sudden a light bulb went off! It was a real a-ha moment. The revelation that flowers were not the only decorative tool for a party was mind-blowing. It seems real obvious of course, but at the time, it was radical. Now flowers are just one of the tools in my tool box, and the rest of the world of options is readily at my fingertips.
continued…

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Print- and color-loving Jonathan Saunders has sewn up the 2012 British Fashion Council/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, the across-the-pond version of Anna Wintour and co.’s wildly successful initiative to boost young design talent. Now in its third year, the BFC/Vogue award provides the winner with £200,000 (at current exchange, just a few dollars over the stateside $300,000 purse) and access to industry mentors. Also shortlisted for the award were Marios Schwab, Mary Katrantzou, Meadham Kirchhoff (designed by Edward Meadham and Benjamin Kirchhoff), Nicholas Kirkwood, Peter Pilotto, Richard Nicoll, Roksanda Ilincic, and Zoe Jordan.

Saunders, who also made the 2011 shortlist, was selected as the winner based on the strength of his critically acclaimed catwalk and pre-collections over the past few seasons, his business plan, and a presentation to a judging committee chaired by Vogue UK editor-in-chief Alexandra Shulman. So what’s next for Saunders’ burgeoning label? “We have four womenswear and two menswear collections a year—so we’ll be expanding these collections and launching accessories,” says the Glasgow-born designer, who counts Rei Kawakubo, Miuccia Prada, Le Corbusier, and Charlotte Perriand among his design heroes. Meanwhile, his fall 2012 collection hits the runway on Sunday, February 19, during London Fashion Week.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Famed literary critic Lionel Trilling once described Henry James as a “social twitterer.” Sure, he meant it as an insult, but it makes us feel better about having signed up to twitter ourselves. Look to the official UnBeige Twitter feed, for up-to-the-minute newsbites, event snippets, links of interest, design trivia, and free candy (OK, we’re still working on the physics of that last one). The mediabistro.com tech wizards have added to the sidebar at right a handful of our most recent word bursts (limited to 140 characters), but you can sign up to follow all of our twittering, and start twittering yourself at twitter.com.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

This week, Dan’s Papers is looking for an art director/department manager, while King.com is hiring a 3D artist. CQ Roll Call is in need of an art director, and NBC Universal is seeking an art director for its E! and G4 networks. Get the details on these jobs below, and find more just-posted gigs on mediabistro.com.

• Art Direct/Dept. Manager Dan’s Papers (Southampton, NY)
• 3D Artist King.com (Stockholm, Sweden)
• Art Director CQ Roll Call (Washington, DC)
• Art Director NBC Universal (Los Angeles, CA)
• Art Production Associate, Whole Living Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (New York, NY)

For more job listings, go to the Mediabistro job board, and to post a job, visit our employer page. For real-time openings and employment news, follow @MBJobPost.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.