Colossal
Type of site
Blog, Art, Culture
OwnerChristopher Jobson
URLthisiscolossal.com
LaunchedAugust 2010
Current statusActive

Colossal is an art and visual culture blog founded by Chicago-based editor Christopher Jobson. The site covers topics ranging from art, design, and photography, to visual aspects of science and general creativity.[1]

History

Colossal is an art blog that features 15 to 25 posts per week on photography, design, animation, painting, installation art, architecture, drawing, and street art.[2] It started as a personal blog in the fall of 2010. Web designer by trade, Jobson began his blog as one of one hundred things he wanted to accomplish in 2010.[3] On March 9, 2011, Jobson posted artist Sagaki Keita's surreal, intricately detailed ink drawings to his blog. By 5:00 p.m. that day, so many visitors flooded the site that his server crashed.[4] The blog grew in popularity to the point New York-based advertising agency Nectar Ads asked Colossal to be a part of an "art ad network" with site-specific content.[4] This allowed Jobson to quit his job in 2013 and focus on the site full-time. Jobson explains the mission of Colossal, "I want Colossal to be a place where anyone, from any background, can discover art and aspects of visual culture that are interesting, fun, and approachable. To that end I shy away from criticism and interpretation and instead provide as many resources as possible for visitors to learn more on their own. I want to share art as it is, without justification."[5]

Recognition

Colossal has garnered a Utne Media Award for arts coverage, a Webby Award nomination, and was described as the "Tate Modern of the Internet" by Fast Company.[6][7] The National Endowment for the Arts has called the website a "must read."[8] American blogger Jason Kottke describes it as "a top-notch visual art/design blog,"[9] and PBS' Art:21 said the publication "brings recognition to under-represented (or even unrepresented) artists."[10] In 2020 Jobson curated an exhibit Par Excellence Redux at the Elmhurst Art Museum.[11]

Colossal was praised by American actor Neil Patrick Harris as "artistic, smart, and inspiring,"[12] and the publication was cited by the TED blog as one of "100 Websites You Should Know and Use" in 2013.[13]

References

  1. ^ "About Colossal". Colossal. 2014-05-01. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  2. ^ "5+5: Christopher Jobson. Heartland Habitué. Art Explorer. Day-job Ditcher.", 20x200, 1 September 2015. Retrieved on 12 August 2019.
  3. ^ Gleisner, Jacquelyn. "Becoming Colossal with Blogger Christopher Jobson", Art21, 8 March 2012. Retrieved on 12 August 2019.
  4. ^ a b McEntee, Sean. "A Colossal Success", Demo, Chicago, 2014. Retrieved on 11 August 2019.
  5. ^ Beete, Paulette. "Art Talk with Christopher Jobson of Colossal", National Endowment for the Arts, Utah, 18 September 2013. Retrieved on 12 August 2019.
  6. ^ Rigou, Vasia. "Design 50: Who Shapes Chicago 2019", New City Design, 28 February 2019. Retrieved on 12 August 2019.
  7. ^ Lufkin, Bryan. "The Eye-Popping Images On Colossal Will Make Art Lovers Of Us All", Fast Company, 18 November 2013. Retrieved on 12 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Art Talk with Christopher Jobson of Colossal". National Endowment for the Arts. 2013-09-13. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  9. ^ "Colossal". Kottke.org. 2013-09-13. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  10. ^ "Becoming Colossal with Blogger Christopher Jobson". Art21 Magazine. 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2014-05-14..
  11. ^ Brown, Evan Nicole. "In Chicago, an iconic artist-designed mini golf course gets a second life", Fast Company, 18 February 2020. Retrieved on 7 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Neil Patrick Harris Tweet". Twitter. 2012-04-24. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  13. ^ "100 Websites You Should Know and Use". TED (conference). 2013. Retrieved 2014-05-14..

External links

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