Martha Graham was born 117 years ago today and Google called on “motionographer” Ryan Woodward to honor the event with an animated Doodle. I was hoping for a Monty Python theme, but this logo could be a classic.
Graham was the pioneer of modern dance in the United States and her Martha Graham Dance Company has grown in to the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance.
The animation was done by Ryan Woodward, the self-claimed ‘motionographer’ and popular artist. The combination of both creative skills culminate in the Doodle above. The images suggest classic shots of the dancer who contributed so much to world art.
Today Google is honoring the 160th Anniversary of the World’s First Fair. The event took place in Hyde Park in 1851 and was called the Great Exhibition. The event was invented by Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert to celebrate modern industrialism and was hosted at the Crystal Palace, a massive glass exhibition centre designed specifically for the event.
As noted on Earth day, Google Doodles are getting a lot more interactive. Today’s has a zoom feature that allows you to magnify portions of the doodle to find some neat little historical details.
Google is celebrating the 226th birthday of John James Audubon, the French-American ornithologist, artist, and naturalist with a special logo. Fitting that Google is honoring Audubon, considering that in his day Audubon had a Google-like mission to paint every bird species in North America (Google’s mission today is, obviously, much larger: to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful).
Just as Audubon had a love of nature, Google also has been showing its “green” side, with massive investments in solar and wind energy. Google this year, as has been tradition for the past 10 years, also tried to raise awareness of the environment with a special Earth Day logo April 22.
Google have raised awareness of Earth Day for the last 10 years with a new Doodle. The doodle designs have got more creative and complex with the years and have touched upon different planetary themes and concerns such as solar energy to polar ice caps.
This month, known as Earth Month, Google has really put it’s money where it’s mouth is by investing over $300 million dollars in clean-technology and alternative energy schemes. So, at SEW we have been expecting something a little bit special from the eco-conscious company.
Every year, without fail, Google celebrates Earth Day and SEW has been on the lookout for how Google will honor it. Earth Day is tomorrow, April 22, but the Google Doodle has already been sighted in New Zealand, Australia, and India.
You can get a preview of it below.
However, more exciting than the Earth Day logo is the massive investment Google has been making in clean energy this month.
Solar Energy
April 7th – Google agreed it’s first clean-tech investment in Europe, pumping $5 million into a German solar power plant based in Brandenburg near Berlin.
Whilst the space race may be over, 50 years ago the race to get a man in space was a hot topic and Russia’s Yuri Gagarin first manned space mission was global front page news. Google honors the achievement with a worldwide Google Doodle April 12.
Russia will celebrate the occasion with a 50 gun salute, while Jethro Tull front man, Ian Anderson, will play a flute duet with astronaut Catherine “Cady” Coleman who will be playing from 250 miles above the Earth, the UK Guardian reported.
Everyone loves Sundays, but this Sunday is particularly special as Google is celebrating the 119th anniversary of the first documented ice cream sundae.
Surprisingly, the ice cream sundae has a controversial past. It is said to have been invented accidentally. The urban tale goes that in more austere times the clergy deemed the popular dessert, ice cream sodas, to be ‘too frilly’ a food to eat on the Sabbath (naturally a Sunday). So, instead of offering an ice cream soda, ice cream was served with cherries and syrup drizzled on top.
In honor of Harry Houdini’s 137th birthday Google has given the famed illusionist a Google Doodle. The special logo was displayed just hours before Houdini’s last living assistant passed away at the age of 103, the Associated Press reported.
Houdini was born March 24, 1874 and died October 31, 1926. The Hungarian born American was a famed escapologist and magician whose name is synonymous with the world of the occult and magic. He also combined his escapes with local businesses, “these challenges were prearranged with local merchants in what is certainly one of the first uses of mass tie-in marketing.”
While Google employees have had a hand in the overthrow of the despotic Egyptian government last month, Google chose an interesting Doodle – the birthday of the composer of the National Anthem – as the country holds a referendum this Saturday to determine what issues will be voted on later this year.
“Sayed Darwish (Arabic: سيد درويش; March 17, 1892 – September 15, 1923) was an Egyptian singer and composer who was considered the father of Egyptian popular music. He was born in Alexandria on March 17, 1892. He put music to the Egyptian national anthem, Bilady, Bilady, Bilady, the words of which were adapted from a famous speech by Mustafa Kamil,” Wikipedia noted.
International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8. This year marks the Day’s 100th anniversary and Google is helping women worldwide organize on bridges this year. Now Google is reminding everyone about the day with an International Women’s Day Doodle, which has already appeared in selected countries, including Australia, Taiwan, India, and even Hong Kong.
International Women’s Day is a celebration of women that ranges from culture to culture, remembering women’s achievements socially, economically and politically. While women have made major strides toward equality, recent economic and employment numbers show other there is still a long way to go.
