Colossal (blog)

Colossal is a Webby Award-nominated 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]

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

The National Endowment for the Arts has called the website a "must read."[2] American blogger Jason Kottke describes it as "a top-notch visual art/design blog," [3] and PBS' Art:21 said the publication "brings recognition to under-represented (or even unrepresented) artists."[4]

History

Colossal is an art blog that features 15-25 posts per week on photography, design, animation, painting, installation art, architecture, drawing, and street art.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[7] 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."[8]

Colossal has garnered a long list of awards and accolades including a Utne Media Award for arts coverage, a Webby Award nomination, recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts, and was described as the “Tate Modern of the Internet” by Fast Company.[9][10] In 2020 Jobson curated an exhibit Par Excellence Redux at the Elmhurst Art Museum.[11]

Colossal has been further 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. "Art Talk with Christopher Jobson of Colossal". National Endowment for the Arts. 2013-09-13. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  3. "Colossal". Kottke.org. 2013-09-13. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  4. "Becoming Colossal with Blogger Christopher Jobson". Art21 Magazine. 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2014-05-14..
  5. "5+5: Christopher Jobson. Heartland Habitué. Art Explorer. Day-job Ditcher.", 20x200, 1 September 2015. Retrieved on 12 August 2019.
  6. Gleisner, Jacquelyn. "Becoming Colossal with Blogger Christopher Jobson", Art21, 8 March 2012. Retrieved on 12 August 2019.
  7. McEntee, Sean. "A Colossal Success", Demo, Chicago, 2014. Retrieved on 11 August 2019.
  8. Beete, Paulette. "Art Talk with Christopher Jobson of Colossal", National Endowment for the Arts, Utah, 18 September 2013. Retrieved on 12 August 2019.
  9. Rigou, Vasia. "Design 50: Who Shapes Chicago 2019", New City Design, 28 February 2019. Retrieved on 12 August 2019.
  10. 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.
  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..
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