Polka Tattoo Furniture

Stumbled on this Tattoo Furniture, by Polka, and thought it was a cool (or maybe just novel) idea. For those of us who aren’t big into getting ink, but appreciate the artistry and skill that goes into it– here’s a solution. Contact Polka with your custom tattoo design, and they’ll have international artist Gert Kowarzik make you some tatt’ed furniture for your house. They don’t run cheap, but it’s still a cool concept.

Stephen Holl

In my opinion, Stephen Holl is one of the most prolific contemporary architects around. The way in which he uses and plays with light is truly captivating and the organic nature of his designs get me every time. Some of you Seattleites might be familiar with his work without even knowing it, as he is the architect behind the Chapel of St. Ignatius on the campus of Seattle University.

If you haven’t experienced this building, take a field trip stat. Go tomorrow. Go tomorrow morning and go again at night. The way he uses light in that space will take your breath away. And the fact that there isn’t a 90 degree angle in the whole place is pretty captivating too. Anyways, this guy is dope and the addition he designed to the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City, MO is no exception. The new five building addition- known as the Bloch Building- opened yesterday to the public and is absolutely beautiful.

Holl’s larger architectural concepts of integrating natural landscapes with his structures, as well as emphasizing and accentuating natural light and reflections of water seemed to all come together perfectly with the Bloch building. I think it’s pretty interesting the way his five buildings- which he refers to as lenses- are juxtaposed with a classic temple-style building donning huge ionic columns which is very representative of an old and often sterile way of experiencing “art”. While Holl’s buildings seem to represent a new way to experience art- through the marriage and integration of art on the outside (the architecture) and the art that lies within. Truly breathtaking, and I hope to visit someday. Find out more info on the Bloch building here or here.

PIRATE UTOPIAS

Man do I wish I could be in London in July. Anyone want to take me? Jose Parlà and Futura will be unveiling new work at the Elms Lesters Painting Rooms– what a ridiculous pairing. The show is called FUTURA & PARLA: PIRATE UTOPIAS. It’ll be running from July 6-28th with Tuesday-Saturday hours of 12-6pm, and 12-9 on Thursdays. If you’re going to be around, you can’t miss this. If you don’t know who these artists are, visit MIAMEDIARTS. and do your homework.

Robin Rhode

This South African street artist is real legit. Dude is known for combining performance art with lo-tech chalk or charcoal drawings on walls or pavement. “Rhode’s interaction renders the flat drawings into 3D pieces, which are captured on film or video. He creates action by trying to get on a chalked bicycle, sit on a bench he has just drawn or break into the line drawing of a car.” The above piece is called Yoyo. The below; Harvest.

 I’m real capitvated by this guy’s work. He’ll be showing at Perry Rubenstein Gallery in NYC through June 23 using all three gallery spaces. Check him out if you’re in town, or check out more of his work here.

I love you

Saw this random stencil multiple times while in San Francisco and it made me smile everytime. It’s sort of like the You Are Beautiful stickers– something simple, nothing fancy, but if it doesn’t lighten you up, you must be heartless.

Ophthalmologist uses photoshop to shed new light on Impressionism

I’m a huge fan of impressionistic art. I love the overall aesthetic as much as I’m fascinated by the technological advances that led to the emergence of such an influential artistic movement. The invention of the color wheel as well as the develpment of acrylic paints allowed artists like Monet, Manet, Cézanne, & Degas to create some of the world’s greatest artistic masterpieces. Many people have been puzzled through the years, however, as to why artists such as Monet & Degas seemed to have “digressed” later in their lives. Some believe it was the influence of artists like Van Gogh that led to a more modern shift in their later pieces, while others (like myself) tend to believe it was more due to vision impairments such as cataracts that led to the shifts in “style.” Ophthalmologist Michael Marmor seems to agree with me (or maybe it’s the other way around) and has used photoshop in order to recreate how certain vision impairments may have changed each artist’s perceptions of their work. It’s pretty interesting and you can read the article on Wired.com here. Below are some pieces with different lenses applied to them through photoshop. They simulate vision empairments and may explain why the artists were satisfied with harder lines and stronger brush strokes– to them it may not have looked any different from the work they produced for years sans any vision problems. You can see a gallery of comparison paintings, along with Marmor’s explanations here. Pretty interesting stuff.

I want that…

Think Napoleon Dynamite–the couple who are buying tupperwear– and the wife that wants the ship. That’s how bad I want this Solid Poetry from Frederik Molenschot.

How perfect is this for Seattle? Molenschot sells exterior concrete tiles that when in contact with water reveal a delightful pattern. I’m not big into floral patterns, but I’m sure they’ll have costumized patterns available soon. Check them out here. Saw this post & got the images from Core77.com.

Help save the little guy…

VS.

Saw this website posted on Arkitip™ | Intelligence and thought I’d help spread the word. As a supporter of Arkitip & of all small publishers in general (My grandparents own a publishing company– Merryant Publishers– that publish my grandmother’s book series’ so it’s even more close to home) I’m sad that the ever increasing negative effects of media consolidation are still making it difficult for the mom & pops of the publishing world.

Apparently Time Warner is pushing for increased postage costs for small companies while securing lower prices for themselves. Read more about that here and if you want to get real technical read the resolution. Check this site out and do your part!

Frank Lloyd Wright Morris Giftshop

While in San Francisco this last week, I had the wonderful opportunity to explore the city on my own with no time constraints. This meant I could explore whatever I wanted, and stay as long as I wanted- I love it. My dad (a huge Frank Lloyd Wright buff/afficionado/expert) tipped me off to the Morris Giftshop by FLW and I jumped at the chance to spend some time checking it out. It’s now called the Xanadu Gallery and is located at 140 Maiden Lane, in between Post & Geary in Union Square. Maiden Lane is a completely charming little street- with a very European scale, reminiscent of the Via Borgognona in Rome.

Quick fact about the gallery- it’s one of seventeen Frank Lloyd Wright structures that are considered by the AIA to be contributions to American Culture. That’s deep. As with most Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, the Xanadu Gallery definitely sparks a quick game of “which one of these things does not belong.” Or perhaps as Wright would see it, a game of which one of these things SHOULD belong, and which are an ugly waste of space?

The façade of the gallery/giftshop is most interesting, as it’s a more contemporary take on a standard Roman Arch with virtually no window space/no glimpse to the inside- very unusual if you think about the fact that it’s a retail space. When questioned by the original owner about the omission of a traditional storefront, Wright said; “We are not going to dump your beautiful merchandise on the street, but create an arch-tunnel of glass, into which the passers-by may look and be enticed. As they penetrate further into the entrance, seeing the shop inside with its spiral ramp and tables set with fine china and crystal, they will suddenly push open the door, and you’ve got them!” (Robert McCarter’s Frank Lloyd Wright, © 1997)

 

Another fascinating element of this space (among MANY) is the floorplan. Similar to the much more famous Guggenheim Museum in NYC, the giftshop has a circular mezzanine reached by a spiral ramp- no stairs here! The spiral ramp was an element of the Guggenheim Museum that made it most controversial for its time. What’s interesting about the giftshop’s floorplan, is that the Guggenheim was designed much before the giftshop, but wasn’t actually built until 1959- allowing Wright to use the giftshop (built in 1948) as a “trial run” so to speak for this design technique. I think it worked out quite well. All the furniture inside is original and designed by Frank Lloyd Wright- most are affixed to the walls and built-in. They are absoultely amazing, especially the low-lying benches, and the wall of drawers in the lower gallery.

 

I encourage anyone in the San Francisco area, with an interest in architecture to check out the Morris Giftshop. There are way too many interesting and amazing design elements to discuss in one blog post, but it’s definitely worth your time- and it’s free! It’s an architectural museum without an admission cost. You can also explore Frank Lloyd Wright here.

Air Force 1

Found this little commercial over at Sneakerfiles.com, produced in France and made to demonstrate the timelessness of the Air Force 1. It’s kind of fun, and I like the Frenglish (I just made that up, but I think you know what I mean) at the end. Check it out;

The Living Camera

My dad sent me this video the other day, and it’s absolutely incredible. Steven Wiltshire (aka The Living Camera) is an autistic savant, who didn’t speak his first words until the age of 5, but at the age of 11 drew a perfect aerial view of London after just one helicopter ride. This video is of particular interest to me because I spent a term living and studying in Rome. Check out this video, I guarantee you’ve never seen anything like it. This guy should work for Google Maps or something- He’s incredible!

Cityscape Greetings

For Christmas my brother gave me a super cool card of the Hong Kong skyline (to accompany his super generous gifts of course, haha). He also gave my mom the Paris skyline & my dad Tokyo. I’d never seen intricate die-cut cards like this before, so when I stumbled on the San Francisco (hopefully my future home) skyline by Ted Naos, I had to add it to the collection. I think they’re beautiful, and go very nicely on a desk or tabletop. I’m a sucker for cool stationary/cards. Check them out below. While searching for more of these cards online, I stumbled upon these- pretty funny.

 

 

You Are Beautiful

A friend of mine sent me a link to this project a long time ago, and I’ve just now decided to take part. Learn more about You Are Beautiful here. Below is my self-addressed envelope (complete with dorky post-it note message) sent to the good folks at You Are Beautiful requesting my very own stickers! Stay tuned, as I plan on posting pictures of the places around Seattle I decide to post them. If you have any input into the perfect locale(s), leave me a comment.

 

Banksy

Found this video (from an old episode of the BBC’s Culture Show) on the ever elusive and mysterious artist Banksy. If you’re not familiar with his work, he’s the man behind the big Paris Hilton CD debauchery, as well as many other infamous public works. This video delves a little deeper into the life and work of this perpetually mysterious artist, and even includes an audio interview with the man himself (if you call e-mailed questions with responses mashed-up and scrambled a personal interview) where he talks about his influences and motivations. If you know Banksy’s work this should be a nice augmentation to your knowledge, and if you’re new to the world of Banksy this should be a nice introduction. Enjoy!

José Parlá

José Parlá is one of my favorite contemporary artists. I was introduced to him by my brother, whose clothing company did a collaboration with him for their June 13th event. He describes his paintings as “Contemporary Palimpsests” and although much of the handwriting is not legible because it’s so layered, it’s very interesting to me that he uses this form of “writing” as a therapeutic release and in turn it creates beautiful artwork. It’s also cool that he developed this style of handwriting during his days as a graffiti artist. This feature comes from the good people at Cool Hunting. One day I’ll hopefully be able to adorn my walls with my very own José Parlá.

Read an interesting interview with José about his Cityscapes Exhibition here.