Artefact

This morning, I saw that a book I had been reading and left out was sitting on a table with perfect light on it. In that moment, I had the idea to make some photos of some of my favorite things in my apartment in that light. Unfortunately, as I didn't work quick enough and the light changed before I got a chance to take many photos. Still, I turned on a light and finished the job.

This is partially one of the favorite things in my apartment because of the story behind it. I was told to read it by a friend of Mariel's after visiting his apartment some time around 5 AM. The spontaneity of the event combined with the interesting content of the book makes me particularly interested in it.

Have I written about this before? Its possible, it seems a familiar subject. Either way, this Operation Doomsday re-release from Stones Throw was a gift for my birthday this past year. MF Doom being my favorite rapper, and Operation Doomsday my favorite of his solo albums, any copy of this album on vinyl would be prized to me. It is only made better by the alternate cuts included in this release, as well as the amazing packaging that it comes in.

I found this book of matches in the street one day and liked the design so much I decided to take them. I took a picture of them when I first found them and put it on my photo journal, Mindless Carbonation. I wanted to take a picture of the whole outer wrapping at once, but they've been folded for so long that making the package lie flat is impossible. There was once a name on the inside, but it is gone at this point, so I'll probably never know the source of the book. I like that though, my mysterious, strangely artful book of matches.

Every year I attend a Channukah party at which these glasses are distributed. Although they may not have been procured at one, they are generally referred to as my prize bar mitazvah glasses. This is probably the most fun item on this list. When wearing them, the lenses cause the light to diffract, forming a Star of David around any concentrated source of light. You can see an example of them in action below.

I don't know where this last item came from. It provokes a lot of questions that I'm completely unable to answer. It appears to be the smallest from a set of matryoshka dolls, with the word "Malevitch" hand painted on the outside. Where did it come from? What did the other dolls in this set look like? Who or what is Malevitch? Things I'll never know I guess...

Mark Holmes

To round out my posts on the designers I found in AD, I took a look at Minimalux, a line started by designer Mark Holmes. See more products from Minimalux on their site.

Benjamin Hubert

One of the things I love about living in New York is the ability to find free materials everywhere. Recently when walking around the lower east side, Mariel and I came across a huge stack of old issues of Architectural Digest. I generally gather these materials because I love to collage, so having a wealth of magazines that I can freely cut up is necessary. While going through them I decided to write down the names of a few featured designers. The next couple of posts I make will be dedicated to featuring their work.

First up is Benjamin Hubert, a British designer. These are a few of the projects viewable on his website.

Artwork Look-alikes

As someone who is interested in the cross overs between art and design, I was greatly pleased to find Lauren Stern's blog Artworks that Look Like Interiors that Look Like Artworks. Stern puts together interesting examples of the different places that designers can go with some of the same visual ideas. I've seen a few examples of similar things done with fashion and fine art recently, but it's always interesting to see the idea applied to different forms of creation. Hrm... now I may have to put together something similar myself...

The Motion of the Ocean

I never really felt a strong connection to the beach until a couple years after I left California for the East Coast. Upon hearing I was from Los Angeles, I would be barraged by questions about the beach, most of which would be met with half hearted shrugs (which probably betrayed more of my west coast heritage than I thought). To me, the beach had always meant sunburns and sand filled food, experiences I can do without. It was only after returning after some time in New York that I was able to see beauty in the vast exanse of water. I had been distracted before, first by the desert border that separated the civilized land from the ocean, and second by the initial waves which my friends and I would inch closer to, but always ride back to shore. My true adoration of the ocean, oddly enough, came in large part from studies in physics and geology. A basic understanding of fluid dynamics allowed my curiosity to flourish. I was now amazed every time that I was able to see this mass scale science experiment working its way out. A series of particles behaving according to various observed rules.
I was taken back to this sense of wonder when I looked through Richard Sweeney's Motion Forms. What particularly stood out to me was a body of work consisting of folded paper sculptures which seem to mirror the forms of the sea quite well. The medium affords a clean elegance, giving the paper the qualities of a graceful dancer. More work from this and other series is available on Sweeney's website.

In The Seam

Lately I've been giving in to my inner photo nerd and lusting after some photography related products on the web. For instance, over the holidays this winter, I got my father a mug shaped like a camera lens. These pillows by Ronda Smith, or intheseam are my most recent fixation. I love their simple adaptation of the camera body for to the pillow. Click here to see more on intheseam's etsy store.

Strength in Numbers

Very first Prisma collaboration between Nom Kinnear King and Kaspian

Lady Orlandodreams Devils cup

Hier and There necklace Lilly Piri

sketch by Rod Luff

Today I went to the blog of Michael Shapcott, a painter whose work interests me like. I thought I'd like to do a blog post specifically about his work, but what I saw on the blog inspired me to alter the topic slightly. Atop his blog is a post about the formation of the PRISMA artist collective. I looked through the list of 25 and saw some names I was happy to recognize, and others I'm sure I'll be happy to learn about. The work above is a taste of what can be found on their newly launched blog, which can be found here.

It seems obvious to me, as it clearly does to many others, that collaboration is becoming and will continue to be an integral part of art and design in the future. To give an easy example, Dress Me was started as a collaborative effort between Mariel and me. To push that example a bit further, there is no way that we could put the magazine together without all of the help of our contributing editors. Collaboration allows us to do things that never would have been possible on our own. While there may be a certain pride that comes from working "alone", one really must consider what exactly that means. Nobody creates in a bubble, we are formed in part by the environments that surround us, it is inescapable. With this in mind, why not simply admit all of our work fits within the larger context of the worlds that we are a part of and attempt to engage them directly during the process, so as to create a finished piece with a better understanding of its surroundings? In addition, I feel that a collaborative work allows a creative to truly find what is important in what they specifically bring to their work as it requires a direct conversation that does not happen on the same level when work is completed before it is shown to others.

Hjärtan (jag älskar dig baby!)

Upon waking up our first morning after arriving back in the city, Mariel and I knew what we had to do. We took a walk down the street to our favorite candy store, Sockerbit (which we used for a shoot in our fifth issue). While it is always hard to leave a place that you love for a long time, one of the advantages of being away from Sockerbit was that they had gotten their Valentine's Day candy in, giving us an opportunity to try things we had never tried before. We decided we had to try these new heart shaped chocolates labeled Hjärtan. One of the first things that caught our eyes was the umlaut over the a. Rather than using the standard dots, they had replaced them with little hearts (what total design). As lovers of type, we couldn't help but be endeared by this touch. They are filled with a rich hazelnut praline and go perfectly with a cup of coffee if that's your thing (as recommended by the owners of the store).

Finally, if you are looking for a perfectly sweet Nordic treat to give as a gift on Valentines Day, then we definitely recommend these (or head over to Sockerbit and choose from their selection of equally wonderful Nordic gifts)!

Tapestry Glasses

As part of past work, DM has taken on a few DIY projects. A lot of the time these projects come naturally, harkening back to days spent in dark rooms attempting to put the finishing touches on 3D projects before the sun comes up. There is something comforting about it, but it is hard to say wether that comforting is due to nostalgia, or due to the fact that I've always enjoyed working with my hands (although my internet presence would suggest otherwise).
These glasses fromChloe McCormic and Nicholas O'Donnell-Hoare certainly perked up a part of our DIY senses. They are 3-D printed designs created with little gaps so that the owner can weave designs into them.

Carl Kleiner and Cleaner Kitchens

I came across these photographs on Creative Review's blog and fell in love. The were taken by Carl Kleiner for Ikea's minimalist kitchenwear. Kleiner was previously hired by ikea to photograph ingredients for Ikea's Homebaked is Best recipe book.

Art directors: Christoffer Persson, Maria Fridman
Copywriter: David Lundgren
Photographer: Carl Kleiner / Mink MGMT
Stylist: Evelina Bratell

Yes, I Loved Star Wars

When you're working in the creative field, particularly fine art related areas, people will often ask you things along the lines of how did you do that? How did you think of that? Those questions are always kind of impossibly hard to answer, and seem to be somewhat of a joke among the artists I know, particularly those who draw. Still every once in a while, I am forced to look at a work and say, "how in the world is it possible for a human to do this?". This is the kind of thought that I had upon my first viewing of the work of Bellino Alain. The first thing I saw was his process in the creation of a mask styled after that of Darth Vader. The first image appeared in front of me, the bowls of two spoons stuck together. My first thought was "Yeah, ok. You're being super clever there man, distorting the utilitarian purposes of a spoon or something..." It was in looking at the next few photos that I realized that was a very simple beginning in a very complex process. Alain creates metal sculptures through the reappropration of old materials, sort of like a metal collage. Of course, it probably helps his sculpting that he restored antiques for 25 years. The result of his work is stunning, leaving the viewer hard pressed to imagine the process that led to that piece. That mystery, that magic is what causes people to ask how something was created and Bellino has helped me find that again. See his site here, and behance here. Also, I apologize for any errors in this writing, none of the information I found was in English.