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48 articles, 2016-05-25 12:09 1 venice architecture biennale: slovenian pavilion curated by dekleva and gregorič, the slovenian pavilion at the (0.01/1) venice architecture biennale features a latticed library that examines the role of the home. 2016-05-24 23:49 5KB www.designboom.com 2 RD offices & facilities completed by atelier deshaus glass brick and juxtaposed forms characterize the RD & manufacturing facility in anting, an automotive industry area of jiangding district in shanghai. 2016-05-25 08:45 1KB www.designboom.com 3 2016 American Package Design Awards Makers, sellers and marketers are challenged as never before to convey the message, promote the brand, close the deal. Think fragmented... 2016-05-25 11:12 1KB gdusa.com 4 Building Bridges: Symposium at the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo This past weekend, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin hosted Building Bridges, a symposium reflecting upon curatorial practice and how curators move from educational to institutional context... 2016-05-25 06:00 972Bytes blogs.walkerart.org 5 studio klang create a surreal multi-layered alphabet for 36 days of type design studio klang responded to the '36 days of type' brief which invites designers to create interpret letters and numbers from the alphabet. 2016-05-25 06:15 1KB www.designboom.com 6 Artists Installing: Lee Kit Hong Kong artist Lee Kit spent the past two-and-a-half weeks in the gallery working on his site-specific installation for his first solo museum exhibition in the US, Lee Kit: Hold your breath, dance... 2016-05-25 02:36 835Bytes blogs.walkerart.org 7 sP+a forms sculptural timber arcade for restaurant in mumbai located inside a mall, sameep padora of sP+a decided to stray away from the typical glass façade to form an intimate refuge for dining. 2016-05-25 04:05 1KB www.designboom.com
8 Penske Media Corp. Appoints George Grobar as Chief Operating Officer Grobar most recently served as executive vice president for PMC, which owns WWD, Variety, Footwear News and Hollywood Life, among others. 2016-05-25 04:01 3KB wwd.com 9 Model Call: Aqua Parios Mesmerizing new face Aqua Parios, of African-American and Japanese heritage, grew up in Las Vegas before relocating to Phoenix, where she was discovered while shopping after cheerleading practice. 2016-05-25 04:01 3KB wwd.com 10 Alexander Wang Takes See-Now-Buy-Now Approach to Resort 2017 He will embargo collection images until it’s in stores in November. 2016-05-25 04:01 1KB wwd.com 11 Circuits of Saudade: Wind Grove Mind Alone , Night One To spark discussion, the Walker invites Twin Cities artists and critics to write overnight reviews of our performances. The ongoing Re:View series shares a diverse array of independent voices and opi... 2016-05-25 02:20 909Bytes blogs.walkerart.org 12 7 Genders, 7 Typographies: Hacking the Binary In a recent panel at the New Museum, artist Jacob Ciocci defined technology as “anything that organizes or takes apart reality,” which prompted a realization: gender could be also be understood a... 2016-05-25 06:19 832Bytes blogs.walkerart.org 13 VIDEO: George Wong, Chairman of Parkview Group Parkview Group chairman George Wong talks about his unique approach to art collecting and his boutique hotel philosophy. 2016-05-25 02:57 7KB www.blouinartinfo.com 14 wash coffee hybrid interior created by formo design studio laundry facilities make visiting that much easier; why not enjoy a cup of coffee and a snack while taking care of something necessary at the same time? 2016-05-25 02:15 1KB www.designboom.com 15 Indian Museum Ties up with Google Cultural Institute to Digitize Galleries The Indian Museum at Kolkata in partnership with the Google Cultural Institute is now putting all of its galleries online in 360- degree panoramic viewing for anyone to see. 2016-05-25 01:23 2KB www.blouinartinfo.com
16 What’s on TV Wednesday “Nashville” and its queen bee, Connie Britton, bid us farewell. “Wayward Pines” brings Jason Patric on board. And catch up on “Sense8,” from the Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski. 2016-05-25 00:00 3KB www.nytimes.com 17 Delvaux Lunch at Barneys Beverly Hills Draws Ann Dexter-Jones and Offspring French heritage brand Delvaux threw a lunch at Barneys New York Beverly Hills. 2016-05-24 22:55 2KB wwd.com 18 20th Sydney Biennale Q&A: Xu Zhen’s Mutilated Sculptures In the interview below, Shanghai-based conceptual artist Xu Zhen, founder of MadeIn Company, discusses his series of “mutilated” sculptural forms 2016-05-24 22:51 3KB www.blouinartinfo.com 19 Five Minutes With Chloë Grace Moretz: Talking Trump, Politics and Brooklyn Beckham Chloë Grace Moretz is not interested in shying away from political rhetoric. 2016-05-24 22:37 3KB wwd.com 20 Rihanna and Dior Collaborate on Sunglass Collection The singer’s designed frames based on La Forge from “Star Trek.” 2016-05-24 22:00 3KB wwd.com 21 Townsend Bell to Drive Robert Graham Car in Indy 500 The 100th anniversary of the race will be on Sunday. 2016-05-24 21:29 2KB wwd.com 22 Parsons Honors Four Extraordinary Women at Annual Benefit Show Sarah Jessica Parker, Donna Karan, Beth DeWoody and Arianna Huffington were honored for their work in performance, design and fostering social change. 2016-05-24 21:25 4KB wwd.com 23 On the Gaze in the Era of Visual Salamis Our attention is not focused on a singular image, but is distributed along the image’s path. 2016-05-25 00:19 12KB rhizome.org
24 Christophe Robin Debuts New Paris Salon The colorist wanted to make the 1,555-square-foot space feel like home. 2016-05-24 20:42 4KB wwd.com 25 The Global Synthesizer Project Makes Crowdsourced Sound Art For Moogfest, sound artist Yuri Suzuki and Moog Music’s Chris Howe built a global sampler that is also a sound art installation. 2016-05-24 20:10 5KB thecreatorsproject.vice.com 26 This Drone-Shot 'Star Wars' Dogfight Wins Star Wars and DIY effects go together like peanut butter and lightsabers. 2016-05-24 19:50 2KB thecreatorsproject.vice.com 27 Sculpture Exhibition Paints a Bleak Portrait of the Middle Class' Future 3D-printed, humans sealed within plastic bags, make a strong statement in Josh Kline’s new show, 'Unemployment.' 2016-05-24 19:25 3KB thecreatorsproject.vice.com 28 Brooklyn, Romeo Beckham in China’s Vogue Me Magazine Brooklyn is featured on the cover of Vogue Me, while younger brother Romeo will also appear inside the issue. 2016-05-24 19:18 1KB wwd.com 29 Artcurial Sells Lalique Vase for More Than €280,000 A vase by Rene Lalique sold at Artcurial's Art Deco sale in Paris on May 24 for €282,000 ($315,840), marking the third highest ever record for a vase by this artist. 2016-05-24 19:04 2KB www.blouinartinfo.com 30 Projection Art Activists Take Aim at Saudi Arabia Meet PixelHELPER, the light artists taking political action 2016-05-24 19:00 4KB thecreatorsproject.vice.com 31 French Design Festival 2016 Focuses on Collaborative Design The Revolution will begin on May 30, when D'Days Festival opens its many doors to French Design. 2016-05-24 18:57 3KB www.blouinartinfo.com 32 Nonprofit Helps Boost Artisan Revenues by 76% By identifying barriers along the entire supply chain, non-profit group Nest is helping artisans across the globe. 2016-05-24 18:30 2KB wwd.com
33 Haunting Scenes of Homelessness and Poverty in 'Los Santos' Alan Butler captures a moving series of photographs that document poverty within 'GTA V.' 2016-05-24 18:00 4KB thecreatorsproject.vice.com 34 Africa Ascending, Part III: Contemporary Artists on the Continent Find a Collector Base at Home Art+Auction looked at the art market in Africa, where artists who have enjoyed largely European patronage in recent decades are now finding an emerging collector base at home. 2016-05-24 17:58 858Bytes www.blouinartinfo.com 35 A Parade for the Return of Art's Native Son Absurdist parades and bee chapels mark the triumphant return of Terence Koh. 2016-05-24 17:35 4KB thecreatorsproject.vice.com 36 Shia LaBeouf Launches #TAKEMEANYWHERE As part of the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art's MediaLive festival, Shia LaBeouf is taking a road trip, letting participants drive him anywhere. 2016-05-24 17:34 3KB news.artnet.com 37 Ashley Graham Launches Swimsuits for All Collection After appearing in several Swimsuits for All campaigns, Graham has launched a line of swimwear for the brand. 2016-05-24 17:30 1KB wwd.com 38 Puppies Will Present a Different Video Every Day of the Berlin Biennale Still from Puppies Puppies's TheRing. COURTESY BERLIN BIENNALE This year's DIS-curated Berlin Biennale, which has a terrific line-up, will run for a little 2016-05-24 17:24 1KB www.artnews.com 39 ap works 3D printed motorcycle the corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy of the 3D printed motorcycle has very similar specific strengths to titanium - an exceptional level of ductility allows it to be deformed just before breaking. 2016-05-24 17:10 1KB www.designboom.com
40 Paddle8 Sees High-Profile Layoffs and Departures as Company Shifts Gears After Merger With Auctionata The Paddle8 offices. COURTESY PADDLE8 Online auction house Paddle8 has suffered a number of defections from its top ranks, while also laying off several 2016-05-24 16:46 5KB www.artnews.com 41 All Hail Colin Furze's Flamethrower Guitar Colin Furze has everything you need to start your own Rammstein cover band. 2016-05-24 16:10 1KB thecreatorsproject.vice.com 42 Painting Cover-Ups, Exposed! | Conservation Lab Here’s a brief, multi-century tour of artworks that caused a fuss— and were swiftly buried under fresh layers of paint. 2016-05-24 16:10 5KB thecreatorsproject.vice.com 43 A 20' Inflatable Refugee Sails the Danish Coast This floating intervention is sailing through port towns around the world to help draw attention to the European migrant crisis. 2016-05-24 15:45 3KB thecreatorsproject.vice.com 44 tate modern switch house expansion by herzog & de meuron designed by herzog & de meuron, a new ten-storey building at london's tate modern art gallery is set to open its doors to the public for the first time. 2016-05-24 15:43 3KB www.designboom.com 45 Expired Medicine Creates Abstract Animal Paintings South African artist Jo Voysey’s unconventional choice of mediums highlights the contentious relationship between human and animals. 2016-05-24 14:50 6KB thecreatorsproject.vice.com 46 Artist Turns Boat into Mirrored Art & Sound Installation Inspired by the Fluxus movement, a former freight boat will becoming a floating polyhedron sculpture for reflection and debates. 2016-05-24 14:10 4KB thecreatorsproject.vice.com 47 Get an Art Lesson from Calvin and Hobbes How one dedicated man elevated a medium with what is considered one of the greatest comic strips of all time. 2016-05-24 14:00 2KB thecreatorsproject.vice.com
48 jacobsen arquitetura visually blends inside and outside with são paulo house taking advantage of the tropical climate, this spacious home by jacobsen arquitetura can be opened completely to its verdant garden. 2016-05-24 13:22 2KB www.designboom.com Articles
48 articles, 2016-05-25 12:09
1 venice architecture biennale: slovenian pavilion (0.01/1) curated by architects aljoša dekleva and tina gregorič, the slovenian pavilion at the venice architecture biennale features a latticed library that examines the role of the ‘home’ in the year 2016. presented by the museum of architecture and design (MAO), ‘home at arsenale’ responds to the biennale’s ‘reporting from the front’ theme by addressing domestic topics as critical, social, and environmental issues. the project has been curated by architects aljoša dekleva and tina gregorič the installation inhabits its arsenale location with a spatial structure containing a collection of domestic books and objects. the full-scale scheme, composed of wooden bookshelves, performs as both an elevated library and an abstract dwelling that encourages visitors to inhabit its latticed structure. the library challenges conventional private/public divides with a temporary public environment. the latticed library examines the role of the ‘home’ in the year 2016 architects, artists, critics and curators from various backgrounds are participating with their selection of books addressing the prescribed notions of ‘home’ and ‘dwelling’. participants — including tatiana bilbao, pezo von ellrichshausen, and konstantin grcic — are invited to become temporary residents of the installation for one hour to one day, hosting live events that question what defines a contemporary residence. ‘since the dawn of civilization, structures for dwelling have constructed the predominant part of our built environment, and have served to fulfill our most basic needs,’ say curators aljoša dekleva and tina gregorič. ‘yet, they should aim beyond securing mere survival to provide the conditions necessary for a meaningful life.’ after the biennale, the installation — and its 300 books — will relocate to the museum of architecture and design in ljubljana, to be continually available for public use. designboom is reporting live from venice ahead of the biennale’s public opening on may 28th. follow our ongoing coverage of the event here, and stay tuned to our dedicated instagram account — @venice.architecture.biennale — where designboom’s editorial team will continue to feature the latest photos, interviews, and exhibitions live. join us by sharing your favorite images from the biennale using the hashtag #biennaleBOOM. invited architects, artists, critics and curators from various backgrounds are participating after the biennale, the installation will relocate to the museum of architecture and design in ljubljana the spatial structure contains a collection of books with a domestic theme exhibitors / participants – stephen bates / sergison bates architects / UK matija bevk, vasa j. perović / bevk perović architects / slovenia tatiana bilbao / tatiana bilbao estudio, architect / mexico jan boelen / Z33, curator / belgium dominique boudet / architecture critic / france arno brandlhuber / brandlhuber+, architect / germany aljoša dekleva, tina gregorič / dekleva gregorič architects / slovenia sofia von ellrichshausen, mauricio pezo / pezo von ellrichshausen, artists and architects / chile jesko fezer / ifau und jesko fezer, architect / germany konstantin grcic / KGID, designer / germany juan herreros / estudio herreros, architect / spain tomaž krištof / studio krištof, architect / slovenia jan liesegang / raumlaborberlin, architect / germany hrvoje njirić / njiric+ arhitekti / croatia michael obrist / feld72, architect / austria / italy rok oman, špela videčnik / OFIS architects / slovenia marjetica potrč / artist and architect / slovenia / germany pascale and christian pottgiesser / christian pot tgiesser architecturespossibles (CPAP), architects / france alice rawsthorn / design critic / UK emmanuel rubio / literary and architecture critic / france jurij sadar, boštjan vuga / SADAR+VUGA, architects / slovenia irénée scalbert / architecture critic / UK / france brett steele / aa, architect and architectural editor / uk yui tezuka, takaharu tezuka / TEZUKA architects / japan tyin tegnestue / architects / norway aleš vodopivec / architect / slovenia maruša zorec / ARREA, architect / slovenia technical support: branko filipič with jernej čopi, domen japelj, filip kocjančič, rok malešič – rps / jože komidar and miha šraj – gredin les / matjaž mavsar – arcadia / luka pavlovčič – konzola supported by: republic of slovenia / ministry of culture produced by: museum of architecture and design, ljubljana sponsored by: arcadia lightwear / esse-ci / rps / rex kralj / mladinska knjiga / oloop / murksli custom boards 2016-05-24 23:49 Philip Stevens
2 RD offices & facilities completed by atelier deshaus atelier deshaus has realized a RD office and manufacturing facility in anting, an automotive industry center in jiangding district, shanghai. four levels tall with an area of 36,600m2, the complex is organized by a central courtyard that brings natural light into its depths. at ground level, enclosed units with glass brick walls serve as garage facilities for vehicles. both sides of the structure are comprised of various small volumes that function as office spaces. a sense of cohesiveness was created with verticality towards the sky, at the courtyard designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here. 2016-05-25 08:45 Xue Shu
3 2016 American Package Design Awards Makers, sellers and marketers are challenged as never before to convey the message, promote the brand, close the deal. Think fragmented audiences, information overload, media clutter, global competition, economic dislocation, changing practices and preferences. Package design and related disciplines are increasingly the difference makers in advancing the brand and influencing the purchasing decision. The outstanding work showcased here – from 200 elite design firms, design departments and production companies – is testimony to this phenomenon. Our annual competition celebrates attractive graphics, of course, but more importantly the power of design to forge an emotional link with the buyer at the moment of truth. Beauty + Personal Care Health + Wellness Wine, Beer + Liquor Food + Beverages Electronics + Computers Music + Entertainment Home, Garden + Industrial Sports, Toys + Games Babies + Children Animals + Pets Fashion, Apparel + Accessories Luxury Packaging Sustainable Packaging Private Label Packaging P-O-P, Posters + Signs Hangtags, Labels + Shopping Bags Logos, Identity + Branding Students Click on the name of an individual firm to see their winning projects 2016-05-25 11:12 GDUSA Staff
4 Building Bridges: Symposium at the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo This past weekend, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin hosted Building Bridges, a symposium reflecting upon curatorial practice and how curators move from educational to institutional contexts. The conference was held on occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Young Curators Residency Program (YCRP), which annually brings three non-Italian recent graduates of curating courses to […] 2016-05-25 06:00 By
5 studio klang create a surreal multi-layered alphabet for 36 days of type studio klang create a surreal multi-layered alphabet for 36 days of type (above) letter ‘A’ all images courtesy of studio klang ’36 days of type’ is a a project that invites designers, illustrators and graphic artists to interpret and create different letters and numbers from the alphabet. participants are challenged to design a letter or number each day and post their outcomes on instagram. studio klang responded to the brief by inventing a typographic series that incorporates architecture, beautiful women and ordinary mundane objects. the extravagant letter forms contain a hypnotising appearance revealing well known buildings including zaha hadid’s heydar aliyev center. the collages trace the silhouette of each individual character, through photomontages, neon colors and geometric shapes creating bizarre pop-art compositions. you can find the whole alphabetic series here. designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here. 2016-05-25 06:15 Valeria Prada
6 Artists Installing: Lee Kit Hong Kong artist Lee Kit spent the past two- and-a-half weeks in the gallery working on his site-specific installation for his first solo museum exhibition in the US, Lee Kit: Hold your breath, dance slowly. The installation features new videos and paintings, as well as everyday objects sourced from Home Depot and IKEA: cabinets, lamps, rugs, chairs, […] 2016-05-25 02:36 By
7 sP+a forms sculptural timber arcade for restaurant in mumbai sameep padora and associates (sP+a) have shared their recent ‘CRAFT’ project – a restaurant based inside the phoenix market city mall in mumbai. with majority of the retail and commercial spaces characterized by typical glass façades, the architects decided to subvert this cliché and develop a dynamic wood arcade that simultaneously serves as the façade and the seating booths inside. the sculptural feature was assembled by the motion of stacking and rotating of the horizontal wooden members around a pivot point. the result sees a organic and fluid ‘fanning’ effect that punctuates the glass frontage but acts as a focal point inside the restaurant. furthermore, the warmth of the timber and the intimate scale of the booths is offset by the service bar, kitchen and ultimately into the alfresco dining space. read our interview with architect sameep padora of sP+a architects here. designed as a wooden arcade, the wooden member are pivoted and rotated to form the façade and booths the arcade serves as a focal and decorative point of the restaurant the timber feature curves to instill a sense of privacy for the seating booths diagram of the pivoting movement of the timber members 2016-05-25 04:05 Natasha Kwok
8 Penske Media Corp. Appoints George Grobar as Chief Operating Officer Penske Media Corp. has appointed George Grobar chief operating officer of the company. Grobar most recently served as executive vice president for PMC , which owns WWD , Variety , Footwear News, Deadline, Indiewire, TVLine, Hollywood Life, Gold Derby and Variety Latino. In the new role, Grobar will work with PMC’s business leaders to develop growth strategies, achieve operational and financial plans across the company’s portfolio of titles, integrate the company’s acquisitions and expand its digital footprint. “George is an accomplished executive with more than 25 years of financial and operational leadership experience,” said Jay Penske , PMC chairman and chief executive officer, to whom Grobar will report. “Over the last decade, George has been one of the single greatest contributors to PMC’s success and relentless growth. His knowledge and expertise will undoubtedly continue to be instrumental as we continue to scale the business globally.” As chief operating officer, Grobar will oversee all PMC sales and operations, and will be responsible for all organizational plans and budgets companywide. In addition to his new job, Grobar will continue to serve as a director on PMC’s board, as well as on the board of PMC’s joint-venture in India with Zee TV. “PMC has been rapidly expanding and there are tremendous opportunities for growth in both our current businesses and ones we will undoubtedly be adding,” Grobar said. “PMC is one of the few companies on the Internet that can boast having profitable brands across our entire portfolio. That is something we are truly proud of, and would not be possible if we did not have such powerful brands as well as truly world-class people throughout the company. Getting the chance to work with this team is rewarding and I look forward to the challenges ahead.” Grobar joined PMC in 2009 as chief financial officer, and was actively involved in integrating new acquisitions in the company, as well as building the PMC’s joint-venture division in India, which includes India.com and Bollywoodlife.com, The Health Site, Cricket Country and BGR India. He also helped integrate the Variety and Fairchild operations. Prior to PMC, Grobar spent 13 years at The Walt Disney Co. and eight years in manufacturing and product development at Unisys Corp. His roles at Disney included senior vice president of mobile, vice president of e- commerce, cfo for Disney direct marketing and Walt Disney Art Classics and director of business operations & control for the consumer products division controllership. 2016-05-25 04:01 Alexandra Steigrad
9 Model Call: Aqua Parios Mesmerizing new face Aqua Parios, of African-American and Japanese heritage, grew up in Las Vegas before relocating to Phoenix, where she was discovered while shopping after cheerleading practice. Now 19 and based in New York, the high-school graduate just wrapped her first major runway season, walking for Marc Jacobs , Anthony Vaccarello , Narciso Rodriguez and Prabal Gurung. Parios’ love of music stems from her grandfather, Phil Phillips, who wrote the hit “Sea of Love” in 1959. She gets her first name from one of his songs. I got the “You should be a model” thing a lot, but I was really into music and I wanted to be a singer. I was into acting, too; I did a lot of theater. Modeling didn’t really pop into my head until I was scouted. Right now, I’m living in a model apartment, and it’s really nice to get to know the girls and get different perspectives on the world. It’s helping me grow up. It’s so diverse and refreshing to be in a city where everyone is so accepting of each other. In a smaller town, there’s not as much to see. Here, you experience so much — you’re just thrown into it. I love the art. I love that you walk outside and there are people playing music in the street. I got to the casting and they say, “Put on a dress and put on these shoes.” They were like, 10 inches tall. [Stylist] Katie Grand was like, “You’re gonna need to practice.” I put them on, practiced a few times, then I left. Around midnight, my booker calls and he’s like, “Go to the Marc Jacobs fitting right now.” I get there, wait two hours, and they tell me to leave. Then I get another call. My booker calls again and says, “Welcome to Marc Jacobs — you gotta go right back.” I was like, “There’s no better way to spend my three-in- the-morning than at a Marc Jacobs fitting.” I finished my fitting, got home around 4 a.m. and the call time for the show was 9 a.m. I was tired, but so hooked on adrenaline. My whole family was waiting by the computer for the show to start. All the girls work so hard for that moment.…It was the most exciting show of my life. I’m really into fashion, and particularly shoes. I’m working on some shoe designs, so I’ll see what happens with that. I’d like to use modeling as a platform to create fashion and also to set an example for young girls. So many people look at the modeling industry and have such a different view on it.…It seems superficial and all about body image. But I’d like to teach girls that you don’t need to have a full face of makeup and you’re OK the size that you are. Embrace who you are, your talents and the things that you love to do. 2016-05-25 04:01 Kristi Garced
10 Alexander Wang Takes See-Now-Buy-Now Approach to Resort 2017 Alexander Wang is trying something new for resort 2017. The designer will show the collection to press and retailers as he usually does in June, but all images and reviews of the resort lineup will be under embargo until the collection ships in November. In that respect, this is a strategy several designers have experimented with over the last pre-collection seasons. Wang is doing so with a caveat: He will show a selection of resort items on his spring 2017 runway during New York Fashion Week in September. So while the full resort images will be under embargo, the items shown on the runway will publicized with the spring lineup. 2016-05-25 04:01 Jessica Iredale
11 Circuits of Saudade: Wind Grove Mind Alone , Night One To spark discussion, the Walker invites Twin Cities artists and critics to write overnight reviews of our performances. The ongoing Re:View series shares a diverse array of independent voices and opinions; it doesn’t reflect the views or opinions of the Walker or its curators. Today, Jesse Leaneagh shares his perspective on Friday night’s performance of Devendra Banhart […] 2016-05-25 02:20 By
12 7 Genders, 7 Typographies: Hacking the Binary In a recent panel at the New Museum, artist Jacob Ciocci defined technology as “anything that organizes or takes apart reality,” which prompted a realization: gender could be also be understood as a kind of technology unto itself. The 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial proposes that the ultimate aim of design is a redesign of the […] 2016-05-25 06:19 By
13 VIDEO: George Wong, Chairman of Parkview Group Related Artists Salvador Dali Tom Dixon Philippe Starck George Wong is peering attentively at some figures on a screen — stock prices, perhaps — when I arrive at his Beijing office for this interview. Hung on the wall just behind him is a futuristic, somewhat gaudy Pop portrait of Wong and his wife by Chinese artist Feng Zhengjie, all neon pink, yellow, and green. Wong himself wears a simple black T-shirt with a small, stylized carp motif on his left breast, his luxuriant salt-and-pepper hair neatly combed back, giving him an air not so much of an ageing rocker, but rather some kind of new-age technocratic sage. As chairman of Hong Kong’s Parkview Group , Wong has spearheaded a number of the most ambitious real estate and commercial developments in Asia and created some of its most scenic urban landmarks, including the Hong Kong Parkview residential complex, the Parkview Dingshan Hotel in Nanjing, and the Hotel Eclat in Taipei. With a small empire of galleries already under the Parkview brand located in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taipei, Wong is currently looking to open another art space by the end of the year in Singapore’s Parkview Square, an imposing Art Deco skyscraper that looms over the Arab Street and Bugis downtown districts. “For Singapore, we will have an exhibition space in Parkview Square, the classic Art Deco building that my father built. I’ve been trying to introduce various art elements into our building. It won’t be just an office — right now it’s got a bar, sculptures, and artworks from different time periods,” says Wong. More than the prospect of new business and fresh clientele, however, the new Singapore gallery will be about having a point of contact with the local art community. “Just as with all our galleries, hopefully this one will make money,” Wong tells me, with disarming candor. “But to me, what’s far more important is for the locals to know about art, and our artists. It’s all about communication, and exploring the possibility of getting to know more people.” Wong also has a firm foothold and strong art network in Europe — specifically Italy, some of whose artists he collects, and Florence in particular. “Florence is a very important city, as far as I’m concerned. I like Florence more than any other city in Italy, because of the culture, and especially the food and wine. Bloody hell, the food is really good there! So I set up an office there, and a small art gallery that can serve as a contact point for Italian artists who might want to come to Asia,” says Wong. While many Chinese collectors have won themselves quite a bit of media attention in recent years for the sprawling premises and ambitions of their private museums, Wong doesn’t really think about his passion for art, and his considerable art collection, in these terms. “I’ve never really thought about a museum, as I mostly think in terms of exhibition spaces. I’d like to have more exhibition spaces in different countries and cities,” he says wistfully. “I’m too old to have my own museum — and in a way, also too young for that, because if I start collecting now, I won’t have enough time. But maybe one day my son will want to do that.” “I think that as an art collector, you’re really just a messenger. An artwork comes into your hands, but you don’t own it: you have to pass it down, to get more people to see it, and not just keep it in the house. So that’s why I believe in making a lot of donations to universities or museums,” he says. While Adrian Cheng’s K11 Art Foundation also has something of a reputation for bringing art into the noisy but vibrant commercial environment of a shopping mall in order to reach new audiences, the K11 Art Malls don’t even come close to the scale and ambition of Wong’s Parkview Green in Beijing. Located in the heart of the CBD along Dongdaqiao Road, near many foreign embassies and Ritan Park, Parkview Green is a mammoth, pyramidal structure housing office towers, a shopping mall, an exhibition hall on the top floor with an outdoor lawn for larger sculptures, and an adjoining boutique hotel called Hotel Eclat. Thanks to a special roof structure made of ETFE polymer film combined with glass walls and steel frames, Parkview Green consumes 50% less energy than other similarly sized developments. It also became the first integrated commercial project to be awarded LEED Green Building Rating System Platinum certification when it opened in 2010. If Parkview Green seems earnest and idealistic in its ecological considerations, this is balanced by the completely over-the-top aesthetic license that Wong has taken in the adjoining Hotel Eclat. Opened in March 2013, the hotel revels in juxtapositions of maximum contrast. Chen Wenling’s “red boy” sculptures stand next to Warhol’s tongue-in-cheek “Giant Panda” print, Salvador Dali sculptures sit across from Zheng Lu’s ornate stainless steel parabolas and Zeng Fanzhi’s paintings, while Jitka Kamencova Skuhava’s ceiling piece made of hand blown red and blue glass clashes riotously with designer furniture by Tom Dixon and Philippe Starck. Although Wong seems more than aware of his somewhat outlandish tastes, he never apologizes for them. “There’s a couple ways to do a hotel. One is to do a proper five star hotel with all the top services, where you can get exactly what you want. When I stay at a Four Seasons, I know exactly what it will look like. But when you come to my hotel, it’s something different, and it’s always a surprise.” For discerning travelers looking for something beyond the typical five-star international hotel chain experience, Hotel Eclat has a number of truly luxurious suites whose interiors are inspired by Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Miami Vice, outfitted with official memorabilia acquired at auctions or directly from the relevant studios. Some of the illustrious guests who have spent the night at one of these suites include Matt Damon, Shu Qi, Elon Musk, and the Prince of Monaco. For Wong, these premium suites are pure fantasy, and a simple case of vicarious role-playing. “That’s the great thing about Hollywood. When you see a movie, you always try to put yourself in it, and immerse yourself in the theme,” Wong enthuses. “When you go into the living room, the dining room, or the bedroom, the mood there will give you a certain kind of feeling. It’s great fun, and I really enjoy it. Hollywood inspires me a lot.” “There’s nothing wrong with the Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton — I love them,” insists Wong. “When I go to Japan or England, for instance, I stay in those super famous hotels. But my own style has to be slightly different, because that is my style.” 2016-05-25 02:57 Darryl Wee
14 14 wash coffee hybrid interior created by formo design studio formo design studio was approached with an odd request, to combine a laundromat and patisserie into a single interior. titled with practical appropriateness ‘wash coffee’, the unique project comes from the client, a french pastry connoisseur, who wanted to provide quality delicacies. laundry facilities make visiting that much easier; why not enjoy a cup of coffee and a snack while taking care of something necessary at the same time? the interior, designed by formo, follows in line to the business’ simple, unpretentious example. industrial materials (form works, piping) are paired with re-claimed items (freight container door, metal halide lamps). finishes were removed from most walls, and mismatched furniture — including an OSB couch — helps evoke an understated homeyness. perhaps laundry will always be boring, but a fresh, buttery brioche would certainly make it an easier chore to handle. a glass wall allows visual connection between laundry and bar areas designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here. 2016-05-25 02:15 Formo Design
15 Indian Museum Ties up with Google Cultural Institute to Digitize Galleries Related Venues Indian Museum The Indian Museum at Kolkata in partnership with the Google Cultural Institute is now putting all of its galleries online in 360- degree panoramic viewing for anyone to see. This will allow art lovers to explore artifacts from all over the world on its website, the Indian Museum is launching an e- version of its exquisite exhibition titled "Indian Buddhist Art". Among the important highlights in the exhibit is a fifth century sculpture of the head of Buddha from Sarnath. Since 2015, a Google team from the UK and the US have been working hard with their specialized and patented camera technology to click high-resolution photos of the treasures lying in the museum. The process took a longer time because the work can only be done on Mondays when the museum is closed to visitors. It is expected that all galleries will be online within a year's time. Talking about this new initiative museum director Jayanta Sengupta says, “This is the first virtual exhibition we are organizing after which all our galleries will gradually be available on the Google Cultural Institute website. Three galleries, including those on Buddhist sculptures, are ready for 360- degree panoramic viewing online. This allows anyone to have a walk through the gallery and see it as you do it with your eyes. You can scroll around to see even the ceiling and the floor.” Over the last few years, Google’s Cultural Institute has introduced more than 2,000 new artifacts and 70 new exhibitions online. In India they have partnered with 10 new institutions across the country. They are Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad, Victoria Memorial Hall Kolkata, Dastkari Haat Samiti, Devi Art Foundation, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, Kalakriti Archives, Heritage Transport Museum, Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres & Ashrams and the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. The collection has 26 new virtual tours of sites which includes Ekattarso Mahadeva Temple and the royal saloon that once was part of the Palace on Wheels. London's Natural History Museum (NHM) is also eyeing to tie up with the zoology department of Calcutta University, which also has a 100-year-old museum on its Ballygunge Circular road campus. Follow@ARTINFOIndia 2016-05-25 01:23 Bibhu Pattnaik
16 What’s on TV Wednesday Cue a sad, sweet country song: “Nashville” and its queen bee, Connie Britton, bid us farewell. “Wayward Pines” brings Jason Patric on board. And spend some time with the young lovelies of “Sense8,” that bizarrely pleasing collaboration between the Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski. NASHVILLE 10 p.m. on ABC. This series finale is titled “Maybe You’ll Appreciate Me Someday.” We’ll forever appreciate Connie Britton, who, as Rayna, goes mama bear for the last time when she discovers that a ne’er-do-well from her past has weaseled his way into her daughter Maddie’s life. (She also performs “Together We Stand” with her littlest cub, Daphne.) And Hayden Panettiere, as Juliette, addresses a death with the help of Deborah Roberts of ABC News. Meanwhile, in real life, more than 90,000 fans have signed a change.org petition to save the show by asking another network to pick it up for a fifth season. WAYWARD PINES 9 p.m. on Fox. A fresh round of psychological shenanigans begins as Dr. Theo Yedlin (Jason Patric), the town’s newest resident, wakes up from suspended animation to find himself in the middle of the rebellion that ended Season 1. LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT 9 p.m. on NBC. Cliffhanger alert: The investigation into Corrections Officer Gary Munson (Brad Garrett) goes deeper in this season finale, prompting union actions that threaten the lives of Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba and the entire S. V. U. squad. CRIMINAL MINDS: BEYOND BORDERS 9 p.m. on CBS. The team heads to Pamplona, Spain, for the running of the bulls and discovers the ears of a missing American tourist. THE AMERICANS 10 p.m. on FX. Elizabeth completes a personal operation, but it will cost her. DOUGLAS FAMILY GOLD 10 p.m. on Oxygen. Gabby Douglas, who at the 2012 London Olympics became the first black gymnast to win the individual all-around gold, aims for a repeat performance this summer in Rio de Janeiro. SENSE8 on Netflix. While cast and crew members travel to far-flung places to shoot Season 2, catch up on this collaboration between the Wachowskis (“The Matrix,” “Cloud Atlas”) and J. Michael Straczynski (“Babylon 5”) about eight radiantly attractive young adults from across the globe who find themselves transcendentally attuned. Which means that the characters can infiltrate not only one another’s thoughts, but also their physical settings — and even bodies. And while love may be taboo in this brave new world, sex is apparently O. K. (Image: Daryl Hannah) QUEEN OF EARTH (2015) on Amazon , iTunes and Netflix. A woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown — her beloved father, a famous painter, has recently died, and her lover is leaving her for another woman — spends a week with her best friend at a secluded lake house and discovers that they aren’t as close as they used to be. Elisabeth Moss and Katherine Waterston star in Alex Ross Perry’s art house thriller. “Ms. Waterston, a Modigliani in motion and often in black, easily holds your attention,” Manohla Dargis wrote in The New York Times , “but it is Ms. Moss, with her intimate expressivity, who annihilates you from first tear to last crushing laugh.” 2016-05-25 00:00 By
17 Delvaux Lunch at Barneys Beverly Hills Draws Ann Dexter-Jones and Offspring Belgian luxury leather goods house Delvaux had a literal friends and family event on Tuesday, throwing a West Coast lunch at Fred’s atop Barneys New York Beverly Hills hosted by Ann Dexter- Jones and her daughter Annabelle. Though the women are New Yorkers, they chose to host in Los Angeles (the New York lunch last Thursday was hosted by Carmen Dell’Orefice and Marjorie Gubelmann), perhaps because Dexter- Jones’ offspring, Alexander Dexter-Jones, and Mark and Samantha Ronson are based there. All three made it to the event (Samantha stopping by at the end after her radio show). “Look, I’m as superficial as anyone; I love a party, and it’s better if you can have your family there, too,” declared Ann Dexter-Jones, who commandeered a staffer’s iPad to make sure all family members were equally dispersed among the other guests. She actually discovered the brand through daughter Annabelle, who bought her first Delvaux bag four years ago. “I don’t like things with logos on them, and they were classic, which fits my sensibility,” said Annabelle. Her good taste extended to her clothes; she ended up buying a Margiela dress off the rack and throwing it on because the clothes she was wearing were too sheer and she couldn’t find the right slip to go underneath. “You know I don’t really care about that stuff, but this is a nice lunch. So, I just had to end up buying like a fancy dress,” she laughed. The fledging actress, who spends much of her time in L. A., revealed that she just directed, produced and starred in her first short film. “I’m still in the thick of editing it right now, so we’ll see how it ends up before we decide where to show it,” she said. Elsewhere, her brother Alexander showed up with his bandmate Alexandra Parker. The duo, whose group is called WKLB, which stands for We’re the Kids of the Light Brigade, is working on their first EP. “Each of my kids has to develop their own style,” noted Dexter-Jones, when people asked her why her musically inclined offspring don’t all work together. If the lunch seemed to skew old guard and very young, it was intentional. “Our new customers are actually young. Millennials like the idea of hooking into something with history,” noted creative director Christina Zeller. Indeed, the Alex’s band is named for Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” 2016-05-24 22:55 Marcy Medina
18 20th Sydney Biennale Q&A: Xu Zhen’s Mutilated Sculptures Related Events 20th Biennale of Sydney 2016 Venues Biennale of Sydney Artists MadeIn Company The 20th Biennale of Sydney “The future is already here — it’s just not evenly distributed” presents more than 200 works by 83 artists from 35 countries across seven venues or “Embassies of Thought” as well as multiple “in-between spaces” around the inner city. Curated by Stephanie Rosenthal, Chief Curator at the Hayward Gallery, the 20th Biennale of Sydney is on show from March 18 – June 5, 2016. Throughout the duration of the Biennale, BLOUIN ARTINFO will feature a series of interviews with participating artists. In the interview below, Shanghai-based conceptual artist Xu Zhen, founder of MadeIn Company , discusses his series of “mutilated” sculptural forms which fuse replicas of ancient Greek sculptures with inverted reproductions of ancient Chinese statues of Buddhist deities. TItled “Eternity – Longxing Temple Buddha Statue Part Three; Tang Dynasty Buddha Statue; Longxing Temple Buddha Statue Part Five; Northern Qi Amitābha Statue; Vairochana; the Cosmic Buddha; Hebei Northern Qi Dynasty Standing Buddha Torso; Parthenon East Pediment,” 2013–14 and located at Cockatoo Island, the work reinterprets the meeting of eastern and western cultures. This timeless art of eternal gods and Buddhas, represents one of the highest level of civilization in human History. These masterpieces also reflect colonization history, violence, cultural conflicts and mutual relations. We combined these art history’s major Western and Asian sculptures, and created a shocking visual effect out of these “mutilated sculptures classic aesthetics”. It doesn’t only refer to art history it also symbolizes irreconcilable differences within humanity’s Babel tower and shows a certain oriental conciliatory wisdom. We have always been interested in rediscovering and reinventing the existing cultures against the backdrop of globalization. The revolution of methods of information sharing and communication brought by the Internet has led to new meanings, understandings and perspectives of traditional cultures and things. Everything may be different from the way it used to be, and this possibility is where our creative practice departs. The Eternity series includes some quite realistic elements that are very familiar to us, such as Buddhist statues and classical Greek sculptures. Once juxtaposed and assembled together, a very strong visual language is delivered. I believe that this kind of combination represents a new form of creative culture in our age. Today it is very hard to maintain one perspective, and there is no need to hold onto some persistence anymore. Once art has become ubiquitous, it has also become unusually anxious at the same time. This is precisely the new problem generated by our contemporary age. Instead of reflecting on certain situations with our creativity, we create a new world, a world constructed by possibilities and imagination. 2016-05-24 22:51 Nicholas Forrest
19 19 Five Minutes With Chloë Grace Moretz: Talking Trump, Politics and Brooklyn Beckham More Articles By Chloë Grace Moretz is not interested in shying away from political rhetoric. The 19-year-old actress, in New York Monday to attend the Friends of the High Line spring benefit and be unveiled as Coach ’s new fragrance spokesmodel, feels that “Donald Trump is a joke for America.” Moretz — whose “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” film opened last week — has recently spent time campaigning for Hillary Clinton, by caucusing in Nevada and attending rallies in Los Angeles. “I think that you don’t have a right to complain about the state of our government unless you use your right to vote and you use your right as a citizen — I think a lot of young people think the system is the way it is and that is just not true,” she told WWD. She described her support for Clinton over rival Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders: “I think one can really get things done and the other is a little bit too polarizing for both parties. I think you need someone who is even keel enough to be able to juggle both Republican and Democratic parties because you need someone to be able to shake someone’s hand and get things done and not yell at their faces and cut people off during speeches.” Moretz also chimed in on likely Republican nominee Trump — calling his run for the presidency, “a joke.” “It shows that America is a completely reality [TV] driven world and the fact that we have had this underlying amount of sexism and racism that we thought was dormant, but in reality, was this aggressively cancerous thing that has now somehow come to an uprising. “We are at a real contrast [in the U. S.] between someone who is very progressive and someone who is very regressive and I think it’s a generation that doesn’t really stand for the gray line anymore — we can’t just settle for mediocre; we have to stand up for what we really want. Donald Trump is a joke for America, it makes us look silly.” Moretz said that as an actress, she wants to further promote “my philanthropic side and how politically oriented I am, that I really fight for women’s right and how I think I can influence a lot more than just a typical actor. I think there is a lot more to me than people know,” she said. The actress — soon to start work on her forthcoming role as Ariel in “The Little Mermaid” live action film — also recently publicized her relationship with David and Victoria Beckham’s eldest son, Brooklyn. The announcement resulted in a media frenzy. “It’s a little shocking, I think we were both taken a little aback about how many people actually cared,” she said of the public’s interest. “I think everyone is looking for the new ‘It’ couple and I think the thing with he and I is that we have real jobs and aspirations and I don’t think you see that very much. You see a lot of fads and you see a lot of people who do a lot of things for fame and I think the opposite of us. We really do enjoy each other a lot, we’ve known each other for years and didn’t do this for anything except for the fact that we want to be together.” 2016-05-24 22:37 Misty White
20 Rihanna and Dior Collaborate on Sunglass Collection Dior ’s search for a creative director continues, but in the meantime, there’s one major name designing for the house: Rihanna. The singer has created a range of futuristic sunglasses in collaboration with Dior as part of her brand ambassadorship. The name of the collection is simply “ Rihanna.” The sunglasses will be sold exclusively at Dior stores beginning in early June, though Rihanna has been teasing the shades on her Instagram account. There is one frame available in six variations — the silver, pink, blue, green and red styles will retail for $840, while a deluxe 24-karat gold- plated version will sell for $1,940. This is the second collaborative project between Rihanna and Dior. A year ago, Steven Klein photographed Rihanna in “Secret Garden IV,” a campaign and short film shot inside Versailles features her in Dior sunglasses, carrying the brand’s bags and wearing looks from the Esprit Dior collection shown in Tokyo in December 2014. “We are very pleased to partner for the second time with Rihanna,” said Dior chief executive officer Sidney Toledano. “She is an artist, an entertainer, an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, and a style icon for today’s generation.” She has also ramped up her fashion quotient considerably in the last year, introducing her first full Fenty Puma by Rihanna collection during New York Fashion Week in February, and signing a three-year deal as contributing creative director of Stance socks last July. The sunglasses are her first design project with Dior, a privilege never before granted to one of its house ambassadors, who include Charlize Theron, Marion Cotillard, Natalie Portman and Jennifer Lawrence. In October, Rihanna visited Dior’s headquarters on Avenue Montaigne to meet with the eyewear design team going over vintage frames, ultimately picking a style from 2000 as the key reference. In a statement provided by Dior, Rihanna named La Forge from “Star Trek” as her inspiration for the frames. “I’ve always been obsessed with his eyewear, and when I got to Dior and saw all the materials I could play with, it all just came together,” she said. In terms of the design process, she said, “The process was pretty seamless. I spent a day at Dior with their eyewear design team. I started by looking through all the archives to see what they’ve done in the past, then got acquainted with all the new materials. I literally sat there and drew and drew until I was happy with the design, and the team illustrated it for me right then and there. We picked materials and colors that same day, and after that it was a matter of weeks before I saw the first prototype.” Dior’s eyewear designer Mathieu Jamin noted that this was the first time he and his team had worked with a celebrity in a design capacity, but he was impressed with Rihanna’s level of involvement. “She chose all the materials,” Jamin said. “We had a lot of different samples with different effect of metals. She chose all the lenses and took time to match all the colors together to see if it was right on her face. It was really important to her.” Jamin said the resulting frames are “really strong and something we don’t have in the collection, so it’s unique.” 2016-05-24 22:00 Jessica Iredale
21 Townsend Bell to Drive Robert Graham Car in Indy 500 “It was a very stressful weekend on the track and I’m on the rebound from that,” Bell said of the time-trial-style qualifying run. “It becomes a game of chicken between you and the track.” Although he won’t be able to match that speed this weekend during the 100th running of the famed race when 32 other drivers join him on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track, he believes he and his teammates from Andretti Autosport have a good shot at winning. “There are four other drivers on the team and we’ve been at or near the top of the speed charts all year,” he said. Bell’s car is sponsored by California Pizza Kitchen — hence the pie — as well as men’s wear brand Robert Graham. Designer Robert Stock produced a special limited-edition shirt and hat for the race. The black-and-white fade-out shirt features a print on the reverse of vintage newspaper clippings from the race and Bell has replicated that print on the rear of his fire suit. “The fans are loving it,” he said. “They all want pictures, but they want me to turn around.” Robert Graham has cosponsored the car for the past three years and has been involved in the sport for five years. Bill Sweedler, chief of Tengram Capital Partners which has a majority stake in the brand, is a race car driver in his spare time and has competed alongside Bell in several important races. Stock said Robert Graham finds that many of its customers “are into fast cars,” so the tie-in is a natural. Only 400 of the $298 Indy 500 shirts will be produced along with several hundred of the $118 cap, which features the same vintage-inspired print on the interior. Bell said he took time away from Indianapolis to “spread the world about the biggest auto race in the world” on its big birthday. This is Bell’s 10th time competing, so “I’ve done 10 percent of the races,” he said with a laugh. He attended his first race with his dad when he was 11 years old and “race day will be exactly 30 years to the day that I went and sat in the grandstand. And I always look up before I start to where I sat as a kid.” Before he revs his engine, though, Bell and Mario Andretti, who won the race in 1969, will have a pizza dough throwing contest on the track on Thursday, he said. California Pizza Kitchen is flying in a 2,000-pound pizza oven for the event. And although Bell worked in the restaurant’s kitchen on his own pizza recipe, he’s not sure how he’ll fare against Andretti. “He’s Italian you know.” 2016-05-24 21:29 Jean E
22 Parsons Honors Four Extraordinary Women at Annual Benefit Show More Articles By “Do you wanna talk about [how I feel] showing up at a black-tie event in a mint suit?” Andy Cohen said as he walked into Pier Sixty on Monday night for the Parsons School of Design’s 68th annual benefit and fashion show. “Humiliated.” Cohen, the executive producer of Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” — and the evening’s master of ceremonies — later joked that he thought the event’s “creative black-tie” dress code was “creative Kentucky Derby.” In addition to playing host, he was on hand to support his best friend Sarah Jessica Parker , one of the event’s four honorees alongside Donna Karan , Beth DeWoody and Arianna Huffington , all of them highlighted for their work in performance, design and social change, respectively. “Every time I get to hang out with SJP is a special occasion,” he said. “[Tonight’s honorees] are each exceptional game-changers in their respective fields…. They’re [wickedly] smart and fiercely committed to being awesome human beings.” As dinner got under way, Joel Towers, Parsons’ executive dean, issued special thanks to two heavy-hitters in the room: Henry Arnhold, a member of The New School’s board of trustees, and Kay Unger, chairman of the board of governors at Parsons, both of whom donated gifts of $7 million each to the university. Later, 25-year-old Isabella Huffington stepped up to the podium to present an award to her mother, praising the media mogul’s resilience, strength and perseverance. “When my mom [Arianna] launched The Huffington Post in 2005, a media critic at the time compared it to the movie equivalent of ‘Gigli,’ ‘Ishtar’ and ‘Heaven’s Gate’ all rolled into one. Now, those were all a bit before my time, but I’m assuming that wasn’t a compliment.” In her thank-you speech, Parsons alum — and noted draper — Donna Karan admitted that she flunked draping as an undergrad. “I had to go to summer school,” she said. “I’m a little obsessed with showing Parsons that they taught me how to drape.” Karan also referred to herself as an early adopter of the cold-shoulder trend, giving a shout to WWD in the process: “I’m honored that after Women’s Wear Daily killed me on the cold shoulder many years ago, that it has finally hit the fashion trends. You can [always] expose your shoulder because it’s a guaranteed place that you will not gain weight,” added the designer, who was wearing a belted black halter jumpsuit that showed off her very own. Parker, meanwhile, accepted her award wearing a translucent studded Valentino gown as the “Sex and the City” theme song played in the background. The actress, introduced by her friend and tailor Lars Nordensten, will accompany three bidders — who paid $10,000 a pop — to Bloomingdale’s on a shoe shopping spree to benefit Parsons. Later, Christie’s auctioneer Lydia Fenet achieved the seemingly impossible when she commanded the full attention of the chatty room, during which no one was spared from her razor-sharp humor. “This is a really random item, and I’m just gonna say that up front,” she said during the auction, referring to a horse-themed book handcrafted from gold, which eventually sold for $8,500. “All joking aside, it takes 15 people to make each of these books, and they are currently owned by the following people: Queen Elizabeth II, Pope Francis…the Presidential library has one…George Bush has one, as does Vladimir Putin. [So if you buy this]…you, Queen Elizabeth II, Vladimir Putin and George Bush will all have the same thing. And that you cannot say about a lot of things in your life.” As guests started to summon Uber rides out of Chelsea Piers, Unger hopped on stage to reveal one last bit of news: the honoree for Parsons’ 2017 benefit gala will be Neiman Marcus Group, which is slated to open its first-ever Manhattan location in the Hudson Yards in the fall of 2018. 2016-05-24 21:25 Kristi Garced
23 On the Gaze in the Era of Visual Salamis Looking at my.pdf library I recently came across Monte Burch's The Complete Guide to Sausage Making , a book that clearly—and perhaps morbidly—describes some key features of this ancient and mysterious practice. Throughout the reading of this document I somehow realized that I had been learning not only about sausage making as such, but also the mode of existence of some digital images, with whom I coexist. How is such a leapfrog possible? In Burch’s guide, a sausage can be made by grinding and mixing “scraps and trimmings” and, interestingly enough, by also maintaining a prudent period of “seasoning and curing.” The meat’s encounter with a systematic process of recombination and extrusion, say, configures the sausages. Moreover, it is precisely their sausageness that allows us to access them according to polarized protocols: on the one hand, sausage production is analog and continuous—the more meat we add to the grinder, the larger the sausage is. Conversely, its access is developed according to a discrete, digital-like protocol: the slice. Shaping images with our digital gaze An image is no longer a singular thing, but rather it becomes dispersed , distributing its existence along paths, iterations, periplus, and versions provided by both humans and systems. In this sense, images are trajectories through media, devices…and places. Visual characteristics (namely; colors, sizes, textures, compositions, effects, texts, icons, and typographies) are subjected to a large number of recursive and combinatory operations; a memetic modality of some images that supersedes the very notion of internet meme. The world s largest sausage in Kobasicijada Festival (Turija-Serbia) in 2012 This implies that in order to access an image’s narrative, we have to retrace some of its extruded, threadlike trajectories. Our attention is not focused on a singular image, but is distributed along the image’s path. Since the versioning of an image is the image, the increasing accumulation of similar images is nurturing distributed ways of seeing. Slicing images’ sausageness Sausage-like elongation describes the way that images accumulate, but this redundancy of content is not merely piled up, but follows an extruded trajectory that creates threads of dispersed versions. Since any given sausage is not only a sausage, but also the expression of its formal mode of production, what is the shape of our engagement with it? If either sausage and image are being distributed across a potentially endless series of elongated versions, we can only access images by slicing them. Slicing Gucci Mane Capturing the environment with our digital devices creates a discrete, framed incision in our surrounding milieu. Hence, further captures within the digital realm (for instance, by copying, tagging or storing digital files) prefigure the apparition of what I would like to denominate image-slices. These slices have also something that really interests me; an intriguing ability to create their own negative imprint in the form of memory. They remind us that their status as slices conceals the almost invisible process of how our digital gaze deprives images of their own visuality in favor of their memory. If the latter is defined here as a time-based measure of the image's shifting or fading along a trajectory, visuality presents the limits of an image; the contours and deformations produced by its elongation. The shape that a sausage acquires during its extrusion—being limited or arrested by its mold or configuration process—posits visuality as the imprint of energy. The visual cohesion of images is therefore based on modulations; the development of deformations through time. As any salami knows, its own depletion measures its extinction, but its memory increases as the salami diminishes. By day seven in the fridge, the last extant sausage piece compresses a huge amount of time within a narrow meat scrap, which indicates, as if metadata were present, its very process of dwindling. The accumulation of image-slices made by our digital gaze is not indiscriminate; it overlaps and compresses nuggets of visuality seeking an array of coagulated slices, relating images by means of mnemonic paths: spaces, affections, repetition, and desire. In doing so, digital images are increasingly becoming an ancillary verification of memory's circulation through systems and users. Accelerated emblems: when memory eats image The circulation of the digital image is propelled through versioning, elongation, and indexical techniques which optimize access to it by reducing the importance of its immediate visuality. After a certain point, memory’s circulation through systems and users becomes the image’s primary index, pointing to its internal coherence rather than an external frame of reference. Certain images can therefore intertwine themselves toward total memory, devoid of any content apart from their own possible trajectories. Undermining visuality, from Egypt to my smartphone. In an attempt to domesticate the Egyptian landscape during the Napoleonic campaign in the 18 th Century, Nicolas Jacques Conté invented an engraving machine that by virtue of its accuracy brought engineers the possibility of describing the landscape in the most objective way. The free movement of the hand was replaced by up to forty-two possible sequences of lines that guaranteed not only a higher degree of precision, but a faster rendering speed. In the monumental Description de l'Égypte it is possible to find examples of these line patterns; rectangular images that visualize nothing but the expression of their mechanical production. Back in the 21 st century, this undermined type of image reappears in the screen of my smartphone. Whenever I swipe too fast over Google Images’ search results, the accelerated flux of images surpasses by far the device’s ability to display them all. I no longer see images, but an array of plain- colored rectangles. How does this situation correlate with our subtractive digital gaze? My contention is that our digital gaze wants to subsume image within a larger structure of memory. If memory is based on delay—or hysteresis—then our digital gaze must decelerate the image's elongation in order to situate it within memory. In the era of visual salamis, we are no longer pursuing images, but image-slices that allow us to reconstruct their possible trajectories. This implies that the completion of memory is based on the limitation, almost the disappearance of image’s visuality. From a computational standpoint, I imagine that this process erases the constructed distinction between software and hardware to the extent of making both indistinguishable. An example of Core Rope Memory contained in an Olympia 15 digit calculator, circa 1971 The pursuit of memory not only undermines visuality but its interfaces as well. Perhaps digital memory artifacts will no longer need visual access interfaces such as screens…but in the meantime, let us take a look on a particular prehistory of this possibility from 1960s, where NASA's Apollo Program developed a form of ROM memory called Core Rope Memory. This was produced by literally weaving a wire skein along ferrite cores. The method of weaving wires—passing or bypassing the cores—configured the software. Therefore, memory was the outcome of an entangled, self- descriptive weaving motion: memory is what happens along the ferrite cores. Contrary to RAM memory, this Core Rope Memory was a non- volatile repository which keeps all its possible tasks in advance, indefinitely, even without energy supply. David A. Mindell's Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight recalls how the Apollo 12 computer easily rebooted itself after lightning struck the spacecraft. Without tapes or disk drives, Core Rope Memory visually exposes its limits and functions. We can imagine it as an artifact with the ability to keep and describe the totality of its existence, not by upgrading itself further, but through total access to its finite structure. This sheer visuality of its woven core—a kind of hardware— is the software, in absence of any other intermediate symbolic interface. The Core Rope's wire paths undermine images insofar as it constitutes its own memory. To put it simply, its finite woven code exists by itself. A distinct modality of software as the human-readable aspect of the machine is no longer necessary. In the meantime, digital plein-air I have to stress that, although sausage making is a pleasant and mouth- watering activity, is not precisely exempted of risk. Whenever a meat scrap falls off the cutting table, we are in peril of getting a contaminated, even a hairy sausage. As Burch’s guide reminds to us: “the one that eats the most sausage gets the most hair.” Nowadays we are witnessing the process of subsumption of memetic images within memory, but in the meantime, we are finding memetic images in the outdoors as well. The temple of the Seven Dolls in Dzibilchaltun, Yuc. Mexico Despite the fact that the Seven Dolls Temple in Dzibilchaltun (Mexico) perhaps was never conceived as a temporal landmark, during each vernal equinox a multitude of people congregate around the temple. When the Sun emerges, its beams traverse the temple's open door towards a plethora of smartphones, digital cameras, and tablets. The sunlight is not only framed by the door; it continues its trajectory by virtue of the devices’ capturing and the images’ further circulation. After my first visit to this temple in 2012, I became increasingly interested in the particular elongated quality of this sort of memetic images. During the last three years I have been visiting several areas of Southern Mexico, finding along my way a variety of these images: digitally printed cylinders in the shore of Bacalar lagoon, fluorescent hoses in Palenque's jungle, gradient-like car reparations in Merida, polygonal paper dinosaurs in Chicxulub, to name a few. These memetic images incorporate an array of digital textures, patterns, gradients, and even moiré effects, but somehow their physicality produces an interesting disruption in its surrounding milieu. They popped out in our vision by highlighting their obvious digitalness in absence of devices, binary code, or even electricity. How is such a thing possible? If the traits of memetic images can be sustained in spite of devices —or their closeness—we must reconsider them as entities created uniquely by devices. Images linger at a certain distance of them; sometimes closer—even “within”— sometimes too far to be extant. A memetic landscape in Bacalar, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Constituted as trajectories by means of versioning, these memetic images could have existed before the advent of the internet itself. Acknowledging this fact places us in the striking situation whereby the prehistory of digital images comes after their “official” emergence as media; as if in the very moment that we relocate these images from their alleged habitat (digital devices,) devices no longer “create” images. The context of memetic images does not lie in their materiality—for example, their pre-filmic or pre- screening origin—nor in the materiality of the places they represent. Conversely, we find context in the very action of capturing and slicing images, as well as in the device's situational location. The encounter with digital, memetic images in the outdoors and their incorporation within networks and memories denotes also the uneven degree of internet implementation over the Earth. Since bandwidth speed results are affected by geography (and geopolitics!), time is the subsidiary of space. The imbalances in a memetic image's speed of elongation describes real geographical distances between captured places and access to internet networks. This produces a particular phenomenon of historical remoteness, whereby 'antique' memetic images are still in the process of being incorporated, uploaded, elongated. As if the light of a distant sun were rising, we still are receiving and unearthing images pertaining to these memetic realms. — Javier Fresneda is a San Diego-based artist and researcher. His work can be found in www.javierfresneda.com among other places. — References Burch, Monte. The Complete Guide to Sausage Making. New York: Skyhorse, 2011. Mindell, David A. Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2008. — Share this Article — 2016-05-25 00:19 rhizome.org
24 Christophe Robin Debuts New Paris Salon More Articles By “I did it like it was my home,” the renowned hair colorist told WWD, pointing out the decor. He was inspired by the wild and wonderful mash-up of prints, colors and textures that was the aesthetic of Tony Duquette — the late designer of furniture, jewelry, interior and movie sets. Cue pink leather chairs standing by the four sinks in the salon’s main room atop panther-printed flooring (juxtaposed with parquet). Antique hand-mirrors lie on tables, and there are flowers, terra- cotta figurines, prints, paintings, books, a generous amount of natural light plus a large collection of shells. The 1,555-square-foot salon includes one space (due to open in 10 days’ time) that will serve as a shop selling Robin’s hair line and features the largest of the shell-shaped creations, a basin. It’s here people can — for free — wash and dry their own tresses, then be given a style, like a braid or chignon, using his products. “We will give you a diagnostic for hair color and your scalp,” said Robin. “I want to make people smile.” His own joie de vivre was palpable as he passed through the salon, shadowed by his eight-year-old border terrier, Lily, prior to the onslaught of the first 25 clients. Robin pointed to a swath of a fabric, with a re-edition of a splashy Duquette print, hanging on one wall. Robin worked with architect François Bosc on the salon. It was a first for Bosc, who specializes in conservation. “For decoration we decided not to listen to anybody — I did what I wanted,” said Robin. There’s a VIP room — for politicians, for instance — that has private access through the building’s central garden. Robin’s celebrity clientele includes Eva Green, Tilda Swinton, Juliette Binoche, Natalie Portman and Catherine Deneuve. On offer at the salon is hair coloring, plus cuts, manicures and pedicures. Prices for Robin’s own work runs from 500 euros to upward of 850 euros, or $557 to $947 and up at current exchange, while they range from 250 euros to 450 euros, or $278 to $500, with someone from his staff. “I have the nicest team in the world; they’re like my family,” he gushed, adding that all 14 employees have worked with him for at least seven years. Robin would not discuss sales projections, but industry sources estimate the salon will generate 1.3 million euros, or $1.5 million, annually. Robin’s first salon made its debut 20 years ago, at the age of 24. The tiny space’s size was doubled, and he worked there for 12 years. Next Robin opened a much larger salon, of 4,444 square feet, which he quickly sold. (“It became a factory,” he lamented.) The colorist then worked out of two bedrooms at Paris ’ hotel Le Meurice for seven years, substantially longer than the original six-month plan. Robin first thought he’d open his new salon in Paris’ “golden triangle,” the tony area near the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, but opted for something more neighborhood-y. “I’m a country boy; I grew up on a farm in a village of 160 people,” he said. Robin fell in love with the Rue Bachaumont — his salon stands at number 16 — and its environs in the second arrondissement. He said his foreign clients are interested in discovering fun neighborhoods, where they can find good food, antiques and “sur-mesure” treasures. “I wanted to be more accessible. Everything is in this neighborhood,” continued Robin. “At my age, 44, I want to please myself. “When I read the blogs saying ‘Christophe is only for the stars,’ it drives me crazy,” he said. “Because I’m like an artisan. When you cook bread or cakes — you’re happy that everybody is going to eat them.” 2016-05-24 20:42 Jennifer Weil
25 The Global Synthesizer Project Makes Crowdsourced Sound Art The Global Synthesizer Project installation at Moogfest. All images courtesy the artist, unless otherwise noted Imagine tapping into every sound generated by musicians around the globe, and tweaking them all in real time on a single platform. People would effectively be able to play the world. While sound artist Yuri Suzuki hasn’t exactly accomplished quite a feat, he conceptually comes pretty close with his Global Synthesizer Project, an interactive electronic instrument installation that allows users to synthesize “environmental sounds” from across the world. Created in collaboration with Moog Music, The Global Synthesizer Project debuted as an installation at this year’s Moogfest in Durham, North Carolina. Yuri Suzuki twiddling knobs Installed on a wall in the midst of Moog’s Pop-Up Shop Factory, the synthesizer is comprised of dozens of modules from Moog and other module makers, and laid out in an approximation of the global map. The cabinet is beautifully crafted in wood, containing the modules and several speakers. The various modules, aglow with light and humming with sound, are connected via patch cables, evoking—whether Suzuki realizes it or not —the network of undersea cables that constitutes the Internet’s circulatory system. All told, the sampler features 80 samples from 30 regions as diverse as Guinea-Bissau, Antarctica, and everywhere in between. Tweak a sound in South Africa or India, and field recordings from these countries (and nearby regions) are triggered, which users can then alter with analog oscillators, filters, LFOs, and other sound modifiers. Suzuki tells The Creators Project that he’d long wanted to use his collection of sounds from around the world for a sound art installation. He’d attempted something conceptually similar with Sound of the Earth , a spherical record where the grooves represent the outlines of geographic land masses. As the needle passes over specific geographic regions, it plays recordings Suzuki had collected from across the dlobe, from traditional folk music to national anthems and several other field recordings. But for The Global Synthesizer Project, Suzuki wanted to pair samples with modular synthesis. After approaching the Moog Music team at Moogfest 2014, Suzuki and Moog project engineer Chris Howe embarked on a mission to fuse the two distinct approaches to sound. The two jettisoned the modular synthesizer’s oscillator (a waveform generator that produces sounds), opting instead to make the field recordings fulfill an oscillator’s traditional role. They also decided to crowd-source the sounds instead of rely on Suzuki’s sample library. Howe tells The Creators Project that the sampler controls the start and stop time of the sample, with a reverse function if the stop time comes before the start time. An algorithm allows for time-stretching, which gives the user control over pitch and rate by way of control voltage. The sampler also has a special feature called Location Control, which can create a variety of timbres out of multiple samples housed in four simultaneous sample banks. “The reverb uses an algorithm known as convolution, which allows us to take impulse responses from real spaces and apply the reverberant qualities of that space to another incoming signal,” Howe explains. “These impulses were also crowdsourced and came from 15 major regions.” Originally, Suzuki had hoped to have some electronic artists craft elaborate studio recordings with The Global Synthesizer Project, but time didn’t permit it. “We did two jam sessions at Moogfest—one with Yuka Honda from Cibo Matto and the other with Christoffer Berg (a.k.a., Hird),” Suzuki says. “And we’d love to tour the installation, so I’m approaching some museums and galleries about doing some sort of public interactive program.” Suzuki says that whether he and Howe continue altering the modules (adding or subtracting units) depends on future opportunity. This, of course, would be conceptually interesting, as new sounds are always being added to the world. So why not The Global Synthesizer Project? Click here to check out more of Yuri Suzuki’s work. Related: Dial 1-800-Moogfest on a Synth Made of Vintage Telephone Parts I Tried Virtual Reality Meditation Inside a Marijuana Grow Tent Remix Grimes with Your Bare Hands Inside an Interactive Installation 2016-05-24 20:10 DJ Pangburn
26 This Drone-Shot 'Star Wars' Dogfight Wins GIFs and screencap via Like childhood Star Wars toy sessions made flesh, DIY filmmakers Corridor Digital ( previously ) has just released a quite believable video of a TIE Fighter vs X-Wing dogfight shot with drones and desktop VFX. R2-D2 somehow gets mixed up with some Stormtroopers who chase him (her? it?) to the skies. There are some fantastic drone aerobatics involving a bridge and some dodgy trees á la Return of the Jedi speeder bike chase, and the filmmakers keep you invested in the battle for nearly five minutes, an impressive feat. Perhaps the most fun part of the whole thing is filling in the blanks of the narrative: What is the dastardly droid doing on this planet? Stealing supplies? Gathering intel? Overall, Drone Star Wars (a.k.a. The Drone Wars , a.k.a. Attack of the Drones ) is everything our younger selves wanted from our action figures. To create the iconic inside-the-cockpit feel, the crew fixed 3D-printed replicas of each ship's windshields to a pair of drone cameras. Each shot of a ship from the outside is a digitally-rendered model borrowed from Digital Copilot , and overlaid over an actual drone flying in front of the camera drone. The only exception is the establishing take-off shot, which features fake TIE Fighter and X-Wing drones made to fool viewers into thinking the actual toys are flying around in the air. Enjoy this love letter to Star Wars toys and making our own stories within a fictional universe, Drone Star Wars , below. See how Corridor Digital made the film here. See more of Corridor Digital's work on their YouTube channel . Related: The Weird and Wonderful World of Bootleg Star Wars Toys Disney Reveals Concept Illustrations for 'Star Wars' Theme Park 'Star Wars' Heroes, Reborn as Greek Sculptures 2016-05-24 19:50 Beckett Mufson
27 Sculpture Exhibition Paints a Bleak Portrait of the Middle Class' Future Images by the author The ever-mounting anxieties of America’s shrinking middle class have been majestically condensed into a three-minute video and a series of sculptures in Josh Kline’s Unemployment. Currently on display at 47 Canal , the exhibition takes a dystopic view of America in 2031 that manages to feel both hyperbolic and eerily plausible. Unemployment depicts an era where smart computing will have eliminated the once stalwart jobs of the middle class, in turn forcing aging, jobless individuals to “Airbnb their bodies out to strangers in order to make rent,” according to the press release. More than just a theoretical example, Kline has depicted this scenario literally, with a series of 3D-printed, life-sized renderings of human beings donned in professional attire, curled up into fetal positions, and sealed within plastic recycling bags. Almost like a cyclical return to times of industrial labor, your body is your most valuable asset in 2031, and your only chance of survival lies in recycling or renting out your own flesh. Near these bodies are a series of shopping and granny carts, each filled to the brim with more disturbing relics of the future, also wrapped in plastic recycling bags. One contains a large quantity of plastic bottle and human hand hybrid objects. Another holds soda cans in shades of flesh tones. Bringing to mind the unemployed or homeless individuals of today who scavenge city streets for recyclable goods to exchange for meager deposits, the scene is both familiar and frightening. In another room, office boxes filled with iconic middle class relics are encased in transparent, alien-like baubles hanging from the ceiling. Family portraits, sports team hats, and discount running shoes are locked away from the viewer inside the baubles, suggesting the unavailability and disappearance of once prolific cultural middle objects. The middle class is the endangered species of the future, with only preserved remnants to remember what once was. In the last room of the exhibition, Universal Early Retirement loops endlessly, a short video that is reminiscent of cliché suburban commercials for bad private colleges that promise to “help you better yourself” and plead for you to “imagine the possibilities.” In the piece, eclectic individuals ranging across the demographic spectrum walk dramatically alongside the camera, uttering hopeful ramblings like “Imagine a nation where no one has to work a double shift just to have enough money to feed their family.” Unlike the commercials it seemingly emulates, Kline’s rendition doesn’t advertise any private institutions. Instead, the piece ‘advertises’ universal basic income, equally absurd and depressing when one considers how this is both a basic human necessity and something the U. S. government will likely never guarantee. Unemployment is on display at 47 Canal in New York City through June 12, 2016. View more of Josh Kline's works here. Related: 3D Printing Has Its Triennial Moment at the New Museum 3D-Printed Hair Can Sense and Spark Motion Short Film 'Hyper-Reality' Imagines an Oversaturated AR Future 2016-05-24 19:25 Andrew Nunes
28 Brooklyn, Romeo Beckham in China’s Vogue Me Magazine The 17-year-old son of David and Victoria Beckham poses alongside Chinese models Jing Wen and Heather Kemesky for the bi-monthly edition, which is geared toward a teen audience. He also posted on Instagram that he will be taking over Vogue China’s account shooting images for the publication’s social media account. The Beckham boys are no strangers to modeling. While Romeo has modeled for Burberry, Brooklyn was featured on the cover of Man About Town and the cover of Miss Vogue last fall. Meanwhile their designer mom’s cover for Vogue China made quite a stir on social media last month when she was photographed for the May issue and attention was drawn to the designer’s thigh gap and speculation ensued whether or not her leg was Photoshopped. The proud mom also posted several Instagram images of her sons. RELATED STORY: Victoria Beckham ’s Leg in Vogue China Shoot Sparks Controversy >> 2016-05-24 19:18 Lorelei Marfil
29 Artcurial Sells Lalique Vase for More Than €280,000 Related Venues Artcurial Artists Rene J Lalique A vase by Rene Lalique sold at Artcurial's Art Deco sale in Paris on May 24 for €282,000 ($315,840), marking the third highest ever record for a vase by this artist. The vase, depicting three male figures in blown white glass, created in 1913, was sold for almost three times its pre-sale estimate. The highest price ever achieved for a Lalique vase is £280,000 ($451,248) for Deux Figures Femmes Aillee (Two Winged Female Figures), in 2012. Its pre-sale estimate was comparatively meagre £30,000. Lalique's fine art glass is generally recognized as some of the finest of the Art Nouveau era, incorporating stylised organic decorative elements; however, many of his later designs blend these with the geometric elements distinctive of Art Deco. “The great figures of Art Deco continue to attract demanding collectors, in France and abroad,” said Sabrina Dolla and Cécile Tajan, from Artcurial's Art Deco department, “as demonstrated by the solid results for René Lalique and Eugène Printz.” The Artcurial sale included an important private collection (lots 1 to 53), as well as the complete furnishings of the Parisian offices of the Port Autonome du Marseille designed by Maxime Old (lots 140 to 164). While a long buffet by Printz was the second highest grossing lot in the sale (€104,700 / $117,264), it did not reach its high pre-sale estimate of €80,000 / $120,000. 2016-05-24 19:04 Jana Perkovic
30 Projection Art Activists Take Aim at Saudi Arabia ‘Daesh Bank’ projects on a side of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Berlin, criticizing the country’s involvement in the financing of terrorism. Image credit: PixelHELPER. Last week , the Saudi Arabian embassy in Berlin lit up with the black flag of ISIS, headed by two words: Daesh Bank. Beaming into the building for somewhere between five to ten minutes, this artistic intervention was done by the not- for-profit PixelHELPER , a group aiming to bring action art to the next level. “We find that many issues are mentioned in the media, but the public has a short attention span,” says PixelHELPER organizer and light artist Oliver Bienkowski . “We want to make sure that these issues do not fall into the background and are forgotten.” Since its inception in 2011, PixelHELPER has taken aim at a range of social issues, from global topics like the NSA Scandal, where Berlin’s US Embassy was lit up weekly , to more national forms of protest including alleging a German company ’s involvement in the sale of arms . “We are always looking for causes to support,” says Bienkowski. “With the arrival of so many refugees to Europe, we felt that it was the perfect time to remind the media and the public that these refugees are fleeing ISIS and that countries such as Saudi Arabia are funding these terrorists.” Oliver Bienkowski and Nusier Yassin travelled around the world in the PixelHEPER project that reminding people that Apple founder Steve Jobs was an immigrant. Image credit: PixelHELPER. This time around, artistically branding Saudi Arabia as financiers of the extremist group comes at a time when the US Senate has just passed a bill allowing for the oil rich country to be sued by families affected by the 911 attacks. Saudi Arabia has strongly objected the bill, which will most likely become law, and the country’s role in financing ISIS remains contested. Calling themselves “a guerrilla force for generating moral facts, political art, and humanitarian generosity,” PixelHELPER says their use of light projections offer temporary scrutiny to these issues. The projections are often varied, sometimes projected loudly to create more of a buzz. “Art must trigger pain, provoke, and rebel,” says Bienkowski. “Our campaigns show the possibilities of art as the fifth power in a country. Art is therefore not a mirror of reality, but a hammer which enacts positive change.” Oliver Bienkowski and Nusier Yassin with their Steve Jobs light projection. Image credit: PixelHELPER. In the same Daesh Bank project, PixelHELPER also projected a message onto the embassy calling for Saudi blogger Raif Badawi to be released from his 10-year prison sentence. Badawi’s verdict additionally comes with the punishment of 1,000 lashes, retribution for criticizing the Saudi government in one of his blog posts. The projection, which reads, ‘10 years and 1000 slashes just for blogging #FREERAIF,' aimed to highlight Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record , reminding the world of Badawi’s ongoing imprisonment. Despite their obtrusive tactics, and with some projects gaining more attention than others, for PixelHELPER, the ultimate goal is peace. “Attentions would be shifted to positive things like art and culture, and all of the terrible things in the world would be ignored,” says Bienkowski. Another light projection on the Saudi Arabian embassy called for blogger Raif Badawi to be freed. Image credit: PixelHELPER. See more PixelHELPER projects here or send a donation their way using this link . Related: Tunisian Star Wars Tourism Threatened by Terrorists Here's that 'All Flags' Profile Pic Converter You Wanted [NSFW] Light Projections Transform the Female Nude 2016-05-24 19:00 Catherine Chapman
31 French Design Festival 2016 Focuses on Collaborative Design Related Venues Les Arts Décoratifs The "Revolution" will begin on May 30, when D'Days Festival opens its many doors to French Design. Themed around constant reinvention, this year's D'Days will look at the shifting, but constantly central, role of design at a time of great technological change. “Design was born with the industrial revolution. The technological progress of the 19th century caused a transition from an agrarian, artisanal world towards an industrial, commercial society. This is how design emerged as a discipline, as a response to a new system of production.” So writes Scott Longfellow, the festival director. “The third industrial revolution, caused by its extension into new realms and the normalization of digital technologies, seems like it will have similarly dramatic effects. Design and designers have a role to play in this transformation: to put these technologies at the service of humanity.” Audi will have a place of prominence at the festival, delivering the Audi Talents Awards to emerging designers; while young talent will also be recognized through the Émile Hermès Prize conferred by the luxury brand Hermès, and the Design Parade which will bring together the winners of the design competition of the Villa Noailles. This year, the country of honor will be Taiwan, with an exhibition of the nation's crafts and industry, focusing on the use of paper, at Musée des Arts Décoratifs, and three exhibitions at Galerie 24b, respectively centred around bamboo jewelry, young designers from Taipei, and technological recycling by designer Henry Hsiao. “The forms of design are evolving, creating new practices that we will discover through our engagement with design houses and our partner associations and foundations,” says René Jacques Mayer, the D'Days President. “They will be imagined and co-constructed through unprecedented collaborative workshops between designers and users, taught in new ways by schools and presented at museums.” Panerai, the official supplier to the Italian Navy, has revolutionized the watch market with its luminescent substances, used to improve nocturnal and underwater readability. An exhibition of Dutch Designer Daan Roosegaarde's work, which uses Panerai's Luminor substance in interactive installations, promises to illuminate light's relationship with humanity. Other special events of note will include a Sound Design Party, collaborative design of a temporary fitness running course along the Canal de l'Ourcq, and a futuristic sci-fi fairytale presented as a design workshop. All to best experience the making of the French savoir faire. 2016-05-24 18:57 Jana Perkovic
32 Nonprofit Helps Boost Artisan Revenues by 76% More Articles By By identifying barriers along the entire supply chain, nonprofit group Nest is helping artisans across the globe overcome these hurdles via direct programming to bolster their sales and earnings. Nest’s end goal is threefold: empower women, alleviate poverty and preserve local cultures. In its most recent impact report, the organization notes that craft-made goods is a $32 billion industry and is the second-largest employment sector of women in emerging markets. And the work is mostly done in homes. “It is estimated that anywhere from 20 to 60 percent of fashion production happens inside homes — not within the formalized factory setting,” the Nest researchers said in their report. The organization’s steering committee of retailers and brands includes PVH, West Elm, Eileen Fisher, Patagonia and Jaipur Living, among others. Through a variety of program designs — from mentorship and marketing to business training and ethical compliance — Nest works with home workers and artisans to address friction points along the supply chain. The result is a 76 percent gain in sales for its participants. Moreover, Nest participants earn, on average, 120 percent more than their national minimum wage. Last year, Nest reached 6,000 artisans with its programs. This year, the organization expects to reach 60,000. Founded in 2006 by Rebecca van Bergen, the New York-based organization said it expects to reach 170,000 artisans who live in impoverished areas in 2017. The organization stressed that its impact also has a “ripple effect.” For example, Nest participants have an average of eight children or dependents, “which leads to a multiplied impact,” the organizations said, adding that for every “one artisan employed, 20 more people are impacted, including family members and others in the supply chain.” In regard to helping women learn how to help themselves, Nest researchers said its program “helps to keep women out of forced labor, empowers them to earn economic independence, and allows them to work from home while caring for their children.” The organization’s programming is based on assessments, which vary market to market. And it operates as a business counselor, which differs from “middlemen” and other for-profit brokers in the market. 2016-05-24 18:30 Arthur Zaczkiewicz
33 Haunting Scenes of Homelessness and Poverty in 'Los Santos' Title: _EIJSexoCE6GdNrJgm- TvQ_0_0 | Date: 2016 | Medium: Digital photograph. Since the madness of its release, Grand Theft Auto V has been an inexhaustible resource for numerous creative projects, from unique photo essays to stunning music videos. Recently, Dublin-based artist Alan Butler used the game platform as an experimental field for Down and Out in Los Santos , a series of video game-generated photographs that document the plight of the homeless and impoverished within the game. “I usually have to wait for the 'right moment' and use depth-of-field to capture something with which the viewer can empathize,” Butler tells The Creators Project, when asked about his process. “I want the image to capture moments as 'real experiences.' I guess I don't see it differently from street photography methodologies in reality,” Title: KIAYIuBcCEOseGztW-J8TQ_0_0 | Date: 2016 | Medium: Digital photograph. Giving a new dimension to his ongoing experiments that use out-of-the-box (unhacked) video game features their mediums, he explains that, using the player's phone camera, he “chose this uncanny 'human' subject to look at how we as individuals can autonomously produce artworks (and exist) within experiences that are mediated by corporations.” Title: 4h1NrGU3EEKZkW58F1MNPg_0_0 | Date: 2016 | Medium: Digital photograph. In exploring the skid row streets of Los Santos, he creates a bridge between reality and the virtual world, one that raises more than a few digital- era issues. “Using a simulation to explore this subject removes many ethical problems that can be attached to the act of photographing poverty,” Butler says. “But I would like this project to begin to question the ownership of being itself within proprietary corporate virtual realities,” he adds. The photojournalism 2.0+ project also questions topics like community belonging and social integration. Title: NlyUcA7fOE-9lAZIyUJd6Q_0_0 | Date: 2016 | Medium: Digital photograph. Indeed, the non-playing, processor-powered transients that wander the game's many neighborhoods play no decisive roles, nor have any influence on the narrative. Instead, they're just part of the decor, providing the game with more ambient human presences. "Their position within the GTA V socioeconomic order is based on our own world, I guess Marxist critiques can then be applied,” Butler explains. “I'm trying not to just focus on the 'personalities' in the simulation, but the surroundings, the infrastructure, and the causes of these apparent social problems.” Title: o1o9tdNePkWXRVUUsGQD7w_0_0 | Date: 2016 | Medium: Digital photograph. Using an algorithm-fed bot to share new photos every day, as well as to infiltrate networks related to photography, street-photography, and ethnographic photography, Down and Out in Los Santos not only explores social issues, it also aims to revisit essential photo fundamentals. “Perhaps the simulated nature of this practice can pose questions to photography communities about the current nature of the medium?” Butler concludes. Title: XdsHvyNxIEmnkQ3SJNBjKQ_0_0 | Date: 2016 | Medium: Digital photograph. Title: xOw0iAk-uk6cvavPKnsnIw_0_0 | Date: 2016 | Medium: Digital photograph. Title: ZP2wxSHEXUqy7AiljlvdcQ_0_0 | Date: 2016 | Medium: Digital photograph. Click here to check-out the whole series, and here to learn more about Alan Butler's practice. Related: Grand Theft Auto Photo Essay Imagines A New Narrative Within The Game Watch A Music Video "Filmed" Entirely On The Virtual Streets Of Grand Theft Auto V Step Inside Grand Theft Auto New Zealand 2016-05-24 18:00 Benoit Palop
34 Africa Ascending, Part III: Contemporary Artists on the Continent Find a Collector Base at Home Related Artists El Anatsui Kader Attia Yto Barrada Nadia Kaabi-Linke Hatem El-mekki Zaha Hadid Anatsui’s "Focus," 2015, in aluminum and copper wire. / Courtesy Jonathan Greet and October Gallery, London 2016-05-24 17:58 Angela
35 A Parade for the Return of Art's Native Son All Images courtesy of Terence Koh and Andrew Edlin Gallery. Photos by Andrew Nunes After a two year "retirement," Terence Koh made his comeback to the art world this past Saturday. Koh spent his time away on a remote patch of land in the Catskill Mountains, which seems to have guided the artist toward an attunement with nature, and helped him shed his infamously deviant artistic tendencies (which included covering his own poop in gold and selling it for half a million dollars). terence koh: bee chapel, a show with Koh’s new gallerist Andrew Edlin , marks the artist’s grand return, and what better way than to celebrate an icon than with a parade? Or, perhaps, a protest. Or, something in between. On the day of the show’s opening, a large procession marched from First Avenue and First Street to the gallery on the Bowery. Dozens of individuals—including Koh’s parents, but not Koh himself— carried protest signs and waved flags emblazoned with the words “NOW” and shouting “What do we want? Now? When do we want it? Now!” Although their demands were unclear—even the people holding the signs were unsure of the significance— there was a very clear and real sculpture at the helm of the parade. A ceramic individual in an astronaut outfit emblazoned with a menagerie of strange pins and patches lay with its back upon a plank, carried on all sides by four individuals. Amongst the ornaments were a pin of the Dalai Lama placed next to a police patch, another code seemingly impossible to decipher, but then again, the impossibility of meaning seems to be Koh’s favorite artifice. Once the march reached the gallery, the vast horde of people piled into the tight, but long series of rooms. Along the walls of the first room were a series of dioramic sculptures containing unique combinations of natural elements, human artifacts, and anatomical sculptures. let there bee light, for example, is a mix of earth, vintage photo slides, bees, seeds, and a vintage postcard of the Twin Towers. On the ground near these dioramas was an eerie sculpture of an abandoned, screaming baby in beeswax, with a “Fear Nothing But Fear” pin clamped on its chest. Behind a curtain lay the next room, covered in soil and nearly pitch-black if not for a red light bulb dangling off of the fallen apple tree that occupies most of the space. Uprooted and taken from where Koh lives in the Catskills, the tree will supposedly be returned and replanted at the show’s conclusion. A series of vibrations reverberates throughout the room. They are amplified soundwaves that originate from every physical interaction that happens with the tree, facilitated by EEG wires. Throughout the exhibition, these sounds will be recorded and sent off via satellite into space, in hopes that extraterrestrial life can experience bee chapel , too. After crossing another soil-filled room with a two-ended candle illuminating the way, I reached the home of the bee chapel. Mounds of dirt have been molded into makeshift steps, which lead the viewer up to a rounded yellow structure. In order to enter the chamber, which is smaller than the average human, viewers must take their shoes off and kneel. The interior is entirely empty except for a separated chamber at the top, through which the bees fly in and out. Ultimately, there is a strange role-reversal here. bee chapel is a rare example of a man-made creation that elevates nature and natural life above humanity, as hundreds of viewers line-up anxiously to pay homage to the shrine-workplace of bees, rather than carelessly exploiting the products of their labor. terence koh: bee chapel will be on view in all of its bizarre glory until July 1st at Andrew Edlin Gallery. Related: He's Baaack... New 'Moss Clocks' Change with the Times Majestic Koi Fish Swim the Line Between Nature and Art 2016-05-24 17:35 Andrew Nunes
36 Shia LaBeouf Launches #TAKEMEANYWHERE Would you pick up actor Shia LaBeouf if you saw him on the side of the road? That's essentially what the actor-cum-artist is asking of the public with his latest project, titled #TAKEMEANYWHERE, which is part of an ongoing collaboration with artists Nastja Säde Rönkkö and Luke Turner. LaBeouf announced the project on Twitter, sending out a new geographic coordinate daily. Plugging the number into Google Maps revealed a series of roads and intersections that resemble letters (similar to NASA's "Alphabet in the Sky" ). Put together, the resulting images spell the name of the project, in which the actor will be sharing his location and inviting anyone to come, pick him up, and drive him wherever they want. As with his earlier performance art, LaBeouf is working with Rönkkö and Turner , the other two members of the Campaign Book art collective. Previous work includes a durational performance piece in which LaBeouf watched all of his movies in a single sitting , running a 144-laps around Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum , and LaBeouf sitting in a gallery with a paper bag over his head. For the next 30 days, in their own unique, high-tech version of the great American road trip, the three will depend on the kindness of strangers, travelling based on the whims of their drivers. (#TAKEMEANYWHERE takes its name from a similar solo piece of Rönkkö's, in which she blindfolded herself, mounted a horse, and let her four-legged friend roam as it pleased.) Commissioned by the Finnish Institute in London and the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA), the project is part of BMoCA's MediaLive festival. Footage shot by the trio during their journey will be screened at both museums. You can track their progress on the project website , which features a map with real time updates on their journey. The first group to pick up LaBeouf quickly posted about their experience on Reddit. In a video, three young men recount how they successfully tracked down the actor despite dying phone batteries and location coordinates that changed at the last minute, and found themselves breaking bread with LaBeouf at Colorado's Oskar Blues Brewery. "We just had a family meal, it was beautiful," said one of the participants. "A bunch of handsome motherfuckers! " LaBeouf interjected. The video ends with a split-second clip of LaBeouf's terrifyingly-intense motivational speech , shot for a grad student's art project. If the first participants are any indication, LaBeouf's goal of "making friends," as he told Vice , appears to be a resounding success. The project, he thinks, is unique in that it will be physically wide-ranging, but will be directly experienced by only a few individuals. "What's trippy is, it's the most expansive and most intimate thing we've done," he says. Watch LaBeouf with his first group of drivers: Follow artnet News on Facebook. 2016-05-24 17:34 Sarah Cascone
37 37 Ashley Graham Launches Swimsuits for All Collection Now, the model, who landed the cover of the magazine this year, is launching a swimwear line for the brand. The collection, which ranges from a one-piece halter style with lace-up details to a two- piece bikini adorned with Swarovski crystals, is available now and retails from $79 to $398. Graham, who plays Joe Jonas’ love interest in DNCE’s music video for “Toothbrush,” has had a big couple of years. Along with appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated and Glamour’s special issue with Lane Bryant , she inked a deal with Dressbarn on a capsule collection of dresses and introduced her Addition Elle lingerie collection in the U. S. Previously, Graham, who also calls herself a body activist, told WWD she’s also interested in creating an active line for the plus-size market. “Activewear is lacking in the plus division because I think people don’t think plus-size women work out,” said Graham, who has partnered with Net-a- porter on the Curvy Fit Club workout video. Click through the slideshow to see every look from the swimwear collection. 2016-05-24 17:30 Aria Hughes
38 Puppies Will Present a Different Video Every Day of the Berlin Biennale Still from Puppies Puppies’s TheRing. COURTESY BERLIN BIENNALE This year’s DIS-curated Berlin Biennale, which has a terrific line-up , will run for a little more than three months, from June 4 through September 18, but if you cannot make it to the German capital during that stretch, you can, at least, take solace in a bit of news that comes to us from the New York gallery Queer Thoughts—Puppies Puppies will present a different video every day of the biennial’s run on the Internet, starting today. To be clear, that means 107 Puppies Puppies videos will appear over the course of the biennial, and that’s not even counting the one that’s already posted. Puppies Puppies is a Los Angeles– based artist who is known mostly for oddball performances that often reference Dadaism and Hollywood films. Most recently, PP staged a performance at the Material Art Fair in Mexico City that combined an allusion to Marcel Duchamp’s Étant Donné with an image of Shrek. PP has also dressed up as Spongebob and Voldemort, and created entire shows about Minions and horseshoe crabs. The first of the Berlin Biennale Puppies Puppies is rather simply called TheRing and features a man finding a piece of jewelry on top of a mountain, probably in reference to the Lord of the Rings series. Needless to say, it’s weird. Head over to the Berlin Biennale site to see it. 2016-05-24 17:24 Alex Greenberger
39 ap works 3D printed motorcycle ap works, a subsidiary of airplane manufacturer airbus, exhibited the wide applicability of 3D manufacturing with an ridable electric motorcycle that weighs just 35 kilograms. equipped with a six kilowatt motor, the bike accelerates in a few seconds to 80 km/h. it was originally produced from billions of particles of special aluminum allow, which were welded by laser sintering. the main frame was based on theoretical algorithms to create the best structure to accommodate the loads occurring during riding. the result is an organic layout similar to an exoskeleton found in nature. the elaborate construction using the same algorithm could be implemented in other industries creating similar outcomes in design. the hollow frame enables wires and cables to run through the whole structure, with all the mounting points integrated together. the hollow frame enables wires and cables to run through the whole structure the corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy has very similar specific strengths to titanium - an exceptional level of ductility allows the material to be deformed just before breaking. this ability makes it particularly interesting for numerous applications in robotics, automotive and aerospace industries. ap works plan to 3D print 50 limited edition frames for the public to enjoy. two main pieces make up the whole frame 2016-05-24 17:10 Piotr Boruslawski
40 Paddle8 Sees High-Profile Layoffs and Departures as Company Shifts Gears After Merger With Auctionata The Paddle8 offices. COURTESY PADDLE8 Online auction house Paddle8 has suffered a number of defections from its top ranks, while also laying off several employees, as the company adjusts to its merger with rival startup Auctionata, ARTnews has learned. In recent weeks over a dozen staffers have left either on their own volition or at the behest of the company, marking a realignment of its priorities as it forges ahead alongside its new partner. Of the 16 Paddle8 cofounders, directors, and business executives featured in a photo spread accompanying a W magazine print feature on the company just a year ago, nearly half are now gone. Among those laid off were Sarah Hanson, who as editorial director oversaw a carefully calibrated blend of marketing endeavors. For example: the sale of work from the collection of jet-setting bon vivant Johnny Pigozzi was accompanied by both a long and colorful magazine-style profile by Hanson (who was previously the editor-in-chief of Art + Auction , and has also held positions at ARTnews ) and a splashy party at Soho Beach House during Art Basel Miami Beach. The company’s logo. COURTESY PADDLE8 Sources indicated that with Hanson’s dismissal—just months after she was brought on board last September—Paddle8’s entire editorial endeavor is to be scrapped or drastically reduced; her position is presumed to be eliminated, and there are no editorial job listings on the Paddle8 careers page. Another editorial staffer, associate editor Rebecca Bates, has left the company as well, along with the editorial coordinator Izabel Nielsen. Several of Paddle8’s rival art startups—including Artnet, Artspace, and Artsy— retain active editorial platforms with multiple staff writers and robust freelance budgets. This marks a quick divergence from the plan for the editorial component laid out following a Series C investment round that raised $34 million last fall, got Jay Jopling and Damien Hirst to cough up funds, and saw new investor David Zwirner joining the board of investors. When Artinfo’s Mostafa Heddaya asked Paddle8 cofounder Alexander Gilkes about Hanson’s hiring, Gilkes said, “Editorial will absolutely be an important part of the marketing channel and how we improve the overall user experience.” “I think Sarah’s involvement will be very much on the user cultivation, seduction, and contextualization,” he added. Ellis Kelleher, a specialist and head of modern art, is also leaving but staying on as a consultant. In another high-profile departure, Thomas Galbraith, who left archrival Artnet in 2013 to become Paddle8’s managing director, also left this month. Also gone is Dave Harper, the director of special projects who joined in 2013 from the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Paddle8 co-founder Alexander Gilkes. COURTESY PADDLE8 Gilkes cofounded Paddle8 with Osman Khan and Aditya Julka but, due to his skills as an auctioneer at charity galas and globe-trotting footprint, he often serves as the company’s public face. He has been profiled nearly a dozen time in a number of general interest newspapers and magazines— W reported from his wedding to fashion designer Misha Noono , which took place on an island fort in Venice that had never been used for a private event, and featured entertainment from singer Lana Del Rey. With the merger, Gilkes will be spending a good chunk of his time working from the Auctionata headquarters in Berlin, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. He will also serve as gavel-wielder during livestreams of sales that will be filmed at Auctionata’s studio space in Chelsea. Sources indicated that like most startups, Paddle8 has a high rate of turnover, with waves of defections and hiring sprees accompanying fundraising cycles. For example, Caitlin Tormey, the head of operations, and Clare MacGoey, the chief financial officer, left earlier this year. And yet sources also said that this current exodus is more pronounced than others. In a statement sent this afternoon, Khan said, “A merger is an inevitable inflection point, and in the past month Paddle8 has seen the departure of some of our colleagues in the lead up to and following our merger with Auctionata. Some left to pursue other passions and opportunities, and others as a result of corporate restructuring. In all cases, we are grateful for their contributions to Paddle8.” Several of the staffers were let go on the morning the merger was announced, around the same time the company brought in bottles of champagne for a celebratory toast at 11 a.m. More exits are forthcoming, according to sources. A full list of departures is below. Dave Harper, director of special projects and client development Thomas Galbraith, managing director Kate Brambilla, senior director of business development Maria Garcia-Luben, specialist Abby Caulkins, valuations and auctions coordinator Ellis Kelleher, head of modern art Vivian Brodie, head of emerging art Rebecca Bates, associate editor Izabel Nielsen, social media and editorial coordinator Sarah Hanson, editorial director David Trujillo, junior specialist Alex Miciotta, shipping and logistics manager 2016-05-24 16:46 Nate Freeman
41 All Hail Colin Furze's Flamethrower Guitar Screencap via The phrase "DIY pyrotechnics" seems more likely to wind up on a police incident report than an art website, but the way inventor Colin Furze straps blowtorches onto everyday objects certainly is an art. The latest Furze gadget to gush flame is a hacked and hacked-apart Frankenguitar, á la the Doof Warrior from Mad Max: Fury Road. Thanks to a bit of Arduino magic, it can shoot fire in time to the music radiating from its hybrid amp / gas tank. If heat's not your thing, Furze also made a companion bass guitar that spews smoke and has built-in strobe lights, completing the 80s shock-rock tour de force. Furze has strapped flamethrowers, fireworks, and jet engines to various objects in the past, including go karts , a windmill , and his own arms. With the amount of firepower he's packing, he could start a flame war with Rammstein. He'd probably lose—I mean, just look at these guys —but at least the king of "Don't try this at home," would go down in a blaze of glory. Click to see how Furze made the smoke and fire guitars , and check them out in action below. See more of Colin Furze's work on YouTube . Related: Colin Furze Demos His DIY Thermite Launcher Introducing: Colin Furze's Bread Toasting Knife How to Make a Bazooka for Fireworks 2016-05-24 16:10 Beckett Mufson
42 42 Painting Cover-Ups, Exposed! | Conservation Lab Statue of Perseus, Pius-Clemente Museum, Vatican. Photo by Alvesgaspar via Wikimedia Commons In art institutions across the globe, time machines and investigation rooms exist behind closed doors. Dusty artworks go in and come out looking centuries younger; artists’ secrets are brought to light; and hidden, unfinished images emerge from behind famous compositions. Every week, we'll peek beneath the microscope and zoom in on the art of preservation, where art meets science and just a little bit of magic: this is Conservation Lab. Crass humor, sacrilegious ideas, and of course, penises—these are just some of the things that have aroused impassioned opposition throughout art history. Considering the unspeakable number of artworks that have been destroyed in the name of religion, politics, or decency , we should probably be thankful in cases wherein the original still exists (with but a few dabs of concealer). And now that conservators have X-ray vision and other modern powers at their disposal, they’re getting better and better at uncovering artists’ true intentions—and the intentions of those who couldn’t handle the heat. Pre- and post-conservation views of Hendrick van Anthonissen’s View of Scheveningen Sands, c.1641. © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. When Hendrick van Anthonissen’s View of Scheveningen Sands was gifted to the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1873, no one knew why all those people were gathered on the beach, heading in a single direction. The composition finally started to make sense when conservator Shan Kuang found evidence of overpainting, and carefully scratched it off until the Dutch painter’s massive beached whale found its way back to shore. Experts speculate the dead animal was considered unpalatable, and that the alteration was made a century or two after the picture was painted so it would sell more easily. Just a classic tale of money trumping creativity. (Left) British School, possibly Coventry. The Kiss of Judas, c. 1470. © The Hamilton Kerr Institute. (Back) Back of panel, where infrared technology unveiled faint traces of lettering. When it isn’t money getting in the way of an artist’s vision, it’s usually religion. During the Protestant Reformation, Puritan iconoclasts pulverized nearly every church painting in England, making the above medieval depiction of Judas a true rarity. Last year, infrared imaging performed on the back of the panel revealed faint traces of lettering, and explained why this one was spared: It had been turned around and repurposed to list the Ten Commandments instead. John Dee demonstrating an experiment before Queen Elizabeth I, by Henry Gillard Glindoni. Painting above, X-ray imaging below. Courtesy of Wellcome Library, London. 16th century polymath John Dee is remembered as a complex, enigmatic figure—he was both a rigorous scholar and an avid magician who spent a good part of his life trying to commune with angels. Yet when Victorian artist Henry Gillard Glindoni tried to pay tribute to Dee’s occultist tendencies in a painting of the man performing an experiment, a nervous buyer likely quashed his ambitions. Glindoni’s original vision included a circle of skulls at Dee’s feet, which the artist eventually painted over. A century later, though, the skulls have been fighting their way back towards the surface, bleeding through the top layers of paint. The pentimento was clarified with X-ray imaging in 2015. Detail of Isack van Ostade (Dutch, 1621-1649), Peasants Outside a Farmhouse Butchering Pork, 1641. © The Norton Simon Foundation. Above, pre-conservation. Below, post-conservation (photography courtesy the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles). 2015 was also a good year for Isack van Ostade’s bathroom humor. In November , the Royal Collection Trust announced that restorers had discovered a pooping man in one of his paintings, who had been hiding behind a bush that was added in the early 1900s. In December , it was the Norton Simon Foundation’s turn, revealing another open-air toilet scene in one of Ostade’s works. This time, the squatting offender was disguised as sitting on a stool. Isack’s brother Adriaen was long considered the rowdier of the two 17th century genre painters, but these back-to-back discoveries set the records straight. Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment, painted in the Sistine Chapel between 1536 and 1541. When it comes to masking indecency, the Vatican might rank highest on the scoreboard. Not even Michelangelo was spared from the great fig leaf campaign of the 16th century: After his death, strategically placed bits of drapery were added to his very fleshy rendition of the Last Judgment. Many of these, however, were removed in a later restoration. Let that serve as a warning to anyone who tries to cover up controversy— sooner or later, we’ll see right through it. Related: Microscopic Slivers of Artworks Reveal Hidden Truths | Conservation Lab Layer by Layer Reconstructions of Old Master Paintings | Conservation Lab Inside Harvard’s Incredible Collection of Rare Pigments | Conservation Lab 2016-05-24 16:10 Noémie Jennifer
43 A 20' Inflatable Refugee Sails the Danish Coast Inflatable Refugee, Venice, Italy, November 2015. Photos by by Dirk Kinot, courtesy Schellekens & Peleman A 20-foot tall sculpture, Inflatable Refugee , is to set sail around the world as part of a nomadic art project aimed at drawing attention to the European refugee crisis. Belgian visual artist collective Schellekens & Peleman are behind the touring artwork, which features a massive adult male wearing a lifejacket and blue jeans, hugging his knees in the fetal position. This a direct reference to the thousands of refugees who have been forced to flee their homes on dangerously overcrowded ships. This interpretation is underscored in the project’s description, which notes that the inflatable sculpture is made from the same material used to make the inflatable boats commonly used by human traffickers to cross the Mediterranean Sea. According to the artists, the inflatable man was enlarged in proportion to the Western world’s reaction to the influx of refugees in 2015. As the Inflatable Refugee description states, the project is determined to shed light on the dehumanization of the refugee in recent years and “invite the audience to reflect on geopolitical evolutions, migration and identity.” Inflatable Refugee, Venice, Italy, November 2015. Photo by Dirk Knot Inflatable Refugee will run in conjunction with the artist collective’s corresponding Moving Stories project. In each town, Schellekens & Peleman works to put local refugees in touch with those living nearby. The artists invite resident refugees to write an open letter to the citizens of their adoptive home. Those letters are then printed and copied as many times as there are nationalities. For example, 166 copies of each letter were printed in Antwerp, as there are 166 registered nationalities there. The letters are then taken and posted in mailboxes at random with a postcard that enables the receiver to get in touch with the author. Schellekens & Peleman will sail their interventionist art piece on a tour around the Danish coast on the 23rd and 24th of May, starting their journey in Helsingor, heading over to Copenhagen, and ending up in Kastrup. The Inflatable Refugee was unveiled in Venice late last year and has since then traveled through Antwerp and Uppsala, with plans to go on to Rotterdam and Melbourne. Check out a video of the Inflatable Refugee in Venice below: To learn more about the Inflatable Refugee project, head over to Schellekens & Peleman’s website, here. Get involved in the Moving Stories correspondence project on its website, here. Related: Illustrating a Migrant's Experience in 3D Art New Banksy Mural Lampoons 'Les Miserables' for Refugees A Mechanical Sculpture Reframes the Legacy of Mexican Migrant Workers 2016-05-24 15:45 Nathaniel Ainley
44 tate modern switch house expansion by herzog & de meuron tate modern's switch house expansion by herzog & de meuron set to open in london tate modern’s switch house expansion by herzog & de meuron set to open in london image © iwan baan next month, a new ten-storey building at london’s tate modern art gallery will open its doors to the public for the first time. designed by herzog & de meuron — the acclaimed swiss firm who originally transformed the former power station 16 years ago — the expansion is situated behind the original building, offering 60% more space for visitors to explore. combining raw industrial spaces with refined contemporary architecture, the interior of the extension features raw concrete folded into dramatic angles, offering a dynamic series of spaces capable of hosting a diverse range of different types of art. a rugged brick façade matches the surface of the existing building image © iwan baan taking its name from part of power station that the new galleries now occupy, the height of the ‘switch house’ responds to the building’s famous chimney which measures 99 meters in height. a rugged brick façade matches the surface of the existing structure, while creating a perforated brick lattice that allows light to permeate from within. its twisting, pyramid- like shape culminates in a new roof terrace with panoramic views of the river thames, st paul’s cathedral and the rapidly changing london skyline. ‘the form is something between a very rational form and a very irrational form, a pyramidal shape,’ explains jacques herzog. ‘it’s to do with the geometries of the land parcel, but also angles that will lead people into the galleries.’ a sculptural staircase connects each of the extension’s 10 storeys image © iwan baan a late-opening bar overlooks a busy new public square to the south of the gallery, with a new restaurant on level 9 also offering sweeping views across the city. a bar-adjacent shop allows guests to browse exhibition- related products, while a series of small landings and enclaves spread out from a sculptural staircase — providing visitors with designated areas where they can stop to discuss or reflect. the tate modern ‘switch house’ will officially open to the public on june 17, 2016. see designboom’s previous coverage of the project here. visitors are provided with designated areas where they can stop to discuss or reflect image © iwan baan sweeping views are provided across the city below image © iwan baan the twisting, pyramid-like shape culminates in a new roof terrace with panoramic views image © iwan baan the tate modern switch house will officially open to the public on june 17, 2016 image © iwan baan 2016-05-24 15:43 Philip Stevens
45 Expired Medicine Creates Abstract Animal Paintings Tripoli Hippo, 2016 (Potassium permanganate, charcoal tablets, Calamine lotion and Med-Lemon on canvas) In the ever-expanding range of unconventional media available to contemporary artists, few would consider using over-the-counter treatments, including topical antiseptics and effervescent vitamin C tablets as raw material in paintings. But South African artist Jo Voysey sees creative opportunities where others only see medicinal remedies. As it turns out, her unorthodox choice of media couldn't be more appropriate for the subject of her latest collection of both small and large-scale paintings, Animal , currently on view at Commune.1 in Cape Town. Born in Johannesburg and based in Cape Town, Voysey first realized the potential behind using medicine as a medium while an undergraduate art student. "At the time, I was working with ideas of hurt, loss and healing related to my experience of the sudden and traumatic deaths of my three uncles," she says. Voysey was looking for a medium that could evoke the human form, which she didn't want to depict naturalistically. "Medicine offered to be the perfect 'paint,' and continues to function analogically with loss and healing in my work, except now I am primarily concerned with giving painterly form to the complex relationship between humans and animals," she explains. "My medium and my process results in works that, to me, are the embodiment of the harrowing narrative of abuse, tragedy, and ignorance. " Malooh, 2016 (Copper sulphate, potassium permanganate, gastropect, Sedacur tablets, Med-Lemon, vitamin C fizzy and charcoal tablets on canvas) All images courtesy of the artist. From farm animals such as sheep and pigs, to more exotic mammals such as hippos, wildebeest, and big cats, the creatures in Voysey's Animal series serve as subtle yet profound reminders of humankind's often brutish and typically careless attitude towards nonhuman, though no less sentient, lifeforms. In depicting her subjects, Voysey works with artistically unstable substances such as charcoal tablets, iodine tincture, potassium permanganate, antiquated antimalarial medication, and other treatments for common ailments such as the colds and flu. "When I first started using medicine, I only worked with what I could find in my medicine cabinet at home. I then slowly started receiving expired medicine from my lecturers and classmates, which broadened my color palette. I now work with a vast variety of medicines, all based on what was once donated to me. " Kliwon, 2016 (Savlon antiseptic, Sedacur tablets and potassium permanganate on canvas) Voysey says she initially chooses which medicines she'll used based on their color. "Before starting a painting, I spend some time working out which medicine I will use where, in the hope that some of what I envision in my mind will be interpreted on the surface—although it very rarely turns out that way. " As far as using medicine as paint, Voysey admits there are a number of obstacles. Because she works with medicine in liquid form, she has to paint flat on the floor as opposed to upright. But that's not all. "I think the thing I struggle with the most is the inability to lighten the work or bring light back into the painting," she says. "Once the medicine has stained the canvas, it is impossible to remove it. Sometimes I am able to scrub away at certain marks, lightening them to a degree, but never fully removing them. At times I simply have to make a new painting directly over one that is not working, and at other times I just have to allow for the work to get very dark; sometimes it works, and other times it does not. " Four Hundred and Fifty Sheep, 2015 (Gastropect, Friar’s Balsam, iodine tincture, charcoal tablets and potassium permanganate on canvas) While Voysey says that every medicine has its pros and cons, she's especially fond of Mercurochrome, the name brand for merbromin, a topical antiseptic that's not available in the United States because of its high mercury content. Its bold color and independent nature allows Voysey to relinquish control and let it "do whatever it chooses to do on the surface. " Charcoal tablets, which Voysey dissolves before placing on her canvases, are another matter. "The black liquid is is forever changing in consistency and in color density, making it incredibly temperamental before it is even on the surface," she says. Sixteen Thousand Pigs, 2016 (Calamine lotion, Friar’s Balsam, Mercurochrome and charcoal tablets on canvas) Either way, Voysey's method and its unexpected results serve as visual representations of the human interference with the natural order of the animal kingdom, and its unforeseen and unfortunate consequences. The lack of control over our interactions with animals is the very lack of control Voysey is exploring in her artwork through the use of medicine over traditional media. As she says, "The unpredictable nature of the medicine's chemical makeup makes it incredibly difficult to know what is going to happen on the surface. " Still, it's the unpredictable quality of the medium that is what Voysey actually loves about it, too. "For me, one of the greatest advantages is the lack of control and the idea that the medicine guides me," she says. "Working with this medium has encouraged me to be brave and prevented me from becoming too precious about the works. " Ten Thousand Wildebeest, 2016 (Med-Lemon, charcoal tablets, potassium permanganate and copper sulphate on canvas) Twenty Thousand Squid, 2016 (Mercurochrome, Sedacur tablets, Friar’s Balsam and iodine tincture on canvas) War, 2016 (Charcoal tablets, potassium permanganate, iodine tincture, Friar’s Balsam, vitamin C fizzy, Sedacur tablets and Mercurochrome on canvas) Wounded, 2016 (Charcoal tablets, Mercurochrome and Calamine lotion on canvas) Burnt, 2015 (Mercurochrome, charcoal tablets, gastropect, Friar’s Balsam, vitamin C fizzy, Pectrolyte, Sedacur Tablets and iodine tincture on canvas) Untitled, 2015 (Med-Lemon, Mercurochrome, gastropect, Pectrolyte, potassium permanganate and charcoal tablets on canvas) Animal is on view at Commune.1 in Cape Town through June 3, 2016. Related: Blind Artist Paints from 26 Years of Memories Artist "Paints" with Artificial Life and Computer Viruses 7 Artists Who Paint with Everything (Except Paint) 2016-05-24 14:50 Tanja M
46 Artist Turns Boat into Mirrored Art & Sound Installation Cyril de Commarque, Rendering for Fluxland, 2016, courtesy of the artist A mirrored polyhedron boat will take to the river Thames in London in September. Designed by artist Cyril de Commarque , it's currently being built in a Dutch shipyard. The piece is called Fluxland and will turn a 25 meter-long former 50s freight boat into a drifting art installation that will also play audio remixed by de Commarque. The boat will be a curiosity to inspire reflection—quite literally—upon those who see it, and will host a debate from "leading thinkers and keynote speakers in the fields of philosophy, science, technology, sociology and art" about the "intersection of philosophy, history, and the notion of human progress," at some point along its voyage. "I think this type of work should try to address a very large public who perhaps are not well acquainted with the art world," de Commarque tells The Creators Project. "The sound that will emerge out of the boat and its reflective material will create a spectacle both for active visitors and for those who are just passing by. " Cyril de Commarque, Fluxland in production, 2016, courtesy of the artist The shape of the sculpture itself, a polyhedron, was chosen for its artistic and philosophical heritage. It's a shape that was written about by Plato and the ancient Greeks, and has appeared in art and inspired debate and chin- stroking relfection right up through the Renassaince, to Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti, and German painter Anselm Kiefer. "The polyhedron has been subject to many interpretation and symbols," notes de Commarque. "After the Renaissance, the dominant interpretation is that it symbolizes melancholia. " De Commarque wants to inspire thoughtful meditations in those who see his converted vessel. The mirrored surfaces are also a symbol of this, reflecting the city along with the public, and also a nod to artist Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Mirror Paintings. Cyril de Commarque, Working sketch for Fluxland, 2016, courtesy of the artist As well as hosting a debate, the boat will be open to the public, who will be able to board it when it moors along the river, look inside, and enjoy its immersive, birdsong-filled environment. Fluxland 's name is a reference to the Fluxus movement from the 60s, and the ideas of artists like Joseph Beuys and John Cage, who believed art and daily life should intersect and inform one another. Cyril de Commarque, Working sketch for Fluxland, 2016, courtesy of the artist "Looking at the world today, it seems we are on the border of chaos," de Commarque says. "I believe that in this time, there is a need for the artist to step up to their political duties. The idea for Fluxland came from a need to interact with the city and to engage the public by creating a new, interactive space for debate. The choice to use the boat was a way to enter the city and open discussion through the void created by the river. The river is an unexploited zone for projects like this and is very visible. " Cyril de Commarque, Fluxland in production, 2016, courtesy of the artist Fluxland will be on view starting September 8, 2016. Various locations, River Thames, London. Click here for more information. This event is part of Totally Thames , which runs from September 1-30, 2016. Visit Cyril de Commarque's website here. Related [Exclusive] Building Art Boats for a Music Festival on a Lake Four Horsemen of the Environmental Apocalypse Arrive in London Take a Hallucinatory Boat Ride Inside a Museum 2016-05-24 14:10 Kevin Holmes
47 Get an Art Lesson from Calvin and Hobbes Screencaps via Calvin and Hobbes comic strips have been discontinued for years, but the impact of Bill Watterson's legendary characters still remains. Video essayist kaptainkristian discusses Calvin and Hobbes ' impact on how we think about art and captialism in a new short called Calvin & Hobbes - Art Before Commerce. In it, he cites Watterson's refusal to merchandise his characters, numerous efforts to defy traditional comic panel formats, even abandoning "panels" altogether, and his direct meditations on art in the comics. "People always make the mistake of thinking art is created for them," reads a simple, single-panel comic, but it speaks multitudes about Watterson's approach to the art world. Another comic tears apart the common perception of "High Art" and "Low Art" by suggesting scenarios in which a painting is in a comic strip, a comic strip is in a painting, and a comic strip is in a painting in a comic strip. "He firmly believed that an artist's work shouldn't be judged by the medium in which it's created. There was no such thing as low and high art, just creations that either speak to people or don't," kaptainkristian narrates. Calvin and Hobbes is timeless for many reasons, and kaptainkristian explains those at length in the video. But one point that stands out is that, by refusing to merchandise, Watterson has forced those that love his work to invent new stories, create toys and memorobelia, and keep the characters alive themselves. Now Calvin and Hobbes is as much the community who loves it as it is the product of the incredible and principled storyteller who let it go. See more of kaptainkristian's work on YouTube and click here to donate to his Patreon. Related: The Real-Life Supergirl Behind the New 'Supergirl' Comics The World's Smallest Comic Is Etched On A Human Hair Forget 'Batman v Superman,' the Original Superman Cartoon Rules 2016-05-24 14:00 Beckett Mufson
48 jacobsen arquitetura visually blends inside and outside with são paulo house jacobsen arquitetura visually blends inside and outside with são paulo house all images © leonardo finotti taking advantage of the tropical climate and the generous plot of land, rio de janeiro-based firm jacobsen arquitetura have conceived the ‘MLA’ home in the jardins neighborhood of são paulo. the urban dwelling was developed with a brief to be comfortable, warm but open to its surroundings, light and constructed with modern engineering with natural materials. the resulting design sees a single volume that runs parallel with one of its sides open completely to the lush garden landscape occupying the front. the spacious living room acts as the heart of the house the living room opens completely, to form what seems like a sheltered patio and establishing a seamless connection to the outdoor space. this subtle transition between inside and outside, between architecture and garden is continued throughout, with the central circulating space featuring an indoor garden. bedrooms are located on the first floor, placed on either ends of the scheme and connected by a walkway that bisects the double-height living room. greenery is seen on both sides of the house, with the bridge connecting the bedrooms on each side the home is located in the jardins neighborhood of são paulo the structure uses large roof eaves, a slender structure, and wood and stone finishings bi-folding windows open and close on the upper floor the bedrooms, on the first floor, occupy the two ends of the volume and receives most privacy 2016-05-24 13:22 Natasha Kwok
Total 48 articles. Created at 2016-05-25 12:09