Friday, November 30, 2007

London pics...as my camera dies!

You can watch it get worse:


All's well in the food halls at Harrods....


My shoes at the edge of "Shibboleth" at the Turbine Gallery (too lazy to link at the end of the day on a Friday....you saw them all before the other day anyway)


As I get closer to the crack the camera shrieks in purple


The purple haze takes over in the last picture that doens't look like snow!

Believe it or not we also spent time roaming around Hyde Park in the mist, visiting my friend who works in vintage in Notting Hill (ha, in vintage), and walking up Upper St as we used to when we had little ££ & lots of time. We didn't make it to many favourite old spots (Primrose HIll, Chalk Farm, Camden, Shepards Bush (oh how I would have loved to spend some time thrifting if the $$ wasn't so crap!), but it was a short trip so it didn't sting too bad. And now I need to buy a new camera so it's probablt for the best.

Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

London ephemera

So I just came back from a trip to London of the short, hectic and super-fun variety. I lived there for almost 2 and a half years up until this time last year. So it was with a bit of a heavy heart that I came home on Monday. I miss it a bit over there. Strangely, visiting felt as if time had stood still this year. J & I visited friends, ran around town, reminisced, and basically were sleeply and awake at all the wrong times.

Here are some of the bits of paper I brought back with me:


These first ones are all from Tate Modern....



Postcard from a Gillian Wearing photograph from the series (see previous link) Signs that say what you want them to say and not signs that say what someone else wants you to say



Dan Flavin 'Monumment' for V. Tatlin
I think the image results page on Google is the best link for him!



The back of the flyer for Doris Salcedo's piece for the Turbine Hall Shibboleth. I have some photos that I'll post of this piece later this week. In looking up a link for Salcedo, I found this from the Istanbul Biennial. Wow!




These two are the packaging from a Louise Bourgeois tea towel. Apparently I have now started a home furnishing art collection. (Post on The Thing is still outstanding!) I'm sad to report we did not see the show though....also sadly missed the V&A Couture show that everyone is raving about. I was only there for a weekend people!



Note to self: Look up Meredith Frampton's work....



Who can resist a proper Dracula? Really just brought it home to reference good films to look for on Netflix....



My lovely Selvedge magazine, that is just too pricey in the US (maybe I'll get a subscription!)

Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Spats Tabulations (for the curious)



1. Are you:
22% A. Male
78%B. Female

2. What are spats?
90% A. Covering for the top of the shoe and the lower part of the leg (correct)
10% B. Two tone leather shoes
0% C. Leggings (correct in Japan!)
0% D. Leather suspenders

3. When do you think people wore spats? (all answers are correct!)
50% A. Pre WWI
29% B. 1930s-40s
6% C. 1700s
15% D. They still do!

4. Who wears spats? (all answers are correct!)
44% A. Military personnel (6% said only military)
32% B. Women
88% C. Men (16% said only men)
65% D. Fashionable people (6% said only fashionable people)
29% E. Workers like welders, loggers, etc.
26% F. My ancestors/relatives
41% G. Movie stars
(12.5% chose all answers)

5. Have you ever worn spats?
12.5% A. Yes
87.5% B. No
(0 men ever wore spats)

6. If not, would you in future?
41% (15% men, 50% women) A. Yes
50% (85% men, 40% women) B. No
(9% wrote in 'maybe' (0% men, 10% women))

7. Do you think spats are in style now?
12.5% (20% women, 0% men) A. Yes
87.5% (80% women, 100% men) B. No

8. Please list any designers or shops where you have seen spats:
–http://wwwshoeblog.com/blog/spats
–There's a tiny mens haberdashery in the East Villiage--9th St. I think I saw them there. Maybe vintage though...
–Does Mr. Peanut cout?How about Scrooge McDuck? Mickey Mouse wore spats sometimes.
–I have no idea what spats are
–SJP used to wear a pair of Calvin Klein ones
–Camper had a pair of heels with a removable spat (only covered the foot, not the ankle), Oh and I also really wanted to get this pair of boots from Sacco a few years ago that had snap off spats so you either had flats or boots. Turned out the flats were a bad shape though.
–none
–Chanel & Prada
–Never, except for the History Channel
–Tuxedo shops
–Have never seen them in the last 55 years. I think my mother had some in the old halloween box when I was a kid.

9. If not, do you think spats will come back in style?
56% A. Yes
34% B. No
(11% wrote in 'maybe')

10. What do you think is the future of spats?
-I don't think about the future of spats
-I think of them as a top hat or cane
-Actually, I think current fashion is spat-inspired. You know the long skinny jean pulled way over the top of the show, even over stillettos. I guess the tops of shoes are stilll considered unsightly.
-The damdest things always manage to come back once--I doubt spats will be any exception.
-I think they will be very popular unless stirrup pants beat them out.
-need a famous movie star or singer to bring it back in style but it will be short lived.
-Not my style...who knows!
-If anything, a short lived comeback in fashion. Mostly, I think nothing of them as I had to google it just to know what they were.
-I have always wanted a pair honestly. I would love a pair of monochromatic, non-contrasty ones to fit over a nice stylish ankle boot to give the option of wearing knee high boots.
-They might come back as part of the whole new dapper thing, esp. among chic black men.
-I think spats will come back in style as a runway thing (gimmick?), but that there won't be popular or widespread adaptation of them. In fact, I know I have seen them portrayed this way in magazines, but I forget when/where, Kind of like how I got an email the other day about the return of the bowler hat. Okay, maybe for the few, but not for the many.
-No future
-Bring them on!
-You never know, fashion seems to look back a lot, perhaps they will find a new life for a time.
-The cabaret, burlesque thing is big now so maybe
-I'm not sure. i think it would be great to have a standard shoe and utilize spats as an accessory.
-Thigh high tights, leg warmers, thigh high boots, I saw a pair on Zappos that were knee high but had decorative leather overlay that went from mid-calf down over the heel and toe. Boots with built in leather spats!
-only a very limited market (for the flamboyant among us)
-paired with wedges or high heels in bright plaids or dyed leather with unusual textures and unexpected features (eg leather frog clasps) and worn as an alternative to boots
-As long as there are marching bands...there's a future for spats (hahahahaha) Seriously, I think they have the potential to be a "cool" accessory for people/consumers who like to deviate a but frm the "typical" fashion trends. They seem like fun to me!
-Alternative styles stemmiing from spats (i.e. spats incorporated into sandals)
-A bright one!
-They could replace legwarmers
-I don't see a future for them
-I suspect they will continue to be reserved for period costumes, marching bands, and maybe military
-I can see some variation in women's footwear coming back around in the next couple of years--maybe with a high heel.

---
Thanks everyone for your answers! I will be presenting my survey results in a small class for work....I found it very interesting to see all the different viewpoints on the future of spats especially.

Labels: , , ,

Monday, November 19, 2007

Round up 9


• Visualizations of time, the pic above mostly closely resembles how I visualize time.....
• A wonderful article from Cabinet Magazine that explores what makes a Readymade, and what is art after all. Or a story about art vandalism. A must read if you are a Duchamp fan.....

From The Coveted:


• I've been meaning to write a bit about Olaf Ureliasson ever since I caught something on the Coveted a while ago, but I guess if you want to know more about his beautiful vision you'll have to look around yourself. Above is The Weather Project 2003 from the (one of my favorite exhibition spaces) Turbine Hall, Tate Modern London
• Interesting ideas about one of a kind No Editions, more here.

From Coudal:


• I am so not a car person!
• A lovely column in The Guardian about objects begins.

From new favorite Girl in the Green Dress:


• I have a soft spot for Space Invaders
Word seach gift tags! But the link on Etsy doesn't seem to work anymore :(

From Make:


• Great office supply selection! This has been linked all over town, but I hadn't see the one above, from Chloe Coulson
• I would love to raise my own silkworms....to make silk!

From Phantasmaphile:


Louise Hindsgavl


Anna Howarth

From PSFK:
• Hey! Getting customers to love and feel attached to a product creates sustainability! Surprise!
• And also: the deathe of trends!

From We Make Money Not Art:
I've been meaning to write about somehting more meaningful to go with these links too, but eh, you do the thinking (see what I mean about me and the internet burnout?)
Knitting
And more knitting

Labels:

Friday, November 16, 2007

more prada love

Just a short one for today....I hope to post my Round Up over the weekend, and then more new, less internetty, things for a while. I'm burned out!

Miuccia Prada wrote a (very) short piece in Wired in June of 2003 about the space around the body. Prada did a raincoat that changed from transparent to opaque when it gets wet:



Somehow this tech-y piece feels nice. Sweet.

Labels: , , , , ,

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Spats!

Hey, anybody out there! I'm doing a survery about spats for a project for my footwear class for work. Got a minute?

SPATS QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Are you:
A. Male
A. Female

2. What are spats?
A. Covering for the top of the shoe and the lower part of the leg
B. Two tone leather shoes
C. Leggings
D. Leather suspenders

3. When do you think people wore spats?
A. Pre WWI
B. 1930s-40s
C. 1700s
D. They still do!

4. Who wears spats? (circle as many as appropriate)
A. Military personnel
B. Women
C. Men
D. Fashionable people
E. Workers like welders, loggers, etc.
F. My ancestors/relatives
G. Movie stars

5. Have you ever worn spats?
A. Yes
B. No

6. If not, would you in future?
A. Yes
B. No

7. Do you think spats are in style now?
A. Yes
B. No

8. Please list any designers or shops where you have seen spats:


9. If not, do you think spats will come back in style?
A. Yes
B. No

10. What do you think is the future of spats?

Labels: ,

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

I know this is supposed to be awesome:



but I'm still not into this tech-y stuff....

I feel like I should be seeing so many possibilities when I see articles about new technology like this, but I can't seem to see past the gimmickiness of it (glowing nipples! ha!). Not that this particular article is talking about using it as anything but functionally, of course.

Maybe I am still a bit scarred from my MA program, or maybe I've been reading too many posts on Make, Boing Boing, and We Make Money Not Art. Not that I don't love those sites (because I really do).....do you think I'm just on overload? Or maybe I'm speding too much time looking and I should be doing more making.....!

Edited: Another one!


Self-warming underwear! Yes, I know, so functional.

Labels:

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

deconstruction




From Design Boom I saw this awesome chair by Peter Andersson and rediscovered my old favorite the David Report. I just resubscribed to the RSS feed, so hopefully more fun with the David Report!

My favorite shot:




Of course, Mr. Andersson has some great other products too:


Stackables


It's an ear plug earring, duh


I want hangers like this please.....


Beautiful tables.....

Also I think he's involved with this lovely project called 20ltd. but I can't find his work on the site anywhere....I love limited edition shit.

!!

Labels: , , ,

Monday, November 12, 2007

Spacing out loud

Boy, am I feeling blah today....I've got a dozen posts half written, and none of them seem interesting enough to finish. Work is slowing down so I don't even have the excuse of being super busy. A trip to London is on the horizon, as well as another visit to Denver. I wish I could say I was just looking forawrd to relaxing and visiting some favorite art museums and favorite pieces of art, but I'm just feeling quite empty-headed.


Last visit to Denver I went to see the new building of the Denver Art Museum, but I found I still prefer the Gio Ponti building. Maybe it's because the beautiful identity system launched with the Ponti building was my first love in my first graphic design job. I kep finding pieces of it in the archives, but it was presented in shambles (and now it's sadly completely done away with). If I can, I will upload a shot of one of the marks I used in a mug design. I love that piece.


I hope to hit the new New Museum very soon here in NYC. I have a super love for those guys because they were one of the first places to carry mine & Justin's book (which I've mentioned before, but don't really have online anymore).


(credit)
A trip to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver is also coming up for me, but to tell you the truth, after just dicking around on their website to find an image to post (found my picture elsewhere, click it for credits) I have my doubts....I also did some graphic design work for them when they were just opened so I'm pretty freaking curious too.

Also it reminds me a bit of the ICA Boston, which I visited last winter:

Labels: ,

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

We're getting The Thing!

I've signed up for The Thing! I'm supposed to still be eligible for the first piece by Miranda July. I'll post pictures when it arrives. I am so excited!

Labels: , ,

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Lucky Squirrel

You know how I love a story about luck:


photo by Michael Doig

Read the full story! (The Swap Meat was involved too!)

Labels:

Monday, November 5, 2007

Round up 8



Sweet notebooks




Manon does lovely clothes, as well as installations and costumes. She writes:
The origins of my work can be traced back to my last year of study at France’s Duperré School of Applied Arts when I carried out a photographic study of the clothes worn by workers in the early 20th century and explored the "traces of wear and tear" on clothes.
ah! The clothes are beautiful, but I'm not in love with the fabric dolls. Although she's totally converted me to loving the dressed objects. Also, she was a research assistant for Elisabeth De Senneville!


• Great article about a Duchamp piece from Cabinet Magazine

• Another interesting article regarding China, this one regarding "luxury"



• Found this site from a post about shoes, but stayed for the great scans of vintage magazines! edited to add: after looking around, some scans have crazy moiré problems, FYI.

Design Boom writes about Monica Bonvicini's winning scultpure commission in oslo
It is meant to be a monument about change, longing and hope, the beauty of the un-done as a permanent state of change


• Emily Davidow writes about Christian Nold's maps. My favorite is the Stockport Emotion map. She also mentions the We Feel Fine project I've listed before.

What color should he paint his bathroom?

From Boing Boing


• I want one!

• This article says 48% of people believe in ESP!

• Free, old, anatomical atlas images for download

Labels:

Thursday, November 1, 2007

hair hair

This article inspired me to look at hair.











Two great sites for more:

Hairstyle History
Gotham Patterns: Hair

Labels: , ,