From the monthly archives: November 2010
An interview with the lensman behind "Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking"
The lead lensman and photo editor behind the forthcoming book "Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking," photographer Ryan Matthew Smith captures food and drink with a keen eye for composition, detail and delectability. In a recent interview with Feature Shoot, Smith discusses the making of the 2,400-page tome and his contribution to making the book renowned chef Ferran Adrià says "will change the way we understand the kitchen.”
From compositing several individual exposures for one enticing cutaway shot of hamburgers on a grill to shooting a lineup of eggs with a 308 sniper rifle at 6200 frames per second, Smith masterfully executed and edited the cookbook's selection of images down from the 1,400 he shot. Smith explains that while he had little studio experience before beginning the project, his extensive portfolio of architecture- and nature-focused photos helped prepare him and that "having a strong artistic sense towards photography in general can easily transfer through any of the disciplines from advertising all the way to fine art."
Smith primarily used a Canon 5D Mark II with zoom and macro lenses to create "minimalist, high contrast imagery that really pops off the page." The small team of food stylists and cooks were generally led by chef Maxime Bilet, who Smith says "endlessly contributed cool photo ideas and did excellent styling on the food plating shots," as well as played an instrumental role in the production and engineering of the cross sectional photos.
Building the sets, shooting (and sometimes reshooting) the food and finally editing the photos was a three year process in total, Smith says. The upshot—a meticulously photographed book that demonstrates the full art form of cooking. "Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking" will sell online starting 14 March 2011.
Rocketeer is the second single off Far East Movement’s major debut album Free Wired. Rocketeer features OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder.
© Copyright 2008 Kineda (74.208.122.66)Get ready for the first Super Street Fighter IV tournament hosted and thrown by Kineda! 
On Saturday, December 4 at GoKart Racer in Burlingame, CA prepare to battle at HADOCON 2010. We’ll have cash prizes and giveaways on hand for both our singles and 3v3 team tournaments. BLG has also sponsored a $100 Beat-The-Champ event that you surely won’t want to miss. If you’re unable to attend for whatever lame reason, HADOCON will be streamed online by the good folks from iPlayWinner.
Pre-register by Saturday, November 27 for $15 or December 2 for $20. For additional event details visit our website or the offical thread on Shoryuken.com. See you there!
© Copyright 2008 Kineda (74.208.122.66)
Holland's new museum paying tribute to some of the world's rarest classic cars
A 1914 Dodge Type 30 was the initial inspiration for the Louwman Collection of classic cars and automotive art housed in the newly-constructed National Automobile Museum of the Netherlands in the Hague. Located near the Queen's Palace, the collection dates back to 1934 when a Dutch car importer happened upon the 20-year-old Dodge that was already vintage classic. The Louwman family continued to expand over the years to its current size, boasting over 230 cars.
The cars are divided up into sections consisting of Dawn of Motoring, Motoring, Racing and Luxury. Highlights include a 1900 Georges Richard, which is rumored to have been found in a Parisian side street and "Genevieve," a 1904 Darracq from the 1953 film. Rare 1948 Tatra T87 and a Spatz Victoria bubble car with central tube chassis, are both designed by the legendary Hans Ledwinka.
The collection includes an impressive range of vehicles, ranging in year and stature from 1944 Willys Jeep Model MB to a 1875 Thirion Modele N 2 Horse Drawn Steam Fire-Engine and 1922 American Lafrance Hook and Ladder Aerial Type 31/6.
Conceived by architecture firm Michael Graves & Associates, the 185,000-square-foot structure with its peaked roofs and woven brick facade, consists of temporary and permanent exhibition galleries, a reception hall, an auditorium and workshops for conservation and car repairs.
Woodworking scraps-turned-fashion in Navajo-inspired necklaces
The side project of CH contributor Mike Giles and his girlfriend Judy Lawrence, Miju jewelry is a peek into how the two mix Mike's furniture design with a creative Montreal-based partnership. For Fall/Winter the duo created "Manha"—an 11-piece assortment of laser-cut wood gems.
Of the Native American-inspired collection, one of our favorites is the "T-Bird necklace" (also available as a brooch). Taking the classic Thunderbird silhouette, the duo then added detailed etching for geometric texture and an overall appealing design. Painted either gold or a combination of red and blue, the necklace hangs at a perfectly situated place across the collarbone, allowing for full visibility that works with a variety of necklines.
Each piece in the collection is made from solid walnut—remnants from other designs Giles creates in his Montreal-based woodworking shop, Furni. The Manha collection sells online from the Miju Etsy site, with prices starting at $36.
Architect Jean Marc Rivet’s funky design for a small gym located in Saint Gilles, France features an imaginative profile that slopes toward the sky. The gym’s inclined, rounded boxes are certainly good fun, but they also provide raised surfaces that capture sunlight. A green roof and a solar array grace the sections crossing the main volume, creating an unexpected look for a simple neighborhood rec room. Getting motivated to hit the gym may be a lot easier when it’s inside such a fun space.
Read the rest of Solar-Powered French Gym Offers an Energizing Workouthttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed
Permalink |
Add to
del.icio.us |
digg
Post tags: day lit gym, french green building, green gym, green roof, Jean Marc Rivet Gym, Saint Gilles building, solar panle
Unicorn tears, Martha's iPad app and behind the windows at Bergdorf's in our survey of the past week online
1. Hook, Line & Dinner
Tha Lobstah Pushah Ben Sargent provides "aquatic infotainment" in his new Cooking Channel show, which tours the Eastern Seaboard with tips on how to catch, prepare and enjoy regional seafood.
2. Tron Legacy by Opening Ceremony
A logical follow-up to Opening Ceremony's fashion collection based on Spike Jonze's "Where The Wild Things Are," the much-hyped Disney sequel "Tron Legacy gets its own line with contributions from enduring NYC design collective threeasfour. Neoprene, laser cut details, and electric hues make the men's and women's collections an equally futuristic, though less expensive, alternative to the higher priced items featured here earlier this week.
3. Bergdorf's Holiday Windows
For those who can't witness the beautifully decorated window displays at Bergdorf Goodman's this holiday season in person, The Moment's slideshow allows for behin-the-scenes viewing of the David Hoey-designed installations in all their whimsical glory—fullscreen viewing recommended.
4. NYC Pop-Ups
While we have our personal favorite, pop-up shops have been popping up everywhere for the holidays and The Scout published a smattering of the others, among them CH favorites Wired and Project No. 8.
5. Martha Stewart Living iPad App
The homemaking mogul continues to develop the digital side of her publishing enterprise in true Martha style with the introduction earlier this month of her gorgeously-designed new iPad app, a special issue of her magazine that relays valuable tips on gardening, decorating, cooking and more in a glossy, multimedia-rich format.
6. Pinch
We may have only just discovered Pinch, but this British husband-and-wife furniture studio that began in 2004 successfully captures an elegantly timeless aesthetic that catches our eye every time.
7. 826DC
The latest from the team behind the retail-meets-tutoring center gems like San Francisco's Pirate Supply Co. and the Superhero Supply Co. in Brooklyn, The Museum of Unnatural History in D.C. features an excellent assortment of spoils and specimen designed by the talented Oliver Munday.
8. Solo
While still in pre-launch, the new project management software for freelancers, Solo has us hopeful that the promises of functionality lives up to the bold design and branding .
The popularity of prefab and shipping container construction is certainly on the rise, but New York City was still the last place we’d ever expected to see one pop up as a residence. Currently sitting in a small, empty lot at the corner of Charles and Washington in the West Village, this spectacular little prefab dubbed the MEKA has been constructed from 70% recycled materials, delivered 95% built, and rings in at just $100 per square foot. As wallet-friendly as it is eco-friendly, read on for more details as well as some exclusive photos of this unexpected urban gem.
READ MORE>
Permalink |
Add to
del.icio.us |
digg
Post tags: Christos Marcopoulous, green architecture, Jason Halter, Meka, Michael de Jong, modular architecture, modular homes, new york city, NYC, Prefab, prefab architecture, prefabirctaed homes, shipping containers, west village
In our latest video a revived Swiss watchmaker takes us behind the scenes to look at design and handcraft
We traveled to beautiful Neuchâtel, Switzerland to learn the history of Marvin Watches, a brand celebrating it's 160th birthday and its re-introduction to consumers. Once one of the largest watchmakers in Switzerland the company suffered at the end of the last century, and was resurrected by husband and wife team Cécile and Jean-Daniel Maye eight years ago. Their hard work has paid off, and Marvin Watches was just launched in the U.S. and most European markets in October 2010.
Cécile shares Marvin's story and walks us through the year-long process of making a watch. Celebrated watch designer Sébastian Perret has been instrumental in Marvin's renaissance, and he shares his process for creating a watch from sketch to prototype.
While we were at Marvin we worked with Cécile and Sébastien to design our "Toujours Plus" Malton 160 Cushion, a Cool Hunting Edition collaboration.
Get ready for some intense Super Street Fighter IV action this weekend (November 20-21) at the Embassy Suites in Milpitas, CA. NorCal Regionals 8 will feature some of the top players in the game, including Daigo “The Beast” Umehara, Ricky Ortiz and Ryan “Filipino Champ” Ramirez. If you’re in the area, be sure to stop by to see the best of the best battle it out for some cold hard cash and find out who will take home the Street Fighter crown!
© Copyright 2008 Kineda (74.208.122.66)
Read the rest of Sliding Walls Transform This Tokyo House Into an Officehttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed
Permalink |
Add to
del.icio.us |
digg
Post tags: eco design, eco interior, green design, green interior, home office, Japan, moveable walls, small space living, sustainable design, switch, tiny house design, Tokyo, yuko shibato
This striking new tower in the town of Irun, Spain features a double skin and series of rooftop gardens to set it apart from other mundane office buildings. It is built over an existing underground parking garage and it rises above the complex to offer vast views of the surrounding countryside. The double skin design by Hoz Fontán Arquitectos keeps things cool, dampening the intense Mediterranean sun and scooping up prevailing breezes.
Read the rest of Spanish Highrise Keeps Its Cool Under a Double Skinhttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed
Permalink |
Add to
del.icio.us |
digg
Post tags: Daylighting, double skin facade, green office tower, Hoz Fontán Arquitectos, natural cooling office, Spain Green building, Spain green highrise
Robot music and a volcano visualization in London's digital and interactive arts festival
Walking into the recent Onedotzero Festival, you might be forgiven for thinking you're walking into a romanticized version of the future. Celebrating the best in digital creativity, this year the London event presented a diverse program within its Adventures in Motion subset—such as the stimulating talk from Information is Beautiful's David McCandless, as well as radical moving images and beautiful audiovisual installations.
The festival's Robotica category featured a selection of short films "exploring the ethics and social effects of a world shared with robots and androids." While mostly dominated by boys with toys and exploding phallic robot animations, Robotica's exception was the fantastically-conceived video of simple machines making music entitled "Instrumental Video Nine."
Ultimately capturing everyone's attention at Onedotzero was an incredible audiovisual installation of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano created by Joanie Lemercier of AntiVJ. Giving the impression of a 3D volcanic wire-frame landscape by light mapping the wall's 2D surface, Eyjafjallajökull's power pulled from the fact it never exploded—instead just pulsating with light, energy and sound.
Self-serve restaurants, Martin Parr's advice, 2010's best inventions and more in a look back at this week online
1. Reserve
Refinery29 puts their own spin on the recent upsurge of online flash-sales with the introduction of Reserve, a weekly newsletter offering an exclusive, limited-time deal on Refinery-approved shopping events, brand sales, and more.
2. Boxee Designers Explain Out-of-the-Box thinking
Adding to the hype around the long-awaited launch of the Internet-to-TV Boxee box, FastCo Design spoke to the firm Astro Studios to learn about their experience designing the Boxee hardware and from where the box gets its unusual form.
3. Dezeen Watch Store
One of our favorite sources for design inspiration, Dezeen opened up shop in London and online for their collection of select designer watches, which include striking timepieces from the likes of Naoto Fukasawa and Crispin Jones.
4. Brighton Photo Biennial
Photojournalist Martin Parr, curator of this year's Brighton Photo Biennial (the first frame-free photography festival in the world), shares his views on the "creativity and cultural awareness" of Brighton, the evolution of his work over the years, and his advice to aspiring photographers: "work hard and connect with your subject."
5. Caked Up!
Benefiting Art Start, an organization that offers resources and a creative outlet for at-risk NYC youth, designers Kiel Mead and Chad Phillips curated "Caked Up!"—a custom cake exhibit presented by The New York Creative Social Concern.
6. Josh Owen Menorah
This solid cast-iron menorah is "traditional in construction and modern in conception," says designer Josh Owens. The integrated tray catches wax drippings or holds a used matchstick, and with use the menorah will develop a beautiful patina.
7. Joby's GorillaMobile for iPhone 4
Updated for the iPhone 4, Joby's GorillaMobile adds a bumper that stays on your phone to combine everyday protection with easy tripod attachment, among other clever features.
8. The 50 Best Inventions of 2010
What do plastic-fur coats, the iPad, and the first synthetic cell have in common? According to Time, they were important enough to be chosen as part of their list of 50 Best Inventions of 2010.
9. IPad Photoshoot
An interesting (and probably expensive) method of lighting a photoshoot is documented in this video where the photographers constructed a wall of lights out of iPads.
10. Interview with Andrea Panconesi
Peddling its collection of fashion-forward threads online since 1999, in an interview with the Florence-based Luisa Via Roma founder Andrea Panconesi reveals the many advantages and challenges he's faced building an online empire.
11. The Story of Electronics
Annie Leonard takes a look at the life cycle of electronics from the factory to the dump in this fantastic animated short, The Life Of Electronics. Ms. Leonard adresses the implications and consequences of products "designed for the dump," from horrible health issues to environmental waste.
12. Cafeteria-Style Dining
Tasting Table breaks down the new cafeteria-style dining trend, highlighting three food courts that take eating among the masses to a new level. Apart from the much sought-after new additions—Eataly and Hill Country Chicken—Tasting Table calls out Food Parc for "Techno-Geeks," Hudson Hall for "Prep-Schoolers" and for the jet-set crowd there's Todd English's upscale Food Hall at The Plaza.
Click to view these Unplggd Hot Posts in bold below.
• Make Your Own Battery Powered iPod USB Charger
• Refurbished Artisan Small Appliances From KitchenAid
• 10 Celebrity & Famous Designer Home Theater Setups
• Did I Leave the Oven On?! Try the Rubber Band Method
• Dirpy Converts YouTube Videos to MP3, but Is it Legal?
• MYKEA: Online IKEA Furniture Customizer
more Top Posts from the past week below.
Read Full Post
Wes Lang's personal possessions show off his sentimental side in a new exhibit at Partners and Spade
From Jesse James to Capone, the American outlaw has long held a place in the popular imagination. For insight on today's rebel, artist Wes Lang sheds unique light on how the archetype fits into the modern world. With works in MoMA's permanent collection and a host of international exhibitions under his weathered "Keep On Fuckin" leather belt, Lang's talent is as strong as his opinions on America's past and future. To take a closer look at the man behind the sentimentally subversive paintings and drawings, as Partners & Spade has done with their exhibit of Lang's personal objects, is to peer into a particular
While overall Lang's possessions don't differ much from any backwoods badboy's—a silver dagger with a voluptuous naked lady handle, a middle finger statuette or a mounted roach collection—items like his rawhide packs of rolled up leather cigarettes show his meticulous dedication to any concept he creates.
Citing Basquiat as a major influence, Lang's studious perfection also comes through in his highly-detailed, collage-like oil paintings and sketches. Montages of the kind of images typically airbrushed on the side of a Harley or its owner's jacket breathe new life into these subjects with their meaningfully irreverent statements next to each image.
Covered in ink himself, fittingly much of Lang's work would make an ideal tattoo. Along with his friend, tattoist Scott Campbell, the two make a case for tattooing as a legitimate artform. As part of the Partners & Spade show, called "Staring At Empty Pages," Lang will be on hand 20 November 2010 giving tattoos from a pre-drawn selection of custom flash art.
Full of angst and passion, Lang's work comes from a deep source. As Partners & Spade's Andrew Post explains, Lang had a close relationship with his former math teacher who recently passed away. A massive Grateful Dead fan, on display is his math teacher's leather briefcase swathed in Dead stickers and friendship bracelets he collected from the 250 shows he attended as well as an extensive collection of tapes he left to Lang.
"Staring At Empty Pages" is on view through 6 December 2010 weekends only or by appointment through the week at the Partners & Spade studio.
Custom wooden messages by Chicago artist Singh
As if his ambitious ITSOK project—hand-cutting one million wooden ornaments with the slogan "It's OK"—wasn't enough, the aptly-named artist Sighn is putting the creativity in your hands with his new project What Wood You Say. For a limited time, Sighn will carve out your favorite saying or wisdom-nugget for a tailormade art object or personalized gift.
Sighn put it simply, recently explaining, "I've been getting requests for a long time, that I haven't been able to make time for. This concept standardizes the production, making it easier for me to create custom pieces for people. I've also been doing some larger paragraph pieces for collectors, and have really gotten the font/way I make it down pat."
He will be accepting orders for his hand-crafted commissions through November and December 2010. Each signed and dated work sells for $5 a character (with a 50 character maximum) from Multi Polar Projects. To see some of Sighn's more conceptual typographic works, check out his woodcuts at Allegoric Space.
Read the rest of Origami-Like Glass Building Has a Striking Folded Facadehttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed
Permalink |
Add to
del.icio.us |
digg
Post tags: "energy efficiency", "sustainable architecture", bilbao, Coll Barreu Arquitecto, double layer facade, Eco Architecture, folded facade, glass building, glass facade, glazed facade, green architecture, green design, origami, Spain
A cinematic duet between director Michel Gondry and cartoonist Julie Doucet
Highly charming and intensely creative, "My New New York Diary: A Film-Book" by graphic artist Julie Doucet and director Michel Gondry merges graphic novel with cinematic storytelling. The book comes packaged with a DVD, and both are a necessary accompaniment to the other to help tell the tale of Gondry's meeting with Doucet.
The French director proposed to make a film that would make Doucet the center of the story as she had done before with her autobiographical comic-book novel "My New York Diary," but with her drawings as the film's setting and vehicle. As they talked, the process of making the 20-minute film ended up as its very plot.
"My New New York Diary" begins with Doucet talking to Gondry from her home in Montreal before meeting and staying with him in NYC, where they film her in front of a blue screen. She buys a digital recorder and records her observations on everything from Gondry's quarrels with his housemate to her reluctance at acting in her own story.
After a few days in New York, Doucet returned back to Canada, where she did dozens of drawings. Gondry edited everything, including her narration, and turned her drawings into something live—a talent he previously exemplified so well with "Science of Sleep."
"My New New York Diary" is perhaps best experienced in the order it was packaged—starting first the book, then with the DVD tucked into the back cover—to truly see how two artists breathe life into their individual mediums.
Gondry is signing the book on 11 November 2010 at L.A.'s Family Bookstore. "My New York Diary" sells online from Amazon and PictureBox for $25.
Technology and fine art collide in a device bringing museums to the elderly
A Texas-based project, For Love & Art helps the elderly living in hospices enjoy fine works of art during their last days through digital photos. A partnership between art galleries and museums brings thousands of pieces of fine art to Digital Foci's eight-inch high-resolution digital LCD notebooks for viewing by those who are no longer able to travel.
Already NYC's Metropolitan Museum of Art and Washington D.C.'s The National Gallery of Art have joined the ranks of image contributors, but organizers are looking to expand the 1000-piece collection.
Dallas' Touching Our World Foundation is asking for people to donate and spread this program to other hospices. As our population continues to gray, it's important to think about art and design in the golden years whether it be a quirky paint-dipped cane or a sober assessment of design for future retirement complexes.
Ads
