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Big news out of the Big Apple: Cornell University announced last night that Thom Mayne of Morphosis Architects will design the first of three net-zero academic buildings on its new applied sciences campus on Roosevelt Island. Morphosis beat out six other finalists, including SOM, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Steven Holl Architects. Morphosis hasn’t unveiled the proposed design just yet, but there’s speculation that it will bear some similarity to the firm’s Cooper Union campus building in lower Manhattan. Initial drafts of the building are expected to be released to the public by November 2012.
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Post tags: cooper union, Cornell sciences, cornell university, CornellNYC Tech Building, design competitions, manhattan, Morphosis Architects, net-zero energy, new york city, NYC, Roosevelt Island, Thom Mayne
Snarkitecture's latest design holds up the goods at Grey Area's new NYC shop and showroom
Since launching last July, Grey Area has become a choice online destination for those seeking unique, artist-designed objects, from "Best Friends" skateboards to handmade headpieces. After opening pop-ups in Montauk last summer and then at the Bass Museum in Miami for the latest installment of Art Basel, co-founders Manish Vora and Kyle DeWoody decided to give their retail concept a permanent home with a showroom in NYC.
Opening Thursday, 8 March 2012, the Grey Area SoHo shop and showroom will present a rotating selection of wares on Snarkitecture's custom-crafted display system simply called "Shelve". The lacquered wood and fiberglass slab shelves seem to float against the wall like chunks of uncarved stone. A continuation of Alex Mustonen and Daniel Arsham's "Slab Table", Shelve also speaks to Snarkitecture's penchant for playing with topography and negative space—which can also be seen in their "Excavated Mirror" and "Slip Bench". Shelve comes in various dimensions and will sell from Grey Area starting at $400.
In addition to the shop, the showroom will host art installations and an ongoing series of performances and events. Stop by Tuesday through Saturday or make an appointment to see what they have in store.
Grey Area
547 Broadway, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012
Every summer New York’s MoMA PS1 gallery blossoms with an amazing new pavilion by an up-and-coming architecture studio, and the museum just announced that the winner of this year’s Young Architects Program is HWKN’s stellar star-shaped “Wendy” pavilion! The brilliant blue building bristles with an array of crystalline points that purify the air while spraying water and blasts of wind, ensuring that the PS1′s courtyard will be the cool place to be once the sweltering summer sun hits its stride. Read on for a closer look!
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Post tags: Art, carbon emissions, Design, green design, HollwichKushner, hwkn, Long Island City, moma, MoMA PS1, music, NYC, summer, sustainable design, temporary installations, urban art, Warm Up, Wendy, young architects program
Five fun gift ideas to show you care
With Valentine's Day fast approaching, it's time to get in the mood for buying your beloved something good. To save you from showing up with just a generic box of chocolates, we've added 30 items to the CH Gift Guide to spread the love. From balloons to jewelry, below are five standouts sure to warm hearts.
Geronimo Valentine's Day Balloons
Surprise a youthful significant other with a set of heart-shaped balloons from the LA-based "Balloonatics" at Geronimo. Each array comes packaged in a lovely white box filled with one jumbo heart balloon, one matching frill and one replacement balloon in case of emergency. Geronimo offers delivery service for residents of LA, and expedited mailing service for the rest of the U.S. The set sells for $165 (includes shipping).
London Undercover Brussels Sprout Umbrella
Covered in a charming vegetable print, this lightweight umbrella makes a great gift for any foodie you want to keep dry. The elegant design features an engraved wooden handle and conveniently breaks down to just under 10" long when shut. Get one for $38.
One Origin I (thou) Ring
Deliver your latest love letter in a unique and unexpected fashion with this dainty carrier ring. The creative design allows for a note to be attached at any moment, perfect for keeping a spark of spontaneity close at hand. The ring sells for $150.
New York Times 36 Hours
Once a week since 2002 The New York Times has offered detailed itineraries for dream weekend escapes in its "36 Hours" column. Now 150 North American destinations have been complied into one book—making the perfect present for planning future romantic weekends away. The book is available on Amazon for $24.
A.OK Earrings
Better known as "fool's gold", the Pyrite in these earrings from A.OK renders them authentically charming. Accented by binding copper, each pair is unique by natural design. Pick up a pair for $38.
The studies that inform Arne Quinze's monumental installations
Best known for massive, vibrant wood canopies installed in metropolitan locations, Arne Quinze presents "My Home, My House, My Stilthouse", a collection of smaller works that helps to explain his larger undertakings. On view now through 31 March 2012 at the Vicky David Gallery in NYC, the new pieces explore themes of escapism, order and voyeurism. The exhibition gives a fascinating glimpse inside the quiet studio work that underpins Quinze's precariously balanced structures.
While many see his work as chaotic, Quinze is quick to correct. "I don't believe in chaos," he says. "There is absolutely no chaos. There is only structure. I don't believe in chaos in life." His work is a constant building, whether that be structures or relationships, and it seeks a democracy in art that confronts and challenges. As people build fences and walls to keep things out, stilt houses to keep things below, Quinze seeks to restructure the world in a manner that is open and engaging.
Lamenting the shortage of markets, squares and other places of interaction, Quinze aims to force the issue through public art. "Today we live in a world where everything goes very fast. People are not used to saying 'hi' in the streets." The victory of his work, he explains, is inspiring a dialogue: "They have a kind of openness in themselves, they have a smile, they have something to share, something to communicate with each other. For a moment they forget who they are and they communicate so much easier with each other."
If the large works explore interpersonal interaction, the studies encourage an interface with the artist himself. "My Safe Garden" is a work enclosed in glass and backed by a large mirror. At once inspecting the work and becoming part of it, the viewer is meant to feel a connection to the locked-away corners of Quinze's imagination. This is only possible to an extent. As he explains, "I give more questions than answers because the safe secret garden is very personal. I will not tell you what is happening in my safe secret garden, but you can be like a voyeur."
The signature bright vermilion hue of Quinze's work, he notes, is a color of contrast. As blood, it is both life and death; as fire, both warmth and burning; in nature, both attraction and warning. The majority of the artist's works are constructed from wood, a "warm" material that gives flexibility and strength to his technically complicated installations. While working with a small team and city engineers, Quinze hand-builds small models to plan each project. The result is then rendered on a computer and adjusted to accommodate structural considerations.
Quinze sees his art originating from the "safe secret garden", a concept essential to his works. For him, it marks the deepest place a person can go, one that is often hidden from the rest of the world. This theme fits with the city installations, inspiring openness and communication.
"The studio is what is really happening in my mind—my safe secret garden," explains Quinze. "And I think from my safe secret garden I create my own world, my own vision of how I perceive, how I absorb the world and how I want to create." Mapping his own obsessions, Quinze uses elements of these experimental pieces when thinking about how to confront viewers in his installations. Invariably, the audience is transported into his vision, forced from their own consciousness to engage with that of the artist.
My Home, My House, My Stilthouse
2 February - 31 March 2012
Vicky David Gallery
522 W. 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011
All images courtesy of the Vicky David Gallery and Arne Quinze Studio.
A new show curated by Sarah Schmerler sheds light on the luster of four artists' work
In the forthcoming group show "Gʉilty / (NOT) Guilty," art critic and curator Sarah Schmerler brings together four talented artists for a cohesive display of works surrounding the play on words that the title implies. Turning guilt instead into a word synonymous with a gold surface, the exhibition explores the luster of an artist's work in economic downtime and questions what makes a piece of art attractive in the eyes of society. Or, as Schmerler explains in her curatorial statement for the show, "I think of this show as my own kind of illustrated 'Fuck U'."
Originally debuting in May 2011 on Schmerler's virtual exhibition space 45projects (which she curates with the industrious design director Paulius Nosokas), the physical manifestation of "Gʉilty" on view at Brooklyn's Norte Maar will keep the same foursome on roster, a group of established yet emerging artists Schmerler says have been "hiding in plain sight." The lineup includes Ellen Letcher, Francesco Masci, Alfred Steiner and Pablo Tauler, who will each show the works included in the online version as well as new pieces.
In his spare time, copyright lawyer Alfred Steiner creates works that Schmerler considers "visually arresting" in their own right, but at the same time reflect a fascinating narrative. Steiner beautifully entwines various body parts like eyeballs, noses and even muscle tissue to create impeccably rendered silhouettes that transform the sum of its parts into an incredible whole.
NYC-based Chilean artist Pablo Tauler uses just a ballpoint pen for his meticulously drawn illustrations on display at Norte Maar, which turn ethereal scenes and abstract forms into bold, large-scale works of art. The airy depictions he presents for Gʉilty / (NOT) Guilty are only a small facet of his work, which spans painting, digital photography and video.
Schmerler describes Francesco Masci as a classic Renaissance artist who can really paint, but one with no misgivings about crossing boundaries. In addition to his Twitter-inspired portraiture, Masci will show his 2009 "Totem" series, comprised of images created from hundreds of digital files procured through Google searches and stacked to make a wildly emblematic statement on modern obsessions. Masci's formal training allows him to move seamlessly between subjects and styles, executing his work with a fresh perspective for his medium.
Ellen Letcher cuts and pastes in the physical realm, arranging images pulled from periodicals and magazines into perceptive collages adhered together with paint. The slightly ominous subject matter only backs up already engrossing compositions that toe the line between fact and fiction.
Gʉilty / (NOT) Guilty opens 1st January 2012 at Norte Maar with a Champagne brunch to celebrate, and will run through the end of the month. Check out the online catalog—created by Nosokas, who will also have a few works on display concurrently at Norte Maar—for more on the show and the four New York-based artists it champions.
Norte Maar
83 Wyckoff Avenue, #1B
Brooklyn, NY
11237
+1.646.361.8512
Life lessons from legendary photographer Mick Rock on the eve of his New York exhibition
Mick Rock is probably not the first name that pops to mind if you're thinking about seeking some career advice. Dubbed the world over as "the man who shot the Seventies," Rock is known as much for his own rock star reputation—he claims his biggest achievement is that he's still standing—as he is for the photographs he took of countless lead singers and wayward musicians during the indelible era of punk. While that might be the timeframe that catapulted his wild success, Rock has endured through it all and continues to be one of the most sought-after lensmen in the music industry today, shooting everyone from Lady Gaga to Tommy Lee.
However, when we caught up with the man himself to discuss the opening of his NYC exhibition at the W Downtown—aptly titled "Rocked"—the legendary photographer inadvertently shed some light on the keys to remaining so relevant over the years. Describing himself as "some leftover from a forgotten era, way before rock 'n' roll ever showed up," his surprisingly humble attitude sends an even more powerful message.
One of the most valuable snippets of wisdom we gleaned from the conversation sums up the passion that Rock's portraits exude. He sagely imparts, "Follow your obsession, because at worst you'll build up a collection. Down the road that collection could have a value. You might make piss-all money right now, but one day you might make a bundle." Rock's obsession found him touring with bands like Thin Lizzy, be-friending Syd Barrett and becoming David Bowie's official photographer. His personal relationships with the bands undoubtedly played a part in his success, but for Rock it's as simple as this: "I like to shoot, it's good for my psyche, it's good for my fucking soul."
For a fan of music in general, photographing any budding musician can still be an exciting moment, but it's not their actual tunes that pique Rock's curiosity. "I'm not looking for the truth, or reality, I'm interested in their aura, what the music gives off, and what their consciousness gives off as performing agents, as artists." Despite his genuine ability to connect on a creative level, occasionally paying the bills is also a factor. Another lesson Rock offers is essentially to learn the dance but don't sell out.
Likening himself to an "uptown prostitute" at times, he extends this insight: "As like any great hooker, if you pay her enough money she will be in love with you for a certain amount of time. Well, I can be in love with you." The magic he seems to impart while shooting, the work he allows himself to take, all of this boils down to a man who knows his craft extremely well. Claiming his rich career was in no way built by design, he also claims you have to study your profession and be willing to compromise.
Arguably a huge part of what allows Rock to transcend time is his ability to go with the flow. He doesn't totally even completely understand his own celebrity, but rather than become reclusive or keep his surplus of unpublished photos to himself, he rolls with the hand life continues to deal him. Slightly puzzled at the recent French Vogue feature on his oeuvre, he embraces his "ghosts of yore" and says poetically, "The past has paved the way for me to come again."
In addition to the traveling exhibition on view at the W, for which he specifically shot Janelle Monae, Theophilus London and several other contemporary stars, Rock plans to publish a set of limited-edition books that will unearth archived photos. First will be a dedicated book on Thin Lizzy (for which he's chosen to get the approval of Phil Lynott's daughter Sarah before publishing), followed by a book with Lou Reed called "Believe It or Not: Transformer" and finally a book on the godfather of punk rock, the iconic Iggy Pop. In the 1970s, there wasn't an abundance of outlets like today's blog-fueled industry, so for Rock, this is a chance to "get all these pictures out there that people haven't seen."
"Rocked" will be on view through 29 December 2011 at the W Downtown before moving on to W Hotels in Washington, D.C. and Seattle.
A zine of psychedelic illustrations throws an equally-trippy launch party
Inspired by the Sun Ra film of the same name, Space is the Place is a rad little zine coming out of Brooklyn. We first fell for it when it was one of the few indie publications we chose to feature in our pop-up shop with Gap last fall. The work of illustrator (also a friend of CH) Keren Richter and graphic designer Andrew Janik, the mini mag includes some of the best contemporary graphic artists in the field.
Featuring the work of nearly 25 hand-picked international artists, the work is united by underlying tones of "psychedelia, fluorescent jarring colors and patterns, drug inspired fantasy, and celestial iconography."
If you're lucky enough to be in NYC tomorrow, swing on down to La Caverna in LES for Space is the Place's "Magazine Launch Party/Rave" featuring DJs, video projections, and even an open bar. The first 50 people there also get a complimentary copy of the zine and some other fun party favors. Make sure to RSVP!
Seven of the latest and greatest ways to get the most out of your bike this season
With spring on the way and summer right around the corner, what better way to celebrate than with some long bike rides? Since you've already picked up a bike from our seasonal bicycle guide, we've put together a brief list of some of our favorite accessories for your spring pedaling.
Conceived with the sporting cyclist in mind, Brooks' B15 Swallow Select saddle was originally patented in 1937. This reproduction brings back the timeless design of hand-hammered copper rivets paired with a rich organic leather that breaks in for an ergonomic, customize fit sooner than other standard leather saddles. Although its minimal silhouette and aggressive design was originally intended for the avid road cyclist, this saddle also performs quite well for the ride-to-the-office-and-then-to-the-pub cyclist. Dropping in June, the B15 Swallow Select will sell for €190.
Linus Bikes' Market Bag is the ideal addition to any grocery-getter. The traditional panniers firmly secure to any rear bicycle rack with just a few brass snaps, making them easy to take off too. Constructed with tough waxed canvas and oil skin leather, the super-durable bags roll up neatly when not in use. The pair come with one adjustable shoulder strap for mobility and in multiple colors for $130.
Another new product from Brooks—who've dominated the cycling world since 1866, by the way—the Islington Rucksack is a 2011 release obviously designed with the cyclist in mind. Constructed of sturdy water-resistant cotton and vegetable tanned leather, this pack has more than enough room for picnic supplies or a soccer ball for a relaxing weekend in the park. The innovative shoulder harness design allows for the straps to adjust to cross the chest or waist for added stability while riding, and coated cotton will scratch with prolonged use, lending an appealing patina. Grab it for €300.
Specialized's S-Works Prevail is the ultimate lightweight road helmet. Built with patented Kevlar-reinforced construction and designed with incredible ventilation, it keeps domes safe and fresh. It's the lightest on the market and so aerodynamic that you may just go faster with this puppy. Our favorite feature has to be the simple Mindset micro-dial fit system with height adjustability that makes for a perfectly comfortable fit for any-sized noggin. Available for $230.
Made in NYC and designed to soften the harsh blow of an east coast summer, Outlier's Three Way Short is constructed of four-season fabric woven in Switzerland by Schoeller Textiles to produce an extremely breathable material to keep you cooler in the heat, resist stains and dry fast. These sleek shorts have an 8.5" inseam landing just above the knee for a classic (think Gold Finger-era James Bond) and comfortable fit. Perfect for keeping you looking sharp even after the commute, trip to the beach or a friend's BBQ, they represent summer style up for grabs in multiple subdued colors for $128 a pop.
Princeton Tec's new Push bicycyle light delivers 260 degrees and 68 meters of visibility, powered by a 100 lumen vessel light with up to 63 hours of burn time. Small windows on the side emit flashing red lights to keep drivers notified of your presence, while the powerful LED illuminates the way. In addition to an easy on/off switch, an ingenious bar mount mechanism easily detaches to prevent the little gadget from getting permanently "borrowed." All this in a tiny package costs just $32.
Small and portable, Avenir's Mini Tool is accented with wood and has everything a bike enthusiast needs. From hex wrenches to a chain tool and even a phillips head screwdriver, this multi-tool is the ultimate cyclist pocket gadget. It's a great buy for the buck at just $14.
Our top-ten preview of the U.S. design event of the year
Many try, but few succeed in creating the kind of citywide hum that an event like ICFF brings to NYC each May. We once saw the editor of one Los Angeles-based site navigate using a sheet of printer paper with scribbled notes on the many launches, openings, appointments and cocktail parties she planned to hit. With such an overwhelming agenda, we made this hit list to assist on decisions of where to go and what to see. So find a sheet of printer paper, jot down some dates, times and addresses or, if you're not in the Big Apple, get a sneak peek of what's coming next in the world of design.
Noho Design District
First on the list of "what not to miss" is the second-annual Noho Design District, which runs from 13-16 May 2011. Concentrated primarily around Great Jones and Bond streets, you'll find product showcases, a film screening room, founders Sight Unseen's pop-up shop and much more.
With Sight Unseen lending their design expertise for the second year in a row to produce McMasterpieces, the showcase of 15 design objects created entirely out of parts and raw materials from McMaster-Carr has some of our favorite local designers in it. Head to The American Design Building at Great Jones Lumber (45 Great Jones Street) to check it out.
Sharing the same location as McMasterpieces and with several more of the NYC designers that we've come to know and love, The American Design Club presents Use Me, an exhibit of "unapologetically functional objects" by 45 young American designers.
While cruising the many new Noho venues, make sure to check out Sight Unseen's first-ever pop-up shop, featuring a collection of eccentric and handmade wares— Iacoli & McAllister's perfectly-simple Hex bottle opener—by many rising talents in art, fashion and design. The pop-up shop runs May 13-16 and is located at 45 Great Jones as well.
Swing by Partners & Spade at 40 Great Jones for even more rising talent (that in this case is based mere blocks away). There Rich, Brilliant, Willing will show an exhibition of new large-scale Delta Lights handmade in the Tri-State area. Also keep an eye out for the limited run of table lights inspired by Estes model rocket kits and born out of a collaboration between Partners & Spade and RBW.
Take a few steps over to 55 Great Jones and you'll find yourself at The Future Perfect and their showcase of new furniture and lighting by a wide array of talents. Included in the exhibit will be Matt Gagnon, who will be building his wrapped Prototype lamps on site, and Mark Moskovitz' Facecord Cabinet.
ICFF
The International Contemporary Furniture Fair returns to NYC this weekend to showcase the work of over 24,000 designers, architects, developers and more all under one roof of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from May 14-17.
Emerging lighting brand Roll & Hill will present their second collection of new products since launching in 2010. Find time between May 14-17 to swing by ICFF to catch a glimpse of the stunning fixtures that brought the Brooklynites so much attention in the past year.
Designboom's mart, an exhibition of 40 designers worldwide, always has something fun. The installation allows for patrons to meet young designers and purchase their work on the spot, directly from the talent themselves. Each mans a booth with their projects for all to see, hear, and touch. Make sure to bring some extra cash to this spirited event open for all on 14-16 May 2011 from 10am-4pm.
Fans of Spanish design shouldn't miss a special presentation at the Javits Center where the Spanish design association Red in collaboration with our sister company Largetail brings together Stone Designs, Santa & Cole, Estudihac and Luis Eslava will give short presentations on what inspires their process and the significance of living and working in Spain. Cool Hunting and three other sites will be present conducting live interviews with the designers and exploring a variety of themes. The event is open to all ICFF attendees and takes place on Sunday, 16 May 2011, from 2pm-3pm at the Spanish Pavilion.
NYC Design Week
Over on Bowery, a handful of goings-on make a good next stop after checking out Noho. Private Property, a show presented by New York Art Department, Alife, and Uhuru, features high-end sustainable furniture design inspired by NYC graffiti culture including the likes of Earsnot, Jim Joe, Semen, KR and the beloved hangout Max Fish. Be there for the opening reception Friday 13 May 2011 from 6-8pm at The Hole on 312 Bowery. If you can't get into the opening the show, don't worry it runs 14-17 May 2011, from 12-8pm everyday.
Take a quick stroll over to the Chelsea Art Museum to see a more diverse showcase of design at Model Citizens. Over 90 designers from here and abroad come together to present their latest works of furniture, products, ceramics, glass and jewelry. There is also a show retail shop in case something in particular catches your eye. It runs from 13-15 May 2011.
Moody sculptural paintings by an emerging NYC artist
Stark yet colorful works that fall somewhere between painting and sculpture, NYC-based artist Eli Ping's practice is a study of unexpected tension in form, subject and tone. Ping says he's "ultimately interested in materials and process, and accomplishing a form that conveys energetic resonance to the viewer," a feat accomplished by keeping spontaneity alive in otherwise highly-considered compositions.
This ruminative approach to art-making shows up in his current solo exhibition at NYC's Susan Inglett Gallery, but also signals a shift. Where he previously worked heavily with resins, Ping found that their toxicity was a "major impediment to accomplishing intimacy" with his materials and switched to applying paint-soaked cotton to canvas.
The resulting fluid shapes have a sense of order without appearing overly worked—a tipping point for Ping. If a piece becomes too "fussy," he will often flip it over or turn it upside down, a technique borrowed from Impressionism. Ping explains, "they would often paint over an entire area, some people would say that is a waste of energy but even if it's not visible, it still informs the work."
A painting resembling a classic Rorschach test clearly illustrates Ping's labor between intention and impulse. While symmetry abounds, he likens the unbalanced composition's structure to that of nature. Repetition develops organically without feeling forced, the result of a process that, like contemporaries such as designer Maarten Baas, lets ideas evolve over time.
A photo of a church steeple shot through a drinking glass several years ago, now appears as a "stretched from the top" form in some of his sculptural pieces. Ping stresses that he doesn't set out to replicate what he sees, adding "I have a sense of what qualities I aspire to, usually in response to a feeling of lack in a previous piece. Any pre-envisioning doesn't go farther than that."
Looking to the future however, Ping says his work will fall more in line with his simplified lifestyle. Moving forward he will create pieces that, unlike his current complex and often quite fragile works, need not "to be handled with kid gloves" and can instead become a part of a person's life, rather than just hung on a wall.
Eli Ping's third solo exhibition runs through 4 June 2011 at Susan Inglett Gallery.
Artist Michael Riedel's first introspective show reinterprets source code as textual printed matter
A man seemingly obsessed with extraction, abstraction and repetition, Michael Riedel takes printed matter and toys with it until most sense is lost. With an almost "Matrix" style of approach, Riedel uses text to "write with writing," a technique in which he excerpts the works of others in order to make his own statement. His current work—on display at the David Zwirner gallery in an exhibition titled "The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog"—finally sees Riedel use himself as his subject.
Culling HTML code from websites that feature Riedel (mostly MoMA and David Zwirner), the Frankfurt-based artist created massive linear collages by copying and pasting the text in InDesign. By layering and turning the text, the arrangement appears nonsensical at first glance, but there is a clear pattern defined on each canvas. There is also seemingly a theme for each of the silk-screened "poster paintings," with individual keyboard commands like "click," "print," "color" and "alt" highlighted in bold type.
Hung against a wallpaper backdrop of even more black-and-white code, the canvases are accented by colorful circles—a new foray for Riedel. The color not only helps to balance out the web of text, but with their geometric pie-like structure they also seem like the spinning beach ball Mac users encounter when their computer is processing.
A pangram used to test typewriters and keyboards, here "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" underlines the detached relationship Riedel found between text, canvas, paper, and architecture.
The exhibition opens today and runs through 19 March 2011 at David Zwirner gallery, where he will also be signing his catalogs on 5 March 2011 from 4-6pm.
Suit shopping with Retna on the eve of his Hallelujah World Tour
Behind gate 37E on Washington Street lies a warehouse with a Buick Regal parked inside. Photographers are snapping away, laptops are out, and well-dressed critics buzz throughout the space. This was the scene when I visited "Breaking Bread," the first stop on Retna's three-continent-spanning Hallelujah Tour on the day before its opening.
Sponsored by VistaJet and Bombardier, the tour will see the L.A. graffiti legend spend the better part of the next year on the road, painting all original material in NYC, Hong Kong and London—and with a just-announced surprise show in Venice along the way. The series of shows comes on the heels of Retna's successful solo show at L.A.'s New Image Art gallery, where powerhouse Museum of Contemporary Art director Jeffery Deitch compared Retna to Keith Haring, positioning it as "one of the most exciting exhibitions that I have seen this year."
For someone arguably at the peak of his career, Retna speaks casually about the worldwide tour, describing how the origins of the show started with a studio visit from the concept's impresarios Andy Valmorbida and Vlad Restoin Roitfeld. "I thought it was cool, I was down with the cities. Then the sponsors came in and they wanted to put the ad on the plane digitally. I was like, 'Nah, if my work's gonna be out there it's gonna be real, I don't photoshop shit. If you want my work on that plane it's going to be one 100% real.' So now they're locking down some super hanger so I can paint in it."
If this newfound big league is unexpected or overwhelming, Retna doesn't show it. "You know that's why I still listen to the same music as I did back then. I'm still that same kid trying to get up on walls chasing the dream. When I was young I didn't know what it was, but now that I'm here I guess this is the dream, I'm living it now." Just after Retna shares these insights, a scruffy group of men who could be Hell's Angels approach us. "You really out did yourself this time bro, looks great."
The man clamps my hand, "Haze, good to meet you. This is my girl Rosie." As in Perez, and Haze himself is one of graffiti's inventors. Our corner of the room starts to fill up with members of Retna's MSK crew, making it feel like a celebration. And there's a lot to celebrate, not only Retna but the culture he represents—a kid from the gang-infested streets of L.A. who desperately wanted to join a gang at 13 but was told to focus on art instead. "You know they didn't do that for just anybody," he recalls. "They told me you can chill with us, you can smoke with us, you can paint our walls, but you ain't a gangbanger."
Retna introduces me to Revok1, who was recently arrested in Australia in what was called "the vandal vacation." Revok1 explains, "Something like 10,000 kids went out to Melbourne from all over the country when they heard what was going down. They painted like 70% of all of the trains. The mayor came out and declared a state of emergency and called it a disgrace."
Retna asks if we should continue the interview at a bar so he can relax, but before we can decide where, two enthusiastic assistants corner us saying, "This dinner is a huge deal! It's like $100,000 a plate, and they're auctioning off your painting. Bill Clinton is going to be there." Retna, seemingly unaffected, is more interested in rounding up his friends for a quiet night downtown somewhere. After some back and forth with the assistants, it's decided that his presence is required as an ambassador of "street art" culture. This is his world now whether he likes it or not. "I'm not a street artist dude, I mean, they can't do what we do. I'm a graf writer. I always have been. Graf writers were getting gallery shows since the '80s. This isn't new, they just like that tag because it's safe."
With no suit on hand for the black tie event, we begin shopping through Soho, punctuated by "Fear and Loathing" moments, like Retna walking around Hugo Boss shirtless. The manicured men standing at attention find his antics less than amusing, even scoffing at his lack of interest in their style.
With the same courage he showed when he faced jail time and the same unflagging desire to paint, Retna does it all for the culture now so warmly embraced by high society. Before he disappears into the crowds of Soho, he turns with eyes open hugging the sky, "not bad for a lil nigga from the hood!"
Kicking off the Hallelujah Tour, "Breaking Bread" opens 10 February 2010 and runs through 21 February 2010 before moving on to its next port.
Our video on surfer-jeweler Jill Platner
As longtime fans of Jill Platner's nature-inspired jewelry, we waited a few years to find the right moment for documenting the artisan's creative process and studio. This video catches up with Jill at her Crosby Street space as she works on her current collection to learn more about how she started and what informs her work.
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.
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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
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.
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.
We sit down with R.E.M.'s frontman to learn about his latest creative initiative
When we found out that Michael Stipe was visiting Levi's photo workshop in NYC to conduct a project of his own last Friday, we of course headed down to learn more. There within the tall white walls of the former gallery, dozens of young creative types lined up, all anxiously awaiting their brush with one of American music's greats. As participants full of awe and admiration reached the front of the line, 7-inches and 'zines piled up next to Stipe, who quietly greeted each person, explaining how they would take the next photo before sitting for the following one. After the last subject shuffled through, we sat down with the man whose career spans musician, filmmaker and artist to learn more about what brought him there, his thoughts on brand collaborations and karaoke.
What inspired you about the space initially?
It's got a great provenance in that most New Yorkers know it as Deitch Projects, so some of the creative stuff that's happened in this particular space is pretty legendary and this is a pretty awesome follow-up. It's a very different thing, but I like the openness of it. I guess Levi's is paying for it, but I think it's really cool—whoever had the idea to do it.
For our generation, working with brands was really problematic, no one wanted to be a sellout. But more and more that seems to be just what's happening, do you still have a choice?
I think you do have a choice and my band R.E.M. for instance, have never accepted any endorsement for any purpose that was not artistic. So the line that we draw is a fine line, but anything that is an artform or anything that is artistic or creative, like a film or TV show or some collaboration that makes sense, we're okay with lending or allowing our music to be used, or our name to be used for something like that as opposed to having a tour sponsored by a brand.
Obviously, this is somewhere in that gray area and that's part of what makes it a little bit interesting. It's responding to the needs of the market in the 21st century, but it happens to be a very cool company that's doing it and it seems fairly no-strings-attached. So I'm happy to participate.
How did the space inspire what you're doing here?
This thing? This very simply is a response to a moment in time. In 2010 we find ourselves in—it's not a DMZ, it's not a no man's land—it's like a middle space between what is still photography and what is a moving image. Technology has advanced to the point now that the most recent professional cameras actually don't take still images as much they take short films and then you find the frame that you want to be a still image.
I think that 10 or 12 years from now that is going to radically alter the way we think about what a still image is. And so what we did today is something that goes back to the very beginning of moving imagery with Eadweard Muybridge of course. It takes this very simple idea of a still image and animates it simply. In our case, we're putting it through a Mac and doing a repetitive action that's easy to understand.
How did you choose the subjects?
I just wanted it to feel really democratic, kind of like the space. And I didn't want to do anything myself, I didn't really want to own it. I'm happy to own the idea or to have participated in the idea, but I didn't feel the need to take a picture or be one of the participants in the piece itself.
I like how in a way it's a little bit like a self-portrait daisy chain. I think that term has good and then very sexual connotations, it doesn't have to have sexual connotations! If there's a bad connotation, please strike that remark. Your image is being taken quite democratically by the next person in line, who takes the next person in line.
As an artist I'm thinking about and dealing right now in sculpture with the bust in history. I'm not certain that there's a 21st-century response to what a bust is as a sculptural thing.
What is the historical significance of the bust that inspires you?
Before photography and moving film there were more limited ways in which to capture someone's likeness. In the case of world leaders, death masks were made—or life masks, in the case of William Blake. I've seen a copy that Patti Smith took and made into her version of a 21st-century bust.
This would be in a way, research for me on my version of a 21st-century bust. I'm actually coming away from this with this feeding the other work I'm doing outside of music. This is an idea at the moment. The only sculptures that people know of mine are actually quite limited. There are no busts, that'll come this year.
Why bust as opposed to a portrait?
It allows me to be able to see—if I'm looking at someone—maybe they've got a great personality, but I'm looking at them and going, is this someone who from three dimensions would create an amazing piece that would speak beyond me or beyond my desires as an artist, but might provide comment or commentary or inspire other people who have no idea who this person was. So it's taking something that's quite subjective and trying to, in a very positive way, objectify it.
Do you mind telling us about your tattoo?
This was one I had done in the early '90s, it was maybe 1993 or '94. Now it's a part of me, I don't remember the original intent. I don't think it matters.
What's your favorite song for karaoke?
Oh, good one. 'Justify My Love' by Madonna. It's so retarded, it's spoken word so you can really have fun with it if you've had a few beers too many, and people respond to it well. The easy thing for me is Jimmy Webb songs, Glenn Campbell songs that he wrote because I can actually hit the notes...unless they pitch it higher or lower than my particular range.
Photos by Karen Day
Levi's launches a temporary space serving NYC's photography community
Dial the clock back a few years and Levi's was just another Big American Brand rapidly losing marketshare to other major labels and niche denim brands. Today (approximately one global financial crisis later) the San Francisco, CA-based clothier is mid-comeback with numbers to prove it and an unfolding multitiered campaign fueling the upswing. Of their various billboards, collaborations and promotions all under the banner "Ready to Work Go Forth™" the artistry-led workshops might not seem like such a big deal. But after visiting both the first S.F. printmaking installment earlier this year and the current photography version in NYC, I am hugely impressed by not just how well-executed they are but by the sense that there's some real heart behind the project. To find out the backstory, we checked in with Levi's head of Collaborations, Partnerships and Creative Concepts, Joshua Katz, who filled us in on what it's like working with the brand, the power of community, and what drives the different identities of each workshop.
Where San Francisco's event drew on the "precious objects" culture that makes printmaking thrive there, the ten-week-long NYC edition is more about the democratic nature of photography and how it's "interwoven into everything" in the city. As such, there's a little something for everyone in the massive space (formerly Deitch Gallery) with digital and vintage Leica cameras, other vintage camera brands, digital technicians, photo assistants, a printing center and light box, as well as exhibitions and installations. Collaborators include photographer and curator Tim Barber, Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner, master photographer Bruce Davidson, chef April Bloomfield, and photography publisher Hamburger Eyes. Launched last night with an event featuring droves of guests, a photobooth, lots of drinks, and DJ duo Chances with Wolves, Katz explains, "the reason a lot of brands don't do this is because it's hard, it's tiring."
The payoff of course is "if you make that extra effort, people can believe in it." Or in other words, their success comes from embracing hard work and community as core values from the top down. "There are fundamental philosophies that don't change," says Katz. "The [brands] that stick around are people who recognize that they are part of a community." In addition to opening its doors to artists, community groups and non-profits, all proceeds from sales of Levi's goods (including the exclusive Trucker Jacket, pictured) and camera-related items will go to NYC-based charitable organizations Harvey Milk High School, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and Edible Schoolyard New York.
Comparing his current job to his previous work with Quicksilver, Katz describes his own thinking on brands as having "a certain obligation to the people that wear them, to continue to solve their problems through products and be responsible members of their community."
And as for Katz' own role in that community? "I'm still a geek, I'm still a fan...photography is a way to ground me and remind me, capture some of those moments, and record what I do." Where he'll be documenting next as the project continues is still under wraps, though it shouldn't come as any surprise that it will have something to do with music.
Until then, check out the calendar for a full list of NYC events (it runs through 18 December 2010) and see more of our images in the gallery below.
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