a visual collective outlet of inspiration
ogawa kazumasa is known as one of the pioneer in japanese photography. he came in the usa in 1882 when doing the trip from japan was not so common, there he learned the then new process of the dry plate as well as the collotype printing. upon his return to japan two years later, he opened the first photographic studio in tokyo and the first collotype business in japan few years later. even if he is widely known for the pictures he took as an assignment of tokyo’s 100 most attractive geishas, the flowers i discovered a week ago are to me, his one masterpiece, if you consider they were shot in the 1890’s then perhaps mapplethorpe, penn, blossfeldt and friends can consider him as their “papa”, love it! by pp
robert longo for brooklyn surfer
“I developed the Brooklyn Surfer logo from a memory I had of being at the beach near Rockaway in Brooklyn. It was late in the day, the sun was bright, hanging low in the sky. As I looked west, down the shoreline into the setting sun, I saw in the distance the sharp silhouettes of surfers holding their boards checking out the surf. This image was burned into my brain. Rockaway is Brooklyn. Brooklyn may sound like an unlikely location for a surf spot, but in reality it is a real location with a decent break and at times some serious swells. It is a unique surfing experience. An extraordinary collision of urban and surf cultures. Not far form the beaches are the basketball black tops of city legends and the subway stations where many of the surfers arrive coming off the trains with their boards heading for the beach and the breaks.” i personally always thought that new york and surfing were kind of an absurd duo but whatever dude. by dd
NEXT ONLINE
after mr. zahm, mr. richardson… it’s time for mr petronio to have his blog, whos next? by pp
pritzker prize x sanaa x the new museum
this year, the laureates for the prestigious architecture award “pritzker prize” is the japanese duo sanaa.
i love the visual aspect or their work, but it seems interesting that they receive the price at the same time that their new york flagship work, the new museum, is at its critically non-acclaiming height.
not that they have anything to do with the poor programming and curating of the museum (which is another debate) but is this building is not as bad as it’s content, really?
is there anybody that set a foot in there that can say it’s convenient? what about those stairs so small they would not even accommodate a 2 story residential place? what about those windows looking at walls? is that good design?
my point is that as designers, we all had great designs that were fucked up by a client at some point in order to fit whatever and i wouldn’t like to be judged based on those. but since i never been to any sanaa building except the new museum, i’m wondering if this is a “client fucked up” case or if architecture is now judged on a theoretical aspect more than a convenient one? by pp
for sale
in need for a change? well, the “cabaret normand” in villervile is for sale, 10 minutes from deauville, two hours from paris. the restaurant and b&b; that was featured in henri verneuil 1962’s “un singe en hiver” with jean paul belmondo and jean gabin remains exactly the same.
went there once and really loved the atmosphere there so when i heard it was for sale i smiled imagining myself behind the bar by pp
Lovin’ Spoonful’s Summer in the City
they sound a whole lot cooler than they look, and i can’t wait for summer. by kl
ladies and gentlemen, the fabulous stains
after one of those long stressful days making you question the merits of life, this was just the perfect mindless film to watch. beautifully filmed and art directed, yet horribly written and acted. it’s a deviance worth the trouble especially given what a hidden “gem” it has been considered by some. story of a girl band rise and fall, featuring a beautiful super cool diane lane, the young laura dern who seems identical to the old laura dern, paul simonon of the clash, and paul cook and steve jones of the sex pistols. thanx kc for the reco xx. by dd
ruscha x kerouac
in 1951, jack kerouac wrote “on the road” on his typewriter as a continuous 120 foot-long scroll. few years later, in 1966, ed ruscha photographed “every building on sunset strip” and presented it on a 27 foot-long scroll. ruscha since confessed his obsession for his road heir in a book released by the great steidl in association with gagosian gallery.
“over the last couple of years, ruscha has turned his attention to on the road, resulting in his own version of kerouac’s beat bible. kerouac’s entire text appears accompanied by black and white photographic illustrations that ruscha has either taken himself, commissioned from other photographers, or selected from found images to refer closely to the details and impressions that the author describes, from car parts to jazz instruments, from sandwich stacks to tire burns on a desert road.”
the leather-bound book comprises 228 pages, signed and numbered by the artist in an edition of 350 and presented in a slip-case. we won’t write the price because it’s depressing… by pp
quote of the day
“art has to move you and design does not– unless it’s a good design for a bus.”
–david hockney
–david hockney
google maps – street view photos
i’m generally not a fan of michael wolf photos that are generally too gimmicky for me, but i have to admit he has a point here. to “photograph” a city through the street view option of google maps is something everybody though about but he manage to do it pretty well. nice by pp
ryan mcginley – everybody knows…
on top of being nyc star last week with the most crowded opening ever, ryan mcginley released this beautiful book, published in association with the great dashwood books store on bond street to celebrate “everybody knows this is nowhere”.
haven’t seen it for real (as the exhibition, see photo…) but looks really nice. by pp
everyone knows this is nowhere – ryan mcginley at team gallery
i can’t believe i haven’t made it down to TEAM gallery to see this show in person yet. it may sound cliché to say ryan mcginley has a knack for capturing ‘modern beauty’, but i think it’s true. it’s plain to see this series freezes a taste of the vibe of people today, something we will feel more intensely when some time has passed. as for his images, it’s a beautiful evolution. by kl
