Felix Gonzalez-Torres was one of my first favorite contemporary artists. From the late 1980s until his death from AIDS-related illness in 1996, he imbued minimalist form and incredibly humble materials with powerful emotional and personal content.
Among his most well-known works are his pour pieces, where an "ideal" weight--usually around 180 lbs, the weight of Felix's partner Ross--of wrapped candy, free for the taking, is piled in a corner or spread across the floor. The pours upset the museum's typical hands-off! norms and turn into a living memorial as the candy gets taken and replenished.
At least that's how it eventually worked out. Felix's first pour piece, made in 1990, was actually Untitled (Fortune Cookie Corner), and it consists of around 10,000 unwrapped fortune cookies. Which end up getting broken and stale. And kind of gnarly, to the point that, unless you're there the first day of the show, you wouldn't really want to eat one. Plus, they attract bugs and stuff.
So art history-wise: very significant. Actually showing or owning it: kind of a pain.
Which may be why the piece failed to sell at auction in 2003, even at the seemingly conservative estimate of $600-800,000. Someone eventually bought it, though, because it's now at the Felix Gonzalez-Torres retrospective at WIELS in Brussels. The artblog 16miles.com has awesome photos.
photos of Felix Gonzalez-Torres retrospective at WIELS, Brussels, BE [16miles.com]
Monday, February 08, 2010
Felix Gonzalez-Torres' Untitled (Fortune Cookie Corner)
Friday, February 05, 2010
Robert Irwin Acrylic Column, 1970-1
The uniquely Californian flavor of Minimalism is on revelatory view until tomorrow at David Zwirner Gallery in the provincial little burg that thought it invented Minimalism, New York City.
Robert Irwin's prismatic acrylic column, from 1970-71, is one of my favorite works in the show. This stuff looks like the art of the future.
"Primary Atmospheres: Works from California 1960-1970" [davidzwirner.com]
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Roald Dahl's Writing Hut
Our man Fritz sent a link to Roald Dahl's writing hut, following yesterday's post about George Bernard Shaw's shack.
Roald Dahl's Shackitecture (Thanks, Fritz!)
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Michael Paul Smith's Amazing Model Village
The Flickr gallery includes build notes that prove this isn't just a bunch of die cast cars set around some model buildings.
Michael Paul Smith:
I constructed this garbage truck out of styrene sheets and tubing, using plans I found in a book that followed the history of garbage trucks. It was fascinating reading.Michael Paul Smith's Village (via thingsmagazine.net)
The frame and cab was from a Danbury Mint 1951 White truck.
George Bernard Shaw's Shackitecture
From Guardian:
This was a strange place for a red-bearded socialist, with large ideas of how to change the world, to land up. But somehow it suited Shaw. He was, after all, a master of paradox - and besides, what all writers need, even the most public figures among them, is privacy while they are writing. "People bother me," Shaw confessed. "I came here to hide from them." From this modest hideout, he could bother people without interruption.
George Bernard Shaw's Writer Room (via V & A Museum)
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Abitacolo Bed/Play Thing By Bruno Munari
I know it kind of looks like it belongs in the laundry room, but isn't that part of its charm? Also, each one comes with a personalized license plate?
Bruno Munari designed Abitacolo [Italian for "cockpit"], a bed/play/study/storage structure for kids, for the retail fixture manufacturer Robots [!] in 1972. I thought it was lost to the ages, but I just found out yesterday that Robots still makes and sells Abitacolo in Europe.
Robots.it [robots.it]
Sunday, January 31, 2010
The Armchair Quarterback Trophy
I got lucky last night and channel surfed across Varsity Blues just as James Vanderbeek was about to deliver my favorite line in the argument with his father: "Ah. Don't Want. Yer Lahf."
And thinking about grown men and their football fantasies reminded me that I'd recently been blown away when I visited my friends Patrick and Dennis's studio in Brooklyn a couple of weeks ago. I found the place buzzing with mold-spinning and burnishing and general trophymaking. They've teamed up with another artist, Dave Mitri, to make these rather hilarious fantasy sports trophies.
They are massive, and weighty, and beautifully crafted, and ridiculous, and they apparently drive fantasy sports widows crazy with desire--the desire to see them moved into the mancave.
Meanwhile, they make me want to do some situps.
FantasyTrophies.com
iPad? Wow, Have You Guys Heard Of This?
The datestamp says Jan. 27, but I only got this email from Apple on Friday. I guess it's some kind of iMegaphone or something? No idea, but I will definitely be on the lookout for information about this one.
Friday, January 29, 2010
San Francisco Artist's Soap Box Derby
The Incredible San Francisco Artists' Soapbox Derby, 1975. from Mike Haeg on Vimeo.
From our favorite mayor of Mt. Holly:
I stumbled across and purchased an actual print of this film back in SF while working on a project for the SF MOMA. Amanda Pope did a great job capturing the spirit of creativity and the event itself. I wonder where all of these cars are today?The soapbox cars are remarkably refined and the crowd is huge!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Bylaws of Haute Couture
photo by Patrick Demarchelier for Vanity FairMy fellow D+R guest-blogger Greg Allen's puzzlement over the purpose of haute couture reminded me of an article I recently read in Vanity Fair. What I found most interesting, was learning that the use of the term "haute couture" is governed by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, in Paris (where else?):
According to the bylaws of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, a division of the French Ministry of Industry, an haute couturier is a designer who presides over the creation of hand-finished made-to-order clothing, in a “laboratory” that employs at least 20 workers in Paris. The haute couturier must present a minimum of 25 ensembles twice a year, in January and July, and construct a garment over the course of several fittings, directly on a client’s body or on a dress form replicating her physique....From a peak of 200 before World War II, only 11 authentic haute couturiers remain; additionally, there are four correspondent members. (Giorgio Armani joined as one in 2004.) Just two Americans have ever been classified as haute couturiers—Mainbocher (retired 1971) and Ralph Rucci, who was accepted as a guest member in 2002. (After five years and 10 collections, a guest may advance to full membership.) “If someone is simply a couturier,” explains a Parisian expert, “all that means is that you are sewing.” And, the Parisian adds, if a dressmaker uses the term “haute couturier” without the Chambre Syndicale’s sanction, “he can be arrested.”(Bold is mine, because I didn't want you to miss that last part.)
Link to article
Link to photos from article
Armani Prive
As a full-employment program for French beaders, I can get it, but mostly, couture is a bizarre mystery I only spend about 10 minutes a year contemplating.
Still, I'm glad Armani made this coat/sheath/bubble thing for his Armani Privé collection, even if the only real world scenario I can conjure up for it is a Russian oligarch's girlfriend trying to stop picking her nose in public.
Armani Privé Couture Spring 2010 coverage [style.com]
Monday, January 25, 2010
Machotaildrop
Machotaildrop has little in common with the typical skate film: palatial Hungarian estates, gangs of insane manwolfs, lavish island lairs. Oh... and evil Barons! I can't wait!
Release date hasn't yet been announced.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Won't You Help?
A 1954 Bentley Continental-R Fastback:
..with a crocodile interior restored in 1995 at a cost of just under $12,000? That IS remarkable.
This particular example is one of just 43 left hand drive examples built, and was delivered with a number of special features, the most remarkable of which is a crocodile upholstered interior. This was an original special order feature, and though it sounds unusual, it is actually quite stunning and attractive in person.
The interior of the car is stunning. The wood has been spectacularly refinished to concours condition, while the upholstery is in similarly nice condition. The crocodile upholstery is actually leather that is embossed with the crocodile pattern, though the original crocodile upholstery remains on the inside of the rear armrest. The rear armrest also contains a beautifully restored cribbage board, a deck of cards, and a vanity mirror.
Yes, crocodile :: embossed leather, concours :: nice.
Maybe if enough people send $10 text messages with "CROC" in them, the new owner will be able to afford to recover from this heartbreaking disaster.
1954 Bentley R-Type Continental Fastback | Sale Pending [fantasyjunction via warymeyers]
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Wait, Bill Cunningham Is The Godfather Of The Down Coat?
So according to my favorite street fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, this is apparently the first down coat. It was designed by Charles James in 1937.
As Cunningham explains in his latest NY Times audio slideshow, he introduced James to some hotshot illustrator/club kid named Antonio Lopez [below] in the 70s. Lopez saw the coat, flipped out, and eventually made a presentation to fashionistas assembled about how down sleeping bags are the Coats of The Future, which prompted Norma Kamali to race home and design one.
Someone needs to sit Bill Cunningham down pronto and start prying all his other fashion secrets out of him. That man is a national treasure.
On The Street | Puffed [nyt via theawl]
Evening Jacket, Charles James, 1937 [victoria & albert museum]
Monday, January 18, 2010
Lincoln Center Fountain
A great video montage showing the diminishing Lincoln Center Fountain in New York through the years. In The Producers (1968) it is pretty robust, but by Sweet Home Alabama(2002) it is a mere trickle. But, it was redone by WET Design and now it is officially awesome.
New Yorker on the Lincoln Center fountain and WET Design
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Silvered Paintings By Jacob Kassay
For his solo gallery debut last February at NYC's Eleven Rivington, Jacob Kassay showed a series of monochrome paintings that documented the process of their creation:
They are primed, composed, painted and prepared on canvas in the studio and then finished by a process similar to mirror / silver plating. In these works, alchemy is an integral part of a mixed media practice that presents illumination and transformation as primary subjects.Should point out that the silvering process scorches the raw canvas around the edges, giving them--I love this--"the appearance of elegantly abused luxury goods." They looked eerie and spectacular, familiar and new, a really incredible debut. I just saw more of Kassay's work last week, made with a related-but-different process I don't remember, exactly, and it looked just as interesting.
Kassay’s training is in photography and he has translated many of the medium’s essential techniques and concepts into his painting practice. This includes the basic photographic printing principle in which a support is coated with a medium that is then dipped, bathed, transformed and ‘fixed’ as an image. Kassay applied and developed this premise to painting, using silver – a precious metal used variously from jewelry and silverware to electrical conduction – as a catalyst for his work.
Jacob Kassay | February 14 – March 29, 2009 [elevenrivington.com]
Review of Jacob Kassay's show [16miles.com]
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Very Log Cabin Shackitecture
Wow! Fantastic example of mobile shackitecture! This charming studio is on wheels. I love the incongruity of the logs with the modern painted interior.
From Thomas Mayer Archive:
NLD, The Netherlands, Hilversum, log house on wheels as study for music-entertainer Hans Liberg, design by Piet Hein Eek
Log Cabin Studio (via Shedworking)
Previous Shackitecture
Underwater Bugatti Exhumed
From Bonhams:
In the case of non-payment of the duties, the car had to be destroyed and the simplest way to do so was to tip it into the nearby lake. To facilitate its recovery the Bugatti was attached to a heavy chain, but when this finally corroded away the car fell to the lakebed at a depth of 53 metres.After 73 years, it appears the mass of this car has diminished by 80%. With an estimate of 70,000-90,000 Euro, one realizes just how rare Bugattis are. And I thought I've had some ambitious junk car projects!
It remained there, undiscovered, until 18th August 1967 when diver Ugo Pillon located the mythical Bugatti, which was lying on its left side, partly buried in the mud. Pillon had been searching for it for some time and after its rediscovery the car became a popular target members of the local sub aqua club. On 12th July 2009, after a 73-year sojourn in Lake Maggiore, the Bugatti was finally rescued from the lake by Jens Boerlin and his comrades from Ascona's sub aqua club.
1925 Bugatti Brescia Type 22 Roadster
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
NYC Delft Porcelain
From Neatorama:
The New Jersey design firm Lovegrove & Repucci has created this graffiti-covered dinnerware set in the tradition of the Netherland’s Delft-style porcelain. It’s called “New York Delft” and in the links, you can can find an Antiques Roadshow spoof featuring the collection.The graffiti is pretty cool, but I am partial to the teacup with the hot dog vending cart.
New York Delft (Thanks, Marilyn!)
Monday, January 11, 2010
Wenger Cubes
Wenger Cubes. They're like all the back-to-the-land, flexible-DIY-with-redwood, hippie goodness of a geodesic dome, with none of the complicated angles or leaks.
Daniel L. Wenger began making these truncated hexahedrons in Santa Cruz in 1970. By the time Sunset Magazine caught up with them in 1979, there were Wenger Cube saunas, music studios, homestead cabins, and this implausibly "portable" kids' play structure--with hammock.
Is there a Wenger shack in your retro-future?
Wenger Cubes [wengersundial.com via southwillard]
William Burroughs's Typewriter (and Other Stuff)
From The Morning News:
How did you end up photographing William Burroughs’s stuff?William Burroughs's Stuff at the Morning News
William Burroughs lived for many years in the former locker room of an 1880s YMCA, on the Bowery in New York City. The almost windowless space was known as The Bunker. When he died in 1997, his friend and mine, John Giorno, kept the apartment intact, with many of Burroughs’s possessions sitting as they were. Part of the space is now used for Buddhist teachings, and the apartment is a wonderful mix of Buddhist wall hangings and pillows and carpets and Burroughs’ personal furniture and collections.
Is the room still intact?
His bedroom is as he left it, with all his stuff in place. Giorno looks after it, and occasionally houses visiting artists and friends and Buddhist teachers who come to teach in the main area of the space.
VIncent Fournier Photographs of Space Program
From Creative Review:
As part of London Art Fair - which kicks off next week from 13-17 January at the Business Design Centre in Islington - The Steps Gallery will be showcasing a series of striking images by French photographer Vincent Fournier...Some of these shots look like they could have been taken circa 1972 Apollo. Or, they could just be part of a Tom Sachs project.
Fournier's work focuses on the interiors of Chinese, Russian and US space agencies - and also includes some remarkable images of astronauts training grounds that, appropriately, look completely out of this world.
Vincent Fournier at Steps Gallery (via Creative Review)
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