APPLEJACKS

The Odd Shop: Sleepy But Still Alive

2011-09-27T20:29:00.006-04:00

(...click to enlarge...)

Okay - so I am still here (kind of) and The Odd Shop is still here (most definitely). We are both just slow, lazy and sleepy. I am hoping that the cooler weather (if it ever comes) will kick us back into gear (have I said this before?). The summer proved to be impossible. I just gave up by the end and didn't do a single thing for months. :(

So anyway. The Shop. Nothing new in there but did make a couple of sales in the spring and summer which were very unexpected and super nice. Have a couple new ideas which I would like to work on and have a lot of printed fabric that needs to get sewn up into things. I also bought a sewing machine - my first - so now I have to get serious about learning to use it. So far I have made tiny drawstring bags which worked out okay. A bit nervous to start bigger projects in case I mess them up, but at least I still have a seamstress around the corner just in case something goes drastically wrong and I have to end up getting some help with putting things together!

New Fashion Japan by Leonard Koren

2011-06-12T22:33:00.006-04:00

(...if you would like to read the text or see larger - go here, click on the photo, and then click on "actions" and "view all sizes"...)

Got out this amazing book from 1984 by Leonard Koren a month or two back. I still have to finish it! But it is truly the best thing. So much inspiration!

An NYT article on Koren here, a radio interview here, and an excerpt from his latest book here.

Old Old Stuff I Did

2011-05-08T22:54:00.002-04:00

(...click to enlarge...)

I did this layout many moons ago for a friend of mine who has a little independent fashion publication. It got the major axe (as in - it never ran) but I stumbled across it the other day and thought Why? I still think it is pretty good. Totally psychedelic and future-y right? Or maybe I am just crazy?? Anyway. Here you go. Just for kicks. Failed expression. Sorry photographer, I forget who you are...

The Odd Shop

2011-05-03T22:00:00.001-04:00

(...sad shell card, swirly ball and ipod print zippered pouch available now in The Odd Shop...)

Alright. So I have been sitting on this shop for a few months now, I can't believe I actually got it up in the end! I am also weirdly really into it and keep thinking of funny things I can make or get to stick in there. The whole idea of a shop is kind of a strange and cool thing. At the moment there is mostly an odd assortment of things that I have made or repurposed, small scale items that I work on in my free time, and I am toying with the idea of maybe eventually adding more serious items like photo books, photo prints, and drawings. Can't tell if it makes sense to include those sorts of things or not. We shall see.

I searched around (and had a couple in mind) for some independent and art-oriented shops to reference while I was putting together my own and found some interesting ones from the past as well as some exciting new ones:

...Cleas Oldenburg's The Store (here, here and here)...
...Tracey Emin and Sarah Lucas's The Shop (here, here, and Emin's current online shop here)...
...Circle Workshop...
...N S E W...
...Paperstore...

So I don't know - check it out if you are curious! I have a couple ideas for gift wrapping which you will see if you get something...

;)

Worried About This Blog

2011-04-19T23:16:00.007-04:00

(...printed these two images out - 20" x 30", click to enlarge...)

Can't seem to find the energy for long format blogging anymore - maybe it will come back again later? Many things have happened - in my own life (nothing major) and in the outside world (very major), but I just can't seem to find the words for everything. On a brighter note I have accomplished #1-#5 of that list a post or so ago of things I needed to get done. So at least that is something! Maybe I am slowly getting somewhere even though I feel like I am just treading water.

Mira Nair's So Far from India and India Cabaret

2011-02-17T18:10:00.003-05:00

(...image from here...)

Watched these two great early documentaries by Mira Nair the other day - So Far from India and India Cabaret. Wish I could find them on youtube or somewhere online but no luck. Both totally have what I love - vintage footage, family dynamics, sensitivity to the role of women in society, and cinéma vérité. You should check them out if you get the chance.

Also got 2 library cards recently - one for Brooklyn and one for the New York Public Library system. So stoked!! I just took out a stack of dvds that include a bunch of Chantal Akerman and I also put this one on reserve. Libraries are right up there with thrift stores for me. A total easter egg hunt for hidden gems that don't cost you anything (or not that much). Now all I need is another snowstorm to hit so I can stay in all day and watch them...

2011?!

2011-01-19T00:17:00.005-05:00

(...click to enlarge and/or go here to see more new photos...)

Uh hello? Anybody out there? Ugh. Sorry to be so...not really here at all. Having a majorly tough time keeping up with anything not you-know-what related. Oh well - maybe it will get better later? Looked up time management the other day and it suggested I make lists, which I already do in a very OCD manner so no go there...

So speaking of lists here is one to keep 2011 on track:

1. make photo prints: exhibition size!
2. fabric printed with ipod drawings
3. shop? might make this finally happen this year...
4. reset flickrs and photo portfolio tumblr to zero - is that crazy? I can't tell. I just really feel like I need to make some sort of break and start fresh.
5. new header and links purge of this blog, very long overdue!
6. make posts on this blog more quick and dirty - is this possible? I always have a lot to show and tell...maybe I just need to loosen up.
7. bored yet?
8. this post is starting to feel a lot like my last post...

Okay - so anyway - I had better wrap this up before it gets even more of a snooze. Will try to get things done this year! Must keep moving forward!

Happy 2011 friends.

XXXB.

ipod drawings

2010-10-30T23:43:00.003-04:00

So I got this ipod touch over the summer which is the first ipod I have ever had, and I am totally new to this app businesss, but in a weak moment I purchased the Brushes app - mostly because David Hockney said it was worth it.

It is actually really fun to play with - good for when you need a little time waster. Sometimes I do them just before bed. Trying to think of what I could do with them - maybe make a textile pattern?? Print it out with Spoonflower? Or maybe use them in a print design or something? Or maybe they could just be sketches for colour and texture combos...at any rate, I love the idea of using the ipod or iphone to make something...

...was tipped off that Trippingfest is another good drawing app (more examples here)...

...others using the iphone to make drawings: Ryan Lauderdale and Travess Smalley...

x

Trying to Get Back on Track

2010-08-29T22:12:00.005-04:00

In the same vein as my last post, I have been kind of sweating my other tumblr for awhile - There Exists There Does Not Exist - and I have finally figured out that maybe the problem was that I was being to picky with what to post. I think I am going to try to do a post a day for awhile on there to try and kick it up a notch.

So maybe just a random dip into my photo archives or something new or just whatever I have going on as long as it is primarily photographic. It was meant to be my "semi-official" photo portfolio but the whole thing is just starting to feel a little dead and not fun anymore so it must be time to kind of bend the rules a little. We will see if it gets things moving again.

. . .

So here is my online breakdown:

main portfolio: strongest work - 6 month updates
flickr 1: photo dump - digital/film/pola/scans/videos
flickr 2: experimental digital work - mostly photo based
tumblr 1: collect and share - on the fly inspiration
tumblr 2: photo portfolio

- - -

blogspot: babble like this - deeper thought inspiration
shop: ?? working on it forever...
bookshop: would love to add something new here, hopefully one day...
delicious: OCD bookmark collecting (267 "checkout" tags?? Who am I kidding??)

This also reminds me of my sad vimeo account. Should get that streamlined and bring it into the fold...I have a few videos that are too big for flickr to handle plus now we have flipcam! (big HD files)...

Is this so boring? Sorry! Ending this NOW.

Sometimes Strange is Okay

2010-08-26T22:50:00.005-04:00

So my satellite flickr site, Flower Delivery New York City, although it hasn't got much action lately, is still kind of a sweet spot for me. I always have a few photos that I really like but I just can't figure out where they fit in. It is like they are not good in the traditional sense, but I still get an interesting feel from them.

Sometimes they are straight up misfires, or just plain weird, sometimes I do something to them like turn them upside down or make them black and white or duotone. I always enjoy this - taking the photo to another level, giving it more dimension. The only problem is I start to feel a bit split-personality. What do I want? A good solid regular photo, no questions asked, or these more ambiguous, mysterious images?

*

Two Films

2010-08-03T18:11:00.004-04:00

Chantal Ackerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

and

Federico Fellini's Le Tentazioni del Dottor Antonio

So normally I would post the whole damn movie but Ackerman's film is in 19 parts and I couldn't find the Fellini movie with subtitles. Bummer! Anyone out there speak Italian? Hopefully someone who reads this blog can still appreciate it.

So three months later right? Wow. Sorry sorry to be gone so long! No kidding about spare time. Hm. But maybe it is a summer thing too...hope so.

Anyway my brain is pretty much fried these days but at least I have these movies to report on. So great! So entertaining! Famous directors! The aura of antiquity! Hope you enjoy them as much as I did. The titles link through to the youtube videos and the director's names link through to their wiki pages...

Happy Dog Days!

xoBree

Thoughts Feelings Photos Flowers

2010-05-11T23:32:00.003-04:00

(..click to see bigger...)

Whoa - goodbye April! Sorry to be gone for so long. Need to make sure things keep moving on here so I feel like I still have some "outside interests". Ha.

The one thing I am doing lots of is snapping these disposable cameras. So light! So Easy! Take with you anywhere! So says the back of the package. And it's true. A good way to keep in practice. Although I will have to find a way to make use of the canonet again somehow. Right now it is just too heavy with baby, baby bag, my bag, and whatever things I collect running errands. Maybe once we break out the stroller I can stash it underneath. Anyway - more photos over here if you are interested.

I intended to write more on the thoughts and feelings end of things, but it might have to wait until next post. Spare time is a very elusive thing these days!! But I will try to be back soon soon...

.dxxxb.

Louis Malle's God's Country

2010-03-24T00:29:00.007-04:00

Been totally addicted to these Louis Malle documentaries this past month. Just like Phantom India, the one I have posted here called God's Country, is so so good.

I finally got to watch Phantom India in its entirety, and then went on to rent Calcutta, Vive le Tour, Humain Trop Humain and Place de la République (those last three were all on one disc). For sure going to try to see the rest - and then on to his feature films I suppose...wonder if I will like them as much?

Getting Some Vert

2010-03-17T20:48:00.002-04:00

(...click images to enlarge...)

Some new 35mm shots (more over here). I am trying to take a few more vertical shots than usual. Really kind of liking that format lately. Very...mmm...dynamic! (for lack of a better word...)

Opening Tonight! 01 Group Show!

2010-03-11T18:53:00.003-05:00

(...click to enlarge...)

Super excited to be participating in 01 Magazine's first group exhibition!

Opens tonight at 107 Shaw Gallery in Toronto, Canada.

Wish I could be there...

Check it out if you can! Show is up until April 3rd.

*

01 Presented by 01 Magazine
In association with 107 Shaw Gallery

March 11 - April 3, 2010
Opening Reception: March 11, 2010, 7pm

107 Shaw Gallery
107 Shaw Street
Toronto, Ontario
M6J 2W4, Canada

Gallery Hours: Wednesdays & Saturdays | 12pm - 6pm
Or by appointment - info@1zero.com

More information

*

Holding Out!

2010-03-10T22:27:00.002-05:00

Ummmm, well, I wasn't planning on sharing my (very) big news with the internets but since facebook already spiralled out of control, and since this blog has been silent for more than a month without explanation, I thought I had better spill the beans. My little family has grown from two to three! A little boy born in February. I am really beyond words about the whole thing - What a trip!! We are very, very happy. Needless to say, things will probably continue to be pretty slow around these parts until I get the hang of our new schedule but I promise to be back as soon as I can with some new things to show and tell. Until then, babybabybaby...

:) :) :)

xxx

o

The Dick Cavett Show

2010-01-25T22:25:00.003-05:00

Alright. The Dick Cavett Show! I haven't watched all of these - but the ones I have seen are really great and totally worth checking out. I only put on Part 1 (if I could find it - some of these might be middle parts of the interviews sorry), so you will have to click through to youtube to watch them in their entirety. Dick Cavett seems like the original Charlie Rose. Really corny and definitely creating alot of awkward moments but still able to get his guests to reveal something honest about themselves. Tough job.

And hey! Sorry to be such a bad blogger these days! I didn't mean to check out for such a long period. Life outside the internets has been especially demanding lately - trying to get the life in order - lots of endless lists as not as much crossing off as I would like. But hopefully I will get there eventually! Fingers crossed.

:)

01 Magazine and Real Time and Space

2010-01-05T21:13:00.006-05:00

Almost forgot to mention on here that right before the holidays the fourth edition (the photo issue!) of 01 Magazine was released. I did some 21 Century drawings under the title of Real Time and Space for this issue and was really pleased with how they turned out. 01 is, for lack of a better description (this is the official beginning of my braindead season), a super tight online publication featuring a lot of great work, interviews, stylez and inspiration. I am very happy to be a part of it!

01 Magazine | No. 4 | Photo Issue

Real Time and Space

facebook | twitter

*

The National Coat of Canada

2010-01-03T20:09:00.004-05:00

Patrick calls this the National Coat of Canada. I think he might be on to something. The funny thing about this coat is that I found it a year or so ago hidden way back in a tiny musty Salvation Army store by our old apartment in Brooklyn. I knew it was a great find, it has a real fur collar with an embedded wire frame to shape it, a quilted feather down interior, giant front pockets that open from the top and the sides, a tough nylon weave exterior shell and the giant 50 pound jacket is trimmed with this charming old-school guitar strap style orange and blue print pattern. It even had this little pin on it up by the collar featuring a black and white photograph of the front of a bus - the kind used in public transport - you know, a regular old bus bus.

Even with all this I was still going back and forth. Patrick was exiled in Canada at the time, and I wasn't sure when or even if he would make it back, plus I had a lot of errands to run that day and the coat was truly ginormous. So I kind of squeezed it for a while, tried it on, zipped up the zipper, buttoned all the buttons, rummaged through the pockets, and took a closer look at the label. That was what sealed the deal. The coat was made by a (now defunct) company in Calgary, Alberta of all places! I would doublecheck the actual name right now but the P-man is out wearing the jacket at the moment so I can't. The tag is one of those really big ones like they used to make, with red sparkly script letters and everything. Calgary is where I moved when I was 19 to go to art school and where I met Patrick, who I have been with ever since. Lovestory right? Nostalgia overload. So I bought the coat, Pat came back to live with me in NYC, and now it gets used with love every day.

Happy 2010 everyone! Much excitement and big changes to come in the New Year. It's gonna be one to remember that is for sure.

xo :) xo

b.

Estelle Hanania

2009-12-08T21:19:00.006-05:00

Really really love this work by Estelle Hanania. Beautiful I think and so strong. Unravel some of the mystery here. One of the few things that brings tearstoeyes.

x

+

2009-12-01T21:52:00.004-05:00

Just some recent Canonet photos...maybe I will show some disposable ones next time. Seems weird to mix them up here for some reason even though probably no one can tell they were taken on different cameras but me (well maybe...).

I am a big fan of that sad clown one. So sad!

These are all stored over here for now - I need to edit my flickr so bad it is scary. How do you edit 4000 plus images?? Ugh. Don't even want to go there.

Awhile back I also started this tumblr as kind of a photography portfolio just in case you missed it:

THERE EXISTS THERE DOES NOT EXIST

*

Okay - L8R

love

b.

Mental Dynamics IRL (well kind of)

2009-11-27T22:57:00.004-05:00

(...last photo by Stephanie Davidson from here...)

Just thought I would post these here as proof that these pieces existed In Real Life! This is the work and installation of my contribution to the Mental Dynamics exhibition that opened at Synchronicity gallery a couple of weeks ago. It is up until December 12th so if you can you should check it out! Many (many) thanks to Stephanie Davidson for curating me in.

Here and here (click through photostream) are installation shots of the whole show - nice work!!

b.

PS. My dumb dumb portfolio website keeps crashing. Sorry to be so unprofessional. I keep cheaping out on upgrading it so it can handle more traffic but I swear to God if it does it again next month I will take care of things. As for now, it will refresh December 1st and then be back online...

PPS. Happy Thanksgiving to all the non-Canadians! Hope you had a nice one.

Louis Malle's Phantom India / L'Inde Phantome

2009-11-19T22:28:00.005-05:00

Stumbled upon these beautiful clips the other day of the 1968 documentary L'Inde Phantome (Phantom India), by the French film director Louis Malle. Mesmerizing. I was especially taken by the personal tone of the film's narration. I think it really adds something to the footage - somehow making the director's own story part of the one he is telling of India at that moment in time...

Also see these clips of the same documentary:

caste system (part 1, part 2, part 3)
Toda tribe
temple cart (part 1, part 2)

They are all so great! I am going to have to rent this somewhere so I can watch the whole thing.

*

"But these dancers have gone beyond technique. These images clearly show dance as language, or better yet, dialogue."

{<3}

***

2009-11-15T19:49:00.006-05:00

Bestest Bud G gave me two packs of polaroid film for my birthday! Guess how long it took me to shoot them all off?? With great restraint they lasted me two days. Here are the best ones. I like gifts that you can make something with. Fun times.

ooo

Video Radio Star

2009-11-04T18:42:00.004-05:00

If your attention span is anything like mine you probably won't get through these videos, but I thought I would post them here as a collection nonetheless.

Trying to get better with video. I love that all the point and shoots have such an awesome video feature these days. The possibilities are endless!

More over here...

x

Mental Dynamics

2009-10-29T18:02:00.003-04:00

(...beautiful poster design by Raphaël Garnier...click to enlarge...)

So thrilled to be included in this exhibition at Synchronicity curated by Stephanie Davidson!

Keeping very good company too:

Michael Deforge
Nick Demarco
Jacob Broms Engblom
Raphaël Garnier
Jesjit Gill
Eilis McDonald
MDCCLXIV
Jon Rafman
Y. Val Gesto

Show opens November 14th, at Synchronicity, 4306 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, California.

Check it out if you can! I wish I could...

:)(:

Ramblin...

2009-10-27T21:36:00.002-04:00

At a loss for what to post today. Happens every once in awhile, strange because I have a lot of ideas but I just don't feel like digging into them. Season change maybe, throwing me for a loop.

Had a birthday recently, that was fun. Got the day off and everything. And lookit my new shoes! Hand painted! Lucky me.

What about a mini-links list? Things I am obsessing over the last few weeks. Sound good? Here goes:

...beyond love, brings tearstoeyes, this, this and this series in particular. Nigel Shafran photographer...
...Weird Friends! Can't get enough!...
...Woody Allen's Manhattan is on youtube in its entirety! Who knows for how long so catch it while you can. Meryl Streep as the lesbian ex-wife writing her tell-all is one of my favorite parts amongst many others...
...the real normal blog, good stuff here, curated by some very talented people...
...post-postmodern interpretations of "chair" (click through photostream to view all), thank you ChristianBrandt...
...the documentary In the Womb, not for all, but definitely for some (I thought it was fascinating)...

C-ya L8R

b.

Inside Chanel

2009-10-14T21:14:00.003-04:00

I watched these videos last night thanks to my good bud Elizabeth over at her new blog persuasion. I thought they were so great I also wanted to stick them over here. It has five episodes, so make sure you find all the rest of them in the youtube slider. The only bummer is that the sound is off for the climax of the film, I think it is Epsiode 5, Part 2. But don't be discouraged! It is still worth it.

It is very (very) similar to the movie that I saw a few months back, Valentino: The Last Emperor, which I also really enjoyed. It is kind of a combination of things that makes these two films so fascinating - the glamour of high (haute!) fashion, the exhaustive day-to-day labor and camaraderie of the women making everything run smoothly behind the scenes, the unfathomable amount of money, care, time, energy and love that is put into the collections, the air of antiquity to the whole operation with the feeling that everything everyone works so hard for will soon be lost to globalization, corporate capitalism and the inevitable restructing of the meaning and practice of work as the new technological generation evolves.

My favorite scenes were in Epsisode 3, "Rituals". I love the braid-maker!! She really is unbelievable.

xo

Weak Moment

2009-10-13T20:30:00.004-04:00

I try not to post much "hey go buy this" stuff but while working at the Art Book Fair, a girl approached the table with this amazing necklace. It was kind of thick and ropey, leathery and chainy with some hot orange embroidery on white. Wow! I asked her where she got it and she said she made them herself and gave me a little catalog. Her business is called Lizzie Fortunato Jewels. Makes my fingers itch for some make and do jewellery sessions...maybe I could get another Arts degree?? Textiles slash jewellery slash ceramics?? How else will I ever get the chance to try all these different mediums I find so inspiring?? Man.

x

New Photos

2009-10-07T09:55:00.004-04:00

Got some film from the summer finally developed! I have a few more over here. I took around six or seven rolls with what turned out to be expired 800 speed film, so some of them were pretty funky. But a few turned out okay and interesting so that is a relief.

I also decided to start using disposables again, I had taken a break using them over the summer because I guess I figured with the Canonet I didn't need them anymore. But I found that I really missed them, they are so light and easy, I can just pull one out of my bag and snap without having to fuss with the focusing and flash. Plus the Canonet is so heavy I could only really carry it around on the weekends - during the week it would kill my shoulder to tote it to work and back. I still love the Canonet though, don't get me wrong. It still might take my nicest photos, so I won't be shelving it anytime soon. I just think that the disposables will make sure I am not falling out of practice.

:)(:

Middle of the Road and the NY Art Book Fair

2009-10-01T17:37:00.003-04:00

(...click over here to see larger and for a list of contributers...)

Happy to have contributed a little photo to this Miniature Garden poster project curated by Denise Schatz and Robin Cameron. It is now available at Printed Matter and the Mastermind Shop.

I also heard a rumor that Robin and Denise will have a few on hand at the NY Art Book Fair that is happening this weekend starting tomorrow at PS1. I will be there for a bit Sunday early afternoon manning the Princeton Architectural Press table. Fun times! Maybe I will see you there! That would be nice.

xob.

Sinéad O'Connor

2009-09-25T10:14:00.004-04:00

(...1988 performance on Late Night with David Letterman...)

Had a fascination with Sinéad O'Connor this past week. Although perhaps she was just a blip on the cultural landscape of the late eighties and early nineties, she is someone who kind of stuck in my brain. I miss her, or what she represented. Masculine yet very feminine, political, angry, frustrated, didn't care what people thought, not creating music for wealth and fame, but so her voice could be heard. And it was beautiful.

...read a 1988 interview here and here...

...a few more photos here and here...

...Sinéad O'Connor wiki...

Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe

2009-09-17T08:09:00.004-04:00

I found this video thanks to Double Rainbows (thank you!). It is both a farce and very serious - much like the man himself. Werner talks about what he sees as the dissolution of human culture, society, and the environment amongst other things. There are some important ideas being articulated here about keeping up the fight against Capitalist culture, and maintaining human imagination and creativity in this new world of hyper-mediazation.

"If you switch on television it's just ridiculous and its destructive. It kills us. And talk shows will kill us. They kill our language. So we have to declare holy war against what we see every single day on television. Commercials and – I think there should be real war against commercials, real war against talk shows, real war against "Bonanza" and "Rawhide", or all these things."

I also listened to this terrific lecture given by Werner in 2007 posted by the Slought Foundation (link via Lined & Unlined - thanks!). It made me think of one "word" in particular which I seriously had to look up the other day when someone used it in a blog post (don't ask). "lmao". Big Time. Check it out! We need more Werners out there keeping things alive.

:)

Linxxx

2009-09-14T22:14:00.003-04:00

(...image from here...)

I am a lazy blogger these days but I swear I am trying to be better. Life has been really getting in the way!

Anyway - so how about some links? Easy and fun right? Don't forget I store most of these over here now in case you want to go straight to the source. (well, secondary source technically)

Ok - here you go:

...loved song of bandwidth as well as lots of other things in the portfolio like never always...
...this image is my biggest inspiration at the moment...
...a link to links: really good ones by Carson Fisk-Vittori on the Golden Age blog...
...so many good tumblrs!! I can't keep up anymore. Here are a few more that I have added to my list...
...FOCO along with MOLDE. True love. Always so happy to get the email in my inbox that a new "issue" is out...
...I would really like to see this, Être et avoir, looks like just my kind of thing...
...Juergen Teller opened at Lehmann Maupin last week - Wow! Sometimes I forget that this was the reason why I moved here. So beautiful and amazing to see in real life. Plus guess who was there?? Starstruck. Highlight of my NYC adventure bar none...
...Ingmar Bergman auction. Sad and fascinating. via Kiosk...

xxx

Murano Glass

2009-09-09T22:59:00.005-04:00

(...all images from here and here...)

What is the deal with Murano glass I wonder? I found a pretty good sized bowl the other day waiting to die on a mound of garbage bags around the corner from our apartment. I hauled it home and washed it off - so it looks really shiny and pretty - but like all its brothers and sisters across the world I am guessing, it now sits on a shelf perhaps never to be used or noticed again. Murano glass in particular seems to simultaneously exist as an exclusive objet d'art and everyman's favorite tchotchke. I couldn't find much that I liked on the internets, but I know that I have seen some vintage pieces at garage sales and other such places that have struck me as extremely beautiful.

Anyway. Speaking of jaw droppingly beautiful (at least to me) check this out. Wow! More here.

x

The Blues Accordin' To Lightnin' Hopkins

2009-09-03T09:49:00.002-04:00

This was Patricks's movie pick last night. He is crazy for this kind of stuff. Thought it was so good - for the music and personality as well as a document of life at that time, in that place - that I wanted to post it here.

...Lightnin' Hopkins wiki...

o

The Bastard Chairs of China

2009-08-31T21:40:00.006-04:00

(...all images from here...)

I came across these beautiful bastard chairs the other day, photographed by Michael Wolf - previously posted over here on mintcar (thank you!).

They perfectly illustrate certain themes I have running around in my mind these days: D.I.Y., low-tech solutions in a high-tech world, eco-conciousness, the celebration of ingenuity and resourcefulness, delight in the hand-made, appropriation and the elevation of the mundane, uglypretty, accessible, inclusive design versus high-end luxury design, the joyous diversity and infinite possibility of human creativity...

Nice to be back. Missed you.

x

Vay-kay!

2009-08-14T09:51:00.002-04:00

Long awaited summer vacation starting tomorrow!

Feel like I need the break - away from the Big City - away from our sweltering apartment. Back with the family.

Home is where the heart is.

See you around the 24th!

Hope the Dog Days treat you well.

xob.

Gif GIf

2009-08-12T09:26:00.002-04:00

Here is a short video made by Stephanie Davidson of the Save 4 Web exhibition that happened last weekend. Wish I could have been there! Looks like fun. Opening credits are by Leslie Predy. Full list of contributers is here. Additional photos of the show are here. The gifs I included are over here if you are curious - just click on the image and you can see it animate in the comments...

Sorry to be such a bad blogger these days - our apartment is a sauna and it is hard to think straight in there...will be back to a more regular posting schedule as soon as things cool down!

xxxb.

Elsa Schiaparelli

2009-08-03T22:36:00.008-04:00

(...all images from here...)

Beautiful, playful and inventive avant-garde fashion created by the formidable talent of Elsa Schiaparelli.

The failure of her business meant that Schiaparelli's name is not as well remembered as that of her great rival Chanel. But in 1934, Time placed Chanel in the second division of fashion, whereas Schiaparelli was one of "a handful of houses now at or near the peak of their power as arbiters of the ultra-modern haute couture....Madder and more original than most of her contemporaries, Mme Schiaparelli is the one to whom the word "genius" is applied most often". At the same time Time recognised that Chanel had assembled a fortune of some US$15m despite being "not at present the most dominant influence in fashion", whereas Schiaparelli relied on inspiration rather than craftsmanship and "it was not long before every little dress factory in Manhattan had copied them and from New York's 3rd Avenue to San Francisco's Howard Street millions of shop girls who had never heard of Schiaparelli were proudly wearing her models".

...wiki...
...2003 exhibiton at the Philadelphia Museum of Art...
...more info on Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site...
...What Happened to the Provocative Elsa Schiaparelli? Slate Magazine...

SAVE 4 WEB!@#!~

2009-07-31T09:03:00.003-04:00

I have a couple of pieces in the Save 4 Web exhibition happening in Toronto, Canada next weekend - August 6-8th at Xpace Gallery. The show is made up entirely of animated gifs! And there will be a *special concert* Saturday night, August 7th. I think it will be a good time. If you can make it you should go! Curated by talented peeps Leslie Predy and Steph Davidson.

*

Save 4Web

Heinz Edelmann

2009-07-29T08:12:00.007-04:00

(...all images from here...)

Found these beautiful drawings the other day by Heinz Edelmann, the creator of the Beatles Yellow Submarine animated film. Heinz just died recently, July 21st, a little sad I think.

...The Beatles Yellow Submarine (the full length feature!)...
...Heinz Edelmann obituary in the NYT...
...a transcripted interview from 1993...

"Instead of seeking to hold attention by a steady narrative flow it bombards spectators with a succession of visual effects, sometimes beautiful, sometimes hideous, always immediately striking."

(from the Times review of Yellow Submarine, July 18th. 1968)

There Exists There Does Not Exist

2009-07-21T22:31:00.010-04:00

I have been messing around with a side portfolio of photographs, video and a few collages called THERE EXISTS THERE DOES NOT EXIST. It kind of works in tandem to my newest flickr account - some images come from there, and some from my original flickr account - but unlike Flower Delivery New York City there are no images culled from the internets.

Anyway, I have just been sitting on that one for a couple of months now so I thought I had better make it official. Hopefully this will satisfy my new account urges for awhile! And I promise at some point to link everything up in some way that makes sense. An overhaul of all my online junk is long overdue.

Both the new tumblr and new flickr have permanent links over there to the right in my side bar (up at the top in all caps).

Alright - over and out.

(posts more interesting than this one to come soon)

b.

Book of House Plants Available!

2009-07-18T10:16:00.010-04:00

(...above images via Jennilee and Minature Garden...)

The Book of House Plants will be available at Zines Mate (Tokyo’s first art book fair), Publish and be Damned (London’s self-publishing book fair), and online at Printed Matter in NYC.

Very much thanks to Denise Schatz, Ariel Dill, and Miya Osaki for making it happen!

Miniature Garden

{UPDATE: check out photos by all contributers here!}

Tumble Time

2009-07-16T23:25:00.003-04:00

I saved a few (well okay 126 so far) of my favorite tumblrs on delicious. I would link to them on this blog but there are just to many! So I guess this will have to do. It is really so amazing what people can create with that platform. Direct route from brain to internet - funny how much purely visual communication can really say.

x

Night Vision Slideshow

2009-07-15T09:57:00.002-04:00

Sorry for slow posts! It is hard to feel motivated to sit in front of the computer these summer days.

I thought I would quickly post a slideshow of the photos I submitted to the Night Vision exhibition that took place last Friday night. I heard it was a real success - wet and wild - and over 300 people came! Congratulations to the organizers Natasha Lands and Jennilee Marigomen.

To see the slideshow fullscreen click here.

Adaptation Charlie Kaufman

2009-07-06T21:35:00.005-04:00

This might break my poor blog but I think it is worth it. Do you like Charlie Kaufman? I sure do. And Meryl Streep? Who doesn't?? Orchids? Come on.

Anyway - hope you enjoy this. Summer night movie. Pretend you are outside, cool breeze, cozy blanket.

x

(PS. to play them all in succession without stopping go here and click "play all videos")

Night Visions

2009-07-02T08:44:00.004-04:00

(...click to enlarge...)

Night Vision is an outdoor photo exhibition I am participating in!

I feel so lucky to be involved.

July 10, Strathcona Park, Vancouver Canada, dusk.

I really wish I could be there, but at least maybe some of you can!

*

Night Vision

facebook

Accessorize

2009-07-01T09:11:00.005-04:00

(...click on images to see larger...)

Made these strange accessories awhile back and finally got some nice photos of them very much thanks to secretlake. I don't really know what to do with them now - keep them as sculptures? sell them somewhere? wear them about town? Not sure. I always thought they would be really perfect for some sort of avant-garde photoshoot, but who knows the next time I will find myself at one of those!

x

Book of House Plants

2009-06-22T21:25:00.007-04:00

I am really thrilled to be asked to contribute to the Book of House Plants!

Book of House Plants

with artwork by Denise Schatz and Ariel Dill, design by Miya Osaki

www.miniaturegarden.org
www.deniseschatz.net
www.arieldill.com

more info here...

:)(:

sb95.com

2009-06-20T11:22:00.009-04:00

Really love these photos by pitegoff and calla virgina. They are honestly like nothing I have really seen before. Is there something of the computer screen about them? Flat, reflective, disguising, shimmering, shining? Not sure. Maybe it is just me.

Also enjoyed checking out their website sb95.com - I wish I could go to Art Camp and attend the lecture series, or see some of the performances, or maybe just hang out in the countryside...looks like fun.

Nobody Wants to Play with Me 1976

2009-06-17T21:13:00.004-04:00

Found this courtesy of the excellent blog plump plum!

So good.

x

Lazy Post!

2009-06-11T22:38:00.002-04:00

xoB.

Filipina's of the 1960's

2009-06-09T22:19:00.010-04:00

The ever inspirational Owl Foreigner found these beautiful, strange and sad photos of "dates" at a U.S. military base bar in 1960s Phillipines.

What became of these women?

Made These

2009-06-03T22:27:00.002-04:00

Made these posters/drawings/collages/photos the other day. Stored them over here on my mysterious other flickr account. Maybe one day I could print them out on newsprint? or coloured paper? Hmmmm...wish I had spare cash for art projects. Not much extra around here these days. And when there is it goes to movies with a drink and popcorn and dinners out. Need to figure something out about that...

xxxoooB.

Francis Bacon

2009-06-01T21:08:00.003-04:00

The main squeeze and I went to see the Francis Bacon retrospective at the Met last week. It really made an impression on me. I loved the color palette: red, pinks, emerald green, lilac, golden yellow and a deep strong orange countered with blacks, greys and browns. So beautiful. I was also really into the strange deformed blobs held together pictorally by these thin architectural lines, coverging everything toward the center. I find myself using this same device sometimes when drawing - a way to help balance out the composition. More than anything else though I liked that the work felt extremely energized and alive, it was like he would wait for weeks until he had gathered all his emotional strength and then BAM! Heart on canvas.

...here is another 6 part BBC documentary from what looks to be the 80ies ...
...and here is Jerry Saltz's not-so-flattering article about the show in New York Magazine...

Brain Less

2009-05-27T22:39:00.003-04:00

I have been sitting here for over an hour trying to figure out what to post. I want to do it but I just can't think of what. It is my allergies, they are killing me this year. I can't even think straight!! Anyway - so I am sorry this is all I got to give, just a handful of 35mm shots. I don't even have energy enough to link to things.

But soon! Soon I shall have some new things to think/talk/show.

xob.

Samara Golden

2009-05-19T21:26:00.002-04:00

I really love this work by Samara Golden found via i heart photograph. It reminds me of the internet somehow, kind of worlds within worlds, with multiple mirrored reflections and cardboard cut-outs of objects as stand-ins for the real thing. I can't quite explain it. Also the kind of references to banal living rooms, with house plants, water tumblers, funky afghans, weird wallpaper and faux brick...like things you would see in the background of photos of strangers when image searching on the world wide webs...

Interiors 1978 Woody Allen

2009-05-18T22:54:00.001-04:00

Unlike most posts on this blog, and unlike most movies directed by Woody Allen - this is an unusually heavy and moody piece. Interiors is a perfect capsule of its moment in time, illustrated in exquisite detail by the production design of Mel Bourne. I saw this movie years ago, too long ago to really appreciate it, and had forgotten most of it. Watching it again this weekend I was so taken by its strength - the combination of wonderful performances by great actresses, the narrative of a twisted, yet universally familiar family dynamic, and the backdrop of the impeccably cool, silvery interiors in which all the emotionally wrought tensions take place.

"I feel a real need to express something, but I don’t know what it is I want to express…or how to express it…"

Every night is movie night around here lately.

xox

b.

Ooot and Aboot

2009-05-14T21:03:00.006-04:00

(...outtakes over here...)

My poor digital camera hasn't been getting much action these days, but I am trying to bring it back into the fold. I even secretly wish I had an iphone because I am starting to see images popping up from it everywhere and they have something really nice about them. Their own funny 21 Century aesthetic I suppose - kind of foggy and flat but beautiful in its own way...

Here is a flickr site with some good ones...

xob.

Master Potters

2009-05-11T21:32:00.004-04:00

Having been very inspired by the video of Isaac Button posted on You Have Been Here Sometime - I stumbled upon these equally intriguing videos of Shōji Hamada throwing pots in a 1968 demonstration and a short clip featuring Bernard Leach fom the film Art of the Potter.

Leach was born in Hong Kong, but spent his young adult years in Japan where he came into contact with a group of young Japanese art lovers who called themselves Shirakaba (白樺). Through them he learned about William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement. It was in Japan that Leach began potting under the direction of Shigekichi Urano (Kenzan VI) and befriended a young potter named Shōji Hamada. With Hamada, he set up the Leach Pottery at St. Ives, Cornwall in 1920, including the construction of a traditional Japanese wood burning kiln. The two of them promoted pottery as a combination of Western and Eastern arts and philosophies.

(source: Bernard Leach wiki)

I think I may finally hand over a wad of cash and take a ceramics course myself. I keep putting it off because of the money but maybe it would be worth it just to give it a go...anyway - deep thoughts of clay over here...

Trying to Re-Energize

2009-05-06T20:50:00.006-04:00

(..."Geology is an intensely visual science." - quote and image from here...)

Kind of low on the blogging juice this last week - maybe it's the season change? I'm not sure but my brain really has been elsewhere. I have pegged it down for just long enough to give you a few links to some blogs I have recently come across or been reminded of and have really enjoyed reading - archives and all. Maybe this is where all my blogging energy has been spent?

Manishtama
50 backflips
You Have Been Here Sometime
BROWNTOWN
Unchanging Window
i heart photograph
2THE WALLS
Wonder Wonder
secretlake
Ouno Design
Nokomis

Old friends, new friends, and ghosty figures haunting my internets...

xxx

Failing My To-Do List Miserably

2009-04-28T20:58:00.002-04:00

(...to see larger click here and here...)

Alright. Well. It is pretty obvious that I have totally zeroed all extracurricular projects these last six months (or is that 8??) aside from this blog and photo taking which I feel really guilty and yet still unmotivated about. No new Newsletter (and the last one was titled as bimonthly! and that was in November! Cripes. embarassing.), no Volume Twos of book projects, no website redesign, no unpacking of boxes since October move-in. What is up with this?? I am living in suspended animation. Must get life together and forward moving again. Sheesh.

Anyway - at least I have 2 new pictures from my Canonet that I really like. That thing is hard to work with! I find that things that look really great with the little 35mm disposable, odd and random snappy types of things, just don't jive with the Canonet. It only does justice to more considered compositions it seems - which is not really my strong suit. Taking time to fuss that is. Maybe too it is that the quality of the disposable (lo-fi tech) adds something of itself to make the photos charming - like the way a polaroid does.

For example: standard sunlit table with vase of tulips shot straight on - regular digital = boring (unless you are doing something really good which is totally possible), 35mm disposable = gritty and dark feeling plus kind of cheapish and grungy (ie:interesting), polaroid = subversive and flattened out, looks as though it was shot 30 years ago (ie: also interesting but be careful not to be too cute, unless you want cute). And then the Canonet is kind of this real deal thing where the photos are so lush that if I quickly snap something that seems interesting on the road home from work it is just a wasted exposure. It actually just looks like something on the side of the road for real. Hard to explain.

So that is how I figure it works. But maybe that is just me! In any case this Canonet is whipping me into shape because I really have to work at it - and be ruthless with my editing. (well - still got to get better with that one!)

OK - Thanks for tuning in.

L8R.

xob.

SNAP!

2009-04-24T11:23:00.004-04:00

SNAP! is a great Montreal based free magazine, artspace, video and blog combo. This latest issue - themed Vagabonds - has a little interview I did, along with a few photos, and lots of fun things from other contributers (and a few friends!). So nice of them to let me contribute - thanks yous!

Montreal Props Yo!

xob.

Shadows in Paradise Aki Kaurismäki

2009-04-22T20:22:00.007-04:00

Good Lord. I just rented this movie last Sunday and was going to post a clip of it and the whole thing was posted to youtube! Woah. The power of the internets. Never ceases to amaze me. So here you are.

Here is also a short interview with Aki from 1990. Funny. Of course.

(And here is an earlier post I did a couple months ago with a Jonathan Ross interview)

x

Grace Jones: The Image

2009-04-21T21:26:00.012-04:00

(...all images are from here, or here or here...)

...Parallel to her musical shift was an equally dramatic visual makeover, created in partnership with stylist Jean-Paul Goude, with whom she had a son. Jones adopted a severe, androgynous look, with square-cut hair and angular, padded clothes. The iconic cover photographs of Nightclubbing and, subsequently, Slave to the Rhythm (1985) exemplified this new identity. To this day, Jones is known for her unique look at least as much as she is for her music...

(source: wiki)

And here are a few choice qoutes from The World of Grace Jones...

*

IF YOU'RE OUT THERE YOU'RE VULNERABLE. PEOPLE PREFER TO DISAPPEAR IN LIFE, TO REPRESS THEIR PERSONALITY. THAT'S NOT LIVING. IT'S DYING. I SEE THEM ALL OVER THE PLACE, THE WALKING DEAD.

I WAS BORN TO BE A STAR. ONCE I DECIDED TO ACCEPT THAT RESPONSIBILITY I WOULD NOT BE PLACED IN ANY MOLD THAT WAS LIMITING AGAIN.

I WAS PAINFULLY SHY UNTIL I HAD ACID THERAPY, SWEETHEART, UNDER DOCTOR’S SUPERVISION. I WAS REBORN. IT WAS ENLIGHTENING. AT THE TIME THEY WERE EXPERIMENTING WITH STP, THE SUPER TRIP PILL - TALK TO TIMOTHY LEARY ABOUT THAT ONE! I TOOK IT WITH A DOCTOR AND I STAYED THERE FOR THREE DAYS UNTIL I THOUGHT 'OK, I SEE. NOW I CAN COME DOWN'. AFTER THAT I DIDN’T NEED ANY MORE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

AFTER I LEFT HOME I REALISED THAT I WAS NOT MYSELF. WHEN DOES ONE DECIDE TO BE ONESELF? I THINK THAT'S WHAT IT ALL COMES DOWN TO. I DECIDED FIRST TO DISCOVER LIFE AND THEN DECIDE WHAT I WANTED FROM LIFE, WHAT MADE ME HAPPY, WHAT WAS EASY FOR ME. BECAUSE WHATEVER ONE IS, ONE MUST FIRST KOW THE TRUTH ABOUT ONESELF.

WHEN I WAS ASKED TO DO A RECORD I MADE THE COMMITMENT TO FOLLOW MY DESTINY.

IN THE SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES WE ALL HAD OUR FUN, AND NOW AND THEN WE WENT REALLY TOO FAR. BUT ULTIMATELY, IT REQUIRED A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CLEAR THINKING, A LOT OF HARD WORK AND GOOD MAKE-UP TO BE ACCEPTED AS A FREAK.

ARTISTS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE INSECURE BUT I’M NOT. I FEEL THAT IF I’M ENJOYING WHAT I’M DOING IT DOESN’T MATTER IF I MAKE A FEW MISTAKES. I’M VERY OPEN TO EXPERIMENTATION. I LOVE TO TRY THINGS, COLLABORATING WITH MY ARTIST FRIENDS, EXPERIMENTING WITH IDEAS. THAT'S WHAT PUT ME ON THE CUTTING EDGE. THERE’S ALWAYS BEEN A MAGNET THAT PULLS ME TOGETHER WITH CRAZY ARTISTS, UNUSUAL PEOPLE, EVEN WHEN I’M NOT LOOKING FOR IT. IT IS PREDESTINED THAT WE CROSS EACH OTHERS PATHS.

I PERFORMED A LOT, AND STILL DO, IN GAY CLUBS. I THINK THEY ARE MY BEST AUDIENCE REALLY. YOU CAN GO AS FAR AS YOU WANT TO GO. THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN'T BE. I THINK WE RECOGNISE EACH OTHER. MOST OF THE REAL ROOTSY SCENE IN NEW YORK STARTED IN GAY PRIVATE CLUBS WITH GREAT MUSIC AND THE BEST, MOST FANATICAL DJS. THOUGH WHAT'S HAPPENED TO IT NOW IS JUST TYPICAL OF THE WAY OF LIFE IN NEW YORK - THAT'S CAPITALISM - IT JUST DESTROYS THINGS.

I DON’T BELIEVE IN MARRIAGE BECAUSE I DON’T BELIEVE IN DIVORCE. I THINK THE CONVENTIONAL WAY IS SO UNROMANTIC. IF THERE’S ANYTHING TO END A MARRIAGE, MARRIAGE WILL. YOU CAN STILL LOVE SOMEBODY AND NOT WANT TO MARRY THEM. BESIDES, MARRIAGE DOESN’T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT YOUR OTHER MOODS - LIKE WHEN WHEN YOU'RE FEELING MEAN AND UNLOVING.

I COMMUNICATE WITH MY SOUL RATHER THAN MY COLOUR SO I DON’T CARRY ANY CHIP ON MY SHOULDER ABOUT RACE. I COULD EASILY PLAY A WHITE GIRL. WHY SHOULDN'T I? I DON'T FEEL ESPECIALLY 'BLACK'. I AM BEYOND RACE. I CAN DO THEM ALL.

I HATE STRUCTURE. WHENEVER I FIND THINGS BECOMING STRUCTURED I THROW IT ALL AWAY. I'M ONE FOR CHANGE. I CAN FEEL IT COMING AND I JUST LET IT HAPPEN NATURALLY. I GO THROUGH THREE YEAR CYCLES AT THE END OF WHICH I SWEEP EVERYTHING OUT OF MY LIFE AND START OVER.

I ONCE SAID THAT THERE WASN’T A MAN ALIVE I COULDN’T HAVE IF I REALLY WANTED HIM. BUT IT TAKES SO MUCH ENERGY TO HYPNOTISE SOMEBODY THAT NOW I PREFER THEM TO DO THAT TO ME. IN THE PAST I'VE GONE FOR SOME REALLY HOT GUYS THAT HAVE TURNED OUT TO BE COMPLETE PSYCHOS, AND EITHER I WANT TO KILL THEM OR THEY WANT TO KILL ME. YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THAT TWICE, BELIEVE ME. IVE DONE IT THRICE!

SOCIETY CHANGES. WE STILL SAY 'SEX DRUGS AND ROCK AND ROLL' AND YET I GO TO A PRIVATE PARTY AND FEEL I HAVE TO ASK PERMISSION TO SMOKE A CIGARETTE. I DON’T, OF COURSE. I’M NOT GOING TO PUT THAT PRESSURE ON MYSELF. IF SOMEONE HAS A PROBLEM THEY CAN COME AND TELL ME.

I'VE NEVER BEEN AFRAID TO LIVE THIS WAY. NEVER. NEVER WILL. I DON'T CARE. I DO NOT CA-RRRE, HAHA. I'D RATHER BE LIKE THIS THAN BE ON SOMEONE ELSE'S TRIP. I HAVE TO LIVE MY LIFE. I HAVE TO BE MYSELF. IF I WERE TO REPRESS MY NATURE IT WOULD BE KILLING MYSELF.

I MOVE AROUND A LOT. SITTING STILL IS LIKE BEING NARROW MINDED - THERE’S A WHOLE WORLD OUT THERE. ALLTHE TRAVELLING I’VE DONE MEANS I SWITCH FROM ACCENT TO ACCENT AND LANGUAGE TO LANGUAGE AND PEOPLE CAN’T WORK OUT WHERE I AM FROM. WHEN THEY ASK I SAY, 'I’M FROM THE UNIVERSE'. WE’VE ALL BEEN ALIENS AND WE’LL BECOME ALIENS AGAIN.

IF I'M DEPRESSED, IF I'M FEELING ILL, ONCE I GET SOME OYSTERS MY TOES START TO TWINKLE AND I'M A MERMAID IN THE SEA. YOU NAME IT, ANYTHING FROM THE SEA I JUST LOVE. THAT’S MY FAVOURITE FOOD. I HAD A DOZEN OYSTERS LAST NIGHT. I FLY TO PARIS JUST TO EAT OYSTERS.

I DON'T CARE ABOUT GETTING OLD. I DON'T THINK ABOUT IT. I'M NOT GOING TO LOOK OLD FOR A VERY LONG TIME. ACTUALLY I FEEL LIKE I'M GETTING YOUNGER. AT THIRTEEN PEOPLE THOUGHT I WAS THIRTY FIVE. NOW THEY SAY I'M MORE LIKE SEVENTEEN. TIME IS TIMELESS. I NEVER COUNT.

MY BIGGEST SPIRITUAL PROBLEM WAS THAT I WANTED TO BE UNDERSTOOD. WHY DOES SHE BEHAVE LIKE THAT? WHY DOES SHE CUT HER HAIR LIKE THAT? WHY DOES SHE SHAVE HER EYEBROWS? BUT WITH PATIENCE I REALISED THAT IT’S NOT ABOUT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDING ME, AND WITH THAT REALISATION I FOUND A CERTAIN FREEDOM. I AM GROSSLY MISUNDERSTOOD BUT IT’S FUNNY THAT MY WORST PHOBIA IS NOW MY MYSTERY AND I LIKE IT.

*

Grace Jones: The Interviews

2009-04-16T21:11:00.006-04:00

I saw some Grace Jones album covers on the always amazing UUIUU! tumblr the other day and those really got me going - she is such a fascinating character! Of course she has been lodged somewhere in the back of my conciousness for a long time now, but I have never really thought about just what it is that is so cool about her (besides her impeccable sense of style). I think along the same lines as Iggy Pop she is a total one-off - someone just full of charisma and life and who truly could care less what people think. A real artist. I wish I could be her or just be friends with her. Although I doubt I could keep up.

There is also this really great interview with Joan Rivers from 1984 - it didn't have the embed link so have go the youtube page to view it but make sure you check it out!

Maybe I will do some more images of her next post - there are a million to sift through but I think it would be worth it.

xxx

African Batik Fabric: Veritable Wax Hollandais

2009-04-12T09:49:00.006-04:00

(...all images from VLISCO...)

I have always had a great interest in African textile prints. I have a couple of dresses scooped up from the Salvation Army stored safely away in the back of a closet in Montreal and I have bought another one and some meters of fabric since being here in New York. The patterns are so bright and alive - I love seeing them poke out from the bags and boxes I have stuffed them in for now. I would really like to make a skirt or a bag, or just something out of them, it has been on my list of things to do for years now. Someday.

I was reminded of these fabrics when I opened an email the other day from MaryAnne Mathias (of Hastings + Main fame), about her new project Osei-Duro, a collection of socially responsible and sustainable clothing that encourages international/intercultural cooperation. Their blog is full of great examples of beautiful batiks.

This week I also came across this very interesting article which I poached off of the fantastic tumble blog 2THEWALLS - so thanks to both of these individuals very much for the inspiration (and fodder) to do this post.

Lomé, Togo-- The crowd on the Rue du Grand Marché is packed solid. You have to dodge and weave to make any progress, threading your way past stalls piled high with dried fish, cassette tapes, butchered goats, toothpaste, and cheap steel frying pans. Your field of vision is confused: too many different objects, patterns, colors. You're surrounded by women in traditional dresses of fantastically complicated fabric--intricate, vivid designs layered in folds you can't quite decipher the workings of. This is the Africa you came to see, the real Africa, just like it looks in those documentaries on the Discovery Channel. You penetrate deeper into the market, duck into a cavernous concrete building full of vegetable and fruit vendors, climb the stairs. You are in the hall of fabric merchants. You move through stacks of shimmering cloth and blazing colors leap out at you from all sides. This is the authentic stuff--not the cheap imitation junk sold at the hotel tourist traps, but the real thing, the fabric African women prize most highly for traditional dress, recognizable by the legend printed along the border: Veritable Wax Hollandais.

"Hollandais"?

It seems the batik, or wax-print, fabrics that are so indispensable to West African traditional dress are not, by and large, actually from Africa. The most coveted, the ones that set the trends, are designed and manufactured in the Netherlands, in the nondescript factory town of Helmond, by the Vlisco corporation. And this is nothing new. The Dutch, and Vlisco in particular, have dominated the African print-fabric market since the end of the nineteenth century.

"Vlisco was founded in 1846 by a famous Dutch merchant family called the van Vlissingens," explains Joop van der Meij, the company's CEO. "One of the van Vlissingen sons had been in Indonesia, where he discovered the batik method of dying cloth. He had the idea that maybe this method could be industrialized in Europe." By the late 1800s Dutch factories were supplying the bulk of the Indonesian batik market, and as Dutch freighters stopped at various African ports on their way over, the fabrics began to gain an African clientele. At the beginning of the twentieth century, when measures were taken to protect domestic Indonesian batik production, the market for imports there slumped. Africa gradually became the exclusive market for Dutch batik, and by the 1960s Vlisco, having merged with all its rivals, had become the exclusive supplier.

In an industry where the reverse is more common, Vlisco is an anomaly: a European-based textile company whose market is in the third world. Almost none of Vlisco's product is bought in Europe or North America. "Anything we could design for the European market, the Asians can produce for a fraction of the price," van der Meij explains. It's only in Africa, where Real Dutch Wax carries the authority of a brand like Rolls-Royce or Rolex, that consumers care about the difference between Vlisco quality and cheap Asian imitations.

And Vlisco guards its qualitative edge jealously. Industrial batik is a complex process. Patterns are printed in wax on long strips of cloth, which are then immersed in vats of dye, usually indigo. The parts of the cloth not covered in wax absorb the dye, laying down a basic pattern. The wax-printed fabric can be sent through machines that partially break off the wax; since the wax breaks arbitrarily, no two lengths of the cloth are quite alike, which is what gives wax-print fabric its characteristic organic richness. Then the fabric is pattern-printed with other colors, anywhere from one to three times.

The trickiest part comes in trying to align patterns in different colors. For example, wax printing makes it very difficult to lay down the outline of a rose in indigo, and then fill it in with red. Usually the colors don't line up properly, and it comes out looking like bad offset printing. On Vlisco fabrics, however, the colors line up right. The company keeps its alignment process top secret; the building in the Helmond plant where it takes place is off-limits to outsiders. It is this process, along with nonbleeding dyes and high-quality cotton, that justifies the tremendous difference in price between Real Dutch Wax and its competition.

Out on the street in Lomé, that competition is pressing hard, as Madame Rose Creppy can attest. Madame Creppy is the president of Lomé's association of market women, and for 40 years, she's been selling nothing but Real Dutch Wax at her stall in the grand marché. Top-level market women like Madame Creppy are known in West Africa as "Nana-Benzes," after their penchant for driving Mercedes, and Creppy certainly fits the bill. A substantial woman in gold-framed eyeglasses, gold necklace, and gold wristwatch--swathed in indigo Dutch Wax from head to toe--she's clearly used to turning a profit. But lately business has been bad. "No one can afford to buy the real thing," she sighs. "Instead they buy Sosso brand, made in Pakistan. The colors fade the first time you wash it."

The quality may be lower, but the price argument is persuasive in a country like Togo, where per-capita annual income hovers around $350 per year. Real Dutch Wax goes for as much as 70,000 CFA francs (or about $90) for a length of six meters; the Asian imitations, which bear amusingly deceptive logos like "Real Wax--Printed as Holland," sell for 6,000 to 7,000 CFA francs. With the worsening economic situation in much of West Africa--stagnation in postcoup Ivory Coast, Ghana's unstable currency, the catastrophic implosion of Congo during the past two years--Vlisco has seen its profits shrink. It reported net turnover of $167 million in 1999, down from $203 million in 1998.

The patterns on the imitation fabrics, meanwhile, are often nearly identical to those on Real Dutch Wax, because the competitors steal them. Van der Meij claims that 80 percent of the designs one sees on wax-print fabrics in Africa started out on Vlisco drawing boards. The company has fought several successful legal actions, but the Asians are not to be deterred. Lately Nigerian textile makers have also been getting in on the act. "We can put the new fabrics out on the market as soon as the containers arrive from Holland," says Agbobli Médémé, service representative of Vlisco's Togolese partner company, V.A.C.-Togo. "The Nigerian copies start showing up eight days later."

So the authentic traditional West African fabrics are the ones produced in Holland, and the stuff made in West Africa is fake? Can this be right?

Not entirely. Vlisco's parent company, Gamma Holdings, does have West African subsidiaries--GTP in Ghana, Uniwax in Ivory Coast--that manufacture high-quality, original-print fabrics. But those companies are not privy to Vlisco's secret wax technologies, so they don't produce the jealously guarded Veritable Wax Hollandais. More important, nearly all of the new designs are created at Vlisco's headquarters in Helmond, and most of the designers there are Dutch--not one of them is African.

Can a bunch of Dutch designers really stay ahead of the curve of West African fashion? Vlisco thinks so. Van der Meij points to the success of the Gamma companies' joint launch of their 2000 line of fabrics at a fashion show last fall in Abidjan. And both he and Médémé stress the importance of the feedback the company gets from important buyers like Madame Creppy, who can let them know what's selling and what isn't. Creppy confirms that she helped quash a line of fabrics depicting people dancing and musicians playing. "Nobody wanted to buy those things," she says. Why not? "They weren't any good," she explains, convincingly, if a bit opaquely.

And what's hip right now? What are the youth of Lomé wearing this season--the ones who can afford it, anyway? Madame Creppy sighs. Nothing is in fashion, she says. No one is buying.

But if you drop by Madame Creppy's stall while she's out and talk to her 20-year-old daughter Sivomey, you'll hear a somewhat more optimistic story. Sivomey has been working her mother's stall for the last two years. She loves it; there's nothing she'd rather do for a living. Asked what the kids are into these days, Sivomey quickly pulls down a pair of matrixlike, high-tech fabrics in almost fluorescent hues. They don't look entirely different from what's hot in Amsterdam. "This green is chic," says Sivomey. "And this yellow. Bright, sharp colors. Tout ce qui eflash.' Whatever flashes."

Like Sivomey, van der Meij keeps the bright spots in mind when contemplating Vlisco's future. He is circumspect about the company's strategies for handling the volatile market, saying only, "We are not pessimistic about the future. We believe that West Africa has to settle and accept the new tax regime, and to wait for the elections in Ivory Coast." Other signs of hope are emerging: Senegal and Nigeria have recently accomplished peaceful democratic transitions of power, and the latter is starting to reap the benefits of higher oil prices. This is already giving Vlisco a boost in its popular red-and-yellow Yoruba tribal patterns. The key to success seems to be taking the long view: a company that's been around as long as Vlisco has certainly seen the bad times come and go. As V. S. Naipaul put it, "Business never dies in Africa; it is only interrupted."

-“Out of Amsterdam” by Matt Steinglass for METROPOLIS MAGAZINE, December 2000

...VLISCO | Véritable Hollandais | Since 1846 | Real Dutch Wax Prints...

Guy Bourdin Films

2009-04-08T21:28:00.004-04:00

I am sure some of you have seen these Guy Bourdin (wiki) short films already - comissioned by The Victoria & Albert Museum for his 2003 retrospective - but just in case here they are. So beautiful. I really love # 7/10 with the red and the rolling chairs...

...They are also on the SHOWstudio website in better quality and I think there may be the two that were missing on youtube...

;)

Elli et Jacno

2009-04-02T20:25:00.002-04:00

This seems to be turning into more of a video blog these last few weeks but I guess I am just going to go with it.

My superbud coworker forwarded me one of these videos the other day and I nearly fell out of my chair with a combination of laughter, admiration and jealousy. Can I do this? Grab a man with a synth, throw on a leather mini, and come up with some fancy footwork? Perhaps. And pull it off as well as Elli et Janco? Non.

xxBisousxx

Decaying Beautifully Thank-You

2009-03-31T22:31:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to do a quick post to say thanks to Fei (also known as trytobegood) for featuring my work on the online magazine BEAUTIFUL/DECAY. So nice of her - thank you very much!

PS. check this out...Yes!

xxx

Exactly How I Feel Today

2009-03-29T18:55:00.002-04:00

via unchanging window

xo

Flower Delivery New York City

2009-03-24T20:03:00.004-04:00

I thought that in lieu of building a whole new website, which I do want to do eventually, I would start to kind of sift through and showcase some selects and outtakes from my unwieldy flickr account. Just to kind of feel like I have something more coherant and strong.

The images and videos I have chosen for my new flickr account - Flower Delivery New York City - are not so much a best-of, or my favorites, but more things that may have got a bit lost in the shuffle, or ideas that momentarily have my interest. I think I am going to keep it as a free account - not a "pro" - and then that restricts me to only having 200 items at a time. Maybe once I have reached 200, I will delete everything and start new.

Anyway. A little experiment. I feel really good about having a fresh space.

Next up: To Do list. Yikes.

x

The Dawn of the Fashion Video

2009-03-23T21:11:00.003-04:00

“In 1967 Peggy and I had just returned from ’swinging London’ and Paris to work in New York. We were commissioned by a small commercial production company to come up with something which would serve as my ‘reel’ in order to get hired to direct TV commercials. While sitting on our bed at the Algonquin Hotel, we collaborated in writing a shooting script that would show fashion, makeup, and hair on three beautiful models wearing the fashion designs of avant-garde Rudi Gernreich’s collection for that fall. We shot the film on a weekend, had original music composed for the sound track and ‘Basic Black’ was born. It was very well received, won several awards and has been referred to as the first fashion video.”

- William Claxton

...via the Worn Journal...

This just toally blew my mind. So cool. Reminds me of these "fashion videos" made for Complex Geometries by my good buddies Arianna and Stacy Lundeen. (the site only features a montage of clips - of their videos plus a couple of others - but I think the whole thing will be put online somewhere hopefully soon - it also takes a little while to load - so just hang on!)

...and also: Peggy Moffitt image gallery - Yes!...

:)xoB.

Nest Magazine

2009-03-17T21:31:00.006-04:00

(...thanks very much to Ouno Design for most images and others can be found here and here...)

Nest Magazine died awhile back, in 2004, but it is one of my most important cultural reference points. I have been meaning to post about it forever and was reminded of this when I ran across these great photos on flickr from Ouno Design.

The reasons for my great love are many. I found this one delightful quote which partially sums up my feelings:

“I have a problem with corporate America,” he said. The Christmas 2003 issue (No. 23) contained a series of mysterious headlines — like “Lo, ink-clad Nest” — which turned out to be anagrams for “Kill Condé Nast,” Mr. Holtzman said. He had planned to put “Kill Condé Nast” on the cover in glow-in-the-dark ink, he said, but could not get the ink to look right."

- from here

Nest Magazine favoured hands-on artist collaboration, elaborate die-cuts, glosses, and avant-garde graphic design that was truly ten years ahead of its time (pattern-on-pattern, hard edged abstraction, and clashing color palettes when sleek white cold homogenized Wallpaper* minimalism was the order of the day), and most importantly, the magazine made it its mission to feature diverse and unique living spaces from the grandest estates to grandma's living room, with equal measure of enthusiasm and reverence. Editor Joseph Holtzman conceptually pushed interior decor far past the usual endless, brain numbing desire for luxury goods and luxury lifestyle that defines the industry in most cases. Nest was such a comfort and inspiration in that it illustrated an alternative, inclusive, and deconstructed version of what it means to personalize the world around you.

Here are a few links I dug up.

...archive of past issues with cover images...
...a promise I wish was fulfilled (but I won't hold it against them)...
...2004 NYT article...
...What Do I Know blog post...
...Ouno Design blog post...
...Joseph Holtzman's country home in New York Magazine...
...a book about the magazine which I flipped through in the library years ago but it just didn't feel the same...
...Nest as the Interior of Imagination...
...article from The Independent from 2000(!)...
...Ellen Lupton write-up from book Inside Design Now...
...2002 article, The Nesting Instinct...
...Home Alone essay in The Atlantic...
...little NYT review from 1998(!!)...
...in Architectural Record 2004...
...short interesting article in The New York Review of Magazines...

xxx

Ann Woo

2009-03-11T23:48:00.005-04:00

I really love this work by the photographer Ann Woo.

I think there also might be a few different photos here on her tinyvices page...

:) :9 :( :D

Showpaper Submissions

2009-03-10T21:31:00.004-04:00

(..click on images to see full size...)

I submitted these posters for an open call to artists that Showpaper was having back in October - but I guess it is safe to say after all this time that I didn't make the cut! Oh well.

I really kind of like these as a triptych. The first one is a design I originally created as an illustration for an article on Sonia Delaunay for the Worn Journal - I was always looking for a good opportunity to be able to use it again because it got kind of hidden by the text in the article and I think it is super.

The last one was cobbled together with little icons and images I either found or created this summer and was using as little visual totems at the time.

Here are a few other Showpapers that I collected and photographed awhile ago.

Anyway - maybe I will just make posters out of these myself if I ever get a little extra money. We shall see.

xxx

Linkz?

2009-03-09T22:30:00.006-04:00

(...image of the oh-so-Fabulous Anjelica Huston from over here...)

I am now kind of hoarding these types of things over on delicious for the most part - but I thought I would share some here too because that is always nice and it feels like I am giving you an internet present.

So here you go:

...Words Without Pictures - downloadable texts on photography - I still need to check it out but it looks worth it - via Happy Accident...
...Folkstreams - a national preserve of hard-to-find documentary films about American folk or roots cultures - streamed full-length! Via the super blog an ambitious project collapsing...
...on a personal note - I found my Soul Animal at last - I was really wondering all this time what it could be - glad to have found it...
...a Sioux girl's two-hide dress in 360 and the rest of the exhibition Identity by Design via WORN...
...two new discoveries - great blogs on books - Used Books and A Journey Round My Skull - whatever they said about the internets affecting people's love for the written word (plus its glorious illustration) was obviously a lie...
...I love this opening page on Andrew Laumann's website - so beautiful...
...I keep meaning to read this but haven't done it yet - a short interview with William Eggleston - plus did you know that his whole film Stranded in Canton is online?...
...downloadable essays and such from the ever-lovable and inspirational smartpants Dexter Sinister/Dot Dot Dot crew...

Hope you like those. And hey! I finished my first truly successful knitting project - just in time for the Spring weather we have been getting. Over here for a looksee...

Bye!

b.

Stuff Made

2009-03-04T22:49:00.010-05:00

I made these weird kind of sculptures over the weekend. I really like them but of course I could not get a good photo. So I inverted them in photoshop and I think I like that better anyway.

I seem to keep making "unmonumental" assemblages. I am not sure how to avoid this since the only things I have to make stuff out of is dollarstore flotsam and shiny things I collect. Oh well. Maybe I will work through this and find myself somewhere else. Must keep moving onward I suppose...

Obviously Haven't Worked Through the Neil Young Thing Yet

2009-03-03T21:16:00.003-05:00

(...images linked their source over here...)

Sheesh. Sorry. Sometimes this happens to me. I know it is kind of boring after not posting anything for 5 days. I promise something novel and entertaining next time! For now you are stuck with my latest crush.

I think my favorite album might be On the Beach - here is an audio clip of a 1974 live recording of the title track to this album...

Neil Young BBC Concert 1971

2009-02-25T21:06:00.002-05:00

Alright - I know this is two videos pretty close to each other - but I thought this video was so good and I really wanted to put it up here and don't feel like waiting. I love seeing Neil Young when he is still so young - only 26. His between song chatter is very charming too...

...I also stashed a few photos over here on tumblr (Wed. Feb. 25) (alright - a lot of photos)...

...and a 2007 article in the New York Times...

Almost There Not Quite

2009-02-23T22:43:00.007-05:00

I really wanted to do an image-heavy post on this flickr account I stumbled on awhile back - waywiser - but I realized that the photos are set so you can't take them off. So in respect to the artist here instead is an abandoned sketch of mine.

But please check it out if you can spare the time. The images seem so beautiful and fresh. I especially love this graphic work.

Sorry such a tiny post. Monday + February has left me feeling a bit brain dead.

xo

b.

Beyond Survival

2009-02-19T21:09:00.003-05:00

I watched the Desmond Morris six-part documentary The Human Animal over the last week. I am a real sucker for these types of things. I think this last chapter - Beyond Survival - was my favorite. Maybe you will like it too.

It is strange how dated this seems today. I think I actually remember watching this with my parents when it first came out in 1994. I am not sure if there is a single computer shown in the whole series. There is certainly no indication of how drastically things would change in the following decade. I wonder how the technological revolution would factor into all of Desmond's big ideas. It would be interesting to know.

Link via standardgrey. Thanks!