Drawn Here (and There): Non-Format

4 March 2010

The Walker Art Center does a great job of curating and documenting their lectures online. The Walker Channel is a nice resource when seeking a bit of inspiration and thought provoking commentary on art, design, and architecture. If you’ve got an hour to spend I highly recommend checking out the latest installment in the series Drawn Here which features the work of the designer’s Kjell Ekhorn (Norway) and Jon Forss (Minnesota) of Non-Format. This is a nice trip down memory lane from the inception of the studio 10 years to their thoughts on innovative music packaging, and the thicks and thins of modern typography.

Below is a brief summary of the Drawn Here concept from the Walker:
Exploring the depth and breadth of the state’s (Minnesota) acclaimed design community, Drawn Here will host some of the innovative talent and progressive thinking making the local design scene one of the most vibrant and talked about in the country. Conceived as a lively public forum for debate and discussion, this series of dialogues is intended to be an active exchange of ideas among the host, guest, and audience.

The Avenues – Day Trip

2 January 2010

Gun, Oliver, and I spent the better part of the day today exploring the outer Sunset. We began our day with lunch at Outerlands a great cafe which also happens to serve Sightglass coffee. I was stoked to see the logo that I designed with Brian Scott sketched on the chalk board.

Then we took in a bit of browsing at Mollusk Surf Shop and the recently opened General Store. We spotted these amazing bird houses by Luke Bartels and Jeff Canham in the small gallery at Mollusk. I love the typography and level of detail – very well done! They also have a nice selection of mini-cruiser skateboards by Two Birds Fly. Each one is hand painted and features equally unique grip tape. We rounded out the day with a drive over to Ocean Beach.

46th Ave.

by Luke Bartels and Jeff Canham

Loving the seat mod here.

Magic Realism

2 October 2009

This is a really interesting collection of images compiled and curated by Yes Studio from London. I stumbled upon this link while browsing their site tonight, they have a really strong body of work. Being unfamiliar with the term “Magic Realism,” turned to Wikipedia for a bit more information. Quoted below in full.

“Magic realism, or magical realism, is an artistic genre in which magical elements or illogical scenarios appear in an otherwise realistic or even “normal” setting. It has been widely used in relation to literature, art, and film.”

“As used today the term is broadly descriptive rather than critically rigorous: Matthew Strecher has defined magic realism as “what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something ‘too strange to believe’.”[1] The term was initially used by German art critic Franz Roh to describe painting which demonstrated an altered reality, but was later used by the Venezuelan Arturo Uslar-Pietri to describe the work of certain Latin American writers. Today, there are many writers whose work falls in the category of magical realism.”

Richard Prince: Untitled (Original), 2007

Joel Tettamanti: Chemicals, 2006-2007

Allora & Calzadilla: Clamor, 2006

Kevin Bradley, Industrial Strength

9 September 2009

Kevin Bradley of Yee-Haw Industries has a show opening in Atlanta at Gallery Stokes tomorrow night from 7-9 pm. Definitely a must see if you’re local to the area. Here is a link to a previous post from my visit to the studio in Knoxville earlier this year.

Opening September 10, 7-9 pm
September 10-October 17

Gallery Stokes
261 Walker Street SW,
Atlanta GA 30313

Charley Harper for Habitat Skateboards

30 July 2009

I am excited to learn of this recent collaboration between the late Charley Harper and Habitat Skateboards. I’ve recently learned that this is the 3rd series (Fauna Foes) Habitat has done with Harper’s artwork (check this link). The results of the recent team up are stunning and I love how well Harper’s wildlife illustrations integrate with the skateboards. Surely these are made to shred, but would you really want to ride these?

If you’re local to Ohio be sure to check out opening on Friday, July 31st at 7 pm.

Contemporary Arts Center
44 East Sixth Street
Cincinnati, Ohio

Le Tour

15 July 2009

The Tour de France has never looked so good! Peep these photos from the photographer Brent Humphreys. Thanks to Boon for the heads up.

Camper

15 July 2009

I’ve been hooked on retail design since working at Apple. It appears Camper has recently opened a couple new shops in both Toyko and Paris that are designed Jaime Hayon and Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec. (via dezeen).

Google Maps Favorite Places

15 July 2009

I stumbled upon this curious marker on my way to lunch today outside of William Stout Architectural Books, which happens to be around the corner from Dwell – we like to joke that this place is our personal library – just a stones throw away! This marker, though a bit of an eyesore, coincides with the launch of Google’s Favorite Places, a new site that maps “favorite places” around the globe picked by an impressive list of local experts from specific cities. Happy to see this great bookstore get a solid nod – but, could surely do without this pseudo sculpture.

Iron Maiden, Flight 666

16 June 2009

Check this trailer if you haven’t already seen it. I caught this film over the past weekend and the DVD dropped last Tuesday. A comprehensive behind the scenes look at Iron Maiden’s latest World Tour dubbed “Flight 666″ which touched down in 13 countries and consisted of 23 concerts over a span of 45 days. After all these years, I really enjoy seeing these guys are still having a blast doing what they love to do. The scale of support in South America is off the charts!

Also, here is a link to the artist Derek Riggs. He’s responsible for Iron Maiden’s infamous mascot “Eddie.”

Walker Art Center Design Fellowship

27 May 2009

The Walker is currently excepting applications for their annual design fellowship program. This is one of the best work experiences I’ve had to date and would highly recommend this opportunity to anyone. To get a bit personal, I credit this gig with redirecting my design path by pulling me out of the depths of a dot.com bust. I also met my wife there :-)

Yeah, yeah… MPLS is cold as hell! But, the work you’ll be making will be hella cool, fun, and fulfilling!
The deadline is June 8th.

Here are a couple of my favorite past intern/fellowship posters. see more here.

Designed by Dan Eatock and Erin Mulcahy

Designed by Alex DeArmond and Alex Quinto

Designed by Scott Ponik and Matt Rezac