On July 2, in Amsterdam many attended the electronic music festival, ‘5 days off’ featuring the Frozen Exhibit. Frozen is the brainchild of Norwegian artist and curator Marius Watz who is also an active member of the Generator.x project. The exhibit features sculptures and print art developed by using sound. Works in the show include Watz’s digital prints using audio input and ‘Audio Sculptures’ by Andreas Nicolas Fischer, Benjamin Maus, Leander Herzog, Daniel Widrig and Shajay Booshan. The exhibit will run through July 26th and all the works can be seen in their Flickr gallery. –Via Design Boom
If ever a band spawned more noteworthy expats into the collective music subconscious than Toronto darlings Broken Social Scene, I’ve yet to find them. In fact, if any name pops into your head, reader, then please, don’t withhold. Share and share alike: Who would it be?
Taking the idea of a ’scene’ to the next level, BSS is responsible for no less than 20 side projects, solo efforts, and aural experiments. Of them, and most notably, Leslie Feist has arguably reached more popularity as a monosyllabically-named solo chanteuse than she garnered singing BGV’s in BSS. Nevertheless, Jason Collett, Do Make Say Think, Metric (and Emily Haines’ solo efforts), and Stars among the 20 have all released admirable work apart from the rest of the Scenesters. Last year, BSS co-founder Kevin Drew released his solo album Spirit If… as the first volume of a new kind of collective under the moniker Broken Social Scene Presents. The result was one of the best of 2007, a floundering, woozy romp through the muddy backforests of Drew’s psyche.
And now, in 2008, Broken Social Scene presents us with another of its finest: co-founder Brendan Canning’s …Something For Everyone. Canning’s influence in the formation of Broken Social Scene’s signature sound is as evident here as it was with Kevin Drew’s Spirit If…, if not more so. Dirge-like trumpets wail amidst drippy strings and a tangled mass of percussion, the noise of it all punctuated by Canning’s smooth-as-milk vocals (slightly less warbled than Drew’s, but no less engaging). And there is no shortage of guest vocalists here, as well. At times it’s easy to forget that this is Brendan Canning and not the whole gaggle of Toronto kids he’s normally surrounded by.
“The human body is always the starting point in my work,” says Swedish knitwear designer Sandra Backlund. “I am really fascinated by all the ways you can highlight, distort and transform the natural silhouette of the body with clothes and accessories. I build my garments by hand from a couple of basic bricks which I multiply and attach to each other in different ways to discover the shape that I want. In that sense I approach fashion more like a sculptor than a tailor.”
Backlund is definitely defying what the modern fashion industry stands for with her ground breaking knit sweater designs. Now only if we could find somewhere cool enough to wear one of these we’d be set.
Giant Robot in Los Angeles will be having a special in-store appearance by artist and designer Simone Legno of Tokidoki on Wednesday, July 30th from 6:00 to 8:00pm. Legno will be signing his latest collaboration with Mikasa, a limited edition soccer ball complete with a cute skull creation that adorns the surface. Read the rest of this entry »
The Gatherer jacket is an interesting new concept in fashion that allows the wearer to adjust to their own ever changing climate conditions. Using adaptive insulation pockets through the body and sleeve, you can fill the pockets up with an insolating material of any kind; newspapers, packing peanuts, leaves, or pillow stuffing. You can fill it up as much or as little as you want, making it a truly year round accessory. The only limit to your ability to stay warm is your imagination.
Sometimes its the most simple forms are the most elegant. Bill Amberg is most recognized for his craft leather goods and a classic sophisticated look. The Labyrinth bag is a departure from the majority Amberg’s full line. This delicate design and simple construction have Bill Amberg standing out in a category all his own.
Tom Dixon’s line of home furnishings marries industry to delicate form. His passion for metal work and his knack for design give his pieces a sense of honesty. With no formal training in any creative discipline, Tom has had a tremendous career in furniture design heading up his personal firm as well as creative directing at Habitat. These “Copper Shade Pendants” are just one example of his extensive line of products.
Sensual and sexy are first words that came to mind when we saw Clayton Cubitt’s fashion photography. When we saw his portraits of hurricane Katrina survivors however, the word “RESPECT” flashed before our eyes. Clayton treats these portraits with the same stylized production value as his fashion work, but lets the survivors everyday personality show through in a way that tells a profound American story that desperately needs to be heard.
“A lot of the time I’m a fashion photographer,” The Wiliamsburg (area of Brooklyn) native explains. “And I’m certainly inspired by fashion photography, but I don’t consider myself a fashion photographer alone any more than I would consider myself a ‘portrait photographer’ or an ‘art photographer.”
Specializing in hi-quality, creative websites and illustrations, Ars Thanea is an agency gem set up in Warsaw, Poland. With their many years experience in the interactive market, they have had a chance to work with many great global brands: Red Bull, Nike and Playstation 3, for example. Focusing mainly on new technologies, creation, and design, this team will continue to dominate the world with their intense knowledge of this medium.
