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Saturday, September 5, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Dear Everyone in NYC who reads this blog,
We're in the city for a quick weekend (it's Emily's and my 12th wedding anniversary, can you believe it?). Tonight we're going to Arrow (Avenue A between 5th and 6th) to listen to the sweet sounds of Jason Crombie on the 1+2's. My brother and Daniela are tending bar. You should come join us, we'll be there at 9:30. This is not a wedding anniversary celebration, it's just a night at a bar. Our anniversary is Sunday.Okay bye bye.
Strath
Words & Verbs
.
I've been reading these books off and on over the last few months and I'm planning to finish them this weekend:
I can't recommend Photography After Frank highly enough. Philip Gefter was a photography critic at The New York Times for many years and was also the art director responsible for picking the main front-page image for the paper everyday; he has an extraordinary knowledge of photography from a multitude of angles. I've been plodding along slowly with this book because I'm trying to write down the name of every photographer he mentions and research the ones I don't know. Read a good review at The Year In Pictures and buy it directly from Aperture.
Susan Sontag's On Photography is kind of the classic in the field and I'm just now getting around to reading it. It's a little stinging in parts because she makes some sharp psychological observations about this desire/need that certain people (ahem) have to, uh, document everything. That she was writing long before cell phones, digital photography, and the web makes them all the more true now. Still, I'm finding that it makes me look at photography in different ways and I appreciate that.
I wonder if all art directors secretly want to be photographers.
I've been reading these books off and on over the last few months and I'm planning to finish them this weekend:
I can't recommend Photography After Frank highly enough. Philip Gefter was a photography critic at The New York Times for many years and was also the art director responsible for picking the main front-page image for the paper everyday; he has an extraordinary knowledge of photography from a multitude of angles. I've been plodding along slowly with this book because I'm trying to write down the name of every photographer he mentions and research the ones I don't know. Read a good review at The Year In Pictures and buy it directly from Aperture.
Susan Sontag's On Photography is kind of the classic in the field and I'm just now getting around to reading it. It's a little stinging in parts because she makes some sharp psychological observations about this desire/need that certain people (ahem) have to, uh, document everything. That she was writing long before cell phones, digital photography, and the web makes them all the more true now. Still, I'm finding that it makes me look at photography in different ways and I appreciate that.I wonder if all art directors secretly want to be photographers.
What I Have to Offer
.
I used to listen to this song all the time when it came out and for whatever reason it's back in my head this morning. The sound in this crummy video doesn't do it much justice, but download it from somewhere and flip that mega bass switch on your Walkman – the Mantronix bassline and drums are quite swass.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
But This Got Made In The Day, It Was Bright
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Brendan Fowler, aka BARR, in a short film by Dash Snow and Jade Berreau for Purple.
Brendan Fowler had a good show at Rivington Arms last year which I briefly mentioned (it's fun to look back at those old posts...), but never elaborated on. On which I never elaborated. Take your pick, U.S. Americans, such as.
Here's probably the best known and my favorite BARR song, "The Song Is The Single," from Kill Rock Stars:
Purple Fashion no.12 is on newstands now, scoop it up and save it forever. More on BARR here.
Brendan Fowler, aka BARR, in a short film by Dash Snow and Jade Berreau for Purple.
Brendan Fowler had a good show at Rivington Arms last year which I briefly mentioned (it's fun to look back at those old posts...), but never elaborated on. On which I never elaborated. Take your pick, U.S. Americans, such as.
Here's probably the best known and my favorite BARR song, "The Song Is The Single," from Kill Rock Stars:
Purple Fashion no.12 is on newstands now, scoop it up and save it forever. More on BARR here.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Image of the Day
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Lenore Tawney, a master weaver and early innovator in fiber arts, in 1959 (Photo by Yousuf Karsh). Tawney died in 2007 at the age of 100; Holland Cotter's obituary at The New York Times is an interesting read.
I have no particular reason for posting this, other than that I think it's a really cool photo, and my mom was a weaver for many years, so I have some extra interest. It's on the wall in the office.
Lenore Tawney, a master weaver and early innovator in fiber arts, in 1959 (Photo by Yousuf Karsh). Tawney died in 2007 at the age of 100; Holland Cotter's obituary at The New York Times is an interesting read.I have no particular reason for posting this, other than that I think it's a really cool photo, and my mom was a weaver for many years, so I have some extra interest. It's on the wall in the office.
Class, for Clunkers
.
Another old car I walk by and, well, admire is not quite the right word…maybe appreciate. I can pretty much guarantee that at least a few readers of our blog know this exact car and its seemingly eternal resting place.
Back in the day, the attainable yet luxurious spaciousness of a car like this made a certain segment of Americans (e.g., grandparents) feel important. "Let's go for a ride" meant tripping around the town on a mobile davenport in your own personal Texas.
They just don't make 'em like they used to.
Another old car I walk by and, well, admire is not quite the right word…maybe appreciate. I can pretty much guarantee that at least a few readers of our blog know this exact car and its seemingly eternal resting place.
Back in the day, the attainable yet luxurious spaciousness of a car like this made a certain segment of Americans (e.g., grandparents) feel important. "Let's go for a ride" meant tripping around the town on a mobile davenport in your own personal Texas.
They just don't make 'em like they used to.
The Naming of Things
.
A spread from the Textile Brand Names Dictionary (1947), posted by Steven Heller at Design Observer along with a short essay entitled A Good Trademark: A Historical Perspective. It might sound boring but if you're the least bit interested in the process of naming a brand (Denicron, Glritone, Glossitwist, Ma-Tex, Perma-Fluff, Perma glaze, Permaglo, Permaset, Permoflex...), check it out.
A spread from the Textile Brand Names Dictionary (1947), posted by Steven Heller at Design Observer along with a short essay entitled A Good Trademark: A Historical Perspective. It might sound boring but if you're the least bit interested in the process of naming a brand (Denicron, Glritone, Glossitwist, Ma-Tex, Perma-Fluff, Perma glaze, Permaglo, Permaset, Permoflex...), check it out.Tuesday, September 1, 2009
I Had a Very Very Calm Day Until This, and a Bump in the Road Comes, and She Be's Sarcastic.
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[A clip from "Wife Swap," precisely what I need when I'm working late for the nine hundredth day in a row – via TBTL]
[A clip from "Wife Swap," precisely what I need when I'm working late for the nine hundredth day in a row – via TBTL]
Image of the Day
.
The Ace of Spades. The Ace of Spades.
(In the window of a costume/wedding shop on Pike Street, about four blocks down from my office.)
The Ace of Spades. The Ace of Spades. (In the window of a costume/wedding shop on Pike Street, about four blocks down from my office.)
Playin' Free
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If you find yourself in Portland during the month of September, or have a way and means to get yourself there, check out the exhibition of Kyle Johnson's medium-format photos of that fair city on view all month at Cellar Door. I've posted about Kyle a few times in the past – he's one of the Northwest's top photographers and I'd recommend him highly to photo editors and art directors in need.
See more images at Kyle's blog, Flickr stream, and website, and click the image above for details on the show.
...
Tangentially related:
If you find yourself in Portland during the month of September, or have a way and means to get yourself there, check out the exhibition of Kyle Johnson's medium-format photos of that fair city on view all month at Cellar Door. I've posted about Kyle a few times in the past – he's one of the Northwest's top photographers and I'd recommend him highly to photo editors and art directors in need.See more images at Kyle's blog, Flickr stream, and website, and click the image above for details on the show.
...
Tangentially related:
September Song
.
James Brown September Song mp3 (pardon the scratches), from Soul On Top, a jazz-fueled 1969 collaboration between the Godfather and Maceo Parker with the Louie Bellson Orchestra, conducted by Oliver Nelson. Listen to NPR's review of the album on the occasion of its 2004 reissue here, and buy the CD here.
James Brown September Song mp3 (pardon the scratches), from Soul On Top, a jazz-fueled 1969 collaboration between the Godfather and Maceo Parker with the Louie Bellson Orchestra, conducted by Oliver Nelson. Listen to NPR's review of the album on the occasion of its 2004 reissue here, and buy the CD here.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Image of the Day
. 
Yesterday Emily and I went out to West Seattle for a little 2-hour trip with Alki Kayak Tours. I used to lead kayak trips in the San Juan Islands in the early '90s, but I haven't done much since then, save for a trip up in Maine and a short one off of Orcas Island a few years ago. Alki was a great re-introduction and a different way to see the city – I would recommend it to just about anyone, no experience or athletic ability necessary whatsoever. Above is a big old barge near the mouth of the Duwamish River (Gowanus of the Northwest). You can see the Space Needle way in the background if you click to enlarge.
Bonus image of the day: Emily fits her PFD and spray skirt. Mark my words, Miuccia will be copying this look next season.
Yesterday Emily and I went out to West Seattle for a little 2-hour trip with Alki Kayak Tours. I used to lead kayak trips in the San Juan Islands in the early '90s, but I haven't done much since then, save for a trip up in Maine and a short one off of Orcas Island a few years ago. Alki was a great re-introduction and a different way to see the city – I would recommend it to just about anyone, no experience or athletic ability necessary whatsoever. Above is a big old barge near the mouth of the Duwamish River (Gowanus of the Northwest). You can see the Space Needle way in the background if you click to enlarge. 
Bonus image of the day: Emily fits her PFD and spray skirt. Mark my words, Miuccia will be copying this look next season.Little Sumo
.
Helmut Newton, at right, with publisher Benedikt Taschen in 1999.
While we're on the subject of the late Helmut Newton (1920-2004), it's worth noting that next month sees Taschen's tenth-anniversary re-release of SUMO, a behemoth collection of approximately 400 of Newton's photographs, which covered the full spectrum of the influential photographer's career and included many images never before seen.
SUMO (worthy of its name at 464 pages, dimensions of 20 x 27.5 inches and a 66-pound heft) was first published in 1999 in a limited run of 10,000 copies, each personally signed by Newton and accompanied by a stand custom designed by Philippe Starck.
The original tome quickly sold out at $15,000 a pop, and has subsequently become highly sought after by collectors, with copy number one selling at German auction in early 2000 for the equivalent of $430,000. A copy is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Taschen's revised hardcover re-release, which coincides with this summer's exhibition of images from the original book at the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin, will be smaller (10 x 15 inches) and decidedly more affordable ($150). More modest, maybe, but as Newton's photos attest, no doubt still packing a big punch.
The new edition of SUMO can be pre-ordered now through Taschen's website, here.
Helmut Newton, at right, with publisher Benedikt Taschen in 1999.
SUMO (worthy of its name at 464 pages, dimensions of 20 x 27.5 inches and a 66-pound heft) was first published in 1999 in a limited run of 10,000 copies, each personally signed by Newton and accompanied by a stand custom designed by Philippe Starck.
The original tome quickly sold out at $15,000 a pop, and has subsequently become highly sought after by collectors, with copy number one selling at German auction in early 2000 for the equivalent of $430,000. A copy is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Taschen's revised hardcover re-release, which coincides with this summer's exhibition of images from the original book at the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin, will be smaller (10 x 15 inches) and decidedly more affordable ($150). More modest, maybe, but as Newton's photos attest, no doubt still packing a big punch.
The new edition of SUMO can be pre-ordered now through Taschen's website, here.
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