you know why people like marc jacobs?

Takashi Murakami retrospective @ MOCA. Video snipz of MJ regarding their collab for Louis Vuitton = its whatever. I was trying to find a NYC date for the exhibition but no luck, though I did find this. Wallpaper has a tolerable slide show of the retrospective. I've never been that into Murakami's sculptural stuff and the red painting above is just not working in the space, but I'm def interested in seeing the exhib if it comes to the east coast. Its a color explosion. NEW SYNERGY.

More in L.A. worth checking out: Glenn Ligon & Ree Morton.

fruitz of our labor.

loving lover.

We super (like, ultra) cold-pitched the concept of our shop yesterday and Australian label Lover was one Liv mentioned she'd like to carry. Duh.

I love the sweet / edgy duality of the collections and the musical references to Patti Smith and Marianne Faithful which they elaborate on, amongst other things, in their podcast. Music has always been an important element to me in the studio so its always great to hear other artists speak of its role in their practice. A couple of my picks:



I am still searching for oxfords. And by searching I mean hoping that someone will kindly email a link to a pair on ebay (size 10). However, I've been revisiting these lately, so we'll see. Oh, and can I have this hair for xmas?

TIGHTS: pants or not?

its been several years since the "TIGHTS: are they pants or not" debate started. many neon folk (you know, feathers and electric yellow head bands) girls believe it is perfectly acceptable to wear pair of tights, or several pairs layered for a pastiche of color.

http://www.tightsarenotpants.com/

here is a clear delineation of the opinion of several risd students.


you can download these and leaflet at will depending on which side you fall in the debate.

{ aesthetic profile : peter segerstrom }

For our first profile (monthly? biweekly? TBDz) we chose a person near and dear to both of our hearts. Peter is an artist / photographer / digital wizard, a jack of all computer trades. He received his MFA in Digital Media from the Rhode Island School of Design and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY where he is producing a record and working on various freelance projects.


{ in a nutshell }
Peter went to undergrad at UC San Diego, where he met one of his best friends and creator of monome, for which Peter designed the software. He moved to San Francisco after graduating and helped run a medium sized noise label for about three years before he decided that producing music was much less fun than making it himself. He created a small internet label, flatflat, housing several sound artists as well as the occasional EP from Peter himself. His most recent installations include giant suv whales and sound collaboration for small ceramic animals.


{ q + a }
So Peter, why do you make art about whales?

The whale is an image and a myth that has an odd place in our culture. Specifically the killer whale.

Where did you make the connection between killer whales and Cadillac Escalades?

That was sort of opportunistic. I am interested in the way sound behaves in public and I thought that it was funny and a compelling metaphor to conflate the way that cars with loud sound systems and pods of whales communicate. The bling was circumstantial.

Circumstantial, but specific I would say. You can't really deny that having a cultural symbol that outlandish in your piece added to the lure for people who were at the opening. Do you think that modern art is moving towards brinkmanship and away from craftsmanship?

The word craft has become important in the last few years. I think that art at this point is everywhere. In the aftermath of post-modernism we are just beginning to come back around and decide what feels good to make but is still in dialogue with human culture.

The spectacle has replaced art in some arenas. How do you feel about your work falling into that category by some critics?

The spectacle has a much more nebulous relationship with art, as it has replaced not only art but some relationships. All art at this point is in dialogue with the spectacle. It's just a matter of what the art argues for.

What are you arguing for?

In art usually I am arguing for a cooperation of the technological idioms for absurdist use as a way to critique and examine how they behave out of context.

See/hear more of Peter's work here.

POSTSCRIPT: peter got vvorked today which is A BIG DEAL.

we shall see.

I've been disappointed with all of the Target go international lines so far. The garments are always cut weird, at least for me... shirts too short, fabrics feel dowdy, etc. Good in theory but just not on point.

All of that said, I'm wishin' and hopin' for good things in the new Erin Fetherston line. WE SHALL SEEZ.

sugs

so i am normally the fashion side of the brain when it comes to modern aesthetician but i love this artist from munich, christiane hoegner. it makes me want to make packages for everything like that... like litte ketchups.. or tiny urns that you can package your loved ones who have passed on and give them out to family.... not.



ok no, jk not really.

what are you wearing...

ok, so i guess i lied when i said i didn't like re-blogging. i consume blogs like they are actual sustenance. that would certainly cut costs. anyway i just wanted to show you how i figure out what to where in the morning. it goes something like this...



http://thevintagesociety.blogspot.com/

...and then...




http://liebemarlene.blogspot.com/

...and a little...



http://flickr.com/groups/wardrobe_remix/pool/


and then i through on whatever the f ever because i am so late from pissing away my morning on the interweb.
anyway, i love what these girls are doing and how they are putting it out there. its like "i love to get dressed in something cute and show everybody." i love that.

adornment starts with number one. how can be one expected to make beautiful things without making oneself feel good first? {exactly}

chief

Currently featuring that dude who did the super mario clouds, Jenny Hart and Maya Hayuk. And a bunch of other stuff. Some friends of ours are currently working on a collab with the mag so more on that when it launches.


http://chiefmag.com/

threadz are awesomez

While Liv and I prepare to post our first Aesthetic Profile, I wanted to share a few of my favorite embroidery artists since its been the subject of few posts so far. Needle crafts have always been in the fam - my nana crochets (hello CMYK afghan!) and my mom has always cross stitched store bought patterns. When I was prob 10, I did my first cross stitch pattern: a 'lil Scottie dog. Precious, right? Yeah, you know.

I was with my friend Hush Puppy in Austin about six or seven years ago; we walked into the Yard Dog and saw this Bill Hicks piece. He's a super big fan of Hicks (the door is a jar) and I became a super fan of Jenny Hart. We've met a few times since and keep in touch once in a blue moon. (Oh, and I totally pulled an Eli Cash and mailed her an invitation to my undergrad graduation. Oh yes, crazy bones.)

Then there's Megan Whitmarsh. Yetis, Star Wars, Kiss. Need I say more. Lots of other good stuff here from her show @ New Image Art last year.


Dudes who embroider, i.e. Kent Henrickson. I'm spacing on the others. Help me, people. I've been googlin' up a storm - this looks like it was a fun show. Michael Raedecker was in that one... he embroiders on canvas. My dilemma warrants further investigations. WHERE ARE THE DUDES.


OMG. I can't say that I'm saving the best for last cuz I like 'em all, but Dana Carlson has been on my list since forever. Totally a fave. Perhaps in my top 20? 15? 10? Yes. Her sense of color is amazing. Plus all of the animals. I am a sucker for animals and color. Duh.



This could prob turn into The Embroidery Chronicles Part One of Google or something. Cuz I'm leaving people out (tracey emin, ghada amer, kate o'conner, etc) but the post is getting to be on the long side and I'm feeling cranky because I have to hand code the links. So I will share more later.

so in truth, i am not a fan of re-blogging. i think it is slightly above plagiarisms and definitely below advertisement. nonetheless... this is awesome. thank you new shelton. i love you. you brought us this:

http://nygirlofmynightmares.com/

i have a theory with a good friend of mine that tuesdays are for exes. never friday. if an ex calls you on friday don't pick up. this relationship advice along with the knowledge you have just accrued from this web page should ready you for the "shack-up" season that is quickly approaching. good luck.

oh, modernism

Papa Rauschenberg archives @ Gemini G.E.L.

beauty is an attitude

Pricked: Extreme Embroidery
@ Museum of Art @ Design


I'm particularly interested in seeing Tilleke Schwarz's work. It looks really messy at first but the detail pictures on her website reveal super methodical stitching and funny narratives. Read her FAQ page. I've been clicking around her site and I'd pay the entry fee just to see her work in person. (Maira Kalman is also in the show and her solo exhibition of NYT stuff [see below] is @ Julie Saul gallery through Nov 24.) I enjoyed the radical lace show last year so I'm expecting more of the same if not better. Also: dudes who embroider. Who are not Kent Henrickson. Not that I don't lovelove his stuff but I'm ready to see something else.

Fransje Killaars: Installation: Figures, Colors First
@ MASS MoCA

I'm tired. I feel like there was more but I don't remember.

maira kalman

I was planning to post about one of my other favorite illustrators, Charley Harper, until I saw this documentary. Maira Kalman blogged for a year @ NYT and embroiders stuff, too. Her daughter's middle name is Bodoni. Awesome.

a salvor story

This is it!!! You know. The one one.

About a month ago I was waiting for the bus to NYC at Kennedy Plaza and spotted a girl (below!) carrying a bag, also below. I loved the print -- the photo feels a little blown out, the fabric was creamier -- and almost said something to her about it, but it was really hot at the time and I didn't feel like being Chatty Kathy. I've been looking for it ever since.

Ok. So over the weekend Peter took me to Kiosk, where the super nice shopkeeper / owner lady was wearing a gigantor hoodie with the same pattern printed on the back. !!! Ding !!! "Where is that pattern from? I saw it on a bag once in Providence and can't find it anywhere. Now its on your shirt."

SALVOR

And now my search is over, though at the moment I'm not inclined to pay $400 for a new bag. Grad school and all.


These scarves are nice, too.

you wanna go into publishing?

I always forget about this one.

that's SO blog

this is one of breannimal's prints from last year. i know i am supposed to save up a bunch of her work so i can do a a real big profile on her but i couldn't resist on a friday afternoon leaking a little taste.

thats so blog of me...

whats for christmas?

so b and i are working on our christmas present this weekend. we are making mongolian bbq sauce (with some expert help from grandma honey back in CA). i found this pledge on poppytalk and i think its the right thing to do. i made calendars last year and everyone was so appreciative that i decided never again will i be out with the masses looking for some crappy nick nack.

stay tuned for the labels of our bbq sauce. they are going to be awesome!

duh.

today will be better than yesterday because of this.
thank you, peter.