genius

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Epic Vacation

06/12/2009 in inspiration, me | 4 comments

James has been posting some amazing photos from our epic trip. He turned 30 and I turned 28 and we found cheap tickets and our excuse to get out of New York. In two weeks we managed to cover major cities and the Greek Islands. We traveled to Rome, Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, Milan, Florence, and Venice in that order. Even though at times it was a whirlwind it managed to be relaxing.

Perfect weather. Delicious pizza, pasta, and cheeses. Gelato every day. Fantastic Leather bags and gladiator sandals. Donkeys and cute stray cats. Electric blue and bleached white architecture. Teeny tiny cars driven by insane Greek drivers. I’m normally not a sun worshiper, but it was so spectacular I made an exception.

Here are some of my favorite photos James shot. You can see more on his blog.

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Pauline Boty

06/05/2009 in inspiration | 2 comments

Pauline Boty was one of the original British Pop Artists. Judging from the scant information about her on the internet, not only was she artist but she also was a steady and stylish fixture in the 1960’s British Carnaby scene. She attended the Royal College of Art and palled around with David Hockney, Peter Blake, and fashion designers like Celia Birtwell. She even danced on shows like Ready Steady Go! and acted a bit in movies such as (my personal favorite) Alfie avec Michael Caine. It helps to be a fox.

Boty’s reputation may have slipped into relative obscurity, but she created some pretty cool paintings before she died in 1966. Just like Eve Hesse, she died super young from cancer, at 28.

I want to see “Pop Goes the Easel,” Ken Russell’s 1962 documentary on the British Pop Art scene. If you’ll recall, Russell shot the stylish deco-inspired film “The Boyfriend” that stared Twiggy.


Reference:
Colin Robinson
The Guardian
Writing Room
Art and the 60’s exhibit at the Tate

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Sister Corita Kent

06/04/2009 in inspiration | 1 comment

I want some affordable art for my apartment. A poster, an art print, a painted reproduction. It’s sort of daunting narrowing down all the images in mind to something I want to see daily. Nothing too obvious, too cliche, too everywhere.

I recently purchased two reproductions of Teorema and Contempt posters from Japan that look amazing. I will post pix after I frame them.

Began my morning trying to narrow down which era, style, artist, and image I’d want to call my own. Which led me to the 1960’s Pop Art archives of the internets where I discovered some unfamiliar names like the work of Sister Corita Kent.

Yes, a graphic designing silk screening type wizard nun. Cool, no?

reference:
Supercozy
Greg Cookland

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Chris Palazzo

04/09/2009 in funtimes, inspiration | 1 comment

A few months ago I moved studios. I no longer share with Rebecca Turbow and her growing fashion entourage. No hate, just sayin. Now, when I’m not at Brand New School, I’m a few blocks away above one of my favorite vintage stores, 10 ft Single by Stella Dallas and near Union Pool (which I never seem to go to anymore).

I’m sharing with Chris Palazzo, whom most days I actually see at BNS, not the studio. He’s a motion graphics art directing wizard of sorts. Here is an homage to his wackiness. Soon I’ll post photos of our huge new digs.

art. avec lots of pyramids:


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Marisol

03/27/2009 in inspiration | No comments

I’ve been thinking about illustration as 3-dimensional object a lot recently. Not just art on products, but art on wooden shapes, paintings on toys, Calder’s circus, illustrator and painter as sculptor. Below are some images by the 60s pop artist Marisol. I like how her figures are relatively simple arrangements of cubes and, what appears to be found objects, combined with faces and clothing painted on flat surfaces. Very simple, childlike, playful, dada.


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Cats inspired by Crazies

03/12/2009 in inspiration | 6 comments

Louis Wain was a dude who drew a lot of cats and over the years went totally bonkers. As he increasingly lost his mind his anthropomorphic depictions of cats began to look more menacing, more abstracted, and eventually look like total drugs. Psychedelic fractals. Insanity personified? Or what a particular someone thinks your visions look like while on DMT. I haven’t done such a thing, so I can’t really confirm.


Louis Wain Flickr Group

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You Are So Far Away

01/08/2009 in inspiration | 1 comment

elizabeth weinberg
cotton candy
?
yokoo
hello christy claire

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Kristin Eddington

11/17/2008 in inspiration | 1 comment

I’m feeling the work of graphic designer Kristin Eddington, a recent graduate of SVA and now a designer for Nylon. Her work is stylish, sophisticated and has a nice sense of humor. Her remixes of teen cult novels by Francesca Lia Block was a welcome surprise.

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Niiiiiicccceeee work

11/14/2008 in inspiration | 1 comment

I just found the blog of Brooklyn artist (by way of Sweden) Fanny Bostrom. The Selby had a great feature on her and Bill Gentle’s space and after seeing their teepee I was totally intrigued.

Before Leti and Ami moved out of their old space we had schemed up at teepee in the backyard idea. And then again this summer a birthday teepee in Maccaren Park complete with “buffalo wings” and other appropriate snacks. Alas, the idea didn’t pan out before they moved. We’ll always have Urban Outfitters’ version, won’t we girls?

Anyway, I like Fanny’s art. It reminds me of one part Henry Darger and Fred Tomaselli and one part Kyle Ranson and Elizabeth Huey. (who shares my love of half-timber homes).

Her and Elizabeth’s work inspires me to work bigger and not fear moving my art to oil on huge panels. I want to push the weirdness and work to incorporate my patterns and colorful landscapes with the figures with more texture and layering.

Fanny Bostrom


Her Illustrations

Read the rest of this entry »

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1995

08/28/2008 in inspiration, nostalgia, nyc | No comments

The last couple of movies I’ve seen make me want to find my old X-Girl tees, back issues of Grand Royal and Delia*s catalogs from 8th and 9th grade. I wore rainbow shoelaces, big plastic rings, train conductor overalls and track jackets. Read coming of age books like Girl and Foxfire. Listened obsessively to Cibo Matto. And watched KIDS and Party Girl. He-he-hellloooooo!

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Alexander Girard

08/27/2008 in illustration, inspiration | No comments

I assume most people know the work of Alexander Girard; what with a MOMA exhibit, FLOR carpet tiles, reissued pillows, alphabet blocks for House Industries, a Kate Spade collaboration, and wooden dolls for Vitra, you might even say he’s played out. Anyway. I think he’s awesome. I like how he uses bold colors in simplified shapes, avoids line work, and tends to put faces on everything. His name keeps coming up as I’ve been researching textiles and mid-century illustration, so I figured I’d post some of his work.


Some images via CathyofCalifornia and Reference Library. Welcome mat via Maximo Design.

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Geoff McFetridge

08/26/2008 in inspiration, nostalgia, nyc | No comments

Watched Kids yesterday and followed it with a dose of Beautiful Losers before it closed at the IFC on Tuesday. Back to back teens causing trouble downtown, skateboarding, Harmony Korine (not looking so good these days). Coupled with the Wackness a few weeks back and it’s hard not to get nostalgic for a time I didn’t even live here.

I don’t feel like rambling / preaching to the choir about how much I still love Kilgallen, Mcgee, Mike Mills, or Espo, but I do feel like saying that Geoff McFetridge is a babe. Oh, did you know he has glasses? hellooo there

some images via sulfh’s flickr, king of mountain, kitsune noir
oh, and here’s a high snobrity interview with McFetridge

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