tracy rocca at winston wachter

Yesterday was the opening of Tracy Rocca's exhibition at the Winston Wachter Gallery in NYC.
It's a new kind of impressionism, makes everything around look so real and sharp! I love the artist's statement:
"The goal of my work is to create a place where the mind can rest.
The imagery I use arises from, first, consistent observation and, second, a conscious effort to slow down. [...]" read the whole statement here.

Lake Washington (2009)
oil on polyester over panel 36"x36"

Lilly 2009
oil on polyester over panel 48"x48"

Gilroy Garden 2009
oil on polyester over panel 20"x20"

all images from Tracy Rocca and Winston Wachter websites

pop up public bathrooms

I overheard French people talking about it on the street of NY, and I found it on likecool.com. The urilift unit (pictured here) can be found in several cities in Europe, it stays underground all day, and comes up at 10pm to go back down at 3pm... They seem to have noticed that this is when the drinking -therefore the toilet need- happens.
But these are for men only as they're actually a set of 3 urinals. The one we could import to the US would be the urigienic, which has a door, and also has the advantage of being unisex thanks to its "revolutionary suspended toilet seat".

slow car crash

SLOW INEVITABLE DEATH OF AMERICAN MUSCLE - SLOW MOTION CAR CRASH "This sculpture is a machine that advances two full sized automobiles slowly into one another over a period of 6 days, simulating a head on automobile collision. Each car moves about three feet into the other. The movement is so slow as to be invisible." see movies here.

found on today and tomorrow who found it on jeriko (thank you!)

shopdropping

We all know about shoplifting, but do you know about shopdropping? This artist group in Canada invented it. You drop your art in supermarket so people can enjoy it at home!! See ShopDropping Montreal for more images, movies and info. Pretty generous!

posted on notcot.org by keenon design

learning about sustainable living

Ever dreamed of building a solar oven, an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a wind generator or a lemon battery?
This brilliant little house can teach you (and maybe your 12+ year old kid/cousin/nephew) the basics of alternative energy and sustainable living. Plenty of little experiments to heat the house with the sun's energy, using evaporation for cooling, cook with the sun, using wind energy, etc. Great gift.
Sold at uncommon goods for $90

highlighter portrait

I thought it was so smart I almost* bought one... These are the lyrics of these hip hop legends with their "highlighter style" portraits. There's a small STABILO highlighter in the back.
Sorry the images aren't great, I couldn't find any that gave it justice. The green portrait isn't the best... the yellow one was, if you go there.
Reed Space 151 orchard st in nyc (212) 253 0588 ($36)

* no offense to the designer for the "almost", I just don't wear tee-shirts

neo-paris

The new Parisian attitude: twisted classics, a pinch of modernity, a bit of humour noir... and still very Paris [vé-ree pah-ree]!
1- who else than Chanel?
2- "Je t'aime" lamp - Fleux (275 euros)
3- chimpanzee chandelier - Fleux (175 euros)
4- baccarat Black Angel tall glass, designed by Philippe Starck - Neiman Marcus ($510) {found on Toast and Tables}
5- riedel black crystal blind tasting wine glass - Tiffany ($60) {found on Toast and Tables}
6- poplin cotton necklace with a silvered brass chain - Arty Dandy ( 69 Euros)
7- hand made broche by Marianne Batlle - Arty Dandy (125 euros)
8- trompe l'oeil cardboard stool - Fleux (39 euros)
9- showtime double poltrona sofa - the future perfect ($9,920)
10- greatest find of the day: biblioteca shelving by Matt Car, mahogani and lacquer- the future perfect ($550)
11- smoke collection from Maarteen Baas - moss this piece has sold but there are others still available (price upon request), I just had to place it here.
12- deluxe plastic cutlery set - rose and radish ($27)
13- who can escape the oxfords this year? these are Rag&bone (the most comfy on the market) - eluxury ($237 on sale!)
14- zeppelin S1 suspension light by Marcel Wanders - moss ($3,512)
15- front design table pig - Fleux ( 1,495 euros) or Unica Home ($2,277)
16- still life serie from Klein and Reid - kleinreid.com

mystery fashion accessories

I really don't mean to reveal the entire content of the French Marie Claire 2 (printemps-ete 09), but I really wanted to share this other story. It's so refreshing to see magazines being actually creative. I promise, if you buy it, there will be much more to look at! This editorial is about DIESEL accessories as Hitchcockian stars.

dog eat shoe

Another brilliant editorial in French Marie-Claire 2 (printemps/ete 2009). One of my absolute favorite magazines, huge density of ideas and great images.
At last a little humor in the fashion world (along with perfect styling by Isabelle Roville, and great photography by Peter Lippmann)

PHOTOGRAPHER: PETER LIPPMANN

STYLIST: ISABELLE ROVILLE

get a character

I love these salvaged characters from this brilliant company in Finland: characters. They were once part of a store front, and were re-cycled with led lights.
I want one!! (between 120 and 400 euros, all one of a kind)

discovered on Toxel.com.

the future of magazines

This is the very near future of books and magazines (for real).
This one is still B&W but soon we'll have many versions to pick from ($359 on amazon.com)
I'm not sure about not turning pages, but that will definitely save some trees!

Scott Peterman

Another great discovery at the Danzigerprojects gallery: Scott Peterman the first 2 photos are shown in the Chelsea gallery, and I found the others on his website. Enjoy!

all photographs: Scott Peterman

Christophe Maout

I just discovered Parisian photographer Christophe Maout thanks to the 2 first photos below shown at the Danzigerprojects gallery {534 W24th st (212) 629 6778}. Then of course, I looked him up and discovered much more. I love when that happens!

All the flower photographs are from his "Printemps" serie

a few from the "atmospheric" serie

homelux serie

Fashion week Paris March 09

All images are from Christophe Maout's portfolio many more to see there!

lost tribes of nyc

A little gem from Carolyn London found on wish jar, a blog by Keri Smith (also see his portfolio). Thank you Keri!

The Lost Tribes of New York City from Carolyn London on Vimeo.

ethan murrow

Ethan Murrow's first solo exhibition "Zero Sum Pilot" at the New York Winston Wachter Gallery.
He explains: "The still imagery we [refering to himself and his wife] collect forms the source material for large-scale graphite drawings that are obsessive documents of infatuated characters. [...] "Zero Sum Pilot" follows one man's rigorous and suspect training for unknown aerial goals."
He also explains that the characters he portrays "mostly male, are doomed to failure and prone to dysfunction". We all agree, perfection is boring, but this probably the extreme form of wabi-sabi*!

Above: images from the Winston Wachter website:
Composure increasing time aloft, panic unhelpful
Deep water recovery training an asset at splash down
New helmet worthy of further use despite neck injuries
Release point adjusted down to 165th rotation
Below: photos taken at the gallery

* Wabi-sabi: Japanese art of the fault: I'll definitely will be blogging about it soon!