Jul

22

Styling Products: Straight Up!

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mark Chi Aveda Straight

There’s a three-item checklist every girl should know of when scoping out the opposite sex.

One, the shoes the person is wearing. (Didn’t Madonna say something about loving Antonio Banderas until she got to his feet? Antonio’s cowboy boots pushed Madge away, but made room for Melanie, which makes you think about how shoes could very well be indicative of a person’s character.)

Two; eyebrows, the signpost of every face, every expression. I don’t think the eyebrow grooming or non-grooming is as clear-cut as the shoe-insight-to-character observation, but about masculinity in general. Too tweezed? He might be on the same team. A unibrow? A little more complicated. To explain:

The unibrow definitely has that macho-male, East-European-or-Mediterranean, domineering-old-school vibe that can hover anywhere from fatherly and committed to abusive and stubborn. The real test to see of which he’s which, is to watch how he treats his mother. Run to him, or away from him, accordingly; then count your blessings, either way!

Third; his haircut or hair style, which runs the gamut of accepting baldness, too groomed, no hygiene, and so forth. The hair cue is a bit more obvious, and more like the shoe scenario, ranging from the narcissist to the insecure, the slob to the disrespectful.

Since the checklist has now become second nature to me, I figure it might be the same for others who are observing me too. That’s why I like to throw them for a loop. That’s why I like to straighten my otherwise-curly hair.

(Bet you didn’t see that segue coming!) Read more

Jul

17

Knitpicking

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Vogue Knitting Spring Summer

Leave it to me to think of sweaters in the dead of summer. I just can’t help it! The Spring/Summer issue of Vogue Knitting (VK) has sparked my interest in cropped knit tops and above-the-knee dresses–that can easily be reworked as tunics when fall hits.

The “Ecologic” collection has completely won me over. Repetitive darting on an A-line dress makes for a tailored fit and inventive element of design. Peacoat details on a small, wrap sweater is a clever take on the new summer jacket (and a welcome change to the predictable cam-and-cardi-office-twin-set-then-out-for-Alize-on-the-patio attire). Adherence to pattern (or non-adherence to pattern) make for structured pieces that are casual and elegant; not too precious, but not too plain either. (Just take a look at the golden-coloured short-sleeve top with three large cable knits running through. The sweater looks like stalks of wheat amidst the brilliant sun.)

The Issue also features a bridal section that dares to knit gowns, wraps and accessories like this vintage looking purse. Although I can only manage girly-girl in small bits (I’m just not “lady” enough to pull of saccharine-sweet frills and flowers), I love the purse for its perfect blend of new and old, its whimsy, and its value as a true alternative–what I think accessories really are, and should be called.

But wait, there’s more! Read more

Jul

15

Feeling Large On Minis

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Re-ment Miniature set

Re-ment is insane! I cannot believe there’s a miniature taiyaki. Ridic!

With toys like this, why isn’t Mattel packing it in? Seriously!

Jul

15

Mus. Muse. Museum.

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Casati July

Marchesa Luisa Casati has been on my mind lately, particularly the painting of her by Augustus John. (John’s portrait of Casati has been haunting me in my sleep. Why? I just don’t know….)

Usually when I get this kind of “nagging vision” the reasoning reveals itself sometime later, like an answer to something I’ve been trying to solve, or it acts as foresight to a trend or innovation that has yet to surface. (Just call me the “psychic cool hunter.”) For now however, I need to be content with dreaming of Casati’s extraordinary personality (I’d love a copy of the biography!) and how oddly enough, with just the right amount of kohl, Miranda July could pass as an impersonator. (The photograph of July and its similarity to the Casati painting is unbelievable, non?)

If July uses Casati in one of her upcoming works, then perhaps I’ll have the “a-ha” moment my dreams are chasing after! Maybe a trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, post-construction, where the Augustus John painting permanently resides, might be necessary. It might be the only way for my dreams to occupy a reality.

NOTE Couldn’t locate any credit info for the July image. Would love to know if the photographer and stylist had Casati in mind when art directing the shot. Any leads? Let me know.

Jul

10

The Dipping Friends

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Nick van Woert Ripping Friends

At the rate I’m going at, I’m tempted to start a new category for the blog titled “Hating Myself for Missing Good Art Exhibits.” Inevitably however, all that will do is make me feel really awful for not attending shows, and then wretched for admitting it.

Maybe a little cognitive behavioral psychology should be in order. At the prospect of developing the (terrifying and guilt-ridden, to me) category, the self-induced pressure might be just what I need to get up and go out there to see some fab stuff. (Let’s just hope I don’t outsmart myself!)

In the meantime, give me some latitude, as I tell you about a show I wished I had checked out in April 2008. Read more

Jul

7

Double Tragedy

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The Tragedy of Macbeth Noah Lukeman

Noah Lukeman imagines the fulfillment of the witches’ prophecy in Macbeth, in his new book due October 2008, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Part II, The Seed of Banquo. The book is written in blank verse, following Shakespearean style – a play in five acts. As a Macbeth lover (Othello topping the list) I cannot wait to revisit the original play before delving into Lukeman’s continuation of events!

Jul

3

XX-Files

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Double David

Is it me, or is Dave Gahan and David Duchovny looking like the bad boy/ladies-beware-he-rides-a-motorcycle boy version of one another?

Jun

30

Brand Wagon: Part Four, Final Part.

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Moholy Nagy Mass Psychosis

PART 4 FINAL PART I accept that, depending on who you talk to, to be an artist in this day and age is basically understood as someone who lives and works below the poverty line–spending time making amusing cartoons for family and friends’ enjoyment. These are the people designers should keep watch. These people, are the ones who will question an artists worth, mainly because it so often is completely opposite to their living and working world, and most likely makes them uncomfortable (in its unfamiliarity) of how artists, and designers, function. These are the same people who may have initially pressured designers to succumb to a new kind of title or categorization (rebranding) in the first place. When it comes to selling these people on ideas, service and opinion, no doubt, they will require the most amount of education and instruction. These people will have to be reminded how artists are a contributing member of society and that together, through collaboration, will generate works beyond any individual effort. These people can be assured that working visually and intelligently is the only way to access an audience, globally, and that meticulous strategy (or design for those staunch pragmatists) will be the difference between confusion or communication. These people will appreciate how the multiplication of the work generated, will not diminish its artistic integrity, but instead, establish it as an affordable, accessible commodity (because of its artistry!) These people must accept their role, not as critic, or client, but as patron–a Patron of the arts.

If designers can maintain to individuals outside of the agency or community that they are practising artists, utilizing time-honoured traditions and techniques, with old and new technologies at their dispense, in an effort to realize a shared goal (which by the way, is not always communication) then rebranding (and all its paperwork and frequent flyer points) can be put to rest. In this case, rebranding isn’t necessary to change an outsider’s perspective or attitude. It will only confuse the issue more while simultaneously (and needlessly) creating a hierarchy within design and designers and separating them and their field further away from the arts (it’s called creative thinking people, and it takes on many shapes and forms)–the very thing that designers are being compensated for in providing their work. Read more

Jun

25

Brand Wagon: Part Three.

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Joseph Cornell Hotel Eden

PART 3 Essentially, when “design” transitioned from “art” to “graphic,” sadly, it did not evolve; it conformed. Conformity is what has caused designers to bow to others impressions of their own discipline, skill, trade, craft, knowledge and, yes, I’m going to say it, artistry. Conformity is what is still killing designers now to rebrand themselves into a title or industry that I don’t think will truly ever reflect what designers do, and actually, degrade designers and the community further than the reduction they assumed when they initially decided to hold a distinction against Art, but used it as its foundation in an attempt to raise its platform. (Huh? How did you think that was going to work?) Rebranding design’s identity won’t work. Taking up the role of the artist, will. Read more

Jun

20

Brand Wagon: Part Two.

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Willi Kunz Montage

PART 2 Educating a client has always been the job of the graphic designer (so, for all you designers out there, you could probably add “communication teacher” to the list of titles already proposed.) Education justifies the cost of service while it sells the client on professional opinion. My understanding of the rebranding of designers is that a name change can better describe the evolution (more on this later) of the designer and may, hopefully, be commonly understood among designers and clients alike. As much as I would love for a new change in title to get around numerous explanations of why all the white space on the page shouldn’t be filled, and really, why the type should be set smaller is really just a joke. A designer can never do away with informing his client on how the design process works regardless of the name change. Nor will it guarantee a client’s willingness to accept what a designer’s job entails, and to hold that job into great esteem. Yes, in part, this is because the tech age has brought much accessibility, pirated software, and lots of so-called experts in the field. (Designers, I’m begging you, quit your whining! Every field in arts and culture has been impacted with all the new directors, illustrators, industrial designers, writers, authors, playwrights, poets, musicians and so on who can get their hands on Adobe Creative Suite, Pro Tools, and a whole other host of “icreate” software.) But the real reason, is actually much older than that; a problem that in all its stages and players has never experienced a resolution, even to this day. It’s what Saldanha briefly touches upon in his quandary in Evolution. It is the way in which the arts and artists are perceived by the general public, as a whole.

Saldanha begins his missive in Evolution with how designers arrived at design in the first place. “ ‘Design’ once replaced the term ‘art’. The term ‘design’ communicated that the work we did was more than artistic. Now it is time to replace ‘graphic’.” And therein lies the problem. The terminology designers are identified with now actually is just another way of reducing the very foundation that design, and all of the arts, arguably, is fundamentally based on. (Tsk, tsk, tsk. Certainly I thought designers were better at solving problems than with layering one on top of the other.) Guess what designers? Instead of using “design” to inflate importance and title an emerging role in the creative realm, you oversimplified what is at the very heart of good design, namely, art, and with it, reduced your worth along with your good name, minus the hourly wage and portfolio of handsome print advertising. (Good on you!) And really does a couple of bucks and a lot of magazine tear sheets garner bragging rights? Read more

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