“For Modern Living” exhibition, designed and curated by Alexander Girard at the Detroir Institute of Arts, 1949
One of the earliest design shows at the Museum of Modern Art was called “Useful Object Under $5.” There’s not a lot of anxiety, or pretension, in that title. The exhibit opened at the museum in 1938 and then traveled to ten cities. The press release states that the wares include an aluminum tea kettle, a red rubber-covered dish drainer, a traveling iron, stainless steel knives, a shower curtain, a fur hangar. And that several items came from the five and dime.
The criteria for inclusion were described as follows:
(a) Uniformity: mechanically perfect finish
(b) Precision: accuracy of form
(c) New forms
(d) New materials
(e) Absence of applied ornament: little ornament of true machine character has been developed; relianc is placed rather on perfection of form an inherent beauty of materials, often newly reveals by the machine.
(f) Economy of means: the designer’s esthetic problem is to create something handsome out of utilitarian forms.
You could consider this a first draft for the museum at defining the tenets of “good design.” The points overlap and repeat each other, and though they mention “utilitarian” they avoid price.
Actor John C. Reilly opts for the classic New York bagel with salami and provolone cheese, while songstress Florence Welch prefers a hearty ham and mustard bap in this gloriously kitsch photo story from the inaugural issue of Special Request. An homage to the British snack famously created by the 18th-century Earl of Sandwich, who preferred to eat lunch on the go using his hands, the feature lays out the favorite fillings of model Daisy Lowe, Olympian Jessica Ennis and the GZA, spiritual leader of the Wu-Tang Clan—who leans towards a lean vegetarian option. Taking food culture as a starting point, Special Request aims to dissect modern human culture piece by piece. Creators Paul Sethi, brother Marc—who also photographed today’s exclusive, curated by Sandwich Editor Josh Jones and styled by Nicole Herft—and Tom Viney brought on a top-notch roster of contributors that includes novelist Geoff Dyer discussing American photographer Jacob Holdt, and cultural commentator Jonathan Meades examining the food fads of the 1950s. “We took inspiration from publications such as Wet, released during the 70s, which celebrated water with brash photography and stunning visuals, combined with good, intelligent writing,” explains Paul. “We enlisted the help of photographers who normally work in music and fashion to photograph food, bringing a whole new aesthetic to a journal like this—the whole thing is very pop, colorful and fantastic.”
Blek Le Rat
Pan bagnat from the city of Nice
- boule
- tuna in oil
- radish
- tomato
- pepper
- onion
- hard-boiled egg
- anchovy
Daisy Lowe
A reuben from Mishkins
- toasted rye
- salt beef
- melted Swiss cheese
- sauerkraut
- mustard
- a big pickle on the side
- wholegrain bread
- ham
- mustard
GZA
- rye bread
- tomato
- cucumber
- spinach
- mayonnaise
- mustard
Jessica Ennis
- ciabatta, spread with pesto
- fresh roast chicken
- rocket
- Portobello mushrooms
- parmesan-infused mayonnaise
John C. Reilly
- open-faced toasted bagel
- salami
- provolone
“Grilled so the cheese melts.”
Fish and gardening eco-system by Mathieu Lehanneur
Courts by Ward Roberts
Rick Owens
Dressing the Home: The Private Spaces of Top Fashion Designers, 2008
by Marie Bariller, photography by Guillaume de Laubier
Q: Where did you acquire your taste for interior decoration?
A: I always hold Art Moderne and Bauhaus up as my standards for interiors and clothes — simple grace, form following function.
Q: Are your sources of inspiration the same both for fashion and interior decoration?
A: I think of them both in very physical terms, the way a dress caresses a body or the way a chair cups the figure. The surface textiles of both are paramount.
Q: Are you interested in architecture? Who is your favorite architect?
A: I particularly like Robert Mallet-Stevens, Eileen Grey, and Herzog & de Meuron.
Q: What is your favorite decorative style?
A: Jean-Michel Frank is my favorite. But then, I like Luigi Colani, too…
There’s something very calming about driving in the rain.
Stranger Visions by Heather Dewey-Hagborg
This super interesting project consists of 3D printed portraits based on DNA samples taken from objects found on the streets of Brooklyn (like gum, cigarettes and hair). Dewey-Hagborg worked with a DIY biology lab called Genspace, where she met a number of biologists who taught her everything she now knows about molecular biology and DNA. Via an interview with the artist:
So I extract the DNA in the lab and then I amplify certain regions of it using a technique called PCR – Polymerase Chain Reaction. This allows me to study certain regions of the genome that tend to vary person to person, what are called SNPs or Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms.
I send the results of my PCR reactions off to a lab for sequencing and what I get back are basically text files filled with sequences of As, Ts, Cs, and Gs, the nucleotides that compose DNA. I align these using a bioinformatics program and determine what allele is present for a particular SNP on each sample.
Then I feed this information into a custom computer program I wrote which takes all these values which code for physical genetic traits and parameterizes a 3d model of a face to represent them. For example gender, ancestry, eye color, hair color, freckles, lighter or darker skin, and certain facial features like nose width and distance between eyes are some of the features I am in the process of studying.
I add some finishing touches to the model in 3d software and then export it for printing on a 3d printer. I use a Zcorp printer which prints in full color using a powder type material, kind of like sand and glue.
Found the final team member for our climb next month. Feeling confident about this. Just need to get a pair of crampons and some dynamic rope (not to mention my knot tying skills). Was considering buying a gopro camera for the trip but I’m still debating if I really need it since I’ll already have my m4/3 camera on me.
Helmut Lang A/W 03-04
