thefinalact

Helmut Lang RTW Fall 1999 Backstage

Sun, 26 May 2013 00:40:19 -0700

Helmut Lang RTW Fall 1999 Backstage

L’avventura (1960)

Sun, 26 May 2013 00:29:08 -0700

L’avventura (1960)

Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)

Fri, 24 May 2013 20:55:19 -0700

Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)

“For Modern Living” exhibition, designed and curated...

Thu, 23 May 2013 22:51:47 -0700

“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.

untilasinglesolitonsurvives: Actor John C. Reilly opts for the...

Thu, 23 May 2013 22:30:48 -0700

untilasinglesolitonsurvives:

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

Florence Welch

wholegrain bread
ham
mustard

“Very specifically, it would have to be made by my dad… he’s got some kind of special touch. Then you steal half.”

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.”

Patti Smith in Ann Demeulemeester

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:45:34 -0700

Patti Smith in Ann Demeulemeester

Fish and gardening eco-system by Mathieu Lehanneur

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:56:46 -0700

Fish and gardening eco-system by Mathieu Lehanneur

Courts by Ward Roberts

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:53:00 -0700

Courts by Ward Roberts

organization: Rick OwensDressing the Home: The Private Spaces...

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:40:56 -0700

organization:

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.

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:12:56 -0700

There’s something very calming about driving in the rain.

Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 1985-1992

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:52:00 -0700

Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 1985-1992

Ann Demeulemeester F/W12 herringbone blazer

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:33:00 -0700

Ann Demeulemeester F/W12 herringbone blazer

thisgarconsays: Dries Van Noten Autumn 2013

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:12:01 -0700

thisgarconsays:

Dries Van Noten Autumn 2013

Stranger Visions by Heather Dewey-Hagborg This super...

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:01:02 -0700

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.

"The unsolved mysteries of the rainforest are formless and seductive. They are like unnamed islands..."

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:55:54 -0700

““The unsolved mysteries of the rainforest are formless and seductive. They are like unnamed islands hidden in the blank spaces of old maps, like dark shapes glimpsed descending the far wall of a reef into an abyss. They draw us forward and stir strange apprehensions. The unknown and prodigious are drugs to the scientific imagination, stirring insatiable hunger with a single taste. In our heart, we hope we will never discover everything. We pray that there will always be a world like this one at whose edge I sat in darkness. The rainforest and its richness is one of the last repositories on Earth of that timeless dream.””

- E.O. Wilson

Found the final team member for our climb next month. Feeling confident about this. Just need to get...

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:51:42 -0700

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

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:38:11 -0700

Helmut Lang A/W 03-04

Ruth Asawa, BMC Stamp (BMC.76), c. 1946-1949

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:12:42 -0700

Ruth Asawa, BMC Stamp (BMC.76), c. 1946-1949

1. Salvadore Dali, Lobster Telephone; 1936. 2. Suzy Lelievre,...

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:11:00 -0700

1. Salvadore Dali, Lobster Telephone; 1936.

2. Suzy Lelievre, 2011, Hêtre massif, 2 tables.

3. Erwina Ziomkowska, Untitled (heels), 2011

4. Jack Maxwell, Limited edition tent

FWK by Engineered Garments FW2013 Drake Brunette for Engineered...

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:33:08 -0700

FWK by Engineered Garments FW2013

Drake Brunette for Engineered Garments