Hasta La Ideas

In this corner, from New Canaan, Connecticut, wearing owlish spectacles and a dyspeptic sneer, it’s the Glass House Guru, the crystalline combatant, Phillllip Johnnnnnson! And in this corner, the one with the Barcelona chair, all the way from Plano, Illinois, it’s the puffing pugilist, the less-is-more maven, Ludwig Miiiiies van der Rohhhhhhhe! Such is the modernist title bout imagined by designer and architect Demian Repucci, who created a pair of posters (above) that depict the famed architects “squaring off to preserve great design.” The knockout prints are Repucci’s contribution to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Modern Views project, which is compiling original works donated by 100 architects, artists, and designers to benefit Farnsworth House and the Glass House. So who would Repucci pick in the fight? “If you had asked me back in architecture school, I would have definitely said Mies, his austere genius compelling people to take notice of his sublime and powerful design work,” he told us. “But now that I understand their relationship a little better, I see how savvy Philip was. He might not have been the designer that Mies was, but he was a master at using his connections, relationships, positions, and contextual situation to his professional advantage.”

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Good news for Philadelphia: Claes Oldenburg is planning to paint the town…well, he has yet to settle on a color. The artist will erect a towering paintbrush sculpture for a new plaza planned by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The steel and fiberglass brush, angled upward and reaching the roofline of a nearby academic building, will be accompanied by a dollop of paint on the ground below. “It’s not exactly a dab,” said Oldenburg at a recent press conference. “It’s more like a glob.” He’s also playing with the idea of illuminating the brush’s bristles with LED lights. As for why Oldenburg settled on this particular utensil to join his two other public works in Philadelphia, the iconic “Clothespin” (1976) and “Split Button” (1981), Stephan Salisbury of The Phildelphia Inquirer explains:

“What suggested itself here was a paintbrush because a paintbrush is a symbol of a type of art that has kind of gone out of fashion,” Oldenburg told [a media gathering]. He contended that no one paints anymore, that artists perform or make objects and installations instead. But fortunately, he added, there are art schools and museums where the idea of the paintbrush remains “something in the minds of many.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Five contemporary artists pay homage to the children’s book illustrator that inspired a generation

Honoring one of the world’s most adored children’s book illustrators, L.A.’s Scion Space will show five artists and their works in tribute to Ed Emberley beginning 17 July 2010.

Emberley, a self-described “old grandpa kind of guy,” is the legend behind favorites such as “Go Away, Big Green Monster!” and “Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Animals,” and the Caldecott-winning “Drummer Hoff.” His iconic how-to drawing books teach simple steps to draw everything from colorful farm animals and birds with big beaks to smoke-spewing trains, and giant-toothed monsters.

The exhibit will include a collection of his work, including original mock-ups of his books from the ’70s, as well as recent drawings of his classic characters, alongside pieces by artists from the generation he’s inspired. Curated by artist Caleb Neelon, five of his proteges (who’re all also well-known in their own right)—Raul Gonzalez, Seonna Hong, Matt Leines, Christopher Kline and Saelee Oh, will each decorate a six-by-six foot wood panel inspired by Emberley’s playful style.

After the show (which runs through 7 August 2010) the artworks will be donated to various children’s hospitals across to U.S. for long-term display.

Additional reporting by Julie Wolfson

Lui è James Hopkins.
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Delicious made from scratch meats from artisinal processors

Bursting with flavor, Vermont Smoke and Cure‘s maple-brined bacon, smoked pepperoni and other all natural pork products are the upshot of slow gastronomy. Beginning with pigs that were raised without any antibiotics or animal by products, the small batch producers employ time consuming processes to create their delicious meats. Such as the summer sausages, made using an old fashioned method that requires 12 full hours of fermentation, or the bacon, which is doused with Sweet Retreat Vermont maple syrup and then smoked slowly over ground corn cobs and maple wood shavings.

All of the pork products from 45-year-old Vermont Smoke and Cure are gluten-free and contain no nitrates or MSG. Previously sourcing pigs from Canada, they now offer Vermont-raised pig products that are crafted using other Vermont brands, like the apple-cheddar brats—a combination of pork, Cabot‘s Sharp Cheddar and apples from Champlain Orchards.

Vermont Smoke and Cure products sell online and ship 2nd day air for the most in freshness.