Hasta La Ideas

Fruit skulls by Dimitri Tsykalov…(Read…)

Top two cakes by Petit Trianon made in honour of The Regional Assembly of Text’s 3rd and 4th anniversaries. The bottom cake is by Debbie Ross Cakes.

June 23 marks the 144th anniversary of the date Christopher Latham Sholes received a U.S. patent on the typewriter. It’s International Typewriter Day, so grab your portable and type something! And if you have lots of time and patience… bake a cake!

Gingerbread typewriter by Susanna Blåvarg via Baked Ideas.

An authentic typewriter cake made in 1967.

Readers of this blog and UPPERCASE magazine will know that I have a passion for typewriters. In honour of International Typewriter Day, I invite you to peruse my past typewriter posts.

It’s that time again: next weekend, June 28 – July 1, 2012, will see the perennial celebration of human-powered transportation known as the Bicycle Film Festival. Entering its second decade, the three-day extravaganza is the first of over two dozen festivals worldwide, and founder Brendt Barbur notes that this year’s program might just be the most mainstream one yet… in a good way.

Brendt recently invited me to have a sneak peek at some of this year’s films, and while I must admit that I’ve only seen a fraction of the programming that they’ve premiered over the 11 years, I can say, once again, that this year’s BFF is not to be missed.

As always, the Anthology Film Archive is host to BFF New York, which predates the Red Hook Crit and New Amsterdam Bike Show as one of New York’s original bike culture instutions. Yet the annual event remains relatively underground in New York—Barbur’s forgone the parade in recent years because he’s “sick of dealing with cops”—but it’s gained traction in both world-class metropolises such as London and Tokyo and cycling-friendly cities like Minneapolis and Milan. (Barbur often works with city-level administrators, ministries of culture, etc., in international markets: he’s looking forward to a warm reception at the next stop in Helsinki, the 2012 World Design Capital, and Estonia, where Sister Session was shot and produced.)

The irony, of course, is that the BFF was a catalyst in the rise of urban cycling culture the world over, and Brendt acknowledges the festival’s roots in what was once considered to be a lifestyle choice: “Even in 2001, you’d wave at fellow cyclists [because we were so few and far between].” And while he hesitates to take credit for highlighting messenger (read: fixed gear) culture, it’s safe to say that the Film Festival has been a vehicle, so to speak, for cycling enthusiasts and amateur filmmakers alike.

Even as the alternative is subsumed in the mainstream—NYC’s forthcoming bike share is all but guaranteed to be a major turning point—it’s worth hearing from someone who has not only witnessed cycling’s growth in popularity but has presciently championed the cause.

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Earlier this year, we told you about the “Live/Work” Design Contest, which challenged designers to dream up the next “classic of tomorrow” for the home office. Today, our friends at Dwell on Design and Design Within Reach gave us a little heads up and shared with us this year’s winner, whose design could potentially be manufactured and sold by DWR.

Besting 587 entries, the grand prize winner is Chicago-based designer Amanda Ip with the Innermix Desk, created with the designer’s own live/work preference. The desk offers a large workspace and simple storage solutions that together create a clean, organized work area. That touch of color also adds a sense of fun and play, a welcome change to a predominantly gray and bleak office furniture.

Congratulations, Amanda! We hope to see the Innermix Desk in DWR stores soon!

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A selection of mind-bending, multimedia works from Switzerland’s expansive art show

While several works at this year’s Art Basel touched upon the animalistic side of humanity, another parallel looked to the future with otherworldly and scientifically driven design. From a Nouveau Realism throwback to forward-thinking student work, there were numerous sculptures, paintings and more to stimulate the mind’s analytical side.

In studying experience design at Stockholm’s renowned Konstfack University, Farvash Razavi explores the possibilities of blending science and design. By working closely with scientists, Razavi’s work holds a fragile, if not sterile feel, lending it an aesthetic that blurs sculpture with science experiment. In her “Scale of Existence”, at Design Miami/Basel, suspended, beaker-like globes encircle meticulously detailed miniature circuit boards like a nucleus within a cell, reflecting the “invisible, macro-level” of creation.

Often described as “Outsider Art”, Chris Hipkiss‘ intricate drawings of elaborate scenarios immediately draw in the eye and threaten not to let go. Heightened with striking red accents, these mostly black-and-white works seem to center around an imposing subject engulfed in repeating characters and structures. Presented by Galerie Susanne Zander, Hipkiss’ “Fucking Plasma Sun Hater” and “Forget The Sun” present a menacing landscape dominated by whirling barbs and sharp slogans.

Resembling an alien fungi and constructed entirely of wood, Tony Cragg‘s “Round The Block” measures nearly seven by eight feet in size. The smooth surface of the massive sculpture leads the eye through the stratified structure of the individual wood plains, allowing one to look past the knots and imperfections to comprehend the piece as a whole. The way the undulations of the brilliantly polished wood both absorb and reflect light is the truly transforming characteristic of this beautiful contemporary sculpture. Keep an eye on Galerie Hans Meyer for more from Cragg.

While California-born artist Doug Aitken is best known for his experience in photography, sculpture, film and sound installations, his paint series “To Give It All Away” offers insight into his endless artistic talent. The 24 framed watercolor on paper works achieve incredible depth while managing a bizarre balance between chaotic and calm with cooling color choices and a large-scale presentation. By presenting the works in a grid, Aitken gives order to his cubist-inspired paintings while inviting the eye to explore the varied landscapes.

Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson is best known for his elemental use of basic materials to enhance his large-scale sculptures and installations. For Basel he presented “Your Two-Tone Dawn Light”, a hanging sculpture made of colored glass and LED lights encased in an aluminum and steel skeleton. The transfixing orb of burnt oranges and deep blues conjures images of science fiction movies and early ’70s psychedelic art. See NYC’s Tanya Bonakdar Gallery for more from Eliasson.

“Open Universe”, Ricci Albenda‘s suspended wire sculpture on view at Andrew Kreps Gallery, takes a three-dimensional approach to his signature optical illusion installation paintings. The sculpture presents an imaginary space seen through a fish-eye lens, bending the framework—and one’s mind. The minimalist material approach is particularly intriguing, showing how a simple take on a complex idea often holds the strongest impact.

Destined to be one of the shortest art movements in history from the very moment of its inception, the Nouveau Réalisme movement began in 1960 and fell apart shortly after. Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois pays tribute to two of the 13 artists attributed to the movement with an exhibition of works by Ultra-Lettrists Jacques Villaglé and Raymond Hains. Focused on the symbolic use of letters and decolletage to make statements on capitalism, the duo’s distinct take on poster art is eternally relevant.

Images by Josh Rubin