Free Arts NYC —a non-profit organization fighting the good fight for educational arts funding—has recreated an age-old learning block with help from the creative community. Their undertaking, The A to Z Project, is a designer version of the alphabet that also gives insight into the lives and childhoods of the designers involved in the project.
Forty-five artists, illustrators and designers each picked a letter, number or symbol to redesign. The finished product is the beginning of a branding effort between Free Arts NYC and Red Peak Branding. The groups asked the designers to create free art to help promote their mission and share the way art and design has impacted their own lives as successful creators. The video below tells more about the project and the Free Arts NYC mission:
La société CapsusFilms a réalisé le premier clip du groupe français Monarque appelé ‘Liberty is Your Choice’. Tournée dans les Pyrénées, cette création s’attarde sur un personnage retiré du monde, en proie avec ses démons. L’ensemble est à découvrir en images et en vidéo dans la suite de l’article.
by Eva Glettner Portland, Oregon’s MapleXO rebirths old skateboards and skateboard scraps by turning them into everything from containers to bottle openers to earrings. Their most exciting object—the recently released…
Artists Studio Job customised a Land Rover Defender by adding a golden horn, a tongue and a stained glass window in celebration of the iconic vehicle’s sixty-fifth birthday.
Studio Job took the black four-wheel-drive vehicle, painted it glossy white and embellished it with elements made from bronze, wood, ceramics and other materials to create the Automobile sculpture for Land Rover, which the artists compare to “a Popemobile for an African chief”.
Photograph by Zero40
“It all got totally out of hand!” said the studio’s founder Job Smeets. “The moment that black lady entered our workshop, inspiration started to flow out of our ears. One idea after another.”
The studio looked to the vehicle’s different uses, from royal transportation to African ambulances, for ideas and starting points for the add-ons.
Photograph by Zero40
“Defender is an emotionally charged icon,” said Smeets. “On the one hand it’s the car that is used in Africa as an ambulance, taxi or agriculture machine; on the other hand it’s also the Chelsea Tractor that pampered ladies use to drop their children off at the hockey club. It’s used as a fire truck and it’s the queen of England’s favourite automobile. So, it’s a very diverse vehicle.”
A giant bronze rhino horn was added to the bonnet and a tongue sticks out from the front grille. Flag poles are mounted on the front bumper and fire engine lights sit on the rail around the roof.
Photograph by Zero40
Three of the wheels have had their rims replaced with a model of the Capitol building in Washington DC, a birthday cake and a pulley cog. The fourth has been substituted for a wooden cart wheel.
Studio Job first released images of the design while it was still in progress earlier this year. Now complete, the piece is on display at the PAN Amsterdam gallery until 1 December. Movie is by Dave Hakkens.
Here’s some more information sent to us by Studio Job:
Hotch-Potch on Wheels
Studio Job and Land Rover – sparks were bound to fly. Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel were invited to come up with a special version of the car to celebrate its 65th birthday. The result is a masterpiece, a summary of their whole oeuvre in all its layered facets.
Land Rover Defender has turned 65. That means this robust cross-country vehicle long ago passed the minimum age to qualify as an old-timer. In order to enhance the vehicle’s history and aura, Studio Job was asked to take this 4×4 in hand. A great car requires a great vision, which in this case carried a certain risk – after all, with Studio Job one ever knows what to expect. In their own way, they have created an ode to the vehicle that makes many of us dream of adventures in distant Africa. Eventually, it has turned out to be more than simply a revised or pimped vehicle. The result is a sculpture that questions escapism, power relationships and above all Studio Job’s own work.
Detail of the partially complete sculpture. Photograph by Rahi Rezvani
“Designing a car is the same as when, as a designer, you’re sometimes given the chance to redefine a hotel: it’s a higher goal. You don’t get such important commissions every day,” says Job Smeets, who, together with Nynke Tynagel, forms the duo behind Studio Job. “On top of that, Defender is an emotionally charged icon. On the one hand it’s the car that is used in Africa as an ambulance, taxi or agriculture machine; on the other hand it’s also the Chelsea Tractor that pampered ladies use to drop their children off at the hockey club. It’s used as a fire truck and it’s the queen of England’s favourite automobile. So, it’s a very diverse vehicle. We’ve approached that golden carriage in our own way, maybe not so much from the angle of this one car but rather from the phenomenon of the holy cow in general.”
Detail of the partially complete sculpture. Photograph by Rahi Rezvani
It has become a pièce de résistance. The Land Rover has been submerged in a Studio Job “bath”, with all that this implies. Like a project that has got out of hand, the Land Rover has been dissected and interpreted, ridiculed and celebrated, laden with stories and adorned with a variety of materials. The motor has remained in place but driving the vehicle is anything but a comfortable experience. One of the four wheels has been replaced by a cartwheel; another wheel has been given a miniature version of the Capitol for its rim. A gigantic rhinoceros stands in all its glory like a golden phallus on the bonnet, and a headlight has been replaced by a candle that hardly gives any light in the dark. The seats have been upholstered in wax prints made by Vlisco, the brand that produces exclusive materials specifically for the African rich. The stained glass windows in turn display magic masks from remote tribes.
Detail of the partially complete sculpture. Photograph by Rahi Rezvani
“As you would expect from someone who knows nothing about making a car, our approach got completely out of hand,” says Job Smeets. “The numerous elements kept accumulating. The car literally sticks its tongue out. It wants to be something that it actually isn’t. It’s become a great concoction, monumental and cynical. But isn’t that also true for power and class structures? Those are surely also inventions. A fictive status symbol that other people supposedly look up to. It’s also a nudge at designers who are asked to design a concept car and who then invent a stylish-looking apparatus that is launched with all the necessary bells and whistles. So we also take aim at the car industry: I can already imagine the chief sitting in this modern carriage, with the chauffeur in the front and his various wives and children in the back. A Popemobile for an African chief, personalised in a bizarre way.”
Detail of the partially complete sculpture. Photograph by Rahi Rezvani
It is either an extremely layered or a completely failed project that can be interpreted in different ways: as a pamphlet against outward appearance, as an ode to a holy cow, as a painful joke or as a rather unsubtle protest. But besides this layered approach and the humour, the most captivating storyline is that of Studio Job itself. Even though they keep their cards close to their chest, this sculpture is at the same time a parody of their own work. Apart from the many details that clearly breathe the world of Studio Job, the sculpture has above all become a sampling of the many exclusive materials and monumental techniques that Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel have used during recent years. It is a narrative hotch-potch on four wheels, from bronze, wood and crystal to textiles, ceramics and stained glass. Studio Job have again shown that they are masters in the use of all these materials, expressed in the most varied shapes. In their unique way, they know the power of the materials and how to combine them in a completely idiosyncratic manner in this single sculpture.
What a perfect way to celebrate Land Rover’s 65 birthday!
Zero40 (white coated Defender) photo R. Rezvani (black Defender during ‘making of’ in March 2013) video D. Hakkens fashion Viktor & Rolf.
Half of the fun of the holidays is ripping into presents from family and friends or watching someone else do it. We might feel just a twinge or two of guilt as we crumple shreds of once-pristine paper waste into a trash bag and toss it to the curb for garbage collection, but what the hell, you’re on much-needed vacation and you left all of your cares at the office.
Wrong.
The facts: In 2011, Great Britain alone racked up 227,000 miles of wasted paper after the holiday season. (That’s enough paper to wrap the world nine times over around the equator.) And according to a study done by Stanford, if every American wrapped three presents in reused materials, the saved paper would cover 45,000 football fields.
The upshot of the guilt trip is that it leads to solutions like wrapping your gifts in the comics section and recycle it when the present party is done, or, say, reusable packaging. UK-based agency BEAF does the DIYers one better with Eden Paper, wrapping paper for the rest of us that you can plant once you’re finished tearing into those gifts.
It’s simple: By planting the used paper in some soil and watering it like a regular potted plant, you’ll see sprouts in no time. As with Democratech’s sprouting pencil and plantable OAT Shoes, the gift wrap is produced with the seeds embedded right into the paper. The brand is currently offering the paper in five flavors—chili peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes and broccoli—but looks to include various flowers and herbs in the future. The gift wrap looks good, too—as good as it tastes, I’m sure. Design-wise, it’s a much-needed upgrade from a lot of the holiday wrap you see around the time of year. There’s only so much you can take when it comes to iridescent snowflakes and glittery ornaments.
In occasione dei 50anni della Schwinn Sting-Ray, saranno prodotte 500 pezzi del gioiellino che vedete postato qui sotto in assetto originale targato 1973. Maggiori info qui.
Topo design lancia la nuova linea outdoor in-house OYO Mountain Products con un taglio un po’ più sportivo rispetto alla sua sorella maggiore ma già completa di articoli come zaini, fivepanel, tee, accessori vari.
by Kohl Crecelius It wasn’t long after SoCal-based artist, designer, and craftsman Sean Woolsey (already a CH favorite) came across a quote by American author John Green, that…
Ben van Berkel’s UNStudio in combination with OR else Landscapes comes out on top as the winner of a competition for a proposed focal point of the new Baumkirchen Mitte development in Munich. The nearly 200-foot tall mixed use structure features 140,000 square feet of office space, as well as 60,000 square feet of contemporary apartments. As for the exterior, horizontal rings of balcony and outdoor space are complimented by a larger, multipurpose green area that takes advantage of the expansive roof space.
Neutral spaces, such as foyers, lobbies and meeting areas are used to establish the identity of the building. The design combines both zones that guarantee maximum flexibility for varying combinations of users and exclusively designed areas that provide spaces for communication and creativity.
Changing demands and expectations in contemporary living form the starting point for the residential areas within the design. Flexible accommodation types are incorporated which afford variable constellations and offer the possibility to combine adjacent units. In addition, flexible floor plans enable a variety of configurations in the apartment layouts, thereby directly addressing the specific and individual needs of the residents.
Outdoor spaces vary in scale and form an integral part of the apartments. The living experience is therefore not confined to the dwellings alone, but instead begins as you arrive at the building and enter the circulation areas. Thereafter it extends into shared and private outdoor spaces. This extension of the living concept stimulates interaction between residents and creates a balance between activated public spaces and the need for privacy.
The facade design reflects the duality of the program, with two contrasting materials defining the look and feel of the building. Bright metal forms the background, lending the structure a contemporary and light aesthetic, whilst the contrasting use of wood affords the building the appearance of a custom-made furniture piece for the urban space.
The remaining traces on the location of a previous rail yard form the blueprint for the structure of the roof gardens. The linear frameworks in the landscaping of the gardens accommodate fields of kitchen gardens and play areas, as well as rows of ornamental grasses and flowering perennials and are inspired by the spontaneous vegetation of the track fields. Through the integration of vegetable gardens, systems for rainwater harvesting, composting and beekeeping areas the roof garden becomes more than just a recreation area. Additionally, it plays an important ecological role by contributing to a sustainable living environment.
La leggenda narra che Tom Dixon, durante una delle ultime edizioni della settimana del mobile milanese, non trovando posto da dormire in albergo, abbia trascorso la notte su una panchina del parco. Se mi avesse fatto uno squillo l’avrei sicuramente ospitato a casa mia ma forse non si sarebbe preso bene per creare questa capsule collection prodotta da adidas e dedicata a chi viaggia o vive in modo estremamente essenziale. Il parka imbottito così diventa un sacco a pelo, le scarpe si possono comodamente riporre in una sacca dal minimo ingombro, l’impermeabile si trasforma in giacca e viceversa. Nel post trovate una selezione di alcuni pezzi della collezione già in vendita nei migliori retailer.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
