Hasta La Ideas

Manhattan’s shrewder psychics set up shop within staggering distance of bars; after a few martinis, even non-believing tipplers–including, sadly, your correspondent–are more prone to pony up ten bucks for a spontaneous reading on the way home. But alas, that crystal ball is so murky, and so rarely correct.

A better way to predict the future might be to ask experts about particular subjects. “Vision 2020: Considering the World and the Future Architect” is a project that aims to see into the future of architecture:

The project-cum-exhibition, found online at www.2020architect.org, collects prospectives from noted architects, critics, students, leaders and the public to conceive of the future of the built environment, through architecture, and of the future architect. The end hope is to provide a clearer picture of what an architect needs to be, think, act and do to be relevant in the future. Rather than self-conjecture, it asks leaders and the public to come up with issues through a “shotgun” approach. It has already garnered perspectives from noted individuals including Charles Renfro (Diller Scofidio + Renfro), WorkAC, Hani Rashid (Asymptote), Susan Szenasy (Metropolis Mag), Aaron Betsky and others.

Suggestion for the 2020 guys–if the prospectives coming in are on the excessively dry side, we highly recommend you set up shop within staggering distance of an architect’s bar.

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From Julie:

Based in Oxford, Ohio, Wire & Twine is a collective of “designers, coders, screenprinters, photographers, artists, moms, dads, and down-to-earth people who like to make things.” The Industrial Toilet Roll Holder is $35 at Wire & Twine.

The creative vision of writer and visual artist Trinie Dalton, “Mythtym” is 200 pages of wildly eclectic pieces culled from a decade of her self-produced zines. The book features work as diverse as meditations on werewolves, collages of Bernadette Peters and a
marijuana-themed crossword puzzle—all with an overarching theme of things mythical, particularly those gravitating towards the fantastic and macabre. The collection is part of what Dalton calls “parties on paper,” which isn’t meant to suggest a bound anthology of LastNightsParty pictures. Rather, the work is meant to approximate the printed manifestation of a cross-medium art salon.

Mythtym collects the work of almost 40 different contributors and generally arranges them thematically, although there are no indexes or editor’s notes to indicate transitions. In addition to reprinted work, half of the book is dedicated to an entirely new work based on mirrors. It investigates the mirror through the lens of horror stories, mental illness and primitive cultures, to name a few. The book’s name itself is even a palindrome, referencing the mirroring of words themselves.

Incredibly varied, Mythtym is necessary reading for no one in particular. But just the same, it’s a multi-pronged look into fields you probably didn’t know you were interested in. Mythtym is available from PictureBox or Amazon.

One of my style challenges is incorporating belts into my everyday outfits because I never know when and where to do it. That’s why browsing through StyleDiary is always a good source of inspiration! So coming across Canadian stylediarist anatomyofanartist was the perfect answer to my belting dilemma. She takes loose silhouettes like trapeze dresses and cardigans, adds a belt, and voila! Instant chic. Whether going to the dentist or hanging out with friends, she always looks her best and says “dressing up is not solely a special occasion thing.” I completely agree! To see some of anatomyofanartist’s chic belted looks, click on the slideshow!

Photo: Kira Pollack

This Sunday, the New York Times Magazine will publish Obama’s People, a special edition featuring 52 full-page photographs of the new power elite, photographed by Nadav Kander

In an editor’s letter on the NYT website, Gerald Marzorati explains that the project was inspired by a 1976 edition of Rolling Stone which featured 73 portraits of the then-power elite, shot by Richard Avedon. “We, like many of our readers — like most Americans, it seems fair to say — sensed something eventful and potentially far-reaching about the election and the challenges the new president and his team would immediately face. Why not take account of this with portraits of those whose character and temperament and bearing may well prove consequential in the coming months and years?” Marzorati says.

So the magazine’s editor of photography Kathy Ryan (below, right. Photo: Kira Pollack) commissioned Kander, with whom she has worked extensively, to take the portraits in mid-December and earlier this month in Chicago and Washington. The results will make up the largest collection of images by one photographer that the New York Times has ever published.

The images, and behind-the-scenes shots are also available to view at the NYT website.

Photo: Felicity McCabe

Photograph: Arianne Teeple