Hasta La Ideas

Denmark’s notoriously conceptual fashion designer in a new book spanning boobies to mint

The new self-titled book from Henrik Vibskov is a lot like his work—slightly haphazard yet cohesive; purposeful, but ultimately entertaining. Since graduating from London’s Central St. Martins in 2001, the Danish designer has penetrated the regimented fashion industry with a distinct style that bucks conventionality and traditional seasons in favor of more conceptual shows and collections that reflect his artistically driven mind.

“Henrik Vibskov” the book is set up to explore these themes and his larger creative oeuvre in a natural progression, starting with a preface split between five contributors that loosely alerts readers to the collage-like layout that lies ahead. The collaborative foreword is written by Vibskov’s brother Per, German professor of experimental fashion design Dorothea Mink, New Museum deputy director Keren Wong, Danish artist Jørgen Leth and Röhsska Museum director Ted Hesselbom. Together they shed a little insight on Vibskov while referencing five keywords that help define his career—”donkey”, “boobies”, “mint”, “tank” and “shrink wrap”. Before delving fully into what these words mean, social anthropologist Camilla R. Simpson offers a more serious biography in the three-page essay “The Vibskov Scenario”, which is followed by an equally extensive but completely different story—novelist Jokum Rohde’s “Science-Fiction Noir”, an imaginary work that draws from Vibskov’s various show titles over the years.

From there Vibskov takes over, detailing his career to date with randomly ordered sketches, candid commentary, inspiration shots and behind-the-scenes images of his shows and art installations (which are sometimes one in the same). While slightly confusing at first, the arrangement actually works out well and fans will enjoy how the book mimics the same sentiment expressed in his bizarre ensembles. At first glance there is a lot going on on the page, but further inspection reveals a beautiful chaos. As Wong comments in the preface, Vibskov’s work is always full of contradiction—to her, he simultaneously evokes confidence and humor, and inspires performance and relaxation.

The layout also shows how his projects continue to evolve and more importantly, how many different artistic elements they incorporate. Stating in his short note at the beginning that this is a book “mainly based on visual materials”, Vibskov, who is also a serious drummer, shows how his vision applies to a myriad of media. For example, an over-sized blue cardigan sweater from his A/W 2008 collection, “The Mint Institute”, is featured on the page opposite his explanation of “Drumming Friday”, a concept initiated in 2007 where Vibskov and musician Mikkel Hess send out a text message asking who wants them to stop by. They then hit the streets with their drums while donning blue plastic tarps. In 2009 he employed the same shade of blue in his S/S collection called “The Tent City”.

Vibskov notes that in retrospective they should have named that show “The Tent City Blues”, but it isn’t until 20 pages later that he speaks candidly about the importance of show titles. “I think in general it’s nice to have bizarre, twisted names for the collections, and actually we end up spending a lot of time talking and discussing what the name of the collection should be,” he writes. After emailing around for ideas, he lets it hang there for a few weeks and typically makes the decision at the last minute, which, he says “mostly works out well”.

Leaving things to chance to work out well seems like a modest understatement for the industrious designer. By allowing his imagination to lead the way and exploring fields outside of fashion, his collections are highly original and fully developed, making his one of the most honest and interesting labels to watch.

“Henrik Vibskov” sells online in Europe and soon the US from Amazon and Gestalten.

British artist duo breaks down contemporary war photos with a set of symbolic blocks

“Portable Monuments” presents the exhibition of a visual code of brightly colored blocks used to decipher the surplus of images accompanying news headlines. The brainchild of artist duo Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin, the project marks the third installment of their analysis of German poet Bertolt Brecht’s 1955 book, “War Primer.” Brecht felt that because photography was mostly in the hands of the bourgeoisie, images from mass-circulated magazines were not an honest portrayal of capitalist society during WWII, so he compiled 85 “photo-epigrams”, turning his own four-line poems into what he felt were more appropriate captions for the pictures he clipped from publications like Time.

In October 2011 Broomberg and Chanarin created “War Primer 2,” for which they took 100 copies of the original hardback book, added silk-screened text and adhered 85 contemporary images culled from the Internet. Their soon-to-close exhibition at Dusseldorf’s Paradise Row gallery, dubbed “Poor Monuments,” takes the exercise a step further by replacing the substituted images with simple red rectangles, titling each piece with a description of the image not pictured and a URL of where it was sourced.

The “Portable Monuments” lexicon that Broomberg and Chanarin developed in a series of contemplative workshops is designed as an educational tool for deconstructing 21st-century news photos. The pair have reduced the images to a set of ingenuously hued blocks to represent the strangely palatable portrayals of modern conflict. With the majority of photojournalists following war’s rules of engagement, Broomberg and Chanarin aimed to create a code that points out the sterility of the resulting photography, documentation that they feel falls short of the full truth.

“Portable Monuments” is currently on view at Amsterdam’s Galerie Gabriel Rolt, with each original image now represented by a irreverently large-scale photo of the correlating coded blocks—arguably a nod to the fact that the photos on display will likely hold more value as unique works of art than the lives they actually depict.

The month-long exhibition runs through 18 February 2012 at Galerie Gabriel Rolt.

Close-up image of blocks: London suicide bombers (L-R) Hasib Hussain, Germaine Lindsay, Mohammed Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer are captured on CCTV at Luton railway station on 7 July 2005. The Guardian, Thursday April 22, 2010., C-type print, 150 x 190 cm, 2011, Unique Work

An opulent box designed to store life’s most precious memories

by Adele Chan

Presented in Asia two years ago, the first-ever Saporiti Design Award Exhibition showcased the works of nine promising Singaporean designers who were tasked with creatively conceiving luxury towers that would hold, store or display opulent objects.

The Italian furniture brand awarded the prestigious trophy to Ministry Of Design, a studio whose illustrious works include the the recently opened Club Hotel in Singapore and the branding, landscape and interiors of an emerging boutique hotel in Penang called The Macalister Mansion.

MOD’s Director of Design, Colin Seah was inspired by Shakespeare’s poem “All the World’s a Stage,” and interpreted the idea of luxurious commodities as life’s precious memories. The agency set about designing six separate containers meant to represent a different stage in life, with each container finished in a material symbolizing that particular stage. “Infant” is crafted from raw pinewood, “Schoolboy” is covered with monochromatic plaid printed on leather, “Lover” is made out of etched smoke mirror, “Soldier” is built from brushed steel, “Judge” has a polished gold-plated finish, and “Pantaloon” is produced in polished petrified timber.

When pieced together on a metal frame, the containers form one holistic sculpture called the “Luxury Towers.” A specially-designed cover can be placed over to seal the containers in place creating a sturdy object measuring nearly two feet high.

Saporiti recently completed an remarkable prototype of MOD’s winning entry, and are talking with manufacturers about production. As its name implies, one can expect top-notch workmanship and high quality materials. The lavish boxes make for a beautiful way to stow equally valuable mementos and sentimental belongings.

The U.S. Open of art: Rauschenberg’s 1966 performance pairing tennis and technology

Think branded interdisciplinary content is a recent phenomenon? In 1966 a unique project was hatched when conceptual artists and Bell Labs engineers collaborated on a series of live installations inside a National Guard Armory in New York City. One of those, “Open Score” by Robert Rauschenberg, pitted artists—including minimalist painter Frank Stella—against each other in a live game of tennis with rackets wired to switch the stage lights on and off and produce an aural musical score. Their movements were projected on large screens by infrared camera, giving the performers and the assembled crowd of 300 a ghoulish glow inside the cavernous armory

By all accounts electrifying, now 45 years later an exhibit at Seventeen gallery in London will showcase Swedish documentary maker Barbro Schultz Lundestam’s reexamination of the seminal moment in conceptual art history. She takes the audience back to those evenings in NYC with the principles involved explaining how they pulled it off and the effect they had on the actors and spectators. Check out a trailer for the 34-minute film here.

The 1997 documentary is also available for sale on DVD, but for those near London, the installation runs through 8 October 2011.

A luxuriously spacious concept car perfect for necking and long leisurely drives

Championing the glory of leisurely driving, Cadillac‘s stunning new open-air handcrafted concept car speaks to luxurious motoring while focusing on simplicity. There’s no question that this car says that Cadillac can (after many years) once again define American luxury; it looks clearly toward the future though respectful of the brand’s heritage.

Inspired by the California coast (the car was designed by GM’s LA-based Advanced Design studio) the Ciel—”sky” in French— is designed to comfortably seat four adults, featuring elegant lines and an elongated proportion that is surprisingly just a foot longer than the American manufacturer’s angular CTS Coupe. The Ciel sports a 3.6 liter V6 engine too, but it’s complimented by a hybrid system that uses lithium-ion batteries.

We had the chance to speak with members of the car’s design team during its debut at Pebble Beach: Clay Dean, the Executive Director GM Advanced Global Design and Cadillac Brand Director, Niki Smart, Exterior Design Manager, and Frank Saucedo, Director of the Advanced Global Design studio. The team spoke about wanting “to put some swagger back in Cadillac.” The same team worked on last year’s more angular and considerably smaller Urban Luxury Concept car, though the Ciel is more an exercise in restraint and simplicity and the traveler’s journey. It’s about going there as much as it is about arriving there. Smart adds “There are so many things graphically around the car, but when the science gets so good that it’s invisible, that’s truly art.”Dean elaborates, “I think it shows a nice bandwidth in what we’re thinking about at Cadillac right now and the versatility of the team.”

Selecting the color was a long and heated debate, finally resolved by taking pictures of how it changes in different light. Named Cabernet, the car’s color reflects various pigments of red, yellow and gold hues depending on how the light strikes it, like holding a glass of red wine up to the sun. The interior boasts an equally beautiful surface, with the inside of the suicide doors, the panel, console and front seatbacks made of solid wood from a singular fallen olive oil tree, recycled from a west coast olive oil producer. The designers took interest in making the interior as simple and clean as possible. The cabernet and sand leather interior features a laser-perforated design and wraps the entire interior space.

The team spoke at length about staying true to the original vision throughout the design process. Whenever they got stuck or felt they were veering too far from it they pulled out the original sketches, which we were fortunate to track down exclusively for our readers.

Dean says, “How many things can I take away that I don’t need to be bothered by?” To that end, zippers keep the contents of the storage areas contained, and the rear LCD screens are cleverly hidden by a sliding leather panel. The climate system is piped through a channel that surrounds the car instead of traditional vents. The dashboard is simplified and features technology that more seamlessly integrates with your phone and your data.

The studio worked with local vendors, including Metalcrafters for the body work.

Invoking dreams of romantic cross-country excursions or drives up the coast, the Ciel comes equipped to fulfill these sentiments: The low console, which spans the length of the vehicle’s interior, is kitted out with a humidor and cigars, a compartment stowing a cashmere blanket, drawers stocked with suntan lotion and sunglasses, and armrests with ambient lighting for nighttime drives. “Luxury is not something that you need. It’s something that you want,” explains Dean.

Physically manifesting the feeling of what it formerly meant to own—and drive—a Cadillac at the pinnacle of its reign, the Ciel, if manufactured, has the potential to be a future classic. Perhaps it will be known as the car that reestablished Cadillac’s reputation as a benchmark of living the American dream.

See more details of the Cadillac Ciel in the CH gallery below. To learn more about the car’s specs and to see videos of it in action, check out the dedicated website from GM.