Hasta La Ideas

At the height of the Art Deco era, the SS Normandie, an opulent transatlantic ocean liner fitted with lavish furnishings, attracted the most sophisticated passengers of the day. To commemorate the stylish ship, NYC’s South Street Seaport teamed up with Lalique—the French label responsible for much of the glamorous interior—for an exhibition opening this Thursday, 25 February 2010, and appropriately titled Decodence. Featuring original furnishings, rare passenger photographs, video footage, voyage logs, uniforms and fashion accessories, the show dives into the history of the glamorous vessel (before it was converted to a troop ship and caught fire in 1942) and we have a few exclusive images from the project to share with you.

The gem-like “floating city” arrived in New York City’s harbor in 1935 to over 100,000 spectators eager to check out the liner’s impressive structure. Pillars covered in Lalique glass stood tall in the three-hundred-foot-long dining room, a winter garden boasted exotic flora and fauna, the first theater-at-sea entertained, while an 80-foot-long swimming pool provided a place for leisure and exercise. Art Deco luminaries, including Hermés, Raymond Subes, Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Jean Dupas, designed many of the maiden voyage’s features. Organizers even tracked down the only surviving example of Hermés’ contribution, an exceedingly chic boat-shaped clutch given to first class passengers. (Pictured below.)

Jeremy Scott created a limited edition shirt and Lalique reissued their original 1931 Cabochon glass ring. All the exhibit-related products,pictured in the gallery below, sell exclusively through the South Street Seaport Museum shop or by calling +1 212 748 8733.

Promoting their Spring line,

Pro-Keds recently debuted a short video telling the story of a shoe-based mission. With settings that will look familiar to NYC residents and a Bond-esque soundtrack, the playfully inventive piece follows a cast of characters who at various points throw shoes over a fence, trade them, pluck pairs from lamp posts, and steal them from sleeping subway riders. The madcap upshot, with its saturated colors highlighting the rich hues of the kicks, is one of the more fun examples of branded content we’ve come across lately.

by Anna Carnick

Opening today and capping off a year-long 50th anniversary celebration, the Guggenheim presents Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum. For this salon-style installation, the museum invited nearly 200 artists, designers and architects to submit their dream proposals for interacting with the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building’s central rotunda, or “void.” The central space, famously encompassed by the circular exhibit hallways, gave these world-renowned and up-and-coming and creatives plenty of space for interpretation, and the resulting exhibit features renderings of their visionary solutions.

Recurring themes include a return to nature, the relationship between light and space, aspirations of climbing the building, and the interplay of diaphanous elements with the concrete structure. The impressive list of contributors includes everyone from architects Zaha Hadid, Greg Lynn FORM, MVRDV and N55; to artists Anish Kapoor, Rachel Whiteread and Doris Salcedo and designers Fernando and Humberto Campana, Joris Laarman Studio, Studio Job and Dror Benshetrit.

Describing his contribution, “Redlining the Guggenheim,” a watercolor painting that depicts a red wall following the building’s circular path, Dror explains, “This was my first request from the Guggenheim, which for me is one of the most special museums in the world. As I am an artist by heart, I couldn’t imagine doing anything other than a hand-painted piece that communicates my vision to erect a wall that spirals in the middle of the climbing floor.”

Ultimately, these eclectic approaches to the space reinforce the potency of the Guggenheim’s organic architecture. Over the years, the building has inspired amazing site-specific installations and exhibition designs by the likes of Matthew Barney, Frank Gehry, Jenny Holzer and others. Considering these latest inventions, the inspirational nature of Wright’s 1959 building seems, if anything, to grow stronger with time.

A complementary exhibition website accompanies the show, documenting each submission and featuring introductory essays by Guggenheim curators Nancy Spector and David van der Leer.

Contemplating the Void runs through 28 April 2010.

He’s showing some new work at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in Manhattan until the 13th. I totally lucked out and get a chance to see it first hand just before the weekend! You can also see more from Josh here.

Perfetti per fermare i Taxi a NYC!
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