Hasta La Ideas

(Photos: UnBeige)

A fashion show at Grand Central Station? Such was the promise of the exquisite rail-themed invitation we received from Moncler, the Grenoble-founded, Milan-based company known for its heritage-inflused alpine wear and sharp eye for young design talent (Giambattista Valli designs the extraordinary Gamme Rouge line, and Thom Browne is in charge at Gamme Bleu, both of which have sent Moncler’s fashion credibility soaring). Our early arrival for Sunday evening’s presentation of the fall/winter 2011 Moncler Grenoble collection led to a prime perch on the balcony, where the curious sipped champagne above the swirl of weekend commuters and speculated about where, when, and how exactly the show would take place. The consensus was to keep looking down. A row of ski-goggle-wearing models soon appeared on the main floor, motionless in retro-hued skiwear inspired by architect, designer, and ski buff Carlo Mollino: think waterproof tweed, stretch flannel, tartan nylon, and laminated wool sweaters in warm hues of burgundy, mustard, and greenish grey. The well-insulated group slowly grew to cover the floor around Grand Central’s famous clock, and just when a few people were ready to beat a path uptown to the Tommy Hilfiger show, the spotlights switched on, the music started, and the stern-faced skiiers came to life in a fashion flash mob that eventually grew to 160 dancers (they had been rehearsing for a week, according to Moncler’s PR mavens). Enjoy:

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We’ve only been to Detroit once and while there, nearly a decade ago, we were constantly wondering if we’d get to see Robocop cleaning up the streets. No, that isn’t entirely true, but we’re still very big fans of the Paul Verhoeven classic (we even liked the sequels). So too do the actual residents of the city, purely judging from the reaction Sweet Juniper‘s Robocop Kid costume received this past fall. Unfortunately, despite all those positive feelings, it appeared that the efforts to raise a Robocop statue somewhere in the city had been struck down before they even began by Mayor Dave Bing, who said about the idea on Twitter earlier this week, “There are not any plans to erect a statue to Robocop. Thank you for the suggestion.” But not so fast! After hearing the news that the mayor wasn’t into it, Reuters reports that a group of artists have banded together, saying they plan to raise $50,000 to help build the monument to the all cop, half robot, half man. The group has launched DetroitNeedsRobocop.com as well as a Kickstarter page, raising close to $5,000 in just over a day. What’s more, they’ve even found a location for where they’d like the statute to be placed. Turning around quickly with the news of the fundraising, the mayor’s office has now said “that the mayor would consider using public land for a donated RoboCop statue.” So fingers crossed, as there’s a chance Murphy might still be immortalized after all.

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If you’re not in or around Chicago at the moment, you’ve likely heard about the mayoral election happening here later this month. It’s the first time in decades that Richard M. Daley hasn’t been a shoe-in (simply because he’s decided not to run this year) and it’s clearly the second or third most exciting to happen in Chicago politics in recent days (Obama ranks up top, with this and the ousting of Governor Blagojevich rankling for second place). And while Rahm Emanuel looks to be the shoe-in successor, the race isn’t over until it’s over. Surveys and interviews filled out by the candidates have been printed or posted for months, covering everything from crime to education. However, the one we were unaware that we’d be most looking forward to has been released: the Landmark Illinois‘ Historic Preservation Survey (pdf). Questions range from “What is your favorite modern building in Chicago?” (Carol Moseley Braun scores points for answer Rafael Vinoly‘s Booth School of Business building, William Walls loses them for his pick of the hard-to-love McCormick Place) to the more specific/political, “Do you support the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF), in existing TIF districts, to assist with the rehabilitation of historic buildings?” It’s an interesting peek into the not-often voice opinions of the candidates (except for Gery Chico, who didn’t answer), and makes it difficult to pick a favorite based solely on the answers to this one survey.

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The fun parts of big civic architectural projects are getting to see the finalists’ renderings, then learning who won the commission and getting to take a look at what they have planned, and then actually getting to go inside the finished building or walk around the park or whatever the project happens to be. The painful part is where the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial has just found itself in: talking about how much it’s going to cost and what it’s going to take to construct it. The project, you might recall, involves a major overhaul of the area surrounding St. Louis’ iconic Gateway Arch, with landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh landing the job to make it a more inviting environment. This past week, a public meeting was held to discuss the project, at that time announcing that it wasn’t going to cost the previously estimated $300 million, but would likely wind up costing closer to $600 million. While the nearly doubled expense before ground has even been broken doesn’t seem to have terribly rattled anyone — it hasn’t been released as to how much is coming from private funds, local government, the National Park Service, etc., so that probably helps. And who wants to think about expense when the most exciting news of the meeting was that gondolas are planned to ferry visitors across the Mississippi River to both sides of the planned park. Gondolas! More specifics about the project, released at last week’s meeting, can be found here.

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(Photos: Paul Kasmin Gallery)

Record snowfalls have turned New York City into a pure white canvas for Will Ryman‘s bright pink and red rose sculptures, now in full bloom along Park Avenue between 57th and 67th Streets. The writer turned artist (who, as the son of Robert Ryman, knows a little something about all-white surfaces) created the monumental flowers as a kind of tribute to his hometown. “With these roses I wanted to do something that was larger than life and site-specific,” he said in a statement. “In my work I always try to combine fantasy with reality. In the case of ‘The Roses,’ I tried to convey New York City’s larger than life qualities through scale; creating blossoms which are imposing, humorous, and hopefully beautiful.”

For this, his first public art exhibition, Ryman used stainless steel, yacht-grade fiberglass resin, and automotive paint to create 38 giant pink and red roses that range in height from three to 25 feet. Each of the eight sturdy clusters harbors a similarly outsized brass ladybug, aphid, beetle, or bee. Meanwhile, melting snow will reveal 20 accompanying sculptures of individual rose petals, which have been “scattered” (as much as steel slabs can be) along the Park Avenue Mall between 63rd and 65th Streets. We suggest a Valentine’s Day stroll, “he-loves-me, he-loves-me-not”-style. On view until real buds can take over on June 1, “The Roses” is presented jointly by Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York City’s Department of Parks & Recreation, and the Fund for the Park Avenue Sculpture Committee.

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