I see life as a 'work in progress' and you can see my progress by browsing the blog to your right. >>
I am a New York City based designer with 12 years of experience. I keep my designs simple and to the point with a focus on a client's messaging and branding. To see my design portfolio please visit the worker section of my site.
I studied fine art in college and have tried to continue with my own independent art and projects. To see my art please visit the work section of my site.
So I have always been a fan of modernist chair designs and I have always heard the names of the designers. BUt I never really have learn much about the designers and how they approached design. I recently was given a book on Charles and Ray Eames and perhaps I will write a review of it here once I get into it.
However, I came across this article that originally appeared in Playboy magazine, July 1961. Probably back when folks read Playboy for the articles and not for the naked girls. The language in the artcile is a little flighty, but overall a good quick summation of the major designrs of the day. Whats nice is that the article is contemporary to when these designers were still producing their designs and it adds to the imagination looking backfrom 2009 and the fact that their designs are still relavant and very saleable.
My friend Derrick forwarded me a petition for Obama to create a new cabinet position dedicated tot he arts. It was inspired by an interview with Quincy Jones on NPR where he advocates the creation of the position. If you think it is a vital role fo rthe future of the country and our culture then please sign the petition here.
Two weeks ago I saw the Alexander Calder: The Paris Years 1926-1933. It was the same weekend I saw the photo exhibits at the Museum of the City of NY. Well the difference is stark. Even though the the work was both monochromatic, the energy that came from Calder’s work was electric. And you can see the play, the joy and the thinking that went into each peice. The type of thinking and believing in oneself that becomes unconscious around ctions seemed predestined they feel so right. How else could someone make a prolific mechanical circus with such detail and precision. The gestural nature of the his wire drawings and that is realy what they are. Drawings. Frozen in time. But still breathing every second as if we just watched them been drawn by the artist, over and over again. Something I should take note for myself.
And his early kinetic work. I love the early mobile that is perfect balanced to have its counterweight move in perpetual motion while hitting perfectly placed objects, such as a can, bottle, or wooden box. Do I enjoy art that reveals to me the joy of creating it? Sounds like I’m romanticizing it. But having had the feeling of creating some art, perhaps I enjoy art that makes me nostalgic for myself. Can you fell loss for things that never took place.
And finally as I mentioned above. The crazy circus. Part of feels like this wasn’t never meant to be art, but true play. Meant for those who only wanted to play and perhaps feel that emotion without thinking about it. As look t the peices and see the video of it in action you become entralled by the mechanics, the inventiviness and perhaps the childlike spectacle which make syou play long by guessing what circus character will come up next. And when they do make an appearances, trying to persuppose the motin before it occurs, only to be completely pleasantly foiled to feel and see something that wasn’t in your imagination.
So, over the last weekend I made a visit to the City Museum of NY and saw two interesting photo exhibits.
The first is titled Eudora Welty in New York: Photographs of the Early 1930s. It is a recreation of the her first solo exhibit held in 1936 at the Photographic Galleries of Lugene Opticians in New York City. In addition they also include photos she took of NYC. Many are anonymous portraits that capture the mood of the 30′s in each location. The poor sharecroppers of the south and the brooding streets of NY.
The second exhibit captures the South Bronx at their height of deterioration from 1982-1984. Entitled Broken Glass: Photographs of the South Bronx by Ray Mortenson, its a fairly compact but intense show. Alot of photos lined up right next to eachother kind giving you a relentless view of the endless abandoned buildings. Every where you look a very different and stunning view. I imagine it must have been similar to being in the neighborhood in the 1980s. Destruction in every direction. There are a lot of interesting plays with scale and dimension where the black white phtoos really flatten out even though they are depicting 3D spaces.
