Dunlavy SCIV loud speakers: customized and altered

just over 500 pounds a pair, here are the legendary pair of dunlavy SCIV loud speakers in oak that i wrote about earlier (original article)

like most of the amazing audio designers, john dunlavy had no patience for aesthetics, and while the speakers, are world renowned for their sound, their cosmetic design cues belonged to the likes of raymore flanagans.

some cosmetic intervention was necessary before blessing them into the house of god.

this started with stripping the speakers and taping off the front panel for protection. several coats of epoxy paint was applied. enough layers to mask the wood with out hiding the oak grain.

the final result was a gorgeous lacquered white ash finish including the vertical wood grains on these over 6 feet tall speakers

next was the question of what to do with the base planks?

we thought of discarding them and using a straight edged plank of wood sans the curvature but at the end we decided to keep them and modify them.

what we did was that we sand-blasted and stained them into dark walnut to contrast the white speakers and blend into the hard-wood floors below.

next, what about the aging black grills? white of course was the way to go, but what material could we use that was acoustically transparent yet visually opaque to hid the metal structure and the drivers?

when in doubt call france. we sourced these white sturdy acoustic fabrics from texaa in france with thanks to flow labs, and had them shipped. next was the issue of stretching them and adhering them to the metal structures.

 this proved to be the hardest part, as the fabric has no elasticity. on round one the fabric was stretched and adhered to the metal bars using super 77 and tack glue on the edges. it was held into place with micro clips to dry. it worked great at first. but a month on, the stretch is losing its grip and the super 77 is proving not to be very super. another solution must be out there and well come back once we find it. until then. by dd

saint laurent sans yves : /


oh hedi…. amazingly beautiful shots for the latest saint laurent, we may one day forgive you for getting rid of the incredibly designed YSL logo and replacing it with kinko’s laser print version, but for now we will hold a grudge. hope that’s ok xx. by cm

R.I.P. Emmanuelle


the emmanuelle film, based on an original novel by emmanuelle arsan, must have been every adolescent’s dream in the 70’s when it came out. released in 1974, the soft-focus french film was one of the first erotic movies to be shown in mainstream cinemas in europe…well, not all countries in europe. in the UK it was banned from the mainstream, and the unedited version did not appear in the country until 2007. today, the dutch actress sylvia kristel, died, aged 60. above a great picture of her at the 1977 cannes film festival. by uh

Martynka Wawrzyniak: smell me on october 20th

polish artist martynka wawrzyniak

smell me is a solo exhibition by martynka wawrzyniak. a mixed-media and performance artist known for incorporating unlikely substances into her work, wawrzyniak will be creating an installation reflecting a year long project where she acted as both investigator and subject exploring and capturing her biological essence.

working with a research team of hunter college chemistry students under the guidance of professor donna mcgregor the artist underwent multiple experiments to collect aromatic elements from her body. she was subject to rigorous sessions to extract the concentrated essence of her sweat, tears, and hair to create an olfactory-based self-portrait that will engage visitors in a visceral form of communication without visuality as primary form.

a limited edition of the original organic essences will be displayed in tear shaped chemistry vials as well as three candles that are made of paraffin that was scraped off wawrzyniak’s body then melted into 250 ml chemistry beakers.

“in today’s society we do everything we can to mask the natural scent of our bodies, thus forgoing an ancient form of animal communication. i wanted to isolate these primal human essences and deliver them in an environment devoid of other sensual distractions. the piece represents the true essence of a woman – free of visual prejudice.” – martynka wawrzyniak. by dd

Rem on History

“preservation is a highly artificial term,” he explained. “history happens and leaves its traces . . .  i have to say, i prefer history without preservation.”—  rem koolhaas by ars