art

patti smith – polaroids

i remember the first time i saw patti smith polaroids in paris at “la fondation cartier” and the book published along with it. that was so great and so poetic, i guess people are nowadays a little more into those not so tech-ish thing but at the time that felt fresh (even if polaroids are not so fresh per say, i know) so i was happy to see another selection of her pictures this week end in the ny times. so from top to bottom, left to right we have: Pope Benedict XV’s slippers / a replica of William Blake’s life mask / Virginia Woolf’s bed /  Susan Sontag’s grave in Montparnasse Cemetery / Constantin Brancusi’s grave, also in Montparnasse / Robert Mapplethorpe’s slippers. more here. by pp.

CATEGORIES: art, eye candy, music, photography

george condo

to say that i dislike george condo’s work is not quite right, i hate it but this selection of paintings, drawing and sculpture makes me feel better about his work. it’s on view in london where i’m not but if i was i would have a look. sprueth magers london. by pp.

CATEGORIES: art

nick cave – soundsuits



“nick cave is an artist who makes costumes for sculpture. actually, the costumes are the sculptures. he calls them “soundsuits,” because they’re loud. pitched at a decibel the eye can hear, they armor the body in dyed feathers, brilliant sequins, bugle beads and fake flowers, thatched twigs, strips of old sweaters and gaggles of pipe cleaners. they may have tall chairs or wicker baskets for heads. there’s no way to know if they’re male or female, or of what race or class, but they’re too dazzling for anyone to care.”

not the nick cave you think about, though it’s music related since those amazing costumes are featured in alvin ailey shows. mr. cave himself a former dancer for ailey, now turned artist knows what he’s talking about when it comes to dance. now on show at mary boon read more here by pp’

CATEGORIES: art, fashion

Ian Wallace gives us a hint

some new work by vancouver based artist ian wallace (honestly, i had no idea he was a vancouverite, but then again, i didn’t know his work before either even though i shouldn’t admit it since he schooled the likes of jeff wall and rodney graham) at hauser & wirth. that through the minimalist bend, he fragments ‘windows’ between art industry and art imagery. calm, sleek and mysterious.  by kl

CATEGORIES: art

paper wars: whatever happened to them?

the original Ak47 in paper

the modified Ak-47 by hiroko shiratori

the mills bomb (“pineapple” grenade), initially conceptualized in 1915 by golf club designer william mills, and here in paper.


these are still cool and relevant. the whole idea of “paper” and “war” is already great to start with, but the immaculate, detailed pieces delivered on the words. “paper wars” was an exhibition of paper reproductions of classic weapons, that was shown at the craze gallery in london in 2008. the group show represented a selection of international artists/ designers, like designer ben wilson, product dsigner el ultimo grito, designer pixelgarten, object guru hiroko shiratori and the like who took the idea of cut n’ paste to a new level. since then the group has disbanded and no news has been heard short of their ongoing individual works. a shame as this would be a relevant show today! although not to worry, more wars are sure to come, and unfortunately unrelated to paper! by dd

CATEGORIES: art, design