Words // Staff Designboom

Presented at Salone Satellite during Milan Design Week 2013, Japanese design studio YOY have developed ‘Canvas’, a series of two-dimensional hanging furniture pieces. Constructed out of wood and and aluminum, the volume is covered by an elastic fabric – screen-printed with drawings of different types of furniture. The piece works when the frame is leaned against a wall, stretching when weight is applied – accommodating the user within the newly formed void. Available in three different sizes, the hanging seats come in stool, love seat and sofa variations.

image © yasuko furukawa

image © yasuko furukawa

image © yasuko furukawa

image © yasuko furukawa

image © yasuko furukawa

image courtesy YOY design studio

image © yasuko furukawa

image © yasuko furukawa

image © yasuko furukawa

image © yasuko furukawa

image © yasuko furukawa

Words // Staff AnOther Mag

“I first came to London in the late 80s. It was the place to come to buy good music – the record stores were so much better than the ones in Paris, especially round Portobello, places like Rough Trade, and other great stores that don’t exist any more. I would get on the train with a girlfriend, take the boat across the channel, “borrow” some records, party and maybe sleep in the park! Sometimes we’d stay in the Portobello Hotel but often we’d just sleep where we could sleep. I have such great memories of that time, going out at night and doing graffiti on the postboxes that were red instead of yellow…and the policemen were much nicer than the Paris gendarmes.

“I have such great memories of that time, going out at night and doing graffiti on the postboxes that were red instead of yellow…and the London policemen were much nicer than the Paris gendarmes.”

London is one of my favourite cities so it just seemed natural to open a club in the city. And I’m thinking of moving there so I needed to have somewhere to party when I come over. My ideal day in London would involve some old school shopping – a suit at Anderson & Sheppard, shoes from G.J. Cleverley – then dinner at the Ivy, followed, obviously, by a night at Le Baron.”

Graffiti artist and nightlife entrepreneur, the Lisbon-born, Paris-raised André Saraiva first came to London in the late 80s, seeking better music, Doc Martin boots and a kinder breed of law enforcer. His days were spent roaming the streets and record stores of Portobello, while the nights were made up of raucous parties and daubing his, now iconic, top-hatted Mr A. tag across the city.

Obviously, times have changed since he last evaded arrest and slept in parks during his London jaunts. Today, his right index finger is permanently swollen, testament to thousands and thousands of hours of spraypainting, and he is about to open the UK branch of his nightclub Le Baron. The Paris and Tokyo versions are famous as enclaves of star-studded hedonism, and London’s version looks set to operate on the same formula, with an added twist of nostalgia for Saraiva’s early memories of the city. And with the walls carpeted in works by Banksy and photographs by Olivier Zahm, and with the entrance stowed behind a secret door in an Old Burlington Street basement, Le Baron is sure to bring some neon-lit Parisian intrigue to late nights in London.

Le Baron London, at 13 Masons Yard SW1, now open.

Top image: André Saraiva in Lisbon, 1990s Courtesy of André Saraiva

Words // Alec Banks Highsnobiety

No matter where you reside, undoubtedly you’ve heard about the tragic attacks that took place at the finish line at yesterday’s Boston Marathon that has claimed the life of three people and left another 17 in critical condition and the total number of injured at 176. In time’s like these, we understand that you might not visit this site to keep up with hard-hitting news items, but the truth is, attacks like these are impossible to ignore.

As a web destination that champions the arts and individuals who use various mediums to evoke thought and expand minds, we were drawn to the works being projected onto the facade of The Brooklyn Academy of Music. For those unaware, New York City and Boston share a healthy and vibrant rivalry due to many factors – most notably due to being in close proximity to one another, and having a fervent fan base in all of the major sports.

Using a special van outfitted with projection technology that’s a mobile offshoot of the “We Are The 99%” projections on the sides of skyscrapers that wowed Occupy Wall Street marchers years ago, messages like “darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that” and simply “Brooklyn Loves Boston” were seen in big, blue abstractions.

We’ll leave you with a quote from Haruki Murakami; “most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest.”

Words // juggernut3 Arrested Motion

Our hearts go out to the people of Boston and the incredibly sad tragedy they are dealing with. We do however have some photos from Barry McGee’s mid-career survey at the ICA Boston to share with you (also see a video). Included in the exhibition are many of the works that the Bay Area artist has made famous including his bottle clusters, massive wall installations of his patterned and character-based pieces, tower of video screens, painted objects, and much more. Perhaps the most creative (seen above) was the R. Fong shipping container with a replicated restroom being vandalized inside.

Discuss Barry McGee here.

Words // Isabelle Doal Cool Hunting

Russia was the guest of honor at this year’s edition of Art Paris Art Fair, and thanks to the combination of a dozen Russian galleries in attendance, as well as numerous galleries from all over the world representing over 90 artists from the Eastern European nation, we discovered their distinct artistic take on humor, irony and utopia. Here are a few of the contemporary artists that stood out among other poetically engaging installations.

Alexander Shishkin-Hokusai‘s robotic installations borrow a vintage aesthetic in both style and mechanics as well as their gently erotic scenes. Maybe it’s due to the artist’s education at The Leningrad Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography—everything but fine arts—that his installations look more like scenes out of silent films, muppet theater or old-fashioned ads. The charm of his “kinetic sculptures” draw from a basic technique of mounting figures cut from paper onto wires and animating them with a kind of bellow or accordion pleat, which makes them move up and down along the wire. One installation features a naked woman, her baby and dog, along with objects such as a basin and towel flung into the air as if they were jumping on a trampoline while another comically gives rhythm to a couple making love.

The bubble machine by Czech-born Vladimir Skoda is decidedly the most unexpected and delightful find. His strange, round black sculpture is covered with holes, looking like a volcanic planet with its craters spitting rainbow colored soap bubbles. Cosmos-inspired, the work of the now Paris-based sculptor is full of spherical objects, which is his signature shape and almost the only one he is interested in working with. For him, the sphere best expresses the connection between inside and outside and the relationship between the artist and the public. Once a student of the famous French sculptor César Baldaccini, Skoda continues to work with iron and steel which he processes and forges all by himself in a search for a physically engaged fight with the material.

Like an oversized mobile suspended in a child’s bedroom, a massive replica of a human heart hung from the ceiling at Galerie Rabouan Moussion, twirling around gently. “Heart” seems almost naturally occurring, certainly because of its organic dirt material, but also because the intricate network of vein-like branches and trunks doubling as coronary arteries pointing out of the muscle flows so fluidly. Created by Russian artist Dimitri Tsykalov, who is known for creating these kind of anthropomorphic pieces and cheeky plays on material (check out watermelon in the shape of a skull on his website for more proof). Working with wood seems to be another passion of the artist, who proposes novel takes on the oft-stale still-life.

Elise Morin‘s large-scale installation gracing the entrance hall of the fair was nothing short of impressive. “Fossil 1990″ professes a shape like a dinosaur or tortoise at rest, while a gleaming shell made of hundreds of small circles is definitely more reminiscent of the skin of a fish, both by the range of colors comprising its “scales” and the way they glisten. Up close, the scales appear as small drums, with round frames covering a semi-transparent skin. But the drums are actually embroidery frames and their tops are made of plastic bags. Morin aimed to underline the “plastic track” our lives are leaving behind and to suggest what forthcoming paleontologists are likely to find as the mark of our modern civilization. The piece comments on the impact our everyday life and the role disposable objects have on the ecosystem. For this, Morin has received the support of Electrolux, which campaigns against the 115 million plastic bags used each year simply to throw away a vacuum cleaner bag.

Images by Isabelle Doal.

Words // Anthea Quay DesignTAXI

After giving Penguin’s classic ‘Kama Sutra’ book cover a makeover, London-based French designer Malika Favre decided to create a raunchy illustrated typographic series. Taking after the ancient Kama Sutra, Favre’s erotic typeface features sex positions that represent individual letters, from A to Z. Each of the positions, or letters, is also given a name, such as A for the ‘Arch’, S for the ‘Seagull’, and I for the ‘Imperious Pole’, G for the ‘Golden Gate’, and N for the ‘Naughty Squirrel’. To make things even more steamy—with the help of Guy Moorhouse, the Present Perfect team and other animators—all 26 letters of the risqué alphabet were transformed into moving (not to mention, mesmerizing) GIFs that make it hard for its viewers to peel their eyes away. Is this the most erotic typographic series ever?

[via The Kama Sutra]

Words // Lena Dystant Selectism

A cutesy take on Gremlins with a similar sinister feel, Takashi Murakami presents his first film – Jellyfish Eyes. After young Masashi loses his father, he and his mother move to the countryside where he discovers his new home is inhabited by creepy little creatures. All manner of madness follows which sees the sleepy town reveals its dark underbelly. Yeah, underbelly. Press play.

Words // Anthea Quay DesignTAXI

Facebook has rolled out a new logo, and given some of its other icons an update for the first time in years.

For its new logo, the social media giant has rid its square “f” icon of the faint blue line at the bottom, and the letter “f” is also pulled closer to the edge of the box.

Other official pages of the social network—from the mobile icon to the security icon—have also been redesigned, and their backgrounds featured in Facebook’s signature blue color, making things more uniformed.

According to web developer Tod Waddington of Cut Out + Keep, the Facebook’s new square “f” logo appeared on Friday in the company’s newsroom webpage; however, Facebook has not updated all of its pages yet.

What do you think of Facebook’s new logo and icons?

Old (left), New (right)

Old (left), New (right)

Words // Susie Lee Arrested Motion

JR, who we interviewed several days ago, has been working hard this past week (see Part I), pasting new work all over the city of Berlin for his Wrinkles of the City project and show at Gallerie Henrik Springmann. Just over a week since the French street artist arrived, he leaves the city having produced 18 different pieces in just seven days. As usual, much of the placement is sublime. Here are some photos below that JR sent us of a few of the finished walls.

Discuss JR here.

Words // Loke Shi Ying DesignTAXI

Chicago-based photographer Paul Octavious has photographed a series featuring old cameras with attached animal wings flying through the air.

The series is titled ‘Birds of Aperture’, and he photographs the inanimate cameras and gives them life by adding wings of animals to it.

These photographs set against a white background definitely bring new meaning to the phrase “bird’s eye view”.

Words // juggernut3 Arrested Motion

AM recently attended the much anticipated opening for Kenny Scharf’s latest showing at Paul Kasmin Gallery’s 27th St. location. Entitled Kolors, this new body of works center on three never before seen large scale sculptures. These 3-D creations revisit some of the symbolic characters which Kenny has developed over the past 30 years. Also on view were ten newly created paintings inspired by Color Field masterworks, which serve as a background to this fresh exhibition. Afterwards, a party was held at The Standard to celebrate the opening as well as the recently installed Squirtz statue. Check out all the opening night action below.

Discuss this show here. Discuss Kenny Scharf here.
Front image thanks to our friend Adam Wallacavage.

‘RAW WAR’, 1970 by Bruce Nauman

Words // Josh Davis Hypebeast

It’s somewhat hard to believe that “OBEY THE GIANT” – the short film based on Shepard Fairey‘s life – is actually the ambitious work of a 22-year-old RISD film student, Julian Marshall. On the other hand, it seems a starkly appropriate transference of power. After creating some buzz on Kickstarter and more than doubling his pledge goal, Marshall’s narrative film about the origins of Shepard Fairey’s notorious street art piece has been posted for public viewing on Vimeo. The film has received the approval of Fairey himself, and if its existence is any indication, is also the beginning of a bright future for Marshall. Enjoy the film above.

Scharf painting his mural on Houston in 2010 (Jim Kiernan)

Words // Christopher Robbins Gothamist

Famous graffiti artist Kenny Scharf was arrested early Saturday morning in Bushwick for plying his trade. According to an NYPD spokesman, officers found Scharf in front of 209 Morgan Avenue at 1:03 a.m. in possession of “two spraycans which he used to paint a snake on the wall of the establishment.” ArtSucks reports that Scharf wrote on his Facebook page that his arresting officers weren’t total Philistines: “Cops who arrested me were fans and wanted to talk about exit through the gift shop and even liked the tag.”

Scharf reveals more on his Facebook page:

at the first holding cell in Williamsburg (there were only 5people in the cell) the police were googling me and asking about things like the tunnel nightclub…Just got up from my wonderful cozy bed so thankful i got out last night otherwise i would have been in till monday and that would be beyond torture. it was intense and demeaning and im so grateful that ive got a nice clean home! the felons and thugs were all nice to me and i feel bad about their lives in and out of there constantly…I was in there 30 years ago and im sorry to say its much worse now. Kind of like hell.

Scharf, 55, is charged with making graffiti [PDF], a class A misdemeanor, and possession of a graffiti instrument, a class B misdemeanor.

Facebook via ArtSucks

Words // sleepboy Arrested Motion

Last weekend, the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (MAM) opened a new retrospective of the late Keith Haring’s work entitled The Political Line. On display were a staggering number of pieces, over 250 paintings and sculptural works with a focus on the importance of Haring’s art as visual activism, highlighting the diversity of his socio-political views. The exhibition will be on view through August 18th in Paris and is made possible with the support of Citizens of Humanity.

Discuss Keith Haring here.

Words // Dorothy Tan DesignTAXI

New York-based Japanese artist Yuken Teruya specializes in transforming disposable paper products like paper bags and toilet paper rolls into stunning works of art.

Inspired by his hometown Okinawa, he constructs fragile paper trees out of these commonplace paper objects and shows how the most mundane things have immense artistic potential.

In ‘Notice – Forest’, he creates beautiful tree sculptures with paper bags from McDonald’s and other well-known brands—the mini trees that seem to have sprouted out of the bags themselves are wonderful to behold.

In another project, ‘Corner Forest’, he turned cardboard toilet rolls into strange trees by carving intricate branches that extend out of them.

Head over to the artist’s website for more of his gorgeous paper art.

Words // Staff Juxtapoz

Our friend Gary Baseman has a very special week ahead as he prepares to open The Door Is Always Open at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on April 25. This will be the former Juxtapoz featured artist, illustrator, animator, and toy designer’s first ever museum survey, long overdue in our book. The survey will also feature paintings, photographs, toys, sketchbooks, and videos, presented in a “novel gallery setting that evokes Baseman’s childhood home, replete with family snapshots and furnishings.” Be there.

More from Skirball:

In a fun-loving style apropos of the artist, the Skirball caps opening day with “Gary Baseman’s House Party,” a public 18+ event, on Thursday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m. Gary Baseman will “play paintbrushes,” creating a spontaneous new artwork while indie rock band Nightmare and the Cat performs live. A DJ set by street artist and designer Shepard Fairey, as well as gallery tours and art-making activities, round out the evening. The opening-night program will be followed up by an array of Baseman-related talks, workshops, classes, performances, and family programs during the run of the exhibition.

Organized thematically, Gary Baseman: The Door Is Always Open examines the many facets of Baseman’s creativity and underscores the influence of his Jewish upbringing and American popular culture on his career. The exhibition presents more than 300 artworks and objects from his prodigious output and eclectic collections. Highlights include vibrant illustrations for The New Yorker and Rolling Stone; title card paintings and maquettes for Baseman’s Emmy Award–winning animated television series Teacher’s Pet; iconic artwork for the popular board game Cranium; and many of Baseman’s beloved, limited-edition designer toys. Also on display are examples of Baseman’s richly symbolic, sometimes dark paintings and documentation of his celebratory performance art. In new videos recently produced by the Skirball for the exhibition, Gary Baseman introduces the main themes of each section. In a separate gallery that recalls Baseman’s art studio, visitors can take a look at many of the artist’s sketchbooks and create art of their own.

Giving visual expression to the exhibition title, the artist has created the new painting The Door Is Always Open. Baseman explains, “We are titling the show ‘The Door Is Always Open,’ something my father would always say to me to remind me I always had a home.” The title also alludes to the “open door” the artist perceives between the realms of imagination and creativity and between fine and commercial art.

“We are thrilled to mount this first major exhibition on Gary Baseman, a true L.A. original,” says Robert Kirschner, Skirball Museum Director. “At the Skirball, we have been especially inspired by Baseman’s lifelong exploration of his Jewish heritage and the profound effect this has had on his exuberant, boundary-defying art.”

Gary Baseman
The Door Is Always Open
Skirball Cultural Center
April 25—August 18, 2013
Los Angeles, CA

Words // sleepboy Arrested Motion

Last week, MOHS Exhibit in Copenhagen presented all new work from Dennis McNett (featured) collectively entitled Wolfbats Are Real. Including wood block pieces in the standard format, the Brooklyn-based also created installations in the style of his previous shows – all paying tribute to mythical creatures that make up part of his imagery. After sharing some of the setup, we now have some fully realized opening photos for you as well below…

Photo credit: Henrik Haven.
Discuss Dennis McNett here.