Berlin: Architecture

I.M. Pei's extension to the German Historical Museum.
Tower near Potsdamers platz
Jewish Museum
I was talking to this architect one night and asked her which building I should make a point to see. She named the building that she worked in as one of them and went on to describe how the building was constantly changing because the inhabitants could raise and lower these panels on the outside. Well I totally forgot the name of the building but the next day I was riding around and decided that this may very well be it.
Old GDR building
I was a little lost at this point ....
Berliner Philharmoniker
I took photos of the buildings that I found aesthetically pleasing for the most part. Although, there were some funny/failed attempts in places that helped to tell thte story of rebuilding after the war/wall.. For instance, in a section of the city called Kreuzberg there are old buildings that were preserved by squatters. The otherwise fate can be seen in the tacky 60s/70s structure around the corner.

Berlin: Things I Remember

Recycling bins-for different colored glass, I think.
Holocaust Memorial. It was chilling to walk between the blocks, towards the center. The ground sunk and the blocks rose around me.Gideon explained this to me but I have forgettten the person's name who is known for making the statement.
I cannot eat as much as I want to vomit.
Tiergarden
Downstairs at the Berlin Dom
Its probably because of the time of year, early-not quite spring, but Berlin seemed gray with accents of green. I found this to be very calming.While I traveled alone, I was super lucky to hav my friend Gideon there and to have also met Jorge and Katharina. My trip wouldn't have been as great without them. So I will have to take the next few posts to really attempt to cover all my experiences there.

Roaring Twenties

No coffee tables were harmed during this shoot.

Done

So the shelves and the desk are finished. Things came together.
Cat lamp, bowl of toy mice, pottery by my talented friend Mel and bird illustration.
I hung these glass containers with the intention to hold plants, but without the reason to position them near sunlight. They now hold shade-loving plants. Ty Jeannius.

Frankenhooker

Santi brought this gem home last night.

The DVD cover reads, "From the creator of 'Basket Case' and 'Brain Damage'... A terrifying story of sluts and bolts." Instead of drinking a self-made potion, this mad scientist, employeed by the power plant in Hoboken, New Jersey, choses to drill holes into his brain to gain maniacal genius and relief from his conscience. A brilliant adaptation.

Bearin New York

Thanks Kris

The Armory Show

The Armory Show is collective showing of art work from galleries worldwide. I went this past weekend. One of the pieces that stuck out in my mind was Thomas Hirschhorn's " Tool Table" from the Arndt & Parnter Gallery in L.A.
In the process fof finding this image I found that David Byrne had been to Arndt and commented on the piece.
"On another floor in another room (many of the successful galleries have expanded rapidly) there was a piece by Thomas Hirshhorn that I liked of manikin hands holding aloft literary tomes and ordinary tools — a sort of hilarious intellectual “workers arise!” image.

An idealized revolution on a (large) tabletop. I can imagine this as a crude proposal for a large-scale monument that would have been made years ago in the former East. Maybe done here by a high school senior using available materials: paperbacks rather than more impressive bound volumes, and puny screwdrivers and measuring tapes rather than hammers and sickles. And of course all held together with packing tape, a Hirshhorn specialty by now."-DAIVID BYRNE

In a Tate interview Hirschhorn states, "I always think, energy yes, quality no."

Makin' It

So. The shelves(that I have previously posted about) and table have been completed. I will give you a little peek now and a better look later when our apartment is NOT a disaster area.

Desire > Trash

Most mornings I listen to NPR or BBC radio. Increasingly, there is more news about human waste, as in the stuff we produce and then throw out... er... I mean. To live in NY is to endure desire for everything around you: the newest electronic devices, sneakers, beauty, better apartment, athe best nightlife, more, more and more. I digress! I really want this book ABC3D by Marion Batallie for sale Oct 2008
and this chair from ebay:Maybe blogging the desire is enough... but the chair is used and I highly douubt that books will be the reason for continued global warming.... :)

The Good Herb

... as in world renowned designer and typography, Herb Lubalin.

Retrospective

The shelf is ah-huge. I may or may not post the outcome. All I can say is that S and I have been busting a** for two weeks, nights and weekends. Tension some/all-the-times high. But last night we broke out into a fit of laughter.

Penguins

Penguin Book covers. Thanks Merv

Vintage logos

Eric Carl posted: Collection of vintage logos from a mid-70's edition of the book World of Logotypes. Thanks Pablo

We Need A New Ism

Guernica 1937
Picaso was criticized for his political abstinence.
However, after the bomb was dropped on Guernica, he joined the French Communist Party.

Process: Shelves

You may remember a sketch I posted for some shelves we are building. Well they are underway. Sanding and staining last week.Measuring. Remeasuring. Correcting . Measuring....I sold my dinning table so its delivery on shelf parts until this project is completed. My living room is essentially a lumber yard right now but we are gettting there.

Leary

"I'd just like to see thinking come back in style." - TIMOTHY LEARYSpeaking of thinking, take a look at FLOW market. via Newstoday

Resonation

From Stefan Sagmeister's Things I have learned in my life so far
thanks Daye

Furry Happy Monsters

I know. I know! more youtube.... this is so cute though.

Thanks Chris

Spanish American War

I need not attempt witty retort with this one.

Military Industrial Complex

In other news I learned that my brother will not deploy to Baghdad. My genes exhale in relief as someone else's gasp. This clip was edited into Eugene Jarecki's film called Why We Fight

Zanti Misfit

Still from an episodes called The Zanti Misfits from The Outter Limits television show

Where The Magic Happens

A friend sent this to me today but we don't know it's creator. Speaking of sexual slip-ups, word on the street is that Time Out Magazine is taking submissions for the front cover of the Spitzer Issue. I do wish I could see all the entries

Future World

I really like the detail in thought and execution seen in this Paul Sahre piece. Designing for a paper company, in this case Sappi, has to be the best. I image it one a the few chances that designers get to interject their own ideas into their work... or maybe its because you get to play with an idea that doesn't bear the weight of a logo, money and 15 different people's opinions....

William Kentridge

William Kentridge is considered to be one of the leading artists in South Africa, and his work has brought him recognition around the world. In an animated film dating from 1989, Kentridge paints Soho Ackstein, a man within whose power it lies to feed, or to starve, the poor of Johannesburg standing at his door . In his paintings and animated films, Kentridge has been highly critical of the Apartheid regime. His films highlight the economic disparities and harsh exploitation, alongside the humiliation and discrimination that were the lot of the Black population of South Africa . Economic conditions have not improved much for the Black population since the replacement of the regime and the transfer of power to a new leadership. - hereWhat interests Kentridge is Time; its passing, the traces it leaves, the memory that events, beings and objects leave when we close our eyes on our past. His movies are based on 20 to 40 charcoal/ pastel drawings. Each frame is shot by erasing partsof the drawing and re-drawing them - here


thanks Sebas

Lokale Farbe

So I am headed to Berlin in a month for my birthday. I want to see what all this fuss is about!
NYT reported on Berlin's graffiti today

Word

by James Joyce from Breed

Weightless

by Erika Januger

Thanks Daye via 72dpi

The Guy Loves Pulp

Comic book brought back from Colombia.Recent book purchase: Exploitation Poster Art. Its one of those books you could look through a hundred times and still find something new.

Weekend: Plans

Relaxing: there is nothing like it.Study for drawingI have been searching for instructions to build a floor to ceiling shelf that will best serve our needs and the space. There are a few books out there on building furniture but nothing close to what I am looking for. Below is a diagram of what I've designed and what we will attempt to build over the next month. More to come....