OPEN EDITION UNTITLED (NUMBERS) LED CLOCK

Designed in 2006 by Jonas Damon.

TRAPEZOID WATCH

Trapezoid, a watch designed for fashion brand Issey Miyake by Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa, has gone on sale.

The sloping bezel displays numbers that are stretched like road markings so that they appear normally when seen straight-on.

MURAKAMI TO OPEN HOLLYWOOD ANIMATION STUDIO

TAKASHI MURAKAMI announced this week that he’s poised to set up a new animation studio in LA in summer 2009.

Operating under the umbrella of KAI KAI KIKI, his artist management & personal production company, the studio will be located on North Highland Ave in close proximity to the nexus of Hollywood studio activity.

Having proved his studio’s formidable animation chops with the Kai Kai Kiki-produced video for Kanye West’s “Good Morning,” and the “Superflat Monogram” short for Louis Vuitton, the company’s first pursuit will be the expansion of Murakami’s playfully fecal-friendly “Planting the Seeds” shorts starring his signature characters Kai Kai and Kiki that debuted at his “© Murakami” show in LA and Brooklyn last year into a feature-length film. Said Murakami about his new move into cartoons, “Animation and film have always been among my greatest influences, ever since I first saw ‘Star Wars’ and Hayao Miyazaki’s films. This studio represents a great step in the evolution of Kai Kai Kiki and gives me a closer proximity to the community of artists with whom I hope to collaborate as I continue my explorations of animated and live-action film.”

via supertouchart.

Kaws at Gering & Lopez Gallery

Kaws has his first solo show on display at Gering & López Gallery in New York. Works in the show range from geometric acrylics on canvas to bronze sculptures of the artist's head and a life size rendition of one of his better-known toy figures.

KAWS
Through 23 December 2008
Gering & López Gallery
730 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10019 map
tel. +1 646 336 7183

NightTalk: an interview with gallerist Mary Boone

click here!

BBC|ICE CREAM NYC FLAGSHIP 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

From the BBC blog:

Time flies… It’s been a year already in New York since our store opened and we have a few special releases coming out including this Billionaire Boys Club NYC T-Shirt(Moon Print) only available at the New York Flagship store this Friday(November 28th) at 11AM.

via BBC.

The Paintings at Terence Koh’s New Show Are Possibly Edible

By: Andrew Goldstein and Jada Yuan

At last night's blowout opening party for Terence Koh's new show, "Flowers for Baudelaire," questions of taste predominated. Not about whether Koh — who created a scandal in England earlier this year by showing a statue of Jesus with a huge erection — had gone too far, but about whether people had actually tasted the art. The show, which rising 23-year-old dealer Vito Schnabel (son of Julian) curated in the seamless, immaculately white photography studio of the late Richard Avedon's East 75th Street townhouse, featured an ethereal array of 51 white granulated canvases that were hypnotically blurred by the haze of a fog machine. Viewers were encouraged to remove their shoes before entering the space, where Koh, dressed in a black suit and bright white sneakers, was inviting guests to eat little flecks from the paintings. "You can lick them — let me show you, it's very sweet," he said. "I was just trying to make the simplest paintings possible. It's just plain canvases, corn syrup, and powdered sugar."

While one reporter followed his lead, not everyone was so eager to trust the artist, who has been known to use his own bodily fluids and other unpleasant materials in his work. The art dealer Jeffrey Deitch, who deemed the show "magical," wasn't biting. "The question is we don't know if it's powdered sugar or crystal meth," he said. "I travel with an official taster, so I have to wait for my taster to come." Artist Agathe Snow balked too. "I don't taste paintings," she said. "Did it taste like cocaine?" (No, it tasted like sugar.) Schnabel — who had set up the show through his friend Olivier Sarkozy, the half-brother of the French president and the owner of Avedon's finely appointed house — showed his faith in the artist by sampling the work but warned against overindulging. "I just imagine that titanium pigment wouldn't be good to swallow," he said, adding, "There might be some semen in there, I don't know. Who knows."

Upstairs at the party, an art-world crowd featuring Alanna Heiss, Klaus Biesenbach, Kembra Phaler, and Todd Eberle were joined by glossy figures like Anna Wintour and Salman Rushdie, with people spilling out onto a two-story patio. Sarkozy had installed two of Koh's paintings in his living room, and as the night progressed, the jostling of the revelers created a minor snowstorm of powder. Ann Dexter-Jones was wearing a black coat, but the entire back of it was white. "I bought a painting," she said. "I talked to Terence, and I said I needed to have one. And then I accidentally leaned on one and this happened. Now I'm a little worried." Lyor Cohen's black coat was similarly whitened, but only on the sleeves. He said he hadn't gotten near a painting; he'd just run into a lot of powder-covered friends who kept grabbing his arms, saying, "Lyor, how you doing?" Indeed, the paintings were shedding all over Sarkozy's bookshelves, which lined the floor of the room and an entire wall by the bathroom. (The shelves by the bathroom contained dozens of diet books: Digestive Wellness, Marion Nestle's What to Eat, The Omnivore's Dilemna, etc., as well as Connect Four and a DVD titled Scientology: An Overview.) At some point, guests noticed all the powder on the shelves and started making lines, then took turns scampering about the room with a lampshade on their heads. Whatever was in the paintings, they provided fuel for a memorable night, and an excellent show.

via nymag.

Plus Salt And Pepper Grinders.

LORI HERSBERGER

Lori is an artist from Switzerland who utilizes neon light in her work. Really great stuff!

KRIS VAN ASSCHE HIGH TOPS

ANDY WARHOL COLORING BOOK

The National Gallery of Scotland has a great assortment of coloring books for all ages, including this one from the famous Andy Warhol. “The large format 24 page book of Andy Warhol’s drawings of animals and various other pictures for colouring. Suitable for children and adults.”

BAPE x ISETAN SPECIAL ITEMS

Bape has produced a number of limited edition items, that will only be available in the pop-up store. The store opens tomorrow and will stay open until December 2nd. The series includes Panda-, Shark- and Tiger full zip hoodies, as well as a new Cow full zip hoodie, that also comes with a cow pattern on the front pockets.

Redefining "Bullet Time"

Timesculpture commercial by Toshiba was shot using 200 Toshiba Gigashot camcorders and is presented as an evolution to the famous "Bullet Time" introduced by the Matrix.

"Rather than showing a 3-D rotation of a still moment, this groundbreaking new filming process manipulates moving snapshots of time using Toshiba technology, redefining cinematic human movement". No CGI imagery was used on the commercial.

Make sure to watch The Making of Video!

Advanced Beauty | Updates

The NTSC / 5:1 Surround DVD is now available for pre-order enquires. The DVD will be released with four collectible covers. For those wishing for the High Definition release, we are working on HD digital distribution when the avenues are in place in early 2009. Meanwhile onedotzero are touring the full HD film to cinemas worldwide.

Watch the HD trailer

False / F.O.R.

EVERYTHING IS FALSE

FALLACY OF ROME is the conjoined brainchild of revered Grammy Award winning rapper Lupe Fiasco and Creative Supervillain Le Messie of the FALSE brand movement. A capsule collection embedded into Lupe Fiasco’s 2nd coming to his much sought after FALL OF ROME brand. The capsule collection contains hand-finished garments by the FALSE duo Le Messie & Amanda Scully.

Conceptualized around the “Hound of Hades” story-line that depicts the 3 minds involved in the birth of FALLACY OF ROME along with it’s possible journey into the depths of it’s future.

FALLACY OF ROME is a high-end capsule collection released internationally at only the best boutiques.

FourTrack iPhone Application

Sonoma Wire Works created a new iPhone application that allows you to record music anywhere. The process is as easy as sliding the record button to the right, belting out lyrics and hitting the stop button. With its clever interface, the four-track recorder allows you to execute a full harmony by recording one track while listening to the other three, and the WiFi compatibility makes it so you to upload your jam to any computer in WAV format in just about five minutes. Revolutionizing portable music production, FourTrack is a guaranteed hit.

You can purchase the application through the iTunes store for $10.

Art Dealer Emmanuel Perrotin to Start a Fund to Help Finance Artists’ More Expensive Pieces

"Emmanuel Perrotin, owner of the Paris and Miami based Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, has announced the formation of Artists’ Dreams, a vehicle which will allow investors to finance expensive pieces by leading artists. Perrotin has syndicated investments in several artistic pieces, reaching out to his wide network in the collecting community to fund works such as Piotr Uklanski’s Untitled (Floor Dance) piece, which was exhibited at the Guggenheim in 2007. As competition intensifies among artists, this new venture tries to fill a gap by allowing emerging artists to compete more effectively with brand name artists such as Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons, who often use very expensive materials and processes in their productions. Works financed through Artists’ Dreams will be sold exclusively through Perrotin’s two galleries, and investors will see returns on their investments out of the dealer’s cut once the work is sold. Perrotin has raised €2 million, and is also planning similar vehicles in conjunction with museums and other dealers, under similar terms. Perrotin has been building on his success recently, having regained the right to represent Damien Hirst as his client, and presenting two shows curated by Pharrell Williams (of N.E.R.D and The Neptunes) at his Miami and Paris galleries."

via artobserved.

The Fine Art of Surviving the Crash in Auction Prices

By ALEXANDRA PEERS

So where does it go from here? The art-market bubble has burst. Prices of contemporary, modern and Impressionist artwork tumbled about 30%, and sometimes more, at the huge auctions that finished last Friday in New York. There's no guarantee that further declines aren't yet to come.

The art market's crash -- for that is what it is -- threatens to remake the art world. In the past few weeks, auctioneers, dealers, artists and collectors have changed strategies and policies, and it's likely that future changes will be even more sweeping. With Sotheby's stock hovering at about $9, down from $50 a year ago, it's now cheaper to buy the 164-year old brand than all the art it sold in the past three months.

It's all been a reality check for art collectors. Noted one West Coast art dealer: "Their houses are worth less, their stocks are worth less, but they thought their Rudolph Stingel was still priced the same? No."

In the wake of the auctions, says Tobias Meyer, a vice chairman of Sotheby's: "The price disparity between good and great has widened to humongous." The problem for the trillion-dollar global art industry is that most of the art it has for sale is, by definition, just average.

Here, a look at how the art-market retrenchment will affect its players:
The Auctioneers

Cutbacks are coming. Sotheby's CEO William Ruprecht told analysts in a conference call that "we'll be resizing our organization" and "there are no sacred cows." And while Christie's is not publicly traded, the two top auction houses' moves often mirror each other.

The "recipe for all the auction houses has changed," said Michael McGinnis of Phillips de Pury auctioneers, in the wake of sales last Thursday and Friday in which only about 60% of the art the company put on the block sold. All the auctioneers are likely to focus on "volume control," offering more "focused, targeted" sales at the next big round of auctions next spring.

They're also likely to push more of the risk of selling art onto collectors. In recent years, in a booming market, auctioneers often offered sellers guarantees of minimum amounts -- but the auction house would profit on the upside. Mr. Ruprecht told the analysts that "going forward, we will generally not be using our capital for guarantees."

Sellers, of course, may not let the auctioneers off easy. They'll increasingly be requesting clauses in their contracts allowing them to take art off the block if market conditions change and promises regarding catalogue entries and the touring and exhibition of their works, says Jo Backer Laird, art-law attorney at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler and former general counsel of Christie's. If they're smart, she says, they'll insist that specific marketing proposals for their pieces be included in their contracts.
The Dealers

It's been lucrative to be in the art business in the past few years, but it's also been quite costly. "Dealers fighting for market share have had to open spaces around the world or lose their artists to other galleries," says John Martin, a London dealer who also runs the Art Dubai contemporary art fair.

In that light, last week's contemporary art sales were "a disaster, but it's a good one," says dealer David Nahmad, one of the world's most active art buyers. Dealers, by and large, were the ones ponying up for the art that did sell at auction in recent weeks, with Larry Gagosian, Jack Tilton and Robert Mnuchin raising paddles.

The downturn was foreseeable, and some dealers started strategizing early, says Robert Goff, principal of Chelsea's Goff & Rosenthal gallery. Last April, his gallery halted price increases, trimmed its stable of artists and cut down on art fairs. Meanwhile, "we're still selling," he says, though not at the breakneck pace of last year. In New York, only a couple of galleries have closed their doors so far, but several are opening only "by appointment" and not staging new shows.
The Artists

And for the legions of young artists who came of age during the boom, right now "it's a case of spray and pray," says New York private dealer Andrew Terner, who curates of the art collection of the Four Seasons restaurant.

“The price disparity between good and great has widened to humongous.” Tobias Meyer, a vice chairman of Sotheby's

Consider Peter Doig, a Canadian who paints works inspired in part by horror films. Mr. Doig's works skyrocketed in the past five years -- from about $400,000 in 2003 to millions of dollars as Peter Norton, Don and Mera Rubell, Charles Saatchi and even the Museum of Modern Art added Doigs to their collections. Collector "waiting lists" for his new works inflated prices and, last year, Georgian industrialist Boris Ivanishvili bought one for $11.4 million. But last Wednesday a Doig priced at about $5.5 million couldn't break half that and didn't sell.

Painter Kehinde Wiley, 31, has had tremendous success with his skilled, Renaissance-style portraiture of black men. He is collected by Susan and Michael Hort, LL Cool J and Russell Simmons, among others. Mr. Wiley says he's aware that his paintings, meant to be somewhat spiritual, have an element of being "high-end luxury goods for the wealthy." But he says that before he even arrived for the party celebrating his recent show at Deitch Projects, "I heard half [the works] were sold."

Indeed, since nearly $747 million of art did change hands at the auctions (a total that would have been considered robust just five years ago), what was in demand? Paintings that sold well were by veteran artists with a small following of extremely passionate collectors in search of works that rarely come up for auction: Edvard Munch, Joseph Cornell and Kazimir Malevich, by and large, defied the slump. Blue-chip, mid-career artists about to have major shows or who have major patrons also are faring well, at auction and in private sales. Women artists, by and large, are selling better than men, as they play catch-up on the price run-ups of the past few years. Works that had been owned by a famous collector, such as Donald Judd or even Lehman CEO Richard Fuld Jr., largely escaped the rout, too.

Nonetheless, some big plans have been scaled back for big names. Since last spring, Sotheby's and Japanese art star Takashi Murakami have been negotiating and structuring a solo sale of his works, similar to the Damien Hirst blowout in September. Now, those plans have been canceled, Sotheby's insiders say.
The Collectors

Certainly collectors have seen the value of their art fall sharply -- and those who've bought in bulk or taken out loans against their collections could face serious financial hits. But art collecting is a passion, even an addiction, that doesn't end based on market trends, says Larry Warsh, a leading collector of U.S. and Chinese contemporary art. Indeed, the collector may now be in the catbird seat.

Dealers "are offering very fair prices," says Miami real-estate developer and art collector Craig Robins. Indeed, he argues that the volume of art sales going on in the weak economy points to the "strength -- not the weakness -- of the art market." Right now, says auctioneer Christopher Burge, Christie's chairman emeritus, collectors are "finding excuses not to buy." But he's seen several downturns in 40 years at the rostrum, and they don't last. Ultimately, art behaves much like luxury real estate, he says, with the best material holding and increasing in value. Moreover, bad economies have traditionally spurred better contemporary art, he says.

That said, art sellers of all stripes are refocusing their marketing on the very top end of the market. Earlier this month, in a soaring penthouse apartment overlooking Carnegie Hall, Palm Beach art-fair organizer David Lester spoke to a crowd that included host Wilbur Ross, coal billionaire; members of the Bancroft family (until recently, owners of this newspaper); and designer Mario Buatta. Urging them to attend his American International Art Fair in February -- and its new menu for VIP guests of golf outings, private museum tours and dinner at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago -- he revealed the silver lining of the current downturn. "Things are going to come to market that would not normally become available," he said. "There are opportunities."

Ms. Peers writes on art and the art market for The Wall Street Journal.

Write to Alexandra Peers at alexandra.peers@wsj.com

via wsj.

Guinea pig festival in Peru -

Happy Saturday!

A closer look at Colette

Catching up with colette’s creative director and buyer Sarah Lerfel, the International Herald Tribune gives us a closer look into the Wonderwall re-designed Parisian retail front. Sarah discusses the role that streetwear and art have played in the development of the concept shop, and how this was reflected in the re-design by Wonderwall.

Medicom Fabrick x Alakazam Collection

Medicom Fabrick got together with Will Sweeney’s Alakazam!. Using the all-over monster print by the artist, they produced a series of product, including a messenger bag, pouches, room slippers and a cushion.

The Medicom Fabrick x Alakazam collection is now available at Haven.

russian mafia plushes by gal shkedi @ rotopolpress, germany (nov 14-jan 28)

"Israeli-designer Gal Shkedi's series of RUSSIAN MAFIA Plush Toys [previously featured on TRE in early 2008] will be on exhibit at RUSSENS (Russian Exhibition) @ Rotopolpress Gallery - Kassel, Germany (Nov 14 - Jan 28, 2009) - and will also see the inclusion of a new AK-47-totting gang-member; KIRILL!"

via toysrevil.

stainless steel showcars

Back in the 1930s, early stainless steel producer Allegheny Ludlum formed a partnership with Ford to show off their new, novel material. The result was a line of stainless steel showcars, starting with the 1936 Deluxe Coupe and ending with the 1967 Lincoln Continental Convertible, with a '60 Thunderbird in between.

Examples of all three are extant and parked at the Crawford Auto Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Even cooler, Allegheny Ludlum is still around, and still has two running Continentals that it uses for special events.

via toolmonger

Converse Chuck Taylor Leather Pack

The Converse Chuck Taylor comes in a nice premium navy leather pack. Everything on the upper comes in navy leather, including the toe cap. Undefeated has it available now.

The Swiss Chocolate Knife

Designed to look like a Swiss Army Knife, the Swiss Chocolate Knife is made from the finest Swiss chocolate and hazelnut praline.

1800s Vampire Killing Kit sells for $14,850

Made in America roughly 200 years ago, this authentic Vampire Killing Kit came stocked ready to battle bloodsucking creatures of night with stakes, mirrors, a gun with silver bullets, crosses, a Bible, holy water, candles and garlic. Housed in an American walnut case with crosses carved in the top, it recently sold at auction for $14,850.

via selectism

Visvim Kiefer-Hi 2 Tone Pack » visvim-kiefer-hi-2-tone-4

The pack consists of three Kiefer Hi’s, each coming in a mix of leather and suede. Supply has them in stock now.

via highsnobiety.

For your next vacation

A set of carrying cases molded with a gun, an axe, or a knife, designed by PinkWolf.

Via boingboing.

PO-MO: Skate Cream

Skate Cream — A Sculpture from PO-MO.

Design and the Elastic Mind @ MOMA

"One of the strengths of the Museum of Modern Art in New York is its ability to transfer ideas and experiences from the galleries to the web. Among the accomplishments, and perhaps the finest, in this vein is Design and the Elastic Mind. In short, the exhibit is about the reciprocal relationship between science and design in the contemporary world. How adjustments in human behavior are understood by science, and made to useful objects through the design process. Many of the objects that feature on the web are not on view on site. The web portion itself is a free flowing exhibition, allowing us to bounce back and forth through topics, people and place and create our own trajectory through Design and the Elastic Mind."

Pico Pocket Projector

Now this is super cool.

The Pico Pocket Projector ($430) is an ultra-portable DLP/LED projector that measures just 2 by 4.1 by 0.7 inches, weighing only 4.2 ounces. It projects a screen size up to 60 inches on nearly any surface. The Pico also has a rechargeable battery and a built-in speaker (though headphones or external speakers are recommended).

New Dutch five euro coin

The new Dutch five euro commemorative coin by Stani Michiels commemorates architecture.

via Design Observer

LED WATCH

By Japanese designer hiranao tsuboi of 100%.

Terence Koh: Flowers for Baudelaire

by Ariston Anderson

"Last night France's first brother Olivier Sarkozy hosted an unusual opening in his swank Upper East Side abode, which also happens to be Richard Avedon's former studio. Budding art dealer Vito Schnabel (son of painter and filmmaker Julian Schnabel) curated the show featuring Terence Koh, who formerly worked under the alias asianpunkboy. Known as much for outlandish high-fashion statements as for his shocking works often covering pornographic themes (not to mention his apparently guileless approach to it all), everyone was abuzz about what kind of paintings he would show.

In keeping with a common Koh all-white trope, the studio has been turned into a smoky white room, the floor and walls gessoed into a white landscape of slopes eliminating the right angles of the room. After removing their shoes to enter the room, guests are treated to the "flowers," gorgeous readymade canvases, simply constructed from corn syrup and powdered sugar. The results are sweet and mesmerizing in their simplicity, a delicate tribute to the French poet's Les Fleurs du mal."

Flowers for Baudelaire
Open Tuesday-Thursday, 11-6pm
Through January 2009
407 East 75th Street
New York, NY 10021

via coolhunting.

New Handmade Plush from Bytedust

MonstaMix, from last month's Monster Art Rally at Gallery1988 SF. Baito is from the recently opened Plush It show at Ruban Rat in Newtown, Australia. All from Bytedust.

via plasticandplush.

FAILE | “Lost In Glittering Shadows” at Lazarides Gallery

Showcasing a fusion of Native American themes and American pop culture, FAILE continue to impress art aficionados with their signature comic book meets wheatpasting meets painting techniques. On display are a series of collage like paintings alongside smaller pieces and even some wood work featuring an impressive array of skill, which the collective has been showcasing since their formation in the late 90’s. FAILE trace back to some of their Arizona roots with their current exhibition titled Lost In Glittering Shadows at the famous Lazarides Gallery in London. The exhibition will remain open until November 16th!

Photography: Jeremy Gibbs

via SuperTouch

Rockin’ Jelly Bean Crewneck Sweatshirt:

Billionaire Boys Club Rockin’ Jelly Bean Crewneck Sweatshirt.

via bbc.

Callpod's Fuel Tank.

Callpod's Fuel Tank only charges two devices, but it needs no plug at all, at least not on the road; the rechargeable lithium ion battery, which you power up when you're still at home, can then output approximately seven times the charge needed for the average mobile device.

Ocarina for iPhone

SMule: Ocarina [Zeldarian] from SonicMule, Inc. on Vimeo.

Ocarina is the first true musical instrument created for the iPhone. This application is sensitive to your breath, touch and movements.

Introducing $23,000 Denim, Courtesy of Damien Hirst

by Alisa Gould-Simon:

"Brit artist and professional provocateur Damien Hirst has teamed up with Levi’s for the second time. And the fruits of the collaboration -- “three works of art of spin-painted 501 styles and the development of a limited edition collection,” says WWD -- are nothing to scoff at. The collection in question features 12 denim styles, all ornamented with classic Hirst motifs (think “skulls, colorful spots and tropical butterflies,” adds WWD). With jeans slated to retail for around $230 and tees marked at $83 (they’ll be stocked at Levi’s flagship shops as well as Milan’s 10 Corso Como), Damien Hirst X Levi’s is a relative bargain. It’s the spin-painted 501’s that will quite literally cost you an arm and a leg. Each pair features an original Hirst painting atop a reproduction of Levi’s classic 1947 style, the 501, and is priced in the ballpark of $23,000. The cost obviously isn’t too off-putting for some, however; as WWD reports, a private collector already snapped up a pair of the jeans, which recently went on display in Paris at Colette and at London’s Cinch boutique."

via blackbook.

Ato Matsumoto 2009 Spring/Summer Cow Hide Boot

Looking at a March release date. oki-ni currently has a pre-order for the boots.

via hypebeast.

wildbrain x kidrobot

MUNNY on the Run! from Kidrobot on Vimeo.

New animation for Kidrobot.

Nigo day

8tv25ch vol.0 part A from bazza168 on Vimeo.


8tv25ch vol.0 part b from bazza168 on Vimeo.


It's Nigo day here at aarting, so we thought we'd post some stuff about him. For those that don't know, Nigo is the founder of the super Japanese street brand "BAPE". Included in the post is a two part, hour long special tour of Nigo's house and another short showing off the interiors of his many stores.

Enjoy!

"Good business is the best art."

Filip Dujardin

Filip Dujardin is a Belgian photographer who likes to alter his architectural shots.

via todayandtomorrow.

The Young Brand @ The Museum of Ethnography of Neuchatel

Open now, and running until the 1st of March, 2009 The Young Brand is a comprehensive study of youth culture in Switzerland.

via LaMJC.

MWM x MAXALOT MEGA WALLPAPERS

Artist Matt W. Moore or MWM teamed up with Maxalot to create a new type of wallpaper art that people are able purchase.

Axel Peemöller

Axel Peemöller designed to 2 typeface for an exhibition called “Wedding Dress” in Berlin. He ‘recorded’ the creation process by connecting a metal wire to the mouse and a pen at the other end. Awesome.

‘Mason Massacre’ by Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel.

EA Sports x Pony “Feed the Cat” Sneakers

"Legendary video game company EA Sports linked up with Pony to create a pair of sneakers dubbed Feed the Cat. Featuring a sleek, casual design alongside the traditional EA colorway, the kicks will be distributed to select tastemakers during this years nation-wide Madden Tour. Certainly the most popular sports game in the US, Madden continues its annual tradition with a slew of celebrities and influencers set to participate in the gaming tour, this time bringing Pony along for the ride."

via hypebeast.

Ubiq Patent Grace Low

Available in three colors over at Chapterworld.

Sämmer shelf / bookcase

Sämmer shelf / bookcase

By Amsterdam based product designer Martin Sämmer.

From the designer:

The design of this object allows to participate in the evolution of its shape. By using the Transformer-Shelf you will constantly rearrange the different units towards each other, creating myriad different shapes. This will have an influence on your impression of the object, the cognition of the surrounding room and the way you identify yourself with the Object. Everybody can put his own ideas into the Object. In the end, the design becomes a process that will be partly submitted to the CONSUMER, who will also partly become a shape-producer, and therefore a ‘Design-Prosumer’.

Super Obama World

Destroy evil piggies as Obama in the icy world of Super Mario with a touch of Alaska. Make your way across the snowy state while grabbing American flags and jumping on attacking racks of clothes! play it here.

via io9

Phalanx Studio’s Politichio Resin

Phalanx Studio has just announced the availability of their new Politichio: The Golden Nose and Lying Puppet fine art resin. The new 5.5” piece explores the greed and deception of politicians through the classic tale of Pinnochio, the wooden puppet turned boy whose nose grew ever longer with each lie told.

via vinylpulse.

Just a litle Murakami for you

More from the Hi & Lo Exhibition curated by Hiroshi Fujiwara and presented by Takashi Murakami.

Head Porter Ballistic DJ Bag

Head Porter, the Japanese bag maker, has released a simply designed DJ bag. Really nice stuff. The-Glade now has these in stock.

uniform experiement x Tai Hachiro (泰八郎) Glasses

"uniform experiment has teamed up with eyeglass purveyors Tai Hachiro (泰八郎). uniform experiment chooses an interesting shape to the co-branded frames as the front of the glasses feature an angular approach starting at the arms which take on a less aggressive and more conventional shape towards the bridge. The glasses come complete with a satin bag secured by a wrap. Available now at IT stores in Hong Kong with a suggested retail price of $3999 HKD (approximately $516 USD)."

via hypebeast.

LOUIS VUITTON STORE NYC GETS TAKASHI MURAKAMI TREATMENT

Louis Vuitton recently revealed plans for the vinyl installation this weekend that will cover the entire store in Murakami’s iconic Monogram Multicolore print for the house.

From: Slamxhype

Softhard x Juno Mak Vinyls by Michael Lau

The Softhard x Juno Mak Vinyls crafted by Michael Lau. The set of figures reflect Chinese hip-hop pioneers DJ Soft “Jan Lamb” and MC H “Eric Kot” which make up the duo of Softhard along with fellow Hong Kong singer and music producer Juno Mak. The set including a DVD and book of the making is limited to 300 pieces and scheduled to release on November 15th at THINK SILLY Hong Kong with a price tag of $2380 HKD (Approx. $307 USD).

Villa 1 / Powerhouse Company

Villa 1 / Powerhouse Company

Architects: Powerhouse Company
Location: Netherlands

Villa 1 was the first villa commissioned to Powerhouse Company since its founding in May 2005.

The forest, like most of the Dutch landscape, is man made. Mostly Douglas Pines were planted there in the 1950s for the production of straight stems that could then be used as beams. The trees became mature enough to be harvested in the 1970s, paradoxically just when it became immoral to cut trees. The landscape thus turned from industrial to being natural. Now the site falls under the local “building-in-nature” regulations, which include a number of restrictions, among which height limitations for the gutter lines and volumetric restrictions for what could be build above ground. Since the spatial needs of the house called for at least twice the volume allowed by the regulations, we designed it upside-down: all day functions above ground and all bedrooms below, but with ample daylight access.

SPACE INVADERS ANIME

A Space Invaders animated video that Taito recenly put together for their Game Station arcades in Japan.

RJDJ - iPhone

"RjDj enables music to react with the environment and turns the sounds we typically come across in a normal day into a rich orchestra of life,” continues Stefan Glaenzer, investor at RjDj. “It effectively builds a bridge between the real world and the electronic world of music – turning what has traditionally been passive sound into an engaging, interactive and highly creative experience."

RJDJ

Adobe Photoshop CS4

"As real as it gets"

Advertising Agency : Bates141, Jakarta, Indonesia

behind the scenes at ibelieveinadv.com

1stavemachine

1stavemachine launches their new site with full screen video- just wicked.

Dennis Juan Ma x Converse

"Converse's hundredth anniversary celebratory collection of Chucks, called 1HUND(RED) (a special artist series with proceeds going to the Global Fund), has made for a lot of creativity applied to the shoe. The project is a year-long release of shoes designed by notable artists, including Auckland-based illustrator, Dennis Juan Ma, whose shoe is number twenty in the series."

via coolhunting.

'Economist' delivers pizza

"BBDO New York created a series of Economist-branded pizza boxes, which were then supplied to more than 20 pizzerias in the Philadelphia area. The boxes cover such topics as "Arable and permanent crop land by country" and "Mushroom exports to U.S." (Thanks for all the 'shrooms, Canada!) There were some Twister-based promotions, too."

via adfreak.

Tate missed out on valuable Rothko works

"Given the current state of the art market, the recent news of London’s Tate Modern’s decision to reject a gift of 30 Rothko paintings 41 years ago sounds almost painful. An investigation into the Tate’s archives reveal that in 1967 Rothko offered the London museum the generous gift which is now speculated to be worth $1billion. The offer included works from the artist’s 1961 retrospective at the MoMA and his Seagram mural paintings from 1958."

via artobserved.

TOM SACHS AND HELLO KITTY IN PARIS

The Hundreds Footware - The Johnson Mid-Top

The Hundreds Footware’s debut project. Their initial offering is constructed of suede and nubuck leathers, with a JAGS-embossed gumsole, and vulcanized sole for the sake of comfort. Accented with a silver top lace-hole and tonal foxing. Check out more images after the jump.

The Hundreds 5TH Artist Series

The Hundreds’ 5TH Artist Series has been released. The contributing artists include Robbie Conal, Tofer, MR44, David Choe and Usugrow.

via hypebeast.

DARBOTZ X NIKE SPORTSWEAR AIR FORCE 1

Nike AF1 x Darbotz from Randy Rais on Vimeo.

Indonesian artist Darbotz recently paired with giant sportswear brand Nike to produce a stunning video featuring his trademark monochromatic style.

According to the video’s description, the video was done in conjunction with the AF1’s new position in the Nike Sportswear division.

NAHA HARBOR DINER

The Naha Harbor Diner in Okinawa, Japan is a life-size rendition of a banyan tree, also known as gajumaru.

The Banyan Town shopping center near the entrance of Onoyama Park features a twenty foot tall tree with a pan-Asian restaurant nestled amid its branches. Accessible by a spiral staircase around back and an in-trunk elevator, the restaurant specializes in locally grown and organic harvested foods fresh from the farm.

Post halloween goodness!

Medicom Toys Kubrick: The Beatles “Can’t Buy Me Love”

Headed by SiLLY THING, Medicom Toys are releasing this cool Kubrick set featuring The Beatles titled “Can’t Buy Me Love”. Each are large-scale 68 (approx 27 inches). Coming December, 2008.

via BBC/Icecream.

HIROSHI FUJIWARA & TAKASHI MURAKAMI "HI & LO" SPECIAL COLLABORATION PRODUCT

There is a Visvim sneaker coming, featuring an all-over flower pattern by Takashi Murakami. There will also be a series of t-shirts coming, a collaboration between Kaikai Kiki and Fragment Design.

ART FUTURA: SPLASH

By Mona Kim, Todd Palmer, Olga Subirós and Simon Taylor from Program Collective for the Water for Life exhibition at the Expo Zaragoza 2008, a fair that focused on water and sustainable development..

19th edition of Art Futura, the Barcelona-based festival of Digital Culture and Creativity, closed on Sunday with the Prize Giving Ceremony. Awards were handed to the creators of best pieces in 3D and digital animation and of the best Spanish videogames.

The challenge for the artists was to fill in two entire floors of the Water Tower, the Expo's signature edifice. Two floors might not seem much until you add to that a huge empty space of 40 m high that the designers had to occupy with a work which could somehow balance the architecture and get people to walk up the ramps that wrap around the tower's interior.

Go Vote!

Damn, that's funny.

FIRST LOOK: GLENN BARR’S “HAPPINESS” SCULPTURE

GLENN BARR is putting the finishing touches on the prototype sculpt for the forthcoming bronze edition of his “Happiness” painting that will be released in a limited edition of 15 early next year. No word on pricing or availability yet, but stay tuned!

Via supertouch.

Takashi Murakami x Hiroshi Fujiwara “Hi & Lo” Opening Reception

Pics from the new show featuring influential Japanese designer Hiroshi Fujiwara and Pop culture icon Takashi Murakami.

Hi & Lo
November 1st - November 15th, 2008
Kaikai kiki Moto Azabu,
Tokyo, Japan

via hypebeast.

Keyboard Bags

By Joao Sabino.

Designed by João Sabino, a designer from Portugal, Keybag is a handbag made from hundreds of computer keyboard keys.

INTERACTIVE MIRROR

Interactive Mirror from Alpay Kasal on Vimeo.



By lit studios.

From the designer:


In an effort to dive deeper into HCI (Human Computer Interaction) by hacking together parts easily acquired, I set out to build something especially "non-computery" - introducing the Interactive Mirror. On paper, this construction looked like it'd be novel and fun. I was pleasantly surprised to see it was way more fun than expected once I fired it up.

The cognitive machine that is your brain automatically deals with things like size and distance and perspective, a job it hopefully does fairly well, you don't have to give a mirror's reflection much thought. However, interacting with buttons and animation layered on your reflection and the world behind you is unlike any other touchscreen experience. This unexpectedness, to me, is precisely the allure of HCI and all things touch-capable.

Frieze After the Freeze: Jerry Saltz on the current art market

At London’s big art fair, signs of financial trouble abound. But maybe that’s okay.

• By Jerry Saltz
• Published Oct 24, 2008

Two weeks ago, the Death Star that has hovered over the art world for the last two years finally fired its lasers. It was October 15, the day the stock market fell more than 700 points—again—and a month after Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch collapsed and Damien Hirst pawned off $200 million worth of crapola on clueless rubes at Sotheby’s. Against this backdrop, at 11 a.m., the gates of London’s Frieze Art Fair opened, and in streamed the international traveling circus of bigwigs, collectors, curators, advisers, museum directors, trustees, models, movie stars, and critics like moi.

Talk of financial doom filled the air. Karl Schweizer, UBS’s head of art banking, told one reporter, “We are in a liquidity crisis.” Money manager Randy Slifka added, “There is blood on the streets on Wall Street.” Collectors talked about “sewing up our pockets.” Yet much of the art world was playing on as if nothing had happened. A German dealer told Artforum.com, “This economic mess will all be over by January.” Christie’s Amy Cappellazzo spun her house’s recent sales: “If you bought something, you bought something real.” In truth, most of the speculators are buying something real bad or badly overpriced.

In fact, though, things were different. Those of us who have frequented Frieze could see that something was off. Dealers and assistants who in recent years were always busy with clients now stood or sat quietly. Sales were happening, but slowly, one at a time. The claim of “It’s sold” was replaced by “I have it on several holds.” Although the megagalleries like Gagosian and White Cube teemed with moneyed types and very tall women in very high heels, many younger dealers looked perplexed. A gallerist who entered the field in the go-go aughts and who had sold only two pieces by 5 p.m. that first day asked, “What’s going on?”

As I made my way through the 152 booths, I thought about the moment in Titanic when the designer of the doomed luxury liner warns Kate Winslet to find a lifeboat because “all this will be at the bottom of the Atlantic.” When I tried this idea out on attendees, several said I was “a buzzkill.” I asked, “Isn’t the buzz already beginning to disappear?”

If the art economy is as bad as it looks—if worse comes to worst—40 to 50 New York galleries will close. Around the same number of European galleries will, too. An art magazine will cease publishing. A major fair will call it quits—possibly the Armory Show, because so many dealers hate the conditions on the piers, or maybe Art Basel Miami Beach, because although it’s fun, it’s also ridiculous. Museums will cancel shows because they can’t raise funds. Art advisers will be out of work. Alternative spaces will become more important for shaping the discourse, although they’ll have a hard time making ends meet.

As for artists, too many have been getting away with murder, making questionable or derivative work and selling it for inflated prices. They will either lower their prices or stop selling. Many younger artists who made a killing will be forgotten quickly. Others will be seen mainly as relics of a time when marketability equaled likability. Many of the hot Chinese artists, most of whom are only nth-generation photo-realists, will fall by the wayside, having stuck collectors with a lot of junk.

Much good art got made while money ruled; I like a lot of it, and hardship and poverty aren’t virtues. The good news is that, since almost no one will be selling art, artists—especially emerging ones—won’t have to think about turning out a consistent style or creating a brand. They’ll be able to experiment as much as they want.

But my Schadenfreude side wishes a pox on the auction houses, those shrines to the disconnect between the inner life of art and the outer life of commerce. If they don’t go belly up or return to dealing mainly with dead artists, they need to stop pretending that they have any interest in art beyond the financial. Additionally, I hope many of the speculators who never really cared about art will go away. Either way, money will no longer be the measure of success. It hasn’t made art better. It made some artists—notably Hirst, Murakami, Prince, and maybe Piotr Ukla´nski—shallower.

Recessions are hard on people, but they are not hard on art. The forties, seventies, and the nineties, when money was scarce, were great periods, when the art world retracted but it was also reborn. New generations took the stage; new communities spawned energy; things opened up; deadwood washed away. With luck, New Museum curator Laura Hoptman’s wish will come true: “Art will flower and triumph not as a hobby, an investment, or a career, but as what it is and was—a life.”

via newyorkmag.

Suckadelic Suck Off

Suckadelic's group show "Suck Off" features custom artist interpretation of his Sucklord 600 figure. Up now at Munky King, the show features one-of-a-kind custom Sucklord figures displayed in removable blister packaging complete with custom backing boards. The show is sponsored by Vinyl Pulse.

Munky King
7308 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323.938.0091

A Bathing Ape Skullsta

"As part of their Fall 2008 collection, Bape has released these new pair of Skullstas. These sneakers are fairly simplistic, coming in a white upper and with Bapesta logo. You can choose among five colors for your logo: silver, black, navy, white, and yellow. Available now at Bape stores worldwide."

HÉRMES A/W 2008 HI-TOP SNEAKERS

Lobo and Vetor Zero: "Gol Lagarta"

"Vetor Zero and The Ebeling Group’s Lobo packed loads of heartfelt character animation into this feel-good spot for Brazilian airline Gol. "

via motionographer.