Ride the wave

Last exam on Tuesday, moving in ten days, it seems as though summer is around the corner... I'm praying that the weather improves dramatically so that we can frolic down by the lake in the sun, catch some rays and maybe play in the waves.

Until then I can always just look to Katsushika Hokusai's beautiful woodblock print The Great Wave off Kanagawa (the first of a 36 print series called Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji)

Or the W's room-sized re-creation 

Or my potential accent wall

Or Alberto Seveso's Ink Rider 

But for now, I guess I'll try to enjoy the rain and cool weather as summers in K-town are supposed to be ridiculously humid. Good luck with exams!


- Life is good

[Wave Editorial, Great Wave, Painted Wave, Ink Rider]

Listening to: 'Turbulence' - Different Sleep
Observations: Lazy ass day
Craving: Sleep

Tempting Temptation

Alright so its exam time and though I'm being reprimanded for posting one cannot help being tempted by the forbidden so I came on here to post something rather relevant that I found while cleaning out my magazine drawer...

- You're Nothing but a Pack of Cards, 2011,  Wolfe von Lenkiewicz

All will be explained... have you ever heard the story of the temptation of Saint Anthony?


Anthony is famous for being one of the first hermit saints who 'fled' (in the noblest sense) to the desert in order to be completely cut off from civilization in order to better himself and become closer to God. Well the devil, that pesky fellow, was none too pleased and sent an array of supernatural temptations, some in the form of demons, to tempt and haunt Anthony away from the path of God. We all know how this ends though, Anthony stays true to God and the nightmarish apparitions disappeared.


The story of St. Anthony is probably not most people's first though upon seeing Wolfe von Lenkiewicz's You're Nothing but a Pack of Cards (above). Art history student that I am I saw this 2011 painting and dug into my brain slides where I retrieved two works that precede the above in subject matter: Martin Schongauer's beautiful engraving, Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons (1470-75) and Michelangelo's oil painting, that was obviously copied after the aforementioned print, The Torment of Saint Anthony (1487-88).


And so the tradition of reproductive images endures in the history of art... context is for another day

All I really wanted to insinuate from this post is that though we are tempted by the trivial things and can be led away from those arduous tasks we must complete, in the end you will prevail. Happy studying or whatever it is you're doing.

- Life is good

[Torment, You're Nothing but a Pack of Cards, Temptation]

Listening to: the 'Mellow' playlist
Observations: Candles and the studying threesome in my room and Happy Birthday EM!
Craving: First exam to come and go

Hair vs. Art

I must apologize for my lack of posting consistency lately. I've discovered Pinterest and Instagram and as a result they've turned the internet into my own personal playground which leads me to neglect food, sleep, school, blogging...etc. On one of my binges I stumbled (not using Stumble Upon) this amazing artist Jimmy Chen and his work called The Painter.

He's taken some very famous paintings and scarily similar iconic hairstyles and matched them together... it's the most awesome. I want to be able to sculpt starry night out of my hair, I've already drawn it on my face.

[Jimmy Chen]

- Life is good


Listening to: 'Sweet Disposition' - The Temper Trap
Observations: Excited for tacos
Craving: Summer

Storyboard XI

These are the times when I have the most work yet these are also the times when I plod through the internet with an uncontrollable fervour looking for distracting photos... Oh well Jan van Eyck and I are on a break:

The crystalline Chanel set for the Fall 2012 collection. I don't know how Karl manages to keep coming up with ways to completely transform the Grand Palais, but each season they get more and more exceptional. However, nothing can top the time he imported a chunk of an iceberg for a Couture show.

Divine art? This image was snapped in Bankok when the sun shone through the clouds creating a hauntingly beautiful angelic figure in the sky.

Credit goes to my friend Meaghan for this... Artist Sean Avery takes our old CDs (when was the last time you bought a CD?) , shatters them and uses the splintered shards and turns them into mind blowing sculptures. Hands down my favourite, this one is a dragon made of old circuit boards and disks.

Just an image I pulled from a rather outlandish editorial. Her piercing eyes and red makeup are beautifully contrasted by the washed out colours of the rest of the shot. Wouldn't mind that cage ring

Sum sum summa... if I didn't have two completely different sized feet I would be out rocking these ALDO sandals with a vengeance.

This is not just a beautiful photograph but actually a sculpture created by American artist Andres Amador in the sand. He carves gigantic patterns into the sand (some 300 x 500 ft) in a matter of hours all to be seen fleetingly and then washed away. It's the perfect example of ephemeral art and in a way reminds me of Robert Smithson's Sprial Jetty (below).

The final model from the Threeasfour Fall 2012 collection. She looks like some sort of poison ivy plant and an amphibious gladiator. 

No it's not a roller coaster, but actually an interactive staircase/ sculpture by German artists Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth. This came from a whole article on staircases... which was surprisingly interesting and I can now say that I will forever appreciate staircase design.

When I get bored of my collection of Crayola pencils I may just turn them into a fascinator of sorts. I could be the next Philip Treacy. I'd hang this shot in my 'salon' if I had one mostly because I'm obsessed with Jil Sander right now and I love to colour. Art and Fashion, awesome.

I'm always in awe of our planet, especially after watching documentaries like Planet Earth or Life. This photo was taken from space and shows a lava crater in Mauritania. Makes me want to go travelling (again)...

Street artist Mark Jenkins turns the "street into a stage" with his wonderful sculptures made of ... packing tape. And apparently he's taking a break from making these brilliant sculptures and is off to judge a tape art contest, who knew those existed?

- Life is good

[Chanel, Clouds, CD Dragon, Headshot, Sandal, Stairs, Headshot 2, Sand, Spiral Jetty, Threeasfour, Tape Art, Crater]

Listening to: 'Wonderwall' - Milo & Otis Remix

Observations: Jealousy is kicking in thinking about my family packing for their adventure in China

Craving: Wishing I could go with them

Let the sun shine

Though I was initially pissed when Mo, my housemate's dog, broke his way into my room thus waking me up and upsetting my artful floor-nest of clothes, I really am glad he did. It's a beautiful day and even though my prospects of enjoying fresh air are limited I think a run is on my horizon. I'll leave you with this wonderful editorial from the February issue of Harper's Bazaar featuring Bette Franke shot by Lachlan Bailey. This is what I really wish I could do today, or how I would dress, or where I would be give the choice:

Take it easy out there.

- Life is good

[Fashion Gone Rogue]

Listening to: "Sun" - Kenton Slash Demon
Observations: I hate Vasari
Craving: That hour we lost to be returned

Storyboard X

I'm lazy these days (as opposed to usually, right?) so I'ma do a storyboard and lookee here, this is my TENTH, wow what an achievement.

One of my courses this semester is on German Architecture from 1800 - 1945 and it happens to be one of the greatest classes of all time. I like that it is not solely style based and in addition we look at cultural movements in the evolution of the German state and their influence on style... savey? Here we have the front door of architect Peter Behrens' house in the Jungendstil style which is characterized by dynamic, fluid lines similar to the curves seen in nature. Though Behrens adhered to this movement, he was one of the pioneers of the German modernist movement which moved away from abstraction and turned more sober and utilitarian.

Karlie Kloss at Kenzo showcasing some of their beautiful resin fruit earrings. The oranges almost look candied and ready to eat... yum

I love a good advertisement and this Mercedes commercial is both brilliant and intriguing because of the mix of science and art. If I had the money, sure I'd buy one.

Here's a shot from a Fashion Gone Rogue  editorial. I love this image because of the elegance of the model and the contrast between her dark shroud and the white stone of the building. Also I'll nerd out with some architectural jargon, but she reminds me of one of the Caryatid's from the Acropolis, female figures used instead of columns (below). She's the literal embodiment of a Corinthian column, the most feminine and decorative versus the stark, masculinity of the Doric column that she stands next to.

I discovered a new blog called The Cool Hunter and it really is... cool. This post dealt with amazing locales around the world that they recommend you should visit. Here we have Aiguill e du Midi in Chamonix; a mountain in France with one of the highest cable cars in Europe that leads to a panoramic viewing platform carved into the mountain. I'm really in the mood to explore.

Over three weeks ago Marc Jacobs showed his Fall 2012 collection where he employed sculptor Rachel Feinstein to create the set which was one of the best of the season. It looked like an abstract Dr. Seuss village from Oh the Places You'll Go, one of my favourite childhood books.

Photographer Roe Ethridge's still life reminds me of the tradition of still lifes I studied in my Dutch Baroque painting class last semester. Beautiful and deadly at the same time his version shows the fruit in one of the last states of decay whereas painters of the Baroque usually subtly alluded to the slow decay in the attempt to communicate a message about the brevity of life and vanitas. Below for you to compare is Caravaggio's Still Life with Fruit on a Ledge - upon first inspection it is just a basket of fruit, but all the food is just on the cusp of becoming inedible and rotting. There are worm holes in the apples, the leaves are drooping and the grapes are becoming discoloured.

And finally Style.com introduced me to this hilarious blog Darcel Disappoints by author/illustrator Craig Redman. In preparation for a 15 year anniversary party/show in Paris at the famous Colette boutique, Redman made a celebratory video called 150/15 which shows some of Colette's famous fans: fashion insiders, musicians, actors etc. It's really really cute and I'm a big fan of the achingly funny blog with it's sarcastic humour.

It's sunny outside! Have a great day all.

- Life is good

[Caravaggio, Roe Ethridge, Kenzo, Fashiongonerogue, Show sets, Cool Hunter, Peter Behrens. Darcel, Darcel Video, Mercedes]

Listening to: "The Half Killed" - Dario Marianelli (from Atonement, it's beautiful)
Observations: I need to fix my McQueen calendar... and clean my room... and redeem my donut win from Timmies
Craving: To be able to do a better squat

Adventure is out there

This intriguing, amazing editorial from Harper's Bazaar Australia has me in the mood to go travelling. It's one of those days where I need a change of scenery and this is the type of scenery I want to see... 

 

You know the joke about how Disney told the greatest love story in 8 minutes whereas it took Stephanie Meyers 4 books and even then it was mediocre. Well, this one is pretty fab and there are no words. It's so ridiculously atmospheric. I want to pack a bag with clothes like those and end up in the outback with a tent and my iPod for company. This is when fashion is right, so very right.

- Life is good

[Fashion Gone Rogue]

Listening to: "One Day" - Wankelmut

Observations: Hating on the weather

Craving: To be off on an adventure