Thursday, March 31, 2011

Pluck


"If you're going to try, go all the way. Otherwise don't even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives, jobs. And maybe your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery, isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance. Of how much you really want to do it. And you'll do it, despite rejection in the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods. And the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is."

Charles Bukowski

Monday, March 28, 2011

Object of Desire: Ursidae




My apartment is probably the most sparsely furnished of anyone i know. Having to leave behind a house full of personal items, clothes, records, books and furniture when i left Ireland, i vowed to keep my purchases/hoarding tendencies in Canada in check. Although not one of the bear necessities (groan) in life, I've been eyeballing this beanbag from Chicsindesigndotcom as it's functional, comfortable and adorable. Want.


Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Marble House


Judging from the feedback regarding the previous two mixes, some of you seem to be enjoying them. So here's another one!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

39 Forster Place



It was thanks to Donal Dineens radio show that i found the music of Keith Jarrett or rather it found me. Returning home late one night in October, high on a potent mix of Apostasy's legendary hot chocolate and kisses from the man i was falling in love with, the first few notes of 'The Köln Concert' ebbed from the stereo and knocked me sideways.

Over a decade later the album still has the power to engulf and mesmerize me. That December my first love and i made an agreement, as poor students we would only exchange one small present for Christmas. Unwrapping our gifts in our first home together, it appeared that great minds thought alike: Two copies of 'The Köln Concert'.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Logorama




I am late to this one: Logorama has to be the most visually dense and interesting animated piece i've seen so far this year.

It's a short film that was directed by the French animation collective H5, François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy + Ludovic Houplain and was presented at the Cannes Film Festival 2009. It opened the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and won a 2010 academy award for best animated short. With over 2,500 contemporary and 'vintage' logos, i can't even begin to list the corporate and cultural giants it references in 16 minutes.

Beautifully animated and set in a highly stylized Los Angeles, H5 states "Logorama presents us with an over-marketed world built only from logos and real trademarks that are destroyed by a series of natural disasters (including an earthquake and a tidal wave of oil). Logotypes are used to describe an alarming universe (similar to the one that we are living in) with all the graphic signs that accompany us everyday in our lives. This over-organized universe is violently transformed by the cataclysm becoming fantastic and absurd. It shows the victory of the creative against the rational, where nature and human fantasy triumph."

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Tell The Truth As If It Were Lies


“But what is the good of friendship if one cannot say exactly what one means? Anybody can say charming things and try to please and to flatter, but a true friend always says unpleasant things, and does not mind giving pain. Indeed, if he is a really true friend he prefers it, for he knows that then he is doing good.”

Oscar Wilde

Friday, March 18, 2011

Architectural Anomaly Part 5: Il Girasole



At first glance ‘Il Girasole’ appears to be a regular structure. Well, as regular as a modernist villa built in the Po Vally near Verona, Northern Italy can be. Appearances can be deceptive however, for ‘Il Girasole’ is a revolving L-shaped villa that rotates imperceptibly on a fixed circular base.



The structure, which was built in the early 1930's, became known as ‘Il Girasole’ which means 'The Sunflower' as it allowed the building to follow the sun. Originally the brainchild of engineer Angelo Invernizzi and architect Ettore Fagiuoli, it was developed with the aid of creative friends; a mixture of architects, artists and furniture designers.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Vivian Maier: Hidden Treasures


Snippets of an era that were seemingly destined to be forgotten. That is until 2007 when John Maloof attended an auction in Chicago. He was working on a local history book Portage Park and whilst researching, had gone in the hopes of finding any old images that depicted Chicago. It was here that he accidentally stumbled upon on something which would change his life: the work of Vivian Maier.



Her belongings had been left in a commercial storage locker and were being sold off due to non payments. Maloof didn't realise the full extent of what he had acquired until he began to examine the negatives. As he looked through her images, he gradually developed an interest in street photography and inspired by her work he began taking photographs.


Her life story is still vague. Born to a French mother, Maier herself spent time in both France and America. She was an aloof but at times outspoken woman who who moved to Chicago circa 1956. It was here that she worked as a nanny, mainly for North Shore families for four decades. Those who knew her said she remained single and kept to herself.


In her spare time, she would walk the streets armed with a camera, the results of which were never shown to anyone. It's questionable as to if she really viewed the results herself, judging from the huge number of undeveloped film that was left behind when she died at the age of 83 in 2009. As he continues to explore her photographs, Maloof discovered that Vivian traveled the world in 1959. She visited and photographed places like Canada, Egypt, Bangkok, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, France, Italy, and Indonesia. He also noted that she traveled alone which would have been unusual for a single woman to do at the time.



Out of the more than 100,000 negatives, about 20,000-30,000 shots were still in undeveloped rolls from the 1960's-1970's. These are gradually being developed and according to Maloof there's still 90,000 negatives to scan, a few hundred black and white rolls and about 600 color rolls to develop. To date he has safely archived over 3000 of her prints and scanned/archived about 10,000 negatives with the help of Anthony Rydzon.



Maloof is working to both preserve and spread awareness about her work. He regularly posts photographs on the link featured below and is working on both a book and documentary.

To see more of Vivian Maiers work and to watch her story unfold:
http://www.vivianmaier.com/
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