Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Da Bomb!
photo courtesy Spacing Magazine
Hey, did you know that today, June 8, 2013, is International Yarn Bombing Day? Yeah, we didn't think so! So there you go...if you suddenly see an explosion of oddly shaped tea cozies around town this weekend you'll know why!
So how is it that we're in the know about this rather under-the-radar event? Well, we have Toronto's always fascinating Spacing magazine to thank. You can have a read for yourself here for part 1, and here for part 2.
And here's a look at some tree- bombing we ran across in Buenos Aires last October. We love that they even crocheted handles so as not to damage the tree!
Break out those needles!
Monday, April 15, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Monday, November 19, 2012
MALBA- the perfect little museum!
MALBA, in our view, may just be the perfect museum.
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The ground floor has a small gift shop, which descends into a lovely bijoux book store where one could part with many a peso if they had the inclination. On the opposite corner from the gift shop is a very smart little cafe which opens onto a pretty tree-covered terrace. Because the cafe is directly accessible from the street it hums with the business of local professionals holding small meetings and many of the areas residents (who likely do not need to work) grabbing lunch or an afternoon coffee. (It probably doesn't hurt that the upscale Paseo Alcorta mall is just across the adjacent plaza!)
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top image from MALBA website
As far as cultural institutions go, the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires is quite a new facility, opened only in 2001. At its core it is the home to the Costantini Collection, a personal collection of outstanding Latin American art amassed by Argentine businessman and philanthropist Eduardo Costantini. But like any good museum with a sense of focus it hosts exhibits that are thematically related to its mission, which in the case of MALBA is to "collect, preserve, research and promote Latin American art from the onset of the 20th century to the present."
top image from MALBA website
lower image courtesy Panoramio.com
The museum occupies a very handsome building on Avenida Figueroa Alcorta in the city's Palermo neighbourhood. It's organized around a compact triangular light-filled atrium which manages to bring the barrio's greenness inside. The atrium also succinctly communicates the simplicity of the facility's organization, which puts the visitor immediately at ease. At one glance you know you're going to be able to cover the whole place in one manageable go. Phew!
On our most recent visit the largest of the museum's temporary exhibitions served a) to introduce us to a Brazilian artist, Beatriz Minhazes, with whom we were unfamiliar, and b) to make our heads explode! This stuff is the pure essence of Brazil!- intricate, exuberant, sultry and full of the joy of life, all imparted via large scale but precisely rendered pattern-making that harkens back to the psychedalia of the '60s! If you are (or plan to be) in Buenos Aires before the 7th of December 2012 do not miss this show!
image above courtesy theartreference.blogspot.com
images above from MALBA Pinterest page
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MALBA
Avenida Pres. Figueroa Alcorta 3415
Buenos Aires
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
Seen...Yonge's Bikes Bedecked
We assume this odd installation of tricked- out rides chained to lamp posts on the east side of Yonge Street is part of the Celebrate Yonge festival running until September 18th. They made us smile!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Seen...(does Monopoly have Condo game pieces yet?)
Traveling through Pearson airport in Toronto last Friday we caught sight of this artwork. It's called Title Deed, it's by artist An Te Liu, and we think it's great!
It's a photo relic of Liu's work for The Leona Drive Project which took place back in the autumn of 2009. Several houses on North York's Leona Drive which were slated for demolition were temporarily given a second life as installation pieces. We love Liu's for its simplicity, its instant recognition factor, and its comment on the economics of real estate development. Here's a photo of the text accompanying Title Deed at Pearson:
Further information is available by searching The Leona Drive Project. Here's a link to the website for the project.
Monday, December 19, 2011
The Colourful Confrontational Cocoons of Arne Quinze
These photos of an installation by Arne Quinze in Brussels, posted recently on Design-D'autore, took our breath away. They're part of an ongoing (ever growing?) project that will run till 2013. Perhaps "installation" doesn't do the work justice. One of its objectives is to re-connect Brussels' residents to one another, creating an environment within the city that will encourage communication amongst citizens. The canopy follows streets that link the Flemish Parliament and the House of Flemish Representatives, which make rather fitting anchors considering the project's goal. The project is called The Sequence, and here is the link to it's web page.
The above photos are from design dautore. Photo below from The Sequence webiste
Arne Quinze is a bit of a Rock Star designer/artist. We were fortunate to have seen him speak at the Interior Design show in Toronto back in 2008, where he shared a few works that were obviously the precursors to The Sequence.
above courtesy of stylepark.com
Above is "Cityscape" on a plaza in Brussels, 2008 (the photo is from a delightful blog called Garden History Girl)
Photo above from abitare.it
In 2006 Arne built an amazing pavilion called Uchronia at Burning Man. The form, delicate yet forceful, perched on the flat desert, is mesmerizing. And the interior volume must have felt like being in some fantastic cathedral in the middle of nowhere!
above courtesy burningcam.com
above courtesy artandculture.com
And then, of course, he burned it down!
If you want to find out a little more about this guy, check out his website at http://www.arnequinze.tv/
Saturday, August 20, 2011
McQueen and Gaultier- Two Great Designers, Two Great Exhibitions in Two Great Cities
We recently had the privilege of viewing a pair of incredible exhibitions featuring two of the most influential designers of our times....
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It was one of those unforgettable moments, one where you remember where you were and what you were doing; that horrible day when we all heard that Alexander Lee McQueen had left us in such a tragic way…The true visionary and sheer talent that he was, as is unfortunately often the case, finally came to be fully appreciated upon his untimely death.
The vision and talent were re-confirmed when we had the great good fortune to recently see the inspiring show “Savage Beauty” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the white hot universe that was Manhattan on a steamy July week-end.
We had been following Mr. McQueen since his "Bumster Trousers" from one of his early collections right out of Central Saint Martin’s, through his bad boy phase where he would only do interviews with his back to the camera, to his short stay at Givenchy. It was the latter stop where he learned, building upon his strong tailoring background, the softness and fluidity that ultimately remained in many of his best pieces, most recently embodied in the famous Kate Moss hologram.
The beading! The shoes! The head pieces created by Philip Treacy, ever immortalized by that other tragic figure (and Lee’s muse) Isabella Blow. They were all there to see.
The perfect cutting and seaming, which looked like jigsaw puzzles, all sewn to create such masterpieces. And always in the back of your mind is the question… how on earth could a pattern ever be made to replicate that which you are beholding?
The ability to see and experience these works of art so closely and personally is truly something that will stay with us for a long time. It is a credit to the curatorial staff that we were indeed able to get so close to these inspiring pieces. Inspiring, as well, was the sense of respect of everyone attending (and there were many of us attending the exhibit the day we were there- some had waited up to two hours to be up front and personal with many of Mr. McQueen’s most iconic pieces.)
In retrospect, this show was a stand out in its beauty and sheer drama, all underscored, of course, by his tragic demise. Dare we say it?: very spiritual...
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Alexander McQueen:”Savage Beauty”
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
Closed August 7th, 2011
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At the other end of the spectrum, the following week-end found us in Montreal to experience the genius of M. Jean Paul Gaultier.
The theatricality of this show, upon entering the beautiful venue that is Le Musée des Beaux Arts in Montreal, brought a smile to one's face.
The exhibit included the ingenious (and slightly creepy) use of film projected onto the faces of the mannequins so that they actually appeared to be speaking, singing or better yet looking at you, and even at times whistling as you walked by. It was all pure joy.
And it was all there; the bustier made famous by Madonna, his use of denim in the most ingenious ways, through to the ad campaigns for his iconic "parfum".
The trademark and ever present irreverence never overshadowed what a true genius and "créateur" M. Gaultier is. The intricate workmanship and the ingenuity of his craft are never in doubt as the piece below shows:
This "animal pelt" is actually all done by the most intricate of beading...Jaw dropping indeed!
This show was pure delight. One left in awe of the talent, and above all, the joy this Gallic genius has given the world of fashion, and reminded of the extent to which he continues to play a major role in our collective popular culture.
Bravo, M. Gaultier, Bravo! And as well, to the curatorial staff at the Musée des Beaux Arts in Montreal. Bravo!
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The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier
“From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk”
Musée des Beaux Art de Montréal
Continues till October 2nd, 2011
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By the time you read this the McQueen exhibit will have closed its New York run. Hopefully it will move on to another venue. The Gaultier show will run in Montreal until mid autumn. We were truly blessed to have experienced first hand these two incredible shows. They will remain with us for some time- a reflection of the true genius of both Alexander McQueen and Jean Paul Gaultier.
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Photo Credits:
McQueen photos 2,4,5- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
McQueen photo 3- The Coincidental Dandy Blog
McQueen photo 6- Fashions Suit blog
Gaultier phot 2- Pierre et Gilles
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