The Sekretär Flatmate is one of those pieces of furniture that makes me think I’d somehow become 50% more productive just by having it in my house. That’s probably not the case, but it would look great either way. Anybody actually have one of these things? €990 seems a bit steep for me, but I could see how it might be worth it if you were short on space in some NYC studio or something.
Been kind of obsessing over this video for White Denim’s Street Joy. Not sure how I missed this but apparently it’s been out for six months. Director Carlos LaRotta’s (Birds on Fire) treatment includes a healthy dose of Tim & Eric / Doug Lussenhop VHS style. It’s always nice to see a band not take themselves too seriously, even in the case of such a somber and reflective song. but in spite of the humor there seems to be a fittingly nostalgic undercurrent at work here that ties the whole thing together. Really beautiful stuff.
Beautiful renderings of the “iCam”, a concept created by Italian designer Antonio DeRosa. The concept case would add interchangeable lenses — along with various other features — to the iPhone 5. Very reminiscent of the Camera Futura concept. I would certainly be first in line for something like this; I love the idea of these modular devices that leverage the processing power of computing devices, like an iPhone, that you may already have. I know it’s a long shot, but let’s hope this makes it out of concept-land.
On a side note, still waiting to upgrade to the 4S (I think I can get it December 10th without getting gouged), can’t wait to check out the camera on there, seen some pretty amazing things from my friends who have the 4S already.
You may remember San Diego based director / photographer Charles Bergquist from our post a while back on his projections collection. We’re all big fans of his work and through Ghostly and Tycho we have worked with him a lot over the past year. I am currently working with him on the new Tycho live visuals set and realized he would make a great contributor to the blog. Charles will mostly be doing video and photographic posts with a focus on process / equipment (like his soon-to-be-delivered Red Scarlet).
So everybody give Charles a warm welcome, his first post should be coming shortly.
Always cool to check out the sites of commenters on the blog. Found Kalifa’s work through his comment on a post last week, loving the palette / cast of these shots. Really great stuff, hope to see more in the future.
So apparently there is this guy in Switzerland who either owns or has access to many of the most iconic product designs from the 60’s and 70’s. He also takes amazing pictures of them, and posts them in high resolution for us to enjoy / print. This man is a hero.
I always wonder though, would having these artifacts make me happy? Would being surrounded by the objects of my desire actually fulfill my need for order and beauty? Or would I obsess; constantly dusting and arranging them symmetrically on walnut desks made by George Nelson? Probably all of the above, but for now one can only dream.
Whenever I get to lusting over design like this I start thinking about the nature of appreciation. What abstract facet of the human condition allows us to seek and covet objects which may not necessarily provide any meaningful function or benefit our daily lives? I can’t tell you how many fellow designer’s homes I have visited to see various defunct or otherwise unused products neatly displayed on shelves, never again to serve their intended purpose. Why do we surround ourselves with these relics? Devices which through some perverse twist of fascination have been stripped of their intrinsic usefulness and rendered as some fetishized monument to our personal design sensibilities, gathering dust on a mantle.
That’s probably reading way to deep into things so I’m going to take the easy answer and say it’s simply the act of art appreciation. There is just something about the fact that these were originally designed as functional objects that throws a wrench into the whole concept of approaching them purely as works of art. At any rate, I want every single thing up there, in my house, now.
Checked in on old favorite Network Osaka today and was reminded of what an excellent body of poster work he has amassed over the last few years. Always great to see modern designers paying homage to such classic design ideals. More over here.
I finished up a remix of Little Dragon’s song Little Man right before we went on tour together and it’s finally out. This is the first remix I’ve ever done and also the first time I’ve worked with vocals in such a literal way. Was a very inspiring experience to say the least; hoping to do more with vocals in the future.
You can download the remix here or have a listen below. Enjoy the weekend…