it's your last chance to do anything in the month of february in the year 2009. may you do have a boppin' saturday.
photo from : LPCoverLover.com
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Saturday, February 28, 2009
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Saturday, February 28, 2009
february 28
picasso and the allure of language/yale art gallery
yesterday i went to the yale art gallery to wander around Louis Kahn's building. because i was there to see the building and was pressed for time i didn't get to pay as much attention to the art as i would've liked to. nevertheless here are some of the works i enjoyed seeing:
from the "Picasso and the Allure of Language" exhibition: two pages from the book of poems Pablo Picasso illustrated for friend Pierre Reverdy's 43 poems titled "Le Chant des Morts" (the songs of the dead). wouldn't it be cool to have the entire collection plastered over the walls of a small bathroom?
Picasso's "Dice, Pack of Cigarettes and Visiting-Card". Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas had stopped by by Picasso's home when he wasn't there and left their calling card reading "Miss Stein" and "Miss Toklas". Picasso painted the the scene, and later gifted the painting to the two women.
Walt Kahn "Chorus Captain"and Everett Shinn "The Orchestra Pit, Old Proctor's Fifth Avenue Theatre" were next effectively hanged next to eachother in the gallery.
i got lost in space for a few while looking at El Lissitzky's "Proun 99"
Left: Gerhard Richter's "Bildnis Holger Friedrich" reminded Merkin Muffley of the Anton Chigurh. Right: Ellsworth Kelly's "Charter"
what is art? John Baldessari "Solving Each Problem As It Arises" takes a stab. some food for thought for the art aficionado or hater.
Van gogh le cafe de nuit
Basquiat the ankle
Ellswoth kelly -charter
Warhol electric chair
Edward ruscha -level
Edwin landseer portrait of mr can amburgh w animals
Gilman stanislawa de karlowska
Smith recliniing nude
Henry lamb- soldiers resting on the march
Hodfkin artist and model
L'enfant du regiment
Stubbs zebra
Friday, February 27, 2009
the Coen brothers for clean coal
the Coen brothers' did a great job stimulating my senses in their anti-clean coal PSA. tres sensuous.
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Friday, February 27, 2009
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Thursday, February 26, 2009
Kahn, Rudolph, Bunshaft @ yale
tomorrow morning, Merkin Muffley are I heading to new haven for the day with our 20th century architecture class to see two Louis Kahn buildings, a Paul Rudolph building, and a Gordon Bunshaft building. i'm eager to hear what my professor has to say about each of these buildings-he is an architecture critic for the Dallas Morning News with an infectious passion for architecture and a degree from Harvard GSD.
i'll let you know which of these buildings ends up being my favorite: if i had to guess right now i'd probably go with Kahn's Center for British Art (#2 below). while the Bunshaft building (#4) design looks magnificent and other wordly, i'm a sucker for good windows. i also like the tetrahedral ceiling in the University Art Gallery (#1). will update this post tomorrow evening and let you know.
here's what we're seeing
1. Yale University Art Gallery by Louis Kahn: restored in 2007, this building was Kahn's first major commission and first masterpiece. the building is constructed from brick, concrete, glass, and steel and the most public facade of the building is windowless. at the time of it's construction in 1953, most of Yale's buildings adhered to neo-Gothic style. Kahn's building was revolutionary not only in its aesthetics but it's electrical and ventilation systems that are concealed within hollow concrete tetrahedrons in appear to float in the ceiling.
2. Center for British Art by Louis Kahn: this was Kahn's final work and was completed after his death in 1974. the facade of this four-story geometric building is made out of matte steel and reflective glass (photos rarely capture the steel aesthetic so I'm especially pumped to see this in person). the interior of the building is constructed out of white oak, travertine marble, and Belgian linen and was designed around two courtyards . each room in the museum is illuminated by natural light from the ceiling and artificial lighting is only used on dark days and evenings. (brilliant, Kahn!) it was the first museum in USA to incorporate retail shops into it's design.
3. Yale Art and Architecture Building by Paul Rudolph. a highly acclaimed and award winning building constructed in 1963. Rudolph's raw concrete Yale Art/Arch Building is one of the earliest and most famous examples of Brutalist architecture in the USA. heavily influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier incorporating off-center staircases and a rooftop penthouse. two years after it's construction a Yale dean called the building dysfunctional and mutilated it by dividing up many of it's large interior spaces. soon after, an accidental fire destroyed most of the remaining Rudolph interior. Yale recently invested $126 million dollars to renovate and restore the building back to Rudolph's original design. it opened this fall.
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Thursday, February 26, 2009
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009
blitzen trapper @ pearl street
it's always refreshing to catch a show in the pioneer valley. just got back from an evening with blitzen trapper at pearl street in northampton and it was warm, rocking, and intimate. no lines at the bar, no fussing for viewing space, and all good vibes. i leave you with two songs that were particularly enjoyable.
Blitzen Trapper- "Saturday Night" from the album Furr
Blitzen Trapper- "Wild Mountain Nation" from the album Wild Mountain Nation
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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a list of thoughts about lists
who doesn't enjoy a good list? one of the first things i skip ahead to when i get a new issue of Vanity Fair is their "My Stuff" feature (notable: Mark Ronson's Stuff). a compulsive list maker myself (i had today's to-do list done by 7:30AM), i found NPR's 10 Reasons Why We Love Making Lists pretty amusing. plus, it has inspired me to start posting a list of random things. here are some excerpts from the piece by Linton Weeks.
Why is it that everywhere you turn there's a list for this or that?
On Facebook, friends recently began posting 25 Random Things About Me — which bloggers have been doing for years. Now some people are lambasting the listiness while others are shortening it to a more manageable 3 Random Things (3 Places I Have Lived or 3 TV Shows I Watch, 6 Great Books. 8 Favorite Songs. 7 Reasons to Hate … Whatev.) David Letterman's Top 10 List has become a bona fide art form.
Everyday parlance is littered with lists: laundry, grocery, honey-do. When Dick Cheney was asked by then-presidential candidate George W. Bush to find him a suitable running mate, Cheney did what all pols would do: He drew up a short list. (And then he wound up as the VP pick.)
Why do we love lists? Let us count the ways:
1. Lists bring order to chaos. "People are attracted to lists because we live in an era of overstimulation, especially in terms of information."
2. Lists help us remember things
3. Most lists are finite. They don't usually go on and on. And if they do, you can skip to the bottom of the list. The Internet Movie Database, for instance, lists its "bottom 100 movies as voted by users." The winner — er, loser — is Zaat, a 1975 sci-fi fiasco.
4. Lists can be meaningful. The Steven Spielberg classic Schindler's List is based on the true story of a German businessman who used a list of names to save more than 1,000 Jews from the concentration camps. It is ranked eighth on the American Film Institute's 2007 list of 100 top American films of the past 100 years.
5. Lists can be as long or as short as necessary. Jamie Frater, a New Zealand opera singer, maintains a list-keeping site called The List Universe. Recent posts include "20 Great Quotes from Ronald Reagan" and "Top 10 Codes You Aren't Meant to Know." A list, Frater says, should be "as long as is necessary. Some lists need be only a few lines an item, others a few paragraphs. I seldom write more than one paragraph, but occasionally the need arises to do so." Frater adds, "This question is a bit like asking an artist: 'When is the painting finished?' It is when it is."
6. Making lists can help make you famous. Notable list makers include Thomas Jefferson, Peter Mark Roget, Martha Stewart and Benjamin Franklin. "A methodical and wry man," wrote Franklin biographer Walter Isaacson in Time magazine, "Franklin loved making lists. He made lists of rules for his tradesmen's club, of synonyms for being drunk, of maxims for matrimonial happiness and of reasons to choose an older woman as a mistress. Most famously, as a young man, he made a list of personal virtues that he determined should define his life."
7. The word "list" can be tracked back to William Shakespeare, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. In Hamlet, the Bard refers to "a list of landlesse resolutes."
8. Lists relieve stress and focus the mind. "Lists," sociologist Scott Schaffer told The Oregonian newspaper, "really get to the heart of what it is we need to do to get through another day on this planet."
9. Lists can force people to say revealing things. In his 25 Random Things roster, former California Gov. Jerry Brown reveals that his favorite cereal is ... Flax Plus Multibran.
10. Lists can keep us from procrastinating. We put this one off until the end. Making a list enables us to get our heads around really big tasks — and helps us tackle the work one aspect at a time. But a list is only useful if it reveals a truth, solves a problem or leads to action. Making a list, for instance, does not necessarily help procrastinators. As DePaul University psychologist Joseph Ferrari told Psychology Today in 2008, people don't put off work they must do because they lack list-making skills. And, in turn, making a list does not get the job done.
..............
here is one of my ongoing lists: "places i <3">
nike blazer vintage
these nike blazers are bananas! 100% suede upper in varsity red, varsity green, and varsity blue, off-white midsoles, and white shoelaces, swoosh, tongue and heel. beauties, they are.
more information at NiceKicks
Malls R Us
the US premier of an intriguing documentary about the shopping mall called Malls R Us will screening at Canadian Front (the MoMA's annual film series showcasing Canadian cinema talent) on March 21st and 23rd:
Combining nostalgia, dazzling architecture, pop culture, economics and politics, Malls R Us examines North America's most popular and profitable suburban destination-the enclosed shopping center. The filmmakers traveled from North America, where the shopping mall originated, to recent examples in Poland, Japan, India, and Dubai. Along the way they encounter "dead mall" bloggers and anti-mall activists, as well as proponents like legendary sci-fi author Ray Bradbury, who sees the mall as the modern Main Street of small-town America.was intrigued enough with the music in the preview (below): Air "Biological" followed by Bran Van 3000 "Go Shopping" (off the Y Tu Mama Tambien soundtrack). respect.
Screenings @ MoMA: Saturday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m., and Monday, March 23 at 8:30 p.m.
Tickets: MoMA Ticketing information
Tickets: MoMA Ticketing information
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
trin squash
This past weekend the Trinity College squash team won its 11th straight national championship, keeping alive its NCAA record-breaking streak of 202 straight victories. The Bantams prevailed in dramatic fashion over the #2 ranked Princeton Tigers. The deciding match was between the top 2 players in the nation: Princeton's Mauricio Sanchez from Mexico and Trinity's Indian behemoth, Baset Chaudry. Sanchez had a commanding 5-0 lead in the 5th and final game of the match - 4 points from the national championship for his team. He went on to choke in typical Princeton fashion, dropping the game, match and season for the Tiglets.
Trinity's impressive streak proves also to be a huge triumph for the sport of squash. The team's accomplishments have landed it a number of bits on ESPN, notably the recent Outside the Lines segment that aired last week (can be seen here). Two years ago the team's coach, Paul Assaiante, was given the opportunity to throw the first pitch at a Red Sox game. As you might imagine, the crowd was mainly comprised of massholes shouting "what the f*ck is squash?!" That being said, I'm always thrilled to see my favorite sport be brought to national attention and given the accolades it deserves; after all, most Americans identify squash with lock-jawed New Englanders or the sport's retarded stepchild, racketball.
With all of the praise Trinity Squash receives and exposure it gives the sport, I just want to point out that they are not exactly competing on a level playing field. It is no secret that the Trinity coach, Paul Assiante, is given carte blanche by the school's administration to poach the world's top young players, regardless of their academic backgrounds or ability to pay tuition. It is a fact that the best squash is played outside of the U.S. Over the past 11 years, there have rarely been more than 1 or 2 Americans in the team's lineup. By contrast, the nation's other top programs must abide by far stricter admissions standards and have significantly more Americans filling their lineups. Trinity has undoubtedly raised the bar in college squash, but it has essentially transformed the recruiting process to an arms race for highly-trained foreign players.
Well if you've made it this far and want to see some squash in action, here are some dank highlights from the Tournament of Champions, one of the world's biggest squash tournies that takes place in Grand Central every February.
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Tuesday, February 24, 2009
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Monday, February 23, 2009
JFK style
in 1961, JFK introduced casual sophistication into the white house. JFK's signature wayfarers, two-button blazers, shaggy hair, chinos, rolled up sleeves and untucked polo shirts have come to define what men's casual wear should look like. the power of JFK's style manifest itself in these timeless photographs.
photographs from Time Magazine
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Monday, February 23, 2009
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Bernie Madoff in NYMag
brilliant cover art in this week's New York Magazine. read the accompanying article on Bernie Madoff and Ezra Merkin here: The Monster Mensch by Steve Fishman.
david lynch is tech savvy
David Lynch posts daily video forecasts straight from his desk in LA (usually with a cigarette burning in the ashtray beside him). you can find him on Twitter at @david_lynch. i really enjoy it when older people whose work I admire hop on the web 2.0 train to share their intellectual curiosities and daily musings . very cool.
It was a teenage wedding and the old folks wished them well
good morning! for your monday pleasure, here's the beguiling Pulp Fiction dance sequence that features Uma Thurman and John Travolta doing the twist (beautifully!) to Chuck Berry's"You Can Never Tell (Teenage Wedding)".
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Oscar Party
tonight ML-ers will be sipping cocktails and watching the Oscars at the 310 Lounge (310 Bowery, New York) for The HotChocolate Society's Annual Oscar Party. a $25 ticket ($35 at door) grants you access to the 2x1 drink bar from 7-9PM, a Ceviche & Empanada Station, Top Chef’s Savory & Sweet Bites, and a Whole Foods Market Gift Bag. participate in the Oscar Pool here.
Details: The Hot Chocolate Society.
Discounted tickets ($5 off) here: Purchase tickets ($20/each)
310 Bowery
(between 1st St & 2nd St)
New York, NY 10012
(212) 477-1979
Discounted tickets ($5 off) here: Purchase tickets ($20/each)
310 Bowery
(between 1st St & 2nd St)
New York, NY 10012
(212) 477-1979
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Saturday, February 21, 2009
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who didn't want to be a Tenenbaum?
I'm studying cinematography of Robert Yeoman in The Royal Tenenbaums for a photo assignment and just uploaded a myriad of screenshots from the film onto my Flickr page. Here are some:
Gwyneth as Margot
Luke as Richie
Margot in Eli's Car
I'll have a butterscotch sundae, I guess.
Margot as Claudia Kincaid in From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Margot
Family of Geniuses by Etheline Tenenbaum
Friday, February 20, 2009
i am an avid silk scarf collector and this bubble gum pink and baby blue emilio pucci scarf is the latest addition to my collection. i am stuck in cold weather and am counting down the days until spring break to wear it...(the color scheme would look a little silly here right now)
below: here i am, bopping around in my pjs visualizing myself on the beach with lizzard
second photo: doesn't my new scarf look like a PacMan game in comic book effect??
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Friday, February 20, 2009
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tgif
jump with glee it's the weekend. have a good one ! and happy birthday to my dear lilnowak!
xx
ML
(photo of Frank Gehry jumping on one of his cardboard desks in 1972.)
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