bloom skin for issey miyake spring/summer 2012. window by WOW.

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Everyone lucky enough to be in Thessaloniki, Greece between today and Saturday needs to check out the OMMU temporary bookshop. The pop-up shop, located at the conceptual retail space The Archive, will have on hand so much awesome stuff my brain is melting, ehm… extensive offereings from OMMU Distribution’s vast collection of art and design books, zines, and exhibition catalogs. Souvenirs from your visit will be gladly accepted and may be posted directly to the Blood is the New Black office.

OMMU TEMPORARY BOOKSHOP

16th – 18th February 2012

The Archive

Mitropoleos 127

Thessaloniki, Greece

Thursday – Friday: 6-9pm

Saturday: 12-5pm

liu wen photographed by tim walker & styled by jacob k for w magazine, march 2012.

kate moss photographed by steven klein & styled by edward enninful for w, march 2012.

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kristen mcmenamy photographed by tim walker & styled by katie grand for LOVE magazine, spring/summer 2012.

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linda evangelista saskia de braun, john cherkas, angus whitehead, miles mclillan & erik andersson photographed by mert alas & marcus piggott & styled by katie grand for LOVE magazine, spring/summer 2012.

jake shortall & valeria b. photographed by hayley louisa brown & styled by safiya yekwai for theones2watch.

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new images of an uncontacted peruvian tribe, the mascho-piro indians, reveal a small band of people, clad in beads & bands of fabric. for a millenia, they have carved an existence from the peruvian rainforest, untouched by civilization. the photographs were released by advocacy group survival international & are the closest glimpse of the indians ever caught on camera, according to the organization.

the tribe descends from a group that was attacked & displaced in 1894, when rubber baron carlos fermin fitzcarrald encroached on their ancestral lands. now their days of isolation are numbered. illegal loggers are encroaching nearer to their ancestral homeland.

the family in the main photo were chanced upon by diego cortijo, an indigenous peruvian exploring the alto madre de dios river four days on foot from the remote jungle town of puerto maldonado. holding his camera lens against a telescope, he captured one of the most detailed pictures of an uncontacted tribe ever taken.

“first contact” with the outside world can prove fatal for a tribe & usually results in the death of between 50 and 80 % of its members, who have no immunity to diseases common elsewhere. it can also be tragic for those who discover them. weeks ago, a close friend of mr. cortijo – nicolás “shaco” flores – was killed by an arrow on the outskirts of the park while trying to leave gifts of food & clothes.

it’s so mind boggling that these indigenous tribes still exist un-touched by technology & the outside world. hopefully they will continue to thrive without our interference.

-candy

Marina Bay Sands Skypark BASE Jump. Singapore 2012. from Snow R. Shai on Vimeo.

marina bay sands, moshe safdie’s singaporean casino hotel complex and giant elevated surfboard, has become the de facto symbol of an island state characterized by its zany architecture. the structure soars 57 stories tall and straddles the cluster of shiny, sculptural buildings dwarfed by its three towers. clearly, there is no better place for base-jumping, and on new years day 2012, seven pro jumpers made their way atop the iconic marina bay roof garden and leapt over the edge as nonchalant hotel guests waded and watched from the building’s sky high infinite pool.
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saskia de brauw & kinga rajzak photographed by sølve sundsbø & styled by  george cortina for vogue japan, march 2012.

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This or that is run by social-media maven Mélanie Crété, and offers the kind of smack-in-the-face social commentary that can only be achieved through carefully considered juxtaposition. The imagery tends toward fashion, but run the gamut of food, sex, politics, music, models and more. And you can always add your two-cents by making your preference known under each post.

-christina

First off – the key to making any product more desirable, is to make it smaller. Just ask the guy who invented Tech Decks. But somewhere just above that is an adorable skateboard that you can actually ride. In middle school, I would make my mom buy the teeny-tiny plastic boards from Santee Alley and skate them to get hot dogs from 7-11, ride to friends’ houses, and all that important stuff middle schoolers do. The Stereo Vinyl Cruiser is slightly larger than those tongue-depressors-with-wheels, making it easier to skate, and it comes with sweet shades and stickers to boot. It’s the perfect little board for quick trips to the liquor store, cruising to hangover brunch, and all that other important stuff grownups do.

-christina

customized nike zoom force-1 boots by marcus tremonto.

for this project tremonto explored his vision of the future of sports, envisioning the future of snowboarding in the year 2220. he was inspired by sci-fi movies, james bond & the anime series, gundam. each boot is unique, made in tremonto’s new york studio using electroluminescent paper & custom graphics that will light your way to the ski resorts. the boots will be exhibited during a global exhibition scheduled to take place in denver, colorado & munich, germany.

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mickey crawford photographed by mikael jansson & styled by karl templer for interview, february 2012.

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“Will Brown is pleased to present its inaugural exhibition, Illegitimate Business—a collaboration with Zachary Royer Scholz and Brion Nuda Rosch. This exhibition of artworks and ephemera with peculiar provenance investigates the ways in which works of art are acquired outside of galleries and auction houses. The eclectic collection of objects, from some of the world’s most revered artists, have one thing in common—they have all been obtained without any monetary transaction, and often illicitly. Illegitimate Business explores the life of an artwork after it leaves the artist’s hands and posits that the value of a work, removed from the market, is perhaps most evident in the narrative of its acquisition. We would like to thank all of our lenders, who for obvious reasons will remain anonymous.” (via)

Will Brown Gallery is bringing out the big guns for their premier exhibition – I’m actually very excited to see so many great artists in a single space, gathered under a theme that’s near and dear to my found-art-loving heart. If you live anywhere near the bay area, come out and support this brand new artist space.

More info here

-christina

p.s. It’s in the mission…where all the pee is…

the house of dj pil marques by studio guilherme torres. são paulo, brazil.

i thought i had collections!  wow.  i wish i still had the 2 keane paintings that hung in our hallway until i left home for california at 16…..the things you want to forget are the things you eventually want to remember. can you imagine being his cleaner!  oh la la…..

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nowhere but sajima by yasutaka yoshimura architects.

nowhere but sajima is a vacation time share located about an hour from tokyo. the residence is adjacent to the ocean & mt. fuji can be seen from the shore. built on a plot of reclaimed land, the building occupies a triangular block, one corner of which is taken up by a spiral staircase that traverses all three floors.

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Why are people always trying to make fashion, art, and skateboarding hang out? Do orinthology and scrimshaw have this problem? Maybe I’m just hating because the opening for this  jam-packed exhibition—which Metallica announced on their website just last week—is invitation-only. Juxtapoz posted this exclusive preview to hold over the hoi-polloi until Monday, when it opens to the public. Like I’ve said before, I’m a bit leery of exclusive Hollywood parties posturing themselves as art openings, but if you’re itching to go, I hope you’re VIP, because this is where you get to park.

-Christina

Don’t let that accent over the “e” fool you. We aaaaaalll know what this video by Jesse Rosten is about, and it’s pretty freaking hilarious, if only because it’s so spot-on rendolent of the kind of faux-scientific jargon that beauty product ads blow out their asses on the daily. Why can’t you be perfect? Because you’re not a goddamn TIFF file.

-Christina

photographer carl kleiner for IKEA. some people just see things differently. more of his work here.

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no, these are not movie stills.

tomasz gudzowaty photographed a shaolin temple in henan province, china documenting the temple’s students.

absolutely mind blowing. see more here.

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riot table by max & max.

the table features a welded steel pipe frame & removable top that doubles as a shield….just in case the melee moves from the streets to your living room!

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yikes.  someone photographed this abandoned doll factory in spain.  apparently the factory was abandoned quite quickly & has remained somewhat untouched.  so scary!!

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teenager lana sator snuck into a npo energosmash factory outside of moscow & took a series of photographs of the installation. she jumped a fence & went through a series of tunnels & pipes to photograph the active industrial installation that manufactures liquid-fuel for rockets (some of the rockets have strong ties to the russian military). as soon as she starting posting her photographs (here) she began receiving letters from the authorities telling her the situation would get “much worse” if she kept posting. she promptly posted the letters in addition to the photos! there are a ton more photos on her website, which is in russian, but worth a look – so surreal.

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above:

the mirrorcube designed by martin videgård & bolle tham. the interior is made from plywood with a birch surface with 6 windows that provide a panoramic view. to prevent birds from flying into the mirrored walls they have been clad with infrared film. the color is invisible to humans but visible to birds.

the bird’s nest designed by inredningsgruppen. guests access the room via an electric ladder beneath.

the blue cone. the room is a tradional wooden structure that is accessed via a bridge from the nearby mountain.

the cabin designed by mårten & gustav cyrén. features a terrace that overlooks the lule river valley.

the ufo designed by inredningsgruppen. this room is the largest, built for four people.

the tree sauna. the sauna accomodates up to 8 people. there is also access to a hot tub & custom designed relaxation area.

the treehotel is located in harads, sweden near the lule river. (the village has only 600 inhabitants!) owners britta & kent lindvall expect to build a total of 24 tree-rooms this year.  the treerooms are built with minimal impact to the environment & were inspired by the film “the tree lover” by jonas selberg augusten. (a tale of 3 men from the city who want to go back to their roots by building a house together) le sigh…..who wants to go??

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maroquinaris zoologicae by artist billie achilleos in collaboration with louis vuitton.

see more here.

louis vuitton commissioned british artist billie achilleos to create “maroquinaris zoologicae” using their small leather goods. pretty brilliant!
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hanna wahmer photographed by sabrina theissen & styled by kathi kauder with artwork by ashkan honarvar for i love you magazine #7.

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bourrasque by paul cocksedge. lyon, france.

bourrasque is a sculpture installed in the courtyard of hotel in lyon for the city’s annual festival of lights. the 200 suspended sheets were made from an electrically conductive material that lights up when a current passes through it. london designer paul cocksedge molded each sheet of paper by hand – the paper is the same size as a sheet of a3 paper.

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If you, like me, are stuck in the spare bedroom at your parents’ house this weekend, might I suggest a leisurely stroll through the Valentino archives while you wait for that hot chocolate you were promised over an hour ago?

In the wake of a series of majorly successful fashion exhibitions and designer retrospectives around the country, Mr. Valentino recently presented a selected archive of his work as a genius software application that you can download for free. The application mimics the experience of a museum, but with options like hyper-zoom, links to original sketches and photographs of the original wearers, the Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum truly is, in the words of the NY Times, “like a video game for fashion nerds.”

Download here.

Watch the press conference and demos here.

Merry Christmas!

-christina

Paper Darth project from Lobulo on Vimeo.

paper darth project by spanish illustrator javier a.k.a. lobulo design, who currently lives & works in london. paper darth project was commissioned by göoo, a bi-annual magazine for visual arts & graphic expression.

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WE MAKE CARPETS, consisting of Marcia Nolte, Stijn van der Vleuten and Bob Waardenburg, mix traditional skills and a critical view of the consumer society in unusual carpets. Check out more on their website.

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v&a christmas tree by studio roso.

the v&a has commissioned designers studio roso to create a christmas tree for the grand entrance of the museum. the handmade tree is made of 3.3 miles of elastic cord. a total of 1500 individual strands have been combined to create the outline of a traditional christmas tree. the geometric shapes reference both traditional christmas ornaments & the crystalline structure of snowflakes & icicles.

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Lomography, purveyors of needlessly yet adorably anachronistic photography toys for adults, have finally released something I can’t wait to get my hands on. The LomoKino movie camera takes any regular roll of 35mm film and turns it into 144 frames, or about a minute of movie. In light of all the smartphone capabilities out there, it’s probably the most unapologetically superfluous gadget they’ve released yet, but that’s why I’m endeared to it (getting your little movies onto digital format requires all sorts of head-splitting, monotonous steps and extra doo-dads). The price is about the same as the new Polaroid and Fujifilm instant cameras (100 bucks for the camera and a little viewer for your movies), right in the pocket as far as hobbies go.  Now I can finally create that Belle-and-Sebastian-cum-Wes-Anderson-mixed-with-Camera-Obscura masterpiece I’ve been dreaming about since seventh grade!

more info here

check out videos users have made here.

-christina

the timmelsjoch experience by werner tscholl architekt. timmelsjoch, austria.

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The LA-based concept gallery and boutique IKO IKO (which translates to “let’s go!”) has just premiered a new, downloadable digital zine. In the spirit of collaboration with artists they admire, each monthly issue will feature a “light catalog” of images from a particular artist. The first issue features the work of Japanese photographer Akio Nishimoto. The minimalist layout of the zine complements the “daily-life” subject matter of Akio’s photographs.

Check it out here

-christina

elvis jankus, maximilian marcisiak & yannick abrath photographed by pierre debusschere & styled by elizabeth fraser-bell for hero #6.

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it depicts some sort of boozy, sun-soaked, sandboarding-with-death type afterlife? More like paradise. Click here to see it.

-christina

wald aus wald by takashi kuribayashi is a paper installation at thehong kong arts centre that comprises of trees in a snowy landscape hovering above the gallery floor as part of an exhibition called vision of nature: lost & found in asian contemporary art. it will be on show from 10 december through 29 january 2012. so ethereal & otherworldly. amazing what one can do with paper.

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Peep this beautiful trailer from the forthcoming Girl / Chocolate skate video. Produced and directed in part by Spike Jonze and Ty Evans, shot in HD, with plenty of high speed camera work, next-level cinematography, dreamy tunes, and of COURSE someone’s gonna ollie through fire. It ain’t a Ty Evans video without fire.

Girl & Chocolate Trailer from Crailtap on Vimeo.

-christina

Check out this super-trippy video from friends Raw Geronimo, directed by Jacob Blunt. Sort of a Jodorowsky-esque, She-Ra by way of Tarzan, mixed with evil Wizard of Oz elements? I mean Jesus girl, I haven’t been genuinely weirded-out in a long time. Congrats, Laena!

Faustine from Jacob Blunt on Vimeo.

-christina

Susan Kare (who kinda happened to be a babe back in the day?) was a young artist working on a steel sculpture of a razorback hog when she got offered the job of developing the first fonts for the Mac OS. She then went on to design many of the, er…iconic user interface icons that are the foundation of personal electronics as they look and feel today. The Neurotribes blog has posted some fascinating pages of the graph-ruled sketchbook she used to tease out the original Mac icons, pixel by pixel.

Check it out here

(photo via Kare’s website)

-christina

My high school boyfriend lived only a few blocks away, so I would frequently sneak over to his house in the night, and because he was a gentleman or simply wanted to curry favor for our next tryst, he would always walk me home and then walk back to his house alone. This courtesy abruptly ended after repeated claims that he started to get followed by a Chiapas Indian with a pan flute. I never saw such a figure on my way over, but my sweetheart was convinced that the Chiapas Indian man would only appear after a certain hour, darting from shrub to shrub, tooting away on his pan flute and creeping him the fuck out. He eventually refused to walk me home altogether, and slept with my best friend a year later.

While we’re on the subject, Smithsonian Folkways, the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, has an amazing (read: ad-free) streaming radio player on their homepage. With a mission to preserve and disseminate sounds and folk music from around the world, Smithsonian Folkways Radio skips around from Cajun Swing, to Egyptian Pop, Delta Blues, Latin American soul, recordings of tribal ceremonies, and just maybe the occasional Chiapas Indian with a pan flute.

Check it out here (radio player is on the righthand column)

-christina

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Virna Haffer had her own photography studio in Tacoma in the 1920s and 1930s. She was pre–Hippie, pre–Beatnik, but she pursued a bohemian lifestyle and produced art work that ranged from traditional to avant–-garde with a large dose of erotica.

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Check out this weirdly-intense preview for the Yohji Yamamoto documentary currently making it’s way through the festival circuit. I’m completely fascinated with anti-fashion fashion designers (Margiela, Rei Kawakubo, et al.) I can’t barely conceive of the restraint and simplicity that has become synonymous with their practice, if only because me own wardrobe is a neurotic pawing of items disparately spanning the gamut 20th century pattern and silhouette. Yamamoto is especially known for his personal reserve, which makes this film even more intriguing. Whether you’re a fan his rigorous aesthetic or not, I think there is something to be gleaned from the quiet dedication evident even in this small clip.

YOHJI YAMAMOTO: THIS IS MY DREAM from Huge Conglomerate on Vimeo.

more info here

-christina

christo & jeanne-claude have acquired approval from the bureau of land management to contstruct their newest project “over the river”, which will stretch along 5.9 miles of the arkansas river in southern colorado. the project will include fabric panels distributed in sections along the 42 mile stretch of the arkansas river.  steel wire cables, anchored on the upper part of the riverbanks, will cross the river & serve as attachment for the fabric panels. the woven fabric panels will create shimmering waves of fabric 8 to 25 feet above the water.  read more here.

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Just, hear me out. This is probably old-hat to many people, but the man whose iconography I had only known as bedazzled graphic licensing run amok, is in fact a hyper-intelligent, classically-trained artist who passed on a graduate scholarship to Yale in order to pursue the once-illicit craft of tattooing. Ed Hardy: Tattoo the World, chronicles the artist’s life and work, from drawing fake tats on neighborhood kids with makeup-crayons, to his roots in fine art, and finally laughing his ass off at seeing work he did decades ago end up on everything from hats and t-shirts to perfume and wine…

Check it out on Netflix instant here (I know you have your ex’s password).

-christina

incredible chain sculptures by seo young deok. read more here.

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Two new(ish) editorials by Tim Walker. Isn’t he just the best?

Mechanical Dolls for the October 2011 Italian Vogue, and this (incredibly creepy and also somehow adorable) video too!

Outer Mongolia for the November 2011 British Vogue.

–Dara

aerial views by bernhard lang.

aerial photographs taken over the south of bavaria, germany – 2010/2011.

available here.

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