Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Sunday, September 12, 2010

involuntary thought

I think I may have found a way into my subconscious, well I think it may be that. When I draw something very trivial, like cloth, my mind starts to wonder and I start thinking of things that I didn't know I really feel. What I really feel is rather embarrassing and so, as soon as I realize this, my conscious mind suppresses it with logical arguments. I'll call it involuntary thought.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010


Typography by Sagmeister

“Obsessions make my life worse and my work better”
This is an installation consisting of 250 000 euro cents.

“I rarely obsess about things in my private life. I fail to care about the right shade of green for the couch, the sexual secrets of an ex-lover or the correct temperature of the meeting room AC. I don’t think I miss much.

However, I do obsess over our work and think that a number of our better projects came out of such an obsession. Doodling obsessively onto a poster depicting a headless chicken and an obsession with white angry monkeys that ultimately led to the giant inflatable animals all over Scotland are just two such examples.

From Bernd and Hilda Becher’s obsessive need to record every water tower to On Kawara’s date paintings and James Turrell’s Roden Crater, obsessions seem to be an important ingredient in the work of many of our favorite contemporary artists.
Obsessions make my Life worse and my Work better.*
*”Think dangerously, act safely” is a close relative – possibly its uncle -from my mentor Tibor Kalman.
- Stefan Sagmeister


bananas...



Friday, August 6, 2010

Howl (2010)
haven't seen it (I live in South Africa) but I'll definitely be looking out for it

Synopsis: In 1956, one of the most controversial works of American art galvanized a generation. Now, the story behind Allen Ginsberg's HOWL comes to life in a genre-defying feature film that is at once a legal drama, a character study and an animated trip into the magic and madness of the modern world. James Franco stars as the young Allen Ginsberg - poet, counter-culture adventurer and chronicler of the Beat Generation - who recounts in his famously confessional, leave-nothing-out style the road trips, love affairs and search for personal liberation that led to the most timeless and electrifying work of his career, the poem "Howl."

Meanwhile, in a San Francisco courtroom, "Howl" is on trial. Prosecutor Ralph McIntosh (David Strathairn) sets out to prove that the book should be banned, while suave defense attorney Jake Ehrlich (Jon Hamm) argues fervently for freedom of speech and creative expression. The proceedings veer from the comically absurd to the fervently passionate as a host of unusual witnesses (Jeff Daniels, Mary Louise Parker, Treat Williams, Alessandro Nivola) pit generation against generation and art against fear in front of conservative Judge Clayton Horn (Bob Balaban).

The trial's heated controversy and Ginsberg's provocative memories are woven around "Howl" itself, its images of ecstasy and anguish, of desire, madness and wonder, brought to vivid, visceral life in a fever dream of inventive animation. Echoing the vastness and originality of Ginsberg's poem, HOWL mashes up genres and rides wild emotions as it reveals all the ways a fearless work of art impacted its creator and the world.
[Less]

photos by Josh Olins for HAZZYS Fall/Winter 2009

perhaps not very realistic but eye-candy nonetheless



Thursday, August 5, 2010


Tim Hamilton

This is somewhat related to my previous post: "inspired by utilitarian uniforms and the eerie portraits of Belgian artist Michaël Borremans"


Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Tuesday, August 3, 2010


Fyodor Dostoevsky

"Every man has some reminiscences which he would not tell to everyone, but only to his friends. He has others which he would not reveal even to his friends, but only to himself, and that in secret. But finally there are still others which a man is even afraid to tell himself, and every decent man has a considerable number of such things stored away. That is, one can even say that the more decent he is, the greater the number of such things in his mind."
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from the Underground




Two interesting images

Monday, August 2, 2010


I find this image beautiful.

Clothing by Jaiden Rva James. I don't suggest you search further because its basically just men in skirts and dresses

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Sometimes I wonder why I don't see the inside of my eyes when I look out through them. Shouldn't I see the pointed oval silhouettes framing everything I see? Shouldn't I see the tiny blood vessels and nerve endings? For I am just someone trapped inside my own body.
Two of the greatest artists in one room!
David Hockney and Lucien Freud

Thursday, July 29, 2010

This is real old photograph from Life Magazine by John Olson and I find that it has a striking resemblance to the contemporary photography of Kalle Gustafsson.


Sunday, July 25, 2010

Shoe The Bear is launching a new range of shoes createdin collaboration with the renowned Copenhagen based designer Bibi GHOST. A fullcollection of shoes and sneakers inspired partly by the French Bistro culture. Cosy atmosphere, loud and jolly people with a touch finesse, class and unpretentiousness.





Friday, July 23, 2010

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Elizabeth Peyton
Not only is she an amazing artist, she shares my admiration for David Bowie!





Tuesday, July 20, 2010


Today someone asked me "Why are you so quiet? You hardly said a word throughout the conversation." Now what on earth do you reply to this? "um... I have nothing to say..."
I thought of the real answer: It is because my psychological role in this particular social group, and in order to sustain the group dynamics, is to be the observer.
(I had to research that by the way)


Monday, July 19, 2010


Lawick Muller

"...mythological texts spanning many centuries and many cultures (from ancient India to Hollywood) have imagined what the consequences would be if those who wished for a new face were to get what they wished for...And the myths, at least, demonstrates that this is foolish, impossible, or even fatal desire." - Wendy Doniger


from: FACE - The New Photographic Portrait
William A. Ewing
Thames & Hudson

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Carl Bengtsson
see the rest of the shoot at: http://carlbengtsson.com/2-advs/1/7_nygardsanna_s-s_2009/nygardsanna_2009_3.jpg


In art we were given an art project on a social / political issue.
This is such a cliched theme but I decided to go very subtle and choose a social issue that I can identify with - Angst.
This seems to be a very insignificant issue compared to rape, abortion etc etc but for the people who experience it know how significant it really is.

Anxiety: a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome

Angst can also be linked with existentialism: the term was first attributed to Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard used the word Angst to describe a profound and deep-seated condition of insecurity and fear
in the free human being. Where the animal is a slave to its instincts but always conscious in its own actions. [wikipedia]
Stefan Sagmeister has been variously described as a genius, maniac, tactician and exhibitionist.