D-Crit 2012, “Eventually Everything”

D-Crit, the graduate program in design criticism at School of Visual Arts, has just minted their third class of MFA students. “Eventually Everything,” a half-day conference featuring talks by the students and invited design professionals took place this past Wednesday. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend for work reasons. I was able to live-stream the last hour or so which was terrific, but not quite the same as being there in person.

In Tara Gupta’s critique of health club design she analysed the “you are being watched” décor of nonstop mirrors and glass as reminiscent of the philosophy behind the panopticon prison design. And that’s not the only thing prison-like about health clubs. Turns out the exercise machines have more to do with torture devices than mere looks. Treadmills were popular in early Victorian era British prisons. Inmates walked for hours as enforced labor to power mills, and the mind-numbing monotony was thought to be a most effective form of punishment.

I was astonished to learn in Barbara Eldredge’s “Missing the Modern Gun: Object Ethics in Collections of Design,” that while we have enough guns in this country to arm every man, woman, and child, NOT ONE single design museum in the U.S. has a modern gun in its collection. Talk about denial!!!

You can read summaries of the talks here, and the videos should be available for viewing sometime in the next two weeks. You can view video of the 2011 and 2010 conferences there as well.

Tyrants in a Tent

In early May, a mere four days after Bin Laden’s death was announced, I attended the Housing Works 'Design on a Dime' fundraiser at Metropolitan Pavilion. It was only upon arriving at the Mideast-themed booth of designer Michael Bagley, that I took out my camera. On the tented wall were portraits of America’s favorite tyrannical trio. How perfect to see the “poster boys” of treachery and terror--Saddam, Muammar, and Osama--rendered as actual Warholized pop posters.

Qaddafi’s youngest son had been killed the previous week, and the world was watching and wondering: Would an exile be successfully brokered, or would Libya’s maniacal ruler “fight to his last drop of blood,” as he had vowed?

Ryoji Ikeda: Data Jockey

Once again, the Park Avenue Armory makes the most of its vast drill hall for a commissioned work of art. In ‘Transfinite,’ Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda programs data from sources such as NASA and the Human Genome Project to create a mesmerizing, immersive, “visual and sonic environment …” Hey isn’t that what they used to call a sound & light show? Read more here.










The black, white, and gray of the Ikeda installation felt even more stark to me, having come directly from a very lively and colorful kids’ art show.
'French Toast' was one of the visual-pun sculptures fifth graders created.


Fourth graders all made collage self portraits
ala Stephen Kroninger.
There was a ‘sonic’ element to this art show too. I got to hear the school band perform a few numbers. They did an excellent rendition of Mercy, Mercy, Mercy. (Link is for the Cannonball Adderley original.)

Brimfield Blues

I have to believe that at some point during the Brimfield antique show's 50-year history, some dejected dealer, picking away at an unsold Gibson, came up with the Brimfield Blues. I’m imagining that it was in the 95-degree heat of July, or a solid week of rain. One thing I can say for sure, though, is that it was not written nor sung this year. I’ve never seen a happier bunch of dealers than the vendors at Brimfield last week. I’d say the report on sales ranged from happy to delirious. That’s how good business was—even after one day. I’m sure there’s a economic indicator in there somewhere …

But back to blue. My first treat of the day was waiting for me in the bushes right outside the front door. Four exquisite robin’s eggs, in an expertly crafted nest. Consummate perfection is definitely a good way to start the day.

We stopped at the Sturbridge Coffee House for refueling, and were greeted by this fabulous Plymouth Fury parked right in front. By the way they have very delicious muffin tops and a sign at the counter poses the question, "What's Your Cup Size?"
It was when I watched Terry get out of the car in her cerulean parka, that I realized there was a definite blue thing going on.
Here’s how the theme played out the rest of the day…

Roof level of a multistory toy parking garage










Aren’t these incredible? They were rescued from an old house in Massachusetts and were at the same Antique Therapy booth I wrote about the other day. So far, I haven’t been able to find anything about the Armand Art Studio of Detroit.

Blue eyeshadow--just the right accent for a pink cat. Don't you think?

Artist, Terry Rosen, was scouring Brimfield for vintage New England ephemera. When she hunts, she doesn’t just look on the tables, she looks under the tables. Which is a good thing because her eagle eye spotted this flea market equivalent of “today’s news, tomorrow’s fish wrap.”

'The World of Interiors' Covers

“I am not a library, I am not an archive.” That is the mantra I repeat as I struggle to let go of a stack of magazines or any other piece of paper I don’t have room for, or that I don’t “need.”

In the mid 1990s, I subscribed to UK-based The World of Interiors. I loved being surprised each month by the inventive design and quirky subject-matter, and I still cannot part with them. When I contemplate tossing them, from time to time, I flip “once more” only to find a piece of crucial information/inspiration. That’s all I need to call off the purge. Recently, when I thought, for a few minutes, that I could actually chuck them, these first two issues were the ones I thought I would keep just for the covers.

The bejeweled feet, above, gracing the March 2000 cover, are embroidered Moroccan slippers. How perfect they are on the staircase in the Tangier home belonging to antiques dealer and collector Christopher Gibbs.


The bold wool fabric, on the cover of the March 1998 issue, is not related to the longest, nor the most significant story in the issue. It is linked to a two-page story wedged into the listings section at the end of the book. Upcoming at a Sotheby’s auction, would be an archive of swatch books from the Calico Printers Association, a society of the many textile weavers and printers located during the 19th Century in Lanceshire’s Rossendale Valley. These amazing designs, which could easily be 1920s art deco, were actually produced in 1845.




I’m throwing in a few more of the covers from the late 1990s. These issues ran without cover lines, and in those days, the issues came wrapped, so there was no bar-code disturbance either.

June 1997

July 1998

October 1996

May 1997

December 1998

Barton’s Sweet Spot

Founded in 1940 by Viennese chocolatier Stephen Klein, Barton’s Bonbonniere was known for selling kosher chocolates. Bringing a box or tin of Barton’s chocolate was standard when visiting friends or relatives on Jewish holidays. (Remember the illustrated black tin of Almond Kisses?)

The first Barton's store was located on 81st St. and Broadway in Manhattan, and was designed by Victor Gruen, who, like Klein, was originally from Vienna. He went on to design eleven of their stores including the 50th store in 1952.

This colorful store interior appeared in the August 1952 issue of Architectural Digest. Alvin Lustig consulted on the graphics.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year of 5771, begins tonight. It is customary to celebrate by eating sweets and wishing others a “sweet” year.

May it be a sweet and peaceful year for all.

Via Mondoblogo, via sandiv999