Black Chrome in L.A

If you're in L.A at this date you should go there and have a look.

Sunday, February 8, 2009, 2pm - Behind the Blur: Examining African American Motorcycle CultureNa'il "Shayk" Karim, publisher of The Black Biker Magazine discusses black motorcycle culture and sub-culture from the World War II era to the present and the long ignored contributions of Black bikers such as Bessie Stringfield and others.

Through photos, interviews, objects and 16 tricked-out motorcycles that range from choppers to drag bikes, this California-focused exhibition spotlights the innovations and creativity of African Americans that significantly changed the landscape of American motorcycling since World War II.


The exhibition is a collaborative project funded by the Automobile Club of Southern California and Friends, The Foundation of the California African American Museum.

READ MORE - Black Chrome in L.A

The Fallingwater House... an architectural icone

Fallingwater, also known as the Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. Residence, is a house designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The house was built partly over a waterfall in Bear Run at Rural Route 1 in the Mill Run section of Stewart Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in the Laurel Highlands of the Allegheny Mountains.



Hailed by TIME magazine shortly after its completion as Wright's "most beautiful job," the home inspired Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead, and is listed among Smithsonian magazine's Life List of 28 places "to visit before ...it's too late."
Fallingwater was featured in Bob Vila's A&E Network production, Guide to Historic Homes of America.
Edgar Kaufmann Sr. was a successful Pittsburgh businessman and founder of Kaufmann's Department Store. His son, Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., studied architecture under Wright briefly.

READ MORE - The Fallingwater House... an architectural icone

Books reviews (Christmas time!)

Jim Philips and Rick Griffin : two of the main illustrators from the psychedelic area 

Skate,Surf, rock, bikes and cars, very fun drawings and a good inspiration source.

READ MORE - Books reviews (Christmas time!)

The CHANEL Museum

Zaha Hadid Architects


The form of the Chanel Pavilion is a celebration of the iconic work of Chanel, unmistakeable for its smooth layering of exquisite details that together create an elegant, cohesive whole. The resulting structure is very much tied to that original inspiration—elegant, functional, and versatile both in its overall structure and detail.
The architectural structure of the Pavilion is a series of continuous arch-shaped elements, with a courtyard in its central space. The glazed ceiling adjusts to allow for control of the interior temperature in response to the particular climate conditions of each venue city.



Natural light descending from seven elements on the ceiling, meets artificial light pushed up from gap between the walls and raised floor to emphasize the “arched” structure, and assists in the creation of a new artificial landscape for art installations. Six of these elements are roof lights for artworks; another large opening dramatically floods the entrance in daylight to blur the relationship between interior and exterior. In addition to the lighting and colour effects, the spatial rhythm created by the seams of each segment gives strong perspective views throughout the interior.



The size of the Pavilion will be 29m x 45m, a total of 700sqm. The overall height is 6m, with the floor raised 1.00m above the existing ground surface. In light of the extensive shipping between cities, each structural segment will be a maximum of 2,25m wide.
The 65sqm central courtyard has large transparent openings to the sky above and is designed to host events as well as provide an area for reflection after visiting the exhibition. The courtyard serves as an intermediate space between the exhibition and a public area of the Pavilion. A 25sqm cloakroom is also provided.



With a direct visual connection to the courtyard, the 128sqm terrace continues this dialogue between the Pavilion’s exterior and interior. During an event, the two spaces could be linked to become one large event zone.



Reflective materials allow the exterior skin to be illuminated with varying colours which can be tailored to the differing programmes of special events in each city.
The dichotomy between the powerful sculptural mass of the Chanel Pavilion’s structure and the lightness of its envelope create a bold and enigmatic element.



The Pavilion’s exterior develops into a rich variety of interior spaces that maximize the potential to reuse and rethink space due to the innate flexibility of its plan.



The total fluidity of the Chanel Pavilion’s curvilinear geometries is an obvious continuation of Hadid’s 30-years of exploration and research into systems of continuous transformations and smooth transitions. With this repertoire of morphology, Zaha Hadid is able to translate the ephemeral typology of a pavilion into the sensual forms required for this celebration of Chanel’s cultural importance.

READ MORE - The CHANEL Museum

Dennis Hopper in Paris

http://www.cinematheque.fr/

READ MORE - Dennis Hopper in Paris

Frederic Remington : A Sculptor

Frederic Sackrider Remington (October 4, 1861 - December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions of the Old American West, specifically concentrating on the last quarter of the 19th century American West and images of cowboys, American Indians, and the U.S. Cavalry.

In 1886, Remington was sent to Arizona by Harper's Weekly on a commission as an artist-correspondent to cover the government’s war against Geronimo. Although he never caught up with Geronimo, Remington did acquire many authentic artifacts to be used later as props, and made many photos and sketches valuable for later paintings. He also made notes on the true colors of the West, such as “shadows of horses should be a cool carmine & Blue”, to supplement the black and white photos. Ironically, art critics later criticized his palette as “primitive and unnatural” even though it was based on actual observation.



Remington’s fame made him a favorite of the Western Army officers fighting the last Indian battles. He was invited out West to make their portraits in the field and to gain them national publicity through Remington’s articles and illustrations for Harper's Weekly, particularly General Nelson Miles, an Indian fighter who aspired to the presidency of the United States.In turn, Remington got exclusive access to the soldiers and their stories, and boosted his reputation with the reading public as “The Soldier Artist”. Remington arrived on the scene just after the Massacre at Wounded Knee, in which over 300 Sioux were slaughtered and which he reported it as “The Sioux Outbreak in South Dakota”, praising the Army’s ”heroic” actions in dealing with the Indians.Some of the Miles paintings are monochromatic and have an almost “you-are-there” photographic quality, heightening the realism, as in The Parley (1898)



Its not hard to find how Jeff Decker & Frederic Remington could have been friends...
Jeff Decker



Remington’s had developed a sculptor’s 360 degree sense of vision but until a chance remark by playwright Augustus Thomas in 1895, Remington had not yet conceived of himself as a sculptor and thought of it as a separate art for which he had no training or aptitude.With help from friend and sculptor Frederick Ruckstuhl, Remington constructed his first armature and clay model, a “bronco buster” where the horse is reared on its hind legs—technically a very challenging subject. After several months, the novice sculptor overcame the difficulties and had a plaster cast made, then bronze copies, which were sold at Tiffany’s. Remington was ecstatic about his new line of work, and though critical response was mixed, some labelling it negatively as “illustrated sculpture”, it was a successful first effort earning him $6,000 over three years.

In 1991 the PBS series American Masters filmed a documentary of Remington's life called Frederic Remington: The Truth of Other Days produced and directed by Tom Neff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic_Remington

READ MORE - Frederic Remington : A Sculptor