BEAUTY: Art--Slinkachu

The London artist who goes by the single, enigmatic name of Slinkachu sculpts miniature--and I mean miniature--people and photographs his creations in site specific, full scale settings. I love how he photographs the figures close up, and then gradually farther away until we get the full effect. The results are comical but also vaguely disturbing. His photos are imbued with a sense of concern for these tiny hapless people who could be stepped on, squashed or run over at any moment... and by extension, we see ourselves reflected in these oblivious, wee folks surrounded by a larger, dangerous and invisible--to them--world. In the grand scheme of things, we are as small and helpless as these tiny figures, surrounded by larger elements, never knowing what might step on us, squash us or run us over.

Top to bottom: The Last Resort; The Sights; Spilt Milk; Background Noise

http://slinkachu.com/home
http://little-people.blogspot.com/

BEAUTY: Painting--TM Davy

Based in Brooklyn, the amazingly talented TM Davy is quite young--born in 1980--to be painting like an Old Master.

Top to bottom: Sum Time (oil on pillowcase); Like A Record; Self Portrait Before I Cut My Hair; Self Portrait; The Haircut

http://www.tmdavy.com/paintings.html

BEAUTY: Men--Parts

Parts.
A glimpse of a neck or a hairy arm is just as sexy...

Currently listening to...

...the trippy, buzzy "Fear Of Flying" by Bowery Electric.

http://brainwashed.com/bowery/

Happy Birthday Constantin Brâncuşi!

Born in Romania on February 19, 1876, sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi is inarguably one of the fathers of modernism. His works challenged and changed perceptions of sculpture and art in the early part of the twentieth century. He left Romania as a young man for Paris and was a student of Rodin in 1903 but soon left saying, “Nothing can grow under big trees.” Thankfully he did, because the world might have had a second rate Rodin-copyist instead of a forward thinking genius who sculpted the essence of things instead of their reality. His impressive circle of friends in Paris included writers and fellow visual artists Ezra Pound, Guillaume Apollinaire, Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Henri Rousseau, and Fernand Léger.

He died in 1957 in Paris, donating his studio and its contents—215 sculptures and 1200 photos—to the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris. Contemporary architect Renzo Piano has recreated Brancusi's atelier, down to the last detail, near the Pompidou Centre in Paris and it is open to the public.

Top to bottom: Bird In Space; Infinite Column; Princess X; Sleeping Muse; The Newborn; a view of Brancusi works in Atelier Brancusi, in Paris

BEAUTY: Art--Vladimir Nikolic

Serbian conceptual artist Vladimir Nikolic has hilariously paired photos of automobiles with images of himself making the same perceived face (it's all in the brilliant and subtle placement of his lips and eyebrows). It's clever because I have always felt that cars have faces. I do not anthropomorphize everything (I have a friend who sees faces in almost every inanimate object) but it is quite easy to see that cars have faces: the headlights are clearly eyes and the grill is the mouth.


http://www.vladimir-nikolic.com/index.html

BEAUTY: Interiors--Jeff Andrews

L.A.-based interior designer Jeff Andrews is my new favorite designer! He designed a spectacular retro home for a choreographer which references the 60s/70s, discos, and the Playboy Club. It is dizzyingly plush, dark, exciting, and sexy.

I particularly like the living room's highly lacquered brown walls; the vertical tile backsplash in the kitchen; the amazingly daring powder room with its bold wallpaper that seems like it would clash with the live-edge granite counter and all the other elements--but doesn't; and the dining room with a ball chain curtain and gorgeous silvered ball pendant lights. Phenomenal!



http://www.jeffandrews-design.com/

BEAUTY: Interior--Jeff Andrews

Jeff Andrews, of the wild, retro extravaganza in the previous post here, created a room for the third annual Showtime House in New York City. His inspiration? Showtime's "Dexter," starring Michael C. Hall.

California Home + Design writes: "Andrews played with organic materials and hard surfaces to create a place where the forensic scientist/serial killer main character could decadently embrace his darker side. Andrews covered the floor in embossed leather with a patchwork cowhide rug in the center and designed an entertainment center, bar and hanging platform bed using salvaged wood and metal (a reference to Dexter’s beloved boat, where actor Michael C. Hall told the designer his character feels most at home). For the bar area, Andrews enlarged a screen shot of Dexter’s eyeball peering through a microscope and separated it into six black-and-white segments. Above the bar, Andrews created a light fixture using 22 exposed light bulbs. For an art installation in the office area, he arranged pieces of petrified wood into two fragmented circular designs on the wall. 'We had fun alluding to Dexter’s dark side, but we didn’t want the room to feel like a set. His character is an intelligent blood-splatter analyst who basically gets away with murder every week, so all items were well considered,' says Andrews, who also designed Hall’s own West Hollywood condo, albeit with fewer sharp objects."



http://www.jeffandrews-design.com/

BEAUTY: Interiors--Kitchens

Lovely kitchens... some sophisticated, some unique and eclectic.

Top to bottom:
1) Katie Ridder http://www.katieridder.com/
2) and 3) Brown Design http://www.browndesigninc.com/
4) unknown design
5)Ina-Matt Design http://ina-matt.com/

BEAUTY: Interiors--Candice Olson

My favorite TV designer (the only true interior designer on TV as far as I am concerned) and major inspiration in my own design business, Candice Olson deserves an entire and separate post about the kitchens she has created. Candice is a complete master of light and material.


Her first show, "Divine Design" still airs.
http://divinedesign.tv/master.asp
http://www.hgtv.com/divine-design/show/index.html

Her new show, "Candice Tells All" airs on HGTV on Saturday evenings.
http://www.hgtv.com/candice-tells-all/show/index.html

Her own website is:
http://www.candiceolson.com/