Monday, April 30, 2012

1Q84 paperback

And speaking of beautiful books, the 3-volume paperback boxed set of Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 is simply stunning. Too bad I already own it in hardcover.

(Via Word)

Malcolm Gladwell illustrated by Brian Rea

What happens when you take the collected works of one of the foremost literary minds of our time and redesign, repackage and illustrate them? Something pretty incredible is what.




Malcom Gladwell: Collected is a beautiful re-imagining of Gladwell's books, with the help of the fantastic LA-based illustrator Brian Rea and designer Paul Sahre. The result is a gorgeously-designed, hardcover boxed set whose illustrations lend a whole new dimension to these illuminating reads. For more about this project, check out an interview with Brian Rea over on Los Angeles I'm Yours.

(Via The Fox Is Black)

Saturday, April 28, 2012

mysteries of vernacular - pants


I don't usually post on the weekend, but as Jessica Oreck just put up a new Mysteries of Vernacular, I couldn't resist. It's all about pants! Fascinating!

Friday, April 27, 2012

Designer of the Month: Antoni Gaudí

Week 4: La Sagrada Família

Antoni Gaudí, La Sagrada Família, 1882-1926. Courtesy of La Sagrada Família online.

No discussion of Antoni Gaudí's work could possibly be complete without La Sagrada Família (1882-1926). Not only is it his most famous commission, but it was a project that Gaudí devoted his entire life to - from the earliest years of his career to his death - and which still, to this day, remains unfinished. As is explained in the church's history:
The expiatory church of La Sagrada Família is a work on a grand scale which was begun on 19 March 1882 from a project by the diocesan architect Francisco de Paula del Villar (1828-1901). At the end of 1883 Gaudí was commissioned to carry on the works, a task which he did not abandon until his death in 1926. Since then different architects have continued the work after his original idea.

The building is in the centre of Barcelona, and over the years it has become one of the most universal signs of identity of the city and the country. It is visited by millions of people every year and many more study its architectural and religious content.

It has always been an expiatory church, which means that since the outset, 130 years ago now, it has been built from donations. Gaudí himself said: 'The expiatory church of La Sagrada Família is made by the people and is mirrored in them. It is a work that is in the hands of God and the will of the people.'[1]
So, how did an architect like Gaudí get involved in such an incredible undertaking in the first place? As was the theme throughout his career, it's all about who you know: the architect Joan Martorell, with whom Gaudí had apprenticed and worked on a number of other significant projects, recommended that Gaudí take over as the architect after tensions between Martorell and Fancisco de Paula del Villar caused del Villar to resign.[2]

 Antoni Gaudí, La Sagrada Família, 1882-1926. Courtesy of La Sagrada Família online.

And take over he did, radically altering the project in both style and scope.[3] Like the other projects of his that we've seen this month, La Sagrada Família looks unlike any other structure of its kind. While the Neo-Gothic style is certainly evident, as per the building's original design, Gaudí was thinking much larger in both scope and form, designing what is essentially an architectural allegory for Christianity itself. As Lluís Permanyer explains:
Gaudí imagined a structure of strong verticality, an apotheosis of eighteen spires representing the twelve Apostles, the four Evangelists, the Virgin, and Christ, who would have been symbolized by a tower soaring over five hundred feet. He intended to install a system of bells in the towers which would have been activated by the force of the wind. Three facades were to illustrate with sculptural images of the Nativity, the Passion, and the Resurrection of Christ. The iconography of the exterior was rich and complex in its conception; a profusion of symbols to representational sculpture, were to convey a multitude of messages. Light is as fundamental to this structure as the stone used to build it. Gaudí conceived the interior of the church as a vast forest of columns flooded with light.[4]
 Antoni Gaudí, Interior of La Sagrada Família, 1882-1926. Courtesy of La Sagrada Família online.

There are no other major works by Gaudí after 1914 because he spent the end of his career entirely devoted to La Sagrada Família, even going so far as to spend the last few months of his life living next to his workshop.[5] Although the work progressed slowly, Gaudí was happy with his masterpiece. "There is no reason to regret that I cannot finish the church," Gaudí stated, "I will grow old but others will come after me. What must always be conserved is the spirit of the work, but its life has to depend on the generations it is handed down to and with whom it lives and is incarnated."[6]  Gaudí died on June 10, 1926.  He was buried in the Carmen Chapel in the crypt of La Sagrada Família, where his remains still lie.[7] And although the church is still not complete, its construction, which continues to follow Gaudí's design, is estimated be to be completed "some time in the first third of the 21st century."[8]


[1] La Sagrada Família online, "History: Expiatory Church," http://www.sagradafamilia.cat/sf-eng/docs_instit/historia.php, (accessed April 25, 2012).


[2] Lluís Permanyer, "Introduction: The Man and the City," from Gaudí of Barcelona, ed. Lluís Permanyer, (New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1996.), 8, 170. 

[3] Ibid., 170.


[4] Ibid., 172.


[5] La Sagrada Família online, "History: Gaudí: 1914-1926," http://www.sagradafamilia.cat/sf-eng/docs_instit/historia1_c.php, (accessed April 25, 2012).

[6] Ibid.


[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Lucy Eldridge





I am quite taken with Brighton-based illustrator Lucy Eldridge's wonderful watercolor and pencil works. Her animals are particularly charming, but it's also hard to deny the appeal of a series like Bearded Men Eating Fancy Desserts In The Great Outdoors and After I Read Murakami's 1Q84 Vol.1, 2 & 3. See more on her website, and purchase work in her shop.

(Via Gems)

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Thomas Allen





Michigan-based artist Thomas Allen creates these remarkable works from the pages of old books. It's a combination of creative construction and cinematic eye that brings these stunning illustrations to life. See more of Allen's work, including a whole series of works made from vintage pulp fiction, on his website.

(Via Colossal)

Monday, April 23, 2012

gemma correll

What better way to start of the week than with some of Gemma Correll's work? Her illustrations and comics are the absolute perfect blend of hilarity, insight and amusing animal antics.






See more on her website, Flickr, blog, and shop.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Designer of the Month: Antoni Gaudí

Week 3: Casa Batlló and Casa Milà

Antoni Gaudí, Casa Batlló, 1904-1907, Barcelona. Photo © Adrian Beesley/iStockPhoto.com. Courtesy of About.com.


While the Palau Güell brought a high level of visibility to Antoni Gaudí, the response wasn't all positive. The building was the source of much speculation and curiosity during its construction, and for a time, it even served as as a source of many jokes. The daily paper La Vanguardia stated that a dungeon and lion's cage from Biblical times has been discovered on the site, while the satirical magazine ¡Cu-Cut! published a cartoon of the facade with the remarks of two astonished citizens: "This looks like a jail," one proclaims; "No it's the house of a gentleman," the other replies.[1] Not that any of this criticism and satire seemed to bother Gaudí. He not only refused to be put off by others' reactions, but became known for his own witticisms and rejoinders.

 Antoni Gaudí, Casa Batlló staircase, 1904-07, Barcelona. Courtesy of Gaudí: Designer.

But Palau Güell was just the first of what would be many prominent residences with which Gaudí would decorate the streets of Barcelona. In 1904, Gaudí was commissioned by Josep Batlló  Casanovas to make dramatic alterations to a building that he owned on the fashionable Passeig de Gràcia, an open-air avenue where Barcelona's high society gathered to stroll and be seen.[2] As with earlier projects by Gaudí, the construction of Casa Batlló (1904-1907) was eagerly followed by Barcelona's residents, and it's safe to say that the finished product did not disappoint. From the slender columns of sandstone and balconies suggestive of human bones, details which earned it the nickname Casa dels Ossos (House of Bones), to its scale-like multicolored slate whose sinuous form evokes the figure of yet another dragon, Casa Batlló is a shimmering, fantastical residence.[3] And of course, in addition to creating this remarkable facade, Gaudí was just as meticulous with the interior of Casa Batlló, designing such features as undulating, sculptural rooms; impressive stained-glass windows; a multi-toned, glass-tiled well; and over 60 arches that make up the loft-like interior of the roof.[4]

Antoni Gaudí, Casa Milà postcard, 1914. Courtesy of Gaudí: Designer.

Upon seeing the unique residence that Gaudí had designed for Batlló, Pedro Milà Camps, not to be outdone by his friend and business partner, promptly commissioned an apartment building of his own on the same avenue, but in an even more visible location.[5] Once again, the city went wild with speculation. Casa Milà (1906-1910), also known as La Pedrera ("The Quarry"), was characterized as everything from a hanger for zeppelins and an Easter cake to the result of an earthquake - none of these descriptions, however, do the building proper justice.[6] With its undulating facade of stone (hence, the nickname), punctuated by fanciful wrought iron balconies, there have been many theories as to Gaudí's inspiration for its design, which vary from ocean waves to that of a mountain crowned by a cloud.[7] As Lluís Permanyer describes this unique structure:
Casa Milà is actually two buildings, each arranged around a curvilinear central patio, and each with a central entrance...if one of the characteristics of the modernista period was indeed a lack of structural innovation, Casa Milà is not only avant-garde but truly revolutionary in this respect. Thanks to a framework of pillars and steel girders, Gaudí was able to eliminate bearing walls, and thus could alter the distribution of space on each floor as much as he liked. The same asymmetry that governs the facade also characterizes the interior.[8]
Antoni Gaudí, Casa Milà wrought iron balconies. Courtesy of Gaudí: Designer.


[1] Lluís Permanyer, "Introduction: The Man and the City," from Gaudí of Barcelona, ed. Lluís Permanyer, (New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1996.), 9.


[2] Ibid., 9, 128.


[3] Casa Batlló online, "Enjoy Yourself: CB Top 10, Special Corners," http://www.casabatllo.es/en/special-corners/, (accessed April 19, 2012).


[4] Casa Batlló online, http://www.casabatllo.es, (accessed April 19, 2012).


[5] Lluís Permanyer, "Introduction: The Man and the City," from Gaudí of Barcelona, ed. Lluís Permanyer, (New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1996.), 9-10.


[6] Ibid., 10.


[7] Lluís Permanyer, "The Works: Illustrations and Commenteries," from Gaudí of Barcelona, ed. Lluís Permanyer, (New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1996.), 150.

[8] Ibid., 158-160.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Mark Powell






I am completely in awe of artist Mark Powell's Biro Pen Drawings. Executed on stamped and faded old envelopes, these unbelievably detailed, delicately rendered portraits are simply stunning works of art. You can see more on Mark's website and Flickr, or purchase prints through Society6.

(Via Colossal)

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

mister t

It's not often that I'm impressed by a new piece of furniture, especially since it's so rare to see a truly new piece of furniture that's both aesthetically and functionally well designed. French designer Antoine Lesur's Mister T, however, immediately caught my eye.





Created for Oxyo in partnership with Made In Design, Mister T is composed of a basket, two cushions and a tray that ingeniously fit together to make a coffee table, seat and footrest all in one. And while this design is clearly all about versatility and functionality, with its handsome blond plywood and three color options ("dynamic green," "Scandinavian blue," or "black and while"), it's a piece of furniture that I would be happy to welcome into my home. 

(Via Design Milk)

Monday, April 16, 2012

the real cookbook

The Real Cookbook, from German design firm KOREFE, isn't your average recipe filled tome. Made 100% out of pasta, it's meant to be opened, filled with ingredients, and finally, cooked. So, what does one make from an edible cookbook?




Why, lasagna, of course! You may only be able to use it once, but this cookbook is as clever as it is undoubtedly tasty. 

(Via Flavorwire)