Secret Still

It’s Friday and for the first time in 14 years I can see clearly without glasses or contacts. To celebrate seeing things that weren’t seen before, I figured I would start off with a post about what is possibly the most incredible work of crafstmanship that I have ever seen. I am absolutely not exaggerating. Architect Eric Clough was hired to renovate an $8.5 million Park Ave. apartment. At first glance his work is impeccable. It probably wasn’t until the 103rd glance that the family that lives in the apartment noticed that Cloughs had secretly built a scavenger hunt into their home. Using hidden panels, hidden keys and sequenced keyholes, a magnetic cube, and (my personal favorite) door knockers which fit together to make a crank, Clough created a magnificent puzzle that was hidden in the walls and furniture of the apartment. I mean, Jesus Christ, have you ever heard of anything cooler than that? And he didn’t tell them about it! That’s what’s so awesome. He just put it there and then let them find it in their own good time. Who wouldn’t want to invite their friends over to the giant game of Myst that they live in? The only sad part is that once the mystery is solved, it’s over forever. Unless of course there’s another hunt built underneath the first. I would just about tear that place apart to find out.

Scavenger Hunt Home

I’m a web designer/programmer by trade (Please don’t judge me based on this website. Please.), and so it’s odd that I don’t post about more innovative web design here. The truth is, I’m picky. I’m pretty loose about a lot of the other creative fields, but in my own I’ve got a very selective eye. I know good design when I see it, but I don’t celebrate it. I celebrate great design; the kind that boggles my mind in ways I didn’t know it could be boggled. Surprisingly it’s a new website for the New Zealand Book Council that shook me up this morning. The Read at Work website mimics a Windows XP desktop, but each of the folders on the desktop contain books to read set up as faux Powerpoint presentations. The desktop idea has been done a couple of times in the past, but the design behind the Powerpoint presentations is really genius. I just literally cannot explain how perfect that shit is. I also like the idea behind the site: to read at work without getting caught. It fosters a love of reading, while at the same time turning it into something mischievous, something to “get away with.” And on top of that the selection of books they’ve incorporated into the site are great. In a field where innovation is severely limited by technology, clients, time, and talent, it makes me a little misty to see that there are still great works to be done. Damn fine job.

Read at Work

I started out the art weekend on Friday instead of Thursday. Nothing ever goes as planned. I did manage to see the Tara Foley (work pictured above) show at Fecal Face Dot Gallery. There was no visit to Rare Device. On Saturday I got to see the Needles and Pens show, but it took a little finessing on my part. I didn’t get to Receiver for their awesomeness, which bummed me a little. Vitamin A(lcohol) perked my spirits back up. For a look at the stuff and saw and the people I saw it with, read on after the jump.
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Just thought I’d point you over to one of the finest commencement speeches ever given. JK Rowling was this years commencement speaker at Harvard. The focus of her talk? Failure. She looks tired, but calm. It makes me want to hug her.

JK Rowling Harvard Commencement

Wooster Collective is covering this pretty well, but I thought I’d throw out a quick mention of Dan Witz’s latest project, Ugly New Buildings. The project is a reaction to the gentrification of the New York neighborhood that he occupies, where beautiful, old buildings being torn down to be replaced with modern monstrosities. Using re-painted photo stickers Witz gives a new twist to the Kilroy graffiti that used to be so pervasive. There really is no better street artist than Dan Witz. He involves the environment so seamlessly in his work to magnify his statement, and his photo-realistic style is flawless. See what the King of Street Art thinks of New New York.

Dan Witz - Ugly New Buildings

I’m not gonna tell you again how much I love kid’s books and the styles of illustration that go along with them. You know. I will tell you that Mark Bodnar has a style reminiscent of the kid’s book style. Reminiscent because this is the kind of work that illustrations in kid’s books talk about after you’ve gone to bed. They sit around and mention to each other how great it would’ve been to be born as a Mark Bodnar piece. Each painting is beautifully rendered, with a light and shadow like something out of a Brueghel the Elder painting. It’s also obvious that he’s got a real understanding of cartoons as a medium, where the character’s body language and expression is so well understood that dialog is secondary. I am not even kidding, this guy is in my top ten, and has been for a long time. Fortunately for me, he’s got a new print out with Letter Pressed. There’s only 75 of them suckers, so try not to snatch ‘em all up before I can scrape together the requisite funding. And his blog mentions something about a cartoon with Cartoon Network (I think it’s Stan Bayou), but I haven’t seen hide nor hair of that one. Keep your eyes open, and focused directly on Mark. I mean, don’t stare him down or anything. That’s just rude.

Mark Bodnar

In lieu of new Daily Video links today (I’ll leave yesterday’s up), I’ve decided to do a post on some interesting video sources. The key to this post is that I like to learn. No, I love to learn. I can’t stop myself. The internet, in it’s ever-evolving attempts to disseminate knowledge to the far corners of the Earth, has brought to my attention a few excellent resources for learning more than you could ever want to know about the world and the ideas that shape it. Check out my short list after the jump.
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I know that this show happened a while ago, but as I was walking through Salvation Army the other day (the whole store was 50% off), I noticed the aged, giant landscape paintings that lined the walls, staring down on windsuits and orphaned shoes like portals into pastoral universes. The paintings reminded me of the Vintage Vandals show that Wurst Gallery had, and how awesome a concept it is. If had more than five bucks on me at the time I would’ve taken one of those idyllic monsters home with me to sprinkle it with some imagination. I thought some of you might like a look back at what Vintage Vandals had to offer to inspire you to similar ends. There are so many useless paintings languishing in the dusty corners of second hand stores all over. Why buy a black velvet clown painting when you can paint your own?

Vintage Vandals

Photographic master Phillip Toledano has just dropped his latest project, titled Phone Sex. The project is actually a book (with previews available on its website) that chronicles an unsung class of sex-work heroes (wait, are there any sex workers that are sung?), the phone sex operators. Possibly one of the strangest of all human occupations is the person whom is called upon to help suspend belief for a fleeting fantastical flirtation (ALLITERATION FREAKOUT!). Each incredible photograph is accompanied by some glimpse into the world that each operator inhabits, from scat fetish to the deeper psychology of why their business even exists. I actually considered this as a job when I was broke in college, but then I realized that I hate talking on the phone. If there was a service that did sext-messaging, I could be their top earner in no time. “sext-messaging” is copyrighted, don’t go using that shit without asking me. Nah, it’s ok. I can’t contain that kind of genius anyway.

Phone Sex

So I ran into a few things today that weren’t big enough to warrant their own post. Surprisingly they’re all music related, so that’s nice. It’s nice when things go together. Nice.

Aesop Rock Interviews Del the Funky Homosapien. I have loved Del since I was 2 feet shorter and had no pubes. There’s a guy that I pass on the street sometimes that looks a lot like him and I want to say what’s up. I don’t. If it were really Del (it’s not) I would have to cry. That motherfucker is my Beatles. Bring on the new Deltron 3030 album, dammit!

Lupe Fiasco - Cold World. The first single from his new album. Sounds like this one is gonna be a banger for sure.

Chester French. These two Cambridge boys just got signed by Pharell Williams. Why? Because they are actually pretty good. Even if they’re pictures all look a little douchbagesque.

I won’t be around tomorrow. I’ve got an early appointment to find out if they can shoot lasers into my eyes. They’ll be surprised to learn that I can shoot lasers out of my eyes. LASER EYE BATTLE! Then I get those awesome wrap-around, bakelite sunglasses that old people wear. Stylish. If you’re lucky I’ll take a picture for you.