Snapshot Berlin

Berlin: Shepard Fairey @ Merry Karnowsky Gallery

Caught the opening reception for graphic designer / DJ / street artist / Obey Giant guy Shepard Fairey's Print Retrospective 1997-2009 at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery on our last night in Berlin.

Celebrated as a Person of the Year in 2008 by GQ Magazine, Fairey's HOPE poster in support of Obama's run for President became a part of the US National Portrait Gallery's permanent collection in January.

Worth visiting. Till July 11.

Germany: it's all about the sausage

Spiekeroog.
East Frisian island off the North coast of Germany.
Population 825.
Ferry access twice daily.
One hair salon.
Two ATMs.
One grocery store.
FORTY-FOUR kinds of sausage on shelf.























There was also an in-house butcher.














Who would expect the demand to be so fierce?
The wall of sausage was so strikingly iconic and yet so unexpected, I had to document it...

HK: art installation or public service announcement?

Snapped at Hong Kong International Airport:
A water fountain so smartly wrapped, it looks like an installation.
In fact, the tailored sleeve is there to prevent the unwitting spread of swine flu. Serve and protect with style!

Hong Kong International Art Fair 09

The HK International Art Fair was on last weekend. Definitely time well spent. Here are a few mobile snaps...






































Among the featured artists: Anish Kapoor, Damien Hirst, Julian Opie, Keiichi Tanaami, Kusama Yayoi, and one of my new faves - Korean artist Lee Jae Hyo, whose signature works are massive sculptures of wood and stainless bolts.




A true icon of the digital age, Julian Opie's lenticular, pixelboard and "moving pictures" garnered more than a few double-takes.




Anish Kapoor's Hex Hex (2008, stainless steel, 205 x 230.5 x 45 cm) - a mirrored concave of hexagons with the effect of an towering inverted fly's eye.

Nisha magazine (Israel)

Last August, a request for press photos came from Nisha, "Israel's leading home interior and product design magazine." They were after lighting and furniture for an article featuring products from Japan.

The relevant shots went out, but the promised mag never materialized...

If anyone out there can communicate in Hebrew (even a little bit), please contact me. I'd love some help! :)

Coming soon... Stuffz: Design on Material

Another title in the pipeline, Stuffz: Design on Material (2009, BigBrosWorkshop), is due to hit the shops (online and on-shelf) any day now. To pre-order, check Gingko Press.

Simply Material

Uni lights make a happy appearance in Simply Material (2008) - the first book in the "Simply..." series by enthusiastic art and design addicts / publishers Victionary.

Cutting Edge Patterns and Textures

Some of our pattern designs have been published in the punchy resource of 300+ pages, Cutting Edge Patterns and Textures, (2008, MaoMao Publications / Rockport / PageOne)

[below: cover and spreads from the PageOne edition]

Rip van ...

Long hibernation since the last post, though we've hardly been snoozing in the humidity of HK's sub-tropical climes.

Coming up: a few peeks at some of the things that have been percolating in the interim...

Farewell: Open For Design

The past few months have been unbelievably busy with big changes, and getting settled in HK. More on that to come.

But first, Open for Design is coming to a close, with final posts up at the end of October. The link will be up till November 30th, then it's officially farewell. Check it out while you still can!

Following is a summary of my posts since the last overview.

June: Material
> You Can Take It with You - a look at paper funereal offerings in the 21st century
> Money Money Money - the evolution of money from material to virtual wealth
> Fantastic Plastic? - anti-plastic bag initiatives and having another think about whether plastic is friend or foe.
> Water, Water Everywhere - water as muse in all states of matter

July: Motion
> Call Me - mobile phones: master or servant?
> It moves, but does it move you? - tunnel ads
> Overcoming Obstacles - Australian parkour team "Trace Elements" visit Hong Kong
> Spacesuits Optional - a.k.a the 250,000-mile diet - feasting on the harvest from seeds which have been blasted into outerspace

August: Desire
> You can't always get what you want - the perfect fairy tale wedding at Tokyo's St. Grace Cathedral
> Mies remixed - being content with less
> She got bling - from hooker to looker: Barbie's ascent to stardom
> The Life List - does it work? (one case where it did)

September: Flow
> Motion capture: the mastery of NY-based French artist WK Interact
> Moving masses: managing pedestrian traffic in retail
> Good vibrations: feng shui and balancing energy for health and wealth
> Moon Festival: Mid-Autumn Festival moon cakes and 3,000 years of tradition

October: Connection
> Paper Scissors Rock: getting inspired in graphic design, fashion & architecture
> Geek Love: drawing obsessions with music, fashion, art and design together via collectable toys
> IZAt: a stylish temporary shelter by Tokolo Asao & Imakita Hitoshi
> Not-so-secret liaisons: the PostSecret phenomena