Looking at a large selection of Andy Warhol’s Polaroids after The Impossible Project posted some of them on their Facebook, I can’t help but being baffled by their modernity.

Of course I had seen some of them before, but here and there, and usually one at a time. Now it seems we are going to have increasing opportunities to see a lot more of them…

If you’re in New York for instance, you can see some of Andy Warhol’s Polaroids – as well as more intimate Black & White photographs taken with various point and shoot cameras – at the Danziger Gallery until April 21, 2012. The exhibition is entitled “Andy Warhol: Photographer / Photographs from The Hedges Collection”.

In the words of Christopher Bollen :

“The Hedges Collection of Andy Warhol photographs covers the range of Warhol’s output – from photo-booth portraits to stitched photographs – but it is composed primarily of two distinct inventories of photographic prints. The first are his iconic color Polaroids of celebrities and society figures. The second, lesser known group are the black-and-white 8x10s that are almost diaristic in proposition, detailing personal trips and intimate encounters. Together they etch with dramatic dimension a side of the artist that is still being explored.”

Another exhibition – from January 27 to May 20, 2012 – “Andy Warhol: Polaroids / MATRIX 240″ at The Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive is showing mostly never seen portraits shot between 1970 & 1987.

And while I think Warhol’s Polaroid portraits are phenomenal, I absolutely love his Still-Life shots…

The photos in this post have been shown at the Paul Kasmin Gallery, New york, from October 29, 2008 to January 10, 2009.

And yes, reading the text from the Berkeley Art Museum’s exhibition, we have not finished seeing Andy Warhol’s photographs, for :

“From 1970 to 1987 Andy Warhol took scores of Polaroid and black-and-white photographs, the vast majority of which were never seen by the public. These images often served as the basis for his commissioned portraits, silk-screen paintings, drawings, and prints. In 2007, to commemorate its twentieth anniversary, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts launched the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program. Designed to give a broad public greater access to Warhol’s photographs, the program donated over 28,500 of Warhol’s original Polaroids and gelatin silver prints to more than 180 college and university museums and galleries across the country. Each institution received a curated selection of over one hundred Polaroids and fifty black-and-white prints.”

Now I just wish I was living in America sometimes…

Sources :
Photos from Hypebeast.
Danziger Gallery, 527 West 23rd Street, New York.
Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive.
Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York.

How pissed are you about that taste test you took on Etsy one day just to have fun only to discover that it is now stuck on your front page on top of the featured treasury – which you can barely see any more since you do not have that big of a screen – and now the beauty, the perfection of that iconic front page of Etsy is gone forever ? I mean seriously ? What were they thinking, what bizarre algorithm are they using to come up with such ridiculous results ? It’s not who you are, it’s not even pretty, come on !

So you’re pissed, you’re looking everywhere on your settings to find the option to remove it, nope, nothing there, then you google something like “how to get rid of the taste test on Etsy” knowing it would probably lead you to the forums anyway (but it’s easier that way) and there it is, apparently once you’ve taken the test, you’re stuck with it…

Shadow Talkers #1 of 3 by Jamie Ribisi-Braley.

At that point maybe you’re thinking of sending them a nice email “Dear Etsy, please tell me how to take the taste test off my front page, it messes everything up, and I do not like the results that are presented to me, most of the stuff is not even beautiful, please, please, please…”

“So Long As Nothing Changes I” by Kai Samuels-Davis @ Windy Lane Studio.

I was pissed.

I was really, really pissed.

I was pissed for about a day. And then I got over it. I got over it remembering a few things.

First, since you cannot get rid of it – at least for the moment – there is no point in wasting any energy on being mad. It’s a bit like being mad at the weather – or anything else you have no power upon – you cannot change it, deal with it, and make the best of it.

Original Ink Painting on Canvas by The 84th Universe.

Second, even if the front page with the “featured treasury” is as I said iconic by now, let’s face it, a lot of those treasuries are not that interesting. Yes, they are a nice selection of items carefully chosen by people along a visual and/or thematic line, so there’s a beauty in their coherence, the images are beautiful – no crappy photos there at least – but after a while there are hardly any surprises, you see the same sellers again and again, some items are such hits they will be featured several times a week, not to mention the seasonal trends, it’s now March, spring is coming and you’d better love pastel colors…

“Volumes”, Original Etching Collage by Ana Dora Art.

So, about that test you think is presenting you with terrible stuff that do not reflect your taste AT ALL – have we stressed that enough ? Except their algorithm is going to get better at this and one day you’ll find it so freakishly accurate, you’ll miss those strange & awful items they’re showing you right now – about that taste test then, I’m suggesting that you let go of the “Items Matching Your Taste” part, don’t bother with that. Simply look at it as a new way of browsing through Etsy. And just do as you already do on the rest of the site to survive amidst the increasing number of listed items : focus, focus & only look at what you like, what you find beautiful and leave the rest out of the equation, just don’t look at it. It is of no importance. Choose to see only what you love.

Botanical Print by Elise Mahan.

This is what I am doing every day in my life and this is what I’ve decided to do here. And I am now embracing the taste test as a way to discover amazing & wonderful new stuff. And you know what, as long as I am going to be presented with the kind of items that illustrate this article, all found on my front page under the “Items Matching Your Taste” section, I will be thrilled…

So what about you, what great sellers have you discovered through the taste test ?

A few notes : I have been away from Etsy for the last couple of years mostly and I am just returning to it. I took the taste test for the first time around february 21 of this year, and I have taken it a second time since. However, I notice that after a while you tend to get the same items so it was probably designed to be taken regularly.
Also I have tried to include in this post items from sellers that were not already in my favorites, but I have so many I cannot be sure at this point…

Boy in the Bear Mask by Ryan Fowler @ Etsy.

I am absolutely & totally in love with this illustration by Vermont artist Ryan Fowler aka Native Vermont Studio @ Etsy !

“An old furry bear mask found in the attic — bedtime antics ensue.”

It’s a mixed media collage on canvas – pigment on canvas that is stretched to a 1.5 inch wood frame and then varnished – but it is also available as a giclee print in different formats, custom framed or not, and signed on the back.

Ryan Fowler’s illustrations are mostly about animals, they belong to what I would call “animal art” – yet another very popular trend on Etsy where he is an emblematic seller. I recently made a treasury centered on foxes, included his Mister Fox only to discover the next day as I was downloading the Etsy app on my iPhone that it was in the screenshots in the app store !

His images are beautiful, they are simple & have a real graphic quality (he’s also making custom typographic pieces). I love his polar bears, and besides his owls & foxes you’ll find a great many dogs in the most bizarre postures : on skateboards, skiing, or swimming in the lake with dragonflies. (And yes, if you know me and you’re wondering, he’s also got pugs, there are 3 of them & they’re in a canoe…)

But to come back to this “Boy in the Bear Mask”, I don’t know about you but I find that it is quite different from his other work. While still very simple I feel it has more mystery. What do you think ?

Natice Vermont @ Etsy +
Native Vermont @ Facebook
Native Vermont

This amazing little red brooch was created by Lithuanian artist Ruta Kiskyte @ Hairy Sock. She describes it as “A lady with a berry-like outfit.” There is a white version made with freshwater pearls and called Pearl Person Brooch. You can buy the matching earrings for both versions…

It belongs to a collection called “Nothingness” which is infinitely beautiful and poetic in the soft and unassertive way it makes us look at things we would generally overlook. Ruta Kiskyte is a visual artist and it is not too surprising to discover on her website that she gained a bachelor’s degree in scenography at the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts, and is trying to finish a master’s degree of visual communication…

Beggar Pigeon Necklace.

Her description of Hairy Sock, a jewelry label she created in 2009, is short but to the point :

Hairy Sock comes entirely from everydayness, it is an attempt to bring the uneventful, overlooked, trivial aspects of lived experience into visibility.

And writing this article, having browsed both her Etsy shop and her website, I’m now wondering whether her pieces might not be a little “lost” on a site like Etsy, for even though Etsy is a wonderful promotional tool for artists, we all know how gimmicky it can be – those “trends” as fascinating as they are can also be mind-blowing (I was away from the site for the last couple of years, and we seemed to have left anything “faux bois” behind, but OMG do we love triangles now !)…

Hair Band Necklace, fake childhood jewelry.

So if it were not for the photos, the styling, and the obvious coherence of the collection, the “Burnt Matchstick” brooch below for instance would probably not stand out as it deserves to. It’s not just a fun and cool piece of jewelry, it is a statement :

A domestic nothing – burnt matchstick, not even waste, just utter nothing, is brought to the realm of jewelry.
This little brooch celebrates the tiny and the invisible aspects of everyday life.

Burnt Matchstick Brooch

I’m now looking forward to discover the next little things of beauty brought to us by Ruta Kiskyte. Are you ?

Hairy Sock + Ruta Kiskyte’s blog

Photography : Rasa J
Model : Greta Rimselyte (Baltic Model)
Styling & post production : Ruta Kiskyte

Who cares if it’s almost March, you won’t really be buying a calendar by Brendan Monroe to put over your fridge, will you ?

Well, Brendan Monroe recently posted on his Facebook page that he had 2 of these 2012 Calendars available again, they are on sale @ his Etsy shop, so grab them while you can ! And if you’re curious about the “off-alignment effect”, here’s a bit about his process :

This year I didn’t have an easy access to a screen printing shop so I had a bunch fun playing and experimenting with the oldie but goodie color xeroxing machine down the street. Many layers of various colors overlapping. Each calendar could be slightly different from the next.
(…)
Most of the images are inspired by nature in Sweden, with a little mix of California (I just moved between the two this August). Some are a little more abstract than others, like the clouds for November and the rain for April. May is based on images of pollen for all those needing allergy pills.

Observations of Light and Matter, his next solo show is opening in March at Cooper Cole Gallery in Toronto. The show opens March 2 but you can get a preview on Juxtapoz Magazine.

I must say I’m very excited by the few photos he’s been sharing on his Facebook lately of some works “based on telescope images of protoplanetary disks, the moment that solar systems are born.”

Also in March, Brendan Monroe will be part of a group show at Galerie LJ in Paris, “forty by thirty”, in which the gallery invited more than 20 artists to produce original works on paper by 40x30cm.

Brendan Monroe + Brendan Monroe’s tumblr
Cooper Cole Gallery, Toronto, Canada.

Previous articles about Brendan Monroe @ a thing of beauty…

Vibes, Acrylic on panel, 18″x18″ by Mark Warren Jacques (Collection of Sarah Kinney).

One in Love, Acrylic and Ink on Panel, 8″x10″.

Absolutely Everything is Connected, Graphite and Acrylic on Panel, 4×4 ft.

Two in Love, Acrylic and Ink on Panel, 8″x10″.

Its Out There In Here, Acrylic and Ink on paper, 36″x24″, Collection of Yuri and Chelsea Xavier.

Big Beautiful Color for Sara Kinney, Chris Johanson, Julie Mehretu, Jim Houser etc., Acrylic & Ink on Paper, 8″x10″, Private Collection.

Mark Warren Jacques + Mark Warren Jacques’ Le Blog
White Walls SF

Source : Hi-Fructose

“Voyager, in case it’s ever encountered by extraterrestrials, is carrying photos of life on Earth, greetings in 55 languages and a collection of music, from Gregorian chants to Chuck Berry, including “Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground)” by ’20s bluesman Blind Willie Johnson whose stepmother blinded him at 7 by throwing lye in his eyes after his father beat her for being with another man. He died, penniless, of pneumonia after sleeping bundled in wet newspapers in the ruins of his house that burned down. But his music just left the solar system.”

Josh Lyman to Donna Moss in “The West Wing”, Season 5 Episode 13, The Warfare of Genghis Khan (2004)

Voyager, The Golden Record
The West Wing
2001:A Space Odyssey @ The Film Frames

It worked well with the photos of my Canon 5D (CR2) but when I tried to upload RAW photos taken with my Lumix LX-3 (Panasonic Raw format is RW2) it just did not work. I let some time pass, and last week I had some more photos to upload and so I decided to send them an email to see whether it was normal that they did not support the Panasonic format, and if so did they plan to do it in the near future. I sent my message Sunday around 1:30 am, got an answer Sunday afternoon around 3 pm telling me that they did not support the RW2 format but they did now. I then send an email thanking them and telling them that I had tried to upload pictures from my Panasonic some time ago but I had not checked recently whether it now worked or not.

The answer I got from them in the evening was the sweetest ever : in fact they did not support that extension until today, but they had added it following my email.

How cool is that ?

Joomeo

Not so long ago, in my favorite coffee place, I heard that some were revisiting Monk. Not that they shouldn’t, but it felt somehow strange. And I realized then how much I loved Thelonious Monk.

I only listen to Monk alone.

Trinkle Trinkle, Meet Me tonight In Dreamland & Nice Work If You Can Get It are from Thelonious Monk the London Collection Vol.1 (1971).
You Took The Words Right Out Of My Heart from Thelonious Alone In San Francisco (1959).
MP3 player plugin WPaudio by Todd Iceton.
The link to amazon above is not an affiliate link.

I love Marc Newson, he’s one of my favorite designers. I discovered his creation for Boucheron on Alain Truong’s blog while writing about Helen Mirren’s photograph by Snowdon.

Click here for a larger image of the necklace. Below is a detail.

I will not pretend here to understand anything about fractals so besides the Boucheron website, you can read about the creative process here.

Unique in all senses and simply stunning.

Marc Newson
Boucheron
Marc Newson for Boucheron
+ boucheron par marc newson @ STONED with carl