Nathan Jolly interviewed New York based artist and designer Saiman Chow: How’s life in New York City at the moment? ‘It’s great! I can’t complain. I just moved here six months ago and there is so much I haven’t done and seen yet. The city is so vibrant and full of energy compared to where I used to live. Though I have seriously gained twenty pounds since I moved. I’m too well fed and relaxed I think’. Any secret spots you like to go to for inspiration? ‘I haven’t found any secret spots yet, and it won’t be a secret if I tell you! Though that Chinese food in Chinatown is real good and cheap — a dollar for five dumplings. You can’t beat that. Also around the corner from where I live, you should order a Margarita to go. A summertime must have. When I hit that Margarita and head for the park, my weekend is over’. What was the first thing you can remember drawing and how did it turn out? ‘I used to be obsessed with Japanese comics. I would spend all my lunch money on comics every week. Collect the shit out of them. And I would try to intimate the style of the comic books I read. Especially Akira Toriyama works. Drawing talking poo, flying pig and round shiny eye in the class. I always thought my drawings were amazing when I was kid. People told me I had a gift for drawing talking poo’. Do you obsessively collect anything? ‘No, I don’t collect stuff anymore. I used to though — old Japanese toys. But since I’m such an ADD, I got tired of looking at them and I don’t see the point of having them collecting dust on my shelf. Yeah maybe that’s it. I collect dust. I’m horrible at cleaning’. What’s one work of modern art that always sends you weak at the knees? ‘I was never a fan of Van Gogh. I’ve never really understood it. One time I went to an exhibition and saw his painting for the first time. I felt like I was on an acid trip. Your eyes just go round and round in circles. That paint thinner must have been really strong back in the day’. [see also Dennis Juan Ma]
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Crimea X is the coming together of two offbeat, disparate characters, DJ Rocca (Ajello, Super Sonic Lovers, Maffia Sound System) and Jukka Reverberi from 90s Italian glam cult rockers, Giardini di Mirò, who have often have been compared with the sound of Mogwai, Arab Strap, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. We asked them about their favourite music and they started with The Smiths song, Ask [listen below] ‘I saw them playing live on Italian TV. It was during the 80s when I was extremely young, and I’ve never stopped listening to this song’. Read the rest of Crimea X’s Secret Playlist.
I love the curated selection of abandoned swimming pool photos on Feature Shoot today, featuring work by Carlo Van de Roer and Albert Jodar, amongst others.
Win a set of Sony personal audio prizes
Thanks to Sony Australia, four Lost At E Minor readers will win personal audio prizes, including the new 8GB Walkman S series video MP3 player and the MDRXB500 Extra Bass headphones. Read more
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I met Caroline Thaw at Brooklyn’s Third Ward in one of the courses I taught. The first time I saw samples of her work, I was happily overwhelmed by her diversity of styles, her cute yet twisted characters, the radiant and infinite beauty in every piece she made, her delicate line, and her strong sense of style and scenographic space. Part of her work’s charm comes from her experience in theater design designing sets and custumes for productions that traveled around the world (she is from England, originally), and her tremendous love for kids.
This isn’t an outdoor art installation, but it is still somewhat curated. Or maybe hoarded is a better description. Somewhere in the inner western suburb of Sydney’s Summer Hill, there is a brightly coloured collection of garden gnomes on display. The owner of the home is yet to be seen, but there are hundreds of gnomes, side by side, all with equally dopey expressions on their faces and accompanied by a second fixation: caterpillar soft toys. There are so many gnomes, the garden is no longer visible. Maybe it’s an Amelie style prank that has just piled up over the years? Read more
These scarves designed by Sarah Swash and her boyfriend Toshio Yamanaka always feature their whippet and play on a sense of urban sophistication inspired by the surrounds of their East London studio. Definitely a justified indulgence.
There is something almost apocalyptic about the intense black and white decimated, chaotic landscapes that French artist Didier Blondeau lovingly depicts.
The sky is falling. The world is ending. How do we deal with it? Since we can’t nail the CEOs and bankers that got us into this mess (instead, we’re bailing them out), let’s make light of the misery of people who make a living abetting the broken system.
There was a time, many moons ago, when I would only listen to bands off New Zealand’s Flying Nun label. Yup, I would strap myself into a comfy chair, put my headphones on and, armed with a chunk of chocolate coated Peanut Slab and a can of L&P, soak up album after album of wonderfully self-indulgent low-fi melancholy. Read more
The nice thing about black metal is that it’s so hard for it to be co-opted. Between its often extreme ideologies and its inherently abrasive sound, it’s hard to imagine anyone trying to sell you a pair of sneakers with it. Even as some bands like Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth have wormed their way into the mainstream, the vast majority of black metal fans and bands out there are happy to stay in the filthy pits of the underground. Read more
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I live the upbeat, feel good tempo of the new single — A Hundred Hearts — from Philly group, The Swimmers. Off their latest album, People Are Soft, this song is a strangely fitting anthem for the blustery day outside.
Hong Kong-based illustrator Man-Tsun draws dark and beautiful painterly images that look like they are straight off a high-end Japanese animated film. Read more
With the recession still biting, it may be time to whip out the glue and the cardboard and make your next pair of cool kicks. Don’t know how they’d manage in the rain though? Read more
Our celebrity-saturated culture makes many of us irrationally hateful of the faces we see on our TV screens and magazine pages. Good thing there’s Celebrity PunchOut to let off some of that steam.
T-post: the world’s first wearable magazine
So here’s the scoop. Every six weeks, T-post subscribers get a new t shirt issue in the mail, with a news story on the inside and an artist interpretation of that story on the front. Yes, we agree. It’s clever, clever. Read more
Thanks to Sony Australia, four Lost At E Minor readers will win personal audio prizes, including the new 8GB Walkman S series video MP3 player and the MDRXB500 Extra Bass headphones. Read more
Sovereign Beck create modern silk ties for the classic man — both understated and provocative, classic and cutting edge. We have them for sale in the Lost At E Minor store. Read more
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