Nat Liechti interviews Hernando Salinas from the Buenos Aires-based team behind the so-daggy-it’s-trendy website, The UnCool Hunter. Where did the concept come from? ‘The Uncoolhunter was born as a new method of investigation of those unexplored things that are left aside the elite or emergent circuit. Salvador Dalà defined fashion as, ‘what is not fashionable’. Following this, the Uncoolhunting team observes the things that do not appear in tourism brochures, rummaging through the retro, the trash, the bizarre and the bad taste’. How does it all come together? ‘The Uncoolhunter team is myself, Javier Lourenço, Diego Beyró and Diego Bazzino. There are also two people in charge of the maintenance of the website and there is an editor who translates the content into English. In addition to this, there are external contributors, mainly in Argentina and in cities throughout Latin America, but there are sporadic contributors from countries such as Ukraine, the Czech Republic and America. The Uncoolhunter team works for twenty-five hours a day, 365 days of the year. On the weekends the members of the team meet to do field research around trashy places of Buenos Aires. We also have a ferret that works with us, but soon we will sign the most photographed squirrel in the world that works from sunrise to sunset. Check out Sugar Bush Squirrel‘. Why is the uncool so much cooler than the cool? ‘Because the uncool is a never-ending source. It is always unpredictable. Because it is not conventional and it does not follow rules, it is fresher than the cool. That is why the surprise effect is bigger. It is more relaxed because it doesn’t pretend to be anything’.
Also by ZOLTON
Maths explains the origin of superhero characters
I love the colours and simple reasoning in this clever series by Scottish illustrator Matt Cowen, which uses basic maths equations to explain how certain pop culture icons came to be. Read more
Star Wars Uncut: a fully crowdsourced version of Episode IV
The project of creative technologist, Casey Pugh, this full length version of the George Lucas masterpiece was created from multiple 15 second segments recreated from the original movie and submitted by thousands of Star Wars fans, which were then spliced together by editor Aaron Valdez to form the final product. Genius, as both a commentary on contemporary pop culture trends (there are references to LEGO, stop motion, memes and the like) and on the power of tapping your audience for quality material.
Filmmaker creates LEGO stop motion to propose to girlfriend
Now, this is one for the ages: back in 2010, Atlanta film-maker Walter Thompson created a jaw-dropping LEGO stop motion to propose to Nealey Dozier, his girlfriend of four years. The video took 22 hours of shooting and some 2,600 pictures to splice together, a small sacrifice to pay for years of happiness together. Right? Right! Oh, and she said yes. Bonus.
YOU'RE SAYING (5)
Zolton said | 1 December, 2006
yup, zac and i are perfect examples of it!
Stef said | 7 December, 2006
Finally, a website dedicated to the likes of me!!
I always knew it was cool to be uncool.
Hope ur rocking Brooklyn!
xx
Hayden said | 7 December, 2006
hey i think I’ve seen that squirrel somewhere before…oh wait no, that was just the STATUE OF LIBERTY!!?! wtf
James II said | 18 May, 2007
I think it´s bullshit! these people are coping styles.
HAVE YOUR SAY
We asked New York-based photographer Baldomero Fernandez about his Cuba series and whether there was a particular mood that he was looking to capture: ‘Usually I tend to photograph quiet scenes that are empty and have a feeling of solitude. The surreal part that comes through is usually more because of anachronisms, or maybe something is just out of place. It’s not straightforward surrealism. Reality usually tends to be far stranger than fiction’. There’s an exclusive interview with Baldomero Fernandez on the Feature Shoot website.
Artist Oliver Voss installed this sculpture of a giant, bathing woman in Hamburg’s Binnenalster, an artificial lake in the middle of the city. Some residents are baffled by it, but luckily for them, the installation isn’t permanent.
An intelligently told, morally complex tale with a raft of unexpected twists, Gone Baby Gone is one of the most original films of recent times. Most films give you a sense of their narrative arc and it is easy to recognise the major plot points. Read more
The Dutch, the beautiful Dutch, in terms of architecture anyway. Here they have led the way again with this reuse of an old crane dock. A new glass office building, with a climatic façade of double glazing, motorized louvers on the outside and full length windows on the inside, hovers above the old dock. Read more
The uber-hip French producer M83 has compiled a Secret Playlist for us in which he props Brian Eno, Julee Cruise, and Tears For Fears’ Head Over Heels: ‘This song was the biggest influence for my new album. Our track, Kim and Jesse, takes a lot of inspiration from 80s bands like Tears for Fears. This is one of my favourites’. Read the rest of M83′s Secret Playlist.
Several years after they disbanded, one of indie rock’s brightest sparks — Ambulance Ltd — are back. Read more
I’m not much of a jewelry guy, but if bling is in order, it’s ordered from my man Osa at Complete Technique. Originally from Japan, Osa is now based in Dumbo, Brooklyn and makes the finest metal jewelry, on par with any of his ancestor’s samurai swords. From speaker rings to turntable pendants, it’s all fresh and mostly music or hip-hop related. He’s been at it for about ten years and works harder than most people I know. If you need some jewelry, show him some love.
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Here are a couple awesome pieces by Matt Leines that were recently on display in the Doubting Thomases exhibit at Nudashank gallery in Baltimore. Gives me ideas for Halloween. Read more
How ’bout this Jose Manuel Hortelano-Pi guy, huh? Quite the illustrator, yessiree Bob. From Spain, too. Spain is great! Read more
Get lost in a daydream or a craving for something sweet while gazing at these cool sculptures by Brooklyn-based WiNK WiNK PONY. Made using clay, tree bark, wood, and mossy moss.
Matthew Dear’s Black City album totem
Our friends at Ghostly International are releasing Matthew Dear’s Black City album as a limited edition ‘totem’. A what? A totem – a limited edition metal bar used to access a private music chamber. Cool! Read more
Mathematics? Leave me out. Fashematics? Now you’re talking! This gem of a site is a runway equation that adds up to a whole lot of wonderful.
Now this is fun. This 3D watch dial actually jumps to life. The dial is a modern version of the 19th century art form of lithophanes: carved porcelain sheets that, when lit, deliver astoundingly detailed images. When the pusher is activated, the dial springs to life in 3D, with an LED light and afterglow effect. Read more
If you have a Twitter feed that focuses on cool pop cultural things and you’d like to swap Tweets with Lost At E Minor and other like-minded Twitterers, drop us a note (with Tweet Swap in the title). We have a system in place and we’d like to have you in on it! [illustration by Brad Fitzpatrick]
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Andy said | 30 November, 2006
Haha they got it right… ‘the uncool is a never-ending source’. Very true.