Amanda de Simone is a Melbourne photographer who has a fine fine haircut. We also think she is the most exciting photographic artist in the city right now. Her portraits combine emotions like rage and grief with questions about masculinity, femininity, desire and … well … the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll. Her new exhibition at McCulloch gallery is called ‘Cock Fight’ Playing with the idea of the men’s club, ‘Amanda explores men’s lust for undying fame, their internal prowess in battle, their sensitivity to insults’. We think the idea is to pit the portraits against one another in a kind of imaginary Battle Royale. Then maybe pick some fights with some jocks, which we do quite frequently anyway, or at least whenever we walk past The Prince. Those who saw ‘Crying Boy Fanclub’ last year will know this exhibition is going to be hot.
Also by IS NOT MAGAZINE
Ed Janssen is famed in Melbourne for his jewellery designs, sold through cult Morrissey-friendly label This Charming Man. ‘The Knuckle Sandwich’ charm necklace (two pieces of bread on either side of a tiny set of brass knuckles, as pictured above) exudes an oddly amusing menace. More recently ‘The Bear Trap’ has been dangling from every second neck, wiping out hope for Melbourne’s unsuspecting tiny forest animals. Janssen is about to launch a new range inspired by the iconography of various secret societies. Melburnians can check out their old and new favourites at the first This Charming Man exhibition launching this week at Alice Euphemia’s new store. Flex those tiny knuckles and watch those tiny feet. Read more
Melbourne illustrators, designers and men-about-town Tin&Ed are known and loved for many things. Their lost-in-a-forest illustrations, their science-meets-whimsy line-based art, their collages, their photographs, their escapades and their generally unexpected solutions to design problems. Tin&Ed’s work is great, probably because they strive to find the best answer to each design challenge rather than aiming for a distinct studio style. Their recent work for Crumpler is not only awesome to behold, but has applications way beyond the commercial. Check out the animated alphabet and behold your ticket to the best graphic email signature ever. Spend a few minutes on the site and you’ll work out what we mean.
With one foot in Melbourne and the other in New York City, Ed Janssen has found such a big fan base for his hand-made jewellery that he has had to cut back on his other great love in life – making the best espresso you’re ever likely to sip from a cardboard cup. But Ed’s charm necklaces are still inspired by his experiences in the cafes of Melbourne and Manhattan. Under the label This Charming Man, his cult item is known as ‘the knuckle sandwich’. Fashioned from sterling silver, it’s a set of three charms – two pieces of bread to hang on either side of a tiny knuckle duster. Other pieces include ‘the knuckle bagel’, as well as steaks, burger patties and single slices of cheese. We don’t know about New York, but every man in Melbourne worth his winklepickers is wearing these right now. [see also Lynda Holt]
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Some say the latest bacon-in-everything craze is just a fad. I say, bacon is the perfect food, so why not put it in everything, like vodka?
College Humor have compiled a fittingly humorous collection of humorous road signs, all done with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Those whose cheeks, we’re not quite sure. Read more
After weeks of packing Australia’s crate with the best of Aussie nightlife, our crate was farewelled in lavish style at the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange send-off party in Sydney last week. We discovered Australia is swapping with Brazil, so we’re hanging out for the samba and cachaça to sway ashore and lead us astray. Lost At E Minor contributor Michelle Wilding captured the vibe of the night and Aussie nightlife with this video.
New York-based designer, and sometime Lost At E Minor contributor, Deanne Cheuk visited Beijing prior to the Olympics as part of the New Grand Tour. We touched in with her to see how she found the experience of being over there: ‘we visited some really modern art galleries, which seemed to be on par with with the best galleries in New York City’.
A while back, McSweeney’s posted Prescription Drug or Metal Band?, a list of words that were either the name of a metal band or a pharmaceutical, on their website. Read more
I don’t do yoga. I have nothing against it, but it just seems a little too new agey for me. However, if I do eventually try it, I’d like the instructor to put on Fabio Orsi’s moody, ambient, drone experiments. Using piano, guitar, percussion, field recordings, and various sampled elements, Orsi creates some beautiful, meditative pieces that, while undeniably fruity, are still weird enough to hold my interest.
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One of Cyberoptix most popular designs is now on some amazing hand-woven, Fair Trade silk scarves. As always, they handscreen them all in their Detroit studio. Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
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
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
Nerd-attack! Man, this TARDIS zipper robe is so much cooler than any Star Wars crap people are hawking this days. This is for the true gangsta nerd.
Michelle Blade’s psychedelic artwork
Michelle Blade’s washed out paintings are deceptively simple, her washy acrylics creating psychedelic textures and conjuring ghostly figures from the past. Read more
Christoph Niemann illustrates a nightmare flight
New York Times illustrator Christoph Niemann has created a brilliant visual diary outlining the peril and pitfalls that beset the everyday passenger based on his recent experience flying from New York to his home town of Berlin. Read more
Danot has created a stunning line of new illustrated tanks and tees, featuring our latest obsession, the Forlorn tanktop. Is it a bird? Or a face? Or all of the above? Dive into this graphic and decide for yourself. While you’re there, check out the other great new Danot pieces in the Lost At E Minor store
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Abha said | 6 April, 2007
Loved the intensity and the rawness. This rocks.