Lost AT E Minor

Jaime Pitarch

Jaime Pitarch’s sculptures and installations made from found objects and discarded junk — furniture, clothes pins, kitchen knives, electric guitars, cocktail umbrellas — as well as video elements, are sort of 21st-century Dada pieces that defy gravity and rattle our conception of the physical universe. Driven by an incessant need to question reality after a traumatic attempt to save a drowning woman in 1996, Pitarch minimalist aesthetic belies the nearly tantric approach he has to his work. Read more

LUMI rainwater tank

Rainwater tanks are here to stay. Not only is the general populace turning to them as the realization sinks in that water is a scarce resource, but they are also being legislated by government at all levels. The unfortunate problem is that the vast majority are not the most attractive additions to the built environment, particularly the latest round of polypropylene models, which are mostly big beige blobs. Read more

Switchgrass derived bioplastics

With the growing recognition that petroleum-based plastics are killing the planet and giving us cancer comes an increasing interest in biodegradable bioplastics that come from more sustainable sources. Environmental tech company Metabolix recently announced that they have discovered a way to derive large amounts of bioplastic by growing it in switchgrass. The company uses the plant to create its own line of plastic, Mirel, which it hopes will supplant traditional plastics in the years to come.

Urs Fischer’s installations

New York and Zurich-based artist Urs Fischer’s entropic sculptures and installations blows apart people’s expectations of what to expect at a gallery. Last year’s installation, You, at Gavin Brown was a 38-foot-by-30-foot crater dug into the gallery floor. His huge, ambitious works seem frantic and impulsive despite the immense planning and meticulous execution they often require. His mockery of physics, and the enormous scale and shock-and-awe quality of his work suggest the god-like potency of an artist, at least within a gallery space. Read more

Paper Water Bottle

Design company BrandImage has just come out with their line of paper water bottles made out of renewable resources. The bottles themselves are recyclable, and while not as reusable as a plastic bottle, can still be reused a few times. These are cool designs, even if they still pander to our on-the-go, single-serving, throw-away culture. Their environmental friendliness is also dubious, considering most people will still choose to throw these things in the trash rather than taking the time to find a recycling bin.

Faith No More reunion

Very few band reunions get me excited, but I’ve consistently loved Faith No More since I was 13. I loved their pre-Mike Patton era, I loved King for a Day, and I even loved their track with Boo Yah Tribe on the Judgment Night soundtrack. Kerrang recently hinted that a FNM reformation is in the works for ‘09, and though bassist Billy Gould has emphatically denied the rumors, the general consensus is that the reunion is on.