Ambroise Tézenas’s Beijing: Theatre of the People
Right now, the 2008 Beijing Olympics are cleaning up the mess left behind from the millions of people that passed through their city. Their forty billion dollar sporting event has come to a close and fans from around the world will take away memories of an interesting city that opened up to the world like it has never done before. One person in particular, who used China as a backdrop for his phenomenal photography project, was a French photographer by the name of Ambroise Tézenas. He made several visits to China between 2001 and 2005, taking truly innovative photographs. The subsequent book — Beijing: Theatre of the People — is a must, not just for lovers of Eastern culture and photography, but for people inquisitive about ‘a city caught between two worlds, an ancient past and a frenzied present’.
His work reminds me of Dan Holdsworth and Alec Soth, as Tézenas delves deep into the urban Chinese landscape, making some of his shots look otherworldly.
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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’.
New York-based designer — and occasional Lost At E Minor contributor — Deanne Cheuk returned recently from a visit to China where she snapped these awesome shots of Beijing. Read more
Noise musician and sound artist Randy Yau
I really wish noise musician/sound artist Randy Yau would do more stuff. His performance of the above piece in Beijing back in about 2003 or so really ripped my face off. It was awesome.
Also by ARI STEIN
Ten years of German photographer Jürgen Teller’s candid, glamorous photo campaigns for Marc Jacobs’ men’s and women’s collections have been collated into one cohesive 576-page fashion bible. This book does an excellent job of detailing just how significant this collaboration has been for fashion, featuring appearances from the likes of Sofia Coppola, Charlotte Rampling, Meg White, Thurston Moore, Rufus Wainwright, William Eggleston, and Winona Ryder. Read more
One of the most intriguing stories I’ve come across this year is about a young artist called Yonlu, born Vinicius Gageiro Marques in the town of Porto Alegre, in Brazil. His story is short but fascinating. As it goes, this sixteen year old songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and virtual artist locked himself in his bathroom, signed on to one of the various suicide forums he belonged to on the Internet, and took his own life, remaining online until the very end. After his death, his father went through his computer and found numerous musical creations, including the songs that make up his debut album through Luaka Bop. It’s an amazing listen and very ahead of its time.
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Edgar Muller’s three-dimensional street art
Some people are talented, others are just truly remarkable. German artist Edgar Muller makes these three-dimensional apocalyptic fantasy street art in cities across the world. His work is reminiscent of that of English artist, Julian Beever. Read more
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Madame Yevonde was an eccentric female photographer in the early 20th century. Her works appeared in fashion magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. She shot many famous stars and society celebrities in her time. Read more
Man, Texas gets a bad wrap. What with Austin being the new hipster hangout, and Dallas attracting all the young Republicans, you’d think the State would cut a break. But no. These dolls are downright nasty. Fun, though, right? Read more
Sparks’ album Kimono My House is a demented mix of hard rock, pop, glam, new wave, and baroque pop. Why this record never caught on in the States I’ll never know. The songs will get stuck in your head and prevent you from sleeping. Oh yeah, and the keyboard player has a nice mustache too, as evidenced by this track above — This Town Ain’t Big Enough.
While I’m sure we’ve all considered jumping into a frothy pool of beer, apparently a Beer Spa is actually good for you, with a healthy boost of B-vitamins and minerals in the hops and the giant stein soak could just help your skin. Yup, we agree, trust the Czechs to invent this boozy relaxation! Read more
Ah, ok, now there is officially a Tumblr for everything. Celebrity Cats features, wait for it, photos of celebrities with their feline companions. And lots of them, too. Read more
The highly polished electronic sound of Minneapolis band UltraChorus falls somewhere between Hot Chip and Phoenix, bringing a cut and paste indie rock aesthetic to late nineties Hip-Hop and R&B. We have their debut single, Words Kept Talking [listen below], available for free download in our Music Download section.
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What to wear to my openings is always a difficult one. Should I dress-up or wear the paint stained clothing worn producing the work? This time my problem was solved quickly as I discovered the perfect dress from A Name Is A Label. Their pieces have a sculptural appearance, constructed predominantly from second-hand clothing. The label is about ethical, new-century awareness.
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Benjamin Edminston’s psychedelic heads seem to have some fearful wisdom behind their blissed-out eyes. Read more
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
It’s refreshing to see artists like Joe Kievitt who are contented to explore the beauty in simple forms and asymmetrical patterns. Read more
Pitched as ‘Ulterior Motives in Contemporary Art’, Disorder Disorder is running until November 14 at Penrith Regional Gallery. It’ll be well worth the trip out west of Sydney: the Australian, Japanese, American and European cast reads like a warriors of street art roundup and includes Mike Giant, Ed Templeton, Anthony Lister [artwork above], Ozzie Wright, and Jonathan Zawada. 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
On this Virgin Mary HaloTech watch, the dial is a modern version of the nineteenth 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. The watch features a light-up dial, LED light, and afterglo effect. Read more
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