Tag Archives for inspiration

TRANSMISSION LA: THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON ART

This past weekend was super jam-packed and full of excitement. One of the things we did was catch the Transmission LA show during it’s closing weekend at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in Little Tokyo. The Geffen is home to the most exciting and interactive installation shows. Art in the Streets, Ecstasy: In and About Altered States and ©Murakami have been amongst my favorite in recent years. Added to that list, is now, Transmission LA.  Curated by Beastie Boy, Mike D; the show is an interactive feast for the senses.

Mike D gives a tour through the installation and explains his vision for the exhibit

The installation by Ben Jones was nuts!! This is the hallway that lead….

…to this insane room that transported you into a crazy moving video game-esque environment-complete with driving sound effects!

I loved this colorful projection by Takeshi Murata.

This mirror by Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe caught my eye.

Artist Sage Vaughn had an entire room dedicated to his work. I fell in love with these pieces. I’m a sucker for drips.

I was most excited to see these Pinwheels by Ara Peterson and Jim Drain. They are HYPNOTIC! They all spin!

Robert McKinley designed coffee bar.

I love going to all sorts of art exhibits and gallery shows. I always leave feeling totally inspired.

LISTENING TO COLOR

Figure at Night Guided by the Phosphorescent Tracks of Snails

Joan Miro 1940

I’ve been listening to classical music lately during my hellish commutes through Southern California. I find it turns an average, uninteresting drive into an epic journey through time.  I live in a fantasy land in my brain and orchestrated music, classical or not,  always gets my imagination flowing. A mild form of synesthesia kicks in and sounds turn into colors and colors turn into feelings. It’s quite overwhelming at times; but awesome nonetheless.

On my drive the other day, listening to  KUSC 91.5, they played Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Being a  mild Woody Allen fan, I instantly thought of the opening scene from Manhattan. Once I got over that imagery, as cliché as it sounds, I got lost in the music. The moodiness of the composition evoked  shades of blue, violets and grays.

This  got me thinking about music in relation to our designs for Hysteric Haus. So I asked myself: If my brand were a musical act, who would it be? What does Hysteric Haus sound like?

  

Organized chaos comes to mind. Chaos along the lines of Boredoms, OOIOO, Deerhoof, M.I.A. .

Experimental/psychedelic/tribal/colorful cacophony.

Maybe that’s a bit ambitious-but I like the way it sounds.

BARBIE TIME

I’ve been going through a Barbie thing lately. I’ve been paying attention to the colors that are associated with Barbie and the ‘feminine’ lifestyle that is portrayed. Color evokes emotion, and whenever I see bright, vivid colors I instantly cheer up.

Barbie lunchbox circa…1991?

 

Paper dolls….thanks ebay!

Rainbow hair and a Ferrari.

WTF.

ALLEN, KEATON, PERRIAND AND PROUVE

Antony chair Jean Prouve 1954

 table Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouve 1956

This Sunday night on PBS, Robert Weide’s American Masters – Woody Allen: A Documentary premiers.

Though I am not a fanatic, I definitely went through the phase within the last few years of watching as many of his films as possible . They always make me so sad. Sad because his films are stories about people and people are such complex and sensitive beings.

During the height of my interest in Allen’s work; I attended a field trip with my “Survey of Architecture and Interior Design” class to view the works of French designers, Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouve. I immediately fell in love with their work.  Though my style tends to be colorful and in-your-face, I have such an appreciation for clean, simple design.

While the docent at the Gagosian Gallery  was speaking about some particular piece, I hear this loud, pretty much obnoxious clicking sound coming from the mouth of someone standing next to me.  Finally, I look over to see what this person was doing…and it was Diane Keaton. Frumpy black trench coat and all. She continued on the tour with our small group…and then disappeared when it ended, before I could say something-anything at all to her. But WTF would I have said anyway?!

The point of the post is this:  Woody Allen makes me think of Diane Keaton who reminds me of the work of Charlotte Perriand /Jean Prouve, which reminds me how much I love design, which excites me and motivates me to keep working.

And, I’m going to watch the documentary.

ONE DAY I WILL OWN AN EAMES LOUNGE CHAIR

I’m so excited to see this Eames documentary! They played such a major role in 20th century design through their furniture, films and passion.

Eames: The Architect and the Painter opens in LA Novemeber 18th!

Of course, their most iconic piece is the Lounge Chair…it’s beautiful.  The process of making one of these chairs is fascinating and labor intensive. It’s cool to see things made by hand, with such caution and attention to detail.

This is my dream chair…the one Vitra released a few years ago reinterpreted by Hella Jongerius. The colors and the materials on this is perfection. Walnut, white and chrome. Super sexy and quite a feminine contrast to the original. His and hers Eames Lounge Chairs? YES!!!!

BARBIE FASHION COMICS

I love Barbie. I always have…I loved playing with Barbies when I was a kid. I’d spend hours dressing her up, making her furniture, building cardboard homes-well, until I got the camp house one Christmas…

She’s fun, colorful and can really be anything you want her to be.

Thus, I am totally obsessed with Barbie comic covers! So bright and exciting! Though I don’t have any…they are definitely rad and I must acquire some. These particular covers are from the ’90s. Check out the complete volumes here: http://marvel.wikia.com/Barbie_Fashion_Vol_1