New York – Page 4 – DesignApplause

Noguchi show, his contemporaries, flow chart.

Nov 17, 2010

noguchi museum — november 17, 2010 – april 24, 2011, new york. left: noguchi chart of influences. click photo to enlarge.

A new show celebrating 25 years of the wonderful Noguchi Museum and Garden in Long Island City, Queens, is called “On Becoming an Artist: Isamu Noguchi and His Contemporaries, 1922–1960.” It could have been called Six Degrees of Isamu Noguchi or Linked-in, featuring Isama Noguchi. It even comes with a wall-sized flow chart of connections. Some of the connected names are Bucky Fuller, Alexander Calder, Frieda Kahlo, Martha Graham, George Balanchine.

Noguchi also planned a swimming pool for director Josef Von Sternberg, at his house by Richard Neutra. (It was never built but imagine Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper paddling around together.) He did a bust of Ginger Rogers. More than a sculptor, he was a designer of furniture and lamps for Herman Miller, Knoll and others. He shaped public spaces and playgrounds. He worked with leading artists, designers and architects.

above: my arizona 1943
In 1943 in a wartime internment camp for Japanese Americans he wrote letters to friends like Man Ray and created “My Arizona” a wall sculpture of fiberglass and plastic commenting on the desert village where he lived out the war.

[ noguchi museum—november 17, 2010 – april 24, 2011 ]

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Modernism + Art20. 2010.

Nov 12, 2010

culbutor designed by marc held (1965)

above / below: ettore sottsass

above: jason miller was awarded the “modernism” best young designer award–these are his Lego inspired vases

At this year’s Modernism show at The Park Avenue Armory in New York Nov 12-15 two trends were evident. one was a continuing interest in mid century modern furniture. Dealers have now pushed into the eccentric odd corners of that style–eg Marc Held’s “Culbutor.” The second is a revival of interest in postmodernism–at least as embodied in Memphis and Ettore Sottsass ceramic teapots.

Modernism + Art20 is at the Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, at 67th Street, on Friday from noon to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m.; and Monday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $20 a day or $30 for a two-day pass; (212) 777-5218 or sanfordsmith.com.

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Nordic models + common ground.

Oct 31, 2010

a show of about thirty designs for buildings, furniture, lighting, clothing and other disciplines opened on thursday at scandinavia house in new york. 29 Oct 2010 – 9 Mar 2011.
above: helen & hard ( norway ) 2010 shanghai expo finnish pavilion “power by nature”

Called Nordic Models + Common Ground: Art and Design Unfolded, the exhibition was organized by Norsk Form—the Foundation for Design and Architecture in Norway– in collaboration with The American-Scandinavian Foundation, which is celebrating its centennial.

The exhibition was designed and curated by the architecture firm Snøhetta in collaboration with Situ Studio.

The show is hosted by Scandinavia House on Park Avenue in Manhattan, practically in the shadow of Grand Central Station, which is a sometimes overlooked refuge for arts and culture from the Nordic countries. (Nordic seems to be the term used to include the Scandinavian nations of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden together with Iceland.) With a lively restaurant and a shop including designs from the area, Scandinavia House also hosts shows and speeches, films and concerts.

The firm Snøhetta is based in Oslo and New York and is known for its designs for the Alexandria Library in Egypt and the Museum Pavilion of the New York World Trade Center site.

Craig Dykers, one of the principles of Snøhetta, was on hand at the opening. He explained the “unfolding” aspect of the title, showing how each of the pieces of display furniture had been created from a single standard piece of plywood, sliced on angles and hinged. “It’s a living hinge,” he said, pointing out how it turned in either direction. The blonde, bare plywood evokes familiar memories of Scandinavian design, notably Alvar Aalto.

“We wanted to arrange it,” Dykers explained, “so that wherever you stand in the gallery you can look around and see an echoing idea.” So hanging lamps pick up on hanging clothing and carbon fiber chairs by Mathias Bengtsson suggest building designs. Wry ceiling lamps called Uggi, by Fanney Antonsdottir and Dogg Gudmundsdottir of Iceland, use the dried bodies of cod fish for their shades.

above: mathias bengtsson ( denmark ) spun chair 2002 – lighter than macbook air

above: fanney antonsdóttir and dögg guđmundsdóttir ( iceland ) dried codfish 2001

The fish not only make a little joke about the region but, as deployed, pick up on the fish-scale-like shingles used to cover the Shanghai expo pavilion by JKMM of Finland. The shingles are made of recycled bottles and other plastic; a sample of them are displayed on the wall beside a huge images of the spherical pavilion.

above: jkmm Architects (finland ) 2010 shanghai expo finnish pavilion “kirnu”

The show emphasizes the egalitarian qualities shared by the area’s cultures, Dykers said, and there is also a kind of democracy of parts at work in many of the designs. Repeated elements work together in a city shelter structure, a dress, a chair—even in a necklace called Butterfly Disguise II by Liv Blavarp of Norway, of disc like forms of maple, wenge, ebony and reindeer horn.

above: liv blåvarp ( norway ) butterfly disguise II, necklace 2009

above: helen & hard ( norway ) 2010 shanghai expo finnish pavilion “power by nature”

above: daniel rybakken ( norway ) night shot of daylight entrance 2010

“The show is the first in a series of programs marking the ASF’s centennial,” said the Foundation’s president Edward Gallagher.

Resources:
american-scandinavian foundation
scandinavia house
scandinavia house facebook
jkmm architects
mathias bengtsson
gudrun lilja gunnlaugsdóttir
helen & hard
daniel rybakken

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Paris vs nyc. Un tour visuel.

Oct 29, 2010

vive la france. i love new york.

de cette façon, s’il vous plaît. this way, please.

Architecture & design film festival.

Oct 2, 2010

The first US film festival celebrating the creative spirit of architecture and design will feature a dynamic selection of feature length films, documentaries and shorts. Plus, there will be lively discussions with filmmakers, architects and designers about the design process, architecture in film, and the brilliant designs we see and use every day.

This year’s festival will be held at Tribeca Cinemas. The lounge adjacent to the theater will be Festival Central – a place to relax, discuss, imbibe and meet with friends and colleagues.

Bike sharing on smartphone.

Aug 25, 2010

cyclists use their smartphones to locate, check out, and lock bikes.

Shareable reports on ryan rzepecki’s social bicycles system (SoBi):

Instead of relying on kiosks and docking stations to connect users to bikes, cyclists use their smartphones to locate, check out, and lock bikes–everything is portable, wireless, decentralized, and self-contained. The tech is stored in a small “lock box” attached to the rear wheel, which connects the bike to a central server. Users create an account with SoBi, find a bike through a call or smartphone app, and receive a code which they can use to unlock the bicycle from an ordinary rack. They can just enter their account info directly into the lock box; they use the same pin code every time, “just like with a bank card.”

20 bikes to be tested in nyc in 9/2010.

New york (new york) state of mind. Frank-Jay-Z-Alicia.

Jun 6, 2010

here’s a branding question: what signature song comes to mind when you think of nyc? your age may dictate your answer.

above: logo by milton glaser, 1975.

… ( verbiage of tim wilkin, new york sports writer – the howard cosell of horseracing ) “The New York Racing Association has laid a dinosaur egg on this one

The staple song for the Belmont Stakes, Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” has been sacked. Instead of having old Blue Eyes belting out those famous lyrics when the horses come out of the tunnel for the Belmont, we have this:

The song by rapper Jay-Z, “Empire State of Mind.” The song that will be out there will be the version by Alicia Keys, (it will be sung by teen recording artist Jasmine Villegas) which isn’t that bad but it’s not Frank at the Belmont. I will boycott it, turn on my new iPod and listen to Springsteen.

Whoever made this bonehead decision at NYRA should have to sing a duet with selected legislators from the state at next year’s Belmont. This is a stupid idea. Frank, if he were alive, would be appalled, I bet.

“New York, New York” is a staple at the Belmont, has been since 1997 when it replaced “Sidewalks of New York.” If I was a horse, I would turn around and go back into the paddock when this new song is sung.

Maybe next year, this NYRA genius can get a new song for the Kentucky Derby. Sure! Get rid of “My Old Kentucky Home.”

One last thing: this is a dumb idea. Did I say that yet? ” [tim wilkin]

OK, we can breathe a little easier now that this isn’t an official nyc rebranding move. On the other hand, one never knows about these things when they happen. Here are the songs…

below: performed by frank, 1982 ( more info below )

http://designapplause.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=9645

below: alicia keys performs empire state of mind, part II at the p.c. richard & son theater in TriBeCa on november 17, 2009.

below: official jay-z and alicia keys seen september 2, 2009

Frank’s tune is a classic at 33 years. I probably won’t be around but let’s see where things stand in 2043. The city that never sleeps won’t lose sleep over two great songs.

Resources:
“Theme from New York, New York” (or “New York, New York”) is the theme song from the Martin Scorsese film New York, New York (1977), composed by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb. It was written for and performed in the film by Liza Minnelli.

In 1980, it was recorded by Frank Sinatra, for his album Trilogy: Past Present Future (1980), and has since become closely associated with him. He occasionally performed it live with Minnelli as a duet. Sinatra recorded it a second time in duet with Tony Bennett for his 1993 album Duets.

It should not be confused with the song “New York, New York”, from Leonard Bernstein/Adolph Green/Betty Comden’s musical On the Town, which features the lyric “New York, New York, is a helluva town / The Bronx is up and the Battery’s down…”

Composers Kander and Ebb stated on the A&E Biography episode about Liza Minnelli that they attribute the song’s success to actor Robert De Niro, who rejected their original theme for the film because he thought it was “too weak.”

The song did not become a popular hit until it was picked up in concert by Frank Sinatra during his performances at Radio City Music Hall in October 1978. Subsequently, Sinatra recorded it in 1979 for his 1980 Trilogy set (Reprise Records), and it became one of his signature songs. The single peaked at #30 in June 1980, becoming one of his final hits on the charts. Sinatra made two more studio recordings of the song in 1981 (for his NBC TV special The Man and His Music) and 1993 (for Capitol Records). From the latter, an electronic duet with Tony Bennett was produced for Sinatra’s Duets album. [lastfm]

*****

“New York State of Mind” is a song written by Billy Joel which initially appeared on the album Turnstiles in 1976. While not a hit when it was first released, it has received much more frequent airplay in recent years. “New York State of Mind” enjoyed a resurgence in popularity and radio airplay after the 2001 September 11 attacks, and is frequently played after New York Mets, New York Knicks and New York Rangers games. It also frequently appears on playlists of adult contemporary and oldies formatted radio stations that broadcast in the New York City market.

In 2009 Jay-Z and Alicia Keys released the song Empire State of Mind, which is also inspired by Frank Sinatras Theme from New York, New York. [wikipedia]

Sculptural street art in new york.

Apr 6, 2010

2010 seems like the year of 3d — check out new york’s sculptural street art. via hyperallergic [RK]

Remembering bob noorda.

Jan 26, 2010

noorda, one of seven founders for unimark international, an American design firm founded in Chicago in 1964.
the founding designers: ralph eckerstrom, massimo vignelli, james fogelman, wally gutches, larry klein, robert moldafsky, and noorda. he died on Jan. 11 in milan, his adopted city. he was 82.

new book! the cover mirrors the firm’s signature look and ethos: formalized modernism, or else.

noorda designs metro signage in milan using font noorda

in 1963 he worked for metropolitana di milano and his work inspired massimo vignelli for the new york subway graphics.

this logo was never fully implemented. note the “arrows” inside negative space of letters.

above: “don’t bore the public with mysterious designs,” noorda said, making way for his and vignelli’s 1966 new york subway signage, plainly simple and still in use.

Resources:
unimark international – the book
wikipedia – unimark
new york times
fastcompany
the (mostly) true story of helvetica and new york subway
yes logo

The ZEROprize.

Dec 22, 2009

recently [greened] Bank of America Tower, New York’s second tallest building and a possible contender for the ZEROprize.

What is the ZEROprize ? Awarded to the first re-skinned & retrofitted building of a certain size to achieve a net zero footprint while operating for a minimum of one year. The prize will go to the first registered project to maintain a triple zero for a year. US entries must be built between 1945 and 1990, must be made of steel-reinforced concrete and must house either 150 units or have a usable floorspace of at least 9,300 square feet.

Designer: Cook+Fox Architects and Gensler

via sunfiltered

Resources:
bank of america tower, nyc