I picked this book up at one of the best used bookstores I’ve ever visited, ABCD in Camden Maine (though my Great Uncle Frank Piskor, a huge bibliophile, used to say they had “New York prices.”). It’s a MoMA book from 1961, and Uncle Frank was right; it was $6.50 new, and $75 used forty years later. I’m going to let the jacket sum up Futurism for you because I would use up all of my blogging hours for the month trying to do it myself and I would not do half as good a job:

The Futurist artists…set out to create an art as exhilarating as Marinetti’s promise. They translated the kinetic rhythms and the confused, intense sensations of modern life into potent visual form, creating works of art of extraordinary emotional impact. The Futurists’ approach to art, their manifestos and demonstrations set a pattern for many art movements which followed, such as Constructivism, Dada, and Surrealism…and the sympathy between certain Futurist procedures and current endeavors is largely responsible for the growing interest in Futurism.”

-Joshua C. Taylor

The Futurists looked to the past to rebel against it than to be inspired by it, and they had a tinge of anarchy running through their movement. Alright, enough art history, think about what was going on in the 19-teens and you’ll get it. Onto the inspiration of color, shape, movement, and composed confusion:

Severini: The Boulevard 1910

Boccioni: The Street Pavers 1911

Balla: Mercury Passing Before the Sun as Seen Through a Telescope 1914

Balla: Iridescent Interpretation 1912

Balla: Girl Running on a Balcony 1912

Boccioni: Iron Man. Just Kidding! Unique Forms of Continuity in Space 1913

Carra: “Free-Word” Painting (Patriotic Celebration) 1914

Boccioni: The Calvary Charge 1914

Hmmm, O.K., so the late fifties/early sixties are the time of the “current endeavors” Taylor alludes to. That makes total sense when you think about the art scene in the sixties and beyond. I’m seeing a lot of inspiration here for Jim Dine and Robert Indiana and Andy Warhol. Think of whatever Cooper is hanging in his office on Mad Men, think of how the space race would have effected art the way the industrial revolution and speeding cars and airplanes did decades earlier.

It makes me wonder what kind of art will come out of this tumultuous time in history. We’ve seen the architecture, we’re seeing how the fear of a crashing plane affects design, how security concerns keep campuses from planting shrubs, how we memorialize heroes and events. How are tumultuous times and technology and all of the new ways of presenting media and communicating affecting art today? Please tell me what you think as it’s kind of blowing my mind just thinking about it at them moment.

The front walk – it’s your first chance at making an impression on visitors. Since more and more crackheads are knocking on my door asking for money lately, I have thorny roses blocking mine. However, if you want to let visitors feel welcome and let them know that you are groovy, you do what Jenn Ski did. We are LOVING the way she interpreted and installed the idea behind these photos.

Just wait until summer! Jenn has all the concrete poured. Here is the story of the work in pictures on flickr.

We also love Jenn Ski’s prints, available in her Etsy shop. Here’s a teaser:

images via Jenn Ski;

• first image: Garden Art & Decoartion, A Sunset Book, ©1962
• second image: she found at Junkcultureshop, one of my new favorite blogs.
• third image by Jenn Ski
• fourth image: Home Sweet Home giclee copyright Jenn Ski. See link above to purchase on Etsy.

I was sad to hear of Lawrence Halprin’s passing on Sunday night. He was one of my favorite landscape architects. For eleven years, I lived in Charlottesville Virginia and was able to enjoy the Halprin-designed Downtown Mall. I could go on about his best-known projects, like Ghiradelli Square or the FDR Memorial, but my very favorite design of his is Lovejoy Plaza in Portland, OR, and a glance at his sketchbook pages tell you all you need to know about why his designs work so well. Without weighing us down with a bunch of archispeak gibberish, we can follow the idea from it’s initial contextual inspirations to the final product:

I should have known when I went to find a picture of Lovejoy Plaza on flickr that my favorite one would have been taken by Ken McCowen. To see more beautiful images of Halprin’s work taken by Ken, click here.

Halprin was that perfect combination of conscientious urban problem solver who understood natural processes. He did such an artful job of understanding the greater context of a place and bringing his interpretations of ecology into cities in an artful way. Lovejoy Park is a perfect example of this. He contributed so much to the American landscape; whether helping to heal the gash a freeway cut through a neighborhood in Seattle or protecting the land by leaving a soft footprint at Sea Ranch. He will be missed.

For more information on the Halprin Landscape Conservancy, click here.

• Sketches by Lawrence Halprin, via The Halprin Landscape Conservatory site.Click over there to see the rest of the project. P
• Photo by flickr member Ken McCowen

Today I have been admiring this Gastown loft in Vancouver B.C. that I found in our fresh new spaces group on flickr. Thanks so much to flickr member to be, inspired for sharing this! At first, you might browse on by and think “oh big whoop, another gorgeous loft with big windows, exposed brick and beams and huge open space.” However, look closer. This owner really knows how to balance things to perfection. It’s not too rugged, not too sleek. Not too modern, not too eclectic. It’s just right:

This loft strikes a great balance between sleek, modern furniture and some classic glitz; between structural elements like ebony wood cabinets and more worn patinas, like the exposed brick walls and slightly rough-hewn posts. Sticking to the a neutral color palette allows the wide array of textures to stand out.

For more about this loft, link over to this post at To Be, Inspired. Also, this post is hilarious. If you want to learn more about the owner, Sally, click here. She is someone I would love to hang out with!

both images from flickr member to be, inspired, specifically, Ryan. Doesn’t this beautiful photography enhance the palette and style of this space even more? As I watched the slideshow from our group, every one of their photos was obviously theirs.

I think I truly mourned when G.F. McGregor’s in Rockland Maine closed. You know how you find that very small handful of shops in your life that truly inspire you? They are curated and merchandised to perfection, and you just want to move in? That was how I felt about G.F. McGregor’s, but yesterday, I found a shop to fill the void.

My aunt bought some gorgeous Thomas Paul pillows for our family place in Maine (much to my chagrin, as I could have ordered them at DP), but when I asked her where she’d found them, she sent me to fourTwelve Home in Rockland. Formerly just the clothing and accessories boutique, the shop acquired the space next door and opened up a home store.

Home Goodies to the left, Clothing to the right…hey, there’s my Mom!

This shop combines just the right combination of historical preservation and regency glamor. The original wooden floors are painted light gray with a tiny hint of green/blue in it. The original exposed brick walls are painted white. The ceilings are covered in white tin tiles, and the exposed pipes are painted white. That’s where the the old patina shows through; everything else is shiny and fresh. It is a perfect balance. There are fabulous light fixtures hanging in a line down both halves of the store, there is oversized floral wallpaper in the dressing rooms along with benches, there are gorgeous mirrors and mirrored furniture, there is a large velvet ottoman in the boutique (it looks like it came straight from Nanette Lepore’s closet), and there are little peacocks peeking out at you here and there from the tops of shelves.

Included in the home items were John Derian decoupage, Jonathan Adler vases, Thomas Paul pillows, Bob’s My Uncle sea life plates, emu furniture, funny books, gorgeous soaps and bath items, those cool Caspari long match matchbooks, and a fun array of letterpress cards. It’s a perfect stop for accessorizing one’s own home or for picking up a great gift for just about anyone for any occassion at any price point.

By the way, among all the great articles of clothing they had in there, I kept pulling out the cutest pieces and they were all by Beth Bowley, whom I hadn’t heard of before. It turns out she is the owner, a Parsons grad, and she launched her clothing line in 1998.

Overall, the decor reminded me of the jewelry available in the store. The newer lines are very delicate, and handcrafted from silver and gold. In addition, they have a wide array of vintage pieces that are unique with some hints of funk and a few well-earned signs of age. It’s a new inspiration I know I’ll keep in the back of my mind whenever I am decorating.

Lincolnville Harbor 1994

One of my favorite museums is The Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine, and it was there I first discovered the work of Alex Katz, whose studio is nearby in Lincolnville. I wandered into a room and watched a movie of this man painting birch trees on a huge canvas. I loved watching his energy and how quickly he was able to assess which move he was going to make next. I can’t really describe it better than Sanford Schwartz does in this book:

Katz has always been so clear and forceful about his goals, and those goals are such a fine blend of the naturalistic, the abstract and the theatrical, that literally where he works can seem a little beside the point. But the possibility that, in some slight degree, Lincolnville lets him connect with a freer self adds a wrinkle of feeling to the pictures he makes there.

study for Fishing Boats 2000

Ives Field, 1956

Hammon House 3 1963

Smile Awhile 1983

Cow 1986

(part of) Wildflowers 3 1993

Untitled Drawing 1953

all images by Alex Katz, as seen in Alex Katz in Maine

Yesterday I gave you a peek at some of my friend Lucas’s clever artwork tricks. Today I thought I’d show you his balcony, which is in this flickr set. This loft is right around the corner from The King Center in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward. Lucas has really made the most of his balcony. It overlooks Freedom Parkway, Downtown, and Midtown. I was at a party at Casa Luca last week and at one point there were at least seven of us seated comfortably out there.

He has softened modern pieces with pillows, plants, and a rug. At night, he brings out his rechargeable lanterns from Vessel (on the chair in the top photo). Once you lounge on this daybed, you NEVER want to get up. The fabric is weather-resistant, and he also has a cover for it.

Lucas likes to take some time out to enjoy The View. And when he turns his head sideways, he gets this view. Not too shabby!

I was just surfing around poppytalkhandmade and saw this AWESOME Shell Rocker Onesie from mimimouse, and I am DIGGING IT! It ALMOST makes me want to have a baby…

Oh, and look! It’s a tea party complete with Panton chairs!

Images from poppytalkhandmade and mimimouse. To order, click here.

For some inspiration on this fine Labor Day Holiday, I thought I’d give you a last hurrah, via the vivid colors of David Hockney’s takes on California:

The Little Splash

California

Pearblossom Highway

Nichols Canyon

Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Monica

all images by David Hockney. I apologize for any that are a little skewed; I have an antique scanner.

One of the most inspiring books on my shelf is Mid-Century Modern by Bradley Quinn. Though I picked it up a few years ago (2004, about the time this blog began to come together), I pull it down again and again to admire the textiles, furniture, accessories and even the wood paneling. It’s just a perfect tome – this is one every modern library should have. Here is just a little schmear of proof:

Sultry Panton S-Chairs-OOHLALA!

A Killer Sputnick Light Fixture Adds a KAPOW!

This is such a great mix: The wide pine boards on the floor are so 1800’s New England, the room seems to have Georgian/Deco traditional detailing, the Persian rug is straight out of some Yale professor’s office, the light fixture and chairs are totally mid-c-modern and the biomorphic Paul Frankltable is totally stepping out into bravura modern – YOWZAH!

all photographs from Mid-Century Modern. Top photo by Verne Fotografie, second by unknown , third by Ray Main/Mainstream