Anna Carnick

“Architecture affects everybody…” Julius Shulman once said. And he’s right – it’s all around us, and far too often taken for granted. Sadly, Shulman passed away earlier this year. Now, director Erik Bricker‘s new documentary, “Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman,” celebrates Shulman’s life and work as the world’s greatest architectural photographer.

Click HERE for a list of screenings.

And check out Dwell Magazine‘s interview with director Erik Bricker HERE.

H/T FreshCreation

Sonumbra by Loop.pH

Sonumbra by Loop.pH

Metabolic Media by Loop.pH

London-based research and design studio Loop.pH is bridging the gap between design and natural sciences, specializing in environmentally responsive textiles for the built environment. At its helm sit designers Rachel Wingfield and Mathias Gmachl, who marry traditional craft-based practices with cutting-edge technology and science.

One of their most recent standout projects is Sonumbra, an experimental series of solar-powered, tree-like structures that explore alternative sources of energy and low-cost lighting, designed to respond to the interplay and activity of the people orbiting the umbrella by casting a sonic shade of light. As Ms. Wingfield says, “Strands of light are laced into huge parasols with the potential to offer shelter from the sun by day and shed light for a local community at night using energy collected from the solar cell embedded it its canopy. We have been working with Riso DTU, the National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy in Denmark, with their printed, organic solar cells. These low cost, flexible cells become part of the architectural textile.” In some ways – specifically as eco-conscious, solar powered, community focused tree shaped lighting – Sonumbra reminds me very much of Ross Lovegrove‘s brilliant Solar Trees. However, much of Sonumbra’s magic also lies in the creation of an atmosphere of musical rhythms and luminous patterns – all determined by visitors’ movements in relation to Sonumbra.

An overlapping project called Metabolic Media has Loop.pH working with Riso DTU on solar cells for energy harvesting canopy. Specifically, Metabolic Media considers biomimetic architecture modeled on molecular structures and metabolism in living cells. Ms. Wingfield – also a research fellow at University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins College – has liased with and responded to the work of Nobel Laureate Sir John E. Walker on the project.

Click here to learn more about Loop.pH.

All images courtesy of Rachel Wingfield at Loop.pH.
H/T Inhabitat

Check out Coolhunting.com for my review of Taschen‘s limited-edition winter release: Dennis Hopper, Photographs, 1961-1967. It’s an amazing collection featuring several previously unpublished Hopper photographs, and reflects a world in flux in a historical decade—politically, socially and artistically. From the civil rights march at Selma to the art world’s electricity to grittier, urban street scenes, from politicians to writers to artists to complete strangers, Hopper’s camera captured an era…

Also, Coolhunting’s guest-editing Wallpaper.com through September 30th, so you can check out the review there as well!

Personal Edition Crochet Chair by Marcel Wanders

This November, the Philadelphia Museum of Art welcomes visionary Dutch designer Marcel Wanders in a self-designed, self-curated exhibition called “Marcel Wanders: Daydreams.” This will be a dreamlike, multimedia installation of objects personally selected by Wanders to represent pivotal points in his 20+ year career. Video images, lighting, and sound will illuminate his creative development over the years.

New films—detailing Wanders’s design process and philosophy in projects ranging from manufactured products, hotel interiors, and design art—will also make their public debut at the retrospective. The films’ soundscapes will provide Wanders’s personal views on design.

“Marcel Wanders: Daydreams”
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Curated by Kathryn Hiesinger
November 22, 2009- June 13, 2010

For more information, visit Philadelphia Museum of Art.
And look for my interview w/Wanders coming up in the next issue of Clear Magazine!

Broken Glass, 2006, by David DiMichele, from Pseudodocumentation

Holes, 2009, by David DiMichele, from Pseudodocumentation

Bark, 2008, by David DiMichele, from Pseudodocumentation

Ice Melting, 2007, by David DiMichele, from Pseudodocumentation

“Pseudodocumentation,” Los Angeles-based photographer David DiMichele’s current exhibit at Randall Scott Gallery,  is a playful examination of scale and perception. DiMichele’s subjects find themselves in dramatic surroundings – encircled by towers of melting ice, daunting slashes of bark, shards of glass –  and while intimidating, these are also simultaneously beautiful settings. But these images aren’t achieved in grand halls, museums or cavernous warehouses – no, they’re constructed at the artist’s studio table as detailed dioramas. 

Further, DiMichele’s “Pseudodocumentary”  photos make a statement about how we - the audience – see and experience the monumental art that they pay homage to. Most people don’t always have access to the first-hand experience of the type of  major installations portrayed in DiMichele’s photographs. More often, we see images of such exhibits through reproductions or websites.

DiMichele’s series is on display through October 17th at:

Randall Scott Gallery
111 Front Street #204
Brooklyn, NY 11201
212-796-2190