Drawing on the cover is by Robert Longo
Friday, May 01, 2009
Peter Zumthor
Zumthor just won the Pritzker Prize. This book reminds me of 'Basic Writings' by Martin Heidegger. There is an essay by Heidegger call "Building, Thinking, and Dwelling." I had a hint of the relation. Then I found a Wikipedia article that mentions Zumthor mirroring Heidegger.
Zumthor mentions the term “presence” of the materials in his work. I remember reading 'Building, Thinking, and Dwelling' and try to grasp Heidegger's meaning of the bridge as the beginning of a 'presence'.
Is Zumthor a senualist? In a sense he is but not the same as those that sprouted in the Roccoco period. Later Modernist such as Adolf Loos strip the ornamentation and the buildings became bare until it was cold. Zumthor seems to bring the warmth back with out all the ostentation. Architecture has always been about light, material, and sense. Zumthor finds innotive ways to let the material speak, or he treats the ordinary material into exterordinary ways. He seems to use material the way a writer uses words to compose a poem.
The English Patient
With bursts of warm light, Ondaatje illuminates the scene through poetic prose, rendering a tale of love and betrayal in times of war.
Book designed by Chip Kid. Photo by Cecil Berton.
Ikepod Sea Slug
http://www.yorktime.com/search?cid=70:sku=410
The vintage Seaslug.
Designer: Marc Newson
Marc began his design tinkering with a watch. In his teens, he started to study watch making. He's expanded to other products.
Here's an interview with Marc: http://www.watchismo.blogspot.com/search?q=marc+newson
The vintage Seaslug.
Designer: Marc Newson
Marc began his design tinkering with a watch. In his teens, he started to study watch making. He's expanded to other products.
Here's an interview with Marc: http://www.watchismo.blogspot.com/search?q=marc+newson
Quantum of Solace Book
Pentagram has made a special edition of Ian Flemming's collection of Short Stories.
Never Let Me Go Book Review
I don't know how Ishiguro did it, but I felt like I had stumble upon a journal or a story written by Kathy H. The first impression is an intimacy with the story teller that I had not experience in a long time.
Objects have a special meaning in ‘Never Let Me Go’. The title is taken from the song by Judy Bridgewater, a fictional singer from the album Songs After Dark. It is in the cassette that Kathy bought at the Sales. This object came from the outside world. It is a reminder of the time Kathy experienced at Hailsham. The objects produce memories. The wooden pencil box is also imbued with mystery. Kathy mentions Tommy's favorite Ruby shirt.
The album has a woman smoking a cigarette. She had to hide it because smoking is forbidden for donors. It destroys organs. This is one of the ways that Kathy casually reveals the fact that they are donors. The books with smokers or smoking illustrations have been torn from the volume.
I like the fact that Madame selects the special art work for her gallery.
"I don't know how it was where you were, but at Hailsham ..."
I was asking myself this question of purpose and length of a life. On the one hand Kathy knows her purpose in life. On the other hand, she also will know when she will 'complete' her life. It reminds me of Blade Runner because the replicants have their own expiration dates to think of.
Tusting Bags
Tusting came over the border into Levenger's line up years ago. They make the popular Stanley, now updated Livingston bag. Levenger commission Tusting to make briefs that have an English tradition and look. Known as an angler's bag, these have become popular business briefs that are not so stiff and have an outdoors causualness about them. I own one. It is fully lined. The new leather smell is masculine.
Seirra Trading sells them on line.
Seirra Trading sells them on line.
Nooka
Nooka's story of a start up watch company. Watchismo has a profile on Nooka's start up. The dials bring a fresh perspective on tracking time. Futurist in style and concept, each creation presents a challenge to traditional horology.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Agenda Series
---------- ducly wrote :----------
I'm interested in your Agenda series.
can you tell me more about it?
Dear Ducly,
thank you for your email.
My agenda series are simply photographs of my own agendas, which I use since 2004. They are the result of my daily life, and they try to capture a part of my own memory.
It is the result of an obsession with understanding time as a concept and our relationship with it. We are in the middle of a transition in a world of new technology, where memory is captured differently (e.g. writing an email becomes stored in other ways within our memories than writing by hand, I would believe.) As a result the form of our traces are changing, as well as the archives of ourselves.
It seems important to me to capture this, as also an excuse to continue to produce.
All the Best
Aleksandar
Friday, February 20, 2009
Fridge
I called Sears to come out to look at the Fridge. He told me to turn the freezer off and wait for the water line to thaw. This works. Apparently, the water line is close to the door panel. It is sealed in foam. If it was broken, they would have to replace the whole new door. My particular GE model door is not available because the manufacture have stop making it. So, after 15 minutes the water line works! The ice maker he said needed to be replaced too. But I did not get it replace. Last night, I heard the ice dropping into the box. So, it is also making ice! I'm excited.
It costs me $65 to have the repair guy come out.
The repair guy said that GE refrigerator is expensive to repair.
The parts and labor for freezer fix is $355.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
D.E. Mays
portlandart.net/archives/2009/06/first_thursday_39.html
Portland Art selected to feature D.E. Mays for their First Thursday's pick. I first saw May's work at PDX contemporary in the Window display. I was in awe of their power to suggest architectural space. It was want I wanted to do. His work still influences me. I meet him at a solo exhibition at the Marylhurst Art Gym space. I'm glad to see his new drawings. They still have that simplicity and architectonic space to the compositions.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Kindle 2
I want one. I want one. This version 2 is so sexxy.
The Kendle 2 is available for consumption. Many people are talking about it. It is incased in an exciting shape. It is as thin as a pencil. It looks like a large ipod for reading. Amazon pays for the Wireless 3G access which is a great idea. Garry's Posterous post has some interesting things to say about this free 3G. Amazon sells the e books, so essentially anyone that buys an Amazon product or especially it's ebook is paying for the subscription. It's always a hard decision to pick that book for a plane ride. Here a whole library is contained in a svelt package. J.L. Borges would love this idea. There are other magazines and newspaper monthly services for $9. Reading blogs is free. I liked the idea of the first generation of Kendles but knew that it was a prototype idea, clumpsy in it's shape and usablity. The new shape also improves the battery life, readability, and download time. This one is hard to resist. The price is approximately $345.
It certainly will change the way people read and buy books. I hear writers groaning. I'm not sure what their complaint is. Maybe it will be less profitable for them or that Amazon doesn't carry certain chapbooks or books printed in small numbers. Maybe it affect the writer's pocket book as in less royalties. Independent book sellers, bookstores and even internet book stores has yet another source of competition.
It is interesting that a ebook device has available 3G 24/7 without a monthly service charge where as the phone needs this service much more and subscribers have to pay. Really how many times does one need to down load a book? And a book can last the reader for at least a day. It is the blog reading and the newspaper / magazine articles which has news and needs the 3G. What it means is an ebookstore which will be open all the time, with or with out hooking up to the internet. There are no wires. It will even read to y ou. I wonder what this post will sound like on a Kindle. This business model turns Amazon into a powerful publishing house. Perhaps other publishers besides Amazon will offer this service. Depending on production time of a paper vs. ebook, we could see three different release dates for books: hardback, paper, and ebook.
I remember picking out each book and weighing them then taking that specific. I clearly remember sitting down at a pool reading Magic Mountain or in a hotel in a foreign country reading english novels. In some cases I did not bring books so I was subjected to the limited choice of a foreign bookstore's small sellection.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Violinist
I listen to Bach violin solo by Hilary Hahn. On the flight to Frankfurt, I listen and watched a video concert of Julia Fischer. First she plays the violin then the piano. I was very impressed. She looked older the Hilary Hahn. When I was on land, I check her Wiki page. She’s 25 where as Hillary is 30. I guess Hilary has a young face. I wonder if Hahn is an Asian name, Perhaps Korean? There are no sources about her parents. Hilary is much more media savvy then Julia. Hilary has her blog, Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, and Youtube page. Julia has just the professional web page. Julia is from Germany. I thought her dress is lovely and black with Chris-crossing straps to caress her small white skin frame. I still remember seeing Ann Aikiko Meyers playing Saint-Saens. Rondo Capricio. I also have a CD of Ann playing other Saint-Saens pieces. It seems that violinist picks a certain composer and stay with it through out her career. For Hilary, it is Bach. For Ann, it is Saint-Saens. Ann began playing at the age of four and debut at the age of seven. In fact all three of these violinists began at the same age. I’m thinking of Malcom Gladwell’s new book ‘Outlier’. It compares the ages and background of certain successful types. I would like to look at these young violin protégées.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Monday, February 02, 2009
Friday, December 19, 2008
Perfume
"Odors have a power of persuasion stronger than that of words, appearances, emotions, or will. The persuasive power of an odor cannot be fended off, it enters into us like breath into our lungs, it fills us up, imbues us totally. There is no remedy for it." — Patrick Süskind (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) Thus the novel persuades and pervades through our imagination the smell.
Why do I want to read this book?
I want to read it to see how the author transcribe a scent on to words.
One incident which stood out. It was when Grenouille pays the prostitute to get her scent. Well this explains a lot and it makes the narrative plausible and it makes his motives for murder clear. The prostitute is freaked out by the scrapper and the lard that he applies to extract her scent. If she would have let him do it then he would not have murder other girls. Well, he was to get a scent of the virgins. She was just his test subject. So I suppose that eventually he would murder. It does explain that it is not normal social behavior. So even if he advertised for girls to contribute their scent, they would not have. Besides, he murders her on impulse because he is obsessive about the experiment.
He is only concern with the scent and not even the physical touch.
So this is more then a story, and much more then just murders. It bring in moral questions. In searching for art, science, and perfection, he has committed these crimes. Was there a better way to extract this? In those times, it was not possible it seems.
His motive is more then just money, fame, and power. It was his mere curiosity and he pursuit of the purest and his obsessiveness. To him and to the writer, the scent is the essence: the soul of a thing, or a man or a woman. He had a gift for this sense. He is a freak of nature, like most genius who bares the talent or gift, it is a burden. So this is how the author makes the reader sympathize for the criminal. We, the reader, don't know much about the virgin victims, except for the final precious 13th victim, she has a bit of a story.
I might add here that the writer has a gift as well. Sometimes, he is a freak and is obsessive about certain ideas, theme, and words. The novel is the way he conducts the experiment. The way he can distill smell onto the page is remarkable.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)