Cool Hunting
| 27 September 2007view entries from: this week | this month | view previous day | view next day |
Art Force One Sneakers
by Seth Brau
Manu Angot has become pretty well known in recent years for his Manu Customs. Specializing in hand-painted designs on everything from shoes to electronics, Manu has created quite a name for himself with his brand Art Force One.
On our recent trip to Paris, we discovered that there was more to Manu than Nikes and Reeboks. Walking into Aimecube in the 1st Arrondisement, we were immediately drawn to a row of beautifully bright-colored sneakers embellished with iconic graphics.
But these were no big, padded sport shoes, these were the most simple narrow leather shoes we had ever laid our eyes on. In colors including yellow, teal, and burgundy, and covered with fresh graphics of everything from sunglasses to screwdrivers, the shoes strike a perfect balance between classic Keds-like style and funky flare.
Prices are in the range of €200, but outside of Aimecube we don't have any info on where you can get your hands on a pair.
The Mr. Jones "Accurate" Watch
by Watchismo
Speaking of memento moris and clever watches, Mr Jones' "Accurate" watch makes the inherent implication of a timepiece obvious. In fact, all of the limited edition models in his line are comments on the daily conundrums of life.
Last time I featured Mr. Jones Watches, he had an exhibition-only series of prototype electronic watches developed to explore new cultural expressions, technologies of timekeeping and how they relate to contemporary life. "Each one was the embodiment of a social critique or observation."
With a perfect sense of black humor, cultural irony and dry wit, Crispin Jones, the man behind the Mister, described his concepts as "work which lives in the intersection between Fine Art and Design—broadly this area is known as Critical Design—using the language and tools of design to articulate a critical perspective."
You may have already seen "The Decider," with markings on the face alternately reading "yes" and "no," but I was taken with the macabre nature of the Accurate. Evolved from his original Summissus watch, the Accurate similarly fosters humility in the wearer by featuring a mirrored dial to reflect the viewer along with a semi-subtle reminder of your inevitable mortal time-frame. The hour and minute discs spell out "Remember" and "You Will Die."
His latest series has now taken this concept to consumption. Now featuring analog watches with rotating discs, each style of Mr. Jones Watches will be produced in a limited numbered series of 100. (£80 each or approximately $160) Don't lose any more time, they're close to selling out!
And just released this week, a series of videos by filmmaker Steve Ounanian brings the concepts to life. See them on my blog, as well as a couple other models from the series.
MINI Clubman: The Other View
by Ami Kealoha
Flashmobs might be so five years ago, but MINI's latest campaign to promote the new Clubman, (i.e. "the other mini"), adopts the concept for an online series of videos. Starting tomorrow, 28 September 2007, at 4pm BST, they will release a weekly 15-second surrealist interpretation of an everyday event that will only be available on The Other View site for one minute—if you enter three seconds in, you will see the video three seconds in.
Air times are irregular so to help you not miss it, they came up with this clock widget that counts down the time in seconds until each video begins. It's a clever way of taking viral to the next level and from the sneak peaks we've seen so far, there's some art direction worth watching the widget for.
I Am As You Will Be: The Skeleton In Art
by Tim Yu
While some have already dismissed skull imagery as a passing trend, we think when it's done right it can be a timeless memento mori. If you're anything like us, you're going to enjoy "I Am As You Will Be: The Skeleton In Art," a group show that opened last week at Cheim & Read Gallery in Chelsea.
Like the title of the show suggests, the attraction to the subject has to do with our shared corporeal experience, which artists in the show have interpreted using clever, horrific and, at times, alluring imagery. The exhibit brings together more than 30 works by a who's who of artists, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol (below left), Sigmar Polke, Matthew Barney, Jan Fabre (above right) and Damien Hirst, among others. View more works from the show after the jump.
I Am As You Will Be: The Skeleton In Art
20 September - 3 November 2007
Cheim & Read
547 West 25th Street
New York, NY 10001 map
tel. +1 212 242 7727
via Supertouch
Botta Uno Automatik One-Handed Watch
by Watchismo
If you thought the Mondaine that Ami wrote about yesterday was minimalist, then you haven't seen this new Botta.
Get with the times man and check out the Uno, a one-handed watch. Two hands? That's just so second millennium. German watchmaker Klaus Botta's design makes seconds and minutes irrelevant; with the Uno, be on time-ish.
The slacker's watch is available in mechanical automatic (€490)or quartz (starting at €229) from Botta, though non-German speakers may have a tough time deciphering.
