Audioengine 2 Powered Desktop Speakers

by Josh Rubin

Based on the superior performance of the Audioengine 5s we were excited when their new smaller desktop speakers arrived and they don't disappoint. Like their predecessors, Audioengine 2s are powered speakers constructed of wood featuring a silk tweeter and a newly updated kevlar woofer which makes for the same impressive bass and satisfyingly rich sound—but packed into a third of the size (approximately 6"x4"x5.5").

The sounds is truly impressive for their size and they look great on a desk, though they might work better on a shelf—they're video shielded but we've run into problems with mobile phone interference. I also think they might be a little more well-suited for desktop use if the power and volume controls were more easily accessible.

Otherwise, for music snobs, the mini Audioengines are a great addition to a workspace or would be perfect for use with TVs, portable players, video games or anything with an 1/8" mini or RCA jack.

Available in white or black, the Audioengine 2s come with all cables and a three-year warranty for $200 from Audioengine.

Also on Cool Hunting: iPod Speakers, Part I, iPod Speakers, Part II

Botot Toothpaste

by Tim Yu

by Passa Chattra

Botot toothpaste is considered the "world's first toothpaste." Dr. Julien Botot invented this toothpaste in 1755 for King Louis XV of France. The formula lacks any of those nasty synthetic ingredients or colors. Instead it contains special natural ingredients like gillyflower, ginger, and cinnamon that give your mouth a slight warming feeling while promoting circulation in your gums. It tastes and feels like the first couple of chews of Big Red gum.

Having the tube sitting on the sink serves as one of those intimate details in the bathroom that suggest indulgence, antiquity and foreign lands. Available for $8 at Unica Home

Geoff McFetridge: Whitest Boy Alive Video

by Jacob Resneck

Beautiful/Decay is showcasing the latest in creative media later this month with a symposium that will include Cool Hunting's own as well as Brand New School, a film and animation studio based on both coasts, that will be curating a series of films.

This segment will include some of their own work as well as an interesting music unofficial promo video recently released for the album Golden Cage by Whitest Boy Alive, an electronic music project that's whittled away its programmed elements down to a simple guitar, bass and drums sound.

The music video set to the track "Dreams," was directed by graphic designer Geoff McFetridge, the 33-year-old artist and filmmaker who's made his name designing title sequences for Hollywood movies and household name fashion products. McFetridge's work here is a brilliant example of simple line animation that puts concepts and ideas over production quality that's a nice compliment to the simplicity of the music. His flip book-style animation is a welcome contrast to the usual soulless offerings that rely on post-production flashiness to conceal a lack of imagination.

There are only 200 seats available at the event, so you may want to get yours now. Doors open at 6:30pm 20 November 2007 at Anthology Film Archives at 32 Second Street in Manhattan. It's expected to sell out; tickets are available in advance.

Araki, Miyamoto, Sugimoto: Contemporary Japanese Photography

by Ami Kealoha

by Anna Oberthur

Called a genius by some and a misogynist by others, Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki is probably best known for his sexually provocative female nudes. But the controversial artist's work stretches beyond black and white portraits of women draped across rumpled bedclothes or—more distressingly—elaborately bound and tied to trees.

In the Araki, Miyamoto, Sugimoto: Contemporary Japanese Photography exhibit opening 10 November 2007 at Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, (in Wolfsburg, Germany) some of Araki's best-known shots from the 1995 series "Tokyo Novelle" are showcased alongside photos from his newer "Painting Flowers" series. (Click images for detail and see more after the jump.)

In those photos, Araki has splattered or brushed the blooms with glistening paint before capturing them on film. The result is an "almost obscene voluptuousness," the museum says, giving the floral imagery so common in both Eastern and Western culture a "cryptic, decadent air," and—some might say—the provocative nudes a run for their money.

The exhibit also includes Ryuji Miyamoto's images of the Japanese city of Kobe after the devastating 1995 earthquake that nearly destroyed it, and Hiroshi Sugimoto's strangely alluring photos of American drive-in theaters and cinemas. By letting the exposure run an entire movie length, Sugimoto captures the screens as empty, eerily glowing rectangles.

The show, which runs until 24 March 2007, is a compliment to of the museum's current main exhibition, "Japan and the West: Fulfilled Emptiness."

Also on Cool Hunting: Arakimentari

Doris Salcedo: Shibboleth

by Tim Yu

The Tate Modern always does an incredible job of reinventing their Great Turbine Hall with large, encompassing installations and with Doris Salcedo's "Shibboleth" they may have outdone themselves. Stretching imagination and the definition of sculpture and installation itself, Salcedo created a subterranean crack in the floor that stretches 584 feet across the entire length of the Hall. The upshot is a jagged abyss that gives the impression that an earthquake cracked the museum floor.

Starting as a delicate hairline crack on one end, the gap gradually widens to a space of several inches. The gash was created by opening the concrete floor and inserting a cast texture of rock wall from Salcedo's native Columbia. Winding through the Hall, the large scar makes a stark contrast with the pristine setting. It's said to symbolize the history of racism and the inequality among countries.

The installation will remain until 6 April 2008 and admission is free, so if you're in the area, there's no excuse not to go—just be careful not to twist an ankle, which apparently has already occurred on a few occasions. More information about the installation at Tate Modern and more images here.

Also on Cool Hunting: Carsten Holler