Grant Barnhart: Remember Me When

by Doug Black

Drenched in Americana, the paintings of Grant Barnhart show a conflicted view of his home country. In "Remember Me When," the Seattle-based artist adopts scores iconic images from the last century of American culture. Barnhart's twisted reality shows cowboys showered in fireworks and football players tackling horses make appearances, while rodeo pageant girls observe from afar. The inherent nostalgia of these archetypes is palpable, but it's subverted by hectic interactions, which creates a decidedly ambiguous whole.

Barnhart was born in Topeka, Kansas, and studied at Columbus College of Art and Design. "Remember Me When" will exhibit from 8 November to 7 December 2008 at Seattle's OKOK Gallery.

Remember Me When
8 November-7 December 2008
OKOK Gallery
5107 Ballard Avenue N.W.
Seattle, WA 98107 map
tel. +1 206 789 6242

Visionaire 55: SURPRISE

by Karen Day

Nothing goes better with art and fashion than champagne and no publication understands that more than Visionaire, the leader in limited edition multi-format books covering the beloved creative industries. This year they've smartly teamed up with Krug, creators of Prestige Cuvèe champagne on their latest issue SURPRISE. With only 4,000 numbered copies worldwide, this pop-up issue is the issue to get your hands on to see the works of artists like Mario Testino, Sophie Calle, and Alasdair McLellan rise from the pages.

Housed in a dark purple cloth-covered case with a magnetic closure and engraved metal plaque, this edition astonishes viewers with movable images, three-dimensional scenes and surprise reveals.

Available for $250 from Visionaire. More images after the jump.

Delvaux x Stefan Schöning: Folder Chair

by Karen Day

Known for their superior quality leather goods and elegant designs, luxury handbag pioneer Delvaux reached another level of sophistication by asking Belgian industrial designer Stefan Schöning to recreate his "Folder Chair" using Delvaux's black Taurillon leather. Inspired by Japanese Origami and made by hand, material flexibility was a key factor in achieving the complex folds used in the understated design. Originally made from polypropylene, Schöning worked with Delvaux to develop a system for the bull calf leather used for this edition that would later harden and reinforce the leather.

Designing products since 1994 and voted Designer of the Year 2008 by the Interieur Foundation, Schöning is no stranger to working with a wide variety of materials and products although this is his first project working with leather. His philosophy is that by expanding his design experiences he is able to sharpen the appearance of a design's identity by applying new technologies and materials in unconventional manners.

Unveiled at contemporary furniture exhibition Interieur 2008, it's now available upon request.

Bob Books Flickbooks

by Doug Black

A wonderfully tactile keepsake, the Bob Books Flickbook takes your personal video clips and renders them as an old-fashioned pocket-sized flip book. The clever format makes for a fun way to share the ubiquitous videos shot on digital cameras and cell phones—both a curious novelty and a tangible document for the more ephemeral digital videos.

To create a Flickbook, convert any digital video into either .mov, .avi, .mp4 or .mpg format. The Flickbook generator allows you to select the best section, which needs to clock in between six and eight seconds and can't exceed the 30 MB size limit. After the painless upload process, you can use their software to design both front and back covers, along with the spine using new photos or stills from the video.

The end result comes in one size (125 x 65mm) with 70 printed pages of matte-coated paper and a sturdy binding. Each book costs about $20, plus shipping charges. Visit Bob Books for more information and to use the Flickbook generator.

Random International: Temporary Printing Machine

by Leonora Oppenheim

One of the most engaging exhibits that we saw at the Design Art London fair last month was this Temporary Printing Machine by one of CH's fave interactive design collectives, rAndom International. This triptych, exhibited by the Carpenters Workshop Gallery under the title A Tribute to Francis Bacon, involves three frames each with a small camera, a digital printing device and light sensitive paper.

When a person approaches the frames on the wall the cameras take their portrait at timed intervals and at different angles. These captured images are then printed with light onto the paper in the frames. In an extraordinarily ephemeral way, your portrait appears and disappears before your very eyes as the light sensitive paper captures you—if only for a few seconds—before the image begins to fade away again.

While the Temporary Printing Machine might be a seemingly pointless exercise we enjoyed the interactive experience, the clever use of simple technology and the thoughts it provoked about the futility of trying to capture a moment in time and our obsession with our own image. The perfect moment came when I tried to snap the transient portraits on my own digital camera with frustrating results. This action only served to highlight the strangeness of our contemporary need to preserve every aspect of our lives on camera without just taking time to just enjoy the moment.

Check out more of rAndom International's fantastic work on their website, particularly the wonderful videos of their recent interactive installation Audience at the Royal Opera House in London.

Fraktur Mon Amour Giveaway

by Brian Fichtner

I'm happy to confess my weakness for beautiful books like the new love letter to Blackletter typography "Fraktur Mon Amour"—though I have to admit it had been some time since I came across one that stopped me in my tracks like this one did. Berlin-based designer Judith Schalansky's presentation of the typeface collection is almost more compelling than the fonts themselves. Bound like a King James Bible for font geeks and printed in contrasting black, white and shocking pink, it makes for a book that's as much a gorgeous object as it is a handy and inspiring resource.

All too often, books on graphic design and typography tend to favor elaborate and confusing layouts but Fraktur Mon Amour's elegance has the effect of a metered poem rather than the chaotic free-verse of others. Compiling 300 variations on Blackletter fonts (137 of which are included on a CD), Schalanksky's tome provides a complete alphabet and historical data for each version along with a typographic composition on every facing page. It's beautiful, simple and, well, downright sexy as far as books go.

Blackletter, also known as Fraktur or Gothic type, dates back to the Middle Ages. Though it fell out of favor by the end of the Renaissance, its widespread use in Germany persisted until World War II, when it was banned by the Nazis because it was thought to be a Jewish invention. Recent years have seen a resurgence in the usage of Blackletter fonts, from newspapers and posters to branding and album art.

We've scored an extra copy of Fraktur Mon Amour to give one lucky Cool Hunting reader who can cite the best (according to us) example of Blackletter usage today. Simply go to the bottom of the page, click on Contact and select "Fraktur Mon Amour Giveaway" from the drop-down menu. We'll pick our favorite submission from entries received before 11:59 pm EST on 10 November 2008.

The book is also available from Amazon or Chronicle Books.

Saint Augustine's Academy

by Lost At E Minor

We breathed a sigh of relief when we first discovered menswear label, Saint Augustine Academy. Since its inception in 2002, the Sydney-based team has risen to cult-status among individuals with a keen eye for sophistication and intelligent design. Playing on the lifestyle of a modern rock-and-roll star, the designers at Saint Augustine Academy are heavily inspired by the rock nouveau ethos that surrounded bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain. While slim fits and skinny ties are nothing new to the scene, the label keeps it fresh with edgy designs only a true whisky-consuming dandy would love.

Designers Alvin Manalo and Adrian Amores met in the mid-'90s while studying economics at Macquarie University (not exactly feeling destined for fashion design). As chief designer, Alvin had no fashion design skills before beginning the label, but has since created consistently contemporary and sought-after designs each season.

You can pick up the collection at their Flagship Store in Sydney or online at Revolve Clothing.