Arnaud Loumeau at WOKstore

by CH Contributor

by Paolo Ferrarini of Future Concept Lab

The latest show at WOKstore, a space in Milan devoted to art and fashion, is dedicated to the French artist and illustrator Arnaud Loumeau. Born in Poitiers 30 years ago, he currently lives in Toulouse and is passionate about the Fluxus movement, as well as op and primitive art. Influences including Mexican and Indian cultures, along with video games and pixel culture figure prominently in his dreamy handmade graphics.

The curator of the show, Simona Citarella, tells CH that looking at Loumeau's drawings "feels like you find yourself in a robot mind, who is having a kaleidoscopic dream with his monsters and aliens friends spacing in a chessboard game. They are full of dazzling and vibrant colors playing together for impressing your retina."

Working mostly on graph paper Loumeau says he uses bright markers because they're easy to use and he's fascinated by their colors.

Arnaud Loumeau
Through 12 April 2009
WOKstore
Viale Col di Lana, 5a
20136 Milano, Italy map
tel. +39 0 2 8982 9700

Verameat Jewelry

by Max Gold

Using recycled silver and 25 karat gold, Vera Balyura's fanciful rings, earrings and necklaces bring out the child within. Vera's story starts with her own childhood in the Ukraine, where she worked as an apprentice to her grandfather, a woodcarver, before leaving in search of the extraordinary. During her travels, she experimented with being a cowgirl and a model until two years ago when she founded her line Verameat in the West Village.

Riffing on the idea of a charm as a symbol, Verameat baubles have a sculptural presence that push the limits more than, say, a bird or heart. Vera believes in power through proximity, an idea not fully grasped until you find a ferocious Tyrannosaurus Rex eating a piece of fried chicken wrapped around your finger. Or try walking around with a Knight In Shining Armor bumping against your heart.

Her playful manipulations include maritime adventurers made from a chunk of eco-friendly recycled silver and rogue spacemen fashioned out of solid gold. And though her pieces are whimsical, they also have an attention to detail (inherited from Vera's grandmother, a surgeon) that has made fans that include the likes of Michel Gondry, Amy Sedaris and Miranda July.

The current crop is available from the Verameat site and at select stores.

Teddylux Recycled Cashmere Stuffed Animals

by Karen Day

Rather than toss moth-eaten or otherwise less-than-pristine cashmere, donate it to Teddylux, who will repurpose your unwanted cashmere into darling stuffed animals.

Designer Brooke Serson Cernonok handcrafts each unique animal in her Atlanta studio and will even custom make one for you with cashmere you send to her, making for terrific personal gifts.

The menagerie of teddylux animals ranges from $50-60 and can be purchased online. Each one arrives in a gift box with a story of its recycled roots and certificate of authenticity.

Andreas Nicolas Fischer: Data Visualization Art

by Karen Day

Combining science with art to talk about some of the pertinent issues of our times, Andreas Nicholas Fischer's data sculptures are beautiful executions of scientific information.

The Munich-born, Berlin-based artist, like Chris Jordan, is leading the way in a certain type of art that opens the dialogue about issues we face today, from the economy to privacy violations. Proving himself as both a skilled craftsman and experienced analyst, the young artist makes statistical mappings, like "Fundament," which shows the allocation of the world’s gross domestic product in comparison to the worldwide derivatives volume (pictured at right).

In addition to sculpture, Fischer uses algorithms to create elegant, amoeba-like digital images inspired by theoretical botany and the growth process in nature (pictured below).

While Fischer dabbles with mediums, data informs all of his work in some way.

Though not currently on exhibit, if you're in Berlin keep an eye out for his "Der Wandel in Zahlen," an extension of an existing thermometer that shows the difference between today's temperature and that 50 years ago.

Two iPhone Recording Applications

by Brian Fichtner

In the race for best iPhone recording application, there are over a dozen contestants but few finalists. After surveying a handful, we're placing Griffin's iTalk and Zarboo's SpeakEasy in the winner's circle. While neither application is flawless, both get kudos for interface design, ease of use and file tagging.

Ever since I lost my digital recorder, I've resorted to using my iPhone for interviews and the occasional concert bootleg. For some time, I've used the free, ad-supported version of iTalk, which is identical to iTalk Premium ($5), but comes with a small banner ad at the bottom of the iPhone screen. Using an iPhone for recording interviews isn't ideal, since the mic is mono-directional, but it's sufficient. ITalk boasts a clutter-free interface that allows for starting/stopping and selecting recording quality with one finger. Using the accelerometer, the app can even monitor the recording levels and file size with the iPhone's mic pointed toward the sound source, flipping the interface 180 degrees so the user can read it.

SpeakEasy ($2) definitely takes the trophy for having a slick interface and the kind of details that come from listening to user feedback. A series of four rotating icons provide the basic functions of recording and playback. The second icon gives the option of either starting the new recording over, playing it back, trashing it or saving it. Once saved, you can name the recording, add notes, categorize it and even tag it with a photo (by selecting from your camera library or taking new photo). Clever details include an auto-pause when answering incoming phone calls and auto-save when hitting the home button. (ITalk also does the latter but won't update the icon with a reminder that you have a new recording.) You also have the option of saving a recording that's 40 seconds or less as a ringtone.

Because Apple has yet to open the iTunes back door to third party app developers, both of these applications suffer from rather inelegant file transfer systems. Getting these recordings into iTunes is no simple matter of dock and sync. While Speakeasy may win in the user interface category, iTalk comes out on top with its wireless file transfer. Using iTalk Sync, users must first enable the iPhone's Wi-Fi, then open the iTalk application. Once those steps are complete, the two apps can talk to one another and you can select the desired recording to be imported into iTunes.

For SpeakEasy, at first glance the transfer process looks simple, though it turns out to be somewhat clumsy. In order for SpeakEasy Connect to recognize new recordings, you must first back-up the iPhone. After my first import, the second round of recordings wouldn't show up until I disconnected the iPhone, quit both SpeakEasy Connect and iTunes, reconnected the iPhone and synced it. Lastly, there's the question of file transfer speed. I was able to transfer a 2.8mb AIFF iTalk recording using WiFi in under ten seconds. The exact same recording length in SpeakEasy, a 265kb AAC file, took two minutes with SpeakEasy Connect!

So, who comes out a hair ahead in this photo finish? Both apps are great. If you're looking for something purely functional, iTalk is the way to go. If you want some bells and whistles, and you don't mind waiting for the inexplicable delays in file transfer, then SpeakEasy is the app for you.