Jonathan Schipper: Irreversibility

by Karen Day

With his high-concept mechanics, artist Jonathan Schipper's latest exhibition, "Irreversibility," is just as stunningly clever as the animatronic sculpture we watched him build a few years ago.

Held at Brooklyn's Pierogi Gallery, the show is both a spectacle and showcase of recent sculptures and installations by Schipper, including "The Slow Inevitable Death of American Muscle," (pictured above) in which a live, head-on collision takes place over six weeks or so. Broken down into its Newtonian components, the wreck forces viewers to contemplate their own mortality. Also on display will be "Measuring Angst," (pictured below) in which a beer bottle is thrown across a 45-foot room, smashes and attempts to reassemble itself, symbolizing our own reconstruction thanks to modern-day science.

Schipper's inquisitive art is indisputably brilliant, his philosophy that art is a mechanism for understanding is apparent in each of his insightful undertakings.

Irreversibility
Opening Reception: 15 May 2009, 7-10pm
15 May-28 June 2009
Pierogi Gallery
191 North 14th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211 map
tel. +1 718 599 2144

Crash and Daze at Adhoc Art

by CH Contributor

by Tamara Warren

Longtime studio mates Crash and Daze join forces for a collaborative show of new work opening this Friday, 15 May 2009, at AdHoc Art in Brooklyn through next month. The exhibition is a juxtaposition of two close knit painters that have forged stellar careers with corresponding trajectories.

Both share roots in the New York City transit system subway graffiti movement of yesteryear and both predominantly work in spray paint on canvas.

Yet, stylistically, each has a distinctive approach reflected in their latest efforts. In one painting, Crash communicates in familiar, bold bursts of blue, red, yellow, orange and greenthe suggestion of an eye turned on top of itself, markedly influenced by Lichtenstein.

Daze captures the element of whimsy, a New York of yesteryear, in one new work on exhibition at AdHoc. Against a muted blue sky, a train runs above ground against a concrete landscape, outlined by a flourish of stars and murky, figurative lettering. (Pictured top right.)

Crash and Daze have forged individual paths with works in museum collections and exhibited around the world. However, they thrive off of working in close proximity, dating back to their beginnings, and early showings such as a major exhibition at Sidney Janis Gallery in 1984. They’ve collaborated on murals and shown their work simultaneously at Musee D'Art Moderne et Art Contemporain in Nice, France, the Black and White in Color Gallery in Montepellier, France and at Gallery Structures in Paris, France. Here are two artists with an intertwined history. This latest show is a new page in the current chapter.

Crash and Daze
Opening Reception: 15 May 2009, 7-10pm
15 May-14 June 2009
Adhoc Art
49 Bogart Street
Brooklyn, NY 11206 map
tel. +1 718 366 2466

Zoom Stefan Janoski SB: Designer James Arizumi Interview and Sketches

by Tim Yu

One of the most well-respected pro skaters in the biz, Stefan Janoski finally got his own long-overdue shoe with Nike SB. In keeping with his relaxed, nonchalant skate style, the Zoom Janoski is a clean, comfortable and functional shoe.

Nike's second signature model, it's a marked departure from their first—a Paul Rodriguez shoe which is more beefy and athletic-looking, again following P-Rod's skate style. Instead, Janoski's minimalist version is one you could wear skating or just walking around. The upper takes a line from the classic Nike SB Blazer but a leather lining lends more durability. Leather laces also mean you won't chew through them after a few kick flips, a vulcanized outsole keeps the look clean, makes for great grip and the Zoom Air bag cushions and protects the heel. In addition, at Stefan's request, the shoe's initial release will come with a limited-edition cork sockliner.

The Zoom Stefan Janoski was officially released this past weekend and is available at your local skate store or online at CCS for around $75.

To get more insight into the design process, we caught up with SB's footwear designer James Arizumi, to take a look at some sketches and ask him a few questions about the design process.

So, why Stefan Janoski?
The deal with Stefan is that he's got such a lax skate style and it's on the opposite end of the spectrum from P-Rod. By bringing him into the fold with the pro series shoes, it allows us to broaden our horizons and takes SB to a different place with skate shoes. This shoe wouldn't exist without him because it's not something that we would normally do and kind of takes us out of our comfort zone.

Where do you start when designing a signature shoe?
Stefan's been on the Nike Skate team for a bit now and we know his skate style so we started with that. He also sent us stuff and images that he liked—cars, clothes, shoes, music, drinks... From that style guide of sorts, we knew the aesthetic we were going for.

I should add that for Stefan, from the very beginning it was all about fit and how it holds up for skating. He didn't really care about ankle protection because those sorts of injuries and abrasion are just unavoidable. He also wanted a lot of flexibility. Taking all this into account, I started to sketch out some ideas with him. After we get something that looked good, we'd move on to the sample process. I've found that athletes respond better when they have a physical sample in their hands. He didn't like the first one at all! Stefan is hard to please but that's a good thing.

Continue reading and see more images after the jump.

DreamFit Dream Bedding

by CH Contributor

by Tisha Leung

Designed to keep bedding in place, DreamFit's latest additions to their line of bedding textiles stand out not only for their ingenious construction but now also for their eco-friendly factor. Until now the U.S.-based textile manufacturer has primarily produced goods for other high-end brand names but their recent expansion establishes their own sustainable bedding brand.

For those who procrastinate in making their beds, DreamFit's speedy solution cleverly quilts together a typical flat sheet with a blanket that's perfect for sleeping on the opposite side. The cheeky reversible pillowcase shams offer one super soft side for sleeping, but with a quick flip to the decorative side, the bed is good to go. The sheet is comprised of Tencel—fiber made from Eucalyptus trees now branded Tencel—making it soft as silk, strong as polyester, cool as linen, warm as wool and absorbent as cotton. In addition to taking less land and water for cultivation, the sheets naturally ward off bacterial growth, decreasing pilling and fiber breakage.

The DreamFit collection also includes a set of 1020 thread-count sheets—almost double the norm for luxuriously soft sheets. Woven mostly from Pima cotton grown in the States, the sheets have a nice weighty feel, trimmed with four pleats, Euro tucks and hemstitches.

The sheets range in price from $300-720, and can be purchased online from Mad Aspen Home.

Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr.

by Doug Black

Acting like a reverse paparazzo, Sammy Davis Jr. used his position within the Hollywood elite to collect images for his own personal viewing. Rarely without a camera at hand, Davis snapped pictures of his famous friends, as well scenes from his private life. Perhaps more significantly, he also captured huge historical moments from his role endorsing political campaigns and as a key figure in the Civil Rights movement. A portion of his extensive collection was released as "Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr.," published in 2007 under the Regan imprint. Though not new, the book's images have an offhanded charm and palpable intimacy that make it a must-have for anyone interested in mid-century America.

Davis gives a entirely unique perspective from his position as a massive, A-list celebrity as well as an African American in segregated America, oftentimes leaving gala events with the Rat Pack to spend the night in all-black hotels. A social hybrid, the resulting images are part biography, part racial history and part popular tabloid. The book is separated by subject, the largest of which centers on his coterie of famous friends. Every marquee name from the sixties seems to make a candid appearance in his photos. Of course, Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack make frequent cameos, but names like Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman and James Dean all have show their million dollar faces captured by Davis' lens. A fervent proponent of Civil Rights movement, the book also includes images of his participation in events like the 1963 march on Washington, and up-close-and-personal images of figures like Martin Luther King, Jr and Bobby Kennedy (who he strongly supported before famously shifting his political sensibilities to the right in support of Richard Nixon).

The book also chronicles Davis' family life, including his interracial marriage to May Wilkins, an occasion that got him dropped from JFK's inaugural ball in 1961. The light editorial breaks between images come courtesy of Burt Boyar (pictured below, and followed by Peter O'Toole and an early self-portrait) whose long friendship with Davis shines through in personal insight as well as a sometimes fawning portrayal.

You can purchase "Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr.," from Amazon or Harper Collins. More images below.

Solid Gold

by Lost At E Minor

Minneapolis is usually know for being cold, but as the music scene there intensifies, it's beginning to be known for stellar indie bands like Solid Gold. We can't stop listening to the cheeky synth-pop trio and their most recent album, "Bodies of Water."

The repeat-worthy tracks are sharp but full of smooth, ethereal melodies that float around and consume your head. The name Solid Gold may seem a tad presumptuous (or more likely intentionally ironic) for a band that remains unsigned, but the threesome continuously proves both on their albums and live that they are more than capable of such a weighty title.

"Bodies of Water" is available for purchase from iTunes for $10, or check out the band's site for a quick listen and a list of tour dates.