Tom Schutyser: Caravanserais a Metaphor

by Wendy Dembo

In early 2003, photographer and writer Tom Schutyser traveled in a West-East direction along the Silk Road documenting the sights he saw along the way. The resulting show, "Caravanserais a Metaphor," is a photographic glimpse of his journey from Iran through Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to China, shot in black and white.

Opening last week at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture Paris Val-de-Seine in Paris, the exhibition highlights his favorite topic—the ruins of the caravanserais. Built specifically to shelter men, goods and animals along ancient caravan routes, the caravanserais are a reminder of a more prosperous time.

And the title? The Belgium-born photographer feels that the caravansarais are "a metaphor for a successful platform of international exchange and communication" between the Western and Muslim worlds.

Caravanserais a Metaphor
Through 30 June 2009
École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture Paris Val-de-Seine
3-15, quai Panhard et Levassor
75013 Paris, France map
tel. +33 01 72 69 6300

Area Code T-Shirts

by CH Contributor

By Julie Wolfson

An alternative way to show local pride, MikeJames Clothing Company's tees give a shout out to home towns with graphic images of states and area codes. Mark Wahlberg, pictured at right, is even a fan.

The area code shirts are the brainchild of long time friends Mike Kirschenbaum and James Starr. Printed in the U.S. on 100% free trade, 100% cotton American Apparel shirts, each depicts an outline of a state, incorporating the area code into the design. To help kids in the cities represented, MikeJames Clothing company donates $1 from the purchase price to the YMCA. More states and area codes will be released soon.

We met James Starr at the cafe he co-owns with Jason Bernstein The Golden State, a new popular restaurant in L.A.'s Fairfax District, known for their awesome burgers, artfully selected beer list and beer floats made with Scoops ice cream by Tai Kim. The restaurant celebrates some of the best foods in California. With MikeJames t-shirt company everyone wearing their shirts can celebrate their home states too. This writer plans to rock the 323, how about you?

Area code tees are available from the MikeJames site starting at $24.

LightLane Personal Bike Path

by Brian Fichtner

A few months ago the LightLane personal bike path was merely a competition entry in conceptual phase. Using high powered laser beams mounted to bicycle seat posts, the light generated so much interest that the designers took it into development.

Alex Tee, a mechanical engineer, and industrial designer Evan Gant, who both work with the Boston-based design firm Altitude, Inc. are currently in the production engineering phase of development. The proposed LightLane model uses two high-visibility DPSS (diode-pumped solid state) green lasers mounted alongside traditional bright red LEDs to crisply mark a broad path on the pavement. We were excited to see the recent video release of early beta testing (see below), which demonstrates the potential efficacy of this product in poorly lit road scenarios.

While the timeline for release is still unknown and the final cost remains to be seen, we're already sold.

Check out product renderings and more images after the jump.

Lyle Owerko's Boombox GelaSkins

by CH Contributor

by Julie Wolfson

Photographer Lyle Owerko's Boombox series for GelaSkins is the latest (and one of our favorite) graphic tributes to the giant stereos that ruled the '80s.

His take on the trend draws on his personal collection of 42 ghetto blasters, which he's been amassing for their ostentatious, industrial look since the mid-'90s. The result is a range of Owerko's reverent images printed on GelaSkin's removable adhesives that feature scratch and UV-resistant coating to keep iPhones, laptops and a wide variety of other devices intact while looking sharp.

While Owerko's own nostalgia for the portable stereos stems from memories of heavy metal, punk and ska, his video with Fab Five Freddy for NPR Music explores the history of boomboxes to explain the stereo's affect on all genres—it's well worth a watch.

Known for being one of the first photographers on the scene at the World Trade Center on 9/11, Owerko's images from that day are the subject of the book, "And No Bird Sang." He was also recently named a finalist for the Hasselblad Masters award for his series of Samburu photos.

Prices for the GelaSkins start at around $15 and are available on their website.

Whitevoid's Data Visualization for the Lufthansa Brand Academy

by Evan Orensten

Berlin-based interactive firm Whitevoid is getting a lot of well-deserved attention for their data visualization for Lufthansa's Brand Academy in Frankfurt. Visitors to the center can see all 14,000 Lufthansa and Star Alliance flights worldwide in real time and with a 360° view. The project allows for interaction with flight data, zoom in on specific flights or areas and listening to radio communications, etc.

It also includes equally impressive sound engineering feats, designed by Robert Henke of Monolake.

Read more details on Whitevoid's project site.

via @mikearauz