Alexandre Duret-Lutz: Wee Planets

by CH Contributor

by Adrienne So

French photographer Alexandre Duret-Lutz creates his wee planets from everyday panoramas. Using eight of his own photos—six horizontal, one of the sky overhead and one of the ground—Duret-Lutz fuses them together using stereographic projection software and various open-source digital retouching tools.

The effect is eerie and precious, as well as offering a new perspective on the view of planet Earth. Visually stunning, Duret-Lutz's photos not only mesmerize their audience, but also send a reminder of how small the earth really is, prompting us to take better care of it.

Prints are available at Imagekind, starting from $15. The prints on his Flickr site are also under a Creative Commons license, and thus free to download and print yourself.

See more images after the jump.

No Mas: Rumblevision

by Karen Day

In celebration of the 35th anniversary of what is arguably one of the most historic sporting events of all time, NYC label/agency No Mas created Rumblevision—a set of three animated short films reinterpreting the fight between Muhammed Ali and George Foreman.

Infamous quotes from the fight such as "I'm so mean I make medicine sick" and "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" narrate the artistic films, each with its own active theme. David Rathman's short called "Zaire" really speaks to the tone of the fight, coined "Rumble In The Jungle" for it's African location, while Jerome Lagarrigue's "Round Zero" adds a Spanish twist, envisioning each of the boxers as bulls pitted against each other, moving fluently around the ring. In James Blagden's playful version, aptly titled "Godfather of Soul vs Great of All Time," Muhammed Ali takes down James Brown, who dances his way back to life.

Created in conjunction with Muhammed Ali Enterprises, the celebration also includes watercolor paintings by David Rathman and soon limited edition prints of stills from the films, alongside Muhammed Ali-inspired apparel.

Three Questions For Five Burton Riders

by Ami Kealoha

CH recently had the chance to catch up with some of Burton's best boarders when they passed through NYC to help promote the brand's new HD snowboarding flick " The B Movie." (Download it from iTunes or get a copy from Burton or Amazon.) We asked them all the same three questions and naturally they supplied some rather entertaining answers.

What was your biggest fail?
Mads Jonsson (below, right): I broke my arm during a contest earlier this year. It was snowing a lot, I was just warming up, and that was it for the rest of the season. It makes me more excited to get back.

Jussi Oksanen (above, left with Jake Burton): When I was 19 I tried riding a pipe and had a pretty big fall. I broke my collar bone, wasn't the biggest crash I had, but it was like holy crap! Before I was just like a little kid, running around and never thinking you're going to get hurt. I broke the same exact collar bone exactly six months later. I went snowboarding too early and it wasn't healed. I had to have my whole collar bone rebuilt.

Kelly Clark (bottom right): I don't know, it's hard to say. I always like to look at what is going on instead of what is not going on, so nothing quite comes to mind.

Frederik Kalbermatten (bottom left): I got caught in an avalanche a few years ago in Canada. I dropped in, fell over some cliffs and then all the snow went over me. It was a huge cloud, everything was totally white, I couldn't see. I had to climb out. You've go to respect the mountain. It was a wake-up call.

Shaun White (above, right): In general or like hitting on a girl? I mean the nice part of snowboarding is you get to try new stuff, you get broken and come back and ride again. But my worst crash was when I was eleven on a skateboard. That was probably the worst mistake ever because it almost made me quit sports. I broke my hand, foot and fractured my skull. I was stuck inside, it was hard times. I tried to skate again but wasn't into it. I told my mom I was over it, and she was like, "Well I paid for the session!" You know, it was like three dollars or something and I was like, "God, I hate you!" So I went back to the ramp and tried new tricks that day. I think she knew that deep down I still wanted to do it, that I was just frustrated. It kind of made me respect how injured you can get and definitely to think things through better. It showed me that if I wanted to come back and really wanted to do something, something that dramatic wasn't going to set me back.

What music do you listen to?
Mads: I like a lot of music as long as its good. As long as you can tell the artist has thought about it and really wants to perform it and it's not something slapped together. My favorite type of music is whatever is played on the guitar, just because I play the guitar myself. For riding it's all about happy rhythms. I can listen to Iron Maiden and ride and have the best time or I could listen to Sublime. Whatever is happy music for me, it's really hard to describe, but good music.

Jussi: None, as far as snowboarding, nothing. I want to hear what's going on and most of the time I'm filming. I'm into nature and in the back country and I want to feel the whole environment and just be in there.

Kelly: I'm kind of one of those people who gets the CD and then just like listens until I can't listen anymore. So it changes weekly. But I listen to Kim Walker, David Crowder, Anthony Skinner—a bunch of different bands.

Frederik: Nothing particular, but I like old school rap from back in '93. I don't really listen to music when I'm riding. Like I said before it's serious on the big mountain. But I used to listen to Gang Starr back in the day and Tribe Called Quest.

Shaun: I'm into a mix of things, nothing too new, mostly rock. I used to like hip-hop a lot but not so much anymore. I like Danzig. We were in Japan and we started YouTubing Danzig videos and we watched Danzig's grocery list, this guy doing Danzig's voice but about what he bought at the store. It's amazing! I like "No Fun" by Iggy Pop and I like to listen to the Strokes because the songs don't change dramatically. I really don't ride with music actually. A lot of times someone is talking to me, or I get distracted by it. It's super annoying if you're in the flow and suddenly your cord pops out or something. I like to get stoked at the top and then go for it and keep that song in my head. Like at the Olympics, you choose what you want to hear at the top. Last time I had "Back in Black" by AC/DC. It's almost like the horse at the start gate, they play that song, you sing along and then drop in. That was the 2006 Olympics. I played that song and then I won. So at the next event and I wanted the same and I won again! I ended up having an undefeated season.

Final question, hard or soft?
Mads: Can I be like Winnie the Poo and say, please I'll have both? That's a tough question, as far as snowboarding though...soft. Powder. It's better for me.

Jussi: Soft for sure. Soft sounds a lot better, I'd rather ride in powder than ice.

Kelly: I ride a lot half pipe and I always like when its a bit more firm cause it's a bit more consistent. So, firm.

Frederik: I choose soft because that's how I like it, smooth rides.

Shaun: Are we talking ice skating? Soft I guess. I don't know, that's a tough one. You know when you're on a mattress and your back hurts 'cause it's too soft? So you'd say firm? Yeah I'd say firm if I could. I like it just right.

I Love America and America Loves Me Exhibit

by Brian Fichtner

Next week, Brooklyn artist Stephen Floyd's first solo show in New York, "I Love America and America Loves Me," opens at Heist Gallery in Manhattan's Lower East Side. The exhibition includes sixty-four works, curated by the artist's friends Valentina Angeloni and Daniel Basiletti, which span an increasingly broad range of subjects including panties, watermelons, maps, muscles and penises. (Click images for expanded views).

Floyd's drawings explore the mundane, the socio-political and the sexually charged through disarming humor that borders on juvenile but never sinks into vulgarity. In fact, while first glances might suggest an artist just out for laughs, spending a little time with Floyd's drawings reveals an incisive wit that gets to the heart of our modern pathologies, like homophobia, sexual prowess and American imperialism. Floyd spares nothing with his satirical perspective.

Following the recent success of solo exhibitions in Japan at the Butterfly Stroke Gallery, Tokyo, and the Trancepop Gallery, Kyoto, we're certain this show will sell out. Get there early because these attractively-priced pieces make fantastic gifts. A drawing of dinosaur called Liccalottapus? Now who wouldn't want to find that under the tree?

I Love America and America Loves Me
Opening Reception: 3 November 2009, 6:30-9:30pm
4 November 2009-18 December 2009
Heist Gallery
27 Essex Street
New York, NY 10002 map
tel. +1 212 253 0451

See our previous post on Stephen's work here

Dom Pérignon Œnothèque Bol Sein

by Ami Kealoha

Inspired by a 1787 bol seine (roughly translated as bosom bowl) that artist Jean-Jacques Lagrenée reportedly modeled after Marie-Antoinette's breast, Karl Lagerfeld's 2008 version for Dom Pérignon updates the original with a shape taken from Claudia Schiffer, his muse for the ongoing brand collaboration. Also known as a jatte téton, the queen used hers at the Rambouillet château and—as the legend goes—drank Hautvillers (i.e. Dom) champagne from it, making it the first coupe.

Lagerfeld's plinth of stylized bottles and sleeker, more angular lines lend a more modern look, while his stark white color plays on the 18th-century version's homage to the pale complexion as a female beauty ideal. Denied U.S. release due to legalities having to do with relating alcohol to sex, rumor has it the sculptural vessel comes with a bottle of 1995 œnotheèque and has a €2,500 pricetag—if you can find one of the 1,000 editions made.

Discovered while on a recent trip to Versailles as the guest of Dom Pérignon to check out an exhibit devoted to Louis XIV and his tastes, we also learned that Lagerfeld knows the height of all the kings.