According to the BBC, the lawsuit filed by The Velvet Underground against the Andy Warhol Foundation for licensing its banana album cover for iPhone cases was settled yesterday. Like most settlements, the exact details aren't public, but the court papers listed Lou Reed and John Cale as plaintiffs who argued that the image had become a clear symbol of the band, and the Foundation did not have the right to its licensing. If a settlement had not been reached, the case had a trial scheduled for July 29. [via BBC and Post-Gazette]
The Middle Mind Project, Gus Gavino's independent motion picture studio based in Chicago's Logan Square, takes an unusual approach to documenting artists, experimenting with the narrative format, and producing something contemporary, refreshing, and original. Nothing Major is thrilled to present some of our favorites from the series which has included Ray Noland, The Post Family, and Plural.
See more of the Middle Mind Project online in its archives Tumblr.
Today, we're featuring MMP's video on Veronica Corzo-Duchardt ("Cuban-American artist, designer, teacher, and collector of things") and her Winterbureau design studio. Corzo-Duchardt (who has MFAs from the SAIC in Visual Communications and Writing) designed for V2 Records, Surface, ENK International, and Sony Music. Side note from the director: "The low voice you hear throughout the piece (starting at 00:57) is her grandfather speaking to her. At the end of the film you hear them saying they love each other before saying goodbye. It's from an audio recording she did with him some years ago."
Look for a MMP video premiere on Nothing Major soon.
Airstream2Go, a new company that rents iconic Airstream trailers exclusively, was designed for those who haven't yet reached road warrior status, but like the idea of trying out life in an RV with design icon status. The Airstream2Go package includes a trailer, an SUV with which to tow it, and an iPad pre-loaded with a travel guide. While road trips should always allow for a little exploration, detailed preplanned routes are available. Right now Airstream2Go offers pick ups in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, with future locations in the works.
Decades before Florida Man and Florida Woman were making bizarre headlines, the Sunshine State enjoyed an early, citrus-fueled, tourism boom. One of the byproducts of the influx of tourists was a mass of printed matter, including now-vintage guidebooks, posters, and photos, that helped sell Florida as an idyllic vacation spot to the rest of the world. The Tumblr Old Florida collects all kinds of early tourism artifacts, such as photos of Frank Sinatra doing bar tricks in Miami, to scenes from strange movie promotions involving mermaids, plus a ton of amusement park pamphlets.
Follow Old Florida on Tumblr.
Peter Saville's Unknown Pleasures album art for Joy Division is everywhere. While you've probably seen questionable placements on every article of clothing from T-shirts, to nail art, to oven mitts, the shaky waveforms (derived from images of radio waves emitted from a pulsar) actually work incredibly well in the 3D printed format.
To create his 3D version, designer Michael Zoellner edited the original album art using the programs AutoCAD and OpenSCAD, and printed his version using a Makerbot printer. In the spirit of all things open source, Zoellner has made his printable image available for download. [via Hypebeast]
In order to give a name to the 55th installment of the Venice Biennale, director Massimiliano Gioni borrowed the title "The Encyclopedic Palace" (or "Il Palazzo Enciclopedico" in its original Italian) from the artist Marino Auriti. The title refers to Auriti's conceptual plan for a museum that housed the entirety of the human race's knowledge and inventions, and was chosen to describe the 55th Biennale's survey of the last 100 years of art, not simply a grouping of contemporary work.
The six-month event will show the work of 150 artists from 38 countries, including the first exhibition presented by the Vatican. Obviously, there's more to the vast Biennale than one can squeeze in a blog post, but these five shows have caught our eye and are worth checking out if you're headed to Venice.
Ragnar Kjartansson, "S.S. Hangover," 2013
Courtesy the artist; i8 Gallery, Reykjavik; Luhring Augustine, New York
1. Ragnar Kjartansson's "S.S. Hangover" at various locations
To make the most of Venice's canals, Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson created a kinetic sculpture using a fishing boat built in 1934 in Reykjavik and six local brass musicians. The band will perform a site specific composition by Kjartan Sveinsson while continuously sailing in a semi-circle pattern meant to simulate stereoscopic sound. They'll also periodically drop off players at piers while the band continues to perform, highlighting different elements of the composition, while altering the piece being played on the boat.
2. Dayanita Singh at the German Pavilion
Dayanita Singh, who has photographed scenes of life in India for decades, will show photos from her 2001 work Mona, which examines the culture of eunuchs in India. The project, which began as a commission for the Financial Times to accompany a story about eunuch culture in 1989, was scrapped after Mona, the subject of the photos, demanded the negatives be returned to her. After realizing the feature was for a British newspaper and not an American one, she feared relatives who did not know she had become a eunuch would find out. Despite having to cancel the original assignment, Singh befriended Mona and photographed her over a decade later for her book Myself Mona Ahmed.
3. Richard Mosse at the Irish Pavilion
Using a custom-built large format camera and infrared film originally developed to detect camouflaged enemies during combat, photographer Richard Mosse documented conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo with his surreal photos of pink rolling hills, red trees, and illuminated water. His installation, "The Enclave," is a multimedia work shot in 2012 with the goal of rethinking war photography. During the Biennale, the work will be released as a 240-page monograph from the Aperture Foundation.
4. Joana Vasconcelos at the Pavilion of Portugal
This year the Pavilion of Portugal will actually be housed in a traditional Portuguese ferry boat covered in Portuguese tiles called azulejos. The ferry boat, called Trafaria Praia, is both a reference to Venice's canals, as well as the national "seafaring" identity of Portugal. Trafaria Praia will house work from Joana Vasconcelos, and take periodic 30-minute voyages between two ports in Venice.
5. Koki Tanaka at Japan's Pavilion
For his showing at this year's Biennale, Japanese video artist Koki Tanaka tried to answer the question, "What message should Japan be sending to the world after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami?" In order to share the experiences of those who survived the earthquake with attendees who were more removed from the tragedy, Tanaka's video installation will assign visitors tasks designed to put them in unfamiliar positions, meant to represent the challenges of responding to a disaster.
Visit the Biennale online for more information.
Not so long ago, jumpsuits were relics of the '80s banished miles from fashion central. But now they're back in a big way. And why not? Essentially a sophisticated counterpart to overalls, jumpsuits have a lot going for them. They're practical, stylish, and comfortable, but also all encompassing. Even better: because it is by definition the major element in an ensemble, the jumpsuit benefits from a bit of styling. Add a hat, a belt, a pair of sunglasses, a few bracelets, etc., and you're good to go. A simple way to look good amid the festival chaos without trying too hard? That's the jumpsuit.
Five of our favorite jumpsuits for SS2013 collections are pictured below.
Borrowing the form of vintage medium format models, the Sun & Cloud camera from Japan's SuperHeadz isn't meant for high definition shooting. Instead, it's designed for off-the-cuff photos, not unlike those in the style of Lomography. While there is a USB charging option, the camera has a solar panel on top, as well as a hand crank for off-the-grid power. To help make the most of the lo-fi sensor, the camera also comes equipped with 15 digital filters.
Thinking of taking the Sun & Cloud on summer vacation? Grab one at AC Gears.
With little fuss and a two-tone palette, A.OK's simple packaging design for its candles seems to radiate confidence and quality. The candles, which are hand poured in California, are anything but minimal in terms of performance. Available in a variety of scents, including cucumber, bergamot, rosemary, thistle, and fig, A.OK candles are made of 100 percent pure soy wax and deliver more than 70 hours of burning time. If the quality matches the sleek look, we're sure even the toughest minimalist will be lighting one in the chill-out room soon.
A.OK Candles are $38 at Oak NYC.
We read certain magazines online and in print for their taste in visuals and curation of style, so it makes sense in a way that we'd buy from their online shops, too. The latest tasteful mag to launch a shop is two-year-old Thisispaper Magazine. Thisispaper Shop debuted earlier this month, selling goods sourced from sustainable and local manufacturers in Poland or handmade by the creative team at Thisispaper Magazine itself. The shop is carrying a clean and clever range of kitchenware (mugs, jars) and accessories (rucksacks, bags)—all perfectly suited to your no-nonsense minimalist household. The Thisispaper team says the impulse to start the shop comes from "the need to provide our audience with a way to surround themselves with objects that combine beauty and sustainability and are used in day-to-day activities." And they've stuck well to their informal motto: "Simplicity is king in everything we do. Fashion isn't."
We've culled some of our favorite debut Thisispaper Shop items in the post below.
Start shopping at Thisisipapershop.com
Handheld drills
Scissors
Pure Mug
Rucksack in Ecru
Honey dripper
Slippers in brown
Single strap pedal clip
Walnut pan
Butter knife