When I was a kid I wasn’t allowed to watch the Simpsons… now, I have almost every season on DVD. Of course I get why my parents didn’t want me watching it, the characters can be pretty crass at times. What parent would want their kid mimicking the behavior of Bart Simpson:
‘I’m calling for Mr. Hugh Jass’
But, there’s no denying the Simpsons are iconic. They embody the slightly deranged though lovable nature held within all of us. There’s nothing more fun than seeing a well known figure transformed into a member of the cast. When they’re a fashion personality? Even better. Fingers crossed the producers take note and make an episode shot in Capital City during fashion week.
Illustrations by Alexsandro Palombo. Images c/o Vogue.
Walking through London a few weeks ago I spotted this poster through the window of an office: ‘Work Hard & Be Nice to People.’ It was stuck to the wall above someone’s desk at a fashion PR agency. Simple and true, it’s a message that’s worth being reminded of.
Since that day it’s been swirling around in the back of my mind. Anthony Burrill’s prints are positive mantras of the most ideal kind. Not gimmicky or at all cliché, they are sweet little pieces of art that are worthy of being cherished. Printed in the UK using traditional woodblock printing techniques, each poster is signed and costs just £40. I’d love to get one for the new flat I’m moving into in January…
Photos via Anthony Burrill
I knew I’d seen that print before… Miuccia Prada seems to have borrowed some ideas from the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian. He developed Neo-Plasticism back in 1917. A white base was painted with a grid of black vertical and horizontal lines. Primary colours were also added, creating a pop of dispersed colour. YSL created a dress back in 1965 that was a more direct version of the iconic print. Prada’s collection, I’d argue, has come a long way from that. The colours are deeper and the lines more varied, creating a more nuanced and representation of Mondrian’s original concept – an excellent job of paying homage to the original work without copying it directly… Zara, take note.
Ok, am off to Germany for a couple of days and officially done talking about Prada, I promise.
Katy Grannan prints shown at the Met
In an information age where everything is linked, googled, and wiki’d it’s strangely refreshing to stare into the face of something that provides no additional information. These photographs, shot in Los Angeles and San Francisco, only include the location and date in their title. I like that.
Joe Black – ‘Playing with Chucky’
Love unlikely material being used to create incredible works of art. Especially when it makes you do a double take, squint, and say ‘huh?! is that lego?!’ The best I ever managed to create from the toy was a shoddy castle with obligatory moat. I had my face pressed so close to this piece of art that someone had to screech down the corridor, ‘not so close! back away Miss!’ Okay okay… but, you’ve got to admit, it looks pretty freaky-naughty in all its variable appearances.
Currently showing at the Summer Show exhibition. May 26 – Aug 20. 55-57 Great Marlborough St, London.
