Storque articles: Reviews

News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere: February 4, 2010

2010-02-04T14:30:00-05:00

"I am a nobody. Treat me as a solar myth, or an echo, or an irrational quantity, or ignore me altogether." — James Murray, lexicographer and editor of the Oxford English Dictionary

This week's edition of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere has revelations and surreal visions usually found after a three-day trip through the desert, layered collage worthy of a Hoarders intervention, cute Danes and larger than life sculpture (including a sleeping bag tongue).

Tally ho!

Sara Cwynar's busy compositions and layered works make for an analytical paradise. The "‘fictional manifestation of paranoia," shown at top, makes me want to watch a Hoarders marathon while methodically combing my hair (which is a fun exercise, if you haven't tried it). [Via Beautiful Decay]

Oh, you snazzy Danes! Copenhagen Street Style features the most well-conceived ensembles and adorable men and ladyfolk (and they're always about ten years younger than they look). Definitely worth adding to your bookmarks...

Alejandro Jodorowsky's cult classic The Holy Mountain is pure eye candy. The colors, the angles and the costuming make for a mystical, surreal dream that you can experience without a REM cycle or the aid of hallucinogens. I highly recommend watching it (and the rest of the Jodorowsky canon) if you haven't already. (Note: I've never actually watched this movie with the sound on. You can enjoy it just as much with trippy music played over it.) [Via Mashroob & Moustaches]

Richard Hughes' sculpture is larger than life. The materials and concepts leave me with so many questions, namely: Why has no one thought to make a slumber party/pillow fight sculpture sooner? Genius! [Via Booooooooom]

Wanna give me some more artsy, style or design blogs to peruse? Leave them in the comments! And check out past installments of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere!

You be the Judge: What's an iPad?

2010-02-02T16:00:00-05:00

First, the iPod, next the iPhone, and then, on Wednesday, January 27, 2010, the world stood still as Steve Jobs announced Apple’s latest soon-to-be-must-have-product, the iPad.

What’s an iPad? According to Apple, the iPad is "our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price." This You Be the Judge post will look at the term “iPad” and whether Apple should have any concerns over the use of this word.

In 2002 a Japanese electronics company, Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Inc., built a hand-held computing device, complete with Wi-Fi, called the iPad. Fujitsu’s iPad is most commonly used by clerks in retail stores for keeping track of inventory and recording sales.

In 2003, Fujitsu filed for trademark U.S. protection to the term “IPAD” for goods and services “hand-held computing devise for wireless networking in a retail environment.” In early 2009, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office declared that Fujitsu had abandoned the iPad trademark. However, Fujistu re-opened its trademark application in June, 2009, and according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the mark was published for opposition on September 1, 2009.

When searching the USPTO for "iPad," you’ll also find registration number 3389082 (ENGINES, NOT FOR LAND VEHICLES; ELECTRIC MOTORS FOR MACHINES AND ELECTRIC STARTER MOTORS, NAMELY, DRIVING GEARS) and registration number 3396165 (BRAS; LINGERIE; PANTIES; PADS FOR USE IN BRAS).

Trademark infringement may occur when one party uses a trademark that is identical or confusingly to a trademark owned by another party, for products or services that are identical or similar to the products or services which the registration covers.

Even though, at the time of this article's publication, no lawsuit has been filed, in the case of Fujitsu’s iPad versus Apple’s iPad, you be the judge. How do you rule? Post in the comments below!

News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere: January 28, 2010

2010-01-28T16:04:00-05:00

"Get out of my dreams, get into my car." — Billy Ocean

This week's edition of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere has rustic communal homes, fantastical organic jewelry, chocolate to stop you dead in your tracks (the visual punnage will stun you!) and enough smoke and mirrors to set off the sprinklers.

Carry on!

I think I'm becoming a total disciple of the Art Boericke and Barry Shapiro. I fell in love with the lofty bed stands, odd corners and casually tossed Navajo print blankets of Handmade Houses: A Guide to the Woodbutcher's Art earlier this year, and I've since come upon their earlier body of work — namely, The Craftsman Builder. The stucco and stone fixtures, epic skylights (the beams above — insanity), rustic interiors and long-haired munchkins (holding puppies!) seem too good to be true. I wonder what's become of these houses... [Via Reference Library]

David Neale's jewelry isn't quite of this world. The organic shapes are familiar, sure, but the textures and colors are the kind of surreal combinations I'd create in the backyard as a kid — ornamenting myself with a a layer of purple-markered leaves and lawn detritus to achieve the shades I longed for in nature. Jewelry as sculpture: I'm into it. (Especially the crystal mishmash brooch at top. Wow.) [Via All the Mountains]

Smoke and mirrors have never looked so moody. Blogger Vamoose curated this collection of striking images from all 'round the Internet, and I'd be hard pressed to say they don't belong together. This girl should be styling fashion editorials on the daily. Check her out!

When it comes to sweets, I feel like I should spend an allotted amount of time admiring the elaborate designs and packaging before the eventual devouring starts — but, unfortunately, I'm human and have no patience, so that's almost too much to ask. Chocolate Editions' clever designs ("pie chart," anyone?) are enough to stop me in my salivating tracks.

Wanna give me some more artsy, style or design blogs to peruse? Leave them in the comments! And check out past installments of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere!

News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere: January 21, 2010

2010-01-21T16:00:00-05:00

"But, like ivy, we grow where there is room for us." — Miranda July

This week's edition of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere has nature under wraps, hyperbolic animal sculpture, transcendent wardrobes, ethereal dust clouds and more.

Why not?

Adornment isn't just for bling-loving homo sapiens. All animals should be able to channel their inner disco dancer if they so choose! Elizabeth McGrath's visionary sculpture shows off the festive trappings of buffalo burlesque, gilt mice and antlers as sailboats. [Via mtraub]

I've already professed my massive lust for Mociun's feminine tie dye, but their recent collaboration with celestial-inspired Shabd has hurtled my interest into the stratosphere. The mottled patterns and imperfect prints make for a wardrobe canvas. [Via Shiny Squirrel]

Dust cloud or ethereal spectre? Ujin Lee's portfolio reminds me of a divine mashup of spectral photography — when iridescent bubbles, a.k.a. ghosts, appear on photos — and watching the dust settle after an explosion. I'm pretty fond of the many forms the cloud assumes — running man, Big Dipper, wallflower, spilled sugar... [Via Je Voudrais Que]

This elaborate branch setup is confined within a tangled web of glass. It's mildly disconcerting (and awe-inspiring, I must admit) to see nature so contained. I don't know how Naoko Ito accomplished such a feat, but I'm giving him the proverbial "golf clap" as we speak. [Via Colectiva]

Wanna give me some more artsy, style or design blogs to peruse? Leave them in the comments! And check out past installments of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere

You be the Judge: Who Owns the Hulk?

2010-01-21T11:03:00-05:00

Most “You be the Judge” articles examine issues of intellectual property infringement. The Etsy community reviews arguments from both sides, slams down an invisible (yet handmade) gavel, and makes a decision. In this case, let’s look at the issue of who owns a copyright. When is a piece of work owned by a creator and when is it owned by another person or company (like an artist's employer)?

Jack “The King” Kirby, who passed away in 1994, is credited with authoring or co-authoring some of Marvel Entertainment’s most famous properties including X-Men, the Hulk, Iron Man, and Spider-Man.

Kirby’s four children claim that Kirby was not an employee of Marvel, rather he was a freelancer who worked out of his own house with no employment contract. According to Kirby’s kids, in 1972 Kirby granted Marvel the copyrights in his works. Now, the family wants to terminate those copyrights.

In September, 2009, Kirby’s children sued Marvel, claiming that their father died without proper payment or recognition for his work. The children served Notices of Termination under the 1976 Copyright Act on several companies including Marvel and The Walt Disney Company, relating to numerous comic book characters and stories authored or co-authored by Kirby. The terminations become effective in 2014.

In January, 2010 Marvel sued Kirby’s kids for exercising their rights under the Copyright Act to recapture their father’s copyright. According to Marvel, Kirby was an employee of Marvel, not a freelancer. Therefore, all of Kirby’s creative efforts were “works-made-for-hire” and Marvel is the “author” of such works. As such, Kirby’s heirs are not owed any further profits.

Under the U.S. 1976 Copyright Act, when examining whether a creation is a “work-made-for-hire” (and therefore owned by the creator’s employer) the court may examine factors like:

The control by the employer over the work. The court may examine if the employer gave direction or provided equipment.
The control by employer over the employee. The court may examine if the employer controlled the employee’s schedule in creating work.
The status and conduct of the employer. The court may examine if the employer was in the business to produce such works. The court may also look into whether the employee was provided with benefits.

What other questions would you, the judge, want answered to decide on this issue? Although we may not yet have the necessary information to address each of these factors, you be the judge.

News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere: January 14, 2010

2010-01-14T15:29:00-05:00

"Ugliness is in a way superior to beauty because it lasts." — Serge Gainsbourg

This week's edition of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere has undulating stereoviews of geishas and sumos, sword swallowers and La Strada-inspired sad clowns, driftwood sculptures fit for Poseidon's palace and an imperfect collection of slightly-mussed whiteness.

Tally ho!

These wiggling animated GIFs are composed of Meiji-era Japan photographs by elusive artist T. Enami. Composed in the late 19th and early 20th century, these meticulously hand-colored stereoviews (a pair of nearly identical images that appear three-dimensional) provide a rare, informal glimpse into the customs and fashions of a time long past. (It seems crazy to think that this technology was the great granddaddy of seeing Avatar in 3D. Am I right?) [Via Pink Tentacle and Tara, a.k.a. weirdwolf]

I think my design fuses just exploded in a wash of electricity. Bleu Nature's slow-design inspired line is a modern mash-up of driftwood detritus and various shades of baby blue. Contemporary caveman is my aesthetic lust du jour. [Via Design Milk]

Are these photos or just a technicolor dream? The vivid unreality that is Paolo Ventura's photography and illustrations seem a surreal mixture of Michel Gondry, Marcel Dzama and Fellini. Sword swallowing, face paint and avian-human combos have never been more appealing. [Via Me Melodia]

The welcoming embrace of a slightly tussled set of white bed linens is the kind of North Star that draws me home each day. The folks behind 365 Blanc are similarly obsessed with all things blanc, be it cloudy brains, wet sheets, stark skies or the mouth-watering qualities of clinically cut mozzarella, set to a bumping hip hop soundtrack. Let the calming qualities of #ffffff set you awash in an ocean of neutrals. [Via 2 or 3 Things I Know]

Wanna give me some more artsy, style or design blogs to peruse? Leave them in the comments! And check out past installments of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere!

News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere: January 7, 2010

2010-01-07T16:02:00-05:00

"What is elegance? Soap and water!" — Cecil Beaton

This week's edition of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere has interspecies snorgling and solemn portraiture, architectural porn for bibliophiles, a young Don Knotts as ventriloquist, and the pristine stillness inspired by snowfall.

Read on!

What an eye-melting cultural mish mash! This Wonderland editorial is at once Eastern European babushka (and Little Edie) with the exaggerated silhouette and structured shoulder of avant-garde fashion, studded with a smattering of patterns and textures reminiscent of ikat. Consider my eyes duly burned, in the best way possible. [Via Musie]

I am a huge fan girl of Victorian style portraiture (and cute illustrations of interspecies canoodling), so these fanciful pieces by the talented Carson Ellis immediately became new wall fodder. [Via Fanny Bostrum Curiosities]

Oh...hi! Don't mind me....just ogling some quality biblio-porn! These magnificent libraries number among the most ethereal in the world and salute the senses with their pathos and prose. [Via Oddee]

Can you hear the quiet? The noise-extinguishing stillness of freshly fallen snow is complemented by these serene interiors. [Via visual notes]

Dear (fashion challenged) John:

I'm sorry, but I've been seduced by the tightly curated collection of vintage icons in art and film (Sparks, Tiny Tim, Toshiro Mifune, Toshiro Mifune, a young Don Knotts...) that make up Nerd Boyfriend. This effortlessly wanton set makes cardigans and bow ties de rigeur, rendering me powerless against their charms. Get a smart vest and some facial hair, then we'll talk.

xoxoxoxxo!
Alison

[Via Street Carnage]

Wanna give me some more artsy, style or design blogs to peruse? Leave them in the comments! And check out past installments of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere!

News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere: December 10, 2009

2009-12-10T16:15:00-05:00

"Nothing risqué, nothing gained." — Alexander Woollcott

This week's edition of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere has costumed spiritual messengers, animations to make your eyeballs dilate (with fashion!), minerals as art and an inspirational stone house that makes being a Flintstone an appealing prospect.

Read on!

Reed + Radar's freaky deaky animated GIFs marry fashion editorial and Paper Rad-style animation. I prefer my fashion consumption in eye-dilating doses. [Via Style Bubble]

This bulbous stone house is reminiscent of Fred Flintstone's cavernous cottage. Located in the mountains of Fafe, Portugal, this modern sculpture makes me ache to be a cave dweller! Check out this video for a view of the home's interior. (I wish I knew Portuguese!) [Via FlyLyf]

The brightly costumed wooden katsina dolls of the Hopi and Navajo tribes are a serious source of fashion inspiration: the textures, the layers, the patterns and prints! These beautiful dolls are also believed to be spiritual messengers with supernatural powers. These powerful symbols are thought to have the ability to bring the rain, punish offenders of ceremonial or social laws, and, in general, to function as messengers between the spiritual domain and mortals. These vibrant paintings by Raymond John Poseyesva revive these icons for a new century. [Via Nothing is New on Art 21]

Nature is a curious sculptress, and these minerals and gems salute the skilled hand that is time's gentle progression. But wait — these are actually not photos at all, but mind-meltingly realistic mineral paintings by the very talented Carly Waito. [Via Design*Sponge]

Wanna give me some more artsy, style or design blogs to peruse? Leave them in the comments! And check out past installments of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere!

News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere: December 3, 2009

2009-12-03T16:03:00-05:00

"All my hummingbirds have alibis and a 100 profound virtures cover my body." — Max Ernst

This week's edition of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere has sophisticated anoraks, jodphurs and suspenders (with horses, to boot), pleasantly bizarre illustration, gently decaying wax beauties and white on white interiors.

Read on!

Oh, sweet equestrian fantasy! Dace's fall line is delicate and lovely (with a touch of masculinity — my favorite combo), and the lookbook makes for dreams of an equine companion and azure fog. (Coats on horses: also welcome in my book!)

I'm kind of obsessed with Native American artwork, as well as creatures that remind me of wookiees, so Dantes Wharf is an ideal melting pot of weirdo tubular proboscises, geometric masks and bowl haircuts. As Picdit says, it's like "Russian prison tattoos meets R. Crumb meets Star Wars. Happy nightmares!" [Via Picdit]

When I first laid my eyes on Barbara Abel's photos of antique shop-window mannequins, my heart began to beat a little faster. Part of a series she calls "Tragic Beauties," the photos were taken in a a "dimly lit mannequin warehouse in downtown Detroit, [where] they sat, covered in plastic for decades, until a few years ago when they were sold to collectors." These vividly realistic wax busts were modeled for by actual women at the beginning of the twentieth century. (Check out the last photo to see these ladies in their natural habitat, circa 1920.) Their expressive visages are complemented by human hair and glass eyes. What I wouldn't give to own one of these beauties! [Via Morbid Anatomy]

As time goes on, I get closer and closer to identifying what the perfect room is. Natalie from So Much to Tell You seems to be on the same page as my own endlessly evolving interior aesthetic.

Wanna give me some more artsy, style or design blogs to peruse? Leave them in the comments! And check out past installments of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere!

News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere: November 19, 2009

2009-11-19T15:00:00-05:00

"One day, someone showed me a glass of water that was half full. And he said, 'Is it half full or half empty?' So I drank the water. No more problem." — Alexander Jodorowsky

This week's edition of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere has human forms breaking from within their porcelain constructs, rustic and moody country interiors, a jaunty take on the alphabet, master + pet daguerreotypes, and surreal visions of Hansel and Gretel.

Read on!

I'm always so impressed by the variety of forms porcelain can assume. Kate MacDowell's organic sculptural style is at once fragile and challenging. I love the intersection of anatomy and nature (birds in lungs!). [Via Blood Milk]

Be still, my heart! Miss Amy of Emerson Merrick fame recently ventured to the summer home of Moon River Chattel's owners (which is basically my favorite store in Brooklyn, ever). It is my idea of heaven: historical tidbits, structural decomposition, complete with simple furniture and decor, and — a hayloft. Sigh.

Another week, another rendition of the alphabet! Photographer Julian Hibbard's The Noir A-Z gives a blithe, "adult" take on an abecedary, pairing images with words representing each of the 26 letters. Provocative and a tad bit racy! Love it. [Via Flavorwire]

Fairy tales are my jam (especially the Brothers Grimm's macabre versions). This fantastical Hansel and Gretel Vogue editorial has combined my love of fables and fashion, with surreal results. [Via Haute Macabre]

The Beloved Pets — From Daguerreotype to Digital Flickr set makes me squeal like none other. I love animals, but antique photos of men posing with pet roosters — well, that trumps all. (See also: cats with banjos.) [via photo_history]

Wanna give me some more artsy, style or design blogs to peruse? Leave them in the comments! And check out past installments of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere!