Tsui Design

Andreas is providing me with the best architecture information. One of the most innovative and cool architecture magazines is Mark. This magazine is based in Holland and covers a more visionary and fresh aspect of architecture of today. The 4th issue has a full-page article about Andreas' Cloud house (check my June archive for more on this). Browsing a little more I discovered something very very unusual which sticked on my brain since yesterday. Tsui design is an architecture and design firm based in California. I would call their architecture a mixture of Gaudi meets World of Warcraft. Maybe their buildings look more like videogame than a real videogame. Apart from designing these dreamy houses they also make fashion. Why not? entering their houses in Ralph Lauren is a major faux pas... Check their website here

ArtReview's TOP 100 in the art world

a piece by Piotr Uklanski from the Pinault collection

Art Review has announced it's 100 list of the most powerful people in the art world. It features gallerists, museum directors, artists etc. No 1 in the list is the French collector Francois Pinault (check my Sep archive for his Venetian collection). I dont understand the criteria though. For example why Jeffrey Deitch is on the 40th position and Andreas Gursky is on 22nd?!...is he more influential? Suprisingly low ( no 100) is the website that is responsible for the art we search and see on the web, i.e Google. See below the top 10

1: François Pinault, owner of Gucci and Christies, also owns around 2,000 pieces of contemporary art which he displays in his private gallery in a Venetian palace

2: Larry Gagosian, dealer, five galleries around the world

3: Sir Nicholas Serota, director, Tate Modern

4: Glenn D Lowry, director, Museum of Modern Art, New York

5: Samuel Keller, director of the Art Basel art fair

6: Eli Broad, Los Angeles-based collector and philanthropist

7: Charles Saatchi, collector and gallery owner

8: Matthew Slotover & Amanda Sharp, co-publishers of Frieze magazine and co-directors of Frieze art fair

9: Bruce Nauman, American artist

10: Jeff Koons, American artist

Click here to check the rest (source the Guardian)

Change sex for free

photo by Nan Goldin

Greek state is in a progressive mood. From now on, if you are a Greek citizen you can change sex with the National Health System financial support. Isn't it very cool ? No need for Casablanca any more. ΖΗΤΩ ΤΟ ΕΘΝΟΣ!

New York Underground in Tokyo

Richard Hell, Legs McNeil, and Andy Warhol

Deborah Harry, Philadelphia, 1979

New York underground goes to Tokyo for the exhibition Bande á part: New York Underground 60's, 70's, 80's. Organized by Agnes B, the exhibition will be on until November 27th. The photos above are taken by Roberta Bayley. Click for more info here.

Gay Super Heros

I have very little information about these photos above and they are rad. I found them on a profile on MySpace and they are Heroes made by Mondo Joe.

The making of Anathena

Artist b. and Zoe are working on their mural

A view from the space (on the left the house that Andreas Angelidakis designed)

My drawings with the mural of Stelios Faitakis in the background

One of the curators Marina Fokidis is giving some instructions

A view from the mural and drawings of Andreas Kasapis

The Anathena exhibition is a show taking place at Deste Foundation and opens on the 19th of October. Anathena is a group exhibition presenting works by greek artists who produce work outside the ordinary art world. It is curated by Marina Fokidis and Marina Gioti. I will participate with a website projection, some drawings and a fanzine (see previous posts) Today I was there working on some stuff so I took some photos from the preparation.

INLAND EMPIRE by David Lynch

When I was in Venice for the last Architecture Biennial, David Lynch's latest film" Inland Empire" was premiered on Lido. Unfortunately I could not sneak in. Since then I am reading various reviews online and it seems quite cool as Mulholland Drive or Lost Highway. The cast includes Lora Dern and Jeremy Irons. Lynch has financed much of the production from his own resources and has written the screenplay day by day so the actors couldn't understand what they were doing. Tomorrow it opens at the New York Film Festival with tickets already sold out for its two scheduled showings. Above I have found on YouTube a press conference that David Lynch gave and he speaks briefly about the title search and his LA connection. Read more about it here

Favourite albums covers movie

All our favourite album covers "directed" in a movie! Masterpiece. Check this out here!

Aux Raus

Aux Raus is Bastiaan and Luuk from Amsterdam. Their music is influenced by gabber and techno, but combines this with filthy guitars and catchy pop tunes. Aux Raus played their first gig in January 2004. Now, after playing live for two years their debut record has come out on the Mexican based cult label nuevsricos.com. With their notorious live reputation, they even convinced their fathers of their ability to turn a funeral into a party. You can download their music and check more about from here

The Lost blog relaunches

Lost is one of my favourite TV-shows lately. The hottest Lost website have just been relaunched and it covers everything related to the most popular ABC show. It's editors post everything from general news to theories, podcats, etc. It doesn't look it has spoilers, so check this out here. By the way the first episode of season 3 aired yesterday.!

Say it with a face

Seeing new faces is always an interesting thing but creating new ones makes it even more. This face took me less than 30 seconds to make. The Ultimate Flash Face is an interface by Max Ishchenko. It gives a selection of mouths, eyes etc , the user can choose and create a face with every detail. I am curious if I can create a self-potrait. Check this here.

Andreas Angelidakis is sexy blogger

According to the juicy "Sexy Gay Blogger of the Day" Andreas Angelidakis is the sexy gay blogger of the 2nd of October 2006. Please nominate me here

Vanessa Beecroft at Lia Rumma

Last year artist Vanessa Beecroft went to Sudan and she spent most of her time at a local orphanage where she breast-fed orphans. This environment (plus a cathedral) is used by her as photographic set for her latest project called VB South Sudan. This photo above, portrayed as a white Madonna with the twins babies is on display at Lia Rumma gallery in Milan until the 22nd of November.

Angelo by Armin Linke

Armin Linke is an artist/photographer of italian-german descent and lives in Milan. As a photographer and filmmaker he documents scenes where the boundary between fiction and reality almost becomes invisible. Some of his photos are shot in the most unexpected places in the world. While I was in Milan this year, Mai and I, were invited to become his subjects. I attach some of the photos he took of me. Check his website here

Anathena Fanzine

I have just finished a print on demand book for the Anathena exhibition taking place at Deste Foundation, opening on the 19th of Oct. This book contains a 2 page profile of all the artists, curators, architect and writers that were involved with the show. It is available from a website called Cafepress that prints whenever there is demand. You order it from here

what remains is future

Andreas Angelidakis Tetris Mountain

The Callas installation perfomance (the day after the perfomance)

Kostis Velonis

b., Stelios Faitakis, Andreas Kasapis and Aleksandros Vasmoulakis in a joint mural

Maria Papadimitriou and Vassilis Liakopoulos

What Remains is Future is an exhibition taking place in Patras as part of the Cultural European Capital. My piece is the tittle of the exhibition WhatRemainsIsFuture.com. I attach some of my photos of few artowrks.

TREME TREME

The Treme-treme (meaning shake), is the most flexible bookcase you can find. It shelves can be inclined and folded for every comfort and any possible combination. It's creators are Triptyque, a group of architects based in Sao Paolo. Check source here

A more colourful fashion future

The Alexandre Herchovitch show. Not the his greatest collection but for sure a more colourful future for the fashion of Nyc/ source MySpace.com

Is there architecture(uncolorful) future in Greece?

The Benaki museum

The 3rd prize.

The 1st prize of the competition...
Katza teleported in Metaksourgeio

I wanted to write about this since a lot of time ago but the article I read yesterday at Vimagazino reminded me to do it right away. The architectural competition for a proposal of a block of residencies in the recently "trendy" area of Athens called Metaksourgeio. The majority of the proposals for this really interesting spot was deja-vu. Most of the projects lack of orginality and a different perception of the existing condition. It is very clear (I followed all the progress of this competition) that the majority of the architects had in mind how to please the constructing company and make the building as much commercial as it gets...without having ANY experimental approach, ANY new idea to propose in a city that the only buliding can be presented as a sample of greek contemporary architecture is the Benaki Museum(imagine!!!). I just mention the first prize and the one that will be built. The building of Katerina Tsigarida is a building to remind us of the obnoxious and ugly colourful office buildings that the greek constructing companies are doing the last 5 years in new areas such as Kantza and or on the highway to Lamia. Fortunately and strangely the 3rd prize will be built (I. Papadopoulos- G Daskalaki- Tasos Biris). The 3rd proposal is not the "experimental" approach but is well-done and serves fully it's commercial purposes (aligned with the hidden but dominating concept of the competition). It is a copy and a follower of the trendy modernist comeback with more pleasant colors than the 1st prize and some ideas that are ok and fully executable. It should have been better as a school project. To be continued....

A New Yorker article

Reading about the Middle East on New Yorker magazine is always educational and the least superficial you can get. This time the NewYorker had an extensive article by Lawrence Wright on what are the plans of Al Qaeda for the next 15 years. A scary extract:"By 2020, “definitive victory” will have been achieved....The Islamic state will lead the human race once again to the shore of safety and the oasis of happiness.” Read whole article on the New Yorker website

More on Outfits

Bas Kosters

Wanna Be A Star

Wanna Be a Star is a DJ from Holland. I met her through MySpace because she is wearing a fantastic outfit. Her outfit is done by her friend Bas Kosters

Mr T in a crazy outfit

An outfit like this in People magazine cannot pass unnoticed. Mamma mia!

Art during the architecture Biennial

Michelangelo Pistoletto at the Palazzo Grassi

Magritte at the Peggy Guggenheim

Piotr Uklanski at Palazzo Grassi

During the architecture Biennial in Venice I saw 2 art shows. One was the "Where Are We Going?": Selections from the François Pinault Collection at the newly rennovated but uptight Palazzo Grassi. The show was good as expected with no surprises. Another show was the Lucio Fontana at the Peggy Guggenheim. I did not like these Fontana pieces which were made and inspired after one of his visits in New York. I moved to the permanent collection building to enjoy the Max Ernst, Magritte and Yves Tanguy paintings once again.

Venice:What I liked

The Long Blondes perfoming at the British pavillion

Rem Koolhaas and Jacques Herzog at the debate of the Piccolo Teatro

A view from the French pavillion

The project of the Air-carrier city of the Austrian Pavillion

The 10th edition of the Architecture Biennial has just opened at the Giardini and the Arsenale. This year's theme is about Cities, Architecture and Society. It is curated by Richard Burdett. I almost visited every pavillion and the Arsenale. One of the main aspects of this biennial is a sparse ideas of proposals and a vast presentation of information (overpopulated cities, migration etc). Ideas that I have seen 3 years ago when Rem Koolhaas was the guest editor of Wired. Of course there are some highlights. The French pavillion was one of them. The project was called Metavilla in which a team of people did a sort of a squat in the pavillion building a temporary block of rooms. The Austrian pavillion which one of it's projects was the Aircraft Carrier City by Hans Hollein made in 1964. An aircrfat dugged in a rural area creating a new city. More about the architecture Biennial on Andreas' blog.

Today at the Venice Architecture Biennial

a crazy message on a wall.

I was just browsing some photos in my archive and I remember seeing this crazy message on a street on Santorini. It says "God save the King" "God save America". How weird and hilarious is this emblem next to it?

Digiki sounds good!

Digiki makes sounds. He is from Paris but lives in Tokyo. His first album is 'Kitchen', released in Japan on Hattrick records in 2004. One of his latest project is a remix with Neenstar Mai Ueda called PolyPunk Mai. Listen one of his songs on MySpace

5 years in heaven

Source here