MOS architects win PS1 Young Architects program

PS1 and MOMA have announced the winning scheme as afterparty by architectural collective MOS for their 10th annual Young Architects program where an installation is created in the front courtyardspace of PS1 in Queens, NYC. The installation is a series of concrete curved towers which use wind to cool them during the summer. The previous courtyard installation was a series of outdoor gardens and will be replaced with afterparty as part of PS1 summer program where the installations as used as a bar and music venue during the summer months.

Another year, Another Warhol

Despite Andy Warhol's death just over 20 yrs ago new and reconstructed exhibitions of his art are still happening on a regular basis. Andy Warhol's place in history as a Jewish artist (his original family name was Warhola) and his place in the history of the many famous gallerists who supported him start off the Warhol exhibitions for 2009.

Warhol's Jews: Ten Portraits Reconsidered exhibition is about to conclude at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco and was organised in conjunction with The Jewish Museum, New York. The portraits include Sarah Bernhardt, Louis Brandeis,Martin Buber, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, George Gershwin, Franz Kafka, the Marx Brothers, Golda Meir, Gertrude Stein.

Presented alongside original photographs and sketches for the portraits as well as source material and reviews from the time of lays the basis for interpreting the original 1980 exhibition Warhol's Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century shown at the Lowe Art Museum in Miami and The Jewish Museum in New York.

At the same time a private collection of his Warhol's works Warhol from the Sonnabend Collection will be exhibited at the Gagosian in New York until Saturday, February 28, 2009. Ileana Sonnabend was one of Andy Warhol's strongest supporters with some of his most well known series exhibited at her gallery in Paris including Death and Disasters (1964), Flowers (1965), and Thirteen Most Wanted Men (1967).

Nuage Vert

Photo by Antti Ahonen, 'Nuage Vert by HeHe'.

HeHe
Nuage Vert
22-29 February 2008, Salmisaari, Helsinki, 5pm to 10pm

Check out this amazing new artwork Nuage Vert (Green Cloud) which follows the emissions of a power station, adjusting the size of the cloud by whether the emissions are lessened or not. The artists HeHe (duo Helen Evans and Heiko Hansen) are asking the local community to reduce their energy consumption to effect the size of the cloud.

White House Redux

With the inauguration of President Elect Obama just around the corner the Store Front Gallery's Project White House Redux which asked architects to re-design the White House and a subsequent book has found a second wind. The project was undertaken in early 2008 long before Obama was confirmed as the Democratic nominee, however is now receiving a new wave of publicity The New York Times reports and the winners have cleary taken a very different look at the White house;

The winning entry, “Revenge of the Lawn,” submitted by J. P. Maruszczak and Roger Connah with assistance from Ryan Manning, skirted the White House structure and instead tackled the subliminal associations of its green spaces. “We found a kind of resonance in the lawn between the public and private,” Mr. Maruszczak said, “and we were trying to get around the problem of the White House as such a potent symbol that no one could ever erase that.”

Also check out a video of the judging panel's decision making process in New York and the way in which the architectural projects were discussed in relations to American politics. Many of the other projects also tackle to concept of a more involved voter and citizen which surely aligns with the new President's ideals. Many of the works were more of a prediction than just a response to the brief and can be seen at whitehouseredux.com.

Unpredictable Forms of Sound and Motion

Tim Knowles and Pe Lang + Zimoun
Unpredictable Forms of Sound and Motion
bitforms gallery
January 24, 2009 – February 21, 2009

Image:
Courtesy bitforms gallery nyc.
Pe Lang + Zimoun
Untitled Sound Objects, 2008
400 prepared vibration motors in wooden type cases
39.5 x 39.5 x 3” / 100 x 100 x 8 cm
edition of 6

Check out a YouTube video of the work Untitled Sound Objects, 2008 in action.The work sounds like a river running towards you and is a very intriguing sound work. This exhibition is set to be a beautiful collaboration between the artists, Tim Knowles and Pe Lang + Zimoun.

CARRIAGE- ART- WORKS

The South Sydney fringe is stepping up - as I mentioned in a previous post, reaching from Newtown, Surry Hills to Redfern this part of Sydney is increasingly leaving some of typical Paddington and Eastern Suburbs galleries looking a little of out touch. Hopefully this art fair will be a great example for the young and more available artworks on the market. The event will be held for a week and there will be some great events on at Carriageworks over the weekend and are worth checking out.

Design not on such hard times

With the current global economic climate it seems that consumerism is well and truly alive. Early this year with the sales just about to finish up it seems many people are still spending just in a more conservative manner. But where does design stand in all of this? New York Times is reporting that it could be a great opportunity. Of course there is less spending on high-end interior design and architecture but tough times in society have created some of the world's great inventive designers and designs. No doubt that creating environmentally sustainable,well-priced and beautiful designs will be this generations design cross to bare.

Highline Project Update

The Highline Project in New York has always been one of those magical architectural projects - I was always wondering will it really happen? However the 2nd phase is set for completion this year and is definitely worth keeping an eye on! This video explains a little about what the Highline is and what it will become from Friends of the Highline.

Early plans for this caught my eye back in 2004 and it is great to see the project moving forward. With architects diller+scofidio involved it is sure to be an amazing and innovative success and their website is one of the coolest looking portfolios I have ever seen.

Foster + Partners and Aston Martin design new bus for London

Having always loved London double decker buses, I could have be a little concerned about a redesign. However the design that was created by Foster + Partners and Aston Martin really captures the spirit of them whilst still updating them in a very considered, environmental way and takes into considered practical user issues. They actually remind me of the when London is shot on film as 30 or 20 years in the future - different but the same! Check out the early artistic interpretations.

The Americans @ Bose Pacia New York

Gauri Gill's The Americans looks to be an amazing start to Bose Pacia's program for 2009. Exhibiting from 9 Jan - 7 Feb The Americans is a photography project which took place from 2000- 2007. Gill took photos of Indian immigrants (one of the new waves of immigrant to American) capturing their adaption but also firm held traditions, from Silicone Valley to Middle America. This new type of American is similar to Australia in the 1990's so it is interesting viewing these works in sort of removed manner. Gill as an artist currently working in New Delhi however these work hold no judgement or idolization but beautiful documentation.