18/01/2009

Exoskeletal, elemental Furniture



Charles & Ray Eames' adjustable jig to to 'determine the seat and back angles of the molded-plywood chairs' (c.1945) (via Library of Congress).



Ulm stool by Max Bill, Hans Gugelot, Paul Hildinger (1955) (via the Ulm archive).



Lisa Lapinski's Nightstand (2005) (via Johanna Koenig).



Martino Gamper's Gallery Furniture (2007) (via Arttattler, photo © Francis Ware), as seen in Wouldn't It Be Nice recently at Somerset House.

14/01/2009

The Goblin Spider



An exquisite, one-eyed goblin character from The Goblin Spider, a Japanese fairy tale of 1899, printed from woodblock with characteristic colour gradient backgrounds. The translated version by Lafcadio Hearn. See the complete book at the New York Public Library's site.

10/01/2009

Mary Ellen Bute



Mary Ellen Bute's Dada (1936).

I forgot about Steven Wright



'I went to the hardware store and I bought some used paint. It was in the shape of a house.'

09/01/2009

White Goods



Karin Ruggaber's Relief 67 (2008). Materials: plaster and pigment. Via Greengrassi.



Tightly-fitting network of catametric elements (1961–62). School: Ulm. Student: Klaus Schmitt. Tutor: Tomás Maldonado. Via Ulm Archive.



Eduardo Paolozzi's Kardinal Syn (1964). Materials: plaster and twine. Via Tate.



Thomas Houseago's Large Striding Figure (2007). Materials: Tuf-Cal,hemp, iron, graphite and wood. Via David Kordansky.



Cy Twombly's Untitled (1976). Materials: cardboard tubes, cloth, house paint, paper tape.

'Gypsum is a crystalline mineral of hydrated calcium sulphate (chemical formula CaSO4 • 2H2O). Gypsum is colorless or white, is not highly water-soluble and is not at all hard. A mixture of gypsum and water can be poured; the gypsum hardens as the water evaporates. In art gypsum is mainly used in the partly dehydrated form of plaster of Paris (2CaSO4 • H2O) to make casts of objects or works of art in sculpture (moulds). The process entails making a negative form, of a sculpture, for istance, which is then coated with plaster of Paris. Plaster of Paris models of sculpture were widespread in antiquity and the practie was revived in the Renaissance. From the late 17th century plaster of Paris casts were made for art academy study and model collections (plaster cast collections), which were taken up by museums and art historical and other institutes in the 19th century.' Via Kettererkunst.