MY PLAYGROUND BY KASPERWORKS

A documentary film by Kasper Astrup Schroder about movement in urban space

WILLIAM STOUT ANNEX

My favorite bookstore, William Stout Architectural Books (image), in SF just opened their second location yesterday on Mission St. Might have to take a little field trip.

SAFFRON, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, 2005.

I remember walking every path of Central Park when the Gates were up. It was freezing of course,  but I knew this would be a once in a life time experience.  It was the first time I really felt an installation brought a city’s inhabitants together to celebrate art and humanity.

IT IS WHAT IT IS , 2x4

You don’t know how many times I have heard this phrase in the office environment. Graphic design firm 2x4 released a book by the same name, illustrating “a portrait of a studio in 1000 images.” And it comes in 6 different colors.

THE NEW YORK EARTH ROOM

For those of you who are in New York and are bored on a Sunday afternoon, go check out The New York Earth Room by artist Walter de Maria. 22 inches of dirt spans across 3600 square feet of  Soho gallery space.

NADAU LAVERGNE ARCHITECTS

Young architecture office out of France.

SAUL LEITER LIFE LESSONS

ICP has a video lecture of photographer Saul Leiter, titled Life Lessons. Only 25 minutes long, it’s a nice break from all the usual crap found online. “I spent a great deal of my life being ignored. I was always very happy that way. Being ignored is a great privilege. That is how I think I learnt to see what others do not see and to react to situations differently. I simply looked at the world, not really prepared for anything.”

SAUL LEITER EARLY COLOR

I recently stumbled upon Saul Leiter’s book Early Color at Dashwood Books. His passion was painting, however, Saul found his calling in street photography. Interestingly enough, every single photograph in this monograph presents itself like a painting. It’s as if the city is his canvas, and the camera is his paint brush.

DASHWOOD BOOKS

And the second shop is Dashwood Bookstore, which is located directly below the Vitsoe showroom on Bond Street. According to their website, Dashwood is “New York City’s only independent bookstore devoted entirely to photography.” I could have easily spent hours going through stacks of photography books, especially the ones coming out of Japan. Found an image of the shop interior via photographer Mark Mahaney’s website

VITSOE SHOWROOM

Walking on Bond Street earlier this week, I passed by two stores that I somehow managed to overlook for some time. Well, the first shop was the Vitsoe shelving showroom that opened earlier this year. The 606 modular shelving system was designed by Dieter Rams back in the 60’s, and even now it is one of the most timeless book shelf designs I have seen. If I had some extra cash to burn I would invest in this system, no doubt. Designed to easily assemble and dissemble if you are the kind of person to change apartments every couple of years.