SheWalksSoftly

Banana Su’prise

July 7th, 2008

I love the lost innovations of mankind. Someone thought the Banana Su’prise (with its questionable apostrophe placement) was going to be the “GREATEST SELLING SENSATION OF THE GENERATION.”

Not only could this device pass for a torturous medical instrument, but I see disaster in the delicate attempt to hollow out and fill a banana with frozen confections.

Delicious? Oh, most definitely. Yet so disturbing and difficult to execute. The abject fear on the childrens’ faces also hints at terrible, unthinkable mysteries. I just don’t want to know.
High…Trashion?

July 6th, 2008

On the heels of my last post, it seems appropriate to share this gem from a recent google image odyssey:

Editorial? Joke? One can only hope. Though with the proliferation of completely unnecessary decadence in modern products, one never knows.

I’m glad the search also brought me to this sculpture by Meryl Smith in a post on Danny Daily:

The post touches upon my own fascination with the dark socio-economic implications of fashion, and the absurdity of status definition. It also featured a wonderful craft idea: refabricated designer knockoffs!

Get me to a NYC vendor so I can buy some imitations to mangle and rebuild!
Takashi Murakami

July 6th, 2008

The wonderful Louisa told me about Takashi Murakami’s exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum.

His work is almost too sweet to digest, save for the occasional third eye, strategic drips, odd spacing or other such detail that doesn’t let the observer quite rest into sugary oblivion.

I find his blend of high art, lowbrow and commerce intriguing.

Murakami’s style, called Superflat, is characterized by flat planes of color and graphic images involving a character style derived from anime and manga…Like Andy Warhol, Takashi Murakami takes low culture and repackages it, and sells it to the highest bidder in the “high-art” market. Unlike Warhol, Murakami also makes his repacked low culture available to all other markets in the form of paintings, sculptures, videos, T-shirts, key chains, mouse pads, plush dolls, cell phone caddies…(Wiki).

Murakami also teamed up with Louis Vuitton to manufacture some outlandishly priced handbags. I truly hope this was a satiric commentary on the lengths people will go to in order to possess limited edition high fashion items. I will NEVER understand the appeal of labels and logos. I’d love to slap some of my quirky artwork on a designer brand and laugh all the way to the bank. Suckers.
The Nudribranch: My Latest Fascination

July 6th, 2008

The Mimic Octopus might have a rival for first prize in Deep Sea Awesomeness: the Nudibranch. These little creatures are the party platters of the ocean! I even love saying the word…Nudribranch.

There are over 3,000 varieties of this Mollusca suborder, and I’ve yet to see one that didn’t amaze me. If you’ve got time to kill, there are nearly 7,000 photos on Nudi Pixel (which despite its title is completely safe for work…unless your boss is offended by the astounding beauty of nature).

I believe the Nudribranch makes an appearance in the IMAX Deep Sea film. Next week I hope to be there front and center.
Obsolete

July 4th, 2008

I’ve been to Los Angeles countless times. How could Obsolete have slipped past my oddities radar?

Santos- The Scared Truth is a wonderful set of antique figures, most from the 1800’s.

Radio Wave Therapy cage, electro magnetic device, from a German clinic for mental illness (c. 1910)

Someone (c. 1910) created this medical collage tray (a distant relative of mine with similar artistic leanings, perhaps?)

The Artistic Figures section of spectacularly awkward anatomical models makes one wonder question how these pieces were used for figure drawing (and can I see them if they exist?).

I know one place I’m headed next time I’m out West.
What Independence Day Means to Me

July 4th, 2008

TWILIGHT ZONE MARATHON ON THE SCI-FI CHANNEL! By now I know most of the original episodes by heart (and some people actually like me anyway).

Years ago in an LA toy store, I came across the series of limited edition Twilight Zone figures and have been kicking myself for not buying the collection ever since (particularly the Eye of the Beholder doctors above). Now they are nearly impossible to find and are quite pricey.

The Invader figure is also very well done. Unaware that this had been manufactured, I was just telling my father how much I’d love a little Invader of my own.

I’m not as impressed with the rendition of the Nightmare at 20,000 Feet gremlin, and Kanamit appears just slightly brain dead.

Make no mistake about it though…I’d take ’em all.
Hellbrunn Castle

July 4th, 2008

Curious Expeditions brought my attention to the Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art, located in Austria’s Hellbrunn Castle.

Among my favorite pieces are the dolls in caskets, which evoke the odd, still serenity of Snow White.

See more at Curious Expedition’s Flickr set.
Pixel Socks!

July 3rd, 2008

Things I Will Never Outgrow # 32104: Cheesy pixel art. Call it a quirk, nostalgia, or straight-up geekery, but I pretty much adore anything with a pixelated robot on it. Hence my craving for these socks.

I can probably survive without the gamer dice and skull patterns since I am not actually a gamer…but the owls and robots belong nestled comfortably in my sock drawer.

Don’t worry, I won’t parade around in them all the time. But gosh darn it, they make me happy to look at.
Matthew Laznicka

July 3rd, 2008

Matthew Laznicka does classic style pulp art, with robots, aliens, even cephalopods! Fun stuff.
Voodoo Doughnut

July 3rd, 2008

I’ve found paradise. Voodoo Doughnut may be worth a trip to Portland. Their ever-evolving menu specializes in rich, decadent, homemade “exotic” doughnuts.

Check out their popular (though some find it perplexing) “Bacon Maple Bar”:

The walls are covered with art, they host events and contests…even weddings. You can also request custom doughnuts. This is a definite addition to my ever-expanding destination list.