Category Archives: PHOTOGRAPHY
LUNCH WITH JOHN C JAY (STUDIO J)
Edwin Himself Interview with Mr Jay –
A few days ago, John Jay invited us (w+k12) over for lunch at his private creative consultancy space, Studio J. Over that last two months, we’d occasionally get a glimpse of him through the halls at Wieden+Kennedy, but would rarely get a chance to speak with him since he’d usually be on his way in-or-out of the building. So this was our formal introduction. John Jay is currently the executive creative director of W+K and also spends time overseeing their global offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Delhi and São Paulo.
Studio J is currently tackling a project with the city that would facilitate the construction of a multi-purpose hostel complex. The building would house artists, designers and creative-types looking for affordable spaces to hone their craft. This would be a definite catalyst to help re-energize Portland’s Chinatown district. Word is that Alex Calderwood, founder of the famed Ace Hotel chain, will be a collaborator of the project.
I’ve been a big fan of John Jay’s work for quite some time and followed his blogs within the NYTimes and Japan’s Honeyee. In 2008, I had the pleasure of hearing him speak at Imprint Lab alongside Jeff Staple and Hiroshi Fujiwara. This was definitely a great time to pick his brain in between bites.
During our stay, John made an interesting point about being an artist (or any creative type for that matter). He mentioned that you should always be wary of getting too comfortable and that you should always be challenging yourself. His decision to move from New York to Portland baffled his former employers at Bloomingdale’s—a brand he helped shape during the 80′s and early 90′s—but it was the challenge of a smaller city and the departure from the fashion industry that allured him to Wieden+Kennedy.
Above, are bricks of soap that will eventually be cut into smaller sizes. John and his wife Janet also utilize the space as a workshop for their boutique soap collection, Pearl+. Each block is hand crafted and made out crushed pearls. The thing that’s great about running a soap operation within your studio is that your space will always smell pretty damn good. The collection is only available at small handful of places including Colette and Ace Hotel PDX.
Below is John’s art collection. Some of my favorites were done by Chris Johanson, Tom Sachs, Jun Takahashi (UNDERCOVER) and Kaws.
Conference of cool.
Beats By Dr. Dre Studio Color Campaign
For Holiday 2011 we have reinvented our first and most popular headphone, The Studio, in a spectrum of candy colors good enough to eat. Whether you choose blue, pink, orange, or green, we have the color that “is you.”
Nero’s first live performance at our recently opened Pop-Up store in NYC. Dre, who was in attendance at the performance, chose Nero “Me & You” for the spot’s powerful track.
Album: Welcome Reality (Digital out now, CD in stores 12/13)
David Beckham & James Bond: Background Check
HBTV2: David Beckham & James Bond: Background Check from HBTV on Vimeo.
HBTV sit down with UNDFTD’s James Bond and soccer luminary David Beckham, as they talk about the inspiration that goes into their ongoing capsule collection for adidas. Introduced through Beckham’s wife, Victoria, their partnership was one that came about through sharing the same likes and dislikes when it came to fashion and product collaborations. In describing the line, both men consider it to be “simple, yet aspirational,” and products that aren’t defined by age. Check out the interview with two men who are at the forefront of their respective professions.
Can’t wait for snowboard season to kick in!
SIR ANTHONY HOPKINS: “I SEE THE LINES, BUT I DON’T CARE”
Sir Hopkins, you once said that the more life you experience the more it seems like a dream. Was there a certain moment in your life where things seemed to diverge from reality?
Most of my last 30 years have been like that. Results and manifestations of things I’d dreamed of as a young kid and wanted as a child and as a young man. I realized it maybe 30 years ago. I thought, “This is unreal. This has happened as I expected it to, as I’d pictured it.” My whole life has been like that and I’m fascinated by that power that we all have. That we create our lives as we go.
Do you think actors and filmmakers have a more powerful inner life? People often say actors are more emotional, more sensitive.
Well, I always distrust the word art when it is applied to acting. I’ve always liked to be a meat and potatoes kind of actor who doesn’t believe in any of the highfalutin stuff about acting, so I tend to be a little bit more cynical. But I guess it is a creative process; acting is a creative process, and directing and music. I think creative people – and I take myself as a creative person and it doesn’t mean you have to be an actor, a musician, or a painter – but I think if you are in a creative profession or a creative business you do have a heightened awareness. It doesn’t make you special though.
A lot of actors certainly behave as if they are…
You have to be careful of that because when you begin to believe you have license because you are a special person breathing special oxygen, that’s when you’re in big trouble. That’s the road to insanity. And a lot of people in the studios are like that. They believe that they are special. I do think actors are blessed, or cursed, with maybe a slightly heightened awareness, which you have to use. That’s all. It doesn’t mean you’re superior or better than anyone it just means that’s the way our brains tick.
Were there any directors in the past that have really inspired you?
There have been a number of them and they all have their own quirky way of working. I’ve worked with Oliver Stone, Spielberg, a number of them. Some of the best and I’ve been lucky. When I direct I try to keep it a unique design of my own. Naturally you’re influenced. Oliver Stone is a great director and I’ve seen many films over the years, but I try to create stuff out of my own imagination. I want to break all the rules and mess about with it and make a different movie just for the fun of it.
Does acting help to keep you young?
Yeah. I am young! Being creative and keeping your brain occupied is very sensible because if you don’t you die, slowly. Although sometimes I feel tired and think I ought to give it up, I don’t want to just retire. No, I enjoy it all and you just keep going until the day comes when you can’t do it anymore. And that’s what I want to do.
Are you still obsessed by acting?
I used to be a bit obsessed by it but not anymore. I do enjoy acting but I probably enjoy it more now because it’s easier. I can’t work in the theater because to me it’s too serious. It’s like being in prison for me. I admire people that can do that but I can’t do it. I’d rather live my life and do a bit of acting in between.
What does your life look like these days?
I play piano and that’s my love. I read and I paint and I compose music, so I’ve got a pretty full creative life. And it’s not because, you know, I’m obsessively creative. I enjoy painting. I don’t know if I’m good at it, but I paint. I paint very quickly. I paint in acrylic and it seems to work and I write music and compose music and play the piano and I read a lot and life’s good. So acting is something I do as a fill in.
You seem to be at harmony with yourself…
I wish when I was younger I knew what I know today, what I feel like today, a kind of ease with myself. Because when you’re younger you are much more intense and everything’s much more important and you look back and you think, “Oh what was that all about?” Nothing is that important, just live your life because we’re here so briefly.
So you enjoy getting older?
Yeah. I keep in shape. I look in the mirror and I see the lines, but I don’t care. It’s a good time. I don’t know why it’s such a good time, but it’s a good time. Mortality is the great rescuer, it finally takes you out of everything, and that makes life good, you know? Read Carl Jung. It makes life richer because this is it; none of us know where we go and this is the fun of it.
Have you achieved everything you wanted to achieve?
Beyond everything. I’ve been very lucky. I’ve had my problems in the past, I’ve had my troubles, but you move on. I had a great life and I am really thankful for it.
Burton: Snow Porn Series
Danny Davis proves that you can’t have easy livin without putting in a lot of hard work, and it shines through in his snowboarding. Doesn’t hurt that he is always smiling and having a good time either.
From the pages of Transworlds December issue – check out Danny Davis, Stephan Maurer, Nicolas Muller, Mads Jonsson and more in Mike Basich’s backyard, the famed Area 241.
A little park mash up from last summer featuring the Burton team.
FK is short for Frederik Kalbermatten, and Superspines is short for some really really gnarly lines in British Columbia. Not bad for a days work.
Shady 2.0 BET Cypher feat. Slaughter House & Yelawolf (Tried By 12 Sample)
Bad Mutherf#cker
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for I am the baddest motherf#cker in the Goddamn valley.” – Jarhead.
Chimney House by Marcio Kogan – Studio MK27
In the bustling city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, this cool and calm retreat provides quite a contrast from the activity around it. The Chimney House by Marcio Kogan and Studio MK27 has a level of architectural harmony that is akin to a Japanese rock garden, where everything feels to be perfectly in its place.
A common trait of Kogan designs is continued in the Chimney House, as the slatted decking, lined concrete ceilings and patched hardwood floors start at one wall and stretch perfectly to another. This provides a visual “vanishing point” within the home’s landscape, and an even sense of balance and symmetry amongst its character.
The main level of the Chimney House is wide and open, used for entertainment, relaxing and dining. A central living and dining area is flanked on both sides by garden patios, but the separation between them is subtle enough that the entire space feels like one large, uniform atrium. On the second floor, much of the area is blocked off into personal spaces with plenty of privacy. One section of the upper floor opens into a long veranda overlooking the city around it and the gardens below. Toward the veranda’s end is the home’s namesake, a metallic chimney that is established as a design accent, not something to be hidden away or designed around.
Sweet play by Elsa Lambinet
Sweet play by Elsa Lambinet from Dezeen on Vimeo.
Want more choice in your chocolate box? Mix and match fillings and toppings with these modular chocolates by French designer Elsa Lambinet.
BBC Nature: ‘Brinicle’ ice finger of death
With timelapse cameras, specialists recorded salt water being excluded from the sea ice and sinking. The temperature of this sinking brine, which was well below 0C, caused the water to freeze in an icy sheath around it. Where the so-called “brinicle” met the sea bed, a web of ice formed that froze everything it touched, including sea urchins and starfis.
Supreme Fall/Winter 2011 Collection Feat. Yosuke Kubozuka
COOL TRANS magazine have compiled another great editorial, this time highlighting the Supreme Fall/Winter 2011 Collection with renowned actors Yosuke Kubozuka and Shota Sometani modelling the line.