5election number zero by Propaganda srl

EDITORIAL Editor-in-chief: Florian Suceava Executive Editor: Ugo Tranquillini Art Direction: Nicola Micheli Graphic Direction: Filippo Micheli Graphic Contributors: Laura Patrini - Christian Nerio Layout: Propaganda3 | www.propaganda3.it Copy-Editing: Manuela Danelutti Contributors: Davide Beretta - Elettra Loy – Stefano Ratto – Steve Nardini Online Magazine: www.5election.com Web Master: AT Development

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Disclaimer It’s never easy to start something new and nowadays, in the editorial field, it’s maybe even more difficult than ever – so, we hope you’ll appreciate our wish and our efforts to offer you something original with this printed magazine. 5election is an independent editorial product suitable for a mature audience of people interested in urban culture, art, architecture, design, food, disability, fashion, cosmetics, photography, sport & health, etc. This magazine is dedicated to manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, business people, artists, writers, bikers, web designers, illustrators, fashion designers and to all those who work to create original contents – but also to all those who just like the world of creativity and to know what is going on. It is not intended for those who take great pleasure sniping at the work of others while not creating anything themselves, and may cause them mortification and/or regret. To avoid injury, perhaps they had better not to read this magazine. 4

Born in Italy to have no borders, 5election is a quarterly independent magazine/agenda moving outside the current market mechanisms and rules, in terms of editorial content, format and logics. It is a container of materials that, unlike ”traditional” magazines, does not follow a predetermined editorial line, but meets selection criteria related to the strength of contents, their topicality and their visual impact. With a defined concept concerning the approach to analysis, always focusing on the immediacy and power of images and on the implicit truth they bring, 5election magazine is pioneering and inventive at its roots, a container of inspiration, trends, influences, consciences. Scanning a range of factors, the magazine intends to identify emerging shifts in our social behavior and aspirations, tracking the evolution of cool, generating ideas, stimulating creativity and ultimately activating fantasy to shape our social context. 5election places itself as a strong critical voice towards the quality of the products, selected according to different parameters and liking levels. A plastic aesthetical object, a stylistic redefinition of everything yesterday could be considered

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business

mobility

Design

Archit ecture

INDEX

21 43 65

In between Hotels Stores & Branding

165 179

197 209

Disability Lighting

Packaging So smart to worth your time?

135

Bikes & Skates

153

121 Business Ideas

Bike and Skate furniture

115

105 Barrique Innovation

95 Azuma Makoto

(Some of) the world’s best 89 concept stores

Casa del Acantilado

media

sex

health

food

comics

art

fashion

381 387

The future of music Post-everything music

363

Asexuality

373

359

Neuro cosmetics

Roll, sound, camera and ... action!

351

343 My cooking class Fit2fat2fit

317

299 Sagaki Keita

Good as you

289 Roa

309

279 Kris Kuksi

Lee Jeffries

269

249 Fashion accessories

Hisashi Tenmyouya

235

Freitag

265

229

Ichiro Suzuki

What is art?

223

Rad Hourani

ARCHIT 9

TETURE TETURE TEcTURE 10

CASA DEL ACANTILADO

Calpe, Alicante. Fran Silvestre Arquitectos We like the virtue of architecture which makes possible constructing a house on air, walking on water... An abrupt plot of land overlooking the sea, where what is best is to do nothing. It invites to stay. A piece that respects the land’s natural contour is set in it. Above, a shadow, the house itself, looking calmly at the Mediterranean. Under the sun, the swimming-pool brings us closer to the sea, it becomes a quiet cove. In the inflection point, the stairway proposes an evocative path, a garden in the basement...

This monolithic, stone-anchored structure generates a horizontal platform from the accessing level, where the house itself is located. The swimming-pool is placed on a lower level, on an already flat area of the site. The concrete structure is insulated from the outside and then covered by a flexible and smooth white lime stucco. The rest of materials, walls, pavements, the gravel on the roof... all maintain the same color, respecting the traditional architecture of the area, emphasizing it and simultaneously underlining the unity of the house.

Due to the steepness of the plot and the desire to contain the house in just one level, a three-dimensional structure of reinforced concrete slabs and screens adapting to the plot’s topography was chosen, thus minimizing the earthwork.

fransilvestrearquitectos.com

photo © Diego Opazo

Main floor 19

Lower floor

Rear view

Front view

Sketch view 20

IN BETWEEN FITTING TIGHT URBAN SPACES

01 02 03 04 05

Crowded and packed as they are, cities may be fascinating to someone as they can be claustrophobic to others. Some people will long for boundless horizons, while others will be at complete ease with tiny spaces, even tinier than our imagination could conceive. Truth is, there is not much room left to be built in big cities like Los Angeles or New York, and what’s left is paid through the nose. As a consequence, architects are now looking for innovative ways to exploit limited urban spaces, rather then simply rebuilding them. All the projects here included revolve around the idea of limitation and suggest different ways to make the most of congested spaces.

KERET HOUSE Initially presented in 2009 as a rather eccentric architect’s idea, one of the world’s narrowest houses has become reality in the center of Warsaw, Poland. Referred to as an “impossible house” by its designer Jakub Szczesny of Centrala design studio, it is 60in across in its widest spot on the outside (its interior comes to 52in) and is officially defined as an art installation, as it does not meet any legal standards of construction in Poland. Located in the crack between the buildings on 22 Chłodna St. and 74 Zelazna St., the building is a workplace, a hermitage created for an outstanding Israeli writer, Etgar Keret, and also fulfills a function of a studio for invited guests – young creators and intellectuals from all over the world. The residential program is supposed to produce creative work conditions and become a significant platform for world intellectual exchange.

centrala.net.pl

photo © Bartek Warzecha

Longitudinal section

Cross section

Main floor

Mezzanine 26

OPEN ARCHITECTURE Focusing on the on-going problems of spatial congestion in Japanese cities, Yoshiaki Oyabu Architects inserted a multi-level extension of the public realm in a gap between five buildings in a congested residential part of Osaka. The flanking structures define an irregularly-shaped plot with a three-meter opening to the road. The structure provides a sheltered and intimate space on the ground level that gives access to a ramp made from expanded metal mesh, which allows light to percolate through it. Twisting in on itself on its rise, the project offers a flat wooden deck at the top. The structure stands as giant play equipment for kids that can be transformed to meet the needs of a specific event or function, and shows that what would otherwise be a neglected space can be repurposed in novel ways.

o-yabu.com

photo © Akira Itoh

Site plan

Section

PARASITE OFFICE Parasite Office is a concept created by za bor architects while designing their own studio in Moscow, a city with promptly growing economy and permanent shortage of ‘creative’ office. This design uses free spaces between buildings to provide a three-floor volume forming original and economically viable offices which do not block the access to the court yard behind. The polygonal main facade is made from light and durable cellular polycarbonate shaped on a single structural framework clamped between the blind facades of the houses. The facade turned to the court yard is flat and completely glazed.

zabor.net

photo © Peter Zaytsev

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First floor

䄀

Second floor

Third floor

LUCKY DROPS This house’s site, purchased by a young couple who wished to build a house in Tokyo on a limited budget, was low-price because of the very irregular shape, the last left over piece of land cut off from regular residential property lines (hence the name ‘lucky drops’, from a proverb meaning that the last left over portion often brings you a fortune). Considering the set back width of exterior walls, effective width of the structure is about 80in at most. To obtain the maximum livable space, Japanese architect Yasuhiro Yamasita from Atelier Tekuto took advantage of the extremely long space and provided the maximum livable space underground. To bring in soft natural light inside, thin exterior walls are made of fiber reinforced plastic panels and floors are made of expanded metal mesh.

tekuto.com

photo © Makoto Yoshida

First floor

Ground floor 38

OFFICE HOUSE

Projected as their own office and house in Antwerp, Belgium by architects Silvia Mertensm and Pieter Peerlings from sculp(IT) architectural firm, this 95in wide building is organized on four wood floors between two existing walls, hanging in a steel skeleton: downstairs for work, dining on 1st, relaxing on 2nd, sleeping on 3rd, and on the roof, go and enjoy the view. The border to the outside is only glass. Transparency not only a necessity, but also a trump card. Restrictions of the available floor space (645 sqft) also shift the border between actually needed and pure luxury. Thus compromises with the available space are no option. Floor space is glorious but also not the most important determining factor of ‘nice living’. Paying respect to these strong restrictions, gives pure luxury and freedom, a place in the city, comfort, and affordable space to live.

users.telenet.be/sculpitnew

photo © Luc Roymans

Section

Front View

Rear View 42

For the great travelers of the past, the hotel was once both the antithesis and the complement of the travel experience. If the journey itself represented movement, change and exploration, the hotel was a place to stop and rest, a refuge where one could enjoy for a brief moment the comforts from which one had distanced oneself. But the days of

the great traveler are now probably gone forever, now we move quickly and frenetically, whether it’s work that takes us to the other side of the world or pleasure that we seek and reward ourselves with, in order to relax and recharge our batteries. The way we travel really has changed over the years and, as a result, so too has accommodation, which

has taken on new ways and means. Easy hotels, ephemeral or easily transferable, ready to adapt to changing needs and styles, accompanying travelers in their mutating itineraries and become part of their experience. Even as we stand still, it’s not the destination that counts but the journey.

Located in the village of Tepoztlan, about 45 minutes south of Mexico City, TuboHotel is an affordable hotel that uses recycled concrete tubing for its rooms. Built by designers T3arc by stacking pipes to form mini pyramids with ladders to access the upper level, the hotel explores the possibilities of using unwanted construction materials in natural surroundings to create hotels that are cheap and quick to build, better for the environment and boast the benefits of affordability and a quirky experience for visitors – plenty to be inspired by. Each room is furnished with a queen-sized bed, desk and fan, with storage space under the bed. Thanks to a wooded setting of unusual features, the surrounding area provides a unique natural environment.

Sleepbox is a portable sleeping capsule developed by Russian architectural bureau Arch Group. Born to provide a proper place for rest and relax in any unexpected situation, these modules are mobile and due to their compact size (only 40ft2) need only be connected to the power supply to be installed anywhere inside any building: airport terminals, train stations, hospitals, exhibition and convention centers, offices and other working environments. These features also provide an opportunity to open an hotel in a building that was never intended for such a function, like the first Sleepbox hotel located in Moscow downtown in the immediate vicinity of the Kremlin. A totally new and unique experience for the traveler, partly based on hostel principles but with considerably different quality of hotel services, the hotel can boast low prices, great design and excellent location.

As designer Pierre Stephane Dumas explains, “Having a night under the stars or seeing the sun rise and set is not something that many people experience anymore. So I designed this eccentric shelter with the aim of offering an unusual experience under the stars while keeping all the comfort of a bedroom suite”. For those who want to try the experience, many companies in France offer the possibility of spending the night in one of his crystal bubble tents, produced by BubbleTree. Probably the best way to sleep under the stars, the bubbles can be installed on any flat surface, providing a whole new approach to hoteling with a portable space that’s both comfortable while giving the feeling of being out in the middle of any natural environment – and without disturbing the area very much.

Created by Portuguese architect José Manuel Pequeno in collaboration with the dst group, the Transportable Tourist Tower is an autonomous and self-sufficient habitable space, geared towards a new concept of tourism, which can be included in natural sceneries and various environments where there are no infrastructures such as beaches, forests, vineyards or the countryside. Furthermore, it can be placed in a horizontal position, answering simultaneously to the residential market, namely in an urban context. Operating as a tower, the habitable module evolves along three stories with an implementation area of a little more than 100ft2. Even so, it contains a broad set of functionalities, such as sanitation facilities, a small kitchen, a space for meals, a living space, a small study, a bedroom and an outer veranda/observation post at the top. Designed to be transportable and with a reduced construction impact, it could be useful beyond its original scope as a tourist information post or temporary installation.

Until recently, an excess of Chinese sea containers have been rusting away in the port of Antwerp. Now Sleeping Around, a brand-new Belgian pop-up hotel company, gives them a second life and converts these containers into mobile hotel rooms, addressing anyone who wants to experience his destination a little differently without compromising on comfort. Each compact yet luxurious hotel room is equipped with all the mod cons: a comfortable bed, high-quality sanitary facilities with rain shower, docking station and air conditioning – all put together in a 20ft recycled sea container. Each cluster of hotel room containers also includes a breakfast/lounge container and a sauna, and is ready on demand to reach any location in the world able to ensure a fabulous view.

STORES 65

ING

The boutique butcher-shop in Los Angeles

Amelia ‘Lindy’ Posada and Erika ‘Grundy’ Nakamura came to butchering circuitously. Erika is a die-hard New Yorker; Amelia hails from Pasadena and loves everything L.A. The two, who are a married couple now, met at a Brooklyn drag show where Erika was the DJ and Amelia waited tables. They had been both vegetarians in their past, and Amelia actually ate her first bite of meat in 14 years on their first date. But with a few twists of food fate, the floral designer and journalist (Posada) and chef (Nakamura) landed at Fleisher’s Grass-Fed and Organic Meats in Kingston, NY as apprentices. They left after learning the virtues of whole-animal ‘nose-to-tail’ butchery (no parts are wasted) and car-tripped back to California, where they quickly made a name for themselves among the L.A. food community and decided to establish their own butcher shop. Since opening its doors in 2011, Lindy & Grundy - the genius brain-child of married butchers, the only shop in Southern California that practices whole-animal butchery of local, pastured and organic meats - has shaken up L.A.’s culinary world by re-introducing the richly flavored meats that our grandparents once enjoyed.

The difference between Lindy & Grundy and your quintessential old-fashioned butcher? The popular image of the butcher is a big man with a florid face and a menacing jolliness. At Lindy & Grundy, Erika is the head butcher. As a gay married couple they struggle through prejudice, judgment, and strict government regulations just so locals can enjoy quality traceable meats. “All of our meats are coming from within 150 miles of Los Angeles, except our lamb which is raised in Northern California, in Santa Rosa. We don’t have to use trucking companies from all over the country – we keep our business as local as possible. Once our animals arrive at the shop, we utilize the entire carcass. We take the bones and make beef, pork, lamb and chicken stock to sell. We make soups, chili, pate, rillettes, even dog food! We minimize waste by respecting the animal and using the whole thing. We feel that supporting local business and agriculture is incredibly sustainable for our community. All of our animals are 100% raised organically - meaning they are never treated with hormones or antibiotics, and the grasses on which they graze are never treated with pesticides”.

The shop, which Erika describes as an ‘old-school industrial French butcher shop’, is immaculate “from the placement of every lemon we sell to the rosemary and thyme that line my roasts - it has a feminine vibe when you walk in. It’s welcoming, never intimidating. That’s a woman’s touch”.

FUKLUM The Japanese Steamed Cake Shop

One is always impressed when a designer is able to transform an existing structure into something new and exciting without obliterating its character. Japanese architect Kazutoyo Yamamoto was commissioned by the building’s owner to convert an old Japanese noodle shop into a unique steamed cake shop that places a strong emphasis on natural ingredients. The key point of the project was the tightest of all budgets. But, in the words of the designer, “it is through these minimal budgets where one comes up with new forms of expression”. Colors are a fundamental element of the project: a pale matte white layer covers the entire outside from the roof tiles to the gutters, to differentiate the original Japanese building from the car dependent suburbs; a diluted paint over the interior walls allows the materials to show through, forming a new layer that expresses the relationship between the existing and new; a white board covers the existing furniture to help control the incoming light as well as to highlight the more perishable goods. New furniture, made of unfinished materials, creates an especially interesting relationship with the building’s structure. The original architectural details are intact but it’s amazing what light, paint, flooring, and an expert command of minimalist sensibilities can do. The result are steamed cakes worthy of art display.

photo © Toshiyuki Yano

THEUREL & THOMAS Patisserie in Mexico 77

Theurel & Thomas pâtisserie is not only a place of food heaven but also a design lover’s paradise. Located in San Pedro, Latin America’s most affluent suburb, it is the first maison in Mexico specializing in macarons, France’s most famous confectionery and this has already earned them a lot of devotees. Macarons are made of meringue, almond powder and sugar and are famous for their addictive taste and their delicate softness. But apart from the excellent quality and the various tastes and colors of the delights that star Chef Irving Quiroz Quintana prepares following the French tradition, Theurel & Thomas are famed for the design and ambiance of their store. Anagrama Studio has perfected everything that Theurel & Thomas offer their clients with design and branding to rival most, using white as the main color thus letting the macarons speak for themselves. “White is a central part of the design and it contrasts with the bright, bold colours of the

French macarons. Details were an essential part of our work. We meticulously selected each porcelain piece creating a balance with sophisticated specks that made the value of the brand and the exclusivity of the product outshine”. A space where every detail is taken care of, from the furniture to the packaging. The final result is more than rewarding, perfectly representing the elegance of these delicate desserts.

Lookmumnohands! The bike friendly cafe

Opened in April 2010, this cafè, repair shop and events space caters for the cool new breed of London cyclists. This is one of the few public places in London that show cycling competitions live on television, and many come here to watch on the big screen. The room is adorned with vintage bicycles, wheels hanging from the ceiling and photos of top racers. You can go there to sit around, have some coffee, hang out with friends and while you are doing that they fix your bike in the workshop downstairs. They also offer basic bicycle maintenance courses every month. The cafè itself serves coffee, cakes and pastries and charcuterie plates, and in the evening you can get a beer or a glass of wine.

“We like riding our bikes and drinking coffee. We had an idea about combining stuff we like to something special. We found a great space in a great location, cleaned it up and called it ‘look mum no hands!’ We show films and cycle sport on our big projector screen. We have a workshop and two great mechanics who fix bikes. We have people who are really into making good food and coffee. Fresh fruit and veg is delivered every morning and we turn it into tasty salads and hot dishes. The cooking team keep the menu seasonal and interesting by varying the salad mixes and specials daily. Our pies are really popular and available all day. Cakes are homemade by two local bakers – try Liz’s ginger cake and Jessica’s banana, chocolate & walnut loaf, both are delicious”.

COMPANY

Three is a crowd but two is indeed a company 85

COMPANY is a design duo, Aamu Song & Johan Olin, based in Helsinki. They work as artists, designers and producers, running their own shop Salakauppa. All products in Salakauppa are designed by COMPANY, inspired by various manufacturing traditions. Typically, industrial design starts with the design (conceiving of a product to fill a need), and then adds the industrial (mass production). But Aamu and Johan have it the other way ’round: they visit factories and craftsmen in Finland and around the world, and through conversations with those people they see what they’re capable of producing. This way they evolve their ideas and then design products that correlate with the skill set of the manufacturers. Rather than letting these traditional factories die out, victim to global outsourcing, they propose to take charge of the skills already out there and see if they can actually foster new kinds of contemporary products. The small glass kiosk, once a flower shop and a kebab-stand, that since 2008 houses their ‘Secret shop’ in the center of Helsinky (‘Sala’ means secret and ‘Kauppa’ means shop), evolves according with the different collections, filled with amazing and witty products one more hilarious than the other.

Hood Bag

Dance shoes

Double Heels

Sleeping Furniture

Secret Shop photo © COMPANY Products photo © Janne Suhonen

(SOME OF)

THE WORLD'S BEST CONCEPT STORES “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street; fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” Coco Chanel It all started in 1986 when Ralph Lauren opened his first flagship store in New York, putting all his philosophy inside one building decorated like a home, with paintings of dogs and horses, leather chairs and vases with flowers. Every detail of the store arrangement described brand identity and created an atmosphere defined by the choices the stylist would have

made for himself. He was opening his world to the consumers, happy to find all these items that followed the same style. On sale there were not only physical objects, but also a full-on emotional experience. A few years later Carla Sozzani transformed a former industrial space in Milan in a multifunctional

meeting place, a union of culture and commerce, comprising an art gallery, a book/record shop, a cafe, a restaurant and, best of all, a treasure trove of a bazaar, laid out like a metropolitan souk, full of curios and beautiful things. When 10 Corso Como opened in 1990, its influence was felt across the globe. Retailers talked about creating something like it, and its name became a common language for describing a different approach. The idea of a concept store was born. Since then, “concept store” has meant a selling point which offers a

special mix of brands and products that appeal to a particular segment of consumer. Not a classical department store, a mono brand (flagship) store, a fashion boutique, furniture store, mall, etc. - rather a modern experience of shopping, always in motion and highly innovative. The mix of products and brands is wide and some stores even change themselves and the products regularly, to stay flexible and surprising. What holds it all together? A defined, cutting-edge and unique style, a same taste you can recognize in every single piece of furnishing, in decoration

and in all the goods on display. It is a sophisticated and elegant world, always "unconventional and unexpected", based on a strong idea, a defined identity you can find in every detail. You enter an environment, an atmosphere that creates a world,

THE LIST

a style. You choose that world and recognize that everything there is suitable for you. In the same place you are able to find a number of different products, and you can even stay for breakfast or for dinner, visit an exhibition, buy a book, some

Australia Alphaville, 179 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, VIC 3065 www.alpha60.com.au Cara&Co, 188 Pitt street, Sydney NSW 2000 www.caraandco.com Fleur Wood, 42 Gurner St, Paddington NSW 2021 www.fleurwood.com Orson & Blake, 37 Princes Street, Riverstone NSW 2756 www.orsonandblake.com.au Austria Merchzilla, Zollergasse 2, A-1070 Wien www.merchzilla.com

furnishing or clothes, shoes and bags. Shopping becomes a social and amusing experience. Since it exists, the concept store has proved to be a successful retail model, adaptable to a variety of markets, as well as retaining recession proof

qualities. No surprise if it keeps on reinventing itself and popping all over the world. As usual, what matters is the idea. The concept wins.

Park, Mondscheingasse 20, A-1070 Wien www.park.co.at

Graanmarkt 13, Graanmarkt 13, 2000 Antwerpen www.graanmarkt13.be

Pregenzer, Schleifmühlgasse 4, A-1040 Wien www.pregenzer.com

Ra, Kleine Markt 7-9 1st floor, 2000 Antwerpen www.ra13.be

Tiberius, Lindengasse 2, A-1070 Wien www.tiberius.at

Hunting and Collecting, Rue des Chartreux 17, 1000 Bruxelles www.huntingandcollecting.com

Die Sellerie, Burggasse 21, A-1070 Wien www.diesellerie.com Azerbaijan Emporium, Z.Tağıyev Küçəsi 2, Baki www.emporium.az Belgium Clinic, De burburestraat 5, 2000 Antwerpen www.clinicantwerp.com

Brasil Loja do Bispo, Rua Dr. Mello Alves, 348 Jardins São Paulo, São Paulo www.lojadobispo.com.br Bulgaria Farenah Concept, ul. Tsar Kaloyan 10, 1000 Sofia www.farenah.com

Canada École Militaire, 3764 St-Dominique, Montréal www.ecolemilitaire.net

France Think & More, 108 Rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris www.thinkandmore.com

Czech Republik Dox By Qubus, Poupětova 1, Praha 7 www.qubus.cz

Auguste, 10 Rue St. Sabin, 75011 Paris www.augusteparis.com

Křehký, Osadní 35, Praha 7 www.krehky.cz

Colette, 213 Rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris www.colette.fr

The Room by Basmatee, Školská 7, Praha 1 www.basmatee.cz

Hotel Particulier, 15 Rue Léopold Bellan, 75002 Paris www.hotelparticulier-paris.com

Denmark Hay House, Østergade 61, 1100 København www.hay.dk

Le66, 66 Avenue des Champ Elysées, 75008 Paris www.le66.fr

Normann Copenhagen, Østerbrogade 70, 2100 København www.normann-copenhagen.com

L’Eclaireur, 10 Rue Hérold, 75001 Paris www.leclaireur.com

Finland Pino, Fredrikinkatu 22, 00120 Helsinki www.pino.fi

Merci, 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais, 75003 Paris www.merci-merci.com

Artek, Eteläesplanadi 18, 00130 Helsinki - www.artek.fi

Spree, 16 Rue de la Vieuville, 75018 Paris - www.spree.fr

French Touche, 1 Rue Jacquemont, 75017 Paris www.frenchtouche.com Le Centre Commercial, 2 Rue de Marseille, 75010 Paris www.centrecommercial.cc French Trotters 128 Rue Vieille du Temple, 75003 Paris www.frenchtrotters.fr Démocratie, 14 Boulevard SaintMichel, 75006 Paris www.democratie-paris.com

Germany Amorph, Savignyplatz S-Bahnbogen 591, 10623 Berlin shop.amorph-berlin.com Andreas Murkudis, Potsdamer Strasse 81 E, 10785 Berlin www.andreasmurkudis.net F95, Luckenwalder Strasse 4-6, 10963 Berlin www.f95store.com Firmament, Linienstrasse 40, 10119 Berlin www.firmamentberlin.com

Afwosh, 10 Rue d’Hauteville, 75010 Paris www.afwosh.com

No74, Torstrasse 74,10119 Berlin www.no74-berlin.com

Andrea Crews, 83 Rue de Turenne, 75003 Paris www.andreacrews.com

Quartier 206 Departmentstore, Friedrichstrasse 71, 10117 Berlin www.dsq206.com

Colonel, 14 Avenue Richerand, 75010 Paris www.moncolonel.fr

Rung.Napa, Knesebeckstrasse 27, 10623 Berlin www.rungnapa-berlin.com

Finger In The Nose, 11 Rue de l’Échaudé, 75006 Paris www.fingerinthenose.com

Simon&Me, Fidicinstrasse 17, 10965 Berlin www.simonandme.com

The Corner, Französische Strasse 40, 10117 Berlin www.thecornerberlin.de

Simon und Renoldi, Maastrichter Strasse 17, 50672 Köln www.simonundrenoldi.com

Zeilgalerie, Zeil 112-114, 60313 Frankfurt am Main www.zeilgalerie.de

Greece Shop, Ermou 112A, Athens www.shopermou112a.gr

Ulf Haines, Rosa-Luxemburg Strasse 9, 10178 Berlin www.ulfhaines.com

Heimatdesign, Hoher Wall 15, 44137 Dortmund www.heimatdesign.net

Sleeping Dogs, Rödingsmarkt 20, 20459 Hamburg www.sleepingdogs.de

Hungary Printa Akádemia, Rumbach Sebestyén utca 10, 1075 Budapest www.printa.hu

Villa Harteneck, Douglasstrasse 9, 14193 Berlin www.villa-harteneck.de

Uwe van Afferden, Lorettostrasse 35, 40219 Düsseldorf www.van-afferden.com

Manufactum, Dienerstrasse 12, 80331 München www.manufactum.de

VooStore, Oranienstrasse 24, 10999 Berlin www.vooberlin.com

Jades, Heinrich-Heine-Allee 53, 40213 Düsseldorf www.jades-fashion.com

Pool, Maximilianstr. 11, 80538 München www.verypoolish.com

Apropos, Mittelstrasse 3, 50672 Köln www.apropos-coeln.de

Colekt, Brückenstrasse 21, 60594 Frankfurt am Main www.colekt.me

Hasardeur, Alter Steinweg 1, 48143 Münster www.hasardeur.de

Designe, Kleine!, Wallstrasse 26, 60594 Frankfurt am Main www.designe-kleine.de

Ludwig3, Ludwigstrasse 3, 93047 Regensburg www.ludwig3.de

Uebervart, Kleiner Hirschgraben 14, 60311 Frankfurt am Main www.uebervart.de

Merz & Benzing, Dorotheenstrasse 4, 70173 Stuttgart www.merz-benzing.de

Desiary, Goltsteinstrasse 71, 50968 Köln www.desiary.de Loud!, Mittelstrasse 38, 50672 Köln www.iloveloud.com RockOn, Brüsseler Strasse 74, 50672 Köln www.rockon.de/cleanicum

InnoShop, Kecskeméti utca 8, 1053 Budapest www.innoshop.hu Indonesia Otoko, 52-53, Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav. 52-53, 12190 Jakarta www.otokostore.com Italy White Gallery, Piazza G. Marconi 15/22, 00144 Roma www.whitegallery.it Boysloft – APT 28, Via XX Settembre, 25122 Brescia www.boysloft-penelope.it

Luisaviaroma, Via Silvio Pellico 9, 5021 Firenze www.luisaviaroma.com Via Garibaldi 12, Via Garibaldi 12/1, 16124 Genova www.viagaribaldi12.com Cumini, Via San Daniele 1, 33013 Gemona del Friuli www.cumini.it 10 Corso Como, Corso Como 10, 20154 Milano www.10corsocomo.com Excelsior, Via Del Corso 4, 20100 Milano www.excelsiormilano.com Frip, Corso di Porta Ticinese 16, 20123 Milano www.frip.it Pigr, Via Clusone 6, 20135 Milano www.pigr.it Spazio Rossana Orlandi, Via Matteo Bandello 14/16, 20123 Milano www.rossanaorlandi.com

TAD, Via Statuto 12, 20121 Milano www.taditaly.com WokStore, Viale Col di Lana 5/a, 20136 Milano www.wok-store.com Japan Opening Ceremony, 6-7-1-B Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001 www.openingceremony.us Restir, 4-2-2 Ginza-Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061 www.restir.com Saturdays Surf, 1-5-2 Aobadai, Meguro-Ku, Tokyo 153-0042 www.saturdaysnyc.com Sophnet, Chuo St., Heiwa Odori, Hiroshima www.soph.net Indulgi, 53-1, Nakagyo-Ku Sanjo St., Kyoto www.indulgi.com

Mexico Common People, Emilio Castelar 149, Col. Polanco, CP11560 México DF www.commonpeople.com.mx

New Zealand House of Hedone, 5b High St CBD Auckland www.houseofhedone.co.nz

Netherlands Nukuhiva, Haarlemmerstraat 36, 1013 ES Amsterdam www.nukuhiva.nl

Portugal Miyuki, Rua das Parreiras 27, 3000-326 Coimbra www.miyuki.pt

Predict Five, Singel 459, 1012 WP Amsterdam www.precinct-five.com

Wrong Weather, Avenida da Boavista 754, 4100-111 Porto www.wrongweather.net

Sprmrkt, Rozengracht 191/193, 1016 LZ Amsterdam www.sprmrkt.nl

Romania Intro, Strada Roma 43bis, 011773 Bucharest www.introdesign.ro

Puurr, Prinsestraat 4°, 2513 CD Den Haag www.puurr.wordpress.com Gorilli, Oppert 296-298, 3011 HV Rotterdam www.gorilli.com Groos. Rotterdam, Schiekade 203, 3013 BR Rotterdam www.groos.nl

Raionul4, Strada Nicolae Golescu 14-16, 010294 Bucharest www.raionul4.ro Russia Podium, Kuznetskiy Most 14, 107031 Moscow www.podium.ru Serbia Supermarket, Visnjiceva 10, 11000 Belgrade - www.supermarket.rs

Spain Sluiz, Ctra. Ibiza, St. Miquel km4, Santa Gertrudis, Ibiza www.sluiz-ibiza.com Isolée, Barrio de Salamanca, Claudio Coello 55, 28001 Madrid www.isolee.com Do Design, Calle Fernando VI 13, 28004 Madrid www.dodesign.es Sweden Carlson Ahnell, Mellangatan 44, 23930 Skanör www.carlsonahnell.com Switzerland Sevensisters, Spalenberg 38, 4051 Basel www.sevensisters.ch Chic Cham, route de Prilly 2, 1004 Lausanne www.chiccham.com N°2, Brotgasse 3, 8008 Zurich www.numbertwo.ch

DeeCee Style, Talacker 21, 8001 Zurich www.deeceestyle.ch

Milk Concept Boutique, 118 1/2 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JN www.milkconceptboutique.co.uk

‎Reed Space, 151 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002 www.thereedspace.com

Making Things, Geroldstrasse 23, 4051 Zurich www.makingthings.ch

Cow & Co., 15 Cleveland Square, Liverpool L1 5BE www.cowandco.co.uk

Saturdays Surf NYC Soho, 31 Crosby Street, New York, NY 10013 www.saturdaysnyc.com

Thema Selection, Spiegelgasse 16, 8001 Zurich www.themaselection.ch

United States CB2, 451 Broadway, New York, NY 10013 www.cb2.com

Louis Boston, 60 Northern Ave, Boston, MA 02210 www.louisboston.com

Townhouse, Weite Gasse 4, 8001 Zurich www.ilovetownhouse.com Thailand Qconceptstore, Unit 343-348, 3rd Floor 991 Rama 1 Road Pathumwam, 10330 Bangkok www.qconceptstore.com United Kingdom Darkroom, 52 Lamb’s Conduit Street, London WC1N 3LL www.darkroomlondon.com Dover Street Market, 17/18 Dover Street, London W1S 4LT www.doverstreetmarket.com

C’H’C’M’, 2 Bond Street, New York, NY 10012 www.chcmshop.com D’apostrophe, 394 Broadway – New York, NY 10013 www.dapostrophe.net Extra, 10 Extra Place, New York, NY 10003 www.extra-nyc.com

Design Within Reach, 711 Canal St., 3rd floor, Stamford, CT 06902 www.dwr.com Khaki & Black, 762 Boston Post Road, Madison, CT 06443 www.khakiandblack.com Vietnam Blackmarket, 267/2 Điện Biên Phủ, Ward 7, Hồ Chí Minh ‎City www.theblackmarket.sg

Grand Opening, 139 Norfolk Street, New York, NY 10002 www.grandopening.org

The Botanical Sculptor 96

apan born ese bota his d in 1976 nical scu in e work but in a the pr lptor an d e e and d as a rock ba fecture contem o n tr o p was rnamen ader in d and w f Fukuo orary fl owe ka. H Ota tal p repla h e n r Mar for a lants ket, not eng e move artist A n ar ced by in Ja zu d ag o h tis the ‘ Jard tic end is growin pan. So ne of th ed in b to Toky ma Ma e big koto o to eavo shop and ins d on h g lo m a g v u was e and ping dis s Fleur r in flow e for flo is desire est ma ctivities ake rk s tr , fl w ‘Gar ower in ict and ’ boutiq er arran ers. Le to beco ets for he g fl u s m to a d dest en of Flo tallation day his e locate ement, ving be e a roc owers hind in 20 k sta inatio d in reno wers s are T his 01 r ex w n for o ’ the c blossom hibited ned ‘ha kyo’s up he ope band Com ned world scale ute c ity’s ed in binin chic o w t crea g his bota o a pere ide. Az uture’ p Ginza t uma nop lant nnia to in ion, Azu knowle h l il c c m es. d ult fl ’s in bo rease th a ende ge of h o r ic is a ultur e Insp tany and existen vors to tory wit al ir h e cultu ed by th to conv tial value xperime contem e e tra r n p of p r new e, he is ditio t them lants t in orde orary in c n way s of onstant of bon to artis and flo r w tic s view ly ing t on the ais in Ja expre ers s he c p usto quest to anese sions. mar y pla explore nt.

His suspended, frozen or submerged bonsais seem to float in space, shirking the need of a root system, bringing a new calm to the thousand year old tradition. About his ‘Armored Pine’, delicately enveloped in mesh plates, he said: “The pine with its complicated and subtle structure, beauty, and life force, has the power to overtake anyone who observes it. By covering a pine in man-made material of punched steel, the strength of the pine is expressed not by the predefined rules of presenting beauty but directly. The strength of the pine that emerges from the thousands of holes in the punched steel becomes a mirror reflecting the heart of the viewer. ‘Armored Pine’ is a transformation of the pine into a new form, a new life.” As a Japanese artist working with flora, the question of whether traditional Japanese flower art, Ikebana, has a stylistic influence on his art was inevitable. “No, there is no particular style - Azuma says - Ikebana is about form. If I had a style, that would be to destroy the form.” Actually, transformation and decay of the form have a key role in Azuma’s work. In his series

‘Bottle Flower’ he creates bold yet somewhat disturbing pieces comprised of flowers stuffed into glass bottles and then filled with water. The flowers, which are shockingly beautiful but also clearly dead, invoke images of laboratory experiments in which body parts are preserved in some sort of embalming fluid. “I create artwork by depriving plants of its life”. It’s not a commonly discussed topic, especially amongst floral designers who make their living by often ending the life of plants in order to make a pretty display. But Azuma, whether he is creating an installation of flowers or removing an age-old bonsai from its soil and hanging it in mid-air, approaches the subject matter head on. Working with flowers means, after all, dealing with something ephemeral. Azuma’s new-baroque ‘memento mori’ talk about the extreme fragility of art, remembering us that decay and death are both an essential part of its beauty, the other side of life. Azuma has exhibited both nationally and internationally and his botanical sculptures - works in progress - are continually evolving. His exhibitions include a show at Colette and a performance for Les Soirees Nomades at Fondation Cartier in Paris,

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a solo show at NRW Forum in Germany, and more. Recently, he created the window display at Maison Hermès in Tokyo ‘Jardin du Temps’ (Garden of Time) and the botanical sculptures at the Alameda Central Park in downtown Mexico City in 2013. Azuma also established his own private gallery AMPG and kept it blossoming for two years. His reason for doing so was simple: there were no gallery spaces that would accept plant art, given the obvious problems involved in using living plants and flowers and he wanted to actively demonstrate that there was a way for galleries to handle living artworks. In order to visually explore his floral arrangements he also collaborated with botanical photographer Shunsuke Shiinoki to publish “Encyclopedia of Flowers” (released in English by Lars Müller), an extraordinary book featuring more than 2000 flower species. When asked what plans he had for the future he replied: “As I manage a flower shop, I can’t be away for a long time. An eternal theme for me is to keep being a florist, I want to work with flowers until I die. Unless I keep hold on to such a desire, it’s impossible to create flower art.”

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azumamakoto.com

que

rench oak barrels give up their subtle flavors to age wines. But once the wine is bottled and the barrels are swapped out, after an average of just three harvests and approximately every five years, they are simply discarded or destroyed. Thanks to a brilliant and enterprising initiative launched in Italy by the San Patrignano Community - Europe’s largest residential treatment center for young men and women recovering from drug addiction and social exclusion - these casks are reclaimed and given new forms and new life. The project, which has been sustained by Maurizio and Davide Riva along with the support of associations like Federvini, FederlegnoArredo and Cosmit, is about new beginnings - both for the wood reclaimed from 230 liters casks as well as for the 1300-strong community of people who live at the center who have been given a second chance at life. They reached out to thirty well-known designers and architects - including Marc Sadler, Karim Rashid, Angela Missoni, and Alessandro Mendini - challenging each of them to design a piece of furniture using wood reclaimed from wine barrels. Then, the residents of San Patrignano crafted the pieces of furniture out of old barrels, effectively demonstrating how design innovation can be used to achieve social change.

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The San Patrignano Community has been in operation for over 30 years and in that time has succeeded in developing a significant wine industry with an annual output of 600,000 bottles of top quality wine. The Community has also built up a woodwork workshop which over the years has taught both industrial and artisanal woodwork, aiming to sustain a trade which was at risk of becoming extinct. The furniture crafted in this project was displayed to critical acclaim at the Salone del Mobile in 2012 and was on display at the Carlos Museum in Atlanta, USA this fall as part of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ MODA ‘Year of Italian Culture’.

BOTTA, seat and bookcase by Mario Botta

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barrique.sanpatrignano.org/en

DOC, chaise lounge by Marc Sadler

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ETTA, chair by Francesco & Matteo Origoni

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PARAVENTO PLIE’, screen by Matteo Thun

POLTRONA LOUNGE by Antonio Citterio

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TINO CAVALLINO by Giuseppe Leida

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IN NO VA TION 115

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veryone can innovate. Generally related to renewing, changing or creating more effective processes, products or ways of doing things, successful innovation should be an in-built part of your business strategy and the strategic vision, where you create an environment and lead in innovative thinking and creative problem solving. For businesses, this could mean implementing new ideas, creating dynamic products or improving your existing services. Innovation can be a catalyst for the growth and success of your business, and help you adapt and grow in the marketplace. But what does “innovation” really mean? In large companies, innovation is often allocated time and budgets for specialist projects such as new product development or implementing extensive research & development strategies. For small and medium

[

ˌinəˈvā

sized businesses (SMEs), it's not always possible to divert resources to full-time R&D. However, that doesn't mean that a smaller company can't innovate. As an SME, you have an advantage already - smaller businesses can often be more flexible than larger firms and can act quickly to embrace new ideas. An innovation can be big or small. Brand-new or just a bit different, it doesn't matter. An innovation can be clearly complex or seemingly simple. Being innovative does not mean inventing; innovation can mean changing your business model and adapting to changes in your environment to deliver better products or services. Innovations are often thought of in terms of technical achievement, but can also be a design. The type, industry and style of innovation are irrelevant; an innovation's impact determines its qualification. 117

āSHən/ Will your business be offering the same products or services to the same customers?

Will your turnover and margins be the same?

]

In many cases, embracing innovation could lead to increased turnover, more effective competitiveness and possibly a growth in profits. Innovation doesn't have to be a ground-breaking, world-changing invention (although of course it's great when this happens). And it doesn't have to be restricted to scientific or technology-based companies. Innovation covers every aspect of your business - you can be innovative with your products, your services or your business processes. To keep it simple, innovation in your business means doing something new, different, smarter or better that will make a positive difference. If you allow innovation into your business, you could see huge positive impacts. How to start thinking innovatively? Take a good look at your business and its current health, prospects and plans. Now imagine your business 5, 8 or 10 years in the future and ask yourself a few questions such as:

As well as focusing on the markets you are currently in, what are the markets you could be in?

What really lies ahead for the business?

Do you like what you see?

If you have imagined your business performing better, for example, by offering different products and services to different customers, do you know where are these going to come from? 118

If you have imagined your business less performing than today, you need to put plans in place to avoid this. It's all “Imagineering” and “futurising” of course, but you need to plan ahead for your business. Today's economic climate is challenging, and needs careful day to day navigation through untested waters, but this doesn't have to stop you looking ahead. Thinking creatively and acting upon your ideas could help lift your business above the competitors’. And don't worry, you are not on your own. Your employees may have valid opinions on which directions your future business could take as well as a knowledge of the barriers that may prevent you moving forward. You can tap into this knowledge. It's a good idea to talk to your customers and suppliers too, and also other companies in your industry. Much more will emerge from your “talking about the future” sessions, but

the ideas that spring from these sessions will flow thick and fast. The presence of a genius can help – it may speed up the end result by having a person who can see and make the future happen. However, innovation is more than the work of any one “Einstein.” It involves the taking of the work of an individual (or team) of inventors and taking it to a broader audience. The future of many businesses depends upon their ability to innovate. Competition is fierce. Knowledge spreads quickly. The ability of a company to not only keep up with its current business practices, but to exceed its own – and its competition's – expectations are critical to survival.

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Business ideas

If your business is languishing and customers aren’t knocking at your door, the solution is to go out and look for them. This is the key that unites these five business ideas created around a theme of mobility.

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BOTABOTA

SPA SUR L'EAU

The Floating Spa In Montreal

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Anchored at the Quays of the Old Port of Montreal since 2010 Bota Bota, spa-sur-l’eau offers passengers the healing benefits of a spa coupled with the natural lulling movements of the St. Lawrence River. Once a ferryboat, Bota Bota is comprised of five decks on which you will find the various spa installations: two saunas with views of the river and the Old Port, a eucalyptus steam bath, outdoor whirlpool baths, cold showers and baths, relaxation areas, restaurant, terraces and a garden.

botabota.ca

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Velopresso The Espresso Bar On Wheels

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Velopresso is an innovative coffee-vending trike for true off-grid selling of quality espresso on city streets, at trade fairs, events and in parks, etc. Designed from the ground up around a custom rear-steer tricycle, a unique pedal-driven grinder, and a robust gas-fired lever espresso machine, Velopresso is a celebratory fusion of human power, sensory pleasures and technology – old tech with hi-tech, bicycles and coffee, their engineering and aesthetics. The result is a unique hybrid machine with a compact footprint and nearsilent, low carbon operation – fine coffee, no electricity, no motors, no noise!

velopresso.cc

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the pizza truck

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Del Popolo is a mobile pizzeria committed to creating rustic Neapolitan-inspired pizza. Designed to bring pizza to the people all around the San Francisco area, rather than drawing them to a fixed location, Del Popolo is housed in a twenty-foot transatlantic shipping container that’s been re-purposed and modified into a kitchen. A wall of glass doors exposes the interior, including the traditional Italian-made wood-fired oven. The pizza is prepared using an on-board dough mixer and a combination of organic ingredients sourced from small, domestic and Italian producers. delpopolosf.com

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pit in

The Bike Pit-Stop

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PIT IN, by Japanese Store Muu design studio, is a table that uses your bicycle’s saddle as a chair. When cycling you can stop at one of these table-like slots. Here the front wheel gets locked and you can have an instant table to rest or snack on. Sitting on the saddle of your bicycle you can take a coffee break or check e-mails by lap-top, and you don’t have to worry about parking or someone stealing your bike. The perfect idea to meet street-food and the growing urban bike culture, PIT IN can make the difference when you have to choose where to stop for a break. storemuu.com

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LESEN LOUNGE

The Mobile Library

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The creation of an independent publishing lover, Leah Buckareff, “the lesen lounge” is a mobile zine reading lounge in Berlin, Germany. Leah’s lounge opens up in parks on the weekends and offers the possibility to explore the world of zines, independently produced, most often self or hand-made publications that usually house the creators’ personal thoughts, ideas, or artwork both in text and images. Since its aim is simply to bring exposure to zines to the public, at lesen lounge nothing is for sale; but wouldn’t you pay someone to deliver a good book to you on a sunny day at the park?

thelesenlounge.com

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S & S E K I B

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Created by French designers Thierry Boltz and Claude Saos of BSG bikes and born from their common passion for cycling the WOOD.b was conceived as a high-quality urban bike. The concept incorporates the use of a unique frame system which is realised in ash plywood. This forms the architectural structure to which high quality steel stays and fork are added. These are compatible with standard bicycle components allowing for a complete customization of the bike as well as easy at-home repair or maintenance by your local bicycle shop. The harmony of wood and steel makes the WOOD.b solid, comfortable and dynamic. BSG also offers an on-line configuration page to help you to customise your bike’s colors. Set-up as a fixed gear, the WOOD.b also incorporates wooden handle bars and splash guards for added style and presence. It is handmade and assembled in France, internationally patented and only available on request.

bsgbikes.com

THE SANDWICHBIKE

Would you ever have imagined that two wooden panels could deliver one of the funkiest rides there is? Dutch designer Basten Leijh did, and dubbed it the Sandwichbike, an original design inspired by the concept of flat packing and home assembly. To enable you to build it yourself, Basten had to rethink every aspect of the classic velocipede. Bonded together by ‘smart cylinders’, two weather-coated frames of layered plywood become a rock-solid piece of technology that is both durable and extremely attractive. The Sandwichbike fits in a small, flat package, so it can be sent to you by mail. Everything you need is in the box including the tools so you can start assembling right away. There are less than 50 parts in total. If you can make a sandwich, you can surely build a Sandwichbike.

sandwichbikes.com

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STAIR ROVER

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Created by London-based product designer Po-Chih Lai, Stair-Rover is a longboard unlike any other. It’s designed from the ground up to surf the entire city. The unique eight-wheeled mechanism makes the board equally at home cruising smooth pavements or gliding down steps. From the curb outside your house to a double flight of stairs, the Stair-Rover scuttles over obstacles with ease. On flat ground, Stair-Rover is the equal of any traditional longboard. But when the surface gets rough – cobblestones or uneven paving, for example – the chassis goes to work. It reduces impact and keeps you moving. It’s that same mechanism that gives the Stair-Rover its name. Reach the top of a flight of stairs and simply keep going – let gravity and the V-frame design do the rest. The wheels bounce up and down independently and conform to the shape of each step. It’s a balancing act that gives the board its crab-like scuttle and gives you a buttersmooth ride to the bottom.

stair-rover.com

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SNAP 148

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Billed as the world’s first folding longboard, SNAP folds into three segments so that you can easily transport it when not in use. Given that longboards have wheels and roll you where you need to go, we’re not sure that they needed to get more portable. But, we suppose that the standard wheeled board can’t take you everywhere, and sometimes you need to slide it in a bag or to fit it in a locker, so the smaller, the better. The deck has 8 plies of Canadian maple and is fastened with tough proprietary hinges that enable SNAP to fold up while also operating as its suspension system. SNAP Longboard is cutting edge and really embodies a novel technology that’s fun and practical to use.

snapskateboard.eu

DESCENDER

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This all-terrain board is outfitted with heavy rollers on tough-as-nails treads that grip just about any downhill surface you choose to attempt: pavement, grass, wooded paths, snowy hills, and more. You’ll be giving up some smooth-surface agility in order to gain all-terrain abilities, but no more need to wait for a sunny day or a smooth sidewalk. The tracks tilt forward and backward for stable sidewalk-to-street transfer or a unique-looking wheelie.

rockboard.com

BIKE & SKATE FURNITURE All over Europe, cycling is an activity that has become more and more popular over the last decades, both with people and local governments. No doubt, the bike is the most ecological means of transportation, but it is much more than that. In fact, it has become a fashion accessory, a status symbol that says a lot about its owner. Several models are now available for the bike-addict, including custom-made bikes. It is natural that owners do not want to leave their bikes unattended – they could find only part of it! –

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and due to a lack of space, the fear of theft, and simply for the love of their bikes, more people than ever are taking their bikes with them into their home or office. But neither can they leave it against a wall or take it to bed with them – what about jealous partners? So what’s the solution? Here it is! The following is a selection of fashionable and efficacious bike stands & sakate racks stands. Give a look and you’ll find the one that is just right for you.

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SHOES, BOOKS AND A BIKE Like a trophy in a glass jar, the bicycle represents sporting activity, balance and health. Designed by Thomas Walde for Postfossil, The Shoes, Books and a Bike stand puts the wonder machine on a platform, frames the bicycle and gives it a deserved place of honor

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in the apartment. The stand itself is constructed of the simplest of materials such as pine, screws and coconut fiber, thus also making it affordable for the tight budget.

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MIKILI MIKILI products are not just plain wall mounts, but rather meet the exacting quality standards of urban cyclist, away from the mainstream and the garage. The use of high-quality materials, production workshops in Berlin, and attention to detail form the core of the young Berlin-based design label. Even when your bike is not hanging on

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the wall, the furniture makes a clear design statement in your room. Established in early 2012 by Sebastian Backhaus and Leo Brötzmann, MIKILI is a team of avid cyclists, designers and collectors that develops high-quality bike mounts, and furniture that meet high standards of design, functionality, and individuality alike.

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QUARTERRE London based design studio Quarterre unites interior design with the cycling world and combines stylish form with function. Their sculptural bike stands support everyday life on two wheels and address the challenges of owning and living with a bike in an urban environment.

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Part of their Furniture For Bikes range, the Branchline stand is designed to adapt alongside the owner’s lifestyle: two sets of adjustable arms can accommodate a variety of bike frames, while the stand can be leant against any wall or inverted to clear floor area in smaller spaces.

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MILESTONE From Japanese design project MILE, composed by Bandai Matsuo, Kentaro Kai and Kozo Shimoyama, this product transcends categorization of any kind neither as sculpture or an object of nature.

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Connecting the indoors and outdoors, it serves as a buffer to blend your bicycle inside your room. Practical and sturdy, Milestone comprises two simple parts: one sits firmly on the floor, welcoming the placement of your

front wheel within its carved out channels, the other provides a grooved platform to stabilize the back tire. When not in use, the two stacked together make the minimalistic bike stand look like an inconspicuous cube.

photo © Takumi Ota

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BIVI SYSTEM If you like cycling or skating to work, you’ll discover that the place where to leave your bike or board is not just a home problem: even in eco-friendly countries, most offices lack places to store them. The American Turnstone,

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manufacturer of modular furniture for office, addresses young dynamic companies in search of a product different from the usual, where work and personal passions can collide. The Bivi system provides various solutions,

and if your passion is on-wheels mobility even the possibility to integrate a bike hook or board racks in the office furnishing: simple, practical and very cool.

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I B A S I D

Y T I IL

The world around us is not conceived for people with any kind of disability, and constantly challenges them in everyday life. For many mobility-impaired people, for example, going to work or to meet friends, cultivate their own interests or simply move around at home or at the supermarket is unfortunately not easy. Above all, it is not easy to do so by their own, when they want and without having to depend on anybody else. The examples we have selected represent 5 attempts to address the problem, with different approaches and confronting different issues and contexts. They have in common the desire to improve impaired people’s independence - a key condition to interact on a par in the world - supporting their legitimate aspiration to a full and active life.

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KENGURU Claimed by the producer to be the first drivefrom-wheelchair electric car, the Kenguru has only a single door to the rear of the vehicle for easy and quick wheelchair access. From the beginning to the end of the journey, you stay in your own wheelchair. You simply

kenguru.com

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open and close the remotely controlled rear door and then roll in via the ramp. The size of the Kenguru will allow you to park very conveniently in almost any spot. You can even park it at a right angle to the sidewalk so that you will benefit from getting directly to and

from the sidewalk from the Kenguru ramp. Originally developed in Hungary, Kengaru is now produced in the USA and set for a US launch in the next mounts. Distribution in a number of European countries should follow.

EKSO BIONICS SUIT Ekso Bionics, a pioneer in the field of robotic exoskeletons, has developed Ekso, a wearable bionic suit which enables individuals with any amount of lower extremity weakness to stand up and walk over ground with a natural, full weight bearing, reciprocal gait. Walking

is achieved by the user’s weight shifts to activate sensors in the device which initiate steps. Battery-powered motors drive the legs, replacing deficient neuromuscular function. While the commercial version of the Ekso has recently been made available to hospitals and

rehabilitation centers, the company hopes to make the technology more accessible so that people can use it at home and in their everyday lives, with a personal version releasing in 2014.

eksobionics.com

CHIBA ROBOTIC WHEELCHAIR For people on a wheelchair, even seemingly trivial obstacles like a curb or even a door sill can be as insurmountable as a brick wall. Into order to solve the problem, a team of engineers from the Chiba Institute of Technology in Tokyo is working on a revolutionary concept prototype for a robotic wheelchair. It actually

looks quite like a typical wheelchair that rolls along on four wheels, but when it reaches a step, a suite of sensors assesses the obstacle, adjusts the chair accordingly and maneuvers its wheels like legs to get over the hurdle. As far as the passenger is concerned, none of this requires any attention. The chair has a

www.it-chiba.ac.jp

Check out the video!

joystick for steering, and all the passenger has to do is tell it where to go. The study, supported by the Program for Promoting Fundamental Transport Technology Research from the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT), is led by associate professor Shuro Nakajima.

DIY WHEELCHAIRS In developing countries of the third word, wheelchairs’ cost is often something people can’t afford. This problem led Catalan designers Josep Mora and Clara Romaní to work with local hospitals in Rwanda to build wheelchairs made assembling standard

cargocollective.com/clararomani

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wheelchair-wheels and locally available plastic or wooden chairs. Thanks to workshops settled in Kigali and Gatagara, this designer duo gave injured people the freedom to move around by themselves. Patients and staff of local hospitals have been engaged in the

building and fixing of recycled wheelchairs to make sure the users knew how to repair the product and to carry on the work once the designers returned to their country.

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HONDA STRIDE As a company that values mobility, Honda began research into a walking device in 1999. The cumulative study of human walking, along with research and development of technologies conducted for Honda’s advanced humanoid robot, ASIMO, made possible the development of this walking assist device conceived for those with weakened leg muscles due to age or other causes, yet who are still able to walk.

When walking is a struggle, you need a leg up. And that’s literally what Honda’s prototype Stride Management Assist device is designed to provide. A motor helps lift each leg at the thigh as it moves forward and backward. This helps lengthen the user’s stride, making it easier to cover longer distances at a greater speed. A lightweight, simple design with a belt worn around the hips and thighs was created to

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reduce the wearer’s load and to fit different body shapes. The company claims continued use of the Stride Management Assist also increases overall muscle activity due to lengthening of the walking stride and, over time, the wearer’s natural stride and speed increases. Tests have even shown that the Stride Management Assist can, to some degree, provide maintenance and restoration of walking function in some people.

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Lantern

MATHIAS HAHN London based Product Designer Mathias Hahn has a natural tendency to design focusing on use and functionality. Describing his process, he further refers to an intuitive approach that introduces experimental curiosity to his way of working. In this sense, Hahn’s work is a combination of playfulness as well as functional reduction towards utility. Attracted by the material integrity and longevity of everyday objects - in opposition to fast, ephemeral product consumption - his work explores traditional technologies and materials, while introducing basic mechanical principles and applications. Transforming these into simple but useful objects, he takes a twisted angle at familiar object categories in order to find new fields of application. In 2012, his light JINN was awarded the red dot.

mathiashahn.com

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Jinn

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SUZUSAN LUMINAIRES suzusan-shibori.com

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Suzusan Luminaires is a collection of lamps created from the handmade and refined fabrics produced by the Murase family using the Shibori technique - a Japanese textile finishing technique almost unknown in the Western world. The Suzusan label has its roots in Arimatsu, Japan, where the family has cultivated their knowledge of hand-made fabrics for more than 100 years. The traditionally manufactured materials were meant to become typical Japanese clothing but Hiroyuki Murase, the eldest son, was able to transfer their cultural meaning into a modern European context, thus developing the basis for the product lines.

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POLABOY Who hasn’t experienced the unique feeling of holding a Polaroid in their hand and watching the image gradually reveal itself, or doesn’t remember the shiny photographic paper, the smell of the developing emulsion and the 90 seconds of anticipation waiting for the instant image to emerge? Product designer and master craftsman Jirko Bannas and creative director and photo-book publisher Oliver Seltmann spent two years working intensely to recreate that fascination. Polaboy is the result of their idea. Combining cutting edge LED technology and consistent product design, the light frame lets you capture personal moments that have passed irrevocably, immortalizing the ephemeral in timeless design.

polaboy.de

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THE POETS nieuweheren.com

Stemming from the idea of taking the time out to read your children a bedtime story, the Poets is a series of folding chairs designed by Dutch designers Erik De Nijs and Tim Smit who teamed up to form Nieuwe Heren. When you’re done reading you can just store the foldable chair against the wall, and you’ll have some extra light. W. Blake is the green chair with the light on the right side, just like the right handed poet William Blake. The white chair is called J.W. Goethe with the light on the left side, just like the left handed poet.

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DAVIDE GROPPI Davide Groppi is an Italian brand whose products, often hard to be reduced to the traditional idea of a lamp, come from the desire to give light a form. “Voyage is the metaphor for our way of working. A voyage inside the etherealness of light. A voyage which began twenty years ago and has taken us to wonderful places. Our lamps are simple, light, unique, pure, essential. Sometimes magical. From the light bulb to the quest for a light without source, just to be wrapped in welcoming light. Lamps designed to give depth to the space we live in, or simply to create light. Always in search of the boundary between light and dark. We like to think of our lamps as an alphabet with which we write stories. Stories made of journeys, encounters, emotions”.

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Nulla

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AGING 198

The Bottle That Becomes A Decanter 199

DECANTA 68.2 by Cantine Ceci

Lambrusco.it

It’s called Decanta 68.2 and was designed and created by Bruni Glass for Italian wine producer Cantine Ceci. A revolutionary bottle which is transformed into a decanter with a simple gesture when tilted at 68,2˚ thus enabling an excellent oxygenation of the Rosso Ceci, a still red, blended from Cabernet and Lambrusco grapes. The label has been placed on the flat side of the bottle, disappearing completely when the bottle is tilted so the sinuous line of its design is in no way compromised.

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The Egg Nest

HAPPY EGGS: by Maja Szczypek

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Maja Szczypek, a product and communication design student from Warsaw, Poland designed Happy Eggs, a structural packaging concept for housing organic eggs which focuses on using sustainable materials and production methods targeted at environmentally conscious customers with an eye for quality. The container is made of compressed hay, a widely available, low cost material using a heat-pressing process to create the form. Complete with colourful and informative tags, it not only resembles a chicken’s nest - the egg’s natural habitat - but also has a completely natural smell.

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EARBUDEEZ by JDA

jdainc.com

The leading global supplier of mobile and consumer electronics products Audiovox found that customers choose their ‘earbuds’ like a fashion accessory and packaging is key to their selection. So when it came to designing packaging for them, JDA Inc. Retail Ready Design added some ‘personalities’ to the mix and developed the earBudeez series cases each with its own unique look. Earbuds placed as eyes in different positions convey different attitudes and emotions, while the packaging does the rest of the work. These fun, eye-catching packages appeal to customers of all ages who want to express themselves with a unique product.

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The Vintage Toy 205

TURBO FLYER

by Tait Design Company

taitdesignco.com

The Michigan based Tait Design Company launched Turbo Flyer, a fun, easy-to-build, collectable classic airplane model handmade from balsa and screen printed in four colors. It’s the first of limited-run handmade art & collectibles of Matthew Tait, a multidisciplined designer and artist. “My mission is simple: I want to make awesome stuff and share it with my friends. I’m currently operating out of my home in Ferndale, MI where I do all of the printing and assembly by hand. The packaging is very unique with a satisfying velcro-snap, it opens up to reveal the plane parts that are encased in the cardboard packaging.” Turbo Flyers are capable of soaring up to 50 feet – but the packaging is so wonderful you’ll probably never want to take it out.

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The Funny Cereals box

BEEHIVE HONEY SQUARES by Lucy Kuhn lackykuhn.com

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Beehive honey squares packaging project takes as its starting point a newly conceived experiment by the National Cereal Corporation. The marketing strategy is based on the celebration of breakfast cereal’s allAmerican roots, each flavor to be named after a state’s nickname; the pilot being Utah, which is known as “The Beehive State”. The packaging seeks to stand out from the visual cacophony of the competition, a blatant contrast to the standard cereal box approach. Graphic designer Lacy Kuhn recently graduated from Western Washington University, and this project was completed as part of her course studies.

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00.00

SO SMART TO WORTH YOUR TIME ? A SMARTWATCH TIMELINE

BY STEFANO RATTO A Genoese blogger in the eternal pursuit of a compromise between his passion for a free and savage world and a technological one. His idea of heaven would be to find himself working on a tablet while sitting on a cliff surrounded by the wind and the sea

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In the beginning there was chaos. But then, as often is the case, at least in the field of technology, the nebulae generated by ideas result in the birth of celestial bodies of a denser substance. As much as they may appear to us as objects that look towards the future, the smartwatches we’re going to be talking about already have several decades of troubled development, repeated starts and long stops behind them. Created when the personal computer boasted just 64kb of memory (even the most profane among us will realise how little that is), they were capable of offering their initial, cautious users only a handful of functions, which were often useless. Their conception in itself was a far cry from what it would become today, both in conceptual terms and in terms of use, positioning themselves as bulky, impractical gadgets which could store small amounts of data and nothing much else. But, let’s proceed in order.

YESTERDAY

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PULSAR P1 The world’s first all-electronic digital watch was also the first to use a LED (light emitting diode) digital display. To display the time one pressed a button. It initially sold for $2100 ($11,900 in 2013 dollars).

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SEIKO QUARTZ 05LC Using the world’s first six-digit LCD (liquidcrystal display), it was capable of continuously displaying the hours, minutes and seconds.

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PULSAR Calculator Featuring the first built-in calculator, its very small buttons required a stylus to input numbers.

1982

SEIKO PULSAR NL C01 The first “memory bank” watch, or rather a watch with userprogrammable memory, capable of storing up to 24-digit information.

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CASIO Databank CD-40 The beginning of the Databank series.

first sign was given by the Japanese brand Seiko, the brand we can define as the pioneer of this particular sector of technology. Back in 1972 it launched the Pulsar P1 onto the market, in collaboration with the renowned brand Hamilton, giving rise to a whole new category of products. The Pulsar was the first wristwatch to offer a display with LED technology which, even only in its graphics, gave us a taste of what the future would be like. Shortly after this and for many years to come, all “modern” watches would go on to use this technology. The real beginning of the history of the smartwatch can however be ostensibly dated to 1982, with the direct successor to the P1, the Pulsar NL C01. We know little about this first, modest attempt except that it was capable of storing a tiny bit of data in it, nevertheless enough to allow it to be credited with access to the category of memorybanks. When even the largest computers had the memory and power of any low-end smartphone today, a watch which could store short memories or a few telephone numbers was at any rate just short of miraculous.

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1984 SEIKO RC-1000 Wrist Terminal Conceived for computer connectivity, it was sold with an interface cable and software and was compatible with most of the popular PCs of that time.

1990

SEIKO Receptor The first watch working on the FMband to double as a pager. The service never took place, but for the first time smart watches were wirelessly connected to the wider world.

1994 TIMEX Data Link 150 The first watch capable of downloading information from a computer via an optical sensor on the watch’s face.

After a few more years, which passed in order to allow the technology to develop and become smaller, Seiko offered with its UC-2000 and UC-3000/UC-3100 models (but also in later models, production was quite diversified) an interesting variation on the theme of the interface. It opted for an external keyboard for entering data into the memory of the watch, which took advantage of a principle of electromagnetic impulses. It was essentially the first wireless technology to be implemented for such a use. The data entry system was not the only element to progressively undergo development. The displays in fact, have used various technologies, some which were more fortuitous and with better results than others. The most common one in the early years was the LED dot matrix, it was quite costly in terms of energy consumption, but would soon be replaced by the higher performing and cheaper LCDs (the so-called “liquid crystals”), destined to be for thirty years or so the uncontested dominators of the small screen sector. So we have covered the early 80s, during which the development of microtechnology underwent significant acceleration. In this period another large Japanese company was to make its debut – Casio. For years it was deservedly the leader of this technological sector, demonstrating that it was capable, together with and more than Seiko, of raising the bar of innovation beyond the imaginable. Its DataBank series revolutionised the approach to and the conception of the smartwatch,

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1999

SAMSUNG SPH-WP10 First to combine a smartphone and a watch in one. It weighed 50 grams with its battery, and could last for 90 minutes of talk time and 60 hours on standby. It was never a success, probably due to its high price and poor design.

2000 IBM-LINUX prototype Featuring 8MB of memory and running Linux 2.2, it was designed for Bluetooth connectivity with PCs, cell phones and other wireless-enabled devices. It had a touch panel and was capable of rendering photographic like images.

2001 IBM-CITIZEN WatchPad 1.5 prototype Another IBM prototype, this time in collaboration with Citizen. Like the LINUX prototype, it never appeared as a commercial product, but both served as important proofs-of-concept for the smartwatch category.

integrating unheard of (and in most cases unimaginable) solutions like microscopic keyboards, infrared data transmission systems and the micro-camera for taking pictures, as well as other important innovations. However, as much as technology was capable of making huge strides ahead, progressively increasing data storage capacities and data elaboration speeds with processors which became ever more powerful, the function of the watch seemed for years to be destined to remain just that – a watch. An important turning point didn’t occur until the beginning of the new millennium, when some big names, amongst which Microsoft and IBM, tried with alternating luck, to break into this difficult sector. Bill Gates, the founder of the colossal American company whose headquarters is in Redmond, put himself on the line, in order to launch in 2004 his MSN Watch, a wrist device which was tasked with dynamically supplying the user with a flow of useful information. The use of a rather obsolete technology (the medium wave transmission still used today for FM radio programmes) enabled the display of the watch to be updated with weather information or stock market trends and to (even) send the user private messages (the messages could not be replied to, it was a one-way system). Despite being destined for limited distribution and to yield to the advent of the internet, the system designed for the MSN Watch marked the creation of an idea that ten years down the line would go on to identify its decisive application and distribution.

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2002

FOSSIL Wrist PDA The first PDA watch, running a read-only version of the Palm OS, was at first considered revolutionary, but reviewers mainly complained about its bulky size and appearance.

2003

SAMSUNG GPRS prototype The first PDA watch, running a read-only version of the Palm OS, was at first considered revolutionary, but reviewers mainly complained about its bulky size and appearance.

2004 MSN Watch The first watches to use MSN Smart Personal Object Technology (SPOT) to update subscribers’ data were Suunto n3 and Fossil Abacus AU4000. The MSN Watch never quite caught on, and Microsoft shut down the service in 2008.

TODAY

AS OFTEN HAPPENS, TECHNOLOGY CAN MOVE IN UNEXPECTED DIRECTIONS. SOMETHING NEW WAS ABOUT TO INVADE THE MOBILE MARKET AND TIMES WERE BY THEN RIPE FOR WHAT WOULD PROVE TO BE THE REAL TURNING POINT IN THE SECTOR; SOON NOTHING WOULD EVER BE THE SAME. 214

2009

SAMSUNG S9110 Samsung’s second commercialized try at a phone/watch hybrid - it upped talk time to more than four hours. Yet it was still too expensive, at over $600 - a hard sell in the era of the $199 and $299 smartphone.

2010

SONY Live View A tiny OLED-based wrist-mounted display that linked to smartphones running Android via Bluetooth. Critics didn’t like it.

2010

APPLE iPod Nano Soon after the release of the diminutive, square-shaped sixthgeneration iPod Nano, many accessory makers created cases that allowed users to wear it like a wristwatch…

it is difficult to define an accurate timeline in the evolution of smartwatches, the real turning point can nevertheless be identified with certainty with the arrival of smartphones and with their continued growth both in terms of performance and calculation power. We have gradually witnessed the increase in size of smartphones themselves (later becoming phablets and tablets), which has made easy access to information difficult. At the same time, our dependence on having access to a flow of real time information, from push notifications to the messages that are constantly being sent to us, has grown. In this new context, smartwatches have established their role and taken on the precise function of helping us to manage this mass of data, which threatens to stifle us and invade our precious time. The discretion, ease and speed with which we can access that information using a smartwatch could really be the killer application in this sector, transforming the watch into an extremely personal “wrist’ assistant, which updates us and synchronises us with our entire digital universe, our clouds,

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2011 I’m Watch … and soon somebody got the suggestion: the I’m Watch has for some time been the best modern looking smartwatch available, not surprising considering it is Italian made.

2013 SONY SmartWatch Second attempt for Sony, but still a miss. Critics absolutely hated it.

our email accounts and our calendars and appointment diaries, enabling us to use the ubiquitous smartphone only when really necessary. This is the reason that smartwatches have recently attracted attention and recognition on the market, which, as we have seen, they didn’t enjoy in the past. In reality everything happened in a haphazard, disorganised way: the major innovations often came from small groups of engineers and designers, who, thanks to crowdfunding platforms, managed to independently produce smartwatches with exclusive and (often) revolutionary characteristics. In the meantime none of the big brands (apart from perhaps Sony) managed to jump on the revival bandwagon. The onus (and honour) lay on a shy, Canadian engineer called Eric Migicovsky, whose Pebble astounded the world of crowdfunding and positioned itself as the second best project, as far as volume of funding is concerned, in the history of Kickstarter: more than $10 million dollars in a few days and tens of thousands of units avidly booked by web users who had gone all feverish over the smartwatch issue. A technologically innovative display (a unique kind of LCD e-paper), long battery life, an ecosystem of dedicated applications and a extremely vast community contributed to the clamorous success of this (conceptually) simple wrist device weighing a mere 40g. Moreover, there was the alliance of the smartwatch with the powerful smartphone, whose job was to send Pebble all the information and notifications received in real time. A silent assistant (Pepple is equipped with vibration only), but a terribly reliable and fast one.

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2013 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> PEBBLE The Pebble immediately gained attention for its low-power e-ink display and seamless integration with both iPhone and Android smartphones via Bluetooth.

SONY SmartWatch2 Live View Finally a true contender given the current state of smartwatch technology: a good looking waterresistant Android watch that is meant as a second screen for any Android 4.0 phone.

Alongside the Pebble, however, we must also mention, among others, the “HOT Smartwatch” with its system of voice transmission using the palm of your hand, Martian with its “voice controlled” smartwatch and Agent Smartwatch with its intuitive charge and e-paper display. In reality, two years earlier, a small company in Silicon Valley had actually designed something very similar to Pebble, launching worldwide a small perfectly square shaped device called Wimm One (named after the company Wimm Labs). A highly ambitious and exceptionally well-designed project, so much so that it attracted the attention of Google who, having acquired the know-how of the small start-up, is about to release its own version of the smartwatch, currently object of intense speculation. In this whirling galaxy with new elements in the process of being added daily, many big global brands linked to the mobile world are also planning to release their own smartwatch. Samsung very recently launched its Galaxy Gear (actually its third attempt at a wrist phone), which enables users to have a conversation in total freedom and absolutely hands free. The Korean manufactured device has however been received only lukewarmly by sector operators (and the public); perhaps they find some aspects of it disappointing compared to the level of innovation promised. Galaxy Gear, as well-built as it is, does have limited compatibility with some highend smartphones made by the same manufacturer and it risks not taking off because of its relatively high price compared to the average of its competitors. In addi-

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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> SAMSUNG Gear Bulky, sluggish and unintuitive, Samsung’s Galaxy Gear hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype or the expectations it generated, a smartwatch that isn’t worth one’s time. An updated version is foreseeable in the next future.

QUALCOMM Toq A unique Mirasol display offers excellent outdoor readability, thanks to its reflective properties, while also delivering color output with far less power draw than an LCD or OLED equivalent.

TOMORROW

tion to this, the Korean giant seems to have missed the mark for two simple reasons: its idea of a smartwatch is too similar to a smartphone and too far from what a smartwatch should represent: limited battery life, bright display but one that deactivates during standby, difficulty in reading in direct sunlight and excessive size. The manufacturer who has interpreted this phenomenon perhaps better than anyone is Qualcomm, a global manufacturer of microprocessors and components for the mobile market. Its Toq introduces innovative Mirasol technology for the small displays of smartwatches, positioning itself as a halfway point between “traditional” e-ink (grey scale and slow to refresh, but with low energy consumption) and the more popular colour TFT. Mirasol is able to exploit ambient lighting in order to brighten its interface and it is actually clearer and more readable under direct sunlight: the result is a colour device with a long battery life which can be read under any lighting conditions, even in the middle of a sun drenched square in high summer, which makes it particularly suitable for outdoor use and in a sporting environment.

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2014>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> GOOGLE Nexus Gem According to rumors, Google is nearing completion of its Androidpowered smartwatch, and the device could be ready for full production “within months.” Like Glass, the Google smartwatch will reportedly center around Google Now, the company’s intelligent assistant featured on Android phones and tablets.

NOKIA Facet The company is currently working on a multi-segment wearable accessory, which essentially looks like a chain of interconnected touch screens on one wristband. Quite a new concept but, as far as we can see at the moment, not that appealing.

far as possible scenarios are concerned, in reality we can include a bit of everything. It cannot be denied though that it will be targeted innovations which will dictate the success or lack of success of smartwatches in the future, like those belonging to the wearable technology category, for example, the futuristic Google Glass: foldable or curved displays, new batteries capable of guaranteeing months of life, ever lighter and more wearable materials, and more. In addition, the systems on-board these hypothetical devices will be able to learn from their user, storing data on their habits and lifestyle, providing continuous (but discreet) support, full of useful (and very personalised) tips and recommendations. By monitoring our sleep patterns and biorhythms they can be useful in our daily lives and also from a medical or sporting perspective. They will provide us with directions in order to reach a destination, while telling us what is happening around us, supplying a flux of information which in turn comes from various kinds of social networks, digital communities and digital identities. In front of a shoe shop (which it knows that we will like) the smartwatch will tell us about any current special offers, recommend our favourite models to us, maybe giving us real time prices and availability.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> APPLE iWatch Apple is rumored to be working on a smartwatch for a long time, and many think now they will ready soon. Rumored features for the iWatch include a slap wrist design for the bracelet and a flexible OLED display among others, but most of all the consciousness that such a device needs to be “so incredible you want to wear it” to guarantee success.

EMOPULSE Smile The Smile is a revolutionary smartphone, entertainment and gaming hub, social network and news feed, personal assistant, digital watch, and a stunning piece of wrist bling all rolled into one futuristic device. Could it be real or just a futuristic concept? Showcasing the capabilities of its incredible (if indeed true) Artificial Intelligence algorithm, the Emopulse Smile could very well be the first truly ‘smart’ watch.

And in a city which we don’t know it could tell us about any ongoing events which might interest us or about restaurants which make the kind of dishes that we like. All you need to do is ask? Maybe even that won’t be necessary, because it might be that our smartwatch will be able to read our minds and understand our needs, right as they are forming.

DO YOU FEEL SLIGHTLY THREATENED BY THIS PROSPECT? DON’T WORRY, YOU CAN JUST TURN IT OFF AND PUT IT ON YOUR BEDSIDE TABLE, JUST LIKE YOU HAVE ALWAYS DONE WITH YOUR OLD WATCH. HAVE NO DOUBT THOUGH THAT THE DAY AFTER YOU’LL NEED IT AND ITS DISCREET, SILENT, REASSURING PRESENCE... 220

FASH

HION

RAD HOURANI 223

The collections designed by the Jordanian designer Rad Hourani elude the traditional concept of clothing, and rather, inspire to an architectural ideal. His workshop is a far cry form codes and traditions, and is a place where clothing becomes architecture, made up of symmetrical lines, which outline well-defined, chiselled shapes. A graphic style, which examines essence, favors the monochrome and the two-tone and chooses the total absence of decorativeness in order to attain an idea more absolute than decoration, accessories or dressing. And underlying it, an ever-present androgynous style runs as a common thread on an aesthetical level and, as a higher goal, on a level of ideals. The designer himself says: “All my pieces are unisex so you can wear it feminine, masculine, a guy can wear it, a girl can wear it, at any age, anytime, anywhere.“

radhourani.com

ICHIRO SUZUKI 229

A happy marriage between sartorial obsession and innovative design. Classic, traditional lines which have been thoroughly revisited, redefined and reinterpreted using color. Kaleidoscopic jackets with a three-dimensional effect, patchwork which has been subjected to a minimalist style, constant attention to English tailoring, shapes which develop and give life to totally original outfits, geometric inspiration and solutions w i t h

strong visual impacts. This is the style of the young Ichiro Suzuki, born in 1980, a student at the Royal College of Art and winner of many international competitions; he describes his work as a fusion of ideas apparently distant from fashion. “I have taken elements of structural engineering and geometric design and moulded them around living forms using traditional hand-crafted techniques of bespoke tailoring. A marriage of seeming incompatibilities.”

ichirosuzuki.co.uk

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Born by Chance

In 1993, two graphic designers, siblings Markus and Daniel Freitag, were looking for a functional, watertight bag to carry their personal necessities in, but couldn’t find a suitable one on the market. They found their solution whilst watching trucks rolling by on the highway near their Zurich apartment every day. Taking inspiration from the colorful tarps closing the sides of flatbed trucks, the brothers used their apartment as a makeshift studio and the DoIt-Yourself duo began to create one-of-a-kind messenger bags made of recycled waterproof tarpaulins. As the carry belt, they used secondhand car seat-belt webbings, while old bicycle inner tubes provided the edging. Their design was strictly functional, but the

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material also dictated the style to some degree. "It's quite stubborn," Markus says, explaining that some prototypes didn't turn out as the designers imagined because of the stiff material. Nevertheless, they saw potential in the tarp, in its industrial yet vintage look. Not afraid of trial and error, the brothers learnt on the job. “Friends began to ask about the prototype - a messenger bag called F13 Top Cat - and that’s how it all started. There was no business plan and no money. The biggest challenge was just to get the material and do the handiwork.” The genius of the idea was that the bags were utilitarian (and environmentally correct) yet individual at the same time. The brother’s

passion for recycled materials was evident before they started Freitag - when Markus was still in art school in Zurich, he would build bikes from scrap parts – but in their bags discarded materials got a new taste and meaning, reaching an elegance of style that only comes into its own over the passage of time. Talking about the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi, Daniel says: “I’m fascinated by products that need to acquire a certain patina before actually being considered finished. Japanese design manages to combine this philosophy with aesthetics that are none the less precise and exacting.” And, since 1998, when they traveled to Japan for the first time, Markus and Daniel

have had a passion for Japanese design. “I like the tongue-in-cheek quality Japanese design often has. It’s wonderful when you can afford to introduce a certain playfulness into an object”. This cultural awareness is not only mirrored in their products, but also in their lifestyle. While Markus lives in a 400-year-old house on a lake, Daniel currently practices “urban camping” as he jokingly calls it. He lives in an old carpenter’s workshop that is at least one-and-a-half centuries old. He offsets the rustic charm with pared-down furnishings designed in Japan.

From Japan they learned the importance of a style based on the high quality and the timelessness of the aesthetics. Perhaps what is most remarkable about Freitag is that it is the antithesis of fastfashion. Since their original messenger bag, they have developed and marketed around 50 new models, mostly unisex, in a range of styles, each bag designed to be "bike-able," but the first messenger bag designs, introduced 20 years ago, are still for sale. Some designs may be retired, but the introduction of new items operates completely outside of the fashion world's arbitrary seasons. The price tag is comparable to some haute couture handbags, but the design and durability will outlast them. Freitag has been growing every year from the moment the first tarps were washed in the founders’ bathtub, outgrowing the brothers’ apartment and moving to its own space: the new F-Factory called “NŒRD”, where all bags are washed, cut, stored, packaged and dispatched,

is now located in the north part of Zurich, in a district called Zurich-Oerlikon. Completely selfsufficient, built to the highest level of environmental standards possible the factory reveals the brothers’ compassion for the environment. Rainwater collects in a huge underground tank and the tarps are then washed in it. Meanwhile hot, used water goes into exchangers to heat the rainwater and the cycle begins again. The company opened flagship stores in Berlin, Cologne, Davos, Hamburg, New York, Vienna, Lausanne, Tokyo and Zurich. Perhaps more importantly, Freitag established an international presence online. The website allows online

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urbanites around the world to shop, create custom bags, learn more about the company, play branded games, and even apply for jobs. In addition to covering the history of the bag and its particular ecological, economic, and socio-cultural contexts, Freitag.com contains portraits of 3,000 Freitag bags and their owners, most of whom are members of a generation that is as vain as it is critical of consumerism - a generation for whom the Freitag bag is the ideal brand-name product. Today, Freitag ships its covetable, unique, made-entirely-by-hand bags around the world.

Check out the video!

freitag.ch

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NUMERICA

SERIE

Serienumerica is a research-based brand that focuses on leather accessories and knitwear. The designers, Maria De Ambrogio and Stella Tosco, work closely with the best Italian craftsmen to rediscover and improve the culture that distinguishes made-in-Italy products. The creative process starts from an individual idea and develops through the continuous interaction with the manufacturers of the various components. Thanks to a research-oriented approach to materials, processes and forms, elaborate finishes and edges create the small sober decorations which define Serienumerica’s stylistic. The brand, born with the desire to dress a contemporary woman, is now growing free from traditional connotations of gender.

serienumerica.it

TITHI KUTCHAMUCH

Tithi Kutchamuch’s collection of fold-out paper jewellery and animal-inspired functional art objects takes the idea of “carrying a piece of home with you” to beautiful, surprising – and in some cases, extreme - conclusions. Under Kutchamuch’s bold vision, antlers from deer figurines transform into edgy necklaces; decorative tops on vases can be used as uber-chunky rings. For the desiger, who continued to live in London after receiving her MA in Design Products at UK’s Royal College of Art, it was a way to bring a little bit of home with her wherever she went. “Growing up, I don’t remember a time when we didn’t have some sort of animal in the house. At one point we even had peacocks, hedgehogs and a gibbon ape. Living in London was the very first time that I didn’t have any around me. I began making my first jewellery/sculpture collection ‘A Secret Friend’ a few months after I found out that my dog at my parent home in Bangkok pass away. My jewellery is a medium to document my thought, my life at the period of time in three-dimensional form”.

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Buried by time and snow, in 2009 a pair of glacier military goggles from the Second World War were found on a summit of the Dolomite Mountains. The recovered goggles inspired two local friends (Eric Balzan & Mirko Forti) who share a passion for eyewear and design to start out on a research mission to recover the essence of eyewear. Their dream was to create a solid, performance eyewear, minimal and discreet in design, yet charged with emotion that triggers the senses. A union between the rigor of Nordic engineering and Mediterranean expressiveness; between the essential structural concept of a product and artisan know-how and flair. Three years of product research led to an exclusive industrial process tying together artisanship and high technology, enabling the creation of an object able to transmit the subtle vibration of traditions that live in the mastery represented by the recovered goggles. The txtl001 collection draws on tradition in its investigation into the world of fibers and textiles, weaving the research together in a union of technology and materials. Very original is the roll-case they use, inspired by the rolled accessory holders soldiers used to carry their few personal effects.

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WHAT IS ART? In defiance of Tommaso d’Aquino and Shelling, some (bus stop) thoughts on what art is.

Art. Philosophers and artists have put endless energy and entire existences into trying to define it. Art is an idea that is so abstract, fleeting and mutating that it rejects any kind of classification and any lexical or conceptual definition. And yet, it is so ubiquitous, meaningful and necessary that everybody has an idea of what art is. But what idea do we all have? And how can I, as one of these, describe it? I was once told that the point of distinction is its

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utilitarian function. Art is not a typically industrial product. Art is what is beautiful, the expression of beauty and the conveying and sharing of beauty to its own end. It’s a good start, but then I think about Alexandre Dumas, who produced art, about which I have no doubt. He produced a great deal of it, weight-wise, cramming it with adjectives, long dialogues and repetitions on every page of every novel. Because Dumas, the artist, was paid by the word, the more he

produced, the more money he earnt. And his works are the fruit of this, bearing witness to it with their sheer weight and bulk, occupying the shelves of every bookshop. Dumas’s work had a utilitarian purpose; he was in it for the money. Still, every time I pick up the Count of Montecristo I have no doubt that it is art. Now here’s an idea. Art is antitethical to nature. Art is neither a river, nor a mountain nor a flower. It does not evolve biologically,

and it is not created by chance (or by the divine, for some). Art is artifice, behind it there must be a thinking twolegged being with human sensitivities, human technical abilities, human communicative willingness and human representational abilities. I think that’s a good starting point for a definition. But then I read that at the University of Constance there’s someone who paints like Raffaello, uses artistic touches and carefully weighs up every colour tone. His name is E-David and there’s nothing human about him because he’s a robot with one arm and a lens instead of eyes. Art should be the superior, sophisticated, absolute mastery of a technique. And it seems to fit if I think about the Arnolfini Portrait by Van Eyck and those fifty-four centimetres

of microscopic details executed with a sharpness and intensity filtered by the most magnificent manual dexterity. But we have to reckon with Duchamp too, who picks up an old bottle rack from some dusty wine cellar and puts it back in front of me, signed, as one of those works of art destined to make history. If not a technical ability, art should at least be proficiency in a language, its shared code, its grammar and its rules. However, at this juncture art becomes antithetical to style, being understood as conscious, sought after deviance from the norm. But then centuries and

of history of art would go up in flames because if I conjure up the image of the artists I was taught about at school, the only figures that come to mind are the ones that have upended grammar books. There’s one thing that is certain: it must be a work of superior quality. At least we all agree on that. But who is judging the competition, what is superior quality and how do I identify it? What makes me decide that Fontana’s incisions have a superior quality compared to the watercolour painted by my colleague’s son, which proudly sits above his desk? For my colleague the watercolour wins hands down I’m sure, and I’d bet my bottom dollar that if we did a survey the verdict rising up from mummy’s love would be echoed even

by those who are of no blood relation to the child. Yet, we are certain that it is not art, whilst Fontana is. The concept of beauty should really come into it now. Superior quality is what comes the closest to beautiful. But we end up back where we started because defining beauty is perhaps more difficult than defining art. It may call upon our souls, our feelings, the effects on our senses, what is good and the principles of harmony and proportions. Beauty changes, it bumps into and clashes with culture, its historical evolution, society and societies. In 1500 Botticelli chose soft, balanced feminine shapes for his Venus and I believe that never in his life would he have turned his head for a second if he had run into the androgynous, angular beauty of a Greta Garbo in the street. If the aesthetical idea of the human body changes, which on the whole remains eternal, albeit in its

variations, we can be sure that in art beauty certainly cannot be a defining criterion. And this is without taking into account the fact that nobody has been paying attention to this kind of beauty for a century or more. In fact there seems to be an on-going contest for representing the antithesis of beauty. Try telling Sandro Botticelli what is beautiful about Picasso’s Crying Woman or Duchamp’s upside-down urinal or the music of Stockhausen. Other concepts must come

into play. Individuality and the role of the artist, its critical purpose, culture, historicization and research. But we are going beyond the experiences of the common man. These are all concepts which don’t pass us by at the bus stop, where a perception of art nevertheless exists and is solid and present, albeit muddled and elusive, for every busy housewife overladen with shopping bags. And so I’ll go back to the guy with the bottle rack

and the urinal. The man who changed twentieth century art, who represented the end of an era and a new starting point, who opened up an unprecedented expressive repertoire theorising the refusal of the norm, of techniques, of expressive grammar, of beauty and of everything we have spoken about until now: “Art is

everything that men call art”.

by Elettra Loy

HISASHI TENMYOUYA 269

Neo-Traditional Japanese Painting

Tokyo-based artist Hisashi Tenmyouya began his career as a contemporary artist after working as an art director at a record label. He has exhibited steadily since his first showing at age 24 and even though his style uses traditional Japanese motifs and techniques (he attended traditional Japanese painting classes as a child), he likes to manipulate those methods and experiment with newer materials. His use of real gold foils and extremely fine brushes to draw almost invisible lines characterizes his meticulous painting style (his work ‘Kamikaze’ took more than 3 months to complete) although he doesn’t use traditional powdered mineral pigments, choosing instead to paint with acrylics, sometimes on tracing papers thus overstepping the traditional boundaries.

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Tenmyouya’s work also marries traditional Japanese iconography with 21st century content. He paints contemporary motives, mixes warriors with footballers, covers Buddhas with graffiti and sets up breakdance battles against Japanese dancers in Kimonos, merging techniques and themes from traditional Japanese art with themes of modern Japanese life in his work: “That’s the kind of world we live in Japan now: going to the temple and yet painting graffiti, inheriting traditional Japanese beauty, yet inserting elements from the present Japanese culture”. He calls his work ‘Neo Nihonga’ meaning Neo-Traditional Japanese Painting.

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From his large, lucid paintings to his fine, delicate brush strokes, Tenmyouya’s works exude a historic feel while being contemporary and modern: his deep knowledge and respect for the ancient traditions of Japanese painting are apparent, but this respect is not mechanical. Considered a maverick in the world of traditional Japanese painting, he has been branded an ‘outlaw’ because of his unique style of mixing fine art with street art.

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KRIS KUKSI

Described as a post-industrial Rococo master by the Mexican film director Guillermo del Toro, Kris Kuksi was born in Missouri and raised alongside his two much older brothers in the rural seclusion of neighboring Kansas by his single working mother. Open country, sparse trees, and the presence of an alcoholic stepfather seemingly paved the way for the imaginative and introverted individual that he would become. His propensity for the unusual started out in childhood and led to a lifelong fascination which then manifested itself as macabre art later in life. To him, the grotesque as he saw it, was beautiful. Kris Kuksi has been recognized and acclaimed for the intricate sculptures that result from his unique and meticulous technique - a process that requires countless hours to assemble, collect, manipulate, cut and re-shape thousands of individual parts, finally uniting them into a seamless cohesion. Says Guillermo del Toro: “Kris Kuksi obsessively arranges characters and architecture in asymmetric compositions with an exquisite sense of drama. Instead of stones and shells he uses screaming plastic soldiers, miniature engine blocks, towering spires and assorted debris to form his landscapes. The political, spiritual and material conflict within these shrines is enacted under the calm gaze of remote deities and august statuary. Kuksi manages to evoke, at once, a sanctum and a mausoleum for our suffocated spirit” 280

Each sculpture embodies the trademarks of his philosophy and practice, while serving as a testament to the multifaceted nature of perception - from timeless iconic references of Gods and Goddess, to challenging ideas of organized religion and morality, to the struggle to understand, and bend, the limits of mortality. None is complete without a final and brilliant touch of satire and rebuke all conceived in the aesthetic essence of the Baroque fused with the modern day industrial world. “I get inspired by the industrial world, all the rigidity of machinery, the network of pipes, wires, refineries, etc. Then I join that with an opposite of flowing graceful, harmonious, and pleasing design of the Baroque and Rococo. And of course I add a bit of weirdness and the macabre. It’s all about how I see the evolution of what man makes his created environment look like. I had such a major emphasis in painting and drawing earlier 281

in my career, and had a great time with it but I always felt something was missing. I knew deep inside I was a builder, and so my 3D work is the expansion into that realm. I still enjoy painting and doing figurative work, but those moments are reserved for special times. Yet sculptural works are wonderfully intricate constructions of pop culture effluvia like plastic model kits, injection molded toys, dolls, plastic skulls, knickknack figurines, miniature fencing, toy animals, mechanical parts and ornate frames or furniture parts; assembled into grotesque tableaux that look a bit like an explosion in Hieronymus Bosch’s attic. My art speaks of a timelessness; potentiality and motion attempting to reach on forever, and yet pessimistically delayed; forced into the stillness of death and eternal sleep. I treat morbidity with a sympathetic touch and symbolize the paradox of the death of the individual by objective personification of death. There is a fear of this consciousness

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because it drops in upon us without mercy, and yet there is a need to appeal to it in order to provide a sense of security, however deluded that sense may be. My art warns us that this appeal is irrelevant, and that we should be slow to create a need for it. The themes I use also teach us that although death may pursue us arbitrarily, we should never neglect to mourn the tremendous loss of individual potential. In personal reflection, I feel that in the world today much of mankind is oftentimes a frivolous and fragile being driven primarily by greed and materialism. I hope that my art exposes the fallacies of Man, unveiling a new level of awareness to the viewer.” “Perhaps it is far too objectionable to begin to agree upon what art is or what great art should be. Therefore, it is most certain that for myself, within this occupation, I must be true to my tastes and to expel those pressures to conform to art-trends new or old.” Kris Kuksi’s works have received several awards and prizes and has been featured in over 100 exhibitions in galleries and museums worldwide including the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. His art can also be seen in a number of international art magazines, book covers and theatrical posters. It is featured in both public and private collections in the United States, Europe, and Australia.

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ROA

Beasts, brutes and other animals became his essence. He captured them in a distinctive black and white style and created a popular worldwide following. He has produced some of the largest and most recognizable paintings in the history of street art. The man behind it all is the artist Roa. His anonymity has kept his work and his spirit free. Roa’s prolific output has been recorded in videos and photographs, but the Belgian artist himself is virtually undocumented. An educated guess places the year of his birth in 1975. Roa grew up in the city of Ghent, experiencing all the pop influences coming from the U.S. inthe U.S. of

the 1980s. He has suggested he felt the strongest impact from hip-hop and graffiti. The Ghent street art community of Roa’s youth expressed an active, eclectic mix of styles. According to Roa, there was no prevailing movement at the time. The scene’s evolution accelerated as foreign visitors passed through and added to the assorted collection of talents and skills. As for himself, Roa began with the most modest of throw ups against walls and beneath bridges. Like so many others, he became caught up by the passionate and addictive nature of urban art. 290

Despite the electric charge inherent in the street, Roa eventually felt the energy draining from his work. His creativity lost its spirit, became tired and let him down artistically. At that point he turned to the drawings of his ‘childhood’ but he wanted more from it, something more plastic, something looser. Painting animals began on a trial basis for Roa, and he quickly felt the enthusiasm returning to his work in a rush of inspiration. The energy of his new efforts led him to abandoned factories and hidden spaces in the East Flanders province. Every painting became an experiment of line and scale, a joy in the sheer creation ‘itself’ and that thrill hasn’t left him yet. Roa is clearly obsessed with animals, creatively speaking. Whatever story he wishes to tell, his creatures say it for him. The back-story of a given city or landscape belongs to the local animal life, a sociological order that fascinates the artist. He always discovers his animal subjects within each painting’s location. He explains it simply: “When I travel, I try to paint the local species. So I’m always interested in the little scavengers and rodents and crazy animals that live with the people in the city, animals that are survivors.” Just as every project provides it own subject matter, every new space

brings its own energy and setting, its own physical layout, its unique advantages and disadvantages - no two walls are the same. Roa thrives on the challenge of the street’s varying canvases. In addition to the obvious physical considerations of the doors and windows, sometimes inaccessibility itself, there is also the context of the street to keep in mind. Roa claims it all becomes part of his process: “If you work with it, it brings your work to the next level.” Studio pieces are quite another thing for the artist, a game-changer that practically forces him to start from scratch. For much of his gallery work he has strives to paint on found objects, accepting the responsibility of building or finding his own structure with which to create. A Roa painting is essentially a solitary event from start to finish. “I let myself be inspired by the impulses of the moment and trust that I will find the right animal for the location.” The word ‘trust’ is significant. Roa trusts himself as he trusts his work, as he trusts the very form itself. Graffiti will always be one of the freest art forms in Roe’s world. He insists that street art is not for the sake of money or an institution, it’s free expression that liberates the creative self.

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SAGAKI KEITA

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Japanese artist Sagaki Keita recreates famous artworks using a tapestry of thousands of whimsical characters he creates using his own imagination. His unbelievable pen and ink art are true masterpieces. Looking at his artworks from afar, they just seem like well executed recreations of popular paintings and sculptures, but as soon as you approach, you notice there’s something more to them. Thousands of small cartoon characters come together perfectly to create a complex yet very detailed composition that simply blows your mind. Born in 1984 and graduated in Art Education from Fukushima University, Sagaki started to create artworks while he was a university student. He doesn’t reveal much about his technique, but he doesn’t really need to, his incredible works really are worth a thousand words. His pen and ink illustrations follow a simple concept: ‘Whole and Part’. The idea is that everyone and everything is connected with each other, consciously or unconsciously, and we all form part of a bigger reality. Since his debut as a professional artist, many of his themes have been related to the beginnings of life and so a number of artworks are created with the motifs of unborn children or the womb.

The artist draws on an unusual set of influences to create the stunning drawings, inspired by his university art degree and his love of popular culture. “The minute drawing and information content of my works comes under an influence of a mandala. (…) Mandalas are an important motif for me. The second is comics! The reason why I use comics and doodling is it is one of the most familiar items from my childhood. I always dreamt of being a cartoonist. I drew comics every day while at elementary school. My textbooks and examination papers were full of my doodles. It wouldn’t be exaggeration to say that those doodles are the roots of my current works”, says the artist. He previously focused his efforts on recreating classical artwork like Greek sculptures, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Ukiyo-e by Hokusai Katsushika. But his recent work would suggest he’s now seeking inspiration from iconic American landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, New York’s Times Square and the Statue of Liberty. It will be interesting to see how he develops his miniature drawings in the future.

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The Manchester-based photographer Lee Jeffries has travelled around the world photographing people that he has literally met on the streets. The photographs however are not just snatched images taken from a distance, they are tragic and haunting stories about the homeless. Profound and poignant portraits that speak volumes about these mostly dispossessed people. Lee captures them in squalid detail with their hearts and scars laid bare to the viewer. It all started when Jeffries, a native of Bolton, visited London in 2008 to run a marathon. Already a keen sports photographer, he was wandering around the capital when he came across a young homeless woman huddled in a shop doorway in Leicester Square and pointed his camera at her. “She kicked up a right fuss. She started shouting, ‘You can’t do that!’ and ‘Give me some money,” says Jeffries, an accountant by profession.

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“I was across the street when she started shouting at me and I was embarrassed.” This was a pivotal moment for the amateur photographer: his options were to walk away, pretend he hadn’t seen or heard the young woman; or go over to her, apologise and strike up a conversation. He chose to sit down and engage her. “She was in a sleepi ng bag and we talked. She was 18 and she’d run away from home. There were the usual problems - drugs and stuff. And that’s where it all started.” The experience had a profound effect on Jeffries, defining his approach to taking pictures. Since that first encounter, Jeffries has used vacation time to travel to Skid Row in Los Angeles, as well as the grimier parts of cities in London, Paris and Rome, to continue his project which hasn’t been without its dangers. He’s had a gun pointed at his head, been verbally abused and even been asked for payment. His secret? Jeffries selects his subjects very carefully and spends

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time getting to know his subjects before photographing them: “I don’t shoot every homeless person I see. I have to see something in their eyes, connect with each person on an individual basis first. Unless you feel you can get some emotion from your subject, the image just won’t work. I’ve taken hundreds of shots of homeless people and, to be honest, lots don’t work.” Apart from attempting to capture the essence of his ‘models’, he says he thrives on the human contact he has with them: “I want to be up close, taking portraits and not telling the story of the environment they’re in, but telling the story of them. I’ve spent days with some people and still not been able to pick up the camera because they don’t allow it. You have to spend the time with them. Tell them what you’re doing; tell them what it’s for and six, seven times out of 10, I get a photograph. The other times I just leave.” Jeffries tries to keep the contact as informal as possible. He rarely takes notes, feeling it immediately raises suspicion, and prefers to take pictures while he is talking in

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order to capture the “real emotion”. “I’m stepping into their world,” he says. “Everyone else walks by like the homeless are invisible. I’m stepping through the fear, in the hope that people will realize these people are just like me and you.” Jeffries’ portraits are mainly captured in black-and-white and shot without artificial lighting. But he admits that, to make the end result more ‘artistic’, a great deal of post-processing goes into his pictures. Jeffries is honest about the reasons behind his work and the effect it’s had on his view of the displaced people: “I don’t generally get involved in any of the politics. I make contact with these people, hopefully brighten up their day and give them a bit of money. I’ve got more of an appreciation for the life they have now.” The effect of the individuals on the photographer is equally heavy: “When I’m talking to these people, I can’t then leave that emotion, so when I get back to my computer so emotionally involved, sometimes I will start to cry when processing the image,” Jeffries says.

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The photographer’s passion has become his life mission. Self-taught, he uses his photography to draw attention to and raise funds for the homeless, posting the images to Flickr and entering the work into competitions. Jeffries has placed third, second and second in an annual Amateur Photographer magazine award contest, and has won separate monthly contests which come with a camera as a reward. Each of the half dozen cameras he’s won has been donated to raise funds for charities, including homeless and disability organizations. The proceeds from Jeffries’s Blurb book, which features homeless portraits, go to the Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles and the photographer allows any charity to use his images free of charge. In addition to committing himself at a more personal level by helping individuals in distress, Jeffries also runs the London and New York marathons to raise money for Shelter, a U.K. housing charity.

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He recently won Digital Camera magazine’s Photographer of the Year award. The increased exposure is welcome news for a man whose self-funded journey can be difficult. “I can’t change these people’s lives,” he says. “I can’t wave a magic wand but it doesn’t mean I can’t take a photograph of them and try to raise awareness and bring attention to their plight.”

leejeffries.500px.com twitter.com/Lee_Jeffries Published pictures are available for collecting limited edition exclusively on WWW.LOOLITART.NET

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THE RAINBOW SIDE OF COMICS 317

espite the fact that in recent years comic books have found some cultural acceptance, there are still many who regard them with suspicion and scorn. For years comics have been misperceived and misunderstood, seen as the expression of a counter-culture targeted solely at young people, its literary merit too often discarded.

If we then consider gay-themed comics, this perplexity increases even further. For many in fact, talking about gay comics is the equivalent to talking about pornography – even worst, a kind of pornography they don’t like. The world of comics, straight or gay, is extremely broad and differentiated, so obviously within their pages one can find anything and everything, including pornography. But that is certainly not what we want to talk about here.

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hat interests us instead, is to illustrate how comic books have been used by gay artists since the 80s, as a medium to express themselves outside of censorship, taboos and prejudices and to give visibility to a world that, especially then, struggled to find the space or voice outside of its narrow borders. From an era when homosexuals were afraid of being prosecuted as criminals, through the days of political activism and AIDS, and up to a more tolerant present (at least in some parts of the world), these artists have been able to recount, often with humor and lightness but beyond platitudes and easy stereotypes, the LGBT universe, with all its codes and facets. They did it from a privileged viewpoint, that of those who lived it as their own reality, made up of relationships, friendships, love, politics, work and of course sex, just like it is for everyone.

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arring a few exceptions, these authors are unfortunately unknown to the general public as they have often been limited by a distribution system that prevented them from reaching a broader audience, but the quality of their work is valuable and can be appreciated by anyone regardless of their orientation, as it tells universal tales that anyone can identify with.

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oward Cruse is considered by many to be one of the great modern American cartoonists. A noted underground creator before becoming the founding editor of the anthology ‘Gay Comix’ in 1980, Cruse has a reputation for tackling head-on a topic that had been largely taboo. Throughout most of the 1980′s, he wrote and illustrated a comic strip for ‘The Advocate’. ‘Wendel’ began as a light-hearted sex comedy, but quickly became something more as the titular character started a long-term relationship and the strip depicted the gay community in a way that had rarely been seen before. Today, a gay character in comics doesn’t seem that odd. But in the 1980s life was very different for the homosexual community. The strip looked through a largely humorous prism at the lives gay people led during the Reagan-Bush era, when homophobia was rampant in the public sphere and the AIDS epidemic added life-and-death concerns and the need for

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WENDEL by Howard Cruse

political activism to the more mundane aspects of everyday life. What made the strip memorable is that Wendel, Ollie, Deb, Tina and the rest of the ensemble cast members were just everyday people trying their best to live life while dealing with everyday problems. They were human and that was their charm and appeal: they didn’t live in a parallel universe like Chelsea or Castro, they were ‘the gays next door,’ integrated for the most part seamlessly into the broader community. After he ended the strip, Cruse created ‘Stuck Rubber Baby’, a brilliant meld of two American coming-of-age stories: civil and gay rights. The graphic novel is considered by many one of the few that really and truly succeeds as a novel on the novel’s terms. Since its first publication in 1995 it won Eisner and Harvey Awards in the US, a Comics Creators Award in the UK, a Luchs Award in Germany, a 2007 Saló del Còmic de Barcelona Award in Spain, and a 2002 Prix de la critique at the Angouleme International Comics Festival in France. howardcruse.com

“Shopping For Corn Flakes” by Howard Cruse

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LEONARD & LARRY

‘Leonard & Larry’ debuted in 1984 in the pages of Gay Comix, created by American cartoonist Tim Barela as minor supporting characters in a strip that did not end up working out. Instead, Barela put the spotlight upon the happy couple in their 30s, and what followed was an almost 20 year run as a comic strip from the early 80s until his last strip in 2003. The basic concept of the strip is a simple one – imagine if Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, the main characters of Brokeback Mountain, had dropped their lives to live a sitcom life as a gay couple in West Hollywood. Leonard Goldman and Larry Evans are both middle-aged men with good jobs, and Larry actually has an ex-wife and two sons, who we get to see grow up from teenagers to men as the strip progresses (and our heroes get closer to the big five-oh).

by Tim Barela

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A monogamous couple in an era of sexual freedom, Leonard and Larry face all sorts of sitcomesque foibles as their gay and straight friends and family moved in and out of storylines. “It was very much a sitcom and a soap opera, but real life is in a lot of ways,” says Barela. “That’s where the humor in real life comes from.” In his forward to the first volume of Leonard & Larry’s collection, John Preston writes: “The men’s homosexuality - and their specific proclivities - aren’t the driving force in Barela’s work. In fact, usually they’re only background for the stories he has

to tell. Being gay certainly does add something to Larry and Leonard’s lives, it brings them together as a couple, it adds to their sense of cynicism and rage against a homophobic society, it gives a passion to their being. Yet the real dramas they live out are the dramas that everyone lives out whether in leather drag or suburban obscurity. There is aging. Any man in his forties who reads this work and listens to Larry’s angst over his age is going to know just what’s going on. There it is, the middle-life crisis that we all go through. There are children. Any parent can see his or herself in Larry’s encounters with his kids. And there are our own parents. Even when Leonard puts Larry on guard duty to protect him from his mother, she finds a way into the house”. Barela’s genius is to present Leonard and Larry simultaneously as stereotypes and as real people that go far beyond the stereotypes. Giving them complexity, a family and a life he takes us “behind the facades and into the minds and lives of these men, Larry and Leonard. With a guide as competent as Barela, we no longer just see a facade, we start to see human beings”. Originally featured in The Advocate and Frontiers magazine, Barela’s work has been later collected in 4 volumes by Palliard Press, but since the publisher ended its short existence they are unfortunately quite hard to find.

“Domesticity Isn’t Pretty” by Tim Barela (Palliard Press, 1993)

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DYKES TO WATCH OUT FOR by Alison Bechdel

Created by American cartoonist Alison Bechdel and published from 1987 to 2008, ‘Dykes to Watch Out For’ was a comic strip chronicling the fractious lives and loves of an articulate group of lesbians in a city that resembles Minneapolis. The Times said it was “as important to new generations of lesbians as landmark novels like Rita Mae Brown’s Rubyfruit Jungle (1973) and Lisa Alther’s Kinflicks (1976) were to an earlier one”, and one of the earliest ongoing representations of lesbians in popular culture.

Since the comic was written every couple of weeks, each strip is deeply entrenched in its own temporalness, making DTWOF a meaningful document of American/Lesbian political culture. Bechdel’s strip is literary, politically astute, wonderfully lefty and insightfully topical. From the initial AIDS crisis through the disillusioned Clinton years onto 9/11 and the following and ongoing two wars, it offers the chance to watch a group of very appealing women grow and change (and struggle to have better sex) over the course of more than two decades. Even though the author has her own beliefs that come through the strips, through all of the various characters, a lot of opinions get expressed about every subject with relative objectivity. Like in real life, there is not a single ‘truth’. Extremely complex as they are, you can read Bechdel’s strips on different levels; yet they also manage to be plainly entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny and above all human, an incredibly nuanced exploration of a relatable group of lesbian and bi friends. In the words of the author, the strip’s layered nature is described as “half op-ed column and half endless, serialized Victorian novel”. Perhaps not endless, since Alison Bechdel stopped DTWOF’s run to work on her two graphic memoires, ‘Fun Home’ and ‘Are You My Mother?’. An account of the author’s coming of age as a lesbian in her secret-filled family’s rural Pennsylvania funeral home, Fun Home deals with Bechdel’s relationship with her father. The Times called it the single best book of 2006 and has been largely recognized as one of the best graphic novels ever. dykestowatchoutfor.com

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“Buffed” from THE ESSENTIAL DYKES TO WATCH OUT FOR by Alison Bechdel. Copyright © 2008 by Alison Bechdel. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Published throughout the UK and Commonwealth excluding Canada by Jonathan Cape. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Limited

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CHELSEA BOYS

‘Chelsea Boys’ ran as a popular syndicated comic strip in publications around the world for over a decade since 1998, and you can see how much has meant in the US the decade before for the gay community, which has begun to metabolize the AIDS shock and consolidated its identity inside society. The growing culpturale and politic acceptance alongside the eterosexual world means that now gay cartoonists don’t feel so much the need to address political issues or to give the “right” image of gay people. They feel free, now, to play with their characters and with gay stereotypes.

by Glen Hanson & Allan Neuwirth

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Created and written by both Glen Hanson and Allan Neuwirth, and illustrated by Hanson, ‘Chelsea Boys’ presents three completely diverse gay men living together roommates, embodying at first glance some of the stereotypes that are commonplace in the gay community – the camp diva, the gorgeous hunk, the every-gayman. But, as Allan Neuwirth had to say: “The whole point of the strip is that appearances are deceiving. You see these three characters and think they are stereotypes, but they really are more archetypes - and the point was to peel the layers back. As we got further and further into it, and Glen and I evolved in our writing and creating of the strip, you begin to see people who you look at and go ‘look at that drag queen’ or ‘look at that gym bunny,’

but there’s more to that person than their appearance might indicate. I would hope we created characters with a broad appeal. (…) It has always been about the people, and hopefully that’s what we achieved”. Filled with humor, humanity, and wry observations on life in a modern urban setting, the whole tapestry of New York City forms the backdrop of the series as its characters interact with people of all genders, races, ages, and sexual orientations. Forwarding the strip’s first collection, Howard Cruse said: “True to its title, “Chelsea Boys” comes dressed in Chelsea-isms. Its characters’ yearnings and insecurities, however, are not geography-specific. As rooted in time-and-place specifics as “Chelsea Boys” can be - when terrorists strike on September 11, the strip stops to shudder along with the rest of New York City - the more commonplace plot turns (…) don’t need Manhattan landmarks in order to resonate. (…) Watch the story expand its reach beyond standard gay fare as you turn the pages of this compilation. Watch the characters reveal the intriguing parts of themselves that play against first impressions. Watch yourself get caught up in the flow and find more of your life reflected in “Chelsea Boys” than you may have expected - even those of you who live miles and cultures away from Hanson and Neuwirth’s title locale.” chelseaboys.com

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orn in 1968, Fabrice Neaud is a graduate of the Fine Arts School. He is also a co-founder of ‘ego comme x’ – the Angoulême-based comics group and publishers where he published his first works. In 1991 he started working on his ‘Journal’, an ambitious autobiographical project in the form of a diary in comics. As it progressed, it was collected in four volumes, from 19962002. It got a prize Alph’art (best work by a young artist) in Angoulême in 1997, and was honored with a retrospective at the festival in 2010.

Neaud’s autobiographical work has a significant departure from the others we have featured, both in tone and content. In his Journal Neaud develops the process of rethinking the identity of the homosexual, seen as a condition of the protagonist: not a choice, a political issue or a lifestyle, neither a problem nor a secret. Neaud relates, without holding anything back, his financial and working trials as well as his difficulty trying to integrate into the community of the small town in which he lives, along with his park cruises and often tormented love affairs. His autobiography was originally intended to continue for a lifetime, but had to stop due to legal 335

JOURNAL by Fabrice Neaud

issues. Not all the people encountered and portrayed by Neoud have in fact appreciated the intimate and realistic rendering of their private lives at a time when these were interwoven with those of the author. Since the publication of his first book, Neaud has been seen as one of the most interesting of the comics authors. Hardly anyone can rival the intensity or honesty of his work, the tremendous philosophical and political depths of his analysis of the world and his own place within it, nor the raw emotional power of his storytelling. Neaud is a cartoonist whose comics seek out the most crucial issues of our time – what does it mean to live in this age? - and he is an author who does not flinch from the answers, even when they are unflattering. Neaud does not appeal to all tastes: the transparency of his narrative spares no punches, and he does not hesitate to portrait even the most intimate aspects of his sexuality - this can be the reason he has struggled to find publishers abroad - but despite this, he merits a read. The extraordinary quality of the graphics and narrative, his ability to portray passion, the denouncing of any sort of poverty (social, intellectual and emotional), social analysis - all very good reasons to get to know his work. ego-comme-x.com

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The Complete Wendel

by Howard Cruse (Rizzoli Universe, 2011)

Stuck Rubber Baby

by Howard Cruse (Vertigo, 2010)

Domesticity Isn’t Pretty

by Tim Barela (Palliard Press, 1993)

Kurt Cobain And Mozart Are Both Dead

by Tim Barela (Palliard Press, 1996)

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Excerpts From The Ring Cycle in Royal Albert Hall

by Tim Barela (Palliard Press, 2000)

How Real Men Do It

by Tim Barela (Palliard Press, 2003)

Chelsea Boys

by Glen Hanson and Allan Neuwirth (Alyson Publications, 2003)

The Essential Dykes To Watch Out For

by Alison Bechdel (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2008)

Fun Home

by Alison Bechdel (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2006)

Chelsea Boys Steppin’ Out! by Glen Hanson and Allan Neuwirth (Bruno Gmünder Books, 2006)

Are You My Mother?

by Alison Bechdel (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2012)

Journal (1) suivi de Journal (2)

by Fabrice Neaud (éditions ego comme x, 2001)

Journal (3) édition augmentée

by Fabrice Neaud (éditions ego comme x, 2010)

Journal (4)

by Fabrice Neaud (éditions ego comme x, 2011)

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d o o F

MY COOKING

CLASS

The ‘My Cooking Class’ series takes a refreshing approach to learning the art of home cooking. Every book in the series, each with a different focus, teaches about making pasta, baking and chocolate, Indian or Middle Eastern food and more. Every pot, pan and tool is shown, not just described, making this new visual cookbook format deliciously simple. The recipes are presented in complete visual sequences from start to finish, and every ingredient and every step is shown from above in the correct quantity and

full color so it’s as true to life as possible - just like a real cooking course. Simple written instructions accompany each recipe, and specialized tasks, such as making homemade pasta, are clearly demonstrated. Variations, notes and glossaries are welcome additions to each “class.” Originally published in France as ‘Mon Cours de Cuisine’ (Hachette Livre), the series has been translated in U.S. by Firefly Books and in Italy by Guido Tommasi Editore (Il mio corso di cucina).

Here below let’s find two teasty examples of Italian cooking: Buon appetito|

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STUFFED TOMATOES GRATINEE Serves 4-6 persons

Preparation: 30 minutes

8 firm medium size tomatoes 80gr fresh breadcrumbs 60gr freshly grated Parmesan cheese A cup of fresh basil Half a cup of fresh parsley

Cooking: 20 minutes

2 tsps. dried oregano 4 anchovy fillets 1 garlic clove cut in two halves 50ml olive oil Salt

Chop the parsley and basil. Cut the tomatoes in half, scoop out the seeds, discard them and salt to taste. Place them upside down on a tray to drain.

Heat anchovies in a teaspoon of olive oil on low heat until dissolved, adding half the garlic clove (remove afterwards). Remove from the heat and add the herbs, grated cheese, breadcrumbs and half the olive oil.

Stuff the tomatoes and then drizzle the remaining olive oil over the top.

Cook in the oven at 180˚C for 20 minutes and serve.

MINI FRIED CALZONI – Panzerotti First of all: While the mozzarella drains, chop the basil coarsely.

Optional: Add some chopped up salami, mortadella or ham for additional taste.

Serves 16 panzerotti

Prep and cooking time: 1 hour

500g ready-made pizza dough 300g good quality tinned tomato pulp 250g mozzarella cut into small pieces

Approx 10 basil leaves 1-2l of olive oil (or oil for frying)

Divide the dough into quarters. Cut each quarter into 4 equal parts and make flat discs each 10cm in diameter.

Mix the tomato sauce with the mozzarella and chopped basil and place a heaped teaspoon of this mixture into the center of each disc. Fold the dough over forming a half crescent and be sure to seal the edges pressing firmly.

Fry in abundant oil until golden brown on both sides.

Place on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil and serve hot.

hea

alth

FIT2FAT2FIT Personal trainer Drew Manning thought he had the ideal male body: 6 feet 2 inches of tanned musculature, sculpted arms and washboard abs that narrowed to a firm, 34-inch waist. He’s that guy at the gym the rest of us love to hate, the one who likes to use his biceps for pumping iron instead of changing channels, and who prefers sucking down a spinach shake to indulging in a brownie sundae. Then, Manning’s once impressive muscles softened to pounds of bloated fat - on purpose.

When he failed yet again to push someone over to the light side, he knew something was wrong, causing him to question his entire approach with clients. Maybe they needed something more - someone who could truly connect with them in their journey to better health, someone who had been there themselves. Manning realized he actually needed to understand what it was like to be on the other side - spend a few months in his clients’ shoes or, rather, size.

An admitted fitness addict, he had never been overweight, had never craved processed foods, or known what it was like to move through the world carrying dozens of extra pounds. Because of that, Manning was a “judgmental” trainer: “I was convinced people used genetics or similar excuses as a crutch,” Manning says, “You either wanted to be healthy or you didn’t.” The problem is that point of view, despite Manning’s experience with fitness, wasn’t helping his clients reach their goals.

That realization ultimately drove Manning to do something few of us could ever conceive. During one whole year from May 2011 Manning went from fit to fat to fit again so he could better understand how his clients feel. For six months, Green smoothies would be replaced with big bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. He’d shop the junk food aisles, avoiding the produce section. Time spent at the gym would now be spent in front of the TV. Not surprisingly, the weight came on fast, going from 193 pounds with a 34-inch waist to 265 pounds with a 48-inch waist.

But Manning’s journey to obesity is only half of the story. Manning then devoted the next six months to losing the weight, sharing his meal plans, exercise strategies, mental ups and downs with followers of his website. He called it his ‘Fit 2 Fat 2 Fit’ campaign. His New York Time Best Selling book ‘Fit2Fat2Fit: The Unexpected Lessons from Gaining and Losing 75 lbs on Purpose’ (HarperOne) also documents his return to fitness, which didn’t come as easily as he expected it would. A full 75 pounds heavier, he had developed addictions to certain foods, and overcoming these addictions and getting back in shape were a far greater struggle than he anticipated. This part of the story reveals the true plight of the obese in confronting the many daunting obstacles to achieving better health - and it’s what ultimately helped Manning become a better personal trainer and motivator for his clients.

1°

26°

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The lessons he learned were priceless, as he had now experienced both sides of the weight-loss battle. What started as a physical challenge became an emotional and mental wake-up call. It altered his relationships and his self-confidence, and made him understand that people that are overweight have to overcome both physical and emotional barriers when it comes to losing weight. “The biggest thing [I learned] is that it’s not just about the physical. It’s not just about the meal plan and the workouts and those things. The key is the mental and the emotional issues. I realized those issues are real.” fit2fat2fit.com

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Ne urocosmetics

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neuro

Cosmetics no longer suffice: nowadays lipstick, face cream and foundation no longer have to make us look better from a purely aesthetical point of view, but make us feel better, inside. They must be capable of putting us in a better mood, giving us more energy (or more ability to let ourselves go, depending on the situation), more selfconfidence and self-awareness and going as far as to improve the performance of our brains.

We have been hearing about neurocosmetics for around ten years now. It’s a recent science which developed in the cutaneous biology field and which is based on the

relationship between the skin and the nervous system. Cutaneous innervations and nerve endings at dermic and epidermic levels are privileged pathways for interaction with chemical compounds capable of acting on our mood amongst other things. Starting from this assumption, cosmetics can be created which are capable of changing not only purely aesthetical aspects but also pleasure receptors, and going further, the ideas we have of ourselves.

Manufacturers of cosmetics have for years been enriching their products with elements based on chromotherapy and aromatherapy, adopting 360

the principle that a particular scent or colour can act on our mood, our level of energy or our resistance to stress. But if up until a few years ago straightforward happiness cosmetics were popularised, with formulas which, by stimulating endorphins, interacted with good moods, maybe lowering levels of anxiety and stress, nowadays we are going one step further in crossing the threshold of doping, actually stimulating the neurotransmitter, dopamine, which is implicated in the euphoria of falling in love, or when using opium poppy oil extract. Skin and brain originate from the same type of cells, which are subsequently differentiated. It is through the skin, therefore, that the nervous system acquires important neurological stimuli. 361

Obviously we are not talking about substances that enter the brain directly, but stimuli derived from the application of these substances, which redefine our contact with the outside world and with ourselves by influencing our entire organism.

Could it be a placebo effect?

This doesn’t appear to be the case. Objective evaluation tools and methods like functional magnetic resonance are being used and pharmaceutical houses are no longer aiming at the sole impact of active ingredients on the skin. Instead they are asking specialised research centres to measure also the emotions connected to a product, via mood mapping carried out by scientists and neurologists.

Essentially, the objective today is to use doping substances in order to interfere with the daily work of our brain and with the perception we have of ourselves. A kind of plastic surgery for the brain, which is being marketed as easier and less painful than a session with a therapist.

But it’s not over yet,

because we are starting to hear about Deep Brain Stimulation, which can already be been done today by simply purchasing nootropic substances, capable of improving our cognitive performance, like Adderall or Ritalin, over the Internet. In John Brockman’s book ”This Will Change Everything: Ideas

That Will Shape the Future”, the neurologist Marcel Kinsbourne paints a luminous picture of the future: “The example of cosmetic plastic surgery is instructive. Reconstructive in its origins, it is increasingly used for cosmetic purposes. I predict the same shift for deep brain stimulation. Cosmetic surgery is used to render people more appealing. In human affairs, appearance is critical. For our hypersocial species, personal appeal opens doors that remain shut to mere competence and intellect. Undoubtedly, cosmetic surgery enhances quality of life, so how can it be denied to anyone? And yet, it is by its very nature deceptive; the operated face is not really the person’s face, the operated body not really their body.

However, experience teaches that these reservations as to authenticity remain theoretical. The cosmetically adjusted nose, breast, thighs or skin tones become the person’s new reality, without significant social backlash. Even face transplants are now feasible. We read so much into a face—but what if it is not the person’s ‘real’ face? Does anyone care, or even remember the previous appearance? So it will be with neurocosmetics”.

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i just am

i want to be different

i’m afraid of sex

No one wants me

i just got out of a bad relationship

REASONS WHY I’M ASEXUAL

Why?

SOME PEOPLE ARE ASEXUAL

A Community's Coming Of Age ?

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Asexual people have the same emotional needs as anyone else, and like in the sexual community, they vary widely in how they fulfill those needs

Asexuality is just beginning to be the subject of scientific research.

An asexual is a person without sexual feelings or associations, someone who does not experience sexual attraction. Unlike celibacy, which people choose, asexuality is an intrinsic part of who they are. Asexuality does not make their lives any worse or any better, they just face a different set of challenges than most sexual people. There is considerable diversity among the asexual community; each asexual person experiences things like relationships, attraction, and arousal somewhat differently.

a person without sexual feelings

WHO IS AN ASEXUAL ?

365 Other asexual people have a desire to form more intimate romantic relationships, and will date and seek long-term partnerships. Asexual people are just as likely to date sexual people as they are to date each other.

Some asexual people are happier on their own, others are happiest with a group of close friends.

Communication, closeness, fun, humor, excitement and trust all happen just as much in sexual relationships as in nonsexual ones. Unlike sexual people, asexual people are given few expectations about the way that their intimate relationships will work. Figuring out how to flirt, to be intimate, or to be monogamous in nonsexual relationships can be challenging, but free of sexual expectations they can form relationships in ways that are grounded in their individual needs and desires.

aSexual or nonsexual, all relationships are made up of the same basic stuff.

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Asexuality is like any other identity - at its core, it’s just a word that people use to help figure themselves out.

Because they don’t care about sex, asexual people generally do not see a lack of sexual arousal as a problem to be corrected, and focus their energy on enjoying other types of arousal and pleasure.

Asexual people who experience attraction will often be attracted to a particular gender, and will identify as lesbian, gay, bi, or straight. For some, sexual arousal is a fairly regular occurrence, though it is not associated with a desire to find a sexual partner or partners. Some will occasionally masturbate, but feel no desire for partnered sexuality. Other asexual people experience little or no arousal.

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David jay

Without an asexual community to draw support from, adolescent Jay had to discover his asexuality on his own terms. During his first year of college, Jay happened upon an article online that would change the course of his life and the lives of thousands around the world. It was an article about asexuality, the first he’d ever seen. He was stunned. “The comments section was filled with people like me who were looking for a community,” he recalled. That year, Jay founded the Asexual Visibility and Education Network, arguably the first group of its kind.

It was 2002. David Jay was a freshman at Wesleyan University. Confused and alone, he had long grappled with questions about his sexuality and sexual identity. "I started using the word 'asexual' when I was about 13 or 14. Everyone around me was experiencing things that I wasn't, and it was scary and disorienting," said Jay,. “I assumed there was something wrong with me. Something broken.” At the time, asexuality, beyond a purely biological definition, was almost completely unheard of - not just to Jay, but to most of the world.

Founder of Asexual Visibility & Education Network AVEN

DAVID JAY

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Today AVEN, with an international membership of almost 70,000, is the largest asexuality organization in the world.

AVEN

started small but quickly ballooned, creating what would become a tight-knit online community and kickstarting a conversation about asexuality and its implications for the wider world. “I knew the word ‘asexual’ was really powerful and validating, but I wanted to avoid creating a culture of telling people who they needed to be in order to be part of this community. I started talking about how identity is a tool and not a label - an idea that you should be able pick it up if it’s useful to you and put it down if it’s not, and one that you can redefine for yourself,” he said.

AVEN has been a crucial resource and online gathering place for the asexual community.

Described by its members as a safe space for asexuals to discuss their experiences with others, as well as an organization that works to raise public awareness of asexuality,

AVEN PEOPLE

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70,000

We spoke with numerous asexuals (or “aces,” as they colloquially refer to themselves) who said they felt confusion and frustration in their early teen years, when their friends, as one asexual put it, began to go “gaga over sex.” Some said this confusion was coupled with shame and self-doubt. Almost none had ever heard of asexuality before their late teens, and almost all remember asking themselves whether something was fundamentally wrong with them.

asexuality.org

where a majority of people know about asexuality, and aces can grow in it together.”

AVEN PEOPLE ARE For many, the asexual comingof-age narrative is a shared one with common themes, one As the asexual community that begins with continues to forge a shared Jay says he’s hopeful isolation and leads identity, that future generations will not to the unexpected have to wander blindly and unaided through the murky realm of (a)sexual discovery. discovery of an “The community has really grown identity and a around this experience of realizing that you’re not alone,” he said. “It seems much-needed like things are moving forward much more quickly than in the past. I’m very community. hopeful that we’ll soon get to a place

“We know that asexual people have been looking for each other for a long time, but it wasn’t until the Internet that we found each other,” Jay said.

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Roll

Sound Camera and... ACTION! A 5 Quick Steps Journey in Far East Cinema

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Which are the movies not to miss in Far East Cinema from the last decade? Any answer could sound pretty pretentious, since the perception of movies is so personal and differentiated. The best you can do is to give some advices, hoping to please the majority of tastes. Far East Cinema is about feelings and strong emotions, about innovative visual solutions and astonishing scenarios - one for all, the masterly colorful Christopher Doyle cinematography in Patrick Tam’s Hong Kong movies of the ‘80s -, about different cultures and extremely fascinating folklore. It’s not only a matter of exoticism - its attraction originates especially from a different aesthetic sense, based on the attention to scenic and on faraway, yet so close events. The following steps, few names and few titles, just briefly consider five themes that emerge in worldwide cinematic imaginary from each of these countries: South Korea, Japan, China and Hong Kong, Thailand and Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. You won’t sit by such a stylish beauty and art.

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Step 1 Nobody seeks vengeance like Koreans do!

Special tip: No mercy by Kim Hyeong-joon, an exquisite revenge-thriller building up tension through puzzled plot and puzzled victims’ bodies till the final revelation

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Let’s start our journey from a country whose cinema, since its birth, has always struggled to emerge from the strict control of external and even internal powers. (South-)Korean cinema has a history that reflects its own country’s struggling for freedom and democracy, so it’s not strange at all to think about revenge as a predominant feeling and theme in this renaissance. The way vengeance is depicted, anyway, has such a strong component of formal neatness and refined visual output, that even the most bloodthirsty sequence can be accepted without being

particularly affected by this violence. Park Chan-wook’s overwhelming trilogy – Old boy above all – and Kim Jee-won’s way of mastering the genres – in A tale of two sisters, A bittersweet life or I saw the devil – are more than known. But what about Kim Ki-duk’s return in great style: Pieta? The total transfer in which the viewer founds himself sunk into during the whole running time of this movie is really something you only experience few times in life. In the end, vengeance is nothing but a fragile balance between guilt and forgiveness, where nobody really wins or lose, but only sympathy can emerge from the depths.

Japanese cinema has always been a benchmark, with its quiet way of developing themes and

There’s a title which has reached a worldwide consensus both of critics and audiences: the Step 2 Death is always a plots. Oscar winner Departures by Takita Yôjirô. There’s nothing more conclusive than paying one’s final respects to the loved ones: restorative art gives back dignity and life to a dead body before the bad thing… or not. relatives’ farewell, a ritual dictated by calm rhythm and obsequious silence. Here you can gently slide into the personal growth of the protagonist, accompanying him in his journey against the

Special tip: Confessions by Tetsuya Nakashima, a black drama that unveils the convicts early on but manage to keep the audience taut till the very end with an excellent screenplay.

prejudice about a work that basically transforms death in a piece of art. The respect for the departed is really a universal feeling and cinema can be the way to show it. After the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami that caused so many casualties in Japan in March 2011, all the world was shocked and so were Japanese famous directors. Sono Shion is one of the few who decided to find a way through the tragedy: in fact, he sets his own personal Land of hope right on the border line of the quarantine territory of Fukushima as a message to overcome the sense of desperation and isolation Japan is going through since then.

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Step 3 Too many ways to be number one: HK goes to Mainland

Special tip: The equation of love and death by Cao Baoping, maybe the most verbose black comedy dealing with love and its tragic effects.

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The beautiful, meditative, huge landscapes of the Chinese territory perfectly antagonize the sparkling and neon-lighted Hong Kong skyline. This binomial sets also two very different ways to express cinema and movie-making. Aside the already worldwide known Ang Lee and Zhang Yimou, the documentary style of Jia Zhang Ke could be a good start to approach mandarin (almost un-)spoken films: Still life and 24 city both trace the life of men and women searching their place in this new China, which is irrevocably changing under their sight.

On the other side, Hong Kong has seen many waves of great cinema throughout his course. Nowadays it’s struggling a bit, but looking not so far behind we can find masterpieces for different genres: from Johnnie To’s action dramedy Throw down to Wong Kar Wai’s slow (e) motions in In the mood for love. Even Martin Scorsese kept an eye on HK productions and summarized Andy Lau’s Infernal affairs stupendous trilogy in his The departed.

successor of Bruce Lee on the screen. Much more enjoyable and interesting is the female Step 4 Extreme violence and ideal version Chocolate, which adds over-pathetic implications to the violent fight scenes. Nattawut debut film Countdown comes as an absolute guilty pleasure for the lovers of pure pure realism from Poonpiriya’s psycho-horror cinema: a weedy trip into human deepest abyss. Philippine movies can really touch the opposites of mankind. They can go from the funny Bangkok to Manila

Prachyia Pinkaew’s Ong-Bak let Thai cinema spread to the world and introduced Tony Jaa as the

Special tip: Mariposa in the cage of the night by Richard Somes, a gloomy and melancholy descent in Manila’s worse squalor.

comedies with the local star Eugene Domingo to the darkest (literally) surroundings of devastated cities where cuts aren’t a mere cinematic formula to stop the shooting session. Brillante Mendoza emerged showing properly this tendency to contraries: Kinatay is an unconventional slasher movie and a total massacre for the eyes, while Thy womb is a poetic and vivid dive into realism.

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Step 5 Sneaking out of rules: Malay and Indonesian gasps to the future

Special tip: Songlap by Effendee Mazlan and Fariza Azlina Isahak, a countless amount of felonies committed by two brothers in their attempt to escape a slumping reality.

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These last two realities are really poor of chances to emerge and struggling to get back on track. Facing a national box-office crash in 2011, Indonesia has hopefully found some fresh air with Gareth Evans’ The raid: a weel-made martial arts action film at full throttle. The same can be told for Malaysia, where Dain Said’s Bunohan, deserving the chance to unsuccessfully run for the Academy Awards, looks to create an opportunity for a positive trend.

by Davide Beretta Class 1984, he's an omnivorous film buff and critic. He graduated in Media Languages in Milan, IT, with a dissertation focusing on cinema entitled Lost daughters: the angels of vengeance in Park Chan-wook's trilogy. He's been Assistant Director for MIFF - Milan International Film Festival and film critic for sector-based websites. Currently he's collaborating with the Cineteca di Bologna and specializing in film studies with a thesis on South-korean cinema after the democratization process in the early '90s.

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THE FUTURE OF MUSIC of any effective technology to automate the composition of music is a direct consequence of our lack of understanding of what music is. The process of musical composition remains ad hoc and intuitive. (…)

subsidiary role to the efforts of the human musician: composition. There does exist software that can help the musician to compose music, but such software can no more compose good music by itself than a word-processor can write a best-selling novel. (…) The non-existence

An essential component of this plan is secrecy. Once everyone knows what the composition algorithm is, or enough is known about music to easily derive a composition algorithm, anyone will be able to compose music algorithmically, and the commercial value of individual musical compositions will be reduced to zero. Given the requirement

for secrecy, it is entirely possible that someone is already carrying out this plan. It is even possible that multiple parties are carrying out the same plan, each in ignorance of the others. But unless the release of algorithmically composed music is very carefully controlled, there will be some obvious signs and symptoms of music composed algorithmically:

• Decide to solve music problem. • Hire suitable employees and swear them all to secrecy. • Acquire database of music and perform research thereon. • Research response to music on human and animal subjects. • Solve problem sufficiently to algorithmically generate music. • Use algorithm to compose new strong music. • Produce and sell the music. • Rake in profits.

The time may come when someone realizes how much money could be made from a complete scientific theory of music, and commits a significant investment to the development of such a theory. A simple business plan is as follows:

Profiting from a Complete Theory

The profits of the modern Western music industry have funded (and encouraged) the development and use of music-related technology. Technology contributes to recording, editing, and distribution; it allows the development of new musical instruments, such as the electric guitar and the synthesizer; and it enables computerized performance, where the musician is replaced by a programmer typing performance instructions into computer software. But there is one major component of the music production process where technology still plays a very

Composition Technology

If one person or one group of people can discover the secret of music, then so can others. So even if the first discoverers keep it a secret for commercial reasons, the secret will eventually get out. There are the temptations of fame and credit - once one has made one’s first few millions, one might want to claim the credit for a major scientific discovery before someone else makes the same claim. The standard legal answer to the problem of commercially exploiting a new discovery which cannot be kept secret is to apply for a patent. The disadvantage of a patent is that it requires disclosure. If the applicant is lucky, there

is a gap between initial application (after which commercial exploitation is permitted), and granting of the patent (when disclosure is compulsory). Depending on which country you are in (or more precisely, depending on which country or countries you wish to apply for a patent in), you may or may not be permitted to commercially exploit an invention before your application for a patent on the invention. But if a dishonest inventor of a musical composition algorithm secretly used their algorithm to compose music, published the music, received royalties, and then they made a patent application (claiming that they had not yet

used the invention commercially), it would be difficult to prove that they had indeed used their invention prior to the application (and therefore were not entitled to receive a patent). Different countries also vary in whether or not they allow patents on algorithms. Once a patented composition algorithm has been disclosed, preventing infringement may not be easy. For example, it may be possible for a competent software developer to implement the invention with a few hundred lines of code in a high-level programming language. The file-sharing saga has shown that many people will do whatever

It may be that we have already discovered all possible musical genres, so it is not possible to create any new genres. It may be that there is some sort of “ceiling” of musical strength, and ad hoc musical composition has already reached this ceiling. Algorithmic composition might increase the number of very strong songs, but the strength of the songs may be no greater than anything in the existing body of music.

It is slightly possible that neither of these signs will become apparent:

Some of the music will be radically distinct from existing genres in ways identifiable even to musically naive listeners. The quality of the music will be noticeably better than music composed the traditional way. This will lead to almost total domination of the commercial music industry by a small number of composers and songwriters.

A Post-Music-Theory World

•

383 economics of the music industry. Here is a rough sequence of events that currently happen when someone composes new good quality music:

composition to the stage of being played excessively on the radio is at least a few months. Now consider the sequence of events in a post-music-theory world:

The composer composes the music. The composer, or a separate lyricist, writes some lyrics, because singing is the preferred form of music for most listeners. The song is taken to a publisher. The publisher accepts the song, and looks for a performer to perform the song. The performer (perhaps already signed up to a record company) signs up to perform the song and make a recording. The performer performs and records the song in a recording studio. The recorded performance gets mixed by a mixer. The mixed recorded performance gets mastered. The record company decides to sell the recording. Someone makes a video of the performer pretending to sing the same song live against a soundtrack of the mastered recording. The record company’s promoters promote the song to radio stations and TV music channels. The performer undertakes a world tour, playing the new song and any others they happen to have on their new album. Consumers hear the song on the radio, see the video and perhaps go to a concert. Eventually the song appears in other forms: bands play it in pubs, other well-known performers do cover versions, sheet music becomes available, and lots of people sing it in karaoke bars. Consumers have listened to the song so many times that most are moderately bored by it. The song is included in various low cost compilation albums. The original CD appears on sale tables in CD shops. Consumers crave their next “fix” of new music.

is low enough. Whether a musical composition algorithm gets patented or not, the discovery of such an algorithm will have a major impact on the

There are variations on some of these steps, like ‘the composer also performs the song themselves’, or ‘few consumers buy the song until a second performer performs a cover version’. In general the duration from initial

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it takes to get direct and free access to music that they want. The instant pleasure of music can overcome anxieties about illegality, especially if the risk of being caught

Step 1

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all the above steps: the computer composes a new tune, plays it several times, composes another tune, plays it several times, then repeats a few tunes composed on some earlier occasion, and so on, with configuration options chosen to match the listener’s preferred rate of exposure to new and old music. There are some things missing from this do-ityourself (on your own computer) approach to musical composition:

The quality of performance, mixing and mastering will only be as good as what is programmed into the software, or what the user is able to do for themselves by adjusting options in the software. The composition algorithm will probably not generate good lyrics: lyrics are natural language, and generating interesting natural language is a whole separate difficult problem in itself. Even if lyrics can be written, the software might not be able to sing very well. And even if the software can sing as well as a person, we actually like to know that a person is singing a song to us.

How long will it take to go from pressing the ‘Compose’ button to hearing the song? If the composition algorithm is computationally intensive, then there might be some delay. In the worst case music lovers might be forced to leave their computers running overnight and see what comes up in the morning. But it is quite possible that gratification will be totally immediate. And the software will be configurable to automate

The consumer installs some musical composition software on their computer. It is assumed that they have already installed a good sound-card, good quality speakers and a high quality set of sound fonts (i.e. digital versions of instrument sounds). The consumer fiddles with input parameters on the composition software, and uses the mouse to click the ‘Compose’ button. The software creates a new composition and then plays it through the computer’s sound system. If the consumer likes the composition, they save the details, and play it some more. If the consumer particularly likes the results of the current composition, they may post it to their web-log, or email it to their friends. The consumer gets bored, fiddles a bit more with input parameters for composition, and clicks the ‘Compose’ button again…

In as much as ‘consumers’ are people who buy things that others have produced, our ‘consumer’ was only really ‘consuming’ when they set up their computer hardware and installed the composition software (and the software might have been free anyway). After that initial step it doesn’t make so much sense to refer to them as a ‘consumer’, since they are now doing all of their own production.

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385 Difficulties with lyrics and singing will create new markets in the music industry, specifically for:

A cornucopia of music from a composition algorithm based on a complete scientific understanding of music perception may not be an entirely good thing. It may, as the saying goes, be too much of a good thing. Technology constantly threatens us with new and dangerous addictions: fast cars, television, designer drugs, video games and Internet pornography. Algorithmically generated music may be the next addition to this list.

Come home from work, turn on the computer, bring up the software, compose and play some new music. Or just download the latest hot compositions that have been posted on the Internet. As is the case for many other forms of entertainment, music ‘addiction’ may be selflimiting for most people. If there is some 5 percent of the population (the ‘music junkies’) whose life is ruined and corrupted by this new pleasure, then so be it,

and the rest of us enjoy it in moderation, and life goes on. We can only hope that the power of rationally composed music over us will not be too great. There might be a campaign to get musical composition algorithms classified as a ‘Class A’ drug, but it seems unlikely that those in power could successfully enforce a law against citizens composing music in the privacy of their own computers.

Lyricists who can write good lyrics quickly. Singers who can quickly learn to sing new songs. It may be hard for some singers to do this (but singers in the new post-music-theory economy will at least be spared the unbearable boredom of having to sing the same hit song over and over and over again at all their concerts.) Ditto with instrumentalists, given that there will still be a demand for live performances of music.

Music Junkies?

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Writing lyrics is a non-trivial skill: if you don’t believe this, pick a well- known tune and try writing your own lyrics to it, and see if they sound as good as the original lyrics.

everything, and the full extent of these consequences is not immediately obvious. The intrinsic conservativeness of our thinking makes us reluctant to throw away assumptions about how the world is and how it should be, even if we have observed a change and we know logically that it breaks many of those same

assumptions. Faced with these difficulties, and not wanting to appear too much of a fool to future generations, I will risk just one more prediction about the future of music: the next step in improving our understanding of music may be taken by a reader of this book.

Excerpt from ‘What is Music? Solving a Scientific Mystery’ (Chapter 17) © Philip Dorrell The book is available as a free download at: whatismusic.info

Futurology is a difficult enterprise. The things that make the future most interesting are the ideas that become known in the future that were not known in the past. By definition these ideas are not known at the time the prediction is made. Sometimes even a small technological change has profound consequences for

The Future

POST-EVERYTHING MUSIC 1+4 cross-over albums not to miss

TRICKy False Idols

I wouldn't blame Tricky if he was sick of hearing about the 1990s. It's the decade where he set up his presence, released his defining works, and then noisily tried to escape. That he spent the last dozen years of his career stumbling into the kind of modern rock/ indie pop territory that didn't mesh well with his early aesthetic says something about how definitive (and potentially imprisoning) his fame-making sound was. Whether or not his genre-hopping would've worked out on its own terms - and for the most part, it hasn't - it'd have a hard time maintaining the moody, seductive yet stressed pull of his first few albums. But Tricky wasn't wrong to try shaking his triphop rep and attempt new things, he just sounded so adrift that it was hard to figure out where he'd find his way

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back to once he finally refocused. By the time he released Mixed Race in 2010, it became clear that the best-case scenario where Tricky was concerned was to either wait for some new thing to finally click, or hope that he looks back just long enough to be reinvigorated by memories of where he started. False Idols tries to split the difference, and weirdly enough, it nearly succeeds. Calling it Maxinquaye for the middle-aged seems a bit too glib, but this album really does return to the ethereal, almost fragile intensity that marked his well-loved 1995 debut with the more solemn perspective of a grown man who's felt like he's lost his way. And for a while, everything seems right. The production's appropriately spare, moody, and elegant, streamlined and engineered to sound uniquely

his while still throwing alternate jabs and nods to contemporary R&B's underacknowledged debt to his sound. But it's still far from monochromatic; the subdued yet rich minimal house thump of ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ and the dirgy guitar squall of Antlers collaboration/cover/ semi-rewrite ‘Parenthesis’ are integrated variations on the stylistic theme, not whiplash detours. That sustained mood benefits greatly from his harmonizing and interjections with singer Francesca Belmonte, filling Martina Topley-Bird's role as the quietly assured yet emotionally driven foil to Tricky's clenched, whispery murmur, like two introverts trapped in close quarters. Going into a Tricky album hoping for that pull between beauty and tension is going to leave you at least somewhat happy with this record. But the catch-22 of ‘return to form’ albums is that without the dregs that precede them, they need to stand up as something deeper, something without ghosts following it around. And even if False Idols is approaching a more

coherent idea of what a Tricky album could sound like in 2013, a lot of the record comes off more like a tentative first step. There's no overthinking here, which is a relief after all the tryhard highconcept ideas - poppy hip-house, French Touch knockoffs, leering cock-rock - that didn't really take off on his last couple of records. But with that simplified approach comes simplified songs: Only the gel-submerged minimalist funk of ‘Tribal Drums’ barely scrapes past the three-and-a-half-minute mark, and even the more immediately catchy tracks start to sound like sketches on further investigation. It's most evident in the songwriting: Opener ‘Somebody's Sins’ is simply a cover of Patti Smith's opening verses to her cover of ‘Gloria’; ‘Nothing's Changed’ features a generous interpolation of Pre-Millennium Tension highlight ‘Makes Me Wanna Die’, and too many songs lean on simplistic metaphors and imagery that merely hint at deeper things they leave frustratingly concealed: the vague romantic overtones of ‘Valentine’; disjointed debauchery

on ‘Is That Your Life’, the evasive ‘Passion of the Christ’. And yet in the end it does show promise: the songs aren't bad by any stretch, and when the first negative that comes to mind is that the ideas need to be fleshed out a bit, it's a long way from wishing they'd've been discarded in the first place. Even with 15 tracks all averaging around the three-minute mark, there's little time on False Idols devoted to offbeat goofs or weird failed experiments, just a handful of songs that bottom out at “not bad but a bit forgettable.” A front-to-back listen won't dredge up any obvious duds or collargrabbing highlights, but it might get this album's focused vision planted a bit deeper in your head. Tricky might not have succeeded in bringing his old sound 100% back to life, but as an effort to hit the reset button and rediscover himself, this record's a better-thanexpected surprise.

Pusha T My Name Is My Name

!!! Thr!!!er

Kanye West Yeezus

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