Larry Yust: Photographic Elevations

by Wendy Dembo

LA-based, Philadelphia-born filmmaker and photographer Larry Yust combines 10 to 100 digital images to create giant "Photographic Elevations" up to eight feet long (pictured below, detail above).

Opening 24 September 2009 at the Lumas gallery, this will be Yust’s first show in New York City after solo exhibitions in Los Angeles, Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne and most notably the Louvre.

Featuring his infamous photos of the Paris Metro—featured in his oversized book where the images unfold into three-foot-long panoramas—the exhibition also includes shots of streets in Los Angeles, Havana and Berlin, as well as the canals in Venice. The colossal photos provide a feeling of involvement, as if the scene in the image is actually present (click on images for enlarged view).

Larry Yust: Photographic Elevations
LUMAS Gallery
24 September - 3 November 2009
Opening reception 24 September, 6 - 8pm
77 Wooster Street
New York, NY 10012 map
tel. +1 212 219 9497

Nouvelles Images Mona Lisa Wall Sticker

by Evan Orensten

Nouvelles Images has just released a new series of wall stickers, including this take on Mona Lisa. This more graphic, abstract interpretation of the original is about 20" x 28" and can ordered online for around $30.

Yuketen Double-Ring Boot

by Tim Yu

We've seen a lot of these double-ring boots lately but our favorite thus far has to be this version by Yuketen.

Featuring a sturdy cream-colored Vibram sole, you can be rest assured that it will eat up any type of terrain this fall. Sewn into the stable sole is an oiled moccasin upper that is soft and supple providing comfort. The double-ring system pulls from the back offering an adjustable, snug fit.

Available for purchase from Arknets for ¥48,300.

via Hypebeast

Next Black Backpack: The Timbuk2 Q

by Josh Rubin

A black backpack is part of my daily life and needless to say I have very specific requirements—after a few weeks testing, the Timbuk2 Q has become my new standard.

Constructed from durable ballistic nylon, the pack is designed to offer "swing around" access to its padded laptop sleeve, but also offers easy reach for its other compartments. The main pocket is roomy enough for day use, the outer flap has multiple sections and a handy organizer for accessories, and the bottom pocket fits my water bottle perfectly (though I think it's meant for power cables and such). There's even a secret zippered pocket in the back panel that I find handy for keys because it's easy to get in to without taking off either shoulder strap. The straps are very comfortable, as is the padded back panel and there are handles on both the top and sides.

The Q won me over for its overall comfort and easy of use but I also appreciate the styling of the outer flap that pays clear respect to Timbuk2's heritage as a messenger bag company.

Lissitzky+ Project

by Jacob Resneck

The Van Abbesmuseum in Eindhoven, Netherlands is set to open a three-year exhibit on the Soviet visionary El Lissitzky, dubbed the Lissitzky+ Project. The first of three one-year installments opens 19 September, 2009, giving up an entire floor to a man whose career was marked by contradictions. Interestingly, he alternately worked to preserve Jewish heritage in the former Russian empire and as a polemicist designing propaganda posters for Stalin.

This first installment, entitled Victory Over the Sun, takes its name from Lissitzky's futurist opera that premiered in St. Petersburg in 1913. A firm believer in the principle of "das zielbewußte Schaffen" (goal-oriented creation), Lissitzky's desire to inspire and educate is evident all the way to his very last work, a WWII propaganda poster with the imperative, "Davaite pobolshe tankov!" (Give us more tanks!).

Displaying sketches and lithographs from Lizzitky's electromechanical dolls, the Van Abbesmuseum has heightened the exhibit by following the artist's detailed how-to instructions painstakingly recreating many of these three-dimensional objects, including a six-meter high figurine displayed at the museum's lake.

The museum will continue with two more installments of Lissitzky which will run through 2012. For an in-depth look at his art, check out the Getty Research Institute's exhaustive collection of Lissitzky's work.

Lissitzky+ Project
Through 2 September 2012
Van Abbesmuseum
Bilderdijklaan 10
Eindhoven, The Netherlands map
tel. +31 (0)40 238 1000

Artist Karen Kimmel

by Karen Day

As creative as she is altruistic, artist Karen Kimmel leads stencil workshops geared for children that she calls Art of Exchange.

The L.A.-based artist has been stressing the importance of creating art and helping kids make "some sick stuff" from California to New York, setting up workshops at Creative Growth in Oakland and Arizona's Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in addition to partnering with Andy Spade on The Avant Garde Preschool project.

Due out soon, the Exchange Collection laser-cut stencil set (pictured right) contains six original designs inspired by nature and made of flexible plastic. Also included is a grommet-bound coloring book packed with six pages of neon cardstock for cutting along with 12 templates.

If you can't wait, check out Kimmel's wood veneer and colored acrylic ornaments, available for purchase from the A+R Store, or her hook rugs, both lovely additions to any home.

For a full spectrum of her artwork and upcoming projects, or to download her 172-page portfolio full of past projects like the Baguette bag for Fendi and the Make Your Mark shoes for Nike, check out Karen Kimmel's website.

For those in L.A. this weekend, Kimmel will be hosting an artists workshop with New Editions, open to parents and kids alike at the J.Crew store in Malibu on 20 September 2009. Check out the Lipstick Tracez blog for more information.

The Bethlehem Beard Corporation

by Mike Giles

Signed to Swedish label Flora and Fauna, The Bethlehem Beard Corporation consists of a 15-year-old melancholic Swede. Here at CH we’ve been listening to his latest disc When the Beards Met in Bethlehem on a regular basis, enough so that we contacted our good buddy Jonas at the Swedish Model to get some interview questions over to the artist. See his answers below.

I noticed that you play all but one of the instruments on your album, why is that?
Basically that's just the way it ended up. It would have been great to have more than just one main instrumental force behind the music but at the time of recording the album it was easier to layer a bunch of guitars instead of having a full band.

Where does the name come from?
A film that I saw a long time ago. At least I think so. And yeah, beards are cool.

Who made your album art?
The album cover is actually a painting which my two friends painted. Anatol Wyss and Pascal Fogelberg are two very good people and great artists as well.

Is it tough to get shows because of your age?
No, not tougher than it is for anyone else.

How did you get signed to Flora and Fauna?
I'm close friends with Daniel Savio, who used to be signed to Flora and Fauna with one of Sweden's greatest musical gems Hundarna från Söder, and through him I got in touch with Henrik von Euler at the label.

Who are your main influences, both in music and life?
I like Sean Price a lot and I always try to copy scientists when it comes to recording. In life, ehh, anyone who's good with paranoia.

Do you plan on putting together a full band so you can tour?
It would be great to be part of a band and hopefully this project might evolve into something reminiscent of that. When it comes to playing live there are several ways around the "lonely guy with a guitar singing" cliché but for now I'm sticking with it.

What got you into music?
I don't know really. I've always listened to a bunch of stuff, but hearing Elmore James for the first time was cool.

Download "Into Air" and You Will Come Over Soon from Flora and Fauna. Buy the full length release from iTunes.