polaroids.

Hi there! Today we are loving the photos of Alicia Bock.

Before Instagram made everyone a photography star, you might remember a little site called flickr. During the early age of Flickr (and Blogger), I came across--and fell madly in love with--the Polaroids of Jen Gotch and Alicia Bock. They both inspired me to pick up my own Polaroid camera, a momentous event (wink, wink) which led to the creation of this blog. Alas, it was just before Polaroid announced they would stop making film--not to mention film becoming near obsolete with the following Age of Smart Phones with Fancy Filters and Apps.

While Jen has gone on to great fame as the CEO of ban.do, Alicia continues to post her breathtaking images on Instagram, her site and her etsy store. While Alicia photographs her travels to places such as Paris and Chicago, she mostly snaps pics of her home life in Michigan--and makes it feel like the loveliest place in the universe.

Here are some of the (now vintage) Polaroids that sparked the love affair with Alicia Bock. And you can see much more of her work here, here and here.

 A Fine Way to Spend the Afternoon

Beside the Little Red House

 2900 Miles #6

Pretty Pony

Whispering Wind

The Renault

All images © Alicia Bock

 A few more things to love today.

I've been meaning to watch the Netflix-streaming film In the Loop for so long, and I finally did it! Loved it. A wincingly funny take on U.S. and UK bureaucrats causally planning the next war in the Middle East. I also love this series of posters that wickedly riffs on the iconic Obama "Hope" design.

This collage.

By Trash Riot

And this room.

Via Design Files

That's all for today, but I'll be back soon with more to love. xoL

imaginations.

Let's not waste a minute and get right to what we're loving today--the brilliant photographs of Nathan Wirth.

Now I love art and artistic photography. And I love a healthy dose of pop culture. HOWEVER. The mix of art and pop culture tends to underwhelm me. Until now. Wirth's stark, black-and-white photos take some of the most familiar figures of film, tv and comic books, and isolate them in a dramatic context, emphasizing their deeper meaning. These heroes, anti-heroes, villains, monsters and aliens are really archetypes of our collective unconscious, creating our modern-day mythology and transcending the flitting nature of pop into the realm of art.

In his statement on this series, the artist says:

"Robots that serve and protect or destroy; monsters that emerge from the sea; 

aliens that arrive from faraway solar systems; superheros that fight crime and 

unimaginable evils; wizards that orchestrate fellowships; heroes and villains 

that clash in galaxies far, far away: all of these are characters and stories born 

from the imagination, created with the intent to spark the imaginations of others."

Wirth also has many photos sans pop culture icons--monochromes of land- and cityscapes--and they are just as awesome as his imaginations series. You can find more of his incredible work at his site and on Behance.

All images © Nathan Wirth via UFunk

Here's a few more things to love today:

This poster.

This painting.

The Little Owl, 1506, Albrecht Dürer

And this photograph.

Hibiya District, Tokyo, 1965 by Henri Cartier-Bresson 

That's all for now. Have a wonderful weekend, and I'll see you on Monday. xoL

works of art.

Hi again. Hot enough for you this week?

This time of the year always amuses me, because it's sweltering outside and yet the fashion world is talking about fall. I think it's one of the reasons I don't pay too much attention to (high) fashion. However, I took notice of one show this year: "Wearable Art," the A/W '15 collection by Viktor and Rolf.

Inspired by the works of the 1600s Dutch painter Jan Asselijn, the show was staged at The Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Models walked the runway in denim smocks, first with canvases draped around them, then framed paintings. The avant-garde duo appeared on stage to remove the canvases from the models' bodies and hang them on the wall.

It was fashion as art as performance art. And it worked so wonderfully, because the designers seemed not to proclaim "couture is high art," instead presenting an inventive take on how art inspires fashion, the two worlds interweaving in a whimsical way.

Dutch art collector and writer Han Nefkens was so inspired by the show, he bought and donated one of the pieces to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in the Netherlands.

Photos via Fashionising

Here is a link to the runway show on YouTube. And here are a few more things to love:

This movie poster.

This Avedon photo of Suzy Parker.

Suzy Parker, 1957, by Richard Avedon via Everything Lovely

And this settee and art piece.

Image via Diane Likes Art

That's all for today. But I'll be back soon with more to love. xoL

witness.

Why, hello.

If you've been reading this blog as of late, you may have noticed that I'm into post-apocalyptic worlds where nature has (barely) survived and lone animals roam the desolate remains of civilization. Not sure why the current trend is dystopian--it's just my jam.

So it's no wonder that I'm loving the haunting paintings of Brian Mashburn. Witness, his new show of works, is on display at the Thinkspace Gallery in Culver City. Eerie and provocative, solitary wildlife (and the occasional child) prowl charred landscapes witnessing the detritus of industrial cities run riot. 

There's something baroquely magical in these works--the shrouds of pollution, the intricacy of barren trees, buildings like fortresses in the distance. Witness is on display at Thinkspace until August 8th.

All art (c) Brian Mashburn via Thinkspace Gallery

A few more things to love today:

This book cover.

The Bear cover by Per Ahlin, 1964

This room.

Photo via The Vintaquarian

And this film poster.

By Adam Simpson via Fuck Yeah, Movie Posters

That's all for now. I'll be back soon with move to love. xoL

gone girl.

Love, love, LOVE this alternative Gone Girl poster.

 

 By Márk Juhász

peter stults.

The retro movie posters of Peter Stults make my heart beat a little faster.

I was familiar with his vintage-inspired takes on modern films--I featured his Gravity poster in an earlier post. But I'm falling in love all over again with his current series. Not only does he lend the retro treatment to current flicks, he casts them from the corresponding era. The results are mindbending. The idea of Marilyn Monroe and Kenneth Anger doing Under the Skin makes my head almost explode. And I'm dying to see Lucy as told by Francois Truffaut directing Jean Seberg.

Check out his series Movies from an Alternate Universe, part 1 and part 2.

                                                      All art © Peter Stults via ufunk
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