30 June 2007

Shocking realisation (terracotta)


It's just occurred to me that the exteriors of both the building I live in, and the building I start work in on Monday, can best be described as being predominantly terracotta in colour. Curious.

Carry-on luggage

I'm quite excited about the opportunities for self generated product design that accessible laser cutters and rapid manufacturing technologies have enabled. Ponoko is a cool (and local!) example of this - at the recent Craft 2.0 they exhibited a range of stunning laser-cut designs -Dan Emery's flat pack table was a particular favourite. I love that it's taking kitset furniture to a whole new level, and embracing that it's made up of a bunch of small pieces, rather than trying to look overly solid and permanent like other kitset furniture does.
The flat-pack nature is also pretty cool - more portability, flexibility, and easier storage. So this morning's discovery over at AT was doubly exciting - a flat pack, laser cut plywood house by Gregg Fleishman.
Now if they could only develop that in interlocking, insulated, and self supporting concrete slabs...

25 June 2007

Alive and well.

"Painting is dead" they cried, as Elam rebranded all multi-media, as auction houses had shows of photography exhibitions, and as scores of new collectors rushed out to buy anything that hadn't been tarnished with a brush. Turns out, though, that painting was only sleeping, as a bunch of good painting shows have demonstrated.

Adam's Four Times Painting heralds the start of a mighty comeback - I was particularly taken with Simon Ingram's lego painting machines.

Pataka sits on the fence a bit more, despite their recent really good Japanese painting show, with New Painting: Digital Age. Less curated statement than collection of dealer shows, it still makes for a nice wander - Tim Thatcher and Andrew McLeod's particularly.

Mahara out in Waikanae Shopping Mall recently showcased the Real Art Roadshow - a rapidly developed yet fascinating collection of paintings that will be touring schools in the back of a truck - taking Tony de Lautour's drug imagery to the nation's 9-year-olds. It's a pretty bold investment in painting - privately funded no less.

In the dealer realm, Peter McLeavey's current show by John Reynolds is a stunner - as Peter himself stated one of the top 12 shows he's ever hosted. Pretty high praise indeed.

New job, new car

The rule always used to be new job = new bike, but given that my riding hasn't moved beyond getting to and from work for weeks now, I can't really justify a new bike. So it was somewhat timely that some work needed doing on our aging car.
We're going German this time round (balancing my lifelong car ownership totals at 2 French and 2 German - 2.5 French if you count rusting hulks), so there'll undoubtedly be some readjustment as I unlearn the tinny urgency of the highly strung but beautifully road-holding Peugeot and relearn the solid sensibility of the Golf.
Sadly in 7 years I never got round to joining the Peugeot club, though I did write an article for their newsletter once. Outgoing car posed in front of Murali's sports centre, Rotorua, above.

13 June 2007