Category Archives: Culture

“Puss” Means “Kiss” in Swedish

ImageDo you like weird facts and knowing what time it is? Great! You should go to Factoclock – you learn something new every minute.

The Prince of Prints

ImageAnother lovely coffee table book for my ever-growing wish list. This gorgeous limited edition book, published by Taschen, charts the visual history of print maverick Emilio Pucci. I love pyschedelia and I love fashion, so obviously I want this iconic tome for my collection!
Pucci Book TaschenIt’s a bit pricey at £44.99, but each book is individually bound in Pucci print fabric, and features hundreds of photographs, drawings, and candid shots from the archive of the Emilio Pucci Foundation. Below are some spreads from inside the book.Pucci GalaxyPucci BookPucci SixtiesPucci Pattern
Want it.

Style Over Substance

Falling womanImageStyle or substance? Audi and BBH believe you can have both in their new TV ad…

Unless you’re a woman! Hahaha, let’s all sneer at the silly vain tart who’s fallen down in the rain! She can’t have style and substance – she chose style, the moron.

God’s Own Junkyard

ImageToday I headed up to Walthamstow to visit Chris Bracey’s huge studio on Vallentin Road – God’s Own Junkyard. Peeking through the locked iron gates, it really does look just like a junkyard, but once inside it’s like an Aladdin’s cave of neon treasures.Chris Bracey studioI don’t know whether it’s because of the junkyard’s location, or if it’s because not that many people know about it, but when my friend and I showed up at around 2pm on a Saturday – a peak time for visitors in most places – we were lucky enough to be the only people there.The man who works there, John, is really friendly and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of pretty much everything stored in the studio. He was happy to show us round, pointing out props and signs that had been in various films, like Tombraider, Eyes Wide Shut, and the newest installment of the Iron Man films – a huge ‘STARK’ sign. I really can’t recommend this place enough; I’ve never been anywhere else like it!Neon art

David Bowie – The Next Day

ImageAnother amazing new video from David Bowie! Once again, he’s teamed up with Floria Sigismondi - the same director who did the video for ‘The Stars (Are Out Tonight)’ - and this time Bowie plays a prophet. Gary Oldman co-stars as a priest and Marion Cotillard is the leading lady, portraying a prostitute who develops stigmata. The cinematography and styling in this video is brilliant – so many frames make amazing images in their own right.Gary Oldman The Next DayEyeball platterDemonic NunLove this demonic nun look – definitely doing something similar for Halloween this year!Gary Oldman and Marion CotillardBleeding handsMarion CotillardCardinalStigmataGary Oldman The Next DayWhen I first saw it, I thought it was a bit of a shame that people are so jaded these days that it probably wouldn’t be recognised as being particularly scandalous. But then I read some headlines about how it had already pissed off some Catholics and I took comfort in the fact that of course religious zealots and Daily Mail readers are still so easy to shock! Normally I would post the video here, but to enjoy it in its full glory you should probably watch it on Vevo – then you don’t have to see an annoying logo, or watch it on a tiny screen. Enjoy!

Google Doodle: Saul Bass

2 Saul Bass Google Doodle3 Saul Bass Google Doodle4 Saul Bass Google Doodle5 Saul Bass Google Doodle6 Saul Bass Google Doodle7 Saul Bass Google Doodle8 Saul Bass Google Doodle9 Saul Bass Google Doodle10 Saul Bass Google Doodle11 Saul Bass Google Doodle12 Saul Bass Google Doodle13 Saul Bass Google DoodleAnimated tribute to legendary graphic designer, Saul Bass, on Google today – amazing.

iPhotos iEverywhere

iPhone CityiPhone TaxiiPhone ChildI know that this new iPhone advert is supposed to be poignant and heartwarming, but I actually find it a little but creepy and unnerving. I’ve probably watched too many episodes of ‘Black Mirror’, because this advert just reminds me that we’re under constant surveillance.

Everyone wants to take pictures of everything! I don’t like to think about it too much, but it really freaks me out to think that there is a very real possibility that a complete stranger has taken a picture of me either passed out or wearing a badly-chosen outfit, just so they can upload it to Facebook and get a few derisive ‘Likes’ at my expense. It’s even worse when you think about how this kind of attitude can escalate – like in the recent Steubenville rape case. It’s definitely got to the point now where taking photos all the time hasn’t just become mundane and disposable – like the scenes in the iPhone ad. Gawking and voyeurism is so deeply embedded in contemporary society that it’s become quite disconcerting. Especially because, to some extent, we’re all guilty of it.

With the recent introduction of Google Glass, a campaign group called Stop The Cyborgs have called for the gadget to be banned in certain areas – something which I am definitely in favour of. The BBC article covering the story raises a lot of interesting questions. While it’s definitely true that technology and innovative design makes our lives faster and easier, these new inventions are also shaping our attitudes in ways that very few could have predicted.

Brand Addiction

This wry GIF, by New York-based illustrator Beomyoung Sohn, is part of a project called ‘Dummymen‘. The repetitive animation shows our mindless addiction to brands and consumerism as well as, presumably, our loss of individuality as a result. The project, which is still a work in progress, has got a really dark, nihilistic humour to it that reminds me of work by Banksy and Jake and Dinos Chapman. It’s amazing how many brand logos have been squeezed onto all the faces of each block; every time I think I’ve spotted all of them, I’ll see one that I haven’t noticed yet – like the ones for CNN and FedEx, which are partly hidden.

If you like this, then you’ll probably like the hilariously horrible cartoon by Steve Cutts that I posted previously.

Peugeot 208: Wacky Races

Real Life Penelope PitstopLive Action Wacky RacesReal Life Dick DastardlyWacky Races IRL! Watch this cool advert for the Peugeot 208, which shows the car competing in a live action version of the Hanna-Barbera ’60s classic, Wacky Races. Made by Y&R São Paulo and Partizan, the fun 90 second spot showcases all of the Peugeot 208′s features in the context of a slapstick comedy race against the show’s classic characters.

Aww, poor Muttley!

Women Of The Future…

Image“Women of the future will make the Moon a cleaner place to live.”

Damn straight we will! Radical sixties feminism, yeah! Future women – fellow pioneers of space travel, improving another planet through green energy and innovation. Exciting!

Hang on a second. I just re-read it. You mean that women are just expected to clean stuff on the Moon, like we’re expected to on Earth? Oh, shit…