Jonathan Velardi

Lovers & Haters

2012-02-14T01:35:00.001-08:00

Sweet roses, summer rain and purple shades of evening were lost in translation somewhere down the line in the commercial-overload that is now Valentine's Day, but rest assured this is a zero-percent-cocoa-content-and-flammable-animal-toy free zone. For the lovers and haters of 14th February I give you the gift of song - here's British Pop Band Unit 4 + 2's 1965 hit Concrete and Clay to get you tapping and swinging to the beat. Heartbeats optional. XOXO

New Look

2012-02-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

New week, new look. I'm currently busy working on setting up a new platform for all my practices and the first to get a fresh new logo is my beloved blog. Many of you will remember my post last August that launched the #highlife and #lowlife hashtags to encompass my own personal interests of art, culture and lifestyle that are presented through my online activity.

Between The Lines - at the private opening of Michael Craig-Martin's

graphic Pop sensibility on the New Art Centre estate, Salisbury

Many people ask me what it all means and I always reply that it can mean whatever you want it to mean - what I find interesting are the boundaries of high brow and low culture that are increasingly crossing over in the creative realm and I hope the hashtags will be used beyond their face value assumptions and stereotype of high and low culture. From art and design to lifestyle and taste, I hope the use of the hashtags on my own posts as well as my follower's social media activity will produce a record of views attributed to creative collaboration from around the world and the balancing act between exclusivity and the wealth of association that comes with it with popular consumer demand fuelled by profitable aspiration.

What's French for "Edgy"? - banlieue graffiti artist Kongo brings street style to

French luxury house Hermès AW11 carré collection

I'm very interested in this concept of balance and the evolving interpretation of collaboration and expression and I intend to document high- and low- perception and the value of taste within twenty-first century society. I have interpreted this idea into my new blog logo as well as creating a couple of seesaw designs (below) that express this investigation, which I hope you will enjoy...

Get in touch and tell me what you think - you know the score, join me @JMVELARDI for the #highlife and #lowlife of the everyday...

Sometimes...

2012-02-05T13:59:00.000-08:00

... it's OK to be going nowhere.

As long as you have your suite of bespoke luggage, it's all you will need.

The Darjeeling Limited, 2007

Stereo-type

2012-02-03T07:51:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since my last post and with the weight of guilt growing with every letter typed for my other projects I'm currently working on, I decided: it's Friday, the weekend is nearly here and I need distraction. So since there's nothing better than music and visuals to forget about work and the winter freeze that is engulfing the UK right now, I thought I'd share M.I.A.'s new music video that has been released today. Bad Girls, a track first featured on her 2010 Vicki Leekx mixtape, has all the M.I.A. trademarks, only this time around the scene is hot Middle East swagger with a booty of Nineties' references, all given the midas touch. Directed by Romain Gavras, desert grit-meets-bling along the oil pipeline that acts as bleachers onto the spectacle of old school BMW E36s and Alfa 156-boy racers, only it's not boys behind the wheel, but burqa-clad women. The opposite sex has played no small role in the Arab Spring across the Arab states - mounting pressures on Saudi Arabia, so far saved from uprising through internal repression, unfortunately have done little to overturn the driving ban for women and whether this a politically-charged message, "Live fast, die young / Bad girls do it well" or satirical stereotype in song, "My chain hits my chest / When I'm banging on the dashboard", M.I.A. is on the money turning the cars, chicks and guns formula upside down. I'll leave you to make up your mind about the burqa back up dancers...

Have a great weekend everyone!

In The Meguro Mood

2012-01-19T04:06:00.000-08:00

Whether you like it highlife in a fifty-third floor suite, like it down low upon a tatami mat in a ryokan or if you're a die hard when in Rome traveller and do as they do in a capsule hotel, then Japan offers all of this and much, much more - hotel slippers inclusive - across the country. When I was in Tokyo last year, before getting ready to head back to Blighty, I wanted to check into a hotel I had read a lot about in design publications - CLASKA is an eighteen-room boutique hotel housed in a converted seventies high-rise located in the trendy Meguro district scattered with interior design shops and studios.

While the hotel's seventies' history remains on the exterior, clad in a patchwork of era-specific earthy tones, the interior is a creative manifesto - "question Japanese aesthetic… through exploring the 'ordinary life' of Japan" - that mirrors its neighbourhood surroundings, presenting three traditional tatami-style rooms, twelve western-style rooms and most intriguingly, three D.I.Y. rooms, commissioned by young artists and designers to create conceptual themes on the seventh floor.

My curiosity got the better of me and debating between Pajama and Scar, I booked myself into Room 701 - Someone's Atelier - designed by Norihiko Terayama. The organic arrangement of framed flowers and wooden workshop-esque desk made for a simple, yet functional room with a great high rise view of Meguro and an unsurprising attention to detail such as the unique room key fob which are unique to all D.I.Y. rooms.

Room 701 - Someone's Atelier by Norihiko Terayama

Mixroom by Kaname Okajima

While I could have spent my whole time exploring my room, more eccentricities were to be found throughout the hotel: Mixroom was only outside my door on the same floor and is run by designer Kaname Okajima who produces alternative gifts for the home and accessories; on the floor above, the 8th Gallery is a large space with a rolling exhibition programme of art and events and the commercial Gallery and Shop DO located on the second floor offers a selection of contemporary Japanese products and exhibits artists' handicraft who conform to the beautiful aesthetic of the hotel and its mission of innovation and design. Now a successful concept brand, Shop DO may be found downtown in PARCO Shibuya department store and in Osaka. A great item produced by the hotel is a bilingual city guide - Tokyo By Tokyo - that has been composed by some of Tokyo's most creative characters, all of whom offer an alternative guide and a plethora of hidden gems, district-by-district throughout the city, with titles from lavish toilets to bars and clubs that know how to party.
The full glass lobby looks out onto the buzzing neighbourhood and houses the hotel's cool Kiokuh lounge bar and restaurant which makes for a great spot to see and be seen, in both day and night, as well as DogMan, the in-house dog salon for perfect little pooches pampered by their equally perfect beauticians.

breakfast at Kiokuh

The rooftop terrace is a glorious deck that looks across the sprawling city and while Meguro is not considered central to any tourist attractions, the scene in neighbouring Daikanyama, south of Shibuya, is not to be missed. One of Tokyo's über hip enclaves, Daikanyama is where the yuppies set up home, with boutique shops and restaurants pitching up in bespoke architectural creations on a small yet impressive scale in keeping with the village-vibe of the area. Enjoy the tree-lined pavements and take a lunch break at Caffé Michelangelo, a Daikanyama-classic.

If you need to head out to the bright lights you will not be disappointed on your walk from the hotel to Gakugei-Daigaku station which will take you straight into Shibuya station. A ten-minute walk through meandering narrow streets will bring you to a brilliant bohemian market street of healthy delis and convenient stores that makes for a great example of everyday life in the city. The creative thread clearly runs deep in the area - don't miss Baden Baden, Maison romi-uni and Good Fortune Factory , a selection of creative hotspots of style and for the stomach, tucked away en route.

Gakugei-Daigaku

I had a great time at CLASKA - its style and service were both exceptional - a rare balance in an affordable bracket. CLASKA is the ideal hotel if you've already hit the tourist trail and are in the mood for a taste of stylish Tokyo through a bohemian lens, and if that alone doesn't sell it to you, I don't know what will.
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CLASKA
1-3-18 Chuo-cho
Meguro-ku
152-0001
Tokyo, Japan
Tel: 03.3719.8121
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More from my time in Japan coming soon - until then check out all my Japanese adventures here.

The Kingdom Come

2012-01-18T01:52:00.000-08:00

All that needs to be said about the highly anticipated (understatement of 2012) new film my legend, and personal idol, Wes Anderson is this: colour, music, style, old faces (all hail Murray, Murray all hail), new faces (shout out to Willis's agent who sold "this would be a great new move for you" to him), New England, typography, mustard hues - all in a world where twelve-year-olds have personalised stationery and where life is lived in a beautiful alternative technicolour in Moonrise Kingdom. Let the suspense commence…

Well Spotted

2012-01-11T15:36:00.000-08:00

Controlled Substances Key Spot Print, 2011

Yesterday evening I managed to make it to the very popular turn out that was the opening of new work by Damien Hirst at Other Criteria’s New Bond Street outpost. Spot Prints sees twelve new prints by silkscreen and woodblock processes – the woodblock prints being my personal favourites, with their raised texture on paper – in the now familiar spectrum of colour which this body of work has awarded Hirst iconic status since 1986.

S-Lactoylglutathione, 2011

With this new series, Hirst explores elimination and fragmentation - dots are halved and portionsare shifted – the works remain fresh, intriguing and if yesterday night wasanything to go by, they certainly do not fall into the once-you've-seen-one-you've-seen-them-allcategory and even if they did, now would not be the time to cry ennui. For tomorrowwill see the launch of The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011, a globalexhibition at each of Gagosian Gallery’s eleven locations around the world. Ina first of its kind, three hundred works will be dispatched to the hauteexhibition spaces of the Gagosian Empire and shall display the artist’s spotcanvases in what will be the most expensive single-artist exhibition to date.

Have air miles you don’t know what to dowith? Gagosian is offering an original Damien Hirst Spot print for Pop art aficionadoswho manage to visit all eleven gallery locations within the month run – click here to register for The Complete Spot Challenge.

upcoming global exhibitions on the Gagosian website

This interesting concept is only thebeginning of what will be an important year for Hirst. 2012 sees the first majormuseum retrospective in the United Kingdom at Tate Modern in April that willrun over a period when London and the rest of the country will have the eyes ofthe world upon them and the best of British will be at the forefront during the Queen’s Diamond Jubileeand Olympic Games’ festivities. So if you think you’ve seen it all, you haven’tseen anything yet.

Spot Prints
10th January – 14th February 2012
Other Criteria

36 New Bond Street

London W1S 2RP

The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011
12 th January – 18th February 2012
Gagosian Gallery

Damien Hirst at Tate Modern

4th April - 9th September 2012

I Left My Heart In Yanaka

2012-01-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

While the bright lights of central Tokyo are as addictive as a box of dorayaki to any Tokyo rookie, when I visited the Eastern quarters of this sprawling city I knew I had found my footing. Yanesan incorporates the three districts of Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi and although they can be reached with only a few stops from central Tokyo on the Chiyoda and Ginza metro lines, these areas, especially Yanaka, have been saved from modern redevelopment, not to mention both Kanto earthquakes of 1923 as well as Allied bombings from World War II.

Yanaka is known for its Edo Period temples sprinkled around every corner and alleyway within this cosy residential area inhabited by creatives and eccentrics, young and old. Tourist hotspots include the Yanaka Reien, a cemetery of seven thousand graves that attributes to the area's inherent tranquility - whose resident includes the last shogun of Japan, Yoshinobu Tokugawa - and Nezu Shrine with classic orange torii set within beautiful manicured vegetation. I however was taken with the area's everyday life of old independent craft shops and traditional boutiques that cater for locals, as opposed to tourists, and line the narrow streets that are so typical shitamachi (low city) along Hebi-michi (Snake Street). This area is certainly worth a visit to understand Tokyo's metropolis and diverse districts like a collection of characterful towns each with their own personality and sets the scene of local Tokyo life away from music-thumping light-tastic Shibuya. Be sure to check out Ueno Park which houses several of the city's renowned temples and shrines as well as Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, the National Museum of Western Art and a host of traditional Japanese institutions including the country's oldest zoo with crowd-pleasing giant panda bears.

torii at Nezu Shrine

Here's a few of my favourite Yanaka addresses that stole my heart...

Washi Wonder - Isetatsu

I made sure to pay a visit to Isetatsu on both of my trips to Japan last year. This traditional washi and chiyogami suppliers offers a range of colourful designs and patterns on paper produced by this family business since 1864. With over fifteen hundred wood block and hand carved designs to chose from and furoshiki (multi purpose cloth) found under the roof of this miniature premises, Isetatsu is the place for any stationary enthusiast - I stocked up on greeting cards and wrapping paper which are worthy of any fine art print - and is the only establishment of its kind that remains in Tokyo.

Red and yellow and green and blue... at Biscuit

If you follow the aroma of coffee across the street from Isetatsu, you will find Rampo - a small café clad in dark wood, decorated with eclectic kitsch ornaments and picture frames whose owner has a penchant for cats. An unusual refuge, yet somewhat very Yanaka, you will find kitsch presented in a very different way next door at Biscuit. Colour coordinated objects from Europe line the walls and vintage dressers of this boutique which makes up a mini emporium with two other outlets - fashion and books - located in their respective dinky shops dotted around the neighbourhood. Biscuit is a lifestyle brand with an eye for detail that has successfully managed to understand its aesthetic on all aspects of life.

Nobuo-san at Biscuit Books

The book shop is close to Nezu Shrine, a few minutes walk from the other two outlets and is run by artist Nobuo Kusunoki. It was a pleasure to meet Nobuo-san who was passionate about illustrated books - an illustrator himself, he explained how the shop's book collection is his own; from children's books to encyclopaedias, from old fashion and travel magazines to Punch, his collection spans the globe and has friends from England and Europe send him old books and maps of London that they find in flea markets or on their travels. Originally from Kyoto, Nobuo-san described Yanaka as a home from home, the neighbourhood's low architecture and resident's love of two-wheels rather than four attracted him to move to the area. Arigato goizamsu to Nobuo-san for his time and tour of his brilliant shop - please take a look at Nobuo's very own illustrations and model-making at his website Mustard Café here.

Behind the façade of a 1952 sento public bathhouse lies one of the most famous contemporary art galleries in Japan: SCAI The Bathhouse. Launched in 1993 under the directorship of Masami Shiraishi, an international and national artist programme of events and exhibitions are programmed throughout the year - currently on show is an installation by Japanese artist Nobuko Tsuchiya, We are living in a time machine.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T14:34:00.000-08:00

Nostalgia and anticipation strike the right notes at the end of a year. I hit a few majors, and have had my fair share of minors, throughout 2011 and while every year is a rollercoaster of remembrance, mere chapters in our very own chronicle of a lifetime, there will undoubtedly be extracts that we will want to cherish and those that are to be fervently forgotten. Unfortunately I faced several personal challenges in 2011, one too many that may make anyone else deem it a write-off, but it will be in majority a year full of wonderful memories, many of which I have wanted to share and have not done so until now.

Amazingly, it has taken me twelve months to put down into words my very first trip to Japan. Put simply, this was a childhood dream come true and as with my other travels, worthy of a blog post or two. Before the end of 2010 I was hosted by my good friend and old flat mate @mtomatot and seeing the sights, sounds and smells of Tokyo that I had heard so much about when we were at The Slade together with my own eyes was as exciting as it could get. It was an honour to see in 2011 in Tokyo, getting the chance to strike a gong for good fortune and ridding of sins on the temple bell and to explore the country on my own, armed with the oh-so-polite phrase, “sumimassen, doko desu ka?” for a few days in historic Kyoto. The kindness, generosity, and attention to detail - from being informed what side to sit on the Shinkansen in order to see Mount Fuji to the abundance of individual hand serviettes at every taiyaki bakery and table placement from Shibuya to Setagaya-ku (anyone who knows me will understand the importance and heartfelt appreciation I have for this default hygiene) – are only a few examples of the charming nature that is the Japanese psyche. On my return to England I wanted to do my ode-to-Japan post justice and with the hundreds of photos and jotted notes I had accumulated during my two-week stay I knew this was no one-hundred-and-forty-word-limit blurt. January and February passed by and as I was preparing a write-up on my Nippon adventures, the world was reminded how vulnerable it was when devastating images were being live-fed to breaking news channels on Friday 11th March. While global acts of human revolution continued to make headline news throughout the year, it was the power of nature that proved the most changing effect on the nation of Japan with the devastating tsunami that hit along its Eastern coast. Watching the helpless communities watching their own neighbourhoods, its history and their livelihoods wiped out by the force of the water were images that will and must never be forgotten. Only a few months before, the people of Japan left such an indelible mark on me, with such destruction that was now consuming everyone from the city to the countryside, it was impossible to post anything of my extraordinary trip during this time. Fortunately my friends in Japan and their respective families were safe – what was now on everyone’s mind was how to help the tsunami-hit areas, areas whose residents were patiently helping one another and whose stoic nature amazed the world under this difficult and emotional spotlight.

On 31st March @ladiesotpress, @tomoko_aoki and myself rallied London support with the fundraising event Send My Love to Everyone in Japan hosted at Quare project space which raised money for the British Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal and brought together those who had family and friends in Japan that were away from their loved ones during the crisis.

Had somebody told me I was to visit the Land of the Rising Sun twice in the same year I would certainly not have believed it. But I was back in Tokyo once more in October, this time to share in the beautiful celebration of marriage between @mtomatot and @Y_WOODY. It was a privilege to have attended my friends' special day and being able to return to my favourite spots such as Yanaka and Daikanyama as a little-bit-more-than-a-tourist was very sugoi.

In Japan, I found my soul mate, or soul country, and I hope I will return to this fascinating island very soon. This year's horrific tsunami showed the inherent strength of Japan and is a testament to the power of human nature against Mother Nature: loss is an incredibly consuming emotion and I wish everyone who has experienced loss in Japan and across the world the hope that is brought with the expectations of a New Year. While there are many dedications of this year to protests and socio-politcal change (HOPE Less, December 2011), I am dedicating 2011 to Japan: a country I finally managed to visit and a corner in its vibrant everyday that I feel I can call a home from home... look out for a few more write-ups about my time in Japan coming soon in the New Year but until then, here are a selection of photos from Tokyo, Kyoto and everywhere in between...

Tokyo Sky Tree, in Sumida district, is due for completion in February 2012 and will be the tallest building in Japan reaching 2080 feet

Designed by architect Rafael Viñoly, the light-filled lobby of Tokyo International Forum nods to the country's relationship with the sea, creating a floating hull-like structure

Repeat after me "ton-kat-su"- three syllables of tender breaded pork cutlet sandwiches at Maisen in Harajuku

A surprise view from one of the best eateries in the city - set within the deepest alleys of Roppongi lies the urban farm complex, Roppongi Nouen, founded by the formidable Hima Furuta - this is a must-see must-do, must-eat if you're in town - oishii

Grand Sumo at Ryōgoku was one of the most unique experiences of 2011

Best people watching route: walk from Shibuya to Harajuka along sugoi Cat Street across Takeshita Dori and Omotesando Dori

Kyoto e yōkoso (welcome to Kyoto)...

Heian Shrine Torii Gate in Kyoto

East meets West on the steps of the To-ji Temple compound

Magnificence at Kinkaku-ji - Temple of the Golden Pavilion

I have worked on exciting projects and met interesting people this year – through this blog and my new-found embrace of Twitter I have made new friends and creative colleagues around the world and I look forward to working with and hearing their news and future successes in 2012.

Happy New Year everyone

Thank you for all your support - here's to another year!

Merry München

2011-12-21T10:15:00.001-08:00

With an invitation of all-you-can-eat biere und breseln, as well as catching up with my good friends Gabriela and Michael, I could not resist spending last weekend in the capital of Bavaria, München to get me into the festive spirit. In contrast to my visit to Berlin earlier in the year (Berlin Kultur, April 2011), south Germany is all about tradition and if the city's annual Oktoberfest is any indication, Bavarians know how to party for any occasion, Christmas being no different. Between the Christkindlmarkts, glühwein, schweinebraten and baroque architecture around every snow-covered straße, I had a great time taking in the sights and sounds of this historic city known for it's snobbiness... and humour with these Euro-name-and-shame flag posts that adorned all four corners of Konigsplatz.

Germany laughs at the expense of poor Italy and Greece? I hear you ask - unfortunately the national flags indicate the respective museum collections at the Glyptothek and Antikensammlungen - and there I was thinking Germans had a sense of humour after all!

Here are some images from Merry München...

Theatine Church - Theatinekirche

Munich Palace - Münchner Residenz

Egon Schiele at Lenbachhaus Kunstbau

BMW Welt

Christkindlmarkt at Wittelsbacker Platz

Pinakothek

Museum Brandhorst

The Englischer Garten

HOPE Less

2011-12-14T16:14:00.000-08:00

Whether it was TIME magazine's intentions to make a double entendre with their anticipated Person of the Year cover that was released today is unclear - The Protestor has been chosen to encompass the power of the people that has spread across the world from the passionate Arab Springs to the tumultuous riots in London and occupied streets in the Western world.

TIME commissioned Shepherd Fairey to illustrate The Protestor cover and it is a far cry from the artist's cover for the magazine's Person of the Year in 2008: Barack Obama - Why History Can't Wait. Fairey had used a version of his now iconic HOPE poster of President Obama that went viral during his American election campaign. The image evolved into something as synonymous with the word 'hope' - the very emotion in fact, the expectation of a better future; three years on, the world continues to be in a turbulent financial state and at least in America, Obama has not been able to work as much magic as he would have liked. The early jeers of 'No We Can't' sees the end of 2011 in a rather hope-less state.

For Fairey, he will be forever associated with the Obama campaign (A Casualty Of Politics? January 2010) however will perhaps want to disassociate himself with the President's recent publicity push in the run up to next year's re-election with his announcement of the end of the Iraq War today, in the same year that saw the death of Osama Bin Laden under his watch - all pieces in a "dumb" war effort which he was opposed to during his election campaign.

While the covers of The Protestor and Why History Can't Wait tell a poignant history of a changing world, TIME has chosen Fairey to define yet another movement: revolutionary times whose eyes no longer look up at the distance to the unknown, but now looks straight at you, for straight answers.

10 Ideas

2011-12-13T04:46:00.000-08:00

With only ten days left to Christmas here are ten gift ideas that will get you some culture points this Holiday season - taken from the worlds of art and design that have featured on this very blog and @JMVELARDI over 2011 as well as some new items thrown into the festive mix
... and not a pair of socks in sight...

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1. First impressions count
Cheeseburger wrapping paper set at Gift Couture

2. Get the party started
Quartz Pinatta - handmade - by Confetti System at Other Criteria

3. Design Deity
Fornasetti: The Complete Universe at Rizzoli

4. For those who have been naughty...
Christmas coal toffee at Fortnum & Mason

5. ... or nice

Andy Warhol Tribute Dom Pérignon Champagne at Dom Pérignon

6. The better to see you with

Maison Martin Margiela magnifying glass from 13 collection - available in right and left - at Selfridges Concept Store

7. Megabeads

Seat computer bag at Henrik Vibskov

8. Hit the road
36 Hours - weekend itineraries across 150 North American locations from The New York Times at Taschen

9. Exhibition of the year
Design for an interior (1983) by George Sowden from Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990 at Victoria & Albert Museum
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10. Kitsch after Koons

Balloon Dog decoration at Paperchase

Making The Invisible Visible

2011-12-04T08:42:00.001-08:00

This week will mark International Human Rights Day on 10th December. With the turbulent events that are currently making headline news across the Arab states, this annual event encourages a letter writing marathon to demand that the rights of individuals are respected around the world in the hope of making real changes to people who suffer human rights abuses in their daily lives. In conjunction with International Human Rights Day Amnesty International has collaborated with German street art collective Mentalgassi and advertising agency Weiden+Kennedy to highlight several cases from this year's marathon in a public art campaign, Making the Invisible Visible. A series of portraits of individuals whose human rights have been denied or abused have been created into lenticular installations that have been postered onto urban surfaces in six European cities to produce a simple yet effective campaign-in-motion as passersby engage with the images from specific angles.

Check out this brilliant video campaign from Amnesty International shot in London and look out for the installations in your neighbourhood...

Visit Amnesty International for more information about this project and details on what you can do for International Human Rights Day this year.

Rolling Identity

2011-12-01T01:55:00.001-08:00

Today sees the launch of my logo design for online art platform Unrealised Projects. In answer to their 'rolling identity' initiative which sees a variety of logo designs created by artists and illustrators as a source for web and print promotion that challenges idea of brand recognition, my design is presented in my trademark creole style with interlocking hoops that give a nod to the evolving and rolling concept.

Visit Unrealised Projects for more information about their rolling identity programme - further details on my art and design practice may be viewed at jonathanvelardi.com

Christmas Wish

2011-11-30T10:35:00.001-08:00

I first came across Partners & Spade in 2009 when I was living in New York - their East Village advertising studio is a fantastic space which curates a rolling exhibition of art and design - I was lucky to catch their celebrated collection of Lehman Brothers paraphernalia (Investment Of Taste, September 2010) in the wake of the insolvent firm.

This week I received a brilliant email from the studio which I have to share with you all - while the streets of the world's financial capitals may be occupied with strikes and capitalist contempt, it is not to say that everyone's aspirational tendencies won't be making an appearance during the festive season. Partners & Spade make sure everyone get's their Christmas wish this year with their humorous It's The Thought That Counts initiative...

Visit Partners & Spade to view a selection of their over-priced products in their Storefront as well as information about their Studio services.

Partners & Spade

40 Great Jones

New York

10012

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T07:58:00.001-08:00

Autumn heat with Pantone 1655 C

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers

across the pond and beyond!

Muse-ic

2011-11-17T14:07:00.001-08:00

How far would you go for LOVE? Since 2008 Cartier have been asking this very question and have been inviting artists such as Lou Reed, Phoenix, Olivier Dahan and Camille Henrot to interpret an answer for the renowned French jeweller. This year Cartier invites electronic music duo AIR to be inspired by the luxury brand's popular LOVE collection, producing an original soundtrack and music video that depicts a young artist in New York in search of his muse, aptly titled Painted Love...

Brand AD

2011-11-16T04:36:00.001-08:00

I am very fortunate to call Windsor my home – twentyone miles from central London, the historic town in Royal Berkshire is famed byits castle and its royal residents throughout the centuries, of which thecurrent Royal House adopted its namesake during a First World War rebrand –unsurprisingly Saxe-Coburg-Gotha didn't quite have the right ring to it. The town is pseudo-country; formed around the private and publiccrown estate of Windsor Great Park, one can instantly be lost in an ocean offorest or fields when exploring off the tourist ant-trail, only to discoverthere is much more history beyond the castle walls. Down the Long Walk - arguablythe most impressive approach to a residence in the Land - and beyond the CopperHorse, lays a community of duty and heritage. While accessible only by foot orby bicycle to the public, The Great Park is my home turf and my runs aroundthis five thousand acre estate over the years have still not taken me to itsevery corner. A few weekends ago I stepped back in time – to the twelfth centuryto be precise – to visit the exhibition A Pageant of Heraldry organised by TheCollege of Arms and Cumberland Lodge.

Cumberland Lodge is a residence within TheGreat Park dating from the middle of the seventeenth century. Since itsformation as a charitable foundation in 1947, it provides aninformal centre for academic exchange – it’s panelled rooms proved one of themost interesting exhibiting pop-up spaces I had been to for a while.

Duringmy time with the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle a few years ago, I couldnot resist growing a fascination with heraldry. Besides the fact that there issymbolism carved onto every chair, table, pane of glass and slab of stonearound the castle apartments, as an artist the visual language that thesesymbols created were truly mystifying and formed one of the first concepts of a brand through visual recognition in history. Whether it is the sea of shields acrossthe ceiling of St George’s Hall or the sacred decoration that is at the heartof the foundations of St George’s Chapel, it is easy to be enchanted in the genealogicalhistory of characters past and present.

Heraldry derives from the word Heraldand was first mentioned in Western Europe about the time of the First Crusade(c. 1100). Acting as messengers, diplomats and army staff officers, Heraldswere attached to household rulers and magnates around the country where theyused their expertise in identifying army commanders by their coat armour -markings painted on their banners and shields – since helmets denied facialrecognition during war. This was a valued skill and precise identification inbattle was paramount. Their experience led to taking responsibility of ceremonialduties at court and they were acknowledged as members of the Royal Householdunder Henry V in 1415 as ‘King of Arms’.

Their device of indexes, rules andterminology around the insignia of arms form the basis of heraldic law andlanguage that continues to provide a service today by the office of theEarl Marshal – itself a hereditary position through the Dukes of Norfolk since1672 - who represent the Sovereign in the authorisation of all arms and grants.

The exhibition illustrates the importance of heraldry as a mark ofidentification and charts the importance of heraldic seals as a means ofauthenticating documents in the late Middle Ages to the interest of institutionsand public bodies from the beginning of the eighteenth century of whichinterest maintains in contemporary society and continues to be presented withan ornate Grant of Arms document approved with a Great Seal.

Tabard of King of Arms, bearing the Royal Arms on velvet

Tabard of Pursuivant of Arms, bearing the Royal Arms on silk

Highlights fromthe exhibit include tabards of King of Arms and Pursuivants of Arms beautifullyembroidered on velvet and silk respectively, as well as The late QueenMother’s personal banner which is uniquely on display.

While it is assumedthat coats of arms are only reserved for royalty and nobility, with theemergence of a celebrity class towards the end of the last century withinBritain’s inherent class system, a slice of noble decoration can in fact bepurchased by anyone, at a price. With the trend ignited by rock royalty such asSir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney, celebrity culture in Britain aspired forheraldic heritage – this was notably documented in the press when David Beckhamand then-to-be wife, Victoria Adams commissioned a coat of arms inspired by theBritish Premier League Football trophy in 1999. Reports came out that thecouple wished for the swan - that is incorporated in the design - to face aspecific direction and that it had been suggested the swan should face the oppositedirection since the great heraldic lexicon dictated the original directionwould have implied the male bearer’s sexual preference to men. Most recentlyhowever, the coat of arms of a certain Kate Middleton received global attentionon the announcement of her engagement to Prince William. Royal protocolrequires both parties of the royal couple to provide arms – the Middletonfamily commissioned a coat of arms with the help of Garter Principal King ofArms, Thomas Woodcock, resulting in a personal designthat symbolised the family’s association with West Berkshire and their interestin outdoor pursuits, while representing all five members of the Middletonfamily through colour and composition.

Printed onto the official souvenirprogramme on the day of the Royal Wedding earlier this year (Something Old Something New, April 2011) it is undoubtedly the most recognisable coat of arms in 2011, if not thiscentury. However once Kate Middleton officially married into the Royal familyto assume her title of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, her coat of armsinstantly ‘combined’ with that of Prince William. Where protocol necessitatesthis new design will be used to represent the Duchess and also gives theopportunity to watering holes around the country to fashion themselves afterthe newly appointed royal – the first pub in the country to be named after theDuchess was in fact registered in Windsor where the coat of arms can be seenabove the entrance.

The importance of heritage incontemporary society is no more evident than in the new advertising campaignthat was launched by British Airways in late September. While companies investmillions into rebranding their product with a new direction, the airline lookedto their past and reintroduced a brand element from their 'Landor' livery that was used between 1984-1997. Perhaps a clever marketing strategy on the eve of theBritish Monarch’s Golden Jubilee as well as the hosting nation of the OlympicGames next year, the airline has chosen to reintroduce a newly stylised versionof their coat of arms and motto, To Fly. To Serve - granted to them by theCollege of Arms in 1975 - on their aircraft, uniforms and all other aspects ofbrand BA. Profiting from the ‘made in Britain’ trend that is proving to be acurrency worth investing in across all market sectors, the expression ofgenuine heritage is an element of branding money cannot buy. The majesticnature of a coat of arms supersedes any fancy, modernist design, embodying asense of seniority, quality and even timelessness that will no doubt charmcustomers aboard the nation’s flag carrier.

A series of crests - including a chrysanthemum of the Emperor of Japan (centre)

While contemporary events ofpublic interest shine the media spotlight onto the heritage of theCollege of Arms today, it is the annual event of the Most Noble Order of theGarter within the walls of Windsor Castle at St George’s Chapel - heraldry’sspiritual home since the Order’s foundation in 1348 by Edward III – thatemphasises the historical importance and splendour of a service that is so intrinsicin this country’s very own brand identity that will last for another eighthundred years.

A Pageant of Heraldry may still be viewed at CumberlandLodge on Wednesday 26th November – click here for visitor information.For further details on heraldic history and lineage, enquiries may be made tothe Officer in Waiting at the Collage of Arms, which is open on weekdaysthroughout the year. Access to St George’s Hall and St George’s Chapel atWindsor Castle is open daily – the wardens are well versed in the castle’shistory and are more than happy to help with any questions – ticket informationcan be obtained at The Royal Collection.

The College of Arms
Queen Victoria Street
London EC4

.
Cumberland Lodge
The Great Park
Windsor, Berkshire
SL4 2HP

The Colour Of Luxury

2011-11-16T04:16:00.001-08:00

While the nation dreads a repeat of last year’s white winter, Selfridges London reminds us that white is not to be feared but admired. Besides the majestic hues of gold, purple and scarlet that have garnered royal favour throughout history, pulling off white in today’s twenty-first-century-of-grime is the ultimate in luxury – one only needs to look to Queen Elizabeth and her notorious white gloves and shoes (pictured).

This Christmas Selfridges is making this colour of luxury available for all: from art to artefacts, Birkins to bubbly and cashmere to casseroles, a series of products have been given the white once over. The White Wonders concept store on the ground floor offers a collection of bespoke items and collaborations with international artists and designers – Marc Quinn, Drakes, Alexander McQueen, Moleskine, Valextra - as well as exclusive objects specially selected by Christie’s auction house that include an original hand-drawn Snow White cel animation from Disney and an ancient Greek bust in white marble.

To get yourslice of white lux, drop into White Wonders in Selfridges, 400 Oxford Street,London this Holiday season or visit the dedicated website here for a selection of the exclusive range.

Graphic Gear

2011-11-14T02:20:00.001-08:00

Off theback of my previous post of wearing your art on your sleeves and shoulders(Moore Substance Please, October 2011) the partnership between contemporaryart and contemporary fashion design remains a successful formula. After spending the weekend roaming around the brilliant exhibition Postmodernism: Style and Substance 1970-1990 at the Victoria & Albert Museum, I thought it appropriate to report that this Holidayseason two brands team up with the estates of two celebrated postmodernist artists to produce graphic collaborations for your kicks and threads.

Reebokcontinue their creative partnership with the Basquiat Foundation with a seriesof signature markings printed and embroidered on the Omni Pump Lite created by the late Jean-Michel Basquiat.Featured on two colourways, the mid-top sneaker includes the artist’siconic signature and silhouette hairstyle detailing.

Set to launch later this month at Dover Street Market, London, Comme des Garçons has collaborated with the Keith Haring Estate on a line of monochrome tees and sweaters with Haring’s distinct art graphics.

The Comme des GarçonsOriginal x Keith Haring collection will be available in lambswool and cashmere– for more information visit DSM.

The Angolan Art Scene

2011-11-08T05:01:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year I was invited tocontribute to Angola Today – the first comprehensive online platform in theEnglish language on the Republic of Angola that is targeted at an internationalbusiness and investment readership.

My article, The Angolan Art Scene, introduces the status of visualarts from craft to the contemporary: spanning traditional Tchokwe objects thatcontinue to be highly desired on global art markets to profiling emergingartists who are presenting Angola’s turbulent identity in a contemporarycontext, as well as the growing foundations for art education and production inthe capital of Luanda. While the art world maintains a Western-centric view oncritique and taste, the popular and profitable rise of Asian and Oriental marketinterest will no doubt turn eyes onto emerging territories such as Africa andSouth America, placing Angolan contemporary art at an exciting junction forgrowth and development. I profile Luanda-based photographer Kiluanji Kia-Henda,who has achieved a number of high-profile residencies and exhibitions with his large-scaleportraits rooted in Angola’s socio-political history and post-colonialidentity.

Kiluanji Kia-Henda - The Merchant of Venice, 2010

The Angolan Art Scene simultaneously launches in the run up to this year’s ParisPhoto, which will open at the Grand Palais Paris, France this week. This annualart fair will honour photography from Africa, hosting a series of exhibitions – 'Les Rencontres de Bamako' and 'Private Collection' from the Artur WaltherCollection – as well as presenting galleries and publishers who support Africanart from around the world. The four-day event is guaranteed to be an excitinginsight into African art through the lens and is a date not to be missed for collectorsand investors alike. Visit Paris Photo 2011 for a full programme of events.

The Angolan Art Scene is now available to read at Angola Today - for more information about the article or if you would liketo contact me for future editorial commissions please get in touch on 07843 158319 or at jmvelardi@yahoo.co.uk

Ground Truth

2011-11-05T16:25:00.000-07:00

The marking of the end of summer has alwaysbeen for me the sight of revellers trudging around London’s mainline railwaystations with their muddy Wellington boots and tall backpacks weighing downtheir posture, swaying to and fro towards their homebound platform afteranother year of festival excess. The comfort of warmth within four walls for asleeping bag and a tent with a mind of its own has grown in popularity year onyear with trends of summer festivals and stay-cations enticing urbanites intothe dark depths of Nature’s womb. For some, camping remains a liberatingexercise, free from inhibition and free from the continuous rhythms ofcommercial speech that engulf our urban landscape.
Yesterday evening, withgravity winning over the autumnal leaves, I made my way across the Thames tothe opening of Ground Truth by Louisa Fairclough at Danielle Arnaud.Fairclough’s practice has always incorporated elements of analogue since astudent at The Slade School of Fine Art in the late nineties and she had introduced me to 16mm andSuper 8 film when she returned to the school as a tutor; her approach heartyand physical towards the equipment which was in contrast to my fear of pressingthe wrong button and ending up with an empty reel.

Bore Song, 2011

With the success of TacitaDean’s Turbine Hall installation at Tate Modern there is no question analoguefilm is experiencing a renaissance in the public’s perception of contemporaryart. Ground Truth – a geographical term of analogue land verification - consistsof two film and sound installations as well as a series of drawings exhibitedon the first floor of this Georgian terrace gallery. Fairclough, who is nowbased in the natural surroundings of Gloucester, has given sound an importantrole to play – it is the first sense that welcomes you into the space and itremains with you throughout the exhibition. Bore Song (2011) is a beautifullyexecuted 16mm film loop of a young woman surrounded by the water of the RiverSevern projected onto a small slice of glass – she opens her mouth to a continuouspiercing note that fills the space, the pitch reminiscent of analogue TV duringmidnight hours. In the moments of silence Song of Grief (2011), in theadjoining space, invites your attention with the same note emitting atdifferent intervals. Two 16mm projectors face one another; their empty film is suspended and travels up and across the space to create a shimmering installation of whitelight and sound, creating a ghost-like and yet embracing atmosphere. Celluloidfilm has always possessed an additional layer of attention that the digital lacks:the artist is inherently conscious of exposure, frame and shot and while I havealways respected the medium of film I have never experienced the reaction thatI felt towards Fairclough’s new body of work. Intimate, poignant and raw,the works invite the viewer to access the artist’s personal expression of grieffor the loss of a sibling and her account of her journey to the Severnby bicycle with her young son: genuine events in one’s life that have beenreinterpreted in beautiful visuals and moving audio.

Ground Truth, 2011

Campingparaphernalia are the subject of the series of fourteen drawings thatcorrespond to these bicycle journeys and the nights spent on theriverbanks under tents and in sleeping bags. The exhibition catalogue writtenby art critic and poet Cherry Smyth describes these drawings made of pencil,spit and watercolour as ‘a softly creeping calendar of grief’ and Smyth’s essaymakes for a wonderful narration of the context behind Fairclough’s GroundTruth – a journey that began with escape and ended in confrontation across the natural landscape that is analogue in every sense of the word.

Ground Truth will run at Danielle Arnaud until 11th December - visit the gallery's website for further information about the exhibition and opening times. Louisa Fairclough was nominated for this year's Jerwood Drawing Prize and her drawing Ground Truth (2011), named after this exhibiton, is displayed on the first floor.

Ground Truth
4th November - 11th December 2011

Danielle Arnaud Contemporary Art

123 Kennington Road

London SE11 6SF

Images courtesy of Danielle Arnaud

Music Box

2011-11-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

Tlatelolco Clash, 2011

Deep in the diplomatic and exclusive environs of Roppongi, with its international flavour in Minato, lies the subtle basement headquarters of Kaikai Kiki Gallery. Now in its fourth year as an established gallery formed under Takashi Murakami’s creative company Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd., currently on show is a body of work by Albanian artist Anri Sala.

Image, sound and space has continued to form the basis of Sala’s time-based practice and it was great to have the opportunity to view his new work while I was in Tokyo last week since I missed the opening of his solo show at the Serpentine Gallery, London. The mixed media installation consists of three video works as well as a snare drum (Doldrum, 2008) and a traditional music box (No Window No Cry, 2011) all centred around English punk rock band The Clash's 1981 hit "Should I Stay or Should I Go". The dark space, complete with tatami mat in one section of the gallery's floorplan, was lit by the large scale projections, filled with the tinny sound of a barrel organ in Le Clash (2010) shot in Bordeaux, France and Tlatelolco Clash (2011) set in Tlatelolco, Mexico City and the emotional and improvised tones of a saxophone in Long Sorrow (2005) played by Jemeel Moondoc in suburban Berlin, Germany. Sala’s restructuring of sound, image and location produce a decidedly offbeat atmosphere from on-beat elements – the visual narrative of the floating saxophonist or portable musical box is what ties the social contexts together and has the viewer travelling from one work to another, following the sound wherever it goes.

Le Clash, 2010

If you are in Tokyo next week don’t miss Anri Sala at Kaikai Kiki Gallery, which will close on 11th November – click here for more information about the exhibition and details on future events.

Anri Sala

Kaikai Kiki Gallery

2-3-30 Motoazabu

Minato-ku

Tokyo, Japan

Moore Substance Please

2011-11-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

Walk into any museum or cultural institution’s gift shop and chances are you will find, next to the glass beaded jewellery and papier-mâché objets from the developing world, a selection of novelty silk scarves. Printed on them will be art works from their respective crowd-pleasing exhibitions or collections - Chagall at the Art Institute, Kandinsky at Guggenheim and Monet at the Met Museum to name only a few - that play to the tastes of those who like to wear their culture on their sleeves and shoulders.

But well before the overly shiny silk scarf tokenism, there was a serious producer in silk manufacture whose creativity was paramount and collaboration with international artists was a respected and highly collectible. Since the 1940s Ascher, founded in Prague by Zika Ascher, has encouraged the link between art and the textile industry through their limited edition silk scarf project that has seen partnerships with Cecil Beaton, Henri Matisse and Feliks Topolski. Believing in ‘substance before trend’, the Ascher brand is reinventing itself and riding the crest of heritage revival that remains a growing market interest. The brand continues to be a family affair today with the founder’s grandson, Sam Ascher commissioning new artists from London, New York and Los Angeles while also reissuing its vast archive of designs, including the house’s first line of scarves designed by Henry Moore that had been originally launched in London in 1945.

The Ascher/Moore collaboration saw a total of four designs that translated the artist’s fascination with the human form through abstract markings executed in Moore’s recognisable drawing style as seen on Three Standing Figures (pictured above). As it was half a century ago, the series is hand printed on the finest 100% silk twill and remains an item worthy of a collector’s wall and wardrobe.
Visit Ascher's official site for more information about new collaborations and rereleases from the house's archives.

Library Brass: Smith Vol. 2

2011-10-31T11:12:00.000-07:00

Library Brass has officially launched its new jewellery collection Smith Vol.2. Last month I was asked by the Taiwanese brand's designer Chiayi Chuang to art direct the new collection's campaign in London (Backstage At Library Brass, October 2011) and it's great to see all the shots together in series - a balance of high concept and contemporary styling that express the brand's narrative for its third collection of 'aristocratic excess' and 'noble conquests' in gold plated brass, silk velvets and multi-coloured crystals.

The full campaign can be viewed at Library Brass and visit the brand's blog site here for all the latest news and information on events and stockists in Asia and beyond...

Omedetou!

2011-10-18T06:39:00.001-07:00

OMEDETOU GOZAIMASU @mtomato & @Y_WOODY !!!

A beautiful day for a beautiful couple...

Sign Of The Times

2011-10-12T05:06:00.000-07:00

The breaks are slowly being applied on China’s enthusiasm for art and with greater global economic uncertainty, the official opening of Frieze Art Fair today will test the strength of the art market as collectors and investors descend onto London this week.

It’s perhaps no surprise that the artist who holds the world record for sales by a living artist at auction in 2008 has decided to freeze time before the situation gets any worse. In collaboration with Italian luxury watchmakers Panerai, Damien Hirst unveils two new paintings in the exhibition, O’Clock. Time Design, Design Time held at Milan’s centre for contemporary Italian industrial design, La Triennale di Milano.

Beautiful Sunflower and Beautiful Fractional Sunflower take the form of Hirst’s now-iconic spin paintings with the addition of Panerai watch faces, sans hands, that are scattered across the canvas. While this latest Hirst collaboration lacks the aesthetic quality of previous partnerships – I would have liked to see the black watch faces covered in paint – the in motion versus timeless concept creates a sense of not knowing whether we’re coming or going, a vortex of uncertainty: a sign of the times.

O’Clock. Time Design, Design Time runs at La Triennale di Milano until January 8th 2012.

Triennale di Milano

6 Viale Alemagna

20121

Milan, Italy

Backstage At Library Brass

2011-10-06T02:55:00.000-07:00

Aristocratic excess and noble conquests were on the cards at last week's photo shoot in East London for the new jewellery collection by Library Brass, designed by Chiayi Chuang. Before the studio lights were even turned on, it was to be a summer renaissance at the creative hub of Enterprise House E9 - the talented team consisted of Sandra Made, photographer, hair and makeup artist, Inga Pivena, model Gerda K and myself as art director for the brand's third collection of contemporary statement pieces.

Here is a taste of what we got up to...

Creature Comforts

2011-10-05T05:08:00.000-07:00

Final curtain call at Dovecot Studios

The curtains closed last weekend on Scotland's largest outdoor public art event, Jungle City. What a summer it has been - after months of preparation, one hundred and thirty national and international artists, designers and celebrities took to their paints on one hundred and thirty crocodiles, orangutans, hornbills, tigers and elephants to produce magical creations that travelled from all corners of the United Kingdom to the majestic and tropical surroundings of the Royal Botanic Gardens (In The Wild: Jungle City, August 2011) and then onto the lively and historic streets of Edinburgh city (Safari Streets, September 2011).

I am honoured to have been involved with Elephant Family's mission to raise £1million for the conservation and protection of Asian elephants and endangered species, with my own tiger design Tribal Tigris. The auction closed on Sunday evening and for one last time all the animals gathered at the beautiful venue of Dovecot Studios, home to the world's leading contemporary tapestry centre, surrounded by colourful threads and looms, and took their final curtain call to say goodbye to Edinburgh.

I have the pleasure of officially announcing Tribal Tigris raised £3900.00 for Elephant Family and while I do not have any details yet about it's new home, I am thrilled that is was so well received by the public in its Grassmarket location in the Old Town of the city. As Tribal Tigris and the rest of the jungle animals head to private and public collections, galleries and institutions, the money raised by this year's Jungle City project will be directed to the real homes of these endangered species: jungles are the most vital habitats on the planet and global awareness is paramount in order for these species to survive in the comfort of their natural surroundings. This is therefore only the beginning of a cause that must never have an end, a concern that we must always support and communicate to future generations.

I have had a wonderful time meeting all the contributing artists and working on such an exciting and creative project - you can now chart my Jungle City experience from artist studio to the wild streets of Edinburgh here. Thank you to everyone for all your support - visit Elephant Family for more details about this year's fundraising events and dedicated conservation work around the world.
Images courtesy of Murray Horne

Library Brass

2011-09-26T03:02:00.000-07:00

This week I’m very excited to be working with jewellery brand Library Brass. I will be art directing the photographic campaigns for the Taiwanese brand on its forthcoming collection in London. Designed by the über talented Chiayi Chuang, this will be Library Brass’s third collection and the brand is growing from strength to strength with its trademark use of various materials from fabric to brass chains and decorative objects that are thoughtfully and intricately intertwined to create contemporary statement pieces, inspired by their designer’s artistic background as a performance artist.

Don’t miss posts and photos from the shoot throughout the week – until then, follow @JMVELARDI for all the latest #highlife news on set and visit Library Brass for more information about this new and exciting jewellery line which will be landing in London soon – don’t forget you heard it here first!

Safari Streets

2011-09-18T06:39:00.000-07:00

Jungle City is in full swing in Edinburgh and after the hugely successful exhibition at the Royal Botanic Gardens (In The Wild: Jungle City, August 2011), the animals have been unleashed onto the streets of the city for the month of September before all one hundred and thirty crocodiles, orangutans, hornbills, tigers and elephants are auctioned by Sotheby's Scotland on 29th September at The Great Jungle City Gathering gala held at The National Museum of Scotland.

Tribal Tigris has been standing proudly on the popular cobbled promenade of Grassmarket in the historic Old Town of Edinburgh - here are a few photos of my tiger, which has been generously sponsored by BT, in situ in this area of the city known for its independent retailers and eclectic watering holes.

Keeping Tribal Tigris company is the World Wildlife Fund's Barcode Tiger which has been created in partnership with the People's Postcode Lottery. The playful yet powerful design of barcode stripes reflects the conflicts tigers face between the natural and commercial world, and highlights the tragic reality of illegal trading of tigers and other endangered animals. I'm honoured that my tiger has been installed next to the WWF UK's contribution to this year's Jungle City event - my own inspiration for Tribal Tigris explores the immortalisation of a tiger into logos and mascots within the commercial world, when in reality the species is being driven to extinction - both tigers complement one another in both style and statement and add a dash of the exotic to their historic surroundings of Grassmarket.

If you are interested in bidding for Tribal Tigris you can register your interest online here at the official Elephant Family eBay page - bids for all the unique and life size animal creations will open on 22nd September at 10am and will close on 2nd October at 5pm. Elephant Family are aiming to raise £1million to support their own charity work for Asian elephants as well as supporting the work of six UK conservation charities - Care for the Wild, Orangutan Foundation, Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, Sumatran Orangutan Society, TRAFFIC and WWF Scotland.

Follow @JMVELARDI for more updates to the run up to the Jungle City auction - discover your wild side and get involved!

Images courtesy of Murray Horne

Change Clothes & Conquer

2011-09-17T17:08:00.000-07:00

Jay-Z: man of the minute, hour, month, year and perhaps decade in the entertainment industry. With an illustrious music career, record label and clothing line under his belt, it has not yet been six months since the launch of his online lifestyle platform Life And Times of which he is curator, that the artist and businessman can officially add taste maker to his expanding repertoire, if he hasn't done so already. Keeping it fresh has always been the way this urban mogul rolls - you only need to look at this summer's highly anticipated, unorthodox and subsequently viral album launch with Kanye West that saw creative collaborations with fashion designer Ricardo Tisci, director Spike Jonze and a pop-up shop in New York's Mulberry Street SoHo that housed a specially customised Maybach that contributed to the release of the LP, Watch The Throne to fully appreciate the ingenuity and attention to detail that keeps Jay-Z on top.

Life And Times works in partnership with Jay-Z's company SC|Enterprises and covers a range of creative content from fashion to the arts, technology and sport. While the site is not as conceptual as fellow collaborator Kanye West's official site that launched in early 2010, Life And Times channels a more editorial display, popular with design-conscious online platforms while being accessible with relevant and on-the-pulse content across the board. More expanding empire than emperor's new clothes, Jay-Z is a twenty-first century chameleon adapting to the fast digital pace, providing his new and existing fan base an insight into something that money, no matter how much you have, cannot buy: taste.
This week the site released an alternative music video for the 2009 record, Empire State of Mind that features a roster of international female models rocking around the city of NYC no less. Your'e the man Jay-Z...

Double Vision

2011-09-14T04:37:00.000-07:00

Dear loyal followers, over the next two weeks I'm undergoing the final stages of surgery to both of my eyes and I therefore apologise for my lack of posting since the weekend. The sensation of not being able to focus at all in one eye is one that I hope will be only temporary - so until I am gifted with clarity, I thought it would be rather appropriate to share a selection of my favourite Gerhard Richter works of the necessary and not-so-necessary items of the everyday, in all their unfocused glory...

Rokokotisch (Rococo Table) 1964

Flämische Krone (Flemish Crown) 1965

Klorolle (Toilet Paper) 1965

Zaum (Fence) 2008

Chicago 1992

During my mini-break from the blogosphere you can still follow me @JMVELARDI for the latest #highlife and #lowlife news, all in one hundred and forty characters and all just about bearable before the paracetamol have to come out!

New York State Of Mind

2011-09-11T01:40:00.000-07:00

Since the beginning of the month our eyes, ourears and our hearts have been invited to turn to New York City in preparationfor the ten year anniversary of three numbers and a forward slash that canarguably claim to be one of the greatest visual and audible icons of the twenty-firstcentury. The wealth of information that is stored on the web and press pages acrossthe globe – from the minute-to-minute eyewitness accounts, to the intimatememories of those who were murdered, to the political data that form everyfact, as well as fuel any conspiracy - is as daunting to digest as the timethat has past since the world that I had known changed overnight on 11th September 2001.

As the saying goes, you will never forgetwhere you were and what you were doing. It was a Tuesday afternoon and I wasplaying a game of inter-house rugby at secondary school when the first planehit WTC 1 – by the time I got back to my house the rumours that a small privateplane had crashed into a skyscraper were rectified by BBC’s breaking newscoverage in our TV room that would normally have been blaring out MTV – it wasquiet and the sight of both towers, hit by commercial jets and now burning likegigantic candle sticks, was nothing but amazing. No Hollywood film couldrecreate these scenes of reality that were so unfamiliar to our eye, this unimaginable,this degree of perversion. As the evening wore on, I noticed the silence aroundschool and the silence in the sky – the westerly flight path to America fromHeathrow that passed over the campus was bare due to the hundreds of planes that had been grounded. What proceeded was to be a new way of life instilled with insecurityand fear. I can still just about remember the days when smoking was allowed on planes; when I was able to pay a visit to the cockpit with my parents when we flew to America, the controls all lit up in technicolor and the pilot's view of the horizon so clear and bright. I remember sitting in the jump seat of a very full flight to London from Europe one summer - just the pilots and I - I will never forget that landing, a sight very few people witness or even have a peak at through the doors of the cockpit that are now sealed and protected – all moments in my early lifetime practically inconceivable today. I remember when security wherever youare didn't use to take the extreme precautions that are now standard procedure;when awareness towards another human being’s appearance and manner – andreligion - was less ruthless of stereotype, and if you are a dark skinnedItalian who had not shaved before going through airport security would not resultin a full pat down and even one time, an invite into a full body RapiScan (one of many products created for a post-9/11 world).

Reflecting Absence by Michael Arad at the 9/11 National Memorial

The attacks on the United States of Americawere social and cultural attacks that have had global consequences affecting the everyday that has adopted a subconscious paranoia for generations past and where “war on terror”slips off the tongue as easily as the daily death count of civilians and soldiers in thewar-torn Middle East witnessed by children of the new Millennium.

This weekend the people of New York will reminiscebeyond the landmark date, on what will be yet another year since their city wasviolently attacked, while the rest of the world dissects the past decade fromthe capturing and death of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and Osama Bin Laden this year;questions will be asked about capitalism and religion and of the lessons thathave been learned by both the East and West, if any, through a plethora ofsocial media outlets that were not even around in 2001 – a sign of the timesthat may have magnified a greater real-time hysteria that was so welldocumented during this year’s horrific Japan tsunami.

What is certain is the fact New York willnot allow to be defined by the terrorism on 9/11, it’s heart far from broken, hurtand still healing, but not broken.

Reflecting Absence by Michael Arad will beofficially inaugurated on 11th September at the the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero, Manhattan, New YorkCity.

In London, After 9/11 – an eight metre tallsculpture fashioned from steel girders from the World Trade Centre wreckage - byartist and New York native, Miya Ando has been installed in ‘The AmericanGround’ of Battersea Park, Wandsworth, South London.

Sex, Drugs n' Fish & Chips

2011-09-10T01:45:00.000-07:00

The Reading Rooms at the V&A began the run up to London Fashion Week and celebrated the annual Vogue’s Fashion Night Out on Thursday evening with an intimate talk by author and first men’s editor at Vogue, Geoffrey Aquilina Ross. Appropriately held in the library at this V&A outpost, surrounded by coffee table books and catalogues from the worlds of art, design and fashion, Aquilina Ross began his introduction of his new book, The Day of the Peacock: Style for Men 1963-1973 with a title bestowed on him in recent years, “… they call me a veteran editor”.

Geoffrey Aquilina Ross

While not in the fashion mix anymore, Aquilina Ross went from fish & chip shop to the inner sanctum of Mr Fish during the swinging Sixties – a career path that one can only imagine today from an era that certainly deserves the veteran status – and he amuses at the title as if the decade of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll was a war which he survived and is able to tell the tale. Many unfortunately are not. The Sixties proved to be a curious time of social shifts: when straight-laced boys from the King’s Road joined the punk rock youth of Carnaby Street to meet at a sartorial balance on Savile Row. The banker, the rock star and the dandy developed a market within the fashion world that had showed very little interest for the male consumer in the past. The cut of your cloth was just as important as the tailor cutting it and as popularity grew thanks to icons such as Cecil Beaton, Mick Jagger and Peter Lichfield, the shifts towards men’s fashion throughout the decade saw the limitations of bespoke transform into off the rail production, providing male identity to the masses.

The Day of the Peacock: Style for Men 1963-1973 travels from Granny Takes A Trip to Mr Fish as well as everything in between and charts the Vogue editor’s shoots with legendary photographer David Bailey of the movers and shakers from a decade that pioneered male expression through cuffs, hems and lapels.

Behind Closed Doors

2011-09-07T02:44:00.000-07:00

It is impossible to tune out of the developing events in Libya - the hunt for Muammar Gaddafi has cemented itself onto the news headlines for months and with the passing days and hours since the rebels advanced into Tripoli by late August, journalists and editors are already compiling the biography, or obituary, of the captured dictator when that day arrives. The Arab Spring has undoubtedly been the story of 2011. Waves of civil revolution along the Equator States have inspired the downfall of autocracy and government corruption in the name of positive change and the passionate demonstrations from everyone from exhausted nationals to citizens who returned to their native country to support the cause, has resulted in an incredible degree of social expression that has not been allowed an international stage until now. Expression plays a critical role in times like this - whether it be the formulation of a political manifesto that holds the burden of the ears of governments throughout the world, or the intimate act of elders passing their accounts on to future generations - artists and curators from the Arab world are unsurprisingly gaining greater attention within international art markets for their genuine expression and reflection of the developing situation from their respective homelands. This year saw the debut of the MENASA Art Fair that showcased artists from the region gaining much international interest, particularly in Europe. It is hoped that the tired labels of "ethnic" and "exotic" are not driving this interest such as in African or Indian markets and the political weight that drives creativity is not merely a trend or short-term emerging market.

Yesterday night I proudly attended the opening of Behind Closed Doors at Bischoff/Weiss gallery to support my very good friend and fellow Slade-comrade, Aya Haidar. The mixed media exhibition incorporates a collection of photographic prints onto linen and an installation in the gallery space that relates to her practice of the process of handing down stories of Lebanon past and present, personal and political, which she encounters through family and friends on her visits to the Middle East. While Lebanon has served as a military playground for neighbouring powers, it's transparency and open society has saved itself from the absolute contempt felt by citizens in the Arab Spring. Once the "Paris of the Middle East", the streets of Beirut are documented and manipulated by the artist - print IV from Recollections (Seamstress Series) embodies the meeting of the city's old world glamour and the reality of the everyday, depicting the French luxury boutique Hermès with an embroidered graffiti tag "Haifa for President" above the boutique's entrance - referring to Haife Wehbe, a female pop star considered to be a sex symbol in Lebanon. The installation that can been seen from the street on Hay Hill, Mayfair invites the viewer to consider access and movement - actions that are taken for granted in everyday life, everyday life that benefits from the privileges of democracy. Unhinged was created for the exhibition and is a series of found doors connected together, their handles removed, to create a physical barricade within the space. Simulating the border restrictions and road blocks that are an everyday occurrence in the Arab world, the practical symbolism of a door is made redundant. What is so powerful about the work is the everyday-nature of a door: its very ease to erect is equal to its potential to be taken down.

Recollections (Seamstress Series) IV, 2011

As well as recycling materials to create installations, Haidar recycles the narratives that have been passed down to her and re-expresses them through her own voice and more literally, through her own hand with the intricate embroidery that is worked across the linen prints as a means of mending or perhaps preserving the well-travelled narrative that successfully engages with the political and historic within a contemporary context. I particularly like the term 'Seamstress' in the titles of the embroidered print collection - not only contesting the stereotype of craft within the art world, in the same way the artist has gathered stories from the market trader, to the policeman or from her very own Mother and Grandmother, they are all characters in the make up of society, all of whom have a story to tell and therefore by granting herself a role in this very make up, the 'Seamstress' playfully takes on both the intimate character who listens attentively while she sews and the powerful role as visual artist with something to say, opening doors one by one.

Recollections (Seamstress Series) XXI, 2011

Big congratulations to Aya for a brilliant show - for further information about the artist and her body of work visit Bischoff/Weiss.

Behind Closed Doors

7th September - 6th October 2011

Bischoff/Weiss

14a Hay Hill

London W17 8NZ

Images courtesy of Bischoff/Weiss

Peel Slowly & See

2011-08-31T07:27:00.000-07:00

There are ways to create a media frenzy for the launch of a product and there are ways to create a media frenzy for the launch of Dasha Zhukova's new art magazine Garage, titled after her successful gallery space, Garage Center for Contemporary Culture in Moscow. Photographed by designer Hedi Slimane, the provocative cover of the art world's new publication sees the bottom half of model, Shauna Taylor with a tattoo designed by Damien Hirst on her vagina. Inked by London-based tattooist Mo Coppoletta at The Family Business Tattoo Shop, Miss Taylor loves the trademark butterfly design by Hirst,

"I would have been stupid not to be part of this project. I have a piece of art on my vagina. Not one person can ever say that they gave birth through a Damien Hirst piece of art. I can".

That you can Shauna, that you can.

Garage No. 1 Magazine will debut later in the year with two more exclusive covers by Dinos Chapman and Richard Prince who will be competing with a naked model's vagina seductively covered by a large butterfly sticker once the issue hits newsstands - get back to the drawing board lads.

What's French For "Edgy"?

2011-08-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

Renowned as the luxury capital of the world and equally famed for its graffiti culture, France embodies both #highlife and #lowlife of the everyday - where a fresh baguette for a Euro from the corner bakery can rival any accompaniment with a vintage bottle of Pétrus and therefore no surprise that high and low culture cross rues – 24 rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré to be precise, as Hermès has teamed up with banlieue graffiti artist Cyril ‘Kongo’ Phan for the luxury House’s latest carré collaboration for its Autumn/Winter 2011 collection.

Hermès X Kongo Graff carré, 2011

The collaboration supports Kongo’s International Festival of Graffiti, of which the artist co-founded, as well as the graffiti artists’ collective Kosmopolis that will tour eight countries and provide opportunities for street artists to paint public murals in every city, all subsequently supported by proceeds from the Hermès X Kongo Graff carré that are now available at all Hermès boutiques.

Louis Vuitton X Stephen Sprouse, 2009

Several coloruways in Kongo’s bold trademark tag designs have been produced onto the House’s finest silk scarves and while collaborations are not unfamiliar territory (Daniel Buren – Souvenirs For All Seasons October 2010), critics have been musing as to whether Hermès has sacrificed its subtle, sophisticated and timeless identity by working with a street artist to produce such loud and urban designs – words rarely associated with the cashmere furnishings and clemence leather trimmings usually associated with the brand. While the cause behind the collaboration is in tune with Hermès’s international support for the arts, direct comparison can be made with LVHM rival Louis Vuitton who collaborated with the late Eighties American artist Stephen Sprouse in 2009 that saw neon graffiti emblazoned on the label’s fashion and leather collections. Perhaps a message from one House to another amidst the stealth tactics that saw LVHM acquire a stake in the family-owned Hermès company over the last twelve months? If so, Hermès has chosen to take to the streets en force with Kongo’s colourful tags and accents that result in an exciting and unique direction for the classic luxury brand, succumbing to recent trends of extreme partnerships and dare I say it, edgy, making the then-contemporary Sprouse collaboration passé.

Look out for the new season’s window displays of graffiti murals composed of Hermès’s signature orange boxes and visit the World of Hermès for more information about the Graff carré and updates on the Kosmopolis tour.

Just Deserts

2011-08-27T03:03:00.000-07:00

While the daily front pages of newspapers after major world events try to encapsulate the night before, it is the cover of TIME Magazine that embodies the past, present and future all on one page. This week the web is crowning American illustrator Tim O'Brien as the 'go-to guy for fallen dictators'. Celebrated for his Osama Bin Laden TIME cover in May of this year, O'Brien creates another iconic portrait to what could be an end of an era for the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Since the Libyan dictator is still on the run, O'Brien portrays Gaddafi in sand, his face only half blown away - no red Xs here quite yet - and although the TIME issue will not hit newsstands until 5th September, it also acts a metaphor for a country literally deserted by its migrant population and whose political and economic future is very much uncertain, rising out of an autocracy that lasted nearly half a century. What is certain is that the Libyan rebels hope Gaddafi will turn into a distant and forgotten mirage in the Eastern Sahara and this North African Spring can begin a new chapter in its history.

Visit Tim O'Brien's official website for more information about the cover and his own thoughts about the design process behind his work for TIME and other international periodicals.

Images courtesy of Tim O'Brien

In The Wild: Jungle City

2011-08-24T05:28:00.000-07:00

Last week Jungle City was officially unleashed onto Scotland at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh. With the incredible success of last year’s Elephant Parade in London, the animal conservation organisation Elephant Family will be calling Edinburgh home for the next two months in what will be Scotland’s largest public art event. Over one hundred and thirty crocodiles, orangutans, hornbills, tigers and elephants have been transformed into fantastical creations by artists, designers and celebrities from Scotland, England and around the world, all with the hope of raising £1 million for these endangered species. I was honoured to have been invited to design a tiger earlier in the year and it’s great to know that within its opening hours last week Jungle City was already gaining the publicity it so deserves, with a segment on BBC Scotland News.

Having had the pleasure of meeting a handful of artists and designers at the London studios while I was creating my very own tiger, Tribal Tigris, it is certainly a sight to see all the animals in one place, at the tropical surroundings of the Royal Botanic Gardens and a big thank you to the talented @CazHaigh who managed to make the journey Northwards to view all the animals - including her own orangutan, Hati - to take brilliant documentation of the event. Please visit Caz Haigh's website for more images from the Royal Botanic Gardens and Harvey Nichols as well as viewing her amazing illustrative works and projects!

Tigers are ironically immortalised into symbols of identity – such as logos and mascots – when in reality they are being driven to extinction. Tribal Tigris explores the importance of identity through native markings across the sculpture painted by hand that include arrow designs and conceptual targets referring to its Persian derivative ‘tigris’. Tribal Tigris is painted with event-sponsor Farrow & Ball 'Babouche' and 'Pitch Black' eco friendly paint.

Jungle City takes shelter in the temperamental summer at the Royal Botanic Gardens until 4th September before the herd escape onto the streets, institutions and public spaces from 6th September. Visit the official website for Jungle City for a schedule of events and details of the art auction taking place in Edinburgh with Sotheby's and further information about Elephant Family’s important conservation work around the world.

Don't forget to get in touch @JMVELARDI if you find yourself in Edinburgh and look out for Tribal Tigris in the urban jungle that will Edinburgh this summer!

Supreme Shag

2011-08-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

Hype has already begun across the pond for Supreme's bi-coastal launch of its Fall/Winter 2011 Collection next week which will see a series of new collaborations across the brand's trademark products. Whether you're after the classic camp caps now available in Loro Piana cashmere or Woolrich wool, the 'Biggie' t-shirt produced with Bad Boy Records or the gold Zippo lighter, Supreme have encapsulated the best of urban lifestyle, adding their own iconic red box logo to the mix. And if that wasn't enough, the brand step up their game and logo-fy the entire city of New York with this genius trailer, Aerial, that marks next week's launch below.

My favourite item in the new collection is the 'FUCK' rug created with Japanese design studio Gallery 1950 - inspired by Robert Indiana's infamous LOVE (1964). Measuring 32 x 32 inches, Supreme makes sure to put the shag into shag pile this Winter.

Supreme Fall/Winter 2011 collection will be available in stores in New York & Los Angeles on 25th August, in Japan on 27th August and in London on 22nd September 2011.

Fast-Pop Culture

2011-08-22T02:17:00.000-07:00

Did anyone catch the new McDonald's television commercial on prime time over the weekend? I have to admit that the sixty-second ad got my attention, and while it was most certainly not for the food - I haven't stepped into a McDdonald's since the days when Disney only released one movie a year and the Happy Meal toy felt like the only thing worth living for - it was the creative art-direction that saw larger than life Happy Meal boxes installed in various locations around the country to mark the company's new "We Do Happy" campaign.

Directed by Neil Gorringe for Leo Burnett London, a collection of five playhouses in the shape of Happy Meal boxes have been created which show families interacting with the iconic red and yellow box in public spaces such as a park or beach. While the fur-covered, inflatable and art canvas boxes were obviously playful, it was the reflective box that was installed in Sutton High Street that had me screaming at my television screen - is that a Jeff Koons Happy Meal box?

It was definitely a double take moment. I'm surprised that Koons, whose nine-foot tall and four-foot deep sculpture Hanging Heart that sold for near twenty-seven million dollars in 2007 making it the most expensive work of art sold by a living artist at the time, had not made a Happy Meal box himself. Renowned for his transformation of everyday objects into the sublime and shiny, the same polished stainless steel surface that is practically trademark Koons was used to create the Happy Meal Box that attracted a lot of attention from shoppers in this southwest London borough.

While it is an ad agencies dream to make the eight-figure sums Koons now demands, Leo Burnett London have successfully looked to the art world for inspiration quite literally out of the box. Unfortunately the ad doesn't encourage me to go to McDonald's and relive my Eighties childhood, however if they launched Happy Meal box toys à la Koons I'd be there as fast as you can say "small fries and a large Coke".

Jeff Koons - Hanging Heart, 1994-2006

Teamed with the jumpy Dave Clark Five's Glad All Over track, McDonald's "We Do Happy" campaign brings together haute art with pop cuisine. I'm lovin' it, are you?

#highlife #lowlife

2011-08-14T12:42:00.002-07:00

How high octane was last week? Actions that are usually left to areas North of the Watford Gap service station for Southerners and Westminster to view from afar in zoo-like fashion, it was London that was to balance on the edge of becoming an international embarrassment with the spread of community pillaging by the capital’s acquisitive gangs that tragically resulted in five deaths across the country.

Kids as young as 11 years old looted shopping high streets across the city in moonlight and unabashedly broad day light that reflected the absolute disrespect of a sector of youth society who originate from brokenness of generations past. The obvious high-value item retailers were targeted: Plasma-central Comet and Currys, urban brand mecca JD Sports to pick up a year’s worth of Reebok Classics and polyester tracksuits - all in not-so-obvious areas of the city that unfortunately do not benefit from the monitored pavements of more affluent quarters. While the Armanis and Pradas of Sloane Street and New Bond Street took precautionary measures of clearing their windows of their luxury items, diners at The Ledbury in Notting Hill were not so lucky to avoid the violent shamelessness (The Telegraph UK The Ledbury) that made it clear this was much more than acts of opportunist criminality but an intentional attack on the rich with their expensive cars, homes and lifestyle that kids who don't have, want (BBC News UK Showing the rich we do what we want). Kids who have picked up key words such as “Cameron, Eton, Tories and Tuscany” endlessly repeated like a mantra by opposition political parties that somehow resulted in the direct attack of a hard working Mother of two who owns an independent baby clothes boutique in Ealing (BBC News UK – Liz Pilgrim) bizarrely associating her with this silver spoon lifestyle that is thrown around by the media like abusive propaganda, as it is so seen in the distorted eyes of this country’s gang culture. Just how delusional is the reasoning of these actions? Who is to blame for sending these absurd messages to Britain’s youth who are driven to anarchy in their own communities? The finger has been pointed at everyone: the parents, politicians and British music and celebrity culture.

There is an abundance of critical information about Class, Race, Politics and Society on the internet as a result of last week’s devastating chapter in Britain’s social history. Like millions of people across the country I took to twitter to express my views, share other people’s opinions and try to understand the underlying causes. Londoners tweeted street clean-ups and promoted support for victims from riot-hit neighbourhoods (Keep Aaron Cutting) that exemplified the Conservative government's intentions of a Big Society who fought back at the minority who cry “destitution” while they send messages on their new BlackBerry phones. Perhaps they will catch the current UNICEF campaign for famine-stricken Somalia on their new plasma televisions and revaluate their position.

Readers of my blog will know I cover a range of subject matter from politics to Pantone and I try to highlight stories relevant to art, culture, design and creativity as well as my interest in social activity around the world that inspires my own contemporary art practice. So while there will always be a serious cause to fight for and promote, Jay-Z and Kanye West’s pop-up store in SoHo this weekend is just as newsworthy in the creative realm – I defy anyone who doesn't think their album cover designed by Ricardo Tisci (Watch The Throne) is near-orgasmic.

So this week I am launching two hashtags that I have used to define my internet activity and interests for a while now: #highlife and #lowlife. I will be using them on both Twitter and my blog from hereafter to categorise my postings and I would like to invite you to use them in your social media postings - it would be great to know how you define them since what I want to try to do is not merely capture what is 'highbrow' or 'lowbrow' but the interesting crossovers that happen within the creative realm.

High Art? Julian Schnabel -The Ones You Didn't Write - The Maybach Car 2011

Living the high life? Jay-Z & Kanye West - Otis 2011

Whether you think the crass customisation of a Maybach in Jay-Z and Kanye West's Otis video is any more #lowlife than Julian Schnabel's gun-shot The Ones You Didn't Write - The Maybach Car at this year's Venice Biennale which by default assumes #highlife status is the interesting dialogues that I hope to create with you all. So get in touch with your thoughts!

Join me @JMVELARDI for the #highlife and #lowlife of the everyday…

Mondrian À La Mode

2011-08-06T02:11:00.000-07:00

This week's posts on artists' influences on commercial brands reminded me of the power campaigns that existed in the late-Eighties. I can distinctly remember L'Oréal's Studio Line and it's use of a Piet Mondrian-inspired design for its brand identity and visual merchandising. Look past the bouffant hairstyles and you'll actually notice the campaign's background alludes to a white cube space - perhaps an artist's studio where it's so achingly cool, you must only wear white? - and not a "because you're worth it" slogan in sight! These images are going in the inspiration archives...

MAC x Cindy Sherman

2011-08-04T02:43:00.000-07:00

The collaborative corral keeps giving this summer with Supreme x Damien Hirst (Summer Supreme June 2011) and yesterday's post on Fred Perry x Sir Peter Blake (Mod-ern Love-rs August 2011) being this summer’s highlights. Today I bring you another artist collaboration that has had art and fashion worlds alike asking, why hasn’t this happened sooner?

Cindy Sherman, photographer, filmmaker and guise-extraordinaire will release an artistic collection for MAC cosmetics. This is possibly the most obvious collaboration of them all since Sherman’s notorious self-portraits see her transform her own features into exaggerated depictions of the female stereotype such as ‘off-kilter Hitchcock heroine’, ‘Caravaggio Portrait’ or ‘Park Avenue Plastic Surgery Maven’.

The cult beauty brand is a major player, respected in the worlds of high fashion and make up for the stage and the collaboration with Sherman will only profit from the recent avant-garde style that is being pioneered by Lady Gaga as well as gaining major culture points with customers who want to purchase a piece of Sherman magic. With the launch of a series of three trademark Sherman advertising campaigns, MAC call's this exciting partnership,

"... the campaign we've longed forever to conceive... we're living in a time when people of all persuasions have become bolder than ever about the ways they choose to express themselves: with a colourful palette of possibilities, You are the Artist, You are your own Subject..."

Like all collaborations this summer, the Cindy Sherman for MAC collection will be limited edition and is another sign that brands are redefining marketing strategies for the luxury market: take a familiar product that was once accessible, pair it up with a celebrity figure (with cultural caché is a bonus) and label it ‘limited edition’. Bingo.

The collection of lipsticks, eyeliners and eyeshadows will be available from 29th September until the end of October, just before Halloween - one of the most profitable periods of the year for the brand – giving the ladies this Halloween a catalogue of inspiration from Sherman's extravagant characters such as #96, #360 or #469 that will compete with any witch or sexy nurse costume in the room.

Mod-ern Love-rs

2011-08-03T06:40:00.000-07:00

Launched at Wimbledon in 1952 by celebrated Grand Slam English tennis player, Frederick John Perry, the now Japanese owned fashion brand, Fred Perry continues to provide cotton pique shirts and tailored clothing to their strong customer base of revival Mods and the stylised punk rock underground scene that resonates as much on Wardour Street, London as it does in Southern California and across Japan today.

The brand continues to celebrate it's heritage by teaming up with art world legend Sir Peter Blake with a series of limited edition designs and colourways onto Fred Perry's popular M12 shirt. Since the late Fifties Blake has worked with a variety of imagery sourced from advertisements and objects of the everyday to create intricate collages that define social landmarks in Britain's cultural evolution. Blake is also one of very few artists who expand their practice into the commercial arena - where his inspiration is firmly rooted - which has seen successful collaborations with the worlds of fashion (Lucky Brand Jeans & Stella McCartney), sport (Chelsea Football Club x Addidas) and his continued relationship with the music industry after his acclaimed cover art for the Beatles' album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band back in 1967, working with Paul Weller and Oasis to name a few.

For Fred Perry's Laurel Wreath Collection, Blake's 'Blank Canvas' designs incorporate his signature icons of stars, hearts, targets and even his trademark 'LOVE' that ties nicely with the brand's tennis history. The screen printed and patchwork details provide the limited edition of 1000 shirts that collector's item quality and Pop art aesthetic with their custom designed gift box in respective colourways - click here to view more details and purchasing enquiries of Sir Peter Blake's 2011 'Blank Canvas' series for Fred Perry.

Forever Young Forever?

2011-07-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

There has been an air of the unstable in the news of late, when the reality of the unknown is no more predictable than however many live news forecasts, ticker feeds and tweets one follows. Voltaire described the unknown - plagued with doubt and delusion - as ‘not a pleasant condition’ and deemed certainty as ‘absurd’. Benjamin Franklin concurred with the French philosopher proclaiming the only certainty is that of ‘death and taxes’. Many will argue not a great deal has changed in over two centuries but what is certain is that in another two centuries time society will not only have important statements and documents to reference from our public figures of today, but a vast digital archive of their every move, gesticulation and utterance in both public and private life.

Atlantis returns to Earth on 20th July 2011

Take this week’s historic end of America’s space program - the return of Space Shuttle Atlantis dramatically leaps three decades of NASA space investigation into the unknown as well as under a new and pristine museum display case. With the lack of state funds and interest that once was for orbit technology, space has been fighting for a front row seat in the ever-changing times of the everyday and while its history may be secure it is its future that will now be in jeopardy. The live broadcasts of this last space mission - from the launch, to the docking and even to the music choice that the astronauts woke up to (one for the kids? Coldplay’s Viva La Vida) - were a public display of an organisation experiencing a midlife crisis, lost of its pioneering bravado and looking to private companies for investment: both financially and in aid of a new and exciting rebrand strategy.

Commander Ferguson & his crew : coming to a Star Trek conference near you

PR is one of the most important acronyms of corporate success and has been used for the good and the ugly in equal measure throughout history. News Corporation, the world’s second-largest media conglomerate, is currently in the news for all the wrong reasons with a series of high profile and highly sensitive phone hacking cases that were illegally obtained under the pretence of investigative journalism. Controlled by eighty-year-old Rupert Murdoch and his family in what can only be described as a twenty-first century dynasty, the summoning of Murdoch senior and his son James to appear before the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee in London to explain their involvement in the phone hacking allegations displayed the highs and lows of the power of public relations. James’s confidence, clarity and ability to run down the clock were in contrast to his Father’s initial fragility, one-word answers and ignorance of activity outside of his own boardroom. While money could not buy the shameful assault of shaving foam on the eighty-year-old media emperor that gifted him a degree of sympathy and respect, the event only emphasised his ageing position in a company that may find itself under investigations on both sides of the Atlantic with growing doubts on what is now a tarnished brand Murdoch.

Wendi Deng Murdoch didn't need a name plate by the end of the day's proceedings

So as well as death and taxes, is the age of empirical excess and its eventual downfall another certainty? Will the fluctuating demands of society coerce the superfluous aspects of the everyday into a midlife coma or is this just a case of nothing lasts forever?

Walking, talking cliché: the ultimate midlife crisis trophy... on fake grass

I’m from a generation that has benefitted from information overload, encompassing Music Television, space exploration and the age of the download, from headline news to Facebook status updates from everyone, everywhere including their pet dog: knowing how to define and place oneself through an unconscious attitude in a media-driven society that ridicules and wraps clichés in danger tape, signposted with the words ‘do not enter beyond this point’; where one can literally smell a cliché a mile away, usually coming from a heavily scented midlife crisis victim who thinks buying a second-hand Ferrari and a Thai bride are still signifiers of success and eternal youth. Contemporary society is conscious of the pitfalls of twenty-first century expression and is aware that the type of phone you have or who you follow on Twitter, if at all, exposes you to a series of tailored global networks that have a finite longevity due to the pace of visual and data manifestation. Naivety is no longer an excuse. Signs of generations past and present are becoming more evident, be it the end of America's chapter in space exploration or stringent media laws on privacy. The irony with the walking-talking-cliché-generation is that it thrives on a warped sense of certainty, forfeiting any respectability with a wayward determination by accumulating tokens of perverse status which in today’s society only omit the tragedy of a generation whose motto is, you guessed it, that other golden cliché: you only live once.