Word of the Week — LIP

Each week, I close my eyes and choose a random word from the dictionary. I then do an image search for that word online, and choose some of the most interesting, unusual, and unexpected results to share with you.

Terry Winters’ Drawings & Paintings

Point

Terry Winters is known for his drawings, paintings, and prints. He was born in Brooklyn in 1949. What I love about his work is its diversity of style and medium... He is inspired by anatomic and biological forms, as well as the geometries of architecture. I love the varied color palettes he uses and I’m always moved by work that celebrates human imperfection.

Red Group 8

Computational Architecture

Morula III

Los Angeles Architecture Tour

On Thursday, a few of my colleagues from FIDM and myself went on an architectural tour of Los Angeles. It was awe-inspiring!

The first building we visited was the new CalTrans building in downtown LA. I loved that the architect, Thom Mayne of Morphosis, chose to use mostly building materials that are associated with transportation infrastructure, and allowed these materials to become sculptural elements that are raised to the level of art... whereas these features are often simply functional and go unnoticed in their original environments on freeways and overpasses, etc. This building is located at the intersection of 100 Main Street and 100 First Street in downtown, so the huge (4-story) number really becomes a great landmark.

After the CalTrans building, we saw the 19th century Bradbury Building, also in downtown. The interior of the Bradbury building was like a very ornamental Escher drawing, with staircases floating through the interior. I also loved the elevator shafts that were out in the open, with amazing decorative iron work. My photos didn't really come out, because it was too dark in the space...

Later, we visited Richard Neutra’s home in Silverlake, which was in terrible disrepair. I was disappointed, actually... but then we were able to see Neutra’s masterpiece, the Lovell Health House (above), where the current owner/occupant showed us around. The funniest thing about it was when we walked in, many of us immediately recognized it as Pierce Pratchett’s house in the movie LA Confidential.

After lunch, we drove to Santa Monica, where we were able to snoop around the exterior of the house where Frank Gehry currently lives. Pictured is the area where the dining room is located. You could see the original Dutch Colonial home underneath all the geometric protrusions and additions that jut out from the original structure.

We also visited the Case Study House #8, the house built and lived-in by Charles and Ray Eames in Pacific Palisades. The house is left exactly as it was when Ray Eames passed away in the 1980s. They wouldn’t allow us to take photos of the interiors... but the contradiction of the interior space to the exterior is what I found most interesting. The boxy, clean modernist style of the construction was juxtaposed against a multitude of items and nic-nacks that cluttered the house.

Mari Andrews Sculpture & Drawings

Plexus. Color softground etching on
Hosho paper coated in beeswax. 1998.

Mari Andrews is a California artist who is inspired by her lifelong passion for drawing and collecting to create small sculptures built from wire, pine needles, branches, and other linear materials. Many times her small sculptures are grouped together on a large gallery wall in a narrative way.

I’m inspired by this work’s simplicity. I appreciate the imperfections in the materials, the compositions are so natural and have a spontaneity that is refreshing. As a graphic designer, it’s so difficult to make work that seems effortless, whether it’s in my commercial work or my paintings, so that makes Ms. Andrews’ work that much more impressive!

These are beautiful!

Imbricate. Color softground etching on
Hosho paper coated in beeswax. 1998.

Untitled 1318. Baseball and wire. 2006.

Untitled 1216. Wire and tree moss. 2003.

Dusk in Los Angeles

I was in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago, and completely forgot to download some of my photos until now... Matt and I got lucky and scored a room on the top floor of the hotel, just across the street from the new L.A. Live complex and Staples Center. I opened the curtains at dusk to begin my yoga practice, but instead I was stunned by the beauty of the scene out the window.

Word of the Week — NUMB

Autumn leaves

Each week, I close my eyes and choose a random word from the dictionary. I then do an image search for that word online, and choose some of the most interesting, unusual, and unexpected results to share with you.

Polar Bear

Book Cover for The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion

Stella Im Hultberg, Numb. 6x8 inches. Graphite & Ink Wash on Paper.

Photo from deviantart.com

Strip Mining Conundrum

Every time I fly from Colorado to Los Angeles, I’m always fascinated by the aerial views of the western landscape. Desert valleys are often surrounded by snowy peaks, dry riverbeds and washes streak across the land creating spectacular webs of light and shadow as far as the eye can see. Canyons slice into the earth, and rock formations protrude upward toward the sky. I’ve been working on a series of paintings that are inspired by these wonderful aerial views over the American west.

Yesterday, I came across these aerial photographs of strip mining in the Nevada desert, posted by a geologist in Arizona. I think there is something quite paradoxical about them, which is why I wanted to show them to you. Of course, we need natural resources to support human civilization. I don’t know anything about mining or geology, but my intuition says that this type of mining can’t possibly be good, or even neutral, for the environment. My rational mind tells me that there has to be another way to extract these essential resources from the earth without completely ripping up the land and poisoning what little water is available there.

On the other hand, as I look at these images, I’m struck by their beauty. There is something quite graphic about the way the mining process leaves large steps leading down into the earth. The light and shadows bounce over the landscape in beautiful organic shapes, and the earthtones radiate into the atmosphere. I’m especially in awe of the image above, where geometric farming plots abut the edge of the mine property. I wonder about the environmental and health implications of that.

Somehow I’m still inspired by the scale and beauty of these places, despite what I know must be horrible for the local land, plants, and animals. . . Not to mention what kinds of effects there are on the human residents of the area. I have no idea.