Friday Finds 7.9.2010

Brendan: GOT MERZ?exhibition

Curitiba, Brazil–based Nomad Ink is at it again with a very interesting presentation at Positivo University entitled GOT MERZ?. GOTrefers to "Glorification of Tendencies or trends' and MERZ is a tribute to Dada artist Kurt Schwitters. The presentation, interview with creative director and teacher Hugo Werner, and the live performance, are in Portuguese, for those of you that are fluent. There's a written breakdown of the program on Nomad Ink's website. I really enjoyed the process shots showing the creation of the show poster and the film credits.

Sam: The making of 10CC's I'm Not In Love

I'm a huge sucker for "making of" documentaries, especially when they're focused on music that interests me (but even when they're not). After 35 years, 10CC's I'm Not In Love is super familiar to our ears, but the work that went into making the track sound the distinct way it does is extraordinary--especially for 1975 (or maybe, it would have only been possible in 1975). In a way, computers and digital music have ruined this kind of exploration and creativity. On the one hand you could say, isn't it great that you could do this so easily now, but on the other hand, I'm Not In Love only sounds the way it does because of the lengths 10cc had to go to to create it. Music nerds rejoice, this is a great behind the scenes look into the making of AM gold.

Aaron: Aline Saarinen's The Proud Possessors

In doing a bit of research for a story on art collecting for the magazine, I came across this sample PDF of Aline Saarinen's (Eero's second wife) book The Proud Possessors. Aline was a noted art critic in her day and the now out-of-print The Proud Possessors offers insight into the lives of some of America's greatest art collectors. Have a look at the sample PDF to get a taste of her prose and to learn more about the prodigious sums J. Pierpont Morgan spent on his collection.

Jordan: Big Bang Big Boom - the new wall-painted animation by BLU

This is beyond awesome and everyone should watch it this afternoon in awe and wonder! Happy Friday. (if you like it, check out Muto by BLU, equally very, very cool). via Videogum

Amanda: Origin of the Species Illustrations

Really nice Flickr collection devoted to a 1963 edition of Darwin's The Origin of the Species. The illustrations are by Paul Landacre, an important figure in the world of modernist wood-block artistry. I say it all the time, but I am so grateful for the internet denizens that spend their time scanning pages of old out-of-print books and other interesting bits of ephemera.

Jaime: ACF Coffee Cups

My current collection of coffee mugs are a motley mix of mismatched thrift store finds. I'm currently on the lookout for a new, proper set.  My search has yielded some pretty outlandish designs, like a mug with a cutout for cookie storage, and one with a 'tea bag coffin' secreted in the saucer, by Danish designer Jonas Trampedach. In the end, I think I'm favoring the classic black cups by ACF,  an Italian company, which I discovered at Ritual Coffee Roasters here in San Francisco. They're "designed for modern espresso beverages."  You can buy them here.

Fida: Fruitville exhibit

I went across the bay this week to Oakland to check out Fruitville, an exhibition of works by Philadelphia–based artist Douglas Witmer. His work is being displayed by Some Walls, which is a curatorial and writing art project. They show up to eight projects a year in a private home, and focus on smaller groups of work. Witmer's work is simple, yet complicated, and is sure to augment your interest for more.