When I was a kid, my family had a rather rustic cottage in rural Ontario and we had one of these as a ktichen faucet.
Here's Graff's modern take on that same idea. I'm astounded!
04 March 2010
Here's that lavatory faucet again
In case you missed it, that Bali faucet by Graff is a knock out, It's been haunting me and here's why.
When I was a kid, my family had a rather rustic cottage in rural Ontario and we had one of these as a ktichen faucet.
Here's Graff's modern take on that same idea. I'm astounded!
When I was a kid, my family had a rather rustic cottage in rural Ontario and we had one of these as a ktichen faucet.
Here's Graff's modern take on that same idea. I'm astounded!
Help me Grant Wood
Grant Wood is best remembered for his classic painting, American Gothic.
American Gothic is still hanging in the museum where it was unveiled in 1930, the Art Institute of Chicago. It won a $300 prize and went on to become one of the most readily identifiable artistic works in human history. 5t gets parodied endlessly and I think it does that is that the work itself is a parody but at the same time it's an homage. Grant Wood walked a line between honor and mockery in that painting and in a lot of his work and frankly, that they key to his longevity.
That painting appeals to people who want to celebrate American provincialism and it appeals to people who are repulsed by it at the same time. What a feat Mr. Wood, good job.
I am working on a presentation I'm giving at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show next month and I've been given carte blanche to do whatever I want. Within reason of course, I'll be designing a kitchen and explaining the software I use as I do it. The show's in Chicago so I want to make it relate to Chicago in some way.
I can have this kitchen be anything and I like it when my designs tell a story. The Art Institute of Chicago is around two miles north of McCormick Place, where KBIS is taking place, so why not start with the Art Institute's most famous painting?
Grant Wood was also an interior designer, and his art was influenced profoundly by his studies of Jan Van Eyck and others, so I think he'd approve of me paying an homage to American Gothic in a modern kitchen.
I can't just design out of thin air, I need a narrative. So I'm busily making one up.
The house in the background of American Gothic is a real house in Eldon, Iowa.
So if that's a real place, I need a believable story. I think I'll make up two guys who are die hard modernists. I see a non-sociopathic Don Draper and a Rodger Sterling, hold the narcissism. Don and Rodge are tired of the hassles of living in Chicago and decide to buy a place in the country. Hello Eldon, IA.
So now I have clients and a house. I'm half way there. How could the interior of a house like that be reinterpreted through a Modernist lens? to be truthful, a lot of what's driving this story is the painting of course but shortly after I had that idea, I came across this faucet.
It's the Bali from Graff Faucets. The Bali is a series of faucets that reinterpret a water pump. I'm telling you, it's the faucet that's going into the house in Eldon. Don and Rodge already approved it in fact.
Here's their master bath.
This is fun! But it's not helping me with this kitchen project. Mercifully, SketchUp's 3D Warehouse gives me access to all manner of modern lighting, furniture, plumbing, appliances and anything else I'll need. So now it becomes a matter of what kinds of things would go into this kitchen in Eldon? Is an apron front sink too easy? How about it I modern it up like this Kohler Verity?
I'm pretty fond of Brizo's Venuto, so I think that's what'll go in the kitchen regardless of the sink.
Since it's one of my designs, it'll have a big kitchen table in it. Probably the Bungalow by Thos. Moser.
I like that table paired with Moser's Edo chair.
Now comes the hard part though. What kind of appliances are they going to get? What's going on the counters? How do I use Ingo Maurer lighting effectively?
What do you guys think? If you were to modern up the interior, specifically the kitchen, of Grant Wood's American Gothic house in Eldon Iowa, what would you use?
American Gothic is still hanging in the museum where it was unveiled in 1930, the Art Institute of Chicago. It won a $300 prize and went on to become one of the most readily identifiable artistic works in human history. 5t gets parodied endlessly and I think it does that is that the work itself is a parody but at the same time it's an homage. Grant Wood walked a line between honor and mockery in that painting and in a lot of his work and frankly, that they key to his longevity.
That painting appeals to people who want to celebrate American provincialism and it appeals to people who are repulsed by it at the same time. What a feat Mr. Wood, good job.
I am working on a presentation I'm giving at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show next month and I've been given carte blanche to do whatever I want. Within reason of course, I'll be designing a kitchen and explaining the software I use as I do it. The show's in Chicago so I want to make it relate to Chicago in some way.
I can have this kitchen be anything and I like it when my designs tell a story. The Art Institute of Chicago is around two miles north of McCormick Place, where KBIS is taking place, so why not start with the Art Institute's most famous painting?
Grant Wood was also an interior designer, and his art was influenced profoundly by his studies of Jan Van Eyck and others, so I think he'd approve of me paying an homage to American Gothic in a modern kitchen.
I can't just design out of thin air, I need a narrative. So I'm busily making one up.
The house in the background of American Gothic is a real house in Eldon, Iowa.
So if that's a real place, I need a believable story. I think I'll make up two guys who are die hard modernists. I see a non-sociopathic Don Draper and a Rodger Sterling, hold the narcissism. Don and Rodge are tired of the hassles of living in Chicago and decide to buy a place in the country. Hello Eldon, IA.
So now I have clients and a house. I'm half way there. How could the interior of a house like that be reinterpreted through a Modernist lens? to be truthful, a lot of what's driving this story is the painting of course but shortly after I had that idea, I came across this faucet.
It's the Bali from Graff Faucets. The Bali is a series of faucets that reinterpret a water pump. I'm telling you, it's the faucet that's going into the house in Eldon. Don and Rodge already approved it in fact.
Here's their master bath.
This is fun! But it's not helping me with this kitchen project. Mercifully, SketchUp's 3D Warehouse gives me access to all manner of modern lighting, furniture, plumbing, appliances and anything else I'll need. So now it becomes a matter of what kinds of things would go into this kitchen in Eldon? Is an apron front sink too easy? How about it I modern it up like this Kohler Verity?
I'm pretty fond of Brizo's Venuto, so I think that's what'll go in the kitchen regardless of the sink.
Since it's one of my designs, it'll have a big kitchen table in it. Probably the Bungalow by Thos. Moser.
I like that table paired with Moser's Edo chair.
Now comes the hard part though. What kind of appliances are they going to get? What's going on the counters? How do I use Ingo Maurer lighting effectively?
What do you guys think? If you were to modern up the interior, specifically the kitchen, of Grant Wood's American Gothic house in Eldon Iowa, what would you use?
03 March 2010
Some times you need a Big Ass Fan
I subscribe to a newsletter called TODL, that's the Trade Only Design Library. It's always chock full of interesting new stuff and one of the featured products today was this enormous fan.
They're meant for commercial spaces obviously but what cracked me up is that the company who makes them is the Big Ass Fan Company. Seriously. The Big Ass Fan Company makes fans that range from eight to 20 feet in diameter and oddly enough, they're well designed. Their Isis in particular borders on the beautiful. Who knew? Well it's nice to know that when you need a big ass fan, the Big Ass Fan Company is there to help.
Big Ass Fan's Isis model even won an award last year from Interior Design. Good job!
They're meant for commercial spaces obviously but what cracked me up is that the company who makes them is the Big Ass Fan Company. Seriously. The Big Ass Fan Company makes fans that range from eight to 20 feet in diameter and oddly enough, they're well designed. Their Isis in particular borders on the beautiful. Who knew? Well it's nice to know that when you need a big ass fan, the Big Ass Fan Company is there to help.
Big Ass Fan's Isis model even won an award last year from Interior Design. Good job!
Simon Cowell on What is Art?
Kit Tosello is another kitchen designer/ blogger I've come to know through Twitter. She wrote one of the most poignant posts this blog has ever seen when she penned Dad's Dream: a Tale of Two Houses in December. In keeping with my goal of having this space be somewhere where a variety of opinions and stories can be heard, Kit penned another great post. My "What is art" posts from last week set her to thinking about art. I love where she goes with this. What do you guys think? Check out her regular posts on The High Desert Home Companion and get an Oregon perspective on design and life. Thanks Kit!
Where do you go for intrepid instruction on genuine artistry? American Idol's Simon Cowell obviously. Eh-hem. Indulge me for a second.
DrawMyFace.comhttp://www.drawmyface.co.uk/
Since Paul vexed me last week with his head-scratching blog post, What Is Art?, I jotted down some recent criticisms that Simon paid this season's batch of aspiring musical artists:
"You've just shown us that you're somebody who can sing someone else's song . . . and not as well."
"Most of all it's trying to do something that makes you original."
Conversely, here are some of the AI judges' affirmations:
"You picked the song because you genuinely liked the song and it portrayed you as an artist." -Simon
"You're believable." -Kara
"You don't care what everyone thinks or what's in . . . I love the honesty." -Randy
Great unpretentious singer-songwriters such as Jackson Browne come to mind.
I've been thinking that one requirement of great art is the transparency of the artist.
Mankind by nature is truth-seeking; it's what sets our species apart. On the other hand, we like pretty things. I have a lot of pretty doo-dads around my house that may not have anything to do with genuine art. We often enjoy art that panders and pleases.
Yet I think we innately recognize and appreciate truth in art. Whether in music, dance, literature or fine art, we can sense if the artist's mind, body and soul were completely present at a work's creation.
Such sincerety expresses the human desire to be known, unselfconsciously. It is not a guise. It might make a statement or pose a question. It might portray an honest response to the glory of the universe, or it might raise an altar to mark a point on the artist's personal journey.
Honesty is attractive. When one of my teenagers wants to pay the ultimate complement they will say something or someone is legit.
Can there be truth in commercial art?
DaVinci was commissioned to paint a portrait we've come to know as the Mona Lisa.
Heesyun Ruettgers, a friend and local photographer who specializes in bridal portraiture, says this about her stunning work: "It's what I see."
“Risk being unliked. Tell the truth as you understand it. If you’re a writer, you have a moral obligation to do this. And it is a revolutionary act—truth is always subversive.”
- Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
"...write what you KNOW. Not what you think, or what you've heard. Write what your gut tells you is the truth."
- Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent
The intersection of truth, talent and technique.
Of course, honesty in artistic expression is lost without technique. Great artists have the talent and training to show us what they see.
If you handed me a tray of oil paints, I could try most sincerely to relay the tender message I see in my dog's eyes right now, but my amateur brushstrokes would only diminish the message. Or, as Simon said to one unpolished contestant this week:
"Brave . . . but you're gonna need a lot of work."
Great art magnifies the holy mystery.
You might find this a stretch. Whether or not an artist believes in God's existence, I believe that God is honored by honest expression. The searching of a soul is a holy expedition.
"The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul." -J.S. Bach
It's been twenty years since I took a course in Art Appreciation. In thinking about this topic, I purposely avoided looking up any formal definitions of art so that I could form my own conclusions. Art is a two-way street and we are free to respond individually. These are simply my honest responses, presented in as refined a way as I know how, based on my journey so far.
What do you think about the relationship between truth and art?
02 March 2010
This looks uncomfortable
This is from a two-year-old back issue of Metropolitan Home. You can see where this place and who the perpetrators are by following the link.
I think the place is a nightmare. The only thing missing is a big sign that says "stay away." How do you make people comfortable in your home if they're afraid to wrinkle the upholstery?
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