In an Open-Source Stamp Kit, ‘BlockFace’ Gets Tactile With Type

By in Art World News

In an Open-Source Stamp Kit, ‘BlockFace’ Gets Tactile With Type

For hundreds of years, typography was an innately physical medium, beginning with ornate metal designs followed by mass-produced wood varieties that were cheaper and could be scaled up or down. In the 21st century, we think of typefaces and fonts as things that come in digital packages, but artist and designer Will Mower aims to bring interaction and tactility back to the art form. His BlockFace Kit, a modular stamp set, plays with elemental shapes that invite creativity and imagination without requiring the space for large sort drawers or expensive presses.

Produced in collaboration with Open Press Project (previously), BlockFace relies on a combination of 3D-printed and laser-cut pieces that attach to the stamp pieces, which you can choose to make yourself with provided instructions or purchase fully constructed. The complete kit comes with a magnetic case, black and red ink pads, and a printed manual that teaches six styles: Bauhaus, lowercase, slab serif, Grotesque, Standard, and curved. The real joy, of course, is in creating your own!

BlockFace is in its final couple of days on Kickstarter, where you can view a demonstration video and pre-order your own. Find more updates on Instagram. (via Creative Boom)

 

All images © Will Mower

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Sotheby’s Will Sell the $500 Million Collection of the Late Art Patron Emily Fisher Landau, the Market’s Most Coveted Consignment This Fall

By in Art World News

Sotheby’s Will Sell the $500 Million Collection of the Late Art Patron Emily Fisher Landau, the Market’s Most Coveted Consignment This Fall

Sotheby’s has emerged victorious in the battle to secure the collection of the late Emily Fisher Landau, the noted art patron who died in March at the age of 102.

The trove will be the premiere single-collector offering of the fall auction season in New York this November. Christie’s and Sotheby’s had been vying for the consignment.

The star lot of the group is Pablo Picasso’s Femme à la montre (Woman With a Watch), a 1932 portrait of the artist’s young lover Marie-Therese Walter, which is estimated to achieve “in excess of $120 million,” according to a statement from Sotheby’s.

The year is considered Picasso’s “annus mirabilis,” a year so important for the artist that an entire exhibition dedicated to it was mounted at the Tate Modern in 2018. Major Picasso works from 1932 are now all worth between $100 million and $200 million, according to a dealer who staged another exhibition comprised solely of them. No such pieces have come to auction since 2010, when a large-scale painting, Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, from the collection of Los Angeles patrons Sydney and Frances Brody, fetched a record-setting $106 million.

All told, the Emily Fisher Landau collection is estimated at as much as $500 million, people familiar with the trove told Artnet News in August.

Other notable works from the collection include a major Mark Rothko from 1958, an Ed Ruscha (Landau had the largest assemblage of his work in private hands and visited his studio often), a Jasper Johns Flag work (one of only four ever to be offered at auction), and an Andy Warhol self-portrait, completed just months before the artist’s death.

With the art market in contraction, all eyes will be on the Landau sale. The calamitous Gerald Fineberg salethis spring inaugurated the correction when it totaled $153 million on an estimate of $163 million to $235 million, falling short of its presale target range even after Christie’s fees were added to the hammer result of $124.7 million.

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Arts & Crafts Are Brought Up to Date With the Rail Sofa Collection

By in Design

Arts & Crafts Are Brought Up to Date With the Rail Sofa Collection

BassamFellows’ Rail sofa collection began with an architectural project – a client’s guest house/pool pavilion featuring a large indoor/outdoor lounge area separated by folding glass doors, located near the brand’s base in New Canaan, Connecticut.

“As with all of our furniture designs, Rail comes from an architectural project…,” says BassamFellows Co-Founder Craig Bassam. “When open, the entire living space becomes one, and I wanted the lounge areas to seamlessly integrate inside and outside with a single lounge system. I also wanted the lounge to echo the pavilion’s clear, rational geometry and refined wood cladding. Rail is rooted in the Arts & Crafts Movement, but is lighter, more sculptural, and more pared down, continuing our commitment to our minimal artisanal vision of ‘Craftsman Modern.’

Constructed using precise joinery principals, Rail features a light but substantial frame that’s defined by a single bar. Acting as part of the back and arms, it encloses the seat cushions within a strong horizontal line. The eponymous rail and the vertical supports are deep but thin, carved into an exaggerated fin shape. Cantilevered elements at each corner mimic the architecture of the New Canaan pavilion.

wood framed outdoor sectional sofa with white upholstery

Rail’s cushions are hand-upholstered using outdoor foam and a fiber “jacket” housed in an easy-to-remove cover that’s made from an innovative hemp-based outdoor fabric. BassamFellows commissioned the new eco-friendly material from a 150-year-old Italian mill. The technologically advanced result is a fabric that’s natural, sustainable, and biodegradable, with excellent sun protection, pool-water resistance, and durability.

wood framed outdoor sectional sofa with white upholstery

The Rail sofa collection includes single, two- and three-seater lengths, ottomans, benches, and sun lounges. These individual elements can then be combined to create configurations that include U-shapes and L-shapes. Choose from a variety of woods for both indoor and outdoor use, including Iroko, Walnut, and Oak.

detail of wood framed outdoor sectional sofa with white upholstery

detail of wood framed outdoor sofa and loveseat with white upholstery and a square wood coffee table

detail of square wood coffee table

wood framed outdoor sofa with white upholstery and a square wood table

wood framed outdoor sofa with white upholstery

wood framed outdoor sofa with white upholstery

wood framed outdoor sofa with white upholstery

wood framed outdoor loveseat with white upholstery

wood framed outdoor loveseat with white upholstery

square wood coffee table

wood coffee table with moveable legs

two wood coffee tables with moveable legs

To learn more about the Rail Sofa Collection, visit bassamfellows.com.

Photos by Joe Fletcher Photography.

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she’s likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.

Museum Drops Ban on Photographing Picasso’s ‘Guernica’

By in Photography

Museum Drops Ban on Photographing Picasso’s ‘Guernica’
Man looking at Guernica

A visitor examines Pablo Picasso’s Guernica during the partial reopening of the Reina Sofía Museum in June 2020, which followed several months of pandemic closures.
Denis Doyle / Getty Images

In 1992, Pablo Picasso’s 26-foot-long painting Guernica arrived at Spain’s Reina Sofía Museum. Since then, museum officials have enforced a rule: No photos.

Now, nearly three decades later, the museum has lifted the ban, reports Euronews’ Rebecca Ann Hughes. Visitors have been allowed to photograph the famous 1937 oil painting since September 1. 

“Our intention was simply that it could be done normally, not to announce it to the press or anything, because photos are already permitted throughout the museum, as in all the great museums in the world,” Manuel Segade, the museum’s new director, tells the state news agency Efe, per the London Times’ Isambard Wilkinson.

Previously, the room holding Guernica was the only area of the building where photography was prohibited, reports Hyperallergic’s Maya Pontone. Even now, visitors are banned from using flashes and stabilization devices like tripods or selfie sticks.

Museum officials hope that changing the policy will help prevent crowding in the room, which only allows 70 visitors in at a time.

“It only takes a few seconds to take a selfie, and so the pace of the public will flow more,” a spokesperson tells the Times. “It does not damage the painting, but rather prevents crowds and people trying to take a covert shot while the guards in the room reprimand them. It will improve the visitor experience.”

Over the years, the museum has made some exceptions to the rule. Last year, for example, Mick Jagger prompted criticism by posing for a quick photo in front of the painting during a private viewing, according to the Art Newspaper’s Gareth Harris.

Guernica has been a main attraction at the Reina Sofía since its arrival in 1992. One of Picasso’s most celebrated works, the painting depicts the horrors of the Spanish Civil War. It’s named for the Spanish city of Guernica, which Germany bombed in 1937 in support of General Francisco Franco. As Smithsonian magazine’s Jason Daley wrote in 2017, “It was one of the first times that a civilian population was targeted by aerial bombing.”

Picasso created the large-scale black-and-white work in about a month and a half. It remains “a timeless, universal symbol, vilifying the implacable and criminal destruction of war, and opening artistic debate on the representation of armed conflict,” per the Reina Sofía’s website.

Segade thinks that dropping the photo ban will help the museum align its values with modern-day technological norms.

“[We] are constantly mediated by cameras—when we go to a concert, when we go to any cultural event,” Segade tells Euronews. “We believe that it doesn’t make sense that Guernica doesn’t have the same iconic character it deserves.”

He adds, “I would like us to reach 100 percent photographic accessibility, especially for a young audience that lives filtered by a screen. I think it is also important to pay attention to their way of approaching reality.”

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Composer J. Cruise Berry uses classical music to share First American culture

By in Native

Composer J. Cruise Berry uses classical music to share First American culture

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Musician J. Cruise Berry recently concluded the “Wheels of Harmony” tour, traveling more than 1,200 miles within two weeks. The “Wheels of Harmony” tour brought Cherokee and Choctaw hymns, opera, First American flute, piano instrumentals and classical music composed by First Americans to nearly 2,000 students in Montana.

“We are engaging the community of Montana in meaningful ways and discussions about Native artists and classical music,” Cruise said. “We are sharing what we have spent our lives honing and crafting. We also share what it is like being a Native person in the world of classical music.”

Through music, the

production aimed to engage students in discussions concerning Montana and the many federally recognized tribes within the U.S. The “Wheels of Harmony” tour also encouraged students to explore music and performance art as possible professions for their future.

“Wheels of Harmony” consisted of three First American artists. In addition to knowing their tribes’ traditional First American music and other cultural arts, each is a classically trained musician with their own unique skill sets. Cruise is a Chickasaw citizen, composer and pianist. Cherokee citizen Kate Morton is a mezzo- soprano and storyteller, and Choctaw Mark Billy

is a Verdi baritone and plays the First American flute.

With a hectic schedule, nearly 15 schools were visited during the two- week tour. These schools were primarily located in rural areas or on First American reservations.

The Intermountain Opera Bozeman, Bozeman, Montana, produced “Wheels of Harmony.” It is designed to introduce students in the state to Indigenous music and culture. This was often done through original classical music scores composed by Berry.

“Wheels of Harmony” will begin touring Montana again in March 2024.

About J. Cruise Berry

Currently working in

the Los Angeles music scene, Berry grew up in Lone Grove, Oklahoma. He learned at an early age that his heart belonged to music. Many of his extracurricularactivities in high school revolved around performing arts.

“I realized the outlet I feel most at home and able to express deep thoughts and feelings was not through word or sport, but through the arts, through music,” Berry said. “I started composing in junior high. I was in the high school band where I played trumpet for many years. Now I am a composer and pianist.”

As a freelancing musician, Berry has worked as founding company pianist and composer for SPARK! Creative Lab. He also served as collaborative pianist for the Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre at the University of Oklahoma. His scores have been performed by members of the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, to name a few.

Berry has also collaborated with New York-based string quartet, “Ethel,” and has been an artist on Grammy Award-winning Azica Records. He is also a food and culture writer. Having a passion for culinary arts, many of his stories can be found published in Edible OKC.

“I am better with the act of putting things down (on paper) rather than saying them,” Berry said. “I am a composer, a pianist and a writer of words. Those are the three things that define my professional identity as a young Native artist living in L.A. These are ways for me to capture things around me

and make sense of an otherwise chaotic world.” Many mentors have factored into Berry’s career path. These have included a high school band director, choir director, and a speech and debate coach who guided him to many state championships, among

others.

However, Berry

prizes fellow Chickasaw composer and pianist Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate’s mentorship above all others.

“I call Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate my musical dad,” Berry said. “I met Jerod when I was 15 years old through the Chickasaw Summer Arts Academy. I wrote my first string quartet under him. I attended the Summer Arts Academy for a couple of years. The academy helped me grow and I met people there that have become lifelong friends.”

As a performer and educator, Berry has one piece of advice to convey to those following their dreams of working within the performing arts fields, “Find a mentor, listen to everything they tell you, read biographies of people you want to be like, become very, very good at two or three things, have a strict morning routine, and find ways to be creative in daily chores.

“It’s those mentors, those people that are put in your life that really help you codify and hone in on what it is that you are good and passionate about,” Berry said.

“C.S. Lewis said Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.’ The same can be said for passionate interests. You can have a passionate interest in 2023 and make a career out of it,” he added.

Before moving to

California, Berry made his mark on Oklahoma City music where he studied music composition and piano performance at Oklahoma City University. He has worked with many nonprofit and community-based organizations.

He served on the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Associate Board. While on the board, he was appointed treasurer. He was also a piano instructor for the Granville Community Music School/Opry Heritage Foundation. As a piano instructor, he worked with students in poverty within the Oklahoma City Public School system. Berry provided his own form of mentorship to these students, teaching them performing arts and other skills necessary for their future.

Berry also worked with the Children’s Center Rehabilitation Hospital, where he assisted music therapists with lessons and engagement learning exercises and activities.

Berry’s parents are Joe and Candace Berry. He receives his Chickasaw heritage from his mother. He is also proud of the Arabic heritage given to him by his father.

“I grew up on a sheep farm to a Saudi father and a Chickasaw mother in (a small town in) the Chickasaw Nation,” Berry said. “I can never thank my parents enough for being so willing to let me chase something (performing arts) that was so alien and unfamiliar to them.

“I have been able to come to Los Angeles with a lot of pride. My elevator speech when I first meet someone is that I am Chickasaw, Arab and Oklahoman. I am proud of my identity, who I am and where I come from.”

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