MDC’s Koubek Center Presents the Premiere of Two Islands, a Multidisciplinary Storytelling, Music and Dance Performance Featuring Afro-Cuban and Australian Aboriginal Artists Dec. 16

By in Native

MDC’s Koubek Center Presents the Premiere of Two Islands, a Multidisciplinary Storytelling, Music and Dance Performance Featuring Afro-Cuban and Australian Aboriginal Artists Dec. 16
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Miami, Dec. 5, 2023 – Miami Dade College‘s (MDC) Koubek Center presents Two Islands, an extraordinary multidisciplinary performance featuring storytelling, music and dance. This event, which will take place at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, is the culmination of the first part of a two-year international cultural exchange residency that brings together Afro-Cuban artists from Miami and Aboriginal artists from Australia to explore how these vastly different cultural traditions speak to their ancestors through a musical and dance performance.

Two Islands features Afro-Cuban musician and educator Michael Gil, who will be working with the First Nation artists along with Afro-Cuban dancer and choreographer Marisol Blanco from Sikan Afro-Cuban Dance Project; musicians Manuel Clua, René Pedroso and Caridad Paisán; and dancer Suramy Suarez. The Aboriginal Australian counterparts include NT Dance Company Artistic Director and Choreographer Gary Lang from the Larrakia nation, Yolngu elder Banula Marika and Marranunggu Marrathiyel singer-songwriter David Spry.

“The idea is to provide three sides of both cultures,” says Miami-based Gil. “We’d like to offer an idea of the cosmology, the origin of the world according to each culture, and also a bit of the tradition of each culture. We are talking about the Afro-Cuban Yoruba dances and music that are part of Yoruban liturgy, and from the Aboriginal side, the rituals, dances and music in their ceremonies. Another part of all this is that both cultures, while they are ancestral, have evolved, have transformed, and will continue to transform and develop. Gary Lang already takes that approach, blending the traditional aboriginal dances with elements of contemporary dance.”

This blend of ancestral and more modern elements is also reflected in the instrumentation.

“You can’t do an Australian Aboriginal ceremony if you don’t have a didgeridoo (a horn-like instrument developed 1,500 years ago by the Aboriginal people in Northern Australia), and you can’t do a Yoruba ceremony without the batá drums,” says Gil. “These are instruments of cultures that have been enslaved, conquered, mistreated, and are instruments of cultural identity, of resistance.” But in Two Islands, they will be perhaps played side by side with a guitar, a flute, an African kalimba (thumb piano) or a berimbau, a bow-like Brazilian instrument of Angolan roots.

Working with his Australian Aboriginal counterparts has presented Gil with very different notions of speed, time and a focus on process – being present, rather than outcomes. Beyond experiencing the beauty in these traditions, he hopes audiences will walk away with ”the questions that have been the same and remain the same. Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? Is there something beyond? Those questions have been the same for all cultures, only they have been manifested and answered in different ways. So, despite how incredibly different two people may be, they have a profound similarity that perhaps could translate into a greater understanding.”

The second part of this collaboration will take place next year when Miami-based artists visit Australia. This project is possible with funding from the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs International Partnership Grant and the National Endowment for the Arts.

WHAT:   Two Islands world premiere

WHEN:   Saturday, Dec. 16, at 8 p.m.

WHERE: Koubek Center

2705 S.W. Third St., Miami, FL 33135

Tickets:  $20

Purchase:

https://www.squadup.com/events/two-islands-world-premiere-dancemusic-australiamiami?legacy=0

Free Parking  

The Koubek Center
A South Florida landmark with a long and rich history as a cultural hub, The Koubek Center is dedicated to building community through the arts. Over the past several decades, the Center has offered a variety of activities, including workshops, art exhibitions, theater performances, literary readings, and concerts. It is a place for artists and local arts organizations to explore, experiment, collaborate, and share their work with the community. The Koubek Center includes a 200-seat theater, an expansive garden, classrooms, rehearsal, and multi-use spaces. Built in 1929 by Austrian trader John J. Koubek as a gift to his wife, it was later donated to the University of Miami and acquired by Miami Dade College in 2011.

Equal access/equal opportunity
Miami Dade College is an equal access/equal opportunity institution which does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, marital status, age, religion, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, ethnicity, pregnancy, sexual orientation or genetic information. To obtain more information about the College’s equal access and equal opportunity policies, procedures and practices, please contact the College’s Equity Officer: Cindy Lau Evans, Director, Office of Equal Opportunity Programs and ADA Coordinator, at (305) 237-2577 (Voice) or 711 (Relay Service). 11011 SW 104 St., Room 1102-01; Miami, FL 33176. EquityOff@mdc.edu

New Depth-Filled Wall Sculptures by Joshua Abarbanel

By in Design

New Depth-Filled Wall Sculptures by Joshua Abarbanel

Layer upon layer of stained and unstained woods come together to create artist Joshua Abarbanel’s depth-ridden artworks. In the name of examining creation and impermanence, Abarbanel uses forms and natural patterns evocative of biological, botanical, geological, and even mechanical structures. Further inspiration is derived from fractals, accretive formations (the accumulation of particles into a massive object by gravitationally attracting more matter), and the Fibonacci sequence.

Abarbanel’s work is full of juxtapositions between made and grown, life and death, and microscopic and aerial perspectives. He refers to his sculptures and projects as “visual metaphors for archetypal relationships between people, individuals, and communities, and humankind and the planet.”

Germination 01, Cardboard, Dims variable Created for Cardboard City 2022 in Santa Monica, California Photo courtesy of Joshua Abarbanel

“For Cardboard City 2022, an exhibition and creative space from ReDiscover Center, I was invited to make a work in cardboard. Already I had been experimenting with using cardboard and making structural material from the copious amounts of paper and packaging materials that suffuse our daily lives,” he said. “The onset of the pandemic crystalized something that I had been wrestling with for a while: feeling inundated by, and guilty about all of this waste. These works in cardboard and pulped paper start to address my concerns about privacy, consumerism, consumption, and sustainability. I also love how the graphics and messaging on the boxes become part of the piece, making little poems and narrative vignettes.”

abstract layered wooden wall sculpture

Germination 01, Cardboard, Dims variable Created for Cardboard City 2022 in Santa Monica, California Photo courtesy of Joshua Abarbanel

abstract layered wooden wall sculpture installed in a living room

Germination 03, 2023, stained + unstained wood, 13’x5’x1″ Private residence, New York City Photo courtesy of Joshua Abarbanel

Germination 03 uses subtle highlights within the sculpture’s palette to help define the topography, while its individual shapes are loosely inspired by New York City’s five boroughs.

detail of abstract layered wooden wall sculpture

Germination 02

abstract layered wooden wall sculpture

Mega Reef 02, 2021, stained + unstained wood, 14’x9’x3″ Permanent Collection of the US Embassy, Colombo, Sri Lanka, US Department of State Photo courtesy US Embassy

“As with much of my work, the sculptures in the Reef series are an outgrowth of my fascination with natural forms, which I return to again and again as meditations on the act of creation and the passage of time,” shared Abarbanel. “Sea life and plant formations, with their mathematical structures and marriage of amorphous and geometric shapes, have always captivated me.”

Mega Reef 02, seen above, was commissioned by Art in Embassies of the U.S. Department of State for the lobby of a new U.S. Embassy located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Serving Sri Lanka and the Maldives, the dark pieces that form the foundation are inspired by some of the larger atolls in the Maldives. The larger, lighter-hued pieces of the outermost layers reflect the shapes and growth patterns of coral and animal life in the ocean region surrounding Sri Lanka.

abstract layered wooden wall sculpture installed in a living room

Mega Reef 03, 2023, stained + unstained wood, 14’x9’x3″ Private residence, Palo Alto, California Photo: Art Gray

“For Mega Reef 03, I also took visual cues from an old California buckeye tree that was formerly sited on the property. The smaller shapes around the perimeter of the piece are reminiscent of buckeyes – the shiny, nut-like seeds that are dark brown with a light-colored spot that gives them the appearance of a deer’s eye – and the hues of this installation also reflect pine, oak, redwood, and walnut trees, all California natives.”

detail of abstract layered wooden wall sculpture

Mega Reef 03, 2023, stained + unstained wood, 14’x9’x3″ Private residence, Palo Alto, California Photo: Art Gray

detail of abstract layered wooden wall sculpture

Mega Reef 03, 2023, stained + unstained wood, 14’x9’x3″ Private residence, Palo Alto, California Photo: Art Gray

abstract layered wooden wall sculpture

Mega Reef 04, 2023, stained wood, 17’x5’x6″ Private residence, Wison, Wyoming Photo courtesy Joshua Abarbanel

Mega Reef 04 is installed just outside of Jackson, Wyoming. It pulls from the coast, where the owners moved from, and the nearby Tetons and native flora. The woods included are aspen, cottonwood, fir, pine, spruce, and willow trees, as well as huckleberry and lupine.

abstract layered wooden wall sculpture installed in a kitchen

Mega Reef 04, 2023, stained wood, 17’x5’x6″ Private residence, Wison, Wyoming Photo courtesy Joshua Abarbanel

detail of abstract layered wooden wall sculpture

Mega Reef 04, 2023, stained wood, 17’x5’x6″ Private residence, Wison, Wyoming Photo courtesy Joshua Abarbanel

To learn more about Joshua Abarbanel and his art, visit joshuaabarbanel.com.

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.

The Elusive Conceptual Artist Lutz Bacher’s Posthumous Show in London Hones In on Princess Diana

By in Native

The Elusive Conceptual Artist Lutz Bacher’s Posthumous Show in London Hones In on Princess Diana

The mysterious conceptualist Lutz Bacher is having her first posthumous institutional show at Raven Row in London. The artist herself initiated the concept for the exhibition with curator Anthony Huberman as a mixed presentation of audiovisual pieces which featuring old VHS footage from Princess Diana’s funeral and the voices and imagery of legendary figures from pop culture, including Leonard Cohen—but also Darth Vader. Eerie installations, including a pit of sand, fill the gallery rooms. After Bacher’s passing in 2019, the non-profit exhibition center Raven Row worked with the artist’s estate and Galerie Buchholz to deliver the exhibition.

A California native, Bacher lived in the Bay Area and later New York. She was known to be highly secretive and never publicly revealed basic biographical information, like her birth name or age (although it is known that she was born in 1943). Nonetheless, she received widespread institutional recognition with solo shows at MoMA PS1 in 2009, the ICA in London in 2013, and the Secession in Vienna in 2016.

At Raven Row, Bacher’s blend of found material, digital ephemera, and appropriated sounds and images is quintessential Bacher. In one gallery, panes of glass shimmer with projected images of the Empire State Building lit up with bright colors at night. In the lobby, the visitor is affronted by loud traffic noises, whereas upstairs, bible passages are blared out of a huge speaker while tinny radios play run-of-the-mill pop hits over each other. These strange works, that are tricky to categorize or contextualize, manage to disorientate the viewer in much the same way as our information-oversaturated world often succeeds in doing.

“Lutz Bacher: AYE!” runs through December 17. Check out more installation views of the exhibition below.

Installation of “Lutz Bacher: AYE!” at Raven Row gallery in London. Photo: © Marcus J Leith.

Installation of “Lutz Bacher: AYE!” at Raven Row gallery in London. Photo: © Anne Tetzlaff.

Installation of “Lutz Bacher: AYE!” at Raven Row gallery in London. Photo: © Anne Tetzlaff.

Installation of “Lutz Bacher: AYE!” at Raven Row gallery in London. Photo: © Marcus J Leith.

Installation of “Lutz Bacher: AYE!” at Raven Row gallery in London. Photo: © Marcus J Leith.

Installation of “Lutz Bacher: AYE!” at Raven Row gallery in London. Photo: © Marcus J Leith.

Installation of “Lutz Bacher: AYE!” at Raven Row gallery in London. Photo: © Anne Tetzlaff.

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Weaving Cultural and Travel Ties into Airport Art Installation

By in Native

Weaving Cultural and Travel Ties into Airport Art Installation

Starting in 2026, travelers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) can experience Native artist Crystal Worl’s work both inside the airport and on the airfield.

Worl and fellow artist Fumi Amano were selected to create public art installations for SEA Airport’s C Concourse Expansion project as part of a first-of-its-kind residency partnership between the airport and two iconic glass art entities — Pilchuck Glass School and the Museum of Glass. The Pilchuck residency allows artists to brainstorm ideas; the Museum of Glass residency helps them produce these ideas into a final product for display at the airport.

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Fumi Amano and Crystal Worl during their artist residencies at Pilchuck School of Glass.

And earlier this year, Alaska Airlines debuted an aircraft featuring Worl’s design, titled: Xáat Kwáani (Salmon People). It’s the first aircraft in the history of any domestic airline to be named in an Alaska Native language and to depict the ancestral importance through Northwest Coast indigenous formline art, which is characterized by curving lines and shapes and dates back thousands of years.

This summer, Worl completed her two-week residency at Pilchuck, and will complete a second five-day residency at the Museum of Glass, likely in 2024. Her finished piece will be on display at the airport in 2026 with the opening of the new C Concourse.

Indigenous and travel connections

Worl’s connection to her Native heritage threads itself through much of her work. Worl is Athabascan, Filipino, and Tlingit from Raven moiety, Sockeye Clan, from the Raven House. She is Deg Hit’an Athabascan from Fairbanks Alaska and currently lives in Juneau, Alaska. Her work is diverse, ranging from Tlingit Northwest Coast design to contemporary multimedia pieces.

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Photo credit: Gabe Re @gabere

Worl’s plans for her C Concourse piece reflect her love for travel and the time she spent at SEA as a child on her way to visit family and looking at the art on display. As an international gateway and a gateway to Alaska, SEA is the perfect venue for Worl to express that passion.

“I travel a lot. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always been curious about traveling and exploring. Maybe it’s the Athabascan in me. We migrated a lot; we’re nomadic people. So maybe it’s just in my DNA to be curious. And I remember thinking from a young age, I want to be an artist, but I want to travel the world, and how do I do both? How do I take my art around the world? Or maybe my art could take me around the world?”

Worl has used art to fuel her passion for travel, building residencies where she can live abroad for months at a time. She makes the most of each trip, bringing a little portable artist studio in her suitcase and seeking out other artists in the communities she visits.

decorativeInspired by heritage

Worl also attributes her artistic inspiration to the creative community she grew up around and the blend of a traditional and modern upbringing. She participated in potlatches, ceremonies, and gatherings to connect with heritage, while attending school to study and follow her passions. Her family emphasized the importance of learning modern tools so she could become a better community member.

Her mom showed her how to bead, her grandmother taught her how to sew, and her family made their own regalia, which represents family and clan.

“Growing up with that upbringing is just normal for me, but the more I started traveling, as I got older and started going to school, the more I realized that was very special and very unique. And people are very fascinated by it. Native art can be respected and embraced, and it’s beautiful and it should be shared, but in a respectful manner. And so having this opportunity and this platform as an indigenous artist is really cool.”

Her work bridges multiple worlds — the indigenous artist community that practices formline design and the glass artist community. “It’s challenging because glass makers don’t necessarily understand what formline is unless they are a Native artist. It’s a fun challenge. It’s really making me scratch my brain.”

License to exploredecorative

During Worl’s Pilchuck residency, she found herself inspired by the passionate and boundary-pushing community of artists. This was her second time at the Pacific Northwest glass school; she first studied at Pilchuck 10 years ago.

“It’s cool to be in a small, isolated but beautiful community that’s just a bunch of artists. We’re all nerding out over creating pieces in new ways. I feel like I’m like Alice in Wonderland, and everyone’s telling me to come down this rabbit hole.”

The residency partnership is designed to allow the artists to explore before they land on a concept for the airport commission. This gave Worl full permission to explore during her residency. With the assistance of her assistant Priscilla Lowe, she spent the first week mapping out her vision for the sculpture; she envisioned a grid of colorful gummy bear shapes formed from glass.

“This residency at Pilchuck Glass School has been really incredible and amazing because not only has it returned me to dip my toe in glass, but it’s reminded me of the expansive and talented community that works in glass.”

As a multidisciplinary artist with a goal to make the installation predominantly in glass, Worl needed an opportunity like this to help expand her understanding of glass.

“We’ve been trying to create a frog out of glass in every possible way we could come up with; I think we have five or six frogs now,” she said. “They don’t all look like frogs yet, but the idea is there. And it’s really cool to work with the gaffers (specialized glass artists) because there are so many things I can’t do with glass, but then for everything I can’t do, I learned there are a million other ways that I can do it. So it’s challenging me to think outside of the box. I’m uncomfortable and it’s good for me.”

decorativeA vision for the new C Concourse

Worl said she is also inspired by the design renderings for the C Concourse Expansion and the beautiful, light-filled space it will become.

“There’s a space for sitting and hanging out next to the wall that will have my art. The piece will have high visibility and see a lot of foot traffic. It’s a route towards the restrooms and also by the elevator. So it’s going to be seen a lot, and that’s really exciting.”

Worl is also co-owner of an Indigenous graphic design and art gift shop called Trickster Company with her brother Rico.  

Top photo credit: Gabe Re @gabere

Dear Santa, these are the six things on my photography list I want for Christmas

By in Photography

Dear Santa, these are the six things on my photography list I want for Christmas

Gift giving is difficult at the best of times and when it comes to photography the possibilities are endless, but this often means those unfamiliar with photography are overwhelmed with choice. I think this is why we end up with so many lens-shaped mugs! I have given an insight into 6 things that are on my Xmas list, to act as an insight into what a professional photographer might ask Santa for. 

My biggest tip for gifts for photographers is photography books!

One of my biggest passions is photography books, and I found it hard not to fill the list full of them. I love the medium, and I don’t think photographers utilize them enough, as a source of inspiration. As well as being beautiful pieces of art, they serve as a motivation to better my work. 

The best thing about photography books for gifts is there is one about any subject you can imagine, making gift-giving simple! Just search for a photography book around one of the recipient’s interests and you’re sure to be on to a winner. 

For more information onthe best coffee table books on Photography, the best Fujifilm cameras, and the best GF lenses, see our helpful guides.

Vertical, casual images and few selfies: Smartphone photography is changing how we see the world

By in Photography

Vertical, casual images and few selfies: Smartphone photography is changing how we see the world
Vertical, casual images and few selfies: Smartphone photography is changing how we see the world

Fans during the Global Citizen Concert in New York City in September.

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Reuters

Smartphones are a staple of modern life and are changing how we see the world and show it to others. Almost 90% of Aussies own one, and we spend an average of 5.6 hours using them each day. Smartphones are also responsible for more than 90% of all the photographs made this year.

But compare the camera roll of a 60-year-old with that of a 13-year-old, as we recently did, and you’ll find some surprising differences. In research published in the Journal of Visual Literacy, we looked at how different generations use smartphones for photography as well as broader trends that reveal how these devices change the way we see the world.

Here are five patterns we observed.

1. We make images more casually and with a wider subject matter

Before the first smartphone camera was released in 2007, cameras were used more selectively and for a narrower range of purposes. You might only see them at events like weddings and graduations, or at tourist hotspots on holidays.

Now, they’re ubiquitous in everyday life. We use smartphones to document our meals, our daily gym progress, and our classwork as well as the more “special” moments in our lives.

Many middle-aged people use smartphones most for work-related purposes. One of our participants put it this way:

I often take photos of info I want to save, or of clients’ work when I want to then email it to myself to put on the computer. I feel like I’ve gotten a little slack on socially taking photos of friends … but in the day-to-day, I feel like I use it very practically now for basically work, grabbing a photo to upload it online somewhere.

Email Twitter Facebook42 LinkedIn Print Smartphones are a staple of modern life and are changing how we see the world and show it to others. Almost 90% of Aussies own one, and we spend an average of 5.6 hours using them each day. Smartphones are also responsible for more than 90% of all the photographs made this year. But compare the camera roll of a 60-year-old with that of a 13-year-old, as we recently did, and you’ll find some surprising differences. In research published in the Journal of Visual Literacy, we looked at how different generations use smartphones for photography as well as broader trends that reveal how these devices change the way we see the world. Here are five patterns we observed. 1. We make images more casually and with a wider subject matter Before the first smartphone camera was released in 2007, cameras were used more selectively and for a narrower range of purposes. You might only see them at events like weddings and graduations, or at tourist hotspots on holidays. Get news that’s free, independent and based on evidence. Now, they’re ubiquitous in everyday life. We use smartphones to document our meals, our daily gym progress, and our classwork as well as the more “special” moments in our lives. A triptych of everyday photos showing a meal, a book, and a bottle of medicine. In the old days cameras only came out for special occasions, but we now tend to use our smartphones to document a wider range of subject matter, including our most recent meal, something we see and want to add to our shopping wish list, or an item at the shops that we want to confirm with a family member. Credit: TJ Thomson/The Conversation.

2. We aren’t as selfie-obsessed as some would think

Our participants only used their phone’s front “selfie” camera 14% of the time. They acknowledged the stigma around selfies and didn’t want to be perceived as narcissistic.

3. We’re seeing more vertical compositions

In years past, whether you had a bulky DSLR camera or a lightweight disposable, the “default” grip was to hold it with two hands in a horizontal way. This leads to photos in landscape orientation.

But the vertical design of smartphones and accompanying apps, such as Instagram and Snapchat, are resulting in more photos in portrait orientation. Participants said holding their smartphone cameras this way was more convenient and faster.

The vertical design of smartphones and associated popular social media apps, such as Snapchat, Instagram, and X, influences how people use their smartphone cameras. Credit: Instagram / X / Snapchat .

4. We like to keep our distance

Participants made more images of people from farther away compared to getting close. Intimate “head and face” framing was only present in fewer than 10% of the images.

In one participant’s words:

I feel like my friends and I get frustrated with parents, when they’re zooming in a photo or they walk in really close. My mom would always get one like right in my face, like this is too close! I don’t want to see this. The zoom in, oh, it’s frustrating!

5. We get inspired by what we see online

Teenagers in particular mentioned social media, especially Instagram, as influencing their visual sensibilities. Older adults were more likely to attribute their sense of aesthetics to physical media, such as photography books, magazines and posters.

This aesthetic inspiration impacts what we take photos of, and also how we do it. For example, young people mentioned a centred compositional approach most often. In contrast, older generations invoked the “rule of thirds” approach more often.

One participant contrasted generational differences like this:

There seems to be a real lack of interest [by younger people] in say, composition, or the use of light or that sort of aesthetic side of getting an image. When my partner and I were kids […] our access to different aesthetics and images was actually very limited. You had the four channels on TV, you had magazines, you had the occasional film, you had record covers, and that was it, you know. Whereas, kids these days, they’re saturated with images but the aesthetic aspect doesn’t seem to be that important to them.

Why the way we make images matters

While technology is changing the way people see the world and make photographs, it’s important to reflect on why we do what we do, and with what effects.

For example, the camera angle we use might either give or take away symbolic power from the subject. Photographing an athlete or politician from below makes them look more strong and heroic, while photographing a refugee from above can make them look less powerful.

The vertical camera angle can sometimes be used pragmatically but sometimes connotes symbolic power differences. The low angle of the athlete at left provides more symbolic power than the high angle of the three figures at right. Credit: Vladislav Todorov and Aleksandr Kadykov/ Unsplash.

Sometimes the camera angles we use are harmless or driven by practicality – think photographing a receipt to get reimbursed later – but other times, the angles we use matter and can reinforce existing inequalities.

As the number of images made each year increases and new ways to make images emerge, being thoughtful about how we use our cameras or other image-making technology becomes more important.

TJ Thomson is Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University.

Shehab Uddin is Programme Director, Higher Degree Research, Pathshala South Asian Media Institute.

This article was first published on The Conversation.

Fashion & Culture: Diné artist Naiomi Glasses collaborates with Ralph Lauren on Indigenous-inspired collection

By in Native

Fashion & Culture: Diné artist Naiomi Glasses collaborates with Ralph Lauren on Indigenous-inspired collection

The Navajo Nation is the backdrop in a new Ralph Lauren campaign which launched Tuesday.

The fashion giant is collaborating with Diné artist Naiomi Glasses, who is known for her Navajo weaving, as well as philanthropy.

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The Lounge Collection Takes a Relaxing Approach to the Daily Grind

By in Design

The Lounge Collection Takes a Relaxing Approach to the Daily Grind

The ongoing collaboration between Globe and the Eames Office has proved a fruitful venture over the years. Focusing upon the nexus between furniture design and skateboarding, the brands have worked together to interpret the Eames design perspective and creative process into numerous 4-wheeled collector items. Their newest addition to the Eames Office x Globe collection, the Eames Lounge Cruiser, draws inspiration from arguably the most iconic representation of the Eames design legacy, the Eames Lounge Chair.

Situated side-by-side with the Eames Lounge, both the Ash/White and Walnut/Black editions of the Eames Lounge Cruiser collection exhibit a similar bend for emphasizing the warmth and pliable nature of (maple) wood.

Detail shots of the embedded metal badges, deck bolts with the Eames logo, metal truck and wheels across the Eames Lounge cruiserboard.

Close up of Eames Office engraved logo across the Eames Lounge cruiserboard in Ash and White

As an homage, the limited-edition cruiserboards are an uncomplicated interpretation of the bent wood and leather lounger with subtle details, including embedded metal badges and deck bolts with the Eames logo. The simplicity plays into the relaxed and enduring spirit of the design classic, with the cruiserboard style emphasizing a more leisurely, yet playful approach to life.

Eames Lounge cruiserboard thrown into the air against the backdrop of Downtown Los Angeles' City Hall.

The three different color variations also come with varying sizing: the wider Eames Lounge Cruiser 30″ Cruiserboard in Ash and White measuring at 30” x 10” x 17”; the slimmer yet longer Eames Lounge Cruiser 32″ Cruiserboard in Walnut and Black edition measuring 32.2” x 8.6” x 14.5”; and lastly, the all-black Eames Lounge Longboard 38″ in Black Oak and Black stretches out even further at 37.5” x 10” x 28.25″.

Eames Lounge cruiserboard in Ash and White finish.

Of the three, our favorite is the lightest hued combination in Ash and White, a wide-sized reminder of our own youth spent cruising supermarket backlots, bombing downhills, and carving up embankments. But indicative of our grown-up aspirations, its the actual Eames Lounge and Ottoman in the same ash and off-white leather combination staged by Eames Office and Globe to advertise the limited edition release that now tops our wishlist.

Eames printed Dot Pattern tote with black nylon handle being held up by arm with tattoo

The boards also include an Eames printed Dot Pattern tote, further emphasizing while all three skateboards are very ride worthy, they’re more likely to be desired as a collectible rather than a means to tackle the daily grind.

Eames Lounge cruiserboard in Ash and White finish displayed from the top, side, and bottom.

The Eames Lounge 30″ Cruiser Ash/White retails for $260, the Eames Lounge 32″ Cruiser Walnut/Black for $250, and get ready to pony up $340 for the largest Eames Lounge 38″ Longboard Black Oak/Black. All three Eames Lounge skateboards are available via Globebrand.com.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

NWT designers featured at Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week

By in Native

NWT designers featured at Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week

From a sealskin puffer jacket to a colourful atikluk dress, designs from Northwest Territories artists stunned attendees at the fourth edition of Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week.

This year’s event, which ran from November 20 to 25 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, featured 15 Indigenous artisans and designers from the NWT.

Cheryl Fennell, who said she is Yellowknives Dene, showcased her collection “Drums in my Heart,” with designs incorporating hide, beads, fish skin and fur.

“My concept for all my designs is really nature and the natural world, which I really believe is what grounds us all,” she told Cabin Radio.

Fennell said this collection was inspired by the drum.

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imageA model walks the runway wearing one of Cheryl Fennell’s designs. Photo: Kelly William
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” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/370316632_1625027988353474_3604846807595092312_n.jpg?fit=225%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/370316632_1625027988353474_3604846807595092312_n.jpg?fit=720%2C960&ssl=1″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/370316632_1625027988353474_3604846807595092312_n.jpg?resize=720%2C960&ssl=1″ alt class=”wp-image-163402″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/370316632_1625027988353474_3604846807595092312_n.jpg?resize=720%2C960&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/370316632_1625027988353474_3604846807595092312_n.jpg?resize=225%2C300&ssl=1 225w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/370316632_1625027988353474_3604846807595092312_n.jpg?resize=770%2C1027&ssl=1 770w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/370316632_1625027988353474_3604846807595092312_n.jpg?resize=300%2C400&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/370316632_1625027988353474_3604846807595092312_n.jpg?resize=600%2C800&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/370316632_1625027988353474_3604846807595092312_n.jpg?resize=450%2C600&ssl=1 450w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/370316632_1625027988353474_3604846807595092312_n.jpg?resize=150%2C200&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/370316632_1625027988353474_3604846807595092312_n.jpg?resize=293%2C391&ssl=1 293w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/370316632_1625027988353474_3604846807595092312_n.jpg?w=843&ssl=1 843w” sizes=”(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px” data-recalc-dims=”1″>
A model walks the runway wearing one of Cheryl Fennell’s designs. Photo: Kelly William

“The drum was really meant to provide teachings to people,” she said. “It was all about love and unity and how people can work together in order to survive.”

Items in the collection included a sealskin bathing suit, an igloo dress, and a mermaid dress with a long water train and fish skin. Fennell said people particularly “went wild” over a sealskin puffer jacket she made, with rappers, musicians and artists all wanting to try it on.

Fennell said some of her earliest memories are of her mother attending Dene drum dances or asking her to make a dress for her doll.

She described the fashion event in Vancouver as “an extraordinary celebration of Indigenous creativity and culture.”

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imageCree artist Aerial Sunday-Cardinal wears Cheryl Fennel’s sealskin puffer jacket. Photo: Cheryl Fennell
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?fit=221%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?fit=707%2C960&ssl=1″ loading=”lazy” src=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?resize=707%2C960&ssl=1″ alt class=”wp-image-163454″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?resize=707%2C960&ssl=1 707w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?resize=221%2C300&ssl=1 221w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?resize=770%2C1046&ssl=1 770w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?resize=1131%2C1536&ssl=1 1131w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?resize=293%2C398&ssl=1 293w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?w=1175&ssl=1 1175w” sizes=”(max-width: 707px) 100vw, 707px” data-recalc-dims=”1″>imageCree artist Aerial Sunday-Cardinal wears Cheryl Fennel’s sealskin puffer jacket. Photo: Cheryl Fennell
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?fit=221%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?fit=707%2C960&ssl=1″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?resize=707%2C960&ssl=1″ alt class=”wp-image-163454″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?resize=707%2C960&ssl=1 707w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?resize=221%2C300&ssl=1 221w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?resize=770%2C1046&ssl=1 770w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?resize=1131%2C1536&ssl=1 1131w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?resize=293%2C398&ssl=1 293w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/399898183_852249463573190_5772611556897203933_n.png?w=1175&ssl=1 1175w” sizes=”(max-width: 707px) 100vw, 707px” data-recalc-dims=”1″>
Cree artist Aerial Sunday-Cardinal wears Cheryl Fennel’s sealskin puffer jacket. Photo: Cheryl Fennell

“The importance of the event is to celebrate the diversity among Indigenous peoples but also the creativity, the oneness, to make connections – which we really did – and to build understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples,” she said.

Taalrumiq, who grew up in Tuktoyaktuk and is Inuvialuit and Gwich’in, shared her collection Anuuraat, which means “clothing” in Inuvialuktun. She said it began with more traditional designs and ended with pieces showing her more modern bold and colourful style.

“It was a reflection of Inuvialuit Gwich’in identity across time,” she said. “My intention was thinking of Inuvialuit and Gwich’in, all Indigenous youth, to see my clothing on the runway, to recognize their culture and to really feel proud of who they are and to know that they can do all this stuff too.”

imageA model walks the runway in one of Taalrumiq’s designs. Photo: Kelly William
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A model walks the runway in one of Taalrumiq’s designs. Photo: Kelly William

Taalrumiq said she has always loved fashion and being creative. One of her earliest memories is of her mother making her a sewing kit. As a toddler, she said, an Elder rubbed her hand in a tray of beads and said told her she would become a good beader.

“It’s just following in the footsteps of my mom and all my Inuit grandmothers who are expert seamstresses. My Gwich’in Juju was a master beadwork artist like my Gw’ichin auntie as well,” she said. “So just carrying on the family tradition and talent in my blood memory as well as incorporating my western education and training in art and fashion.”

Taalrumiq said her experience at Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week was “a dream come true.”

She was among several designers featured in an article in Vogue about the Red Dress showcase. She said it was important for her to share the story of Frank Gruben, her relative from Aklavik who has been missing since May.

“I can use my work not only to promote myself or my brand, but to uplift my community and to highlight issues that are important to us.”

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imageA model walks the runway in one of Taalrumiq’s designs. Photo: Kelly William
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” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FB_IMG_1700643837405.jpg?fit=198%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FB_IMG_1700643837405.jpg?fit=634%2C960&ssl=1″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FB_IMG_1700643837405.jpg?resize=634%2C960&ssl=1″ alt class=”wp-image-163328″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FB_IMG_1700643837405.jpg?resize=634%2C960&ssl=1 634w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FB_IMG_1700643837405.jpg?resize=198%2C300&ssl=1 198w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FB_IMG_1700643837405.jpg?resize=770%2C1166&ssl=1 770w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FB_IMG_1700643837405.jpg?resize=1015%2C1536&ssl=1 1015w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FB_IMG_1700643837405.jpg?resize=293%2C444&ssl=1 293w, https://i0.wp.com/cabinradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FB_IMG_1700643837405.jpg?w=1080&ssl=1 1080w” sizes=”(max-width: 634px) 100vw, 634px” data-recalc-dims=”1″>
A model walks the runway in one of Taalrumiq’s designs. Photo: Kelly William

Tishna Marlowe, who is a member of the Łútsël K’é Dene First Nation, showed her line Dene Couture – Heirloom Collection. She said the collection is about her past, present and future, and inspired by her grandmother and other women in Łútsël K’é.

Marlowe said she began creating fashion that showcased her Indigenous culture because she wasn’t seeing it anywhere else.

“When I was 23, I moved to Vancouver and it was quite a culture shock,” she said. “I just felt like I could never self-identify.”

Marlowe said getting to showcase her work at Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week felt “like going home” and she left feeling inspired.

“It’s 100 percent pure celebration of fashion, Indigenous culture, diversity, inclusiveness,” she said.

Marlowe said events like this are important because Indigenous people were forbidden from wearing their fashions for many years. Until 1951, Canada’s Indian Act banned Indigenous people from wearing traditional and ceremonial clothing, and traditional dress was also forbidden in residential schools.

“Now that we’re in such a safe space, people are just wanting their culture back and wanting to self-identify,” Marlowe said. “This is just the tip of the iceberg, we are just beginning.”

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