The always cutting-edge French multimedia artist Julien Nonnon has created a marvelous new video-mapping street show in Paris. Called “Safari Urbain”, the pop-up projections of animals dressed as hipster poseurs is a wonderful, tongue in cheek commentary on both the fashion scene and human conformity. You can follow the project through an interactive map on Nonnon’s website.
For book lovers around the world, Shakespeare and Company in the heart of Paris is emblematic of the ideal independent bookshop. Even bibliophiles who have never been to Paris feel as though they know Shakespeare and Company. After all, it’s appeared in nearly every magazine story and internet article on the world’s best bookstores for decades. I first fell in love with the iconic shop years ago on my first trip to France and I return to Shakespeare and Company ever time that I’m in Paris.
Now after almost 96 years in business (64 years in the current location at 37 rue de la Bucherie) the beloved bookstore is expanding and adding its own café. The iconic bookseller is taking over the next door building which has been vacant for many decades. When the café opens this Fall, they will be serving coffee from the local roaster Lomi, America-style baked goods, and even bagels.
The folks in Zundert, Netherlands are crazy about flowers, Vincent Van Gogh and parades. On the first Sunday of every September they put on a wildly colorful festival to celebrate all three.
The event honors the region’s horticultural industry, which specializes in dahlia bulbs. It also is a celebration of Van Gogh, who was born in the southern Dutch town 162 years ago.
Those of us who were fortunate enough to be raised on authentic New York bagels (Google it) understand why artist Hanna Liden is celebrating the doughy gems with her pop-up sculpture project entitled “Everything”. For the next month, the Swedish artist’s homage to the tasty delights will be on display at the Hudson River Park, at Ruth Wittenburg Plaza in Greenwich Village, and at surprise locations around New York City.
By the way, mine’s always been an “everything” , but a garlic will do in a pinch.
Manila-based illustrator Mark Dingo is a huge fan of Wes Anderson films. As an homage to the quirky director, he has created a marvelous collection of postcards that celebrate the locales—both real and fictional—in Anderson’s movies. Mark also has designed a clever series of “postage stamps” to match the postcards. He hasn’t begun to market the collection just yet, but follow his blog to see when prints will be available for purchase.
Driving around Iceland this Summer, I was struck by how much wide swaths of the country that reminded me of the stark beauty of the Scottish Highlands. The stunning video below of a recent journey through Scotland shows just how much the two geographies have in common—minus the castles of course. The amazing video is the work of Portland, Oregon-based Australian filmmaker Josh Brine. Visit his website to check-out some of his other beautiful short films.
Visible just twice daily at low tides, artist Jason deCaires Taylor’s sculptures of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse aim to raise awareness about climate change. Titled “The Rising Tide”, the installation is located near London’s Vauxhall Bridge. The heads of the life-sized horses have been replaced with oil pumps to underscore the role of fossil fuel pollution in rising sea levels.
Morioka Shoten & Co. in Tokyo’s Ginza district opened this Spring with a singular approach to bookselling. The tiny, gallery-like shop carries just one title each week. The founder of this enigmatic bookshop model, Yoshiyuki Morioka, has taken curation to its ultimate extreme. Along with a new title each week, he also provides an exhibition of relevant art, photography, crafts or jewelry reflecting on the singular book.
The shop is located in the beautiful Suzuki Building, built in 1929 and once the headquarters of Nippon Kobo Publishing.
When we visit Paris, most of us are captivated by the grand monuments, amazing architecture and fantastic museums. But some of us can’t walk a block without stopping to gawk at the beautiful signage. It’s not necessary to be a total typography or design geek to be dazzled by the abundant graphic design work all over the city. Now, graphic designer Louise Fili has created a stunning book called Graphique De La Rue (Princeton Architectural Press) which is based on four decades of wandering Paris with her camera. She’s captured hundreds of superb examples in neon, mosaic, stone, glass, porcelain and more.
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