Vans and the places they were documents surviving 70’s and 80’s era conversion vans parked on streets throughout the Bay Area and Southern California. The project, led by Joe Stevens, began in 1996 and currently consists of hundreds of images shot on 120 film and examines the dialogue which exists between a van’s design aesthetic and that of its surrounding environment.
As these types of vans are becoming a dying breed, Joe states, “consequently the goal of the project is to one day shoot the last remaining van on the final frame of photographic film in existence. Then the project will be finished.”
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This I Believe is a national media project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values and beliefs that guide their daily lives. The project is based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow. NPR would air these three-minute essays on All Things Considered, Tell Me More and Weekend Edition Saturday.
This past weekend, the final story read by novelist Amy Tan aired. Now these short statements of belief, written by people from all walks of life, will be made available through an archive on here.
New York-based designer Ji Lee has launched a project to document logos that use the former World Trade Center in a New York skyline.
He says, “After 9/11, I started to noticed the Twin Towers in many logos containing the New York City skyline. These were mostly from small businesses: dry cleaners, delis, movers, and so on. I experienced a strange mix of sadness and joy seeing the iconic Towers standing there majestically, as if nothing happened. These logos will not last forever as many of the small business will either update their logos at some point or close their doors eventually. Thus the Twin Towers would sadly vanish forever. In order to preserve them, I started photographing them whenever I found one – and there are many of them around. Soon it became an enjoyable game every time I was on the streets of New York, like a treasure hunt which never ceases to be rewarding.”
Berlin-based artist Simon Evans has a great exhibition right now at James Cohen Gallery in Chelsea. It’s the New York debut show for the London-born artist, who is a former pro-skateboarder and writer. The show’s title is “Island Time,” which is a nod to Robinson Crusoe and the handmade objects he needed to survive on a desert island. Evans implicitly compares being shipwrecked, to the role of the artist as an outsider, to his own experience living in a foreign city. He’s also obsessed with counting and charting, “an activity key to survival as a castaway,” says the gallery.
Evan’s text-based works are collaged and assembled from prosaic materials including found paper, scotch tape, pencil shavings, colored pencil and white out. My favorite piece is the “One Hundred Mix CDs for New York” which is a collection of album covers that are arranged together in one frame. Evans attempts to encapsulate his feelings regarding the gesture of exchange that typifies the making of a mixed CD.
I recently came across the Seat Ibiza ad on Adverbox, which used an homage to skating as a celebration for their brand’s “25 years of rolling together.”
For a car company trying to speak to young people, does skateboarding still remain relevant as the message of freedom? I see the marketing appeal for sure, but it made me wonder if skateboarding and the subculture has become too mainstream and perhaps cliche. Does it still carry the same resonance of youthful rebellion?
Regardless, I have to say that watching the ad and the corresponding music video, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic for lazy summers as a teenager. It definitely invoked a longing for those days when there was never a worry about time or plans, just hanging out with friends until the sunset.
