SHOULD I WORK FOR FREE?

WELL FIND OUT HERE

LIST OF LIST

Ever had the idea [who hasn't?] to make a list. 
Any list! 
Things to do...
Things you shouldnt' have done...

Well this is the palce to make it.

The Bucketlist...

You know all those things you swear you're going to do before you die? Bucketlist is where you go to keep track of them all.
Bucketlist is a social network, a warehouse of interesting stories, a way to kick-start your life goals.

DONALD JUDD

I Always liked the work of Donald Judd, but exept for exhibitions or assignments from Dutch intitutions, his work never seemed available to us. Now there is a chance to get Judd. In Eindhoven, at Piet Hein Eek's winkel... His website states:

Medio oktober 2011 Donald Judd

Vanaf medio september 2011 presenteren we permanent het werk van Donald Judd en in het bijzonder zijn meubel ontwerpen. Donald Judd geldt internationaal als een van de belangrijkste na -oorlogse kunstenaars en een van de grondleggers van het zogenaamde'Minimalisme'.  Met de Donald Judd Foundation, gevestigd in Marfa & amp; New York, hebben we, met gepaste trots, afspraken gemaakt om zijn werk in Nederland te vertegenwoordigen. ...


Where? Here at Piet Hein Eek 


More if not all of Donald Judd at his Foundation's website, here.

LEARNING 2012

Where does it happen? What link should we follow. Off course we want to learn in the approaching year, but how and where?

Without any idea about the quality of the online schools.
For a start here some links. We will extend and specify this article later.

The Floating University

The Floating University

Open Culture

Open Culture

The Khan Academy

The Kahn Academy

GARDENING [5] BAWA

Together the Sri Lankan Bawa brothers put 'tropical retreat' design on the map. The brothers, Bevis and Geoffrey left their mark in Sri Lanka, where they originated, but also on Bali and the other beautifully beached HOT spots, from Bali to Bermuda.

Bevis was the gardener, Geoffrey the architect. His biggest achievement in worldly architecture probably being his Houses of Parliament in Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka.

But what the two of them together are really responsible for is the mark they put on tropical retreats.

The design of world famous hotels like the Balinese Amandari or the private housing compound of Taman Mertasari were all based on their invention of monsoon leisure.

The Taman Mertasari I visited mid nineties, was initiated by Brent Hesselyn and partners.  Brent was an Australian who ran the ceramic factory Jengala. [I say ran, because he was lost at sea in 2002] 

Geoffrey Bawa (1919-2003) is far better known than his brother. After training in England to be a lawyer, he turned to architecture. He designed the island’s Parliament complex as well as many other public buildings but made his reputation with his hotels, like the mile-long Heritance Kandalama outside of Dambulla, which seems to grow out of the jungle, and the Jetwing Lighthouse in the coastal city of Galle. Geoffrey’s practice of combining native materials with international modernist style has become hugely influential around the world.
Geoffrey began his garden, called Lunuganga, in  the late 1940s. Sited on a former rubber plantation, its main feature is a large lake at the bottom of a steep hill. The English landscape movement heavily influenced his plan. Wide swathes of lawn stretch toward the lake from the original house (now a hotel), dotted with Frisian cows (Geoffrey loved black and white everywhere and adored Dalmatian dogs), water gardens, and miniature rice paddies. A crenelated folly, prettily painted guest bungalows, and artfully placed statuary add to the English feel.
Geoffrey had no doubts about the relationship between a designer and his garden. His philosophy was dedicated to the notion of man’s domination over nature; he moved water, hills, and trees without hesitation. “The long view to the south ended with the temple,” Geoffrey wrote, “but in the middle distance was a ridge with a splendid ancient moonamal tree, and when I placed a large Chinese jar under it, the hand of man was established in this middle distance.” Yet Geoffrey’s genius was to create a landscape so naturalistic that it could hardly be identified as man-made. Ondaatje tells the story of a visitor to Lunuganga exclaiming, “But Mr. Bawa, wouldn’t this be a lovely place to turn into a garden?” Geoffrey said this was the best compliment he ever received.

Bevis Bawa (1909-1992) used his skills on gardening in, what he called; Brief Garden. Named Brief Garden because his father purchased the land after a successful legal brief, Bevis’ garden is farther inland than his brother’s, and though it embraces the same tropical landscape, it reflects Bevis’ unruly temperament and casual approach to life.

Bevis

Ten years older than Geoffrey and handsome at 6 feet 7 inches, Bevis volunteered for the Ceylon Light Infantry, serving until his artistic pursuits and his garden won the day. He is described in my guidebook as a “bon vivant” a careful euphemism. Openly gay (the garden is full of statues with huge male organs and gargoyles with saucy expressions, some of them made by Bevis), he gave wild parties at his house, which provided many alcoves and nooks for trysting purposes. One visitor, Australian artist Donald Friend, came for a few days and stayed nearly six years, contributing greatly to the collection of homoerotic art.
Bevis started his garden (also a former rubber plantation) in 1929, almost 20 years before his brother. His design follows narrow winding pathways through dense tropical foliage, runs up and down slopes, then suddenly opens onto a staircase, a patio, a pond, or a strategically placed piece of sculpture. Walking through it one feels that Bevis somehow tamed the jungle for his purposes, but only momentarily—stray from the path and you are back in the forest.
Visiting both gardens in one day, I was struck by the variety of emotions they elicited. Bevis’ garden, which I saw first, was the wilder of the two but somehow more comforting and intimate. A drenching monsoon rain had just ended, leaving a steamy and muggy atmosphere with drops of water still trembling on the palm fronds and rivulets of rain racing across the paths like little snakes. No other tourists ventured out in such torridly humid weather, and no guide appeared to accompany me. Yet I did not feel lonely. The paths took me from vista to vista, each more breathtaking than the last. I felt I was being led by an invisible docent who told me where to stop and look or where to sit and rest. It was magical. At every turn I was aware of the giant palms and tropical plants looming overhead, ready to pounce and return to the jungle the land Bevis had so cunningly captured.
Geoffrey’s garden had the opposite effect. A guide walked me through the long landscaped vistas of paddy fields with the lake as a backdrop, through the carefully arranged clumps of trees, up Cinnamon Hill past the Frisians grazing in the meadow. At the top of the hill, I enjoyed the long view back toward the main house. Everything felt open to the sky. This garden felt almost familiar to this Englishwoman, particularly the presence of the happily grazing cows. Only occasionally did glimpses of tropical plants in the interstices of the garden remind me of where I was.
As I strolled back through Geoffrey’s elegant, controlled landscape, images of the rather more outrageous elements of Bevis’ garden flashed through my mind and I began to laugh. Later, I asked David Robson, author of Bawa: The Sri Lanka Gardens (Thames & Hudson; 2008), how he felt about the two gardens. “Brief is introspective,” he wrote to me, “a series of outdoor rooms with almost no views toward the outside. ... It is the more decorative, more eclectic of the two. … Geoffrey Bawa may have set out to create a Sri Lankan version of a European garden, but in the end he created something that owes more to Sri Lankan garden-making and landscape traditions.”
So Bevis made his garden and Geoffrey made his, and after seeing the results, even if you knew nothing about the men who made them, you could do some pretty accurate speculating about their personalities. Whatever their differences, Bevis and Geoffrey dug out two incontestable masterpieces from the rich Sri Lankan soil, producing two separately inspired gardens that belong together as a family record for generations to come.

OTHER PLACES TO SEE IN SRI-

The Royal Botanic Gardens in Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, northeast of Colombo, cover 147 acres along the Mahaweli River and has allées of more than 200 species of palms, an orchid house, a giant Java fig tree, and a Victorian-style annual garden.

Geoffrey Bawa-designed hotels can be found throughout Sri Lanka.
     Kandalama in Dambulla
     Club Villa in Bentota
     Lighthouse in Galle.
     Gallery Cafe Geoffrey’s former offices, now turned into a chic restaurant, remains an enchanting example of his architectural genius.

         

Lunuganga fotoserie


Bawa gardens on Flickr


Bawa hotels


Travelling Bawa


Brief Garden:


Brief Garden plan

Brief Garden pictures 

Preparing A BAWA TRIP. Look at this. 7D6N In the Footsteps of Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka

TEA:
For a completely different experience, visit the town of Nuwara Eliya in the mountainous central region of the island where most colonial tea plantations were established. The town is full of English-style cottages and is a great base from which to explore the plantations (some offer tastings) and see the gorgeous spectacle of tea bushes planted in neat rows along the hillsides. 

THINGS ORGANIZED NEATLY

Jan Heijnen* tipped me about Things Organized Neatly. A site you can visit to see daily uploads of little collections people took pictures of. You can look at it randomly or just follow the stream...

Either it be a holiday collection of souvenirs....

Or a nicely made drawing of your travel kit...

 

Keep us posted if you post an entry! 

Jan Heijnen is a Dutch / The Hague graphic designer doing some neat organizing on his website too...

NOT MY CHOICE

What a tremendous idea, Niet Mijn Keus [Not My Choice].

A present for someone, everyone, always a surprise, also for yourself!

Read reactions of users under this link.

In Dutch, but translated some sound like this:

-On Saturday morning there was a gentleman of Borent at the door with a mini excavator, supposed to be digging trenches for sewers. Hired for one day, but not my choice. My son (12) and I took it for a ride. On fallow land, we built a sand castle. Certainly two meters high, surrounded by a deep moat. Gasoline turned out not to be included, but it was worth the fun. Thanks!

Or

-Got 10 lobsters, but what to do now? Keeping them in the bathtub until I know what to make of it.

IN THERAPIE

The dutch version of In Therapy starts its second season. New therapist and the old one into therapy with the new one. But remarkable is the app that goes with it. Is looking into the therapists consulting room already a sort of sneaky thing, peaking into his telephone ads an extra dimension.

You can choose between three versions and download at http://intherapie.ncrv.nl/applicatiedownloaden

Imaginairy life finds its way even more into virtual life... Former Therapist Paul Westervoort, a fictional figure, has as some of his fellow patients a FaceBook account.

BTW, Paul seems to have mostly female friends...

HOME OF INTERIOR DESIGNERS YABU & PUSHELBERG

Renowned Designers Yabu Pushelberg Let The World Inside Their Incredible New York City Home

George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg, the award-winning designers behind the iconic firm Yabu Pushelberg, were named designers of the year by Contract magazine and have been inducted into the ID magazine Hall of Fame.  Not only business partners, George and Glenn have been life partners for 31 years now, and recently let the world into their New York home (they have 3 homes, but consider this one their favorite).  Located within the Richard Meier-designed tower on Perry Street in New York City, the 4000 square foot apartment also features breathtaking views of the Hudson River.  The couple purchased the home in 2004 and it came with a mere skeletal structure: a toilet and mirror were the only two objects that were part of the existing space.
A very good friend of mine whom I studied with while getting our Architecture degrees together, worked for Yabu Pushelberg for years and I was priveleged to get the inside scoop of life at the firm. Apart from being the two most talented interior designers in the world, they are also the most loving, appreciative, and respectful bosses anyone could ever dream of working for.  Working for these two masters becomes a labor of love from day one once you notice the amount of care, detail, and thoughtfulness that they infuse into their work. And their Perry Street home was no exception; for example, the travertine floors were completely ripped up not once, but twice to get them just right.  And the long bench in the hallway is made from a fallen tree that was found at the bottom of a lake in India.  One look at the following photos gives you a great idea of how carefully considered each element and object is to the overall scheme.  Eclecticism is de rigueur at Yabu Pushelberg, and their brilliantly curated and arranged objects are enough to take your breath away.  The white woven rug from Italy, the various art pieces from Japan, the Parisian Lucite screen, the Brazilian jacaranda credenza, the deer head adorned with glass balls by Japanese artist Kohei Nawa, and the extraordinary cast-bronze chair from Nienkämper.  And that’s just for starters.
As I get older and more fixated on my own personal style, it takes a lot to blow my mind.  But this morning, seeing these images did just that.  A staggering work of sublime beauty, George and Glenn’s Perry Street home in New York is not only their dream home, it’s mine as well. Pure amazingness. To see more examples from their legendary portfolio be sure to visit YabuPushelberg.com (photos © Richard Powers).

 

 

Posted in INCREDIBLE DESIGN [link] on June 7, 2011 by Brent Lambert

Source: Yatzer and Richard Powers

Let me present Significant Objects, a website, now lying a bit low, because of the book they're making. The goal: A talented, creative writer invents a story about an object. Invested with new significance by this fiction, the object should — according to our hypothesis — acquire not merely subjective but objective value. How to test our theory? Via eBay!

In other words: "Significant Objects combines one of the oldest of all media — the near-improvised short story — with the reinvigorated writer-reader relationship afforded by Web 2.0." — The Independent's Couch Surfer. Follow us on Twitter; join us on Facebook.

Do have alook! http://significantobjects.com/

ALL ABOUT FOOD [3] PROEF AMSTERDAM

Studio MV = Marije Vogelenzang

After graduating from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2000, Marije Vogelzang developt a new direction in the design profession. After founding PROEF in Rotterdam in 2004 and expanding to Amsterdam in 2006, she broadens her experiments and develops her vision one food.
After 10 years of experience, she is considered a pioneer and the 'grand dame' of course eating design
(De Volkskrant).

She travels the world for inspiring lectures about her work and vision, in which she researches the potential of her new approach to eating (or is it a new approach to design?).
Marije Vogelzang's lectures are well received in the Netherlands and among others, Cape Town, Beirut, Bangkok, Dubai, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Norway, Romania, Berlin, etc.
In addition, Marion is also part of brainstorming sessions and works as a consultant for the food industry.

Studio Marije Vogelzang is a small personal company with big ideas. they work both on restaurant concepts and do hospitals and medical projects. They do community projects such as workshops to inspire, but they also work for the food industry. They create art installations and new rituals concerning food.

Take a llok at the works at: Proef Amsterdam of Proef Rotterdam

 

ALL ABOUT FOOD [2] EAT / LOVE

Marije Vogelenzang wrote, "Eat Love A about food, giving an overview of her work from the moment she graduated from the Design Academy in 2000.

Eat Love - Love Eat

Eating is a daily experience that needs special attention. Yes, like love demands. That's the way Marije Vogelzang sees it. Love for the product, love the story behind it, love the people with whom you share it and love for the environment in which you eat. Eating design, in Marije's case means not just look of food. But the WHOLE, all there is in it: the psychological, cultural, sensitive, natural, action-packed, scientific, technical and social aspects of eating should be studied and transformed into food design.

The psychology of eating

In the first chapter Marije Vogelzang shows, what she understands as the psychology of eating. And she gives impressive examples. During the opening of the exhibition Black Confetti in the Rotterdam Schielandshuis about the Second World War and the impressions of the kids by then (the axis of the bombing came as black confetti falling from the sky) Marije Vogelzang served war snacks, with only the ingredients used during the war. And the beauty was that not only the bad memories of the guests emerged. Despite the poor food of these difficult times, there were still plenty of memories of good times, the food enticed the right conversation piece. Eating together was one of the small pleasures that time and the guests there had pleasant memories.

Press Eat Love to see the book and more of Marijes work.