Restaurant Naming: Jonathan Benno’s Hype Meets Reality

On May 25th the New York Times reported that chef Jonathan Benno’s new restaurant being built at Lincoln Center for the Patina Restaurant Group did not yet have a name.
The next morning I sent a letter to Nick Valenti, head of Patina with a suggestion for a name I thought would be fitting for the new [...]

New York Times Weekend Magazine – Design Spring 2010

It was a pleasant surprise to open up the ‘Design Spring 2010′ issue of the New York Times Weekend Magazine and find our ‘New York Delft’ plates pictured with other ‘blue and white’ designs.  Follow the link and then click ‘view print magazine’ at the bottom and go to page 50.  Many thanks to our [...]

The Armory Show 2010 – A Safe Bet

The 2010 installment of The Armory Show has come and gone.  Hundreds of galleries from around the world all packed tightly together for a few days on the piers jutting out over the Hudson.  A fitting location as it felt like a sort-of sardine cannery for art.  I walked the entirety of the show on Saturday [...]

Fellini’s ‘La Dolce Vita’; Moral Vacancy Never Looked So Good

I just watched Federico Fellini’s ‘La Dolce Vita’ for the first time.  At the end I was left a little confused.  Why is this movie so revered?  It seemed at first a series of tenuously related vignettes centered around a handsome but vapid guy, Marcello, and his fickle obsession with all things female finding temporary [...]

Lars Von Trier’s ‘Europa’: Slow Motion Train Wreck (Literally)

I recently finished watching Lars Von Trier’s Europa.  I picked it up not knowing anything about the film other than that Von Trier is a critically acclaimed director.  I had seen ‘Dancer In The Dark’ several years ago but evidently the shock of that movie had worn off enough that I had forgotten how disturbing it [...]

Transactional Flux; Artist Caleb Larsen

I was listening this weekend to ‘On The Media’, one of my favorite radio shows, and heard this piece about artist Caleb Larsen and a recent sculpture of his entitled ‘A Tool To Deceive And Slaughter (2009)’.  The sculpture is an 8 inch black acrylic cube.  The cube is for sale on ebay.  Actually, it is [...]

2010 Super Bowl XLIV Commercials; A Brief (Or Just Briefs) Critique

After watching the 2010 Super Bowl XLIV I have a few initial thoughts on the ads.  In no particular order.
The subliminal winner, in true ’speak-of-the-devil’ fashion I think, was Louis Vuitton.  In a Hyundai ad about making ‘luxury’ avbailable to everyone, a close facsimile to the Louis Vuitton pattern was seen on a basketball.  High-end brought down to [...]

Apple’s Branding Gets ‘i’Awkward

Apple, under the guidance of Steve Jobs, is one of the smartest brands out there.  Laser focused on the user experience, the incorporationof design and maintaining its message and identity over the entire scope of the brand.  Which is why the announcement of their latest product seems so surprising. 
I have always been a proponent of [...]

Cutest Millennium Falcon Co-Pilot Ever!

My creativity was weened on years of Star Wars obsession.  How can you be a kid in the 80’s and not love Chewbacca??  I also think Hello Kitty could be the cutest thing on the planet.  I couldn’t resist exploring this convergence of science fiction and cuteness.

Waltz With Bashir: Memory vs. History

I just finished watching Waltz With Bashir.  Better late than never.  I really liked it.  Waltz With Bashir is the 2008 film by Ari Folman documenting an episode in the 1982 Lebanon War.  It is autobiographical in that the storyline follows Folman as he tries to reconstruct his lost memories of involvement in that incident.  The event in question was [...]