Shmata Love.

Gideon Mendel. Photographer. South African. London.

DROWNING WORLD is Gideon Mendel's new exhibition showing at London's Somerset House from May 10th to June 5th 2012. It presents his ongoing global project about flooding. Since 2007 he's visited six countries (The UK, India, Haiti, Pakistan, Australia and Thailand) that have been devastated by massive flooding-in an attempt to visually address the issue of climate change. "I chose to shoot on film, using old Rolleiflex cameras. The heart of the project is a series of portraits of flood victims at their homes within the landscape of their own personal calamity. Making these images often involved returning with them through waist high floodwaters so they could show their circumstances to the world. My intention is to depict them as individuals, not as nameless statistics. Coming from disparate parts of the world, their faces show us their linked vulnerability despite the vast differences in their lives and circumstances."
gideonmendel.com

Transmission LA: AV CLUB. The Geffen Contemporary. MOCA LA.

It’s the second edition of the TRANSMISSION festival organized by the Avant/Garde Diaries, a Mercedes-Benz project. Mike D of the Beastie Boys is the curator of this edition, he invited 17 artists to create an exceptional 17 days event consisting of concerts, DJ nights, performances and installations. I must say that Mike D and the team did an excellent job, it’s a true AV Club experience. The line-up of artists is just up my alley: Tom Sachs, Cory Arcangel, Mike Mills, Takeshi Murata etc.

Stephen Kenn. Inheritance Collection. LA.

A-MAZE.
By processcreative.tv
stephenkenn.com

Bungsu. Krupuk Maker. Sumatra.

Bungsu lives in the village of Desa Nusa, Aceh, an area that was mostly destroyed in the 2004 tsunami. Because of an early warning, most of the villagers lives were spared, including Bungsu and her family. After the tsunami, Bangsu continued making krupuk as she had for over 10 years. Before the 2004 tsunami, Desa Nusa was known for making snack foods, that people would make at home and sell. Bungsu is the only women left in the village still cooking and selling krupuk today. Krupuk is a generic term for fried treats and Bangsu's are made of tempeh, a delicious fermented soybean product.
Why I love S.E Asia... food-crafters like Bangsu who make one thing only-but do it well.
From Stephanie of Trans Planted food blog: trans-planted.com

Bombay Beach. Film. 2011.

A film by Alma Har'el.

Bombay Beach is one of the poorest communities in southern California located on the shores of the Salton Sea, a man-made sea stranded in the middle of the Colorado desert that was once a beautiful vacation destination. The story follows three protagonists: The trials of Benny Parrish, a young boy diagnosed with bipolar disorder whose vivid imagination create both suffering and joy for him and his complex family. The story of CeeJay Thompson, a black teenager and aspiring football player who has taken refuge in Bombay Beach hoping to avoid the same fate of his cousin who was murdered by a gang in LA; and that of Red, an ancient survivor, once an oil field worker, living on whiskey and cigarettes. Together these portraits form a triptych of manhood in America. True to her roots as a photographer, video artist, and music video director, Har'el has crafted an artistically innovative film with music by Beirut and Bob Dylan.

Squid and Beard. Moving Pictures Company. Virginia.

Making Good is a series, of 3-min doc profiles, that pulls from the wide variety of people who make up the communities around us. As a whole, these pieces come together to represent the diverse range of passionate doers and creators that influence our daily lives. Individually, these pieces are reflections of those influencers as they share about the processes and impact of their work.

The High Price of Materialism. Produced by the Center for a New American Dream. Illustrated by Anthony Maughan. Written and narrated by Psychologist Tim Kasser. newdream.org


The Mural at The Bridge PAI. The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative installs and unveils its new mural, painted by Frank Buffalo Hyde and Reko Rennie in conjunction with the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection.


Plenitude Economy. Illustrated by Anthony Maughan. Narrated by economist and best-selling author Juliet Schor.
Squid and Beard = JJ Cohoon, Rob Douglas, and Helen Horal. "Dividing time between our own series, Making Good, and commercial projects with artists, galleries, businesses, and individuals, we are constantly striving to create the best product possible for both ourselves and our clients, while maintaining a hold on what makes a video stand out: innovation, personality, and honesty."-squidandbeard.com

The Doughnut Vault. Patrick Addison. Pastry Chef. Chicago.

thedoughnutvault.tumblr.com

Danny Bowien. Chef. Rad dude. SF.

Danny Bowien is the chief chef at SF's Mission Chinese Food, an original project started by partner Anthony Myint (Mission Street Food) in 2010. Operating out of Lung Shan Restaurant, a rando Chinese joint on Mission St., Danny's food has received national acclaim and the resto will soon open a 2nd location in New York's L.E.S. "The idea behind mission chinese food is quite simple." says Danny. "Alot of people think of chinese food as sweet and sour pork and walnut prawns. And no matter what they say on the menu, it's usually not 'spicy'...And although we enjoy sweet and sour as much as the next guy, there are so many different types of chinese food that we are excited about and feel challenged to make. Islamic chinese. Sichuan. Taiwanese. (no stinky tofu, sorry can't get behind that one.) So there. We want to make delicious, frequently spicy chinese food, besides what everyone already gets delivered, without m.s.g., with responsibly sourced proteins and vegetables." Even more impressive than the menu, is their charity involvement: the resto donates .75 cents from each dish to the SF Food Bank (the NY resto will work the same-with a local charity yet to be determined). Danny says, "Donating to charity is our biggest goal. We have no fine-dining aspirations.” Awesome.
Check out the VBS MUNCHIES feature on Danny here
missionchinesefood.com

Happyolks. A Food Blog. San Diego.

"I’m Kelsey, he’s Shaun. We’re two young folks with a passion for soaking up, drinking in, and celebrating the good stuff in life. Here at Happyolks, we want to share the experience of creating a wholesome meal and the happiness that inherently grows from it (...) Eat organic, BUY LOCAL, experiment, make your own, hug often, laugh, cry, celebrate the little things, and most importantly be kind. Be kind to your body, be kind to the earth, be kind to everyone you meet – you never know who is fighting a hard battle. "
-happyolks.com
Capturing the beauty of food... Happyyolks is one of my fave food blogs... well designed and photographed.

Grown in Detroit. A Documentary.

Cinematography by Suzan van Steenwijk. Filmmij AKA Mascha and Manfred Poppenk are the Dutch filmmakers behind this doc. They met in Africa, where they shot the wildlife film 'Serengeti Symphony'.
Grown in Detroit focuses on the urban gardening efforts managed by a public school of 300, mainly African-American, pregnant and parenting teenagers. As part of the curriculum, the girls are taught agricultural skills on the school's own farm located in what used to be the playground. The young mothers learn to become knowledgeable about the importance of nutritional foods, the process by which these foods arrive at their plates, and to become self-empowered through the process of farming. Urban farming is an effective solution for Detroit... as industrial models fail, this is a sustainable model to be replicated in other North American cities.
'Pay what you want' to watch this beautifully inspiring film and you'll have on-line access to the doc for 24hrs: grownindetroitmovie.com

Hog Eat Hog. AKA Blair Sligar. Wood Furniture. Florida.

Props to grainandgram for their beautiful feature on Blair.
Watch the recent MONOCLE feature on Hog Eat Hog HERE.
Furniture and sculpture from salvaged and local materials. Brilliant craftsmanship.
hogeathog.com

Ben Howard. Musician. Singer. Songwriter. Babe. London.

By Mickey Mmith.
Next-lev insane skills...continue to be blown away by this music... listen lots.
benhowardmusic.co.uk

Lucy Chadwick. Artist. Gallerist. Tastemaker. Brit. NY.

mega girl crush. Lucy Chadwick for Zara by the Selby.








Lucy and partner/wicked hair dresser Duffy / Lucy and sister Emma Chadwick.