little boxes on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky tacky, little boxes, little boxes, little boxes all the same, there's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and yellow one and they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same
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Thursday, 19 November 09 - 05:03 PM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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the new domestic landscape must have seemed worlds away. the scenery displayed at a moma's italy: the new domestic landscape looked like a haptic experience packed full of bizarre and playful objects to touch, sit on, and move around. the exhibition displayed artifacts aimed at reassesing the character of design and architecture by focusing on the objects of our daily ritual lives. it brought a spotlight on italy's avante garde who were trying to infuse humanity in design. italy also affirmed ettore sottsass's status as a great designer and radical thinker. his superbox stands out in sharp contrast to the international style's spirit of formal rigor and functionality. the cupboards have a durable and totemic quality that is undercut by the flimsy materials - plywood and plastic laminates.
these superboxes are lost somewhere between a postmodern aesthetic and classical greek architectural principles. the pieces have the appearance of a column severed at the midsection and the expressive nature that greeks imbued in their columnar design. yet the aesthetic choices are obviously the result of pop art and postmodern design. this is nostalgia at its best - a re-imagined past.
what i find interesting is their lack of scale in photographs, which adds to their nostalgic qualities. i could almost imagine these cupboards being used at the urban scale - daly city as a grid of superbox homes rather than the ticky tacky little boxes currently residing there.
enjoy the weekend.
posted by nicolas allinder
concrete - 1. Of or relating to an actual, specific thing or instance; particular: had the concrete evidence needed to convict. 2. Existing in reality or in real experience; perceptible by the senses; real: concrete objects such as trees. 3.Formed by ...
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Tuesday, 13 October 09 - 10:02 AM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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i love the internet. a couple years ago, i came across this concrete chair project by two cranbrook students, douglas johnston and yuji hsiao. i don't remember how anymore but i totally loved it and faved it in flickr. then, as usual, i forgot about it.
recently, doing research for a project we're working on, luckily, i came across it again.
To the question "What is fate?" Borges responds: "It is that 'name we give [to] the infinite, ceaseless chain of thousands of intertwined causes."
doug is super friendly and i recommend you check out more of his work here.
i'm obsessed with the chair...
and everything concrete. trying to surround myself with it. getting into character.
here's four songs with the word concrete in the title.
- concrete life - huggy bear
- concrete seconds (demo) - pinback
- small flowers crack concrete - sonic youth
- musique concrete (1959) - jan boermen
please enjoy.
posted by matt olson
Unveiled at the Werkbund's 1914 exhibition in Cologne, Bruno Taut’s (1880-1938) Glass House was a successful amalgamation of aesthetic, technical, and commercial elements. The building was conceived by Taut and the poet Paul Scheerbart ...
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Monday, 28 September 09 - 08:37 AM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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"the glass house" by bruno taut and poet paul scheerbart 1914.
posted by matt olson
"we are not really interested in how things will be in 25 years, whatever we build. actually, what we are interested in is that if in 2000 years some people dig down, they will find something from a period with a certain strength and purity" - jørn utzon
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Wednesday, 23 September 09 - 03:58 PM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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gorgeous renderings of an unbuilt project by jørn utzon.
jeddah stadium and sports complex, saudi arabia 1967.
by seier+seier. more here in their amazing flickr sets.
please enjoy.
posted by matt olson
La Bienal de La Habana fue establecida en 1984, mucho antes del boom de bienales que comenzó a mediados de los años 1990. Su primera edición estuvo dedicada a artistas de América Latina, que viven o tienen sus raíces culturales allí. Desde la 2a Bienal
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Monday, 14 September 09 - 07:45 AM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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Quetzalcoatlus - casagrande & rintala
i've been interested in the work of marco casagrande recently. his collaborations with Sami Rintala are fantastic.
this one, called Quetzalcoatlus, was in the havana bienialle in the year 2000. made of fishing line and an iron pipe...
During the day the sun will heat up the iron and the fishing lines are stretching. When the night falls the iron will chill out and the installation will come up thus making a slow motion flying movement according to the temperatures of the day.
please enjoy.
posted by matt olson
new era, new ideas, a new level of openness... "A new word is like a fresh seed sown on the ground of the discussion." wittgenstein. Aristotle divided all living things between plants and animals. i want to start thinking differently about plants...
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Saturday, 29 August 09 - 09:11 AM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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“The Hanging Smoking Garden”, 2007 by Mikala Dwyer.
32sw stay green / flying garden / air-port-city 2007 by tomás saraceno.
"growth rendering device" david bowen
“Plan”, 2005 by Anne de Vries.
embroidered plants - bless
embroidered plants - bless
“Plant B”, 2008 by Simon Kentgens.
"Décor A Conquest" 1975 by Marcel Broodthaers.
"Hanging Garden" 2008 mona hatoum.
“Hanging Garden”, 2008-09 by Mona Hatoum.
"floral geometry" via issue 6 - pin-up magazine
"puppy" - jeff koons.
"revival field" 1990 by mel chin.
"bamboo network" - david bowen
“Urban Plaza Equivalent”, 2006 by Michael Catald
“City farming plant modules“, 2003 by N55.
n55 previously on rolu here.
"green table" 1968 jan dibbets
»farm«, 2009 by Namaiki.
"Yes, Goodbye / Ja, Adjö" 2007 jessica williams
"tree mountain" 1992-96 agnes denes
"wheatfield" 1982 agnes denes
from Things I have learned in my Life so far - 2008 stefan sagmeister
planted a thought by arthur russell.
when you're a landscape designer, it's easy to slowly start thinking of plants in a way that has a lot in common with forgetting about them. i want to start thinking of plants differently. this was an exercise to help me.
please enjoy.
posted by matt olson
1. Find what's missing. 2. Work in the gaps. 3. Figure it out together. 4. Make it visible. 5. Make it viable. 6. Research and plan. 7. Expand existing systems. 8. Plan transparently. 9. Start small. 10. Commit to it. 11. Learn about your local...
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Thursday, 27 August 09 - 05:58 PM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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publish local posters ⇒ task newsletter ⇒
via reference library.
please enjoy.
posted by matt olson
they ignore prescriptive marketing constraints and they reject the idea of having to produce a new line every six months. they want to discover their own method, a way of working autonomously that is based on an analysis of their context and...
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Monday, 24 August 09 - 04:52 PM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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chairwear by bless. bless is the name berlin/paris based fashion designers ines kaag and desiree heiss.
feeling uninspired by fashion, they conceived a collection of clothing for interiors.
images are scans from the book bless: celebrating 10 years of themelessness.
highly recommended.
please enjoy.
posted by matt olson
ROLU, rosenlof/lucas, ro/lu is a design studio located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that's focus is on modern residential landscape design and installation. It's practice also extends to exterior design and collaborative architectural projects as well as ...
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Wednesday, 22 July 09 - 12:20 PM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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this blog, though largely kept by me, is affiliated with our design studio which has a focus on the modern residential landscape. the studio was founded six years ago, the blog was started about two and a half years ago. i wanted it to serve as a place for cataloging all the inspiring encounters we had with the internet, art, music, design and architecture. basically, all the things that intimately inform our work but are, in some literal sense, not connected to it. it's definitely served that purpose and then some, while also becoming a vehicle for learning and making new friends all over the world.
we don't use the blog as a place to talk about our work or the studio very often but... the screen captures you see here are from the studio's new web site.
the site was designed by mylinh trieu nguyen and programmed by leon hong using indexhibit. we absolutely love it. it exceeded all our expectations and we can't wait to watch it grow with our new adventures and projects...
and the story of how i connected with mylinh is as cool as her work for us is. chk it.
we founded the studio with the mission of creating landscape designs and installations that were approached with the spirit of art and remained affordable and accessible to most. we also knew that we wanted the studio to serve as a platform for other experiments in design and art.
we think mylinh designed a site that not only showcases the work we've already done well... but it also shows who we are now and hints at who we will become. both as people and as a studio.
and perhaps even more exciting is that we're commissioning a work by asdf which is mylinh's consistently brilliant collaboration with the artist david horvitz. the work will be a series of six newsprint posters. as soon as i can, i'll share more about this.
please enjoy.
posted by matt olson
Horvitz’s aim in the piece goes beyond catharsis, however, to address broader questions of authorship and influence, as well as to pose a subtle but pointed critique of the economic ideologies governing visual art and electronic media. His methods are...
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Sunday, 19 July 09 - 10:57 AM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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"Rarely Seen Bas Jan Ader Film," 2007
super cool los angeles times write up about the current david horvitz show/book at the 2nd cannons publications space.
so for the second time, it is highly recommended you check it out and buy the poster.
it was really easy for us to recreate the picture in the l.a. times article of the poster...
because we didn't have to recreate it. this pic was taken in our studio.
please enjoy.
posted by matt olson
"...uses design as a perspective, designed objects as evidence of larger systems, and designers as researchers. ...will be published twice a year as a collection of thematic explorations and reports on topics of interest to our readers. ...is hard to..."
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Wednesday, 15 July 09 - 11:28 PM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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issue #2 of task newsletter is available. Created by our pal and design hero Emmet Byrne with Alex DeArmond, and Jon Sueda. i bought mine with the poster... i think you should too.
please enjoy.
posted matt olson
Création d'une identité visuelle expérimentale pour la Philharmonie de Paris. La volonté principale étant d'apporter un aspect ludique et communiquant à la musique classique tout en conçervant une base traditionnelle grace aux gravures, à la typographie
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Tuesday, 07 July 09 - 07:01 PM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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i really like this work by xavier barrade for the symphonic orchestra of Paris.
from monsieur barrade's web site...
"Experimental visual identity for the symphonic orchestra of Paris. The central idea was to create playful and communicative visuals for classical music on a traditional basis which is bought by the use of engravings, serif type and textured paper. (school project in collaboration with Mathieu Laroussinie)"
it makes me think of a few pieces by paul sharits from yesterday's post. works like this, this and this... even when it's a stretch, i always like trying to connect things.
certain work by guy de cointet comes to mind too... no? too much of a stretch?
ok. maybe not.
tomorrow, i'll post about the new building for the philharmonie de paris designed by jean nouvel and that'll be a pretty easy connection to make.
please, enjoy yourself.
posted by matt olson
"he'd made the classic error of believing he was witnessing the begining of an era, though in actuality it was coming to a close. the limited space that had opened up in the late 1960s and early 70s for film installation within the institutions of..."
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Monday, 06 July 09 - 09:19 AM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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shutter interface (1975) - paul sharits
i'm really interested in the work of paul sharits and he's showing up everywhere lately.
paul sharits - shutter interface 1975
from a recent exhibition at greene naftali gallery, here's some video of the piece pictured here, "shutter interface" (1975)...
i highly recommend checking out his work. maybe you'd like to start here... or here?
please enjoy the time while it passes by.
posted by matt olson
“it's a terrible thing to be alone -- yes it is -- it is -- but don't lower your mask until you have another mask prepared beneath --as terrible as you like --but a mask.” - katherine mansfield
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Thursday, 28 May 09 - 02:07 PM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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josie and molly photographed by abigail caperton
as you've probably already noticed if you've been to this blog before, it's changing. we're in the process of updating the design here as well as our tumblr photoblog plus our studio's main site. the official launch of the new sites will happen sometime next week but, this blog may change off and on and even hour to hour.
josie and molly photographed by abigail caperton
the design work is being done by mylinh trieu ngyuen one of the design fellows at the walker art center. we are extremely excited.
and in the meantime...
please enjoy a mix of songs that contain the word mask in the title while you wait.
- mask - chromatics
- tmnt mask - chad vangaalen
- i'm gonna unmask the batman - sun ra and his astro galactic infinity arkestra
- devil mask, buddha mind - momus
- the mask - black heart procession
- the mask - danger doom featuring ghostface killa
- mask - bauhaus
- the blue mask - lou reed
- red mask - cabaret voltaire
- black mask - cabaret voltaire
- wit a mask on - x-raided (wow. wtf? how did i get this song on my computer?)
- what's behind the mask - the cramps
so posting might be little slow for the next few days but... can't wait to share all the stuff we've been working on (and after it's up, maybe we can get some rest.)
please, enjoy the time (and the music) while it passes.
posted by matt olson
holme - pier / artist unknown / edition of 20
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Sunday, 10 May 09 - 01:44 PM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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immediately fell for this and hit the 'i want to buy' button at this shop holme. it'll be one of two new pieces to hang in the new rolu / rosenlof/lucas studio that we are almost done with. (the other piece is an equally stunning print by the artist santiago mostyn from tiny vices | tv books you can see at the end of this post)
the piece is a paper print called 'pier' and is 1 of 20. i discovered it at one of my favorite blogs 'tell you (today)' which belongs to genevieve dellinger of portland. i'm not exactly sure how but, i believe she is involved with the shop holme.
please enjoy the time as it passes.
posted by matt olson
nasa space age memory foam chair...
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Friday, 08 May 09 - 12:35 AM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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i've seen this before. stunning. saw it again here at now voyager.
now, if i could only sit in this chair, listening to this song, sipping iced coffee, in a freshly laundered red gingham check shirt and kelly green slacks...
heaven.
but should we have gotten this instead of this?
have a good weekend.
posted by matt olson
the quick and the dead - walker art center mpls
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Monday, 04 May 09 - 11:46 PM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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this post is mostly for minneapolis folks.
may i please present to you, the current show at the walker art center ...
it is absolutely stunning... never the same... totally new level...kinda stuff.
please attend frequently and write to me.
posted by matt olson
luke fischbeck + sarah ra ra = lucky dragons
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Sunday, 03 May 09 - 05:44 PM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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a little over two years ago i started this blog to keep track of, and share, some of the things that inspire me and us, and hopefully, you. you know... the other things (if there is such a thing) the things we get excited about and are influenced by but don't necessarily connect to our landscape design studio / installation stuff in any literal sense. (borges said: "everything is autobiography") so art / fashion / music / culture / ... whatevs. right?
we like to feel like we're pushing onward ... towards something... turning corners and finding the next level.
it has been an awesome journey so far and we have made friends from vietnam to los angeles and from minneapolis to italy and we have reconnected with people we missed and it has been good. we have learned so much and we are grateful. i continue to be amazed at how many people there are with similar interests and have been honored making your acquaintances. thank you. it almost feels like some big magnetic wind that keeps picking up cool things along the way.
l-r mylinh trieu nguyen, sarah ra ra and luke fischbeck
so yesterday, when i entered the walker art center here in minneapolis, as i have done so many times, and i could hear, faintly, the music of lucky dragons playing in a building that people usually use church-like voices in ... well ... it felt ... amazing. like some kind of arrival. i can't really explain it, but i'm betting you might kinda know what i mean.
they set up sound fields that make music. when you move an object, or your body through the fields, the music changes. they also set up a laptop with a visual representation of what is happening so you can see and hear the impact you are having on the environment as you move around in it. it is amazing. they also taught both the young and old how to make instruments and they had contact microphones that you could connect to so that everyone was making music.
but what everyone was really doing was, smiling. it was so fantastic.
nic the intern watching lucky dragons
and so now my friend jessica says she gets them for three whole days in chicago... and so if you are anywhere in the vicinity of chicago, you must find a way to have these people teach you to understand what know one can understand. and if you're not in chicago, you can see some pics and video from yesterday and you can support the artists here at their glaciers of nice store.
those are all the words i have to explain this so the rest is up to you. just know that you have options. ok? it can be this good.
btw - the first image in this post is a work by sumi ink club, which is also luke and sarah. it may be their drawing equivalent to the sounds they make.
please enjoy the time while it passes.
posted by matt olson
room for more air
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Friday, 01 May 09 - 08:57 PM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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via: you have been here sometime
why not continue thinking about inflatabilty? and this too?
posted by matt olson
inflatable structures
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Thursday, 30 April 09 - 11:12 PM (GMT -06:00) By ro / lu in design |
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it might be something left over from my childhood but, i'm a sucker for inflatability. there's a nice post up at a daily dose of architecture about inflatable structures. chk it!
there was an inflatable moment you know.
posted by matt olson
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