Life’s a game

So I’ve been cleaning up the (blessedly minimal) effects of having my identity stolen for the last couple of years, and as I ran around town for the last couple of days printing things, faxing things, collecting other things, getting things notarized, etc. to deal with the latest thing that’s turned up, I tried to burn off some of my frustration by thinking of my situation as one of those LucasArts adventure games I loved when I was a kid. They also tend to involve one large goal, which is accomplished by doing hours and hours of smaller, seemingly unrelated tasks until you stumble backasswardly upon the princess or the secret of Monkey Island or whatnot. This was just like that! Except how I can’t stop playing and it’s frustrating and expensive.

Anyway, I came home with the idea of my life as Sisyphean, no-fun video game still a bit on my mind, and happened across this pair of polygonal shoes by United Nude, which seemed sort of perfect for the moment. The style probably looks pretty familiar to anybody who played video games during the rather quick evolution of computer graphics in the late ’90s:

The United Nude Lo Res is part of an new semi-automatic design method by United Nude. An object is digitially scanned into a 3-D computer model and re-generated into various resolutions. The Lo Res shoe is part of an automated design revolution.

So in celebration of having hopefully faxed my last document and rescued the princess (if she’s not in another goddamn castle), here’s a bunch of stuff based on 8-bit nostalgia that doesn’t cross over into literal video-game territory, like so:

Even though I do find that shirt funny. Anyway, here they are!

Floral rose prints don’t look quite so grandmotherly when they’re pixelated.  Digital-print scarf and dress, from Matthew Williamson’s fall 2008 collection.

Stolen Jewels, by Mike & Maaike. They used google to ’steal’ lo-res images of some of the most famous and ornate jewelry in the world (such as Imelda Marcos’ ruby necklace and this image of the Great Chrysanthemum, on which I believe the above is based:)

and then converted them to tiny leather pixels as a statement necklace.

8-bit dress from Modcloth, vaguely evoking some mod-as-hell Space Invaders.

The Icon wristwatch; numbers would have ruined the effect.

OK, yeah, this one’s literal, but it’s just too cute. From Erin at A Dress A Day.

Slim Jim

Our pants-less lady friend Gaga picked up a style award this past Monday from the Accessories Council. While she doesn’t look like a Slim Jim like she did during the MTV VMA’s, Gaga does still look pretty out there. Where does she come up with this stuff?

Gabi of Young Fat and Fabulous has styled illustrations. They’re like virtual models that are available on some shopping websites, and they’re cute.

Try not to stay mad at NY, because they held a Snuggie happy hour in the East Village, and it’s headed to Philly this weekend. Check out the video of how it went down in Gotham:

Lastly, Ralph Lauren is the official outfitter of the Vancouver Olympic Games! A little pricey, but nice designs!

Impermanent Bliss

Cool exhibit alert! I’ll have a guide up with plenty to do this First Friday, but I thought I’d feature one that really caught my eye a day early:

Art in the Age is a cool gallery/store/performance space in Old City. It’s named for an essay (Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction) by a German cultural theorist. The mission and common theme behind each artist is to “bring integrity back to art in the spaces of everyday life.”

In Impermanent Bliss, mixed-media works by Eric Amling, Kirkland Bray and Matt LaFleur examine the fluctuating nature of memory and its effects on our ongoing sense of self and place. By manipulating and transforming man-made artifacts, the artists press the viewer to reexamine the identities of the familiar. We should be approaching our own memories with the same scrutiny that these works demand, as memory often distorts the places, events and emotional states of our past.

Check out some work from the artists:

Kirkland Bray

Matt Lafleur

Eric Amling

Eric Amling’s uses printed matter to create new forms of present space in motion through collage. He is the author two books, Twin Vapor and Split Level Igloo, and his collage and written works have appeared on albums by Dr. Dog and the Bowerbirds. Matt LaFleur’s paintings evoke an imaginative environment filled with cabins burgeoning spectrums of color and contrast.  He currently lives and works in Taborton, NY. Kirkland Bray’s recent paintings explore a series of elevated forms of construction on found surfaces of wood and canvas. He has exhibited on both coasts, and co-owns the leather goods brand BillyKirk.

Impermanent Bliss: Examining the Fluid State of Memory
Mixed Media Works by Eric Amling, Kirkland Bray and Matt LaFleur
November 6-29, 2009
Opening: Friday, November 6th, 6-8 pm

Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
116 N. 3rd Street, Philadelphia