Pattern Pulp

Artful Antfarms and Social Media




artful-antfarms

What do ants, art, fashion and social media have in common? We’ve been asking that very question ever since reading Noah Brier’s fascinating take on the power of colonization and it’s relation to the internet. The idea that “ants don’t really ever exist on their own, all their power comes from their ability to organize themselves in groups,” directly parallels social media’s impact online, particularly in relation to traffic, viral marketing and cross pollination.

The use of ant farms to contextualize larger societal microcosms have been popping up in every media form, from literal depictions in Mad Men to more abstract print parallels, such as this Hermès map of Paris. Toying with the idea of national identity and cross pollination, Japanese artist, Yukinori Yanagi brilliantly displays the world through the eyes of  the ant in his 1990 installation entitled, The World Flag Ant Farm. Using a series of interconnected boxes, each filled with colored sand in the pattern of a national flag, Yanagi releases a colony of ants into the system, allowing them to travel freely. “The border crossings” result in an intermingling of color throughout the system, a stunning visualization of our cross-cultural networks. Bringing this concept to the masses on a more playful scale, Stine Gam and Enrico Fratesi merge ant farm living with brocade wallpaper patterns, proving mass mobilization can create tangible and beautiful results.

By: Shayna Kulik

November 14, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Follow-up: Highend Doodles




chairity

It’s hard to not be inspired by the Pamela Bell couch we featured this past February. In an effort to freshen up her antique furniture, she handed crayola markers to her children and let them fulfill every child’s fantasy; yes, she let them draw on the furniture.

The idea of letting doodles run wild has been swept into a multitude of mediums over the past year.  After a forward from friend and fellow blogger, Lisa Toff, we were alerted to this “Chairity” project, a DIY initiative that directly benefited the Palliative Care program, an extension of the Cook Children’s Hospital in Forth Woth, Texas. The funds raised were funneled into a support system for seriously ill children and their families. Jane Aldridge, the writer behind Sea of Shoes, along with her mother and aunt, a pediatrician at the Cook Children’s Hospital, recovered an antique chair with beige canvas and let a few lucky kids have their way with it. The results speak for themselves.

Coverage by: Emily Gup

November 4, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Coralie's Cloth-Bound Covers




Coralie Bickford-Smith-patterns

A week ago, our good friend Alexandra Machinist, a Manhattan based literary agent passed along a link to Coralie Bickford-Smith‘s beautiful cloth bound book covers.  While these beauties have been on the market for a year now, nostalgia for hard cover classics is somewhat recent with the growing success of digital aggregators, such as the Kindle.  Smith’s series is now available in the US and to celebrate the launch, Design*Sponge recently conducted an interview the artist, exploring her process from concept to production. Be it Shakespeare’s Sonnets or The Gothic Horror series, sentiments for a lost art form are reminding us why hard covers deserve a spot on your livingroom shelf.

By: Shayna Kulik

November 2, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Homegoods: Wearable Ar(t)chitecture




wearable-artchitecture

It’s no secret that wood’s a mailable material. Add fluid movement and an organic aura and you’ve got yourself a Bart Prince masterpiece. This famed architect from Albuquerque, NM, was recently featured in Wallpaper magazine and has since been popping up throughout the blogosphere. While Prince’s layering technique isn’t new to the fashion world, it’s certainly a breath of fresh air to larger structural forms. Using salvaged shingles to build low-income housing, artisan Dan Phillips mimics this design direction in his Storybook House. A thorough exploration of Phillips’ work can be viewed in this NY Times slide show.

Further blurring the line between art and nature, Anthony Roussel, of the UK is the master craftsman behind this stunning jewelry collection. Inspired by the British coastline, it’s easy to see how technique can be digested, disseminated and applied across mediums.

Research by: Emily Gup

October 26, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Follow-up: Bargain Basement Wallpaper Solutions




anthropologie2

Back in March, we fell head over heels for Anthropologie’s budget-conscious in-store kitchen display.  This month’s no different as they tackle the back wall with checker-textured chalk. A brilliantly simple solution that adds umph to any wall. A can of chalkboard paint, chalk sticks and a sealant and you’re good to go- all for the cost of takeout.

By: Shayna Kulik

October 21, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Strike Off, the Alternative Textile Fair




textile Fair-StrikeOff

The serendipity that comes with living in Manhattan always amazes me. Be it the time I found myself sitting beside Malcolm Galdwell reading Blink, or the instance I shared an elevator with Simon Doonan right after giving a presentation on Barney’s window displays.  Things happen for a reason, and yesterday’s run in with Travis Boyer and Dayna Holli at the AI Freidman cash wrap was no different.

Boyer and Holli have partnered up to host StrikeOff, an alternative textile fair. The show starts today and runs through the 16th and is being held at the JF & Son storefront on 19 Kenmare. The fair focuses on Fashion and Home for Fall/Winter 2010 and includes fabric designers of every variety, from silk painters and hand weavers to digital printers and natural dyers.

To schedule an appointment, contact info@project1281.com or 212.343.3131

By: Shayna Kulik

October 13, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Tracking Repetitive + Awesome.
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