While innovative highways channel thinkers racing in an infinite world of hi-tech competition and dizzying speed – who will build these innovations? Just read an interesting article and it spurred thoughts around an old subject about which I have passionately expressed urgency in the past. A subject addressing our preoccupation and emphasis on hi-tech advancements at the expense of, rather than in concert with, the trades. Let’s examine why the following might be applicable in every community where intellectual design creatively and successfully melds with tangible old-style craftsmanship. INTERNATIONAL NEWS FLASH from Istanbul – Kerem Alper – whose brain works on both sides of the fence holds dual Masters from Stanford in both design and business. Alper obvserves, “We’re seeing a hybrid world where digital and physical design collide, which could be called “physical computing” or “embodied systems” or, as we say, “sensitive products” (because “smart” implies only the left side of the brain) but it all hints at: If you’re doing an app or a website, what is the physical counterpart of this? Partner with dual degrees also from Stanford in architectural design and structural engineering, Paired with a degree from NYU in media arts Engin Ayaz, address why Istanbul is ripe for collaboration between the high tech intellectual design and hands-on design fabrication: “One factor is convenience. We can work closely with craftsmen and makers here; they still reside in central areas of city and they have a lot of know-how in the techniques of making. They are the last generation of their kind, so we treat them as precious collaborators for our projects. IMPORTANT lesson for all listening: to nurture a partnership between the trades and the fast-pace of the innovations of our technological world with all productive members of our society – emphasizing each ones strengths and contributions and cultivate expertise and pride in all work. Lest we be reliant on other countries to fabricate our dreams.
Multi-media Entertainment Extravaganza Designed Around Fantastic Music, and Fabulous Fashion
Wow Sir Paul – in that simple white unbuttoned shirt with the killer double-breasted jacket…such casual elegance! The Grammy’s tonight were a fabulous mix of ages and styles, genres and generations! The contrasts were well distributed throughout the night making it a fascinatingly entertaining stream of the best from the past and present.
Acknowledging the recent passing of Whitney Houston and her indelible mark on the music industry and the world was beautifully interspersed throughout the evening.
The choreography was astonishing and the big production aspect of the show was unparalleled. For the most part it was powerfully tasteful and uplifting – an explosive celebration hosted masterfully by the dashing LL Cool J.
Adele graciously overwhelmed at the “lot” in her so now polka dots…Bruno Mars’ dazzling retro show…Katie Perry’s athletic dance and blue hair…Taylor Swift was sweet and strong in her diaphanous floral little country dress…Lady Gaga partially concealed behind her veil…Diana Ross the big black ball gown and big hair – a regal queen…Glen Campbell carried his part off remarkably well – who would know? And Adam Levine singing with the Beach Boys – was classic!
Loved the creatively colorful Alouette, gentille Alouette ad for Target…
I loved it right down to the Cosmopolitan ad for the hotel in Las Vegas!
The “boys” on stage for the grand finale – what a jam band! “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”
It truly was a star-studded night – designed around fantastic music, fabulous fashion, and multi-media entertainment extravaganza.
Wall Treatment of Scribbles and Scrawls Speaks Volumes of Almost Accidental Design
Scribbles and prose as graphic backdrop
Habana – Cuba that is…reconstructed elsewhere in the bars of Bogedita del Medio and the resulting fantastic feel that is created by the once unconscious lexis of ultimately decorative elements that are the walls of words and markings. Graffiti you say? Yes, after a manner. It is an atmosphere of festivity – an interior that speaks of layers of revelers enjoying the music and mojitos. Yet it all blends into a graphic design that is exceptionally unique and interesting.
Salsa – dancing and flavors. The complexity that is found in the movements and ingredients -pairing the dance and the food – both are spicy – and the scene is warm and energized. These walls of markings, names and poems, tributes and proclamations are a backdrop of expressions from layers over years.
When else might this work? I’m fascinated by the effectiveness of this design treatment – a celebration of reactions, emotions and personalities all marked for everyone to see. Bold or meek, artful or mere blocks the styles speak with the words.
Perhaps the free-form walls of a child’s playroom – if isolated to these wall and not the whole house…it affords a huge blackboard – chalkless board for freedom of expression. For adults perhaps a party room might invite this kind of signature expression – layers of good times recorded on the walls – texture and design in an all-over pattern of script, lettering, lines and figures.
I like it a lot. I thoroughly enjoyed the scene and wanted to share the possibilities for this unusually free-form treatment in your interior design.
Epazote Restaurant – Santa Fe – Fine Cuisine & Fine ART!
Art and art…food and paintings…a very nice pairing. Tuesday night, at Las Companas in Santa Fe, the Country Club held one of a series of guest chef’s events – this time featuring celebrity chef Fernando Olea from his sensationally intimate Santa Fe restaurant Epazote. If you have not been there, you are missing an extraordinary culinary treat!
This night, a private seating offered the rare opportunity for 40 guess to experience a multi-course meal of beautifully artful presentations and startling flavor bursts of fine subtleties that tantalized the palette. Beginning with a very convivial cocktail hour where guests stood among the tables and shared familiar conversations and new introductions while well-coached wait staff pleasantly presented “hors unique d’ouvres”, the enchanting evening began.
At his restaurant, Epazote chef/owner Fernando Olea offers a relaxed environment where he creates “inspired world cuisine” influenced by the Aztecs. Bringing sensational combinations of flavors and specializing in the unique flavors of the mole sauces of Mexico, Olea continues to surprise.
Each taste is a lovely flavor experience. Each taste is savored for the incredibly imaginative and surprising and pleasing combination that it is. Even if you have experienced savory moles south of our border, the creations that Olea combines are deliciously exquisite. And with that in mind, he has created a very unique mole especially for New Mexico which includes indigenous ingredients including pine nuts, pecans, red chile, apricots, and from Mexico, rich, white chocolate. If you visit his restaurant – he will share this delectable and complex recipe with you!
This signature recipe is depicted in a grand fashion on the primary focal wall of Epazote in the manner of a great oil painting on canvas – by prominent Mexican artist Federico Leon de la Vega. This richly detailed mural – stretching the length of the main dining room, nearly 20 feet in length – re-creates the scene of these marvelous ingredients gathered in preparation for the making of Olea’s own New Mexican mole. As Olea states, “nothing evokes the mystery of fine Mexican cuisine more than mole, a regional dish from the heart of the country.” This “thick sauce of complex flavors” defies one’s understanding of the individual ingredients. The festive spices and remarkable combinations result in astonishing flavors beyond accustomed characterizations.
Paired with his artful cuisine, Olea partners with Michael, a very talented art curator whose last name escapes me (lo siento), to present a gallery of fine-art speaking volumes of various styles and media, from the white-washed plaster walls of this historic convent – now a prestigious exhibition space for well-known New Mexican artists.
It is a must-see to experience an evening of fine dining and fine art in this quiet little structure across from the historic Our lady of Guadalupe church on Agua Fria in Santa Fe. Tell chef Olea that “Patti Says” and you agree that this is an exceptional multi-sensory experience!
Luminous Margolin Sculpture Dances Above Anatole Atrium
Look…up in the sky, it’s a bird…it’s a plane, – no, it’s a magnificently suspended sculpture, the Nebula, by artist Reuben Margolin. Last week, on a recent trip to the Dallas Design District to research interior design elements with clients, we stayed at my favorite local environment, the Anatole. Oh, there are many options when visiting Market, but not only location, this magnificent facility has always been my favorite. A favorite because, after spending hours inside the showrooms, often without windows to the outside, the circadian rhythm of dedicated designers and their seemingly tireless clients is confused and way out of whack. Returning to the Anatole after a long day presents an interior environment that is open, spacious, interesting, airy, and at once welcoming. There are multiple venues in which to relax and review the work of the day. Large spaces with expansive atrium volume and other spaces more intimate and private – it’s all there under towering roofs, connecting passages with comfortable seating areas, shops, bars, cafes, and exquisite restaurants.
After decades of excellent and reliable service, the Anatole – under new management by Hilton – underwent extraordinary renovation. Yes, for years the Lowe’s Anatole and more recently the Wyhdham Anatole, is now a Hilton signature property. With this exciting series of improvements new water features and seating areas, bars and eateries appear – and above it all in the main atrium is Reuben Margolin’s startling aerial display – a dance of sorts – a wave-like motion of 4,500 amber crystals – are they petals, butterflies, or fragments…? Spectacularly suspended from a complex amalgamation of cables – 10 miles of them – and a staggering number of pulleys, this sensual motorized art piece undulates with luminous shimmering facets high above the scene.
Mobiles – art suspended – add magic to an interior. The penetrating of the space, the pleasant intrusion paired with beauty and grace, movement and fantasy – the perfect contribution, by design.
The Nebula Undulates in Interior Space
Set Design – Oscars – Shabby Chic Gets the Nod!
“And the Oscar goes to… The King’s Speech” and albeit the acting was superb, I was captivated by the details in the set design. Maybe not the pure magic that goes into such sets as Alice in Wonderland or the sci-fi thrillers that demand a creative fantasy where we are challenged and stimulated to participate in another world order – but from a historic perspective and reality-based imagination, we have seen, talked about, been there and done that with shabby chic – but nothing can compare with the environs of Lionel’s office when Bertie was invited to take a seat on the thread-bare, yet once elegant, gilded settee placed effectively in front of the layers/years of peeling paint and possibly paper being conveyed in the backdrop of depth of character that was the wall treatment. Surely in this case conveying years of previous use and current limited means and not an intentional design statement – except to the extent that the design statement from the standpoint of movie texture, sense of place and imagination was to create that sense of lesser means to that of a King – it is all about design!
When does design convey a sense of place and not an artifice? Well, the movies, of course -perhaps a museum re-creation of an event…The intent is to create a scene, transport the viewer and validate the expression through design. Here a commoner and royalty share a space that has stark contrast between the royals’ living environments and that of a middle class speech therapist. The set emphasizes the class distinction while still capturing a hold on refinements (well worn and decayed over time) rather than a distinction of style differences – Lionel’s office was not one of basic oak desk and chairs, conventional practical elements of the time…it spoke of refinements and elegance since worn.
By stark contrast, Lionel’s home is animated with Art Deco wall coverings – crisp and graphic, geometric, metallic, and colorful, one wonders why the shabby office is maintained as such compared to the seemingly small yet well adorned – exceptionally well adorned – wall covered walls of his home. IF the wall coverings were from a slightly earlier vintage from that of the times, it still begs questioning as to why they were celebrated in the movie as seemingly new and intentionally contrasting to the shabby, tired yet refined furnishings and finishes of his office. If this is striking you as “what did I miss, ?” David Kelps of L.A. Home suggests that if you get a copy of the film “you’ll be pausing your DVD players to get a better look.”
The royals’ environments had a timeless, historical validity of elegance while the home of the therapist had that of new rich expressions of the fashion of the times – or near past times nonetheless. This goes back to the question of when are trends, trends? See the blog… http://pattisays.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/the-magical-mystery-tour-between-trends-and-trendy-%e2%80%93-retail/ and prior blogs referencing trends’ distinctions.
So, “Hoo-ray for Hollywood” thank you tonight for another star-studded event of art, design, fine craft and recognition. Did your Picks win? Who do you think was over-looked or was better suited for an Oscar tonight?
Goodnight, and remember, Lionel asks…”Why should I waste my time listening to you (me)?
King George VI: “Because I have a voice!” Pattisays!!!
