If It's Hip, It's Here (Archives)

Paul Graves' Newest Work - Balloon Expletives & More

above: detail of Paul Graves' Balloon Beauty

The last time I showed the balloon series photography of Paul Graves, there was a great deal of interest in his unusual work. Now, he has personally just sent me the latest of his continued balloon sculptures and photography series which was just published in the art fashion magazine spring/summer 09 of "booklet" which just hit the news stands in Europe.

No one can describe their photos better than the photographer themselves and in Paul's own words to me, he wrote:

This entire project is about exploring the non-expected side of the material of balloons.

With more and more "balloon images" being made these days from advertisement to fashion editorial the material has taken on a very strong cultural reality that already needs to be transformed to the next level.

Im not saying I accomplish that goal with this work but I try to push the viewer to question and explore.

Also this work has more of a free spirit then some of the last balloon projects I have done. I wanted to be free from the "art of twisting balloons" and still make an image full of emotion and ideas.

The fact that the work was published in Booklet is because the publishers asked me for an "art project" to translate my idea of "hells angles", the theme of this issue.

Moving away from selling products and more towards images that stand alone and have a life outside the commercial photography world.

above: The opening spread for the editorial in Booklet #10

And here's a good look at the photos.

Balloon Beauty:

Fuck:

Headache:

detail of Headache:

Pussy Party:

Shit:

Whip It:

The May issue of Booklet Magazine in which the photos are shown:

www.booklet.ws

If you didn't see my first post on Paul's balloon Sculpture Photography, take a look at it here.

Paul has lots of terrific product photography in his portfolio, such as his shot for Nina Peter shown above, so be sure to look at all of Paul's wonderful work at his site here

Re-Bound Designs: Handbags Made From Hardbacks For Fashionista Bookworms

Caitlin Phillips of Washington DC is promoting literacy. Okay, well.. the appearance of literacy. Rather than reading that text book or classic novel, she's suggesting you use it to hold some cash and perhaps a lipstick or two.

By taking vintage hardback books, removing the interior pages while keeping the cover intact, adding fabric, handles, hardware and a cute little label, she's made a handbag for Fashionista Bookworms.

Sizes vary as does the purse's capacity. The wider the spine of the book, the more the purse will hold. She pays distinct attention to the colors and rarely uses the fabric more than once, making each creation truly one-of-a-kind. Her collection includes everything from reference books, textbooks, classics and teen novellas to how-to books. She even makes an effort for the fabric interiors to play off the titles or content of the book as in the case of her Do-it-yourself Encylopedia purse and the Singer Sewing Book purse (shown later in this post).

Here are a few examples:

Janson's History of Art:

China: Lands And Peoples:

Nancy Drew. The Mystery Of The Fire Dragon:

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire:

Ulysses:

War and Peace:

Jane Eyre:

Stories from Dickens:

Do-It-Yourself Encyclopedia:

The Singer Book Of Sewing:

Caitlin makes all the books herself by hand and has no guilt about cutting apart old books. She says that most of the ones she uses have been previously damaged in some way. She sells her books at her Etsy store as well as directly from her website. Prices vary.

See what stock Caitlin presently has for sale here.
Or shop her Etsy store here.

Bauhaus Mini-modernist Doll Houses Promote Karen Walker Paints For Resene

Resene, a New Zealand professional paint company, chose to showcase their latest range of Karen Walker color paints for the home, by using mini- modernist Bauhaus inspired architectural models of homes crafted by Auckland sculptor Gidon Bing and styled by Katie Lockhart.

Bing crafted the approximately 50 cm x 50 cm models of plywood. Their painstaking work took months before it was ready for to capture.

above: Auckland based painter and sculptor Gidon Bing in his workshop. Photo by Babiche Martens

Karen Walker’s new paint range for Resene follows the best-selling ranges she developed with the company in 2001 and 2004. This time, Walker wanted the range to have a different feel. “I was searching for a worn sort of mood,” she says. “I like colours that have a muted, burnished sort of quality, as if they were thoughtfully painted on walls decades ago and have faded to perfection in the following years.”

Here are various photos of the architectural models and the accompanying Karen Walker paint collections from the promotional brochure with photos by Matthew Williams: