New Mercedes Benz Film by Alex Prager Stars Lara Stone. And a Look Behind The Scenes.

Alex Prager’s New Short For Mercedes-Benz starring Dutch model Lara Stone (and shown further down in this post) is a bit Mary Poppins, a bit Wizard of Oz, heavy on the pretty and light on the concept. Given that it's one top model shilling for another, it may not matter. Both Lara Stone and the SL Roadster are nice to look at and the film shot by Alex Prager is compelling visually. I have no idea what it says about Mercedes Benz, but perhaps you will see something I don't.



press release:
Mercedes-Benz USA announces today the 2012 Fashion Collaboration starring the new SL Roadster with Lara Stone in Calvin Klein Collection, captured by Alex Prager.



The 2012 Mercedes-Benz Icons of Style images by Alex Prager can be described as: A beautiful woman stands alone in the desert, suitcases in hand. Yet in this 21st century update on classic Film Noir, the blonde is her own getaway driver, outpacing a tornado in a sleek SL Roadster by Mercedes-Benz.




The American photographer and filmmaker, Alex Prager, is known for creating surreal and enigmatic movie moments inspired by Frederico Fellini and David Lynch. Yet in her versions - heady with mystery, lust and desire - the woman is in control.



Of her enigmatic images for the 2012 Mercedes-Benz Icons of Style, Alex Prager said she chose cinematic greats as her Icons of Style. "I constantly reference Fellini characters and Hitchcock as well," said Prager. Dutch supermodel, Lara Stone plays the update on the Hitchcock blonde, a strong protagonist who overcomes loneliness and fear. This inner strength is underscored by a timeless and elegant dress worn by Lara Stone and designed by Calvin Klein Collection's Women's Creative Director, Francisco Costa.



The SL Roadster featured in the latest Mercedes-Benz Icon of Style campaign, combines technical innovation with sleek sportiness and classic luxury and reinterprets the legendary Mercedes-Benz classic of the 1950s for today. Lara Stone commented, "It's an honor to work with Mercedes-Benz on a project like this.




Both Mercedes-Benz and Calvin Klein Collection brands represent great luxury and timeless elegance and it was a really unique experience."With a notoriety of creating images inspired by Fellini and Lynch, American photo and film artist Alex Prager, working alongside Creative Director Valentina Ilardi Martin, references the Wizard of Oz in the production of the A/W 2012 Mercedes-Benz Icon of Style.



But make no mistake, the femme fatale portrayed by Dutch supermodel Lara Stone is no Dorothy. This Hitchcock blonde is in complete command of herself, heady with mystery, dressed in Calvin Klein Collection, and aloof in the setting with the new Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster.


above: Lara Stone is dressed in Calvin Klein in the short film

In essence, this is the 1950s brought up to speed with today's look and pace: The luxury dynamism of the car and the timelessness of the fashion pieces designed by Calvin Klein Collection’s Women Creative Director Francisco Costa, all captured with a Hitchcock flair.

The short film:


The making of video:

Some production stills:




An interview with Alex Prager about the film:
Lara talks about the film:

Described by the director as “Mary Poppins meets The Wizard of Oz meets James Bond,” the fanciful short was shot in the dusty surrounds of Los Angeles. As well as conveying a sense of danger, Prager says her creation aimed to give “the impression that Lara is going somewhere interesting, off on a secret mission tucked away in those suitcases.” Known for her hyper-stylized, emotive work, the sought after young photographer and filmmaker was impressed by Stone's acting chops. “She was very on board with the whole tornado idea,” says Prager. “Being strapped into a harness with fans and rain blowing in all directions isn't the most fun thing to do, but she seemed to be enjoying herself and looking totally beautiful throughout.”



The star of campaigns for the likes of Givenchy and Jil Sander, Stone says she was more than happy to play opposite an automobile during her acting stint: “The difference about modeling with a car as opposed to with another model is that the car doesn’t talk back—which I quite like!”

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Collaboration, Icons of Style, is making its US debut at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2012 from February 9-15, 2012. The 2012 Icons of Style key visual is the latest in a stunning series of outstanding visuals celebrating the unique combination of design and style that is Mercedes-Benz. Nick Knight has posed Julia Stegner in Gareth Pugh with the SLS AMG; Miles Aldridge photographed Milla Jovovich wearing a spectacular hat from Philip Treacy next to the Mercedes E-Class Convertible; Craig McDean and David James staged Karolina Kurkova next to the new CLS and last season, Terry Richardson captured Jessica Stam on the roof of the A-Class concept car.

The protagonists:

Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster

above: unveiling the car on set

The designers have presented the most recent generation of SL icons in an unmistakable way, by combining a deep sense tradition with new perspectives and visions. The result is a stylish, sporty and elegant luxury sport's car with the classic, SL-typical well-balanced proportions: the long bonnet is followed by a compact passenger compartment and the wide, sleek rear perfects the look.


above: the other star of the film on location

Understated, artistically designed lines define the powerfully modelled yet smooth surfaces of its silhouette. Finely engineered details from the dynamic, traditional form repertoire of Mercedes-Benz visually underline the legend of the SL. From a technological perspective, the SL presents itself as a spectacular trendsetter. Manufactured almost completely from aluminium, it weighs a lot less than its predecessor. Innovations like the unique FrontBass system, which turns the SL into a concert hall, whether open or closed, or the adaptive MAGIC VISION CONTROL System are all pioneering developments with an eye to the future.

Alex Prager

above: Alex Prager watching a playback on set

Self-taught Alex Prager from Los Angeles is a rising star in the photographer sky. On a visit to a William Egglestone exhibition, Alex Prager made the decision to start taking photos herself. Since then, the 32-year-old photographic artist and filmmaker has impressed with her unconventional photography at several solo and group exhibitions. Her productions are inspired by the style of the sixties, as well as by the films by great directors like Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch and Frederico Fellini. Alex Prager describes her photography as a documentation of a world that at the same time exists and yet does not exist. In addition to her well-received trilogy with the series "Polyester", "The Big Valley" and "Week-end", Alex Prager has also made a name for herself as a fashion photographer. Her "Lofty Ambitions" editorial featured in the September issue of US Vogue and she also shot the spring/summer 2011 campaign by Bottega Veneta with Karolina Kurkova.

Lara Stone


The native Dutch model is currently top of the worldwide rankings on Models.com. Since her breakthrough in 2006 she has been the campaign face for top labels like Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, Max Mara and Versace, has worked with star photographers including Mario Testino, Steven Meisel, Craig McDean, Mario Sorrenti and Terry Richardson and has modelled on the catwalk for all major, international fashion houses. The gap between her two front teeth has become one of her trademark features.She is currently the face of Calvin Klein and has been linked to the brand for quite some time. French Vogue dedicated a whole issue to Lara Stone in February 2009, and fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld shot a short film with her.

Calvin Klein Collection's Francisco Costa
Francisco Costa is the critically acclaimed Women's Creative Director of Calvin Klein Collection. Mr. Costa assumed this role in 2003 after working directly with Calvin Klein and other top design houses of Gucci, Balmain Couture, and Oscar de la Renta. Mr. Costa's first collection for Calvin Klein Collection debuted for Spring 2004. Known for his timeless, elegant designs, Mr. Costa has received numerous awards for his work, including being twice named the Womenswear Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), and is a recipient of the Cooper-Hewitt National Fashion Design Award. A graduate of F.I.T., Mr. Costa was born into a family with deep roots in fashion, and grew up in the small Brazilian town of Guarani near Rio de Janiero, where his mother and father owned a successful apparel business.

www.mercedes-benz.com/fashion

Calvin Klein

Alex Prager is represented by M+B

Ties That Talk. Introducing The Blake Bradford Line of Silk Panel Ties.

Blake Bradford is a new line of handmade silk panel ties on which individual words are printed. The black or white ties have adjectives such as 'complicated', 'elusive', 'rude', 'mysterious', 'dynamic' and 'dangerous' that represent the brand’s core values of individuality, creativity and philanthropy.




The Blake Bradford philosophy is to break free of the attachment to physical things and focus on experiences, ideas and companionship with others. The emphasis is no longer on the articles of clothing a person wears, but on the people themselves.




The process of making a Blake Bradford woven silk panel tie is as unique and striking as the ties themselves. Traditional neckties are made using a pattern that repeats itself on the loom, but a Blake Bradford requires much more attention.






Each and every Blake Bradford panel tie is handmade in Brooklyn, using the exact location of the design as a guide. Even the slightest error in cutting or folding the woven silk would alter the design’s location and appearance of the tie.



Designer Geoffrey Blake conceived of the Blake Bradford woven silk panel tie as a way to identify and/or express oneself in traditionally conservative environments. The choice is yours: button your jacket to conceal your identity, or transform your environment.

Much of the text in this post has been reprinted from the Blake Bradford web site with their permission.

Shop for them here

This Girl Rocks. A Fetish Ride-On Toy For Adults by Peter Jakubik.

 

 Peter Jakubik's adult rocking toy, the Pony Girl, is part of his collection of modern fetish designs. Having come a ways since his first version (seen in this post which featured the designers' high-heeled handbags), the adult rocking toy is now crafted from intentionally weathered plywood and waxed to a smooth finish. The silhouetted woman on her hands and knees is meant to be ridden.

Books and Bibles that go Bang Bang! Bookguns by artist Robert The.

Artist Robert The has been turning the printed word into facsimiles of weapons since 1995. His choice of books have purposefully ironic titles or subject matter when handcarved into the shape of handguns.

The Medium Is The Message:

Poetic Justice:

Psychotherapy With Adolescent Girls:

Young Students:



He states "Obsession with the semiotic erosion of meaning and reality led me to create objects that evangelize their own relevance by a direct fusion of word and form. Books (many culled from dumpsters and thrift store bins) are lovingly vandalized back to life so they can assert themselves against the culture which turned them into debris." - Robert The, 1995




In addition to taking well known novels such as J.D. Salinger's Catcher In the Rye (above) and academic texts and turning them into pistols made of pages, Robert has a series of bibles he's turned into different weapons as well.






Undoubtedly his turning bibles into guns and grenades will get most people up in arms, so to speak, but that's kind of the point.


above: various versions of the new testament carved into handguns by Robert The

Thanks to GizFactory via Toxel for bringing these to my attention.

Fine Art Prints Of Stanley Kubrick Photos Available For The First Time. 25 Fabulous Images.

I've always been a huge fan of the directorial and writing work of Stanley Kubrick, as witnessed by this comprehensive post I wrote on an exposition of his work earlier this year.

So you can imagine my joy when I discovered that the photographs he took as a photojournalist for Look Magazine early in his career which were previously only available for viewing in museum archives or in books about Kubrick, are now being offered as art prints (complete with certificates of authenticity) from the Museum of the City of New York and VandM.



The selection of fine art prints of the photographic works by the legendary film director exemplify his eye for both content and composition. Shot during the years of 1946-1949, each of the 25 hand-selected photos is printed on museum quality acid-free fibre paper using archival pigment inks and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, numbered and signed by the Museum of the City of New York’s Curator of Prints and Photographs.



Available in limited editions and four different sizes, the unframed prints have a minimum half inch border so you can frame them without obscuring the image.



Stanley Kubrick—who wrote and directed Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining—was one of America’s most influential filmmakers. Directors ranging from the Coen Brothers to Tim Burton paid visual homage to his works in their own films, and no less than Steven Spielberg said: “Nobody could shoot a picture better in history.”



In fact Kubrick’s special skill behind the camera and his ability to create visual intrigue were evident long before he was a Hollywood icon. Even at the age of 17, Kubrick was an immense talent. In 1945, for $25, he sold a photograph to Look magazine of a broken-hearted newsvendor reacting to the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A few months later Kubrick joined Look’s staff to become the youngest staff photographer in the magazine’s history. He continued to work for Look until 1950 when he left to pursue filmmaking.



It was during this period that Kubrick’s respected—and often-imitated—style first became apparent. His photographs are vintage Kubrick: a complex blend of composition, drama, light and mystery.




Now, for the first time, fine art prints of Kubrick’s work as a photojournalist are available for sale. Previously only available for viewing in museum archives or in books about Kubrick, curators at the Museum of the City of New York and art advisors at VandM examined over 10,000 negatives of Kubrick’s photos to hand select 25 for this limited edition sale on VandM.




All photos are printed on museum quality acid-free fibre paper using archival pigment inks and are accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, numbered and signed by the Museum of the City of New York’s Curator of Prints and Photographs.

Edition of 50
11x14 = $250
16x20 = $450
20x24 = $600

Edition of 10
36x36 = $2500

The majority of the proceeds go to the Museum of the City of New York.

See all 25 stunning photographs and purchase them here