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

37 Years Of The Brown Sisters. Four Sisters Photographed Annually From 1975 - 2012.

Nicholas Nixon, who teaches at Massachusetts College of Art, is one of the most celebrated American photographers of our generation. Among the most compelling of his series of photographs are the portraits he has made of his close-knit family which, taken over time, explore the nature of long-committed relationships.

His Brown Sisters series features an ongoing sequence of celebrated portraits of his wife, Bebe, and her three sisters; Heather, Mimi and Laurie. Taken annually, beginning in 1975, the unpretentious black and white portraits of the Brown Sisters reveal gradual changes in their appearances and shifts in their relationships over the past 37 years.

above: the first formal portrait of the four sisters in which Heather was 23, Mimi was 15, Bebe was 25, and Laurie was 21

Nixon says of the project "I really try hard to make the pictures as interesting formally as I possibly can. One of my clear visual tricks is that I like open sky, cause I love to see the shapes of their heads, and I like to play around with the intervals in between them.

I take probably a dozen each year. They tell me what their favorites are, and what they dislike. But then I choose. I try to be as open with what they say as possible. In fact, I love to know what they think.

Being an only child, it was really gratifying and lovely to be embraced by this family. There's still a ground water of affection, and support. I look back at these thirty-some pictures and it's like they're of my sisters. I can feel myself getting old with them. And I'm part of them; they're part of my love. "

Using a large eight-by-ten-inch view camera positioned at eye level, he always photographs the women in the same order from left to right: Heather, Mimi, Bebe, and Laurie. And will continue to do so.

The Brown Sisters by Nicholas Nixon from 1975 through 2012:

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

information and images courtesy of the following sources: MoMA, The National Gallery of Art,

Nicholas Nixon is represented by The Fraenkel Gallery

Nicholas Nixon Photography Books

Bruno Walpoth Brings Wood To Life In His Contemporary Human Sculptures.

Pinocchio would probably have gladly swapped his creator, Geppetto, for Italian sculptor Bruno Walpoth. Walpoth's ability to turn a hunk of wood into a lifelike looking figure is impressive, to say the least. His sculpted and painted busts and human forms are anything but "wooden." They seem to be imbued with emotion, capable of possessing a soul and striking the viewer as pensive, thoughtful - even melancholy.

"Beets" by OrigAudio are a hilarious play on Beats by Dre. Over the ear headphones with icons of beets... yes, the root vegetable, on the ear pieces. And with every purchase of these fashionably nutritious headphones, you are supporting a great cause.

Limited edition "Beets" by OrigAudio headphones comes in six unique colors and with every purchase of the $25 headphones sold OrigAudio will donate a can of beets to Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County.

"Beets" by OrigAudio headphones features:
- Full stereo sound with outside noise reduction technology
- Volume control and a single headphone cord to reduce tangling
- Soft cushioned earcups for extra comfort
- Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20kHz
- Hard exterior travel case included with your order
- Works with ANY device that has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack: iPods, iPhones, Droids, laptops, blackberrys, etc.

Buy them here

State-Shaped Hand Cast Iron Skillets by Alisa Toninato Are Fun and Functional.

Thirty-year-old metal designer Alisa Toninato, who as been featured on Martha Stewart, creates handmade substantial and beautiful examples of craftsmanship with iron skillets in the shape of each of the 48 contiguous United States.

above: Alisa with her Wisconsin skillet

Her Madison, Wisconsin studio named FeLion (that's FE, the chemical symbol for Iron and Lion represents the sign, Leo, under which the artist was born) creates iron art that is a functional example of a design concept blended with utility.

Every state-shaped skillet from her Made In America collection, is labeled with the FeLion Studios logo on the back, and stamped with a production number. The iron skillets can be shipped "raw" or "seasoned" and come with a custom made magnetic hanger for display.

All pans are made to order, and will be shipped in a timely fashion after the day its poured, approximately 6-8 weeks from the day of order. Please contact the artist for multiple state-pan orders. Also, visit the “Geographic Compositions” page for examples of several skillets composed into regional maps, such as the Midwestern set shown below.

A 2005 graduate of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, Alisa Toninato's credits include an internship with Chicago public artist Jin Soo Kim & experience as a thematic sculptor with the design & fabrication firm Cost of Wisconsin building zoo & aquarium habitats.

Her full map consisting of 48 contiguous state-skillets of America (above) was part of the 2011 ArtPrize exhibition in Grand Rapids Michigan, and made it into the top 25 among artists in the Center City neighborhood.

Buy the skillets here
or at the following retailers:
All Through the House (Stoughton, WI)
Bekah Kate's (Baraboo, WI)
BRAISE RESTAURANT ~ !!! ( Milwaukee, WI )
Cornacopia (Sturgeon Bay, WI)
Duluth Trading Co.
Kitchen Gallery (Madison, WI)
Kitchen Window (Minneapolis, MN)
Volume One (Eau Claire, WI)

Gross Out Your Vegan Friends With This Steak Set Wrapping Paper.

Another fun collection of gift wrap from Gift Couture that is bound to excite meat-eaters and disgust vegetarians. After success with their now sold out Cheeseburger wrapping paper set, Sarah Fey and Justin Colt have now successfully funded their second set via kickstarter.

The Steak Set includes Two 25” x 21” sheets of steak paper, One 25” x 21” sheet of cutting board paper, One sheet of white butcher paper, Twine, One Meat Tray and Two Gift Labels.

Video:

This set includes:
Two 25” x 21” sheets of steak paper
One 25” x 21” sheet of cutting board paper
One sheet of white butcher paper
Twine
One Meat Tray
Two Gift Labels

Visit Gift Couture here

Turning Kitsch Into Couture. Teardrop Lighting by Bodo Sperlein.

Bodo Sperlein's work for Lladro and Nymphenberg caught my eye years ago and since then, I've been a fan of his elegant pieces and home decor. His Red Berry and Dibbern Black Forest Dinnerware have long been atop my wishlist. Here's yet another unique collection by Sperlein that preserves an endangered skill and turns it into contemporary pieces for the home.

His unique collection of pendant lighting, Teardrop, highlights Bodo Sperlein’s interest in preserving and celebrating traditional skills. In this case, he has re-imagined and updated hand-made bone china flowers which had fallen out of style and were considered kitsch.

With such a small group of ladies left in Staffordshire dedicated to this craft of handmaking, Sperlein sought to ensure that these skills survived into the 21st century and did so by taking delicate and detailed plain white bone china flowers and fusing them to dramatic hand blown teardrop-shaped borosilicate glass pendants. In addition to looking unusual, they cast flower shaped shadows.