UnCultured

Andrew Lyman - NIkki (2015)

Harley Weir for i-D Magazine The Beautiful Issue, ‘Kiss Me, I’m Delicious’

Francesco DiMattio - Table Setting and Flower 

Janet Fitch, White Oleander

Billy Kidd on Transcience

New York-based photographer Billy Kidd, who has shot campaigns for the likes of Nike, Anthropologie and Eres plus photographed figures including Jeff Koons and James Franco, coincidentally discovered his craft whilst studying for a degree in computer engineering thirteen years ago. Entirely self-taught and the recipient of five PDN awards, Kidd has already exhibited his artistic endeavors at venues such as Clic Gallery and 10 Corso Como.

Read more...

Untitled...

Black blue...

Rose by Billy Kidd

Marc Quinn - The Archeology of the Baroque (2012)

Julia Morozova

Orchid...

The Quiet Allure of Joachim Trier’s ‘Oslo, August 31st’

Oslo, August 31st is an adaptation based on an adaptation. As a modern-day reworking of Louis Malle’s The Fire Within or Le feu follet, Trier moves the story from 1960s Paris to contemporary Oslo, giving the film a relevance and nostalgic atmosphere. Malle’s film was based on Pierre Drieu La Rochelle’s novella of the same title, a story about suicide, named after a naturally occurring phenomena which is “believed to arise from a chemical combination of methane and hydrogen phosphate and takes the shape of a small, flickering flame appearing just above the ground, then burning itself out.” Rochelle saw the main character of the film, Alain, “as a dying flame on the cusp of extinction.” But unlike the two previous adaptations, Trier’s film is more meditative than its predecessors. It speaks to us through mis-en-scene and tone rather than direct verbalization of the character’s psychology. It’s formalistic in structure and does not romanticize the act of suicide, but speaks to one man’s resolute decision to end his life.

Read more...

Three Poppies, Irving Penn, 1969

Today, Remembrance Sunday for those in the Commonwealth, is a time when many will pin a poppy to their lapel, in respect of soldiers who have died fighting for their country.

The poppy, a vibrant flower bearing 4 to 6 petals, have long been used as a symbol of sleep, peace, and death: sleep because of the opium extracted from them, and death because of the common blood-red colour. In Greek and Roman myths, poppies were used as offerings to the dead and used as emblems on tombstones symbolise eternal sleep. In the children's classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a magical poppy field threatens to make the protagonists sleep forever. In Classical mythology, the bright scarlet colour signifies a promise of resurrection after death.

The poppy of wartime remembrance is Papaver rhoeas, the red-flowered corn poppy. This poppy is a common weed in Europe and is found in many locations, including Flanders, the setting of the famous poem 'In Flanders Fields', by the Canadian surgeon and soldier John McCrae.

The poppy was also one of the subjects in Irving Penn's extensive study of flowers. The acclaimed photographer documented various species between 1967 and 2006, including roses, daisies and tulips. "I can claim no special knowledge of horticulture… I even confess to enjoying that ignorance since it has left me free to react with simple pleasure just to form and colour, without being diverted by considerations of rarity or tied to the convention that a flower must be photographed at its moment of unblemished, nubile perfection", he said.

Phenomenon Spring/Summer 2012 Collection

Japanese brand Phenomenon showed its new Spring/Summer 2013 Collection this weekend in Tokyo on the runway. Going through an interesting development, the brand has positioned itself in the avant-garde fashion market with a clear street inspiration. Blazers, bomber jackets, shirts and more are present in the new line, yet all with a very unique look and style. Camouflage gets mixed with photo flower prints, silk paisley fabrics are used on shorts, caps and jackets and color blocking is also a clear direction that the brand took for next season.

Flowers for my Mom from Charlotte Tilbury

Irving Penn