“After reinforcing the walls and ceiling and covering them in plastic sheeting, 80,000 litres of a copper sulphate solution was poured in from a hole in the ceiling. After a few weeks the temperature of the solution fell and the crystals began to grow. The remaining liquid was pumped back out and sent for special chemical recycling.”

roger hiorns: seizure. « shape+colour.

Interesting article about military forces going through walls to penetrate a city instead of swarming the streets.

…the experience: ‘Imagine it – you’re sitting in your living-room, … where the family watches television together after the evening meal, and suddenly that wall disappears with a deafening roar, the room fills with dust and debris, and through the wall pours one soldier after the other, screaming orders. You have no idea if they’re after you, if they’ve come to take over your home, or if your house just lies on their route to somewhere else. The children are screaming, panicking. Is it possible to even begin to imagine the horror experienced by a five-year-old child as four, six, eight, 12 soldiers, their faces painted black, sub-machine-guns pointed everywhere, antennas protruding from their backpacks, making them look like giant alien bugs, blast their way through that wall?

Frieze Magazine | Archive | The Art of War.

I sort of crashed a set decorators fundraiser thing on the NY set streets tonight – really just because a favorite taco truck had tweeted that they were there. (omg that sentence was so LA 2010 right?) In this first shot we see Universal managed to physically simulate the clone tool in photoshop.

Grey Goose bar by Pure Sang, Brussels, Belgium « archiDE.

Interior Design by Tobias Rehberger.

It’s where I’m staying now. Built in 1908 as a lodging house for sailors, it later housed survivors from the Titanic (who held a memorial here). The standard room is 50 sq ft (as they were when they were built) @ $100 a night with shared bathrooms. Larger rooms are available. The location is great – on the water – 2 blocks from the high line park. Great bar and restaurant in the building. And free wifi. AND it’s creepy and chic.

UPDATE: Now with more dead people. Just 7 months ago a tenant died in (probably) the room next to mine. Hard to tell in the photo if it’s 542 or 342. I would think 342 because they’re be more likely to book the lower  floor rooms first – and it was October, the off season when this happened. That would explain why the area around my door, 340, REEKED of air fresheners.

And because NYC is magic, I met one of the project designers at a party the night I arrived.

http://ritaritarita.ca

A few years ago I was asked to design some concepts to fill this large atrium space in a mall in Jakarta called “FX”. None of my concepts were realized except for this slide, which was entirely inspired by the slides Carsten Holler did at the Tate in 2006 – something the client specifically requested – only flashier! Which is good because it bothers me when clients want me to do a rip-off of some artist’s work – I just tell them to hire that artist, then they’d get the bonus PR angle of having a “name” artist’s work in their space. But apparently clients assume “name” artists would be difficult to work with, unlike nameless wrists-for-hire like myself.

So here’s one of my renderings, and what what actually built – plus video of Asians flying out the end of it, skidding across the floor. I’m told “Atmosfear” is now the longest slide in the world (being the Tate ones were temporary), and that it’s wildly popular, and makes the mall a ton of money because you have to buy $10 worth of something to get a ticket to ride it.

Wild dogs look deep into their diorama at the Natural History Museum. The dioramas of “native peoples” didn’t use taxidermy – big letdown.

The Hayden Planetarium is not named for Hayden Panettiere but I pretend it is. The show inside the top part “Cosmic Collisions” was not worth $25. Mya Angelou introduces u to the big bang in the bottom part for free (a fair price).

5000 Crystals hang overhead at Greenhouse. When I walked in THIS was playing on their GREAT soundsystem. The basement club was covered in fake leaves and felt like a scene from Tokyo Disneyland’s Winnie the Pooh ride. A Dutch tourist delivered the best quote of the trip, “You know the designers Viktor and Rolf? Alot of people here dress like them.” So nailed it.

Saw Jesus in the subway working a hot look.

In the financial district there’s a memorial to the Irish potato famine for some reason. Highly reccomended.

A Virgin Airlines bathroom photoshoot break on the flight to SF. Notice deep bags under the eyes. U did this NYC!