All-over Mondrian

When Piet Mondrian wrote that “logic demands that art be the plastic expression of our whole being” in his definitive 1920 essay Neo-Plasticism: the General Principle of Plastic Equivalence, he probably didn’t foresee how literally that statement would be able to be translated onto design of the later half of the 20^th Century, especially regarding the sometimes materially literal “plastic expression” of his own work’s whole being. Mondrian certainly isn’t the only artist whose work has been quoted on consumer goods. What may be unique to Mondrian, however, is the longevity of these quotations and breadth of design fields that have utilized them.

From fashion and hair products, to stationary and cigarette lighters, to a bathroom completely outfitted in Mondrian-inspired products not just limited to the hand towels and floor mat, but even including the shower and toilet, all-over Mondrian displays these items alongside a recently acquired original Mondrian, the 1927 painting Composition in black and red. When surrounded with so many objects using his visual language as a marketing tool, will Mondrian’s painting blend in as just another consumer good, or will it stand out as something genuine amongst a pile of the kitsch, and, as perhaps in the case of the Mondrian inspired condom wrapper, the sometimes just bizarre?

Until 08 August 2010 at Museum für Angewandte Kunst, An der Rechtschule, COLOGNE 50667.  The museum is an enjoyable walk from our own New Yorker Hotel in Cologne, so if you need a place to hang out, take a look over here.

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Categories: Cologne, Art

Contributing writer: Melissa Frost

Cologne. The Bridge Project. Not Sold Out, Yet…

If you’re planning on being in Cologne later this month, you should think about getting tickets for Sam Mendes’ production of The Tempest now.  If you don’t already have plans to be in Cologne, maybe now’s the time to plan a trip to see this renowned touring performance taking place from the 26th through the 30th of May at Cologne’s celebrated Ruhrfestspiele. Read the rest of this entry »

Be rational, there is no California road trip.

Are you the brightest of all your friends? Were you the one who came up with the idea to do something about getting away like you’ve all been talking about for months?

Be rational – you’re not going to do the road trip to California together so how about getting involved with Germany? The New Yorker in Cologne, East Hotel in Hamburg or Lux 11 in Berlin are superb for nightlife and not in the horrible resort way, but in the cosmopolitan way that means in the day you feel equally as good and not like you’ve been up all night drinking anti-freeze.

Your group piggy bank with “Barbados” tippexed on it is rather un-weighty? Polarise your plans with Hotel Skeppsholmen, found on one of Stockholm’s many islands, only a 10 minute walk (yes, walk, it’s a beautiful one too) to some of Sweden’s most luxurious bars and clubs and come home again to your own little haven. Or maybe, all your stressful lives just need a little mending. Get to know each other again with a relaxing chilled, insiders choice at Hollmann Beletage in Vienna or Greulich Hotel in Zurich. Perhaps an intimate and highly personalised trip to the Lesic Dimitri Palace in Korcula, Croatia, complete with private yachts and island exploration?

Europe this Easter time is actually doable – Think how easy it would be.

Categories: Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Korcula – Croatia, Stockholm, Vienna, Zurich, EASTER

What is the deal with bunnies?

If like us you’ve survived the freakish winter, the new decade slog at work, the tedious post New Year chats, you’re probably starting to feel a bit like robots. Yes? Then, do something about it. We might not be able to offer you hot hot hot, but we can offer you a change of scenery. We know how sometimes you can’t pinpoint what you want so it blurts out as “sun, oh god the sun, I miss the sun”. It’s maybe not just the sun. We need a bit of variation as going to a different supermarket or taking a different route home is a start but it really isn’t as environment changing as we’d like.

We’re looking out for your needs, for your welfare and happiness. Think of us as something between a shoulder to cry on and fun fascists.

Go away for Easter – you have no idea how happy it will make you.

Check out these tips for couples and with friends.

Lichtfaktor. Light tagging Cologne

The Cologne collective Lichtfaktor, spearheaded by artists $ehvermögen, beat.surfers and JIAR, is quietly cultivating “light writing”, the latest form of graffiti.  The basic premise of light writing is to take long-term exposure photos of light sources that “draw” an image.  The goals of traditional graffiti and light writing are similar and both strive take it one step further than was previously thought possible.  However the technique is drastically different.  Lichtfaktor “writes” with various light sources while taking a time-lapse photo.  The result is a psychedelic burst of energy across a seemingly empty landscape. Read the rest of this entry »