Full Metal Chicago

Long before Stanley Kubrick was discovering how to love the atomic bomb and discovering the horrors of a glass of milk, he was a budding photojournalist wandering the stark underbelly of Chicago for Look magazine. It was 1949, racial tensions were still boiling, steel was still forging, State Street was electric and the gentlemen of the Mercantile Exchange were the titans of power, greed and style. And c'mon, ringside seats? Kubrick just locked me in yet another figure-four...and I'll happily give in.

[thanks, retronaut]

Affinity and Beyond

I often find myself drawn to the people and places that play on ideas of fantasy in architecture. Yes, finished structures have their place, but there's something unexplainably satisfying about dipping into the imagination and wonder of guys like Portoghesi and Le Corbusier as they sketch to the heavens and erase all those petty boundaries of realism. And thankfully, there are places like Archive of Affinities that allow us all to drink the collective kool-aid and nerd-out to the Jenga-blocking of Lescaze and the drive-in dreams of van der Rohe. Simple, refined and little bit enlightening. If only all the tumblrs could be so classy.

Mikael Kennedy's Odysseus

Thanks to hipstamatic, the anyone-can-do-it-vintage ethos has officially reached critical mass. Now granted, I'm not one to shy away from iPhone photography (see here), but when guys like Mikael Kennedy come along, I instinctively hesitate the trigger finger, biting my lip and swallowing all my photographic pride. True, anyone can take a photo. However, after scanning through Kennedy's Odysseus collection, you'll hopefully put the God-box down and cut back on the binge tagging for a bit. After all, it's about time that old 35mm Minolta from your grand-dad got a little love. And for added inspiration, pick up a couple of Kennedy's books here.

An Island: Full Version

I'm not one for posting things that have a limited shelf life. However, I am willing to make the occasional exception for Vincent Moon. And as luck would have it, the crew over at Pitchfork has posted a one-week-only showing of An Island, the Vincent Moon and Efterklang collaboration that I've been ranting about to everyone within reach. What makes Moon's work here truly striking is the ability to visually capture the emotions of Efterklang's music, the landscape, and the people who inhabit the tiny Danish island, all within a beautifully composed 45-minute suite. With the help of some locals, some rather deft miking, and a few found objects, both Efterklang and Moon blur the lines we often draw between "noise" and "music." Feet stomping, hands clapping, balloons popping, boots splashing, newspapers crumpling...all creating a sweeping sensory kaleidoscope that will have you itching for the nearest noisemaker. I'm not exactly sure when the viewing party will end, so I highly recommend you grab a couple sticks and hit play right now.